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Posts Tagged ‘Disaster’

These extraordinary restrictions…serve no purpose other than to harm transgender Floridians.

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

A[n Oregon] man was arrested [and charged with] human trafficking [for] exploitation of a man with developmental disabilities…Jack Hauser [was supposed to be] a caretaker for the 26-year-old man after the victim’s mother passed away…[but] for at least two years, Hauser…forced the man to sell drinks and snacks at the exit of a shopping center in Hillsboro, often having him remain there for several days and nights with no shelter or proper clothing…he was…only allowed to sleep in a car or in a garden shed…Hauser also restricted [hi]s contact with other people, as well as his access to money and healthcare…

Disaster (#978)

Seattle is notorious for cloaking its police-statery in bogus “liberal” cant:

[Seattle] City Attorney Ann Davison and…City Councilmember Cathy Moore [have] proposed [inanely-labeled] SODA and SOAP zones…that would, among other things, ban sex workers from a designated area on Aurora Avenue North, a major corridor of Seattle’s survival sex trade.  In a bizarre moment during her presentation, Moore screened a video of sex workers engaging in what she described as “commercial sexual exploitation”…[but was in reality] just [surveillance video of] sex workers walking around on a corner of Aurora…taking videos of sex workers to screen publicly at a recorded meeting that’s also posted online — without giving anyone in that video a voice of their own — is an odd way to try to prove how against exploitation you are.  It’s an exploitative act in itself, and a reminder of how out of touch the City Council is…

The Public Eye (#1385)

This childish puritanism is so exhausting:

[MAGA]ists in Indiana are campaigning to remove an elected official after a…blog outed her as an OnlyFans model and published several screen captures from her members-only…account.  The moralistic witch hunt against Etna Troy Township Trustee Elaine Western originated with…Real News Michiana, which first outed her as a sex worker in April and is now a[dvertis]ing…“a petition to have her censured, investigated and removed from her post”…In April, Western told the site, “I haven’t tried to keep it a secret. I’m not doing anything illegal”…[and her] attorney w[arned] the a[gitators that their attempts]…”to intimidate Mrs. Western into resigning from office to avoid a public media circus…could constitute a criminal offense of intimidation”…

Panopticon (#1413)

Another “security” system that isn’t:

…the Oakland Police Department…and [other cop shops]…are increasingly looking for…Teslas parked near…[“crime scenes”], hoping their unique outward-facing cameras captured key evidence.  And…they’re even resorting to…[stealing] cars to ensure they don’t lose the video…While few cars have camera systems similar to Teslas, that could change rapidly, especially as the [“monkey see, monkey do” habits of marketers] continue…In at least three instances in July and August, Oakland police sought to [steal] a Tesla…to obtain…its stored video…There’s no guarantee that a Tesla will record a crime that occurs near it…But police who view Teslas as rolling surveillance…cameras [do]n’t [give a shit]…Similar issues have come up with self-driving cars [and delivery robots]…in San Francisco and other cities, which are also equipped with sophisticated video capability…But in those cases, police subpoena the tech company…because it owns the cars and the data.  Tesla drivers, by contrast, get [violat]ed individually because they control their own camera footage…

Social Autoimmune Disorder (#1416)

Politicians never stop trying to pass off old civil rights violations as new “solutions” to problems they themselves create:

San Francisco [politicians barfed out the asinine phrase “]illegal prostitution[” to justify a raft of civil rights violations], including the mailing of “Dear John” letters to the owners of vehicles [who happen to pass through] the neighborhood.  Mayor London Breed a[lso barfed out the magic rights-violation-justifying word] “safer”…to…encourag[e useful idiots to report each other to the pigs, and] the city plans to install [magic bill-elimination] barriers along Shotwell Street…[along with more] license-plate reading [and facial recognition] cameras…set up to [monito]r individuals [long after sensible sex workers have simply moved to a new stroll]…

You Were Warned (#1438)

Governments are growing increasingly bold in their internet censorship:

In the…standoff between Elon Musk and Brazil…neither side comes out of it looking very good…Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes [is] (1) freezing Starlink assets and (2) threatening to ban…Twitter entirely from the country…Brazil has done this in the past with WhatsApp and Telegram.  The freezing of Starlink’s assets…suggest[s] how far Moraes would…go in this posturing battle.  Apparently, he was willing to go even further, to the point of potentially blocking VPNs entirely…ISPs and app stores have been ordered to block…the [Twitter] app within five days…Moraes seem[s to have walked] back th[e] section of the ruling [blocking VPNs], though perhaps only temporarily…after Moraes hears from “the parties in the proceedings,” the VPN ban could come back…the…order…also threatens to fine anyone who is able to get around the block nearly $9,000 dollars per day…

The Last Shall Be First (#1448) 

The time, money, and energy our society is flushing down the “culture war” toilet is incalculable:

Several transgender youth and adults are being told their care will be terminated following a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals…that a 2023 law…can go back into effect after being…blocked in June…The ruling…stated that transgender people…do not receive the same level of…protection under the Constitution as other categories such as race, ethnicity, religion, or sex.  This…implies that laws discriminating against transgender people are likely to be considered…constitutional by the 11th Circuit…SB254…banned gender-affirming care for…youth…[and] also restrict[ed] care for…adults…[by] mandat[ing] that [such] care…could only be provided by physicians…the majority of [current] care is provided by nurse practitioners…because the number of transgender adults far exceeds the capacity of physicians [in the field]…If the Supreme Court were to rule [in a pending case stemming from Tennessee’s trans care ban] that transgender people are not entitled to equal protection under the law, many forms of discrimination…could be deemed fully legal…many [in Florida] cannot afford to wait for such a decision, and…have already fled the state

 

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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Apparently, some adults find it appropriate to contact the police over a fictional book involving gargoyles.  –  Jennifer Armentrout

If Men Were Angels

Even the distancing “former” is the same as for rapist cops:

Corey White…a [typical and representative] youth pastor…[in] Midland [Texas] was arrested [for possession of child porn] on Oct. 23…White has waived his rights to a preliminary hearing and…will be held in jail without bond as he waits for trial…New York [cops discovered someone] distributing child [porn] via…Omegle…New York [cops found White among his customers and reported him to their counterparts in Texas]…

Is an “associate pastor” something like a “youth pastor”?

…an…associate pastor in McAlester [Oklahoma named]…David Prince was [apparently] involved in…sexually explicit online chats [with a cop fantasy role-playing as a legal minor, during which he]…claimed to [molested someone the cops defined as a]…child…[Cops then descended upon] Prince[‘s]…residence [and arrested him after finding child porn]…on [his]…computer…

Torture Chamber (#1253)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

An inspection…of a women’s prison in Tallahassee[, Florida revealed]…significant [sanitation] issues…[including] moldy bread…discolored and rotting vegetables…rodent droppings, warped food containers, and bags of cereal with insects in them…roofs routinely leak…[and the cells have] worn bedding, rusted…lockers, issues with showers and toilets, and [toxic] black [mold] on walls and ceilings…[lazy] staff [randomly changes]…the time of day it distributes insulin and drugs…”which may limit the therapeutic benefit of these drugs”…

Crying for Nanny (#1326)

This will never stop while politicians and ambulance-chasers claim heckler’s veto over the entire internet:

The owner of video chat platform Omegle has taken the site offline…[and] replaced [it] with a lengthy message about free speech…In 2021, a woman filed a lawsuit against Omegle for $22 million.  She claimed that she was paired with an adult man wh[ile violating the site’s TOS, which prohibited users below 18, wh]en she was 11 years old, and that he manipulated her into masturbating and urinating on camera in front of him over the course of three years…In July, a judge [declared] that Omegle can’t be shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, [because he didn’t like]…Omegle’s design itself…[which allowed] speech between [anonymous] users…Another lawsuit…makes similar claims…[in his post-shutdown message, site owner Leif K-Brooks criticized the government-encouraged] “constant barrage of attacks on communication services, Omegle included, based on the behavior of a malicious subset of users…The only way to please these people is to stop offering the service.  Sometimes they say so, explicitly and avowedly; other times, it can be inferred from their act of setting standards that are not humanly achievable.  Either way, the net result is the same”…

Winding Down (#1343)

When will the federal government finally read the writing on the wall?

Ohio…[has] becom[e] the 24th state to legalize recreational use [of cannabis]…Issue 2…allows adults 21 or older to publicly possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to six plants at home…[and] also will create a system to license and regulate commercial sales.  That’s assuming Ohio legislators do not [hobble] or [castrate] the rules…which they have the power to do with any “initiated state statute,” as opposed to a constitutional amendment.  Before Issue 2 was submitted to voters, the…General Assembly passed up a chance to enact it, and now the measure returns to the legislature, which can [wreck] it before it takes effect…

Thought Control (#1362)

Do I really need to say, “Not because someone borrowed a book from a library”?

Two Florida members of the [pro-censorship cult] Moms for Liberty…called police on a pair of school librarians over a book in a bestselling young adult fantasy series…[cult member] Jennifer Tapley [bizarrely claimed]…“Pornography [was] given to a minor in a school”…[because] Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout…[was borrowed by] a 17-year-old…The…book centers around an 18-year-old heroine who is losing her vision but can see and talk to ghosts… To keep her abilities hidden from demons…gargoyle shape-shifters guard her…The [wannabe censors object to]…“one [scene] where the main character almost has sex”…Tapley [tried to hide her identify from well-deserved] …public r[idicule] of her…[attempt to inflict state violence on librarians while fellow cultist] Tom Gurski [vomited out “]Ron DeSantis…says this is child pornography.  It’s a serious crime”…T[o its credit,] the sheriff’s office [sent the complaint to the school board]…and closed its case…Gurski…[previously attempted to subject librarians] in Milton, Florida…[to police violence] over Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which has an LGBTQ character…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1371)

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

Monitoring what [citizens] do online is something [politicians] want to make easier for p[olice].  That’s why they’ve proposed a bill…that would block [web]sites [Alabama politicians deem “pornographic”] from anyone under 18 years old…Ben Robbins…plans to sponsor a [“monkey see, monkey do” age verification] bill [with extra-asinine features unique to Alabama.  He wants to force]…companies to register with the state as adult content distributors…and tax…Alabamians [for visiting such sites].  Lastly, the bill will require distributors to have written consent from people who are posted on the site.  Louisiana, Texas, and Utah have similar[ly-unconstitutional] laws.  Each state faces ongoing lawsuits from the Free Speech Coalition because of them…[politician] Robbins [parroted the “internet is a bar” argument a federal judge mocked and rejected in a challenge to the Arkansas version of this same law]…

To Molest and Rape (#1387)

Though the reporter used the distancing “former”, the headline writer didn’t cooperate:

A [typical and representative screw] was sentenced in federal court…for traveling [from Tennessee] to…North Carolina [to rape a toddler]…John Allen Biggins [was condemned to] 17 years in prison…[followed by] a lifetime of…[probation and condemnation to the] sex offender…[registry.  While communicating with a fantasy role-playing] Homeland Security [spook]…Biggins…claim[ed] he had [raped]…his underage stepdaughter and express[ed] interest in [raping]…the [roleplaying spook’s imaginary] 4-year-old daughter.  At one point, Biggins discussed…in detail [how exactly he wanted to violate] the [imaginary] toddler…

By contrast, in this case everyone involved tried to bury the lede as far down as possible:

A [typical and representative Missouri screw] and [his wife have] pleaded guilty…to recording their sexual assault of a child.  Paul Emerson Schofield…and his wife, Sara Ellen Emerson…admitted they had recorded images of child sexual abuse over a three-year period from July 29, 2019, to June 7, 2022…[they were caught because Schofield] uploaded the images to a social media platform…a…search…[revealed] several videos showing the two sexually assaulting an unconscious child, as well as other images of the sexual abuse of children…

 

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 saw more blood and fistfights and violence and threats…while I was there, than my entire life combined.  –  “Cameron”

The Red Umbrella 

What kind of mind uses violence against a marginalized group as an excuse to spew the same kind of propaganda which drives the marginalization?

…a man posing as a…[lying cop] shackled and abducted a [sex worker] from [Aurora Avenue in Seattle]…then drove her hundreds of miles to his home in southern Oregon, where he locked her in a makeshift cell in his garage…She escaped by punching the door, bloodying her knuckles, until it broke.  Authorities say they are looking for more possible victims after linking the man, Negasi Zuberi, to violent sexual assaults in at least four other states…The July 15 abduction is one of at least three cases in the past year in which police say women engaged in prostitution along Aurora Avenue had to make harrowing escapes or otherwise be rescued after being held against their will…Residents have noticed a dramatic increase in the activity since the pandemic struck in 2020, as the Seattle Police Department has contended with a severe shortage of [violent, out-of-control cops]…

Wrong.  Street work on Aurora increased when the government destroyed Backpage.  State violence vs. sex workers caused the problem; it does not prevent it.

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group:

A convicted sex offender who is also a pastor at a [North Carolina] church has been arrested again for more counts of sexual crimes against [young boys aged 9-15]…Robert “Bobby” Price…faces new charges for incidents between 2001-2011…whe[n he]…was a youth pastor…When he was arrested in 2013…[it was] for incidents between 2000-2006.  In 2014, Price was convicted for…16 months in jail…[he] was released in December 2015…[hi]s current…work…as an associate pastor…[is] an administrative role that did not involve any contact with minors…

And it’s even bigger if you include “church group leaders”:

…former [Michigan] church group leader Michael Baxter…[was] sentenced…to…25 to 40 years in prison…[for raping] several [girls], ages 10 and 15, from 1996 to 2013…

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#667)

This isn’t called “trafficking”, while the same demographic choosing to sell sex to survive is:

STAR Guides Wilderness Therapy…bills itself as “the country’s premier wilderness treatment program for teens with technology, pornography and sexual addictions.”  These camps…[pretend ordinary] behavior[s authoritarian parents dislike constitute threats to] “the physical, mental and spiritual health of youth”…[which can be “cured” by] sending kids to the middle of nowhere—for weeks, months, or even years—with no running water, phones, internet access, or contact with the outside world…[this] seems like a disproportionate reaction to watching videos of people having orgasms…

Checklist (#1188)

Airlines:  do you really want to keep accepting liability for employees racially profiling passengers due to the government propaganda you feed them?

A white mother is suing one of the country’s biggest airlines…[because] it accused her of trafficking her black daughter.  Mary MacCarthy…filed suit…against the airline for “blatant racism”…seeking to change Southwest’s [government-approved indoctrination] and policies, after…[an] airline employee had assumed her daughter Moira, then 10, couldn’t be hers based on their differing skintones…

Surplus Women (#1283)

Cops can’t be bothered to investigate the disappearance of sex workers, especially black sex workers:

Remains of Jaynie Crosdale were discovered in a barrel floating in the Missouri River, mirroring the blue barrels found at Timothy Haslett Jr.’s home…further validating him as a serial killer. Alternatively, [cops think there might be]…a possible accomplice still at large, either collaborating with Haslett or operating alone. The Kansas City police department had initially dismissed concerns over missing black women in the area, stating claims of a serial killer were “unfounded rumors” despite conducting no formal investigation…

To Molest and Rape (#1341)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A North Charleston [South Carolina cop] is facing charges [for molesting]…a minor…David Don Watson…[was assigned to spy on, harass, and brutalize young people] at Charleston County Academic Magnet, however, this [victim was] not…a student [he was supposed be molesting, and he didn’t call it a “search” first]…

And here’s one from the other Carolina:

A [typical and representative] Mooresville [North Carolina cop]…was…arrest[ed] for [molesting]…minor[s and taking video of the assaults]…Matthew Edward Beebe…[apparently also had child pornon his] phone…

Served Cold (#1357)

Guy obsessed with child-abduction fantasies following his bliss:

One of thousands of patrons of the crowdfunded…child [“sex] trafficking[” fantasy] film Sound of Freedom was recently arrested and charged for child kidnapping…Fabian Marta was charged…in July…[while hi]s name appears in the movie’s credits among the “investors”…[the movie’s] release was…delayed…[until] nearly $5 million was crowdfunded [to get it out of hock]…The production [was then boosted by mass ticket sales to the same “investors”, making it look as though it was]…beating…the likes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One [even though it was actually playing to phantom crowds at nearly-empty theaters]…

 

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 don’t even think about [masturbation] as relapsing, because…it’s not an addiction.  –  Nicole Prause

Show and Tell

Was this unfortunate person the one who sent me the proof of Ashley Madison’s con game?

Will Harrison was terminated as an Ashley Madison employee in November 2011, and by early 2012 he’d turned his considerable harassment skills squarely against the company.  Ashley Madison’s long-suspected army of fake female accounts came to the fore in August 2012 after the former sex worker turned activist and blogger Maggie McNeill published screenshots apparently taken from Ashley Madison’s internal systems suggesting that a large percentage of the female accounts on the service were computer-operated bots.  Ashley Madison’s executives understood that only a handful of employees at the time would have had access to the systems needed to produce the screenshots McNeill published online…on Mar. 5, 2014, Harrison committed suicide by shooting himself in the head…This fact was apparently unknown to Biderman and other Ashley Madison executives more than a year later when their July 2015 hack was first revealed

To Molest and Rape

A cop posing as a masseur is still a cop:

A [typical and representative Ontario cop] who admitted to sexually abusing 11 women at his side massage business [has escaped with a slap on the wrist, namely] an 18-month sentence at home.  David Kukoly…was not a registered massage therapist but still operated his “Massage by Dave” business from his…home using a different last name.  Under the pre[text] of providing massages, he [molest]ed 11 women…between 2016 and 2018…[but] Justice Richard Blouin…decided against the Crown’s request for a four-year prison sentence…[and gave the budding rapist a mere] year and a half of house arrest [because cop]…

The reporter inserts “was not a registered massage therapist” as though a piece of paper could magically control sexual predators despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1124)

There’s a reason I’ve repeatedly called this cult “dangerous”:

…NoFap ideology tends to breed much bigger problems…suicidal feelings [are associated with] more engagement in the NoFap subreddit and related communities, and the more involved a participant [i]s with NoFap and other groups like PornFree, the more suicidal they report…feeling in response to their last relapse.  One problem with this—beyond the obvious— is that their “relapses” aren’t…real to begin with…because…people who masturbate to porn…aren’t actually “addicted” to it at all…there’s no objective basis for pornography addiction, an opinion supported by numerous peer-reviewed studies and experts in the field.  That isn’t to say that people can’t use pornography compulsively…but that it doesn’t fit in with the very clearly defined scientific idea of addiction, which involves a physiological withdrawal and a loss of pleasure in other activities…

Disaster (#1276)

Unfortunately, this is all we could expect right now:

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals…upheld the district court’s judgment against the Woodhull Freedom Foundation in its four-year legal battle to have FOSTA-SESTA declared unconstitutional, and rejected the strict scrutiny challenge proposed by free speech advocates.  Woodhull…was joined in the appeal by Human Rights Watch, the Internet Archive, Alex Andrews and Eric Koszyk…in January…legal observers…deemed the judges’ line of questioning as leaning toward the possibility of at least part of FOSTA-SESTA being struck down [but]…their new ruling…[declare]s that “neither Section 2421A of FOSTA nor FOSTA’s amendments to the Trafficking Act are overbroad or unconstitutionally vague,” [and] that “FOSTA’s c[ensorship]…comports with the First Amendment [because “sex trafficking”]…

Surplus Women (#1294)

Mexican cops are more concerned about sex workers’ lives than their US counterparts are:

A…suspected serial killer who targeted sex workers in Mexico has been arrested in Southern California…Mexican authorities are working to extradite…Bryan Rivera…of Downey, California who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of three sex workers in Tijuana…in 2022…

Thought Control (#1343)

Politicians are avid devotees of cutting off their noses to spite their faces:

Mississippi has a new law on the books [which effectively bans]…use of digital resources…for those under the age of 18…Even if granted parental permission, minors may not have materials available to them, if vendors do not ensure every item within their offerings meets the new, wide-reaching [political] definition of “obscenity”…[which states] any vendor is out of compliance by simply having materials available in their system which depict sexual reproduction or queerness in any capacity.  Images of nude female breasts…[even in] biology and anatomy books…would be out of compliance with the law.  Platforms like Hoopla and Overdrive are not set up to create systems which change access based on [politicians’ whims].  Library staff are also unable to preview and rate every item available within such platforms, leading to a position [where libraries must completely] shut down access [in order to protect librarians from legal persecution]…

Panopticon (#1344)

Cops will continue to do this until there are criminal penalties for it:

…The Electronic Frontier Foundation…has sent [Sacramento County Sheriff] Cooper a letter requesting that [his] Office cease sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies that could use it to prosecute someone for seeking an abortion…the…office…has shared license plate reader data with [cop shops] in states that have passed laws banning abortion, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas.  Adam Schwartz, EFF senior staff attorney, called automated license plate readers “a growing threat to everyone’s privacy”…and…a sheriff in Texas, Idaho or any other state with an abortion ban on the books could use that data to track people’s movements around California, knowing where they live, where they work and where they seek…medical care…71 [cop shops] in 22 California counties…[a]re sharing such data…in [direct] violation of a 2015 law [banning the practice]…

 

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 authorities…seek to punish a preschool for being a place where there are preschoolers.  –  Lenore Skenazy

Droit du Seigneur

Note that the dysphemism “sex trafficking” is conspicuously absent here:

A [typical and representative] San Diego [cop] who used his badge and his knowledge to run a string of massage…parlors in California and Arizona pleaded guilty…to federal charges.  Peter Griffin and three other defendants entered pleas…to racketeering-related conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other crimes…The wire fraud charge carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1-million fine…

Moloch 

Is this idiotic enough yet?  Can we stop now?

Two Colorado child care workers will go on trial this June for presiding over a day care center where a 5-year-old pulled down a 3-year-old’s pants.  Amy Lovato and Roberta Rodriguez…face criminal charges for not reporting this incident to the authorities quickly enough…Jason Flores-Williams, Lovato’s attorney…ask[ed the judge] to dismiss…charges….[which] “criminalize preschool behavior by turning a 5-year-old into a deviant and a 3-year-old into a victim for acts that are neither sexual, abusive, criminal, negligent, or against any reasonable person or community standard.”  Judge [Brian] Green denied the…motion…on January 16…one of the kids wet their pants, [so] Lovato left the classroom for between 3 and 5 minutes to clean the kid and deposit the wet clothes in the laundry.  When she returned, she saw the 5-year-old “crouched over” a 3-year-old who later told Lovato that the boy had tried to pull her pants down and touch her butt…The school did not ignore this misbehavior.  It called the parents involved…[and] reported the touching incidents to the child welfare department …[but the prosecutor claims they did] not report…the incidents immediately enough…three days later…[though] the question of how quickly a school must report an incident of abuse is vague.  So, it seems, is the definition of abuse.  And so is whether leaving the room to clean off a pee-soaked kid constitutes neglect…

I Can’t Breathe

It’s about time professionals stopped allowing themselves to be used to hide police violence:

A leading group of medical experts says the term “excited delirium” should not be listed as a cause of death…[because it is only] used to justify excessive force by police.  The National Association of Medical Examiners had been one of the last to take a stand against the commonly used but [unscientific] term…The statement has no legal weight, but will be influential among medical examiners…the term…[i]s unscientific, rooted in racism — and a way to hide police officers’ culpability in deaths.  The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association do not recognize excited delirium as a diagnosis.  Yet…police training materials [think they have a right to invent convenient medical diagnoses that fly in the face of medical science]…Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., who chairs the pathology department at Howard University…[says] “It’s not a real explanation for the death”…

Quiet Genocide (#1075)

There was a time when the West might’ve taken a stand against this, but no more:

…the Kutadgu Bilik bookshop [in Istanbul] is a trove of Uyghur culture…[which has been repeatedly] raided by the Turkish police…[stealing] hundreds of books…[each] time…Uyghur literature has…been a prime target [of the Chinese genocide], with dozens of renowned writers, poets, publishers and academics disappeared into the labyrinthine system of [concentration] camps.  This has all but destroyed the small trickle of books coming out of the region, severing a critical link between those who escaped and those still trapped inside…Abdulla Turkistanli, the bookshop owner…said…there are usually only two to four copies of any given title in [his] shop.  The Turkish police, when they raid the shop, [use the pretext] that Turkistanli does not have the copyrights necessary to reprint [them, but]…acquiring the copyrights…is impossible without the cooperation of Chinese authorities.  Even contacting the authors…is impossible…[because] around 90% of the books in his shop were written by people who have been swallowed up by the prisons and re-education camps.  He believes that the Turkish police are acting under pressure from the Chinese state when they raid Uyghur bookshops…

Dangerous Speech (#1276)

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

…Lacey and Larkin’s attorneys…argue…that the DOJ’s indictment and prosecution…of [their clients] and four others…is fatally flawed and should be dismissed…The motion points to the government’s stance…in…the Woodhull Freedom Foundation’s constitutional challenge to…FOSTA…which…[claims] the verbs “promote” and “facilitate”…are legal “terms of art” and do not have the same meanings as in everyday speech…[they] assert that the phrase “promote or facilitate” is the same as “aid and abet,” which requires proof that the defendant intended to facilitate the commission of a specific underlying criminal act — in this case, prostitution.  Meanwhile…in Arizona…prosecutors have consistently fought such an interpretation, arguing that “promote” and “facilitate” are much broader and open to various meanings…The defense…argues that the government should not be allowed to railroad Lacey and Larkin, using a broader legal standard…since the DOJ is simultaneously attempting to thwart a constitutional challenge on the other side of the country by insisting that the Travel Act should adhere to a far more stringent standard…

Monsters (#1288) 

All around the world, monsters claim the “right” to persecute and torture sexual minorities:

Human Rights Watch…accused Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Grindr of not doing enough to prevent violence against LGBTQ+ users by [cops] in…Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia…[the cops] sometimes publish…[their victims’] personal information on social media, leaving them subject to familial violence or homelessness.  Other [times they trick them]…in [order to]…unlawfully search…their personal devices, often under threat of violence…[in order to] collect…private information that’ll enable them to prosecute the [victim] and their [friends]…“When police…could not find [incriminating] information…they [simply]…fabricated chats to justify…detention”…detainees are jailed under vague, trumped-up “morality,” “debauchery,” “prostitution,” and “cybercrime” charges…they’re interrogated; denied access to lawyers, visitors, or medical care; verbally abused; subjected to forced anal examinations…sexually assaulted; tortured; and forced to sign confessions…

To Molest and Rape (#1326)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:  “A Chicago [cop named David Deleon]…sexually abused a minor…[he was] report[ed to other cops by his victim]…

 

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What is it with government agencies & the media teaming up to Streisand some dumb thing…almost no one has ever…heard about…into a thing…everyone knows about?  –  Mike Masnick

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

It’s too bad most arrests aren’t of other cops:

Deputies in South Dakota have arrested a Louisiana state [cop], accusing him of hiring a prostitute while in town for a…conference…Kirk Thibodeaux…has been [rewarded with a paid vacation]…pending the criminal and administrative investigations…

So What Else Is New? (#504)

I’ve never understood why some men are so attached to this notion:

…a[t] orgasm…a “milky fluid” is excreted from the urethra…[but] about 5 percent of women release a clear liquid…studies have determined the milky fluid comes from the Skene glands…[and] scientists in Japan have just published research that [demonstrates] the [clear] fluid comes from the bladder, stating only the “milky fluid”…can be classed as the female ejaculation…Miyabi Inoue…and her colleagues injected blue dye mixed with water into the bladders of five female volunteers w[ith a history of “squirting”]…after a subject was stimulated to the point of climax, a researcher collected the ejected liquid in a sterile cup, and in all five women it was blue…[true] female ejaculation…contains prostate-specific antigen…[and the squirted] liquid from four of the women…was found to contain PSA, suggesting they produced female ejaculate around the same time as they squirted urine, and the two fluids mixed together in the urethra.  Despite the fact previous studies have [produced similar findings]…the[y were] met with skepticism from hordes of men online…Women were quick to mock some of the shocked men and their responses, explaining it was something “women knew all along…Men need scientific study to admit they are being peed on and not actually gods in bed,” one scoffed…

Gullible’s Travels (#977)

Americans will believe basically any scaremongering about teenagers:

…the number of videos…of teens calling people idiots for even daring to think of putting a Tide pod in their mouth far, far outnumbered the extraordinarily few videos of people actually putting a Tide pod in their mouth.  As some people have noted, it’s way more dangerous to talk about teenagers as if they’re all too stupid to know not to put a Tide pod in their mouth.  But the media absolutely can’t resist.  Last…week…the FDA (for whatever reason) released a consumer alert saying that people shouldn’t cook their chicken in NyQuil, calling it “a recent social media challenge”…of course, like all the earlier examples, this…turned out to be a whole lot of…adults freaking out over things that kids weren’t actually doing…the whole thing started as a shitpost on 4chan where someone made a joke about cooking chicken in NyQuil…and some people [making videos] reacting to the joke.  And, then, of course, the FDA Streisanded the whole idea into becoming a thing.  According to…TikTok…there were only five searches for NyQuil chicken…on Sept. 14, one day before the FDA posted its statement.  By Sept. 21, searches on the topic had increased by more than 1,400 times

A Broker in Pillage (#985)

The South Carolina Supreme Court declares itself illegitimate:

In a major blow against government accountability, the South Carolina Supreme Court…upheld the state’s civil forfeiture laws, which let police [openly steal] cash, cars, and even ho[us]es, without ever filing criminal charges.  By overturning a lower court ruling that declared civil forfeiture unconstitutional, the decision jeopardizes property rights for [every citizen]…in…nearly 40% of all forfeiture cases…the owner was never convicted of a crime.  And under state law, if an owner doesn’t formally file a claim for their seized property, [cops] win a “default judgment” and keep [the stolen property]…Worse, state law provides a powerfully perverse incentive to police for profit.  [When any] property [is stolen by cops], the [robbers’ gang] keeps the first $1,000 and then 75% of the remainder.  Prosecutors receive 20%, while a mere 5% is sent to the general fund. Since 2009, [cops have robbed citizens of]…nearly $97 million

Disaster (#1234)

An amicus curiae brief was recently filed in the FOSTA challenge by a group of organizations including Decriminalize Sex Work, The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center, Freedom Network, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Erotic Laborers Alliance of New England, Old Pros, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, New York Transgender Advocacy Group, Free Speech Coalition,  SWOP Brooklyn, GLITS, and the St. James Infirmary.  Elizabeth Nolan Brown has an in-depth look at the arguments in the suit and brief, and you can see a PDF of the brief here.  In related news, the Woodhull Foundation (one of the parties to the FOSTA challenge) has recently launched a petition seeking to block the so-called EARN IT Act; I’m not sure if petitions have any effect in such cases, but I suppose they can’t hurt.

Dangerous Speech (#1270)

The government’s evil clown show has been renewed for another season:

The prosecution of Backpage founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin…can continue to drag on, per a new ruling from the…9th Circuit.  The court [is pretending] that trying them again after a mistrial…would not count as double jeopardy.  “No one is the least surprised”…Lacey tells Reason…”We have always believed we must rely upon jurors, not judges, for a fair shake. And so to trial.”  Lacey, Larkin, and the other defendants are likely to face trial again in 2023, though no date has been set.  That would mean a sixth calendar year in which their lives are upended by this…seemingly eternal attempt to put people in prison for running a website where sex workers advertised.

Permanent Record (#1274)

If prohibitionists really want to “rescue” sex workers, why do they keep trying to shut us out of other jobs?

A [teacher] who set up an OnlyFans account to supplement her income was fired from her…job…after her employer found out about the account…[thanks to a self-appointed morality cop who also] posted photos from the OnlyFans account without her consent…Sarah Juree worked full-time as a teacher in South Bend, Indiana…but…was unable to support her family on the modest salary of $55,000 per year…her rent alone cost nearly half of her income and her employer didn’t offer health insurance…Around the time Juree set up her OnlyFans account, she…had a casual conversation with a colleague and their boss about side gigs that fall under the sex work umbrella, including OnlyFans pages.  “My boss got really excited and said, ‘Yeah, you can start a page.  You can make a lot of money’…I was like, ‘Great, I’m not going to have any issues with work because my boss literally told me to sell my panties on OnlyFans”…

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Surveillance always comes with inherent forms of abuse.  –  Evan Greer

If Men Were Angels

“Youth group director” is clearly just as bad as “youth pastor”:

A [typical and representative New Jersey]…church youth group director is facing child pornography charges.  Arnold DiBlasi was arrested…after [cops] found thousands of child porn images on his home computer and cellphone…the FBI…[claims] DiBlasi distributed more than 11,000 photos to 30 different people in an online chat room…

You Were Warned (Subtle Difference)

What the government can’t destroy with criminal law, it wrecks by encouraging nuisance lawsuits against:

[A predatory lawsuit by a professional “survivor”] alleges that Visa, by processing revenue from ads, conspired with Pornhub’s parent firm MindGeek to make money from videos of [what is alleged to be underage sexual] abuse.  Visa had sought to be removed from the case…[correctly] argu[ing] that the “[fact] that Visa recognized MindGeek as an authorized merchant and processed payment to its websites does not suggest that Visa agreed to participate in sex trafficking of any kind”…a commercial relationship alone does not establish a conspiracy.  But [the] Judge…[prefers to fantasize that a major corporation with a long history of nervousness around “reputational damage”] “intended to help MindGeek monetize child porn from the very fact that Visa continued to provide MindGeek the means to [operate]”…

In plain English, the judge is assuming that the plaintiff’s bizarre and censorious conspiracy narrative, intended to further an agenda of criminalizing all adult content on the internet, is not only true, but that Visa somehow knew it to be true and willingly participated despite decades of aversion to dealing with stigmatized businesses.

Stalkers in Blue (#1180)

Another sexual predator specifically targets traumatized women:

A [Sussex cop] sent a naked selfie to a woman after [taking a report from her after] she [was]…sexually assaulted in a pub…he [also] told [her] he wanted to take her home and use his police handcuffs on her and [said] he was so aroused by her he would have sexually assaulted her himself…The [not-remotely] shocking revelations were made at a disciplinary hearing…where the [creepy cop was]…granted anonymity to keep his identity a secret [so he can assault more women in future]…

Thought Control (#1209)

A fine example of ice-pick self-lobotomization:

Voters in Jamestown Township, [Michigan]…rejected renewal…of a millage that would support the Patmos Library.  That vote guts the library’s operating budget in 2023 — 84 percent of the library’s $245,000 budget comes from property taxes…There have been protests at other Michigan public libraries and at school board meetings about books with LGBTQ themes.  But…[this] may be the first time a community voted, in effect, to close its library [because neither the board nor the director would submit to censorship by fanatics challenging books they haven’t read from a widely-circulated hit list]…Library Director Amber McLain resigned this spring…[after] she [was]…harassed online and accused of indoctrinating children.  Interim director Matthew Lawrence resigned later…

Opting Out (#1229) 

The UK’s decade-long campaign to censor the internet continues to be a comedy of errors:

The government’s flagship Online Safety Bill [wa]s…dropped from Commons business…with a view for it to return to the Commons “in the autumn”…[wannabe censors are] oncern[ed]…that it could be [entire]ly scrapped as its return later this year will be dependent on the focus of the new Prime Minister.  The Bill aimed to allow Ofcom to [control] online platforms, mainly [by censor]ing…content that [politicians have arbitrarily declared “harmful”]…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1231)

It’s always lovely to see them feeding on each other:

A [California cop so representative he]…was named “Detective of the Year”…in 2019 has been charged with sending graphic messages to someone [cops recruited to fantasy role-play online as] a 14-year-old girl…Gregory Beaumarchais…was [rewarded with a paid vacation after the incident, which vaguely occurred] between December 2021 and January 2022…

Welcome to the Future (#1249)

Conditioning kids to accept constant, intrusive surveillance:

When students in the US were forced [by the State] to continue their schooling virtually, many brought home school-issued devices…[packed with malware that can allow teachers to view and control students’ screens, [secretly read their] emails and cloud-based documents, and…[automatically rat them out to the pigs for thoughtcrime].  Now that the majority of American students are finally going back to school in-person, the surveillance [mal]ware that proliferated during the pandemic [is here to] stay…89 percent of teachers [report] that their schools will continue using student-monitoring software…[even though] the overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to new concerns about digital surveillance in states that have [criminalized] abortion care…[and] gender-affirming care

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Schools are using [cops]…to…do their dirty work.  –  Jackie Ross

License to Rape (#932)

Cops raping whores is so ubiquitous, others pose as cops to facilitate rape:

…hundreds of…men claiming to be [Irish cops have been raping,] abusing and harassing sex workers…The [attacks] range from demanding [sex]…worker[s submit to rape], to violent abuse, including [forcible] rape, choking, and assault…at least two [incidents involved] men…produc[ing] handcuffs and attempt[ing] to [abduct] the women…one such [rapist]…targets foreign sex workers due to their particular vulnerability and demands [they submit to rape or else face]…deportation…

Moloch (#1048) 

Pigs in schools are a menace which should be abolished:

…Across Illinois, police are ticketing thousands of students a year for…adolescent behavior once handled only by the principal’s office…Ticketing students violates…an Illinois law that prohibits schools from fining students as a form of discipline.  Instead of issuing fines directly, school officials [snitch]…to police, who then ticket them for municipal ordinance violations…Another state law prohibits schools from notifying police when students are truant…but…dozens of school districts routinely [violate]…this law…At the assembly-line hearings where…these cases are handled, students have no right to legal representation and little chance to defend themselves against charges that can have long-term consequences…fines can be hundreds of dollars, presenting an impossible burden for some families, and administrative or court fees of up to $150 are often tacked on.  Unpaid fines are sometimes sent to collections or deducted from parents’ tax refunds.  And, unlike records from juvenile court, these cases can’t be expunged under state law…

Disaster (#1072)

The FOSTA challenge is proceeding yet again:

Two human rights organizations, a digital library, a sex worker activist, and a certified massage therapist [have] appealed a ruling that denied  their constitutional challenge to FOSTA…an overbroad and censorious internet law that harms sex workers.  The plaintiffs, Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Human Rights Watch, The Internet Archive, Alex Andrews, and Eric Koszyk, have been challenging the law since it was enacted in 2018.  The district court…dismissed the case last month, [pretend]ing that FOSTA did not violate the First Amendment…

To Molest and Rape (#1130)

Calling himself a monster is the first honest thing he’s said since he was caught:

A [typical and representative] Boston [cop who was president of the pig union] is now pleading guilty to…child rape…Patrick Rose Sr…pleaded guilty to 33 charges in connection with the rape and abuse of at least six children…as far back as the 1990s and as recently as four years ago…Rose [was first caught] in 1995, but he was allowed to keep his badge for another 20 years…

Guinea Pigs (#1191)

This has been going on for years, and platforms do nothing to stop it:

[Pigs] of the Minneapolis [cop shop]…engaged in [unauthorized] surveillance of local Black leaders and organizations…as just one [of] a litany of other abuses that included “[murder]ing community members of color and Indigenous community members” at a highly disproportionate rate, according to a [new] report…[showing] a pattern…of racial discrimination…extending over a period of at least 10 years…includ[ing] the “covert use” of fake social media accounts to spy on local Black residents who were not suspects in any criminal probes…The groups included the local chapters of the NAACP and Urban League.  [Lying pigs] used fake accounts to gain access to posts they could not otherwise read…commented on posts, sent private messages, and contributed to discussions…[while pretending to be] like-minded individuals and claim[ing], for example, that they met the targeted person at a prior demonstration or protest…

Opting Out (#1199) 

The worse the idea, the more eager politicians are to ape it:

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe…issued a resolution…urging European nations to mandate online [censorship software] for “pornographic materials” on all devices, to be “systematically activated in public spaces, such as schools, libraries and youth clubs”…The PACE p[olitic]ians [also bloviated about… “addiction to pornography and…unhealthy sex.”  There is no scientific evidence for a clinical “addiction to pornography” and n[one of] the p[olitic]ians offered any definitions of what they consider “unhealthy sex” or…explained how these mandatory [censorship algorithms] would be coded and by whom…The…resolution includes a number of…suspiciously-sourced statements that seem to echo anti-porn propaganda by both religious activists and sex-worker-exclusionary feminists…

To Molest and Rape (#1220)

Another specimen of the garbage the state pays to violate kids:

A [cop paid by the state to stalk, harass, and spy on students] was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for child molestation in Carrollton…Jerric Gilbert…[molested] an 11-year-old girl…

The TV station which produced this story felt compelled to defend a child molester by digging up someone to say what a great guy he is and how he never molested her son.

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It was just heartbreaking to me…to see what we had become.
–  Morgan Davis

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastors” are as bad as cops:

…Conner “Jesse” Penny…was arrested April 5…for…sexual assault of a child…[for repeatedly molesting] a girl…between 2015 and 2018.  Police did not say how old the girl was at the time or now…Since his arrest…more victims have come forward [about being]…abuse[d] by Penny between 2013 and 2021…Penny was…a youth pastor at Inspiration Church…in Mesquite, [Texas, but he has a long history of following his bliss]…as a teacher’s aide and a [youth] counselor…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1103)

Liz Brown takes a very detailed look at the current US pro-censorship cult:

…it’s a financially precarious, and perhaps even dangerous, time to be in the business of online porn…a constellation of activist groups, rooted in deeply conservative opposition to virtually any depiction of sexuality…have put considerable pressure on the middlemen who keep online porn in business.  In some cases, that pressure has led to the creation of onerous new laws; in others, it has been aided by support from powerful figures in business and government.  These groups have repeatedly sought to conflate…commercial sex…with…sexual exploitation, often with lurid statistics about exploited minors that don’t stand up to scrutiny.  Although these groups [pretend] their aim is merely to rid the web of abuse, it’s clear that their true goal is to eliminate the vast majority of adult sexual content…through a combination of legal pressure tactics, lobbying for new laws, and political intimidation…Rather than help vulnerable women, these efforts threaten to make life worse for the very people they claim to want to help—while simultaneously stifling internet expression more broadly…

The Widening Gyre (#1136)

Innocent people accused of “sex trafficking” by attention-hungry loons are starting to hit back:

…In a two-part Instagram video…[Katie] Sorensen spun a [hysterical] tale about a “[not] clean-cut” man and woman who nearly succeeded in kidnapping her two young children…In reality, her frantic [fantasy] succeeded only in shining a spotlight on herself.  Sorensen’s video gained her a flood of new Instagram followers, an interview with the local news, and an outpouring of online support from terrified moms.  But police said an investigation into the incident produced no evidence that a crime had taken place.  Now Sorensen herself is scheduled to be on trial in May.  Instead of nearly being one of the extremely rare stranger abductions in the U.S. every year, the truth…[is] something less surprising: a white woman painting herself as the victim, when she is actually the aggressor…

Sorensen’s intended victims, Sadie Vega-Martinez and her husband Eddie, wisely went public as soon as they realized Sorenson was defaming them online, exposing her lies as the attention-seeking nonsense they were.  And Elle‘s article quoted above is yet another sign that the implosion of the moral panic which spawned this attempt to destroy an innocent family’s lives is well underway.

Policing for Profit (#1207)

Does anyone still believe that this is about anything other than profit?

The federal government has agreed to return more than $1 million that California sheriff’s deputies stole from an armored-car company that serves state-licensed marijuana businesses…Empyreal Logistics…[was robbed by] Sheriff Shannon Dicus’ [henchmen]…three times in November, December, and January, making off with about $700,000 the first time and about $350,000 the second time.  During the third stop, they came away empty-handed because the van was carrying rolls of coins that had nothing to do with the cannabis industry.  Since…marijuana businesses…are legal in California, Dicus handed the loot over to the FBI, hoping to ultimately keep up to 80 percent of the money through…the Justice Department’s “equitable sharing” program.  That “adoption” fell through after Empyreal sued the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration…As part of the settlement, Empyreal dropped the federal defendants from its lawsuit.  It is still suing Dicus, and the settlement does not address a separate [robbery] of $165,000 by Kansas sheriff’s deputies, who targeted an Empyreal van carrying money from state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Kansas City, Missouri, last May…

The Last Shall Be First (#1216) 

It’s good to see a few government employees with both spines and principles:

While the [Texas] attorney general’s office has gone to great lengths to defend the governor’s [jihad against trans youth] in court, the agency responsible for carrying out the investigations has been roiled by resistance and resignations…More than half a dozen child abuse investigators told [reporters]…that they either have resigned or are actively job hunting as a result of the directive…The employees, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity…said they [were]…unwilling to undertake…discriminatory investigations…but haunted by what a mass exodus of experienced child abuse investigators would mean for the state’s most vulnerable children…

Disaster (#1220)

They’ve chased the ambulance back to Texas again:

Three Texas judges for the state’s Fourteenth Court of Appeals denied…Facebook’s appeal to dismiss a lawsuit in which [ambulance-chasers representing professional “survivors”] argued the platform “facilitated the sex trafficking of minors” and is not protected from liability by Section 230.  Facebook had asked the [court]…to decide if Texas had jurisdiction over the case…The Texas Supreme Court…ruled [last] June…that Facebook was protected from several of the claims by Section 230…but also decided that some of the [fantastical] claims…could proceed [because pro-censorship fanatics like Morality in Media claim to believe them]…

To Molest and Rape (#1222)

So many rapist cops, so many underage victims:

A Los Angeles Co[p named]…Sean Jerome Essex…was arrested for [molesting a girl]…under 14-years-old, and for[cing her to blow him]…

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The number of arrests for human trafficking is zero.  –  Gary Edinger

Above the Law (#136)

Well, this is different:

A female [cop] has been jailed for six months after getting caught with a convicted rapist under her supervision.  Rachel Beale…was caught by her boyfriend…in bed with…Marc Few…with whom she was having an intimate affair.  Beale f[irst]…brought [Few] home to her country cottage to do odd jobs for her…[the boyfriend] became suspicious when he woke up one morning to find Beale missing…[so] he went to [Few’s] address…and caught him naked in bed with…Beale…wh[o]…also used her [cop perks]…to make hotel bookings…for…purposes [other than maliciously tricking people]…

Bullies With Badges (#977)

Everyone harmed by “trafficking investigations” needs to keep suing over them:

Many of Jacksonville’s biggest strip clubs have a new deal with city attorneys that is years in the making…[the city is] paying the businesses and dancers [a paltry] $60,000, [but] police also have new restrictions on how they can in[terfere with the normal operations of] these venues…owners filed a lawsuit in 2018…[due to] the city…violating the businesses’ constitutional rights in a number of ways…Wacko’s [lawyer Gary]…Edinger…[fantasies] city [politicians] have [bloviated about] linking clubs with human trafficking.  “Bullshit…the City of Jacksonville has never made a human trafficking arrest in an adult entertainment system, not in the bikini bars and not in the nude clubs”…

Disaster (#1072)

This Bloomberg reporter slurps up propaganda in such a nauseating fashion, the edits were self-defense:

The U.S. government can continue enforcing a law designed to c[ensor the internet and harm sex workers]…after a federal court in Washington [pretende]d that it’s neither overly broad nor unduly vague.  The [court incorrectly claimed]…FOSTA, doesn’t violate the First Amendment because it doesn’t discriminate against speech based on its content…Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Internet Archive, and two individuals who operate websites that…come within FOSTA sued to invalidate it…correctly interpret[ing] the law as…targeting the online promotion…of sex work [which cops, spooks, politicians, and prosecutors often misrepresent as the “sex trafficking” specifically named in the law]…

Still a Child (#1154) 

Japanese politicians appear to understand that infantilizing legally-adult women in matters of sex is nothing like feminism:

As Japan debates lowering the age of legal majority from 20 to 18, a [politician] asked the prime minister to create an exception in the new laws so that 18- and 19-year-old…[women are still considered legal minors] in the a[rea of sex work]…contract…[law]…Ayaka Shiomura…[appears to imagine this constitutes “feminism”, but to her] dismay…[other politicians] declined to create a specific “porn exception for 18- and 19-year-old women” within Japanese contract law.  The legal age for drinking, smoking and gambling, however, will remain at 20…

Creepy Coppers

This one really was a semi-“former” cop:

A former Tampa [cop] was arrested [March 30th] on 100 counts of child pornography after “disturbing evidence” was found on several of his personal devices…Paul Mumford…retired in 2015 as a sergeant and had been serving as a volunteer reserve [cop] ever since…Mumford…worked in the…Sex Crimes Unit from 2008 to 2009…[but boss cops denied] that…[Mumford] obtained any of the images from [work]…

Negative Secondary Effects (#1212)

In the current climate of oppression I’m not optimistic about the lawsuit’s chance of success:

Amidst a relentless U.K. media campaign demonizing sex work, the Edinburgh Council voted…to impose a “nil cap” on all sexual entertainment venues in the Scottish city, effectively banning all strip clubs…Virtually every prominent sex worker rights organization in the U.K. has sounded the alarm about this dangerous decision…which [left over 100 women suddenly jobless]…United Voices of the World, which also represents sex workers, will file for judicial review, according to legal caseworker Danielle Worden[, who said]…“Not only does this violate the the Equality Act 2010, it is an act of cruelty to remove the livelihoods of hundreds of workers as we enter the worst economic crisis since the 1970s”…

Thought Control (#1225)

Idaho politicians are punishing librarians for refusing to obediently submit to censorship:

Idaho [politicians] announced…that they will be forming a “working group” to study [their own propaganda about supposedly]…“explicit” or “pornographic” materials available to minors…[in] the state’s libraries…The House twice de[railed] the proposed budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries…[with fanciful] claims that the libraries contain “pornographic material”…the library budget was eventually passed…but only after being cut by around…a third…

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