Wednesday, January 21, 2004

US sailors wear out sex workers

There's a war-related headline for ya. I don't know how I stumbled across this article, but in light of my previous posting on the 'rising demand for engineers in the U.S.', I thought it might be worthy to showcase an article that actually had a clear message and actual supporting data.


Perth prostitutes were reeling from exhaustion following an influx of United States sailors stressed from a stint in a war zone, a well-known madam said today.


It's hard not to get the message. Loud and clear.

I had the good fortune to visit Perth and Freemantle a few years ago, for just a couple of days, and while I didn't see any prostitutes, I did meet a U.S. sailor and some locals whose tales would seem to lend credence to the accounts of this article. Perth was a very nice town - very San Diego-esque from what I remember. Freemantle seemed like a nice beach town, but I only saw it at night - muchos bars, which makes sense, I guess. Sailors, bars, etc.

I stayed in a small town called Subiaco (soo-bee-ah-koh), or Subi, for short. I visited the most outrageous beach I've ever been to, at Cottesloe (pic). I heard about a shark attack at Cottesloe - and you often hear about shark attacks in Oz - but this one is scary. I remember taking a walk/jog through a couple of the local parks and seeing really weird-looking fauna, the biggest snake I've ever seen in my life, and some fairly outrageous views of the skyline and other scenic views. Ummm...why am I in DC?