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Posts Tagged ‘Arizona’

It happened as frequently as they wanted it to.  –  Miranda Williams

The Slave-Whore Fantasy

It’s been 7 years since we’ve had an example of what real sex slavery looks like:

…a woman who was chained and being held in a locked room [in a travel trailer in Arizona] was able to break free and run for help…to a neighbor’s house…Aaron Cortez had the unidentified woman chained in his travel trailer.  He whipped her with a charging cord and chains, then left her alone locked inside…once she felt he was gone long enough that day, she escaped…Cortez…[fancied himself a pimp and] went by “King Ace”…he…had [placed] about 70 ads for prostitution online with pictures of him[self], some with the victim, and some depicting violent sex acts…Cortez…is currently facing charges including aggravated assault…[and] kidnapping…

The fact that this violent freak forced his victim to sign a “sex slave contract” and was planning to force her to get a tattoo tells me he’s been reading waaaaay too much “sex trafficking” propaganda.  That, and te fact that his ads mostly had pictures of him, tells me he isn’t very bright.

The Course of a Disease (#421)

Not even Australia is safe from Swedish rot-fanatics attempting to spread their loathsome tyranny:

A [dangerous and discredited] sex-work model would attack the men who buy sex [and infantilize] the women who sell it in a move to [define women as men’s moral inferiors]…The Bill, introduced by South Australian Upper House Liberal leader Nicola Centofanti, would [impose the Swedish model, which defines women as permanent adolescents unable to consent to] sex [except in ways politicians allow]…Centofanti…[vomited the usual disgusting propaganda about evil men and infantile women] in parliament…attacking the de[criminalization model supported by all evidence, human rights organizations, and sex workers themselves]…Sex Industry Network general manager Kat Morrison said…the “Nordic”…criminalisation model had failed in Europe…Greens member Tammy Franks backs full decriminalisation and said the Bill was a “political strategy” to end sex work.  “This Bill says basically a sex worker can do their work but not be paid for it,” she said.  “In what other jurisdiction or area or work would a worker be expected to do their work but not get paid for it?”

Decriminalization has become the norm in Australia, but South Australian prohibitionists have managed to keep it out of their state despite repeated attempts.

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastor”, “youth leader”, “youth minister”, “youth director”…can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?

The [typical and representative] youth minister of a [Georgia] church faces up to 40 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to child molestation charges…Austin Wray Perkins was arrested on March 9, 2022…[for] victimizing a minor who…had no family or support…[Perkins took the youth] into his home and molested him…[then] coached [him] about how to act in pornographic videos with himself…

I Spy (#1103)

When it comes to mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Modern cars are a privacy nightmare…All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label — making cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed…every car brand we looked at collects more personal data than necessary and uses that information for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with you…56%…say they…share your information with…[cops and spooks] in response to a “request.”  Not a high bar court order, but something as easy as an “informal request”…car companies’ willingness to share your data is beyond creepy.  It has the potential to cause real harm and inspired our worst cars-and-privacy nightmares

Welcome to the Future (#1164)

The government thinks it even has the right to leer at the inside of your body:

What if your [body] could be monitored from a distance…to track your use of medications, such as opioids, to make sure you’re not using them in frequencies and dosages frowned upon by…politicians…who want to…stop [you] from getting high[?]…the Cato Institute…[warns that such surveillance is] “another example of ‘cops practicing medicine’…[which] will intimidate health care practitioners into further curtailing opioid prescribing to their patients in pain…exacerbat[ing] the misery that state and federal opioid prescribing policies have already inflicted on them that is driving many to suicide and some to homicide”…

No Escape (#1298)

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

…at least a dozen women…were [repeatedly raped] by [typical and representative screws] at [Federal Cage Collection] Coleman…in Florida…th[e rapists]…admitted [their crimes] in sworn interviews with internal affairs investigators…Yet thanks to a little known Supreme Court precedent and a culture of corrupt self-protection inside the prison system, none of those guards were ever prosecuted—precisely because of the manner in which they confessed.  Most…retired before they could be fired, meaning they walked with their retirement benefits intact…Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003.  It was [pretend]ed to create zero-tolerance policies for sexual abuse in U.S. prisons and jails.  PREA is mostly toothless, though—and in the federal prison system, festering corruption made it a bad joke…

I Spy (#1362)

This was merely a way for politicians to save face rather than be the direct cause of every encrypted app leaving the UK market:

The UK government will concede it [can]not…scan messaging apps for…content [politicians dislike without destroying end-to-end encryption] until it is “technically feasible” to do [the impossible], postponing measures that…threaten users’ privacy…mark[ing] an eleventh-hour effort by ministers to end [the looming threat of politicians being made total fools of by] tech companies…pull[ing] their services from the UK over [politicians’ demands that] they [submit to] an intolerable threat to millions of users’ security…The online safety bill, which has been in development for several years and is now in its final stages in parliament, is one of the [most outlandishly-pigheaded] attempts by any government to make [communications] companies responsible for [messages sent] on their networks…Officials have now privately a[dmitt]ed to tech companies that [they understand] there is no…technology able to scan end-to-end encrypted messages that would not also undermine users’ privacy…However, the statute will still give Ofcom powers to [demand] platforms…[conjure up] a technology [that] does not exist [and cannot exist]…

 

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

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A facility didn’t kill my uncle; three deputies tased him while he was having a heart attack.  –  Sherilyn Sabo

St. James Infirmary

A program that did one thing well tried to be all things to all people:

St. James Infirmary…[i]s shutting down….[after] years…[of] mismanagement…Money was squandered, benefits went unpaid, and at one point the health clinic’s license allegedly lapsed, leaving medical providers in limbo…in the middle of the pandemic, staff on the ground saw problems spiral out of control.  Directors of the site quit or were pushed out…Shifts went severely understaffed…Brianna Singleton, a former nurse practitioner with St. James, [sai]d…the decision to take on housing programs dealt the organization a fatal blow.  “We were out of our depth…It felt like a magician pulling red flags out of their hat — they just kept coming”…

Torture Chamber 

Blaming torture and neglect on a building is brazen even by cop standards:

Between 2012 and 2016, the [East Baton Rouge Parish Prison] had a death rate more than twice the national average…Since 2012, there have been 59 fatalities in custody.  Jail staff have long…neglect[ed sick prisoners, leading to]…deadly lapses in medical treatment, and in 2016, the brutal treatment of people arrested and jailed for protesting the Baton Rouge police [murder] of Alton Sterling sparked a movement for jail reform.  The man who has overseen the jail for 15-plus years…Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, has often blamed the deaths on the building…[because he wants] a new, even larger facility, but voters have shot down requests for funding to build a new one.  The sheriff, [like most of his diseased ilk]…has…profit[ed from] his office, raking in significant campaign contributions from contractors during elections where he has…lacked a significant challenger.  This includes thousands of dollars in donations from a law firm that has represented Gautreaux and his co-defendants against plaintiffs whose loved ones have died in his jail…

Sex Rays (#1003)

I’m sure the people of Maui didn’t want her dirty whore money anyhow:

The OnlyFans model using her nude photos to raise money for Maui wildfire relief efforts can no longer crowdfund on GoFundMe…because the platform shut down her efforts.  Mariah Casillas, who goes by Lavagrll on social media, was sending nudes to folks who donated $10 to victims of the deadly Maui wildfires…The model raised over $7,400 in just a few days, but…GoFundMe [clutched its pearls, clucked about]…”prohibited conduct”…[and] refunded [all the money so the would-be donors got] her nudes for free [which I’m sure made the bluenoses at GoFundMe feel better].  She’s now taking her nude fundraiser over to OnlyFans…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1269)

If you didn’t see this one coming, you haven’t been paying attention:

[Louisiana politician] Liz Murrill…mixed two classic Republican strawmen — the drug war and abortion — into a single, unexpected and wholly unsubstantiated talking point: Nefarious drug pushers are lacing online abortion pills with fentanyl…In a…[radio interview] Murrill…[started by bloviating standard prohibitionist talking points, including the bogus] claim that cannabis is a gateway drug, [then declared that] the smell of marijuana is ruining American communities…“everywhere we go, we see these communities that are just being destroyed by the smell and…people are sleeping on the streets.  One thing leads to the other”…she [then]…claimed cannabis legalization has somehow been a boon for illegal fentanyl sales…and…then…pivoted to…abortion pills…Of course, there is no evidence that abortion pills are being mixed with fentanyl and they remain perfectly safe — and legal in most states…Ironically, Republicans have created a de facto gray market for abortion pills…if Murrill’s random musings about fentanyl and abortion pills were true, it would mean th[ey]…are responsible…since they made the pills illegal in the first place…

You Were Warned (#1341)

This is an extremely dangerous precedent:

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has spent years negotiating a national security agreement with the Biden Administration that would avoid a ban on the short video app in the United States…that agreement…would give [the US] government…the authority to: examine TikTok’s U.S. facilities, records, equipment and servers with minimal or no notice; block changes to the app’s U.S. terms of service, moderation policies and privacy policy; veto the hiring of any executive involved in leading TikTok’s U.S. Data Security org; order TikTok and ByteDance to pay for and subject themselves to various audits, assessments and other reports on the security of TikTok’s U.S. functions; and, in some circumstances, require ByteDance to temporarily stop TikTok from functioning in the United States.  The draft agreement would make TikTok’s U.S. operations subject to extensive supervision by an array of independent investigative bodies…and…force TikTok U.S. to exclude ByteDance leaders from certain security-related decision making, and instead rely on an executive security committee that would operate in secrecy from ByteDance…

Dangerous Speech (#1348)

It’s almost like the judge is intentionally setting up another mistrial:

…federal Judge Diane Humetewa…shot down a defense suggestion that the prosecution not use the terms “sex trafficking” and “child sex trafficking” during the Aug. 29 trial of award-winning journalist Michael Lacey and four others, calling the position a “non-starter”.  Humetewa also overruled a defense objection to her proposed jury instruction on the First Amendment, despite the defense’s claim that the instruction’s wording does not comport with precedents set by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Most of the two-hour hearing dealt with establishing a jury pool of 110 persons, out of which 16 will be plucked to serve as 12 jurors and four alternates.  Humetewa said she added questions to the jury questionnaire aimed at finding out if potential jurors knew of the recent, tragic death of veteran newspaperman Jim Larkin and if it would affect their ability to be impartial…

The Widening Gyre (#1360) 

This time, the “sex trafficking” lie was told to divert blame for bad behavior:

The junior Marine charged with sexually assaulting a [14-year-old girl]…met [her] on a dating app where she told him she was 22…Pfc. Avery Rosario…is currently…charged with…sexual assault of a child over age 12…Rosario’s defense team argued that the Marine and two friends who witnessed his interactions with the girl all believed she was 22…[her] Tinder profile…said she was 21…In screenshots of direct message exchanges on Tinder and Instagram shown in court…she told him she was actually 22…The girl’s aunt posted a series of videos on TikTok saying the girl had been the victim of sex trafficking and was sold to the Marine [presumably by “traffickers”] for sex…But [after] she [was] seen in the hallway of the barracks…She made several contradicting statements to investigators…first giving them a false birthday.  She later told them she’d lied to the Marine about her age…she [later claimed she] had been sex trafficked and had come to the base to be rescued…

 

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 the government decides to point its finger at you, there’s really no question that they’re going to try to ruin you.  –  Jim Larkin

I never met Jim Larkin, but the unexpected news of his suicide brought tears to my eyes last Tuesday; those tears were not only for him, but for all of us living under the government that murdered him as surely as if he had been executed.

God help us.

His death was reported in many places online; of course the corporate media reports ranged from typical lie-parroting and bootlicking to outright grave-dancing, and the ghouls at the federal agency which hounded him to death had the jaw-dropping gall to “send condolences to his family and friends, and wish them sustenance and strength in a difficult time“.  As is not unusual these days, one needed to turn to the alternative press to read a truthful account, such as this one from Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason:

Lacey [and] Larkin built the Phoenix New Times from an anti-war student newspaper into a broad—and still-thriving—record of Maricopa County culture and politics…They [then] expanded their alt-weekly empire nationwide, eventually running 17 free papers, including the Miami New Times, Westword, the Dallas Observer, and The Village Voice…Collectively, the papers and their staffers were nominated for more than 1,400 national writing awards, won one Pulitzer, and were finalists for the Pulitzer six other times…Among the court battles they fought—and won—was one over infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio demanding data on New Times readers; Arpaio was eventually forced to pay Larkin and Lacey a $3.75 million settlement, which they used to establish the immigrant rights organization Frontera Fund.  Another…was waged over a 1971 New Times ad for a group that helped women in Arizona (where abortion was illegal) travel to California for the procedure.  The case eventually helped invalidate Arizona’s entire abortion ban…

And this one from Mike Masnick of Techdirt:

…contrary to the public narrative you may have heard, Backpage worked closely with federal law enforcement to actually stop sex trafficking…But they refused to do the same for consensual sex work and that is why the feds eventually came down on them like a ton of bricks, all while telling the media and politicians that it was for sex trafficking.   But that was all bullshit.  And the bullshit extended to the process of the federal case against Larkin and Lacey, including when the defendants discovered an internal DOJ memo stating flat out that Backpage was helpful, rather than harmful, in the fight against sex trafficking.  The DOJ successfully got the court to say that they couldn’t use that in their defense

His family made this statement in the paper he co-founded:

…Jim fought for voices and issues ignored by society.  He fought against police brutality, he fought for immigrant rights and, above all, he fought tooth and nail for free speech.  He wasn’t afraid to pick up the unmovable boulders of our society and shine light on the corruption beneath.  While many publishers abandoned journalistic principles in the face of pressure and harassment, Jim stood fast and fought for the truth…

But it’s Michael Lacey’s comments which are, unsurprisibly, the most poignant:

I never saw my friend do a dishonest or dishonorable thing in his entire life.

I had a four-decade friendship with a wonderful man.

Now I have only his memory.

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Arresting people for sex work is not going to get them out of sex work.  –  Arlene Mahoney

If Men Were Angels

This “youth pastor” appears to have an oddly specific fetish:

A [typical and representative South Carolina] youth pastor is facing nearly 60 charges…Daniel Kellan Mayfield [set up hidden cameras] in June of 2021…[to record] a bride and her bridal party…[in] changing rooms at Gowensville First Baptist Church…[he did the same thing] in September of 2021…in a bedroom at [a different] wedding venue and…[committed] a similar [viol]ation…in April of 2019 at [still another] wedding venue…

Lack of Evidence (#508)

While other cities back away from these medieval laws, Phoenix doubles down:

…“manifesting an intent to commit or solicit an act of prostitution”…in Phoenix [is]…a crime with a mandatory sentence of at least 15 days in jail…more than 450 people…have been charged with manifestation of prostitution over the past eight years.  The…unconstitutional [ordinance]…allows…wearing provocative clothing to be used as grounds to [arrest] someone.  In 2014, the city’s prosecution of Monica Jones under the ordinance drew national outcry…But Phoenix has not stopped using [it, and]…the majority of those charged were Black…An attorney who has represented people charged with manifesting prostitution offered a blunt assessment of the city prosecutions in an interview: “You’re being prosecuted because of what you’re wearing”…

Shifting the Blame (#700)

I wonder if we’ll ever hear about a connection between this guy and disgraced former Police Chief James Burke?

Suffolk County cops ignored a key tip in the grisly Gilgo Beach murders case for over a decade — and had a general description of the suspect and a make and model of car he drove which they failed to act upon for 13 years.  It was only when a new task force went back over evidence in the case and reinterviewed a pimp that the clues pointed to Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect who is now charged with three counts of murder.  The crucial tip came from the pimp for Amber Lynn Costello, one of three women…killed by Heuermann in 2010.  He was interviewed by cops soon after the murders and identified the killer as a bulky “ogre” [Heuermann is 6’6″ and weighs about 270#] who drove a distinctive Chevrolet Avalanche when last seen with the victim.  It was only when ex-NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison took over as Suffolk County police commissioner last year and reopened the case that the dots started to get connected…

Monsters (#895)

Violence against a marginalized group never stays limited to that group:

Michelle Dionne Peacock…was a 59-year-old Black cis woman who was…murdered by 67-year-old Tommy Wayne Earl in Richmond, Indiana in June…Earl [slit her throat] with a straight razor and…[told cops] Peacock [w]as “a male acting like a woman” several times…In a separate incident, 32-year-old Colin Smith was stabbed to death in Portland, Oregon on July 2.  He had been out with coworkers at…[a] bar when 24-year-old Rahnique Jackson started harassing one of [them for being]…trans.  When Smith tried to intervene, Jackson…stabbed him to death…

The Clueless Leading the Hysterical (#1316)

Any hospital visit in which the patients admits to or tests positive for cannabis is listed as “marijuana-related” regardless of the reason for the visit:

Over the past few years, marijuana use has been [reported by] more young people in…hospital…according to a new study by the…CDC…cannabis-related emergency department visits increased overall among kids, teens, and young adults…The rise in cannabis-related emergency department visits, however, does not…mean that kids are consuming more marijuana.  According to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey, marijuana use among 8th to 12th graders from 2019-2022 either decreased or remained approximately level…this [most likely] mean[s] that young people are…more…[likely to] report…cannabis use during ED visits [due to decreasing stigma against cannabis, one of the safest drugs known]…

Since there is no known LD50 for THC, prohibitionists are desperate to invent new evidence-free reasons for banning it.

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1331)

Since doctors keep mocking cops’ fentanyl hysteria, they’re looking for new bogeydrugs:

Five Los Angeles [cops] were rushed to the hospital [in a ludicrous display of cop theater]…after [they saw] methamphetamine while [invading someone’s home]…They were all reportedly [having panic attacks despite the fact that there is no such thing as “methamphetamine exposure”]…

Served Cold (#1340)

Ballard’s increasingly-bizarre antics have apparently upset his partners in profiteering:

Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, has quietly parted ways with the [highly-unethical rescue industry] group.  The news comes as Sound of Freedoma heavily fictionalized depiction of Ballard’s work for a division of ICE and his early career as a [“sex trafficking”] pr[ofiteer]…continues to [flounder] at the box office.  The movie has brought in just under $50 million, largely on the strength of a [scammy] marketing campaign…buying [up] tickets [to make the movie look far more successful than it actually is]…In recent days, sources with knowledge of OUR…[say] Ballard had…gone to donors in a state of upset, saying that he’d been forced out and asking for their help with a new organization…

 

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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Sex workers…should have access to the same legal mechanisms to enforce their agreements as any other service provider.  –  Jessica Rose

The Prudish Giant (#1104) 

The headline writer omitted the word “temporarily”:

A days-long ban by Instagram on dozens of kink and sex-positive creators [has been] lifted [for now]…Those impacted by the bans, which lasted from June 22 to June 28, still…[somehow can’t understand why the compulsively-censorious Facebook, which owns] Instagram…blocked [their accounts again as it did two and a half years ago], and [naively expect] explanations of how those involved in the sex-positive community can safely interact on [the] platform…without [being lumped in with those dirty, bad sex workers Facebook has repeatedly censored for years without a peep from the “sex positive community”]…

Property of the State (#1133) 

Pregnant women & new mothers are uniquely vulnerable to state coercion:

…in 2016…Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act…[which] included a one-word change to…federal law…requir[ing] newborns vaguely identified as “affected by” illegal drugs to be flagged to child protective services.  In this new iteration, [politician]s removed the word “illegal”…[so] hospitals…were required to [snitch to pigs] any time a newborn was “affected by” any substance, legal or [otherwise]…Many [states] responded by expanding child abuse reporting requirements to include the use of prescription medications during pregnancy…States such as Arizona…doubled down on investigations…women [have been] reported after taking antidepressants, anxiety and ADHD medications, and even over-the-counter cold medicine…some…were reported after testing positive for the fentanyl in their epidurals.  States are even less forthcoming about how many…newborns are [abducted under this pretext]…

Whither Canada? (#1256)

I’m happy to have been proven wrong about her chances:

A Halifax sex worker has won her small claims court case over an unpaid fee from a client in what her advocates say is a huge step toward strengthening the rights of all sex workers…On Jan. 26, 2022, Brogan Sheehan…[agreed] to provide companionship services to a man named Bradley Samuelson…at a rate of $300 per hour.  Seven hours…later…after [a great deal of hassle]…he finally paid her $300, leaving a balance of $1,800…Samuelson [bizarrely] argued that a contract for sexual services is not enforceable in law because it’s an illegal contract…[but adjudicator Darrel] Pink ruled that the contract was enforceable…because sex work is not illegal, [therefore] it follows that normal commercial law benefits afforded by civil law should be available to sex workers…Samuelson voluntarily hired her, agreed to pay for her services and communicated intent to pay…[he] was ordered to pay Ms. Sheehan $1,800 plus interest and costs, which he did on May 24.  Ms. Sheehan said she’s relieved and proud that the victory now clears the way for other sex workers to seek a legal remedy when clients refuse to pay, which happens often…

To Molest and Rape (#1278)

It’s rare that a rapist cop stops at only a few victims:

A [typical and representative] Philadelphia [cop] already [caged] on child sex assault charges is now charged with dozens more sex crimes that stem from his [long career as a rapist cop]…Patrick Heron…has [been]…charged…in 19 new cases…from 2005 to 2019…the 233 new counts…include kidnapping, [anal rape, child molestation, rape, witness intimidation]…sexual assault, child sexual abuse, indecent assault, and [rape of a caged woman]…

I Spy (#1315)

When it comes to surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Numerous government agencies, including the FBI, Department of Defense…[NSA, and] Treasury Department…have purchased vast amounts of U.S. citizens’ personal information from commercial data brokers…a partially declassified…report released on June 9…shows the breathtaking scale and invasive nature of the consumer data market and how [it] directly enables wholesale [unconstitutional] surveillance of people.  The data includes not only where you’ve been and who you’re connected to, but the nature of your beliefs and [highly-flawed] predictions about what you might do in the future…[this] information, coupled with the now-ubiquitous decision-making a[lgorithms]…like ChatGPT, significantly increases the threat to privacy and civil liberties by giving the government access to sensitive personal information beyond even what it could collect through court-authorized surveillance…

Thou Shalt Not (#1347)

Crypto-moralists believe people enjoying something is enough reason to declare it “unsafe”:

“The dose makes the poison.”  That’s always what you have to bear in mind when you hear any claim about whether some substance…is “toxic”, or even “causes cancer”.  Many “poisons” only do…harm at very high concentrations, and even water can be toxic if you drink enough…the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is about to declare that aspartame…is “possibly carcinogenic” …[despite being] repeatedlydeclared safe by multiple health authorities over the years after dozens of studies…the IARC [has]…four categories…Group 1 is things they think definitely cause cancer.  Group 2A is things that are “probably carcinogenic”.  Group 2B is “possibly carcinogenic”.  And Group 3 is “not classifiable”.  Aspartame isn’t currently…on the list, but [IARC wants]…to add it to Group 2B…[along with] aloe vera…working as a carpenter…joiner…[or] dry cleaner…[and] pickled vegetables…Group 2A…[includes] red meat…working night shifts…[and] drinking hot beverages…At a certain level, all of these things might be hazardous to our health – but what is that level?…

You Were Warned (#1351)

It’s too bad politicians don’t always end up with egg on their faces after issuing stupid authoritarian diktats:

Google has followed [Facebook] in announcing it will block Canadian news content from its search engine in Canada after [Canadian politicians refused to back down from foolish demands it pay for the “privilege” of linking to other websites]…The Liberals say the law is meant to end tech titans’ dominance of the digital advertising market [by reversing the centuries-old traditional advertising relationship (where companies pay to have their products advertised in mass media) via magical proclamation]…platforms would face fin[es on top of the extortion fees] for failing to [dance in the way politicians demand, so the only way for these companies to win is not to play]…

 

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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Won’t somebody please actually think of the children?  –  Elizabeth Brown

Panopticon (#1001)

The “security” system that isn’t:

Amazon will pay $30 million in fines to settle allegations of privacy violations related to…its Ring video doorbell and Alexa virtual assistant services…Ring…grant[ed] access to private videos to its employees and contractors.  It also allegedly neglected to implement basic privacy and security measures, allowing hackers to gain control of consumers’ cameras and videos by breaching their accounts…”Ring gave every employee—as well as hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors—full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function”…[one] Amazon employee viewed thousands of video recordings of female users in private spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms over several months.  This incident went unnoticed by the company’s security team until another employee discovered and reported it…

Thought Control (#1277)

It’s always nice to see authoritarian fanatics hoist with their own petard:

The Bible has been removed from all elementary and middle school libraries throughout the Davis School District [in Utah] after someone c[orrectly pointed out that it contains material now considered grounds for censorship in Utah.  Hypocrites responded by filing]…a[n] appeal to the ruling…asking for the district to retain the Bible in all district schools…[despite its considerable] vulgarity [and] violence…[the complaint] not[ed] that the Bible includes mentions of incest, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation and rape, among other things…

Torture Chamber (#1278) 

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

Rikers [Island] officials [lied, claiming one of their victims] had suffered a heart attack…[when in actuality] an autopsy shows that he had a fractured skull…Joshua Valles was [told “Stop faking!]…when he complained to s[crews] about head…[pain resulting from the fracture]…court monitor Steve Martin..learned that…Valles [had been fatally assaulted] not from the Department of [Locking Humans in Cages], but from an external source.  Pressed on what had happened, DOC staff [simply lied]…Commissioner Louis Molina…[even] urged [Martin] to [support the lies about] what happened to Valles…the endemic violence of Rikers Island…was deemed so severe in the federal lawsuit that gave rise to the monitorship eight years ago that it constitutes a violation of the constitutional rights of the people [locked up] there…

You Were Warned (#1288)

It’s a relief to see the courts sending so many ambulance-chasers packing:

The Supreme Court [has] declined to take up a case from a [soi-disant] victim of sex trafficking who [tried to use FOSTA] to [get a big payout from] Reddit…[because her former boyfriend posted videos of them having sex when she was slightly under 18]…The [attempt] was the latest targeting…section [230, hoping to destroy the open internet in pursuit of personal profit]…Earlier this month, the court [protect]ed Google and Twitter [from similar nuisance lawsuits by] preserving…Section 230 [from castration in the name of a bogeyman, though in that case it was]…terroris[m rather than “sex trafficking”] …“There are other important big tech cases in the pipeline, but this seems to confirm that the justices aren’t going to come back to Section 230 anytime soon,” [law professor Steve] Vladeck said…

The Last Shall Be First (#1318) 

Politicians don’t care how much public money they waste defending asinine culture war theater:

U. S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker…[has] declared Tennessee’s anti-drag Adult Entertainment Act to be unconstitutional…A…Memphis based…theatre company, Friends of George’s, had sued the state of Tennessee…[because] the law [is] unconstitutional under the First Amendment.  In April Judge Parker ordered a temporary injunction halting the…law…hours before it was set to take effect[, saying:]  “If Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the constraints and framework of the United States Constitution…”

Dangerous Speech (#1329)

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less’.

U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa denied a defense motion asking her to dismiss the five-year-old criminal case against veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin…[because] the U.S. Department of Justice [is] talking out of both sides of its mouth, with the DOJ insisting on one interpretation of the U.S. Travel Act before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, while arguing for a looser application of the same law in Phoenix against Lacey, Larkin and four co-defendants…

You Were Warned (#1344)

When the Unsinkable Liz Brown does a deep dive on some species of tyranny, there’s no way for me to adequately choose a pull-quote to feature here, so I’m just going to advise you to read her latest, on attempts to undermine free speech, destroy the internet and expose all private communications to the probing snouts of cops under that venerable excuse for tyranny, “THE CHILDREN!!!™” and tell you that it covers KOSA, EARN IT, STOP CSAM, age verification lawsTikTok bans, and much more.

 

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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I can’t breathe.  –  Ivan Gutzalenko

There are many popular Tina Turner songs I could’ve chosen to honor her passing, but instead I decided to use one most of my younger readers may be unfamiliar with.  The links above the video were provided by Anarres Ansible; Cop Crisis; Phoenix Calida; Scott Greenfield; Dan Savage & Franklin Harris; Lenore Skenazy; and SWOP-USA, in that order.

From the Archives

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

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You have to physically take their phones…because [otherwise]…they’re just too tempted to play chess.  –  Justine Wewers

One of the great things about the internet is that it’s a lot easier to share fan-made films than it used to be; here (just in time for May Eve) is a funny little Lovecraft video from creators we’ve seen here before; next week I’ll share another one.  The links above the video were provided by Clarissa, Mike Siegel (x2), Radley Balko, and Cop Crisis (x2).

From the Archives

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

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My…children were the real victims in this whole fiasco.  –  Melvin Quinney

Absolute Corruption

In about 20 or 25 years, you’ll start hearing news stories like this about victims of “sex trafficking” hysteria:

With a few strokes of a pen, Judge Christine Del Prado dismissed the case against 74-year-old Melvin Quinney…in the same court that 32 years ago had [wrongfully] convicted [him] of indecency with a child and sentenced him to 20 years…Quinney…spen[t] eight years in Texas prisons, [was] forced…to register as a sex offender and saw his four children [condemned]…to the foster care system.  Now that same court [has admitted] that abuse never took place.  It was all based on a lie — stemming from…satanic ritual abuse [hysteria]…Quinney’s now deceased ex-wife Debra along with [incompetent and evil] therapists pressured his nine-year-old son John Parker…to testify that his father molested him…in a satanic cult and that he had seen children murdered…“Whenever I had any doubts that something happened, I was told by the therapist that this was because I had multiple personalities, that my dad had programmed me this way,” Parker said…[when he] recanted his testimony as an adult, and worked to clear his fathers name…“Instead of getting help with the real mental problems she was experiencing, [my mother] was persuaded and kept mentally ill with pseudoscience and superstition”…

Policing for Profit

Cops will never stop doing this as long as the state keeps giving them pretexts:

A woman [has filed] a federal lawsuit [against] Kansas City, Missouri…[cops who] kicked in her front door, [ransack]ed her home…and [stole over] $20,000.  Monecia Smith [said]…a man she did not know knock[ed] on the front door of her house at 12:17 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2020.  Smith got out of bed, checked her video surveillance and saw the man had been shot.  She did not open the door.  A [cop] came to her house within the next two days and…[demanded] her…surveillance [recording, but she was understandably]…worried for her safety…[and so] told the detective he could not come to her house alone…[apparently he viewed this as “contempt of cop” and so sent a SWAT] team…to [her] house [armed with] a search warrant on January 15, 2020…Smith was not home [so the cops]…kicked open the front door….[stole her entire] video surveillance system…caused extensive damage to her home…[and] personal property and [stole] $20,000…

I wonder how long it will be before people realize that these surveillance systems are a liability rather than an asset?

To Molest and Rape

Cops really believe they’re above the law:

[A London cop named] Ireland Murdock…was found guilty of raping a woman and is awaiting sentence…the victim…[made the mistake of allowing Murdock] some consensual sexual activity, [but he] deliberately took things further than she allowed, and she pled for him to “stop” but he did not…She…[had] to change her bedsheets because of the blood.  After the victim reported [him]…he looked her up on [the cop computer] system…despite having no legitimate reason to do so. He has been charged and convicted for this as a separate offence…

Dutch Threat (#1241)

The Dutch scheme to Disnify De Wallen is no longer merely a scheme:

New rules for sex workers [went] into force on April 1…requiring Amsterdam’s sex work businesses to close their doors at 3 a.m. rather than 6 a.m. to combat what local authorities describe as nuisance behavior by people visiting the red-light district.  The reduced hours come amid an ongoing campaign by the city council to [forc]e sex workers into an “erotic center” outside the heart of the city [where they will get far less business]…the reforms…are [already] increasing stigma…[against sex workers, who] are being…used as a scapegoat for the city’s problem with mass tourism…Felicia Anna…of Red Light United…says the reduced business hours will drastically reduce income for window workers, leaving many barely able to cover expenses… “Most of the workers start to work after 12 or one o’clock in the morning, when the bars start to close down…Now you have maybe two hours to make any money, which is not enough”…

Thought Control (#1268)

Just keep plunging that ice pick in; the bad thoughts will go away eventually:

Missouri House Republicans voted to defund all of the state’s public libraries, in…[retaliation for] a recent lawsuit filed against the state…by the ACLU of Missouri on behalf of the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association…seek[ing to overturn an]…unconstitutional…[law] that has resulted in over 300 books getting banned from school libraries…[for offending Christian fundamentalists]…“Library funding is guaranteed in the MO constitution,” the [MLA] wrote on Twitter.  “This tactic, meant to bully MLA into submission, instead directly harms public libraries who rely on those funds, especially the smaller, more rural libraries”…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1309)

Since doctors keep mocking cops’ fentanyl hysteria, they need to invent new bogeydrugs:

A [whiny baby Arizona cop] had a [panic attack after he made a pretext stop of a driver on]…I-10…He…searched the car [without a warrant] and found cocaine, fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, and three ounces of a gray, rock-like substance. [He immediately panicked, causing him to]…start…feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and his heart began to race.  [Unlike most cops, he appears to have some small degree of self-control and calmed himself down without placebos or medical theater]…Investigators then sent the gray substance to be tested…and it was discovered the drug was a new street drug called “gray death”…reportedly a mix of fentanyl and other powerful opioids[, none of which has any effect from casual contact]…

Of course, given the lack of a name, photo, or medical record for Deputy Dawg, the sheriff may have just made the whole thing up.

To Molest and Rape (#1330)

They’re trying to pretend this one isn’t typical and representative by calling him a “trainee”:

A…co[p] has been arrested for…raping a seven-year-old girl in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand…on [April 8th]…the girl was alone at home, and the accused took advantage of the situation…[she told her] parents [when they got home and]…a medical examination…confirmed [she had been raped]…

 

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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