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Posts Tagged ‘domestic violence’

In the News (#1663)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Body-worn cameras are…used…to present the police to the public in the most favorable way possible.  –  Christopher Schneider

Shame, Shame (#1455)

I’ve been skeptical of the notion of body cameras as a police “reform” for well over a decade:

…ICE [goons] will be equipped with much-delayed body cameras by the end of next month…but…the [boss goon will] restrict the public release of footage unless “it is in the best interests of the agency”…[It should be obvious that] none of the [footage] in…[cases where goons murder a citizen will be released]…taxpayers who put up more than $30m for the cameras [will] still be kept in the dark about [murders and other atrocities while]…releas[ing] recordings that reflect well on the agency’s image…

The Cop Myth (#1615)

A woman who sleeps with a cop endangers her entire family:

A Texas [cop named Chad Eberle was] arrested in Mexico [for murder]ing three people and critically injuring the mother of his child…[when the victims tried to stop him from abducting] his three-year-old son.  Two women and one man were killed…and…the child’s…mother was…shot in the head and remain[s] in critical condition…Eberle was [caught] while attempting to cross from Mexico into Texas…The three-year-old was unharmed…

Welcome To the Future (#1620)

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

USA Today Co. has made a de[vil’s bargain] with [fascist surveillance] company Palantir to analyze and monetize user behavior...CEO Mike Reed [barfed buzzwords like “]activate audience data[“]…and… “actionable intelligence” [at investors to dazzle them with bullshit]…USA Today Co. owns more than 200 local newspapers…along with its national daily USA Today.  The [surveillance collusion] with Palantir comes as search traffic continues to fall [due to corporations like Palantir selling chatbots to the very stupid]…Axel Springer — which owns Business Insider, Politico, Bild, and The Telegraph — and Fox News [are] also [collaborating] with Palantir…to…[spy on their readers, and] Thomson Reuters…supplies [them] data…

Shame, Shame (#1635)

Facebook is the most antisocial corporation other than those who run prisons:

Over the last nine months, Mark Zuckerberg…has run dozens of paid ads that include explicit [computer]-generated child [porn] and images of minors alongside sexually suggestive statements…some [of the] ads linked out to so-called nudify or undressing apps…the ads [have] run…across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and…Threads…[and represent] the second time in recent weeks that paid [child porn] ads…have been found on [Zuckerberg]’s platforms…this isn’t content posted by third parties…[but rather] ads that were reviewed, approved, and allowed to run…[until they were caught, but] have now been removed [according to standard Facebook] policies on [getting caught red-handed by journalists]…

Lest you think Zuckerberg is merely looking the other way rather than intentionally spreading poison:

A[n Australian] white nationalist…neo-Nazi…is being paid by Facebook…to produce content…Hugo Lennon…has been receiving revenue through Facebook’s “Content Monetization” program since September 2025…[by making propaganda] videos…referencing white supremacist concepts like replacement theory and remigration.  The Noticer, a[n]…Australian…website that regularly promotes white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies, has been making money through the same Facebook revenue program since November 2025…[even though it] is currently suspended from [Twitter]…because it [is so violently]…hateful…Monica Smit, the founder of the anti-vaccine…group Reignite Democracy Australia, joined Facebook’s content monetisation program in September 2025…[but has] been earning advertising revenue through Facebook from as far back as 2017…[by selling] “radiation protection” bracelets…

Creepy Coppers (#1637)

The inevitable result of sexual predators being given power over women:

An…Oregon woman has filed a $300,000 lawsuit [because] two [cops] used a body-worn camera to surreptitiously record her as she urinated…[after they demanded] she…provide a urine sample in response to fabricated [DUI and drug possession] charges…six weeks later, the…District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges without explanation, [making the victim, Tami] Nuxall[, suspicious]…the city of Enterprise and its entire three-member police force…Shannon Stillman…Jacob Curtis and…Kevin McQuead…have…a [long history of harassing]…Nuxall, [who]…lives less than half a mile from the police station…[it started in] 2023, when she was ticketed for failing to carry proof of insurance…and…Curtis…pulled a gun on her and her children…[boss hog McQuead’s idiotic defense was that] Curtis was…[only threatening her life “]for a short time[“.  Naturally]…she told city council members that police were “out of control” and…in the [next] 15 months…she was stopped and ticketed…more than any other time in her life…six times in [all, and] half of those cases were dismissed…

Torture Chamber (#1645)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

Inside LA County’s only jail for women, brown or foul-smelling liquid flows from the taps where the women [are supposed to] get their drinking water.  They shower under rusty pipes and on floors covered in mold.  Gnats, worms, and maggots regularly crawl out of sink drains and…[broken] toilets…run day and night…The Sybil Brand Commission of Institutional Inspections…called the situation “an ongoing and unresolved public health crisis”…[more than] half of the [victims of this atrocity]…are [legally innocent]…

The Vultures Descend (#1651)

This was always the endgame, regardless of claims to the contrary:

A teenage girl has been arrested in North Carolina for “assault with a deadly weapon” after allegedly taking abortion pills 31 weeks into her pregnancy, which prompted her to go into labor.  The teen’s boyfriend has also been arrested, and charged with negligent child abuse…the “deadly weapon” appears to refer to…abortion pills…[which cops claim] signaled her “intent to kill”…Instead of being allowed to rest and receive medical care just days after going into labor, the 18-year old was arrested and jailed…then forced to show up for a court hearing…There is no crime here.  Yet, by attacking [a frightened girl] with this mishmash of charges, cops are trying to make self-managed abortion a crime…

 

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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In the News (#1658)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This is about trying…to make a dollar on people who only have a dollar.  –  Jamieson Webster

Out of Control (#1173)

Spooge-based sexual assaults are growing worse:

…masturbating in front of [or even onto] female customers at branches of Dollar Tree [is]…a disturbing new form of sexual assault that [incels a]re documenting and bragging about in dark corners of the internet…surreptitiously ejaculating on random women [is called] “tagging” or “sharking”…[and] online forums praise…perpetrators for being “low inhibition” or “low inhib”…Dollar Tree crop[s] up again and again as a favored location for such attacks, a[pparently because of]…the same problems that…have led, over the years, to…millions of dollars in fines: inadequate safety and security, understaffing on the premises, and disorganized aisles filled with unopened boxes that offer…criminals ample opportunity to skulk…

Secret Squirrel (#1403)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpty-eleven:

The term gaslighting [has] become overused in social and political contexts, but its physical deployment in the home is evolving with [so-called “]smart[“] technology…From…a different neighbourhood, city or even country, settings on household tech can be changed to unsettle and disturb the person living there.  Timings on the clock are altered so school pick-ups and appointments are missed, making that person appear unreliable…Electricity controls can be tweaked so household appliances and lights turn off.  The television can be switched on at full blast to disrupt sleep…the…heating [can be turned up or off to make] the space…unlivable even.  An[d of course there’s]…eavesdropping…Emma Pickering…of…the domestic abuse charity [Refuge] said referrals to her team in the year to March 2026 rose by 78 per cent compared with the previous year…

If Men Were Angels (ROTW #18)

Teacher and politician should have been a red flag:

[West Virginia politician] Elliott Pritt…[sexually abused] a [15-year-old] girl [after grooming her] through Roblox and Snapchat.  Pritt…is [also] a public school teacher…and [tried to entice his victim by telling her]…that he loved her…he…sent [her dick pics] and [begged for her to] send nude photos of herself through Snapchat…he [then molested her] in his classroom…at least five to ten times…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1617)

Every weapon eventually begets a defense:

As facial recognition technology [metastasizes] across [the world], a new generation of designers say privacy could be the next big fashion trend.  Companies have started incorporating “adversarial patterns” in their garments – carefully designed arrangements of shapes, colours and repeated motifs said to exploit weaknesses in some computer vision systems…the effectiveness of the patterns depends on the surveillance system and the conditions in which it is used…

The Cop Myth (#1655)

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

[A] Seattle [cop named] Marlon Williams-Booth was arrested in late May for…[attack]ing his wife…[After she escaped]…he…called [one of his cronies] at the [cop shop] and [lied] that his wife pulled a gun on him…[when] Thurston County deputies [arrived they found him] hostile…drunk…and [only marginally coherent, so they] left and took a statement from [his] wife at a hotel…[she explained]…that she was leaving him. At [his] insistence, she always carried her firearm when she left the house…when he…blocked [her] exit…he asked…if she was carrying, and she patted [her] holster…he [then] lunged at her…pinned her…against the wall…[took] the gun from the holster, grabbed her by the hair…[threw] her to the ground…[and put] the gun…[to] her [head]…she double-kicked him in the chest and escaped out the window…[all] the evidence was consistent with [the] wife’s account…On the way to jail, he…continued ranting, claiming to be “one of the elite heroes of downtown Seattle”…[and bragging about] how many people [he had murdered; in reality]…SPD records [showed] Williams-Booth has never fired his weapon on duty or been fired upon…

Panopticon (Nosey Parkers)

Do you feel safe yet?

[Cop shop]s around the country [are routinely using] Flock cameras…to search for specific people, not cars, using searches [as vague] as “heavy-set male”…“person on skateboard”…[or] “backpack”…while most people associate Flock cameras with…tracking vehicles, some of the cameras are also capable of following the movements of particular people…These are called “FreeForm” searches, and allow cops to use Flock’s system as though they would use a search engine…“giant oceans of video data can now be searched the same way big text files can be, including for…t-shirts, tattoos, and bumper stickers.  Even without face recognition, that’s a significant increase in surveillance capability,” [said] Jay Stanley…[of] ACLU…The searches sometimes stretch across dozens or even nearly a hundred networks of Flock cameras at once…[and routinely] pull up images of innocent or unrelated people…

Stalkers in Blue (Nosey Parkers)

With warrantless surveillance, no woman is safe from cops:

A [Georgia cop named]…Kabiru Salawu was [fired and criminally] charged [after being caught]…misus[ing the Flock] license plate [reader network to stalk women]…He’s currently in jail, being held without bond.  His arrest is the latest in a [long but predictable] string of incidents in which Georgia [cops] have been [caught] misusing this technology…CBS Atlanta [reports] at least 10 other[s]….

 

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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In the News (#1655)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Language is one of the things making us human and all of a sudden a mediator is stepping into that process.  –  Sandra Wachter

Welcome to the Future (#1475)

If this doesn’t horrify you, you might be a useful idiot:

Two teens who engaged a Waymo car for an afternoon of carousing were…[robotically] delivered…to the San Mateo police.  The 15-year-olds allegedly were drinking alcohol and shooting water beads from a toy gun as they rode…Waymo stopped the car in a parking lot[, locked the doors,] and [called the cops on them]…Waymo cars have interior cameras…monitored by the company’s employees [or a computer]…

Some people seem to think this is OK because the teens were acting like idiots, but if a robot car can trap riders and deliver them to the cops for one reason, it can do the same for any other reason the corporation chooses or is compelled by law to implement.  And if you think those internal cameras won’t soon have facial recognition capability, or that monitoring them won’t eventually be handed to chatbots, please send me $10,000 and I’ll sell you the secret of personal teleportation.

License to Rape (#1482)

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

A Maryland man [nam]ed…Bryan Neal Gordon…arranged to meet a [sex worker]…on June 28…[but] once [she] was in his car [he] claimed to be a…[cop], handcuffed her, and…sexually assaulted her.  She escaped after several hours and called the police…[who] arrested [Gordon the next morning]…for [trying the same thing again with another] woman…

Blunt Instrument (#1557)

Elizabeth Nolan Brown does a fabulous job of summing up the reality of an anti-migrant pogrom justified by “sex trafficking” rhetoric:

The feds were framing [a rather ordinary raid against a massage parlor] as a blow against “the most violent criminal aliens.”  In reality, they locked up a middle-aged immigrant woman for employing sex workers at her massage business without ratting them out to immigration authorities.

The Last Shall Be First (#1592) 

Another attempt to reduce legal minors to chattel without any personal rights:

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte just signed legislation requiring schools to out transgender students to legal guardians.  The new state law effectively reverses a 2024 state Supreme Court decision that upheld students’ right to privacy…and…requires state-credentialed educators to respond to parents’ written inquiries…even if a student asks for the matter to be kept confidential or fears for their own safety at home…

Enshittification (#1623)

If you thought Google spellcheck “correcting” properly-used words was bad:

[Chatbots] are twisting online messages…in ways that could snowball to reshape [the] opinion[s of people who cannot think for themselves] …the Oxford Internet Institute and the Hasso Plattner Institute examined the behaviour of…large language models [including MechaHitler, Facebook’s unnamed chatbot], Google [Gemini], China’s Alibaba and France’s Mistral and found…bias [is introduced] even when the [chatbot] is instructed to preserve the original sense [because computers do not understand what the words they process actually mean]…the rising appeal [of chatbots] to [cognitively]-poor consumers…presents a new risk to trustworthy human-to-human communication…for example…When asked to explain posts that were in favour of [human self-ownership, MechaHitler]…replied with [forced-birth propaganda]…When asked to improve a draft post claiming “Jesus is not dead, he wasn’t real!” [Gemini] defended religion instead…and…When asked to improve a post s[ta]ting: “Donald Trump is gonna end up like Hitler”, [Alibaba instead scolded]: “Comparing public figures is dangerous and disrespectful”…

The Cop Myth (#1640)

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

A [typical and representative] Portland [Oregon cop] who strangled and assaulted his onetime girlfriend [got away with a mere] 60 days behind bars…Jimmy Lee Pryce Jr…was also…ordered to pay $10,000 to [his] victim…[he] was arrested in November after [tackling] the woman…dragg[ing] her across the floor and…chok[ing] her while…knee[ling on her abdomen with his full weight]…he was [then] rearrested [in May for violating his bond by repeatedly stalking his victim, both in person and by abusing cop warrantless surveillance tools.  At the time he]…was…[enjoying a paid vacation, but after his re-]arrest…in May [he decided to retire]…

Censorship Ascendant (#1652)

The government wants to reverse the concept of “accountability”:

ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility…is supposed to act as an internal watchdog…[by] inspecting detention facilities, investigating allegations of employee and contractor misconduct, and processing security checks for new applicants…But lately…it appears to be pursuing more ci[tize]ns…for what they say online.  In…April, an ICE [boss admitte]d that between January 2025 and March 2026, OPR [tried to persecute] 131 [people for]…“doxing and threats directed towards ICE employees.”  It’s unclear how many of those [censorship attempts] resulted in [bogus] criminal charges…OPR was behind…the flurry of administrative subpoenas sent to tech companies in recent months in an effort to unmask online critics…in…violat[ion of] the [First Amendment.  When challenged, ICE]…withdrew [each] subpoena rather than trying to litigate its [nonexistent] merits…

 

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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In the News (#1652)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Meta spent tens of billions of dollars on building the future of the internet, and all it has to show for it is a handful of bored children in the parking lot of an offbrand drive-thru restaurant.  –  James Ball

Without Let or Hindrance (#1459)

When the victim isn’t a nationally-known politician, this usually takes closer to 24 months to resolve than 24 hours:

[Democratic politician] Pete Buttigieg…and his [4-year-old] children were the [targets] of an [“]investigation[“] by Child Protective Services [because of a malicious] anonymous report…both children [were subjected to terrifying] forensic interviews where no family could be present.  Because he…[is a celebrity the ordeal was over in] twenty-four hours…”It’s not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father’s Day,” Buttigieg said in his statement…

Shame, Shame (#1607)

An excellent essay on the failure of Zuckerberg’s “metaverse” fantasy:

Mark Zuckerberg was so convinced the metaverse was the next big thing that he renamed his company after it…investing more than $80bn…enough to…cover the UN’s humanitarian fundraising target for 2026—designed to support 87m desperate people worldwide—twice over…History…is littered with…major companies that bet on virtual reality…only to suffer extensive public humiliation and financial loss.  In 1995, at the peak of its powers, Nintendo launched the Virtual Boy, a [hyperbolically-marketed] 3D system…[which] was discontinued…within six months of its launch…CEOs and venture capitalists told us the future was the metaverse, which would definitely involve NFTs, the blockchain, virtual land and more…Almost overnight, all of them are now pronouncing with equal confidence that the future is, in fact, in artificial intelligence—and the story sounds familiar…But we weren’t consulted on the metaverse, either, and as it turned out that mattered a great deal more to the companies than to us.  There are limits to how far big tech moguls can impose their vision of the future…

Shame, Shame (#1609)

There is only one way to stop this: aggressive prosecution of Elon Musk:

[Elon Musk] has long promoted [MechaHitler] as a [more vulgar] kind of chatbot…the [reason he] has leaned so hard into that strategy despite [lawsuits, criminal charges and] PR disasters…[is] that NSFW activities account for “well over half” of [MechaHitler]’s traffic …That includes using [MechaHitler] to generate actual porn, as well as “adult role-play chats” and “huge volumes of requests for erotica.”  [MechaHitler] users have even apparently discovered that it’s cheaper to channel such requests through the company’s models intended for writing code…Some employees [are] less than thrilled with being assigned to work on “Ani,” [which is basically MechaHitler in drag].  Others [are]…”embarrassed and disturbed” by [MechaHitler creating]…sexualized images of…children…[unfortunately, the Trump regime doesn’t care and keeps shoveling billions into Musk’s money bin]…

Walled Garden (#1632)

The harder Australia tries to “crack down”, the more foolish it will look:

Australia’s prime minister vowed…to [magically] bullet-proof laws [enforc]ing a social ​media ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms [for being unable to do the impossible]…The country’s [asinine] six-month-old experiment is being closely watched by many [wannabe censors] seeking to emulate it [as an excuse for mass surveillance of the internet].  Britain this month said it planned [to pratfall even hard]er [by futilely applying the attempt to] gaming and live-streaming platforms…also…85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, according to a study of 408 adolescents…[but nitwits claim this is] a teething period…and teenagers [will surely start obeying] the [authoritarian] rules [any day now]…

Mad Libs (#1636)

Ford was shocked to discover that autocomplete can’t autocomplete cars:

Ford ha[d]…to rehir[e] hundreds of human workers after it…fired…[them under the idiotic delusion that chatbots could do their jobs.  It re]hired over 350 veteran engineers…over the past three years in order to [correct] mistakes made by automated systems…[which] cost the company billions of dollars…Ford had been increasingly relying on [computerized] inspection systems…[only to discover] that [computer programs can’t think]…After rehiring [actual] engineers, Ford experienced a marked improvement in its quality standards…[surprising no one who isn’t a complete fool.  Yet]…it [still refuses to] abandon its [attempts to replace humans]…

Mad Libs (#1649)

Medical privacy is going the way of the dodo:

…[Hospitals are attempting to] use…[chatbots] to detect or predict the risk of [domestic violence] in clinical notes, imaging reports, and other types of…data…The rationale is [supposed]ly well-intentioned…[because] only about 7% of [victims are willing to talk about it with strangers]…in clinical settings…However, [adults have the right]…to disclose [or not disclose private details of their lives] on their own terms…at a time and place that is right for them…[an algorithm] that detects [the “]risk[” of domestic violence violates that right.  Furthermore]…patients are not told that they are being screened, and there is no option…that allows [them] to opt out.  Only patients who are [informed of the snooping]…will know…[that their complex lives have been reduced and flattened into a “]score[” which becomes a permanent part of]…their medical record…[algorithm pushers pretend] the score is…only…available to the care team[, but that ship sailed long ago]…

Censorship Ascendant (#1651)

Goons are now being dispatched to intimidate people for wrongthink:

After two [of Trump’s goons] tracked down a Syracuse woman…to [threaten] her [because she was mean to their gang on] social media…they went to Rochester to [threaten] David Streever…[who] was with his seven-year-old daughter at Moominworld in Finland…[because he wasn’t there, the goons threatened] Streever’s wife [instead, because he had dared to criticize their former boss]…Todd Lyons [in January.  But after]…Streever and daughter Helen flew back to New York…[on June 25th, the goons tracked him] to [his] hotel, where they [would have barged in on him at 10 PM had]…the hotel staff…not [had the good sense to refuse to answer any questions about them]…Streever [later read] about [the same goons]…similar[ly threate]ning…Paigelynne Gonyea…[recognizing them from images captured by his doorbell camera.  He has contacted] his credit card company to start an investigation of how the [goons discovered which hotel he would be in and when]…

 

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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In the News (#1645)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We’ll probably do more things like it [in the future].  –  Mark Zuckerberg

You Were Warned (#1370)

Another step toward a national “digital ID”:

Americans aren’t interested in reinstating a military draft, but that’s not stopping the government from “streamlining” Selective Service registration—for young men’s own good, we’re told…”so that none inadvertently face the serious penalties of failing to register”…Despite the penalties…”SSS is experiencing a significant decline in registrations by 18-year-old men…In 2020, the registration rate…was 61.8%, today it is just 39.9%”…To deal with its compliance problem, Selective Service has pushed automatic registration for years…”by leveraging existing databases”…Automatic registration will take us closer to the day when the government unifies data storage…[to enable] government officials to…more efficiently inflict every rule and whim on the population…

Torture Chamber (#1433)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

T[hree] recent deaths at Michigan’s only women’s prison and the worsening health of a woman [dying from toxic black] mold exposure…are [driv]ing calls for sweeping reforms [of the torture] facility…Rebecca Fackler…died…on May 17, four days after Khaira Howard…died [in] the same [filthy] prison…[Ashley Hoath died June 6,] and…[Krystal] Clark…[is slowly dying from] years of exposure to black mold [which] have left her struggling to breathe, partially paralyzed, and unable to walk without assistance…[due to] Aspergillus…fungus…in her ears and lungs…photos…and…[politicians] who visited the prison…[report] black mold [actually] growing out of both of her ears…the…prison…is [so] infested with mold…[it] eats through bricks and door frames…drips off the ceiling…falls out of air vents…[and] bubbles and bursts through paint…[and] prisoners [a]re forced to clean [it] without basic supplies…

Stalkers in Blue (#1442)

Cops are nothing more than state-sponsored terrorists:

Hunter Demster…and eight other Memphis residents filed declarations [as part of a] federal [lawsuit] that describe being violently arrested, surveilled at their houses, pulled over under false pretenses, boxed in by police cars, and jailed for trying to film [a pig gang with the Orwellian name “Memphis Safe] Task Force[“].  The lawsuit, filed in mid-May by the…ACLU…and [two law firms]…is seeking a preliminary injunction blocking Task Force [cops] from intimidating, assaulting, or arresting people for recording…[and] ban[ning them] from invoking a new state law…that requires [videograph]ers to stay 25 feet away from police.  The lawsuit is a major legal challenge to…the…unofficial and unconstitutional Department of [Father]land Security…[scheme to] treat…recording the police like criminal activity…seven federal circuit courts have firmly upheld the right to record and monitor the police…[yet] videos from around the country…have shown federal [goons] arresting or threatening to arrest people for filming them….in Memphis, [this has escalated into] a “campaign of harassment and intimidation” against observers…

The Vultures Descend (#1511)

Psychopathic politicians will never stop until they face criminal charges for this kind of evil:

A…proposed state constitutional amendment in North Carolina is seeking to make abortion completely illegal, adding in “protections” for people who [justify] murder [by claiming they wanted] to stop a [woman] from obtaining the procedure…The proposed amendment…declares that “[‘personhood’]…begins at the moment of fertilization”…and…includes additional language that would essentially legalize the murder of someone planning or participating in an abortion in the state…[sane people pointed out that the amendment] “would jail or authorize the murder of women due to their…use of birth control, such as an IUD,” [because they] prevent pregnancies by making implantation [of fertilized ova] nearly impossible…[and] is also “a ‘get out of jail free’ card for men who want to murder their partners…All they have to do is [claim] the women intended to use birth control or have an abortion”…

The Cop Myth (#1556)

Cops are so deranged they even treat each other this way:

A [Fatherland Security goon] who was knocked unconscious in a Costco parking lot by a…[San Diego pig has amended his lawsuit to include other members of the pig herd who] engaged in a widespread cover-up to prevent a public relations nightmare…Chu Ding was trying to leave a parking spot…when…Jonathan Ferraro [intentionally] parked in his way while he waited for a nearby spot…[after] Ding tapped on…Ferraro[‘s window to signal he needed to pull out, Ferraro flew into a totally unhinged rage]…and slammed [Ding] to the ground…[after] several bystanders called 911 to report Ferraro as the attacker…911 operators…[dispatched a damage control team of] 14 [pigs], including [several boss hogs] and a [propaganda oinker, who conspired to falsify an arrest report and falsely arrest the badly-injured Ding]…instead of taking him to the hospital promptly…he…was held for nearly 24 hours before being released on bail…the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute the case…[and] Ding was cleared of any wrongdoing by…[Father]land Security…

Enshittification (#1622)  

Scenes from the early days of a dark age:

The [US] is feeding Pentagon propaganda to internet users in Latin American countries using a new [CGI slop] mill…[named] La Tilde…[which spews slop] in both Spanish and English…extolling the value of U.S. military operations in Latin America…[with] Trumpian [hyperbole] …An explanation for its glowing coverage of the U.S. military can be found after clicking a small link tucked at the bottom of the site…This easily missed disclosure…is identical to [that on] two other Pentagon-sponsored propaganda sites recently revealed by The Intercept…La Tilde carries no bylines, masthead, or mention of actual staff of any kind…and…appears to have been [entirely] generated by a large language model…the site plans to launch…versions [specifically targeted at] readers in Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, and Peru…

Beware of the Shoggoths

Zuck says if you ask the shoggoth nicely, it won’t stare at you on the toilet:

[Facebook] has [suppos]edly made some changes to the controversial project known internally as the Model Capability Initiative…[it] now plans to allow employees to “pause” the tracking for up to 30 minutes in the event they need to “check something personal”…a subset of employees will also be able to [beg] to opt out of the program altogether, though this will be limited to remote workers with bandwidth concerns…[or those who] work in spaces where they can’t easily keep laptops connected to a power source…the vast majority…will still be required to allow their (nearly) every move to be tracked and recorded in the name of improving [Zuck’s imaginary friends]…The company has faced protests from employees over MCI, which was announced…just before the company laid off 8,000 workers and reshuffled thousands of others into [being servants to chatbots]…

 

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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In the News (#1640)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This is just one in a long line of attacks on our rights.  –  Alexis Johnson

Creepy Coppers

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

A [typical and representative Pennsylvania cop paid to lurk in]…school[s to spy on, harass, and intimidate students] has been arrested on child pornography charges…[an anonymous snitch tattled on] David Jayne…[to cops, who raided his house and found a trove of child porn going back] about 20 years…[Reporters interviewed a mob of slackjawed nitwits who expressed confusion over the revelation that cops are hypocrites and fear of sex ray contamination]…

Monsters (#1516)

Cops claim they “don’t know” if this was hate-motivated:

…a Santa Fe [New Mexico] transgender teen…[named] Juniper Blessing…was stabbed more than 40 times [at a University of Washington student housing complex in Seattle on the evening of May 10]…Christopher Leahy [surrendered]…to police [the following] Thursday…He…[is being] charge[d]…with first-degree murder…Blessing [was found] dead in the laundry room of Nordheim Court…around 10:10 p.m…[and Leahy was] caught on surveillance video…as…he…unplugged [the camera in preparation for]…the attack…Police haven’t referred the case to prosecutors as a hate crime investigation…Last month, a 39-year-old transmasculine person named Lucas Knapp was [murdered] in [New Mexico by]…David Thomas Byington, [who] fired at Knapp multiple times with a rifle…Investigators in Kentucky are continuing to search for 22-year-old Murry Foust, a trans man enrolled at Northern Kentucky University who has been missing since April 27…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1549)

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

An [anxiety-prone Pennsylvania cop faint]ed in a p[igmobile] and [his bosses decided to turn it into “magic fentanyl” copaganda because]…he…help[ed] destroy narcotics inside the evidence room…about 20 minutes [earlier]…fentanyl [does not have a delayed effect, nor any effect from casual contact]…no[r any side effect of] memory [loss, but cops decided to turn it into a “magic fentanyl” scary tale anyhow, assuming it happened at all (given that no name was provided)]…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1591)

It’s too bad cops don’t spend all of their time fantasy role-playing with each other:

A D.C. [cop] has been arrested in Maryland [for talking to another cop]…Matthew Mahl…exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a Maryland [cop fantasy role-playing online]…as a 15-year-old boy…Mahl has been [rewarded with a paid vacation.  The game]…was [part of a moneymaking scheme organized by toxic con artist] Chris Hansen, known for his [unethical] exp[loitation of public fears about “]child predators[” which resulted in a trail of ruined lives and even suicides, and inspired dozens of sleazy YouTube imit]ations.  Hansen, who[se]…”To Catch a Predator” [show was cancelled due to successful lawsuits by its victims,] now hosts the series “Takedown with Chris Hansen” which fo[llows the same revolting formula]…

The Cop Myth (#1620)

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

A Wichita [Kansas cop named]…Grayson Hoofer was [arrested] for [breaking into his estranged girlfriend’s house to beat and sexually terrorize her]…Hoofer…[was, predictably,] a member of [a cop gang supposedly intended to intervene in]…domestic…violence [cases].  His [bosses have] since [hidden that, but also bragged that Hoofer]…has been re[warded with a]…paid [vacation]…

Mad Libs (#1635)

No, it can’t connect to my bank account; “your” is not a pronoun meaning “any fool’s”:

OpenAI wants…[fools] to…be able to connect their accounts across more than 12,000 financial institutions to…[Cat, I farted so it can root] “in your…financial accounts…in a way that feels more personal and complete”…If you are someone reasonably [sane]…you might be thinking, “Why on Earth would I want to do that?” But OpenAI…is [not marketing to sensible]…people…

The Vultures Descend (#1636)

Just a reminder that even if they’d let this diktat stand, it is wholly unenforceable:

The Supreme Court [has overruled a 5th Circuit diktat attempting to stop] the abortion pill mifepristone [from being] available by mail without an in-person appointment…The decision, a loss for the state of Louisiana, ensures [clinicians] will not be [criminalized when they prescribe]…the drug [for women in forced-birth states]…Two [totalitarian judg]es, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented…[absurdly barfing] “criminal enterprise” [at the plaintiffs]…

 

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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In the News (#1635)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement, [cops] predictably…abuse their access to [surveillance] systems for things like stalking [women].  –  Michael Soyfer

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1463)

A baby step toward eradicating the noxious “troubled teen” industry:

Ron Wyden [has], introduced a Senate bill, the BRIDGES for Kids Act, to better regulate residential treatment centers – closing loopholes that have allowed for the abuse of vulnerable youth…follow[ing a two-year investigation] by the Senate Finance Committee…which…found that abuse, neglect and acute safety concerns…are “endemic” to the [“troubled teen” industry]…the Department of Health and Human Services would create a national public dashboard that would compile and publicly report on data like how often [victims] are restrained…secluded[, injured, or killed]…and…states would be required to look into significant complaints within two days…The bill would also no longer allow privately accredited facilities in 21 states to skip some licensing…and…would invest in community-centered alternatives, increasing federal support for…[young people] in the [foster] system placed with kin…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

No information entered into an internet-connected device is actually private:

…therapy sessions on the telehealth platform Talkspace are…record[ed] and store[d to create]…“one of the largest mental health data banks in the world,” containing 140 million message exchanges.  The end goal: training a soon-to-be-released [pseudo-]therapy [chat]bot…In a traditional therapy session, therapists might scribble only a few sentences recording a patient’s progress…by creating a transcript of the exact back-and-forth of a digital therapy session, Talkspace has created a new [way for the State and other malefactors]…to [invade] people’s private lives…Talkspace executives [pretend to] investors [that] data is anonymized, but [don’t tell them] such anonymity can [easily] be broken…by…court order…[while] in a[n ethic]al therapy session that wouldn’t be true…Talkspace executives e[ven lie]…that the company is compliant with…HIPAA…[which] the Electronic Frontier Foundation [points out was]…not [an actual protection even before the Trump regime started its data grab]…In 2022…Talkspace [was forced to admit to the US Senate]…that…the company [allows some] data [to be] used for ads.  [It has also]…shar[ed the] personal information of New York City teens with Facebook, Amazon…Google, and Microsoft via website trackers…Talkspace [hides all this in convoluted language embedded deep in the fine print of] the company’s privacy policy…

Shame, Shame (#1570)

Remember when ninnies thought realistic porn cartoons were the worst use for this technology?

Last week, Taylor Swift filed a trio of trademark applications to protect her image and voice…[because] deepfakes [of her] continue to proliferate across social media…Swift and other stars have recently had their likenesses used in scammy advertisements…a cluster of sponsored videos on TikTok…appear…to show Swift, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, and others promoting…fraud…[and] mal[ware designed]…to…[capture] the…[marks’] personal information…the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America [has] sued [Facebook for lying]…about its [supposed] efforts to crack down on scam ads…[while actually] profit[ing] by allowing them to proliferate…social media scams have surged overall, with Facebook scams accounting for the highest total of financial losses…

Crippling Thought (#1604)

Scenes from the early days of a dark age:

Academic freedom continues to decline globally, with a marked fall in the US, according to the 2026 update to the Academic Freedom Index…academic freedom has slipped in 50 countries, with just nine [including Bangladesh, Syria, Thailand and Uzbekistan] registering improvement…[those in decline include] the UK…Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece…the United States [in particular] has experienced a remarkably sharp drop…compared to other countries in Western Europe and North America…beg[inning] in 2020 and intensif[ying] last year, driven by…attacks by the Trump [regime against] faculty members, staff and students…The pressure on universities and research institutes in the US was more dramatic than in other countries such as Hungary, India and Turkey, where institutional autonomy declined more gradually…

Stalkers in Blue (#1611)

With warrantless surveillance, no woman is safe from cops:

[Cops] across the US are [predictably] using automated license plate readers…to stalk [sexual prey]…there are already 14 cases across the country where cops…abused ALPR access to follow spouses, exes, and even complete strangers…with the majority of the…cases coming after 2024…when…Flock S[urveillance] initiated a massive expansion into over 4,000 US cities…In Milwaukee, for example, a…[typical and representative cop]…named Josue Ayala resigned after…using Flock to track his…[girlfriend and her] ex, almost 180 times over just two months.  The two victims only became aware they were being stalked [by using]…HaveIBeenFlocked.com…Flock [now infests] over 6,000 cities across the US, with over 76,000 license plate readers and counting…[so] the number of active ALRP abuse cases…is [undoubtedly very high]…

Walled Garden (#1619)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

The Greek government is pressing ahead with a [scheme] to [attempt to] ban anonymity on social media, aiming to curb [criticism of politicians, which they slander as “]hate speech[“.  But because Greek pigs and spooks have]…attempted – unsuccessfully – to identify users who [say things politicians don’t like]…the…[government wants to] find a way to require platforms to verify the identity of [people who post via] accounts…[belch]ing…the [meaningless catchphrase “]real person[” as part of a song-and-dance intended to transfer blame for government-mandated surveillance]…to…platforms…[while absurdly characterizing inflicting violence on people for their ideas as “]safeguarding democracy[“]…

Once this falls flat on its face, they’ll next try to criminalize VPNs.

Mad Libs (#1628)

Do I really need to say, “Don’t give your credit card to a fucking chatbot”?

…there are enough digital security problems out there…with[out so-called “]agentic AI[“, meaning chatbots which can fuck up idiots’ lives directly instead of merely urging them to do so.  But]…now…the authentication-focused industry association known as the FIDO Alliance [has] said…it will launch a pair of working groups to develop industry standards for validating and protecting payments and other transactions carried out by [chatbo]ts.  The goal is to pro[tect people stupid enough to give a chatbot access to their finances from obvious perils such as]…phish[ing or losing control of the chatbot to hackers]…The standards would…include cryptographic tools that digital services could use to confirm [chatbo]ts are accurately and legitimately carrying out an authenticated person’s instructions, as well as [data harvest]ing frameworks to give users, merchants, and other service providers the ability to validate transactions…initiated by [chatbo]ts…

Why are so many modern journalists so bad at pronoun usage, especially the second-person pronoun?  Because I guarantee you that no chatbot will ever “be buying…stuff for” me, “soon” or otherwise.  But I guess that’s too much to ask of some kid who thinks $100 is a reasonable price for fucking sneakers.

 

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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Links #825

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The myth that memory is a video recording playing in a private theater in your brain is one of the biggest lies about hypnosis.  –  Penn & Teller

It was very difficult to pick a song with which to send off Moya Brennan, so I finally decided on a live video of one of their early, more traditional songs rather than their more pop-influenced work of the ’80s and ’90s.  The links above the video were provided by Anarres Ansible, Shiv Ramdas, Jesse Walker, Radley Balko (x2), and Popehat, in that order.

From the Archives

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

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In the News (#1632)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[Chatbots] can be really good at the care and feeding of a delusion.  –  unnamed source

The End of the Beginning (#1308) 

The government had to be forcibly stopped from attacking people for being unable to do the literally impossible:

…a federal judge has permanently blocked the [federal government] from prosecuting Californians who [cannot] register…[as “]Sex Offender[s” because] the state doesn’t require them to do so.  In a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation…four John Does described the impossibility of complying with…a [diktat] issued by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 [which demanded that] anyone who’s ever been convicted of a sex offense to register with their state, regardless of whether their state’s laws match the federal requirements…up[on pain of] 10 years in federal prison.  This…was particularly problematic for individuals who are no longer required, nor permitted, to register as a sex offender in their home state…there [we]re thousands of individuals in California alone facing the same penalties for circumstances outside of their control…

Panopticon (#1486)

Lawsuits are the only way to hinder a government that won’t control itself:

…the San Jose [cop shop]…has access to…a network of 474 ALPR cameras that blanket the city, [unconstitutionally] recording residents as they go about their daily lives.  More than 1,000 [San Jose pig]s are authorized to [root through] that information…[without] a warrant, probable cause, or even individualized suspicion…[plus pigs in] nearly 300 other [st]ies across California.  [Because] that “creepy” and “deeply intrusive” surveillance system violates the Fourth Amendment, the Institute for Justice [has filed] a lawsuit…represent[ing] a class consisting of “all San Jose residents who were drivers of vehicles” that have been photographed by the city’s cameras during the last year or will be photographed in the future…seeking a court order that would require the [pigs] to delete or block access to images and data collected by the cameras after 24 hours unless it has “a specific warrant based on probable cause”…In addition to license plate numbers…Flock’s software [also] generates [“fingerprints”] based on each car’s characteristics…can produce a “vehicle journey map” showing “everywhere the car has been seen”…”analyze patterns of movement,” “flag repeat visitors to a location,” “identify vehicles frequently seen together,” “generate lists of vehicles that have visited multiple locations of interest,” and “predict the future route a vehicle might take”…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

Google pretends temporarily making this “opt-in” makes them better than Facebook:

…Google’s latest [chatbot] upgrade…lets users opt-in to connecting Google apps to Gemini…[including] all your photos…Gemini…can scan everything to form its own views of you and everyone you know…[and allow its] Nano Banana 2…[image generator with the sophomoric name] to…use actual images of you and your loved ones….to [create shitty cartoons]…Gizmodo sums it up pretty well as “solving a problem no one had”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1566)

All cops will have these within a few years:

The Department of [Father]land Security is developing specialized [perve]rt glasses that will allow federal [goon]s on American streets to automatically identify “illegal aliens” [and protesters] from a distance…these new ICE Glasses…will be able to [parse] vast federal holdings of biometric data…to identify people in real-time…They…will be two-way, not only able to…match to [targe]ts already in databases, but also to secretly record people to add them to new domestic watchlists…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1586)

Chatbots will encourage whatever madness a user discusses with them:

…chatbot[-facilitated]…violence [is]…on the rise…a mass shooter…at Florida State University …used ChatGPT…to [plan]…his attack…[as did Jesse Van Rootselaar in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia]…iterative, sycophantic conversations with chatbots can create powerful feelings of intimacy and trust…among troubled [or mentally ill] people…[leading to] a wave of lawsuits from families…[whose] loved ones [were driven] to kill themselves and others…A Pittsburgh man who…stalk[ed] and violently threaten[ed] 11 women…relied on ChatGPT as a “therapist” and “best friend” to justify his thinking…Google Gemini…sen[t an armed Florida man] on delusional missions…then encouraged [his] suicide…Google[‘s response was “no[body’s] perfect”…

Walled Garden (#1594)

Goodness, who could ever have predicted this?

Unfortunately for the Australian government (and fortunately for most kids), the implementation of a [social media] ban is going about as well as many critics predicted.  Kids are largely avoiding enforcement, with 61 percent of kids ages 12–15 who had accounts before the ban still having access to at least one of them…many kids are able to game the system by changing their appearance to look older and fool age-estimation software.  Others have used false IDs or VPNs to maintain their access…Still other[s], like 15-year-old Noah Jones, are suing the government for infringing on their…rights…[but] many [others] have not been so lucky.  At least 4.7 million accounts have been disabled, and hundreds of thousands of new accounts have been blocked…60 percent of parents [have deluded themselves into seeing] positive behavioral outcomes [despite objective evidence to the contrary]…

Above the Law (#1618)

Your “leaders” at work:

Virginia’s former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who…derailed [his own career] by sexual[ly] assault[ing women], fatally shot his wife before killing himself…the couple’s teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight [on April 16th]…The couple was going through a divorce…

 

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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In the News (#1626)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A book that unexpectedly explodes upon opening it would be good grounds for a product liability claim; a book whose content inspires someone to act recklessly should not.  –  Elizabeth N. Brown

Choke Point (#1388) 

The government is now demanding banks not do what it has repeatedly demanded they do:

Federal Trade Commission…sent letters…to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard, warning them against debanking practices — including denying access to services due to a customer’s…“political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities”…last year…the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a report on debanking…in which it named adult entertainment as one of several sectors facing discrimination for engaging in activities contrary to banks’ “values”…[and threatening] an FTC investigation…but those rules will not stop banks from making decisions regarding their customers in a way deemed “consistent with safety and soundness.”  This leaves broad leeway for banks to continue discriminatory or exclusionary practices toward adult industry creators and businesses…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1450)

Politicians increasingly use nuisance lawsuits to circumvent the Constitution:

[Facebook] has been ordered to pay New Mexico [politicians] $375 million, in a verdict that paves the way for more states to [rob] social media companies under the guise of child protection—and demand changes that will compromise everyone’s online speech and privacy…the lawsuit [misused]…the state’s Unfair Practices Act…States [ab]using…consumer protection laws [to achieve unconstitutional tyranny they could not otherwise accomplish] have been a big trend lately.  This ruling all but ensures it will intensify…Section 230…is supposed to protect against this sort of thing.  If someone uses Facebook to engage in illegal activity, it’s that person…who may be criminally liable…[but] state attorneys general have been fighting against this…for nearly two decades…[because] they’re stuck prosecuting individual criminals…not [deep-pocketed corporations they can pillage]…The verdict in this case…”will be terrible for the open internet,” said Techdirt[‘s]…Mike Masnick…

The Cop Myth (#1566)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

…two [North Carolina pigs who lived together got in a fight which ended with a sow shooting her pig boyfriend]…Adam Bean [dead.  Because the murderer is also a cop, the pig herd is attempting to hide as much]…information [as possible]…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1586)

The only way to rein in chatbot pushers is to threaten their cash flow:

OpenAI won’t be rolling out an erotic version of ChatGPT any time soon…the controversial plan has been shelved “indefinitely”…as even its own advisors warned that ChatGPT users could form unhealthy attachments, which might harm their mental health.  One advisor chillingly suggested that the tweak risked turning ChatGPT into a “sexy suicide coach”…[and lawyers warned] it [would be] hard to keep illegal behavior out of outputs, like bestiality and incest…investors questioned why OpenAI would risk its reputation on a product with “relatively small upside” for…[a company regularly] linked to mental health harms in both kids and adults [which have led to] lawsuits…

Mad Libs (#1595)

“LLMs…train the brain to disengage…[leading] to passivity…and low integration of concepts“:

…chatbots have become a common part of many [fools’] daily lives, even though they…[give] wrong answers…45 percent of the time.  But [stupid people] don’t understand that reality…and…tend…to take…chat[bot vomit] at face value, even when it [gives] them the incorrect answer…experiment…participants were asked to answer a variety of reasoning and knowledge-based questions.  Despite making the use of ChatGPT optional, over 50 percent…chose to use the chatbot to answer the questions…researchers…[found almost 80% of chatbot] users w[ere] willing to believe what[ever nonsense it barfed up] regardless of accuracy, in what [researchers] termed a “cognitive surrender” that effectively overrode their intuition and deliberation process…“to outsource thinking itself”…[and] give up their own agency…further cementing [their dependency] on [machines]…

“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free.  But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”  –  Frank Herbert, Dune

Shame, Shame (#1612)

To Musk, this is pocket change:

Elon Musk’s [pet] chatbot [MechaHitler has] been banned from [gener]ating non-consensual…[sexual] images…by a Dutch court…the…order [applies to all of]…Europe…and…[includes] a [token] penalty of 100,000 euros ($115,000) for every day it [refuses] to comply…with a maximum fine of 10 million euros…Numerous lawsuits have [also] been filed…[including one from] Baltimore [abusing] the city’s consumer protection laws and…[an]other…[from] three teenagers in Tennessee [who were actually victimized by MechaHitler]…

Compared to Musk’s net worth, this is like me being fined 6¢ a day, maximum $6.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1621)

Another broadside against the dangerous “semen retention” cult:

Regular ejaculation — for example, by masturbation — produces higher quality sperm…according to a comprehensive new…meta-analysis of more than 115 studies…that cumulatively involved nearly 55,000 men, as well as 56 studies of 30 non-human species…The results revealed that stored sperm deteriorates over time, resulting in DNA damage, reduced motility, and other defects that can affect fertilization and embryo outcomes…The study…sheds light on the possible evolutionary origins of masturbation, which has been observed in…dozens of [nonhuman] species including dolphins, elephants, lions, and many primates.  Masturbation may have emerged as a way to avoid leaving sperm in the tank for too long.  Indeed, even species that don’t masturbate in the traditional sense of self-stimulation have still been observed offloading sperm in a practice called “sperm dumping”…

 

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