If you haven't seen the Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland franchises, you are missing out on some seriously good reality TV. What makes these shows so great is that the women genuinely don't care about how they come across. They will tear each other apart, in the nastiest ways possible, without blinking an eye. Although they can get very mean, they also know how to have fun, and let loose. They are up there with RHONY and RHOA when it comes to dragging each other. This makes for almost constant fun, drama, and iconic TV moments. Here's a rundown, if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing these shows:
RHOMelbourne-
It's right up with the best seasons of RHONY, RHOA, and RHOBH. It's so much better than any of the recent American RH seasons. It's what the whole RH franchise should be, at its best. What makes the show great is that each HW has a certain persona that someone will like. If you want a sharp, quick-witted Bethenny type, there's Janet. A dumb, delusional, pot-stirring housewife who lives in her own bubble, but can still somehow be charming? Lydia. A glamorous, smart, narcissistic steamroller of a housewife? Gina. If you prefer a Martha Stewart type peacekeeper, there's Chyka, or a hippie-dippy psychic? Jackie. All the best parts of Brandi Glanville, without the messiness and general grossness? Gamble. The queen of narcissists? Pettifleur. Even the more bland ones, like Susie and Sally could give us some nice lifestyle porn. They all have something to offer to the audience, and many of them have known each other for decades. That means that their relationships are genuine, and their friendships and hostilities are mostly real. Although the show is known for the drama, the girls also know how to have fun and be silly. They're funny, brutal, and haven't had a bad season yet. Season 5 comes out later, this year.
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RHOAuckland
- Unfortunately lasted one season, but it's one of the best first-seasons of any HW franchise (not counting the unfortunate incident that got it cancelled). The cast is incredible, it's full of lifestyle porn, and the show was able to stay very entertaining, even after the major controversy. There are six housewives:
Louise (the Weakest Link lady)- An old-money alpha who trolls the other HWs for fun. Louise is the epitome of IDGAF. When called out, she'd be the first to say "Yes, I called her a gold-digging homewrecker and here's a list of reasons why." She was at the top of her game through the whole season, and was able to win every fight she was in. Her tagline is "I earned my money the old fashioned way. I inherited it.". Really sharp, funny, and a great villain type.
Gilda- A Persian Queen who is stylish, interesting, and brilliant. Gilda runs like seven different companies, and wrote a kids book about cosmology. She spends most of the season arguing with the show's main "villain". Gilda has ice in her veins, and it's really funny to watch her reactions to everything. She dropped one of the best HW burns of all time with "do you know what I heard about you...not a fucking thing". Mic drop. Erika Jayne wishes she was Gilda.
Michelle- A former model, who's basically New Zealand's answer to Naomi Campbell. She's very stylish, smart, and gorgeous. She can be rude and bitchy to the housewives she hates, and throws shade like a seasoned pro. Her friendships with Gilda and Anne was a highlight of the show.
Anne- Probably the only person who can make "classist old-money snob" seem cute and charming. She's really fun to watch, and is obsessed with cats and champagne. Anne is much older than the others, and sometimes seems like she's stuck in another era. In her freetime, she feeds stray cats all over Auckland. She's like a very likable, friendly, and less bitchy version of LVP. I liked that she was able to hang with the younger, fashionable women and have fun. I also enjoyed how she got along with Michelle, who was like a polar opposite to her in every way.
Angela-The main villain throughout the show, Angela is a very good "fun" villain. She's not dangerous, or malicious. She's very fun to hate, because of how delusional she is. Every scene she has, Angela is dripping with delusion, and has a fake serial killer smile plastered on her face. She truly thought she was New Zealand's answer to Oprah. It's really fun to watch Gilda and Louise tear her down, because she brings it on herself, with the things she says. She would constantly go up against the other big personalities on the show, just to get shut down every time.
Julia- Trash. Literally the reason why the show was canceled in the first place. She was a terrible HW from the second episode, when she goaded Anne into saying that Gilda was a gold-digger, during a private conversation. Then, she went to Gilda, and snitched on Anne. A huge dick move. She was a major gossip. Later, she lost a huge fight with Louise, and spent the rest of the the season holding a silly grudge against her. The worst thing she did was refer to Michelle (a black lady) as a "boat n-word". I don't want to spoil the show, but she called Michelle that, and tried to apologize in the worst ways possible. She even said it again, in her confessional. That was the only episode where even delusional Angela was a surprising voice of reason. The other HWs, and the show itself handled the situation remarkably well. The other women condemned what Angela said, and explained why her actions were inexcusable. Even Anne, who most would assume to be the "problematic" one, because of her age and sometimes old-timey ways, was appalled at Julia's behavior. I liked how the women either rallied around Michelle or went after Julia for what she said. The four episodes after the dreaded "n-word" one were amazing, and the show was still able to have lots of great moments. Julia and her husband later tried to sue the show, for including the scene where she says the "n-word". Unfortunately, Julia's awful behavior was what got the show canceled. The show had a very high rating throughout the whole season, and was sure to get picked up. Hopefully, they can give it a second try, without Julia. They could just replace her with two new amazing Auckland HWs. It's sad to see a franchise with so much potential fail like that, but try to see the first season if you can. It's really funny, and has lots of great moments.
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RHOSydney
It was probably the most volatile, aggressive RH show of all time. Each episode contained at least one major blow-up. The show was considered to be so controversial that it never aired in the US. Like Auckland, it was cancelled after one season, because of how mean these women were to each other. Many of them have huge personalities, and egos, which made them fight at the drop of a hat. Athena, Victoria, Krissy, and Lisa were at the center of most of the fights. It's a really funny show, if you like to see housewives fighting. At least the show never got boring.
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Athena X, who lives on her own plane drove most of the women crazy, while Lisa was just awful to everyone. Victoria would attack anyone, and threw Athena's weird cape-thing into Sydney Harbor in the first episode. Krissy and Nicole were a lot like Salt Lake City's Lisa and Meredith in that they are brunettes who look alike. Krissy got into fights a lot, and Nicole acted like she was above everyone, because she was the richest and kinda looks like Jackie Kennedy. Melissa, a former one-hit-wonder from the 90s was kinda boring because she didn't add much, and Matty, who owned a plastic surgery clinic, seemed fun and smart. If you want nonstop drama, and just plain chaos, this is the show for you.
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Here are some Sydney highlights, if you want to see 2:17 minutes of pure chaos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=789Dd06XeUs
Tl, dr: RH Melbourne, Auckland, and Sydney are some of the best RH franchises ever. You can watch Auckland and Melbourne on and Sydney on Apple TV. Melbourne and Auckland are also on youtube tv.

25/30 rankers reporting this week. /NBA's Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section. Rankings were completed prior to Today's games. We will be looking for a new Lakers tanker this week.

#	Team	Δ	Record	Comment
1	Lakers	--	11-3
2	Clippers	--	10-4	I still see some people defending doc. Lue saw some bad roatations, and cleaned them up. His willingness to experiement, and his apparent straight-forwardness with the players has seemingly relfected within the first 15 games. Plus it's pretty nice to have MVP PG13 giving us a show every game. I look forward to seeing what else Lue can scrounge up, and how well everyone meshes with Batum, Kennard, and Ibaka as the season goes on.
3	Bucks	+1	9-4	It's been a wild start to the season for the bucks Bucks, going 6-1 in their last 7 after starting 3-3. With all the roster turnover, an updated offensive philosophy, and Bud finally showing some willingness to run a switching defensive scheme, there's been a lot of changes in a short time. It seems like the whole team is doing a bit of a "coasting" and really focusing more on figuring out how to play better together, than winning games (we're giving Thanasis legitimate rotation minutes for chrissake). The team has already made strides, but in a league where two teams have multiple MVP-Level players, there's still a lot of work to be done in order to be ready for the playoffs.
4	Nets	+3	8-6	Despite the 8-6 record, the Nets are 4th in the leage in net rating and have only played a few games at full strength. With COVID taking out KD for a few games and then Kyrie going on a personal leave, Nash and co. have been scrambling to try new starting lineups and rotations. Kyrie seems to be close to returning so fans will finally get a full taste of Kyrie, Harden, and KD for the first time. It was just 5 years ago that the Nets were starting Donald Sloan and Wayne Ellington - now we'll get to unveil Kyrie and Harden. The trade was a huge gamble but with KD looking like himself again, the time to go for a championship is now.
5	76ers	-2	9-5	Making sense of a team's performance can get dicey once COVID regulations strike, and the Sixers are one of those teams. The decimation of the team's roster has led to head-scratching losses, bright spots like the emergence of Tyrese Maxey as a dark horse ROTY candidate, and general confusion about how the team ranks when weight record, net rating, and the eye test. Among all that, one thing is for certain: Joel Embiid is a legitimate MVP candidate. The team is a contender when he's in regardless of the other players. When the starting lineup is together this team can compete with anyone, but will they be able to weather another potential clash with the health and safety protocols?
6	Jazz	--	9-4	The Jazz are on a roll! Winners of a league best 5 consecutive games, they enter this edition of power rankings with the third best record in the NBA. Over the last two weeks no team has recorded more triples than the Jazz who shot 41.1% from deep on over 40 attempts per game. Thumping victories against the Cavs and Hawks by 20+ points and a road win in Milwaukee were the highlights in a stretch that got off to a rough start with double digit losses to the Nets and Knicks. Rudy Gobert continues to put together the best defensive season of his career while Jordan Clarkson's season averages of 17.5PPG on 50/43/94 shooting splits in under 25 minutes per game sees him further establish himself as the 6MOTY favourite. After playing a league high 9 road games to began the year, the Jazz return to Salt Lake City where they will host 6 consecutive games, a great opportunity to build off some early season momentum.
7	Celtics	+1	8-4	The Celtics went 4-1 since the last power ranking and Kemba is finally cleared to start playing on a minutes restriction, but the elephant in the room is the absolute beatdown of a blowout the Celtics took from the Knicks. Tatum has been out due to COVID, however it's still not an excuse to put up 75 points in this era of basketball, especially when you could argue 10-15 of those points came after the Knicks were just going through the motions at the end of the game. Luckily, Tatum should be back soon and as last reported might even be a go for their matchup on the 20th vs the 76ers. Between now and the next rankings, the Celtics will play 6 times. They'll face off against the 76ers in Philly two games in a row, play the Cavs at home, go on the road for two games vs the Bulls and Spurs, and then come home for a matchup against the Lakers on the 30th.
8	Suns	-3	7-4	The Suns haven't played in a week since the embarrassing loss vs the Wizards that should have obviously not even been played given the Wizards exposure. The Suns are set to play tonight against the recently exposed Grizzlies, a game that likely would not be happening if it wasn't on TNT.
9	Pacers	--	8-5	It's a new NEW era in Indiana, as the Pacers decided to insert themselves into the blockbuster James Harden deal and flip Victor Oladipo's expiring contract for Caris LeVert. LeVert's debut will have to wait a while due to an issue with a mass on his kidney, but the Pacers brass seems optimistic he will play this year. Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis continues his excellent start to the season, routinely threatening 20-20 stat lines, and Myles Turner has firmly anchored down the paint with Mutumbo-esque block totals. A hand injury will sideline Turner for a bit, but for now, Indiana seems to be in good standing near the top of the East.
10	Trail Blazers	+4	8-5	Basketball is dumb. There are so many things we could do with our lives instead. Read a book. Call our parents. Clean the kitchen. But here we are, getting our hopes up only for Nurk to break his hand and CJ to sprain his foot. All is lost. Life is misery. Dreams are for the young and the foolish.
11	Mavericks	+4	6-6	Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup, but the depth of the Mavs is still on hold due to Covid-19. Rookie Josh Green and 4 year vet Wes Iwundu are getting significant run without josh Richardson present, but they still leave a lot to be desired. The Mavs need to improve offensive consistency, and with Porzingis healthy alongside a fully healthy Dallas starting 5, the upside is limitless for the Mavericks.
12	Nuggets	--	6-7	Nikola Jokic continues to dominate with an MVP-worthy campaign, averaging 25 PPG/11 RPG/10 APG on the season with an absurd 31.43 PER, and has racked up 5 triple doubles in just 13 games thus far. Unfortunately I also have to talk about the rest of the Nuggets, who have looked better over the past two weeks, but have also taken some hard fought losses to Brooklyn and Utah. The loss of Michael Porter Jr. to the COVID protocol has not helped with their scoring, however the main crux thus far has been a severely lacking perimeter defense, with teams averaging 39% on 33.5 3PA per game against the Nuggets this season. The team is certainly trending in the right direction, and I wouldn't expect them to remain outside of the playoff picture for much longer, however the claims that the shortened season would help this team have been unfounded thus far.
13	Spurs	+9	7-6
14	Warriors	+7	6-6	Warriors put together a couple nice games but have been on a skid this past week. Draymond's lack of any offensive threat right now is starting to take a toll on the offense. Oubre has started to find his 3 point shot with 3 makes in both of the past 2 losses @ IND and @ DEN. Wiseman has been a beast with only 21 minutes per game averaging 11.3/6.6. After the Lakers game today the Warriors have a relatively lighter schedule where they can idealy find some consistency.
15	Grizzlies	+8	6-6
16	Magic	+1	6-7	With Isaac's torn ACL, Fultz' torn ACL, Okeke's bone bruise, MCW's tendon strain, Fournier's back spasms, and Aminu's knee, the Magic have had to really scrape the barrel to find some positive play. At least Bamba has managed to get some decent minutes in, but even he's dealing with COVID protocols at the moment. Vuc and Gordon are the only reason we're somewhat competitive in recent games but they can't perform miracles. The next few weeks the schedule gets easier so maybe we don't fall behind in a strenghtening eastern conference.
17	Heat	-6	4-7	We haven't had the best of times since the last time power rankings were done. Played a total of 8 players in our two matches against the Phillies, and it was an admirable effort even though it didn't work out at all. Tyler Herro mostly carried us as best he could through those two matches as well as our scouting (Gabe Vincent and KZ Okpala had some nice outings). It's not time for all doom and gloom since we've had some nice games against good teams, but we're entering a stretch of the schedule where it might be hard to right the ship. Outside of COVID protocol it's amazing how the Miami Heat continue to do a good job of finding prospects. Some guys have to spend time developing with the G-League affiliate and others we sign from other teams, but it's been very impressive. The recent ones are Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, Chris Silva and before that we had Tyler Johnson (I miss him) and Rodney McGruder. We haven't always drafted well but I'll welcome this stretch of scouting and developmental success.
18	Pelicans	-5	5-7	Yes, the Pelicans had an abysmal 0-5 stretch where they lost in OT to the Pacers in a game that should've been finished off, to the tanking Thunder by 1, and to Lonzo Ball's brother's team. But they also played the two best teams in the NBA, and played them well for portions of those games. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has emerged as a legit starter in the league already in his second season, and looks to be the absolutely perfect fit next to Lonzo when he returns from injury. As the coaching staff slowly figures out the offensive issues and rotations, this team will ramp it up into second and maybe even third gear. We're not ready to take it over the finish line yet or win any races, but this is the kind of team that will get into the mix as the finish line approaches.
19	Cavaliers	-1	6-7	No SexLand, No Love. Admittedly, a hard to watch 2-5 stretch which included us utilizing a 5 man of Dotson/Nance/MakeMcgee/Drummond on the court played out exactly how it sounds. Still, the Cavs remaining hovering around .500 with the imminent return of Sexton, Garland, and Kevin Love (~2 weeks), any of which will be a jolt of offense for a team with the #2 defensive rating. A KPJ return would be wonderful, but it is sounding more and more like he is about to be traded or released. Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince will make their Cavs debut on Wednesday vs the Nets
20	Hornets	+6	6-8	The Hornets went on a four game winning streak, bringing our record to 6-5 before coming back to Earth a little bit in the past week. Regardless, that taste of above-.500 basketball was enough to offer Hornets fans a glimmer of hope. Gordon Hayward has played at an All-Star level. LaMelo Ball is an early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. Scary Terry and Miles Bridges are dunking on everybody, and your favorite player might be next! Our glaring weakness is at Center, but Cody Zeller can hopefully come back soon. We have entered an alternate universe in which the Charlotte Hornets are very fun to watch. Tune in sometime.
21	Hawks	-11	5-7	What stupid idiots we all are for falling for the Hawks 4-1 start. Injuries no doubt have played a huge factor, but the Hawks have lost 6 of their last 7 with the only win being over the Philadelphia COVID-19ers. Trae Young has seemingly forgotten how to play the sport of basketball and apparently he, John Collins, and Lloyd Pierce all hate each other. The sky is falling, but it's a long season and for some dumb reason I still believe the Hawks will turn it around and fight for the 8th seed.
23	Knicks	+1	6-8	"Pleasure, scarcely in one instance, is ever able to reach ecstasy and rapture; and in no one instance can it continue for any time at its highest pitch and altitude. The spirits evaporate, the nerves relax, the fabric is disordered, and the enjoyment quickly degenerates into fatigue and uneasiness. But pain often, good God, how often! rises to torture and agony; and the longer it continues, it becomes still more genuine agony and torture. Patience is exhausted, courage languishes, melancholy seizes us, and nothing terminates our misery but the removal of its cause, or another event, which is the sole cure of all evil, but which, from our natural folly, we regard with still greater horror and consternation. Get Elfrid Payton off the Knicks" -David Hume
23	Raptors	-4	4-8	Odd few weeks to the Raptors. Had our first decisive victory against the kings, with two very close wins against the Hornets at the end of the week. Against good teams though we’ve continued to lose, with losses to golden state, portland, Phoenix, and Boston since the last write up. Chris Boucher has been the bright spot of this season, with him really stepping up in place of Baynes/Len who continue to not provide any contributions. Our fan base remains torn on whether we should tank or not, but I personally believe it’s in our best interest to do so.
24	Thunder	+4	6-6	After last season and the first month or so of this season, I'm running out of ways to say "this franchise just refuses to tank for real." This time around, it might have more severe consequences, given the potential franchise-transforming potential of the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes. In the meantime, another resemblance to last year's squad is the balance of scoring: after the incredibly smooth-finishing SGA's 22, OKC's next 7 players all score between 9 and 13 points per game. However, OKC's newfound affinity for launching threes this season has not been matched by success at actually making them: the team is currently hitting only 33.0% from deep, ranking 27th in the league. As a whole, the team's struggling offense (29th-ranked ORTG) threatens to sink the Thunder's currently .500 record to a much more expected range going forward. Clank for Cade?
25	Rockets	-9	4-7	Newer NBA fans had never known a Rockets team without James Harden, but that is the new reality. Despite never achieving the ultimate goal, the Harden era gave this team many great memories. Rafael Stone now faces the tough task of slowly rebuilding this team back into contention.
26	Bulls	+1	5-8	The growing pains are, well, painful. The Bulls are better than their record would have you think, as the team has 5 losses by a combined 12 points. It does mean that at the end of the day, the Bulls don't have the clutch gene. The final minutes of games are filled with bad turnovers and missed easy shots. These things are coachable though and that's what Billy Donovan, so don't count us out of a low seed playoff berth yet. The young starting 5 is showing clear signs of improvent and is complemented by bench pieces that slot in nicely. #4 pick Patrick Williams is proving he was worth what many called a reach!
27	Kings	-7	5-9	The Kings have been largely unable to capitalize on their current homestand, since our last rankings the team had a stretch where they lost three of four games by over 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton has continued to impress, coming back earlier than expected from injury, and shooting 52% from the field and from three in 11 games played. Marvin Bagley has had a mini-resurgence in efficiency though he and Buddy Hield are still struggling offensively. The bigger problem remains the team's defense, as the Kings are currently giving up a blistering 50/40/80 shooting splits to opponents, and have the worst defense in the league.
28	Wizards	-3	3-8	A COVID outbreak has stalled the Wizards' season, and as such, there isn't really much to report on for this edition. That being said, Scott Brooks' rotations continue to boggle the mind, as former first round pick Troy Brown Jr has appeared to have fallen in his doghouse and isn't coming out any time soon, while Jerome Robinson continues to throw up more bricks than a cocaine dealer. Hopefully this break will allow the team to get healthy and continue their play before the break, which concluded with a demoltion of the Suns.
29	TWolves	--	3-8	Thoughts and prayers are with Karl-Anthony Towns who is going through the worst years ever.
30	Pistons	--	3-9	The Pistons remain really bad, but they do compete. Blake Griffin still looks like he's basically done for, but Jerami Grant may be a legit All-NBA caliber player given how great he's been. Saddiq Bey and Beef Stew have shown flashes. Overall it's a tough season for Detroit, but there are good signs in the early going.

To start, this should be a single player game. If Bethesda/Obsidian/MS can make it so I can play with 1 or 2 friends, I want that but understand it's not that simple.
So why it should be picked:
First, NY has an amazing history when it comes to Pre-Revolution, Revolution, the Civil War, and beyond. Major events like the battle at Saratoga (which is considered the turning point of the Revolution), the 1980 Miracle on Ice, and Woodstock (along with a whole lot more) all took place in upstate NY. So the rich history of the area is ripe for pro American stylizing and propaganda that gives FO it's unique take on American Atom-punk.
That along with more modern history of things like the Native Americans (The Oneidas) actually taking back their land and forming their own sovereign nation (basically they have their own gov. Pay no state taxes, and self govern with police, fire, and allow gambling which NY does not). So their modern government would not only be some great lore, but I honestly believe could be a basis for the main quest line. Things like their unique tribal leadership, philosophy, and gambling (hello 10 luck) could bring a very grey area to fallout that was kind of missed in FO3 + 4. Plus their mythology would make for a great weird scene that fallout has at least 1 of every game.
Also, for those who don't know, upstate NY is very country with major cities pocketed about. (Utica, Albany, Syracuse, etc). So if you liked NV style of wandering the wastes, or 3s style of city wandering, we've got both. Also, we've got two mountains areas, one in the Adirondacks and the Catskills are the other.
That said, one of the most important parts of fallout are the locations. Where can we go? For that I have a list:
Major locations:
Lake Placid Winter Olympics training facility - the winter olympics world be held in 2078 and if they still exist by then and to play into the game, LP could be the location of those games. Again, the miracle on ice where American Amateurs bested the Communist Russian Pros, was held there. The "Better dead than Red" sentiment would be full force. Not to mention one of a few great locations for a possible vault (80, in this case to house winter olympians). Plus, the weapons could be cool too. Hockey sticks, hockey skate blades on gloves, a goalie mask for armor, you name it.
Cooperstown Baseball HOF - Now when you think Americana, Baseball is one of your first thoughts, don't lie. Cooperstown is baseball central and very pretty. Another great place for pro-american styles and fun gear like baseball base mines, softball helmets (because fuck you "A League of Their Own" style pro-baseball league in FO sounds awesome), and of course bats and baseball grenades. Also a baseball Vault (Vault 4, 5, 7, or 9). Not my idea, but in this vault, there's 32 teams of mens and 32 teams of womens baseball (or coed teams, idk), all of whom are pro players. Vault tec test is simple, winner gets food and drinks, loser gets steroid infused food and drink (but they don't know it has steroids obviously). The idea is, test how good at baseball people can be if given monster amounts of steroids for generations. I'll make a separate post about this in detail if desired.
Canastota Boxing HOF - Another unique area for America. Canastota is pretty boring and empty, but for those of you old enough to remember Rocky when it came out, it basically revived Boxing as a major sport and also had a moment where America bested the Red Menace (Rocky IV). Maybe a spot for a vault or to learn unique unarmed moves. Pugilism Illustrated anyone?
Albany - NYs capital and an easy big city area along the Hudson. A great location for corporate greed, governmental corruption, and side quests. Can't say it'll be the focal point of the game since its very near the eastern border of it, but a good location for exploring and lore.
Buffalo/Niagara Falls - Ya ever gone over the falls in a barrel? Do ya want to? I think using Niagara Falls (which has an American and Canadian side, Canadas is the U-shaped famous one) as Fallouts first "Non-American" location would be fun. First, the falls are beautiful and are a major source of hydroelectric power. Second, in FO, America annexed canada, so it's technically still America! Third, right across the "border" are casinos! More gambling! Third and a half, it's another big city and buffalo is where the buffalo wing was invented (God bless buffalo wings). Besides the cool lore opportunity about the annexation and the city location, the falls could be a major location for the story if the main conflict was about powering the area, similar to NV.
Syracuse - NYs (literal) center city. The Salt City as it was formally known is a big city with some great old and new style. Again, not much about the city to say, but a great opportunity for corporate BS. The main attraction would be the Syracuse Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome). Due to its location and style, it's perfect as a central trading hub for the major cities and people. Think of Great Green Jewel style, people living, bars, shops, etc. BUT the really interesting part is what's right next to the Dome. SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry). This college is special because (A. I went there) it has very unique programs and with some future tech thrown in, could be a great location for a Fallout 3 Harold or NV vault 22-esq quest. The college already does experiments with major chemicals, evolution (FEV anyone?) and breeding plants for unique purposes. Again, I have a really cool idea for this area, but that can be a different post. Fun fact, ESF is actually working to bring back the North America Chestnut that went (nearly) extinct! Also, some asshole releases the fruit flies the genetics lab work with every year and it sucks.
NYC (Empire, 9/11 memorial, Statue of Liberty) - Yeah yeah, you can't have NY without the City, but frankly there's so much here to explore and deal with, I'd leave it to the pros to really do it justice.
Turning Stone Casino - Gambling, a hotel/restaurants like in NV, and a good spot for the main quest line.
Fort Stanwix - A real revolutionary war fort. HQ or major area for raiders. Safe, well protected and with plenty of history.
Fort Drum and Griffis Air Force Base: Two major bases that could be packed with guns, nukes, and power armor. Heavily guarded by turrets, robots, and security gates.
Main Quest:
Without too much detail, I figure your character will be hired to figure out the future of NY.
You'll be brought to the Turning Stone which is currently the HQ of the Oneida tribe. Your job would be to either work with the other tribes in the former Iroquois Confederation (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora [added later]). (Quick note: in my AU, some time after the bombs fell, the IC came to power because of their knowledge of living off the land and attempted to rebuild society. After some time rebuilding and establishing a post-war society, the tribes do the thing all humans do and bicker. Around 2200 the IC broke apart but the tribes retained power in their areas. They fight, trade, yadda yadda but no one is in control of everything.
Throughout your quest, it turns out that what is holding everyone back is a lack of power for things like lights and running water. Your job will be to determine where to get that power (Nuclear power plant in Oswego or the falls in Niagara?) And where to give it (one tribe? A few? Or all?). But that's not all, the tribes can't decide who should be in charge. One tribe wants to remain independent, don't help the outsiders and rebuild society in their image within NY, another wants to help others but would need to sacrifice their own people's safety and seclusion. Maybe another wants to be imperialist and expand their borders throughout America through way of force and fear while another agrees with taking land but wants it done through offers of protection for taxes. And each tribe has its own opinion on bringing the IC back together, staying separate, or taking over the tribes for themselves.
It's up to you character to decide who to help. Do you work hard to try and bring all tribes together under one banner or choose a side and execute their will as a paid mercenary/ambassador?
Other choices would be chaos by siding with raiders, or maybe a BOS path to take out all the tribes, idk, haven't thought it all out. Again, not a writer.
Mechanics:
So personally, I like the idea that if you choose to go with a single faction, there would a battle/war mechanic where you and an army (or alone if you really wanna try) take over and lay claim to areas similar to Nuka World where you fly the gangs flag. Nothing complicated, normal fallout fights, don't die and kill the leadehis troops to win.
Karma is back. You will garner good or bad rep with each tribe depending on what you do. I'd like an armor system like in NV but I can live without it.
There is an ending. Once you beat the game you can continue doing side quests for armoexperience/ammo but only for the tribes left in power. Occasional rebellions will rise up as random events that need to be put down.
Settlements are limited. Like skyrim, but a plot and build. No need to build one everywhere and you don't even need to do it if you don't want to.
Radio host? Gimme a Mr. New Vegas type guy. I don't want an eccentric 3-dog, I want a smoothed voiced person wishing me lady like luck.
Also, smarter AI.
Otherwise, typical FO mechanics. Weapons degrade, can upgrade weapons and armor, etc.
Main problems with NY:
No real borders to the south. Invisible walls would like be necessary which is stupid. Same to the East, but the Hudson could theoretically be used as a border if you put crazy strong mirelurks or something to kill the player if they tried to cross (or more invisible walls)
Don't want to disrespect the tribes. This is an issue with using each tribe as a possible faction. You're bound to piss off or disrespect one. So it'll be a task to make sure it's as limited as possible.
What to do with the city? It's a huge area that can be used for so much, but as a part of NY it's actually pretty seperated. It's a commercial hub now, but there's nothing there that would really be a reason to go down there. So do you make it one or do we just make it a glowing sea type area that's completely decimated from the bombs? That's my personal choice honestly, but it's a tough one to please as many as possible.
Conclusion: NY is rad.
I'll be taking questions as long as they do not involve Canadian trivia. Thank you.

“Another figure skating post?!” you might be asking. The answer is yes, because this sport is in an eternal cycle of skating divas, corrupt judges, and petty coaches that can’t be rivaled. Something about figure skating just draws in the most dramatic people imaginable from every corner of the world. However, this story is not confined to Instagram callouts from world famous coaches and popcorn fodder for fans, this here is a scandal that got so big it became worldwide news, causing a massive overhaul of the scoring system in place since the sport’s christening, and a months long investigation lead by the FBI.

How exactly did scoring work?

In order to be able to completely explain this scandal, I’ll give you some light background on the scoring system. From its inception in 1901, figure skating used a system of scoring known as the 6.0 system, which served as a ranking system for the competitors. Over the course of a short program and a free program, each skater would be given a score from 0.0 to 6.0 by nine judges in two categories; “technical merit” (execution and difficulty of the technical elements) and “presentation” (artistry, musicality, overall program quality). These marks were meant to be used by judges as a ranking of personal preference from judge to judge. How these marks were used to place skaters changed over time, but in 1998, the system changed to a “one-by-one” comparison, where the numbers were averaged out to determine final scores. The scores from both the short and the free determine the overall placements, with the free being weighed heavier.

On a cold winter's day in Utah…

the 2002 Olympics are well under way, and anticipation is sky high for the most popular event of every Winter Olympics; figure skating. More specifically the pairs event, which involves a man and a woman doing elements such as side-by-side jumps, throw jumps, lifts, etc. The biggest names competing today, both ready to claim the gold, are Russia’s Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze and Canada’s Jamie Salé and David Pelletier (I’ll be referring to them by country because on God I refuse to type those again).
The short program saw the Canadians at a very close 2nd after an unfortunate fall during the ending pose. Though the ending pose is not technically an element, meaning points were not required to be deducted, the overall flow of the program was disrupted, causing lower presentation scores and a small victory for the Russians. However, there is still plenty of hope for the Canadians, because the gap is small and as I said before, the free skate scores are weighed heavier than the short. Tensions are high in Salt Lake City, and everyone is ready for the final showdown.
Two days later, at the pairs free skate, the Russians are up first. They perform a difficult program for the time, with many unique quality elements and complicated lifts, but Anton makes a small, yet noticeable mistake on the double axel. The performance otherwise is very strong and scores well, but that small double axel mistake leaves the door wide open for the Canadians if they do well.
And they do great. The Canadians perform a flawless, albeit much much easier program. The crowd is losing their minds, screaming for a perfect 6.0, the Canadian and American commentators confidently proclaim that Canada is a lock for first. When the final scores come in, the American, Canadian, German, and Japanese judges have given them first, while the Russian, Chinese, Polish, and Ukrainian judges have given them second. All they need now is the French judge to deliver the winning tiebreaker, as is expected.
Except she doesn’t. In a shocking turn of events, the French judge has given it to the Russians. The American and Canadian commentators are immediately furious. Former Canadian pairs skater Sandra Bezic says before the medal ceremony she is “embarrassed for our sport right now ”. On air, American Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton is adamant that it was a mistake. But it isn’t, and the Russians are given their gold.

A French Fuck-up

As dramatic as this all is, at the end of the day, massive upsets are not uncommon in figure skating. It’s an extremely subjective sport, with little room for objectivity, even less so with the 6.0 system. I can’t even count the amount of times fans and the media alike have expressed public outrage at the result of a competition (I believe another user is writing about the infamous 2014 Olympics ladies singles drama, which beats this one in near feral angry responses). So at the end of the day, while people are peeved, everyone was ready to begrudgingly accept the results.
Well, not exactly everyone. Sally Stapleford, chair of the International Skating Union’s Technical Committee, confronts the French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, in the hotel lobby that night. According to Stapleford and multiple other witnesses, Le Gougne breaks down, admitting that she had been pressured by the head of the French figure skating organization, Didier Gailhaguet, to vote for the Russian pair regardless of how others performed. She also allegedly admits to this in a post-event judges' meeting the next day (I literally cannot find a single archived article about this from when the information originally came out, but I promise you it’s true lmao, most of the reports I’ve found mentioning it are from months later and have some spoilers so I won’t link).
Once the story gets exposed and Le Gougne realizes she has made a massive mistake, she begins to backtrack, claiming in a later statement that she never said this to Stapleford and that she genuinely believed the Russians deserved the win. But it’s too late, because the Canadian and, even scarier, the American media are outraged. NBC especially really go ham on this scandal (which is kinda hilarious because they have absolutely no horse in this race).
Though, as the story blows up in North America, we begin to see plenty of people making arguments that the Russians actually did deserve the gold from a purely technical analysis. Sandra Loosemore, a writer for CBS Sportsline, argues that the Russians’ stronger and more difficult program was worthy of gold, and even states that she would have given it to them over the Canadians. Anton (of Team Russia, in case you forgot) points out that at 2001 Worlds, the Canadians had multiple mistakes in both programs, yet still won, and there was no public outcry.

How to try and save a sport that's just faced a humiliating, internationally covered scandal

After days of drama and deliberation, the ISU and the IOC make the unprecedented decision to upgrade the Canadians to a gold, while still allowing the Russians to keep theirs as it was determined there was no wrongdoing on their part. For the first time in Olympic history, the award ceremony was repeated, with two teams atop the podium. The Russians later reveal that they found this all deeply insulting, but they put on a nice face for the camera because they knew the media would vilify them if they did not. The two teams did end up doing a wonderfully cheesy performance at the gala together as a “symbol of unity”. I can’t find any videos unfortunately, so enjoy this picture .
As for the French, Le Gougne and Gailhaguet were both given three year suspensions from any ISU related event and were barred from the 2006 Olympics. The president of the ISU claimed there was not significant enough proof that the Russian Federation was in any way involved with the scandal, as Le Gougne had only cited Gailhaguet as a conspirator. Most people came to the conclusion that the French hoped that by propping up the Russians in pairs, the Russians would in turn help the French team in ice dance (they did win, but there really was no question that they deserved it).
The most important and sport-altering outcome of this whole debacle is the eradication of the 6.0 system in 2004 with the creation of the ISU Judging System (IJS), also sometimes known as the Code of Points. The 6.0 system had been heavily criticized in the years leading up to 2002, and this scandal was the final push for the change. I won’t get too into it, because it’s complicated, but in short, individual elements are assigned points based on difficulty, which are then given a grade of execution that determines the percent of the element’s base value that gets assigned to each skater’s element. There are also separate program components scores based on individual things such as skating skills and program composition ranging from 0.25 - 10. While still flawed and often biased, the scoring system provides much more clarity to the judges’ reasoning and a more concrete winner (in theory at least).

Wait… didn’t you say something about a mobster??

You thought we were getting to the end of the story, didn’t you? It’s never that simple in figure skating.
This section is basically just going to be a summary of this massive story by ESPN, so if you end up wanting to know more details, I recommend you read.
After the major hype around the 2002 scandal had started to die down, it seemed there was never going to be any real investigation. The ISU was content with their suspension of the French officials, and were eager to shed the lasting negative effects on the sport. In comes one of the most random and comical movie villain characters I have ever seen somehow making his way into a goddamn figure skating scandal.
Introducing Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, who I will be calling by his Russian diminutive Alek, for reasons that should be obvious. Alek is a rich and powerful athlete turned Russian mobster who has been accused of money laundering, illegal business deals, and smuggling.
In January of 2002 - the prequel to this grand tale, if you will - Alek, who is living in a lovely villa in Tuscany, is wiretapped by the Italian secret service in order to investigate his money laundering. What they did not expect to hear, was discussions of a fixed Olympics.
You see, Alek had just been kicked out of France for criminal activity, and wanted to get back into the country as he had a strong business presence there. Alek, ever the conspirator, decided he would try and curry favor with the French authorities in the hope of getting a visa. In comes Didier Gailhaguet, head of the French figure skating organization. The two strike up a deal; the French would vote for the Russians in pairs, and in turn, the Russians would back up the French ice dance team. And lo and behold, Russian-born Marina Anissina, one half of the French ice dance team, was a close friend of Alek’s.
The case against Alek mentions recordings of him talking to Chevalier Nusuyev, former president of the Russian Youth Sports Federation the day after the pairs event, with Nusuyev saying "Our Sikharulidze fell, the Canadians were 10-times better, and in spite of that, the French with their vote gave us first place. Everything is going the way you need it." Other transcripts reveal that he talked to Anissina’s mother, telling her that “even if she falls, we will make her number one”.
In July of 2002, Alek is arrested in his villa for conspiracy in a United States indictment, and ends up spending 10 months in the Italian prison system before unfortunately being let go. In July of 2003, he flees to Russia, a country with no indictment agreements with the USA, and so our winding tale of skating and conspiracy ends on a rather disappointing note.

So, how does this all end?

As for all the people involved in the scandal, it’s honestly not that satisfying? Alek continues to live a life of luxury as one of the most important people in Russia, still steadfast in his narrative that the USA set him up all along and he actually isn’t a criminal and had nothing to do with Salt Lake. Despite his vehement denial of any illegal activity, in 2013 he is charged with running a gambling ring straight out of Trump Towers, but as of now the US government can’t do much about him while he’s in Russia. Le Gougne made the decision to never judge again after her suspension was lifted, ran for president of the French Federation twice, and lost both times. She now runs a massage business in France and says she's found peace away from skating. Didier Gailhaguet continued his scandal ridden career, being dubbed “the little Napoleon”; he resigned as president after the 2002 scandal, only to get reelected in 2007. He remained as head of the federation until he was forced to resign just this past February after it came out he helped hide the fact that a prominent French skater sent a 13-year-old girl nudes and harassed her into silence.
As for the sport, the overhaul of the rules has inarguably changed the entire course of it’s history. As scores began to reward harder elements, people began pushing the boundaries of what we once believed was the height of human capability. Nowadays, what was once deemed impossible such as quads, especially done by a woman, has now become the norm. On the flip side of that, there is much to say about the declining artistry as technical feats become more desired, but there’s no denying the massive growth figure skating has had. The 2002 scandal is quite literally the reason we have some of the most iconic programs of all time.
And all because some asshole wanted to scam his way into a visa.
Tldr: Russians win against the Canadian pairs team in a scandalous victory. French judge admits she was told to score them higher, the Canadians are given gold, and the entire sport faces a complete change in the scoring system. Turns out it was a scummy Russian mobster who caused it all along, because he was trying to get a visa. He accidentally causes figure skating to change forever.
Non-figure skating fans, if you want, please watch the two pairs programs and tell me who you think should have won! I’m curious what people without strong opinions would think.

As I mentioned before, in Vegas you see slots already in the airport. While we were waiting for our luggage, people already sat at the gambling machines. I, myself, wanted to try slots in a better atmosphere than an LED-lit airport. Anyways, it seemed funny to play games on a big touch screen and I made sure that Vegas is a gambling paradise. We, though, put only so much money in the slots to get the free drinks.
After a few hours, I was already walking through the Vegas strip. It was interesting to observe the gigantic hotels, countless lights from slots, cozy Americans and the bewitched tourists that all were just thinking of how to faster spend all of their saved up money in the slots.
It was surprising just how many people were heading every night exactly to Caesar’s Palace. Well, it wasn’t a surprise, considering that this hotel was enormous, the casino space was even more enormous, but even all of that was topped by the shopping mall, which, of course, was also full of slots. There were 16 restaurants in the same hotel space. And have I mentioned that the second-largest nightclub in the world Omnia nightclub Las Vegas, was also located here? While I and Dāvis were walking around the hotel we got lost a few times and it was very complicated to talk of a place to meet.
The New Year’s party for us continued for two days and two nights. We met the most real American party groups as well as girls with whom we spent together nights. Unfortunately, the fast pace of Vegas meant that all of those people already packed their bags and left by 2 January. But my friend and I wanted to relax a little bit after all of the partying.
In the following days, we went to the Grand Canyon with a helicopter. We ordered a helicopter tour, which started in Vegas, flew to the Grand Canyon and flew back to Vegas. This tour made us feel a bit like celebrities, considering that a limo drives you from hotel to the helicopter and then you take off and fly over the whole Las Vegas. The helicopter landed next to the Grand Canyon. We also got to enjoy a glass of champagne and some snacks, which was offered by the tour. The canyon has been created by washing the Colorado River through granite rocks for thousands of years, leaving a unique and glorious memory of the wonders nature can bring. While flying over the I couldn’t take my eyes off of this amazing beauty. By the way, the Grand Canyon is almost the size of Latvia. Truly worth seeing, if you happen to be in Vegas and want to experience something exclusive with a dose of adrenaline.
To balance out cultural wonders with scandalous events, on this night we chose to enjoy Las Vegas Titty Time and went to strip club. The easiest way to get there was to go to the Vegas Strip and check out the advertised offers. It wasn’t long before we got offered a good price, as well as a limo that will take us there. Then we got offered an even better price, then a cocktail, then - a private lap dance and in the end, we got offered a meal. At that moment we couldn’t resist their offer anymore and we went to a strip club. We didn’t even know where they were taking us, but we wanted an adventure and we wound up in Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. The place was just like my expectations of what an American strip club should look like - big neon signs, angry-looking bouncers, a bit dirty atmosphere and a lot of foreign girls. While there we exchanged our money into one-dollar bills and went straight to the dance hall. I haven’t ever seen someone work that hard to earn one dollar. The view was quite enjoyable, to be honest, I had imagined it being a bit different, but striptease is like a delicate choreographic dance - there was nothing vulgar about it, only erotica. Definitely, only a confident woman can show herself off like that. Their feminine bodies helped as well. Their breasts were rarely real, though, mostly it was just some surgeon’s masterpiece. As a big female lover, I can say, that what allures me more is the naturality.
We got offered lap dances and when we heard the price, we were surprised. Only twenty dollars. I would even say that that is unforgivably cheap for us just to try it once. We started buying dances for each other, till cash in the wallet was nearly gone. We thought of a challenge to invite all of the girls in the club for the lap dance to get the “full experience”. Personally, my favorite was the only girl who had real breasts. Some of the girls wanted us to take the “private room” for 120 dollars. Some even offered the special “private room” for 500 dollars, but as they implied, it was more than just a dance. I politely declined as I didn’t think I had to pay someone for that.
In the following days, we continued to do stuff that is in any Vegas tourist to-do-list. For example, we went to Gordon Ramsey’s famous Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. Dāvis, my companion on this trip, as well as partly its initiator had reserved us a table, but we still had to wait in line. At the start, we just chatted between each other, but it seemed like this hour will be spent in boredom, till girls, who were standing in front of us, turned around. One girl, who later turned out to be a literature teacher for middle schoolers, said that our language seemed interesting to her and asked where are we from. At that moment, the girls' openness didn’t surprise me, all the people in America were unusually nice and ready to start a conversation with strangers. Of course, girls were also intrigued by our unusual language and exotic European charm. Dāvis and I were as well intrigued by the girls’ exotic and alluring American charm. Long story short, two tables for two turned into one table for four. After the restaurant we persuaded the girls to spend the following evening together, going through the smaller Vegas streets and bars.
One more adventure was going to Death Valley. We rented a yellow Ford Mustang convertible, to really enjoy this trip. It’s really unbelievably hot there, but the locals say that during nighttime you might freeze. Death Valley is something everyone should see in their lifetime. The Vegas hotels disappeared pretty fast and all we saw was large, vast desert and majestic mountains. I would call it a surreal view, honestly pretty unbelievable that there is something like that on the Earth. While walking through the vast salt lakes you get the feeling like you’re in a “Star Wars” movie on some distant planet. Just standing in the middle of the field gives an illusion that you are somewhere far from civilization because wherever you look, there is no sign of life.
When back in the city we again focused on something more worldly, such as going to clubs. Interesting, that even on 7th January, which was just a Tuesday, Omnia nightclub was filled with people. I’m talking thousands. Well, the party wasn’t anything special, compared to the New Year’s party. Maybe I just wasn’t in a party mood. But then I saw a beautiful blonde standing next to the bar and, quite naturally, went to her and we started chatting. We didn’t talk for long, because I took her hand and we went to the middle of the dance floor. We danced all night till the club was about to close. The girl had a very short, tight dress and she didn’t have any panties on. From time to time I checked her dress, which was constantly sliding up, so the whole club wouldn’t see her nakedness. The moment when the music stopped, we were holding each other and making out. After getting back into reality, I realized that I have no plan on what to do with this beautiful girl further. We went to a hotel pool. We started talking about life in the USA and in Latvia and how they were similar but also so different. I didn’t want the romantic evening to end, so I thought of a plan. In American movies, couples always go skinny dipping. I persuaded the girl to jump in the water with me, naked. I hadn’t thought of water being so cold during the night and we froze in a moment. Good, that I could save the situation by offering a warm shower in my hotel room. She agreed. We went to shower together and warmed up so much that we didn’t even get to the bed. The next morning the girl quickly took her things and disappeared. When I checked her Instagram account I understood why - she had pictures with her husband (or boyfriend) and children. Now I have experienced the saying that goes - What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Hello everyone. A few months ago, I posted an extensive write up on the DeOrr Kunz case and later the Asha Degree case with several other missing people’s cases sprinkled in between, which many readers seemed to enjoy. Those can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/fcmvmz/extensive_summary_regarding_the_disappearance_of/
Today, I wanted to do a similar long form write up but this time, I wanted to switch gears and talk about Ridgway and his victims.
Terms used
The scene- A term used by Bundy and LE to describe the people with high risk lifestyles those who are homeless, sex workers, exotic dancers, drug users, hitchhikers, and others who are down and out
The Strip- An area of Pacific Highway South near the airport in extreme south Seattle (no longer Seattle) known for the scene. Most GRK victims were last seen in this area.
The Avenue- An area of extreme north Seattle along Aurora Avenue North known for the scene. A handful of women disappeared from this area.
Rainier Avenue and Central District- Neighborhoods in south Seattle near the strip. Usually regarded as cheaper places to live. A handful of women disappeared from here.
The camp- An area of downtown Portland known for prostitution
Dating- A term used to literature to refer to soliciting prostitutes. Ridgway used this term as did many sex workers. I use this term below as that is what is described in GRK literature. I don’t use it dull what was happening in these exchanges.
Boyfriend or protector- Many of the women in this case had boyfriends or protectors who were actually pimps. Which is why some of these women had the same “boyfriends.” If the men who were involved were not believed to be pimps, I tried to note that.
Introduction
Living in the Pacific Northwest everyone you meet seems to have had a close encounter with a notorious criminal. I know a woman who Bundy followed on April 17th 1974 in Ellensburg, Washington before he abducted Susan Rancourt. I talked to a barber once who told me he cut Ridgway’s hair and used to watch Constance Naon (one of Ridgway’s victims) take dates to her place across the street in the Rainier area. In college I used to shop at a Safeway store that Bundy worked at. Some days it seems like everyone I talk to has the same stories, close encounters, and bizarre brushes with some of the worst men in America. This is the story of one of those men, Gary Leon Ridgway.
I believe that Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was a much more prolific predator than most people online seem to think and I wanted discuss these crimes because his victims are often dismissed while they deserve to be remembered.
In the true crime community, there is a near reverence for Ted Bundy. On the other hand, Ridgway is considered boring and banal. These feelings of course are perpetrated Bob Keppel’s book, Riverman; Ted Bundy and I hunt for the Green River Killer which contains large swathes of interviews from an incarcerated Ted Bundy. King County authorities interviewed Bundy on Florida’s death row in hopes of getting confessions out of him during the 1980s. Instead Bundy wanted to talk about the new murderer plaguing his home state, the Green River Killer. In his interviews, Bundy provides interesting insight into the mind a killer and many of his predictions about the “Riverman” turned out to be true. Naturally, some of his predictions were also false. Bundy, the master manipulator, was able create a narrative about Ridgway and his victims which has bled into the public consciousness. The descriptions of Ridgway’s crimes have been controlled by Ted Bundy’s opinions and his apparent distaste for Ridgway. In discussions on this case I often see people say things like “Ridgway isn’t interesting to me because his victims were high risk” or “Ridgway was dumb, he was so lucky he wasn’t caught.” In my opinion this is unfair to victims of the Green River Killer – in addition to being false. Of course, Bundy is not the only reason people say these things but his opinions have shaped this case. At the end of the day, Bundy should not have a say in how these crimes are perceived.
Most importantly, the victims of these men (and other killers) are not entertainment, these are real people who lives were stolen and all of their stories deserve to be told, even if the man who killed them is considered by some to be “uninteresting.”
Additionally, no one wants to compare to Bundy and Ridgway but I believe the men have more similarities than Bundy wanted people to believe. Bundy hated being compared to the Riverman and I think it is because Bundy knew that the Riverman was more prolific than Bundy could ever be. Bundy’s ego led him to adopt a dismissive attitude towards this crime spree and he always bristled when compared to the “Riverman” and unfortunately these ideas have become gospel. These assumptions aside, I think Ridgway was a much more prolific killer than anyone will ever be able to prove.
There are so many misconceptions about Gary Ridgway that I want to discuss. People say that Ridgway was stupid, he was free to kill as long as he did because no one cared, and finally that he only was able to be “get away with it” because all of his victims were sex workers. Not only are these ideas false, these misconceptions invalidate the stories of Ridgway’s victims.
Intelligence
The first thing I think is often talked about when discussing Ridgway was his intelligence or lack thereof. While it is true that IQ tests showed that Ridgway hovered on the line between impaired and typical, and he apparently had a learning disability that affected his school performance, I will always argue that Ridgway was no dummy. I have worked with the disabled population for several years. That experience taught me that IQ is a bunk way to measure intelligence. Some of my acquaintances have higher IQ scores than Ridgway’s 80, but struggle to keep down jobs or lack social skills. On the other hand, people I have worked with lower IQs (62-80) than that have attended 2-year college, kept down jobs, married, and had families. IQ in and of itself is poor determinate of intelligence. In my experience, IQ seems to measure processing speed, not intelligence. I am not sure if this 100% scientifically accurate, it is just my experience but I think it is worth noting. All that to say, I don’t think Ridgway was nearly as impaired as many armchair detectives make him out to be. The women he fooled were street smart and don’t deserve less attention simply because they were fooled by a “dumb” predator. Perpetrating this myth does a disservice to Ridgway’s victims. I am not arguing that Ridgway was a criminal mastermind of above average intelligence, that is simply not true. I am simply trying to demonstrate that Ridgway cold and calculating, not blundering and impaired.
Forensic Counter Measures
Ridgway’s intelligence is also evidenced by his crime spree and the forensic countermeasures he employed. Many online sleuths have used this information to show Ridgway’s lack of intelligence, but I would argue that his forensic counter measures actually worked. The Riverman would put used gum, beer cans, and cigarette butts near his body dumping grounds. He also put airport and hotel pamphlets near the bodies to make law enforcement think that the killer was a traveling business man which is why his crimes would start and stop. While these attempts at misdirection did not fool law enforcement for very long, it did muddy the water with media coverage. It was reported that the killer was a traveler, a smoker, or a guy who liked big red gum even though Ridgway was none of these things. These little attempts at misdirection fooled the general public in Ridgway’s favor and precious time and resources were wasted forensically testing these items.
When Ridgway began dumping victims in the Portland area law enforcement incorrectly believed that their killer had moved and they minimized their efforts in Seattle, falling right into Ridgway’s trap. The killer also changed his car regularly and made sure that he created false trails. Ridgway changed his car often, he used his own cars sometimes but he also drove his brother’s truck, his parents station wagon and his girlfriend’s/wives’ cars. As many know Gary was employed as a truck painter. He spent a lot of his time at home painting and working on his cars, removing and replacing canopies and just in general altering his vehicles. This allowed Ridgway to move about more freely as he was not seen in only one type of car. This is in stark contrast to Ted who repeatedly used his tan colored bug until it was linked to the murders. At that point Bundy would use Liz Kendall’s bug or make slight modifications to his own car but these efforts paled in comparison to Ridgway’s efforts to conceal his vehicles.
Ridgway also made sure the women he killed were clean when he dumped their bodies. He would have them shower and used the bathroom before his crimes, which had a three-fold purpose. First it put his victims at ease around him. Second, it made his clean up easier (victims wet themselves when being strangled and Gary didn’t like doing extra laundry), and third it removed evidence from his victims’ bodies. This is a just another example of how Ridgway was able go undetected for so long. He thought about his crimes, learned things and then changed his methods to iron out bumps in his murderous plans.
When questioned by investigators he always had explanations for his whereabouts and did not deny “dating” women on the SeaTac strip. Ridgway even used women he had been seeing to create alibis and a false sense of security. In his confession he explained that he would often pick up sex workers for dates repeatedly and not kill or hurt them in order to create a facade that he was a nice guy.
All of these things suggest that Ridgway wasn’t the bumbling criminal he was made out to be.
Victims
Another misconception in the Green River case regards victimology. Many people seem to think that all of Ridgway’s victims were sex workers which is simply not true. Contrary to popular belief some of the Green River victims were not prostitutes, although most did lead high risk lifestyles and were part of the “scene” as Bundy called it. Many were homeless, addicts, sex workers, exotic dancers, and hitch hikers, but not all. Carol Ann Christensen had no connections to this scene at all and worked as a waitress at a bar and grill near the airport. Opal Mills, a local high school student, had no arrests for prostitution (or anything else) but was known to hitch hike. Cheryl Wims was not a known sex worker but did struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol. Ridgway’s victimology was actually much broader than most people assume.
Bundy used this misinformation about GRK’s victims to “prove” that he was a better criminal than the Riverman as Bundy abducted low risk victims, even though we know Bundy killed at least several hitchhikers who were unfortunate enough to get in his car. And Bundy, ever the coward, often chose very small willowy women to victimize. Ridgway on the other hand was physically strong even though he appeared slight. Ridgway was able to control and subdue many women, and while many were small and young some of his victims outweighed him, and a few were taller than him. My point being, both men were cowards and monsters who took advantage of all types of women, their victimology is not that different. Both men killed both low risk and high-risk victims, but of course Bundy doesn’t like to focus on his high-risk victims.
The abduction and murders of women not in the scene, (waitresses, moms at bus stops, and daycare workers) demonstrates that Ridgway was intelligent and organized enough to pull off meticulous crimes which were never solved... he just preferred easier targets.
Investigation
Another misconception about Ridgway is that he was only was allowed to kill due to the women he victimized; this is a partial misconception. In 1982, right after the first several bodies were found floating in the Green River, a task force was formed made up of 25 detectives from both the city of Kent and King County. For the next 19 years, as many as 40 detectives at a time (70 people if you include officers and support staff) worked solely on this case. At its smallest, 4 or 6 detectives were at work following up on tips. For years, evidence was collected. Men were followed and interviewed. Suspect lists were compiled. When this crime spree occurred, there was no AFIS (automated finger print identification system), no DNA testing, and little cooperation between agencies. A single finger print could take two months to process. Then it had to be compared manually and sent from state to state to check for matches. At the end of the day, the tab for this investigation cost a whopping $30 million dollars.
In the late 1980s detective Matt Haney had a hunch that Ridgway was the most likely killer but it took years for his suspicions to be proved. Using a tip from Marie Malvar’s family, he collected Ridgeway’s DNA in 1987, the same year DNA testing became available. Most other detectives believed other, better suspects were the ones to blame.
Despite the best technology at the time and Haney’s suspicions, Ridgway was not caught. As mentioned above, Ridgway was always a Green River suspect. From his first arrest for solicitation in 1982 until the day he was apprehended Ridgway was among the hundreds of men suspected of being the killer. Despite being on this list, Ridgway evaded capture because on paper, he was a poor suspect. Ridgway was a very typical man in both appearance and life style. He held down the same job for years. He was married and even fathered a son. In his life he was generally even keeled and unremarkable. He was investigated by the Green River Task force several times. Gary’s coworkers even named him “Green River Gary” a moniker he hated, but even his coworkers claimed they were just teasing the awkward guy at work, they did not actually believe he was capable of committing such atrocities.
Moreover, Ridgway had no record of violent offenses. Several violent crimes from his past would come out once he was arrested, but none of these were on his official police record. In the early 80s he was accused of assaulting a sex worker, but the charges were dropped when the woman did not want to testify. Ridgway also had a juvenile record for stabbing a 6-year-old boy, but being a juvenile at the time those records were sealed.
Ridgway was always willing to work with investigators and readily admitted he “dated” women on the SeaTac strip. He allowed himself to be interviewed but nothing solid was ever linked to him. He even gave hair samples and passed two polygraphs. Additionally, Ridgway gained the trust of many working girls he did not kill. He purposely left many women he “dated” unharmed. Some prostitutes who were interviewed by the task force inadvertently protected Ridgway by painting the picture that he was a harmless John who showed them pictures of his son and was polite. Sometimes, he even bought them burgers to eat. This misdirection on Ridgway’s part was just one reason he was never apprehended.
Ridgway was so different than any other captured serial killer at the time that the FBI had to change their profiling techniques and knowledge of serial killers completely when Ridgeway was caught. From the 1980s when profiling was in its infancy until the early 2000s, it was generally believed that serial killers had high IQ's and were of above average intelligence. It was believed that serial killers had a hard time staying in relationships or keeping down jobs. Further, many experts in the field claimed that serial killers basked in the glory of their evil deeds, taunted police, and watched news coverage of their crimes. It was also taken as gospel that serial killers could not stop once they started killing and in general killers did not cross racial lines. None of these things applied to Gary Ridgway, adding to law enforcement’s belief that he was not a “good suspect.” (While Ridgway did write one anonymous letter to a newspaper, he did not aggressively flaunt his suspect status, or openly taunt police as some of the other men did.)
When DNA linked Ridgway to his murders, task force members weren’t totally shocked but they were surprised that it did not match one of the better suspects such as Melvyn Foster, William J. Stevens II, or any one of the violent pimps, husbands, boyfriends and exes who had been interviewed. They assumed their killer would be one of the men with more violence in his background, possibly a rape conviction, or one of suspects taunting them with letters and phone calls, but it wasn’t. Only detective Matt Haney wasn’t surprised.
As the phrase goes, hind sight is 20/20. I think this is a good saying to remember with this case. Once Ridgway was arrested many pieces fell into place and it painted a picture of an unhinged killer roaming King County, but no one piece of evidence was a smoking gun in this case. Ridgway dressed like the killer, plaid shirts and jeans but so did half of the working-class men in King County. Ridgway drove vehicles similar to the one reported by many witnesses, but how many men drove by the airport in tan or blue pickups and aged station wagons? Marie Malvar’s boyfriend was convinced Gary’s truck was the one he saw Marie climb into before her disappearance, but when Ridgway’s home was searched nothing of Marie’s was there. Investigators hit a brick wall, but kept Gary Ridgway in the back of their minds. Every little piece of evidence was part of a puzzle in this case but nothing conclusively tied Ridgway to anything more than being a client of many of the working girls in the area. This tip by Marie’s family and boyfriend was what lead Det. Haney to collect Ridgway’s DNA in ’87.
NOTE- before I go on, I just want to say that it would be naïve of me to pretend that the victims’ professions and life styles did not affect the investigation. It absolutely did. It affected public perceptions, law enforcement response, and media attention and these women did not receive the same attention as the Ted victims from seven years prior. For example, in late 1983, citizens called for a public forum and called for an “end of prostitution.” Detective Mullinax suggested that the killer was the problem, not the prostitutes and there were some very awkward moments before the citizens told him they just wanted Seattle to be free of sex workers. This was just one example of the public opinion not being kind to these women.
In this piece, I simply want to point out that law enforcement response was not as minimal as some people make it out to be. There have been many cases where law enforcement has completely dropped the ball when investigating the murders and disappearances of sex workers such as the Grim Sleeper investigation, but I do not think the Green River Task force deserves to be placed in the same category.
Additionally, if Ridgway was not caught ONLY because the police blatantly disregarded the cases of sex workers, then why wasn’t he caught after killing daycare worker Maureen Freeney? Or blonde waitress Carol Anne Christensen? But all measures these two women came from caring families, were white, and did not live in the scene, and were reported missing right away. If Ridgway was only going free due to poor law enforcement response, then he should have been caught after the deaths of the women above, but he was not.
Casualties
Because of the nature of Ridgway’s victims, media coverage was initially slim and many victims of Ridgway were never reported missing at all. Gary Ridgway was convicted or 49 murders although he admitted to over 71. In recent articles Ridgway has even confessed to leaving 80 bodies in King County alone. Investigators doubt King County was the only county that Ridgway operated in and it is generally believed that a string of bodies found in Tacoma and Portland, Oregon were the work of the Riverman. Some of those women are discussed below. Because of this information I am inclined to believe that Ridgway has many, many more victims who have never been found, who are unidentified, who were never reported missing or whose deaths were attributed to other things. Many missing women have been placed on the “Green River List” because the pool of potential victims is much larger than only missing sex workers. With the addition of these victims I think it is very possible that Ridgway’s victim count far surpasses any official numbers and may make him one of the worst serial killers in America.
Some of the women I believe were victimized by Ridgway are profiled below.
In conclusion, all of these things point to Ridgway being a much more prolific, cunning killer than many have made him out to be. If Ridgway’s known victim count is 70 (charged with 49) and he himself claims there is 80 bodies in King County alone, I think it is safe to assume the real number may be closer to 100.
Ridgway has only been charged with homicides if he both confessed to and there was one or more pieces of evidence against him. For example, if he led investigators to a body he was charged with that murder and all the murders of the women he left in the same cluster. He has also been charged with other cases if there was circumstantial evidence, fiber evidence, paint chip evidence, or DNA. He has not been charged with the murders of women still missing or women whose cases cannot be linked to him in corroborating way, which is why the confession list is so much longer than the charged list. Also please remember that mass murders are not known for their honesty and we have to take confessions with a grain of salt.
The official Green River Victim list is challenging to compile because different agencies have different lists, some add women are still missing while others add only known homicides. Some add all suspected victims, some do not. Some add victims to the list only if Ridgway is the prime suspect, and other lists add victims whose cases have other prime suspects but Ridgway is still a possibility.
Below I have completed write ups of women I believe were victims of Ridgway as well as a section to remember his proven victims, both known and unknown.
NOTE- I want this section to tell the women’s stories in a respectful way and initially I did not want to focus on either their professions or their physical appearances, but I was also wanted this section to be authentic and I don’t want to sugar coat any of these stories. For many of the victims there is very, very little information available. I think this is why sometimes their appearances are mentioned as it sounds better to say “At age 21, she was a tall woman with thick red hair and a great smile” rather than she died at 21. Additionally, some of these victims’ stories are not very pleasant and a in a few cases information from family and friends is unflattering or downright negative (Wendy Coffield and Marta Reeves specifically). Rather than skip these women or pretend these things did not occur I chose to include them in the summaries below. I added as many positives as I could and tried (key word tried) to shy away from information solely about their appearances or criminal records but sometimes no other information is available. I hope everyone can understand that my intention is to remember these women and their lives in the best possible way while realizing that not everything is positive. I ask you for only respect down in the comments. Thank you.
In remembrance
Gary Ridgway pled guilty to the homicides of the 49 people profiled in this piece. (Because this is a mystery sub reddit and the write-up will have to be put into broken into several pieces, I will begin with the Jane Does Ridgway confessed to killing. All other victims both potential and confirmed are placed in chronological order to the best of my ability.)
Jane Doe B-10 was a murder victim who was found in 1984, near the remains of Cheryl Wims. She was a white female between the ages of 12 and 19. She most likely died in the summer of 1983. She may have had brown hair and was around 5’5’ and 120 lbs. She was likely left-handed. She had a healed injury to the front of the left side of her skull. She is not Rose Cole, Janel Peterson, Susan Cappel, Lisa Dickinson, Wendy Huggy, Kase Lee, Keli McGinnis, Anna Anderson, Kristi Vorak, Amy Matthews, Teresa Hammon, Cheryl Wyant, Denise Dorfman, Carol Edwards, Linda Jackson, Angela Meeker, Andria Bailey, Dean Peters, Joan Hall, Patricia LeBlanc, MaryJo Long, or Kerry Johnson.
Jane Doe B-17’s bones were found twice. Some bones were found in 1984 and some more were found in 1986. She was most likely a white female, aged 14-19, around 5’4”- 5’8” and average weight, around 120-140 lbs. She most likely died in 1983. Ridgway said she died in Spring or Summer 1983. Isotope testing shows she is possibly from the Northern United states (Alaska, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota) or Canada. She is not Rose Cole, Janel Peterson, Susan Cappel, Lisa Dickinson, Wendy Huggy, Kase Lee, Keli McGinnis, Anna Anderson, Kristi Vorak, Linda Jackson, Andria Bailey, Joan Hall, Patricia LeBlanc, MaryJo Long, Carol Donn, Barbara Cotton, Pollyanne Carter or Kerry Johnson.
Jane Doe B- 20 was a murder victim who was discovered in 2003 after Ridgway led investigators to her body. Her skull was not recovered so no composite can be made and no race can be determined. She died in between 1973-1993 but most likely died in the late 1970s. She was likely 13-24 years old. Ridgway says she was a white woman about 20 years old with brown or blonde shoulder length hair who he killed in Summer ’82 or ’83. Ridgeway claims to have started his crime spree in ’82 but it could have been earlier. He does not remember killing anyone in the 1970s but admits it is possible. Jane Doe B-20 is not Keli McGinnis, Andria Bailey, Cora McGuirk, or Deborah Tomlinson.
Wendy Lee Coffield was a young woman whom life had never treated kindly. She was a junior high dropout, a chronic runaway, and a hitchhiker. She never had the chance to land on her feet and start over. She was only 16 when she was murdered in 1982. To add insult to injury, her own family even said they weren’t surprised when her “lifestyle” caught up with her. Gisele A. Lovvorn was a 17-year-old Dead Head and free spirit who wandered the country watching Grateful Dead shows with her on again off again boyfriend. In early high school was a straight A student before dropping out. In the summer of 1982, she called her parents in California to tell them she was going to travel home and re-enroll in high school. She left her apartment one Saturday in July at 1 pm to “turn 3 or 4 tricks” she never made it home and her parents were never able to see their free-spirited daughter again. Debra Lynn Bonner was 22 when her body was found in the Green River. She had dreams of getting a GED and joining the navy but an abusive relationship and addiction lead her to a life on the streets. Despite her profession, Debra called her parents regularly and was trying to pay off her debt (She had several unpaid tickets in Tacoma). She was planning to visit her father after he had an eye operation but she never made it home. Marcia Faye Chapman nicknamed Tiny, was a mother of three who engaged in sex work only to support the three children she loved so much. She left her apartment one August evening and disappeared into the night. She was only 31 years old. Cynthia Jean Hinds had no criminal record but frequented the streets of south Seattle. Everybody called the 17-year-old her nickname, Cookie. Her boyfriend and probable pimp reported that he last saw her get into a black Jeep on August 11th 1982. Her body was later recovered from the Green River. Opal Charmaine Mills was a biracial 16-year-old who, according to her brother, struggled to fit in in a racially divided world. She never got the chance to learn to be comfortable in her own skin because she disappeared after going to work in 1982. An occasional hitch hiker, Opal had no other links to the “scene.” Opal and her friend Cookie (Hinds) had been hired to do some painting near Angel Lake park. Opal called her parents to pick her up from work, but she never made it home. Terry Renee Milligan, a 15-year-old, hadn’t been seen for several weeks when her live-in boyfriend reported her missing and then immediately skipped town. Terry was a bright student who wanted to study computer science in college and dreamed of going to Yale. Terry gave birth to a son as a teenager and her hopes of college changed course, although friends have always explained that Terry adored her son and care of him the best she could. She was also musically inclined and sang in the church band all throughout her childhood. She was seen last arguing with another woman outside her apartment after that she disappeared. Mary Bridgett Meehan was adopted as a young child and grew up in Bellevue, a wealthy suburb east of Seattle. She was a compassionate soul who loved animals and children. She wanted to be a mother. Two miscarriages at ages 15 and 16 left her broken inside, her family and friends explained that she was never the same. She starting using drugs and drifted around the Seattle area and began engaging in sex work. Later, Mary gave up another baby for adoption after her boyfriend kicked her out because he didn’t want kids. But unfortunately, less than a year later, the cycle began again. Mary was back living with a dead-beat boyfriend and pregnant, except this time she was determined to be a good, stable mother, but she never got the chance. She left her motel room and vanished into the night at 8 months pregnant in September 1982.
Debra Lorraine Estes went by the name Betty Jones on the street. She was barely 15 and had entered the scene five years earlier at age 10. Her parents were always worried for her, driving the streets looking for their daughter and bailing her out of the King County jail under various names and aliases. Her pimp was a sleazy older man whom occasionally lived with her and her friend Becky Marrero. She was last known to be alive in September 1982, but may have been alive into December. Linda Rule’s parents divorced when she was a teen and the family disintegrated with each person taking their own paths. She last seen leaving her apartment and walking to Kmart on Aurora Avenue north, to buy clothes. When she did not arrive back home, her boyfriend assumed she had been arrested, but he couldn’t find her at any of the local jails. He did not think Linda was working as it was rare to see girls working Aurora Avenue during the day time. He immediately filed a missing person’s report. Unlike many other men in this case, her boyfriend was not believed to be a pimp. 16-year-old Linda and her boyfriend were saving up for their wedding and but it would never come.
Denise Darcel Bush, a 23-year-old Portland native had traveled to the SeaTac strip after hearing that money was better in Seattle. She suffered from epilepsy but used medication to keep it under control. She was last seen crossing the street to buy cigarettes. She was never reported missing and her friends all assumed she had simply had decided to go back to Portland. At the time, it was hard to know if she or many of the other girls left willingly or suffered a much worse fate. Shawnda Leea Summers from Bellevue, Washington loved going to the beach. She was last seen at the same intersection on the strip, the day after Denise Bush was last seen. She was not reported missing for months and some girls thought she had moved to Portland to work. Her parents looked for her whenever they could but Shawnda would never reach her 19th birthday.
Shirley Marie Sherrill at age 19 was described as tall and beautiful. She was last seen in the China town area of Seattle having lunch with a friend. They both left the restaurant to work and were picked up by different men. Shirley was never seen again. Like Shawnda and Denise, she disappeared in October 1982. Becky Marrero was the 20-year-old friend of Debra Estes. The two lived together at a motel on the SeaTac strip on and off. In the fall of 1982, Becky left her two-year-old son with her parents and told them she was leaving for a while and going to a place that “babies shouldn’t be”, but she would be back eventually. She packed her bags, borrowed some money from her father to rent a room and vanished. Becky was registered as living at a motel on the strip until December 1st ’82, along with her friend Debra Estes. She never made it home for Christmas like she said she would. Colleen Renee Brockman was 15 years old when she was last seen alive. She worked the SeaTac strip, but her friend Bunny and other girls still thought she was naïve. She trusted her customers wholeheartedly and enjoyed the gifts and dinner dates she got from johns. She was identified through the braces that were still on her teeth when her skull was found in Pierce County years after she was last seen. Delores Lavern Williams was a tall, slender, African American girl with a lovely smile. She worked near the Red Lion hotel near the airport and generally “dated” wealthier, traveling johns. In early 1983 locals and friends realized they hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. She was reported missing. She was only 17 years old. Alma Ann Smith hailed from wine country and was born in Walla Walla Washington. In the 8th or 9th grade she began traveling to Seattle alone on the weekends, something that confused her younger friends. She eventually moved to Seattle and was last seen entering a blue truck with a very average looking male. Gail Matthews was drifting through life in her mid-20s. She lived with her boyfriend, Curt in south Seattle. The couple did odd jobs, tried to win money by gambling, and hitchhiked around the area. Gail would occasionally come home with money that Curt assumed she made doing sex work but he wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask about it. He saw Gail leave the bar they were at together saying she was going to “make some money”. He later saw her in a car with an average looking white guy with a mustache. For some reason the scene chilled him and he knew Gail was in trouble because she looked scared. He waited for Gail to come home but she never appeared. Curt called the police and the Gail’s family. Gail’s ex-husband had custody of their children, but he was worried about the young woman who he remembered as a meandering soul who wanted to be an artist. A missing person report would be filed in April 1983. Andrea M. Childers moved from California to Washington to move in with her father and step mother. She was a wonderful dancer who wanted to be a dance instructor to children. She taught a dance exercise class and was close to her elderly grandmother. At 16 she left her family home and was never seen again. Sandra K. Gabbert was called “Sand-e” by her family and was known as Smurf on the street. She was on the varsity basketball team in high school before dropping out at age 17. Sand-e moved in with her teenage boyfriend and started working on the SeaTac strip. Sand-e told her mother that she made more in turning one trick than she did working a whole week at KFC. Her mother understood her daughter’s desperation and commissioned her to “be careful.” They also talked about taking a trip to sunny California sometime. That was the last time Sand-e and her mother even spoke. Kimi Kai Pitsor street name Melinda was a happy 16-year-old who loved glitter, unicorns, and the color purple which was fitting for the young woman whose native Hawaiian name means “golden sea at dawn.” Kimi Kai always wanted to be an adult and when she turned 16, she left home to move in with her boyfriend/protector in downtown Seattle. Her boyfriend last saw her talking to a date in a blue pickup. She never made it home and her boyfriend called the police with the description of the vehicle. She had left home and entered the scene less than two months before. Tragically, Kimi Kai was the third of Joyce Pitsor’s three children to pass away. Kimi Kai’s two older siblings died as infants. Kimi Kai’s mother, Joyce later adopted three other children. Sandra D. Major was from Rochester, New York. Her family knew she worked as a prostitute and while they weren’t thrilled with her lifestyle, they always kept in touch and “loved her the same.” The last contact the Majors had with Sandra was a post card sent from Seattle. After that they lost touch. Sandra was believed to be last seen on Aurora Avenue north in 1983 at age 20. A TV in program in 2013 highlighted the unidentified victims of the Green River Killer, prompting the family to contact the police. Sandra was identified and laid to rest. The family gave a brief interview in which they asked for privacy. Because of this very little is known about Sandra’s personal life.
Marie Malvar’s came from a large Filipino family. At 18 she had left home but called her parents and siblings regularly. Marie’s boyfriend saw her enter a blue truck and drive away. She was gone a while and he decided to track down the truck. He drove where he saw the truck go but couldn’t find Marie or the vehicle. He was hesitant to contact the police due to their backgrounds and was even more scared to tell Marie’s parents about her profession. After 4 day had passed her boyfriend, brother, and parents went to the police station to report Marie missing. They even drove around with police until they found a similar looking truck. Police questioned the man and took down his information. His name was Gary Ridgway. But Marie wasn’t in his house and he had no record of note, so the police left. The man was one name among hundreds that they took back to the task force offices.
TO BE CONTINUED....
These sources are a good place to begin
Green River Running Red by Ann Rule
The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I hunt for the Green River Killer by Bob Keppel and William Birnes
The Search for the Green River Killer: The True Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer by Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920727&slug=1504298
http://charleyproject.org/case/keli-kay-mcginness
https://unidentified.wikia.org/wiki/Green_River_victims
https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/sheriff/about-us/enforcement/investigations/green-river.aspx
http://www.seattlemag.com/article/remembering-victims-green-river-killer
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19911121&slug=1318612

The continuing practice of routine neonatal nonreligious circumcision represents an enigma, particularly in the United States. About 80 percent of the world's population do not practice circumcision, nor have they ever done so. Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R., China, and Japan. People employing circumcision do so either for "health" reasons or as a religious ritual practiced by Muslims, Jews, most black Africans, non-white Australians, and others.
The origin of the ritual practice is unknown. There is evidence of its performance in Israel in Neolithic times (with flint knives) at least 6000 years ago.³⁸ Jews accept the Old Testament origin as a covenant between God and Abraham,¹⁸ although it is generally agreed that the practice of circumcision in Egypt predated the Abrahamic Covenant by centuries.⁵⁵ Ritual Circumcision is not germane to this discussion except insofar as the surgical ritual impinges upon accepted medical practice.⁶⁵
So called "health" circumcision originated in the nineteenth century, when most diseases were of unknown etiology. Within the miasma of myth and ignorance, a theory emerged that masturbation caused many and varied ills. It seemed logical to some physicians to perform genital surgery on both sexes to stop masturbation; the major technique applied to males was circumcision. This was especially true in the English-speaking countries because it accorded with the mid-Victorian attitude toward sex as sinful and debilitating.⁶⁴
The most prolific enumerator of the health benefits of circumcision was Dr. P. C. Remondino.⁵⁰ In 1891 this physician claimed that the surgery prevented or cured about a hundred ailments, including alcoholism, epilepsy, asthma, enuresis, hernia, gout, rectal prolapse, rheumatism, kidney disease, and so forth. Such ludicrous claims are still disseminated and possibly believed. The book was reprinted in 1974, without change, and the Circulating Branch Catalogue of the New York Public Library (1983) listed the Remondino book, showing a publication date of 1974. One physician, writing in Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality (1974), called the book "pertinent and carefully thought out."⁶³
Remondino was not the only one expounding such views. In 1911, Dr. Joseph Preuss, in a monumental tome, Biblical-Talmudic Medicine, claimed that Jewish ritual circumcision endowed health benefits; his sole source was Remondino⁴⁶ Some espoused more extreme views; in 1910 an article in J.A.M.A. described a new circumcision clamp. The authoinventor claimed that with this device, the operation was so simple that men and women could now circumcise themselves.³⁰
In the 75-year period (1875 to 1950) there was virtually no opposition to routine circumcision in the United States. Instead there were many articles in medical journal and textbooks extolling the practice; the issue was ignored in the popular press. Yet in the more than a century of acceptance of routine circumcision in the English-speaking countries, from 1870 to the present, no other country adopted newborn circumcision.
The first serious questioning of the practice did not occur until late 1949 (in England with the publication of Gairdner's "The Fate of the Foreskin."¹⁷ which began to affect the practice of circumcision by the British. In 1963, an editorial in J.A.M.A. called the attitude of the medical profession paradoxical and confused, and admitted that the facts about circumcision were still unknown.¹⁴ This was followed by several critiques of circumcision such as those by Morgan (1965 and 1967)³⁸ and Preston (1970).⁴⁵ In 1968 Øster confirmed Gairdner's findings,⁴² as did Reichelderfer and Fraga,⁴⁹ who presented a comprehensive study of circumcision. Yet some physicians continued to support circumcision for surprising reasons. For example, Dr. Robert P. Boland, writing in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1969, compared circumcision with tonsillectomy, calling both procedures "ritualistic," and "widely performed on a non-scientific basis." He opposed routine tonsillectomy but concluded vis-a-vis circumcision: "Little serious objection can actually be raised against circumcision since its adverse effects seem miniscule."⁵
Table 1. Estimated Newborn Nonreligious Circumcision Rates in English-Speaking Countries.

Great Britain	New Zeland	Australia	Canada	America
1	10	30	30	80

In the 1970's, a change seemed in the offing. In 1971 and 1975, the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision declared: "...there are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period."² In 1978, the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics was endorsed by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.⁶⁴ In 1983 both groups jointly reaffirmed their positions.¹ The "firm" firm declarations should have caused a marked drop in the United States circumcision rate. They did not.
To explore the circumcision rate in the United States, it is essential to compare the American experience with the other English-speaking countries. Anticircumcision articles appeared in the medical press in all of these countries. Gairdner¹⁷ and Øster⁴² were published in journals in England; Morgan (1967) was published in Australia.³⁹ In 1971, the Australia Paediatric Association recommended: "Male infants should not as a routine be circumcised."¹³ In 1975, the Canadian Paediatric Society stated, ". . .there is no medical indication for circumcision in the neonatal period."⁵⁷
Although there is no precise data on circumcision from any country,approximated rates for the English-speaking countries reveal that in Great Britain, the practice has virtually been abandoned; New Zealand follows closely behind. (In a 1982 visit, a number of physicians were apologetic for the "inordinately high" rate of 10 percent. Several physicians stated categorically that they refused to perform routine circumcisions.) The rates in Canada and Australia appear to be declining at about 10 percentage points per decade. The United States stands alone as the only country in the world in which the majority of newborn males are circumcised, purportedly for health reasons.
Before addressing the phenomenon of circumcision in the United States let us examine the Canadian and Australian data. In Canada (Table 2), there are considerable rate differences among the provinces but the overall rate is clearly declining, and in Quebec the practice has been virtually been discontinued. In Australia (Table 3), unlike Canada, the rates by states are relatively uniform, but clearly declining. In 1978, the Australia government recommended that payments for circumcision be reduced or eliminated.⁷¹ (In a visit to Australia in 1982, I was told that a national campaign was planned to reduce unnecessary surgery; circumcision was high on the list.)
Table 2. Hospital Inpatient Male Newborn Circumcision in Canada by Province (data from British Columbia and Newfoundland not reported)* 1970 to 1978 by Rank Order of Percentage change

	1970	1979	Change (% rounded)
Total	64,015	44,853	-30
Quebec	12,995	3,077	-76
Nova Scotia	2,477	1,004	-60
New Brunswick	1,543	673	-43
Alberta	10,857	9,608	-12
Manitoba	5,006	4,424	-11
Ontario	24,476	26,283	+4
Saskatchewan	3,276	3,655	+12

Table 3 Estimated Neonatal Circumcision Rate in Australia by State, 1973-74 to 1979-80(%)* Adapted from Wirth, J.L.: Current circumcision practices in Australia. Med. J. Aust., 1:179, 1982.

	1973-74	1979-80	% Decrease
Total	49	39	10
New South Wales	52	42	10
Victoria	39	28	11
Queensland	62	51	11
South Australia	47	41	6
Western Australia	51	38	13
Tasmania	68	43	25

Although nationwide data on circumcision for Canada and Australia are admittedly imperfect, precise data for the United States are virtually non-existent. The H.E.W. Hospital Records Study excludes neonates.⁷⁰ The Cycle III Health Examination Survey, conducted from 1963 to 1965 among youths aged 12 to 17, reflected the practice of circumcision in the early 1950's.⁷⁰ The total circumcision rate was 765 (whites, 80 percent; blacks, 45 percent); regional differences were also noted.
In 1980 Wallerstein provided a crude compendium of circumcision rates reported in the literature.⁶⁴ This was updated in 1981 by King and Roebuck.²⁹ Since these compendia, other reports from individual hospitals have been noted in the literature (Table 4).²⁵ Of the five hospitals reporting, the lowest rate was 80.7 percent; the other rates ranged from 90 to 98 percent. These data are static, that is, reported within a fixed period, making it impossible to discern a trend. Several hospitals reported longitudinal changes. One New York City maternity center stated that "in the past" the rate was 90 percent; in 1980 it was 60 percent.³⁵ Other reports are more precise, indicating changes from 1978 to 1980, and 1975 to 1979 (Table 4, last two hospitals).³ The year-to-year changes were negligible; clearly there was no precipitous decline. This stability of rate was confirmed by the Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities, which publishes annual data based on projections from atypically large hospitals.⁷² They show a 1970 rate of 88 percent and a 1980 rate of 86 percent. The mean rates from 1970 to 1975 and from 1976 to 1980 are identical (86 percent).⁵⁴
Table 4. Circumcision Rates, Selected Hospitals
References: ^{25, 29, 27, 34, 3, 41} respectively

Hospital	Years	Rates(%)
New Britain General Hospital, Connecticut	1976-77	80.7
Southern Illinois Hospital	1979	95
John Hopkins Hospital	1980	97.6
St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore	1981	96-98
Hershey. Pennsylvania Hospital	1983	90-96
George Washington University Medical Hospital	1979	79
	1979	77
	1980	81
Largest Hospital in Salt Lake County, Utah	1975	92
	1976	93
	1977	92
	1978	92
	1979	93

In 1982 Slatkowski and King approached the question of circumcision rates specifically with respect to the pronouncements of the American Academy of Pediatrics on the practice of circumcision in Illinois.⁵⁴ They obtained data from 18 Chicago-area hospitals; the rates ranged from 27 to 92 percent (mean 78 percent). Five of the hospitals reported rates from 80 to 88 percent; five from 90 to 92 percent; the rates ranged from 74 to 97 percent, with a single exception: one hospital reported a rate of 4.5 percent. Upon further query, that hospital reported a circumcision rate decline beginning after 1974-75.
These United States data reveal no significant national decline in the circumcision rate desperate the pronouncements of the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. However there are instances of sharp declines in several hospitals. Dr. Joan Hodgman, director of the Newborn Division of the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center, reported in 1983 that their circumcision rate is zero. Similarly, J.H.T. Chang, pediatric surgeon at the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, the largest in the city, stated in 1983 that circumcision is not performed even if the parents demand it.²⁴
Why have most United States physicians persisted in the practice? One reason is that the medical and popular literature abounds in serious errors of scientific judgment, equivocation, and obfuscation. Space limitations permit a brief examination of four issues: pain, venereal disease, cancer, and hygiene.
PAIN
Pain of circumcision is not a debatable question; it is a fact.²¹ However, a perusal of writings in the popular press (1982 and 1983) reveals confusion. Proctor and Gamble, one of the nations largest advertisers, promotes Pampers to parents by offering the Expectant Parents Information Kit (1982), which contains the following statement: "You may be surprised to learn that circumcision will not be painful to your baby because, at this early stage of development, the penis does not yet have functioning nerve endings."¹⁵
A contrary view was found in American Baby (May 1983), in which parents were told that "Newborns who undergo circumcision experience a great deal of stress and pain . . ." Parents were advised that it was now possible to employ local anesthetics to alleviate such pain.³⁶
Mother's Manual (1982) argues against local anesthesia because ". . . it swells the area to the extent of making an unsatisfactory circumcision too likely."⁷ Genesis, published by the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics, carried an article in 1982 in which two writers who attended a Jewish ritual circumcision described the surgery as bloodless, painless and stressless. They suggested that non-Jewish parents explore the possibility of employing ritual circumcisors.¹¹
Parents who read such an array of literature are bound to be bewildered.
VENEREAL DISEASE
Prior to the turn of the century, little was known about venereal disease, either causes or cures. Understandably, the false claim could be made with impunity that circumcision prevented sexually transmitted diseases.⁶⁴ These claims persisted beyond the middle of the twentieth century: Urologist A. Ravich titled his 1973 book Preventing V.D. and Cancer by Circumcision.¹⁸
Within the past decade there has been virtually no statement that circumcision prevents syphilis or gonorrhea; the present day "whipping boy" is genital herpes. Even a cursory exploration of a link between circumcision and herpes reveals that such claims are without foundation; the presence or absence of the foreskin neither aids nor deters the transmission of herpes. A definitive statement regarding this claim was made in 1979 by Y.M. Felman, director of the New York City Bureau of Venereal Disease Control: ". . . I don't believe that circumcision is of any value in preventing genital herpes, as this disease is quite common in circumcised males and their female sex partners."¹⁶
Yet in 1981, Warner and Strashin wrote: "Herpes genitalis appears to be the only sexually transmitted disease associated with circumcision status."⁶⁷ Strashin defended his statement the following year.⁶⁸ If circumcision prevents herpes or deters its transmission, how can we explain the phenomenal rise in the incidence of this disease to epidemic proportions, particularly among the most sexually active males, ages 15 to 25, of whom perhaps 75 percent are circumcised? Nevertheless, the 1975 American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force reported: "Adequate studies to determine the relationship between circumcision and the incidence of venereal disease have not been performed." This statement is obvious outdated.
PENILE CANCER
Few diseases strike greater fear than cancer, and no site is more potentially alarming to males than the penis. It is not surprising, therefore that when newborn circumcision is presented as an absolute prophylaxis against penile carcinoma, it is a potent argument for circumcision. Wolbarst wrote in 1932: ". . . cancer of the penis does not occur in Jews circumcised in infancy. There is no case on record."⁷³ Subsequent research indicate that there are such cases on record.⁴
The understatement of the incidence of penile cancer in Jews should be contrasted with the overstatement in regard to the uncircumcised people of India and China. In 1973, deKernion and colleagues wrote: ". . . the disease accounts for 12 percent of all malignancies among the Hindus of India."¹² In 1977 Kaplan claimed, "In China, penile carcinoma accounts for 18 percent of all carcinomata."²⁸ In a visit to the Peoples Republic of China (1976) and India (1982) the incidence of penile cancer was discussed with health officials. They stated that no nationwide health data was available; more specifically, no National Cancer Registries were maintained (much as they would like to do so). They remarked that no reputable scientist in their country would provide such data. Precise data on penile cancer are available from countries in which a National Cancer Registry is maintained. The United States does not maintain such a Registry, and so its data are imprecise. The data from Japan, Norway, and Sweden are compared with the United States' estimates (Table 5). The largest difference in incidence is between the United States and Sweden, three cases per million males; for death rates, the difference between the United States and Japan is one case per million males, small differences indeed. It is worthy of note that in countries in which a National Cancer Registry is maintained and precise incidence or death rates is known, routine circumcisions continues not to be practiced. There is no acceptance of the claimed epidemiologic relationship between circumcision and penile cancer.
Table 5. Penile Cancer: Comparison of Approximate Incidence and Death Rates per 100,000 Males for Selected Countries*
*Data from Cancer Deaths 1980 Ministry of Health and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan for Japan. For other countries; Wallerstein, E.: Circumcision an American Health Fallacy. New York, Springer Publications. 1980.

Country	Year	Incidence	Death Rate
America	1972	0.8/100,000	0.3
Japan	1980	N/A	0.2
Norway	1967	1.1	N/A
Sweden	1968	1 1	N/A

It could be argued that in Japan, Norway, Sweden, high standards of hygiene are maintained. The variable in penile cancer prophylaxis may be hygiene, not retention of foreskin. This is essentially the position taken by the 1975 American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force, which denied a relationship between circumcision and prostatic cancer and stated that "non-circumcision is not of primary etiological significance" in cervical cancer.² In regard to penile cancer, they wrote: "There is evidence that carcinoma of the penis can be prevented by neonatal circumcision. There also is evidence that optimal hygiene confers as much or nearly as much protection" (emphasis added)² In 1981, 6 years later, Grossman and Posner took a more forthright position. Writing in Obstetrics and Gynecology, they stated: "No one today seriously promotes circumcision as a prophylactic against cancer in any form. No significant correlation between cancer and circumcision has ever been proved."²²
The claim that circumcision is related to penile cancer is based upon the "fact" that smegma is a carcinogen. Smegma in infancy consists solely of desquamated epithelial cells, and in adulthood additionally of the secretions of the Tyson's glands. Many attempts have been made to prove a simple cause and effect between smegma and cancer; all failed but one. In 1947 Plaut and Kohn-Speyer "demonstrated" that smegma was a carcinogen. Of the animals examined, 27 percent of those treated with smegma developed cancer whereas 15 percent of the animals treated with cerumen developed cancer.⁴⁴ Is it now possible to claim that cerumen is also a carcinogen with only one half of the carcinogeneity of smegma? This study is deficient in conceptualization, methodology, execution, gathering of data, and analysis.⁴⁴ Understandably, the study has largely been ignored; however, as recently as 1981 it was accepted in one medical journal article without question.²³
Penile cancer scare techniques are still with us. In 1980, Kochen and McCurdy stated that ". . . uncircumcised men are uniquely at risk . . ." They "demonstrated" that the predicted lifetime risk among uncircumcised men was one in 600.31 They did not address why 599 out of 600 at risk" males will not contract penile cancer in their lifetime. More importantly, Kochen and McCurdy based their calculations on the 1968 Stern and Lachenbruch study of one cancer detection center in Los Angeles.⁵⁹ Their 1968 data are obviously skewed in age, ethnicity, religion, social class, and so forth, and are admittedly non-random. Such inadequate local data should not be extrapolated to a national statistic.
The threat of penile cancer hangs over the discussion of circumcision like some mystical demon. It deserves to be exorcised, not circumcised.
PENILE HYGIENE
In several studies, mothers were asked why they agreed to their son's circumcision. The answer given most frequently was "hygiene."⁵³ (In a 1981 United Nations study of female genital surgery in Africa, one reason given for such surgery was "hygiene."¹⁹ ) Why is male genital hygiene viewed with such alarm in the United States that prophylactic surgical intervention is necessary?
For over a century, and to this day, mothers have been warned that proper penile hygiene involves full retraction of the foreskin to clean the glans of smegma, and this procedure should start almost at day one. Such a task is virtually impossible, because in almost all infants the foreskin is attached firmly to the glans. Separation occurs normally within a few months or several years. Separation may be forced but this literally involves tearing the tissues apart, which is usually painful and may result in bleeding. No sane mother enjoys causing distress to her child. No wonder there is fear and reluctance about retraction of the foreskin. This has created a foreskin phobia. Forced retraction of the foreskin may lead to complications, and may well be the reason for so many postinfancy circumcisions (only in the United States).
The problem with this hygienic technique is that it is totally in error. Care of the foreskin is not exceedingly difficult; it is exceedingly simple: leave it alone. The foreskin in infancy should not be retracted. In 1977 Kaplan wrote, " . . . freeing 'adhesions is tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment and is unfounded physiologically or medically."²⁸ Development of the foreskin and the inadvisability of forced retraction was noted by Gairdner (1949),¹⁷ Øster (1968),⁴² Reichelderfer and Fraga (1968),⁴⁹ and others.
Many, if not most, American physicians are ignorant of proper care of the foreskin. This was demonstrated by Osborn and colleagues in 1981, who queried Utah pediatricians and found that 67 percent estimated that the foreskin should retract easily by one year.⁴⁰ This is contrary to all findings of studies of the foreskin. Only 3 percent said the newborn foreskin should never be retracted. In interviewing a small sample of mothers of uncircumcised boys, Osborn and colleagues also found that retraction of the foreskin caused such anxiety that 40 percent of these mothers stated that they would have their next male infant circumcised.
The problem is not limited to Utah. In a study of physicians in the Chicago area, Patel and colleagues reported in 1982 that "only 49 percent of the physicians [in the total sample] were aware of the AAP's [American Academy of Pediatrics position."⁴³ Among the pediatricians and obstetricians in the sample, 62 percent were aware of this position. The major reason given for recommending circumcision was "hygiene" (90 percent). In a 1982 study by Stein and colleagues conducted in San Diego, they noted, "Only 36 percent of the responding physicians were aware that the newborn's foreskin is characteristically not found retractable."⁵⁸ When asked "if a nonretractable foreskin is an indication for circumcision," 47 percent of all respondents answered incorrectly. Such incorrect responses were mare likely to be given by those in family practice (50 percent), obstetrics (55 percent), and general practice (67 percent) than by those in pediatrics (13 percent). At the Spring 1983 meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Philadelphia, an exhibit on circumcision was conducted. The most frequently asked question related to proper care of the foreskin.
If physicians are ill-informed about care of the foreskin, how can parents be well informed? There are thousands of books, pamphlets, and articles available to parents relating to child care. Almost none devotes attention to proper care of the foreskin. Discharging a circumcised child without informing the parents of proper wound care constituted negligence. Discharging an uncircumcised child without informing the parents of proper care of the foreskin is equally negligent. Osborn and colleagues reported that the only written information they could find on the subject was this statement in a 1978 book: " . . .retract the foreskin gently and return the foreskin to its normal position to prevent constriction and swelling."⁸ To begin to correct this lack of information, in 1982 Wallerstein wrote a pamphlet entitled "When Your Baby Boy is Not Circumcised."⁶⁶ Boyce also addressed the subject in an article entitled "Care of the Foreskin (1983).⁶ The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a pamphlet entitled "Care of the Uncircumised Penis" (1984).
The issue of hygiene is obfuscated by the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force Report in two ways. As noted earlier, the Report stated that to prevent penile cancer, "optimum hygiene was necessary. The reader, lay public or physician may ask: What constitutes "optimum hygiene? Can parents guarantee such optimum care? If not, isn't it better to play it safe and circumcise? The Report also cautions that retention of the foreskin requires "lifelong" hygiene. This statement is not incorrect; it is incomplete. All body parts require lifelong hygiene, body bathing, hair shampooing, oral hygiene, labial hygiene, and so forth. The discontinuance of any aspect of hygiene may well have deleterious effects. Why single out the foreskin?
The crux of the circumcision/hygiene rationale had its origin in the fear of the "effects" of masturbation; this may persist in attenuated form. Today, however, it is basically a lack of knowledge: the foreskin and glans in infancy are essentially fused, and should not be retracted forcibly, and smegma is not a carcinogen.
Another claimed hygienic benefit is that thousands of United States servicemen, particularly in the South Pacific required circumcision. Would it not be better to circumcise in infancy and thereby avoid the more troublesome operation in adulthood? However, Japanese soldiers were fighting in the identical environment, and the Japanese did not practice newborn circumcision. When Japanese health officials were visited by Wallerstein (1982), they stated that to the best of their knowledge, Japanese military surgeons did not find it necessary to circumcise after World War II. More to the point, in the event of thermonuclear war, the role of the foreskin will pale to insignificance.
Thus, much of the current circumcision misinformation, both lay and professional, is false and misleading. In 1971 and 1975, the American Academy of Pediatrics appeared to take definitive positions; actually they did not. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on the Fetus and Newborn noted in 1971 that "there are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period."² in 1975, the American Academy of Pediatrics Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision reported that there was no basis for changing this statement and concluded, "There is no absolute medical indication for routine circumcision of the newborn."²
However, as previously noted, the use of the words "optimum" and "lifelong" with regard to to penile hygiene and the stated uncertainty of a possible link between circumcision and venereal disease represented equivocation. An additional equivocation is found in the 1975 Report: "A diagnosis of phimosis cannot be made with assurance in the newborn period because the cleavage plane between the glans and the deep preputial layer of the penis is not developed at birth. There is a real need for research which will improve diagnostic accuracy in this area."²
In 1983, this statement was challenged by Thompson, who chaired the ad hoc Committee. He wrote: "One major reason used to justify neonatal circumcision - correction or prevention of phimosis has been shown to be untenable by serial studies from birth to adulthood."^{62 Furthermore,} overwhelming epidemiologic evidence from countries that never adopted circumcision or abandoned the practice obviates the need for further study.
Thompson also provided the setting for the equivocation and the absence of a more definitive position: "The ad hoc commmittee was sharply divided in its opinions, and the resulting statement was a compromise that stated that there was no absolute medical indication for routine circumcision of the newborn.' The words absolute and routine were meant to convey a different impression from the conclusion of the AAP Committee on the Fetus and Newborn, but this has no always been the interpretation of readers."⁶²
If the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee was sharply divided and the report subject to misinterpretation, how can physicians and parents take an unequivocal position on circumcision? They cannot. And if the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics is equivocal, the position of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is even more so. When the American Academy of Pediatrics committees reported, the statements were published.⁵⁶ The endorsements of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were not published in their journal.⁶⁴ Moreover, in 1978 Grimes raised an unanswered question: " . . . the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inc., warns that 'physicians who assume responsibility for the health of male patients for operative or other care will not be regarded as specialists in obstetrics-gynecology . . .'"²⁰ It is well known that obstetricians perform a large percentage of circumcisions.
The acceptance of circumcision was noted by Herrera is 1983, who reported on a nationwide survey of 400 pediatricians and obstetricians; 50 percent believed circumcision indicated in the newborn, 33 percent opposed, and 17 percent were undecided.²⁶ As to advice to parents, there was acquiescence; 15 percent encouraged it, 19 percent discouraged it, and 66 percent remained neutral. "This is one reason why nearly every male neonate is circumcised," Herrera wrote.²⁶
Ambivalence on the part of physicians about circumcision was illustrated in one study by a Canadian hospital in 1983 where there were two patients with a serious complication of circumcision, denuding of the penile shaft that required plastic surgery. A formal proposal to suspend neonatal circumcisions was made but rejected because of anticipated adverse community reaction. However, the circumcision rate in that hospital dropped from about 40 to 20 percent as a result of the mishaps.⁶¹
Judging from the record, American medical professionals are not truly opposed to circumcision; they perform about 1.25 million annually. Some continue to insist that there are health benefits. Some physicians place the responsibility on the parents. In 1983 Maisels and colleagues wrote, "If circumcision practices are ever to be changed, such changes will likely result from organized advocacy of lay groups . . . rather than from the efforts of the medical profession."³⁴ However when physicians demonstrated that routine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were unwise, the rate dropped. No amount of parental pressure would cause an ethical physician to perform such an operation if it were unnecessary.
Some charge venality, possibly true for some physicians, but not for all, and impossible to document. Some of the highest circumcision rates are to be found in military hospitals, where the doctors are salaried. Contrast this with the abandonment of routine tonsillectomy; some physicians had reduced revenues, but no one clamored for the reinstatement of the procedure to refill the coffers. Venality may not be dismissed entirely; in private practice, circumcision results in a fee, and there is loss of time convincing parents not to have their sons circumcised.
Then there is the Jewish question. Some non-Jewish physicians may be hesitant to question routine "health" circumcision in the mistaken belief that this stance may offend Jews. However, according to Jewish theologians, the Jewish ritual has nothing to do with health.⁶⁴ Obversely, occasional private comments suggest that Jews are responsible for nonreligious circumcision. This is a canard.
The "enigma" lies in the United States medical profession's apparent inability to come to grips with the simple fact that there are no demonstrable health benefits of circumcision, and there are risks. (Space limitations preclude delineation.) It should also be noted that the foreskin is useful erogenous, and protective tissue. Smegma, both clitoral and penile, is beneficial, not detrimental. Meatitis is not uncommon in circumcised males; rare in the uncircumcised. Moreover, the penis is the only organ subjected to routine prophylactic surgery.
One explanation for holding to outmoded views was provided by a medical professor who told his students, "It takes less than five minutes to print an article in a medical journal and 50 years to erase it." In 1979 Colletti approximated this estimate. He noted that efforts to reverse current circumcision practice "will need at least a generation of widespread education, coaxing, and encouragement to succeed."¹⁰ Warner and Strashin are even more pessimistic, based upon an erroneous premise: "As for the likelihood of a successful hygiene education program we can only point to our own profession's impotence in combating smoking and obesity."⁶⁸ This approach overlooks the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars are expended annually to promote smoking and food intake. No such effort on behalf of circumcision exists.
As scientific evidence mounted to dispute each of Remondino's exaggerated claims, physicians clutched at straws to retain at least one "health" benefit. Now that all such claims have been refuted, circumcision today has become cultural surgery, not very different from ear- and nose-piercing and tattooing. The extreme to which such cultural surgery is carried may be found in the 1983 warning given by the British Social Service Secretary to Harley Street surgeons who charged up to $1500 for a clitoridectomy performed on young girls from Africa, where such surgery is traditional.⁶⁹ More serious examples were found in France in 1982.⁵²
The medical profession was successful in eliminating routine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. This is precisely what is needed for routine circumcision. It is necessary to overcome ignorance and the emotional superstructure surrounding the penis, not very different from ancient (and present phallic worship. It is necessary to accept scientific facts; it is necessary to discard myths about circumcision: the foreskin causes premature ejaculation, it keeps the penis from growing, some disaster will befall the uncircumcised child, the uncovered glans is more esthetically pleasing (that is the foreskin is ugly). The special myth that the boy's penis must be identical to his father's ignores the historic truth that no objection was raised, and no problem arose when circumcising millions of boys whose fathers were uncircumcised.
To resolve the problem, the positions of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists should become definitive statements that circumcision is unnecessary surgery, not to be undertaken except in rare medical circumstances. Endorsements of this position should be obtained from all relevant medical groups. This information should be disseminated to the entire medical profession, to all hospitals, nurses and nursing associations, childbirth educators, and most certainly to parents via the popular press. Meetings professional and lay persons should be called on local, state and national levels to discuss circumcision. With such an approach, routine newborn nonreligious circumcision will soon pass from the scene to join blood-letting and cupping in medical history.
As Prucha observed in 1980, "The history of these few millimeters of skin is utterly fascinating."⁴⁷