oPiNioN/StrEEtAlK

by Steve Funk

New foundation begun

“Keep your head below the sagebrush if you don’t want to get it shot off,” was the advice her predecessor gave Bella Cummins when she bought the Hacienda Ranch brothel in 1981, and she took it to heart.

In the decades since, her nature and work ethic drove her to success in Nevada’s legal sex industry, or as she prefers to address it, the “sensual services” industry. “After all,” she says, “it’s never always about the act, is it?” Now, with a lifetime of experience, she sees things a bit differently and is dedicated to making a difference. “I can’t give back, because the past is the past,” she says, “but I can give forward, for the future of these ladies and this necessary industry.” This is the realization that led her to form the Onesta Foundation, a non-profit advocating for best practices, better understanding and worker empowerment. She continues:

“I’ve realized that, as human beings, we have failed to embrace the only reason to be in a body, with the opportunity to safely express sexuality. I am in a position to speak to this. ... I’ve experienced every cycle in this unique industry. Now, it’s time for me to stand up ... to help the public understand that outdated stereotypes reinforce stigma and marginalize choices made, and the good work done, by strong, proud, independent, resourceful and intelligent women.”

Nevada, laudably and uniquely among the 50 states, has been willing to tackle big cultural lifts and address very human, but difficult to discuss, activities such as gambling, divorce, marijuana and sex, and in 1971, began regulating brothels. Almost 50 years later Bella Cummins sees this as the time to revisit and revise those regulations, at both state and local levels, and “bring light to the shadows” that continue to darken public perception.

The original Onesta, in Venice in the 1500s, regulated sex work to guarantee a safe and healthy environment for sensual activity while elevating workers and the avocation of courtesanship with education and culture. This example inspired Bella Cummins and the Onesta Foundation.

The foundation sees this moment as crucial. Onesta means honesty, integrity, virtue and transparency. Research shows that sensual services and purveyors bring net gain to our culture. It’s time to modify perception and regulatory structure that cast legal workers and enterprises in a separate, less protected class from others.

The Onesta Foundation mission is to provide awareness, education and advocacy for a safe, healthy and transparent sensual services industry in Nevada. More information is available at www.onestafoundation. org Nevadans are encouraged to follow Facebook and Instagram to stay abreast of activities.

“I have this vision of women really being empowered, being a part of something and doing work in the sex industry they can be proud of. All of this should never be done by women alone. Much is to be done by men,” Ms. Cummins insists, “We should move forward with a collective consciousness in the Onesta tradition of fairness, honesty and virtue for a better Nevada.” Ω

Why do you live in Reno?

aSKed at reNo city hall, 1 e. FirSt St.

NathaN ScharadiN

Battery inspector I like the art a lot. I grew up here. I’m from Nevada all my life. It’s just a nice place to come to. I went to Vegas for a little bit and, I don’t know, it wasn’t really for me. I came back here for family. It’s nice here.

Samuel NettleS

Cook I just came here to try to better myself. You know, get another opportunity on starting my career, because I do cooking and stuff. So I try to cook and learn stuff I didn’t know about before. I’m from California, so I was trying to move out of my area just to get somewhere in a new area.

Kimberly WilSoN

Pensioner Because my family is here. My grandkids and my husband and [my dog] Cookie. I moved here in 1998. My ex-husband at the time—we relocated here for a job. I moved to New York for, like, 10 years, and then I came back for family.

miKe deme

Auto technician I’m from Grass Valley, so fairly close. I didn’t have much opportunity there. It’s a small town. My buddy lived out here. I came out here, got a job within a couple days, got a house within a month. Just availability and opportunity, really.

boNNie Weir

Job seeker Can’t think of anywhere else to live.

The Ugly “Shen Yun Performing Arts” Is Fully Exposed

In spite that the cult “Falun Gong” tries to cover up the evil nature of its “Shen Yun performing arts”, its nature can never be changed or reversed. The demon can not escape showing his true colors in the magic mirror. Let’s see how people of insight reveal the ugly face of the “Shen Yun performing arts”.

Religious figures stripped off the mask of the “Shen Yun performing arts”

On December 18, 2017, Mr. Shi Da Dao, a British Buddhist scholar, wrote an article on his Internet blog “thesanghakommune.org”, stating that the “Shen Yun performing arts” of “Falun Gong” was a replica of Western art in the name of the spreading Chinese traditional culture and tried to brainwash the audience against China. First of all, Shi Da Dao slammed the cult “Falun Gong” as it kept vilify the image of the Chinese to the Western world in the Shen Yun performing arts. In the show, it seemed that “the Chinese” were all like “Fu Manchu”, an evil character in a novel by the British novelist Sax Rohmer. Then, Shi Da Dao pointed out that what’s in the Shen Yun show was nothing but a far-fetched Western imitation of Chinese culture”. Shi Da Dao argued that the so-called dance of the “Falun Gong” art troupe was an imitation of Western dance. He once again condemned that the Shen Yun show actually preached the cult of “Falun Gong” and tried to brainwash the audience in the name of traditional Chinese culture. The show was barely artistic. The performers brought help from the so-called “god” to complement the poor show. Some performers held a sinister book by Li Hongzhi, while the others worshiped on bent knees ceremonially. The whole scene looked ridiculous.

The Chinese hit the mark of the “Shen Yun performing arts”

In 2015, the “Shen Yun Evening Party” was staged at the Tainan Municipal Cultural Center and was criticized by local people. Some people put up eye-catching banners in the square in front of the venue that read “Stop marketing the Shen Yun culture of Falun Gong”, “Don’t deceive Taiwanese, Falun Gong”, “Get out of Taiwan, Shen Yun”. The “Shen Yun Evening Party” always claimed that it was Chinese traditional culture, but it actually tried to implant the cult “Falun Gong”. Earlier, the first performance of the “Shen Yun Evening Party” was staged at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center. Before it was opened, some people attacked it by showing banners that read, for example, “The Shen Yun performance is cult”, in front of the huge show poster in the square of the Kaohsiung Cultural Center. In early 2017, the cult “Falun Gong” host the so-called “Shen Yun Performing Arts” in New York, and it was resisted by the local Chinese. The Chinese in New York made banners outside the performance theater and wrote on it “Resist Shen Yun, say no to cult politics, and stay away from the cult Falun Gong!”, “Shen Yun, the Epoch Times, and the New Tang Dynasty TV are all propaganda tools of the cult Falun Gong”, “Shen Yun wears the veil of entertainment to propaganda the cult Falun Gong”, “Shen Yun is not about traditional culture but the cult Falun Gong”, “The cult Falun Gong tells lie, makes trouble, and smears China.” These slogans were completely consistent with the view of the British Buddhist scholar, Mr. Shi Da Dao.

Westerners discerned the camouflage of “Shen Yun performing arts”

Not only did the American Chinese recognized the evil nature of the “Shen Yun performing arts”, but many people of insight in the West expressed their opinions and saw through the deception. On March 26, 2017, Michael Duell, a reader from Phoenix, Arizona, wrote to azcentral.com, complaining that the Shen Yun performing arts of Falun Gong was a deceptive show and disclosing that the pushing hand, or the so-called art director, of the show was Li Hongzhi, the leader of the Falun Gong cult, under the pseudonym of D.F. Michael watched the “Shen Yun performing arts” with his wife and said, “Everything is obvious. Shen Yun is completely a show of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong).” Li Hongzhi not only was aliased D.F. as the art director of Shen Yun, but also wrote the lyrics that touted himself and Falun Dafa. On February 26, 2017, American media activist Jason Unruhe published an article on his personal website (maoistrebelnews.com), analyzing the relationship between the New York Shen Yun Performing Arts Troupe and the Falun Gong cult. He also pointed out the deceptiveness and perniciousness of Falun Gong and Shen Yun. On March 22, 2017, the US media sevendaysvt.com published a commentary article titled “The Story Behind the Vanity of Shen Yun”, which pointed out that Falun Gong was the sponsor of the exaggerated performances and overwhelming advertisements of the Shen Yun Art Troupe and the show was a boastful propaganda of the cult. Fresnobee (Fresnobee.com) reported on December 23, 2016 about how the Shen Yun performing arts conveyed cult message by claiming itself a representative of the Chinese culture of five thousand years, emphasizing that the Shen Yun performing arts were seriously criticized by scholars and the media.

A PAId AdvERtISEmEnt