Retro Raunch Revisit

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the publication debut of STAG magazine (1949). Beginning as a 25¢ digest men's adventure magazine featuring "true life" fiction of war, rugged outdoor excitement, intrigue and tales of peril, writers such as Mario Puzo and Mickey Spillane had contributed right up until they became wealthy. The incorporation of porn began in roughly 1970 with full transition by 1974. As a sister publication of SWANK, starting in the mid 80's, the magazine began incorporating a stable of several other titles as part of its regular issue runs such as ADULT EROTICA, VIDEO EROTICA, X-RATED VIDEO, XXX VIDEO, X-RATED CINEMA & VIDEO, SEX RATED, SEX ACTS, 500 UNCENSORED SEX ACTS, GIRLS OVER 40, JUST 18, YOUNG GIRLS, HOMETOWN GIRLS, GIRLS OF THE ORIENT, JADE, ASIAN XXX, HOT BODIES, D-CUP, 44-PLUS, CLEAVAGE, CHEEKS, SHAVED, ORIGINAL PORN LEGENDS, PEEP SHOW, STRIP SCENE, and LESBOS. The final print issue under 'STAG' appears to be Nov 1999.


DECEMBER 1949 ON THE WORLD STAGE Two recent proclamations have been made by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion following his government's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the country's new capital. The 1st was when Ben-Gurion told the Knesset (parliament/legislature) that they would not relinquish control of Jerusalem to which a vote was taken resulting in unanimous support of the policy. He had invoked the city's long history of preserving its holy sites and rejecting provisions in Resolution 181 -- the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adoption of Nov 1947 that allowed for the Partition Plan of Palestine that proposed dividing Palestine into 7 administrative regions comprising a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an internationally suggested separate body in Jerusalem all forming an economic union. This was initially accepted by a mainstream Jewish leadership but outright refused by the Arabs which led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that saw massacres & bombings committed by both sides. The names Dir Yassin, Saliha, Tantura, Lydda, Al-Dawayima, and Abu Shusha are but a handful of villages that echo in atrocities. The war had erupted following the end of the Palestine Mandate on May 14, 1948 which led directly to Israel declaring independence & statehood the next day. The Mandate had began as the Jul 1922 League of Nations granting of British occupation of Palestine stemming from the 1917 Balfour Declaration which during WWI was a declaration of British support for the establishment of a national home for Jewish people in Palestine. The 2nd proclamation was the Israeli rejection of accepting the placement of Jersulaem under UN management, and the urging of the Knesset to relocate the capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Ben-Gurion said, "There has always been and always will be one capital only - Jerusalem the eternal. Thus it was 3,000 years ago and thus it will be, we believe, until the end of time." He then expressed what previous Prime Ministers have re-iterated stating, "The attempt to sever Jewish Jerusalem from the State of Israel will not advance the cause of peace in the Middle East or in Jerusalem itself. Israelis will give their lives to hold on to Jerusalem, just as the British would for London, the Russians for Moscow and the Americans for Washington."