John Howard to take over the United States

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, pointing out a damning report from 2001 about epidemic levels of child abuse in the United States, said that after six years of ignoring the problem he is going to outlaw alcohol and pornography in the United States and take over administration of the territory in order to enforce the new laws.

Sound asinine? He doesn't plan on a US takeover, but he has promised to this this for the aborigine community in Australia. There is no doubt that anyone would want to address the problem in that community and others. One wonders, however, why John Howard doesn't make it a national initiative all across Australia. That would be seen as a human or civil rights attack, whereas if it is done with someone brown, it's acceptable.

And, of course, he really couldn't enforce this in my fictional account of his efforts in the United States because we have self determination whereas the aborigine community in Australia does not.

During an election year, he easily wields old colonial powers without full study or even an attempt to work with the aborigine communities first.

"Won't somebody save the children" doesn't provide instant righteousness.

If anyone thinks this is a good idea, what should be done about the US ignoring a six year old report of epidemic abuse levels? What should be done about abuse in the white communities in Australia?

The other Sept 11th Report - Child Sex and Exploitation

This is a story that broke the day before the twin towers fell. I supported the strike against the Taliban and Al Qaeda - I hoped that while we were reacting to our own terror, we could see and address some of the things that affect us day to day as well. It's a sad case that contradicts our day to day stereotypes and expectations.

Full Report:
http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/~restes/CSEC.htm

"Seventy-five percent of the children we met on the streets are children from working class and middle class families and the simple majority of them are white,"
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/09/10/child.exploitation/

The report continues

"One of the other myths is that this is a problem [of] poor, inner city, mostly minority youth. We cannot confirm that to be the case, but rather just the opposite."
"Despite popular notions to the contrary," Estes said, "strangers commit fewer than 4 percent of all the sexual assaults against children."
..
Study summary Among the findings of a study titled "The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico"

325,000 children are sexually exploited in the United States annually. Of that figure, 121,911 ran away from home and 51,602 were thrown out of their homes by a parent or guardian.

25 percent of exploiters of children are other children.

Children who engage in prostitution can earn between $200 and $1,500 per day.

75 percent of children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation are from middle class backgrounds.

40 percent of the girls who engaged in prostitution were sexually abused at home, as were 30 percent of the boys.