World's Oldest Profession

(Newser) - Looking for a conservative investment? Forget bonds and go for bondage—or, at least, that’s the pitch for AdultVest, a hedge fund its CEO tells the Atlantic is an adult-entertainment industry first. The spiel: AdultVest is up 50% in the past year (based on “very conservative” appraisals), and the porn industry, which hasn’t seen much outside investment, generated approximately $12 billion in 2007. More »

(Newser) - Even as Seoul railed against Japan's WWII-era enslavement of "comfort women," it systematically pimped Korean women to US soldiers stationed there for decades after the Korean War, say a group of former prostitutes. Working with the US military, the South Korean government encouraged a thriving sex trade—giving English and etiquette classes to would-be women of the night, and praising them as "dollar-earning patriots" securing vital foreign cash for the country's economy. More »

(Newser) - In the Czech Republic, prostitution is somewhere between legal and illegal—which has made Prague one of the biggest sex tourism hotspots in Europe. But a global recession, coupled with a strong local currency, has led to a sharp drop in the world's oldest profession. The hotel industry is so nervous, writes the New York Times , that it's pushing the government to legalize prostitution once and for all—and the government is considering it. More »

(Newser) - Apparently being the world’s sex and drugs capital isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Amsterdam is hoping to shut down about half of its brothels and half its marijuana shops, the Daily Telegraph reports. Already this year, 109 of the city’s 482 sex “windows” have been shuttered. “Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do not see on the surface,” explained the deputy mayor, “but they are hurting people.” More »

(AP) - A jury has convicted pop singer Boy George of falsely imprisoning a male escort. Jurors sided with Norwegian Audun Carlsen, who accused the pop star of handcuffing him to a wall at the singer's London apartment and roughing him up. Boy George admitted handcuffing him but said he did so because Carlsen had tampered with his computer and removed photos. He'll be sentenced Jan. 16, and the judge has said jail time is likely. More »

(Newser) - Former celebrity hooker Ashley Dupre has a new career in mind: musician. The call girl who brought down Eliot Spitzer has signed a manager, the New York Post reports. The infamous Dupre has made a deal with Chris Lighty, who has worked with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Missy Elliott. More »

(Newser) - The House Financial Services Committee is poised to open an inquiry into the investigation that led to Eliot Spitzer’s resignation, the New York Times reports, with Democratic members wondering aloud if the federal probe could have been a politically motivated hit job. The former New York governor was not charged in the prostitution scandal, so the inquiry will be the only detailed examination. More »

(Newser) - Boy George handcuffed a male escort to the wall and beat him with a metal chain, a London court was told yesterday. Audun Carlsen said he was lured into a bedroom, where the singer, who is standing trial for false imprisonment, and another man beat him until he managed to escape, reports the BBC.