BSR

"Centuries of power structures, patriarchy" ... it's all so vague. What exactly prevented these women from saying NO & leaving? A housemate in college was raped. She didn't just "feel" she couldn't say no; the rapist held a knife to her throat. The sex slave I mentioned upthread didn't just "feel" she couldn't leave. Her violent pimp threatened to go back to the old neighborhood & kill her family. I keep asking time & again what exactly prevented Hefner's "girlfriends" from leaving. Coercion need not be as violent as a knife to the throat or a death threat. Yes, Hefner had far more money & power than these women. Yes, he legally protected himself with pricey lawyers. While those factors put Hefner at an advantage, they fall far short of kidnapping or imprisonment. Rape & sex slavery are serious charges. If these women are going to make those allegations, they should back it up with something more than a vague "feeling" or a copy & paste from a gender studies reading assignment.

Your "blind squirrel" metaphor falls apart when you consider the NY Times' decision to bury the story. The editors of the revered Gray Lady didn't just happen to overlook the story. They made a deliberate decision to bury it because it would hurt Biden in the upcoming election. Just as they made a deliberate decision to push the lie that Brian Sicknick was viciously murdered. Yet the ever so enlightened chattering class sneers at the NY Post while prostrating themselves before their Oracle of Truth, the NYT. It's not a matter of truth vs. falsehood or journalism vs. sensationalism. Liberals denigrate one paper while worshipping the other because one tells them what they want to hear while the other refuses to toe that line.

https://twitter.com/luriddigs/status/1487532003675164674?s=20&t=f3YhRXtBulwCZirOGnMb2w

But the NY Post was right about the Hunter Biden laptop story when the NY Times and other "respectable" news orgs were frantically trying to bury the story.

More gender studies propaganda ... since you refuse to answer what exactly prevented these women from saying "no" or "stop" and then leaving, I will answer it for you: nothing, absolutely nothing. Just because some wokety-woke gender studies professor tells you that you're a victim, that doesn't mean you are one. If a creepy geriatric is telling you to do something you don't want to do, say NO, get dressed, and leave. And just like that, you cease to be a victim. All the centuries of power structures and patriarchy vanish the moment you take responsibility for your life and your decisions. It's that simple.

Please, enough of the gender studies theory. I keep asking you what exactly prevented these women from saying "no" or "stop" and then leaving. Your refusal to respond to that question indicates that you don't like the answer.

It sounds like this escort and I agree on many political issues. That said, I don't pay an escort $hundreds/hour to talk politics. I can do that on my own for free.

How about Hire Calling?

He claims to speak English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and German. If escorting doesn't work out for him, perhaps he should try the U.N.

I saw on today's schedule that the quad men's singles final is on Rod Laver. Kudos to Tennis Australia for showcasing wheelchair tennis. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time a wheelchair final has been put on the big stadium at a Slam. Wheelchair tennis has become more popular over time. Whereas years ago it looked like only friends & family of the 2 players were in the stands, now the matches attract a decent crowd. I'm sure a far greater factor is that one of the finalists is Australian, the very charismatic Dylan Alcott. I'm curious to see how many fans will be in the stands for this match. PS: I just read that Alcott plans to retire after this Australian Open. Golden Slam winner and Australian of the Year playing the last match of his career, no wonder TA put the final on Laver.

As one standup comedian put it, "All my friends are married. I really envy them. I can't wait to get married ... so I can stop working out."

Whatever beef a player has with another player, he never airs it out in public. Or rather, almost never. It sounds like the doubles match between the Aussie Ks (Kokkanokis & Novak's new BFF Kyrgios) turned into a circus atmosphere, much to the chagrin of opponent Michael Venus. He holds nothing back in his assessment of Kyrgios ...

Another astonishing stat about the unreal dominance of the Big 3 ...

Honestly, I also found this comment to be rude, as well as unnecessarily nasty. I'm glad that @Andie40 felt comfortable sharing his experience because I found both his account and the discussion it sparked interesting. If this comment was meant as a joke, it bombed. PS: I'm going to take a piss now. Oh, maybe I didn't need to announce that.

I'm glad that Jelena Dokic has settled into her post-playing life as a commentator. It sounds like she's happy. I hope so given what she went through. Like too many players (because even one would be too many), Jelena suffered from an abusive tennis parent, father Damir in her case. Damir Dokic got into altercations that caused him to get banned from the grounds several times and even arrested twice. As if her father's erratic behavior weren't enough to deal with, she also alleges that he emotionally and physically abused her, once beating her so badly after a loss that she lost consciousness. Tennis Australia had some issues with Jelena, serious enough that there was bad blood for years. I don't know exactly what she did, nor am I excusing her of all wrongdoing. But when a kid suffers years of physical and emotional beatings, don't be shocked if that same kid later shows some ugly behavior. Jelena did apologize, and if she has a successful career as a commentator, then all must be well between Dokic and TA. I had only heard of Alizé Cornet but never saw any of her matches (don't follow the women nearly as much as the men). Nonetheless, I've become a fan over the course of this Australian Open. First she spoke out in support of my fave Novak. I've heard that a lot of players supported Novak but most didn't say anything to avoid controversy. Props to Cornet for sticking her neck out. Her friendship with Dokic, someone who struggled with serious trauma, makes me like Cornet even more.

Wow, very interesting stat about Rafa. Even without the 2 ATGs, Rafa still isn't the favorite here, imo. Even though Rafa leads 3-1 in the H2H, my pick is Medvedev.

Could we pull back from the gender studies theory and focus instead on the specifics of this case? What exactly prevented these women from saying "no" or "stop" and then leaving?

Because Genting, the parent company of Crystal Cruises, racked up $4.5+ million in unpaid fuel bills, a US court ordered one of their ships Crystal Symphony to be seized once it enters US waters. Instead of returning to Miami as scheduled, the fugitive vessel docked in the Bahamas, where passengers had to take a ferry to Ft. Lauderdale. Yikes, you often hear about a criminal fleeing to another country but never a cruise ship, until now. The saddest part of the article is the heartbroken crew, who face unemployment and uncertain futures. I'm actually surprised that more cruise lines and airlines haven't gone under. Almost 2 years since the first lockdowns, and the travel industry still hasn't returned to normal, far from it.

photo cut off, gotta click

Expecting women who have reached the age of majority to act like adults is neither patriarchy nor misogyny.

I've said several times already that Hefner was gross. I'm sure what his "girlfriends" went through was disgusting and even humiliating. But from the very beginning, these women were free to walk away. At any point in all the grossness, these women could have said "no" or "stop" and then left. I keep asking for evidence that Hefner coerced them in any way, but so far nothing.

OK, I concede Hefner was gross. But what prevented Izabella St. James from walking out of the Playboy Mansion, leaving that life behind, and never looking back?

Of course, if a provider wants to end the session for whatever reason, s/he has every right to do so, and the client must respect that choice. Likewise, Hefner's "girlfriends" could have said no or stop and then left, either left the room on one particular occasion or left the relationship/arrangement permanently. If Hefner did not take "no" for an answer, that's a very different issue. But unless you have proof otherwise, that's not what happened. The women are miserable now because they didn't say no or stop back then.