Tony Millard sends in a Tuscan Weekly Webwaffle.
Much of life’s futile and circular debates revolve around out-dated totems and taboos, developed in times when laws were not universally enforceable. One of the Samizdata contributors has already written about incest – which by-the-by I don’t agree with for various non-totemistic reasons – and I have been most strident in the call to legalise and destigmatise all forms of narcotics. However, upon reading the Funny Old World section of the UK satirical magazine Private Eye, which concerns itself with bizarre-but-true news articles from around the world, I now have a new cause in mind.
The Private Eye story was an interview with an Australian brothel madam, complaining about the workload for her girls following the arrival of 6,000 sailors of various ships the US Pacific Fleet in the small Western city of Perth, and her suggestion to the US Navy that such large-craft visits should be phased to ease the strain on her employees. Knowing the Australian legal system reasonably well, the matter could also give rise to legal action against the US forces for inter alia unnecessary stress and suffering to the ladies in question.
To avoid such an embarrassing diplomatic debacle, I have a better suggestion. Why not make space on board ship for freelance piecework-remunerated female (and male) operatives, with full medical support, and ‘manage’ the problem away? Reduced time on shore for the sailors, increased efficiencies for the fleet, and no doubt reduced hormonally induced tensions on board on long tours of duty. And a minimal red light district problems for coastal towns as an added bonus. Now there’s a refreshing thought for the week.
Tony Millard
