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Archive for April 29th, 2020

Marginalized communities have always taken care of each other because the state explicitly excludes us.  –  Molly Simmons

A Broker in Pillage

The number of excuses government uses for robbery keeps growing:

…a Delaware supplier of medical equipment [has reported that federal goons stole]…hundreds of thousands of N95 respirators [under color of law].  George Gianforcaro …of…Indutex USA…said the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not pay him when it [stole two imported shipments of masks bound for customers…includ[ing] Delaware nursing facilities, the state of Michigan and boat captains who steer foreign ships through U.S. bays.  He…does not know where the seized…masks are today…FEMA appeared to deny Gianforcaro’s charge without addressing the specific claims.  It called reports of its officials [stealing] supplies of…critical equipment “false” [despite the fact that it’s obviously happening]…

Disaster (#931)

I’m sure you amateurs are happy to be censored “for THE CHILDREN™!”:

Zoom is [attempting to censor] nudity following reports that users have been organizing orgies and sex parties during COVID-19 quarantine.  The video conferencing app…surged in popularity this year after [politicians started ordering people to stay home under pain of police violence]…But as users find creative ways to maintain their social lives through Zoom, the company is…[proclaiming that its] “user policies explicitly prohibit any obscene, indecent, illegal, or violent activity or content”…Zoom declined to clarify…whether…bots would patrol meetings looking for users in various states of undress…But some are skeptical…[because] the company’s own privacy guidelines [claim] that “video, audio chat content is not stored…unless a meeting is recorded by the host,” making it difficult for Zoom to monitor or surveil content…

Social Distancing

Sex workers must help each other, because few others will:

In the midst of a pandemic that has completely overwhelmed institutional support structures…communities [have] organize[d] mutual aid projects to redistribute resources among the most vulnerable [while politicians issue authoritarian proclamations and point fingers at one another].  Sex worker organizing could be a model for this…There is a deep history of mutual aid and redistribution—both formal and informal—within the sex worker community.  As it became clear that Covid-19 would hit the United States with the force of a…disaster, sex workers were among the first to respond with broadscale mutual aid efforts…outside of [the] official [and destructive] government response…

Like Houses (#1029)

The power to declare something “non-essential” is the power to ban it:

Christa Thompson was…charged…with a [“crime”] that carries a fine of up to $1,000 and the possibility of six months in jail.  The crime?  Holding a yard sale…[because politicians have declared it] not an essential business…[pigs claim] the governor’s order…[prohibits her] selling her father-in-law’s property in order to pay bills and buy groceries for her six kids…

Working From Home (#1031)

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about stage names:

In the age of social distancing, camming has become the way to go…for adult entertainment performers…[and] amateurs [alike]…But as more models join in the online [work]…some well-established [sex workers] are increasingly finding their moneymaking names or similar ones—including those protected by trademark—being used by fakes, frauds and phonies on various cam sites.  Industry attorney Lawrence Walters…says those individuals [starting online sex work]…especially need to be concerned about their stage names not riding on the coattails of established performers…“If the chosen name is the same, or confusingly similar to, an existing registered mark, this could spell trouble for the performer…Even if there is no federal [or state] trademark registration, the brand…may be used by someone without a registration, who could still have superior ‘common law’ rights.”  It is best to legally clear a stage name before sinking substantial funds into marketing and promotion…

Like Houses (#1032)

If you didn’t expect censorship, you are hopelessly naive:

The local television station London Live is facing sanctions after the [government opined that]…it had posed a threat to the public’s health by showing a lengthy interview with [professional crackpot] David Icke about the coronavirus pandemic…Icke used the broadcast to [propose the notion] that the pandemic was cover for a supposed global world order to purposefully crash the economy, end the use of cash payments, and track every individual…

Social Distancing (#1033)

Compare to the ugly behavior of France & the US:

There are literally thousands of European sex workers stuck in Spain, unable to repatriate to their country of origin, who have pleaded for help…there will be funds made available for housing and care to all…sex [workers]…in most major cities across Spain.  The government wants this income to guarantee  “the minimum subsistence conditions,” provided that they meet the agreed criteria.  The women, many of them foreigners existing in illegal situations, generally live in social isolation…without access to the resources of the local environment…

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