Contents
Publisher Samantha Norton sam@columbiacitypaper.com
May 5, 2011 VOLUME 6 Issue 26
More censored stories from last year’s “project censored”
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Editor Paul Blake paul@columbiacitypaper.com
News.Politics.Commentary. arts Life in the governor’s mansion Opinion Fascism in Five Points cover abuse at gitmo continues news in photos BP oil spill one year later Editorial sce&g shamefully asks for taxpayer funds Conservation hotlist light bulb law to promote outdated technology movies scream 4 review
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ARTS EDITOR Judit Trunkos jtrunkos@columbiacitypaper.com Circulation manager Laura M. Pg. 9
Account Executives James Wallace, Ho Chi Minh
Movies.Entertainment.Etc. soundboard punk/indie/emo/ska/hardcore/metal/rock movie times Music loners society at the house savage love adult sex advice Jonesin Crosswords Cartoons Derf & Red Meat Sudoku
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Music Kingsley Waring
visit columbiacitypaper.com Contributors S.M. Baleem, Garrett Kellerhals, WR Marshall, Todd Morehead, Will Moredock, Ted Rall, Dan Savage, Kingsley Waring, Baynard Woods
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By Judit Trunkos When the City Paper asked Former Governor Mark Sanford what was the most difficult for his family to adjust to while living in the governor’s mansion he responded, “The fact that there is no kitchen upstairs. The kitchen downstairs can cook for three-hundred people, but there is not a kitchen upstairs. Also, there is a museum downstairs, so I had to tell my boys not to touch anything and that there are visitors walking around downstairs.” The Governor’s Mansion has been serving as the home of South Carolina’s first families since 1869 in which year Governor Scott occupied it with his family. Since then 40 other families have lived there leaving their cultural and personal imprints on the decoration, the garden and often even the construction and the walls of the building. The featured pictures, books, documents and sketches provide an inside into the first families’ life while also shows us the human side of the family. Ms. Nancy Bunch has been Tour
Director there for the past 18 years and Curator for 15 years and has assisted four different first families in the building. When asked to name the most difficult thing that new families struggle with, she responded, “One of the most difficult things for the new First Family is adjusting to being surrounded by staff daily. Mrs. West was known for fixing things. One time, for instance, she was caught under the dining room table repairing the buzzer.” Bunch described some of the personal side of family life in the mansion, “Governor West loved to practice his golf swing on the front lawn and once broke a Mansion window with a golf ball. Or another special example is Governor Blackwood’s special Christmas night in which he invited the inmates who worked at the Mansion to gather around the Christmas tree. Envelopes containing their executive pardons decorated the tree. Herbert J. Hartsock, Director of the South Carolina’s Special Collection, took the time to answer City Paper’s questions about the ongoing exhibitions: CCP: What does each family add to the Mansion? Hartsock: “While the first families do not have to bring their furniture, some of them do. In fact, many of the first families brought furniture and artwork into to the Mansion. “ CCP: What other changes are there in the Mansion? Hartsock: “The
“The fact that there is no kitchen upstairs. The kitchen downstairs can cook for threehundred people, but there is not a kitchen upstairs.” -Former Governor Mark Sanford
mansion has changed a lot since it was built. The Mansion is now a mansion complex. It also has a pool and a pool house. It is a wonderful place to meet, talk and entertain guests.” CCP: Is it true that for decades inmates were taking care of the mansion? Hartsock: “Indeed, for generations the mansion was staffed by prison inmates. That changed with Governor Hodges. Visiting the mansion interested South Carolinians can learn much more about the building that hosts the Governor’s family. “ Reviewing the exhibit, the viewer will find that not only the first families have normal lives just as everyone else, but they also try to preserve it as such. Katharine Klein, a Graduate Student of Public History helped organize the exhibition and summarized the exhibit as a learning experience. “Visitors will learn a very interesting side of the governor’s family that is not in the public eye. The mansion is a museum but it is also a living space,” said Klein. The Hollings Special Collection Library at USC is proud to present a special exhibition “Life in the Mansion.” This extraordinary show will share with the visitors the real life in the Governor’s Mansion together with some of the advantages and difficulties every first family has to adjust to. The exhibit can be seen until July 29. To learn more about the exhibit, visit http://www.sc.edu/library/news/index. php?mode=view&id=537.
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Fascism in Five Points
Opinion by Paul Blake Columbia City Council has enacted a new curfew in Five Points and the Vista for minors that is modeled after a similar ordinance in “progressive” Greenville. The new law will make it a crime for a 16-year old to hang out at a coffee shop till midnight or walk his dog around the neighborhood on a Friday night. Columbia’s renown nightlife scene seems to have offended the swine who currently sit on city council. The council appears to be actively engaged in a legislative jihad against the only downtown businesses that have managed to flourish in recent years. A few months ago they passed a law that forces bars to close at 2am. What’s worse, they created a caveat, allowing certain bars to seek special permits to remain open, late into the night. We can only expect that they’ll pass around this special permission to their trusted network of good ol’ boys. Their decision to pork-up the ordinance by banning disrobing contests, just plain stinks. Outlawing wet t-shirt contests is wrong. (Unless this section applies solely to sitting members of council; I still have a thing for former councilwoman Frannie Heizer.) For years this pack of shaved apes ignored the rising downtown crime rate. When it got so bad they couldn’t ignore it, they kicked off a brilliant PR campaign that was seemingly designed to convince people not to go there. Then, the Five Points Association commissioned an expensive development master plan on the taxpayer’s dime. When that same plan advised against the opening of a massive Walgreens, they 4
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promptly ignored it. And then, they turned our sleepy backwater into an Orwellian nightmare. Without conducting a single study, these pigs made a closed-door deal to install cameras in public areas. Naturally, the excessive surveillance campaign failed to deter crime, in any way. What’s more, they have turned Saint Patrick’s Day--a holiday I once dearly loved-into a tragicomedy of corrupt cronyism. Every year, they pull nearly a quarter of a million dollars out of the hospitality tax fund and pass it around to the event’s handful of organizers. They have consistently refused to answer questions about who gets what on that day. This massive chunk of taxpayer money has never been audited, in any way and the event doesn’t include any real representation from the businesses in the area. The same old bastards have run the organization for the past 15 years and during the last board vote, none of the “elected” board members even bothered to show up. The five people in attendance spent the meeting illegally voting for themselves by proxy. Some even managed to vote for themselves, twice, as representatives of their own businesses! They didn’t even have the quorum that is required by state law, and FPA Executive Director, Merritt McCaffie ignored records requests demanding copies of the votes. But, I was there and I counted them. Let me finish by saying nothing will change for the better, so long as this gang of monkeys continues to run the show. They will continue to pay themselves though hidden contracts, taxpayer funds, and back door deals. They will justify it to themselves and their redneck cronies, during lavish mud wrestling parties and prolonged backyard circle jerks. Worst of all, nobody has tried to call them on any of their evil bullshit. The town’s meager media outlets are too busy cashing tax-payer funded advertising checks to bother. If you don’t believe me, consider this: the town’s intrepid watchdogs spent more than a year scratching themselves before bothering to report the installation of security cameras, all over town. Not a single report mentioned that the monitors sit in the back of a board member’s office. It isn’t that they don’t know the monitors are in the back of Revente. But reporting it would upset the scum in the Five Points and pretending not to know who controls the area is good for business. talkback@columbiacitypaper.com
1- Prisoners Still Brutalized at Gitmo In Guantánamo, the notorious but seldomdiscussed thug squad, officially known as the Immediate Reaction Force (IRF), deployed by the US military remains very much active. Inside the walls of Guantánamo, the prisoners know the squad as the Extreme Repression Force. In reality, IRF is an extrajudicial terror squad, the existence of which has been documented since the early days of Guantánamo. IRF has rarely been mentioned in the United States media or in congressional inquiries into torture. When an IRF team is called in, its members are dressed in full riot gear, which some prisoners and their attorneys have compared to “Darth Vader” suits. Each officer is assigned a body part of the prisoner to restrain: head, right arm, left arm, left leg, right leg. According to a SOP document, the teams are to give verbal warnings to prisoners before storming the cell: “Prior to the use of the IRF team, an interpreter will be used to tell the detainee of the discipline measures to be taken against him and ask whether he intends to resist. Regardless of his answer, his recent behavior and demeanor should be taken into account in determining the validity of his answer.” The IRF team is authorized to spray the detainee in the face with mace twice before entering the cell. David Hicks, an Australian citizen held at Guantánamo, said in a sworn affidavit, “I have witnessed the activities of the IRF, which consists of a squad of soldiers that enter a detainee’s cell and brutalize him with the aid of an attack dog. . . . I have seen detainees suffer serious injuries as a result of being IRF’ed. I have seen detainees IRF’ed while they were praying, or for refusing medication.” On January 22, 2009, newly inaugurated President Obama issued an executive order requiring the closure of Guantánamo within a year, and also ordered a review of the status of the prisoners held there, requiring “humane standards of confinement” in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. But one month later, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) released a report titled “Conditions of Confinement at Guantánamo: Still In Violation of the Law,” which found that abuses continued. In fact, one Guantánamo lawyer, Ahmed Ghappour, said that his clients were reporting “a ramping up in abuse” since Obama was elected, including “beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-force-feeding detainees who are on hunger strike.” A year after Obama’s election win, Al Jazeera reports that despite the new president’s pledge to close the prison and improve the conditions of detainees held by the US military, prisoners believe that their treatment has deteriorated on his watch. While the dominant media coverage of the US torture apparatus has portrayed these tactics
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as part of a “Bush-era” system that Obama has now ended, when it comes to the IRF teams that is simply not true. “Detainees live in constant fear of physical violence. Frequent attacks by IRF teams heighten this anxiety and reinforce that violence can be inflicted by the guards at any moment for any perceived infraction, or sometimes without provocation or explanation,” according to the CCR. The CCR has called on the Obama administration to immediately end the use of the IRF teams at Guantánamo. However, the abuse continues, and the White House and powerful congressional leaders from both parties fiercely resist the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate the abuses. Ahmed Ghappour, who represents several Guantánamo prisoners, has lodged several requests to initiate investigations since President Obama took office. “I have requested four investigations regarding prisoner abuse just this past year,” he said. “The military responded to my first request indicating that they would investigate, but have been radio silent since then.” Released after a federal court found him to be entirely innocent, Mohammed el Gharani is now adjusting to life outside prison. He reports that the allegations made by current inmates match his experience of Guantánamo during the months leading up to his release. ”I recognize all of this,” he said. “There are still more than two hundred people in Guantánamo. Since Obama became president, less than twenty have been released. I don’t know why, but he has broken his promises.” 2- Obama Cuts Domestic Spending and Increases Military Corporate Welfare President Obama’s decision to increase military spending this year and in the future will result in the greatest administrative military spending since World War II. This decision is being made in spite of continued evidence of extreme waste, fraud, abuse, and corporate welfare in the military budget. At the same time, spending on “non-security” domestic programs such as education, nutrition, energy, and transportation will be frozen, resulting in inflationary cuts to essential services for the US public over the upcoming years. While these domestic programs constitute only 17 percent of the total federal spending, they will sustain all of the proposed cuts. The consequences of cutting domestic spending will result in a further increase in the gap between the rich and the poor. In contrast, military spending is roughly 55 percent of the discretionary spending in the current fiscal year, and will increase even more next year. According to the Office of Management and Budget’s projections, the military budget will increase an additional $522 billion over the next decade. Tom Engelhardt points out, “Here’s an American reality: the Pentagon is our true welfare
state, the weapons makers are our real ‘welfare queens,’ and we never stop shoveling money their way.” There is widespread and continuous waste, fraud, and abuse by the Pentagon and by military contractors resulting in welfare for the rich. William Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel with the US Air Force, concludes, “When it comes to our nation’s military affairs, ignorance is not bliss. What’s remarkable then, given the permanent state of war in which we find ourselves, is how many Americans seem content not to know.” The public never hears about war spending in the corporate media and how much everything actually costs. Several examples highlight the extent of abuse. A single future weapons system is now estimated to cost the American taxpayer almost one-third of what the Obama administration’s health care plan is expected to cost over a decade. Originally expected to cost $50 million, the estimated cost today just for one F-35 plane is $113 million. The marines, the air force, and the navy are planning to buy a combined 2,450 of F-35s, which would cost more than $323 billion. According to Kathy Kelly, author of Tough Minds, Tender Hearts, “The US government devotes massive resources and much sophistication to killing in Afghanistan. Would that it would spend a little to realize that its policies are creating anger. . . . It costs about $1 million a year for a US soldier—boots on the ground—in Afghanistan. Imagine what good that money could do if spent to help the Afghan people. A governor in Afghanistan makes about $1,000 a year.” President Obama is continuing the process of reinflating the Pentagon that began in late 1998— fully three years before the 9/11 attacks. The rise in national defense spending since 1998 is as large as the Kennedy-Johnson surge (43 percent) and the Reagan increases (57 percent) put together. The Department of Defense has been given about $7.2 trillion since 1998, which is when the post–cold war decline in defense spending ended. Current spending is above the peak years of the Vietnam War era and the Reagan years, and the Pentagon plans to remain there at this point. Reasons for the lack of public knowledge about military spending include: lack of corporate media coverage altogether; media employing retired military officers as “experts,” thus presenting only one side; inculcated civilian deference toward military leaders (leave it to the experts in uniform); and secrecy and “black budgets” obscuring military spending. Among the questions William J. Astore poses about the US military, a key one is: why is the military immune from the painful budgetary belt tightening faced by the rest of America? Astore concludes, “It’s true that the world is a dangerous place. The problem is that the Pentagon is part of that danger. Our military has grown so strong and so dominates our
government, including its foreign policy and even aspects of our culture, that there’s no effective counterweight to its closeted, conflictcentered style of thinking.” This dominance is costing the US public enormous sums of money, is a major contributor to the economic crisis, and will continue to erode desperately needed public support programs now and in the future. 3- Nanotech Particles Pose Serious DNA Risks to Humans and the Environment Personal products you may use daily and think are harmless—cosmetics, suntan lotion, socks, and sports clothes—may all contain atomsized nanotech particles, some of which have been shown to sicken and kill workers in plants using nanotechnology. Known human health risks include severe and permanent lung damage. Cell studies indicate genetic DNA damage. Extremely toxic to aquatic wildlife, nanoparticles pose clear risks to many species and threaten the global food chain. Nanotech particles have been embraced by industry as the wonder ingredient in personal hygiene products, food packaging, paints, medical procedures and pharmaceuticals, even tires and auto parts, among burgeoning numbers of other consumer products. Cosmetic companies add titanium dioxide nanoparticles to sun creams to make them transparent on the skin. Sports clothing firms have introduced odor-free garments containing nanosilver particles that are twice as toxic to bacteria than bleach. Auto industry companies have added carbon nanofibers to tires and body panels to strengthen them. According to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), health and fitness items continue to dominate available nanotech products, representing 60 percent of products listed. More products are based on nanoscale silver—used for its antimicrobial properties— than any other nanomaterial; 259 products (26 percent) use silver nanoparticles. PEN’s updated inventory represents products from over twentyfour countries, including the US, China, Canada, and Germany. Yet, nanomaterials are so poorly understood that scientists are unable to predict how they will behave and are unsure of how to check their safety. Over one thousand consumer products made with nanoparticles, which can be one hundred times smaller than a virus, are already on the market, despite an almost complete lack of knowledge of the dangers they pose to human health and the environment. And while these atomic-sized particles may be beneficial in certain medical applications, scientists and environmentalists are calling for more studies. Until now, few adverse effects have been found for this virtually unregulated technology. Yet, that may simply be due to the relatively few studies that have been done in the rush to find ever more and profitable nanotech applications. Nanotechnology, the science of the
extremely tiny, is an important emerging industry with a projected annual market of around one trillion dollars by 2015. It involves manipulating or building new materials from atoms and molecules; silver and carbon are now the most important building blocks. The nanomaterials are far smaller than a human hair and can only be seen with powerful microscopes. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, while a human hair is about eighty thousand nanometers wide. An atom is roughly one-third of a nanometer across, and nanoparticles are groups of atoms that are typically smaller than one hundred nanometers. The tiny-sized materials often have unique properties that differ from the properties of their larger scaled versions. “The use of nanotechnology in consumer products continues to grow rapidly,” says PEN director David Rejeski. “When we launched the inventory in March 2006 we only had 212 products. If the introduction of new products continues at the present rate, the number of products listed in the inventory will reach close to 1,600 within the next two years. This will provide significant oversight challenges for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission, which often lack any mechanisms to identify nanotech products before they enter the marketplace.” 4Western Lifestyle Continues Environmental Footprint Speaking in advance of the climate summit in Copenhagen, Rajendra Pachauri, the United Nation’s leading climate scientist, warned that Western society must enact radical changes and reform measures if it is to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told the Observer that Western society urgently needs to develop a new value system of “sustainable consumption.” The Nobel Prize winner stated, “Today we have reached the point where consumption and people’s desire to consume has grown out of proportion.” “The reality is that our lifestyles are unsustainable.” Pachauri offered a wide-ranging proposal— including legal requirements, economic disincentives, and government subsidies—to lead Western society toward a more sustainable future. Among Pachauri’s suggestions is that hotels be held accountable for the energy use of their guests. The energy consumed by guests in hotels could be metered and then charged to guests’ bills. Pachauri’s proposal also includes measures to regulate travel by land and air. For instance, Pachauri argues that automobile travel could be “curbed” through pricing schemes that discourage the use of private transportation. Likewise, Pachauri suggests that governments tax air travel to encourage citizens to travel by rail—a mode of transportation that is significantly lower in cost and environmental impact. Travel and tourism are but one feature of an increasingly unsustainable Western lifestyle. As the Internet becomes an indispensable feature of modern life, the costs and environmental impact associated with Internet usage is on the rise. According to recent estimates, there are over 1.5 billion people online around the world. As a result, the Internet’s energy footprint is growing at a rate of more than 10 percent each year. As the Net’s appetite for electricity grows, Internet companies like Google are having a hard time managing the costs associated with delivering Web pages, video, audio, and data files. This situation not only threatens the bottom line of
Web firms, but may compromise the long-term viability of the Internet. According to Subodh Bapat, vice president of Sun Microsystems, a leading manufacturer of computer servers, “In an energy-constrained world, we cannot continue to grow the footprint of the Internet . . . we need to rein in the energy consumption.” Energy consumption associated with Western lifestyles has been linked with melting glaciers around the world. Dr. Shresth Tayal of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India’s leading environmental institute, selected three of approximately eighteen thousand glaciers in the Himalayas as benchmarks to measure the rate of the glaciers’ retreat. According to Dr. Tayal, the glaciers, which feed rivers across India and China, providing fresh water to more than two billion people during the dry season, are disappearing at an alarming rate. As Dr. Tayal bluntly assessed in the Times, “The glacier is dying.” Tayal’s findings support the contention made in 2007 by the IPCC that glaciers could disappear by 2035. The IPCC warns that a shortage of fresh water will cause “famine, water wars and hundreds of millions of climate change refugees.” Despite growing evidence that Western lifestyles contribute to global climate change, it may take a generation before the new value system Pachauri calls for takes hold. Nevertheless, Pachauri believes that young people will recognize the need to adopt some of the radical changes he recommends. “I think they will be far more sensitive than adults, who have been corrupted by the ways we have been following for years.” 5- US Presidents Charged with Crimes Against Humanity as Universal Jurisdiction Dies in Spain In October 2009, under great pressure from the United States, the government of Spain decided to limit its own jurisdiction in cases of genocide and crimes against humanity, thus closing one of the last windows of accountability for the most serious crimes committed by the most powerful nations on Earth. Under international law, such crimes fall under the universal jurisdiction of any nation, whether one’s own citizens are victims or not. The logic is that crimes against humanity are offenses against every member of the human species—a crime against all. Spain had been a venue for bringing high crimes charges against human rights violators in Guatemala, Argentina, China, Israel, and elsewhere. Most of the lawsuits have been against individuals linked to the untouchable political right, such as Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, the Argentine military officer Adolfo Scilingo, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and six of his senior advisors, and most recently, former George W. Bush administration officials. Calls to reign in the judges increased when Spanish magistrates announced probes involving Israel and the United States. In January 2009, Spanish National Court Judge Fernando Andreu announced he would investigate seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 air attack in Gaza that killed a top member of Hamas and fourteen other people. In March 2009, Baltasar Garzón, Spain’s most high-profile judge, invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction when he sought to investigate six former Bush administration officials for giving legal cover to torture in the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Activist judges like Garzón, Andreu, and
Pedraz have created a big diplomatic headache for the Zapatero government. China has warned Spain that bilateral relations could be damaged over a case regarding Tibet, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Spain that it risks being sidelined in the Middle East peace process. But the Spanish government is most worried about the negative impact the Guantánamo probe may have on relations with the United States. Zapatero has raised expectations of Spanish voters with the promise he can forge warm ties to the Obama administration. Indeed, other European leaders have distanced themselves from the Spanish position, fearful of jeopardizing future relations with Washington. Reporter Glen Ford noted that the world’s biggest potential defendant for war crimes and crimes against humanity is the United States, whose record of direct and indirect involvement in torture and mass killings has been unmatched by any other nation since at least World War II. It was primarily US pressure that forced Spain to close off its courts from international jurisdiction cases. One day before the change in Spanish law, a number of members of the BRussells Tribunal, acting under the umbrella of the International Initiative to Prosecute US Genocide in Iraq, filed charges of crimes against humanity and genocide against four presidents of the United States and four prime ministers of Great Britain. The charges cite 1.5 million Iraqi deaths over the course of nineteen years of American and British attacks, including two full-scale wars of aggression, the “most draconian sanctions regime ever designed,” and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Half a million of the dead, according to the charges, were children. In parallel, Iraq’s rich heritage and unique cultural and archaeological patrimony has been wantonly destroyed. In order to render Iraq dependent on US and UK strategic designs, successive US and UK governments have attempted to partition Iraq and to establish by military force a pro-occupation Iraqi government and political system. They have promoted and engaged in the massive plunder of Iraqi natural resources, attempting to privatize the property and wealth of the Iraqi nation. So massive and systematic were the assaults on Iraq, stretching for roughly a generation, the accusers charge the US and the UK with the deliberate destruction of a nation. The defendants are George Herbert Walker Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Hussein Obama, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Anthony Blair, and Gordon Brown. The suit holds that each has played a key role in Iraq’s intended destruction—that they instigated, supported, condoned, rationalized, executed and/or perpetuated, or excused this destruction based on lies and narrow strategic and economic interests, and against the will of their own people. The BRussels Tribunal asserts that allowing those responsible to escape accountability means such actions could be repeated elsewhere. The global clearinghouse for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is the International Criminal Court. However Ford notes that in recent years that court has prosecuted no one but Africans and is increasingly exposed as a tool of Western hegemony. The United States refuses to join the International Criminal Court, and thus claims immunity from prosecution. For more information on Project Censored, please visit http://www.projectcensored.org/ May 5, 2011
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Opinion by Samantha Norton
In a letter dated April 13, 2011, District Manager Kelvin Rogers of South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) practically demanded that the taxpayers of Columbia spend $18,075 to help his firm paint some utility poles. “SCE&G has been working with Ron Armstead on the projects of painting steel poles in the Downtown Columbia area,” Rogers wrote, in his letter to CIty Manager Steve Gantt. “At this time, we need your commitment from the City of Columbia supporting the finical side of this project.” This pitiful plea for paint money came from the same company that pulled in a
In order to ensure that the Securities and Exchange commission would approve the firm’s takeover of a North Carolina gas company, in 2002, they had to dump our ailing bus system, entirely. SCANA used that shining moment to convince the Columbia City Council to hand them a 30 year monopoly on the city’s electric supply. In March of 2006, City Paper reported that the power company was planning to use eminent domain to take an elderly woman’s property in Euclair during their expansion of a power substation. Further investigation led to the discovery that the existing SCE&G-owned property in the neighborhood had been neglected for years. After three-month of railing about it in the newspaper, the utility giant finally cleaned up the property and backed off taking Mrs. Jones’ house.
“This pitiful plea for paint money came from the same company that pulled in a record $348 million in profits last year. ”
record $348 million in profits last year. (Revenues were over 4 billion.) Rogers concluded the letter by boldly invoking his franchise agreement with Columbia. “Please send me a copy of this letter with signed acknowledgement giving SCE&G permission to proceed with this project and the City’s commitment to fund the $18,075.00 construction cost,” he wrote. “This cost will be considered part of the Non-Standard Service fund in the Franchise Agreement.” Lets quickly go over how this franchise agreement came to be and SCE&G’s dismal track record in Columbia, S.C. The company spent the 80’s and 90’s running the bus system into the ground. During 20 years of management of the line, SCANA never purchased a single new bus.
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In 2007 (as part of a lovely fuckyou to Columbia taxpayers) the company abandoned its Main Street offices and moved their headquarters to Cayce. They might as well have turned off our power while we were in the middle of cooking Christmas dinner. You know what would pay for a couple cans of Rose Talbert Paint? The taxes SCE&G should be paying for offices on Main Street, in a city that helped make them $348 million dollars last year! Thanks to the shit-eating monkeys that run this town, it appears that SCE&G will continue to pump the town for everything it’s worth. Enjoy the fee increase that takes effect next winter! talkback@columbiacitypaper.com
We encourage Senators to support Conservation Bank and natural resource agency funding in their budget debate this week. Forestry, agriculture, outdoor recreation and tourism account for $54 billion, or about one-third, of our state’s economy. That’s over 450,000 jobs, or approximately 25% of all jobs in South Carolina. However, the combined budgets of the South Carolina Agriculture Department, Forestry Commission, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism account for less than one percent of the state budget. As the “Crossover Date” quickly approaches, two bills important to the Common Agenda have landed on the House contested calendar: the Conservation Bank Sunset Clause Extension Bill (H.3083) and the Solar Jobs Bill (H.3346). These bills must be passed out of the House by April 28th in order to be considered by the Senate this year. Also, two major water priority bills: the Phosphorus Bill (H.3470) and the Chronic Sewage Polluter Bill (Three StrikesH.3617), both introduced by Rep. Mike Pitts, are on the House uncontested calendar with a good chance of passing to the Senate. Thousands of South Carolina jobs are tied to fishing, boating, outdoor manufacturing and recreation. If we do not invest in land stewardship and keep our water clean, thes! e jobs are at risk. We look to House members to support these bills on the floor this week, and help bolster the economy for new, green jobs in South Carolina. In the Senate Alcoholic Beverage Container (ABC) Recycling (S.461, Sen. Ray Cleary) PRIORITY S.461 calls for establishments that have a permit for on-site consumption of alcohol to implement a recycling program in the next two years for plastic, corrugated cardboard, aluminum and glass. (The bill provides establishments without access to glass recyclers, 3 years to implement glass recycling.) S.461 also calls for these establishments to develop recycling plans guided by DHEC. Minimal funding will come from the Governor’s Task Force on Litter with money going equally to DHEC and the Department of Revenue for implementation and enforcement. Permit applications or renewals are given a 10% discount for 8 years if there is a recycling plan that does not include glass, and a 25% discount
for applications and renewals that have a recycling plan with glass. S.461 remains on the contested calendar. Email your Senator to ask him to support this priority bill that creates South Carolina jobs. Natural Resource Agency FundingPRIORITY The Conservation Bank received $750,000 in the House version of the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Budget. This funding would ensure that the Bank has the operational funding necessary for the upcoming year, as well as cover a portion of the $3 million in outstanding grants. We encourage Senators to invest in our state’s outdoor economy this week as the full Senate debates the budget this week. Email your Senator to ask him to support Conservation Bank funding. Prescribed Fire (H.3631, Rep. Jim Harrison/S.501, Sen. Ronnie Cromer) SUPPORT Prescribed burns are the most efficient and cost effective tools for managing healthy forests. These bills provide greater protection for landowners who choose to burn responsibly on their property. Last week, the full Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee (Sen. Ronnie Cromer- Chair, John Land, Yancey McGill, Dick Elliott, Brad Hutto, Chip Campsen, Jake Knotts, Mike Fair, Kent Williams, Paul Campbell, Larry Grooms, Danny Verdin, Vincent Sheheen, Creighton Coleman, Shane Martin, Mike Rose and Phillip Shoopman) gave H.3631 a favorable report, and sent it to the full Senate for its consideration. Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act (H. 3735 by Rep. Dwight Loftis) OPPOSE The first week of April the House passed H.3735 in a 76-20 vote. This bill would undermine federal energy efficiency standards that will save every American household 100 to 200 dollars or more per year once fully enacted. H. 3735 would eliminate these savings in South Carolina along with the environmental benefits of
using less energy. The federal standards, passed with bipartisan support in 2007, require 25-30% energy efficiency gains by 2014 and three-times more efficient light bulbs by 2020. Proponents of the bill are calling the technology-neutral federal standard a “ban” on traditional light bulbs and attempting to draw a line around the state to protect older, inefficient technology. The bill has been referred to the Senate LCI Committee (Sen. Greg Ryber! g- Chair, Nikki Setzler, Phil Leventis, Glenn McConnell, Billy O’Dell, Glenn Reese, Robert Ford, Thomas Alexander, Hugh Leatherman, Kevin Bryant, Ray Cleary, Joel Lourie, Kent Williams, Shane Massey, Lee Bright, Floyd Nicholson and Mike Rose), and if recalled from Committee, could be considered by the Senate this week.
Conservation Bank Sunset Clause (H.3083, Rep. Mike Pitts/S.138, Sen .Chip Campsen) PRIORITY H.3083 extends the Sunset Clause to 2023. The House adjourned debate on this bill two weeks ago, and placed H.3083 on the contested calendar to allow time for further debate. The House will debate this bill again this week. Email House members today to ask them to support H.3083.
Solar Tax Credits (H.3346, Rep. Dwight Loftis/S.474, Sen. Glenn Reese) PRIORITY H.3346 establishes a 35 percent state tax credit for the installation of solar energy equipment for both residential and commercial purposes placed in service in taxable years after 2010. This legislation not only promotes renewable energy; it encourages solar installations and creates new jobs. The House adjourned debate on In the House this bill two weeks ago, and placed it on the contested calendar to allow time for further Phosphorus Bill (H.3470, Rep. Mike debate this week. Email House members Pitts) PRIORITY today to ask them to support this important H.3470 would prohibit the use, sell bill. or manufacture of dishwashing detergents containing phosphates, a harmful chemical Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (H.3059, Rep. found in our lakes and rivers. Phosphorus is Jim Merrill) SUPPORT already banned in 15 states because it kills H.3059 extends an existing, state fish and lowers recreational revenues and income tax credit of $2,000 for highwayhome values. This bill will be considered by speed, plug-in vehicles. The tax credit has the full House this week. an annual impact cap of $500,000 and is provided on a first-come, first-serve, Chronic Sewage Polluter Bill (H.3617, basis. Within three years, over a dozen Rep. Mike Pitts) PRIORITY hybrid models are expected to be available, H.3617 would require any wastewater providing economic, national security, and utility with two spills over 5,000 gallons each environmental benefits. Two weeks ago, the in a 12-month period (per every 100 miles of House rejected this bill in a 24-67 vote. Rep. pipe) to undergo a comprehensive audit of Merrill moved to reconsider the bill, and it is what caused the spill and fix the problems now on the contested calendar, and will be identified. This compromise language is debated again this week. supported by the conservation community and the 30 largest South Carolina wastewater utilities as a means of bringing the most chronic violators into compliance. This bill will be considered by the full House this week.
“This bill would undermine federal energy efficiency standards that will save every American household 100 to 200 dollars or more per year”
May 5, 2011
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Thursday May 5 New Brookland Tavern Rumpeltrillskin Ten Car Pile Up TBA
Cafe Strudel Rosanna Mae
Wednesday May 11 Utopia Alien Carnival
Cafe Strudel Jason Ross
Utopia Open Mic w Marv Ward
New Brookland Tavern Death Of Paris All-New Badges Ye Mighty! High Roses Grow
The WHite Mule Fite Klub Presents: 80\’s Babies 2
Utopia Mobros
New Brookland Tavern Justin Osborne (of Sequoyah) Superstar runner Johnnie Matthews
Friday May 6 Cafe Strudel Noah Brock
The White Mule Hannah Miller w/ Lera Lynn
Utopia Open Mic w Bentz Kirby
The White Mule Griffin House w/ tba
Sunday May 8 New Brookland Tavern Out Of The Trailer Park, Into The Pit: Summer Jam w/: Embracing Goodbye, Set Apart, Invoking The Abstract,, Behold The Messenger, From Tomorrow, Currents, Your Chance To Die, Lions, For Lambs, Chivalry, Built By Legends, A Divine Perception
The White Mule Shannon Whitworth w/ tba
Sunday May 15 The White Mule Angie Aparo
New Brookland Tavern Full Color Footage (EP Release Show) The Sea Wolf Mutiny Senseless Beatings You Are Being Invaded By Demons Utopia Slap wore out The White Mule Larry Keel & Natural Bridge w/ The Black Iron Gathering Saturday May 7 Art Bar Whiskey Tango Revue, Bare Knuckle Champions, Alien Carnival
Monday May 9 New Brookland Tavern Joy Island Rocky Loves Emily The After Party Freshman 15 Tuesday May 10 Utopia Open Blues Jam
Thursday May 12
Friday May 13 Cafe Strudel Big Dixie New Brookland Tavern Tunguska Whores Hooded Eagles Aphatos Utopia Rev. Marv Ward Saturday May 14 Art Bar Alexis Davis Band, Slam, Norwegian Blue
New Brookland Tavern La Dispute Defeater Native Former Thieves Utopia Tough Mama
Monday May 16 New Brookland Tavern Tuesday May 17 New Brookland Tavern Rise Records Tour Featuring: Memphis Mayfire Decoder Ten After Two That’s Outrageous Utopia Open Blues Wednesday May 18 The White Mule Damon Fowler (early show)
The Wonder Years Fireworks Make Do And Mend Such Gold Living with Lions Sector 7G Augusta, GA Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast Wild Wing Cafe Augusta, GA Amy Hendrickson & the Prime Directive Stephen Pigman Fiddlers Savannah, GA The Delta Saints MoDaddy’s Bar & Music Club Asheville, NC Bass Science The Garage at Biltmore Asheville, NC Dangermuffin Friday Night Live Belmont, NC Blue Mother Tupelo Delta Ghato BBQ & Blues Festival Charlotte, NC Perpetual Groove Sol Driven Train Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC May 5, 2011
Tuesday, May 3 with the full EP to follow this Summer. But don’t underestimate a music preview writer’s predisposition to compare every artist to some lucky fuck that had connections in the music industry. Megrue has his own unique sound and his insightful lyrics stand on their own. It can be a bit like anthem rock but there’s just another description that doesn’t do Megrue justice; so just get off your ass and go to this show on Tuesday, May 17 at The House. -Samantha Norton
Road Trip
05/06/11 :: Friday El Ten Eleven New Earth Music Hall Athens, GA
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Loners Society is the newest project of Unusual Suspects and County Line Strangers’ primary songwriter/singer, Matt Megrue. Megrue is currently recording his debut EP in Atlanta with Don McCollister, who produced Shawn Mullins, Sister Hazel, and Third Day. Their first single, “Outlaws & Saints” in my opinion, is a soulful cross between Tom Petty and Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers. The track was officially released on
illicitizen Smokey
Joe’s Cafe Charlotte, NC Chiddy Bang The Fillmore Charlotte, NC
Cantina Isle of Palms, SC The Movement Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina Mount Pleasant, SC
SpongeCake and The Fluff Ramblers The French Quarter Charlotte, NC
Super Bob (formerly Bob) Ground Zero Spartanburg, SC
Ricky Berger Adrian Bourgeois Ultimate Basement Mill Spring, NC
Jason Lefty Williams Home Team BBQ Sullivan’s Island, SC
The Incredible Sandwich Home Team BBQ Charleston, SC
05/07/11 :: Saturday Shawn Mullins Melting Point Athens, GA Minnesota Intermixture Samples New Earth Music Hall Athens, GA
DJ R Dot O’Malley’s Bar and Grille Charleston, SC
Sumilan SpringFest 2011: On the Lawn! Athens, GA
Eprom LANDSQUID Samples Intermixture DJ Skitch PERICLES Droppin’ Joints Magically The Music Farm Charleston, SC
3 Foot Swagger Lovers and Liars Terrapin Brewery Athens, GA
Taco Donkey Charleston Beer Works Charleston, SC
Cosmic Charlie The Pour House Charleston, SC Henry’s Attic Acme
Stephen Pigman Craig Oden Trio Fiddlers Savannah, GA The Mosier Brothers Live Wire Music Hall Savannah, GA Dare Dukes Sentient Bean
Savannah, GA
Asheville Symphony Asheville Civic Center Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Belk Theatre Charlotte, NC The Black Lillies Double Door Inn Charlotte, NC
Paul Cataldo Sapphire Mountain Brewing Co. Sapphire, NC
Sol Driven Train Historic Downtown Conway’s Riverfront Park Conway, Brandon Pruitt Carolina Nightlife & Grill Darlington, SC
Avenged Sevenfold Three Days Grace Black Stone Cherry Metrolina Expo Fairgrounds Charlotte, NC
The Movement Remy’s Bar and Grill Hilton Head, SC
The Growlers Snug Harbor Charlotte, NC
Chiddy Bang House of Blues N. Myrtle Beach, SC
Big Daddy Love The Evening Muse Charlotte, NC
Under the Porch Home Team BBQ Sullivan’s Island, SC
Cosmic Charlie Visulite Theatre Charlotte, NC
05/08/11 :: Sunday
The Gibson Brothers Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Denton, NC Sierra Hull Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival Denton, NC Vince Gill Village Arboretum Pinehurst, NC
Dave Turner Stone Soup Landrum,
The Gibson Brothers Poplar Knight Spot Aberdeen, NC MikelParis Mo Daddy’s Asheville, NC Dirty Beaches Snug Harbor Charlotte, NC Wintersleep Tin Roof Charleston, SC The Movement The Boathouse Myrtle Beach, SC
movie times Movie times listed are for the weekend of May 5. Please confirm times with theater. Nickelodeon Theatre | 937 Main Street | 803.254.3433 JANE EYRE MAY 6-19, FridayThursday Friday, May 6th - 3:00, 5:30 and 8:00 Saturday, May 7th 3:00, 5:30 and 8:00 Sunday, May 8th 3:00, 5:30 and 8:00 Monday, May 9th 5:30 and 8:00 Tuesday, May 10th **8:30 ONLY** Wednesday, May 11th 3:00, 5:30 and 8:00 Thursday, May 12th 3:00, 5:30 and 8:00 Driven from her post at Thornfield House by her love for her brooding employer and his secret past, young governess Jane Eyre reflects on her youth and the events that led her to the misty moors in this artful adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel. Regal Columbia Cinema 7 3400 Forest Drive Suite 3000, Columbia, SC 29204 Water for Elephants new! (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 2:10 4:50 7:30 10:10 Arthur (PG-13) 2:05 4:40 7:10 9:40 Hanna (PG-13) 2:40 5:10 7:45 10:15 Soul Surfer (PG) 2:00 4:30 7:00 9:30 Your Highness (R) 2:40 5:05 7:35 10:00 Source Code (PG-13) 4:55 9:50 Limitless (PG-13) 2:30 7:20
The Lincoln Lawyer (R) 2:15 5:00 7:40 10:20 Carmike Wynnsong 10 5320 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29206 Jumping the Broom new! (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:55 Thor new! (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:20 4:20 7:15 10:05 12:01am Thor 3D new! (PG-13) Digital 3D 12:30 1:00 3:30 4:00 6:30 7:00 9:20 9:45 12:05am Fast Five new! (PG13) DP (Digital Projection) 12:45 1:45 3:45 5:30 6:45 8:00 9:50 Prom new! (PG) DP (Digital Projection) 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:45 Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:00 4:00 7:05 9:40 Rio The Movie (G) DP (Digital Projection) 1:05 6:45 AMC Dutch Square 14 800 Bush River Rd., Columbia, SC 29210 Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family new! (PG-13, No Passes) 11:50am 2:30 5:10 7:50 10:30 Regal Columbiana Grande Stadium 14 1250 Bower Pkwy, Columbia, SC 29212 Jumping the Broom new! (PG-13) 11:20am 1:55 4:30 7:10 9:45 Something Borrowed new! (PG-13) 11:30am 2:10 4:50
7:40 10:15 Thor new! (PG-13, No Passes) 10:30am 1:20 4:10 7:00 9:50 Thor 3D new! (PG-13, No Passes) 11:00am 1:50 4:40 7:30 10:20
Red Riding Hood (PG13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:50 4:20 6:55 9:30 Unknown (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:35 4:05 6:45 9:20 Regal Sandhill Stadium 16 450 Town Center Place
Carmike 14 122 Afton Court, Columbia, SC 29212 Dog: Dead of Night new! (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 2:15 4:50 7:30 10:00 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil 3D new! (PG) Digital 3D 1:45 4:05 6:30 8:50
Hanna (PG-13) 2:55 7:55
Prom new! (PG) DP (Digital Projection) 1:30 4:00 6:30 9:00
Jumping the Broom new! (PG-13) 12:00 2:35 5:15 7:50 10:30
Water for Elephants (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:15 4:15 7:10 9:50 Arthur (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:40 4:30 7:05 9:35 Hanna (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 1:55 4:25 7:00 9:40 Soul Surfer (PG) DP (Digital Projection) 1:20 4:05 6:50 9:15 Your Highness (R) DP (Digital Projection) 2:20 4:55 7:25 10:00 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (PG) DP (Digital Projection) 2:00 4:25 6:40 9:00 Limitless (PG-13) DP (Digital Projection) 2:10 4:45 7:15 9:45 The Lincoln Lawyer (R) DP (Digital Projection) 1:25 4:10 7:00 9:45 Paul (R) DP (Digital Projection) 1:45 4:35 7:20 9:55
Soul Surfer (PG) 2:45 5:15 7:50 10:20 Open Captioned & Descriptive Audio 12:15pm Hop (PG) 12:05 2:15 4:40 7:15 9:30
Something Borrowed new! (PG-13) 11:50am 2:25 5:00 7:40 10:15 Thor new! (PG-13) 10:30am 1:20 4:10 7:00 9:50 Thor 3D new! (PG-13) 11:00am 1:50 4:40 7:30 10:20 St. Andrews Cinema 5 527 St Andrews Road (803) 772-7469 Please call Regal Pastime Pavilion 8 929 North Lake Drive, Lexington, SC 29072 Jumping the Broom new! (PG-13) 2:00 4:30 7:20 10:10 Something Borrowed new! (PG-13) 2:20 4:50 7:40 10:20 Thor 3D new! (PG-13, No Passes) 1:20 4:10 7:00 9:50
Ladies and gentlemen we have another Scream film on our hands. Scream 4 is directed by Wes Craven, the same director as the previous three Scream films. It has been eleven years since the last Scream film was released. Will Scream 4 add anything new or inventive to the franchise? PLOT Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her home town of Woodsboro on a book tour. Since she has been able to survive three massacres she found fame in detailing her life into a book. Prescott is returning to promote her book and she receives a hero’s welcome from the townspeople. The other two survivors are also still present, Sheriff “Dewey” (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox). Sidney’s arrival also overlaps the anniversary of the previous killing spree. In the midst of her return a new killer has arrived who is targeting Sidney and her two companions but also her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts). Can Sidney cheat death a fourth time and save herself and her cousin from the new killer? STRENGTHS The opening scene of the movie is clever and fans of the Scream franchise will more than likely admire the new twist that is added. The film makes clever use of it being self aware that it is not just a movie but a horror movie as well (preferred term for movie buffs is Meta). The film contains several clever references, the funniest one being Shaun of the Dead. Since the movie is self aware it contains inside references in the dialogue that are both funny and unique. For example the line of “Let’s watch Saw 4” followed by “no it’s just pointless torture porn with no character development.” The final act of the film is strong and provides an ending that even experts in horror will not see coming. What also adds to the strength of the final act is chaos breaks out that is both entertaining for the audience and satisfying as well. Furthermore, the strongest point of this movie is it critiques the idea of people wanting to become famous, especially overnight. I cannot say anymore with regards to this without spoiling anything but the way the film introduces it and explains is intelligent and
distinctive. WEAKNESSES Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I review horror films because the one aspect of them that I just cannot stand is the usage of jump scares. When anyone goes to a horror film whether it is a slasher film or a spoof horror film like this, jump scares are inevitable. I have no problem with jump scares but only when they are used to enhance the scene at which they are in. Every kill in this movie contains a jump scare. Moreover, I would not go as far to say that the performances are bad but it does seem like each character in the film knows that they are in a spoof horror film and they are not taking it seriously. One of the reoccurring weaknesses of the Scream franchise has been the kills on a whole are lame and dull. With this film that problem was not addressed. With the exception of one kill in which the audience is able to see someone cut open in a way in which has not been seen often, every other kill is the stereotypical stab in the chest followed by immediate death.Some of these characters are also annoying and dumb. One scene in this film that irritated me was there is a kill in a parking garage but the main character sees the killer when she is in her car, than she proceeds to get out of the car. Once she gets out of the car well what happens next is obvious. CONCLUSION/FINAL RATING Overall the film is not bad but it really does not do enough new things for me to tell you to rush out to see it in theatres. Fans of the franchise might find themselves board but on the other hand maybe not. It is worth mentioning that Scream 4 is much better than Scream 3 but not as good as the first two. This film is close for me but I am choosing not to recommend it because its biggest weaknesses of too many jump scares, unsatisfying kills, and lacking performances overshadow what is good about the film. If you have to see it just watch it online, no need to hurry out and see it. Written by Cole Bloxam http://www.moviefilmreview.com/ author/Cole053 May 5, 2011
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SavageLove Sex Advice by Dan Savage
I’m a young heteroflexible guy who has been a “sugar baby” for a handful of wealthy older guys. I love it! I get money, I have fun being with them, and the guys seem to like having me around. The problem is that I just got with a new guy who is really great except for one thing: He is HIV positive. I like the fact that he told me, and I am open to being with him sexually even though I am HIV negative and want to stay that way. He is VERY submissive—he wants to be used and abused sexually, physically, and mentally. My question is, what kinds of sex acts are okay to do with this guy? I read on one site that him rimming me is fine, and on another that him giving me a blowjob with a condom is safe, too. But I can’t find a site that specifically explains which sex acts are safe and which ones aren’t when one person is positive and one person is negative. Help In Virginia It’s pretty simple, HIV: Sex acts that expose you to his semen and/or blood are definitely unsafe, and sex acts that expose him to your semen and/or blood are mostly safe. Rimming you, blowing you (even without a condom), getting fucked by you (with a condom)—all very low risk for HIV transmission. If he’s on a drug regimen and his viral load is undetectable, HIV, your already-low risks of being exposed while, say, accepting a blowjob (and a check) are even lower. The risks aren’t nonexistent—all sex acts carry some degree of risk—but if the risks were any closer to nonexistent, they’d be sitting on nonexistent’s lap. And bear this in mind: Odds are good that some of the other guys you’ve babied for—some of your previous daddies—were HIV positive and either didn’t know or didn’t have the decency to disclose. This guy’s willingness to disclose is evidence not just of his honesty and decency, HIV, but of his respect for you and his commitment to keeping you safe. This guy is less likely to ask you to engage in sex acts that are higher risk or unsafe than a guy who isn’t aware that he’s positive or is actively hiding the fact that he’s positive. And his interest in being “used and abused” creates lots of hot safe-sex-play options—letting him beat off while he licks your boots or jerking him off while he’s tied to the bed with your jock in his mouth are no-risk sexual activities that he’s likely to enjoy immensely. I’m a 24-year-old straight guy. I’ve been with my girl for three years, and things are great— great sex life, great communication, etc. We have lots of sex—but for the last year or so, she has not been on birth control and we have not been using condoms. We’re not against the idea of a child, but we aren’t currently going for it. I was always told that pulling out was a 100 percent ineffective method of birth control. So my question is, I guess, could there be something wrong with one of us? How could we have unprotected sex for a year without getting her pregnant? We both really want children eventually and are worried it might not happen. Sent From My iPhone Withdrawal is a much more effective birth control method than most sex advisers are comfortable acknowledging. But facts are facts: A comprehensive study conducted by researchers at the Guttmacher Institute found that withdrawal was almost as effective a birth control option as condoms. (“Better Than Nothing or Savvy Risk-Reduction Practice? The Importance of Withdrawal,” Contraception, June 2009.) “If the male partner withdraws before ejaculation every time a couple has vaginal
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May 5, 2011
intercourse, about 4% of couples will become pregnant over the course of a year,” the authors of the study wrote. That compares pretty favorably with the 2 percent of straight couples who will become pregnant using condoms perfectly over the course of a year. In the real world, of course, very few people do anything perfectly. When you take mistakes, leaks, and broken condoms into account, researchers estimate that 17 percent of straight couples who rely on condoms will become pregnant in any given year. Not all withdrawers use withdrawal perfectly, either—amazingly enough, some guys get distracted and forget to pull out as their orgasms approach—but the research shows that just 18 percent of straight couples who use withdrawal will get pregnant in any given year. So odds are good that you’re not infertile, SFMi, just lucky. I’m a young lesbian. I recently met a girl who’s cute, and I think we’re on the likely-to-havesex-soon track. The thing is, she confided in me that she’s participated in needle play in dungeonparty situations. I’m not someone who is turned off by kinkiness just ‘cause it’s kinky, but it seems like even “safe” needle play is a recipe for STI transmission unless you’re playing with trained medical professionals. She says she gets tested regularly, but still, would it be really risky for me to sleep with her? Enthusiastic Reader Every time I’ve watched needle play in a dungeon-party situation—watched with my hands clamped over my eyes, peeking through the small spaces between my fingers—no one was being stuck with rusty needles by dirty-handed brutes. All the public needle-play scenes I’ve witnessed were ostentatiously sterile affairs: These kinksters, some of whom were trained medical professionals, made a big show of using alcohol wipes, cotton swabs, latex gloves, and clean sharps. I think it’s fair to ask this girl for more information about her blood and needle experiences, about the safety precautions that her partners took, and about how recently she was tested. But rest assured, ER, that the most effective STI transmission routes involve sticking dicks in people in completely vanilla situations, not clean needles in dungeon-party situations. Here’s some information for MILK, the man who is aroused by the thought of being sprayed with his wife’s breast milk: It is common for newly lactating women to experience strong “milk ejection reflexes” during sex. This is induced by the hormone oxytocin, which is released during labor and orgasm, and when the milk “lets down” during breast-feeding. In other words: New mothers often spray milk when they get off. Most women are embarrassed when this happens, but at least MILK’s wife will know the first time it happens that her husband isn’t going to freak out about it. Breast-feeding Educator’s Sex Tips Thanks for sharing, BEST. CONFIDENTIAL TO AMERICAN LADIES: Republicans took the House of Representatives after campaigning on jobs, debt, and taxes. But it’s been nonstop assaults on Planned Parenthood and reproductive freedom ever since. The GOP is always going on and on about how they want to shrink the size of government, and now we know why: They want to stuff the government in your vagina. CONFIDENTIAL TO CANADIAN EVERYBODIES: Please go towww.shitharperdid. com, have a laugh, and then do what you can to send Stephen Harper packing or, failing that, deny him a majority. Pretty please? mail@savagelove.net
JONESIN’ CROSSWORDS “Have a Nice Solve”--smile, it’s freestyle.
by Matt Jones Across 1 Sped in a straight line 10 Raising a lot of doubt 12 It sounds like a fruit, but it’s really a jellyfish 14 Encircled 15 Wombs 16 New Mexico art colony 18 “Just ___ suspected...” 19 Reaches 21 Series set in Las Vegas 22 Musical heavy on the percussion 24 Liquor has it: abbr. 25 It’ll get you on the bus, maybe 27 Like the highest courts 29 The world of school 31 Some T-shirt decals 32 Like 0, but not O 33 Element with the shortest name 34 Unqualified for, as a task 36 AC measurement 37 Stick that goes off 38 Apartment levels 39 ___ Lingus (Irish airline) 40 Tiger’s ex
42 Fencing swords 43 Bum, but dirtier 44 “___ M for Mature” 46 Turkish money 47 Laptop connection 53 Allowed on public roads, unlike most ATVs 54 It uses a rake and sand Down 1 “Consarn it!” 2 Krivoy ___ (Ukrainian city) 3 Concerning 4 Linguist’s non-sound 5 Close after opening 6 Teen movie franchise whose box set is titled “The Full Reveal” 7 Word before boy or fever 8 Summer, in St. Tropez 9 Juicy info 10 Disease diagnosed by dentists 11 Restaurant chain of “Old Country Stores” 12 Patricia Arquette, to Courteney Cox 13 He don’t like rackin’ frackin’ varmints
14 Installer who works with natural fuel, in Britain 17 Way-too-easy jobs 19 Barbecuers’ garb 20 John of “Full House” 23 Their shirt buttons are on the right 26 Honorific poem 28 “Make ___ of it” 30 Meet ___ (romantic comedy scenes) 35 Suffix for press 41 Multiplayer card game with elements of solitaire 43 One of Carrie’s “Sex and the City” boyfriends 45 Where dat thing goes, in Brooklyn 46 Theater box 48 Spy novelist Deighton 49 Brain wave monitor: abbr. 50 Depot stop: abbr. 51 Digital ___ camera 52 Club ___ ©2011 Jonesin’Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
May 5, 2011
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