It tends to wash away whatever else happens to be on your mind, it makes the current goings on in Porn Valley seem about 3000 miles away. There are much more pressing and more important decisions facing you than how bad some industry health care place is fucking things up. Out here if you screw up you can die, quick. If you don’t have a contingency plan here that works, you just become another artificial reef. Tommorrow we fish.

I Got a Call Today, the Caller Left a Message:

Well you got what you wanted she said. She was refering to the fact that the county health folks and the Cal OSHA folks have decided that porn needs government regulation. I read all about it when I got here tonight and I kept thinking when did AIM stop giving info to L.A. County? It must have been very recently because its been common knowledge that AIM shares this info with L.A. County. But I guess it sounds good for them to say they are resisting.

This is not what I wanted, I don’t think it’s ever a good thing when government tinkers with private enterprise and Im no fan of government regulation of peoples private lives either.

But How long have I been saying that if we can’t control ourselves that government will do it for us, and now they are, and this is just the local government. The feds move a lot slower but rest assured that they are coming too.

No porn isn’t getting what I wanted but if AIM and Sharon Mitchell are the best that we can do we are probably getting what we deserve.

The Press Conference:

I got word that Darren James won’t even be preesent for this press conference, that would be pretty odd since AIM and AVN billed it as his press conference. But guess what? It won’t matter anyway. Whether Darren is there or not it doesn’t take a genius to know what this will be all about. They will tell you that they THINK that Darren got HIV in Brazil, they will tell you that Brazil uses the “inferior” ELISA test and thats why Darren got HIV down there. They will tell you that AIM had everythinhg under control and what a great job they are doing. They will tell you how they “contained this outbreak” and Sharon will wear out her arm patting herself on the back because lets face it…this isn’t really about anything except PR for Sharon and AIM. Hell Sharon will probably refer to herself as “doctor”.

What they will not tell you is anything of substance…..

If It Makes Y’all Feel Better…Blame Me:

May as well shoot the messenger….Besides even I despise a know it all….

I’m just an outside observer who discovered your web site while following up on stories related to the HIV outbreak in the porn industry.

According to AVN “30 days or more have passed since Skyler Banks, Persia, Jocelyn, or Annie Cruz worked with James.”

However, according to the AIM web site, Skylar Banks worked with Banks on 4/8 and Annie Cruz worked with James on 3/24, which suggests that 30 days have NOT passed since Skyler Banks and Annie Cruz worked with James (which makes their test results meaningless?).

Interestingly, according to the AIM web site, Persia and Jocelyn worked with James BEFORE James worked with Laura Roxx, whereas Skylar Banks and Annie Cruz worked with James AFTER James worked with Laura Roxx.

Of course, it is possible the information on the AIM web site is not accurate, but I thought I should point out this contradiction.

Thanks and you are right, thats what I get for taking AIM and AVNs word for it I guess. Good show man and thanks again for pointing that out.

Good News For a Change: (From hardcoregossip)

I have just gotten word that on May 1st, at the Spearmint Rhino in Arcadia, the Adult Industry Assistance Fund(www.adultfund.com), created by Jenna Jameson and CJI, are helping to sponsor a benefit, featuring THE RETURN OF BLONDAGE. For those of you not in the know, Blondage is the legendary team of Janine and Julia Ann from Wicked Pictures. The two have not performed together for quite some time, but will be showing off their stuff for the benefit. Dyanna Lauren, one of the owners of the club, will be donating the space for the night, as well as all proceeds and the door.

Also appearing will be Wicked contract Stars Stormy, Kaylani Lei, and Jessica Drake.

Details are not in yet as to whether or not Jenna will be on hand, but sources near her claim that she is trying to clear her schedule for the event. Also unconfirmed are Vivid megastars Briana Banks and Sunrise Adams, who may take part in the charity event. There are also more girls that are being considered for the event to be named as the date grows nearer.

I was told that since the club is topless, there will be liquor available there, which I like the sound of. This is shaping up to be a great event.

I confirmed with Michael Raven and Julia Ann and found out that the event is happening. My source wanted me to get the news out that companies inside of the industry were doing something for the talent, and that they were not considered “disposable” to everyone.

The AIAF was created by Jenna Jameson and her husband Jay of Club Jenna in response to the current moratorium on production due to the HIV outbreak in porn. This fund, regulated by talent, serves to benefit not only adult performers, but CREW as well that have been affected by the work stoppage.

Ya know this is the kind of thing I like to see my hats off to everyone involved including Jenna, Stormy, Jessica, Kaylani, Janine, Julia Ann and everyone else.

DEN said” “I will take your advice and not look to AVN for anything anymore.” Dirty bob says “I never gave that advise or suggested it. “

Some Random Thoughts:

As Dirty Bob pointed out, not to mention a few others…I have been a bit tough on AVN lately. I even stopped and re-examined my position. I asked myself “Do I have a grind with anyone at AVN?” …I like Paul I think he is one of the most decent, talented and honest people in this biz, I may not agree with Kernes but I like him, I like Mike Ramone, he has always been stand up with me. But the answer is yes, one person. That one person would have no doubt who he is. Is this grind reflected in my current dealings regarding AVN. The answer to that one is yes.

But I can’t help it.

I love this industry and even more I love the people in it. Everyone has been super cool to me for 12 years.

And for almost all of this time I have staunchly supported AVN. Matter of fact, to this day I believe that AVN is largely responsible for porn being where it is, and thats a good thing, until recently. I defended the AVN Awards and I still do. I think Paul Fishbein did an amazing job of bringing this industry together, keeping it together and helping it prosper. With AVNs help, porn went from being thought of as a bunch of junkies having sex for their next fix to being quite mainstream in it’s acceptance. There were lines that porners wouldn’t cross and as a herd that helped us all to prosper.

But in the past 6 months Paul has taken a backseat and is allowing a new editorial policy to take place. That policy flies in the face of everything that I wholeheartedly believe is good for this industry.

The inescapable truth is that this whole AIM fiasco is a part of the problem. I feel as do others that AVN should be taking a leadership role here and not just propping up AIM and backing up whatever Sharon Mitchell says, even when they know she is dead wrong.

Performers aren’t all idiots, they can see this and it angers them, because as long as they have been around AVN has taken the leadership role.

I do not think that AVN owes anything to the performers except loyalty and I think ultimately most people are going to say its all AVN and AIMs fault for not being the good leaders that they told everyone they were. AVN and AIM have become synonymous and therein lies AVNs biggest problem, they share the responsibility but they dont exercize any they just blindly support the mistakes that AIM is making, mistakes that are obvious to everyone.

So my irritation with AVN really isn’t with any one person, it is irritation with the lack of responsibility and lack of vision that I believe has befallen AVN recently and all of that goes back to one person, the HWMIC over there.

I know what you are going to hear in that press conference with Darren James on Thursday, believe me. And I know that it isn’t going to wash with most of you. I also know that AVN is going to prop it up and lose even more credibility with performers. How do I know this you ask? Its quite simple really…history….those who don’t learn anything from it are destined to repeat it.

Think about that for a day or so.

Skylar Banks, Annie Cruz, Persia and Jocelyn Clear at 30 Day Mark:

Both girls have tested negative as of today, the 30 day mark after shooting with Darren. I hope that continues to be the case with everyone.

Den from CAVR Writes In:

I’m Guilty!

Dirty Bob, I agree 100% with you. I’m guilty of ‘picking’ on AVN because I was under the impression that AVN was suppose to be the Industry Leader, the one that ‘we’ all turned to in trying times.

AVN has been lacking in this most stressful time.

I thought AVN would take a driver’s front seat role, but your analysis is correct. AVN just reports things and is not the leader of anything.

I will take your advice and not look to AVN for anything anymore.

I will get my information from:
Mike South.com
Adult DVD Talk
Adult FYI.

Dirty Bob, I also agree with you that Jenna Jameson is The Man! She has stepped up bigtime and is one of the good guys that has a big pair of BALLS! I join you in thanking Jenna big time.

I will not ‘pick’ on AVN anymore.

Den
www.cavr.com

DB Rings In:

Dirty Bob says ENOUGH!

I’ve been sitting back watching the industry search for a scapegoat in regards to the recent AIDS scare(s). Everyone is quick to blame, or at the very least suggest blame, on a variety of sources that range from individuals to organizations. All of a sudden everyone is an expert. And naturally, with so many “experts” tossing in their two cents worth, confusion doesn’t just reign; it is rampart.

For various reasons, AIM is getting a lot of heat. As is AVN. Both are being blamed in some manner.

Regarding AIM, I’m not going to agree or disagree as to whether they are screwing up. Their actions speak for themselves.

What I absolutely have to do is comment on the blame that AVN is receiving from many people.

Apparently people are forgetting that AVN is basically MEDIA. As in a MAGAZINE. As in a WEB SITE.

Blaming AVN for events which include (before and after the fact) someone catching AIDS, probably out of the country, is incredibly DUMB. Media REPORTS news; it does NOT make news. It reports news and occasionally makes commentary on events.

It is not MEDIA’s responsibility to do anything but report news as it is given to them (example: what AIM tells media or what is learned by media’s investigative reporting). Anything above and beyond that (like maintaining a list of performers at risk) is a public service. Look at Time and Newsweek. Both often cover the same stories, but usually they approach things from different angles.

Before AVN came around, the adult industry was discordant. Unconnected. Loose cannons. AVN provided unity in the form of a magazine, an awards ceremony, and more. AVN did more to legitimize the industry than anyone or anything. Above all, it is still a news source.

Some will argue that AVN has shaped the industry into what it is today by virtue of what they like to see and don’t like to see in adult products. To some small extent, that is true. Sure, one reviewer may rave in a review about a video which has such outrageous sex acts that they probably brought in The Flying Wallendas as consultants. If this causes any producers to continue in this direction to see who can make the biggest sexual train wreck in the proverbial Fellini tunnel, don’t fault AVN; fault the producers or at least refer to them by what that makes then: lemmings.

Consumers will always buy porn regardless of whether it is “normal” or “outrageous”. Think about it: the more “outrageous” tapes may be, the better the chance that some video stores may pass on it.

Apparently there are some out there who seem to hold personal grudges against some of the people in management at AVN. In fact, it is reported that AVN is being excluded from a “talent only” meeting scheduled for tonight. I’m certain that their (talent’s) intentions are pointing in what they appear to feel is the right direction, but without any media accurately covering something like that, you can bet that, by tomorrow morning, what was said will be washed through so many generations of ears that some things will be blown out of proportion while others may be forgotten.

Jenna Jameson has gotten good press recently by her offer to financially help out performers. That is great! I also hear that people are trying to shame AVN into spending megabucks to support the entire industry for the month(s) it may take to get things back to normal. This can also be read as saying something like “hey, since you are doing a crappy job, give us money to hang around and continue to put you down.” Geeze. That’s like asking a magazine like Car and Driver to pay money to auto workers who are laid off for a period of time. Same thing, basically.

I get calls all the time from people who gleefully revel in the fact that they posted news before AVN on their web sites. Or that, in their opinion, AVN was lax on something or missed some detail or story. AVN doesn’t boast in print when they beat you or anyone else to print. Hey, it isn’t like pre-Internet days when a magazine didn’t print things until they had plenty of time to research and, subsequently, go to press perhaps a month or more later. You can only do so much in the short-term.

AVN is being bashed by some for their support of AIM and for their coverage of information derived from AIM. Think about this: what site do people go to FIRST to get updates on the recent AIDS scare? Sorry, Mike, it isn’t always your site ’cause you spend too much damn time fishing these days! Usually, it is AVN’s site instead of the AIM site. If AIM didn’t exist, people would rely on AVN and their site for most of the information. It sure as hell wouldn’t be Luke Ford’s site.

One other point. I don’t understand why they refer to Darren James as being at the top of the AIDS food chain. It appears to me that he is actually somewhere in the middle. If, as most people apparently assume, he contracted it in Brazil, why haven’t I heard of anything about people he worked with in that country being tested? If he had it while in Brazil, and knowing that he had sex with many people there, doesn’t it stand to reason that there are as many, if not many more, people at risk down there? Or don’t we care about anyone but ourselves? Testing performers in Brazil would at least confirm the possibility or impossibility of the source of the virus. But that would cost money…

“Lets Pick on AVN Day” is over, folks. Let’s get things back to normal.

Somehow.

ALL TALENT TO BOYCOTT EROTICA LA?

A mob of very angry performers met last night, they don’t feel that they are being represented properly by AVN among other things. the following is a quote from Slain Waynes website:

“A billion dollar industry but where does all the money go?

Certainly not to the talent when in need of help! Wake up AVN we need your help, and until you jump on the band wagon and show up to our now monthly talent meetings to help make changes ALL TALENT AND THEN SOME IS GOING TO STAND TALL AND BOYCOTT EROTICA LA. “

I think AVN is underestimating the intelligence of the performers here. The indications that I am seeing are that performers are very unhappy with AIM and particularly AVN. Most feel AIM really is botching this and think that AVN should have stepped in and taken a stronger leadership role as oppossed to just marching lock step with AIM, who have been very slow to get information out to performers and much of the information they have gotten out has been wrong here are a couple of representative quotes from My mail bag:

“Why aren’t they concerned about who Laura Coxx/Roxx worked with prior to Darren James?”

“There is yet a third possibility that nobody is considering, maybe James and Roxx both got HIV from different people, it may be unlikely but you shouldn’t rule it out.”

“In the absence of true leadership people will believe almost anything that they hear from anyone who positions themselves as an authority. You know that all too well, given your critique of Connelley and AVN.”

” Why isn’t AVN taking a pro active role in this instead of just sitting back and watching it unfold, the pull the strings on Sharon Mitchell don’t they? Do they actually want her to fail?”

From Da Mailbag:

Chris Writes:

” Shit South, you are one shrewd mutha fucka, threatening to bust out Darren James real name was fucking genius and it worked. You should get some kind of a prize”

AVN and Sharon Mitchell keep saying that the chances that Darren James contracted the Virus from Laura Roxx are “extremely remote”…Hello the chances that he contracted the virus from any female are extremely remote but he claims that he did, at least at this point he does. Now heres the truth IF he got HIV from a girl it is equally likely that he got it from Laura Roxx as it is anyone else who is HIV positive, including a Brazilian hooker. Had AIM handled this responsibly they MIGHT be able to isolate where he got it…right now theres no way.

Darren James Comes Forward:

Did the threat of outing his real name here flush him out? I hope so.

Darren James has a Responsibility to Come Forward:

And help resolve this mess, if he does not , in the interest of finding him I will be releasing his real name tomorrow unless someone has a damn good reason I shouldn’t.

Allow Me To Clarify: I am NOT Accusing Laura Roxx of Anything:

Nor am I accusing Darren James of anything I am pointing out that it is equally likely that she infected him as it is that some other girl infected him and lets face it this really isn’t about whose a bad guy and who isn’t its about how we handle this outbreak, only a true idiot would just simply presume that she got it from Darren. These are peoples lives they are dealing with. But heres the real truth and you aint gonna hear it from AIM. They may as well presume that she got it from Darren because they can’t even put together an accurate list of people who were indirectly exposed through Darren. When you add Laura Roxx to the list you may as well just assume that anyone in porn could have been directly exposed, and that ladies and gentlemen is where all of this is going. Sure Darren is going to take the fall for it whether it was him or not but remember there’s no evidence anywhere at this point in time that points conclusively to Darren or to Laura, or to anyone else.

Today I got the Boat Ready to go Offshore:

I love the sound of the two big fourstrokes purring as the speedometer climbs up to about 40 knots. The warm sum on my bare back, the smell of the oil on the fishing reels. It makes porn Valley seem like a very far off place, which it is.

Mitchell and AIM decide a Week Later What We All Already Knew:

Mark Anthony is now being carried as someone who was directly exposed. See in that double anal he rubbed dicks with Darren, thats about as direct as you can get.

Mitchell Believes Darren was Infected in Brazil:

Thats what she said in AVN today. Despite the fact that it is JUST AS LIKELY that James was infected before he left for Brazil. But Sharon is willing to bet YOUR life on it. She is only testing as though James gave it to Roxxx. That could prove to be a fundamental mistake but with James and Roxx having performed together in Canada in January who would know?

Even Steve Bannan Ain’t Wrong All The Time:

He is right that Sharon Mitchell should resign. I’d bet Sharon is a fine phlebotomist and probably a fine HIV counselor, lord knows I wouldn’t want to have to tell someone they have HIV but the management of this outbreak of HIV is abysmal.

Could I do Better Than Sharon Mitchell?:

Fuck yes, a Rhesus monkey couldn’t do much worse….

Am I Qualified to Run AIM?:

Of course not and I wouldn’t want the job, but we need someone who can. And most everyone now sees that Mitchell is not that someone.

Well Janine has to be Hating This:

This whole HIV thing stole whatever thunder she might have had by doing that first boy/girl.

The Internet Folks Aren’t as Gullible:

The people on gofuckyourself.com, specially the adult internet elite see the alliance of AVN and AIM as the same as that or Sauron and Saruman In The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. Both are taking a LOT of heat. I guess computer geeks tend to be more mathematically inclined and tend not to take leaps of faith over good old common logic.

But They Aren’t the Only Ones:

Over the weekend I got an outpouring of support from the very upper levels of porn straight down to some folks I had never heard of. I do appreciate that y’all, anon or not It pleases me that I do not stand alone.

I Do Wish to Point Out Once Again:

That I do not proclaim to speak for anyone but me, I do not desire to lead a battle in a holy war of porners against each other, nor do I wish to see my friends in this business led blindly to slaughter by a holy belief in a golden calf called Sharon Mitchell. Personally I don’t really have anything against Sharon, she is just way beyond her level of competance. As always what I want YOU to do is to take responsibility for your own life because then you have nobody but yourself to blame or pat on the back.

Margold Was Right:

We destroyed ourselves, we didn’t need help. Cal OSHA and the City and County of Los Angeles are now prepared to enact legislation requiring the use of condoms on porn sets, its now inevitable. Sharon Mitchell says it will drive the business underground. Thats probably incorrect what it will do is drive production OUT of L.A. County if the state enacts similar legislation look for gonzo companies to rise from other areas. The big boys will remain LA Based but production wont happen there. Market driven economics you can’t legislate it out of existance.

How Long Have I Been Telling Y’all:

That if we don’t control ourselves then government will do it for us and we won’t like it. Watch as these words come to pass in 2004.

By Rodger Jacobs

If California is emblematic of Apocalypse Culture, then L.A.’s billion-dollar porn industry is the haunted house attraction in the carnival of damnation. The problem is most of the ghosts bouncing off the moss-covered walls do not yet realize that they are dead.

Thanks to the latest HIV scare affecting the porn biz, the haunted house is getting a lot of visitors these days in the form of mainstream media. Greeting the guests at the creaky front door is heavy-lidded, soft spoken Tim Connelly, publisher and editor of AVN, who warns the guests that there won’t be much to see today, sorry to say, because a 60 day moratorium has ground production to a halt.

Connelly directs the media guests to Dr. Sharon Mitchell of Adult Industry Medicine (AIM), once known throughout the industry as just “Mitch” but aptly referred to now as Dr. FrankenMitch, the former porn star’s face cosmetically rearranged like a Picasso painting, a living monument to the Chandleresque notion that L.A. is a place of rebirth and reinvention. I don’t know when Sharon Mitchell reinvented herself as a “Doctor” but I can assure you that she is no M.D.

“Mitchell spends much of her time counseling young men and women on the pitfalls of the industry,” wrote Beth Barrett in an excellent look at the porn HIV crisis for Los Angeles Daily News, “and (she) shows them safe sex videos warning that HIV is an occupational hazard.”

The opening paragraph of Barrett’s article (written with Daily News staffer Gregory J. Wilcox) asserts that the HIV outbreak in the blue movie capital of the world has “raised concerns about risky sex practices to an unprecedented level.”

One is left to ponder whether resident mad scientist Dr. Mitchell clued Barrett and other journalists in to what exactly these “risky sex practices” are.

From October of 2003 through April of 2004 I worked as a freelance video reviewer for Adult Video News, the porn industry’s unchallenged trade publication. What I witnessed in those seven months convinced me that grave diggers, morticians, and coffin salesmen plying their trade in L.A. are in for an economic boom in the years ahead if current trends persist.

And it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the Powers That Be at AVN are privately investing in companies that manufacture embalming fluid, culpable as they are in this whole nightmarish mess, willing and eager to profit from the plague to come. And it will come. Maybe not this time but soon and with a Biblical vengeance.

Consider, for instance, AVN’s Editor’s Choice Review in the February 2004 issue. The title of the video is “Gooey Buns 2″. Reviewer Simon Auch gushes:

“You like ass to mouth, there’s plenty of that, too. And every scene sports an anal creampie. Millena and Romanova’s hired cock literally rains cum into the blonde’s bunghole, and Brandi slurps the cum from her gal pal’s pucker … A cum-filled asshole is a rare treat, indeed, so savor it. Plus, if the guy blows too soon, the director has the performers keep fucking until another load can be spilled into the proper pink receptacle. And did we mention the trademark stacking, where dick can fluidly flow from one ass to another?”

Okay, so some of the readers may be confused by some of the colorful jargon in Auch’s rave review. A “creampie” is a porn niche that came along a couple of years ago. Simply put, the male performer, sans condom of course, ejaculates inside the female performer’s vagina at the conclusion of the sex act, and while the camera rolls the young lady tries to squeeze out the ejaculate as proof that the event occurred. But some enterprising young lad with a camcorder decided to go one better and offer anal creampies. Same concept except the internal cum shot happens in the girl’s rectum. But wait. That’s not good enough either. What if we put two girls in the scene and one girl literally eats the ejaculate out of the other girl’s vagina or rectum? Now that’s an AVN Editor’s Choice, that’s a title that gets the coveted stamp of approval from the industry’s most powerful voice.

Here are some of the standard non-condom “risky sex practices” that are happening every day in Porn Valley, all caught on tape, assembled and manufactured for AVN’s praise or (rare) condemnation:

A2A: Ass to Ass. Male performer slides his cock out of one girl’s rectum and into another girl’s rectum.

A2P: Ass to Pussy. Male performer slides his member out of girl’s vagina and into girl’s ass (or into another girl’s ass).

P2P: From one girl’s vagina into another’s.

A2M: Ass to Mouth. Self-explanatory.

It is as if these high-risk acts are deliberate taunts at the spectre of HIV, a sick contest to see who contracts the virus first. And AIM gives performers the false sense of security that an AIDS test every thirty days protects them from the ramifications of said deeds.

As Holmes said to Watson, “The game is afoot.”

Another Porner Writes:

Hi, I’m a shooter/performer in Porn valley.
What is amazing is the lack of updates and information.
I just talked to a performer that wants to work, stating that “I’m not on any list,I’m fine”

Where is the third generation and related performers lists?

The last we heard from Sharron was Thursday!
I personally shot a scene in late march, where one girl had just come from performing a double anal,(think she had some rips?) I shot a g/g scene where she “gaped” her asshole open and a girl from the first generation list spit in her ass. why is she not on a list?

I guess everyone is on a “List’ as Sharron has called a halt to all production, but being a performer herself she should know better.

No one is giving up to the hour?, day? 48 hour? info.

We all know the risks, just as when we get in our cars, but at least we get traffic reports and cars get re-called when they are found unsafe.

Basically we know for sure that We can’t count on A.I.M. They just can’t handle even the press in an emergency , and we sure as hell can’t trust a test that does not show results for weeks and months.
Someone explain to me what the test is good for? A positive test means something, but a negitive one ? what does that really mean? that the performer can still pass on HIV ? DAMN!
What we DO know is who is positive. A.I.M. should be listing EVERYONE that came in contact with them all the way down the line. And keep adding to the list. There are boyfriends and jon’s involved too, as girls escort on the side.

I understand if AIM can’t handle this alone, they are small and staffed with ex performers and (until recently) HIV infected workers, BUT
DR. (joke) Sharron is careless enough to state “We consider this a successful containment” and “buy I’m off to the beauty parlor , talk to you next Thursday”
Please don’t bother calling us–WOW Let’s all trust this bimbo with our very lives.

The reason you aren’t seeing up to date info from AIM or anyone else is because they cant track it, plain and simple, I can’t fault AIM for that 100% but I can fault them for no having even a bare bones disaster recovery plan. Thats a damn shame it wasnt a matter of if this would happen really but when.

That negative test in reality only means that everyone you worked with 30 days ago or more was probably not infected by you.

To Make a bad Situation Worse: from adultfyi.com

A friend of James who went to his home on Thursday found the actor’s wallet, mobile phone and car but no sign of him, said Jim South, an agent who has guided the careers of actors and models in the business for 31 years.

“No one’s seen him since Monday. We can’t find him. We are all very, very concerned about this,” he said.

Steve Lane Writes:

Morning Mike
This is one of those, “we disagree a bit” letters. While I think you are asking some great questions as to the current situation and AIM, let there be no doubt, the industry is much safer today than it was 10 years ago due to AIM. Many people volunteered their time to start up AIM and no one is getting rich from it. Has every thing gone perfect? No. Can there be improvement? Sure. But, think what the industry would be like should there be no AIM. They are most likely under-staffed and under-funded. I haven’t seen any other competing testing facility posting potential life saving links on their sites.

You asked about everything under control. How much more can AIM do? Talent are still working, even those on the list. Producers are still shooting, come hell or high water. Add to this, the agency that may one day take over the health concerns of the adult industry seem to be saying adequate steps are being taken.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/15/porn.moratorium.ap/index.html

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health and health officer for Los Angeles County, said the agency did not consider the HIV case a threat to public health “at this point.”
“I think in general, they’ve done an appropriate job in terms of the quarantine measures taken,” he said.

Medicine is not an exact science. Never has been. I’m not saying stop asking the questions. They should always be asked. But, during this time, cut AIM and Sharon a little slack. People are not being exposed today because of the work they are doing.

I Welcome people who disagree with me to respond.

Rio Shooter Writes:

Hey Mike,
Here is something that came to me today as I gear up for my trip to Brazil, and not a single word has been said about it… What about the girls in Brazil?

Lets just say that he DID catch HIV from Lara or even early on in his Brazil trip, and lets also say that he was shooting 1 scene a day, probably anal. In theory, there could be a lot of infected sex workers right now in Brazil because of this guy, who would be spreading it like wildfire to their clients, day in day out. This one man could of created a serious mini-epidemic in Rio.

If everyone is so sure he did catch it in Brazil, wouldn’t it be easy to just have the girls they shot tested to see who is positive? Contact their pimp or the brothel they work in (or the girl if she’s a freelancer) and urge them to get tested. That may not only slow the spread in Brazil, but it may pinpoint where it came from in the first place.

Lets also not forget that Americans will not stop shooting in Brazil. Rio specifically. How many of our guys are going to go down there, shoot some of the same girls, and bring it right back to where we are right now? Think of how many Brazilian lines are out these days, and the majority is shot in Rio, recycling many of the same girls.

Since the adult community never learns from it’s mistakes, there is a huge possibility that this is going to start happening over and over unless the girls in Brazil are tracked down, or at the very least tested in the first place, which is not happening.

Someone needs to get down to Brazil with a quickness or history will repeat itself. Soon.

Truth is we don’t even know how Darren James got it, Brazil is an easy place to blame because its far away but we really do not know.

Felicia Fox Comments on the Current Situation

I am disgusted by the industry’s reaction to the HIV situation. Who would’ve thought that Mary Carey, who has cancelled all of her scenes including the girl/girl ones, would wind up being smarter than so many people in the biz?

I’ve always been very proud to be a small part of the adult film industry. Anytime anyone has attacked the industry around me, or insulted me for being associated with it, I’m always there to defend us, to say how responsible we all are, how we all get tested every 30 days, how safe we are and how much we look after our own health and that of our co-workers. Blah Blah Blah.

Now here we are in a life-or-death situation, with people that we know and love and work with who could possibly be carrying a deadly disease without even knowing it, and yet people CONTINUE TO SHOOT. 2nd and 3rd generation performers, who know for a FACT that they may have been exposed, are still shooting.

WHY? Can you people not see the absolute ignorance of what you are doing???

Let’s go over what we know so far. Two performers have tested positive for HIV, a man and a woman.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THEY WERE INFECTED.

WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN THEY WERE INFECTED, OR WHICH OF THEIR PARTNERS SINCE MIGHT BE INFECTED.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG THE DISEASE MAY HAVE BEEN DORMANT IN THESE TWO, OR IF IT IS EVEN NOW LAYING DORMANT IN OTHER PERFORMERS.

If you are out there, and you are shooting, will you PLEASE STOP, and give Sharon a chance to do her work, and let the 2nd and 3rd generations get retested, and give everything a chance to settle down? For god’s sake, people — this isn’t brain surgery. Let’s all do everything we can to keep ourselves and our friends and loved ones in the business as safe and healthy as possible.

We all know this is a high-risk business that we’re in — let’s not make it any riskier.

Love
Felicia Fox

Well so Much for the Moratorium:

I have confirmation that 2 performers worked Yesterday who know themselves to be indirect exposures, that in and of itself doesn’t surprise me, what surprises me is that the company that they shot for was one of the first to declare a 60 day moratorium on shooting.

“Everything Is Under Control”, Hal 9000 “2001 A Space Odyssey”, 2004 Sharon Mitchell

I love how Sharon states on CNN that we have everything under control what part exactly is under control?

We have no idea who infected whom or when, we have no idea who has been directly and indirectly exposed, hell we dont even know how to calculate the right time frame to test. Great Just Great can anyone say Peter Principle?

Dynasty NOT Positive AVN Admits Mistake.

“Dynasty has not been diagnosed as HIV-positive, as a confusing paragraph in a story posted on AVN.com on Friday evening has lead some to believe. “

Dynasty also HIV Positive?:

As was reported here last night AVN has said that 2 girls have tested positive and indicatedDynasty was the second girl. Now New Age is also saying that dynasty has tested positive, this may just be carry over from an editorial mistake at AVN, lets hope so, but if Dynasty has tested positive AVN is being very slow about releasing this info.

Concerned Reader Writes:

Didn’t Laura Roxxx and Darren James work together in Canada in Ffebruary? Isn’t itpossible that Roxxx infected James?:

Yes and I have pointed out this possibility but it falls on deaf ears because it is far more important to AIM to avoid embarrassment than it is to get it right. Yes they did work together in February in Canad, thats why Laura went to them first when she got here to the US.

EH Writes:

I know its probably been a crazy time for all those in pornland. I’m a little more removed, as I am a law student preparing for exams. I follow the adult industry loosely as i am specializing in constitutional issues as well as criminal law. The HIV watch is scary for many reasons. Beyond peoples lives being lost, there is an industry at stake. The health department’s possible infringement would be a huge constitutional violation. On the real side though, they could try mandate some kind of governing body to administer the testing. One of the major issues in Government infringement cases is that the Government cites a lack of alternatives. It is always better for the institution the Government is trying to infringe upon to have a sort of “pre-emptive strike” and remedy the situation themselves. Courts have a hard time finding for Government infringement when a viable alternative can or has been imposed.
The industry’s lack of uniformity is a problem (can you get uniformity in this biz?). People better decide how they feel about Sharon Mitchell and AIM real quick, before Mr. Bush and the gang pick someone for them. I am neutral about Ms. Mitchell (After staying up for a week on red bull, adderall and ritalin to study for a law degree, I really cannot call her Dr. or PhD for some bullshit education she did in 3 months), but she is trying, which is more that I can say for a lot of others. Anyway, as a lover of free speech, law, porn, sex (not to mention beautiful 19 year old girls sticking dildos in each other anally), I hope the situation is remedied. I would be interested to hear how the power brokers in the industry are feeling.

A Second Female HIV Positive?: This from AVN.com

“Since word broke of James HIV-positive status, two women have been confirmed by AIM as HIV-positive. Dynasty, a veteran female performer, was added to the first-generation “A” list April 15 when it was discovered she performed in a scene with James on March 25, one day after he had performed with Lara Roxx, who has since tested positive for the virus. “

This seems to indicate that performer Dynasty has been confirmed as HIV positive but it is ambiguous. It does state that “two women” have been confirmed HIV positive. Till now we had only heard about Laura Roxxx

AIM Begins To Back Pedal, Apparently Someone is Reading What I am Saying: From AVN.com

“It is not known at this time if Roxx contracted HIV from James, but it has been assumed by most to be the case. “

Tom Asks:

Are you going to shut down production for 60 days as AIM and AVN are suggesting?

Honestly, no, I have no reason to. My talent does not come from the L.A. Talent pool, there is no reason at all for me to interrupt my business. I would not use performers from L.A. except possibly I would use girls for southernbukkake.com but thats it.

If I were L.A. based or shooting L.A. based talent, thats a tough call. It’s very unrealistic to expect people to have no income for 60 days and those people include company owners. Ask yourself this could you survive with no income for 60 days, most of us can’t. I would probably try to diversify a bit or something if I were there but I can’t honestly speculate because thats a hard question with no good answers.

I feel for the talent and for the company owners, the lighting guys, the caterers, the make up people…this is going to effect everyone in porn, the only reason it isn’t going to affect me very much is because I shifted to the internet long ago, my income primarily comes from my websites now.

This industry as we know it is now forever changed, it will be both bad and good, but that it has changed is absolute.

I followed up on a tip I got via email. This also appears at adultdvd talk

Sharon Mitchel got her doctorate degree in Human Sexuality from, the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality which certainly sounds legit.

I even looked at the list of California State Approved and Exempt Institutions (http://www.cpec.ca.gov/CollegeGuide/PrivateSystemInformation.asp), and found them there as recognized by the state of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.

Post secondary means after High School, Vocational means basically technical training with no degree. Just for the record a PhD is a POST GRADUATE degree.

The WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) is the organization that covers the typical 4 year colleges and universities that most people are familiar with, including UCLA, UC Riverside and all the UC campuses, all the CAL State campuses, Berkeley, Stanford, Loma Linda U, Cal Tech, Claremont College, Pomona College and so on. The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality is NOT on this list.

The admission requirements for the Institute for Advanced Study of Sexuality, for their Masters in Public Health ask for your education records, and for any relevant job experience.

Both the UCLA and Loma Linda U. Schools of Public Health, that are accredited programs by the WASC, require that all people admitted to their programs have a bachelors’ degree from a 4 year college and have taken the GRE exam. This stands for the Graduate Record Exam, and is used by nearly all graduate programs to determine if an applicant has the necessary academic background to begin graduate studies.

To people reading this, this may seem like so much gobbledy-gook, but for those who have been through the rigors of obtaining a graduate or medical education, these things are important, and are relevant when discussing a person’s qualifications, particularly when he or she is making decisions that affect the health of others.

In short Sharon loves to confuse people by calling herself Dr Mitch, which implies that she is a medical doctor, which she is NOT. post graduate doctors would refer to themselves as Sharon Mitchell, PhD to avoid this confusion. But truth is her PhD is rather meaningless as she did not have to possess any proficiency whatsoever to get into this “Masters Program” she didn’t even have to have a Bachelors degree, which to the best of my knowledge she does not possess.

Most people would call this sort of diploma…”Store Bought”. Maybe THIS explain why she lacks the ability to do simple math.

From Adultdvdtalk:

As a medical student, I find it highly insulting that she would chose to present herself as a doctor, or even as a Ph.D., especially given the fact that the “institution” that bestowed the Ph.D. upon her is *NOT* accredited by the US Dept. of Education or a Council for Higher Education Accreditation or US Dept. of Education approved accrediting body. You can view her Ph.D. info here or Google cache here and the institution’s page here.

Aside from the humorous fact that the first words mentioned on their website is “Note: We now accept Mastercard, Visa and Discover”, the requirements for this Ph.D. is are shady at best.

From their web page, the institute requires a whopping 5 trimesters of work, plus a thesis, to receive the degree. Unlike the name implies, a trimester is not four months, or one-third of a year. As their website states, a trimester is roughly *HALF A MONTH*. They define their Spring trimester as Feb 7 - Feb 22 and their Fall Trimester as Oct 3 - Oct. 20.

What this means is that for the whopping academic commitment of as little as 2.5 months, anyone can earn a Ph.D. They don’t even require an undergraduate degree as long as you can prove you have “experience” in the field! Their main interest seems to be collecting the exorbitant $4,950 per trimester fee, for which no federal or state student loans are available since it’s not an accredited educational institution.

This barely qualifies as a shade above a diploma mill and is an insult to all of us who put in the usual 4 years of undergrad work and 5-6+ years of extremely challenging graduate work and contribution to the academic community for our doctoral degree.

The fact that Sharon Mitchell knowingly purports herself to be a “doctor”, despite lacking a degree from an accredited college or university, is nothing short of unethical.

I also find it highly disturbing that the medical institution in charge of ensuring the industry’s safety is headed by an individual with a fraudulent degree.

“Very Scary”, Mary Carey:

I just had to use that slug line…Mary Carey, former candidate for governor of California says theis is all “Very Scary”

CM Asks:

Why is everyone upset with AIM over this?

Largely because AIM has made everyone feel comfortable that they were safe. When Sharon Mitchell, PhD makes statements like “back to back testing every 30 days is absolutely sufficient” (www.spectator.net) and “We have eradicated HIV” (www.avn.com), that brings people to believe that they are safe. When they find out that they were not safe, it’s much easier to point the finger and say “she lied” than it is to say I didn’t educate myself, I just let someone else tell me what to think because I am too dumb, too lazy or to apathetic to do it myself.

AIM set themselves up as a torch bearer and they did so pushing a test that they knew to be no better than the standard ELISA, as a matter of fact it was even pointed out that it may be inferior. They left people feeling like there was no risk.

I no more blame Sharon Mitchell for this outbreak than I blame Gays, God or IV drug users. I blame irresponsible behaviour on the part of a performer.

That said one does have to hold AIM and Sharon Mitchell, PhD accountable in an indirect manner because they set themselves up in that role. Sadly not one part of thier “system” has worked. They failed to catch Darren James HIV right after he returned from Brazil, when it was caught they failed to know what the correct quarantine proceedure was, and they are still failing at that. simple math eludes them when it comes to the exposure window and what time periods they have to test to insure proper containment. There is evidence today that they still don’t even have a correct list of people who were directly exposed to Darren James, a list they irresponsibly call “first generation performers”. Someone who would know has made the statement that he knows for a fact that theres a girl that Darren worked with who is NOT on that list. Think I am kidding go read www.pornblography.com.

If they can’t come up with the correct direct exposures then they damn sure cant come up with correct indirect exposures. There was no plan for what to do when something like this happened. Its the proverbial chinese fire drill…The three stooges open an HIV testing facility in pornoland.

The longer this goes on the more apparent it is that Sharon Mitchell PhD is WAY out of her league in being able to handle this situation.

Thats why everyone is pointing a finger at AIM more and more.

Porn Sites Crashing:

The national attention that this story is bringing is crashing sites left and right, AIMs site has been down for almost an entire day, AVN with all the popups, javascript for spying, cookies and all the other junk they send with their page has been slow as molasses, sometimes even not responding at all. The traffic crashed Windows based sites like adultfyi as well.

I have been experiencing HUGE additional traffic as well but this site is on a solid UNIX server and I would have to get exponentially more than I am even getting now to just slow it down.

A Porner Writes:

Hey South,

Thank You Thank You Thank You for having the guts to stand up and say what most of us in porn think about Rob Black, You are the only website in this industry that tells it like it is. I wish I could sign my name to this but I have to live and work with the idiots here.

An Open Letter To Rob Black Posted Here Because AVN Doesn’t Have the Balls to Run It:

Ok Rob,

You want our help as an industry? You want our respect?

Here’s a good place to start:

Make good on every single bad check you have ever written to performers, with 10% per year interest.

Make good on every single bad check you have wrtitten to production crews, with 10% per year interest

Make good on the 4000.00 dollar bad check you wrote to jim South that sits on his desk, with 10% per year interest

Make good on the bad checks you wrote to Lou Perraino and Ray Pistol, with 10% per year interest

Make good on the bad checks you wrote to your graphic artists, with 10% per year interest

Make good on on the bad checks you wrote to your printer, with 10% per year interest

If you want to be treated like a man, act like a man. AVN may hold you up as the poster boy for free speech but most of the rest of us just see you as the two bit con artist and petty thief that really are. I have gotten emails from people in this industry who think it will be a bad thing for all of us if you win, because what will you do then to try and bring us all down?

I bet this industry would be happy to pay your legal fees, provided that you left the industry forever, never to return, never to be heard from again. hell even I would chip in for that.

XXX Writes:

Hey Mike,
This is another confidential mail to you but as you know, I also shoot in Brazil (along with other scary places).

Darren James (and company) is a regular patron of the brothels in Rio, especially one called 4×4. I have also worked with a boat load of girls in Rio who say that the Americans never test them for HIV. True or not, that is the word on the streets of Rio de Janeiro from the girls who are shooting with American porn crews, and I know of a LOT of crews shooting down there non-condom.

Responsible? Hardly. I also know that cities like Salvador Brazil do not have HIV testing available, and trust me, I have exhausted myself in search of it) yet TT Boy shoots there non-condom and is allowed to waltz right back to L.A. and shoot, and everyone knows he’s been there shooting, same with the guys and companies in Rio. I also know the girls in the Philipines were not tested by certain male performers who have shot there.

I was able to get my hands on rapid tests (much like the orasure you posted) for cheap and take them everywhere I go now. They are cheap, fast and apparently I am the only one using them, as the girls are all surprised that I am testing them. They normally just take a higher fee for non-condom.

Unprotected sex with prostitutes in 3rd world countries is dangerous shit. To not test them is as irresponsible as you can get. For the industry to allow these same guys to continue working with no quarantine after such a trip is equally irresponsible. But AIM swears by their failing test, and the industry is brainwashed by them. I personally no longer test with them.

I know this guy and I know he speaks the truth. It’s sad but this has been a long time coming. The real surprise is what took it so long.

A Concerned Female Porn Consumer Wants To Know:

“First I’d like to applaud the great work you’ve been doing on this issue. Second, it’s been hinted at, not on your site but elsewhere, that James was partaking in some bi-coastal action while in Brazil. I think it’s important to mention that this behavior isn’t much different than what Rocco, Nacho, Mark Anthony and a bunch of other porners are doing these days. Tranny movies have become the hottest freak fetish on the market. That doesn’t even deal with what people do in their personal lives. It seems to me, as an outsider, that people got stupid and complacent. But I think it’s important to remember, regardless of what comes out in the coming weeks, is that this very easily could have been someone else in the business. Condoms will likely hurt the porn industry, as a consumer I don’t like being reminded of the reality of things, but it will recover. The 20 man cum slam may be dead but maybe couples working together on screen will be the norm. Hopefully if anything good comes from this crisis it will weed out irresponsible porn producers. Thanks I’d like to hear your thoughts on these issues.
Concerned female porn consumer”

I know that James has been accussed of everything from playing off camera with Trannies to IV Drugs to currently working in Czechoslovaki I try to avoid things I don’t have positive confirmation on at a time like this so I don’t know. I know a LOT about HIV, but am by no means an expert, I also know that while female to male transmission is possible via straight sex its very difficult. Thats the reason the whole Marc Wallace thing wasn’t MUCH worse and its the reason that its highly unlikely that any males will test positive through indirect or even direct contact.

The bigger problams come with the more risky behaviours that are popular in porn these days, Trannies, anal, double anal, creampies, anal creampies all make for far more efficient transmission methods.

Condoms are the best defense the industry has at this point no doubt about it but lets be serious here, do you really think that all condom sex is going to become the norm, it isn’t. It won’t because we live in a market driven economic system, if you are familiar with Adams “Invisible Hand Theory” of economics you understand what that means. If we shoot condom only porn then people shooting outside this country and outside porn valley will move in with non condom product and they will dominate the all important Raincoater market.

Realistically companies like Vivid and Digital Playground don’t need the raincoater market, they do not depend on video store sales and rentals for thier profits because they have distribution through national and international cable TV and Pay per view markets.

Companies like Red Light District and Zero Tolerance for example do not have this luxury, they live and die by the raincoater market as we call them.

It’s all fine and dandy for AVN or me or anyone else to sit back and say OK we have to shoot all condom, but the reality is the market has shown us more than once that all condom product in what AVN calls the “Gonzo” market fails miserably.

Couple that with the lack of ability to constrain itself that this industry has repeatedly exhibited and you damn well that Max for instance isn’t going to go all condom, it would put him out of business.

Maybe you think he should be ut of business but the market doesn’t and economics has taught us that ultimately the market does win.

Trying to solve this problem is a lot like trying to stop traffic deaths, we could absolutely stop traffic fatalities simply if nobody drove but we know that wont happen.

Just like getting into your car whenever you have sex in this business or out of it you are assuming a certain amount of risk, you also are putting a certain degree of trust in your partner, whether he/she is worthy of that trust or not.

You cannot prevent STDs in this business, ever, you can only minimize the risk and even at that you have to balance it with your bottom line because lets not forget this is a business.

From a purely philosophical standpoint this is just Darwin in action, what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger…We adapt and overcome and when we look back at all of this we will see that we made improvements to attempt to further minimize the risk while at the same time trying to adapt to the market on which our livihood depends. We will be faced with new challenges to overcome as well thats all part of the master plan so to speak.

The most regretable part of this to me is that we in this industry are notoriously reactive when we would be better off being proactive. Complacency will kill ya. It’s easy to look back and say that it could have been prevented, its much more difficult to look forward and say how might we prevent something like this from ever happening.

Currently there is no answer except that we will adapt and we will overcome and we will be presented with new obstacles.

TVShooter Writes:

Mike,

I feel bad for the porn chick that got scammed by “Steve Strong”. She needs to know that even though she may have signed a release, the fake check renders that release null and void. She now owns all rights to the tapes, all images from them and anyone using them is liable for damages.

She should email him a demand, and if she has an address, send a 10-day demand letter. After the 10 days have passed she is free to file a civil suit. This is theft of services, fraud, and a few other crimes.

If she knows of any websites, distributors or other entities that have utilized “Strong’s” video, she should send them notification that he is in default of payment and all images of her are copy written and owned by her. Any attempt to use said images will result in criminal and civil liabilities.

I know this may be a lot for her to deal with, but I know what it’s like to work your ass off and not get paid. At least she may be able to prevent them from making any money on it.

With the advent of laser printers and computer graphics, I would advise anyone receiving a cashiers check or money order for payment of anything, only accept such payment in person at the bank the check is written on.

I sincerely hope she resolves this soon.