Hi, I'm David and I'm a Sex Addict

The David I'm talking about in this instance is the famed X Files Hollywood actor David Duchovny who apparently has entered a rehab clinic for sex addiction. The story goes that Duchovny has 'voluntarily' entered rehab (can people be compelled to do so?) in an effort to cure his addiction. He has asked that the public to respect his privacy and for his wife and children to be left alone as they struggle to deal with this situation as a family.

Duchovny is married to actress Tea Leoni and has two children. Call me a cynic but this sounds to me like just another actor who can't keep it in his pants. Is there really such a thing as 'sex addiction', is it like alcoholism, is there a twelve step programme of recovery, do recovering sex addicts meet to share each others experiences and for support, 'Hi, I'm David and I'm a sex addict'.

As far as I can ascertain at best the jury is out, some health professionals see it as an illness but most do not. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association is the handbook for mental health professionals, it lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them, sex addiction is not listed in the DSM-IV the most up-to-date volume.

I'm really intrigued by this 'sex addiction' label and wonder what sort of treatment Mr Duchovny would be receiving. Would he have to go 'cold turkey' or get withdrawal symptoms (if you'll excuse the pun)? Do you have to avoid going into certain places, so-called high risk situations where you might be tempted and fall off the wagon, (so to speak)? Do you get cravings like when you're deprived of alcohol; is there a patch you can wear or maybe some kind of gum you could chew? I'd bet the treatment is bloody expensive whatever it is, those sort of clinics usually are. My partner has promised that if I was ever unfortunate enough to be struck down by such a malady it wouldn't cost us a penny. She'd treat it herself by swiftly removing the offending parts – radical surgery she calls it! I do hope she keeps that one to herself.

Why is it that you never hear of any women being addicted to sex is it only something that men get? I wonder how do you determine what is too much sex anyway? David Duchovny is addicted to sex; I wish I could be so lucky, maybe being a Hollywood A-lister helps. I'd love to jump just about every woman I meet and for all I know some of them might even be interested in doing the same with me but I don't because I'm in a long term relationship. And doing something like that would jeopardise it, notwithstanding my partner's promise to give me a Jesse Jackson (remember he wanted to cut Obama's nuts off) and have me neutered!

Maybe it's something only celebrities get, the rich and famous, for example, I seem to remember reading that Bill 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman' Clinton, was also having treatment, 'religious counselling' for his sex addiction. There was a time when men who couldn't keep it in their trousers, the errant, unfaithful husband was not that big an issue; in fact it was a man's prerogative. Women just had to put up with it; it just goes to show how times have changed. Way back in 1963, the Mighty Sparrow, Calypso King of the World was proud to boast about his prowess in his calypso, the Village Ram;

"Is me the village ram...

Not a woman never complain yet with me

I eh boasting, but ah know I got due ability

And if a woman ever tell you that I

Ever left her dis-satisfy

She lie, she lie, she lie"

From Sparrow's perspective far from seeking treatment for an illness Duchovny should thank his lucky stars he's so blessed. In some countries having a mistress or mistresses is expected, since when has infidelity become a medical issue? I think it's a sign of the increasing medicalisation of life, the way in which human experience and behaviour is increasingly seen through a medical lens. Now there is a medical plaster for every behavioural sore and every deviance is a psychiatric or psychological illness.

Should Duchovny be subject to the attention of health professionals or divorce lawyers, I'll leave it up to you to decide. After all is said and done only David Duchovny knows whether he's is addicted to sex or not I'm certainly not in a position to say. For all I know it may very be true, on the other hand like Sparrow said of the woman in his calypso, it could be that,
“He lie, he lie, he lie.”

Guyanese Pilots

I've added this out of pure self-interest and also because I have had the experience of flying (in a de Havilland Twin Otter) into the interior with Captain Astil Paul, in the mid 90's, while exploring the Guyanese hinterland.

Guyana is a beautiful country, it's roughly the size of the UK and has a population of some 800,000. Sights like Kaiteur Falls is quite spectacular, and I visited mining villages, like Imbaimadai, which is a jump off point for gold prospectors and also Lethem on the Guyana/Brazil border. But the flights were an adventure in themselves, packed with people it was like an air bus, but not the Boeing type. And like a bus you could have a bumpy ride. I remember one flight which a bit choppy, a woman being sick next to me, unfortunately she didn't have an sickbag! We landed on some airstrips that could cure constipation. It was pretty exciting stuff I can tell you. But I never felt the least bit worried with Captain Paul at the controls. He was the consummate professional and a pilot of great experience and skill, who had flown jets internationally and took his job very seriously indeed. It might add he was also the pilot who flew the ill-fated group of American senator Leo Ryan who was killed in the events leading up to the Jonestown massacre. But that's another story!

Here's the story by Frank Roman on Guyanese pilots:

Added by Miles Williams to the group "GUYANESE PILOTS"

Hello Miles, here are some of the photos. In the early to mid 80's I was a trader to Brazil and flew on the HS 748 weekly, we nicked named her flop hat, not sure why. At that time GAC had daily service into Lethem and the daily arrival of flop hat was the high point of the day. The only way in and out. After a short time we could tell which aircraft was approaching sky van, 748, islander or DC 6 .by the sound of their engines.

The Lethem flights were always over booked; having a confirmed booking was not reason to think you had a seat in or out of Georgetown or Lethem. Many flights were late or canceled due to mechanical problems weather pilots sick plane gone to Trinidad or just because. As a result when we got to Lethem we never knew when we would be lucky to get on a flight back to Georgetown, shopping in Boa vista would take 2 days tops and it took at best a week of going to the airfield each day to make it out of Lethem. Our early warning signal for the arrival of flop hat was the sweet distinctive wine of her turbines at which time all 150-200 of us traders would make a mad dash to the airfield. Flop hat will forever have a place in my heart.

After moving to the New York one day I was driving along the Grand Central Parkway passing LaGuardia airport and I heard it that distinctive wine, all the memories of Lethem came flooding back and I almost ran the car of f the highway trying to see the approaching aircraft, as it came into view I was disappointed and confused it was not a HS 748 but a Fokker 28. I could not believe I was fooled but later learned that the F 28 uses the same engines as the HS 748.

One more foot note, Lethem's runway had a problem with cows over running it and as result many landings had to be aborted. Tony Austin and I do not recall who made a wheels up landing there after having to make a go around and they forgot to but the gear down on the second approach. Captain Astel Paul would get really pissed off when this happened, he was know for buzzing the cows off the runway. I happen to be on an early morning flight with Captain Paul into Lethem when he spotted cows on the runway, he did some flying that morning with a plane load of us, came in at tree top height up wind so the cows would not hear the aircraft approach and chased them off the field, this took about 4-5 passes of aerial acrobatics at a tree top level. I think I was the only one on board who was having the time of my life, I loved it but the lady in the isle seat next to me was not having as much fun, she had okra cook up that morning and became air sick vomited right in the isle I had the isle seat next her and with Capt Paul doing all those stunts the vomit was all over the floor, in the middle of all that I took off my seat belt folded my feet under me. Bibles came out from no where, people who for one reason or the other who were not speaking at the time were now holding hands. But he got the runway clear then on the final just before touch down the second before a voice rang out in the cabin "oh s*^%t did he remember to put down the f*&^%$g wheels?" then touch down thank God the wheels were down. That was the best flight ever !!!!! That picture was taken on one of my trips.

Frank Roman (Jeff Romans brother)

Ugly women need love too!

Now I wouldn't profess to know a great deal about women but I was rather intrigued by the appeal for aesthetically challenged women from the mayor of Mount Isa, a town in the Australian outback. If the objective is to get women to come to your town for forlorn men seeking love and relationships, maybe describing them as ugly is not a good starting point! I would have thought that simple courtesy, if not common sense would have meant him choosing his words more carefully. Didn't anyone think to mention this to him. I would really love to hear his chat up lines or be a fly on the wall to his conversations whilst on a date. It's literally not a good advertisement for Aussie (Outback) men. They do say that stereotypes have a kernel of truth which is then exaggerated to a ridiculous extent. In this case it would appear that no exaggeration is needed. As you can imagine the women of the town aren't too happy with that kind of publicity, I wonder if the mayor is married and what's his wife's take on all of this, we certainly have some idea about what she has to put up with. If this is the best the men of Mount Isa can muster then my advice would be to give up on enticing women to their town, they're hardly likely to be mounting anything in the foreseeable future. They should stick to the ungulates that have spawned a thousands jokes - Australia where men are men and sheep are nervous!

Ugly women wanted in Australia
Monday, August 18, 2008 | 5:23 PM

AP

The odds are good, but the goods are odd

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Life can get a little lonely for bachelors in the Australian Outback mining town of Mount Isa. So the mayor has offered up a solution: recruit ugly women.

Mayor John Molony found himself under attack Monday over comments he made to a local newspaper that read: "May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa."

The mayor added that many women who already live in the remote Queensland state town seem quite happy.
"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face," he continued. "Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness."

The quotes, published Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin, sparked outrage among the town's female population, led to furious online debates and drew criticism from the local chamber of commerce.

"There's a lot of anger circulating among the community at the moment - a lot of passionate anger," Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O'Callaghan said Monday. "There's a lot of women voicing their opinions."

Molony declined to elaborate on his comments Monday except to say they were "twisted and warped" by the newspaper.

"I've been shredded," he added, before hanging up the phone.

The situation may not be quite as dire as Molony noted. According to the 2006 census, males made up 52.6 percent of the town's population of nearly 20,000.

And several local women said there aren't a lot of gems to be found among Mount Isa's men, either.

"We've got a saying up here that the odds are good, but the goods are odd," 27-year-old Anna Warrick told The Brisbane Times.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Giant dog turd wreaks havoc at Swiss museum

It was Jawaharlal Nehru who said that, "the art of a people is a true mirror to their minds". I dread to think what he would have made of the American artist Paul McCarthy's 'Complex Shit', there is no accounting for what goes on in some people's heads but if art mirrors life, then maybe it's all one great big giant dog turd after all. But my tendency is towards a more optimistic reading, credit crunch notwithstanding - it's a wonderful life. Apologies for the do do story but I just couldn't resist it, thought something light would not go amiss (if you'll excuse the pun).


Inflatable artwork blown from moorings and brings down power line

• Jenny Percival and agencies
• guardian.co.uk,
• Tuesday August 12 2008 11:49 BST

The Paul Klee centre in Berne. Photograph: Jean-Pierre Clatot/AFP/Getty

A giant inflatable dog turd created by the American artist Paul McCarthy was blown from its moorings at a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a window before landing in the grounds of a children's home.

The exhibit, entitled Complex Shit, is the size of a house. It has a safety system that is supposed to deflate it in bad weather, but it did not work on this occasion.

Juri Steiner, the director of the Paul Klee centre, in Berne, told AFP that a sudden gust of wind carried it 200 metres before it fell to the ground, breaking a window of the children's home. The accident happened on July 31, but the details only emerged yesterday.

Steiner said McCarthy had not yet been contacted and the museum was not sure if the piece (pictured here) would be put back on display.

The installation is part of an exhibition called East of Eden: A Garden Show, which features sound sculptures in trees and a football ground without goalposts. The exhibition opened in May and is due to run until October.

The centre's website describes the show as containing "interweaving, diverse, not to say conflictive emphases and a broad spectrum of items to form a dynamic exchange of parallel and self-eclipsing spatial and temporal zones".

13 year old becomes 'youngest person ever' charged with possessing a gun

Although guns have been banned in the UK in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre it seems as though illegally held guns are a major problem and increasing numbers of young people do seem any difficulty in getting a hold of and using them.

The Dunblane Massacre took place on March 13th 1996 , when Thomas Hamilton, a 43 year old, former scout leader who had been ousted by The Scout Association five years previously, shot dead sixteen young children and their teacher, in Dunblane Primary School's gymnasium. He then committed suicide. Interestingly enough he used his licensed firearms. Following the incident, the government passed the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, effectively banning all handguns for private ownership.

By Charlotte Gill
Last updated at 7:39 AM on 13th August 2008

A boy of 13 has been charged with possessing a deadly pistol commonly used by violent gangs.

Police found the 9mm Baikal hidden under the stairs in his house with two silencers and a bag of up to 20 cartridge.

Senior officers believe he is one of the youngest people ever to be caught with a gun.

Gun crime: Police are questioning a 13-year-old schoolboy

Forensic tests are now being carried out to establish whether the weapon has been used in any shootings.

The 13-year-old was arrested at his home in New Cross, south-east London at 2.30pm by officers investigating criminal gangs.

He is currently in custody at Lewisham Police Station, where he has been charged with firearm offences.

A Baikal gun was used to kill James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, at Streatham Ice Arena in south-west London in February last year.

Philip Poru, 18, was also reportedly shot dead with a Baikal while sitting in his car with a friend in Plumstead, south-east London, last October.

The alarming arrest and the murder last week of innocent bystander Ryan Bravo, 18, who was fatally shot in the back at a convenience store in Walworth, south-east London, will fuel fears of a resurgence in gun violence.

One source said the discovery and arrest highlights the falling ages of those involved in gang violence.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer, head of the central task force at Scotland Yard, said: 'It is deeply concerning that we have a found a child of this age with a weapon that we believe is capable of firing.

'Whilst the number of shootings has been reducing, today's arrest just demonstrates that we are not complacent.

'We will continue to target anyone who is under the misapprehension that carrying a gun is a good idea.

'It isn't - it puts the carrier more at risk of death, injury or arrest.

'Having a gun, even if it isn't used in a shooting or crime, is being dealt with incredibly seriously by the Met Police.'

James Smartt-Ford who was murdered at Streatham Ice Rink on February 3, 2007, with a Baikal

Eighteen-year-old Philip Poru was reportedly shot dead with a Baikal in Plumstead, south-east London, last October

Converted Baikal weapons, often imported from Russia and Eastern Europe, are the weapon of choice for gangsters.

Hundreds of illegal guns are seized entering Britain every year and most of them come from Eastern Europe.

The guns, which can be purchased for about £2,500, are manufactured to fire tear gas pellets and converted in underground workshops to fire 9mm ammunition.

Established gangs, dominated by older youths and men, rely increasingly on children as young as 11 and 12 - often siblings of established gang members - as runners to carry drugs or guns.

In 2006, a girl of 14 was been charged with conspiring to supply machine guns to London crime gangs.

The teenager, from Colindale, north London, was accused of conspiring to supply two revolvers and two machine guns, possession of prohibited weapons and ammunition.

The arrest came as it emerged that a schoolboy was able to buy a stash of knives on the auction website eBay despite being under 18.

David Cooper purchased a doubled-ended lock knife used in the hit film Batman and five other knives during a 20 minute online session.

Since October 2007 it has been illegal for anyone under 18 to buy knives.

Richard Ambrose, Head of Trust & Safety for eBay in the UK, said: 'eBay members must adhere to strict rules and regulations when listing items for sale.

'Any knives that are prohibited under UK law may not be sold on ebay.co.uk.

'These rules clearly outline that it is an offence to sell knives to a person who is under the age of 18.

'All users registering to use eBay must confirm that they are at least 18 years old and parents are urged not to register children.

'We constantly review our policies and are exploring ways to strengthen safeguards in this area.'

Andy Ganteaume’s Autobiography gets rave reviews

For all you cricket aficionado's out there check out Andy Ganteaume's autobiography, 'My Story The Other Side of the Coin' available at cricshop.com

http://www.cricshop.com/

It has taken almost sixty years after his only Test appearance for the West Indies in 1948 for West Indies opening batsman Andy Ganteaume to reveal why he thinks, that after being among that select few who scored centuries in their maiden Test appearances, he was never again selected to play in another Test match.

Andy’s “MY STORY The Other Side Of The Coin” was recently launched at a famous West Indies Test venue, the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, to an audience of cricketers, cricket enthusiasts and the local press.

Over the years Andy has in jest claimed that he has “a better test average than the Don” (Sir Donald Bradman), pausing just long enough for the unthinkable idea to register before adding much to the relief of the surprised listeners, “ but it is also my aggregate score”. That sense of humour is reflected throughout his book.

In a prepublication review, Dr. Ian Mc Donald, poet and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, who has written extensively on West Indies Cricket noted that, “Along with much else, he refutes conclusively the misconception, not to say smear, that in that expert and assured debut Test innings he batted “too slowly”. This is absolutely required reading. But his account of this extraordinary cricketing episode is only a part of Andy Ganteaume’s wonderfully interesting, revealing and forthright autobiography, My Story.”

In the foreword, Sir Everton Weekes, the lone surviving member of the famous 3 Ws (Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott) said, “The atrocities that existed and prevailed way back when the West Indies was given Test match status must be properly recorded. The injustices experienced by some players mainly because of social and economic advantages must not be allowed to go unnoticed. Thank heavens the playing field now seems to be more level.”

But Andy did not dwell on the negatives. In his Introduction he wrote, “Nothing I have said is meant to malign anyone but facts are stubborn things. As a matter of fact, to avoid seeming to “paint the lilly”, I have not mentioned all I could have. Obviously, it must be left to the reader to accept or reject. I however have no fear of successful contradiction.”

In his long career as player, selector, administrator and coach, Andy’s life touched many persons some famous, some not known, many of whom became firm friends. In “My STORY” he paints interesting vignettes of many of them. The long list includes Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott, Clifford Roach, George Headley, Lord Learie Constantine and CLR James.

“MY STORY The Other Side Of The Coin” is published in Trinidad and Tobago by Medianet Ltd and is available on the world wide web from Amazon.com.

Professor Baldwin Mootoo of the University of the West Indies has noted, Andy “has told a unique story in this publication which we should all read if we are interested in West Indian cricket development and thus the evolution of Caribbean society.”

Murder By Nunbers

The British newspapers have been reporting the sad and tragic story of the killing of a young British couple in Antigua following what has been described as a bungled robbery. That newlyweds on a honeymoon should lose their lives in such wanton and totally unwarranted attack is ghastly in the extreme. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of Catherine and Benjamin Mullany. This is indeed a dreadful ending to a fairytale wedding and to think they were attacked on the last day of their holiday.

It’s hardly surprising that this has hit the headlines and the blogs. Antigua is an unlikely setting for this double homicide. Tourism is Antigua's main industry and about 33,000 Britons holiday there every year. It's a popular destination and a lot of tourists make return visits because they have had an enjoyable holiday. The livelihoods of many in Antigua depend on tourism and the authorities will no doubt try to reassure tourists that they it is safe to visit the country. They have taken steps to improve security at the resorts and have invited Scotland Yard to investigate the murders.

Some sections of the media have sought to portray the Caribbean as a dystopian hell hole, populated by a criminal underclass waiting to murder, defile and pick at the bones of unsuspecting European (Caucasian) travellers.

Although the killings took place in Antigua, the media focus has been very much on the region as a whole, the homicide rates of Jamaica and Trinidad were cited as evidence of the dangerousness of the Caribbean as a holiday destination. The Times even ran a story about another couple who had been held at gunpoint and the wife raped, the incident had taken place in St Lucia. She had kept silent but was now speaking out to warn others. We were also informed that the homicide rate in Antigua is three times that of New York. The statistic is derived by comparing the murder rate per head of population. In 2007, Antigua with a population of 82,000 there were 19 murders.

According to the Times, the murder rate is increasing across the Caribbean. There were 1,547 homicides in Jamaica in 2007 and the homicide rate in Trinidad and Tobago has quadrupled over the last 10 years, there were 388 homicides in 2007. It is somewhat of an anomaly as Trinidad & Tobago is relatively prosperous the mainly industries being oil and natural gas.

The violence in the Caribbean has tended to be drug and gang related in the main, it's a fairly universal theme. Crime and violence are global phenomena and regardless of country it’s normally the poor and the dispossessed who suffer. In Trinidad a 24 year old man and his 5 month old baby were shot and killed. In Jamaica the slaughter has thrown up many such stories of unspeakable evil. These stories tend not to feature in international headlines, and in both countries, Scotland Yard is rarely ever called and few murders are solved. As Stalin is said to have stated, ‘one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic’.

This is the first murder of a tourist in Antigua for 13 years, and despite the homicide rate tourists tend to be largely unaffected by the serious crime that plagues the local population. For the vast majority of holidaymakers their vacations will go peacefully and crime and particularly serious crime will only affect a minority, however as in the case of the Mullanys, life sometimes has a way of intruding even in a tropical idyll.

Our disgust at this despicable killing should not make us lose sight that in Antigua and the other islands the people who are mostly affected by crime are the locals: the vast majority of the murders on Antigua involve nationals, both as victims and perpetrators.