Mind Fuck

small droplets of moisture form upon your flesh

unseen by blindfolded eyes

senses heightened with anticipation

in the silence of wanting

an unspoken desire...

hovering just within the edges of perception

glistening in the light of the moment

cold hard steel, razor sharp.

will it bring pleasure or pain,

caught between ecstasy and fear

you can but wait

the flesh tears slowly peeling away side to side,

as the warm stream of life flows from deep inside..

breath escapes from lungs engorged with excitement

moment by moment passes like years of eternity..

yet.. wait could that just be your own perspiration

has it even really begun ?

Vampires, Pagans & S/M

This was sent to me , though it seems not in its entirety , though now after reading the whole thing I find it intriguing in relationship to the whole "Vampire Fetish"... S/M culture is predominantly a sexual culture. The clothing and appearance of those who are part of the genre do tend towards the sexually significant, whether that be in terms of provocative and revealing clothing made of slinky fabrics like rubber which cling to the skin, or power dressing in uniforms reminiscent of control and domination. The Mistress with her whips and chains may be a popular stereotype, but it is an image which does have validity in certain areas of S/M culture. Whilst it would be unjust to state that all sado-masochistic acts are inherently sexual in nature, it is fair to say that most contain an element which is sexually motivated. It may not be every one's idea of sex to have someone piss all over your naked body, but to some people it obviously is a turn-on. Sexuality can be expressed in any way in S/M culture, holding true to the link which we found before with the Pagan ethic of 'Do what you will, if it harm none'. If people want to be pissed on, then let them get on with it. It harms no-one else. If people want to be whipped and hung upside down from a cross then who really cares? So long as nobody is being forced into it, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone. S/M culture does in fact have very strict rules regarding the etiquette of joining a 'scene' in a club, whereby the permission of all involved – even the slaves – must be sought before involving an additional element. Although Paganism is a pacifistic religion or belief system, it is interesting that most of my respondents thought of Pagans as dominant rather than submissive. Most religions can be seen as submissive in that they are bound by traditions and rules which promise pain and torture, even damnation, if you do not toe the party line. Paganism has a stronger freedom of expression – there is no real idea of a right and wrong way to behave as codified in a bible, as right and wrong are natural concepts which we understand intrinsically. Vampires similarly are seen as dominant, though as pointed out in the first part of this feature they are also submissive to a degree, as they are dependent on their food source for their survival. Inherent predators, they are primarily dominant however, and this is the opinion of those who know and those who only view from outside the crypt! The key sexual link which all three possess is in the idea of taboo. Some respondents report that their S/M activities are something they keep well hidden from family and 'normal' friends; likewise with many Pagans they feel it is something which non-Pagans would find disturbing or offensive. As regards vampires, this is usually seen as a joke and laughed off. In some extreme cases all three fields of interest do come under fierce attack from fundamentalists who believe that anything which deviates from the monotonous path of 'normality' is evil and corrupt and that therefore followers (who they frequently see as brainwashed, and redeemable) should be lambasted in the press, hounded from their jobs, home etc, have their children taken from them, and generally abused and insulted everywhere they go. This has happened with Pagans all too often, and it is also sadly a phenomenon which is growing in the S/M world as it leaves the underground and becomes more mainstream. The vampire is largely excluded because it has such a strong literary, therefore non-real and less threatening, persona – we are relatively safe from attack because what we believe in can be scoffed at and ridiculed. The typical ignorant rubbish about blood-drinking cults and sex in coffins is usually as bad as it gets for most of us! The sad fact is that sex itself is taboo in some minds still, so it naturally follows that any 'perverted' opinion or practice – like S/M, bondage, sexual magi ck, ritual nudity, blood-letting, blood-drinking etc – is doubly taboo. Most informants confessed that there was at least one part of their three interests they felt compelled to hide. Whilst all three remained a subculture of the 'norm' this was a fairly easy thing to do, but is there a price to pay for pushing these interests into the mainstream? As Paganism becomes the fastest growing faith in the UK, as witchcraft shakes off its old associations with demonology, as S/M leaves the fetish clubs and moves into the high street, as vampirophiles become every more outrageous and decadent in their search for self-expression, is it not inevitable that we will suffer for our beliefs even more than before? For most of my informants, the idea of going openly public with their views is the final taboo. This is not to suggest that they are ashamed or afraid of what they believe in – dominance prevails in all our fields of interest, as we have sufficiently proven – but we are still so obsessed with society's image of us as freaks and weirdos that for many of us the shadows are still preferable to the spotlight. Sexuality pervades the realm of the vampire perhaps most obviously of all. S/M sexuality is something which is not for everyone. Paganism only calls those who are ready for it, and need not involve a sexual element at all. But vampirism is the ultimate expression of sex through blood. While human beings struggle to get to grips with their own mortality, vampires are free to enjoy and experience everything that the darkness has to offer. And although traditionally seen by literature as sterile, sexless, even genderless beings, the new breed of vampires are baring their fangs to a whole new world of experimentation, that of sexual vampirism. For some of us, that change has been eagerly awaited for centuries... www.angelfire.com/jazz/louxsie/vpsm2.html

Map of Human Sexuality

Find out where I've journeyed on the Map of Human Sexuality! Or get your own here!

One step forward , two steps back.

Getting a drink in Utah will no longer require the equivalent of a permission slip. Utah is the only state in the country with such a maze of liquor laws Gov. Jon Huntsman signed the most sweeping changes to the state's liquor laws in 40 years into law on Monday, eliminating a much criticized system where customers must fill out an application and pay a fee before being allowed to enter a bar."In the name of economic development and the name of travel and tourism, and so that we don't have to explain whenever a company comes into town for the first 30 minutes of our discussion why we have some of these onerous rules on the book, we're going to sign," Monday. Huntsman, who doesn't drink and isn't a member of The New Yorker, didn't have a member at the door waiting to sponsor him in and didn't fill out a temporary membership form or pay a fee on his way to signing the bill. Scores of bars have been punished with hefty fines and closures for allowing the very same thing to happen.

"In a case like today, I think everyone was sponsored by the owner," said Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley. "But that's the kind of situation we will eliminate with the bill today."

The move is being made in an effort to make the state seem a little less odd to outsiders and boost the state's $6 billion a year tourism industry. Tourism officials have long complained that Utah's notoriously quirky liquor laws have given Colorado a competitive advantage in luring the lucrative ski and convention market. "It's always been the knock on Utah. We've got the best snow, we've got the best access, we have the nicest people. There's nothing that compares to our product. The only knock that anybody could ever come up with is that 'Your liquor laws are strange, quirky, weird,' " said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, the ski industry's marketing arm. "Instead of putting us at a disadvantage, this levels the playing field."

The new law will also allow restaurants to take down partitions known as "Zion Curtains" that separate bartenders from customers in restaurants. Currently, bartenders or servers must walk drinks around the bar before they're allowed to serve them.

The name "Zion Curtain" is a reference to the state's religious heritage as the home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which tells its members to abstain from alcohol.

The private club system and the Zion Curtain as they're known today got their start in 1969 after the Mormon church told its members to vote down a proposal that would have allowed the sale of liquor by the drinks in restaurants.

The church is still highly influential here and the changes to the state's liquor laws would not have happened if the church had opposed them.

As part of a compromise, the state will impose tougher DUI and underage drinking penalties. Utah will also become the first state in the country to require bars to scan the ID of anyone who appears younger than 35 before being allowed to enter.

Information obtained through the ID scan, including name, age and address, will be kept on site for seven days so it can be accessed by law enforcement, despite concerns that keeping the information is a violation of privacy.

The compromise Huntsman signed into law will also prohibit new restaurants from mixing cocktails in public view because some lawmakers are worried that children will be enticed to drink alcohol if they see it poured from bottles. The display of bottles, the serving of cocktails and their consumption will still be allowed in public view.

The Utah Restaurant Association has said the new requirement will keep many chain restaurants from opening in Utah and wants to remove it in future legislative sessions.

"We don't add to underage consumption and we're not part of the problem of over consumption," said association president Melva Sine. "So in terms of those two problems they're trying to solve, there's no purpose to that portion of the bill that says we need to hide that. There's no problem. It doesn't exist."

Huntsman has also called the requirement a step backward for the state, but agreed to it in order to make the other changes.

So here we are only 18 years behind the times rather than the usual 25 years we have been subject to for so long...

How Green Are Your Sex Toys?

Chances are you haven't thought about how your sex habits are affecting the planet — not to mention your partner.Forget hot wax and nipple clamps. The darkest and most twisted examples of sadomasochism are found under beds and in sock drawers the world over. Consider the phthalates-rich butt plug, whose toxins are slowly poisoning its user’s body via the holiest of Hollie's. Or the discarded rubber dildo, buried in a landfill and contaminating the groundwater. These instruments of pleasure may in fact be causing environmental and biological pain,`Thing is, your favorite dildo may be releasing deadly toxins into the environment. Your discarded butt plug, so small and cute and seemingly innocent, may spend several centuries in a landfill before it degrades — if it ever does. Your vibrator could be the reason for someone Else's unnaturally tiny penis. Really.And while their actual impact may be overstated—especially in comparison to other harmful, more widely used items—its not difficult to play it safe and find these same items made from more Eco-friendly (but no less user-friendly) materials, like the seaweed-based dildo created by Love Piece. Or get creative and make your own. The issue with sex toys — one of the more recent industries to be examined through a green lens — is twofold: disposal and toxicity. The first is the easier, less contentious, and somewhat more obvious issue. Since we're talking about a variety of objects often made of plastic, PVC, rubber, electronics, and other non biodegradable materials, it makes sense that concern has been raised about where sex toys end up and what happens to them when they get there. Just like water bottles and discarded train sets, sex toys made from these materials seem destined to last longer on the earth than any of us will — causing more pain in the long term than pleasure in the short term. The second issue is whether sex toys are safe for humans, both those who use them and those who may be exposed to them through the environment. The concern here is phthalates, a variety of chemicals most commonly used to soften hard plastics but also found in cosmetics, food wraps, and a number of other ubiquitous consumer goods — and until recently, often used in plastic-based sex toys. Scientists believe phthalates can have a detrimental effect on male reproductive development.

"Severe interference can involve incomplete development of the penis, undescended testicles, decreased testosterone levels," Tracey Woodruff, director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California at San Francisco.

"There can be lifelong consequences."

And are there counterarguments to all of these worries? Sure. For starters, there's always the issue of how green to go. Should you worry more about your rubber dildo — which you may keep for 10 years — than about your plastic shower curtain, which you'll throw in the landfill in three months? And as for phthalates, there are lots of different kinds — and no one is exactly sure what they do or how they do it. But if you're anything like Coyote Days, buyer for Good Vibrations, you'll figure safe is better than sorry. Days said the major sex toy retailer has decided to phase out products containing phthalates, just in case it turns out the chemicals really are as bad as scientists suspect. In particular, Days suggested replacement with silicone varieties, if you can afford them.

And if you're worried about how well a sex toy will biodegrade, you can always opt for a metal, wood, or glass variety.

In fact, if you're feeling really ambitious, you can check out the P Aqua from Love Piece, a dildo made from seaweed and water that, while solid at room temperature, can be boiled to oblivion for Earth-friendly disposal. (Though the company asks you to notify it if the dildo has a sour odor. Ew.)

Don't assume that old sex toys have to be dumped in landfill - at LoveHoney in the UK Old products are returned to us and we send them to be recycled - the plastics, metal and batteries are all recovered and used again. You can see the first tonne of vibes being recycled here and there's a video and more information on what happens to the parts...

Help save the world by sending your dead vibrators to LoveHoney Rabbit Amnesty to be recycled. Here's what happens at the recycling plant when they receive a ton of sex toys...

[link] How Sex Toys Are Recycled by Rabbit Amnesty

The evils of organized Religion

Organized religion , better known as hate mongers through out the world. Religion is behind several wars in the middle East, as well as the war against equality here with in the United States. Having something to believe in , is all well and great, be it a higher power or just oneself. But when religion starts dictating whom one can marry. Who we chose to follow or believe in, that is where the line is crossed. What has happened to personal choice? Just because some wish to follow blindly ( "sheep in the heard"), tell me why should all the rest be subject to bigoted prejudice views of religion? Who gave you the right, much less the authority to bend the rest of the world to the views of your branch of religion? A Roman Catholic priest in Brazil who defended the use of contraceptives and the rights of homosexuals has been suspended by his local archbishop. Maher al-Gohary has converted from Islam to Christianity. In spite of facing death threats, he's engaged in a legal battle to have his changed religion recognised on his official Egyptian documents. The Illinois House will begin considering another Civil Unions bill this week. Introduced by Rep. Greg Harris on February 20, HB 2234 has been assigned to the Youth and Family Committee, which will hold a hearing on Thursday. We’ve received word that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has engaged its private communications network to bombard state legislators with phone calls in opposition to the bill. A lesson from Mormon history is relevant. After being stripped of their property and persecuted because of their minority status, Mormons petitioned Missouri's lawmakers to look past their religious identity and see them simply as people who had been wronged. Were their appeals so different from requests by gay Utahans to enjoy reasonable legal protections and rights?

Abortion bills passed by House committee

In Utah's ever vigilant attempt to legislate our personal lives, and in specific women's human rights!

Two abortion bills have been passed by the House Health and Human Services Committee despite complaints from doctors that the language is vague and confusing and one of the measures is unnecessary.

One of the bills would make performing an illegal abortion a second-degree felony.

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, sponsored the legislation. Under the bill, abortions after 20 weeks or so would only be legal only to protect the life or physical health of the mother, or in cases of a fatal fetal defect. Two physicians would have to signed off on the diagnosis.

The bill also narrows the definition of a woman's health to "irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."

An attorney for the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said the bill could have trouble passing if it is challenged in court as unconstitutional.

HB90S1 passed the committee with a 6-1 vote. Rep. Phil Reisen, D-Holladay, was the only opponent. He said the state should be trying to stop unwanted pregnancies instead of pushing for new abortion legislation.

The committee also passed HB222, which would require doctors to offer women the option of anesthetizing their fetuses before an abortion or other in utero procedure.

"It's difficult for me to look at it from the perspective that this needs to be made as a rule. All of us have the best interest of the fetus at heart," said Dr. Robert Ball, a fetal surgeon at St. Mark's Hospital.

Missy Bird, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Council, said the bill tries to lay guilt on the mother before the procedure.

"Doctors need to be able to make medically accurate statements when women are trying to make a very difficult decision," she said.

Both bills move to the House floor for debate.

Innocent until proven guilty?

So under our justice system it is claimed all are innocent until proven guilty! Yet recent reports by the CIA " a government agency" , that is suppose to abide by our laws .. Claims there are perhaps 100 detainees of Git mo , whom can not be released because "they are dangerous " , yet they can not be tried because of " lack of evidence"?? So "innocent until proven" only applies when a government "for the people by the people " , deems it necessary ? Does this also apply to the rest of us? Or only those chosen few of the world?

Holocaust II

How are the human rights violations being committed by "Israel" in "Gaza" , really much different than the first holocaust? Civilians , women and especially children are being starved, maimed & killed in mass numbers. At this point in time 1,193 people have been killed, including 410 children and 108 women since the conflict began on 27 December. There were 5,300 people wounded, including 1,600 children. True these numbers pale in comparison to the six + million Jew's exterminated in the first Holocaust. But murder is murder! Israel says it is operating totally within humanitarian law? International law’s rules on keeping civilian casualties to a minimum are based on the distinction between "combatants" and "non-combatants". As Israel launched the first air strikes, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "You - the citizens of Gaza - are not our enemies. Hamas, Jihad and the other terrorist organisations are your enemies, as they are our enemies."

The International Committee of the Red Cross - guardian of the Geneva Conventions on which international humanitarian law is based - defines a combatant as a person "directly engaged in hostilities".

But Israeli Defence Forces spokesman Captain Benjamin Rutland said: "Our definition is that anyone who is involved with terrorism within Hamas is a valid target. This ranges from the strictly military institutions and includes the political institutions that provide the logistical funding and human resources for the terrorist arm."

Now paramedics are struggling to secure safe access to the wounded. Hospitals are short of medical supplies and intensive care patients' lives are dependent on ageing back-up generators.

Much of the population is without electricity, about half are without running water, and food deliveries to 750,000 have been seriously disrupted.

But the UN said a daily three-hour window would make "no difference" to its operations, because of the scale of the needs.

Some 750,000 people - half Gaza's population - are dependent on food hand-outs from the UN relief agency, Unrwa.

Distribution has been hampered by security problems and was suspended for a day on Friday 9 January after a truck driver for the UN was killed. The UN blamed Israeli fire, which the Israeli military later denied.

Save the Children says it fears newborn and sick babies may be dying because their parents are unable to reach hospitals.

Palestinian medical officials said they had treated large numbers of casualties with unusual burns that were extremely painful to treat and could be consistent with exposure to white phosphorus (WP).

White phosphorus sticks to human skin and will burn right through to the bone, causing death or leaving survivors with painful wounds which are slow to heal.

The international convention on the use of incendiary weapons says it should not be used where there is a possibility of hitting civilians. An Israeli military spokesman said it was investigating the reports, but reiterated earlier assurances about the legality of its weaponry.

White phosphorus is permitted on the battlefield to make smoke screens to allow troops to move undetected, and also to impede infrared anti-tank weapons.

But its use in the densely populated areas of central Gaza City would be "unlawful", as it dispersal would be indiscriminate and could put civilians at risk, says Human Rights Watch military analyst Marc Garlasco.

"The Israeli military may be using legal weapons, but it is using the weapons in an illegal manner," says Mr Garlasco .

He said he had observed dozens and dozens WP shells used by the Israeli army over Gaza since 27 December, both ground-burst shells and air-burst, scattering distinctive burning lumps of phosphorus which left white smoke trails.

"We are absolutely certain this is white phosphorus, this is the singular, unique visual signature of white phosphorus on the battlefield. Not only have I seen it for myself but I have checked with US artillery," Mr Garlasco added.

So tell me how are Israels war crimes any less offensive than the "Nazi's" ?? Are we seeing the second Holocaust delivered by the victims of the first one?

And why??

"The question that has to be asked is for all those children and all those innocent people who have been killed in this conflict. Were they war crimes? Were they war crimes that resulted in the deaths of the innocents during this conflict? That question has to be answered." We as Americans should also be asking " Why are we supplying the weapons to Israel that are causing all these casualties? Why are we backing mass murder by Israel?" Is it not "enough" we sat by and let our own leaders commit international crimes torturing combatants ?

Heads in the sand

Utah is the only state in the country that requires patrons to fill out an application and pay a fee to enter a bar that serves liquor. Newly-voiced concern over alcohol in restaurants comes as Governor Huntsman proposes to do away with the state law which requires joining private clubs, to get certain drinks out on the town. “It’s ridiculous,” while dining at a restaurant. “The liquor laws here, as an outsider, you don’t really know what to do, how to order, what applies, what doesn’t apply." But Huntsman, a Republican, has run into opposition from some legislative leaders in his own party who contend that the fee and paperwork associated with memberships discourage minors from illegally drinking and are partly responsible for Utah having the lowest DUI fatality rate in the country. "That's the part of the dialogue I need better explained to me. I'm very proud of our low DUI rates — that saves lives. It's hugely important. However, I have not heard a great explanation of how our private club laws lead to that low DUI rate and I definitely haven't heard an argument of why there shouldn't be conversation about improving our existing laws," said Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George. " The real advantage to the state's private club system is that the state can track where someone is drinking and how much they consumed." However, contrary to this statement, private clubs do not keep a log of who enters a bar each day, whether they had anything to drink or what guests they brought in. Club members must only sign a piece of paper once a year and there is no record beyond that. In theory, bar owners should be able to remember who was there each night and how much they had to drink because they are private social clubs and know their customers. "This is what they think happens because they don't frequent private clubs and really don't understand the day-to-day operations and how they relate to the statutes," said Lisa Marcy, a lawyer and spokeswoman for the bar industry's Utah Hospitality Association. Some clubs, which are all open to the public, have upward of 1,000 people who enter each night, many of whom pay with cash. Utah is unique in that about 60 percent of the state's residents are members of the Mormon church, which tells its members not to drink alcohol. Even more of the state's lawmakers — between 80 percent and 90 percent — are Mormon. Who generally hide their heads in the sand when it comes to the way the real world works. Many tourists complain about filling out applications with their birthdates on them because they're worried about identity theft. Others complain about having to fill out a form and pay a fee for every bar they go into. The Utah Hospitality Association forced the issue of eliminating private clubs last year by filing a petition to put the issue on the 2010 ballot. It agreed to put that effort on hold when Huntsman — said he would take the lead on the issue. Huntsman's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said the governor is open to advancing the association's proposal when the Legislature convenes Jan. 26. "I think that, certainly, using technological approaches to ensure that people are of age is something that the governor is interested in," she said. "The governor is certainly interested in looking at some of those offsetting compromises, like proper ID methods as well as looking at greater liability requirements. We have a long way to go, but he's hopeful there will be significant alcohol reform."

A new direction

We Americans are headed a new direction. One without a dictatorship, fueled by lawless , bigoted , homophobia. One with the promise of no more torture, instead of justice and retribution for actual crimes committed. A new direction from just making the rich and greedy more so. We finally have a chance at a leadership that will help the majority survive, instead of trying to force the masses under to their will...it wont be long !!