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Links #828

May 17, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

It’s a huge public safety risk.  –  Kyla Lee

I’m still not sure why squeaky rubber chickens have become musical instruments on YouTube, but this one from Creepy Stare Piano Guy (shared by Mike Siegel) is certainly the most elaborate one yet.  Mike also provided the last link above the video; the others are from Wendy Lyon, Ryan Marino,  T. Greg Doucette (x2), and Radley Balko, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1638)

May 16, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

I thought I was going to die.  –  Pedro Cantú Ríos

To Molest and Rape

When will amateur women learn cops are dangerous sex predators?

San Francisco prosecutors [let]…four Baltimore [cops who raped a San Francisco woman skate without charges.  All four rapists were rewarded]…by the Baltimore Police Department [with paid vacations] since November of last year…[for] the…September 2024 [rape by pigs]…Jai Etwaroo…Juan Rivas, Angel Villaronga and Jahmoor Acosta…The woman…[foolishly] met up with the [predato]rs…[via] social media….went out for drinks, [was roofied by one of them and gang-raped]…she woke up…naked the next day alongside one of the [rapist pigs] in a [strange] hotel room, bewildered and unable to remember what had happened.  All of the [cops ignored her and left]…

He Said, She Said (#842) 

As Mistress Matisse has said many times, there is no safe way to choke someone:

In recent years, choking during sex has become much more common, especially among younger adults in the United States…31.9 percent of women ages 18-24 reported ever being choked during sex…40.6 percent of women ages 25-29 reported the same…[but] only 5 percent of women in their 50s reported this experience…many young people are exposed to rough sex—including choking—through…Pornography…Social media…[and other] online content…[but] have little formal education about sexual safety, consent, or kink practices…A recent study…found that [near point convergence, a simple test used to detect mild brain injuries such as concussions]…increased after sex in general but that the increase was significantly larger after sex involving choking.  In simple terms, participants showed more signs of mild neurological impairment after being choked…these effects can last for days or weeks….

Welcome To Our World (#947)

Another predictable impact of “fetal personhood” dogma on fertility procedures:

Last August, a married couple went before a [Florida] court in…a routine surrogacy case.  The couple, two men living in France, had contracted with a Florida woman…to carry their child.  As her due date approached, the fathers-to-be petitioned for early parental rights.  While the judge did grant the order, h[e also]…opin[ed]…that surrogacy [should] be unconstitutional….[barfed “]personhood[” in the plaintiffs’ faces, and tipped off Florida’s psychopathic anti-queer]…Attorney General James Uthmeier[, who immediately] began pushing to intervene in the case…[pretend]ing that surrogacy is akin to slavery…This is not the first time [the deranged] Uthmeier…has injected himself into a[n]…uncontested court case. His office’s involvement in a 17-year-old’s request for an abortion last spring further whittled down Florida’s abortion access…and…[now] seems…interested in securing a court opinion limiting reproductive technology …in…[order to] limit Floridians’ access not only to surrogacy but to things like the use of sperm donors and…in-vitro fertilization…[he also wants to be able to inflict] child support [on sperm donors]…

If Men Were Angels (#1600)

This is what Pentecostals call “holiness”:

Daniel Savala, a [typical and representative]…Assemblies of God…minist[er who was allowed to run loose by his superiors] for years despite repeated warnings about his predatory behavior, [has] pleaded guilty…to…sexually abus[ing] boys…[and] sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole…The…case…began in 2023 after revelations that leaders in the Chi Alpha campus ministry repeatedly [refus]ed to [stop] Savala, allowing him to continue m[olest]ing teens and young men for years…in Texas — even after a 2012 child sex abuse conviction in Alaska.  Instead…Chi Alpha…called him…“the holiest man alive” and sent scores of students to his Houston home for [sexual assault]…

Broken Record (#1606)

Pathetic public promotion of misogynistic masturbatory material appears to be all that’s left of the once-popular “gypsy whores” myth:

…Seattle [cop shops and fascist collaborators] are [attempt]ing…to [revive the moribund “]human trafficking[” hysteria, specifically the “gypsy whores” myth]…ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup…the Seattle [cop shop], the Port of Seattle, and the [prohibitionist, pro-censorship fascist organization] Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking…pr[esented] a [tired rehash of decade-old prohibitionist propaganda, including]…the [ever-popular]…signs of exploitation [idiocy]…

Torture Chamber (#1607)

The only difference between this and the typical US prison is the total lack of due process:

…on…at least 780 [occasions in the past year, ICE goons have beaten or gassed]…immigrant [victims]…of the Trump [regime, according to]…ICE records [leaked by] a government employee [who could no longer ignore his conscience]…the “Daily Detainee Assault Report”…summarize[s] every incident in which [goons assaulted helpless victims]…at 98 [dungeons and concentration camps.  The goons routinely]…punch…kick…ta[ckle, choke]…and [torture by] restraint…[in addition to using] Tasers and pepper spray…[on victim]s who [dare to] ask…for things to which they are legally entitled, including food and water, medical care and personal belongings…

Shame, Shame (#1612)

I don’t generally wish for anyone to go to prison, but I make exceptions for fascists:

French prosecutors are seeking [criminal] charges against Elon Musk and [Twitter]…for child sexual abuse images on the platform, deepfakes, disinformation and complicity in denying crimes against humanity by [Musk’s erratic chatbot, MechaHitler]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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A Novel Process

May 15, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

For most of my life, my writing process was more like gestation than construction; an essay or story would grow in my head until I put it on paper fully-formed.  When a high-school English teacher wanted us to include a “jot outline” of rough ideas along with the essay, I would do the outline after I finished (sometimes as late as the beginning of class) because writing down half-formed notions was simply not part of my writing process, and even in university I typically wrote my term papers at the (manual) typewriter, and the only necessary revisions could be accomplished with Liquid Paper.  When I got my first computer in the spring of 1989 this process became even quicker and more seamless, because with a word processor I could revise without even leaving a detectable trace.  And while this may sound wonderful to those of you who struggle to write, it meant I never developed the cognitive tools to write anything more than a few thousand words long, just as I never developed the cognitive tools to gain understanding of any topic I couldn’t master by simply paying attention to the book or teacher.

It has certainly not escaped the notice of my long-term readers that most of my fiction is in the short-short category (< 2000 words), with only occasional forays into the full-length short story category (< 10,000 words).  So last summer, when I wanted to tell a story that needed more time and space for character and setting development, I needed to learn a new skill: actually plotting a story rather than simply shouting “Eureka!”, reaching up to grasp the light bulb over my head, and quickly inserting it into a document.  Most of the work was still done in my head, and my first two novellas were written all out of sequence, with each scene or section written as it developed in my mind, then put together in proper sequence and polished.  And what I learned from that process made me confident enough to embark on a still-larger project, a short novel (in the 45,000 word range) set in the spring of 1925 and tentatively entitled The Big Boom.  So far, I’ve finished the first draft of the prologue and first three chapters, and yesterday I started chapter four (which will trigger some additions to chapter one).  This story seems to be developing more in sequence than the other two, though it may not continue in that wise; still, given that “Hellhound” was written in sequence to a greater degree than “Until the End of Days“, who knows?  I’m taking my time and enjoying the process, and I hope y’all will enjoy the result.

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Throwback Thursday’s Coffin

May 14, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

Calling the name on government records “real”, rather than the name by which people are widely known, the name they chose for themselves and built a career on, is a sickening obeisance to the State.  –  “What is Real?”

True principles and valid ethics don’t depend on the gut-level preferences of any one person.  –  “Under the Sun”

My lifelong practice of burning my candle at both ends has resulted in my brain aging far more than those of people who haven’t been running theirs on “high” since the Nixon era.
–  “More Often Nowadays”

Catholic education has traditionally put such a strong emphasis on critical thinking skills that some wit once pointed out that the Church was its own worst enemy because it provided children with the tools that undermine faith.
–  “Just As Good“

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

In the News (#1637)

May 13, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

There’s no such thing as a single-purpose surveillance state. – J.D. Tuccille

All-Purpose Excuse (#1231)

“Promote” & “encourage” are authoritarian dysphemisms for “talk about”:

An adult model is facing up to a decade [in a cage] in Turkey after she allegedly spoke out in support of sex work on national TV, which is against the country’s strict [censorship] laws.  Prosecutors claim Merve Taskin “encouraged prostitution” during a television appearance where she is said to have talked about the work she does behind a camera…on a programme hosted by Turkish media personality Hulya Avsar…Prosecutors claim that during the broadcast, Merve…[honestly] said that she could earn an entire month’s salary in one night…An indictment…alleges that her statements “promoted prostitution”…

Stalkers in Blue (ROTW #2)

Just another kind of cop, being a cop:

A U.S. Secret Service [spook] has been [rewarded with a paid vacation for following] a woman…to her hotel room in Miami and…masturbating [at] her…John Andrew Spillman…was…[caught in the act by] hotel security…[and was still at it] when [cops arrived to arrest]…him…Spillman…was in South Florida to [attend his master, the mad emperor]…

The Vultures Descend (#1485)

The state really does believe it owns every human being within its borders:

…Wyoming [politicians]…recently passed a[n unconstitutional] law to outlaw abortions once…fetal [cardiac myocyte activity can be detected by machines]…it is “clinically inaccurate” to describe what can be heard via an ultrasound during very early pregnancy as a heartbeat.  Cardiac cells in an embryo may exhibit electrical activity that is detectable, but there are no cardiac valves that could generate the sound that people know as a heartbeat.  The Wyoming law…which has now been…blocked [as unconstitutional like other recent attempts to reduce women to cattle, was justified by wannabe feudal lords as]…”sending a message“…that…young [women] are [chattel whose only function in life is to repeatedly spawn tax cattle]…for…the state…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1573)

Erosion of civil liberties only starts with “undesirables”; it never stops there:

…the U.S. is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tools that give [cops, spooks, and goons] easy access to the home and workplace addresses of American citizens, their social-media accounts, vehicle information, flight history, law-enforcement records and other personal information, as well as data to track their daily comings and goings…[all] in the name of border control.  As of 2022…ICE…had scanned the driver’s license photos of 1 in 3 adults…had access to the driver’s license data of 3 in 4 adults…and…could locate 3 in 4 adults through their utility records…Palantir…provide[s]…the ability to track people’s movements with “near real-time visibility”…and…the Mobile Fortify app…[allows thugs] to identify anyone they happen to encounter…[especially] protesters…and…their associates…in direct violation of Carpenter v. United States…

Creepy Coppers (#1583)

The inevitable result of sexual predators being given power over women:

A[n] RCMP [cop] who took a sexualized photo of a…female prisoner and sent it to a[nother pig] using a work-issued cellphone…will not be fired [but instead merely told he was a naughty boy and should think about what he did]…Samuel Culic admitted…[that] the woman…[did not] consent…[but he thought it was his right to exploit her sexually because someone barfed “]outstanding warrant[” while he] was [in earshot]…The message [he sent his wanking pal] read “Haha hot little senorita in cells tonight. Straight from Mexico’…[and] the [other pig] responded [by oinking] “Niceeee hahaha”…

How exactly do people think a quadruple silent e would affect a word’s pronunciation?

Torture Chamber (#1607)

A convenient way to cover up wanton murder:

On October 3…the Trump [regime] abruptly stopped paying…for medical care provided to…ICE [victims]…including “dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, [and] chemotherapy”…payments…were supposed to resume on April 30…but…did not resume.  Instead, [the billing contractor now…claims [it may be] June…[before they even begin to] process…the…claims…A source…[reported] that this is false…[and] no claims are being processed…the [regime’s refusal to]…pay…for medical services…has c[aus]ed…a massive spike in [ICE victim] deaths and medical crises…From 2018 to 2024, the average number of people who died in ICE c[oncentration camps] annually was 8.9…in 2025, 33 people died [as prisoners of] ICE…[and] the trend is accelerating.  In the first four months of 2026, 18 people have [already] died in [the camps]…since…October 3…[the death] rate [has increased to] 51.7 people annually…more than five times the death rate before [Trump reverted to his typical practice of not paying his bills]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1624)

This needs to be banned worldwide, along with police use of the technology:

Maryland has become the first state in the US to ban surveillance pricing…[the practice of] rapidly chang[ing] the cost of products based on consumer data, including their location, internet search history and demographics…the [industry uses the euphemism “]dynamic pricing[” but no matter what the term it amounts to]…charging each person the most that they’re willing to pay…the Federal Trade Commission…has documented examples of surveillance pricing in stores selling clothing, beauty products, home goods and hardware…Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Illinois and New Jersey may likewise regulate…the [exploitative]…practice…un[fortunat]ely the…Maryland…law is riddled with industry carveouts that will [undermine its stated intent]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Diary #828

May 12, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

This has been a rather timid brood; though the turkey chick has been occasionally venturing out into the chicken yard since the first day I started opening the nursery in the daytime, it took over two weeks for the pullets to even begin venturing out at all.  It was last Wednesday before I found them all out of the nursery for the first time, and the only reason they even went that far was that I moved their water bottle out.  Then on Sunday I stopped refilling their bottle in the morning, forcing them to use the same water dispenser as the adult hens.  I’ve also started to shoo them out of the nursery in the morning; they’re going to need to be out by Sunday, when they officially join the flock.  The timer (which sounds unusually loud in this video) will be also put away then, to wait until the first day of autumn before it’s again put back in control of the heat lamp.

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Guest Columnist: Cici Liu

May 11, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

One of my regular readers recently told me that an Asian masseuse he knows wanted to tell her story; since these women now bear the brunt of anti-sex worker police violence in the US, I was happy to provide her the opportunity.  CiCi reads English well but is much more comfortable writing in Chinese, so I used Google translate to prepare the rough draft, then edited it and let her check it for accuracy prior to publication.

My name is CiCi Liu.  I came to the United States from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China in 2010.  After first arriving in Flushing, New York, and resting for a week, I found a job as a live-in nanny through a newspaper advertisement.  I worked there for a year, but it was both stressful and boring, and I lacked freedom due to living with my employer 24/7.  I wanted to change jobs and relax a bit, so I went back to the newspaper ads and found a job at a restaurant.  But after working there for six months, I found it was not suitable for me; I was very tired and overworked, so I quit and rested for a few months before entering the massage industry through a friend’s introduction.

Initially, I had a lot of freedom, going into parks with my partner and using simple massage chairs we made ourselves to massage tourists, starting from the grass.  Then every day from morning until midnight, I would go to the entrance of some bar and wait for customers to come out, trying to persuade them to buy massages from me; the results were pretty good, and I maintained this routine for several years.  Unfortunately, this kind of massage work could only be done in the summer, so in the winter I did temporary jobs and odd jobs, but that wasn’t a real solution; I needed to find a stable job.

So it was back to the newspaper again, where I found a job posting for a massage place in a shopping mall, which I found quite suitable.  I’m relatively quiet and prefer to give slow, gentle massages; the place had both chair back massages and mattress massages.  Over a five-year period, I learned a lot of English and mastered massage techniques; I became much stronger, worked as a massage manager and massage instructor, and gained several years of experience.  So I wanted to start my own business, but that presented many difficulties; then a friend asked me to help her with house massages, which I thought was a great opportunity.

In-room massage turned out to be the best for me; it’s quiet, slow, and I feel free.  More importantly, it allows me to utilize my strengths.  My massage skills are top-notch.  I can control the entire process and know every acupoint on the body, so my clients feel very satisfied; many clients will extend the time again and again, and I can also meet their additional requests.  No matter what kind of client they are, I will treat them all the same, like my own family, with care, patience, and sincerity, and they reward me accordingly.  Every guest appreciates the cleanliness and hygiene of my environment; I use numerous small, warm towels to wipe the surfaces clean, and the sheets are changed daily.  Guests can shower freely.  When I’m working, I rarely answer the phone or send any messages; all my time is devoted to the customer receiving a massage.  As a result, 80% of my guests return, and my diligent efforts have earned me the support and affection of many guests, for which I am deeply grateful.  If you are in the Portland, Oregon area and would enjoy visiting me, you can email me at CiCithegoat@proton.me.

 

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Links #827

May 10, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

100% organic GMO-free dog shit.  –  Beeple

I loved this song from the first time I heard it in the mid-1980s, so there was no way I was not going to use it as Coe’s sendoff.  The links above it were provided by Kevin Wilson (x2); Jesse Walker and Franklin Harris; Nun Ya (x2); and Violet Blue, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In the News (#1636)

May 9, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

[Chatbot “journalism” is] nothing but a race to the bottom.
–  The Washington State News Guild

A Moral Cancer (#1535)

The absurd belief that “ultraprocessed foods” are essentially magical is increasingly popular with crypto-moralists:

[Eating] a small bag of potato chips…may raise your risk of dementia even if you normally eat a [pious] plant-rich diet, according to a new study…[which] only show[s] an association, not a direct cause and effect.  However…this [does]…not [stop “nutritionists” from making outlandish claims about the magically-harmful powers of the vaguely-defined fad concept called]…ultraprocessed foods…The…[authors admitted that they think eating should be a counting ordeal requiring] a…[years-long] commit[ment] to…[pseudoscientific dogmas bizarrely described as “]award-winning[“]…and…[“]highly respected[” and encumbered with ungainly labels like]…the DASH diet and the MIND diet…[while foods people enjoy are described with the unappetizing adjective] “predigested”…

The incoherence of the “ultraprocessed” concept is demonstrated by the fact that potato chips – i.e. slices of potato fried in vegetable oil – are included despite requiring no more “processing” than is needed to make any other raw vegetable palatable, which can be done in any ordinary kitchen.

Welcome to the Future (#1576)

Any internet-connected device can be used to spy on you, and that goes double for so-called “AI” devices:

Samsung is rolling out a new wave of [so-called “]AI[“] features that can recognize your voice, update your shopping list, and [report on what’s in your refrigerator to your health insurance company so your premiums can be raised if you eat anything they deem “unhealthy”]…Many of its…features are powered by Google Gemini…the [artificially-stupid]…oven comes with a camera that can recognize the dishes you place inside and recommend cooking time [for those too illiterate to read a cookbook]…Competitors like LG are also bringing [surveillance] into their appliances…by learning your habits and [sharing them with the corporation and its “partners”]…Samsung also has its own virtual assistant, Bixby, that it’s infusing into appliances…to provide a companion [to people whose lives are so pathetic they have nobody to talk to other than a refrigerator]…The goal is to create technology that f[osters dependence so as to be able to encumber marks with ever-more subscription services]…

Walled Garden (#1590)

The open internet will soon be a thing of the past:

[Utah politicians imagine their] new age-verification law…[can stop] minors [from] using VPNs to access [web]sites [politicians don’t want them to see]…by barring [targeted web]sites [across the entire internet] from recommending VPNs…[or] posting instructions on how to access them…the law [absurdly demands] age verification [of all Utah] users, “regardless of whether the individual is using a virtual private network, proxy server, or other means”…[despite the fact that] there’s no surefire way for a website to determine whether a…user is masking their location with a VPN.  The…[only way] a [web]site could…[obey] the law [would be] to…mandate age verification for every visitor globally…

Mad Libs (#1614)

Corporations can’t see that their stupidity, gullibility, and greed will wreck their business:

McClatchy, the newspaper chain behind publications including The Sacramento Bee, The Miami Herald and The Idaho Statesman, [is using a chatbot] to…summarize [re]al articles and spit out [enshittified] versions for different audiences…Journalists in many of the company’s newsrooms are now withholding their bylines from articles created by the [chatbot], meaning that those articles will run with a generic credit rather than a reporter’s name…Related [attempts to exploit people] are playing out in newsrooms across the country, as [greedy own]ers experiment with [trying to replace humans entirely] …McClatchy…[is owned by a] hedge fund [rather than a genuine publisher, as is evident in the buzzwords]…executives have [vomi]ted [in the faces of reporters whom they describe as]…“defiant”…for…[pointing out that] the tool’s use…[violates] their union contracts…reporters are a[lso being ordered] to edit…the [chatbot vomit, taking]…time away from serious journalism…

Panopticon (#1614)

This will continue unless forcibly shut down due to public outcry:

[Naifs in] an Atlanta suburb have been [sh]ocked by the [highly predictable news] that sales employees at Flock have been…demonstrat[ing] the company’s surveillance technology to [cop shops] around the country…[by spying on] a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center, and a pool…Flock has [absurdly justified this abuse by belching]…”demo partner program”…“well-intentioned”…”safety”…[and] “cutting-edge”…at…residents [who] universally explained to [fascist politician]s that they did not want their tax money funding surveillance technology that has been used to collaborate with [ICE], to [persecute]…abortion [seekers]…to stalk women and [to] surveil protests…

The Vultures Descend (#1622)

Prohibition can never succeed, regardless of which substance is prohibited:

[The ever-deranged Fifth Circuit is attempting to] restrict…access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by [attempting to] block…mailing of prescriptions of mifepristone…[and demanding] that the abortion pill be distributed only in person at clinics…[on the grounds that] Louisiana…and [other forced-birth states own]…every [citizen]…and [can use them as brood mares if it sees fit]…the Supreme Court…[has temporarily block]ed enforcement of [that] ban…

Even if SCOTUS changes its collective mind and allows the ban to go into effect, there is no practical way for the Post Office to consistently intercept discreetly-packaged pills sent from overseas by telehealth services like Women Help Women.

Walled Garden (#1631)

The only way to ensure data is not abused is not to collect it:

A teenage hacker is suspected of breaching a French government agency responsible for identity documents and attempting to sell millions of citizens’ personal data…the National Agency for Secure Documents (ANTS)…processes applications for passports, national identity cards, residence permits and driver’s licenses.  French authorities did not…[even know about] the…intrusion [until] the data appeared on underground marketplaces…The agency also oversees a new government age-verification app [politicians imagine can] prevent [young people of the hacker’s age] from accessing social networks…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Sign of the Times

May 8, 2026 by Maggie McNeill

If you are on Bluesky, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been around for the past few days; that’s because on Tuesday evening, some moderator over there decided I was a bad girl who needed her social media taken away to teach her a lesson about offending Trumpists.  I was scanning my timeline, getting ready to close the computer for the evening, when suddenly my screen sort of blipped and I was looking at a weird generic timeline, featuring stuff from nobody I follow; in the margin was a signin button.  I thought it was odd and went to sign back in, only to be told my account was suspended for violating the ToS by “hate speech”, and my account would be suspended until the 9th (no time was given).  They did tell me which post was the one which had provoked their fit of pearl-clutching; it was one which stated that Trump’s poll numbers were not yet bad enough, illustrated by this picture: 
I’ve used the same picture with a similar statement literally dozens of times, with absolutely no pushback, so it’s obvious that what actually happened was mass reporting by a gang of Trumpists offended by my being mean to their god-emperor.  But given that in the past Bluesky has been fairly resistant to that sort of thing, this rings an alarm bell for everyone using the site; it means not only that they’re now trying to establish more rigid censorship, but that there are now enough Trumpists over there to make a reporting-gang.  Bluesky’s block function is very aggressive; blocked accounts can’t see the blocker to engage in retaliatory reporting.  I’ve subscribed to several MAGA blocklists, to preemptively close off this exact risk, but clearly that is no longer sufficient because there are enough stealth Trumpists around (who haven’t yet been blocked) to organize a gang.

I have no suggestions about avoiding this, other than pointing out that the picture having actual dead people in it is probably what they took exception to.  I’m merely pointing out that mass reporting has obviously made it to Bluesky, and the Trumpists have access to the weapon.  According to their official email my account should be back sometime tomorrow, which means a ton of playing catch-up, and alas, the retirement of this useful image.

Posted in Current Events, Diary, History, Tyranny | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments »

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