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Posts Tagged ‘abortion’

They want to take away our ability to make an anonymous phone call.  –  Cooper Quintin

To Molest and Rape

“Unlawful gratuities” is such a sterile way to say “rape”:

A [typical and representative] NYPD [cop named]…Matthew Lambert [pled guilty to minor charges]…to [escape consequences for raping one woman and sexually harassing others]…In [the rape case], Lambert arrested a woman for [supposed shoplifting and threatened her with jail unless she submitted to rape]…

Panopticon (#1439)

Privacy as we once knew it is a thing of the past:

A surveillance company plans to add sensors to automatic license plate readers…that would [enable] the devices…[to] sweep up unique identifiers of mobile phones, [tech gewgaw]s, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices in those cars…[to let pigs] identify specific drivers or passengers…SignalTrace…would turn ALPR cameras from devices focused on tracking cars to ones that can more readily track the location of particular people…surveillance company Leonardo, which [market]s SignalTrace [to fascist regimes,] says [it] can sweep up…the RFID tags in key cards and pet microchips; devices with Bluetooth such as wireless headphones, fitness trackers, and mobile phones; components of a car like tire pressure sensors and infotainment systems; and Wi-Fi sources such as vehicle hotspots and laptops…

I Spy (#1582)

Nothing infuriates violent, self-important busybodies more than private affairs that are none of their business:

The…FCC…wants to make it effectively impossible for people to buy…burner phones…[in a massive “fuck you”] to domestic abuse survivors…journalists, and many [others.  It]…plans to do this by legally forcing the country’s telecoms to store a wealth of personal information about essentially all phone customers…The FCC is [justify]ing the data collection [by barfing the word “]scammers[” in the faces of useful idiots]…But [actual]…criminals…have no trouble creating fake documentation or identities[, so this is clearly aimed at] protest, immigrants, and women…

Mad Libs (#1601)

These companies need to be bankrupted by lawsuits:

A German court has ruled that Google is directly liable for what its [so-called “]AI[“] search overviews say.  Previous case law shielding search engine operators from liability doesn’t apply to [such] overviews…because the “AI overview” is its own content, not just a list of search results.  Google’s…overviews…falsely tied two publishing companies to scams, subscription traps, and shady business practices…[by drawing] connections that didn’t appear in any of the linked sources.  The publishers sent Google a cease-and-desist letter, but Google [ignored it.  The]…overviews work nothing like traditional search results…[because the computer] rewrites and judges results…”according to its own structure”…In the case at hand, for example, it…[even invented] red flags for the [nonexistent] scam, and tips for users…Google built the [system], Google offered it to users, so Google owns what it [excret]es…

Feudalism Redux (#1605)

This unhinged lunacy is spreading like rot:

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has issued [ludicrous] cease-and-desist letters to six companies [which are not subject to Alabama law, including one in the UAR, pretending that internet advertising which can be read by]…Alabama residents…is illegal…[and abus]ing Alabama consumer…[protection laws in an attempt to circumvent the First Amendment]…The letters [threaten] each company[, demanding they] immediately stop [women in Alabama from reading their] advertising…[and ord]ering abortion-inducing drugs [from them]…

Panopticon (#1610)

This is already a data collection project; it would be easy to expand the kind of data it collects:

The US Coast Guard recently announced it has launched an armada of at least six sailing drones in the Great Lakes…to…“track illicit activity”…Saildrone Inc’s Voyager surveillance vessels can operate for 100 days at a time without needing servicing…the[y] can operate for months without refueling and can “track vessels across wide maritime regions”…the drones are equipped with [computer-controlled] radar [and] cameras and…Saildrone…[owns] the surveillance data and [can] sell…it to the government…or [anyone else]…the presence of surveillance sailing drones on the Great Lakes may fuel [the]…accurate narrative among water users…that the waterways have become unsafe [because the government can excuse any violence, no matter how egregious, by simply barfing out the word “]safety” [at the faces of useful idiots]…Saildrone…[has also] announced a $50m [collaboration with] Lockheed Martin to equip its 65-ft unmanned vessels “with lethal, combat-proven [murder weapons]” such as…missile launcher[s]…

People really need to get it into their thick skulls that any form of data collection can be perverted by bad actors such as government; the only way around that is not to collect it at all.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1646)

Zuckerberg will wait until the uproar dies down, then will sneakily do this again:

Just days after a damning WIRED report exposed that [Facebook] had quietly embedded facial recognition technology…code into millions of phones, the tech giant has…[temporarily] reverse[d] course…the app’s June 5th…update appears to have quietly removed all those features and systems…this…does not equal a permanent change of heart…and…[Facebook’s] FRT ambitions…aren’t going away…

 

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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We’ll probably do more things like it [in the future].  –  Mark Zuckerberg

You Were Warned (#1370)

Another step toward a national “digital ID”:

Americans aren’t interested in reinstating a military draft, but that’s not stopping the government from “streamlining” Selective Service registration—for young men’s own good, we’re told…”so that none inadvertently face the serious penalties of failing to register”…Despite the penalties…”SSS is experiencing a significant decline in registrations by 18-year-old men…In 2020, the registration rate…was 61.8%, today it is just 39.9%”…To deal with its compliance problem, Selective Service has pushed automatic registration for years…”by leveraging existing databases”…Automatic registration will take us closer to the day when the government unifies data storage…[to enable] government officials to…more efficiently inflict every rule and whim on the population…

Torture Chamber (#1433)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

T[hree] recent deaths at Michigan’s only women’s prison and the worsening health of a woman [dying from toxic black] mold exposure…are [driv]ing calls for sweeping reforms [of the torture] facility…Rebecca Fackler…died…on May 17, four days after Khaira Howard…died [in] the same [filthy] prison…[Ashley Hoath died June 6,] and…[Krystal] Clark…[is slowly dying from] years of exposure to black mold [which] have left her struggling to breathe, partially paralyzed, and unable to walk without assistance…[due to] Aspergillus…fungus…in her ears and lungs…photos…and…[politicians] who visited the prison…[report] black mold [actually] growing out of both of her ears…the…prison…is [so] infested with mold…[it] eats through bricks and door frames…drips off the ceiling…falls out of air vents…[and] bubbles and bursts through paint…[and] prisoners [a]re forced to clean [it] without basic supplies…

Stalkers in Blue (#1442)

Cops are nothing more than state-sponsored terrorists:

Hunter Demster…and eight other Memphis residents filed declarations [as part of a] federal [lawsuit] that describe being violently arrested, surveilled at their houses, pulled over under false pretenses, boxed in by police cars, and jailed for trying to film [a pig gang with the Orwellian name “Memphis Safe] Task Force[“].  The lawsuit, filed in mid-May by the…ACLU…and [two law firms]…is seeking a preliminary injunction blocking Task Force [cops] from intimidating, assaulting, or arresting people for recording…[and] ban[ning them] from invoking a new state law…that requires [videograph]ers to stay 25 feet away from police.  The lawsuit is a major legal challenge to…the…unofficial and unconstitutional Department of [Father]land Security…[scheme to] treat…recording the police like criminal activity…seven federal circuit courts have firmly upheld the right to record and monitor the police…[yet] videos from around the country…have shown federal [goons] arresting or threatening to arrest people for filming them….in Memphis, [this has escalated into] a “campaign of harassment and intimidation” against observers…

The Vultures Descend (#1511)

Psychopathic politicians will never stop until they face criminal charges for this kind of evil:

A…proposed state constitutional amendment in North Carolina is seeking to make abortion completely illegal, adding in “protections” for people who [justify] murder [by claiming they wanted] to stop a [woman] from obtaining the procedure…The proposed amendment…declares that “[‘personhood’]…begins at the moment of fertilization”…and…includes additional language that would essentially legalize the murder of someone planning or participating in an abortion in the state…[sane people pointed out that the amendment] “would jail or authorize the murder of women due to their…use of birth control, such as an IUD,” [because they] prevent pregnancies by making implantation [of fertilized ova] nearly impossible…[and] is also “a ‘get out of jail free’ card for men who want to murder their partners…All they have to do is [claim] the women intended to use birth control or have an abortion”…

The Cop Myth (#1556)

Cops are so deranged they even treat each other this way:

A [Fatherland Security goon] who was knocked unconscious in a Costco parking lot by a…[San Diego pig has amended his lawsuit to include other members of the pig herd who] engaged in a widespread cover-up to prevent a public relations nightmare…Chu Ding was trying to leave a parking spot…when…Jonathan Ferraro [intentionally] parked in his way while he waited for a nearby spot…[after] Ding tapped on…Ferraro[‘s window to signal he needed to pull out, Ferraro flew into a totally unhinged rage]…and slammed [Ding] to the ground…[after] several bystanders called 911 to report Ferraro as the attacker…911 operators…[dispatched a damage control team of] 14 [pigs], including [several boss hogs] and a [propaganda oinker, who conspired to falsify an arrest report and falsely arrest the badly-injured Ding]…instead of taking him to the hospital promptly…he…was held for nearly 24 hours before being released on bail…the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute the case…[and] Ding was cleared of any wrongdoing by…[Father]land Security…

Enshittification (#1622)  

Scenes from the early days of a dark age:

The [US] is feeding Pentagon propaganda to internet users in Latin American countries using a new [CGI slop] mill…[named] La Tilde…[which spews slop] in both Spanish and English…extolling the value of U.S. military operations in Latin America…[with] Trumpian [hyperbole] …An explanation for its glowing coverage of the U.S. military can be found after clicking a small link tucked at the bottom of the site…This easily missed disclosure…is identical to [that on] two other Pentagon-sponsored propaganda sites recently revealed by The Intercept…La Tilde carries no bylines, masthead, or mention of actual staff of any kind…and…appears to have been [entirely] generated by a large language model…the site plans to launch…versions [specifically targeted at] readers in Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, and Peru…

Beware of the Shoggoths

Zuck says if you ask the shoggoth nicely, it won’t stare at you on the toilet:

[Facebook] has [suppos]edly made some changes to the controversial project known internally as the Model Capability Initiative…[it] now plans to allow employees to “pause” the tracking for up to 30 minutes in the event they need to “check something personal”…a subset of employees will also be able to [beg] to opt out of the program altogether, though this will be limited to remote workers with bandwidth concerns…[or those who] work in spaces where they can’t easily keep laptops connected to a power source…the vast majority…will still be required to allow their (nearly) every move to be tracked and recorded in the name of improving [Zuck’s imaginary friends]…The company has faced protests from employees over MCI, which was announced…just before the company laid off 8,000 workers and reshuffled thousands of others into [being servants to chatbots]…

 

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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This is just one in a long line of attacks on our rights.  –  Alexis Johnson

Creepy Coppers

When will the mainstream media admit that pigs in schools are a menace?

A [typical and representative Pennsylvania cop paid to lurk in]…school[s to spy on, harass, and intimidate students] has been arrested on child pornography charges…[an anonymous snitch tattled on] David Jayne…[to cops, who raided his house and found a trove of child porn going back] about 20 years…[Reporters interviewed a mob of slackjawed nitwits who expressed confusion over the revelation that cops are hypocrites and fear of sex ray contamination]…

Monsters (#1516)

Cops claim they “don’t know” if this was hate-motivated:

…a Santa Fe [New Mexico] transgender teen…[named] Juniper Blessing…was stabbed more than 40 times [at a University of Washington student housing complex in Seattle on the evening of May 10]…Christopher Leahy [surrendered]…to police [the following] Thursday…He…[is being] charge[d]…with first-degree murder…Blessing [was found] dead in the laundry room of Nordheim Court…around 10:10 p.m…[and Leahy was] caught on surveillance video…as…he…unplugged [the camera in preparation for]…the attack…Police haven’t referred the case to prosecutors as a hate crime investigation…Last month, a 39-year-old transmasculine person named Lucas Knapp was [murdered] in [New Mexico by]…David Thomas Byington, [who] fired at Knapp multiple times with a rifle…Investigators in Kentucky are continuing to search for 22-year-old Murry Foust, a trans man enrolled at Northern Kentucky University who has been missing since April 27…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1549)

Cops won’t drop this fantasy until “news” media stop obediently parroting it:

An [anxiety-prone Pennsylvania cop faint]ed in a p[igmobile] and [his bosses decided to turn it into “magic fentanyl” copaganda because]…he…help[ed] destroy narcotics inside the evidence room…about 20 minutes [earlier]…fentanyl [does not have a delayed effect, nor any effect from casual contact]…no[r any side effect of] memory [loss, but cops decided to turn it into a “magic fentanyl” scary tale anyhow, assuming it happened at all (given that no name was provided)]…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1591)

It’s too bad cops don’t spend all of their time fantasy role-playing with each other:

A D.C. [cop] has been arrested in Maryland [for talking to another cop]…Matthew Mahl…exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a Maryland [cop fantasy role-playing online]…as a 15-year-old boy…Mahl has been [rewarded with a paid vacation.  The game]…was [part of a moneymaking scheme organized by toxic con artist] Chris Hansen, known for his [unethical] exp[loitation of public fears about “]child predators[” which resulted in a trail of ruined lives and even suicides, and inspired dozens of sleazy YouTube imit]ations.  Hansen, who[se]…”To Catch a Predator” [show was cancelled due to successful lawsuits by its victims,] now hosts the series “Takedown with Chris Hansen” which fo[llows the same revolting formula]…

The Cop Myth (#1620)

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do:

A Wichita [Kansas cop named]…Grayson Hoofer was [arrested] for [breaking into his estranged girlfriend’s house to beat and sexually terrorize her]…Hoofer…[was, predictably,] a member of [a cop gang supposedly intended to intervene in]…domestic…violence [cases].  His [bosses have] since [hidden that, but also bragged that Hoofer]…has been re[warded with a]…paid [vacation]…

Mad Libs (#1635)

No, it can’t connect to my bank account; “your” is not a pronoun meaning “any fool’s”:

OpenAI wants…[fools] to…be able to connect their accounts across more than 12,000 financial institutions to…[Cat, I farted so it can root] “in your…financial accounts…in a way that feels more personal and complete”…If you are someone reasonably [sane]…you might be thinking, “Why on Earth would I want to do that?” But OpenAI…is [not marketing to sensible]…people…

The Vultures Descend (#1636)

Just a reminder that even if they’d let this diktat stand, it is wholly unenforceable:

The Supreme Court [has overruled a 5th Circuit diktat attempting to stop] the abortion pill mifepristone [from being] available by mail without an in-person appointment…The decision, a loss for the state of Louisiana, ensures [clinicians] will not be [criminalized when they prescribe]…the drug [for women in forced-birth states]…Two [totalitarian judg]es, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented…[absurdly barfing] “criminal enterprise” [at the plaintiffs]…

 

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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If there is one succinct statement which sums up my political philosophy, it’s “Every adult individual owns themselves and absolutely nobody has the right to overrule that.”  –
“Your Body, Your Choice”

Politicians can always be counted on to pander to hordes of ignorant lackwits who view any knowledge that might contradict their deeply-stupid weltanschauung as an existential threat.  –  “The Kinsey Factor”

I fail to see any important difference between the government forcibly taking people’s homes to quarter troops and forcibly taking them to enable cops and robbers games.  –  “A Broker in Pillage (#1438)”

Prohibitionists have learned…that decriminalization is viewed by all experts as the best framework, so now they’re all lying by calling whatever modified criminalization scam they’re selling “decriminalization”, so as to trick ordinary voters into believing they actually support human rights. – “Not Decriminalization“

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The deliberate engineering of vulnerabilities into critical infrastructure…[is] a grave threat to privacy everywhere.  –  Udbhav Tiwari

I Spy (#1319)

Politicians are unable to fathom concepts like “principles” and “keeping promises”:

Secure messaging service Signal, which uses end-to-end encryption, is warning it would withdraw from Canada if asked to compromise its users’ privacy under…Ottawa’s proposed [surveillance] legislation…the bill…would…[not only] threaten encryption…[but] also…make private messaging services a…target for cyberattacks…The bill would require telecoms, internet companies and other electronic service providers to [give cop shops and spook houses the same kind of ill-considered back doors which enabled the 2024 “Salt Typhoon” attack]…and…require…[them] to retain metadata for up to a year…includ[ing] information about which telephone numbers have been in touch with each other, and data allowing someone’s location to be pinpointed…

Virtual Imperialism (#1505)

It’s long past time Beijing’s campaign to police Chinese people in the US was shut down:

The mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, abruptly resigned…[after admitting] she had been…acting as a covert foreign agent for China…a…felony…[with] a…minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison…Wang…and an associate, Yaoning “Mike” Sun…worked…to promote [Chinese]…propaganda…[via] a news source for Southern California’s Chinese American community…PRC officials contacted Wang through encrypted WeChat messages to deliver prewritten news articles…[denying] the [ongoing] Chinese…genocide against ethnic minorities…[one of her contacts was] a high-level member of PRC intelligence…[named] John Chen of Chino, California, [who]…was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for [his actions]…

Feudalism Redux (#1511)

Infantilizing young adults as “children” makes them more vulnerable to government violence:

…Child Protective Services…has targeted mothers in multiple states who helped their daughters seek out abortions.  In one case, [they abducted the] teen from her home—and threatened her mother with murder charges—to stop her from getting an abortion.  Another…who lives in a state where abortion is legal, faced an investigation from both CPS and local police after helping her teen end a pregnancy…the government is using family separation as an anti-abortion weapon—and women will fear that simply helping their daughters get care could mean losing their children…bringing your [teenage daughter] across state lines to end their pregnancy is not illegal anywhere in America.  But what the law says on paper and what [cops and associated creatures] do…are two very different things…the…[typical] strategy…[is to pretend their target is] forcing her daughter into having an abortion…

Torture Chamber (#1543)

Just a typical day in police-state America:

Three days after Tiffany McElroy was taken to an Alabama jail…her water br[oke]…several weeks early…[but when] she told a [screw the woman yelled “Stop faking!”]…at her…a…jail [“nurse” later threw]…a diaper and Tylenol a[t her through the bars, but ignored her while]…fellow [victims of the st]ate…helped…[deliver] a [blue] baby girl…[and] worked to resuscitate the newborn, sucking mucus from her mouth and rubbing her until she began to cry…McElroy…[is suing with the help of] Pregnancy Justice…[and] the Southern Poverty Law Center…one of the defendants…called the incident “barbaric” [and reported that she was threatened with firing if she helped]…McElroy was arrested…[by ab]use [of]…Alabama’s chemical endangerment law…During and after the birth [screws actively tried to stop the other women from]…assisting McElroy…[calling them “retarded”] and… “stupid”…[and] threaten[ing] to “tase” [them, then] later [retaliating against them]…McElroy…was [finally taken to the hospital after]…she [went into] shock…Her daughter was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, while McElroy remained in the hospital for three days…with [severe] anemia from blood loss…

The Punitive Mindset (#1587) 

Prison officials almost certainly knew this already; they simply don’t care:

The first comprehensive report on the impact of offering free phone calls in [US] prisons and jails shows that not only do such policies strengthen family connections, they’re directly associated with making prisons safer for both [victims] and [screws]…Two companies, Aventiv Technologies and ViaPath, hold about 80 percent of th[is fascist] market…Securus and/or JPay…[are] Aventiv…Global Tel Link, GTL, GettingOut, ConnectNetwork [and] Telmate…[are] ViaPath.  The report includes data from the six prison systems that have implemented free phone calls—California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and the federal Bureau of Prisons—and 17 local jails that have done the same…To date, New York is the only state to have made prison phone calls free through administrative action; the other[s all had to be forced to give up their gravy train]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1588)

Judges should not spare sleazebags the consequences of their premeditated actions:

An Auckland software engineer who pressed record on his [perve]rt glasses without consent while a sex worker was naked in front of him claims that being identified…would cause him extreme hardship…[the judge dismissed the case] without conviction…[because] the sex worker [caught] him…and…immediately took the…glasses [then] told reception staff to call police…the [perpetrator whined that he] would lose his job if…named…and would not be able to get another…so…the judge [let him keep the anonymity he tried]…to [deny]…his victim…

Mad Libs (#1627)

Why bother doing research when you can just let a computer make shit up?

[Polling company Gallup wants to use chatbots]…to create…responses…designed to simulate how individuals and populations might answer survey questions…with[out] the…[effort of actual] research…Gallup[‘s]…goal is to learn…[how to] replace…human…[employees and interview subjects with]…probability-based data…to [badly]…approximate results from a[n actual] sample of…real people…Gallup’s…goal is to explore where this methodology can…substitute…for [paying] work[ers]…

 

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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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“

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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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[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!

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Librarians should not be used as a filter for political agendas.
–  Luanne James

The Vultures Descend (#1430)

Two years later, this decision is still standing:

…Indiana’s…Religious Freedom Restoration Act…[of] 2015….was one of many such state laws passed [by]…evangelical Christians to [privilege]…their beliefs [above those of other religions]…Hoosier Jews for Choice saw an opening for Jews to…[use] the same law…to [protect Jews’] access to abortion…[and] Judge Christina Klineman [recently] upheld a 2024 decision…permanently blocking enforcement of the state’s abortion ban for plaintiffs with sincere religious objections…the case is [now] headed to the Indiana Supreme Court…[Naturally, forced-birth fanatics are angry.] “Indiana’s religious freedom laws were passed for the purpose of [enshrining Christian] religious practice [in law], not to protect the [beliefs] of [others from laws justified by Christian dogma],” [said] Alexander Mingus…of the Indiana Catholic Conference, [absurdly declaring Judaism a] “Religion…that preach[es] violence [which is] not protected by religious freedom claims”…Jews [view] the fetus as “potential life,” gaining the legal status of nefesh, or personhood, at birth…

Dirty Amateurs (#1445)

This is the second article I’ve seen on this fungus in two years:

Infectious disease experts…are working to educate doctors about a new…STI…which recently caused an outbreak of at least 30 cases in Minnesota…the fungus Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMvii)…spreads through intimate contact and has predominately been seen among…gay men.  It causes painful, coin-sized rashes on the arms, buttocks, trunk, legs and genitals.  While infections can be treated with oral antifungal medications, treatment can take several weeks [and]…TMvii can resemble other skin conditions…so proper evaluation is important…TMvii [was first] identified in 2023 in Europe among men who had recently traveled in Southeast Asia.  The first U.S. case was reported in New York in 2024…[and] the Minnesota outbreak…began [last] July…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1463)

It’s heartwarming to see goons snitching on each other:

The national chief of the Border Patrol, Michael Banks, was known among colleagues for taking regular trips abroad to [hire] sex w[orkers in places where it is legal, such as]…Colombia and Thailand[, instead of simply raping them in the US as CBP policy demands]…Kristi Noem [covered for him, but once she got the sack the snitches got loose.  One said,] “If you have the character where you’re going to go [hire consenting] third-world country women [instead of deceiving, raping, and robbing migrant women right here in the US and then deporting them], it’s just not cool in my book”…

A Moral Cancer (#1520)

Because obviously prohibition doesn’t ruin enough lives yet:

By pushing a 75 percent wholesale tax on nicotine pouches, New York…Gov. Kathy Hochul [claims she’s] address[ing] “a public health concern.”  That rationale is absurd on its face, since this tax would sharply raise the cost of a nicotine product that is far less hazardous than cigarettes, perversely discouraging smokers from making a switch that could save their lives…tobacco smoke…contains myriad toxins and carcinogens, and…the Biden [FDA]…authorized the marketing of Zyn nicotine pouches [because]…”nicotine pouch products…benefit…adults who use cigarettes and/or smokeless tobacco products and completely switch to these products”…the Royal College of Physicians estimates that “the hazard to health” from e-cigarettes, which likewise do not contain tobacco or burn anything…”is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco”…

Due to its absurdly-high taxes, 55% of cigarettes smoked in New York are black market.  But I guess Hochul wants that to also be true of smoking-replacement products, and to give the NYPD another excuse for violence against citizens.

Divination (#1530)

These tests “have an error rate so high that they’re akin to ‘witchcraft, phrenology or simply picking a number out of a hat’.”

Colorado recently enacted a law protecting [citizens from wrongful] arrest…due to [cops’ misuse of unreliable] roadside tests for drugs…police can no longer make arrests solely for misdemeanor drug possession based on the results of colorimetric field drug tests and instead must issue suspects a summons to appear in court.  The act also requires courts, before a defendant enters a plea in a case where a field test was used, to inform defendants of the known error rates for the tests and their right to request testing from a forensics laboratory…[cop]s’ use of unverified drug field tests…result[s] in [an estimated 30,000] innocent people being arrested, jailed, and prosecuted…[every year.  Cop]s around the country have jailed innocent people…[for] “presumptive positive” results on bird poop, donut glaze, cotton candy, and sand from inside a stress ball…

Field tests are exclusionary tests; in other words, they are designed to tell whether something is not X substance.  A positive result does not mean “This substance is X”; it means “this substance might or might not be X”.  But cops are too stupid to understand the difference, and wouldn’t care if they could.

Mad Libs (#1595)

We are now in the early days of a dark age:

[Lazy, dishonest] researchers are increasingly using…LLMs…to…conduct literature searches, write manuscripts and format bibliographies…[resulting in a flood of] non-existent academic references…One analysis of nearly 18,000 papers…found a sharp increase in [fake] references…tens of thousands of 2025 publications, including journal papers and books, as well as conference proceedings, probably contain [incorrect or fake] references generated by [chatbots]…researchers are concerned that the problem will soon get out of hand…[and academic publishers are trying to] decid[e]what to do about hallucinated citations that make it into the published literature…

Thought Control (#1625)

They’re going to have trouble finding a competent professional willing to play their “What books will we censor today?” game:

A Tennessee library board has fired the county’s top librarian for refusing to comply with its [demand] to [hid]e more than 100 LGBT…books f[or juveniles in]…the adult section…Luanne James…said that [hid]ing the books would violate…residents’ First Amendment rights and compromise her professional obligation against government-mandated [censorship]…Last fall, a…Wyoming library director w[as awarded] $700,000 to settle a lawsuit after her firing [but wannabe censors]…Cody York…and…Caleb Tidwell [don’t care because it isn’t their money James will get when she wins a similar lawsuit]…

 

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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When we use the courts to…bully someone into an unnecessary medical procedure against their will, it’s akin to torture.  –  Cherise Doyley

Property of the State (#431) 

When this evil started a decade ago, potential victims were warned in advance:

Cherise Doyley…wanted to try for a vaginal delivery, but she understood from years of experience as a professional birthing doula that things don’t always go as planned…Doctors told her they were concerned about the [<2%] risk of uterine rupture…[but] she understood th[at negligible] risk…and repeatedly told doctors she wouldn’t consent to a cesarean without trying to have a vaginal delivery first…Then a nursing supervisor wheeled a tablet up to her bed and informed her she was in court….[for] failing to agree to a C-section…abortion restrictions can lead to pregnant women being denied lifesaving care…[bu]t the opposite problem, forced treatment, could also become more common in states like Florida that have fetal personhood policies [which place politically-determined “rights” of a fetus above that of an adult]…woman…who…is…[essentially considered an] incubator…

To Molest and Rape

Most rapist cops use their cop power, but some prefer the brute-force approach:

Detroit…[cop] Benjamin Wagner…is now facing life in prison on numerous kidnapping and [rape] charges…[for at least] five [attacks carried out] between 1999 and 2003…Wagner targeted girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 23, approaching them while they were walking and then forcing them at gunpoint into secluded areas…The charges are tied directly to sexual assault kits collected at the time of the attacks…[which the police] never [bothered to] investigate…[a “new broom” politician named Kym] Worthy launched a sweeping initiative to [make political coin]…It took nearly a decade just to test all of the kits…

I Spy (#1422)

Your regular reminder that used cars still exist:

…a federal mandate requiring surveillance technology that monitors your every blink, glance, and head nod…[will empower a computer to] decide…whether you’re fit to drive.  If [a computer program] determines you’re impaired (blood alcohol ≥0.08% or showing fatigue), it can prevent ignition startup or limit vehicle speed…[buy]ing…a 2027 model means accepting this digital copilot…[worse still,] these systems [will be] updatable [without owner consent, allowing]…monitoring capabilities [to be expanded] post-purchase [at a political whim]…manufacturers [will almost certain]ly upload biometric data to corporate servers…[for] sharing with insurance companies to [raise] your premiums…Car manufacturers [point out that]…false positives [will regularly] strand drivers.  They’re concerned about customer backlash and [100% predictable] sales declines as buyers seek older, unmonitored vehicles.  The federal government [justifi]es this surveillance [by barfing the word “]safety[” at useful idiots]…

The Vultures Descend (#1510)

This twisted scheme was first attempted in Wyoming:

…The [latest attempt by forced-birth politicians to make abortion more difficult, odious, and stigmatized]…would [criminalize] flush[ing] abortion or miscarriage remains down a toilet “to protect both human dignity and America’s water systems”…The bill[‘s sponsor, Mary]…Miller[, vomited a lot of bizarre claims and convoluted dysphemisms all over reporters while attempting to justify her attempt to]…force women [using abortion pills] to [bleed into a bag marked “BIOHAZARD”]…and bring the [expelled tissue] to their physician.  [Presumably, women who miscarry unexpectedly would be expected to leave the results in the toilet, go and get one of these scarlet bags, and then scoop the mess, feces and all, into it, upon pain of]…a $50,000 fine and up to five years in prison…Trace amounts of all medications…can be found in wastewater…but there is no scientific evidence to back up the [prohibitionist propaganda] that abortion pills are polluting drinking water or harming [anyone]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1511)

Looks like it’s time for veils to come back into fashion:

Walmart has recently been awarded patents…for [algorithms which enable]…surveillance pricing, the practice of charging people different prices for the same goods and services based on their unique [facial-recognition-linked profile in the software]…Another patent recently granted to Walmart…involves the use of machine learning to predict the demand of various items and recommend prices…[using] third-party data…

Torture Chamber (#1602)

Fascism in action:

West Virginia prisoners [have filed a class action lawsuit against] Aramark Corporation [because it] serves inedible, low-quality food in its prison cafeterias to drive customers to its [overpriced] food-for-purchase programs…Aramark is the largest food provider in the United States to prisons and jails…and…brought in $18.5 billion [last year.  It has a long history]…of serving inedible or spoiled food, prepared in kitchens where workers have [regular]ly found maggots…In Kentucky, Aramark’s [terrible] food…led to a prison riot [in 2015]…

Walled Garden (#1621)

As the old adage says, “Three can keep a secret if two are dead”:

…an unprotected database [belonging] to IDMerit, a company that claims to help businesses verify identities, exposed roughly 1 billion sensitive records across 26 countries.  In the United States alone, more than 203 million records were left unsecured…researchers…discovered [the] exposed…database on Nov. 11…anyone who knew where to look could access it.  Inside were full names, home addresses, postal codes, dates of birth, national ID numbers, phone numbers, email addresses and gender information…Researchers notified the company, and the database was secured the following day…[bu]t automated bots constantly scan the internet for exposed databases and can copy them within minutes…

 

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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