San Francisco Decriminalizes Prostitution

SAN FRANCISCO — A measure that aims to keep prostitutes from facing criminal charges has qualified for the November ballot in San Francisco.

The measure, which qualified Friday, would bar authorities from spending money to investigate or prosecute prostitutes for engaging in prostitution.

A San Francisco first-time offender program that allows men to avoid charges for soliciting a prostitute if they attend a class and pay a fine would also end under the measure.

The Erotic Service Providers Union recently announced it had gathered the 12,000 signatures necessary to put the measure on the ballot after failing to get a similar initiative before voters in 2006.

Mayor Gavin Newsom says the measure would hurt the city's ability to investigate and prosecute sex-trafficking crimes. - FoxNews

Why should anyone go to jail for prostitution? There is no physical harm involved between two or more parties consenting parties. By decriminalizing, innocent (but morally wrong) offenders will have more of an oppurtunity for rehabilitation instead of jail time.

Italian Minister Supports Red Light Districts.

Italy's new conservative government is mulling proposals to stem rampant street prostitution, including "red light" districts, legalising brothels and life in jail for pimps.

Italians have been alarmed recently at the growing number of prostitutes, many of them illegal foreigners from Eastern Europe or Africa, who seek drive-by clients on the streets of most cities, even in daylight.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni made a surprising proposal at the weekend, saying he was in favour of setting up officially sanctioned red light districts.

"This would guarantee health controls and protect citizens," he said in a newspaper interview. But he acknowledged that such a move would be complex in a Catholic country like Italy and would need "ample reflection and agreement".

According to some estimates there are between 70,000 and 100,000 prostitutes in Italy. More than half are foreigners and 65 percent work on the streets. - One News

I actually don't think Maroni is doing that much evil here. Catholics are freaking out along the lines of "[He] should be quite ashamed of himself!" But what Maroni is trying to do is control the epidemic rather than add fuel to the fire. First, prostitution is already legal in Italy -- that is something that won't change for a while. Second, cracking down on prostitution at this time would create even more of an underground scene, much like Prohibition did in the U.S during the 1920s. People need to start looking at these issues with no bias.

13 Year Old Boy Purchases Some Hookers

A 13 year old boy from Texas is convicted of fraud after using his Father's credit cards to hire escorts.

A 13 year old from Texas who stole his Dad's credit card and ordered two hookers from an escort agency, has today been convicted of fraud and given a three year community order.

Ralph Hardy, a 13 year old from Newark, Texas confessed to ordering an extra credit card from his father's existing credit card company, and took his friends on a $30,000 spending spree, culminating in playing "Halo" on an Xbox with a couple of hookers in a Texas motel.

The credit card company involved said it was regular practice to send extra credit cards out as long as all security questions are answered.

The escort girls who were released without charge, told the arresting officers something was up when the kids said they would rather play Xbox than get down to business. - Money.co.uk

This has all the makings of the funniest news story ever.

NY Governor Spitzer Involved In Prostitution Ring

The New York Times reported Monday that Gov. Eliot Spitzer has told senior advisers that he had been involved in a prostitution ring -- a stunning turn of events for a politician who built his legacy on rooting out corruption.

The Democratic governor was scheduled to make an announcement Monday afternoon. Spitzer officials wouldn't immediately comment on the story. Spitzer, 48, is married and has three daughters.

Details about the prostitution connection were not immediately clear.

But last week, federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed conspiracy charges against four people, accusing them of running a prostitution ring that charged wealthy clients in Europe and the U.S. thousands of dollars for prostitutes.

The Web site of the Emperors Club VIP displays photographs of the prostitutes' bodies, with their faces hidden, along with hourly rates depending on whether the prostitutes were rated with various numbers of diamonds, with seven diamonds being the highest. The highest-ranked prostitutes cost $5,500 an hour, prosecutors said. - Boston Globe

NY, do you want this man as your governor?!