Well been quiet but a couple of things have occurred that need to be brought up. I was planning to do a review of what we have covered as we are about to hit the 100k mark for page views on the blog but the activity must revolve around current interests.
So according to Rania Khan Tower Hamlets has finally taken a nil policy even though they never got a clear mandate for it and it revolves around a bit of a con that they put in the earlier consultation around boundaries. This blog warned that this would be the ploy and that using what seemed an innocent question worked to cause a lot of issues. but we now have a nil policy with exceptions. Now the claim is that the council will only judge existing venues on merits but I wonder how long before the council try to push their luck and close a venue. Now the minutes haven't come out yet so this may get edited.
Will say it is a nice little earner for the council as the fee for each venue is £9,070. A big chunk (£2625) is allocated to compliance visit costs. Which depending on venue and time of day works out as 100 dances a year roughly with a bit of beer and the occasional glass for a dancer. So for all those lovely ladies out there here are a few tips on what to watch for in compliance officers. And not sure what the compliance officer will do in the case of the Swan.
Shoes and watches, most dancers will know exactly what I mean by that. Poor council employees are usually struggling with a mortgage, kids etc so expect a wad of cash flashed but they don't look like it should be theirs.
Tired eyes.... over a year they will see 300 dances or so. Too much in too short a time gives an overload on the senses.
Flashing the cash too quickly. They will be wanting to entrap dancers but have a limited time so they will act like really big spenders.
There will be other more subtle signs like forgetting to put away their council id card.They will also be worried in case regular council employees come in as they could identify them. Depending on venue and its relative location to the council buildings. So please dancers do not give those guys an excuse to close venues. Force the council to show that they have another agenda.
So across London to Camden and Spearmint Rhino who have been told that the council are withdrawing their license. Rather than go back over the power couple and their collision course with the venue which we commented on here. Just to bring you up to date we now have a fifth member of the licensing committee who is Labour and you have to feel that with the couple pressing for a vote with them we will see constant issues. Now I am sure when SPMR get the official notification they will appeal as it is all about curtains that create a private booth which is what the council don't want along with CCTV in the toilets by the sounds of it which the council do want.
So off we go to court, I cannot see the SPMR flagship rolling over and playing dead. And they will continue to operate up until a judge says the council are right which is definitely not certain. And even if the judge does I can see the place adapting to the regs. The power coule will find excuses to try and shut the venue every time and even claiming that Tottenham Court road is a residential area.... I mean really the 100 club and all the shops and bars are so obviously residences. However the Fitzrovia area has some people that want to try and close the place down (probably over property value in their eyes) and no doubt they will be supporting the two councillors behind the closure attempts. I will say these two are the most socially media savvy Councillors I have come across so far with very little connecting them to anything suggesting they are applying personal morals and yet reading the statement made by Thomas as chair of the committee it does come across as moralistic in my humble opinion.
Anyway this will no doubt rumble on just like the Tower Hamlets fiasco. And not that this blog should be saying we told you so, but on Tower Hamlets we told you so.
TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)
Showing posts with label Rania Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rania Khan. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2014
Monday, August 6, 2012
Haters Keep Hating - Tower Hamlets
What did you think of the Olympic opening ceremony?
I was watching it with a friend in Browns in Shoreditch and what was going on at the Olympic Stadium held me transfixed. One of the dancers came up to me and said "I have never been so proud to be British" and she was right. I sensed then that maybe all of the effort and anticipation was not only going to pay off in terms of a great performance from our team, but maybe also start to infect the whole country with some kind of feel good momentum that could last throughout the summer and hopefully longer. I really thought then and still do now that the Olympics could inspire everyone the country to move forward in the same direction...
That said someone else had other ideas....
Rania Khan attended a marvellous ceremony before the opening night, where the Olympic Torch arrived at the Tower of London and quite rightly she blogged about it. You can read her post here. In it she made some good comments about Olympic inspiration and community cohesion and then she said this....
Why is it 'natural' that the elderly white and young Bangladeshi population don't mix? I don't understand why that is 'natural'. It's sad, but not natural. It makes me wonder if Rania remembers last October when people of all communities from Tower Hamlets marched at the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street. Nice shot below of Rania marching with Max Levitas (he took part in the original battle) who is clearly a member of the 'elderly white population' and everyone seems to be getting on fine. Maybe Rania would like to spend some time explaining her views on community cohesion in a little more depth. Maybe could ask Max Levitas for his views but I doubt it because lets face it she because she can't even be bothered to spell his name correctly. Also note the way in which the caption in the frame grab below can be taken in two ways....
Anyway, back to the ceremony at The Tower of London. Ranias attendance of this great event was marred by the fact that Peter Stringfellow had been invited. Why shouldn't he have been there? He is a businessman in the City and I am sure he enjoyed his time there very much, but Rania really went into one.....
Rania you are not a strong supporter of the reclassification of SEVs and lap dancing clubs, you just want them all closed down. Was it really 'horrible and sickening' to share space with Peter Stringfellow. Did the presence of a human being that you happen to disagree with really have such a marked affect on you? You wanted to jump in The Thames? Would it have been that hard to made an effort to engage with Mr Stringfellow and tell him your views about people trafficking and clubs and the crime that they cause. I would have thought it would been a golden opportunity for you...
Recently Rania attended another event, 'We Are The Waltham Forest Public', where a number of speakers, Rania included, spoke out against those that spend their sowing hate and division in society. I wonder if anyone spoke out about those that sow hate against strippers, but I doubt it somehow. Anyway, you can read her blog entry here or if you wish, just read the frame grab below and spot the interesting error....
I really don't think that Owen Jones passionately defended Islamophobia, but nonetheless I would be interested in what he said.
Finally Rania was interviewed here for an article in 'London Loves Business', where she made the usual claims about clubs and the apparent social problems that they cause, largely, according to Rania due to groups of men that hang around outside the venues. Isn't it amazing, I thought the main reason for going to a club was what was going on inside, so why do customers spend all of their time being outside...
Still Rania did make a new claim when she mentioned the '4000 letters of complaint' she received from constituents during the SEV consultation. Well this is interesting because the consultation took place almost nine months ago and Tower Hamlets council have never released the results. So Rania better get all of those letters ready for examination by the clubs lawyers if her campaign to close every club in Tower Hamlets ends up in court, which of course it will....
I like what Owen Jones said....
"We must fight together, stand together and win together"
.....and we will.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Tower Hamlets Councillor Cleared Of Threatening To Kill Rania Khan
Do you remember in May that I made a posting about Rania Khan and her Wikipedia page? In the article I provided a link to a story detailed an apparent death threat made to her by another councillor, Kosru Uddin. Well it seems the police got involved and found there was no case to answer. The Labour Party made this press release on the matter, which I found on the excellent 'Trial by Jeory' blogspot
Labour Tower Hamlets Councillor Kosru Uddin has been cleared by the police of all allegations regarding his conduct at a Council meeting in May.
Uddin, who was accused by independent cabinet member Rania Khan of threatening violence, was told that there was no case to answer and that police would not be pursuing the matter further.
Cllr Kosru Uddin said: “This week I was officially informed by the police that they believed that there was no case to answer and therefore would not be pressing charges.
“Whilst I do not want to comment on my accuser’s motives or actions I have been clear from the start that I was innocent and I am glad that the justice system has now put that beyond doubt.
“The last few months have been extremely hard for both me and my family. I would like to thank my Labour colleagues who have stuck by me throughout this hard time. Politics is often described as a cut-throat and malicious business but I am privileged to have my fellow Labour councillors not only as colleagues but as friends.
“The residents of Mile End East elected me to stand up for them in a time of great change and uncertainty. I take that role very seriously and I am very much looking forward to putting this unpleasant matter behind me and focusing on standing up for my constituents.”
Labour Group Leader Joshua Peck said: “The Labour Party takes any allegation against a Labour councillor extremely seriously. We expect the highest standards from our councillors and we cooperated fully with the police investigation. I am pleased that councillor Khan’s allegation has been thrown out as I always knew it would be and I am glad that this difficult period for Kosru and his family is over.
“This allegation was just the latest in a number of unfounded allegations made against Labour councillors by independent councillors. I would urge them to stick to trying to win the political argument rather than trying to destroy their opponents with these baseless claims.”
As you can imagine its the final two paragraphs that I find the most interesting. Rania Kahn making baseless claims......surely not? Oh maybe they mean like this in a 2006 Tower Hamlets Council Meeting....
"...There is almost-total unity across Tower Hamlets people of all ages, ethnicities and faith groups in
opposing the exploitation and degrading of women associated with sex and strip club...".
Or maybe this when she blogged about the lap dancing debate at the Bancroft Library
“.......There had been worries that advocates of lapdancing and the sex industry would try to break up the discussion - there had been threats on the internet....."
Could they mean this when Rania mentioned how every club owner had been invited to the above debate....
"......Though, surprisingly, none of the people running lapdancing clubs took the opportunity to speak up - despite being invited by us to participate......”
Maybe they mean this from her blog, where she quotes Lilith.
"......In Camden sexual offences have doubled since the introduction of sex encounters in the borough. Lap-dancing clubs are also heavily linked to people trafficking and crime....."
Or this.....
".....It is horribly neat that the bankers, the engineers of the economic downturn, who are also the biggest clients at these clubs....."
No, Rania Khan never makes baseless claims at all....
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Designer Feminist of the Year - Voting Analysis
Its been just over a week since we announced our competition and although we only have 14 votes, a pattern is clearly emerging.....
The Muffia have polled no votes at all. Now if only they had done that stripper event in Hackney, things might have been different and I must admit I had high hopes for them. Sadly it seems that all that running round London flashing their pube wigs was all for nothing....
Cllr Rania Kahn has also underperformed with only 1 vote and I must admit I am shocked, but bear in mind she hasn't said or done anything about persecuting strippers for a long while now. In fact in a recent blog posting she reveals that she believes that she should become a ninja....
Things become a little more interesting when we move onto the real heavyweights of the designer feminist world....
Anna Van Heeswijk is struggling with 3 votes and you may be shocked, but I think this is indicative of the fact that Object has been a bit rudderless for 6 months now. I think it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of feminism lies with a new kind of activist as embodied by.....
Rachel Reeves MP currently in second place with 4 votes and at one point she was neck and neck with Charlie Dacke, but I think that Rachel saw the voting spread and decided to act. We announced the competition prize on July 2nd, then on July 3rd apparently by coincidence Rachel announced her latest project, a petition to pressure Leeds Council to close every lap dancing club in Leeds or at least get them moved somewhere else. Its clear that Rachel saw the prize and it galvanised her into action. The problem is that so far her latest move hasn't paid off....
Charlie Dacke is a legend and is currently leading with 6 votes. By playing it cool and keeping quiet she is building up a lead that Rachel Reeves will find hard to overturn. Time will tell, but I have a feeling that Rachel Reeves will be making an effort to put Charlie Dacke under pressure, especially now as I gather that Charlie Dackes dad will be the one making a presentation to Portsmouth Council regarding the proposed Nil Policy in Portsmouth.
The Muffia have polled no votes at all. Now if only they had done that stripper event in Hackney, things might have been different and I must admit I had high hopes for them. Sadly it seems that all that running round London flashing their pube wigs was all for nothing....
Cllr Rania Kahn has also underperformed with only 1 vote and I must admit I am shocked, but bear in mind she hasn't said or done anything about persecuting strippers for a long while now. In fact in a recent blog posting she reveals that she believes that she should become a ninja....
Things become a little more interesting when we move onto the real heavyweights of the designer feminist world....
Anna Van Heeswijk is struggling with 3 votes and you may be shocked, but I think this is indicative of the fact that Object has been a bit rudderless for 6 months now. I think it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of feminism lies with a new kind of activist as embodied by.....
Rachel Reeves MP currently in second place with 4 votes and at one point she was neck and neck with Charlie Dacke, but I think that Rachel saw the voting spread and decided to act. We announced the competition prize on July 2nd, then on July 3rd apparently by coincidence Rachel announced her latest project, a petition to pressure Leeds Council to close every lap dancing club in Leeds or at least get them moved somewhere else. Its clear that Rachel saw the prize and it galvanised her into action. The problem is that so far her latest move hasn't paid off....
Charlie Dacke is a legend and is currently leading with 6 votes. By playing it cool and keeping quiet she is building up a lead that Rachel Reeves will find hard to overturn. Time will tell, but I have a feeling that Rachel Reeves will be making an effort to put Charlie Dacke under pressure, especially now as I gather that Charlie Dackes dad will be the one making a presentation to Portsmouth Council regarding the proposed Nil Policy in Portsmouth.
.jpg) |
| Rachel Reeves... "So proud to be recognised for my designer feminism".... |
Monday, June 25, 2012
Designer Feminist of the Year
I thought that if other blogs could have a proper competition, then so could I. I wondered what the theme could be and then I remembered the various people that we have encountered over the last 6 months who seem to spend their waking hours trying too close down strip clubs....
So it gives me great pleasure to announce the StrippingTheIllusion 'Designer Feminist of the Year Competition'. To makes things a bit more straightforward, I did the nominations although I will happily add new ones if anyone cares to make a suggestion. Nonetheless, these are the competitors......
Anna Van Heeswijk - The original designer feminist, now CEO of Object. You can all about them here and here.
Rania Khan - Tower Hamlets Councillor and general loather of the strip club scene. Read about her here.
Charlie Dacke - Someone who campaigns against clubs in Portsmouth such as Wiggle and Elegance as you can read about here and here.
Rachel Reeves - MP for Leeds who failed in her bid to get 7 clubs in Leeds closed. Read about her here....
The Muffia - Rad fem street theatre duo who you can read about here.
You will see the poll on the right hand margin of this blog and the competition will close on July 31st, at which point the winner will be announced. I can't imagine the winner will want to come to a prize giving, but it might be fun to invite them.
Postscript: The font is nearly invisible, but I have just spent 10 minutes trying to make it more legible and I have to say I failed. So I am afraid you are going to have to look closely and you can just about see whose button to push. Actually you can highlight it with your mouse....
So it gives me great pleasure to announce the StrippingTheIllusion 'Designer Feminist of the Year Competition'. To makes things a bit more straightforward, I did the nominations although I will happily add new ones if anyone cares to make a suggestion. Nonetheless, these are the competitors......
Anna Van Heeswijk - The original designer feminist, now CEO of Object. You can all about them here and here.
Rania Khan - Tower Hamlets Councillor and general loather of the strip club scene. Read about her here.
Charlie Dacke - Someone who campaigns against clubs in Portsmouth such as Wiggle and Elegance as you can read about here and here.
Rachel Reeves - MP for Leeds who failed in her bid to get 7 clubs in Leeds closed. Read about her here....
The Muffia - Rad fem street theatre duo who you can read about here.
You will see the poll on the right hand margin of this blog and the competition will close on July 31st, at which point the winner will be announced. I can't imagine the winner will want to come to a prize giving, but it might be fun to invite them.
Postscript: The font is nearly invisible, but I have just spent 10 minutes trying to make it more legible and I have to say I failed. So I am afraid you are going to have to look closely and you can just about see whose button to push. Actually you can highlight it with your mouse....
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Lets Close Every Club in Tower Hamlets Part 13 - Heeeeere's Starstreak!
Starstreak, soon to be deployed to a tower block near you........
Notice that Rania is wearing black, that means its serious..
Its been a while since I focussed seriously on the situation in Tower Hamlets, this is largely due to the fact that no one seems to be doing to much about closing every strip club in the borough at the moment. TonyN pointed out to me that there is a Cabinet meeting on 9th May and that maybe one or two agenda items could possibly look at mass club closure. I did some some work on Google and like Tony, found nothing else that might indicate a move to action. I checked Rania Khans blog and found to my surprise that she hasn't posted since April 1st.
Its gone very quiet and last night (Saturday) I was pondering the issue when the peace of Chasmal Towers was broken by the sound of low flying jet. Living under a flightpath makes you somewhat aware of jet noises and this was no ordinary jet, I am reasonably sure it was a Typhoon, practising airborne interceptions of mentalist terrorists for the Olympics...
The I realised that maybe, just maybe, Rania and Lutfur have other things on their mind at the moment and that could well be the deployment of an anti-aircraft missile battery in the Bow ward of Tower Hamlets.
What do you think?
Lets look at things in a little more detail.
The government are concerned that terrorists will try and do something airborne and kill potentially thousands of people. To ensure that the risk is mitigated, anti-aircraft missiles are gong to be place at strategic points around London so as to ensure that any threat can be effectively neutralised. Typhoon fighter jets will also be on standby as well.
Our Armed Forces are really good at their job and I have little doubt that anything that poses a threat will be intercepted, but the concern is about what happens to the terrorists aircraft after it has been hit. Well, its going to land somewhere and that somewhere may we well be in Newham, Tower Hamlets or maybe even Essex or Kent and if it does, its going to kill a load of people, but perhaps not as many as it might if it crashed on the Olympic Village.
Now as you can imagine, Rania Kahn is not best pleased about the prospect of missiles that travel at over a kilometre a second being located in the neighbourhood. In fact on May 4th, she spoke at the 'No Missiles in East London' public meeting where 50 people turned up, somewhat less than attended the 'Lapdancing - Choice or Exploitation' meeting last October, which in itself is interesting. Apparently they have agreed to plan a 'big demonstration' which hopefully will link up with other boroughs that are also concerned about being temporary neighbours with missile batteries. There is also going to be a 'big meeting', where MOD officials will be invited to speak and if I was the MOD I would make sure I got my invites, because sometimes they don't arrive and Rania and the gang claim you didn't show up out of fear or lack of interest.
Now Rania is in a real bind with this one.
If she doesn't protest against the missiles and Bow gets sprayed with red hot shrapnel, then that's her political career over...
If she does protest against the missiles and something happens and a maniac crashes a plane into the Olympic Stadium, the world will quite rightly ask where the anti-aircraft missiles were and it will be revealed that Rania Khan played a big role in getting them sent away. The world will not be happy about this and again, Ranias' career will be over.
The real issue is however as follows; Did no one imagine that precautions would be taken to protect the Olympics? Tower Hamlets Council seemed to be very enthused about the whole thing and now that they realise that no one is going to be allowed to spoil the party with a hijacked airliner, all they are doing is complaining.
This is why I think the whole striptease closure issue in Tower Hamlets is going to go to sleep until after the Para-Olympics. I take the view that Lutfur and his gang are hardly likely to open a second front with the MOD, while they are facing multiple court actions from annoyed strip club owners. Also, if they are silly enough to announce that they have destroyed the strip scene in the borough, but failed to prevent the appearance of Starstreak, then the electorate will not be best pleased...
I am astonished with Rania, I thought she would be very excited and pleased about the missile deployment, because after all she does 'luv' her weapons.
Postscript. I am surprised that Michael Collins of CAPE (Campaign Against Property Extirpation) isn't all over this. After all, he seemed so keen to safeguard his freehold property interest against strip clubs and yet he doesn't seem bothered at all about Starstreak. Which by the way has been tested against ground targets which found perhaps unsurprisingly 900gms of tungsten dart travelling at over mach 3 can really mess up whatever it hits...
PostPostscript. I imagine there is going to be a complete ban on anything in the air inside the M25, so lets hope the MOD are on on form and have on-site liaison with the people that run the air ambulance helicopter that is, as I recall based in Tower Hamlets...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Lets Close Every Club in Tower Hamlets Part 5 - Nearing the Abyss?
So where are we so far?
Tower Hamlets Council launched their public consultation into the future of lap dancing and strip clubs on 5th September and it closed on 17th October 2011. Since this time, no result has been made public although we did hear about the councils appointment of a 'forensic data analyst' to examine the returns and ensure thingswent the councils way were all fair and square.
On November 29th 2011, there was a meeting of the council where perhaps unsurprisingly the issue of lapdancing clubs was raised. A concerned member of the public asked the question and naturally it was answered by Rania Khan....
Its good to see how Rania manages to squeeze in the fact that she was deeply involved right from the very beginning and we also see that she confirms that there are no suitable locations for clubs in the borough. Interesting that she also says that the council plans to implement a 'nil policy both going forward and retroactively'.
What can she mean by that? Either she going to be the next Dr Who or she is talking about an ex post facto application of the law, which if I gather correctly is somewhat frowned upon in the United Kingdom. As I have always said, I am no lawyer so I do not quite understand what advantage there may be in retroactively applying the legislation in Tower Hamlets. Clearly someone, somewhere has been whispering in her ear and we can only sit back and watch how much it costs the council in legal fees.
Later in the same meeting, the Labour Group also staked their moral credibility with this item and it is once again really interesting....
Read the second item under 'This Council notes.....' again please....
'......That in the Independant Mayors (Lutfur Rahman) introduction to the consultation on Sex Establishments, he says that "legislation does not allow a ban on sex establishments on moral or equalities reasons".......'
So if I read this correctly, the council are reminded that to implement a 'Nil Policy' on the basis of equality issues is legally dubious and therefore unlikely to succeed. So if that's the case, why, under 'This Council believes' do we see the following....
Point One - '.......the campaign for this legislation was clearly driven by a gender equality campaign.......'
So what are the Labour Group saying? That Lutfur's desire to close the clubs is right, but his reason for doing so is wrong? Or are they saying he is completely wrong?
Point Two - '.......place a responsibility on us to promote equality between women and men. The operation of sex establishments is clearly gendered.......'
Well in Tower Hamlets it is. There are clubs that have women stripping and there is one club that has men stripping as well. Are they saying they want more clubs with male strippers or are they laying the ground for banning everything?
Point Three - '....that sex establishments are only a symptom of a structural gender inequality in our society....'
And its Tower Hamlets Councils responsibility to put it right? Are they legally empowered to do so?
Point Four - '.......any sex establishment in any area will have an impact on women.........'
What impact? Furthermore, if Tower Hamlets Council were genuinely worried about the impact of clubs on women, why did they permit a bus stop to be placed outside The Nags Head?
It gets better under 'This Council resolves', where apparently the entire Council resolved that every club is going to be closed as an expression of their commitment to gender equality. But that might not stand up in court. This could also be problematic if they allow The White Swan to continue their Wednesday night amateur gay strip session. Mind you, it could also be problematic if they stop the amateur night as well, because then they would be open to all sorts of accusations of homophobia.
The final resolution is the best, where the Council states its commitment to projects that support women exiting the sex industry (I hope they don't mean The Living Project) and furthermore their desire to tackle 'causes and symptoms of gender inequality such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and body image'.
With what do they plan to tackle these issues, I really hope they don't need any cash because Tower Hamlets are fast running out of it. Especially with what they must have been reserving against any court challenges from club owners...
I sense from the minutes of this meeting a massive amount of internal conflict and juvenile point scoring between Labour and Independent Councillors and as a result the Council seem unable to present a lucid and coherent argument in support of their (almost certainly doomed) attempt to close every club in Tower Hamlets.
Do you notice that Object seem to be taking a back seat here, which implies that Tower Hamlets is almost too crazy even for them to become too deeply involved.
There is apparently a meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee on 27th March 2012 and I cannot imagine what they are going to come out with, but I will let you know as soon as I find out.
Tower Hamlets Council launched their public consultation into the future of lap dancing and strip clubs on 5th September and it closed on 17th October 2011. Since this time, no result has been made public although we did hear about the councils appointment of a 'forensic data analyst' to examine the returns and ensure things
On November 29th 2011, there was a meeting of the council where perhaps unsurprisingly the issue of lapdancing clubs was raised. A concerned member of the public asked the question and naturally it was answered by Rania Khan....
Its good to see how Rania manages to squeeze in the fact that she was deeply involved right from the very beginning and we also see that she confirms that there are no suitable locations for clubs in the borough. Interesting that she also says that the council plans to implement a 'nil policy both going forward and retroactively'.
What can she mean by that? Either she going to be the next Dr Who or she is talking about an ex post facto application of the law, which if I gather correctly is somewhat frowned upon in the United Kingdom. As I have always said, I am no lawyer so I do not quite understand what advantage there may be in retroactively applying the legislation in Tower Hamlets. Clearly someone, somewhere has been whispering in her ear and we can only sit back and watch how much it costs the council in legal fees.
Later in the same meeting, the Labour Group also staked their moral credibility with this item and it is once again really interesting....
'......That in the Independant Mayors (Lutfur Rahman) introduction to the consultation on Sex Establishments, he says that "legislation does not allow a ban on sex establishments on moral or equalities reasons".......'
So if I read this correctly, the council are reminded that to implement a 'Nil Policy' on the basis of equality issues is legally dubious and therefore unlikely to succeed. So if that's the case, why, under 'This Council believes' do we see the following....
Point One - '.......the campaign for this legislation was clearly driven by a gender equality campaign.......'
So what are the Labour Group saying? That Lutfur's desire to close the clubs is right, but his reason for doing so is wrong? Or are they saying he is completely wrong?
Point Two - '.......place a responsibility on us to promote equality between women and men. The operation of sex establishments is clearly gendered.......'
Well in Tower Hamlets it is. There are clubs that have women stripping and there is one club that has men stripping as well. Are they saying they want more clubs with male strippers or are they laying the ground for banning everything?
Point Three - '....that sex establishments are only a symptom of a structural gender inequality in our society....'
And its Tower Hamlets Councils responsibility to put it right? Are they legally empowered to do so?
Point Four - '.......any sex establishment in any area will have an impact on women.........'
What impact? Furthermore, if Tower Hamlets Council were genuinely worried about the impact of clubs on women, why did they permit a bus stop to be placed outside The Nags Head?
It gets better under 'This Council resolves', where apparently the entire Council resolved that every club is going to be closed as an expression of their commitment to gender equality. But that might not stand up in court. This could also be problematic if they allow The White Swan to continue their Wednesday night amateur gay strip session. Mind you, it could also be problematic if they stop the amateur night as well, because then they would be open to all sorts of accusations of homophobia.
The final resolution is the best, where the Council states its commitment to projects that support women exiting the sex industry (I hope they don't mean The Living Project) and furthermore their desire to tackle 'causes and symptoms of gender inequality such as domestic violence, sexual abuse and body image'.
With what do they plan to tackle these issues, I really hope they don't need any cash because Tower Hamlets are fast running out of it. Especially with what they must have been reserving against any court challenges from club owners...
I sense from the minutes of this meeting a massive amount of internal conflict and juvenile point scoring between Labour and Independent Councillors and as a result the Council seem unable to present a lucid and coherent argument in support of their (almost certainly doomed) attempt to close every club in Tower Hamlets.
Do you notice that Object seem to be taking a back seat here, which implies that Tower Hamlets is almost too crazy even for them to become too deeply involved.
There is apparently a meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee on 27th March 2012 and I cannot imagine what they are going to come out with, but I will let you know as soon as I find out.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Rania Khan - Does Not Win Award For Work Against Lap Dancing Clubs
Poor Rania. She was privileged to have been nominated as a finalist in the Local Government Information Units Young Councillor of the Year Award. Her blog posting on the subject is a reprint of an a local press article that trumpets the fact that the nomination has been made on the back of her work to smear and vilify the boroughs lap dancing clubs.
On the big night, we were all waiting to see if she won. Rania was waiting as well, in fact she went along to the prize giving.
She didn't win, the award went to Cllr Tahfeen Sharif of Luton Borough Council.
Being nominated by Mayor Lutfur Rahman probably did her no favours at all, but another way of looking at is that no one is going to award a councillor for....
Campaigning for 5 years to get almost 600 local residents made redundant by closing long established and well run businesses,
Denying the council thousands of pounds of income in terms of lost business rates,
Trying to close a long established and well run gay venue,
Making the council commit probably hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees defending what will be a highly dubious decision when it is made.
So Pro Tip for Rania: Awards and recognition go to people that build communities, not to those that try destroy them.
Hey. I must be slipping, I almost forget the Daily Telegraph article about her....that probably didn't help her cause either. I wonder if she still 'luvs her weapons'.....?
On the big night, we were all waiting to see if she won. Rania was waiting as well, in fact she went along to the prize giving.
She didn't win, the award went to Cllr Tahfeen Sharif of Luton Borough Council.
Being nominated by Mayor Lutfur Rahman probably did her no favours at all, but another way of looking at is that no one is going to award a councillor for....
Campaigning for 5 years to get almost 600 local residents made redundant by closing long established and well run businesses,
Denying the council thousands of pounds of income in terms of lost business rates,
Trying to close a long established and well run gay venue,
Making the council commit probably hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees defending what will be a highly dubious decision when it is made.
So Pro Tip for Rania: Awards and recognition go to people that build communities, not to those that try destroy them.
Hey. I must be slipping, I almost forget the Daily Telegraph article about her....that probably didn't help her cause either. I wonder if she still 'luvs her weapons'.....?
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Lets Close Every Club in Tower Hamlets Part 3 - Bancroft Library Debate Retrospective
In October 2011, a public entitled 'Lapdancing - Choice or Exploitation' was held in the Bancroft Library in Tower Hamlets. Given that the Tower Hamlets prohibition campaign may be heading towards its climax, I though it would be worthwhile revisiting the event through though the experiences of three participants.
First we have Cllr Rania Kahn, who posted on her blog as follows...
October saw an important debate at the Bancroft Library with journalist and campaigner Bea Campbell; Kat Banyard, author of ‘Equality Illusion’; Anna Van Heeswik of national campaign OBJECT; Cllr Rachel Saunders; Eileen Short, founder of CAPE, and Jennifer Hayashi Danns, author of ‘Stripping the Illusion: The Bare Reality of Lap Dancing.’
Cllr Rania Khan said: “There had been worries that advocates of lapdancing and the sex industry would try to break up the discussion - there had been threats on the internet - but the debate was intense, peaceful, intelligent, and above all democratic. People opposed to lapdancing as sexist exploitation of women were able to air their critique alongside others who supported lapdancing on the grounds of freedom of expression. Though, surprisingly, none of the people running lapdancing clubs took the opportunity to speak up - despite being invited by us to participate.”
Rania, exactly how were these 'advocates of lapdancing' going to 'break up the discussion'. Did you really imagine that a gang lead by Peter Stringfellow were going break in venue and start smashing the place up? What threats had been made on the internet? Please show us the frame grabs, I mean surely you recorded the 'threats' and showed them to the police? I know would have....
But least the debate was 'peaceful, intelligent and above all democratic'. In terms of club owners being invited, I am aware that Secrets were invited along, but were too buys running their business to attend, but I have to say that no other club owner in the borough received an invitation.
Anyway lets see what one of the guest speakers thought, Edie La Mort, ex-stripper and activist delivered a speech to the assembled throng and she wrote down her impressions of the event....
Hi Everyone
I spoke at a 'debate' on Tuesday October 11th (2011), called ‘Lap-dancing - a Choice or Exploitation?
It was sparked by the current Nil Policy consultation in Tower Hamlets but billed as a general debate. The stated aim of the organisers is to close down every SEV in the UK and for stripping to be banned completely as it is in Iceland. (These were the words of Kat Banyard and Object) After being told it was an invitation only, women only, private event; it turned into a very public, very mixed and absolutely not private event. People taking photos and filming - something I hope does not come back to haunt me.
Here's a run down of the speakers and what was said:
Beatrix Campbell - feminist and communist (is what it said on the program)
She set the tone for the evening with high drama and sensationalism. She ad libed her speech. I will paraphrase her so you can get the general idea but do be sure to read this to yourself with a lot of drama, pity, mournful emotion and dramatic pauses.
"Can you imagine what it's like?! Our young women..... surrounded by men....... having to take off........ALL their clothes......... (big dramatic pause as see looks around at the audience, hoping her words are having the desired effect). "Being the only person in the room...... NAKED..... whilst the others remain clothed!!!"
Please note that because about 70% of the women in the were in burkas or niqabs, this did have the desired effect.
She then went on to tackle the subject that dancing is empowering, again with full drama and mournful emotion.
"People say........Lap-dancing......is empowering! Can you believe that?!?! So I could be empowered by it?!?! ....... Me?!...... with my old and skinny body?!?! ...... Are they really saying ..... I could be empowered?!?!"
I thought 'no love you wouldn't get any shifts but you could do Burlesque successfully if you had an ounce of imagination.'
Obviously not.
Kat Banyard and Object - this lot are the hardcore prohibitionists and I find their venom towards another group of women quite disturbing.
Kat Banyard ran the 'you can buy a woman like you can buy a cappuccino' line which I was prepared for in my speech with - 'You do not buy me, you pay for my performance. I am a performer.'
They obsessed about women even though there are male strip pubs and said the areas around strip venues were no-go areas for women. She talked about 'choice' but isn't that what they want to take away from us?
The get themselves all worked up. They are like the shouty, accusing children of Salem. Destroying the lives of adults with accusations. I want to send them all a copy of The Crucible by Arthur Miller!
It will be really hard to get them to listen. They have built their entire career on stripper bashing so there's too much at stake. They have businesses, websites, book deals and funding all dedicated to pushing the idea that stripping is wrong. They make a parasitic living out of us. They cannot afford to be wrong or budge an inch in their hardline stance because it will invalidate their career and earning potential.
Mahera Ruby
I think she was just someone from 'the community' who spoke a lot about being a mother and protecting the children. All quite irrelevant seeing as it's the Adult industry that they were supposed to be discussing.
Me - Stripper
I was conscious when writing my speech to check all my facts, not use inflammatory language and back myself up with studies and statistics. However no one else did this. They were quite happy with vitriol, willful misinformation and blatant lies. I asked them to introduce me as a stripper because technically lap-dancing is not allowed. Lap-dancing involves contact and all SEVs are supposed to have a no touching policy.
I realised later that I should have kept my speech quite simple as I was talking to an audience of mainly simpletons. Unfortunately there was only me with five minutes to put the other side of the argument in a three hour witch trial, .... er ....... I mean 'debate'. It was a general overview but I now realise it's just important to repeat key messages again and again to them. Such as:
'I chose to dance' 'No one forced me'. 'I enjoy my job.' 'I am well looked after'. 'I am a performer not a prostitute.' 'It does not lead to an increase in rape'.
Finer points such as freedom in general, if my freedom is taken from me you will be next etc... The concept of living in a liberal democracy, artistic freedom, freedom of expression etc were just not being received. I also asked, what about Bethnal Green Working Man's Club with it's Burlesque nights? It is stripping after all. Will this also be closed down? How about BJs gay bar that has male strippers, yes men dancing for men. Will this also be closed? My questions were not answered.
Kat Banyard dismissed me and my colleague as propagandists!
Jennifer Hayashi Danns - ex-dancer and author of Stripped - the bare reality of lap-dancing.
She is intelligent and articulate but very anti-stripping. She had worked in a lap-dance club in Liverpool to put herself through university. It made me think, 'Well you paid for your degree, you're alright, but is no one else allowed to do that?' It seems quite unfair.
She related a story from her book about a dancer, who also did all the other things like music video shoots etc, that went from tragedy to tragedy. The two main points of the story were that the dancer had been shot and at some point had gone to a party with some other girls, got off her head and then woke up having sex with someone. Neither of these things happened at work, they happened else where, but she got the effect she wanted. The crowd only heard 'shooting' and 'rape' in association with lap-dancing and all their prejudices were confirmed.
She said the dancer didn't go to the police because she knew she wouldn't get help. She knew the stripper stigma would prevent them for taking her case seriously. In my opinion this is a reason against the nil policy and further criminalization. It just reinforces the divisive and spiteful view about women being 'good' or 'fallen'. Meaning that those women who are 'bad' don't deserve help.
She ended with the rallying cry 'There is no place in our society for lap-dancing!' There was wild applause.
Eileen Short form CAPE (Communities Against People Exploitation)
Apparently she's offended by people pulling up in big black cars outside of Metropolis. Huh?! If she is offended by cars she needs to go and live in the woods.
Anyway, the jist of her argument was that the SEV venues caused a lot of noise and disturbance. Why she specifically thinks strip clubs are more prone to this than any other club, I don't know.
She also did a lot of the 'poor girls, who are drawn into working in these terrible places, we must help them’ routine. With a lot of drama, lamenting and wailing. (Some of these people deserve an Oscar!) She assumes everyone was forced into dancing even though I made sure to say in my speech I had CHOSEN to dance.
We spoke to her afterwards and pointed out that other bars and clubs cause more problems with noise and drunkenness than strip venues. This only served to make her complain about how the whole of Shoreditch and Hoxton were so unpleasant and people were drunk everywhere. She was utterly ridiculous.
Phillipa Boardman - Church of England female priest
I was sitting next to her and she kept turning to me and smiling sweetly. She said things like, 'It's so interesting to meet someone like you' and 'I never looked at it like that'. My impression of her is that she is well meaning but really had no clue.
She spoke about Jesus and how he loved everyone. How he had accepted women in his group, which in those days was unheard of, so Jesus supported women's rights. What about my right to choose? What about me and my friends being free to do the job we want to?
She also spoke about the 'dignity of children' and dignity in general. Again, it's the Adult industry, what do children have to do with it? Children don't go into their parents room and watch them have sex and nor should they go and watch strippers. Parents have sex - that's how families happen - and it's kept from children. Erotic dancing happens in SEVs - and righty it's kept from children. Yes crazy people ... sex exists!
Safia Jama - Somali Integration Team
This woman was intelligent and dynamic but very devout. She was fully veiled and spoke as 'a mother and community organiser' about the plight of the poor dancers. She ran the 'dancers are victims of wicked men' story with a passion.
Dilwara Begum - 'writer'
She rambled incoherently around so many subjects. She was totally unaware of how much she contradicted herself and looked totally stupid! I was looking at her biog of 'writer' and thought 'yeah right! The only thing this woman writes is the weekly shopping list.' I may be a stripper, but next to her, I am an intellectual giant!
She babbled around SEVs, the Iraq war, the war in Afghanistan, class war, corruption in business, unemployment, rape, family break-up, divorce, human trafficking etc. At one point I held my breath as she rambled on about the government cuts. Fortunately, Rania Khan, the organiser and chair asked her to leave the stage.
She said lap-dancing was a violation of human rights and girls were forced into this work. She could not comprehend how anyone could choose it. She said it was exploitation of poor unemployed girls and the governments fault as they were not providing enough jobs.
She ended with the rallying cry, 'our boys and girls are not for sale!!!' People cheered but hello people, unless you've won the lottery or come from riches we are all for sale. We trade our services and labour for wages. It's how it works.
Ruhan Ali - TELCO
I got the impression that she was intelligent and well meaning, just naive. She was one of the many who said, 'Oh I never even knew there were these places in Tower Hamlets!'
She described her work with schools and colleges and said there was no place for the sex industry in our society. She said there are nine churches and five mosques and none of them want this to go on.
Well tough, religion is going to have to co-exist side by side with the liberal secular majority. I would not petition to have churches or mosques closed down. I would not go to them, and I don't feel comfortable with them, but I would respect the freedom of choice of others if they wish to do that.
Rachel Saunders - Labour Councillor
I found this speaker to be one of the worst. As an elected representative she needs to understand the subjects she has decided to speak about. She directly accused stripping of leading to increases in rape and causing human trafficking. There were no caveats and nothing 'allegedly' about her sweeping statements, none of the usual cautionary language that politicians use to cover themselves. I found her astoundingly irresponsible, as an elected official, to be telling blatant lies.
My colleague tried to call her out on the rape issue at the end during the rather chaotic Q&A session. She avoided the subject and would not answer questions directly. The simple reason for this is that she doesn't know what she's talking about. I made sure when I wrote a feedback email to the organisers the next day, to tell them full stripping only began in the 80s, has rape only existed since the 80s?
Recommended reading for her is Folk Devils and Moral Panics by Stanley Cohen!
Sarah Castro MBE
This final woman was intelligent, worldly wise and sane. (Thankfully!) She was a friend of Rania's and hadn't really thought about lap-dancing being a problem or had given much time to the subject. She also commented on the low profile of the clubs.
She thanked all the speakers excluding me! She basically said she didn't agree on banning anything.
Conclusion
There was so much ignorance in the room and willful misinformation pedaled by the speakers. One thing I found really offensive is that these people suppose that they can tell me what I can and can't do with my life. I would never dream of interfering in their lives as much as they feel they can with me. I just wouldn't waste my time or be so presumptuous.
Another thing I briefly attempted with one of the women that chatted to me afterwards, was the whole Burka issue. I watched a Kat Banyard interview where she was asked how she felt about the Burka as a feminist. She skipped around the subject dodging the question and then said, 'the problem is, is that women's bodies are being used as a battleground.' Well isn't that what she's doing with strippers? So I tried to talk about how my choice to dance, is the flip side of the same coin, as your choice to wear the burka. It's all about external authorities trying to control what you do as a woman. I wouldn't wear a burka but would never support any law banning an item of clothing. That's because it's about freedom and once you start banning one thing, where does it end? It was impossible to get them to see that the issues were related and about freedom.
Another scary thing about all of this is that the Coalition are pushing a localism agenda. If this is the caliber of our local representatives then we are all in trouble! From what I gather from the Hackney campaign is that there is no right of appeal once the Nil Policy has been passed. This is very scary as the fanatics will win and the people just getting on with things will find themselves out of work. At least when things are decided at national level there are educated advisors and therefore more chance of sanity. (No guarantee though).
Well we knew the panel was heavily bias and calling it a 'debate' was laughable. Debates are supposed to have opposers and proposers and a balance of arguments. There was none of this. If I made only one person change their mind then it was worth it!
Unfortunately these people are not going to go away and will keep on pursuing their goal of shutting down all SEVs in the UK. They are bullies have to be stood up too because if one borough falls the rest will too. I guarantee if they ban dancing in Tower Hamlets, the prohibitionist will try again in Hackney.
We are fortunate that we can also draw upon the experience of a third person, Jean Lane, a Unison activist who went along to the debate purely in an observational capacity. Lets see what she had to say in article that was featured on the Workers Liberty website...
A public meeting was hosted in Tower Hamlets on 11th October by CAPE – the Campaign Against People Exploitation. It was billed as a balanced debate about whether Tower Hamlets council should have a policy of “nil sex establishments” in the Borough. It was nothing of the sort.
I went to the meeting having not entirely worked out what I think about lap dancing clubs. Sympathetic to the concerns of local residents about noise and anti-social behaviour in and around their estates, the idea of women having a job for which the sole function is the sexual arousal or gratification of men also makes me feel uncomfortable.
At the same time, however, I live in Whitechapel. Street prostitution has been a reality here for many decades. The lives of the women on the street are brutal. It is not caused by lap dancing clubs, a relatively new phenomenon to the area. Does the existence of sex clubs represent a driving of more women into sexual exploitation? Or does it provide a haven where women can at least organise and acquire some safety in their lives? I was looking forward to hearing, with a fairly open mind, both sides of the debate.
The arguments in favour of a total ban ranged from “lap dancing does not enhance the power of women” as stated by Bea Campbell journalist and 1970s Stalinist, to “it’s disgusting!” from Ruhan Ali of TELCO (The East London Communities Organisation, often mistakenly but understandably called the east london CHURCHES organisation).
However much the supposedly intellectual speakers attempted to use the language of ‘empowerment’ and ‘emancipation’ of women, it all boiled down to this: lap dancing clubs cause an increase in rape statistics, drug taking, alcoholism, debt, prostitution, the breakdown of the family, the sexual exploitation of children, the loosening of the moral fibre of our menfolk and the loss of dignity of our women. All of which rather begs the question; would all these ills disappear if lap dance clubs were closed down?
One speaker, Dilwara Begum, billed as ‘a writer’, spoke vehemently about the evils of lust, proclaimed that “the boys and girls of England are not for sale!” and begged us to look to China where all such clubs are banned! Are women not prostituted in China then? Is the moral fortitude of Chinese men intact? Another, Safia Jama, of the Somali Integration Team, demanded to know, “how can we allow women to take off their clothes?”
The heavy moralism towards the end of the long list of platform speakers was overwhelming, punctuated by incisive statements from Respect, the organisers of CAPE, “we do not want these clubs next to our schools and places of worship”, the Labour Party, “lap dancing causes the sexual exploitation of children”, the SWP, “what kind of world do we live in?” going on to bemoan the fact that human sexuality is distorted and unfree. This is true. I suspect, however, that the desire to close down lap dancing clubs has more to do with the comrade’s desire to be part of a campaign than to unshackle the chains from around the sexual desires of the working classes. Still at least she did not mention the war.
What was very clear was that most of the speakers in the room were actually against sex, and in particular, sex carried out by women. I had mistakenly wandered into an 1830 meeting of the British Temperance Society.
There were two interventions from the other side. Edie La Mort, former stripper of the Nags Head, considered herself a performer, well paid and better treated than when she worked as a PA in the city. “If anyone treated me badly I could call security and get them thrown out. I wish I could have done that in my office job”. A male sex worker and GMB organiser attempted to speak out about the need to unionise sex workers rather than criminalise them, but was closed down by the chair, Cllr Rania Khan (Independent, ex-Respect) insisting that he ask a question, though no-one else did. Only one speaker from the floor raised the problem of giving governments, local or otherwise, the power to ban things.
I came away from the meeting knowing very well that I was not with the moralists. But I was not entirely happy with the other side either. I cannot believe that all women sex workers are well paid, secure and happy in their work, or that trafficking and coercion do not go on. I also do not go along with the idea that women are raped in supermarket car parks and women are exploited in the office, so what’s the difference? For sure if Tower Hamlets council are concerned about the sexual exploitation of women they would do better to tackle domestic violence. But they can do that and tackle the clubs.
The question is how? Drive them underground and push more women onto the streets of Whitechapel? Or control them through licensing and get the unions in to organise the workers?
The consultation is going on in Tower Hamlets not long after attempts by a radical minority within the muslim community to ban the Gay Pride march and to prevent sex education in local schools. Respect and the SWP have nothing to say about that but champion the shutting down of sex clubs in a way that locks them in with these ultra-right wing elements.
The church, the mosque, the independents, the Labour Party, Respect and the SWP all pronounced themselves on the side of the ban in the interests of either family values or women’s rights.
The council, the great defender of women’s rights, as shown by the cuts they have made in Children’s services, Sure Start, social services and youth clubs, will be given a mandate to shut them down. Domestic violence, street prostituion, drug and alcohol abuse will continue to rise as the cuts take away people’s lifelines. And lap dancing clubs will move to the next Borough over, but we don’t care about them do we?
I am not going to make too many comments, but it is interesting to point out the similarities in viewpoint between Jean and Edie in terms of the speakers. Also interesting to see how Cllr Rania Khan closed down a perfectly reasonable point about unionisation of the venues and dancers...surely anyone with an ounce of concern about dancer welfare would at least acknowledge the idea.
My final point is that the clubs will not move to the next borough, if they close down, the jobs will be lost forever. I will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions...
First we have Cllr Rania Kahn, who posted on her blog as follows...
October saw an important debate at the Bancroft Library with journalist and campaigner Bea Campbell; Kat Banyard, author of ‘Equality Illusion’; Anna Van Heeswik of national campaign OBJECT; Cllr Rachel Saunders; Eileen Short, founder of CAPE, and Jennifer Hayashi Danns, author of ‘Stripping the Illusion: The Bare Reality of Lap Dancing.’
Cllr Rania Khan said: “There had been worries that advocates of lapdancing and the sex industry would try to break up the discussion - there had been threats on the internet - but the debate was intense, peaceful, intelligent, and above all democratic. People opposed to lapdancing as sexist exploitation of women were able to air their critique alongside others who supported lapdancing on the grounds of freedom of expression. Though, surprisingly, none of the people running lapdancing clubs took the opportunity to speak up - despite being invited by us to participate.”
Rania, exactly how were these 'advocates of lapdancing' going to 'break up the discussion'. Did you really imagine that a gang lead by Peter Stringfellow were going break in venue and start smashing the place up? What threats had been made on the internet? Please show us the frame grabs, I mean surely you recorded the 'threats' and showed them to the police? I know would have....
But least the debate was 'peaceful, intelligent and above all democratic'. In terms of club owners being invited, I am aware that Secrets were invited along, but were too buys running their business to attend, but I have to say that no other club owner in the borough received an invitation.
Anyway lets see what one of the guest speakers thought, Edie La Mort, ex-stripper and activist delivered a speech to the assembled throng and she wrote down her impressions of the event....
Hi Everyone
I spoke at a 'debate' on Tuesday October 11th (2011), called ‘Lap-dancing - a Choice or Exploitation?
It was sparked by the current Nil Policy consultation in Tower Hamlets but billed as a general debate. The stated aim of the organisers is to close down every SEV in the UK and for stripping to be banned completely as it is in Iceland. (These were the words of Kat Banyard and Object) After being told it was an invitation only, women only, private event; it turned into a very public, very mixed and absolutely not private event. People taking photos and filming - something I hope does not come back to haunt me.
Here's a run down of the speakers and what was said:
Beatrix Campbell - feminist and communist (is what it said on the program)
She set the tone for the evening with high drama and sensationalism. She ad libed her speech. I will paraphrase her so you can get the general idea but do be sure to read this to yourself with a lot of drama, pity, mournful emotion and dramatic pauses.
"Can you imagine what it's like?! Our young women..... surrounded by men....... having to take off........ALL their clothes......... (big dramatic pause as see looks around at the audience, hoping her words are having the desired effect). "Being the only person in the room...... NAKED..... whilst the others remain clothed!!!"
Please note that because about 70% of the women in the were in burkas or niqabs, this did have the desired effect.
She then went on to tackle the subject that dancing is empowering, again with full drama and mournful emotion.
"People say........Lap-dancing......is empowering! Can you believe that?!?! So I could be empowered by it?!?! ....... Me?!...... with my old and skinny body?!?! ...... Are they really saying ..... I could be empowered?!?!"
I thought 'no love you wouldn't get any shifts but you could do Burlesque successfully if you had an ounce of imagination.'
Obviously not.
Kat Banyard and Object - this lot are the hardcore prohibitionists and I find their venom towards another group of women quite disturbing.
Kat Banyard ran the 'you can buy a woman like you can buy a cappuccino' line which I was prepared for in my speech with - 'You do not buy me, you pay for my performance. I am a performer.'
They obsessed about women even though there are male strip pubs and said the areas around strip venues were no-go areas for women. She talked about 'choice' but isn't that what they want to take away from us?
The get themselves all worked up. They are like the shouty, accusing children of Salem. Destroying the lives of adults with accusations. I want to send them all a copy of The Crucible by Arthur Miller!
It will be really hard to get them to listen. They have built their entire career on stripper bashing so there's too much at stake. They have businesses, websites, book deals and funding all dedicated to pushing the idea that stripping is wrong. They make a parasitic living out of us. They cannot afford to be wrong or budge an inch in their hardline stance because it will invalidate their career and earning potential.
Mahera Ruby
I think she was just someone from 'the community' who spoke a lot about being a mother and protecting the children. All quite irrelevant seeing as it's the Adult industry that they were supposed to be discussing.
Me - Stripper
I was conscious when writing my speech to check all my facts, not use inflammatory language and back myself up with studies and statistics. However no one else did this. They were quite happy with vitriol, willful misinformation and blatant lies. I asked them to introduce me as a stripper because technically lap-dancing is not allowed. Lap-dancing involves contact and all SEVs are supposed to have a no touching policy.
I realised later that I should have kept my speech quite simple as I was talking to an audience of mainly simpletons. Unfortunately there was only me with five minutes to put the other side of the argument in a three hour witch trial, .... er ....... I mean 'debate'. It was a general overview but I now realise it's just important to repeat key messages again and again to them. Such as:
'I chose to dance' 'No one forced me'. 'I enjoy my job.' 'I am well looked after'. 'I am a performer not a prostitute.' 'It does not lead to an increase in rape'.
Finer points such as freedom in general, if my freedom is taken from me you will be next etc... The concept of living in a liberal democracy, artistic freedom, freedom of expression etc were just not being received. I also asked, what about Bethnal Green Working Man's Club with it's Burlesque nights? It is stripping after all. Will this also be closed down? How about BJs gay bar that has male strippers, yes men dancing for men. Will this also be closed? My questions were not answered.
Kat Banyard dismissed me and my colleague as propagandists!
Jennifer Hayashi Danns - ex-dancer and author of Stripped - the bare reality of lap-dancing.
She is intelligent and articulate but very anti-stripping. She had worked in a lap-dance club in Liverpool to put herself through university. It made me think, 'Well you paid for your degree, you're alright, but is no one else allowed to do that?' It seems quite unfair.
She related a story from her book about a dancer, who also did all the other things like music video shoots etc, that went from tragedy to tragedy. The two main points of the story were that the dancer had been shot and at some point had gone to a party with some other girls, got off her head and then woke up having sex with someone. Neither of these things happened at work, they happened else where, but she got the effect she wanted. The crowd only heard 'shooting' and 'rape' in association with lap-dancing and all their prejudices were confirmed.
She said the dancer didn't go to the police because she knew she wouldn't get help. She knew the stripper stigma would prevent them for taking her case seriously. In my opinion this is a reason against the nil policy and further criminalization. It just reinforces the divisive and spiteful view about women being 'good' or 'fallen'. Meaning that those women who are 'bad' don't deserve help.
She ended with the rallying cry 'There is no place in our society for lap-dancing!' There was wild applause.
Eileen Short form CAPE (Communities Against People Exploitation)
Apparently she's offended by people pulling up in big black cars outside of Metropolis. Huh?! If she is offended by cars she needs to go and live in the woods.
Anyway, the jist of her argument was that the SEV venues caused a lot of noise and disturbance. Why she specifically thinks strip clubs are more prone to this than any other club, I don't know.
She also did a lot of the 'poor girls, who are drawn into working in these terrible places, we must help them’ routine. With a lot of drama, lamenting and wailing. (Some of these people deserve an Oscar!) She assumes everyone was forced into dancing even though I made sure to say in my speech I had CHOSEN to dance.
We spoke to her afterwards and pointed out that other bars and clubs cause more problems with noise and drunkenness than strip venues. This only served to make her complain about how the whole of Shoreditch and Hoxton were so unpleasant and people were drunk everywhere. She was utterly ridiculous.
Phillipa Boardman - Church of England female priest
I was sitting next to her and she kept turning to me and smiling sweetly. She said things like, 'It's so interesting to meet someone like you' and 'I never looked at it like that'. My impression of her is that she is well meaning but really had no clue.
She spoke about Jesus and how he loved everyone. How he had accepted women in his group, which in those days was unheard of, so Jesus supported women's rights. What about my right to choose? What about me and my friends being free to do the job we want to?
She also spoke about the 'dignity of children' and dignity in general. Again, it's the Adult industry, what do children have to do with it? Children don't go into their parents room and watch them have sex and nor should they go and watch strippers. Parents have sex - that's how families happen - and it's kept from children. Erotic dancing happens in SEVs - and righty it's kept from children. Yes crazy people ... sex exists!
Safia Jama - Somali Integration Team
This woman was intelligent and dynamic but very devout. She was fully veiled and spoke as 'a mother and community organiser' about the plight of the poor dancers. She ran the 'dancers are victims of wicked men' story with a passion.
Dilwara Begum - 'writer'
She rambled incoherently around so many subjects. She was totally unaware of how much she contradicted herself and looked totally stupid! I was looking at her biog of 'writer' and thought 'yeah right! The only thing this woman writes is the weekly shopping list.' I may be a stripper, but next to her, I am an intellectual giant!
She babbled around SEVs, the Iraq war, the war in Afghanistan, class war, corruption in business, unemployment, rape, family break-up, divorce, human trafficking etc. At one point I held my breath as she rambled on about the government cuts. Fortunately, Rania Khan, the organiser and chair asked her to leave the stage.
She said lap-dancing was a violation of human rights and girls were forced into this work. She could not comprehend how anyone could choose it. She said it was exploitation of poor unemployed girls and the governments fault as they were not providing enough jobs.
She ended with the rallying cry, 'our boys and girls are not for sale!!!' People cheered but hello people, unless you've won the lottery or come from riches we are all for sale. We trade our services and labour for wages. It's how it works.
Ruhan Ali - TELCO
I got the impression that she was intelligent and well meaning, just naive. She was one of the many who said, 'Oh I never even knew there were these places in Tower Hamlets!'
She described her work with schools and colleges and said there was no place for the sex industry in our society. She said there are nine churches and five mosques and none of them want this to go on.
Well tough, religion is going to have to co-exist side by side with the liberal secular majority. I would not petition to have churches or mosques closed down. I would not go to them, and I don't feel comfortable with them, but I would respect the freedom of choice of others if they wish to do that.
Rachel Saunders - Labour Councillor
I found this speaker to be one of the worst. As an elected representative she needs to understand the subjects she has decided to speak about. She directly accused stripping of leading to increases in rape and causing human trafficking. There were no caveats and nothing 'allegedly' about her sweeping statements, none of the usual cautionary language that politicians use to cover themselves. I found her astoundingly irresponsible, as an elected official, to be telling blatant lies.
My colleague tried to call her out on the rape issue at the end during the rather chaotic Q&A session. She avoided the subject and would not answer questions directly. The simple reason for this is that she doesn't know what she's talking about. I made sure when I wrote a feedback email to the organisers the next day, to tell them full stripping only began in the 80s, has rape only existed since the 80s?
Recommended reading for her is Folk Devils and Moral Panics by Stanley Cohen!
Sarah Castro MBE
This final woman was intelligent, worldly wise and sane. (Thankfully!) She was a friend of Rania's and hadn't really thought about lap-dancing being a problem or had given much time to the subject. She also commented on the low profile of the clubs.
She thanked all the speakers excluding me! She basically said she didn't agree on banning anything.
Conclusion
There was so much ignorance in the room and willful misinformation pedaled by the speakers. One thing I found really offensive is that these people suppose that they can tell me what I can and can't do with my life. I would never dream of interfering in their lives as much as they feel they can with me. I just wouldn't waste my time or be so presumptuous.
Another thing I briefly attempted with one of the women that chatted to me afterwards, was the whole Burka issue. I watched a Kat Banyard interview where she was asked how she felt about the Burka as a feminist. She skipped around the subject dodging the question and then said, 'the problem is, is that women's bodies are being used as a battleground.' Well isn't that what she's doing with strippers? So I tried to talk about how my choice to dance, is the flip side of the same coin, as your choice to wear the burka. It's all about external authorities trying to control what you do as a woman. I wouldn't wear a burka but would never support any law banning an item of clothing. That's because it's about freedom and once you start banning one thing, where does it end? It was impossible to get them to see that the issues were related and about freedom.
Another scary thing about all of this is that the Coalition are pushing a localism agenda. If this is the caliber of our local representatives then we are all in trouble! From what I gather from the Hackney campaign is that there is no right of appeal once the Nil Policy has been passed. This is very scary as the fanatics will win and the people just getting on with things will find themselves out of work. At least when things are decided at national level there are educated advisors and therefore more chance of sanity. (No guarantee though).
Well we knew the panel was heavily bias and calling it a 'debate' was laughable. Debates are supposed to have opposers and proposers and a balance of arguments. There was none of this. If I made only one person change their mind then it was worth it!
Unfortunately these people are not going to go away and will keep on pursuing their goal of shutting down all SEVs in the UK. They are bullies have to be stood up too because if one borough falls the rest will too. I guarantee if they ban dancing in Tower Hamlets, the prohibitionist will try again in Hackney.
We are fortunate that we can also draw upon the experience of a third person, Jean Lane, a Unison activist who went along to the debate purely in an observational capacity. Lets see what she had to say in article that was featured on the Workers Liberty website...
A public meeting was hosted in Tower Hamlets on 11th October by CAPE – the Campaign Against People Exploitation. It was billed as a balanced debate about whether Tower Hamlets council should have a policy of “nil sex establishments” in the Borough. It was nothing of the sort.
I went to the meeting having not entirely worked out what I think about lap dancing clubs. Sympathetic to the concerns of local residents about noise and anti-social behaviour in and around their estates, the idea of women having a job for which the sole function is the sexual arousal or gratification of men also makes me feel uncomfortable.
At the same time, however, I live in Whitechapel. Street prostitution has been a reality here for many decades. The lives of the women on the street are brutal. It is not caused by lap dancing clubs, a relatively new phenomenon to the area. Does the existence of sex clubs represent a driving of more women into sexual exploitation? Or does it provide a haven where women can at least organise and acquire some safety in their lives? I was looking forward to hearing, with a fairly open mind, both sides of the debate.
The arguments in favour of a total ban ranged from “lap dancing does not enhance the power of women” as stated by Bea Campbell journalist and 1970s Stalinist, to “it’s disgusting!” from Ruhan Ali of TELCO (The East London Communities Organisation, often mistakenly but understandably called the east london CHURCHES organisation).
However much the supposedly intellectual speakers attempted to use the language of ‘empowerment’ and ‘emancipation’ of women, it all boiled down to this: lap dancing clubs cause an increase in rape statistics, drug taking, alcoholism, debt, prostitution, the breakdown of the family, the sexual exploitation of children, the loosening of the moral fibre of our menfolk and the loss of dignity of our women. All of which rather begs the question; would all these ills disappear if lap dance clubs were closed down?
One speaker, Dilwara Begum, billed as ‘a writer’, spoke vehemently about the evils of lust, proclaimed that “the boys and girls of England are not for sale!” and begged us to look to China where all such clubs are banned! Are women not prostituted in China then? Is the moral fortitude of Chinese men intact? Another, Safia Jama, of the Somali Integration Team, demanded to know, “how can we allow women to take off their clothes?”
The heavy moralism towards the end of the long list of platform speakers was overwhelming, punctuated by incisive statements from Respect, the organisers of CAPE, “we do not want these clubs next to our schools and places of worship”, the Labour Party, “lap dancing causes the sexual exploitation of children”, the SWP, “what kind of world do we live in?” going on to bemoan the fact that human sexuality is distorted and unfree. This is true. I suspect, however, that the desire to close down lap dancing clubs has more to do with the comrade’s desire to be part of a campaign than to unshackle the chains from around the sexual desires of the working classes. Still at least she did not mention the war.
What was very clear was that most of the speakers in the room were actually against sex, and in particular, sex carried out by women. I had mistakenly wandered into an 1830 meeting of the British Temperance Society.
There were two interventions from the other side. Edie La Mort, former stripper of the Nags Head, considered herself a performer, well paid and better treated than when she worked as a PA in the city. “If anyone treated me badly I could call security and get them thrown out. I wish I could have done that in my office job”. A male sex worker and GMB organiser attempted to speak out about the need to unionise sex workers rather than criminalise them, but was closed down by the chair, Cllr Rania Khan (Independent, ex-Respect) insisting that he ask a question, though no-one else did. Only one speaker from the floor raised the problem of giving governments, local or otherwise, the power to ban things.
I came away from the meeting knowing very well that I was not with the moralists. But I was not entirely happy with the other side either. I cannot believe that all women sex workers are well paid, secure and happy in their work, or that trafficking and coercion do not go on. I also do not go along with the idea that women are raped in supermarket car parks and women are exploited in the office, so what’s the difference? For sure if Tower Hamlets council are concerned about the sexual exploitation of women they would do better to tackle domestic violence. But they can do that and tackle the clubs.
The question is how? Drive them underground and push more women onto the streets of Whitechapel? Or control them through licensing and get the unions in to organise the workers?
The consultation is going on in Tower Hamlets not long after attempts by a radical minority within the muslim community to ban the Gay Pride march and to prevent sex education in local schools. Respect and the SWP have nothing to say about that but champion the shutting down of sex clubs in a way that locks them in with these ultra-right wing elements.
The church, the mosque, the independents, the Labour Party, Respect and the SWP all pronounced themselves on the side of the ban in the interests of either family values or women’s rights.
The council, the great defender of women’s rights, as shown by the cuts they have made in Children’s services, Sure Start, social services and youth clubs, will be given a mandate to shut them down. Domestic violence, street prostituion, drug and alcohol abuse will continue to rise as the cuts take away people’s lifelines. And lap dancing clubs will move to the next Borough over, but we don’t care about them do we?
I am not going to make too many comments, but it is interesting to point out the similarities in viewpoint between Jean and Edie in terms of the speakers. Also interesting to see how Cllr Rania Khan closed down a perfectly reasonable point about unionisation of the venues and dancers...surely anyone with an ounce of concern about dancer welfare would at least acknowledge the idea.
My final point is that the clubs will not move to the next borough, if they close down, the jobs will be lost forever. I will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Lets Close Every Club in Tower Hamlets - Part 2
Tower Hamlets Councils attempt to close every club in the borough is finding itself bedevilled by all sorts of complications…
First we had the Public Consultation which closed in early October 2011, the results of which still have not been released and the latest position is that it is ‘hoped’ that the final result will be made known by April 2012.
This blog revealed that Michael Collins (Chair of CAPE) has previously unrevealed property interests that could be affected by the councils decision to adopt to the nil policy.
Now we have The White Swan campaigning to have themselves exempted from the scope of the proposed legislation. In fact Tower Hamlets Council were presented with a 600 signature petition on November 29th 2011 by Daryl Stafford, a DJ at the venue.
What is the background to the issue and why does it make things complicated for the Council?
The White Swn is one of the oldest venues that caters for the LGBT community in the East End and every Wednesday it has a comedy amateur strip night. This alone places it within the scope of the boroughs nil policy and quite rightly many people are fighting on the side of the venue.
Tower Hamlets has something of a reputation for homophobic behaviour. This posting from Andrew Gilligans blog details many disturbing acts of quite frankly appalling behaviour, some which took place within the Council Chamber itself.
Let me make it clear that we support the right of The White Swan to exist, if it loses its Wednesday Comedy Strip Night it will be a disaster for the venue. As Daryl Stafford himself said.,,
"…Wednesday is our only busy weeknight. If they kill off our Wednesday nights, we'll be threatened with closure..."
That said, Daryl Stafford said some other things that show that he is misinformed on the striptease industry.
"The legislation was originally set up to stop women being exploited and coerced into the sex trade”.
This is an unfair point of differentiation. To my knowledge there has never been a case of a stripper in Tower Hamlets being either ‘exploited’ or ‘coerced into the sex trade’.
"But there are no women involved in this. It's a men only night and stripping is voluntary."
Daryl seems not to understand how other strip venues work. Stripping is entirely voluntary because female strippers choose to follow that profession and choose to work in particular club. Also to say that The White Swan runs a ‘men only night’ is also ill judged. Is Daryl saying that women are not allowed to attend, because I think that is against the law or is Daryl saying that the only dancers are men.
Sorry? ..........Run that past me again.
So having naked women dancers is bad thing, but naked men dancers are cool and should be exempt.
Cllr Golds, please explain what is reasonably minded about being concerned about exploitation when there is not a single shred of evidence that it has happened in any Tower Hamlets strip club.
"But consenting adults looking for a laugh, a joke and comedy is not exploitation."
If that is the case, there is no exploitation in Tower Hamlets strip clubs, because the dancers actually get paid for their trouble and the crowd are also consenting adults look for a laugh...
"It's fun. It's introduced by drag artists. It could probably be at any hen night in the country," he added.
So Cllr Golds, on the basis of your comments, if I was to open a pub, that every Wednesday night that featured comedians and volunteer female strippers, would you support my venues exemption from the ‘Nil Policy’? I think Object would go absolutely crazy and I do not think Cllr Rania Khan would be entirely happy with the idea either....
Cllr Golds what are you saying? That women in strip clubs that are licensed and supervised by doormen are at greater risk that the men that turn up at the White Swan and volunteer to strip on stage? Is it because women maybe are naive and need protecting whereas gay men are cool and streetwise and can look after themselves? It is because the women are paid to do what they do and the gay men are not? Is it because that exploitation and coercion into the sex industry is not an issue within the gay community?
It should be clear to any reasonably minded person that if Tower Hamlets Council close every strip club, but let the one venue that feature male performers stay open, then they are asking for what will be an amazingly expensive dose of court action. In fact the idea is so rooted in discriminatory practice that it is laughable...
Finally, a message for Daryl Stafford. I note that when you presented your petition to the council, it was received by Rania Khan. You may wish to follow this link and see what The Daily Telegraph had to say about her last year.
First we had the Public Consultation which closed in early October 2011, the results of which still have not been released and the latest position is that it is ‘hoped’ that the final result will be made known by April 2012.
This blog revealed that Michael Collins (Chair of CAPE) has previously unrevealed property interests that could be affected by the councils decision to adopt to the nil policy.
Now we have The White Swan campaigning to have themselves exempted from the scope of the proposed legislation. In fact Tower Hamlets Council were presented with a 600 signature petition on November 29th 2011 by Daryl Stafford, a DJ at the venue.
What is the background to the issue and why does it make things complicated for the Council?
The White Swn is one of the oldest venues that caters for the LGBT community in the East End and every Wednesday it has a comedy amateur strip night. This alone places it within the scope of the boroughs nil policy and quite rightly many people are fighting on the side of the venue.
Tower Hamlets has something of a reputation for homophobic behaviour. This posting from Andrew Gilligans blog details many disturbing acts of quite frankly appalling behaviour, some which took place within the Council Chamber itself.
Let me make it clear that we support the right of The White Swan to exist, if it loses its Wednesday Comedy Strip Night it will be a disaster for the venue. As Daryl Stafford himself said.,,
"…Wednesday is our only busy weeknight. If they kill off our Wednesday nights, we'll be threatened with closure..."
That said, Daryl Stafford said some other things that show that he is misinformed on the striptease industry.
"The legislation was originally set up to stop women being exploited and coerced into the sex trade”.
This is an unfair point of differentiation. To my knowledge there has never been a case of a stripper in Tower Hamlets being either ‘exploited’ or ‘coerced into the sex trade’.
"But there are no women involved in this. It's a men only night and stripping is voluntary."
Daryl seems not to understand how other strip venues work. Stripping is entirely voluntary because female strippers choose to follow that profession and choose to work in particular club. Also to say that The White Swan runs a ‘men only night’ is also ill judged. Is Daryl saying that women are not allowed to attend, because I think that is against the law or is Daryl saying that the only dancers are men.
Sorry? ..........Run that past me again.
So having naked women dancers is bad thing, but naked men dancers are cool and should be exempt.
Really......don't think so actually......
Cllr Peter Golds has also weighed in with his viewpoint…
"I, like most reasonably minded people, have concerns about scantily clad women being exploited”.
Cllr Golds, please explain what is reasonably minded about being concerned about exploitation when there is not a single shred of evidence that it has happened in any Tower Hamlets strip club.
"But consenting adults looking for a laugh, a joke and comedy is not exploitation."
If that is the case, there is no exploitation in Tower Hamlets strip clubs, because the dancers actually get paid for their trouble and the crowd are also consenting adults look for a laugh...
"It's fun. It's introduced by drag artists. It could probably be at any hen night in the country," he added.
So Cllr Golds, on the basis of your comments, if I was to open a pub, that every Wednesday night that featured comedians and volunteer female strippers, would you support my venues exemption from the ‘Nil Policy’? I think Object would go absolutely crazy and I do not think Cllr Rania Khan would be entirely happy with the idea either....
Cllr Golds what are you saying? That women in strip clubs that are licensed and supervised by doormen are at greater risk that the men that turn up at the White Swan and volunteer to strip on stage? Is it because women maybe are naive and need protecting whereas gay men are cool and streetwise and can look after themselves? It is because the women are paid to do what they do and the gay men are not? Is it because that exploitation and coercion into the sex industry is not an issue within the gay community?
It should be clear to any reasonably minded person that if Tower Hamlets Council close every strip club, but let the one venue that feature male performers stay open, then they are asking for what will be an amazingly expensive dose of court action. In fact the idea is so rooted in discriminatory practice that it is laughable...
Finally, a message for Daryl Stafford. I note that when you presented your petition to the council, it was received by Rania Khan. You may wish to follow this link and see what The Daily Telegraph had to say about her last year.
If you all stick together, you will all survive...
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Questions That Need Answers 1
Welcome to the first instalment of 'Questions That Need Answers'. Here we will ask questions to people involved in the various campaigns to close every club in Britain. If any question is answered by the relevant person, the answer will be published and if the answer is satisfactory, the question will be withdrawn. Unanswered questions will snowball from posting to posting if they remain unanswered.
Question 1. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
At what point did you reveal to the public that you own a property in Tower Hamlets located next door to a strip club (The Nags Head)?
Question 2. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
Do your fellow CAPE members know about the above mentioned property interest, in particular Cllr Rania Kahn?
Question 3. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
You have been quoted as saying that there has been 'a stabbing, murder, abuse, assaults, drug taking and prostitution in and around these clubs'. As you state that the offences occurred 'in and around the clubs', could you please tell us specifically what clubs were involved and quote the relevant cases. If you cannot do this, can you please tell us why not?.
Question 1. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
At what point did you reveal to the public that you own a property in Tower Hamlets located next door to a strip club (The Nags Head)?
Question 2. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
Do your fellow CAPE members know about the above mentioned property interest, in particular Cllr Rania Kahn?
Question 3. To Mr Michael Collins of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
You have been quoted as saying that there has been 'a stabbing, murder, abuse, assaults, drug taking and prostitution in and around these clubs'. As you state that the offences occurred 'in and around the clubs', could you please tell us specifically what clubs were involved and quote the relevant cases. If you cannot do this, can you please tell us why not?.
Lets Talk About CAPE - Tower Hamlets
Press release on behalf of C.A.P.E (Campaign Against People Exploitation, Tower Hamlets)
For too long the residents and people who work in Tower Hamlets have found it difficult to object to the nuisance of lap-dancing venues in our community. The recent Policing and Crime Act means that we can finally speak out. Lap-dancing clubs are now licensed as Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) which means that local residents and workers have a greater say, and Tower Hamlets can apply greater restrictions and controls to these clubs, and even apply zero tolerance.
The 11 Lap-Dancing clubs in Tower Hamlets foster a sexist culture in which it is deemed acceptable to treat women as sex objects, not people, and areas surrounding these venues can become ‘no-go’ areas for women, children and students. Lap-dancing clubs may also fuel anti-social behaviour and unacceptable levels of noise.
Many operate during the daytime, and into the night, near to homes and residences, nurseries,schools, universities, playgrounds, parks, art galleries and places of worship. Most are therefore located in totally inappropriate areas.
We urge the people of Tower Hamlets to support the Council’s proposal for a ‘nil policy’ (zero tolerance) on Sexual Entertainment.
Together we can make our community in Tower Hamlets a lap-dancing free zone.
Lap-dancing clubs have no place in the ‘greener cleaner’ Tower Hamlets, and now is the time to say No to Lap-dancing.
The above is the full text of a press release made in September 2011 by CAPE Tower Hamlets. As mentioned in a previous posting, CAPE stands for Campaign Against People Exploitation and the 'Tower Hamlets' part of the name tells us that it operates in the borough and also implies that it has other branches...
Lets find out more about CAPE.
I know, lets go to their website........ How odd, they don't have one.
What about a blog? ......No blog.
I would have thought that a group that campaigns on such a critical issue would be exploiting every opportunity to present their case to the public. The fact is that CAPE keeps quite a low profile, it makes the odd press release, holds meetings here and there and its chair Michael Collins makes some interesting statements....Such as the one below in a blog posting by Rania Khan.
“Our problem has been to run a comprehensive grassroots campaign on few resources. The sex industry is both rich and powerful,” says Michael Collins, chair of CAPE, “and they will stop at nothing to make sure they can carry on their evil trade. We have been campaigning against them for some years after some appalling activities in residential areas around Commercial Street, Hackney Road, Docklands and Wapping involving a stabbing, a murder, abuse, assaults, prostitution and drug offences in and around these clubs.”Wow....powerful stuff from Michael. Lets look at his comments in more detail. I really think that if he explicitly stated which clubs were involved in 'a stabbing, a murder, abuse, assaults, prostitution and drug offences', that his case might carry more weight. Of course Mr Collins will not openly accuse anyone of anything, largely because he has no evidence, only heresay. That said, if anyone from CAPE were to provide me with details of the actual cases that involved the murder, the stabbing, the abuse, the assaults, the prostitution and drug offences, I would be only too happy to publish them.
Now Michael Collins is clearly very much against clubs, in fact he has been running his campaign for some time. Certainly since 2008, when minutes of council meetings show that he was asking all manner of questions about clubs in Tower Hamlets. In fact as we can see above, Mr Collins thinks that clubs are part of an 'evil trade'.
Mr Collins also comments that it is difficult to run 'a comprehensive grassroots campaign on few resources'. Maybe they cannot afford a website or a blog. Sorry, blogs are for free. And websites can be run for next to nothing. Ok I admit they unless they are designed properly they can look like they were coded by a twelve year old, but its the message that's important.
Now I want to ask you a question. Please consider what I have to say before deciding upon your response.
If you thought that clubs were centres of evil, involved in stabbing, murder, abuse, prostitution and drug dealing, would you visit one?
The answer is of course 'No'.
Ok, lets go again...If you thought that clubs were centres of evil, involved in stabbing, murder, abuse, prostitution and drug dealing, would you buy a building close to one?
No of course you wouldn't. It would the insane to tie up valuable capital in a building that was anywhere near one of these places, you would not wish to own anything that could be influenced by the 'evil'. For example, no one that was so opposed to clubs would buy premises close to The Nags Head. Would they?
So we are agreed then. No one that is vehemently opposed to clubs (like The Nags Head), would buy the freehold on premises next door to one (like the premises to the right of The Nags Head in the above photo).
Well if that's the case and you are in agreement with me, please stand by for a shock. Michael Collins, chair of CAPE Tower Hamlets, owns the freehold (since 15th February 2001) of 21 Whitechapel Road, next door to The Nags Head. In fact it is the very building in the photograph above. This is a fact that Mr Collins has yet to mention in his campaign releases.
But wait, it gets better....
Mr Collins has been described as a local resident. I am sure that the fact that he owns the freehold allows him to be described as such. That said, we are given to understand that he is resident in Kingston-upon-Thames. Maybe he views 21 Whitechapel Road as a kind of holiday home.
Publicly available records show that soon after acquiring the property, he embarked on an ambitious programme of building works on 21 Whitechapel Road. On 13th February 2001, he applied for planning permission to revise the ground, first, second and third floors and also create a fourth floor attic space. We understand that people rent flats in the property.
Now I have to admit that I know next to nothing about the rental market in Whitechapel Road and furthermore do not understand what the effect of being situated next door to a strip club may have on rental values. But I would imagine that if the strip club next door was closed down , that it might have a positive affect on the monthly rent that could be charged by the owner of a neighbouring property.
That said, maybe I am being unfair. The fact that Mr Collins owns 21 Whitechapel Road, has absolutely nothing to do with his opposition to clubs. Mr Collins is a deeply moral man and I imagine that he was maybe sitting in his front room in Kingston upon Thames and learned about the clubs in Tower Hamlets, maybe he leapt out of his chair and screamed 'NO....THIS CANNOT GO ON'! That must have been the time when he decided to form CAPE Tower Hamlets.
But if the above is the case, why is there no CAPE Hackney. Hackney has clubs as well and if Mr Collins is fighting against an 'evil' trade, then surely the situation is just as 'evil' in Hackney? But CAPE Hackney does not exist. Neither does CAPE Camden or CAPE Islington. What's difference?
Could it be that Mr Collins has no property investments in Hackney, Camden and Islington? I do not know the answer to that question. But I do know that Mr Collins has a property interest in Tower Hamlets, I do know that it is next door to a strip club and I do know that Mr Collins chairs an organisation that is campaigning to get every club in the borough closed down.
Out of interest, Rania Khan is a member of CAPE Tower Hamlets.
I am choosing this posting to introduce a section, called 'Questions That Need Answers'. This posting will appear at least monthly and will act as a compilation of issues that require responses for specific people. If we get an answer, that answer will be published and if the answer is satisfactory, the question will be withdrawn.
I look forward to the answers...
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Let's Close Every Club In Tower Hamlets! Part 1
We are all aware of Tower Hamlets Council and their view that every club in the borough should be closed. I have been researching the background to this issue and have found so much of interest that I could write a book about it. As I do not have the time for a book, this is the first of a number of articles about what is going on in this fascinating borough.
Let me tell you now that if the political landscape of Tower hamlets was a portrait, it would have been painted by Salvador Dali. If it was a film, it would be 'Apocalypse Now' and Lutfur Rahman would be Colonel Kurtz. The borough is an embarrassing mess and I imagine that many if not all of the people that actually work for the council are in a state of despair.
If you want to get a better understanding of Mayor Lutfur Rahman and exactly what is going on in the borough, visit Andrew Gilligans excellent blog at the Daily Telegraph. Go here to get a good summary of Lutfur, try here to get an indication of his management style, check out this article to see how bad things are getting and look here to learn more about some of his pals.
Rania Khan has form in terms of her opposition to the club scene. She was interviewed in The Guardian in 2008 by Katie Toms (Object) and stated....
With the above ideal burning in her mind, Rania set out to be a councillor and was elected in 2006. As we will see, it did not take her long to start pursuing her personal agenda...
At a Council Meeting held on 28th February 2007 (although I suspect one person started to think this way in early 2000....am I right Michael?), a long time before any of us had even heard about Object and their plans, Cllr Rania Khan proposed Motion 10.1 as follows....
This was followed a few minutes later by Motion 10.9, submitted by Cllr Denise Jones who stated.....
To see the agenda a decisions of this meeting, please go here . Interestingly this was not the first time that Cllr Khan had tried to raise the issue, at a meeting held on 13th December 2006 the same motion was put to the council but was for some reason voted down, largely it seems by the Labour group. The same thing may have happened in November as well...
Let me tell you now that if the political landscape of Tower hamlets was a portrait, it would have been painted by Salvador Dali. If it was a film, it would be 'Apocalypse Now' and Lutfur Rahman would be Colonel Kurtz. The borough is an embarrassing mess and I imagine that many if not all of the people that actually work for the council are in a state of despair.
If you want to get a better understanding of Mayor Lutfur Rahman and exactly what is going on in the borough, visit Andrew Gilligans excellent blog at the Daily Telegraph. Go here to get a good summary of Lutfur, try here to get an indication of his management style, check out this article to see how bad things are getting and look here to learn more about some of his pals.
Rania Khan has form in terms of her opposition to the club scene. She was interviewed in The Guardian in 2008 by Katie Toms (Object) and stated....
‘The escalation of the porn industry and lap-dancing clubs really bothers me. I moved from Libya to London when I was about eight and seeing images of women being exploited and used as sexual commodities everywhere made me feel sick. I would walk down Tottenham Court Road as a teenager with my mates, ripping out all the prostitution fliers from the phone boxes".
At a Council Meeting held on 28th February 2007 (although I suspect one person started to think this way in early 2000....am I right Michael?), a long time before any of us had even heard about Object and their plans, Cllr Rania Khan proposed Motion 10.1 as follows....
"...There is almost-total unity across Tower Hamlets people of all ages, ethnicities and faith groups in
opposing the exploitation and degrading of women associated with sex and strip club...".
This was followed a few minutes later by Motion 10.9, submitted by Cllr Denise Jones who stated.....
"....There are many people that see striptease as a degrading and morally reprehensible activity...."
Politics in Tower Hamlets is complicated. The Labour Party lost a lot of council wards to Respect in an earlier election. They almost certainly rejected Cllr Kahns motion at the December 2006 meeting because they had not thought of it themselves. By February they were ready, hence two strip club related motions at the same meeting. Out of interest, Rania later defected from Respect to Labour. She is currently an Independent after Labour questioned her support for Lutfur Rahman.
I now have to complicate things a little further, by introducing someone else, Mr Michael Collins. At the December 2006 meeting, Mr Collins tabled a questions with regard 'strip clubs and sexploitation'. Mr Collins described as a 'local resident', was attending nearly every meeting that he could in order to ask questions about strip clubs, this is because Michael Collins does not like strip clubs (especially ones in Tower Hamlets) and thinks they should all be closed (but only if they are located in Tower Hamlets).
So we can see that efforts to wipe clubs off of the map have been going on for a very long time. The two main movers are Cllr Rania Khan and Mr Michael Collins, the latter at some point forming an organisation called CAPE Tower Hamlets. CAPE stands for the Campaign Against People Exploitation. Mr Collins was quoted in a posting on Cllr Khans blog. where he got somewhat carried away...
“Our problem has been to run a comprehensive grassroots campaign on few resources. The sex industry is both rich and powerful,” says Michael Collins, chair of CAPE, “and they will stop at nothing to make sure they can carry on their evil trade. We have been campaigning against them for some years after some appalling activities in residential areas around Commercial Street, Hackney Road, Docklands and Wapping involving a stabbing, a murder, abuse, assaults, prostitution and drug offences in and around these clubs.”
Now both Cllr Rania Khan and Michael Collins are very interesting people. Rania even earned herself the honour of an article in Andrew Gilligans blog in the Daily Telegraph. It is well worth a read because you can learn about the comments she made on her page in a social media website called 'Hi5'. Since this unfortunate episode, Rania has made changes to the pages in question (I made frame grabs of the originals) and written a blog entry where she explains herself. Rania is also mentioned here in an excellent blog called 'Trial By Jeory', that focusses on politics in the East End.
So this almost wraps up Part 1 of our Tower Hamlets coverage. As you can see, things are very complicated and I do hope that you follow the links to see exactly how complicated they are. In Part 2 we will focus on CAPE Tower Hamlets, an organisation that Rania Khan has declared membership of (she is also a member of Object).
As I said earlier, Michael Collins is a very interesting man and is fighting the 'evil trade' of lapdancing (but only in Tower Hamlets). If you want, find out more about CAPE, by visiting their website (if you can find it, that is).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)