Porn Panic 2012: Primer On Facts Rather Than Hype: Ernest Greene Redux (2009 "Scare") -- Part Deux

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Why AHF Might Want To Consider Putting Gail Dines On Their Payroll: The War On AIM And....JM Productions???

[Updated...scroll to bottom.]

There are some who still think that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is sincere in their motives about protecting performers through their condom mandate.

And then, there are the rest of us, who see them for what they are: a backdoor antiporn censorship group who hides behind a rainbow just to get paid.

More proof of the latter??

Gene Ross over at AdultFYI just posted a reprint of an email that AHF chief counsel Brian Chase sent to AHF President Michael Weinstein on April of 2010, in which Chase describes what he imagines to be the best media strategy to get the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) Foundation out of business. You will remember, of course, that AIM was ultimately driven out of business in 2011 due to the concerted efforts of AHF's nusiance lawsuits, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's investigations, and the newly found requirement of a permit for non-profit organizations.

But at the time of Chase's email to Weinstein, the effort was just starting, and ideas for a media campaign to smear AIM for its alleged lax attitudes towards the alleged HIV/STI pandemic affecting the industry were only being fleshed.

So, what in particular did Chase have in mind for ambushing AIM?? How about linking them to a particularly gruesome "misogynous" porn site, like, say, JM Productions??

Keep in mind, also, that right about this time, AHF was already attempting to wax AIM through the lawsuit filed by Diana Grandmaison (you may know her better as the mom portion of the mother-daughter team of "Desi and Elli Foxx"), claiming neglect by AIM for the public release of her personal medical records to one of Donny Long's (he of the original PornWikileaks fame) message boards.

Apparently, though, that wasn't enough for Chase, who.....ahh, hell; I'll just let the email speak for itself.

On April 16, 2010, Brian Chase the assistant general counsel for Aids Healthcare Foundation emailed Michael Weinstein. AHF was looking for various ways to discredit AIM and the porn industry. Chase [pictured left] wanted to use Diana Grandmaison aka Desi Foxx [center] as a puppet in their production. But Chase also wanted to go after Jeff Mike, the owner of JM productions.

Chase suggested that AHF begin targeting Mike because he was volatile and likely to same something dumb to the mainstream press.

"I don’t think it would confuse our press strategy to go after both AIM and porn companies," Chase writes Weinstein.

"I think it would have the opposite effect. If we make the suit it all about AIM, they can try to portray themselves as the little nonprofit clinic that’s just trying to keep the girls healthy. We know that’s a lie, but it is difficult to rebut in a sound byte.

"If we go after JM Productions at the same time we attack AIM, we link AIM to JM Productions. Suddenly they aren’t just an innocent clinic serving sex workers - they are scum who are enabling the horrible abuse of women - we can frame the issue and ramp up the ick factor exponentially.

"JM produces series like 'American Gokkun' where women swallow ejaculate from hundreds of men, and 'DP Virgins' where each actress has unprotected anal and vaginal double penetration," Chase continues.

"They also produce a series called 'gag factor' where women sometimes vomit because they can’t breathe while giving oral sex. They have a series featuring women being anally penetrated bareback while the man shoves the woman’s head in a toilet. Let AIM try to defend that.

"Check this out this quote from JM Productions’ website," Chase goes on to say.

"'Watch as faces turn blue from a lack of oxygen in this throat fucking masterpiece. Each whore is brutally throatfucked for your viewing pleasure. Every cock is forced down virgin throats balls deep, and ever cum shot must be swallowed.'"

"If we just sue AIM, then it’s all about privacy rights and medical records (yawn). If we go for both, we show that AIM is just another cog in the machine that brutally abuses these girls without any regard to their emotional or physical well-being.

"Plus the owner of JM Productions is a lunatic. He fought off an obscenity prosecution a few years back and he loves to shoot off his mouth. When the press goes for the industry’s side of the story, they will probably get some great soundbytes from this guy - which will cut into any efforts AIM makes to defend itself in the press.

"Sharon Mitchell will have some well-crafted soundbytes from the FSC, but the folks at JM Productions will just say whatever they want, which could be great for us."

Now, when reading this, keep in mind that this is the same Michael Weinstein who was selling bareback gay sex videos at his thrift stores, and who probably would have no problem at all making money off gay porn selling the same throat-gagging, "body punishing", "brutal" sex.

But what fascinates me the most is that for someone who claims to only want to protect the performers, AHF sure sounds like another well known antiporn feminist activist I've heard of; one who spouts pretty much the same BS in pretty much the same language.

Maybe at their next presser, for maximum boostage, Weinstein should have both Shelley Lubben and Gail Dines at his side to rail against the evil porn industry and how they are simply abusers and exploiters? It would be a hell of a lot more truthful than their paternalistic pandering to be all "concerned" about protecting women performers.

Not to mention, covering up for crossover HIV+ performers..but that's another story I'll leave for others to tell.


Update:  


Oh, but it just gets better...in a followup post at AdultFYI, Gene Ross reveals an earlier email sent by Brian Chase to Michael Weinstein, in which Chase attempts to recruit Diane Grandmasion (nee Desi Foxx) to the campaign against AIM.

Hey Michael,

Dee Grandmaison [Desi Foxx] is the former adult film actress who now works with the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking. She is the one who is willing to be a plaintiff against AIM.

We may also be able to help Dee sue her former employer directly. The California Private Attorney General law gives employees pretty broad power to sue for breached labor laws – and under some circumstances it allows a single employee to sue on behalf of other employees to recover huge fines (most of which end up being paid to the state).

Dee worked for JM Productions, which is a prolific studio that churns out very unsafe gonzo porn. The owner is a real scumbag and he is very outspoken. He would make a great villain. If we can go after JM we could highlight a very unsafe workplace, and possibly get some $$$ for the bankrupt state government.

Dee and her daughter worked with some of the talent agents we complained against yesterday. We might want to have them file complaints as well.

Can we fly Dee out here, or can I fly to Florida to visit her? I think we need to have a face-to-face meeting in the near future.

This is fascinating in so many ways.

First, how in the hell did Diane (get the name right, Mr. Chase!!) Grandmaison go from not only being a full-time in house escort (even going as far as recruiting her own daughter into hooking as well), to becoming a spokesperson for an anti-prostitution abolitionist group so quickly??

Secondly, the fact that she did some scenes with JM Productions means...what?? That they forced her to do those nasty scenes of bukkake and deep throating?? Other than the usual antiporn agitprop, exactly how would that be credible in a court of law..and what would AIM, who only tests performers for STD's, have anything to do with that?

But here's where it gets real good. This email was dated before it was discovered that Desi's medical records had been leaked to the public via the original PornWikileaks. Yet, AHF's counsel decided not to pursue any action against Donny Long or his gaggle of groups involved in the raid of AIM's database, but instead focused their laser beam stun guns exclusively on AIM, aiding Grandmaison's ultimate lawsuit against the latter for the release of her records. (Ultimately, the FBI would be called in to launch a more comprehensive investigation, the results of which remain unknown.)

Two conclusions are inevitable from this.  Either AIM is really that incompetent with their databases, or there was a mole working for AHF (or maybe Pink Cross) who was sneaking personal records to PWL for smearing purposes.

Could it be that Weinstein, Lubben, and PWL might have been working together in collusion to entrap AIM (and by extension, the industry), and Diane Grandmasion was simply the pawn in their scheme??

And of course, getting money for "our bankrupt state government".  Yeah...but not without our 20% cut. Nice to see Chase remembers the fundamentals: do good, and get paid.

Presente, Adult Industry Medical Foundation (AIM); Sexual Swiftboating Finally Claims Its Victim

Well..the other shoe finally dropped.

One of the most direct ironies was that it was Violet Blue (the sex blogger notorious for taking the name of a porn performer) who passed on the fatal news today.

Nevertheless, here's how she reported the story of the shutdown of the AIM clinics:

AIM (Adult Industry Medical) Healthcare Clinic Shuts Down

Porn performer  Juliette Stray just tweeted about the sudden closure today of AIM (Adult Industry Medical) Healthcare Clinic. According to  Raincoat Reviews, the Free Speech Coalition (a porn industry legal org) called an industry and member-only meeting last Friday to discuss Workplace Safety, Performer Testing. As you can see by Sarah Shevon’s tweet, only seven porn performers attended the meeting. Apparently at the fateful meeting, they quietly decided to abruptly close the clinic responsible for standardized STD/STI testing, health certificates and community testing enforcement in the mainstream adult industry. AIM was also used by non-porn people for its top-rate tests and fast results.

AIM has not issued a press release nor made any comment or hint on their website that they have closed. Disturbingly, their site AimCheck.net has been taken offline. This means anyone who had good tests can no longer access the test results or have them accessed – the online proof and verification of having clean tests is gone. AIM’s Get Tested link is also broken.

 Considering everything that has happened to them: the HIV scares of 2004, 2009, and 2010, the continuous assaults on their integrity by the likes of the LA local health care establishment, Michael Weinstein's AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the antics of the Pornwikileaks crew in hacking their database and revealing sensitive information, and antiporn activists such as Shelley Lubben and Gail Dines wanting to blow up the testing regime that had worked pretty well to contain sexually transmitted infections amongst the performing community, it's hardly surprising that they would be able to withstand such pressures for too long.

It doesn't make the news any less saddening or tragic, because it shows beyond doubt what a scare campaign built on nothing but fear and lies can do when not directly confronted.

Far worse, though, is the "I got mine, and fuck everyone else" mentality that seems to have infected members of the performer/producer industry when it comes to protecting their rights. Only six performers could be induced to attend a meeting on their very survival as an industry???

In any case, I'm sure that the champagne bottles are popping over at Mike Weinstein's place, since it's a given bet that they will be able to exploit the chaos of not having a standardized testing regime for STI's (though Talent Testing Services is well positioned to take over AIM's duties for the moment) to continue their push for mandating condoms in all porn scenes. I'm just as sure that the tube sites will be celebrating as well, because all this will do is increase the value of stolen bareback scenes ripped to tube sites and stored on PC's and servers, and force performers and producers into venues of less protection and greater risk.

But who the fuck cares, I guess?? Such are the wages of sin..or at least, that's how the usual naysayers and trolls will say it. Porn performers are a bit like children, "illegals", and poor Black men: stepping stones to be used for personal gain and money, but not quite good enough to speak for themselves.

Maybe it's high time they organized themselves and demanded to be treated as humans. And, maybe producers might want to take a very long look in the mirror and see what their foolishness and misplaced pride has gotten them, and get back to what got them their audience in the first place.


Update: The Free Speech Coalition just issued this press release at their website regarding the closure of AIM. I will simply repost it in its entirity:

FSC Responds to Closure of AIM

Last week Free Speech Coalition (FSC) was made aware that AIM Medical Associates (AIM) was in danger of closing its doors. In order to avoid a significant gap in health services for performers, FSC has drawn up preliminary strategies to fill the gap with possible options for performer testing protocols. The FSC Board of Directors will meet tomorrow for an emergency meeting to consider options.

“It is our understanding that AIM is now closed. Our hearts go out to AIM and its dedicated staff. We know that it has been a very difficult time for them,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said. “Rest assured that FSC is committed to making sure that the industry and its performers are well-protected.”
Last Friday, FSC conducted three separate meetings for producers, agents and performers to gather feedback and discuss options with industry stakeholders. The response from those meetings was successful in gathering suggestions from industry members on which options to pursue and for taking action.

AIM has suffered a two-year campaign waged by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and is currently a defendant in litigation associated with AHF involving patient medical privacy. AHF also has struck out at several companies and talent agents in their attempt to mandate condom use on adult sets.

FSC has been working with industrial safety regulation agency CalOSHA to develop industry-appropriate regulations for adult production sets. The next CalOSHA Committee meeting addressing regulations for the adult industry will take place in Los Angeles on June 7. The meeting is open to the public, and scheduled to be held at the CalTrans Building in downtown Los Angeles, at 100 Main Street (at the corner of 1^st and Main).

 

HIV Porn Scare 2010 (Back to the Series): AHF Goes Full Court Press On The Press; LA Daily News Rebukes Them, And A Potential Ministress Lubben Expose

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HIV Porn Scare 2010 -- The Series Continues: Darrah Ford Joins The Prosecution of AIM; Justin Long Goes Off For The Defense, Tears Derrick Burts A New Orfice...And Is Condom-Free Porn Free Speech?

cSome interesting developments today in the ongoing saga of Porn Scare Smackdown! 2010.

Darrah Ford, who has essentially taken over the mantle of porn critic formerly held by Luke Ford, has been one of the most consistent and strident critics of AIM's testing in particular and the porn industry in general...and she has been mostly the main defender online of not only Shelley Lubben but also of the efforts of Michael Weinstein and AHF to mandate condoms in porn. Today, at her personal blog, she went off on what she caled "blind defenders" of AIM, basically ripping them for not caring about the welfare of their talent; and she defended Derrick Burts/Cameron Reed as the victim of their indifference. She also went on to defend the actions of the LA County Public Health officials in shutting AIM's clinic down, citing everything from the alleged rape of a porn starlet by Max Hardcore to the 1999 outbreak involving Tony Montana to last year's HIV scare where a performer contracted HIV through outside activity, but due to allowing her test period to laspe, ended up doing an oral scene after she was infected.  (Fortunately, no one else was infected there, either.) Some key snippage of Darrah's rant follows:

[...] 
Many of you still insist that everyone wants to get tested at AIM. The truth is that AIM has held a monopoly throughout the industry for years when it comes to testing. Studios, directors, and producers have told performers how they have to get tested at AIM or they won’t be allowed to work. Many have wanted to test elsewhere but were told they couldn’t.
The female performer who tested positive last year was tested on June 4, 2009. Her last negative test was on April 29. The results of the June 4 test were received on June 6. She performed a scene on June 5 before the test results were back. She was working with a 37-day-old test.

When AIM was first contacted about the rumors last year, they denied everything and said there were no HIV infections. The only reason we knew anything is because it was first revealed on one of the forums. AIM was forced to make a statement on June 10, 2009 because of the forum posting.

When I had looked at AIM’s website on June 11, 2009, there was still no mention about the new HIV infection. It had been a whole week and AIM still hadn’t updated their own website yet alerting the industry.

Of course, the fact that AIM was bound by confidentiality laws from revealing personal records, that they were obligated by the positive test to alert not only the producers but also run their required tests to determine if anyone else was infected on set probably had something to do with their supposed lack of publicizing the crisis.

Also...while the one-month period between testing is admittedly too long and should be shortened to better protect the performers; it wasn't AIM's fault that the former "Patient Zero" of last year decided to  delay getting tested, or that that particular studio that hired her to do the fateful scene was so willing to cut corners and ignore the lapsed time of her last test. Their job was not to comfort her, but to protect others from getting infected; and from the looks of the results, they did their job then...just as they did this time with Derrick Burts.

Darrah goes on to reset some other past vendettas she had with AIM, based on some previous crises:

Tony Montana was diagnosed with HIV back in 1999. AIM never notified him. Rocco Siffredi had called him to say how sorry he was after hearing the news. Tony had no idea what he was talking about. Because of Sharon Mitchell and AIM, Tony could have kept on working and infected his costars without ever knowing. 

Former porn star Neesa left the industry four years ago and says the worst moment in her life was being raped by Max Hardcore. She says after the rape, she tested positive for Chlamydia/Gonorrhea in the throat. She claims she went to Sharon Mitchell and Sharon called her a liar and was extremely rude to her. She alleges that AIM only cares about money and believed Max over her because he was a large client of theirs.

Of course, Darrah's well known for throwing up charges like these to justify her beliefs. Now, if she would actually offer evidence to justify those claims other than merely hearsay or rumor...

And here's her justification for defending LA County Health's actions:

County public health officials did not become aware that AIM was operating without a license until this April. In May, they sent AIM officials a letter advising them that as a nonprofit, they could not operate under an affiliated physician’s license and needed to apply instead for a clinic license. AIM officials were notified on Tuesday that their license application had been denied. They had applied on June 7 but state officials said the application was incomplete.
Name me any other clinic that would still be allowed to stay open after these circumstances? AIM had to be shut down for your own safety.

Why support a clinic with this track record? Stop complaining about AIM being shut down. They were operating without a license for all these months. The county became aware of this in April. How long before April were they running without a license before county officials found out? AIM can no longer provide new services but we’re now hearing all the rumors that secret draw stations have been set up to test performers. Any clinic who is still running without a license is hiding something. They had to be shut down.

Now this is really funny that Darrah attempts to blame AIM for all this, especially given the known collusion between LA County, Cal-OSHA, and AHF in directly targeting AIM for sanction or even shutdown, the fact that while AIM had been an active clinic for nearly 15 years, the state Department of Health only this July conveniently discovered this requirement for a license; and that said department did NOT openly deny AIM the license, but just had them resubmit it based on a technicality regarding their title, with an 80-day period of correcting the record.  And as for the "secret draw stations":??  They aren't so secret, Darrah; you can locate them over at AIM's website.


Going back, though, to Derrick Burts, though...Darrah has promised to all that she's going to interview "Cameron" and allow him to give the full story...as soon as she gets approval from her sources.

Unfortunately for DBurts, though, it seems that his story isn't gaining any clout from anyone outside of the LA Times or AHF or Darrah Ford. And now, more actual porn performers are starting to call him out on what they perceive to be his BS story.

And here is where I get to say "Welcome back, Justin Long."

You may remember Justin Long from the shitstorm he raised when he publically announced last summer that he would no longer do interracial scenes because he felt that White female performers were lowballing  his rates and using him only as a stepping stone for higher fees rather than interracial lust.

Well, Mr. Long -- who is a 12 year veteran of the profession -- decided that he didn't quite le the way that DBurts was attempting to use his story to slam the industry...and in a comment to the most recent article on the debacle over at the LA Weekly blog, Justin took aim and fired some verbal Scuds Cameron's way. The whole comment -- in Long's usual freestyle form -- simply can't be synopticized effectively, so I will simply repost it here in its entirity, without annotation.

Justin Long says:


Derrick Burts,

Is simply seeking media to try to drive a cash machine. I feel for him for contracting HIV as I would for anyone, no matter by what means they got it, even if those means were of there own accord.

He would have had me shut up, if he had been yelling the industry was shit, condoms only and crap needed to be changed publicly as late as even the week before he was given a positive test.

However he wasn't !!!

He was sitting there shooting with + HIV gay performers, takin the reported 2k rates for gay scenes and then putting his girl and straight performers at risk with HIS RISKY BEHAVIOR. This is exactly WHY straight performers have issue with crossover performers !!! Plain and freakin simple !!!

I won't even go into the fact that he was a male prostitute and money buys bareback just as it does anything else. Bottom line is he was a twink and got caught up in the game he was playing.

So from his own admission after not being happy with AIM went to AHF and was seen by docotrs and DID NOT inform them he was patient zeta !! He was being treated & that was that. Only a week later & Voluntarily he called who ? the CEO of AFH and then wanted to stand in front of the news cameras !!! he didn't call the LA Times which would had took the interview no worries, instead he went for AHF because of the controversy ...

His motivation isn't condoms.. it's money !!!

Can you say BITCH MOVE !!! F U you homie !!! you been in this game 3 months, and you gonna try to effect change, and further put people at risk by being influential in trying to get shut down the only testing center where talent can verify other talents test as genuine ??? YOU HAVE HIV BECAUSE YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL HOMIE !!! YOU CHOSE TO WORK WITH PEOPLE YOU KNEW TO BE HIV POSITIVE !!! IT"S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT DUMBASSS !!!

No body has even talked about the fact that AHF regularly helps patients with financial compensation from what i am being told from a reliable source in my eyes ie; rent money, continuing education, bills, medical treatment and meds and food.

From what I understand they actually have food stores in there building.. So pay my rent, bills, give me food, and free medical and med (to the tune of thousands)and send me to school...

Shit where does my black ass sign up.. I might even give you some booty

if this is true then I can see why he allowed himself to be used as a pawn and paraded like a bitch in front of the media by AHF.. can we say pay off ..

According to him in his gay scenes he ONLY used condoms !!! So then where did he get the HIV?? It wasn't and he has never claimed it came from a straight set !!! He is monogamous with his girl !! & he dont trick right ???? Sorry there has NEVER been a Reported case of HIV transmission Through Female to Male or Male to Male oral sex !!!

So then why the need for condom???? Maybe he should had wore a condom with his boyfriend and/or john ?? My opinion but that's where it came from, or freak transmission through condom on his +HIV gay set. Sorry but it's probably the truth.

Christianxxx & I have had the discussion before, even with Viagra Cialas or levitra you still have to be turned on to get wood. So if you are not turned on by guys then all the supplements or meds in the world minus cabber jacking (shooting your penis up with a solution dont ask i couldn't tell ya damn needles)So if you aren't attracted to guys then you aint getting wood.

So much for the gay for pay theroy LMAO for real.. You have to be at minimum BI to get wood for a dudes ass .. sorry but that is a call from a straight guy with agreement from a very BI guy (not me)

So if you are attracted to guys then you probably as a porn star are having sex with guys on & off set..

Just cause he says he was faithful to his girl don't mean it to be the truth. I mean he hasn't been honest from the jump minus the fact that he is a BI male working in both industry and participating in risky behavior like sleeping with people that are HIV+ !! This is a no brainer !!

He has HIV = very sad and regrettable

He got it + from HIS OWN risky behavior
 
He's after = Anyone to pay he feels responsible (not taking responsibility for his own actions)

Wants = Money

This is my opinion and opinion are like Aholes, everyone has got one.

However mine is one of a 12+ year veteran in porn (straight) and a Hall of Fame inductee (July 2011)..

Me,

Justin Long
Adult Film Star

Posted On: Saturday, Dec. 11 2010 @ 12:11PM

Hold up....you mean that AHF -- an organization with millions and MILLIONS of dollars in gevernment aid as an NGO, would actually bribe an ex-porn performer who contracted HIV through escorting, and who openly boasted of being HIV+ and even threatened to deliberately infect another performer who dissed him, to deliberately infect innocent straight performers merely to entrap their sworn nemesis and have them shut down?? Merely so that they could collude with some government officios to take over the testing regime and shove condoms down the throats and up the other orfices of performers...or even force them out of California so that only the "progressive", "hot" safer sex studios would remain, and everyone else driven underground into a far less protected and far more dantgerous venue simply to survive?? And..so that condom makers like Lifestyles and Durex and Trojan would get a big fat payday off the backs of performers?? And Shelley Lubben would get a fresh supply of recruits for her ex-slut ministry?? And certain health "professionals" and bureaucrats would get their guniea pigs to "role model" their sex education" efforts??

Oh...and why do I detect that the next Cal-OSHA meetings will have Mike Weinstein adding DBurts to the lists of teary-eyed speakers (after all, relying on a fundie gay-basher like Ministress Shelley won;t quite make it with the hip liberal crowd...antiporn radical feminists excluded) bawling about how Teh EVIL AIM Porn Machine destroyed their lives by exposing them to all these incurable diseases??

After all...if "ROXY!!!!!" isn't enough to sell their bullcrap, then I guess that The Magician Turned Twink Escort Turned Bi Porn Pioneer Turned Victim Tale just might be the tipping point that seals the deal.


Finally, I discovered this pair of tweets from porn starlet Angela Aspen (@angelaaspenxxx) that sets up what could be an interesting argument should there by any lawsuits to impose condom usage:

RT:Am I the only performer that believes n rapid hiv testing on set and that condom free is FREEDOM OF SPEECH????

Consumers/Actors: do you really want to see porn go to condom- only??? Cause… thats… where is… is going 2011.Step Up:Freedom of Speech

Now, there are legitimate issues with having on-site testing on demand, but if someone like Angela Aspen -- who might not have the intellectual depth of a Nina Hartley or a Vicky Vette -- can get that their rights are being violated and it might be a good time for the industry to come together in their defense, then there still may be some hope for this industry after all. Given the circumstances and the privailing political winds, they will need plenty of it.