Meanwhile in...

[Gravdigr]

Punani.

[sexobon]

If you think COVID-19 is cramping your style, listen to these folks...

Pandemic devastating to Dominican transgender sex workers

Since the novel coronavirus first hit the shores of the Dominican Republic in March, Luna Veras, a transgender sex worker, has struggled to put bread on the table. Between fear of Covid-19 and a nightly curfew, her business has dropped by 80 percent.

"I live by sex work. In this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, we trans sex workers are in crisis. The economy has stopped," said Veras, who lives in a poor neighborhood in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Caribbean country, where prostitution is legal so long as it is voluntary.

The nightly curfew imposed by Dominican authorities as they struggle to slow the spread of the disease has dramatically impacted the sex workers' lives.

There have so far been 97,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,801 related deaths in this country of a bit less than 11 million inhabitants, according to government figures.

The 47-year-old Veras is HIV-positive and is "panicked" at the idea of contracting the coronavirus, given the drastic effect it could have on her health.

Still, she has continued working, making herself up each day just as she did before the pandemic, with one difference: she now wears a protective mask over her nose and mouth, which quickly gets stained by her fuchsia lipstick.

The curfew has brought dramatic change. Not only has work dropped off sharply, she now makes appointments only by phone, not in person.

So Veras is now a long way from the 10,000 pesos (about $170) she earned each month before the pandemic. To get by, she now cleans houses.

- 'Shame' keeps clients away -

Yohana Espinoza, another transgender prostitute, is also HIV-positive. It is impossible for her to find a regular, above-board job, for she was "not declared at birth" and has no birth certificate or legal identity papers.

She doesn't know how to read or write. In her tiny room, under a corrugated tin roof, two fans circulate the torrid air of a Dominican summer. And clients are few.

Twenty-year-old Henely Flores agrees that the nightly curfew -- in effect from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am in Santo Domingo -- has had a major impact.

"One day I got changed and went out to work. But I realized that clients were not stopping because it was still daylight and they were ashamed," she said. Things were so bad she had to ask a friend to take her in because she had no place to live.

With their income plummeting, many sex workers have become dependent on help from charities and international organizations.

"It's a difficult situation; some people are barely surviving," said Christian Kingsley, who heads TRANSSA, which provides assistance for transgender people. "We don't have the means, but we have tried to help them with food and protective equipment against Covid-19 -- one less thing they have to spend money on."

So far, he said, his group has helped 600 people to register for a government program called "Quedate en casa" (Stay home), which has provided monthly grants of 5,000 pesos to help people buy food since the beginning of the pandemic.

[Undertoad]

[xoxoxoBruce]

Do I have to buy three stick on dildos or can I reuse one over?

[Gravdigr]

C'mon, now...Who don't have a stick-on dildo or three hanging around?

[Carruthers]

Meanwhile in Aylesbury...

There are reports of an earthquake in Aylesbury this morning (Tues).

Lots of people have reported houses and desks shaking at around 9.45am.

We're hearing that this was a 3.6 magnitude quake 10km below the surface.

It was felt as far as Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes.

This is a breaking news story and we'll bring you more as we get it.

I have the good fortune to live some miles outside the town, although closer than LB and MK, and didn't notice anything untoward on the seismological front.

Link

[Griff]

... Denver
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020...9411599422339/

Denver to face temperature plunge from 99 to 32 in one day

[glatt]

My son is just south of there and his work crew was slated to go start building campsites in the back country this week. They are trying to figure out what they will be able to accomplish in the snow/sleet mix they will have this week. They are young, and dressed for it, so I think all it means is they will come back to base each night to sleep in the dorms instead of sleeping out in tents. Digging toilet pits in the sleet. LOL. Better him than me.

[Griff]

Builds character?

[Gravdigr]

No, it builds latrines.

[monster]

Meanwhile in hippie Ann Arbor ....we're ok with shrooms..... etc I can't wait for the impaired driving arrest reports...

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...ms-plants.html

[Gravdigr]

Baby steps...

[monster]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Baby steps...

yes, I believe that's what the driving may look like....

[sexobon]

Everyone should have a hobby; but, ...

The Archbishop of New Orleans orders a church altar to be burned after a pastor was caught in a 'demonic' sexual act

● A Louisiana pastor who filmed himself having a threesome on a church altar has been denounced by the New Orleans Archbishop, who called his actions "demonic."

Archbishop Gregory Aymond said on Friday that he has ordered the altar to be "removed and burned" and that the pastor, Travis Clark, will "never again" serve in Catholic ministry.

Aymond called Clark's actions "deplorable" and "demonic" in a video statement published by the Archdiocese on Friday.

"I am infuriated by his actions. When the details became clear, we had the altar removed and burned. I will consecrate a new altar tomorrow," Aymond said, according to Catholic News Agency (CNA).

Clark was arrested on September 30, along with the two dominatrices, in Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Pearl River.

The three were discovered by a passerby who saw that the church lights were on later than usual. The altar had been fitted with stage lighting and several cameras, according to local reports.

Along with the two women, Clark was charged with public obscenity — a felony in Louisiana that carries a sentence as high as three years in prison. He has been removed from the ministry.

"Lady Vi," one of the two dominatrices involved in the act, wrote in a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday that all parties involved in the act "were consenting adults."

"I understand that people may be upset by this situation, but that does not make this conduct illegal or criminal in any way. I would implore anyone seeking to pass judgment or direct their energy elsewhere," she wrote, adding that it is "regrettable" that she is being presented to the world as a criminal.

Clark was ordained in 2013 and became the pastor of the Sts. Peter and Paul church in 2019. ...

Maybe alter boys can sue the dominatrices for alienation of affection.

[tw]

Originally Posted by sexobon

Everyone should have a hobby; but, ...

Sound only like trespassing. I believe that would only be a civil suit.

If he burns the alter, is that called arson?