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Posts Tagged ‘Creepy Coppers’

[Computer-edited videos are] a nightmarish mess of distorted faces, garbled text, and misshapen backgrounds.  –  Jess Weatherbed

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#1016)

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the “Campaign Against Toasters”:

…[anti-sex fanatics] assert that sex-doll play objectifies women, contributes to anti-female attitudes, and spurs sexual assault and pedophilia.  Some…pro[hibitionists want] a ban on the dolls…and criminal prosecution for those who own or sell them.  However, a recent study shows that sex-doll owners are normal, mentally healthy guys whose problems with relationships steered them to play with sex toys that are inanimate substitutes for real women…English researchers…found no significant differences between owners and non-owners, and no evidence that, compared with non-owners, doll owners pose any greater sexual threat to women or society…Doll owners were much more likely to be single, separated, or divorced…[and] reported considerably less partner sex…owners reported somewhat less sexual self-esteem and a little more performance anxiety…they were somewhat more likely to view women as mysterious and unknowable, which dovetails with the fact that so many were single, separated, or divorced.  However…owners were less likely to fantasize about sexual coercion or report any interest in sexual aggression against women…owners’ psychological makeup “…suggests that dolls act as a safe surrogate for relationships with living people due to concerns about their own sexual performance and lack of understanding of women…Doll ownership does not appear to be associated with sexual aggression or sexual offending”…

The Last Shall Be First (#1410) 

It only starts with demonized minorities:

…the Trump [regime is] demand[ing]…confidential patient information from doctors and hospitals that provide gender-related treatments for [legal minors.  A]…subpoena to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, sent in June, includes a seven-page list of requested documents, including “every writing or record of whatever type” made by doctors related to gender-affirming care, which includes therapy, puberty blockers, hormones and [rarely] surgery.  The subpoena…also [demanded] the birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of patients who received transgender care…in [order] to [persecute them despite]…federal confidentiality protections for patients and their medical providers…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1479)

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

Two…Harvard [dropou]ts are launching a pair of “always-on” [computerized] glasses that…record…and transcribe every conversation, and then display relevant information to the wearer in real time. “Our goal is to make [people much stupider and completely dependent on expensive gizmos, while appealing to their egos by telling them it will] make [them ‘]super intelligent[‘]”…said AnhPhu Nguyen, co-founder of…Halo…his co-founder Caine Ardayfio [claimed consulting a database is the same as]…“infinite memory…The [goal is] to [create a world of submorons who need computers]…to tell [them] what to say”…Ardayfio and Nguyen have [already] raised $1 million to develop the glasses…[which are] available for pre-order at $249…“[We don’t care] about…privacy”…Nguyen added…point[ing out that]…while [Facebook] glasses have an indicator light when their cameras and microphones are [active]…to warn others that they are being recorded…the Halo glasses…in[tentionally do not, so victims have no] warn…ing…“We want [the intrusion] to be discreet, like normal glasses,” said Ardayfio…

To Molest and Rape (#1496)

It was obvious this would turn out to be sordid:

The rural Kentucky judge gunned down in his own chambers last year r[outinely threatened]…young women w[ith severe criminal penalties in order to] co[erce them] into performing sexual favors…for…him and others…Mullins…[also threate]ned [victims with criminal charges, CPS and other violence] to keep [them] quiet…[some screws and cops claimed to have] heard…“nasty and sickening” stories…[ab]out…the [“]parties[“, but]…one [victim], Sabrina Adkins…[eventually bl]ew…the [whistle] during a 2022 criminal investigation into a [cop]…who…[anally and vaginally] rape[d]…a [woman trapped in the county’s cages]…Mullins’ shooting [by Sheriff Shawn Stines may have had something to do with the scheme because after the murder]…he…immediately surrendered, telling cops: “They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid”…

You Were Warned (#1515)

The US Constitutional order is no more:

[Mad emperor] Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated” and said…he’ll keep [unconstitutionally] extending the deadline…until there’s a buyer.  Congress approved a[n unconstitutional] ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake.  But Trump has so far [unconstitutionally] extended the deadline three times…with the next one coming up on Sept. 17…and…the White House start[ed] a TikTok account [last] week…[so] it appears less and less likely that TikTok will be banned in the U.S. any time soon…

Creepy Coppers (#1527)

Some cops don’t limit themselves to one type of creepiness:

A…Georgia [cop named]…Matthew Abbott…[has been] charged with…distribution of [child porn featuring adults raping]…children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old…and [also with jerking off]…in a public parking lot near an elementary school…while [wearing his magical clown costume.  His boss hog used the occasion to vomit up a bunch of self-aggrandizing bullshit]…

Enshittification (#1557)  

A company whose motto used to be “Don’t Be Evil” has made violating its users’ consent a standard business practice:

YouTube [used computers to alter] videos without telling users or asking permission.  As…our world [becomes increasingly enshittified], what happens to our shared connection with real life?…Wrinkles in shirts seem more defined. Skin is sharper in some places and smoother in others.  Pay close attention to ears, and you may notice them warp.  These changes are small, barely visible without a side-by-side comparison…[but the creators point out] it gives their content a subtle and unwelcome [uncanny valley] feeling…Complaints on social media date back to June, at least, with users posting closeups of odd-looking body parts and questioning YouTube’s intentions.  Now, after months of rumors in comment sections, the company has finally confirmed it is altering a limited number of videos on YouTube Shorts, the app’s shortform video feature…

 

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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Instant Criminal

The Gestapo are using fake “child porn” charges because the mere accusation will keep useful idiots from demanding due process for their victims:

…more than…100 cruise ship crew members…have been summarily deported and had their work visas revoked in recent months based on unsubstantiated allegations by CBP [goons] of possessing or viewing child pornography….the [goons]…are boarding cruise ships with a list of targets and s[teal]ing their cell phones, laptops, and electronics.  The [victims] are handcuffed and [goons] pressure them to sign an admission, which includes a [“]voluntary[“] revocation of their C1/D visa…[without being] shown [any] evidence…or allowed legal representation…the cruise ship industry…heavily relies on international crews…[especially from] the Philippines…the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), say more than 100 Filipino sailors have been arrested, deported, and had their work visas revoked since June…A person whose…crewmember visa is revoked cannot reapply for another one for 10 years…[thus destroying] their livelihood…

On the rare occasion the goons claim any “evidence” at all, it’s stuff like this:

A Filipino worker at a cruise ship lost his job over a video showing him and his wife kissing their 3-year-old son…after US [goons pointed at it and barfed “]child pornography[“]…They also [stole] his cell phone and gave it back after a month, but not before deleting the video…

Creepy Coppers

This one not only uses the distancing “former”, but also tries to excuse the crime because…the criminal is a good shot?  “A [typical and representative Ohio cop named]…Robert Golden Vogel [was arrested] and charged…with [multiple child porn offenses after cops went to his house on a ‘disturbing the peace’ complaint]…

If Men Were Angels (ROTW #19)

You’d think “youth pastor” would be a big red flag by now:

A…youth pastor in Virginia is facing federal charges [for posing] as a teenage boy to exchange nude photos and videos with young girls, telling one of them…that it was “time for her to see her first dick”…Jacob Ryan Barnett… “repeatedly [pestered]”…young…[girls] for pictures of [their] crotch…On May 20, the FBI…[was contacted by] a mother in Michigan [to report] that [someone]…had been attempting to groom her 15-year-old daughter…on TikTok [he claimed to be]…“a 17-year-old boy from Virginia…called…Jodie Johnson”…the FBI subpoenaed Verizon for…the account holder behind Johnson’s number, which showed it belonged to Barnett…his…TikTok account appeared to be following “thousands of minor girls”…

Beware of men who “volunteer” to be in positions of authority over your kids:

“Hundreds” of images of child pornography were found on a computer that…belonged to a [Texas] youth church volunteer [named]…Kevin Hartgrove…[who preferred] young girls between the ages of 11 and 13…

Creepy Coppers (#1530)

This sleazebag tried to frame a woman for his crime:

A [typical and representative] Idaho [cop named]…Caleb Sickinger…was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison for…obtaining images of a child from social media, digitally altering them to appear pornographic, and distributing the altered images to an individual in Alabama…[while claiming to be] a woman in Idaho.  [The FBI raided]…the [innocent] woman[‘s]…home…[but found] no [child porn, and the] email addresses did not match…the [victim’s.  The]…FBI [eventually stopped turning the victim’s life upside down when they realized that] Sickinger [had used] images from the woman’s social media account to mascaraed [sic] as her when distributing the [porn of her]…child…

He “mascaraed” as her?  When will news media admit that editors are not optional?

 

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 these companies want customers to feel safe in their homes, then they should make sure they’re also safe where they buy their supplies.
–  Dave Maass

To Molest and Rape

If only there were a concise term for “having sex with someone mentally incapacitated or physically helpless”:

A [typical and representative South Carolina cop named] Ahmad Tyreek Cheeks…was [arrested for raping]…a…mentally [handicapped woman].  He [is still at large after] post[ing bail]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1030)

Clearview was specifically invented as a police-state tool to use against migrants and minorities:

…in March 2017, Hoan Ton-That…[was already] plan[ning] to deploy…Clearview AI…[against] immigrants entering the United States…[despite being] an immigrant…himself…A diehard Donald Trump supporter, Ton-That envisioned using facial recognition to c[riminalize] migrants…His Border Patrol pitch also included a proposal to screen any arrival for “sentiment about the USA”…conflat[ing] support for [Trumpery] with American identity…Clearview…secured funding from…Peter Thiel…and signed up hundreds of [cop shops] around the country…urging cops to “run wild” with searches…[they have done so] with almost no transparency…[despite its warrantless use being unconstitutional and its] data collection practices [being] illegal…In December, Ton-That…quietly stepped down as CEO…[but] retains a board seat…Replacing him as co-CEOs were Richard Schwartz…a former top aide to Rudy Giuliani, and Hal Lambert…who runs a Texas financial firm known for its “MAGA ETF”…the company [has] pursue[d] “opportunities” with the…Trump…[regime, and] one of the company’s top customers is [ICE]

Creepy Coppers

Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop:

[New Zealand boss hog] Jevon McSkimming is facing eight charges of possessing…child…and bestiality [porn]…The c[op], wh[o is typical and] representative, [faces] a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.  McSkimming resigned as the country’s second most powerful cop in May…and…was arrested on 27 June in Wellington…[but] the Wellington District Court [conspired with cop shops to hide his name until July 18]…

The Vultures Descend (#1273)

Trump claims to love the military, yet his regime keeps trying to harm veterans:

…the Department of Veterans Affairs [is]…seeking to eliminate coverage for the limited abortion services and counseling that have been available to veterans and their beneficiaries under the VA health care system…[since] September 2022, a…policy change [intended to] pro[tect roughly 2 million female]…veterans and their beneficiaries in the [16] states [with] total or near-total bans…the Trump [regime absurdly claims] that…[no states ban] abortions…in life-threatening situations such as ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages…[and declares that] pregnant women [who need such care are] “incorrect”…Nancy Northup, President…[of] the Center for Reproductive Rights, said…“This administration is sending a clear message to veterans—that their health and dignity aren’t worth defending”…

Panopticon (#1549)

In surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Hundreds of…automated license plate reading cameras paid for by Lowe’s and Home Depot and stationed in the hardware stores’ parking lots are being fed into a massive surveillance system that [any cop, spook, or goon] can access [at will, without a warrant]…The records are the latest to shed light on how expansive Flock’s surveillance network has become, and highlights that it includes cameras that are operated by both [cop shops] and [fascist] businesses…ALPR…cameras are stationed along roads or at entrances to parking lots around the United States, and constantly scan the license plates of cars that drive by. Because there are Flock cameras around the country, Flock often has a snapshot of people’s movements which police can search, typically without a warrant…in…respon[se] to a request for comment…a Home Depot spokesperson [belched the word “crime” at] 404 Media…This is particularly notable considering that several high-profile ICE raids have taken place near Home Depot and Lowe’s stores

The Cop Myth (#1552)

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

…a New Jersey [cop named]…Ricardo Santos [murdered] his…ex-girlfriend, Lauren Semanchik, and a…man she had been dating, Tyler Webb, before [shoot]ing hi[mself]…Semanchik [was] a veterinarian…and Webb…a…firefighter…Semanchik had sought a restraining order…[because] Santos was harassing her[, but the cops refused because Santos’ clown costume was extra-magical]…

Walled Garden

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

Last fall…Australia announced that it was banning social media for everyone under the age of 16.  This was already a horrifically stupid idea—the kind of policy that sounds reasonable in a tabloid headline but crumbles under any serious scrutiny…There remains little to no actual evidence that an outright ban will be helpful, and plenty to suggest it will be actively harmful to many.  But now Australia has decided to double down on the stupid, announcing that YouTube will be included in the ban…reveal[ing] just how disconnected from reality this entire policy framework has become…

 

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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Border Patrol agents are taught that women lie, and that…agents…are the victims.  –  Jenn Budd

Imagination Pinned Down

As much as I’d like to believe this of a boss hog, this reeks of Satanic Panic “ritual abuse” fantasy engendered by false memory syndrome:

The daughter of a New Jersey police chief claims he repeatedly raped her for more than a decade as part of a “ritualistic” cult allegedly involving their neighbors…Courtney Tamagny’s [lawsuit includes her father] Scott Tamagny, his neighbor Kevin Slevin and others…Slevin has…countersued Courtney for defamation…the 20-year-old claims her father and Slevin…and…other middle-aged men…with masks on their faces…[lit a] fire and [burned] animals…[while] chant[ing, starting]…in 2009 when [she] was around 4…until 2020, when she was 15…[she] claims she suppressed memories of the abuse for years…and…began recalling them after [seeing] a…therapist…in 2022…[her] alleged[ly recovered] memories in[clude] the…claim…that generations of her father’s “bloodline” had been in a satanic cult…that…raped…children and burned them alive in…“tunnels” [where] they would…covertly [hold] their rituals…as part of a national cabal of satanists engaged in child trafficking…she claimed [her sisters and]…upward of 10 [other] kids were…in[volved even though nobody else has similar “memories”]…her [lawsuit]…also named the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the State of New Jersey, various state child protective services and others…

This girl clearly needs competent professional help, not encouragement from lawyers and quack “therapists”.

Creepy Coppers

Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops:

A Montgomery County [Maryland cop named]…Mark Burhoe…[was arrested on child pornography charges.  In an unusual move], he…was suspended without pay, [but both his boss and an ex-cop criminologist used the opportunity to bloviate copaganda about how he would get]…”no special treatment”…

This one has double-distancing: “former” and “probationary”:

A [typical and representative Wisconsin cop named]…Owen Halls was [typical and representative]…when he was fired in March fo[r being caught with…child pornography[.  Halls was] reported [by one of his roommates] in June of [last] year…[but] police [dragged their feet for six months]…Halls [has already confessed but pled not guilty to child porn charges anyhow]…

Above the Law (ROTW #14)

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

A…Border Patrol [goon named]…Bart Conrad Yager…[has been] charged with…pandering…child sex trafficking…[drug dealing] and…fraud, [all committed] between July 2023 and March 2024…A decade ago, [he raped a woman in] Tucson…But CBP [didn’t bother to] investigate…Yager, a[nd]…Tucson Police [put] the…victim [through such an ordeal she eventually dropped the charges because]…Yager [kept] threaten[ing her] with violence a[nd neither]…police [nor CBP did shit about it.  The fraud charges against]…Yager [are because he] misrepresented his location during work hours and fraudulently claimed travel reimbursements…for…hotels…he…[used to see] underage [sex workers]…as young as 13…[he was also known for] sexual harassment…[of] nursing and contractor staff [who] “knew him to be ‘crazy with a hatred towards women’”…Yager is [only] the latest…Arizona-based CBP [goon to]…be…charged with…sexual misconduct…crimes…Ramon Marquez…was arrested in May…[for repeatedly molesting] a 16-year-old…[and] in January…Efren Lopez Cornejo [escaped with]…lifetime probation, but no jail time [and no condemnation to the “sex offender” registry], after he accepted a…plea [bargain for]…indecent exposure….[and] sexual abuse of a…family member…[who] was 9…

To Molest and Rape (#1523)

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

[A] Chino [California cop named]…Matthew Solano, who had been [paid to lurk in]…school[s to spy on, harass, and intimidate students, predictably molested]…two [underage girls.  When the school told the cop shop]…Solano was immediately [rewarded with a paid vacation, but]…was [not] arrested [until six months later]…Solano was [also involved in the snitch-training DARE scheme]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #21)

Another rapist cop finds a victim via a grooming program:

A San Jose [California cop named]…Saul Duran, was [arrested for]…sexual assault of a minor…[because he raped two teenage girls] about 13 years ago…[he met his victims through] a…police department [grooming] program called the Parent Project…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #21)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [New York cop named]…Sydney Mills…rape[d]…a…14 [year old girl while]…wearing…[his magical clown costume.  He was arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes.  In a rare moment of honesty], Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji said…“I’d like to be shocked or surprised, but I’m not”…

 

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 misconception of algorithms as “intelligent” entities is a dangerous one.  –  Webb Wright

Vulture Watching (#1430)

Another attempt to use antique laws to ban abortion is foiled:

On July 2, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled th[at]…an 1849 law…[politici]ans [were trying to use to] ban…abortion from conception to birth [does no such thing]…in 2022, abortion providers in Wisconsin stopped providing services for fear of violating the 175-year-old law, which says that “any person, other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of the unborn child” is guilty of a felony and subject to 15 years imprisonment unless the life of the patient is at risk.  The state’s…attorney general Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit arguing the law operates only as a feticide law…and does not ban “consensual abortions”…[in addition,] the 1849 law…has been implicitly repealed by later regulations, including a measure criminalizing abortion at 20 weeks…[the] court agreed with Kaul…Justice Jill Karofsky…described the effort to apply a 175-year-old law with almost no exceptions in the present day as a sign of a “world gone mad”…

The Punitive Mindset (#1526) 

Fascism in action:

[Trump hench]man Brendan Carr has dec[re]ed t[hat] prisons and jails [can] keep…price[-gouging the families of people locked in cag]es until at least 2027, delaying implementation of rate caps approved last year…Carr…[bloviated a lot of fascist nonsense justifying] the change…[but FCC] commissioner Anna Gomez [said]…”the FCC made the indefensible decision to ignore both the law and the will of Congress…[in order to] shield…a…system that inflates costs and rewards kickbacks to c[arcer]al facilities at the expense of [caged human beings] and their loved ones”…

Shame, Shame (#1532)

Why would anybody waste good money to talk to computer programs pretending to be people?

One of the tech industry’s weirder cycles of brand reincarnation has given us yet another new version of Napster: a site teeming with [cartoons of] well-lit, photogenic people smiling confidently and talking with their hands…This new version of Napster surfaced on June 25 when a Florida company formerly known as Infinite Reality, which leveraged mysterious funding to buy the Napster brand for $207 million in March and then renamed itself after that purchase, announced “Napster Companions”…[with technobabble about] “thirty psychometric parameters that make each agent distinct”…Think of this as trying to put a [pseudo-]human face on [LLM] chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude…the company’s press release says…”If an agent does not already exist, the Napster Companion platform auto-generates a new one on the fly”…Access costs $19 a month or $219 a year…and…you must click a checkbox next to [a] disclaimer [wherein you claim to “understand” that chatbots are neither intelligent nor people and have a tendency to make shit up]…

Torture Chamber (#1539)

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

A [victim of the] federal [government] had to have one of his…limbs partially amputated after being kept in restraints for two days.  Another [cag]ed person died after being pepper sprayed and left shackled in a restraint chair for five hours.  The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General…published those details…after receiving dozens of [repor]ts a year from [prisoners who] were strapped to beds or chairs for long periods of time and assaulted…BOP policy allows [deranged screws] to [ab]use restraints [in virtually any way they please as long as they belch the magic word “]disruptive[” at some point before, during, or after the torture, and pinky-swear that it wasn’t]… a method of punishment…[no] documentation [or] video or audio [of the torture is required, not]…even…medical checks of [human beings left to suffer] in restraints…there [a]re no [time] limits…and [virtually no] review of the use of restraints…

Mad Libs (#1550)

The only thing LLMs can actually process is language, so of course their output depends on the language used:

When [large language] models were tested on simulated writing from [people foolish enough to think a word-association algorithm can practice medicine], they were more likely to advise against seeking medical care if the [make-believe] writer [supposedly] made typos, included emotional or uncertain language – or was [pretended to be] female…Abinitha Gourabathina at [MIT]…used [another LLM] to help create thousands of [make-believe] patient notes in different formats and styles…includ[ing LLM imitations of] patients with limited English proficiency…health anxiety…[overly-]emotional tone or gender-neutral pronouns.  The researchers then fed the [LLM output] to four [other]…LLMs…commonly used to power chatbots and told the[m]…to answer questions about whether the [make-believe] patient should manage their [make-believe] condition at home or visit a clinic…the various format and style changes made all the [large language] models between 7 and 9 per cent more likely to recommend [make-believe] patients stay home instead of getting medical attention.  The models were also more likely to recommend that [make-believe] female patients remain at home, and…more likely than [actual] clinicians to change their recommendations for treatments because of [supposed] gender and [feigned] language style…

Creepy Coppers (#1551)

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A [Maryland cop named]…James Dodson Jr. was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police…[for] twice asking a friend [via Snapchat] to see her 11-year-old son naked in a picture or in person…he also admitted to [her that he] watch[es] child pornography…[after she reported him cops raided] Dodson’s [house] and [searched his] phones a[nd]…computers…[his boss hog used the opportunity to strut around and bloviate self-aggrandizing copaganda]…

Aladdin’s Satellite

A shortcut to LLM-induced psychosis:

…A growing number of [fools] are [mis]using…chatbots as “trip sitters”…this is a potentially dangerous psychological cocktail…while it’s far cheaper than in-person psychedelic therapy, it can go badly awry…Throngs of [nitwits] have turned to…chatbots in recent years as surrogates for human therapists…directly encouraged by some prominent figures in the tech industry, who [irresponsibly fantasize] that [word-association algorithms without consciousness] will [magically] revolutionize mental-health care…a profusion of chatbots designed specifically to help users navigate psychedelic experiences have been cropping up online…[but] experts…agree…[that] replacing human therapists with…bots during psychedelic experiences is a bad idea…[because] the basic design of large language models…is fundamentally at odds with the therapeutic process…

 

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

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We deserve to know who is shooting us in the face even when they have their badge covered up.  –  Kyle McDonald

Pyrrhic Victory (#1275)

The very first prosocial application of facial recognition technology I’ve seen:

A new site, FuckLAPD.com, is using public records and facial recognition technology to allow anyone to identify [LAPD cops] they have a picture of.  The tool, made by artist Kyle McDonald, is designed to help people identify cops who may otherwise try to conceal their identity, such as covering their badge or serial number…The tool allows users to upload an image…to search over 9,000 LAPD headshots obtained via public record requests…image processing happens on the device, and no photos or data are transmitted or saved on the site…“This data has been provided in response to either public records requests or public records lawsuits…[so] fucklapd.com is not scraping any data”…Clicking “view profile” under the result[s sends users] to the Watch the Watchers site by the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition…In 2018 McDonald made another tool called ICEspy which…does much the same thing as FuckLAPD.com…That tool originally used a Microsoft API, b[ut] Microsoft [censored] it…[so] McDonald…recently relaunched the tool to run locally on devices…

I Spy (#1533)

The writer of this article is one of those fools who thinks anything involving gadgets is laudable:

[Trump] He[nchman] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants [to force] everyone to wear a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or other [medical surveillance device] as part of his…agenda [to ban vaccines].  “My vision is every American is [subject to my surveillance] within four years,” he [bloviated, absurdly characterizing government surveillance as]… “people taking control over their own health”…[and further explaining that he wants every meal to become a bean-counting ordeal.  Fascist]…companies stand to benefit from a government-backed [demand] for Americans to buy their products, and Kennedy plans to soon [waste tens of millions in] “one of the biggest advertising campaigns in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables”…Kennedy [also] plans to use [the] data…[to] track…and [persecute]…autis[tic people]…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

I’m fine with this as long as it’s only tech companies harming each other:

As Scale AI seeks to reassure customers that their data is secure following [Facebook]’s $14.3 billion investment, leaked files and the startup’s own contractors indicate it has some serious security holes.  Scale AI routinely uses public Google Docs to track work for high-profile customers like Google, [Facebook], and [Twitter], leaving…training documents labeled “confidential” accessible to anyone with the link…the…method [is] efficient for its vast army of at least 240,000 contractors and presents clear cybersecurity and confidentiality risks…sensitive details about…[those] contractors [were also exposed], including their private email addresses and whether they were suspected of “cheating”…There’s no indication that [the company has yet] suffered a breach because of this….[but] such practices…leave the company and its clients vulnerable to various kinds of hacks, such as hackers impersonating contractors or uploading malware into accessible files…

Property of the State (#1545) 

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

…Women have faced pregnancy criminalization for decades, especially under drug laws…Pregnancy Justice has tracked more than 1,800 pregnancy-related arrests and detentions between 1973, when Roe v. Wade was decided, and 2022, when the decision was overturned.  But in the first year after Dobbs, Pregnancy Justice documented 210 pregnancy-related prosecutions, the most they’d found in a single year since they started this research.  And 22 cases involved…miscarriages, [mostly] in states with bans, like Idaho, but also in states with more liberal abortion policies…Alabama prosecutes more pregnant [women] than any other state…[especially] in Etowah County, wh[ere politicians and cops routinely abuse]…a 2006 chemical endangerment law intended to protect children from meth labs…[because] these cases are…more about emotion than science…serious charges are often dropped or reduced [due to lack of evidence], but by then, many of the harms of incarceration have already taken hold…[including bond fees,] reputationally damaging news headlines, [state abduction] of their other children, [and loss of] housing and employment…

Torture Chamber (#1546)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

…911 calls from 10 of the nation’s largest…migra[nt dungeons] found that serious medical incidents are rising [in most] of the [cages]…at least 60 percent of the c[age stack]s…had reported serious pregnancy complications, suicide attempts, [and rapes].  Since January, these 10 [dungeons] have collectively placed nearly 400 emergency calls…50…involved…cardiac episodes, 26…seizures…17…head injuries…seven…suicide attempts…[and] six [rapes by screws.  But]…experts [say] the true number of medical emergencies is far higher…[because] many serious incidents [are ignored by staff, who prefer to yell “Stop faking!” at their victims instead of helping them]…Even among those that did [deign to call for] outside help, a third of all the calls had vague or nonexistent descriptions, with details often [censored] by authorities…

Creepy Coppers (ROTW #21)

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

A [typical and representative Kansas screw named]…Brice Berk…[has been] arrest[ed for making]…and distribut[ing] child pornography…after a [report from] the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children…

Welcome to the Future (#1548)

Another of the many reasons not to play with chatbots:

…For years, OpenAI gave users the option to delete their conversations with ChatGPT, rather than let their personal queries linger on corporate servers.  Now, they can’t.  A badly misguided court order in a copyright lawsuit requires OpenAI to store all consumer ChatGPT conversations indefinitely—even if a user tries to delete themChatGPT’s 300+ million users submit over 1 billion messages to its chatbots per dayoften for personal purposes…reveal[ing] personal details that, in aggregate, create a comprehensive portrait of a person’s entire life…Putting users in control of their data is a fundamental piece of privacy protection.  Nineteen states, the European Union, and numerous other countries already protect the right to delete under their privacy laws.  These rules exist for good reasons: retained data can be sold or given away, breached by hackers, disclosed to [rooting cops], or even used to manipulate a user’s choices through online behavioral advertising…The court granted the order based on [the authoritarian assumption] that users who delete their data are probably copyright infringers looking to “cover their tracks”…

 

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

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We get to choose whether—and how—we adopt technology that can eviscerate our humanity.  –  Brian Klaas

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1361)

To “admit” something is to confess to something true, not to a delusion:

…Mark Edwin Dykema was [sentenced to 180 days in jail and] put on probation for three years…[for taking “upskirt” videos at a church and elsewhere in Michigan.  He was recently] handed [a similar sentence in another] county for similar crimes.  Dykema [tried to blame his antisocial behavior on a “]pornography addiction[” even though there is no such thing]…

Vulture Watching (#1464)

Politicians who drink enough Kool-Aid refuse to believe their own experiences:

[Florida politician] Kat Cammack arrived at the emergency room in May 2024…[in] need…[of] a shot of methotrexate to help expel her ectopic pregnancy…[but] her state’s six-week abortion ban had just taken effect…[and] doctors and nurses who saw her…were [prudently] worried about losing their licenses or going to jail if they gave her drugs to end her pregnancy.  She began arguing her case [just as other women and women’s advocates have]…but [reasonable and legitimate] concern about the law’s [vague, confusing, piss-poor] wording made doctors [understandably] hesitant…Months later, Florida regulators [finally deigned] to address what they [mischaracterized as] misinformation, making clear that doctors should intervene in cases such as Cammack’s…[because she is a limp-spined, narrow-minded Republican minion,] Cammack doesn’t fault the Florida law for her experience.  Instead, she accuses [“]the left[“] of scaring medical professionals [by correctly explaining] that they could face criminal charges for violating the law…[and] medical staff [for]…fear[ing having their lives wrecked by prosecutors eager]…to enforce the ban.   [Human rights advocates] said blaming medical workers echoes the “playbook of antiabortion extremists that for decades have been blaming and villainizing doctors”…

Thought Control (#1491)

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

…a mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from…Tennessee school libraries…[includes] a book…called Ancient Greece and the Olympics…[banned for having “The Discus Thrower“] on the cover…[others] include…[Shel] Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic…Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan…They Called Us Enemy by George Takei..Richard Jolley: Sculptor of Glass, a[bout a Tennessee] artist…Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird…John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of WrathIn the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater…Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak…Art Spiegelman’s…MausThe Hidden Children of the Holocaust by Ester Kustanowitz…The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders…the bans are coming without any review or discussion…[because any politician can demand] censorship of [any book by pointing at it and belching any of an]…expanding [list] of [magic words] such as “sexually explicit,” “obscene,” and “harmful to minors”…[putting] Tennessee…on par with states like Florida, Iowa, and Texas

Creepy Coppers (#1532)

Just another kind of cop, with typical cop behavior:

A [typical and representative anti-migrant thug from North Carolina] was indicted on [child porn] charges…Philip Andrew Douglass…was accused of knowingly distributing and possessing the [smut without government permission, by other cops who were sharing it with permission]…

You Were Warned (#1533)

No shit. Sensible people did tell y’all:

Technology to check a person’s age and ban under 16s from using social media is not “guaranteed to be effective” and face-scanning tools [often] give…incorrect results, concede the operators of a Australian government trial of the scheme.  The tools being trialled – some involving [programs] analysing voices and faces – would be improved through [more intrusive surveillance methods], those running the scheme have [predictably] suggested.  The trial also found “concerning evidence” some technology providers were seeking to gather too much personal information [and then not handing it over to the government.  Despite these predictable issues]…the operators [still] insist…age assurance can work and maintain personal privacy…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1538)

How much will it cost for a doctor to remove them from your face after somebody punches you for filming them without consent?

[Facebook] is announcing its next…glass[hole eyewear] with Oakley.  The limited-edition…HSTN (pronounced “how-stuhn”) model costs $499 and…other Oakley models with [Facebook]’s tech will be available starting at $399…Like the existing…Ray-Ban glasses, the Oakley model features a front-facing camera, along with open-ear speakers and microphones that are built into the frame.  After they are paired with a phone, the glasses can be used to [dox anyone who just happens to walk past their camera and Facebook’s LLM] can also [make up shit] about what someone is seeing and even [aggravate the wearer’s mental health issues.  Facebook]…is [market]ing th[is] new [overpriced toy]…to…athletes…and…the built-in camera now shoots in 3K video, up from 1080p for the…Ray-Bans…

Is it just me, or do these look like cheap plastic sunglasses for kids?

Mad Libs (#1548)

Not only are these algorithms unintelligent; they are making those who use them unintelligent as well:

…Every piece of technology can either make us more human or less human.  It can liberate us from the mundane to unleash creativity and connection, or it can shackle us to mindless robotic drudgery of isolated meaninglessness…When [computers are] used to diagnose cancer or automate soul-crushing tasks that require vapid toiling, [they] make…us more human and should be celebrated.  But when [they] suck…out the core process of advanced cognition, cutting-edge tools can become an existential peril.  In the formative stages of education, we are now at risk of stripping away the core competency that makes our species thrive: learning not what to think, but how to think….Our minds make us human—and language provides the social architecture of our thoughts.  [Large language models are] already killing off important parts of the human experience.  But one of [their] most consequential murders—so far—is the demise of a longstanding rite of passage for students worldwide: an attempt to synthesize complex information and condense it into compelling analytical prose.  It’s a training ground for the most quintessentially human aptitudes, combining how to think with how to use language to communicate…This is part of what is lost by ChatGPT, the mistaken belief that the spat out string of words in a reasonable order is the only goal, when it’s often the cognitive act of producing the string of words that matters most…

 

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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It is shameful that they are using…this technology…to target…people who are…just going to work.  –  Ruth Beltran

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A…[British politician named] Patrick Spencer…[sexually] assault[ed]…two women…before he was elected…on 12 August 2023 at the Groucho Club [in London]…the [drunk politician repeatedly harassed]…the f[irst victim until she]…walked away…then…[sneaked up on her from behind] and [groped her]…the second…[woman was caught completely by surprise w]hen [this weirdo suddenly came up]…behind her and [started groping her tits]…the[y both]…complain[ed]…to the…club, [who in turn] reported [the lecherous politician] to the police[, who didn’t bother to do anything about it until]…earlier this year…

Creepy Coppers

Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops:

[A New Jersey cop named] Anthony Kelly…has pled guilty to…distribution of child [porn after]…NCMEC…[reported him to the] prosecutor’s office…[Kelly was] distributi[ng the porn] from a Kik account…between July…and October 2024…He was…charged on November 26…[and agreed to a plea bargain sentence of] seven years in…prison…[with] parole…[and condemnation to the “sex offender” registry] for life…

A Broker in Pillage (#1463)

South Carolina is one of the most flagrant abusers of this unconstitutional practice:

For the first time in nearly 20 years, [people] can travel without fear of [“]Operation Rolling Thunder[”], an annual [scheme to rob motorists] along Interstate 85.  [Typical and representative] Sheriff Chuck Wright initiated the multiday cr[iminal conspiracies] in 2006 and expanded them over the years to involve 11 [cop shops].  But…Wright resigned on May 23…[due to] a federal criminal investigation, and interim Sheriff Jeffery Stephens announced during his first news conference that the [racket] will not continue…Operation Rolling Thunder was an unconstitutional search-and-seizure machine that subjected thousands of innocent people to pretextual, warrantless searches…[in which predatory cops] routinely pulled over vehicles on the flimsiest of excuses and then [rooted through the cars]…and [luggage without warrants or probable cause in order to steal whatever they found.  In one especially-egregious case, cops waylaid]…a charter bus from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and treated every student on board like a criminal…the Institute for Justice…sued for access to…records from 2022, the year of the Shaw incident…[and] found that over 72 percent of vehicle searches produced nothing illegal.  [The cops] cashed in anyway…and…nobody knows exactly where the money goes…due to weak accounting and reporting laws…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1515)

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

A [hysterical Ohio cop named Brayden Moon] was revived with [the placebo effect] after [having a panic attack] from s[eeing what he assumed was] fentanyl [while trying to destroy citizens’ lives with drug charges] during a [pretextual] traffic stop…[excused by getting permission] from a [dog, which naturally suffered no symptoms because]…fentanyl [has no effect]…due to [casual contact, regardless of moronic copaganda about “]exposure[“.  Whiny-baby] Moon collapsed…after [hearing too many porcine tall-tales about magical]…overdose…[a small herd of pigs wast]ed several doses of Narcan, successfully [convincing the little pansy that he had been “rescued”, like mommy kissing a boo-boo to make it all better].  Moon[‘s victims will not escape harm so easily, and the Boss Hog strutted around oinking nonsense about]…“experience and training”…

I Spy (#1535)

Are there really people so naive they actually believe speed traps are about “safety”?

…Washington State P[igs have] a new tool to help [them cash in on] speeding drivers, and your cellphone may have [been conscripted to] help…[them without your consent].  Cellphone data from more than 1 million cellphone users in Washington in 2023 helped the state identify where to look for…drivers [they can profit from via speeding tickets]…the co[p shop] used [your tax money] to purchase telematic data gathered by Michelin…to show when and where [the speed limits were too low for the conditions, so] drivers were [routinely exceeding those arbitrary limits]…Over the next six weeks…Washington State Patrol will be looking [to cash in by lurking] in four locations where [the] speed…[limit is arbitrarily low]: Interstate 5 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Fife, from Fife to Auburn on I-5, north and south of Everett on I-5, and a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90 east and west of downtown Spokane…

Panopticon (#1543)

Don’t think this will only be used to persecute the “other”; we’re well past that:

Florida [pigs rooted] in…a vast…surveillance network…of…license plates scanned by cameras controlled by the [fascist] surveillance company Flock Safety — to aid in immigration [pogrom]s…between March 13 and May 5, [Florida pigs rooted in the database] more than 250 [times, especially]…in the week before and during Operation Tidal Wave, a high-profile [pogrom labeled with one of the sophomoric and self-aggrandizing “operation” titles cops in general and Florida cops in particular love so much]…More than 100 [cop shops and pig herds] in Florida use Flock, [whose system was built despite years of warnings] …from civil rights advocates…[cop shops] across the country conducted these types of searches “either at the behest of the federal government or as an ‘informal’ favor to federal [spooks and goons]”…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1547)

France’s lust to spy on citizens and censor the internet hits an obstacle:

On 16 June, the Administrative Court of Paris suspended the French government’s age verification requirement on EU-based porn companies…[because it is il]legal under EU law…French [censors have]…launch[ed] an appeal…The crux of the issue…is th[at France tried] to bypass the EU’s country-of-origin principle…[which] means a country cannot regulate a company that’s based in another EU state unless a formal objection process…is followed…Xhamster…[and] Aylo…[are] based in Cyprus…This is not the first time France’s [control-freakishness has] clashed with EU 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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If Men Were Angels

You’d think “youth pastor” would be a big red flag by now:

A [typical and representative Tennessee] youth pastor [named]…Ryan McElrath…[pled guilty to molesting] a 17-year-old female victim…and…was sentenced…to 252 months (21 years) in federal [prison] and five years supervised release.  He was also ordered to pay over $8,000 in restitution…

To Molest and Rape (#1485)

Another cop stalks victims through the official cop grooming program:

A…King County [Washington cop named]…Ricardo Cueva…was [arrested and rewarded with a paid vacation for grooming, molesting, and raping a 17-year-old]…he[met via]…the Police Explorer program…a national [grooming] program [cops use to seduce] teens…providing them with opportunities to [be alone with their victims without attracting the attention of the kind of fool who would let their daughters be alone with adult cops]…Cueva met [his] victim in 2016 when he was serving as her group leader for the Burien Police Department’s explorer program…he…rape[d] and [molested the girl]…in 2017 and 2018, when [she] was 17…[but she said nothing until last] month…[when s]he…decided to come forward “in hopes of protecting others from Deputy Cueva”…

Creepy Coppers (#1520)

Just another kind of cop, with typical cop behavior:

A…Homeland Security [spook from Minnesota named]…Timothy Gregg…[has been] charged with the production of child [porn]…after the father of the victim found sexually explicit photos and videos of [his 17-year-old daughter] and an older man on [her] cell phone…[cops] were later able to identify the man in the videos as Gregg…who…recorded videos of them having sex, which…[was] consensual, [but she was below the Minnesota age of consent and below the federal age for legally appearing in porn]…

To Molest and Rape (#1536)

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

…a [screw from the notorious] Lowell [torture complex raped] a 17-year-old…Cody Lord a[pproached] the teen…while she was in her apartment complex’s hot tub…[he] got in, [tried to intimidate her], and [plied her with] tequila before raping her…

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

Hardy [Arkansas] Police Chief Scott Rose has been arrested and charged with [raping]…a minor [after getting her drunk.  Rose’s attack was reported to]…Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell…in late March…[but he dismissed it as a “]rumor[” until]…the victim and her family…[reported the rape to] Arkansas State Police…and the FBI…

And they can’t be trusted even when their freedom depends on it:

[Typical and representative Alabama cop] William “BJ” Squires has been arrested for a third time…[for] violating his bond conditions…[by going] to…Biloxi, Mississippi on June 5…[despite being] require[d]…to stay in Alabama.  Squires…is [out on bail after being]…indicted for rape and sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl…In February, police arrested Squires…[for] walking with his child in Westside Park after he was previously told not to return.  The district attorney’s office was trying to revoke his bond…because of that…[but] Judge Michael Windom [let him go because cop]…

 

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…

 

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