Somebody has some smarts in the U.K.: After an order to close a brothel, a nearby vicar has come to their rescue by pointing out that it has done nothing to curtail crime, but affects needy people's income. A brothel attracts drug dealers and violent crime? Where does the police get that idea? Oh, the community is heading downhill with drugs and violence...it must be the fault of that place where people have sex for money! Rather than arresting dealers and abusers, let's kick out the whores. Smart move, there, bobby. Plus, who knew a church would have somebody that understands logic working for them? Those darn Anglicans, making religious people lo! ok respectable once in a while.

Las Vegas police have provided a handy guide for your escort shopping pleasure: the 50 most-arrested prostitutes in their fair city - although they claim their actual target is reducing 'prostitution-related crimes', most of which seem to be trespassing and theft, and they're cracking down on the pimps, citing the violence and trouble they cause. Where are the "50 most-arrested pimp" photos? Apparently the pimps aren't as beautiful or shocking a gallery as the women. They want it both ways: publicly shame the hookers, but say that they're going to rehabilitate the prostitutes because it's the crime surrounding the hookers that's the problem they're trying to reign in. Stay classy, Las Vegas!

In a world...where everything....has its price... [dramatic music] Only those who sell all that have have to sell...can save...THE WORLD! Ok, it's a thin speculative article about the legalization of prostitution, but it has a snappy headline which evokes such imaginitive screenplays, I can hardly contain myself. Quentin Tarentino would be the awesomest director of a film called "Hookers to the Rescue!" It could single-handedly revive the lagging film industry, and, truly, hookers would be coming to the rescue.

I'm not talking about today's "greeks", college kids pretending to be part of secret societies so they can get drunk without Mom knowing. Ancient Greeks, already the coolest civilization for their super-liberal morals, opened their homes as bars and brothels. Greek literature was full of talk about pubs and brothels, but archaeologists were having difficulty finding evidence of the actual locations. Now, they're putting the pieces together: what they thought were solely residential buildings doubled as retail establishments - or vice versa. Today's standards of 'one purpose to a building' was less evident in a time when tools and materials were more limited.

Most businesses make you sign a sheet saying that they're your primary employer, and you won't work another job while punched in at that one. Strike one: a USDA statistician used her work computer to run an online business. Strike two: that USDA statistician ran an online prostitution ring from her work computer. What, counting Kansas cows wasn't exciting enough to keep her involved in her work? Sadly, as people operating these businesses have to obfuscate and proxy their work, I'm not sure what her website was.

Having sex in a school: eh, don't get caught. Having sex with a hooker in school: could get you arrested. Cop having sex with a hooker in school: um, wait, what? Using the security codes he learned while moonlighting as a security guard, the cop brought his amorous employee to a nice quiet, isolated area for their trysts: the school's nurse's office. He "had needs", said the prostitute; if one of those needs was "not getting caught", well, he did a poor job that that part. (via)

If you're making $80,000 a year in tips, better bet the IRS will notice: a stripper in Minneapolis found that out the hard way - sure beats the kind of tips a pizza delivery guy or hair dresser sees, eh? Due to the extreme size of the problem, there isn't a "oops, let me catch up on my taxes" issue; she's in the felony range now.

Prostitutes in Vancouver are planning on having the brothel ready in time for the Olympics - the only problem is that, while prostitution is legal, running a brothel is not. They've got a bit of an uphill climb in the process, so for the time being their operating as a "consulting" business, which at least keeps them legal for now. When the brothel does open, I'm going to keep track of the day: this one time, I stopped in at an Applebee's on the day they opened, and I got a free meal. That was so awesome.

You know, people will always get innovative with their white-collar crime when they see a window. Prostitutes in Australia have found a good gig: giving 'erotic massages' and billing them to insurance companies as therepeutic services. It seems like they'd have been fine - the insurance companies were OK with it to begin with - until providers starting filing claims for services that didn't happen, and advertising cut-rate prices which put most of the weight on the insurer. Kinda like those "I'll pay your deductible!" windshield repair places where the guy looks like he'd cut off his mom's thumb to get the insurance money, but for the penis and with hotter chicks. God bless capitalism!

A brothel in Germany, taking a cue from Golden Palace online casino, has encouraged gentlemen clients to get their logo tattooed on their arm as free admission for life. The article doesn't explain exactly what comes 'free' - it sounds like the brothels have a certain strip-club atmosphere, in which free admission means you only get to skip the cover charge. Not exactly worth a tattoo, but if you can get some 'value-added' services from the women within, well, if you go to the brothel enough to think free admission saves you a boatload of money, you're probably not hiding the fact very well, and a tattoo won't be much worse. Photo of the tattoo here.

Better than most escort website's FAQ, MSNBC brings you the whys and hows of hiring a high-priced call-girl. It's written from the point of view of an experienced 'john', which means it's free from all the "the women are abused, the laws are clear" crap that mars most prostitution commentary. It's honest and clear that there's no presumptions of girlfriendliness, but that just a little of that is more important than purely anonymous sex. The Q&A ia apparently a promo for Dirty Money: The Business of High-End Prostitution, which lays out its prejudices in its title ('dirty'?), but they've ! got Amanada Brooks, friend of Cult of Gracie Radio, which is a good sign.

Craig's List, the place where you once could find a home for your piano, a lawn-trimming job, and a tranny midget blowjob all at the same website, says they're going to crack down on the prostitution ads. It's not that they won't have "erotic services" ads - they'll just do better at thwarting the people who try to get around their already-in-place security measures. However, making a big show of it while being backed by police departments, state governments, and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children is more to placate those who might accuse Craigslist of being a participant in illegal activities. Don't worry: you can still get your tranny midget blowjobs; they just have to pro! vide a valid phone number and credit card.

Ah, modern Europe: A place where including a reference to daughters stripping isn't accompanied by right-wing accusations of attacks on our culture. But, wait - what about when mom finds out?

Brazil, one of those excellent countries who not only have legalized prostitution but have begun to support their sex-workers, has offered advice on its website on how hookers can be safe, profitable, and negotiate safer sex practices. Sorry, anti-prostitution groups say: the explicit content on the website borders on pornography, and promotes prostitution, so parts of the website will be toned down. How dare the Ministry of Work support a legal business! It's downright obscene! We need prostitutes to struggle and be subject to abuse and disease in order to feel like the moral superior: when escorts begin to make a prof! it and are safer from disease and violence, how am I supposed to look down at them? It's awfully hard when your moral viewpoint isn't supported by the truth around you. Don't worry, anti-prostitution Brazilians: there's plenty of prudes in the U.S. who are on your side. Too bad they're all idiots, too.

Steven Soderberg, the artsy and risk-taking director of sex, lies and videotape and Ocean's Eleven, has delved into a normally off-limits pool of actors for his new film, The Girlfriend Experience. Former AVN Performer of the Year and porn starlet Sasha Grey has been cast in the lead, showing that porn isn't the realm of nobodys and bad actors. While, like much of television, bad actors abound in porn due to the low weight of 'acting ability' in performers, there's nothing to say that a porn actor is guaranteed to be a bad actor. Nina Hartley, Traci Lords, and Ron ! Jeremy have had moderate success moving into mainstream films. Harley and Lords have had dramatic successes in supporting roles, but porn stars tend to get roles where "it's funny to have a pornstar in that role" or cast as parodies of themselves, and top billing is usually above the acting 'glass ceiling' for them. This is a remarkable event for a director of Soderberg's stature to recognize talent in a business that tattooes a scarlet letter on anybody who takes a little dick in the process of their art.

A sex researcher and former prostitute says prostitution is an addition to the lifestyle, which is probably 50% hyperbole and 50% making shit up, but that's OK I suppose. Like smoking, prostitution is a nice way to legislate people's behavior without actually fixing anything, because neither are considered dire problems. Call it what you will - moral depravity, slavery, addiction - nobody's trying to make anything better, least of all exaggerations like this.

Australian, clearly not understanding what 'escort service' means, has determined that genuine escort services must advertise that sexual services are not provided by their escorts, in order to separate themselves from the "full service" escort services that are sullying the name of escorts everywhere. The 'wink-wink-nudge-nudge' will only get louder, while that one, sad lone non-sexual escort will wonder why, no matter how large she prints 'NO SEX' in her ads, guys still expect a happy ending. On the other hand, there's a class-action consumer protection suit in here. Escort advertises 'no sex', but you get laid by one? That's false advertising, mate.

Singapore is hosting a Formula One Grand Prix, which of course brings big spenders into the area, much to the enjoyment of escorts, who are seeing a business boom. Businessmen are spending thousands for the company of young ladies who "don't look like an escort", but, hopefully, perform all the duties of one.

Now, I can understand supporting your favorite team, but I've never been a fan of wearing a jersey for a team you don't play on, especially with your fat gut trying to keep out from under a shirt with the name of an athletic, toned and strong guy across your shoulders. Fake player jerseys are still all over the place, as this website will attest. Readers send in random jerseys they meet during their days, attributing them to the player's name, and often without seeing the face of the actual wearer.

It's a given, apparently: if you're a hot woman and you're very close to your hot female twin, you've got a career in pornography and escorting. These two young entrepeneurs wisely used their assets to build a career few people can enter: the Sexy Twin Market.