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Posts Tagged ‘cops’

We have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing.  –  Dr Paula Cevaal

Monsters

Texas cops are trying to pretend this isn’t hate-motivated:

[Actor] Jonathan Joss…[best known for voicing John Redcorn in King of the Hill, was murdered] while checking the mail at the site of [his] former home…[which] was [intentionally] burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area…[that cops ignored because Joss was gay and lived there with his husband] Kern de Gonzales…while…[there] they found…the skull…of one of their dogs [which had been killed by the same hateful people]…”[While] we [were] crying…a man approached us…yelling violent homophobic slurs”…the[n] raised a gun and [murdered] Joss…the…[murderer], Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja…fled the scene in a vehicle….[but] has [since] been [caught and] booked for murder…

Policing for Profit

If cops weren’t allowed to rob people, there would’ve been nothing to embezzle:

A[n overpaid boss hog for] Hialeah [Florida has been] arrested…fo[r the theft of]…hundreds of thousands of dollars [from the booty his pig herd had stolen from innocent citizens]…Sergio Velazquez…[was boss hog] from 2012 until his suspension in 2021…was [already making] $211,000 annually, [but that wasn’t enough for the gangster lifestyle he wanted.  The theft was discovered by]…the current [boss hog], who discovered [the] discrepancies [while looking for ways he could himself embezzle from the stolen] funds…between 2015 and 2021, Velazquez made more than 900 cash deposits across multiple personal bank accounts, all under $10,000…to avoid federal reporting requirements….and…made over $300,000 in purchases from Rolex…$11,000 at Cartier, $6,700 at Louis Vuitton and $5,000 at Versace…during the final five months of Velazquez’s tenure—from May to October 2021—about $560,000 in [booty was] unaccounted for…

Stalkers in Blue

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

A…Salt Lake City [cop named]…Todd Douglas Goodsell…was charged on May 19 with stalking [his ex-girlfriend after she broke up with him] in November 2024…Goodsell persistently contacted her via phone call, text message, email, and various apps…[even after] she asked him to stop on Jan. 3, then again on Jan. 17 and Jan. 22…he emailed or texted her at least 52 times using 10 different phone numbers, including his work phone, personal phone, and several other numbers…generated through a “VOIP”…website…Goodsell also tried contacting her via Instagram and even Venmo, and…would create new accounts after she would block him…

HIV Cure (#1214)

If one virus can be cured this way, there is hope for others as well:

A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells.  The virus’s ability to conceal itself inside certain white blood cells…means there is a reservoir of the HIV in the body, capable of reactivation, that neither the immune system nor drugs can tackle.  Now researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, have demonstrated a way to make the virus visible, paving the way to fully clear it from the body…researchers have shown…that mRNA can be delivered into the cells where HIV is hiding, by encasing it in a tiny, specially formulated fat bubble.  The mRNA then instructs the cells to reveal the virus…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1532)

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

The owner of Pornhub, Redtube and YouPorn plans to stop serving adult content to French users [who don’t have VPNs], in protest of government measures forcing it to verify the age of its visitors…The French audience is Pornhub’s second-largest in the world, after the United States and ahead of the Philippines, Mexico and the United Kingdom, its own internal 2024 statistics showed

Predictably, VPN downloads soared in France after the block was implemented.

The Cop Myth (#1532)

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

[An Alabama cop named] David Cunningham…[went to a party in] Gulfport [Mississippi]…the homeowner’s dog was accidentally shot at the party, and [Cunningham attacked] the person responsible [and abducted him in his pigmobile.  Local]…deputies responding to [neighbor complaints of gunshots stopped]…Cunningham…and released [his prisoner but did not arrest him because cop.  The sheriff then got angry because an Alabama cop was poaching in Mississippi, so]…a warrant was issued [on Cunningham] for kidnapping…[but he fled to] Orlando, Florida…[where he was caught and arrested, and is now awaiting] extradition [to Mississippi]…

Property of the State (#1540) 

How long will Western society allow cops and prosecutors to terrorize traumatized women?

[A] West Virginia…prosecut[or named] Tom Truman said that a number of [felony] charges…could be levied against a woman who flushes fetal remains, buries them, or otherwise disposes of remains following…a miscarriage…state code bars a woman from facing [direct] criminal charges for her own abortion.  However…a number of prosecut[ors]…have discussed…their [eager]ness to file criminal charges against women [who miscarry]…by [ab]using state law related to the disposal of human remains…Truman explained [that prosecutors are godlike beings who can divine whether women had bad thoughts when they miscarried, and absurdly declared]…that women [should risk] potential criminal charges by reporting the miscarriage to [male pigs and prosecutors who want to destroy their lives for fun]…

Note the resemblance of this strategy to sex work under legalization regimes, where the act itself is legal, but cops and prosecutors maliciously fling charges for adjacent conduct (such as having an incall).

 

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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Somehow the body became secreted.  –  boss hog Kevin Catalina

I’ve been re-watching The Avengers lately, and while perusing a venerable fan site for the show I came across a reference to this video, which I’d never seen before.  The show went to color in its fifth season, and this “mini-episode” was made as a color test; it was broadcast in abridged form on US TV as an ad for the new season, and provides a nice little taste of the show’s style.  The links above it were provided by Missy Mariposa, Mike Masnick, Scott Hechinger, Jesse Walker, T. Greg Doucette, and IncarcerNation (x2), 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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If you can do it to them, you can do it to any of us. – Rabbi William Gershon

A Whore in Church

Matthew 21:31 seems pretty straightforward to me:

Professionally, I now openly represent myself as a Christian dominatrix who uses Christian rituals to heal the connection between sexuality and spirit.  My clients often come to me because I work specifically with the deconditioning of the religious wound that has caused harmful beliefs around their sexuality…Out of the shadow of shame, they are no longer “wicked” or “evil”― they are holy…Jesus…spen[t] time with and perform[ed] miracles for prostitutes…Jesus never cast anyone out, and he never denied anyone the miracles, signs and wonders that flowed through him; he wanted everyone to have a personal relationship with God, free from the constraints of organized religion.  So even though many Christians would view me as “sinful” and even undeserving of a relationship with God, I reject that view, because I know Jesus loves me and wants the best for my life…

Creepy Coppers

[An Illinois cop named Eli Barthel] has been arrested for child pornography offenses…after [he was caught in an] FBI [trap]…

Welcome to the Future (#1265)

New forms of intrusive surveillance are always justified as “safety”:

…[moral imbeciles] have come up with…an electronic tattoo, stuck to the forehead …[to spy on the moods of] pilots, healthcare workers and other professions where managing mental workload is crucial to preventing catastrophes…[by giving bosses] “some warning and alert so that they can [be relieved]…of [duty],” said Dr Nanshu Lu, an author of the research…[ignor]ing the [obvious fact that data from such a] device [would be compiled in]…workers[‘ files and used to judge their performance]…Lu and colleagues describe how using questionnaires to investigate mental workload is problematic, not least as people are poor at objectively judging [whether they should be demoted or fired]…the “e-tattoo” is a lightweight, flexible, wireless device [constantly]…attached to the forehead [during work hours to]…detect…brain activity…and…eye movements…[allowing human beings to be monitored by] a machine-learning algorithm [as though they were machines themselves]…

Click on the subtitle to see the “demoralizing, humiliating, and toxic” abuses already possible with existing employee-monitoring technology.

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1391)

This would be hilarious if it were their own money these idiots were throwing away:

The [US] Senate is considering a fentanyl exposure bill that would fund “containment devices”…TruBLOC LLC, a company that manufactures the type of…devices in question, sells 1.5-ounce canisters as a set of 12 for $359.40, or as a set of 48 for $1,437.60…TruBLOC [claims]…“Inhalation is the main route of exposure”…[which] would [not be entirely wrong] if the term were being used to refer to sniffing or snorting fentanyl, but in this context the term is describing passive inhalation — i.e. breathing air while standing somewhere in the vicinity of fentanyl…a…video [lies that]…“Small amounts of opioids can kill an officer”….then shows the gloved hands of a…paid actor awkwardly peeling the orange residue off the seat in a manner that strongly recalls attempting to peel off sour candy that’s melted.  The hands remain gloved, despite the fact that the threat that did not exist to begin with has been contained…


Virtual Imperialism (#1472)

As I’ve explained under this tag before, Beijing’s campaign to silence Chinese people outside China has become far more aggressiveRolling Stone published an excerpt from Those Who Should Be Seized Should Be Seized, a new book detailing Chinese surveillance, harassment, intimidation, and sometimes abduction or assassination of activists who flee China.  The excerpt tells the story of Serikzhan Bilash, an ethnic Kazakh human rights activist who was pursued by Chinese agents from Xinjiang to Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan, then to Istanbul, and eventually to Washington DC and New York, always trying to terrorize him into shutting up and dismantling his organization, Atazhurt.  If you don’t know about the extent of China’s terrorism of expatriates and its willingness to violate other countries’ sovereignty, you really should read it in its entirety.

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1524) 

Much more of this, please:

An isolated tribe in the Amazon…[has sued] The New York Times over [yellow journalism] in the newspaper [claim]ing their people’s recent access to the internet…[has led to] members of the tribe…develop[ing] pornography addictions [even though there is no such thing].  The Marubo tribe…filed the defamation lawsuit…seeking $180 million in damages…[over the paper’s] “portray[al of] the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, [and pretending]…that their youth had [developed narcissistic personality disorder as a result]”…After the piece was published, other outlets, including TMZ and Yahoo!, published their own versions of the [accusations], which in many cases…exaggerate the [already-dishonest] claims [even further].  That prompted The Times to run a[n attempt at a semi-retraction en]titled “No, A Remote Amazon Tribe Did Not Get Addicted to Porn”…But it wasn’t enough.  The Marubo [correctly point out] that the original statements were “inflammatory” and conveyed that the tribe “had descended into moral and social decline as a direct result of internet access”…

Business Opportunity (#1527)

This sort of NIMBY bullshit is exactly why there are so many homeless people in the first place:

…the town of Toms River, New Jersey is planning to use eminent domain to condemn a church, raze it, and build a park and pickleball courts on the spot.  The planned condemnation [is obviously] motivated by a desire to prevent the church from opening a small homeless shelter on part of its…11 acres of land…the church, which was founded in 1865…[rents space to] an affordable housing nonprofit…[which] asked to create a small homeless shelter [but] the mayor [insists pickleball is more important than housing the needy because local NIMBYs said so]…the town’s interfaith council [are] united in their opposition to the [scam]…and…there is substantial public opposition…[so] the condemnation…will likely be challenged in court under the state and federal constitutions…

 

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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Even in today’s climate of intellectual repression the truth has not yet been banned.
–  “Mind Reading

Most politicians aren’t as stupid as they pretend to be.  –  “First They Came for the Hookers…

Myths don’t just lay down and die; they take a whole lot of killing, and like Rasputin they often get right back up again after one thinks they’re done for.
–  “Pimping the Pimp

At one time, discretion was the mark of a professional or a person of quality; now it’s increasingly becoming a quaint relic of the bygone past.  –  “Blood on the Sand

Women…who are willing to sell out their own gender by assisting a violent patriarchy…can be found in every form of prohibitionism.  –  “Their Own Petard

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It’s hard to imagine a situation where a 4-year-old was involved in criminal activity.  –  Stevie Glaberson

To Molest and Rape

If “there is no reason to believe anyone aided him,” the screws were criminally negligent:

A [typical and representative] Arkansas police chief serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape has escaped from prison and remains at large…Grant Hardin…has been in prison since 2017 for first-degree murder and rape [committed while]…he…was the…police chief of Gateway, Arkansas…[in] a makeshift [disguise that wouldn’t have fooled and competent guard]…Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long [claimed he]…did not have any knowledge of how Hardin was able to escape…[and] has “a lot of questions”…Nathan Smith, the former…prosecutor [on his case said]…Hardin…”He has no moral core or center”…Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder…of…James Appleton…[and] is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher…that was [depicted] in the 2023 television show Devil in the Ozarks

Micromanagement (#1039)

It only starts with people the state wants you to hate and distrust:

The [US] government has collected DNA samples from upwards of 133,000 migrant children and teenagers—including at least one 4-year-old—and uploaded their genetic data into [CODIS,] a national criminal database used by [cop shops] and [spook houses, which was]…originally built for convicted sex offenders and violent criminals…Experts say…the DNA dragnet [will soon] be used for more extensive profiling…CBP [demanded DNA samples from as many as]…2.8 million people [altogether]…a sweeping expansion of biometric surveillance…that explicitly targets migrant populations…

Torture Chamber (#1332)

Any civilized country would be deeply ashamed of this:

Unfortunately for…the estimated 55,000 pregnant women who [are violently hurled into US] jails every year, little data exists on the impact [being confined in filthy cages] has on pregnancy…A 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office…found that “comprehensive data on pregnant women incarcerated in state prisons and local jails do not exist…[despite the US having] one of the highest maternal mortality rates” and “incarcerat[ing] women at the highest rate in the world”…between 1980 and 2022, the female prison population in the U.S. grew by more than 585 percent, more than twice the growth rate of the male prison population.  Much of this increase has been attributed to [the government’s pro-carceral jihad of the early ’90s]…Women have seen drug-related arrests increase by 317 percent since 1980, while men have seen a 69 percent jump.  Today, more than half of [caged] women are [locked up] for drug and property offenses…

Blunt Instrument (#1408)

“Sex trafficking” is no longer a magic brain-pause spell, but that hardly matters under the racist, anti-migrant MAGA regime:

A…[racist] Louisiana [politician named]…Beth Mizell [has proposed a new bill targeting Asian massage parlors]…Mizell[‘s head spun around wildly as she projectile-vomited racist “sex trafficking” myths for other politicians to masturbate to, drawing heavily on the wanking fantasy of the submissive Asian woman and peppering her rant with puritan-pleasing dysphemism like]…“illicit”…[while panting about] “6-10 men a day, seven days a week”…The bill also would prohibit keeping bunk beds inside massage parlors [so as to cut into massage workers’ income]…

The Vultures Descend (#1489)

Your “leaders” know what’s best, so shut up and obey:

One might have thought that last November, when Missourians voted to enshrine “reproductive freedom,” including abortion, in the state constitution, that would be the end of the conversation…But local Planned Parenthood affiliates are still fighting in court to overturn the web of restrictions, known as TRAP laws, that made providing abortions virtually impossible in the state…These include a 72-hour waiting period…and a rule that providers must have admitting privileges at a hospital 15 minutes away, to name just a few.  In a pair of decisions in December and February, Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang agreed to temporarily suspend enough of those old laws to allow abortions to resume in Missouri while the court case heads to a January 2026 trial.  But…the state supreme court overturned Zhang’s rulings, ordering her to [change her mind.  Politicians have also]…voted to put yet another constitutional amendment on the ballot—this one repealing the reproductive freedom amendment and banning virtually all abortions…

Panopticon (#1540)

“Safety” has become the State’s universal excuse for violation of civil rights:

…Texas [cops] performed a nationwide search of more than 83,000 automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras while [hunt]ing…a woman who…had a self-administered abortion, including cameras in states where abortion is legal…Sheriff Adam King of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office [blatantly lied] that…“her family was worried that she was going to bleed to death, and we were trying to find her to get her to a hospital…it was about her safety”…Elizabeth Ling, senior counsel for If/When/How…[said about 26% of abortion] criminal[ization] cases…originate after [a busybody foolishly trusted by] the person getting an abortion [snitches] to police…

I Spy (#1542)

Wave bye-bye to the last remaining shreds of your privacy:

In March, President Trump [issued] an [illegal imperial edict demanding] the federal government to share data across agencies, [violating the Privacy Act of 1974 and paving the way for] a master list of personal information on Americans that [w]ould give him untold surveillance power…[his henchmen] have…turned to…Palantir, the [cop-enabling surveillance firm which started out by spying on sex workers, by forcibly cramming]…a key Palantir product called Foundry into at least four federal agencies, including D.H.S. and…Health and Human Services…pav[ing] the way for…Trump [and his creatures] to easily merge information from different agencies…creating detailed portraits of Americans…including their bank account numbers…[and] medical [records]…[in order] to advance his political agenda by policing immigrants and punishing critics…Privacy advocates…and others] have filed lawsuits to block data access…[even] Palantir employees have been unnerved by the [scheme]…and [are trying to claim it’s not their fault if a tool they created specifically to destroy lives is used to destroy lives]…

 

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’ve] no recollection of personally ever throwing a petrol bomb.
–  James Duthoit

Longtime readers may recall that Shostakovich is one of my favorite composers, but I was unfamiliar with this piece until it was recently shared by Mike Siegel.  The links above it were provided by Franklin Harris (x2), Nun Ya, T. Greg Doucette (x2), IncarcerNation, and Missy Mariposa, 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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Sentiment analysis not only does not work, it cannot work.
–  Calli Schroeder

Monsters

A large fraction of US politicians implicitly or explicitly approve of this:

A 19-year-old [lesbian] was…attacked…at a McDonald’s in…Carpentersville, Illinois…about an hour outside of Chicago…Kady Grass…and her 13-year-old cousin were [order]ing food…when Grass decided to use the bathroom.  Both the restroom stalls were full, so she walked out…[and] one boy out of a group of three began [insulting] her [appearance]…and [tried]…to [provoke a] fight…Then [started]…to a[ttack her], with one…punching her in the front and the other hitting her in the back…A manager…attempted to break up the fight, but he also “got hit in the process”…In an attempt to protect herself, Grass closed her eyes and fell to the ground, which led to the two [attackers] stomping on her head…[until she was knocked] unconscious…Grass…suffered a broken nose…[and extensive] bruises…[19-year-old John] Kammrad was arrested on May 17…and…charged with…aggravated battery…[his juvenile accomplice was also charged and]…the two girls occupying the bathroom…will face misdemeanor charges for stealing Grass’ wallet, phone and her cousin’s phone…

The Course of a Disease (#1443)

Prohibitionists are once again trying to inflict the evil “Swedish model” on Scotland:

[Scottish politician] Ash Regan is introducing a bill that would [impose]…the “Nordic Model”…Regan also wants to see…sex [workers spied on and harassed by cops]…a campaign…has been specifically set up to oppose her proposals, with sex workers stressing safety concerns

The Last Shall Be First (#1484) 

The only way to keep information from being abused by the State is not to collect it in the first place:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas pediatrician, Dr. May Lau for [refusing to forcibly detransition] “at least 21” minors…Within weeks, Paxton’s office filed similar suits against two more physicians…effectively shut[ting] down these three doctors’ ability to practice…it is a striking example of how government officials can weaponize private prescription records to target anyone they want….[via] the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program…established in the 2000s to [drive pain patients to suicide and destroy the lives of pain doctors]…Testosterone, classified as a Schedule III controlled substance, is automatically tracked in the PDMP database…[which is why] virtually all of the patients were transmasculine…estrogen is not a controlled substance…subject to PDMP surveillance…PDMP datasets typically include patient details…refill schedules, and identifying information for the prescriber and pharmacy.  In nine states, the PDMP entry even contains the diagnosis code…[so a pig rooting in] the file could directly see why a person was prescribed a drug…once a pharmacy uploads…data to a PDMP, that information is no longer covered by HIPAA privacy rules…[and] every state allows police or prosecutors to [root in] PDMP data…without so much as a warrant…Some PDMPs even…[rat out patients the algorithm deems] “suspicious”…PDMPs…function as a nationwide surveillance network….While abortion medications…are not federally scheduled controlled substances…Louisiana recently classified…Mifepristone as a controlled substance, which [will] now be tracked by Louisiana’s PDMP

I Spy (#1494)

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

Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez announced this year her department has a “zero contact policy” with ICE…But [that is a lie;] the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office received over $1 million from the federal government last year…for sharing sensitive information, including names, birthplace and country of origin, under the…State Criminal Alien Assistance Program…managed in part by ICE, [which] uses federal dollars to reimburse local jails and prisons for…[cag]ing…immigrants…even in so-called sanctuary cities and states that forbid…[cop] co[llabo]ration and data sharing with ICE…A spokesperson for Sanchez’s office defended the county’s participation [with, “who are you going to believe, us or the facts?”]…some jurisdictions have chosen to withdraw from SCAAP in recent years to keep from feeding more information into ICE’s deportation dragnet…San Francisco terminated…participation in SCAAP ahead of the first Trump [regime], though Alameda County did not follow suit…Wisconsin’s Dane County, has also quit since Trump’s return to power…

The Cop Myth (#1503)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to, and everyone is shocked:

A…[typical and representative California cop named]…Daniel Hutsell…[murdered] his wife, Dinella Hutsell, [then shot himself.  Their daughter]…called 9-1-1…to report that both her father and mother were dead.  The boss hogs thought it was very important to state that he was not wearing his magical clown costume at the time, but this was not his first murder]…He was [part of a gang]…who shot and killed Stephen Murray…on July 17, 2019…and [naturally escaped scot-free]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #17)

Hey, female cops; how’s that collaboration with the police state working out?

Alexus Byrd-Maxey [was a naif who watched far too many cop glorification shows as a] child…But on March 17, 2023, [she had a rude awakening about what cops are really like when]…another recruit [grabbed] her…and [rubbed his dick against her ass]…She [naively believed] confront[ing] him…[would lead to] remorse…Instead…she saw him smirk…[the typical and representative cop], a man named Eric Tabb…started telling other recruits that Byrd-Maxey had overreacted and that h[is dick was really his hand and her butt was really her] shoulder…when Byrd-Maxey reported the incident [she quickly discovered how the “thin blue line” works when she]…was fired from the academy for supposedly cursing and using gang language…Tabb soon became a…[cop] and [was set loose to terrorize the public]…Eight months…[later], Tabb was arrested for…repeatedly [groping other sows]…Tabb now faces multiple felony charges…[which] is [unusual because]…Chicago [cop shops typically refuse]…to vigorously investigate…sexual assault by [pigs], whether those complaints were lodged by [sows]…or members of the public….allowing [rapists] to abuse again and again…

I Spy (#1530)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

The U.S. [surveillance establishment] is now buying up vast volumes of sensitive information that would have previously required a court order, essentially bypassing the Fourth Amendment…So the government…is working on a system to centralize and “streamline” the use of commercially available information, or CAI, like location data derived from mobile ads…spy agencies will use the web portal not just to search through reams of private data, but also run them through [computer programs] for further analysis…the “Intelligence Community Data Consortium” will provide a single convenient web-based storefront for searching and accessing this data, along with a “data marketplace” for purchasing “the best data at the best price,” faster than ever before…for the [NSA]…CIA…FBI…Homeland Security…and [14 other spook houses]…sidestepping constitutional and statutory privacy protections…Once the website is up and running, the…portal will eventually allow users to analyze the data using large language models, [complete with their characteristic]…factual errors and fabrications.  The portal will also facilitate “sentiment analysis,” a…pseudoscientific endeavor purporting to discern one’s opinion about a given topic using implicit signals in their behavior, movement, or speech…

 

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

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This is the facial recognition technology nightmare scenario that we have been worried about.  –  Nathan Freed Wessler

Pyrrhic Victory (#1291)

This is no surprise to anyone acquainted with how things are done in New Orleans:

For two years, New Orleans police [have] secretly [spied on]…city streets [with facial recognition] in search of suspects, a[n illegal] surveillance method without a known precedent in any major American city…New Orleans police [abuse]…a private network of more than 200 facial recognition cameras to [leer at] the streets…automatically pinging [cop]s’ mobile phones through an app to [report] the names and current locations of [any possible] matches [for police harassment].  This [blatantly violates] a 2022 city council ordinance, which limited police to using facial recognition only for searches of specific suspects in…violent crimes and [prohibits] generalized…tracking…Each time police want to scan a face, the ordinance requires them to send a still image to trained examiners at a state facility and later provide details about these scans in reports to the city council…[but] the…cameras ha[ve] played a role in dozens of arrests, including at least four people who were only charged with nonviolent crimes…[cops regularly hid] their reliance on facial recognition matches in police reports…to the city council [in order to circumvent the law]…

Secret Squirrel (#1385)

This sickness will get much worse before it gets better:

According to recent research…“nearly 1 in 5 young people believe it’s OK to track their partner whenever they want”…Many constantly share their location with their partner, or use apps like Life360 or Find My Friends…one of the most disturbing notions is that acceptance of digital monitoring is…a way to create – rather than undermine – a sense of trust.  When government officials or tech industry bigwigs proclaim that you should be OK with being spied on if you’re not doing anything wrong, they’re…demanding…we trust them.  But it’s not about trust, it’s about control…and…use of digital spying tools by parents on their children has “anaesthetised young people to the whole idea of being monitored”, teaching them that surveillance is a form of love…and [equating it with] safety…[thus empowering] police, intelligence agencies and…politicians…to undermine [privacy, civil rights, and even]…safety [from state violence]…


Torture Chamber (#1461)

Americans’ sick lust for torture turns ordinary prison sentences into death sentences:

Missouri prison[ers] have filed a lawsuit [because] they’re suffering from life-threatening extreme heat in their un-air-conditioned cells during the summer…[in] violat[ion of both] the Missouri Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act…Algoa [Dungeon] is one of four prisons in the state where none of the [cell blocks] have air conditioning.  And, due to the building’s design, it is frequently hotter inside…than outside.  Even at night, temperatures remain high…[and the only] heat-mitigation practices include…warm showers; the option to purchase one small, personal fan; and…[splitting] small coolers [of quickly-melting ice among] 100-plus people in each [cell block]…Due to a lack of outlets in solitary confinement, [those locked up] there are unable to use fans…According to legal documents…[similarly-inhumane] prison units in Texas reached 149 degrees Fahrenheit in 2023…

I Saw My Brain (#1492)

The psychopathic Grady Judd won’t pass up any opportunity to inflict harm on as many people as possible:

A recent “human trafficking enforcement operation” in Polk County, Florida, led to 244 arrests—albeit none for human trafficking…ICE…Homeland Security, and the U.S. Army [?]…were involved in [the sophomorically-entitled] Operation Fool Around and Find Out, along with more than a dozen Florida [cop shops beside Judd’s]…In addition to targeting adults for trying to consensually engage other adults in private sexual activity, immigration enforcement seems to have been a goal.  A press release…notes that 36 of those arrested “are here illegally”…[and] color-coded boxes around some [mug shots] denote that the…[victims are] receiving welfare benefits…Among those arrested was [a] former NFL player…[which] catapulted this story into national news.  And that’s meant a whole lot of outlets [parroting]…the police’s preferred narrative…

This will continue until the majority of those arrested fight back with lawsuits, or the voters of Polk County get tired of paying the many lawsuits that are already filed against this cretin every year.

The Cop Myth (#1496)

How long will America ignore the costs of its sick worship of state-sanctioned violence?

Since 2013…Phoenix [cops] have [murdered] 173 people…the second-highest total in the country behind…Los Angeles…The study used data from Mapping Police Violence, a website that has become widely known as the foremost tracker of police killings…in the United States since 2013.  It has utilized information from police and media reports to [do what cop shops and governments have refused to do]…Estimates suggest the database captures 92% of police killings….the five deadliest police forces[are] Los Angeles [with] 199 deaths…Phoenix [with] 173…Houston [with] 128…New York [with] 126 [and]…San Antonio [with] 106…In June 2024, the Department of Justice completed a years-long investigation[which] found that…Phoenix police…taught…tactics that were “dangerous, unnecessary and unreasonable,” including that…deadly force…would lead to de-escalation….[Phoenix cops regularly] fired…at people who presented no immediate threat and…[often strangled] people who had not committed a crime…

Thought Control (#1524)

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

A fresh round of books — more than 600, by one estimate — have been taken out of circulation from Hillsborough County classrooms after [deranged] state [politicians] ramped up pressure on school district officials.  Those books include Margaret Atwood‘s The Handmaid‘s Tale, Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Ari Folman’s Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation[Psychopath] General James Uthmeier [foamed at the mouth and waved his dick around while ludicrously barfing that the books were]…“patently pornographic”…He said the state’s newly created Office of [Froot Loop] Rights plans to give [random Froot Loops power to censor any book statewide]…since 2022, Hillsborough County has removed 389,073 books from its collection of more than 2 million books, and will continue to “actively [burn down]” its collections…

Sales Pitch (#1530)

Swedish politicians are angry that their law doesn’t destroy enough lives yet:

Participating in interactive adult live-streams or ordering custom porn clips are about to be punishable by a year in prison in Sweden, where a new law expands an already-[tyrannical] model of sex work criminalization to the internet…The text of the newly-passed bill (in the original Swedish here, and auto-translated to English here) states that criminal liability…shouldn’t have to require physical contact between the buyer and seller…Buying pre-recorded content, paying to follow an account where pornographic material is continuously posted, or otherwise consuming porn without [having to deal directly with the sex worker as a businessperson] is outside of the scope of the law…

 

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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Since I wrote this column last Tuesday, I don’t actually know what mood I’ll be in when you read it.  But I can guess.  My Year of Disaster is thirty years gone, and time has mostly worked its magic; though the effects of this anniversary were still sharp ten years ago, several years of therapy and ten years of regular cannabis use have really helped me to gain a healthy emotional distance now.  But my emotions are often insidious, slippery things, which is why I often used to refer to the “snakes in my head”; though I’ve gotten much better at handling those snakes, I was presented with a new brood of them this year thanks to the passing of my dearest friend Grace.  So I anticipate a black mood Monday; my old back injury started playing up last week for no apparent reason, so I’ve been forced to remember the accident (whose 30th anniversary was in April) in particular, and that whole awful year in general.  I’m already planning to spend the day stoned and maybe have a soak in the hot tub; if the snakes are going to be restless, I’m going to do all I can to sedate them.

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Vaginas are chaos incarnate.  –  an “expert”

This week’s video is taken from this week’s obituary: that of the IBM executive who gave Jim Henson one of his first big breaks, and later went to work for him.  The links above it were provided by Mike Masnick, Jesse Walker, Scott Greenfield, T. Greg Doucette, Eleanor Janega, and IncarcerNation (x2), 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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