Sharon Mitchell

-T.C.

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This one, with the very negative start, has nowhere to go but to spiral down fast.

Locked.

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She deserves your thanks much more that your abuse.

Scott Kinney
Diversified Video Associates
www.xxx-imports.com

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Being a doctor is serious business and thankfully society understands that and makes it very hard for someone to call themselves a medical doctor. Medical doctors are trained in dealing with many many things, not just the diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries.

She fucked up royally and so did her medical staff - a man whose cock was up Lara Roxx's ass at the same time as Darrin James' was not identified and put on the first generation list of quarantined talent until weeks later. Do you understand what that COULD mean? That there were people who should have been under quarantine who had no idea that they also were potential ticking time bombs.

There's more but that alone is a mistake that can't be tolerated by the industry that has been forced to depend on AIM to protect itself from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

This latest fuckup that I don't have permission to reveal here is one a trained medical doctor would not have committed. It hurt someone very much.

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My anger at AIM yesterday was how it was handled with regards to the girl's emotions. Dealing with people in life affecting matters concerning health should be dealt with by medical professionals who are trained to deal with this. This girl believed she had tested negative a few days ago, she was ecstatic. Not being there I don't know what information she was or was not given at the time.
It's a roller coaster ride that could have been avoided.

I had a father with cancer and doctors and nurses were always careful when it came to test results in how they explained them and what they meant - no false hopes, some encouragement but always reminding you of the reality of the situation.

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This is very sad for Jessica, I really loved her work. I hope she goes back to her homeland and try to get her life back in order, I hope she realize her life is far from over.

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i just phoned a friend of mine who happens to be a doctor
currently researching Hepatitis C serums, anyway
he clarified to me once again that it takes 3-to 6 months
before you can be 100% sure you did not catch the virus
at any earlier stage the viral load might just not be detectable
for the pcr-dna test. so why this seems no news,
i do find the quarantine times from AIM questionable right now.

don't lose hope! there's a life after being diagnosed HIV+,
you still can get really really old with this!!

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You can go to any real doctor and make a HIV test. If you're positive nobody will be informed but you.

AIM makes sure, that the information will be passed on to everybody who needs it.

Thank you Sharon Mitchell for AIM.

Steve Holmes

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I'm not sure it's fair to say that the industry has been "forced to depend" on AIM. Our libertarian friends here at ADT have been tireless in pointing out that no one held a gun to any performers' heads and made them work bareback. I take from your tone that your were unhappy with AIM even prior to this outbreak. Certainly there were other options available to any producers that were uncomfortable entrusting Mitchell and AIM with making condom-free porn safer, or limitting what any intelegent person must have know was an inevitable HIV outbreak.

As to my question regarding your use of the phrase "is a disgrace"; my understanding is that that phrase is used when the thing disgraced is a common sense of decency or morality, or when the actions of one party have brought undeserved shame on another party, as in, "You have disgraced your family."

Has Mitchell and her AVN enforced monopoly done more harm than good? I don't know.

-T.C.

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With that being said, the issue I have with Miss Mitchell is the fact that it appears that she parades around wearing her "Dr." badge. She is not a doctor of medicine, and even though she may be a Hall od Fame performer, that does not make her qualified to front a medical organization. . She could be on the board, or even lead advisor, but at a minimun a person to front such a foundation should have a degree in business management, or hospital administration.

To many files, test, and communications have been misplaced at AIM, and the lapse in time between awareness, and actions are boderline criminal.

I believe AIM provides a good service, but I believe they have the wrong person at the helm. I also thought the fact that Nina Hartley was at the press conference was a poor attempt to give the impression of compliance. True, Nina is a Registered Nurse, but hopefully her opinions, and motives are not for sale.

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Medical doctors are not the only type of legitimate doctor.

Whether or not her PhD is valid, I don't know. But it is perfectly reasonable for a PhD to refer to hi/herself as doctor.

The industry hasn't been forced to rely on AIM. They could rely on condoms. Didn't think I was gonna say that, huh?

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Hell, maybe the industry should get Noah Whylie to front aim. If you act now, maybe you can get Jimmy Smits to be their legal counsel.

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The whole purpose of AIM is to facilitate the identification and and containment of HIV within the adult community. However, when Darren James tested positive, it was as if AIM had never even considered that such a thing could happen.

In the first 3 or 4 days, they changed their recommendation for a quarantine process multiple times.

A written plan should have been maintained at AIM that would have allowed anyone who could read and subtract to figure out the exact procedure for setting up an appropriate quarantine list.

The fact that something like this apparently never existed is a complete betrayal to an industry that had put it's faith in AIM's competence for handling an outbreak.

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you may think it's nothing to be concerned with because her intentions are good and noble according to you but a several billion dollar industry rests right now on AIM.

Steve Holmes, what's your opinion on the company Evasive Angels and its owner TTBoy? Sharon Mitchell says Darren James contracted HIV in Brazil working for TTBoy's company, both worked bareback down there, anal sex, then returned back to L.A. and are now directly responsible for two women who will now live their lives with HIV. What are your feelings about TTBoy? Do you think these girls stand a good chance at winning a multi million dollar lawsuit against him and his company?

And i'm still waiting to find out why AIM doesn't think it's necessary to immediately make public a second generation list descended from Jessica Dee as they did in Laura Roxx's case.

Why was it over a week until Mark Anthony was declared a first generation risk because he and Darren James DP'ed Laura Roxx? Why 4 days before Dr. Mitchell and her consultants came to this conclusion did I post that question right here on AdultDVDTalk? Because I'm so scary smart? No sorry, I have an above average IQ but I'm no genius.

In the eloquent words of Scott Fayner on his LukeFord.com website

"So why, I ask, can we allow an ex-porn chick with a monkey on her back and a strip-mall education to lead the industries main hub for healthcare when the local dog pounds are filled with more qualified applicants?"

and please stop with this nonsense where i see porn people in the middle of what is a crisis defensively slapping itself on the back because of a good record up til now. Sharon Mitchell has told the world press that she was confident and hopeful that nobody else other than James and Roxx would be HIV positive.......is that responsible? She's already wrong about that and will continue to be wrong. Just as her original 30 day quarantine was wrong where she figured a 75% rate of accuracy was sufficient to protect the industry.

Bah..........sheep. baaaaaaaaah baaaaaaaaaah baaaaaaaaaaaah

Edited by - *Mutt* on 4/29/2004 8:37:51 PM

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Silent Jay - Host of the NON-Televised "Silent Jay Show"

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It would seem the prudent person would avoid using the title Dr. in any situation where it could cause confusion.

-T.C.

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Mutt, her being the head of AIM, she might have made it clear, you're right.

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-T.C.

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Millions of people every day do their best at something, that doesn't make you qualified. So people study hard, and never get an "A", some people sing for hours, and never hit that high note.

Bottom line, certain people need to be in certain places. I'm serious, she may be a fellow adult entertainer, but I would never put Bill O' Riely in the white house. He may be well versed, and even educated, but his education, and work history does not make him qualified to rule a county.

If you ask me, the problem is the fact that Sharon is so damn loveable. The problem with family businesses is the fact that certain people are not qualified to hold their posistion. This is further complicated by the fact that some people do things for family that they ought not do.

Ever have a coach sit you on the bench to play his less tallented son? I'm not saying she shouldn't be on the team, I'm saying she shouldn't coach!

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so we shouldn't comfort ourselfs in false security,
instead we should minimize the risk and think about kicking
'ultra-high risk behaviours' like DAP's and cumming internally.
everyone is responsible for their own health,
don't let producers decide about the risk you have to take.
YOU decide.

further the industry should fully refund every STD-test for
their talents.

and of coz there's always the option to use condoms.

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I didn't know Ms Mitchel had a monkey. I'll have to pull some of her videos.

Myk

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- Saki [faqs]

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During that Marc Wallice/Simon Wolf/Tricia Devereaux flame war, I asked Sharon Mitchell if she cared to comment and she declined, except for a very cryptic message.

I don't think she is solely to blame here however, and as for certain porn bloggers, please...maybe they could hook up at the Betty Ford Clinic and get a group rate.

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I'm just curious as to why the personal vendetta. I encourage you to email me so we can talk privately about this.

tinatyler65@yahoo.com

Tina

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nobody, even Mitchell's worst critics, have ever said she doesn't have good intentions - but people think she's in over her head - porn performing is high risk, a huge business depends on the health of its talent, it seems to me that you would want that clinic and lab to be run by the best people available. It's not like the porn industry ain't making money - it's making a ton of money for lots of people.

The real answer is for L.A. to license porn production companies, just like many other industries, hell even a hotdog vendor, needs a license. Prove you are a real company, with an address for your place of business, own a computer which must be connected to a central database where all shoots are tracked and stored plus the HIV and STD test records, enter all the data for every shoot you do, don't comply with the simple rules of the license, you lose it.

Funny how a major league douchebag like Ed Powers told the L.A. Daily News or some big newspaper that this outbreak was caused by 'rogue' production people. Right Ed, TTBoy is an unknown rogue, people have been covering his ass for years, let me go get a letter written by a 19 year old porn girl named Kylie Rey about what it's like for a newcomer her first day in the business when she comes face to face with TTBoy.

And the dangerous circus act sex that has become the staple of gonzo porn should go for now.

I was talking to a porn girl this afternoon, no girl enjoys double anal sex - the percentage of people who engage in double anal sex in real life - less than 1%.
80% of girls don't even enjoy one dick anal sex, that came from the porn girl.

The world can live without watching two guys rubbing their dicks together in some 18 year old's ass who's yelping in pain or muffling her discomfort.

People have lived on this planet for thousands of years and done ok without the luxury of watching circus act sex on their tv's and computer monitors.

Double anal has doomed Laura Roxx and Jessica Dee to HIV.
Not sure if that scene was internal cumshot or not.

Edited by - *Mutt* on 4/29/2004 10:15:53 PM

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As for the Sharon Mitchell thing, uh - that is just me watching this from the same place most everybody else who is not at the epicenter of the outbreak is and seeing things that occur to me that seem wrong. I do think people's lives are at stake and many people's businesses, including part of mine. So that's the only personal investment i have in this thing other than I don't want to see any more girls wind up with HIV.

It might seem personal but it isn't - i would write the same things if it was Ron Jeremy who had retired from porn and become the administrator of AIM. I've never said Sharon Mitchell is evil, far from it, but if I say she is in over her head - that is my opinion and it's still my opinion.

Was I wrong when I posted on AdultDVDTalk a question about why Mark Anthony hadn't been place on the first generation list? Nobody answered me. It seemed important to me and an error - I'm not an HIV outbreak expert, i don't know what that mistake could have meant but there's a reason those lists are there - to contain the outbreak to as few people as possible.

As for Jessica, I was mad that the girl somehow believed she had a negative test and was ecstatic only 24 hours to be informed she was positive. That to me is cruel, and no i don't know exactly how that all went down, who called her from AIM, what exactly she was told. What I was saying is MEDICAL DOCTORS are trained to handle that type of thing. Some of them are assholes, but they do receive that kind of training.

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The adult industry will operates largely in the shadows with few to no regulations or law, much less any sense of ethics. For every Jenna Jameson "success" story, there are a few hundred tragic lives that will not see any lasting benefit from being in this business. AIM is simply another enabler of this ever continuing pattern of industry behavior. While AIM as an organization and Sharon Mitchell as an individual are two separate entities, the collective sum of the two has been nothing short of a disaster. Trying to overhaul AIM (with its usual suspects) into an organization that the industry and general public can trust would be akin to bailing out the sinking Titantic with a teaspoon. There are more viable alternatives to explore.

Edited by - Intercessor on 4/29/2004 11:41:17 PM

Edited by - Intercessor on 4/29/2004 11:59:43 PM

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Edited by - x-ray on 4/30/2004 12:11:29 AM

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As always, it's enlightening to see what the State of California has in regards to the licensing of different professionals who offer various forms of advice to people in a clinical or therapeutic setting.

There is the CA State Behavioral Sciences Board, at http://www.bbs.ca.gov/default.htm. From their website, their function is the following:

The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) is in the business of consumer protection, education and communication.
The BBS is responsible for consumer protection through the regulation of Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT); Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW); Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEP); MFT Interns; and Associate Clinical Social Workers (ASW) in the State of California. It is one of the boards within the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

There is also the CA State Board for Licensed Psychologists, the people who earn Ph.D.'s in Psychology (not M.D.'s who are psychiatrists), and who treat patients with therapy. From this Board's website http://www.psychboard.ca.gov/admin/whatis.htm:

Those entering the profession of psychology possess minimal competency to practice psychology independently and safely. This is achieved by requiring candidates for a license to possess an appropriate doctorate degree from an approved or accredited university and by requiring the completion of a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience (means 75 work weeks of seeing patients under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist). Each license applicant must also pass a national written examination and a California oral examination . In addition, in order to renew a license, a psychologist must complete 36 hours of approved continuing education every two years.
The Board's enforcement efforts are focused on protecting a vulnerable consumer population from exploitative, unscrupulous, and/or otherwise incompetent licensed psychologists.

I highlighted the above to show how rigorous the state sets these minimum requirements in order to ensure that a person is protected when getting psychological therapy. And keep in mind, licensed psychologists cannot give out medical advice, prescribe medication or order medical tests. If you have a problem with a licensed psychologist, you can file a complaint with the CA Board, which will investigate him/her.

What about sexologists, which is what Sharon Mitchell is? It turns out that the State of California doesn't regulate or license them. Basically, when you go to see one of these individuals, the state does not ensure that he/she has met any minimum requirements and has passed a licensing exam. You are on your own, basically. If you want to pay for their advice and follow it, you can. The State plays no role in protecting you in this circumstance.

I'm only posting this information to provide background on what the State of CA does in terms of regulating/licensing various types of therapists/counselors/advise givers.

Should Sharon Mitchell call herself 'Dr'? She can if she wants to, it's a free country. But people should realize what sort of doctor she is, and how this compares to the other licensed health professionals in the State of California. Does she have good intentions in regards to running the AIM clinic? I'm sure she does. Does she have the knowledge and background to handle a complex infectious disease situation? I'll let others more expert than me answer that delicate question.

For everyone's info about Myk's post, an ornithologist is a biologist who specializes in the study of birds. One is not likely to find one at a medical clinic.

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“No! No! No, [the monitoring regimen is] not working, and that is what everyone seems to be missing,” Kerndt said. “Yes, monitoring is necessary. No, it is not sufficient. You discover something you otherwise might not — but it is after the fact. Look, had condoms been used, transmission of the virus would likely not have occurred."

I suppose I'd be even nicer if no one had to deal with it...

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TonyC and Mutt

I just read some thing I didn't know. I was under the impression that she had an actual PhD. I guess I am the last to know that it is not from an accredited school.

I retract my earlier statements in defense of her degree. I was wrong. It sounds like one of those mail order degrees like that thing I sent off for to become a licensed minister. Yeah, I have too much free time. I work at home, what do you expect???

She should not be passing herself off as a doctor. I would hope that she makes it clear to anyone who comes to her at the clinic that she is not an actual PhD.

However, I will say that I think her heart is in the right place. We can't fault her that no one more qualified will do her job. I personally would go to medical school just for the opportunity to be around so many hot porn stars every month.

My dumb humor aside, this is horrible. I really do hope they come up with some much more effective ways to protect themselves.

BTW, Welcome Corina Taylor!
J.

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(For those of you outside America, HIPAA is the "Health Information Privacy Accountability Act" which basically aims to make life more difficult for people -- i.e. my doctor can't tell my wife that my blood work is good or bad without me having signed a piece of paper allowing him to do so -- or better for people; the pharmacy can't leave a message on your shared answering machine saying your herpes medicine is ready for pick-up...)

The fact that AIM announced viral load numbers seems odd given the rules -- did Darren and Lara give AIM the right to divulge all personal health info about them? -- and the fact that it seems that most leading theories discount viral load of being indicitive of anything beyond how much virus a person is carrying....

Mitch has got a shitty job right now; and I'm glad I don't have it. She's damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't....

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And yes double anal and double vag for most cases is pretty gross but I hardly think shanghing an issue like this to air your greivances against the porn industry is very tactful or sensitive. Ultimately the girl decides what shes ready for if a girl enjoys anal and is ready for it then fair play its not a neccesity, personaly I think it encourages directors to be complacent and think the big anal rodeo is what we are all here for when an interesting and imaginative scene is what we are after. I like to remember loni's comments "would you like me to fuck you up the ass with that?!?"

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Scariest thing in the world? Somewhere out there is the world's worst doctor... and tomorrow morning, someone has an appointment to see him!

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Of course monitoring is not sufficient for the total elimination of HIV. I never said it was. If your definition of working is a perfect no outbreak ever track record, then no, it isn't working. Condoms would do a better job, of course.

But, if AIM did not exist, then there would be even less of a structured monitoring system.

*I can't find a smilie for what I'm thinking*

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Kidding.

Everybody knows that monitoring won't stop an outbreak. Nothing new there.

Edited by - valjean4876 on 4/29/2004 11:39:24 PM

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My question was whether she says, "Hello, my name is Dr. Sharon Mitchell" at AIM or while representing AIM without explaining that she is not a medical doctor. Or if she allows others to imply or infer that she is an M.D.

The AIM website is clearly designed and written by someone else other than her. Her bio calls her Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Sharon...and the home page congratulates "Mitchie" on her new Ph.D. in Human Sexuality. (speaking of which, the Ph.D. part is mentioned several times on the site)

The accusations here flat out accuse her of pretending to be a medical doctor (which is possibly a crime and unethical at the least). I'm just asking for some direct evidence to that effect.

- Saki [faqs]

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As for Sharon Mitchell.....I think she just like titles infront of her name, like she was often credited as Miss Sharon Mitchell, hardly ever as just Sharon Mitchel.

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