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Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

[The US] constitution…cannot be overwritten by a state legislature.  –  Jeffrey Sandman

On the Simultaneous Having and Eating of Cake (#1051)

It’s not surprising this started at the most oppressive of the Nevada brothels:

Sex workers at one of Nevada’s legal brothels are unionizing with the Communications Workers of America …If successful, it would be [a] first [for]…the U.S.  The effort came after [Sheri’s Ranch in Pahrump attemp]ted t[o impose] a new contract that would give the business perpetual control over workers’ intellectual property rights…A majority of the brothel’s 74…workers…have agreed to join the union.  Managers …have [retaliated by] fir[ing] at least three of the workers…and…threaten[ing] other[s]…To unionize, the workers must first prove to federal labor authorities that they are employees rather than independent contractors…Sheri’s Ranch…is owned by [typical and representative] Chicago [pig] Chuck Lee, [and is so notorious for its infantilizing repression of its] workers [it is widely derided in the industry as “Pussy Prison”.  The abuses include confiscating their laptops and medications, spying on email and negotiation with clients, and random room searches, and]…beginning in late December…it [started] demanding [workers] grant Sheri’s Ranch “irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual” rights to any content they produce while staying at the brothel…[including] the ability to sell videos or photos…without their permission…[to] create [computer]-generated c[artoons] featuring their images[even] after [their] death…and…to…[grant] the brothel…power of attorney [over all such content]…

It’s about time US sex workers started unionizing like their European sisters.

I Spy (#1425)

Remember when Google’s motto was, “Don’t be evil”?

Google [obey]ed an [ICE] subpoena that demanded a wide array of personal data on a student activist and journalist, including his credit card and bank account numbers…Amandla Thomas-Johnson had attended a protest targeting companies that supplied weapons to Israel at a Cornell University job fair in 2024 for all of five minutes, but the action got him banned from campus.  When [the] Trump [regime]…issued a series of [diktats] targeting student…proteste[rs], Thomas-Johnson and his friend Momodou Taal went into hiding…Thomas-Johnson, who is British, believes that ICE [intended to use] that information to track and eventually [abduct] him — but he had already fled to Geneva, Switzerland…The Electronic Frontier Foundation…and the ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Google, Amazon, Apple, Discord, [Facebook], Microsoft, and Reddit…calling on tech companies to resist similar subpoenas in the future…without [actual warrants]…to give [intended victims] the opportunity to fight [such extrajudicial demands], and to resist gag orders…

The Mob Rules (#1539)

Don’t let the “private” language fool you; these nuisance lawsuits were instigated and bankrolled by Morality in Media:

A federal judge in Kansas has dismissed two of the four private age verification lawsuits filed…by an unnamed plaintiff [using] her teenage son [as a prop]…the judge granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss…ruling that…simply operating a website accessible in Kansas – even one that Kansas residents could view – is not enough to establish liability.  Under the U.S. Constitution, courts may only exercise power over defendants that have deliberately targeted or conducted activities in the state.  Allowing lawsuits based solely on website accessibility…would mean any website could be sued anywhere, a result long rejected by federal courts…

Mad Libs (#1571)

These algorithms are not only unintelligent; they are making those who believe in them stupid as well:

[The ignoramuses running] many companies are [foolishly trying] to get more employees to use [chatbots so they don’t have to pay]…workers [their full]…value…But…they…may not see what [imaginary] gains are costing them until it’s too late…[because chatbot]s d[o]n’t reduce work, they consistently intensif[y] it.  In an eight-month study…we found that employees [regularly] worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day…because [the hype] made “doing more” feel possible…[but] once the excitement of experimenting fades, workers can find that their workload has quietly grown and feel stretched from juggling everything that’s suddenly on their plate…lead[ing] to cognitive fatigue, burnout, and weakened decision-making…[in addition] to lower quality work…and other problems

Panopticon (#1591)

Safetyism is destroying society:

[Cop shop]s across the US are quietly [abus]ing school district security cameras to assist Donald Trump’s mass [pogroms]…The a[buse] originate[s] from Texas school districts that contract with Flock S[urveillance to target teachers]…parents and students as young as five…[demonstrating how] campus surveillance technology [justified by barfing out the formula “]student safety[“] is being repurposed to support [the police state]…Flock devices have been installed by more than 100 public school systems nationally…and audit logs from six Texas school districts show campus camera feeds are captured in a national database that [cop shops, spook houses, and goon squad]s across the country can access…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1597)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

…Social media is awash with videos of men…approaching women in public spaces and attempting to flirt with them or ask for their numbers..the videos are filmed and uploaded to platforms like TikTok and Instagram without the permission or knowledge of the [woman] being filmed…[and] rack up thousands…[or] millions of views…While the concept of the pick-up artist is nothing new…so-called “manfluencers”…are covertly filming women to create misogynistic content…

Censor Chic (#1610)

Civil suits are society’s best weapon against jawboning:

…[FIRE] is suing…[Trumpist henchwomen] Pam Bondi and…Kristi Noem on behalf of Kae Rosado and Mark Hodges, who respectively created a Facebook group and an app that hosted video footage of ICE operations to inform the public and hold our government accountable…Mark runs Kreisau Group, which aims to preserve evidence of governmental abuses of power.  On his Eyes Up app, users can upload videos, record new videos, or access uploaded videos, which Eyes Up arranges on a map of the United States after Mark and his moderators review and approve each video.  Kae…started a Facebook group in January 2025…about the impact of ICE raids on daily life in Chicago…The group remained small until Sept[ember]…when ICE commenced…a…[massive pogrom sophomorically] dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz”…[after which the] group grew to…nearly 100,000 members…it is unconstitutional for the government to coerce private companies like Apple and Facebook into censoring content on their behalf.  However…Bondi and Noem [not only did this, but openly]…boasted [about it]…

 

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’ve known for years that Tim Ballard is a shameless, lying, actual predator.  –  Aracely Yates

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A[n Ohio politician]…facing serious sex charges dating back nearly 30 years was released on his own recognizance…less than 24 hours after his initial arrest…Gerald Dixon [has a history of molesting boys, including some that are cognitively impaired.  The cops have known about]…Dixon…[since 2020, before he first ran for office, and] there are at least eight…victims, [including] some from…Michigan and New York…[going] back [to] 1996…

Bait and Switch (#1070)

Here’s reporter Kevin Light-Roth writing for The Appeal with a long, thorough deep dive on the “Operation Net Nanny” scams which were specifically designed to entrap normal young men seeking consensual sex with adult age-peer women on adults-only dating sites, so as to destroy their lives via prison and permanent “sex offender” registration by claiming that the adult women they arranged to meet were actually pigs pretending in their minds to be minors.  I know that sounds completely Kafkaesque, but if you explore this tag you’ll realize it’s not only an accurate description, but a common entrapment scheme for the past decade.  The article also explores the scam’s deep connections to disgraced “sex trafficking” profiteer Tim Ballard, and the attempts by the families of the victims to use Ballard’s downfall as a crowbar to pry open the refusal of the Washington state carceral establishment to do anything about these blatantly-illegal pogroms.

Virtual Imperialism (#1292)

Greedy, amoral corporations enable Beijing’s campaign to silence Chinese people:

The Chinese telecoms giant Tencent is trying to muzzle a service that offers an uncensored view of what users of [its] social media platform WeChat…are posting…FreeWeChat…is operated by…anti-censorship organisation GreatFire.org…and…works by identifying WeChat posts that contain certain “sensitive” keywords and archives and monitors them all to see whether they are subsequently deleted from the social platform.  Typical [censored] words…include the so-called three Ts: Tiananmen, Taiwan and Tibet.  If a monitored post subsequently disappears, FreeWeChat marks it as “censored”…FreeWeChat has…allowed more than 700,000 censored WeChat posts to remain available for both Chinese users and others…[but] Tencent…[has made a legal claim] to Vultr, the USA-based…host…of…FreeWeChat…claim[ing] that FreeWeChat was infringing intellectual property rights…[so] Vultr suspended the [site]…

Thought Control (#1499)

Politicians really do believe they can control people’s thoughts via censorship:

The Randolph County [North Carolina] Library Board [was fired en masse] by the county commissioners…[for refusing] to [ban] a children’s book titled Call Me Max…[which one wannabe censor demanded banned]…Of the 40 speakers [at the meeting], 21 w[ere violently-censorious nitwits who “arguments” were made up of threats and unsupported opinions]…while 19 [wanted to allow] librarians [to do the jobs they were hired to do]…

No Escape (#1584)

The inevitable result of giving sexually-aggressive thugs total power over women:

Eleven women [locked up in] a federal prison in Texas…have filed fresh lawsuits [over the endemic rapes and]…sexual…assault[s]…by prison staff…including a doctor, chaplain and three [screws]…sexual assault is [especially] common at FMC Carswell…the most of any federal women’s prison…[because it is used to warehouse] women with severe mental health and physical ailments…

If Men Were Angels (#1585)

The main difference between cops and “pastors” appears to be that the latter aren’t typically armed:

…[Illinois] pastor…Douglas R. Overmyer…[was arrested and] charg[ed for sharing]…a video of an…adult male [rap]ing [an underage girl]…“on or about May 20, 2025”…Overmyer [was immediately fired from] Zion Hill [Methodist] Church…he…was…was formerly the Executive Director of CHI RHO Outdoors, a group which “provides boys and young men with engaging outdoor experiences…while instilling valuable life lessons”…

Censor Chic (#1591)

Civil rights mean nothing if fascist corporations eagerly dance to the government’s tune:

The developer of ICEBlock, an app used to track local sightings of [goons, spooks, and pigs, has] sued the U.S. government…for [unconstitutional]ly infringing his free speech rights…Apple removed the app from its store in October [after] the Trump [regime threatened the company]…Apple [absurdly justified its bootlicking by claiming heavily-armed thugs with broad immunity to law constitute a vulnerable group]…In 2019, the company [similarly] removed an app that Hong Kong protesters used to track police movements…[and] Apple [justified the collaboration by barfing the word “]criminals[” at the protesters]…Google…also agreed to [collaborate with fascist tyranny]…

 

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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Amazon [is] serving as a midwife for…law enforcement technologies.  –  Jay Stanley

The Punitive Mindset (Chamber of Horrors) 

“Drug” fantasies are just a pretext; the real reasons for this are petty torture of prisoners and more profits for the carceral state’s fascist partners:

The Illinois Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] will now permanently scan most physical mail sent to [its victims] and…upload…[it] to [the overpriced, substandard] tablet [prisoners are forced to buy if they want to read anything or have any contact with the outside world]…the [only exception is]…legal mail…the [screws’] union…has encouraged the move [to help obscure the well-known fact that drugs in prisons are smuggled in by screws]…the department [even absurdly vomited the word “]emergency[” to justify the move]…But a bipartisan legislative committee [refused] to [buy] the [claim]…at least 14 other states [deny their victims] physical mail…[even though] the rate of random positive drug tests [dramatically increase after such schemes are implemented, as do overdose rates]. In Ohio, lawyers [have reported that screws] are opening confidential mail

I Spy (#1469)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

ICE…has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones…this…gives ICE…an “all-in-one” tool for searching both masses of location data and information taken from social media…without a warrant or court order…ICE spent more than $5 million on…Tangles…and [its tracking add-on] Webloc [which were developed] by an Israeli company called Cobwebs…[which merged with another fascist conglomerate called] Penlink in July 2023

Welcome to the Future (#1475)

Welcome to the “safe” future you keep voting for:

…Amazon’s [Orwellian-named “]law enforcement and school safety team[“], led by a…Washington [cop], is aggressively courting new customers…[for] its own surveillance offerings and an expanding array of [surveillance] tools that run on its [servers], among them…car tracking from…Flock…[ML systems]…with billions of records on U.S. citizens from Lucidus…now owned by Flock…app…[connected fascist fusion] centersGun detection software from ZeroEyes…[LLMs] that can…write police reports…[algorithms] from Veritone [which] can identify and track individuals in surveillance footage or video posted to social media…[and] Verus…which constantly monitors and transcribes [im]prison[ed human beings’ phone] calls

I Spy (#1513)

Politicians will never stop until privacy is completely abolished:

The UK government…is…[once again trying] to [force] Apple to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service, this time targeting only British users’ data…In February, Apple withdrew its most secure cloud storage service, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, from the UK [in response to the previous spying attempt]…Caroline Wilson Palow…of…Privacy International…[points out that] the new [attempt is]…“just as big a threat to worldwide security and privacy” as the old one…“If Apple breaks end-to-end encryption for the UK, it breaks it for everyone.  The resulting vulnerability can be exploited by [governments], [cop]s and other bad actors the world over”…

Thought Control (#1537)

It took seven years for people to start fighting wannabe censors:

Educated We Stand, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending public education…has quickly become a counterweight to Moms for Liberty and other groups pushing [pro-censorship] “parental rights” agendas in education.  The group reported a 78% win rate in endorsed school board races nationwide last year, including major victories in Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan…The organization…raised more than $375,000 in grassroots donations in its first six months and says its mission is to fight book bans, elevate the voices of teachers and parents, and champion equity-focused, evidence-based policies…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

Privacy as we once knew it will soon be a thing of the past:

The U.K. may be about to…require every adult…to have a digital ID in order to work in the country, with these IDs becoming mandatory by 2029…when somebody presents a plastic driver’s license, that interaction is between the two parties, and the government is none the wiser…But digital…IDs…are…built so…the system notifies the government every time [they are] used…giving the government the ability to track [physical movements and internet] history…a digital ID system, once created, would prove catnip to politicians…[who would demand its] use…for taxes, travel, health records…government benefits…social media accounts…[and] age-gated websites…[and would] link…[it] to facial recognition…database[s]…a lot of bad ideas regarding technology…in Europe, and especially the U.K., seem to wind their way over to the U.S. eventually…And as of June, 13 states had launched digital driver’s license systems and an additional 21 have passed legislation that would enable or study such a system…

Walled Garden (#1573)

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

Bluesky will begin [forcing adult Ohio] users…[who don’t have VPNs] to [submit to intrusive surveillance via]…Kids Web Services’ (KWS)…This is the same [concess]ion [to censors] that Bluesky is already using in South Dakota and Wyoming to comply with similar laws…

 

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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Shield laws have been a disaster for the anti-abortion movement.
–  Mary Ziegler

Robocops (#1249)

Courts declare that the more egregious a cop’s crimes, the less they can be held accountable:

A [sow] who [maliciously] had a woman jailed for over two years on false charges in connection with a[n imaginary] sex-trafficking ring cannot be sued, a court confirmed last week, because she was acting under color of federal law…Heather Weyker…[completely] fabricat[ed a “Somali sex trafficking gang” for her own self-aggrandizement]…then j[ailed 16-year-old Hamdi Mohamud to silence her after Weyker’s confederate in the scam,] Muna Abdulkadir[,] attacked her [with]…a knife…Mohamud spent 25 months [locked] in federal [cages, but could not sue]… Weyker [because]…she had been cross-deputized on a federal task force [due to “sex trafficking” hysteria]…and…the Supreme Court has made it almost cartoonishly difficult…to [sue]…federal agents…Mohamud’s remaining hope, then, came down to proving that Weyker was acting under color of state law…and the [8th Circuit has now destroyed]…that [hope]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1351) 

Florida’s psychopath-general wants to criminalize vaudeville:

Florida’s [deranged] attorney general…James Uthmeier…has [launch]ed a…[harassment campaign against]…the Kilted Mermaid, a Vero Beach establishment owned by the city’s vice mayor, Linda Moore…A subpoena reportedly demands Moore turn over security footage, employee work schedules, contracts identifying performers, guest lists, and reservation logs [from a June drag event] by August 8…neither the press release nor the subpoena indicates what state laws Moore is…allegedly violating.  But the [harassment began] after local Moms for Liberty chair Jennifer Pippin filed a complaint…accusing the Kilted Mermaid of violating [a] Florida…[anti-drag] law that has been blocked from going into effect since 2023…Pippin…did not attend the event…and [claimed] that she was [somehow] unaware that the law had been blocked…however, [Uthmeier has no such excuse]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1389)

Politicians don’t even try to make their new laws Constitutional any more:

Alabama…has begun sending [demands] to adult site operators [for] 10%…[of their] gross receipts…[starting] Sept. 1…while the First Amendment precludes financially burdening protected speech based on its content, recent events have called such protections into question…enforcing the tax on adult website content could prompt legal challenges…However, a[ny]…website operator…[unwilling to deal with the bullshit] can [simply block] Alabama customers [who don’t use VPNs]…

Feudalism Redux (#1525)

This unhinged lunacy will spread like rot until struck down by a court:

Arkansas [psychopath] General Tim Griffin…sent cease and desist letters…to two websites that provide information about abortion pills, demanding they [stop correctly stating] that medications can be mailed to Arkansas…[despite its] total abortion ban…Griffin and 15 other [forced-birth lunatics are also demanding] Congress…ban…“shield laws” that [give] healthcare providers [protection against legal harassment by psychopaths like Griffin and Ken Paxton].  About one in four abortions in the U.S. are done via telemedicine, and 12,000 abortions per month are provided by clinicians prescribing under shield laws.  Griffin is targeting the sites Plan C and Mayday Health, which do not prescribe or sell the drugs mifepristone or misoprostol…but rather [provide information] about where…the pills [can be purchased, which is 100% legal under the First Amendment.  In order to get around this fact]…Griffin [incorrectly claims] that, by [correctly describing] abortion pills as safe, the language on the sites “may constitute false, deceptive, and unconscionable trade practices” [in] Arkansas…

Secret Squirrel (#1528)

This sickness just keeps getting worse:

Skechers introduced a line of kids’ sneakers that contain a hidden compartment where parents can slip in an Apple AirTag…to…[surreptitiously] track the location of their…child’s shoes…Apple only advertises its AirTags as products to keep track of items like keys, wallets, or luggage — not human beings.  But [abusive people] have been using the technology to [stalk others without their knowledge]…AirTags are not designed to be very good at tracking fast-moving things, like a kid on a school bus, [because they]…don’t have built-in GPS.  Instead, they use Bluetooth beaconing technology to [sneaki]ly signal their presence to nearby Apple devices…[because of such] nefarious [misuse, there was]…a class action lawsuit.  [Because of this] Apple has instituted some anti-stalking features, [but]…the continued normalization of this kind of surveillance could have [strong negative effects on young people’s mental health]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #22)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

An [Oregon cop named]…Hector Carranza was arrested on [July 31st for repeatedly raping a minor both vaginally and anally]…Carranza [w]as [rewarded with a paid vacation] since November 2024, when he was [first reported, and his bosses thought the most important factor in this is that he wasn’t wearing his magical clown costume while committing the rapes]…

The Cop Myth (#1561)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

The [boss hog] of the Maine Capitol Police is facing charges of assault and resisting arrest [after he drunkenly attacked] a…[cop for the town of] Hallowell…[around midnight on August 1st].  Matthew Clancy was arrested…after…[causing trouble in a] bar…Clancy [has been rewarded with a paid vacation]…

 

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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Anybody who thinks LLMs are a direct route to…AGI that could fundamentally transform society…is kidding themselves.  –  Gary Marcus

A Broker in Pillage (#1438)

It’s rare these days to see a judge side with justice against power:

Years after a SWAT team in Texas destroyed an innocent woman’s home while [pla]ying [war with] a fugitive, the local government [has been ordered] to pay her $60,000 in damages plus interest…the end…[of] a legal odyssey that saw Vicki Baker…left with…the bill for…damages…[after pigs maliciously] detonated about 30 tear gas grenades inside Baker’s home, blew off the garage entryway with explosives, and careened a BearCat armored vehicle through her backyard fence.  They smashed the windows and drove through her front door…[despite already having been] given…a garage door opener and the code to enter the home…[these theatrics] were [also performed despite the fact that kidnapper] Wesley Little…had…[already] released the [victim] unharmed [and committed]…suicide…

Civil rights advocates often joke that the Third Amendment is the only one that hasn’t been undermined, but 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.

Panopticon (#1445)

Other California cops are learning from drone-happy Chula Vista:

Sacramento County is eyeing a new approach to track and [spy on homeless] people…The county’s probation department [pretends] it [“]needs[“]…drones to [harass] homeless people who are on probation…The drones…will be [equipped with speakers] to [allow cops to oink at] homeless people…[without] exposing themselves to potential risk…and [thereby plan a strategy]…to move in [for pogroms.  Another]….goal is to [expedite] issuing warrants when a homeless person does not show up for their probation check-ins…The Sacramento Homeless Union [obvious]ly opposes the plan…Crystal Sanchez, the union’s president, [said this]…”is just the latest escalation in a disturbing trend – treating people in crisis as if they are criminals to be surveilled…Instead of investing in real housing solutions, the county is doubling down on tactics that traumatize, intimidate and further destabilize those who are already vulnerable”…

Mad Libs

As I keep saying: these algorithms are not “intelligent” in any way:

Apple researchers have found “fundamental limitations” in cutting-edge [“]artificial intelligence[“] models, in a paper…[demonstrating] that large reasoning models…faced a “complete accuracy collapse” when presented with…complex problems…[LLMs] outperformed LRMs in low-complexity tasks, while both types of model suffered “complete collapse” with high-complexity tasks…Gary Marcus, a US academic who has [not drunk the “]AI[” Kool-Aid], described the Apple paper as “pretty devastating”…The paper also found that reasoning models wasted computing power by [attempting to brute-force]…solutions and…for higher-complexity problems…fail[ed] to generate any correct solutions…even when provided with an algorithm that would solve the problem…The paper concluded that the current approach to AI may have reached limitations [just as critics like Maggie McNeill have predicted for decades]…

To clarify that last editorial insertion: I’ve been saying since the early ’90s that digital computers, by reducing everything to binary, are fundamentally unable to think as we understand the concept, regardless of how big or fast they are or how complex the software, because intelligence requires grasping the concept “maybe”, which is excluded by binary data processing.

I Spy (#1511)

The Supine Court allows Musk to steal sensitive personal information on every American to feed his surveillance machine:

The Supreme Court [has] allowed members of [Elon Musk’s so-called] Department of Government Efficiency to access [confidential] Social Security Administration data [in violation of the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act]…the Trump [regime had asked] the justices to lift an injunction issued by a federal judge in Maryland…in [response to a] lawsuit challenging [“]DOGE[“] actions…filed by…the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees…the American Federation of Teachers…[and] the Alliance for Retired Americans…the groups said…”This ruling will enable…Trump and [Musk’s minions] to steal Americans’ private and personal data”…In a separate order…the Supreme Court…allow[ed] the [regime] to…shield [“]DOGE[“] from freedom of information requests…

IOW, the “justices” say Musk and his stooges have the “right” to know everything about us, but we have no right to know anything about them.

Thought Control (#1537)

The only way to stop these maniacs is to hit them where it hurts most:

After five years of…being called a “smut peddler” and a “pedophile” by a woman from a [the pro-censorship cult “Moms for Liberty”], West Michigan librarian Christine Beachler…filed a civil lawsuit against the [harasser], Stefanie Boone…Michigan libraries and librarians [have] fac[ed aggressive] attacks from [“Moms for Liberty” and other wannabe censors who often hide their identities to avoid public ridicule, but]…librarian[s are public employees so it was easy] for…Boone [to] wage…a relentless “smear campaign” against…Beachler…Boone…has read excerpts from books out of context at school board meetings…posted floods of [lies] about her on Facebook saying she provides pornography to minors…called [her] a groomer…a pedophile…[an]d a whore…Boone [also] filed her own [frivolous] lawsuit against Beachler, as well as the school district and several school employees for what she says are violations of her…right…to…indoctrinat[e]…students…

Torture Chamber (#1537)

The State tortures thousands of people for crossing an imaginary line:

Immigrants [caged] in…[Leavenworth] prison in…Kansas and their attorneys reported an unsanitary, inequitable and unhealthy environment that has left people, even those who have won their immigration cases…[trapped in] crowded [cages with] extended lockdowns, de[nied]…medical treatment, restricted contact with their families, and no access to religious services [or sunlight].  In some cases, these conditions have led to suicide attempts…

The Cop Myth (#1545)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

…a…[typical and representative Minnesota cop named]…Larry D. Alstead…sustained multiple gunshot injuries in [a shootout with fellow cops] but died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound…[the cops invaded his home after his wife] report[ed he had attacked her in a] domestic assault…and th[en] locked [himself] in the basement…

 

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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To automate the surveillance of lots of innocent people…is really corrosive.  –  Nathan Freed Wessler

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1346) 

Remember, this isn’t “human trafficking”, but consensual sex is:

The U.S. is deporting [non-white] migrants from nations in Africa and Asia to [a concentration camp in] Panama, a major diplomatic [atrocity] for the Trump administration…The…[victims] included adults and families with children…Another U.S. military flight to Panama…deport[ed] more Asian migrants, in addition to some African deportees…from Cameroon…Panama’s foreign ministry confirmed it received…the [prisoners] under a…[shady deal] with the Trump [regime] that allows the U.S. to deport non-Panamanians to the Central American country.  The [victims]…included 119 deportees from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.  The costs of the deportations under the agreement will be covered by the U.S…

Stalkers in Blue (#1442)

Cops are nothing more than state-sponsored terrorists:

…cameras hidden in unmarked boxes have appeared on utility poles outside the Atlanta homes of some people connected to the movement against the police training center known as “Cop City”…after several years of ongoing state surveillance [and harassment] of [activists]…including [cops] following people…and blasting sirens outside bedroom windows at 3am…Three of the cameras are pointed at homes that Atlanta police, the FBI and the…ATF, jointly raided in February of last year, [using the excuse of] arsons of police motorcycles.  One camera is pointed at a cultural and social center.  Georgia Power, the utility company that owns the poles, [said] the boxes are not their property.  The FBI and the ATF denied any knowledge of them…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1471)

Cop “magic fentanyl” hysteria has escaped the US:

Two Ottawa [cops] were hospitalized after [having panic attacks over] fentanyl and crystal meth…In the early hours of February 5, 2025, a…[hysterical cop] was taken to the hospital after [having a panic attacks due to seeing] fentanyl during a traffic stop…Fortunately…[for the big crybaby, fentanyl has no effect from casual exposure]…Only three days later, an[other hysterical cop stole]…crystal meth from a [man] he a[ttack]ed and started feeling nauseous and lightheaded [even though methamphetamine also has no effect from casual exposure]…These incidents highlight the li[berty]-threatening risk [copaganda about] fentanyl and other drugs pose to [the citizens of Western nations]…

A Moral Cancer (#1497)

A dangerous new front in the Drug War has claimed another victim:

…the owner of a Ma[ssachusetts] vape shop has pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted tax evasion arising from the sale of e-cigarettes brought in from across state borders.  He was sentenced to [be locked in a filthy cage like an animal for] six months…and [spend] five years [on] probation.  In 2020, Massachusetts became the first state to implement a comprehensive ban on all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes.  Violation…is only a misdemeanor, but since flavored tobacco products are sold on the illicit market, sellers simultaneously violate state tax law…a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.  Criminal justice reformers have warned for years that flavor bans would encourage illicit markets, creating felony crimes in the process

You Were Warned (#1497)

A blatantly-unconstitutional law is sort of suspended by an unconstitutional order:

Apple and Google [have] restored TikTok to their app stores in the United States…[mere] weeks after they removed the short-form video platform in compliance with a new law that banned it in the country.  [Emperor] Trump tried to pause enforcement of the TikTok ban with a…[royal edict], but the companies were reluctant to bring TikTok back [because Trump doesn’t actually have the power to suspend duly-enacted]…law…

I Spy (#1500)

Cops everywhere are moral imbeciles, and those who facilitate their evil are enemies of humanity:

Italian spyware maker SIO, known to sell its products to government customers, is behind a series of malicious Android apps that masquerade as WhatsApp and other popular apps but steal private data from a target’s device…Italy has been embroiled in an ongoing scandal involving the…use of a sophisticated spying tool made by Israeli spyware maker Paragon…[to spy on] a journalist and two founders of an NGO that helps and rescues immigrants in the Mediterranean…the [SIO] spyware…used a more pedestrian hacking technique: developing and distributing malicious Android apps that pretend to be popular apps like WhatsApp, and customer support tools provided by cellphone providers…the…spyware…is called Spyrtacus…[and] can steal text messages, as well as chats from Facebook Messenger, Signal, and WhatsApp; exfiltrate contacts information; record phone calls and ambient audio via the device’s microphone, and imagery via the device’s cameras; among other functions that serve surveillance purposes…

Thought Control (#1512)

Surely you didn’t think they’d be satisfied with only threatening librarians and teachers:

…the priggish, puritanical prudes who insist that a cabal of librarians and teachers are trying to turn our children gay with books…would have us believe that they’re just out to protect kids…[but] the legislation they’ve proposed isn’t just about kids, and it’s not just about public libraries and schools…Senate Bill 2307…would amend…North Dakota’s criminal code to [criminalize]…”displays at newsstands or any other business establishment…any…book…or [other media politicians decide to point at while barfing]…’sex, lust, or perversion'”…your local bookstore…would…[either have to ban] minors…[or else any book that could be considered remotely “adult” would] have to be sealed or hidden lest a [17-year-old university freshman] take [one] off the shelf and [be instantly “sexualized”]…the…bill sponsors….[previously] introduced a bill with the [same] language…during the 2023 legislative session…and [it] was only prevented from becoming law by a veto from former Gov. Doug Burgum…

 

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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[Texas politicians are] trying to drive a car from 30,000 feet in the air by remote control.  –  Joey Velasco

Torture Chamber

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

The Trump [regime] and the president of El Salvador…struck a deal allowing the U.S. to ship both detained migrants and imprisoned citizens to the tiny Central American nation…[even though it is illegal for] the U.S. government [to] deport American citizens…Bukele has made El Salvador’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his aggressive fight against [civil rights].  Since March 2022, more than 84,000 people have been [locked up without] due process…packed into cells without enough bunks for everyone…Bukele…plan[s] to [cram even] more people in[to his] mega-prison…prisoners…do not receive visits.  There are no programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences…[because the government plans to] never allow…[them] outside…ever [again]…

Time Warp

Long Island public radio station WSHU recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 13 years ago; given that NPR was a major font of “sex trafficking” wanking fantasies, I reckon that isn’t too surprising, but it’s still weird to see both politicians and stenographic “reporters” who apparently didn’t read the memo that “sex trafficking” is now a “right-wing conspiracy theory” rather than something taken seriously by people who are not complete lunatics.  The piece calls “sex trafficking” an “epidemic” and employs both a “King of the Hill” claim and the “Facebook pimps” myth to infantilize sex workers as “children” looking for “love”, before making the facially-absurd statement that Suffolk County’s is the first “trafficking court” in New York.

Little Puppets

Denying bright kids honors or AP classes doesn’t make you a champion of the proletariat; it makes you an abuser:

In 2021, a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, got rid of advanced classes in a [poorly-considered] bid to…reduc[e] achievement gaps between racial groups, [presumably by osmosis]…several parents brought up…concerns with the…policy—but…were smeared as “racists” and “right-wingers”…But years later…teachers themselves are…openly criticizing multilevel classes, arguing that it isn’t serving students’ needs…”I’ve heard about multilevel classes from many, many parents over the last three years, and the feedback has been consistently negative,” School Committee member Rajeev Parlikar said…”I actually have not heard from a single parent who thought their child benefited from being in a multilevel class”…the district is now working on reinstating leveled classes…

I Spy (#1372)

This isn’t just about privacy — it’s about the future of secure communication itself“:

…the UK government has…ordered Apple to create a backdoor that would allow them to access encrypted content from any Apple user worldwide…Apple [has] warned it might have to exit the UK market if pushed too far…[but] even…[that] won’t satisfy the UK’s demands…for backdoor access to the service in other countries, including the United StatesApple would be barred from warning its users that its most advanced encryption no longer provided full security…the UK isn’t just demanding the power to break encryption globally, they’re demanding the right to force Apple to actively deceive its users about the security of their data…

The Prudish Giant (#1427)

Morally-bankrupt businesses make morally-bankrupt business deals:

Gambling companies are covertly tracking visitors to their websites and sending their data to Facebook…without consent…the information is then being used by Facebook…to profile people as gamblers and flood them with ads for casinos and betting sites…

Thought Control (#1457)

Control-freak politicians need to be targeted by so many lawsuits they’re driven into ruin:

Several large book publishers, a tiny public library and others are suing Idaho [politicians] over a law that forces libraries to keep some books in an adults-only section if…[a politician points at them and belches] “harmful to minors.”  The Donnelly Library, Penguin Random House and the others [are] suing [because] the law is overly vague and [blatantly] violates the First Amendment rights of students, librarians and other residents by forcing libraries to sequester literary classics like Slaughterhouse-Five and A Clockwork Orange.  It’s the second such lawsuit filed in Idaho.  A coalition of small private schools and libraries sued last summer, and that case is ongoing.  Similar cases have been filed in Arkansas, Iowa, Florida, Texas and other states with laws restricting access to books in libraries or schools…

Crippling Thought (#1467)

Surely you didn’t think they’d be satisfied with only vandalizing libraries and primary schools:

This year, the [sociopath]-controlled Texas Legislature is expected to [undermine] liberal [education] at the state’s public, four-year universities…[by further] ban[ning]…programs [they dislike] and tr[y]ing…to…limit the influence of professors on their [students]…they have vowed to crack down on…free speech on campus.  And they are proposing again to end in-state tuition for undocumented students…and…eliminate tenure…

 

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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You have zero rights.  –  Andrea Amico

Winding Down (#1221)

Politicians are terrified of losing ways to destroy peaceful citizens’ lives:

Last November…Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved a pair of medical marijuana initiatives…a [cour]t ruling [has now] rejected [a legal] challenge [from a prohibitionist politician], allowing authorized patients to possess up to five ounces of marijuana…[and] clear[ing] the way for state licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries…Initiative 437…passed by a whopping 42-point margin…[but typical and representative politician] John Kuehn…tried to block the initiatives by [similar legalistic chicanery to that used in South Dakota]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1457)

Pornhub has repeatedly taken the principled stand of refusing to facilitate state spying:

Almost two years ago, Louisiana passed a law that started a [“monkey see, monkey do” parade]…across the entire U.S. South, and has changed the way people there can access adult content.  As of today, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina join the list of 17 states that can’t access some of the most popular porn sites on the internet [without a VPN]…To remain compliant with the law while protecting users’ privacy…Pornhub is currently blocked in Virginia, Montana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, [and] South CarolinaGeorgia’s age verification bill…is set to go into effect in July…visitors [in the affected states typically] go to sites with worse moderation practices and no requirements on identity verification for uploaders…[but] if someone wanted to visit Pornhub [specifically], they could easily get around any age verification barriers with a VPN, which we consistently see searches for spike when these laws go into effect…

A Broker in Pillage (#1467)

This will continue until there are federal criminal charges for “officials”, both political and corporate, who conspire to rob people this way:

A Nebraska man whose house title was s[tolen by the county] over a modest property tax debt has finally gotten it back, ending a yearslong legal battle…In 2014, Kevin Fair was unable to pay his $588 property tax bill after quitting his job to care for his dying wife, Terry…the Scotts Bluff County government quietly sold that debt to a private investor, Continental Resources, which continued to satisfy the Fairs’ property taxes—until 2018, when the company sent the couple a bill for $5,268…[payable] within 90 days, or lose their house…[and] all of their equity…That was business as usual in Nebraska…one of many states engaging in legalized home equity theft…The U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue in 2023…and…With that ruling in mind, Nebraska’s top court reconsidered its previous decision and ruled that Fair would not have to sacrifice..his title…Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision…some states are still trying to find creative ways to get around…the law…[with] Illinois and DC a[s] the most blatant continuing offenders…

Eavesdropping (#1473)

Apple “unintentionally” pisses on its customers’ legs and tells them it’s raining:

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit [over the fact] that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were then sold to third parties for targeted ads.  In the proposed class-action settlement…Apple…[gets to pretend the recording was] “unintentional”…the settlement…lets Apple off the hook pretty cheaply.  If…Apple users had won, Apple could’ve been fined more than $1.5 billion under the Wiretap Act alone…the [eavesdropping was]…initially exposed by The Guardian in 2019Google faces a similar lawsuit [which]…likely won’t be settled until this fall…

The Cop Myth (#1486)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”, but you don’t have to:

An Oregon…[screw named Nicholas T. Alexander murder]ed his 16-year-old daughter…Larissa [and then shot himself because he was about to be criminally charged with something his boss hogs are now covering up]…

Cops and Robbers (#1499)

The legacy of To Catch a Predator just keeps on hurting people:

11 teens [in Illinois were] arrested for beating two men they had lured using a gay dating app…in two different incidents on the evening of July 8, 2024…and [also] vandaliz[ing] their cars.  Both victims were able to escape and report the attacks to police.  The attacks are…part of a[n ugly internet fa]d where teens use gay dating apps to target adult gay men they [pretend] are attempting to hook up with underage males…

I Spy (#1502)

Is having a shiny new status symbol really worth being spied on like this?

Video footage and other data collected by Tesla helped [cops] quickly piece together how a Cybertruck came to explode outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day…the investigation …highlights how car companies vacuum up reams of data that can…be…[handed] to third parties without drivers’ knowledge [or consent] …“These are panopticons on wheels,” said Albert Fox Cahn…[of] the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project…abusive spouses track…partners’ locations…insurers raise…rates based on [secretly-recorded] driving behavior data…[and cop shops seeking surveillance] video from Tesla cars…have…obtained warrants to [steal] vehicles to secure such footage…

 

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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You don’t [leave] any human being on earth…lying on a cement floor in their own shit.  –  Mrs. White

Torture Chamber

The government calls this “correction”; for journalists to parrot that ugly euphemism is a choice:

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has ordered that 13 [screws] and a…nurse [collaborator] be fired after the [brutal murder] of a…[human being locked] in [one of the state’s filthy cages by] a…[gang] attack that [even] their [own] union called “incomprehensible”…[The murder of] Robert L. Brooks…[was] at least partly captured on video.  [Prison bureaucrats at first tried to downplay the savage, animalistic beating by calling it]…a “use of force” [and talking about the crime the victim had been convicted of]…The[y also first rewarded the thugs with paid vacations]…Hochul [made the logically-absurd claim that]…“The vast majority of [screws] do extraordinary work“[, in apparent ignorance of the meaning of the word “extraordinary”]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#995)

Judges have ruled that if cops forcibly hold your head to unlock your phone, it counts as “consent” to root through your property:

Apple is working on a new s[stupid] doorbell camera that uses Face ID to unlock your door…The camera could be released by the end of 2025 “at the soonest”…The lock would work just like your iPhone, automatically unlocking your door when you or another resident looks at it…this device will “likely” work with existing third-party HomeKit s[stupid] locks and that the company may also partner with a s[tupid] lock company “to offer a complete system on day one”…

Torture Chamber (#1110)

Just in case you thought screws restricted their petty sadism to the prisoners:

For people entering prisons, jails, or courts, consent is coerced at every visit.  Throughout the time that I traveled to these institutions, I felt caught in an inescapable loop, always forced to let someone [grope] my [breasts] under the guise of “security”.  After spending time and money traveling to [prisons]…far from urban centers, visitors are not likely to challenge demeaning [molestation disguised as a “]search[“]…The fear of canceled visits, retaliation against imprisoned loved ones, or being late to court appearances makes people comply…Questioning the search process can end the visit…Carceral institutions are sites where sexual violence is routine and protected by law…In 2019, New York settled a class action lawsuit for conducting unlawful, invasive [sexual assault]s on jail visitors.  This year, California paid a $5 million settlement to Christina Cardenas, a woman [who was groped by screws] before a doctor sexually violated her…[after belching out the magic rights-negating word “]contraband[“]…But these settlements are the exception, not the rule…

Thought Control (#1362)

Laws criminalizing women for pragmatic thoughts are equally unconstitutional, but don’t expect any judge to recognize that anytime soon:

A federal judge…struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers [if a wannabe censor pointed at any book in their collection and belched out the word] “harmful”…Judge Timothy Brooks [wrote]…“The law deputizes librarians and booksellers as the agents of censorship; when motivated by the fear of jail time, it is likely they will shelve only books fit for young children and segregate or discard the rest”…

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1411)

It’s never called “trafficking” when the government and crony corporations do it:

No state has a longer, more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners [as slave labor] to private companies than Alabama.  With a sprawling labor system that dates back more than 150 years — including the brutal convict leasing era that replaced slavery — it has constructed a template for the commercialization of mass incarceration.  Best Western, Bama Budweiser and Burger King are among the more than 500 businesses to lease [slave]s from one of the most violent, overcrowded…prison systems in the U.S. in the past five years alone…The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000…Most jobs are inside [prisons]…but more than 10,000 [enslaved prisoners] have logged a combined 17 million work hours outside Alabama’s prison walls since 2018, for entities like city and county governments and businesses that range from major car-part manufacturers and meat-processing plants to distribution centers for major retailers like Walmart…

Eavesdropping (#1482)

If a system lets “authorized” busybodies spy on you, “unauthorized” ones can do the same:

…the Salt Typhoon…hackers [have still not been expelled] from most of the compromised systems and [officials] were unable to give a timeline for when that would be achieved…the effects of the hack threaten to be…widespread, with CISA and its counterpart agencies in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada warning this month that Salt Typhoon’s campaign extends beyond just U.S. networks…[and] NBC News report[ed] that the hackers also accessed…metadata…of more than a million Americans…[cybersecurity expert] Tom Kellermann [said]…“This is something we’re going to be dealing with for years, to identify all the back doors that [copsucking politicians forced companies to install] in the systems”…

Torture Chamber (#1493)

Be fair; how much medical skill does it take to repeatedly yell “Stop faking!” at people?

One doctor accidentally chopped off part of a newborn’s…finger…[and cho]ked two nurses…in a rage.  Another…drained the wrong side of a patient’s chest…and altered a medical record to [cover]…the [mistake]…A third…botch[ed] 10 surgeries in four years…and [subjected victims to] extensive, medically inappropriate procedures.  Common to all…is…their most recent place…of employment: the New York state prison system.  They are among [the incompetent] physicians…who…ma[ke] up [more than 10%] of the system’s full-time core of doctors, despite being sanctioned for horrific mistakes and other professional abuses…Some were hired…after serving lengthy probationary sentences meted out by the state’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct…

 

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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The hospitals are at fault. The clinicians are at fault. Our policies are at fault.  –  Dr. Davida Schiff

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

At first, I believed her, until it became clear that Nifong was showboating:

Crystal Mangum, the former exotic dancer who accused three Duke men’s lacrosse players of rape in 2006…now [admit]s she lied…“I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn’t…And I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me,” Mangum said on the web show “Let’s Talk with Kat“…The interview took place at the North Carolina [prison]…where Mangum is serving time for [the] 2013 [knife] murder…[of] her boyfriend…she said she hopes the three men will forgive her…[Mike Nifong,] the district attorney [who turned] the case [into a circus,] was convicted of criminal contempt and disbarred…

If Men Were Angels

Preacher can’t or won’t behave like a moral person; what a shock:

A [typical and representative Oklahoma] pastor…[named] James McMillan was arrested in late November…[becaus]e he unzipped his pants and began touching himself in front of a…[teen girl] while [driv]ing down a Cleveland County highway.  McMillan was arrested again [on December 9] for [show]ing [porn]…to a minor…he…has been [repor]ted [for] sexual abuse…in multiple [social] services and [criminal] cases dating back to 2003 [but nothing has ever been done]…

Cops and Robbers (#1328)

Cops don’t like it when non-cops ape their entrapment schemes:

Police are …[hu]nting teenage gangs [which are] terrorizing gay men in “pedo hunts” in the Sydney area…Nearly a dozen organized attacks have been connected to the…gangs, likely a fraction of the actual number…the victims were gay men who arranged to meet in public parks with someone they met on a dating app like Grindr.  Instead of a consensual hook-up, they were confronted by multiple teenagers, who then taunted, beat, and robbed the victims, sometimes using [guns Australian politicians like to pretend don’t exist in Australia]…Several of the victims were forced [by threats] to c[laim they were] pedophiles while being filmed, [so the attackers could post the]…videos…online, in…[places such as] an Instagram account called “pedohunting_syd”…At least five boys, ages 14 to 17, have been charged in connection with the assaults and robberies, as well as…possessing unauthorized firearms.  Police are describing the gang as a terror group…

Thought Control (#1460)

I was destined to be threatened with state violence regardless of career path:

After years of culture war battles in school and public libraries, the campaign by [pro-censorship] “parent rights” groups has succeeded in casting a nationwide chill over the market for children’s books…During the 2023-24 school year, there were more than 10,000 book bans in public schools — a 200% rise over the previous year.  The books overwhelmingly included LGBTQ+ themes and characters of color, according to PEN America.  Many of the same books are banned over and over across the country, through coordinated efforts by [pro-censorship] groups…Teachers and librarians, facing threats and fearful of losing their jobs or even going to jail…are hesitating to put [any] books that include LGBTQ+ characters or discussions of racism on their shelves…sales of such books are down significantly…and authors have seen school visits canceled, leaving them without a crucial income stream…[wannabe thought controllers vomit out the word “]pornography[” at sane, moral people, and opine that “authors and publishers]…should be imprisoned.  Educators and public librarians who [stock any book we point at] should be classed as registered sex offenders”…

Thought Control (#1468)

Politicians really do believe they can control people’s thoughts via threats:

Karen Cahall…who teaches third grade [in Ohio], was recently suspended for three days without pay and threatened with termination…for [hav]ing four books in her classroom library [of about 100 books] that contained LGBTQ characters…Ana On The EdgeThe Fabulous Zed Watson!Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, and Too Bright to See…[were on a list used by busybodies to harass teachers] and…on October 30, 2024, a [wannabe thought-controller took it up on herself to compare every title in Cahall’s library against that list, then]…sent an email complaining to…every [school board] member…Superintendent Tracey Miller, who [has neither spine nor principles, claimed]…Cahall’s inclusion of these books in her classroom library violated school district policy…[against books about] “topic[s] on which opposing points of view [exist]”…Cahall has filed a…lawsuit against Miller and…School District…[because] their actions were [blatantly] unconstitutional…

Property of the State (#1474) 

How long will society accept its medical system being used as a tool of state violence?

Across the country, hospitals are dispensing medications to patients in labor, only to report them to child welfare authorities when they or their newborns test positive for those very same substances on subsequent drug tests…The[se]…are…medications routinely prescribed to millions…every year…includ[ing] morphine or fentanyl for epidurals or other pain relief, anxiety medications, and two different blood pressure meds prescribed for C-sections.  In a time of increasing surveillance and criminalization of pregnant women since the end of Roe v. Wade, the hospital reports have prompted calls to the police, child welfare investigations and even the [abduction] of children from their parents…

You Were Warned (#1483)

Politicians will use any trick to gain control of the internet:

[Pro-censorship politician] Mike Lee has introduced a bill to…forc[e unconstitutional] age verification on app stores and mobile devices, with [the] goal of chilling sex-related speech.  Lee [misuses the word] “accountability” [to weirdly represent]…”big corporations”…[as public] “moral[ity agencies” despite the fact that]…big corporations like Google and Apple already ban apps featuring sexual content…[for] everybody…[so] this legislation is about…age-gating…social media…and making tech companies even more afraid of allowing anyone to access adult content…[by inventing] a private right of action for parents and guardians [to file nuisance lawsuits] against app stores…If minors download a web browser and visit porn websites, their parents can sue.  If minors download X or Bluesky or Reddit and happen upon some sort of sexualized image, their parents can sue.  If minors download a chat app and peers direct message them GIFs featuring cartoons committing violence, or inappropriate selfies, or any message at all, their parents can sue.  All a parent has to [do is belch out the word “]harm[“]…or “lewd”…

 

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