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Ashton Kutcher testifies before US Senate committee on human trafficking (Video)

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red13th

Member
That's great. I remember him defending Joe Paterno, so I had a pretty bad impression of him. This changes things.
 

Moppeh

Banned
Yeah, those video comments about Pizzagate... Yeesh...

Anyway, what a powerful speech from Ashton. Most people think of him as some shitty actor, but he truly is a very thoughtful and intelligent guy. His Teen Choice Awards speech is also fantastic.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Damn, this got dark real quickly with those stories a couple minutes in.

Was a moving and inspiring listen. Very, very well delivered statement right there.
 

wenis

Registered for GAF on September 11, 2001.
God, I can't imagine seeing a sickening video like that and being able to work the next day. That would wreck me. Idk how the people who work on the front lines of stopping this stuff do it.
It takes it out of you even not watching the evidence or being on the front lines. My mother volunteered for a group for a year and had to stop attending the meetings and taking in girls. It got to be too much for her to handle mentally and emotionally. She's still involved in the struggle but more from an administrative/donation role now.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The foster care system is seriously fucked. My cousin's ex-wife teaches special ed in LA and a lot of her students get dumped into foster care because their parents don't want to deal with their disabilities. Most of their foster parents are in it purely for money and only do enough to keep getting paid and not get arrested.
 
I've never envied the people who have to watch fucked up videos in the pursuit of justice. Terrible but necessary.

God, I can't imagine seeing a sickening video like that and being able to work the next day. That would wreck me. Idk how the people who work on the front lines of stopping this stuff do it.

It takes it out of you even not watching the evidence or being on the front lines. My mother volunteered for a group for a year and had to stop attending the meetings and taking in girls. It got to be too much for her to handle mentally and emotionally. She's still involved in the struggle but more from an administrative/donation role now.

Yeah, the people who volunteer for this kind of stuff are living saints. I hear the burnout rate is very high. It certainly isn't hard to understand why.
 

DarthWoo

I'm glad Grandpa porked a Chinese Muslim
A completely unrelated topic, but when he mentions the half million kids still in the foster care system, I can only be reminded of how certain groups of people in this country drone on and on about how we must stop all abortions because there are sooooo many loving families out there who can adopt each and every new child that will be brought into the world.
 

GetLucky

Member
A completely unrelated topic, but when he mentions the half million kids still in the foster care system, I can only be reminded of how certain groups of people in this country drone on and on about how we must stop all abortions because there are sooooo many loving families out there who can adopt each and every new child that will be brought into the world.


Yup. Pro-life is just code for pro-birth.
 
A completely unrelated topic, but when he mentions the half million kids still in the foster care system, I can only be reminded of how certain groups of people in this country drone on and on about how we must stop all abortions because there are sooooo many loving families out there who can adopt each and every new child that will be brought into the world.

It is known many pro-lifers only care if the baby is born. After that though, grab yourself some bootstraps and hope your life doesn't become shit.
 

Zetta

Member
I've always wondered what he was doing since I haven't seen him in a movie in some time, now I know he went on to greater things.
 
Damn, reading the OP was one thing but actually watching that video? Shit is tough to hear, it's always weird to hear a man in the verge of tears, but yeah I hope he gets the help he is looking for cause he is doing the right thing man.
 
I had to stop reading when they talked about the video.

Consider me triggered as a victim of attempted rape by a teenager when I was 12.

I hope they catch the vile fucks that did that to that poor little girl.

The foster care system is also disgusting, and I'm glad he is at least trying to shine a light in that darkness.

Mad props for trying to catch these fuckers utilizing technology against them.
 
The thing is Kutcher has always been intelligent, the guy has or was in the process of getting a biochemical engineering degree when he was discovered in Iowa.
 

vegohead

Member
Would like to learn more about the software he's helped develop. Not sure I understand it

So say for example there is a image floating around the internet of sexual abuse, the software will scan the photo and try and link it to other photos/video that are already on the internet. They use the gathered information to trace back the original poster or someone in contact with those in the images.

The software works in tandem with all the companies listed on his website which is why they get hits so fast.

This technology has come a long way, they only need a small portion of an image to piece it together nowadays.
 

Monocle

Member
Good for him, sounds like he found a very worthy cause to support. The description of that video is disturbing.
 

Flux

Member
The thing is Kutcher has always been intelligent, the guy has or was in the process of getting a biochemical engineering degree when he was discovered in Iowa.

Yup. Years of playing the stoner guy or doofus kind of tricked us all. He's fighting a noble cause and can respect him beyond the "just an actor" category.
 

Mistake

Gold Member
Abuse in foster care is an open secret, much like the church which was covered in the boston scandal.
 

janoDX

Member
Everytime I read about videos of the dark web about children abuse... My skin gets cold and I get triggered.

I know the Dark Web had some amazing use during the years in helping with some movements and other great information. But also that place became the rat's hole of pedophiles and people who are sick fucks who should be killed. And sorry if I say this but that people should be killed.

Ashton taking a shot and watching how a 7 year old girl gets raped on the dark web and you're watching and you can't do anything because you don't have the tools to do it. It fucking breaks you, hard.

I feel bad, but I hope Ashton gets the help he needs so he can fight all of this... this circle of "individuals" because they're not people, they're not even animals because at least animals know some stuff, and I hope when they get captured, and then they live the biggest hell of their lives.

I'm with Ashton.
 

Zen Aku

Member
I guess but in the context of the subject matter it looks like she's not taking it seriously compared to the rest of the crowd.

I'm nitpicking right now so I'll just go with her being proud of him.
She's smiling whenever he talks about how people underestimate him because he's an actor. Like the trolls.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Enough fucked up shit on the internet as it is without touching the dark end of it.

Good on him and some of those stats are jaw dropping.
 

Matty77

Member
I actually have always respected Ashton as someone who knew he was smart and caring and the "doofus" thing is just where his limited comedic talents lay.

However I didn't know about how much he dedicated to this issue and how involved, my respect has just grown tenfold.
 

commedieu

Banned
Unfortunately there were some gross exaggerations in his testimony:

https://reason.com/blog/2017/02/15/ashton-kutcher-plays-sex-worker-savior

Fortunately hes doing more for sex crime victims than a lot of human beings, so trying to pick apart something he said he couldn't divulge how it worked exactly, isn't really some gross exaggerations. Its not like if he hits some # he gets a all time bonus of props from america, or that helping only 1 child wouldn't be good enough. People always demand things from their entertainment monkeys, and hes doing something very positive, and is testifying to congress about it. Im sure the truth police will be kicking his doors down soon to get to the bottom of this all, because that is what is the crux of the issue.

It's impossible to know how accurate their method is without more details.

People have this weird ability to want to talk shit.

edit:

For full disclosure, Aston Kutcher has one of the most punchable faces in hollywood.
 

Nuu

Banned
I am not even remotely surprised by these statistics. If anything I'm surprised that the numbers aren't worse.

I used to work in "Residential Treatment Center" in my previous job. It was basically a place kids go who get kicked out of foster homes/taken away from their parents.

The whole experience shocked me so much that I wrote a long (but good) article about it.

The life of these kids were a complete and utter nightmare. TV and movies do not do their lives justices, no matter how morbid the film. The system isn't just broken, it is flatout disgusting with these places being critically understaffed, the "dominate" residents being able to do whatever the hell they want, the staff and many children being treated like dirt, sexual abuse still a huge issue for the residents in these systems, etc.

I actually had a lot of people who were in these systems reach out to me after reading the article stating how "right" I got it, and appreciated a view from "the other side".
 

Erevador

Member
I believe he's a genuine guy and I'm glad he's using his celebrity for something greater than himself.

Respect to him and anyone who works to safeguard children, the most vulnerable people in our world.
 
Fuck, only reading that sentence about the girl bring tears to my eyes. Props to him.

They are hiring a software engineer, makes me wish I was living in the USA and apply there.
 
That cannot be easy at ALL. Watching someone get abused and knowing that stuff's around for other people's "enjoyment" in the dark web, while you're there helpless and powerless to do anything. Good god, that would break me.

Massive props to him for doing this.
 
God, I can't imagine seeing a sickening video like that and being able to work the next day. That would wreck me. Idk how the people who work on the front lines of stopping this stuff do it.

I certainly agree. Seeing those videos would devastate me, I don't know how they do it.
 

Braag

Member
Didn't know this about him, respect. This is a very big issue which unfortunately a lot of people are oblivious to.
 
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