prostitute

The 404 293: Where Dan Ackerman has a Mac Mini in his pants

Dan Ackerman joins us on today's show to talk about his not-critically-acclaimed album "Tales Out of Night School" and the technology world in general. Be sure to check out his podcast Digital City on iTunes. Also, he give his opinion on digital-music distribution and makes fun of our game of marry/boff/kill with Ms. Natali Del Conte.

On today's show, we talk about the release of the new "Watchmen" movie. The first reviews are mixed. Justin is still holding out hope that the film will be watchable. In other movie and television news, Showtime, a sister company of CNET, is releasing Emmy screeners on iPods. Amazon finally gets the sense to pull a video game featuring rape simulation. The cast of "Seinfeld" rejoins on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Hopefully, Michael Richard won't drop any bombs on the show. Justin is disappointed that a sheriff in Cook County is finally starting to crack down on prostitution on Craigslist. And Matel releases a Barbie doll in China with a tattoo.… Read more

Is Craigslist the world's biggest bordello?

Update 7 p.m. on Friday: Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster issued a statement. You can read the story here.

Catherine is a 35-year-old sex worker in San Francisco who relies on Craigslist to reduce the physical risks often faced by a woman in her line of work.

"Craigslist is important to helping us avoid violence," says the woman, who is originally from Europe. "Craigslist is a way to filter out that kind of person...and with Craigslist there is no need for pimps."

For people in her trade, she adds in a thick accent, "Craigslist … Read more

The Craigslist prostitution prosecution seems kinky

It seems like a case of biting the hand that feeds you and then pinches you in that little place you've never told your wife about.

Today's announcement that Illinois' Cook County Sheriff is suing Craigslist for being the largest source of prostitution in America, seems extremely odd.

I just called a couple of people who know about these things and they tell me that one of the easiest ways for police to round up a few workers of the Paid Sex Sorority is to wander along to Craigslist and take down some of the advertisers' particulars.

So … Read more

Cook County: Craigslist's 'erotic' section must go

Updated at 1:55 p.m. PST to include quotes from Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who was interviewed by CNET News.

Updated at 12:13 p.m. PST to include demands made in civil complaint filed by Cook County sheriff.

Updated at 12:13 p.m. PST to include comments from Craigslist.

The sheriff of Illinois' Cook County, which includes Chicago, filed suit in federal court Thursday against Craigslist, alleging that the Web's largest classifieds publication is "facilitating prostitution."

Sheriff Tom Dart has asked the court to force Craigslist to remove the Web publication's erotic … Read more

Craigslist to crack down on ads for erotic services

Craigslist will require anyone posting ads to the Web's site's "erotic services" section to submit a working phone number and credit card, the online classified publication said Thursday.

The new measures are the result of negotiations between Craigslist and 40 state attorneys general and are designed to thwart ads for prostitution and other illegal activities.

San Francisco-based Craigslist has long implemented electronic safeguards to prevent this kind of advertising, but an entire cottage industry has sprung up around selling software and other services that help circumvent the blocks, the company said in a statement.

"These … Read more

The 404 198: Where we put the taint in tainted love

Dan the Mantern is responsible for a majority of the stories in the rundown today, so don't hesitate to burn him at the stake if you don't like what you hear. Personally, I think today's show is hilarious: Craigslist crime, driving exams and racial stereotypes, video game pirates, and the evolution of the Chinese "impossible" space drive. Once again, it's East meets West on The 404!

Big thanks to our buddy Jeff Sparkman for today's show title. We are literally the taint on the massive organ that is CNET.com. Anyway, even though Dan helps us by suggesting the stories for the show, I managed to sneak one by him, and apparently Caroline McCarthy also caught wind. It seems like Craigslist just can't stay out of trouble. This time around, a man used the job listings to post an anonymous ad for construction workers and requested that they show up wearing a blue shirt, yellow vest, safety hat and a blue shirt. The man then proceeded to rob an armored car before stripping his clothing to reveal the exact same uniform, effectively allowing him to disappear into the sea of construction workers. He later reappeared to make his getaway by riding an innertube down the local lake. I love the fact that robbers are getting more creative with their schemes--Jason Bourne over here, did this guy just watch "Ocean's 11" or something? For all that Craigslist has given the internet community (apartments, bikes, jobs, casual "encounters"), I think we can let this one slide.

Episode 198 Download today's podcast … Read more

The 404 175: Where we're wearing white after Labor Day

Welcome to the working week! We're back after a very relaxing Labor Day Weekend. We welcome Natali back to the office and catch up on some political news. Don't fret, we mostly just make fun of Palin's daughter's redneck boyfriend. Other stories from today include MySpace suckage, CraigsList prostitution busts, an Amy Winehouse mental health update, and a Justin PSYu Foundation report!

After an extended weekend, it's usually difficult to drag yourself back into the office, but it's easy when there's so much to talk about! First things first: how come nobody told … Read more

The 404 127: Where Justin gets his wardrobe off eBay

All the bizarre stories on today's show throw us into a rollercoaster of emotions. We start off innocent enough, begging Rick Moranis to do more movies, but then quickly spiral into flora weaponry, gender identity and male pregnancy, heartbreaking eBay auctioneering, and the difficulty in "Shorty" pimpery. We also come to the sobering realization that we've been duped...AGAIN! This must stop. EPISODE 127 Download today's podcast

Meet Spitzer's 'Kristen' on MySpace

It's probably a safe bet that you won't find Eliot Spitzer listed among "Kristen's" friends on MySpace, even though the alleged prostitute in the sex scandal seems to have quite a few.

But thanks to the magic of social networking, we get a fairly intimate look at one of the players in a sex scandal that brought down the governor of New York.

Two days ago, we learned that Spitzer--the politician who made his reputation as being tough on crime--had been implicated in a prostitution scandal. We got to see Silda Wall Spitzer stand by … Read more

Where cheaters never prosper

EPISODE 54

The men of the 404 are here with Chris Grant from Joystiq.com, who talks with us about Governor Spitzer's resignation, more importantly BioShock's highly anticipated sequel, Xbox 360's price drop overseas, and a Web site for storing files an easier way.

Listen now: Download today's podcast