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Posts Tagged ‘censorship’

Freedom from persistent, dragnet-style surveillance while in public…is a reasonable expectation.  –  Judge Sara E. Hill

Bad Girls

At least this report doesn’t pretend she was a real sex worker:

A woman who admitted to drugging and robbing four men, killing three of them, in New York City was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison…Tabitha Bundrick…would give the men the drugs, sometimes claiming it was cocaine…[then] take their phones, money, watches, clothing, and other items.  Mario Paullan…Miguel Navez…and Abrihan Fernandez Rodriguez…[all] died…[and] Bundrick…[also kept] the victims’ sneakers…in…her apartment[, apparently as trophies]…she…[blamed] her conduct…[on] “drug addiction”…

No Escape

Your “leaders” refer to aggravated rape as “correction”; parroting that is a choice:

A Utah woman [who] was [pepper-sprayed,] drugged[, kicked repeatedly in the head] and raped by [deranged screws inside Nashville’s] Downtown D[unge]on…[has filed] a [federal] lawsuit…Lisa Travis, a school administrator from Salt Lake City, visited Nashville on Oct. 7, 2025, to sing at the Dove Awards…[she] was booked…on [a bogus] trespassing [charge which] the prosecutor later dismissed…[but while in the holding cell another woman tried to cause trouble so] four [pigs] — Brandon Davis, Viniece McBride, Jacob Webb and Louis Bulivant…in[vaded the cell to]…threaten…and [brutalize]…her…McBride then…“saturat[ed her] eyes, mouth and nose with [pepper spray, blinding]…her…for hours…[they then] pushed her onto the floor…restrained her legs…[and dragged her] to another, more isolated part of the jail, where the[y] injected her with [such a large dose of] benzodiazepines…a blood test [could still detect them] nearly a week later…two [of the screws, whom she could not see because of the effects of the pepper spray]…began to kick [her repeatedly] in the head…then…raped her…at 3:30 a.m…they [threw] her out of the back door in her socks [without allowing her to call anyone]…forc[ing her] to wander alone, still disoriented and traumatized, around downtown…[she eventually] found her husband at their hotel, then went to [a hospital where]…she received a rape kit [and was diagnosed with a concussion and traumatic brain injury from the kicking]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1586)

Ken Paxton doesn’t care how many children die because of his actions:

Ken Paxton, the [psychopath-]general of Texas and [a serial lawsuit abuser]…has [now] accused doctors, drug companies and insurers of [“]conspiring[“] to…[protect] children…from…[dangerous diseases by vaccination.  Following his usual modus operandi, the criminal Paxton has begun by attempting to intimidate his victims by official-looking letters making sweeping demands for confidential medical records he is not legally authorized to see under the bizarre excuse of “]consumer protection[“]…Paxton[‘s attempted victims include not only Texas]…pediatricians [individually, but also] the American Academy of Pediatrics…[his motive appears to be not only the promotion of the] Trump[ist cult in general, but also retaliation for]…the…Academy[‘s suing]…the Trump [regime over its dangerous policies] and grant cancellations, with some success so far…

Walled Garden (#1636)

I’m afraid judgments like this are too little, too late:

Utah’s [attempt to enact a de facto ban] on VPNs and similar tools…intended to allow internet users to bypass censorship, firewalls, and surveillance…[has been kneecapped by a federal court.  Wannabe censors] have discovered that tools effective for bypassing Chinese and Iranian censorship are equally useful for evading restrictive laws imposed by the European Union, Brazil, or Utah.  Britain briefly considered targeting VPNs but dropped the idea…of banning technology designed to be unbannable…In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs [ex]plained that the state’s requirements that age verification be applied to all internet users present in Utah…would require them “to age-verify every user of its platforms throughout the world” on the off-chance that they’re Utah residents…Utah’s attorneys [pinky-swore]…not…to…actually…enforce…the law…[but Judge David] Barlow [didn’t buy it, and]…issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the “actually located” provision…

Panopticon (#1661)

Judge rules that unconstitutional surveillance is unconstitutional:

…the tide is turning against Flock…an[d other]…ALPR…system[s] in pervasive [and unconstitutional] use around the country…a federal court in Oklahoma granted a woman’s motion to suppress evidence found in her car after a [Flock] search that was conducted [purely because she had California license plates]…Judge Sara E. Hill…reject[ed] previous court holdings that…automated license plate reader systems are not “searches” for Fourth Amendment purposes…A right not to be subjected to “dragnet-style surveillance while in public…is the same expectation of privacy that the Supreme Court has continued to recognize,” she adds, citing…[the court’s rejection of geofence warrants in] Chatrie v. United States…On September 28, the jury on a federal case out of San Antonio held that…[“pre-crime”] policing…involving…pretextual traffic stops [i]s unconstitutional…

The Cop Myth (#1664)

In which intimidation is euphemized as “talking” and a victim is dysphemized as “the offender”:

A…Chicago [cop attempted to murder a whole group of young] people [because] one [got tired of his big talk and slapped him]…the [pig was not wearing his magical clown costume, but]…when he s[aw a]…group [of teenagers] standing on the sidewalk [he couldn’t resist playing the big cheese by swaggering up to them and barfing cop intimidation talk at them]…when [one of the teens got tired of it he foolishly slapped the big-mouthed cop, who flew into an unhinged rage and shot both] the [teen who slapped him]…and…another [young man who was merely] standing [nearby.  His typical cop cowardice then kicked in, so]…he…drove a short distance away and [then got]…out and [started] firing…at [every person he could see.  The first victim]…was [arrested and] transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition.  The [deranged cop, whose identity is being hidden by his gang, is still at large and presumed to be armed and dangerous]…

To Molest and Rape (#1676)

Cops shouldn’t be allowed anywhere legal minors even might be:

A Houston-area family is suing a [typical and representative cop for raping a 13-year-old]…Nicholas Burbridge…[used] an online dating app called “Pure”…[while] pretend[ing] to be a 16-year-old…to [groom] the…girl…[then] picked her up and t[ook] her to his residence…[where he] gave [her] edibles from a dispensary, which [because she was] 13…[and had no tolerance caused her] to [eventually pass out, after which he raped her]…Burbridge’s attorney, Cordt Akers, [called the girl a liar and claimed she is motivated by]…”money to be made”…Harris County [apparently believes otherwise because]…Burbridge was [fir]ed on March 6…

 

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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Mass surveillance violates fundamental rights, even when it is laundered through fragmented systems, private companies, and regional task forces.  –  Cris van Pelt

To Molest and Rape

They usually try to make this sound like the rapist was doing his victims a favor:

A [typical and representative] Raleigh [North Carolina cop named]…Tremale Cogdell…[was] charged [last October]…with [several status offenses due to his repeatedly stopping] fe[male motorists and threatening them with criminal charges unless they submitted to rape]…Later [that month], Cogdell was [also] charged with five counts of soliciting prostitution for [raping five sex workers]…from Aug. 1, 2025, to Sep. 15, 2025.  [Due to a series of shenanigans his arraignment was put off for almost a year, and when it was finally held on September 30 he said all his victims wanted it]…

Charging cops with “soliciting prostitution” instead of rape is a very typical way for prosecutors to let rapist cops off easy when their victims are sex workers.

I Spy (#1434)

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

Northeastern University researchers collaborated with Consumer Reports to take a look at the data [modern] vehicles are collecting and…who it’s shared with.  The study…cover[ed] 19 brands sold in the U.S., along with companion applications…such as HondaLink, MyNissan, and myCadillac….[for] model years…2022 to 2025…the researchers found…that privacy is…nonexistent when drivers own and drive a connected vehicle…the cars and their apps [send] data…to…Google…Amazon, Spotify, Microsoft, and…Facebook…[then] to…Yahoo…Comcast, [Twitter], Disney, Nielsen…Nextdoor…Pinterest, Reddit, Docusign, Dun & Bradstreet, and a…survey…[company named] Press Ganey…VINs…[are shared and linked with] your location, e-mail address, and phone number…The [worst] offenders were Honda, Nissan, [Ford], and…GM…

Feudalism Redux (#1561)

“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”  –  George Santayana

[Psychopaths-]general from Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas have filed two sweeping lawsuits targeting dozens of providers who ship abortion pills…One suit, filed against New York, Massachusetts, and California, asks the U.S. Supreme Court to end shield laws—which would allow the [anti-autonomy] states to extradite abortion providers.  The second suit, which names 30 providers, organizations, and pharmacies, seeks injunctions, damages—and [moronically] threatens RICO claims…Louisiana’s Liz Murrill has long been…[spouting the bizarre] claims made in the suits…including lies about abortion ‘coercion’, bogus studies on mifepristone’s safety, free speech attacks, and fetal personhood.  There’s also a new, troubling push for…“complete identification of the individuals…to whom [providers] prescribed and dispensed abortion drugs” [so the patients can be prosecuted]…

Should SCOTUS foolishly allow this, precipitating the biggest crisis in federalism since the 1960s, discreetly-packaged pills sent from overseas by telehealth services like Women Help Women will still be available unless the regime decides to stop all mail from outside the US.

Torture Chamber (#1586)

This will never stop until each and every jail death results in criminal charges:

The Clayton County [Georgia] Medical Examiner’s Office has classified a…[prisoner]’s death as a homicide, finding that medical neglect and uninhabitable conditions at the jail contributed to a fatal bacterial infection.  Scott Clyde Worthy…died…on Sept. 6, 2025, after he was [finally] taken…to…hospital…[after being un]able to get up [for days]…[due to] “complications of Streptococcus pyogenes sepsis”…Worthy had been [locked up for six months for saying words cops didn’t like]…

I’m sure they helpfully yelled “Stop faking! at her as she died:

Representatives of Atiyana Willis’ estate [have] filed a federal civil rights lawsuit…a[gainst screws who] ignored her requests for medical assistance and [left her to die in a cage]…Greene County [Arkansas] Sheriff Brad Snyder [tried to escape culpability by firing] nine jail employees following…[the] 18[-year-old’s wholly preventable death]…Willis…repeat[ly] request[ed] help…[but screws simply ignored her until she died].   The lawsuit cites two earlier Greene County jail deaths — Garrett Lee Evers in 2019 and Marshall Price in 2022 — as evidence that county officials had [long known their incompetence was killing people]…

Panopticon (#1667)

Local politicians’ virtue-signaling is powerless against the fascist panopticon:

The Trump [regime] is using an anti-drug trafficking grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the country to funnel their ongoing [unconstitutional] collection of automated license plate reader data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under [imperial] jurisdiction…[all goons need to do is point at any camera while barfing the magical phrase] “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area”…to [force] local cop…[shops to hand over feeds from their] Flock, Axon, and other ALPR cameras…[it is] aggregate[d] on federal government servers, where it is then accessible to [cops shops, spook houses, goon squads and other violent gangs]…including those who may not have contracts themselves with the ALPR companies…without any…oversight [at all].  HIDTA falls under the jurisdiction of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy…

Eavesdropping (#1677)

All the intrusive surveillance of Facebook, now packed in a baby rattle:

[Facebook’s] new [chatbo]t, Muse, has become a viral hit…with millions [of marching morons]…connecting it to [their] bank accounts…[and] health data…multiple researchers have extracted Muse’s internal files…providing a glimpse of how the system was built and behaves…it…create[s] “a page for every person in the user’s life [without the target’s consent]”…compiling data on family, partners, friends, colleagues…and…[even strangers on the internet.  Security researcher Karan] Joshi [says]….“They’re trying to know you like a friend, which is honestly pretty creepy”…

Stalkers in Blue (#1677)

It’s almost like the Founders knew what they were doing when they enacted obstacles to government spying:

Pinellas County [Florida has] arrested two of its own deputies on felony charges…[for] abus[ing] official databases — in[cluding]…automatic license plate reader data — to…[stalker sexual prey.  Pig] Travis Stanton used…databases to [stalk] a 17-year-old girl met at the restaurant where she worked…[and] Carl Gwynn…[used the ALPR] database some 300 times to track the car of a woman he [lusted after]…The investigation into Stanton began when the teen girl complained to the sheriff’s office…[about his lurk]ing in…the fast-food restaurant where she worked and making her feel uncomfortable [with creepy behavior and comments, then haunting]…the parking lot [of her] high school…Gwynn [was caught when reporters noticed his]…large number of searches…for…a…woman he’d arrested in 2010…he [then quit the cop shop before they could fire him]…

 

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 you watch enough innocent people closely enough, criminals will fall out.  –  Josh Windham

The Punitive Mindset (#1303)

One of the primary goals of US prisons is ensuring that people condemned to their dungeons can never have a normal life ever again:

…the Connecticut Department of [Torturing People Locked in Cages] charge[s] a fee for every day a person spends in prison and then [robs them whenever possible to] collect on that debt…If [one of the state’s] former…[victims] wins the lottery…collects an inheritance or receives certain lawsuit settlements, the state can [steal] up to half the money…[even from] their children, spouses and heirs.  Other states and the federal government have similar laws on the books, commonly referred to as “pay to [be tortured]” statutes, but…Connecticut bills…prisoners [at] one of the highest [rates] in the country…$347 per day…[and] can collect on that debt for up to two decades after people are released from prison…In one such case, Connecticut [abducted a man’s] 1-year-old son [and killed him]…the state [was forced via lawsuit to pay] $2 million to compensate the family for the child’s death, [then stole]…more than $84,000 [of it because he had once been] in prison…[in] numerous cases…people were forced to sell their homes…

To Molest and Rape (#1468)

Rapist cops don’t only target women:

A Ramona [Oklahoma cop named]…Gerald Garrison [was fired and arrested for groping]…and [“]forcible sodomy[” of]…a city employee [who] was riding along with Garrison…in…the p[igmobile].  The…[grop]ing continued after the two entered Ramona City Hall…Garrison [said his victim wanted it]…

Given that this is Oklahoma, it’s more likely he was quickly fired for being queer rather than for being a rapist.

Feudalism Redux (#1518)

Another attempt to reduce all women to serfdom:

…Tennessee’s Underage Abortion Trafficking Act…criminalizes the “recruit[ment]” of a minor for any procedure that “would constitute a criminal abortion” under Tennessee law…[regardless of] where they take place…[the 6th Circuit has now ruled] in favor of abortion rights advocates Rachel Welty and Aftyn Behn by affirming a lower court’s permanent injunction against the recruitment provision.  Welty and Behn advise people in Tennessee…about how to obtain an abortion in out-of-state places where the procedure is legal.  Making this illegal violates the…First Amendment…

Panopticon (#1661)

Cops won’t stop doing this until they’re forced to stop:

A Lexington [Kentucky] couple [was targeted by a cop gang who] surrounded their house…at 4 o’clock in the morning [on September 26.  A spokespig ludicrously characterized this dangerous act of cop theater as]…investigating a road rage incident in which someone reported being assaulted with a deadly weapon.  The [victim] described the [assailant’s] vehicle…as a dark colored Ram 2500…[so cops] used the Flock S[urveillance system]…to [pick]…a dark colored Ram 2500 [at random.  Luckily for Will and Robin Penn, they are white, so the gang did not destroy their house or murder them in a hail of bullets]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1668)

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

Alabama[‘s]…“historic” settlement with TikTok [isn’t merely]…a $100–300 million [extortion]…pa[yout, but also]…one of the most expansive age‑verification and behavioral‑surveillance mandates ever imposed on a social media platform…TikTok must develop machine‑learning models [for]…always‑on…behavioral…deep content…social‑graph…identity correlation…anti‑evasion…[and] activity surveillance…not…only [of] minors…[but of] every Alabama user…device…[and] account…These systems cannot function without continuous monitoring of all users…

Welcome to the Future (#1672)

This ruling is probably too little, too late to stop “pre-crime” policing:

A federal jury…found Bexar County, Texas, liable for systematically violating thousands of Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights for years through a [legalized robbery gang]…On March 16, 2022, Alek Schott was driving home from a work trip near San Antonio, Texas, when…a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office…deputy [inflicted]…an hourlong, unconstitutional fishing expedition [on him, implicitly threatening him with arrest and interrogating him]…while [the pig rooted in his]…criminal history…the[n using a] dog [to manufacture fake “probable cause” to root through his vehicle without his consent by]…gesturing…and signaling toward the dog…when…Schott filed a complaint with the BCSO internal affairs department…[they laughed at him and told him to] “file a…lawsuit”…so he did, untangling a web of pretextual stops…[justified by chatbot-connected] license plate readers…[declaring random victims “]abnormal[“]…

Shame, Shame (#1676)

The excuse-making is almost as nauseating as the electric zombies themselves:

More than a century after her screen debut and decades after her ashes were laid to rest in a Swedish woodland cemetery, [Greta Garbo]’s descendants are ready to c[ash in on her legend any way they can].  Her [corpse] has already been reanimated for a…[ball-bearing] advert for a Swedish industrial company…The practice some [ethical people] call “ghostploitation” has also been used in the case of the [late] actor Val Kilmer…Craig Reisfield, one of three relatives who [mis]manage her legacy, [said]…“I won’t say no, especially [consider]ing [how]…incredibl[y lucrative it will be,] and [since]…Greta Garbo [is dead we needn’t bother with obtaining her consent]”…

 

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 way people of later times view a dark age is…not at all the same as the way people living in such an age view it.  –  “Nightfall”

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live in a dark age, wonder no more; you are in one now, at least the early part of one.  As I wrote last year,

…a dark age is one lacking reliable records, so historians cannot be certain of what actually happened.  Of course, censorship is typically part of that; if a government or religion burns books, anything recorded in those books is not available to future historians…20th century tyrants could never hope to find and destroy every copy of a banned book, film, recording, etc, but when physical media are no longer the norm, universal censorship of a work enters the realm of the possible.  And now that it has become child’s play to flood the world with computer diarrhea presented as fact, even electronic records which somehow escape a purge will be lost in a vast fecal sea, making it difficult for even experts to know what is real.  And if the techlords get their way, there will be a lot fewer experts in the future to attempt it or even care about it…

There is little point in my using the occasion of Banned Books Week to write about this any longer; besides the fact that I’ve written about it every year since 2011 and the old columns are all still there for your perusal should you desire, many news columns every month include items on various forms of censorship.  So this year I’m simply going to call attention to the fact that the book-banners and book-burners are no longer satisfied with the pretense that they merely want to keep “obscene” (defined in whatever fanciful and impossibly-broad way suits them) books and other media from “children” (defined in such a fanciful and impossibly-broad way it includes all high school students and even many university students) everywhere in the civilized world; they are even now attempting to prevent people everyone agrees are adult from seeing any books or electronic media any government anywhere in the world has any objection to, via a combination of banning physical books, internet censorship, mass surveillance, flooding the world with garbage, and enticing the intellectually-lazy majority into never, ever thinking for themselves.  And this combination has the potential to create an age so dark, it will make every previous dark age look like the Enlightenment in comparison.

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[It] basically looks like a baby [rattle].  –  Katie Seaborn

Creepy Coppers (#1568)

It’s likely that flashing is the least of his crimes:  A[n Oregon cop named]…Luis Rivera…e[xposed himself to a woman at a gym and was rewarded with a paid vacation]…

Walled Garden (#1625)

OfCom is trying to rob corporations for being unable to do the impossible:

[The UK censorship bureau] Ofcom [is trying to bleed] Pornhub owner…Aylo [of £18 million, using the excuse that]…the site’s new age checks are [not 100%] effective…[at stopping tech-savvy legal minors] from accessing…content [the UK wants censored]…in May…Pornhub started using a new age verification process [owned by]…Apple [which]…Ofcom…praised…as “a real win for children and families” [until Apple refused to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service which would allow the UK government to access any UK user’s data at will]…Aylo [correctly points out that the “age verification” surveillance regime has effectively driven UK web traffic]…to riskier sites that aren’t following Ofcom’s rules…

A Broker in Pillage (#1629)

Courts regularly pretend there’s a “fuck you, we’re cops” exception to the Takings Clause:

Abigail Trujillo was in the middle of a shift at her job…when Houston [cops decided to use] her car [for target practice, shooting it] dozens of times.  Neither Trujillo nor her Nissan sedan had [done] anything [illegal].  But weeks [later]…attorneys for the city told…Trujillo, a 20-year-old University of Houston student who [is] working a retail job to help pay for college…[to fuck off, adding insult to injury by calling a totaled car she still owes thousands on an] “inconvenience”…

Panopticon (#1671)

“These agencies surveil the public incessantly, but the moment we can watch them back, it’s deemed a security threat”:

…a new map published [on September 23] by a cybersecurity researcher reveals Flock’s nationwide reach is [much] bigger…[than it claims,] show[ing] more than 170,000 cameras, plus more than 130,000 accompanying gadgets…Joshua Michael’s Flock Surveillance Map highlights the locations of…[all] Flock surveillance devices…across the country…Unlike crowd-sourced projects such as DeFlock, which are built on locations submitted by users, the Flock Surveillance Map relies on location data culled from a snapshot, archived by Michael in December 2025, of Flock’s own records…color-cod[ing] each Flock device according to its model…[and including it in a] searchable dataset table…

Eavesdropping (#1673)

If you hated the adult pacifier fad of the ’90s, what about a surveillance rattle?

[Because of] the [ongoing] backlash against…pervert…glasses…Mark Zuckerberg launched a[n]…alternative [designed to trick infantile minds]: the Muse [gewgaw].  With a screen that shows a cutesy little avatar, it has drawn comparisons with Tamagotchis…[and] could fit, like a Labubu, on to a keychain or bag.  But unlike a Labubu, the [built-in chatbot] will have significant capabilities, including the ability to [dri]ve [the owner into psychosis, incorrectly]…answer [questions]…or [give dangerous and possibly deadly medical “advice”]…Joshua Paul Dale…[of] Chuo University in Tokyo [said]…“Everyone hates…[perve]rt glasses.  But if the camera is contained in a charm [nitwits] wear around [their] neck, it shifts the agency [in the minds of those with poor thinking skills].  Suddenly, you’re not recording people.  It’s just a cute little animated avatar looking out on the world”…this [“]companion[“]…tracks with Zuckerberg’s [obsession with] the idea of [a world completely without privacy]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1673)

It’s almost like the Founders knew what they were doing when they enacted obstacles to government spying:

Prosecutors in Marion County, Indiana, [surprising]ly charged five Indianapolis [cops for]…misusing their [unconstitutional warrantless] access to Flock license-plate-reader cameras.  The action comes [only because] The Washington Post highlighted thousands of questionable Flock searches, [embarass]ing the city…The five [pigs] — Michael Rogers, Jonathan Schultz, Cassandra Crawley, Matthew Binford and Abigail Cramer — were all charged…with fraud and…recommended for termination…Flock [is scrambling to design a] tool that automatically scans for…misuse [in an attempt to head off the wave of bad publicity]…

Typical, representative, etc:

A Naperville [Illinois cop] used Flock [ALPRs] to track a girlfriend and her ex-fiance…Oscar Maldonado…[performed the unconstitutional warrantless searches] hundreds of times between June 18, 2025, and Sept. 15, 2025…When the department received a citizen complaint…Maldonado was [rewarded with a paid vacation, but]…ultimately [saw the writing on the wall and] resigned in May [before he could be fired]…When asked why he used Flock [for the unconstitutional warrantless surveillance], Maldonado [moronically barfed]…the [word “]safety[” in the investigators’ faces, apparently assuming they were as naive as the public]…

Panopticon (#1674)

Cops love unconstitutional warrantless surveillance too much to give it up; they’re just switching to less-radioactive surveillance brands:

Durango [Colorado] residents took to the streets…to [protest]…the growing mass surveillance system [based on] automated license plate readers…the…Durango [cop shop thinks people are so stupid they will believe]…its switch [from Flock] to Axon…is [other than a mere cosmetic change]…

It’s not only small cities, either:

The [LAPD’s much-ballyhooed ending of its contract with Flock is in reality merely a misdirection for its new and even worse contract with]…Axon…for [even more invasive surveillance], including new p[igmobile-mounted ALPRs]…and [truth-hiding chatbot report writers.  Spokespig]…Dean Gialamas…[absurdly tried to defend the surveillance expansion by oinking “]public safety[” at reporters]…

 

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 built SparrowMap to give…the watchers a taste of how it feels to be watched.  –  Matthew Montney Jr.

Torture Chamber (#1461)

I’m sure they’ll try to thwart the court order with delays & halfway measures:

A federal judge has ordered Texas to air condition all of the state’s…prison[s]…by the end of 2029…at [present only] a third of the agency’s 104 [dungeons a]re fully air conditioned…[despite summer] conditions in Texas prisons without air conditioning [clearly] violat[ing] the Eighth Amendment [ban on]…cruel and unusual punishment…

Eavesdropping (#1514)

“Shot detection” systems are a boondoggle designed to manufacture false evidence for cops:

Flock…sells a surveillance bundle…called the “Safe City” subscription…[which] includes the much-discussed ALPRs, along with a live video camera—and a gunfire microphone…[intentionally designed to] turn…lawful gun owners into criminal suspects based only on proximity…Cities also have deployed firearm detection systems that rely on [machine learning] to [pretend Doritos bags are guns]…or combine [detected sounds with cops’ editing] to [frame innocent people].  Flock [brags that its]…technology…can…turn…suspected gunfire into a list of nearby vehicles…that sweeps in drivers who had nothing to do with the noise…

Shame, Shame (#1643)

The rise of computerized zombies:

The former chief executive of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s entertainment group has obtained a near-£15m investment for his UK music [scam] that hopes to [make cartoon versions of] classic concerts by ma[king cartoon versions of dead] musicians…[or] “hyper [ghoulish]” digital [cartoons] of living artists who [have] no [scruples about bleeding their fans]…The music industry has long [lusted after] the [ability to exploit popular musicians, who have an annoying habit of dying young]…such as the 2012 [cartoon] of the late rapper Tupac Shakur [which was played] alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre at Coachella festival.  The concept found mainstream success with the 2022 launch of Abba Voyage, a lucrative…con…[featuring cartoons] of the Swedish pop group…Unit1’s aim is to stage shows with real musicians playing live instruments on stage alongside [cartoon characters on]…a high-definition LED screen, which is combined with extra lights, sound and props to give them the illusion they are [in the universe of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]…However, [true] fans have expressed unease about [the memories of] dead musicians [they loved] being [violated in this manner].  Earlier this year, a [scheme] to [dig up the corpse] of the late…Ozzy Osbourne was [recogn]ised as being disrespectful and in poor taste by [true] fans…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1648)

Promoters of dystopia love to vomit words like “safety” into the faces of useful idiots:

The University of Kentucky is installing…facial [recognition] scann[ers]…on several campus buildings.  The technology, [moronically] called Rock, is made by [a company whose name, “]Alcatraz[“, would be panned as too obvious if used by the writers of a dystopian TV show]…Alcatraz…CEO Tina D’Agostin…[argued that key card] technology most campuses use today is [automatically bad because it is] 30 years old…She…[then barfed up a bunch of lies about privacy followed by obfuscatory buzzwords including “]active shooter[” and “]physically assault a female[“]…Three [out] of…four students interviewed on campus [simply stared with a glazed expression and belched either “safety” or “the future”]…

Walled Garden (#1657)

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

The EU Commission draft law to restrict young people’s access to the internet…will put online services behind age gates, expand the use of intrusive age verification, and undermine the privacy of all users.  [Proponents of ] the EU Kids Act [justify it by barfing “]protect children[” in the faces of rational people, but in reality]…age gates…reduce safety…and create barriers to…marginalized groups…this…compliance nightmare…rel[ies] on the [already-failed] EU age verification scheme…parents…who [want to allow their teens to use the internet] must set up accounts and prove that they are, in fact, parents, adding yet another problematic layer of verification…the…design…[appears to be a way to circumvent the fact that] a French court [has already] declared s[ocial media] bans unconstitutional…

To Molest and Rape (#1673)

Some child-molesting cops are indiscriminate in their choice of victims and acts:

[A cop named] Joseph Gallagher Jr…[was arrested on multiple] child sex charges…[for repeatedly] urinat[ing] in [the] mouth [of a 4-year-old boy.  After the child told his teacher, investigation revealed]…Gallagher [had] also…rap[ed] a [10-year-old] girl…in 2021…Gallagher was employed with the East Stroudsburg University Police…[w]here…he…had a history of urinating on campus buildings when he had access to restrooms…

Panopticon (#1674)

“These agencies surveil the public incessantly, but the moment we can watch them back, it’s deemed a security threat”:

Department of [Father]land Security…fusion centers have started monitoring anti-surveillance activists…in[cluding]…online critics of…ALPRs…[and] a website, SparrowMap, that uses ALPR technology to track police vehicles in real time…There is nothing illegal about SparrowMap…[which] processes publicly available livestreams from municipal cameras and footage provided by volunteers using everyday cameras…Volunteers…confirm…anything before it is published as a government vehicle…But the federal government’s desire to beat back the growing wave of “anti-surveillance extremism” will have to contend with the reality that impassioned sentiment opposing [mass] surveillance [is] now a majoritarian position across America.  Politicians from [across the uni]part[y] have scrambled to introduce legislation curbing or eliminating automated license plate readers altogether, at the same time [anti-civil liberties organiz]ations hold secret briefings in Washington attempting to stem the anti-surveillance tide…

The tagline is from this article on cops getting butthurt when pervert glasses are used against them.

 

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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Forcing women to give birth knowing they won’t be bringing a baby home is pure cruelty.  –  Nancy Northup

The Leading Players in the Field, Not (#574)

While Western “feminists” burbled hagiographies of Gloria Steinem, Indian feminists had this to say:

…Gloria Steinem[‘s]…deep and damaging impact on the movement for sex workers’ rights…is one of her most lasting legacies in Southasia…Steinem posited that prostitution – she refused to call it “sex work” – manifests an inherent power disparity between male buyers and female sellers of sex.  In this construct, women are passive, mute and helpless pawns in the transaction, which is understood to be inevitably an act of gendered violence. Speaking on a visit to India in 2014, aged 79, Steinem…told reporters…[that sex work] is a form of “commercial rape”.  It “involves body invasion and so it is not like any other work. So how can you call it sex work? Prostitution is the only word you should use”…

Monsters (#1329)

Monsters typically claim the “right” to persecute sexual minorities by vomiting words like “indecency” at them:

Turkey ha[s] arrested dozens of people…as part of a broad…[campaign against LGBT people, excusing the violence by absurdly barfing the word “]families[” in their faces]…targeting [them especially because they]…are an active part of the political opposition to President [Gollum].  Emma Sinclair-Webb…[a sadly-typical operative of Gay, Inc, threw sex workers under the bus by saying that comparing good, pure, saintly LGBT people to dirty, filthy “]obscen[e” sex workers]…“smears L.G.B.T. people”…[Neither] homosexuality [nor sex work] is…illegal in Turkey, but…[Gollum] has frequently demonized [both groups] and sought to push them out of public life.  The authorities have banned Pride parades…and [criminalized speaking truthfully about sex work, in part because]…Turkey’s…birthrate[, like that of every other developed 21st century country, is sagging, and the government sees its population of tax cattle diminishing.  On September 13 Turkish pig herds]…in Istanbul, Ankara and other Turkish cities [abduct]ed more than 60 people [from] their homes, and raided gay bars and the offices of gay rights organizations.  [The next]…day, scores of demonstrators protesting the detentions were arrested in Istanbul…[and the government] blocked numerous social media accounts belonging to gay rights groups [using laws directly modeled on those the Western world is working to establish]…

Monsters (#1423) 

If you have to ask the State to compel your 17-year-old to submit to your control, you have already lost them regardless of what a court rules:

…the Trump [regime]…is [attempt]ing [to] in[tervene against Massachusetts]…in…the c[ase]…of…Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, who [lost custody of their 17-year old due to two years of violence and threats against]…the [trans teen]…the [Kuzkos characterize their victim as a “]child[“]…who[m they demand be “returned” to them like a piece of property, asserting the]…”parental rights” [to torture the teen for not conforming to their sex at birth]…and…trying to prevent the…teenager start[ing] gender transition medications…Joseph Kutzko was [arrested for] punching and threatening his then-15-year-old [offspring] on Jan. 28, 2025…and…later…threatened to kill the victim “for not singing in tune during a birthday celebration”…[at that time] Kutzko was a[lready subject]…to three prior restraining orders…one of which is permanent…Arlene Kutzko…was charged with witness intimidation after [threatening the teen unless they falsely recanted previous sworn testimony and accepted blame for their own abuse]…the Kutzkos [absurdly claim that their victim, who does not wish to return to their home, only resented chronic abuse because]…high school…“exposed our daughter to teachings on LGTBQ…and topics that conflict with our Catholic beliefs about human dignity”…

As a cradle Catholic, I am unaware of any Catholic doctrine that defines “human dignity” as submission to abuse.

The Red Umbrella (#1477)

As long as sex work is marginalized, sex workers will be targeted for violence:

A Calgary[, Alberta] man [named] Richard Mantha…[was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping and] assaulting three [sex workers]…one of whom he drugged, and another he suffocated and assaulted with a weapon…[he also] threat[ened] a fourth woman…[named] Aimee Ert, [who managed to get away before he could rape her.  Ert voluntarily chose to give up her anonymity] to…help…[convict Mantha]…

You Were Warned (#1491)

The open internet is rapidly becoming a thing of the past:

Late last year, the United Kingdom, France, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and dozens more nations signed the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime, a treaty [purport]ed to improve global cooperation to fight crimes taking place over computer systems.  Canada joined them this summer…[though] the United States…[claims] it is still reviewing the treaty…the treaty opens the door to greater violations of free expression online…[by forcing signatories] to share personal data…about individuals accused of committing…[anything the information-seeking nation chooses to label] a “serious” crime…[defined as any] crime carrying at least a four-year prison sentence [regardless of whether the “crime” is even criminalized in the individual’s own country]…The treaty also…oblige[s] service provider[s] to [hide] government searches…even…from…the [victim of the] surveillance…the treaty could even incentivize governments to enact harsher penalties on expressive acts…[so as] to ensure…inclusion under the treaty…

Enshittification (#1622)  

Scenes from the early days of a dark age:

…Justin…Lachlan…and Brendan Brown…run…a company called Brown Brothers Media…which…has pioneered a remarkably cynical business model.  First it buys online publications that have established themselves as offering a distinctive type of journalism, like coverage of space travel, parenting advice, or business news.  Then it floods their websites with dizzying torrents of [computer]-generated content…in a bid to soak up as many readers as possible…the analytics service Similarweb corroborates the claim that BBM is pulling in vast audiences, estimating…it…has attracted an average of 64.7 million visits per month…substantially higher than…NPR, narrowly besting CBS News and Forbes, and just slightly behind the Washington Post…[but while] NPR [and] WaPo…employ…hundreds or even thousands of journalists…BBM…has cut itself down to a skeleton crew of about a dozen employees, including [the] brothers…BBM has indulged in breathtaking acts of dishonesty…invent[ing] entire fake personas for nonexistent writers…with impressive-sounding bogus credentials…[to attach to a combination of plagiarized articles]…and…100 percent [pure garbage]…

Vulture Watching (#1674)

The only way to stop this evil is to bury politicians in lawsuits:

[Because]…Oklahoma…laws force patients whose “pregnancy will end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an infant shortly after birth” to leave the state if they choose abortion…[several women are] suing over the abortion bans that prevented [them] from receiving care…Oklahoma only allows abortion care to save a patient’s life, [forcing] doctor[s to tell women with non-viable pregnancies]…“to leave the state when [they could] easily [provide necessary] care…in [their] office”…The defendants…are the state attorney general and health commissioner, Oklahoma County’s district attorney, and…the state’s boards for medical licensing and osteopathic examiners…The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and the Center for Reproductive Rights…

 

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 suggestion to “be mindful”…[is] going to prevent absolutely no one from recording others.  –  Chris Hoffman

Policing for Profit

Cops usually make up some pretext, however flimsy, for their robbery schemes:

A [Las Vegas cop named]…Antonio Chavez…and his wife, Claudia Guzman-Marquez…intentionally used their credit cards to purchase expensive items and gift cards in the tens of thousands of dollars…and…the[n]…dispute[d] the charges with the credit card companies, claiming that their wallets…had been stolen.  Chavez even filed a [false] police report…to [back up his scam against]…Capital One…American Express…Citibank and JPMorgan Chase…Chavez admitted…that he conspired with his wife and “a third party in California” in [the] fraud scheme…

Follow Your Bliss (#1169)

People like this are the norm in policing sexual offenses, and always will be:

A [Father]land Security [goon] whose work included child-exploitation cases is now facing nine sex-crime charges [for repeatedly rap]ing a juvenile victim in [Alabama]…Kent Ian Blacklidge is…a [fine example of McNeill’s Law]…“It’s why [his behavior was] so profoundly [predictable]”…said [Maggie McNeill]…

Eavesdropping (#1606)

Another privacy-invading gadget from the usual sociopathic assholes:

Siri Recap is a new Apple Watch feature designed to continuously log everyday conversations and generate c[hatbot] summaries…turning one of the world’s most popular [gewgaws] into a…[surreptitious eavesdropping device, thus]…rais[ing] major privacy and social concerns…Siri Recap is technically optional…for the person wearing the watch.  If someone decides to record you, there’s little you can do to prevent them, short of running away as fast as possible or smashing their watch…many US states require two-party consent, meaning…this feature [is illegal] in states with such laws…Apple [lie]s that Siri Recap won’t upload audio to the cloud…but…the…watch will send captured audio to your iPhone, where it is transcribed…[and uploaded to] Apple’s…servers, where [a chatbot] will generate the final summary…

The Cop Myth (#1626)

Cop shops are so obsessed with hiding the truth about cop violence, initial reports can sometimes be completely misleading:

A [North Carolina cop named]…Nekime Oxendine…[has finally been] charged with [the] murder…of…[another cop named] Adam Bean…[at the] home…of Tara Whitman…[who apparently] had [such a thing for cops she was fucking] both men…Bean [unexpectedly arrived] and was upset to find Oxendine’s truck parked outside…[so] Oxendine walked out[side] and [murdered]…Bean…Oxendine…remains…behind bars with no bond…

The initial reports were so vague I incorrectly concluded that the murderer-cop was the woman, rather than being another boyfriend.  Mea culpa.

To Molest and Rape (#1661)

This one makes extra effort to pretend the child molester was not typical and representative:

A [typical and representative North Carolina cop named]…Leigh Ann Brooks [repeatedly molested]…an…[unidentified child or stepchild of indeterminate] sex…the [typical and representative cop was only atypical in that she is female]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1669)

Warrantless surveillance makes all women prey for cops, including female cops:

A [New York sow named]…Laurie Moore…conduct[ed] more than 4,000 un[constitutional warrantless Flock] searches…[on] her…[ex-]girlfriend…and…four [other people]…hundreds of times each [over the past two years.  Both the sheriff and the DA absurdly bloviated that the epidemic of cops conducting unconstitutional warrantless surveillance cannot be blamed on a surveillance network specifically designed to facilitate unconstitutional warrantless surveillance]…

Welcome to the Future (#1672)

Anthropic goes from pretending to care about safety to persecuting those who really do:

Job postings and interviews with senior security officials at Anthropic show that the f[ascist “]AI[” pusher] is building…an extensive monitoring system to [spy] on activists who oppose [its schemes]…and…implementing a “pre-crime” approach, attempting to…[harass activists by siccing the pigs on them when they haven’t committed any] crime…the…surveil[lance scheme demonstrates that]…the firm’s efforts to cast itself as the responsible alternative to OpenAI [were and are complete bullshit]…Anthropic has begun…routine [copsucking, siccing cops on innocent people by barfing buzzwords such as “]threats[“]…“concerning behavior”…[and] “escalation patterns”…[at them].  Last month…Anthropic was fast to call the cops on a frustrated Claude user…[but] refused to show police [any] actual…evidence of actual wrongdoing…Anthropic’s effort to build a pre[-crime machine appears to be a step toward worming its way back into the military-industrial complex not only for profits, but also so its]…data centers and power supply…[can be] designat[ed as “critical infrastructure” like]…water, electricity, and broadband…Enshrining [“AI” scam promoters] in the hardened cloak of national security would…embolden these companies to shape how federal agencies view threats to their bottom line…[magically] transform[ing their]…oppo[nents into]…[“]extremists[“] or…even…[“]terrorists[“]…

 

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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Surveillance makes all of us less safe.  –  Evan Greer

The More the Better

Anything that helps demystify sex work is a good thing:

It shouldn’t be surprising that sex workers around the country are boning up on firearms education. There’s a long tradition of both armed self-defense and general firearms enthusiasm…within communities that have historically been targeted for violence and oppression.  Organizations like the Socialist Rifle Association, the Sylvia Rivera Gun Club, Yellow Peril Tactical, the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, the Pink Pistols, and Black Girls Shoot! take the activist maxim “we protect us” seriously, and offer their communities tools to do so in a world that doesn’t expect them to fight back…the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) Chicago…announced their first Intro to Concealed Carry course specifically for sex workers.  All 40 spots filled up immediately…

Dangerous Speech (#1496)

Now that the damage is irreversible, the government can afford to grant him an appeal:

…the Ninth Circuit announced that it will hear oral arguments on Nov. 16 in Phoenix concerning one of the most significant First Amendment cases in recent memory — the vindictive prosecution of award-winning journalist Michael Lacey…Federal and state authorities hounded Lacey, the former executive editor of Village Voice Media, and his business partner, the late Jim Larkin, for more than a decade over their First Amendment-protected publication of speech in Backpage.com, the classified advertising website they co-owned…

Eavesdropping (#1611)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpteen:

LG smart TVs are almost constantly logging and uploading data about owners and their homes, even when offline or on standby mode…The…TV sets scan Wi-Fi networks for nearby devices, record audio logs through their microphones, and use audio and video sampling to recognize exactly what you’re watching from [connected devices like DVD players]…and feeding the information back to LG Ad Solutions…the TVs…[even] record…microphone audio when in standby; this continue[s] even after the TV [i]s disconnected from the internet, with audio files stored offline and uploaded once a connection [i]s restored…Automatic Content Recognition…is used by almost every [“]smart[“] TV manufacturer to figure out what you watch…In July…LG monitors [started] automatically installing an app that…ran pop-up ads for LG’s other apps and even McAfee antivirus…[but] public pressure…led to LG disabling the pop-up ads…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1632)

Cops hate it when people turn the tables on them:

…US [cops] are increasingly concerned about the potential for [perve]rt glasses to be used against them…to secretly record [cops]…in the [act] of [committing] crimes and acts of [violence and] terrorism…[cop]s in the US typically [steal or break] any and all devices that would be capable of recording video footage…[but] some [perve]rt glasses have gone unnoticed…[cops, spooks, and goons] want…the exclusive right to use surveillance technology and cameras to monitor the public without those cameras being turned back on them.  “These agencies surveil the public incessantly, but the moment we can watch them back, it’s deemed a security threat,” [said Ryan] Shapiro [of Property of the People]…

Welcome to the Future (#1660)

The dystopian future of Minority Report has arrived:

Border Patrol is running secretive predictive policing units that analyze Americans’ financial activity and other data, then feed that intelligence to local police who pull [innocent] people over…[using bogus excuses in order to attempt to pin manufactured “]crime[s” on them]…The units…are called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT).  In one case, a PITT analyzed the financial activity of a man who was driving across Montana, and [dispatched] local [pigs, who then] stopped him under the pretense of an obstructed license plate and charged him with a DUI…Border Patrol…us[es]…ALPRs…as part of the…program…“genuine probable cause cannot be synthetically generated,” [said] Jake Laperruque…of the…Center For Democracy & Technology…”Border Patrol [is]…using parallel construction to cloak the reason behind its car stops”…

The Cop Myth (#1668)

Domestic violence is never a cop’s sole offense:

A Huntsville [Alabama cop named]…John Holliday was…arrested…[on August 17 for slamming] his wife [to] the ground and [repeatedly] kick[ing] her…[then stealing] her…cellphone wh[en] she tried to dial 911…[the cop shop put him on desk duty and that did not change even]…after h[e was] arrest[ed again] on Sept. 3 for DUI…[but after] he was…arrest[ed a third time for waving a gun around while drunk]…he was [reward]ed with…a p[aid vacati]on…[A spokespig described this as] “tak[ing] allegations of misconduct involving its employees seriously”…

Panopticon (#1671)

Some aspects of the modern dystopia are too odious even for authoritarians:

…the City of Sheboygan…[Wisconsin will]…terminate [its] contract with…Flock S[urveillance after it]…offered to sell the Sheboygan Department of Public Works…five years of data [collected by] the…15 cameras already deployed in the city…in violation of the [contract, which pretends]…the company does not own the data…and [will supposedly] only…retain [it] for 30 days.  Since…their [announcement]…other cities have been following suit….[in] both…Fond du Lac County…and…Winnebago County…

But simply cancelling the contract won’t stop Flock:

Flock S[urveillance blamed a computer for illegally ordering]…the reinstallation of license plate cameras that Grass Valley [California] police had already removed after canceling the city’s contract with the company.  Residents alerted police…after spotting a utility crew replacing [the] cameras at several locations…Flock [claims] its automated maintenance system interpreted the…[removals] as equipment failures and generated replacement work orders…The [cancellat]ion followed months of pressure from residents and privacy advocates…

 

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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Parents should be worried about the long-term cognitive and social effects for both parent and child of constantly talking to and relying on…chatbots.  –  Frank Landymore

Elephant in the Parlor (#1074) 

Politicians hiring male sex workers isn’t much less common than their hiring female ones:

…a chef named Joe Gera, owner of the Pennsylvania-based caterer Keystone Cue…[reported] in late July and early August [that Trumpist politician Josh Hawley hired a male escort at least twice].  However…he…[provided] no evidence, such as photos or videos, to support his story[, which is typical of cases involving sex professionals because of professional discretion]…Hawley’s team [of course denied] the…[report, and are risking the Streisand Effect by threaten]ing a defamation lawsuit…

Snopes fixating on the lack of “proof”, when many a political career has been derailed by similar evidence-free accusations, would be quaint if it weren’t so deeply stupid.  And the statement that Hawley “has three children with his wife”, presented as though it were evidence Hawley never hired a male pro, is only convincing to those who have never heard of McNeill’s Law.

Chauvinism (#1611)

The new excuse for persecuting “undesirables” before the Olympics: “security”:

Researchers estimate that close to 6,000 unhoused people live within a mile of Olympic and Paralympic venues in Los Angeles County, and could be a[ttack]ed by [cops in the name of “]security[“] for the 2028 Summer Games.  That figure…is more than three times…the [official] L.A. County…estimate…which…was attached to an application with the state for $93 million in funding to [pay cops to harass and brutalize the] homeless…Whether the county will receive that money is unclear…

I Spy (#1614)

Another reason totalitarians want to eliminate cash:

The Department of [Father]land Security…subpoenaed [REI] in March, [demand]ing the transaction information for “all persons” in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area who had purchased a specific type of dark green beanie from the company since 2024…The [illegal demands for fascist collaboration] are part of a broader lawsuit by the federal government against 39 people[, including journalists,] who attended an ICE protest at a church whose [“]pastor[“] also worked as an…ICE [goon]…The subpoena to REI was one of 92 sent as part of [the persecution]…Other recipients included social media companies, airlines, telecom providers, a car rental company, and a state employment agency…

I Spy (#1649)

You’ll never go broke selling puritans new ways to immiserate themselves:

T[urn]ing sleep, [eating] and w[alking into bean-counting ordeals] has become [a normal form of self-immiseration] for many [Americans], but food intake [had until now] remain[ed] surprisingly [unexploited by gewgaw peddlers].  ODYSS wants to c[hange] that [by selling]…a…[“]dietary necklace[” to nitwits].  The company describes it as a [tech gewgaw] designed to automatically understand eating behaviour, [allow]ing the [many Americans who can’t do simple arithmetic] to [turn] every meal [into a shaming ordeal].  Food logging apps have attracted more than 300 million registered users…but…the[y are too] difficult [for people who aren’t even able to dependably think for themselves]…The N1 takes a different approach by attempting to [record]…hand-to-mouth movements to identify eating behaviour…The company [lies that]…privacy is a…major part of the device’s design [even though there are many existing technologies which can intercept the signals it sends to a cell phone]…

Mad Libs (#1659)

Conditioning kids to defer to chatbots from an early age:

[Chatbot-worshiping] moms and dads are using the tech for parenting in bizarre and downright dystopian ways that’ll bring out your inner luddite…a cognitive neuroscientist named Sarah Baldeo…programmed [a] chatbot…by uploading screenshots of texts between her and her son, as well as documents outlining her values and family rules…[then] encouraged her son to [defer to] the [chatbot for “]advice[“.  The psychopathic]…Sam Altman recently [“]recommended[“] that parents…could [delegate the dreadful task of actually] talk[ing] to [their] kids…[to] ChatGPT…admitting that he [really doesn’t grasp how to talk to other humans.  Other fools]…are interested in using a…[gewgaw] called Omi that constantly listens in on your daily life…[and can] record…and summarize…conversations that parents have with their child…to [customize spying on them]…

Thought Control (#1662)

Imagine how future historians will view this censorship:

[After a Trumpist stooge]…ruled in favor of censorship…[by] overturning a lower court’s injunction against a law that…exposes librarians to criminal charges if a minor checks out [any]thing [that]…any [Froot Loop anywhere in the world pointed at while barfing out the magic words]…“obscene” or “harmful to minors” [and declares that politicians know more about libraries than librarians]…Arkansas libraries have [been forced]…to [infantilize young adults and censor their collections]…patrons under 18…are [now] prohibited from…check[ing] out materials from the [main] collection, [and are entirely relegated to books appropriate for young children]…

Panopticon (#1670)

Some aspects of the modern dystopia are too odious even for authoritarians:

[Several new Congressional] bill[s] would [put largely-cosmetic limitations on]…ALPRs…illustrat[ing] the bipartisan, trans-ideological nature of the backlash against…[the unconstitutional warrantless surveillance devices], which cities across the country installed without giving much thought to…the [Constitution].  During the last year or so, [useful idiots] across the political spectrum, including…politicians…have belatedly recognized the implications of a nationwide surveillance network that operates without…meaningful supervision of any sort… Civil liberties groups…have been sounding the alarm about ALPR surveillance for years.  But thanks [ironical]ly to…cops…[ab]us[ing] them [so egregiously]…public opinion is starting to reflect those organizations’ concerns…and…157 local governments…have canceled or declined to renew ALPR contracts since the beginning of 2025.  [Mean]while…Flock[‘s]…CEO…dismisse[s] privacy concerns…and…condemn[s] [groups] like DeFlock…which…use[s] crowdsourcing to map…ALPR cameras[, as “terrorist organizations”]…

 

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