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Posts Tagged ‘I Spy’

In the News (#1378)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[Screws] punish people who can’t fight back.  –  Gregory Hyde

The Truth About “The Truth About…”

Just another of those nonexistent false rape accusations:

Gerardo Cabanillas…[rotted] in prison for nearly three decades…[after being] accused [by cops] of a brutal robbery at gunpoint and sexual assault of a young woman in [Los Angeles] in 1995…The 18-year-old had been involved in a separate robbery in the area and [vaguely] matched the description given by the woman, so [incompetent cops] assumed the crimes were linked…During a seven-hour interrogation during which Cabanillas [was denied] access to an attorney, [pig inquisitor] Jack Lee Alirez promised the young man he would be released on probation if he admitted to what he was being accused of…[that was a lie, and] Cabanillas was [instead] charged with 14 felonies, convicted and sentenced to a de facto life sentence…The victim…never identified him in court…and…[her] boyfriend [only] identified Cabanillas [because the cops]…told him…Cabanillas…had confessed…his case was finally taken up by the California Innocence Project in 2017…[and] this year, DNA evidence not only cleared Cabanillas, but also identified another suspect, who was already in prison awaiting trial for murder…Th[e actual rapist]…went on to commit additional sexual assaults…

If Men Were Angels

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

A [typical and representative Iowa] pastor…[named] Mark Benson…gave a young girl medicine to make her sleep, then sexually assaulted her several times between 2009 and 2012, when she was between 10 and 13 years old…

Perquisites (#840) 

Expect use of this term to continue expanding wildly:

..former NU cheerleader Hayden Richardson…alleges that University employees repeatedly put [her] and her peers in situations where they were groped, harassed and assaulted by fans and alumni for the purpose of soliciting donations to the school…In June 2021, NU filed a motion to dismiss federal claims including forced labor, sex trafficking and forced-labor trafficking and state claims related to breach of contract and emotional distress…U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang [has now] ruled…that the University failed to argue that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act does not apply under the provisions listed by Richardson…noting that the “Spirit Squad Contract” Richardson signed with the University amounted to financial coercion.  Had Richardson not attended [such] mandatory events…and thus had to leave the team, she would have owed NU more than $10,000 for her scholarships and cheer-related expenses…

I Spy (#1184)

“Child porn” is merely a pretext for mass surveillance on an unprecedented scale:

…in October [Swedish politician Ylva] Johansson’s [mass surveillance] proposal [will be] put to a vote in the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament…The regulation would obligate digital platforms – from Facebook to Telegram, Signal to Snapchat, TikTok to clouds and online gaming websites – to [snoop into user’s private files and communications] and report any [image a mindless, error-prone algorithm decides is] child [porn]…so-called “client-side scanning”…will unleash a massive new surveillance system and threaten the use of end-to-end encryption…Johansson, however, [keeps barfing out the word] “children”…and…is…“influenced by companies pretending to be NGOs but acting more like tech companies”, said Arda Gerkens, former director of Europe’s oldest hotline for reporting online [child porn].  “Groups like Thorn use everything they can to put this legislation forward…because they have a commercial interest in doing so…Who will benefit from the legislation?…Not the children.”

The Punitive Mindset (#1196) 

“Drugs” are a popular pretext for petty vindictiveness in US prisons:

Another state prison system is facing a lawsuit over its use of inaccurate drug field tests to throw incarcerated people in solitary confinement.  The class-action lawsuit, filed…by Columbia Legal Services in a Washington state circuit court, alleges that the Washington State Department of [Torturing Caged Humans (TCH)] uses unreliable field kits to test mail for drugs and then uses the unverified results to put inmates in solitary confinement, move them to higher security prisons, and strip them of visitation rights and other privileges…items that have tested “presumptive positive” include blank notebook paper and manila envelopes purchased directly from [TCH]’s commissary…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1279)

The stupider the belief, the harder it is to debunk:

[Facts and common sense have]n’t kept [hysteria] over rainbow fentanyl from gaining momentum again as Halloween nears…police in Tulalip, Washington, [tried to panic] parents after finding pastel-colored fentanyl pills at a local casino…”rainbow fentanyl” pills were also seized near Charlotte, North Carolina…”Joe Camel” [inanely barfed] Charles Odell, the CEO of a [company profiting from prohibition, oblivious to this being a non sequitur]…

The Cop Myth (#1374)

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

…[typical and representative] Pennsylvania [cop] Ronald K. Davis [has been charged] with felony strangulation, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment…and o[ther crimes after trying to discredit his mistress by having her committed]…he took a [non-cop buddy] and [attacked] her…[but his buddy] captured the [assault] on video.  That video…and text communications with Davis show that [the mistress] was rational and the involuntary commitment was improper.  As a result of Davis’ actions, [she] was involuntarily committed for five days…

 

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 (#1376)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[This] is…a slap in the face to free speech advocates around the world.  –  Corey Silverstein

Schadenfreude 

The entire Utah rescue industry appears to be collapsing:

The CEO of a Utah-based [company which]…profit[s from hysteria over “]human trafficking[” has been charged with]…communications fraud, theft, and forgery among others.  In total, she was [charged] with 35 different offenses, 32 of which were felonies…

If Men Were Angels

Oh look, another “youth pastor”:

David Robinson…was arrested for sending [porn to] at least two minors, ages 12 and 17…Robinson would send the victim’s [sic] bible [sic] verses and then ask them questions including, “Are you sexually active?” and “Are you pregnant?”…Robinson was a youth pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church…and would volunteer at Seffner Christian School[, both in Florida]…

Of course, not all molesters at schools are preachers:

Matthew Galhouse, a…[girls’] softball coach…in Pasco County, [Florida,] was arrested…for s[tatutory rape of] a 17-year-old [player]…Galhouse…hired her to be his babysitter for his child…[to hide their trysts from her parents]…

And not all molesty preachers have their own church:

An evangelist is facing a slew of child rape and sexual abuse charges in Murfreesboro, [Tennessee]…Benjamin Garlick has been charged with…aggravated rape of a child…and [related offenses, and] his wife…Shaantal Garlick, is also facing charges…[as an accessory]…

Served Cold (#1120) 

Thirteen years after I started writing about it, the press is finally recognizing that “sex trafficking” hysteria rests on pseudoscience, woo, and plain nonsense:

[One] day in February 2016…Operation Underground Railroad…[launched] a bumbling and ineffective mission to [“rescue”]…Gardy Mardy, a missing Haitian boy whose abduction Ballard has portrayed as “the case that led us to found OUR.”  Joining him and his team of [cosplayers, profiteers and loons] was Janet Russon—a psychic medium from Utah whose supposed visions were guiding the mission…Gardy was not found that day, or any day since.  There is no evidence to suggest that he was ever in the village where Russon’s visions led OUR and his hopeful father…Now…files reveal for the first time the level of influence Russon had within the organization, how much she was paid…and how little intelligence there was to back up some of the missions…beyond [the] word…of a Utah psychic who claimed to be able to communicate with the prophet Nephi, a [mythical] figure from the Book of Mormon…

Thought Control (#1267)

Texas’ ice-pick self-lobotomization is becoming increasingly spasmodic:

Katy [Texas is hiding]…$93,000 in new [library] books [under the pretext of “]review[“, and refuses to state] the reasons 14 additional books were [censored], despite a public p[retense] of transparency on book banning…Drew Daywalt’s The Day the Crayons Quit was one of 44 books flagged for review in August that was later retained.  An illustration depicts a beige crayon that has lost its wrapper, becoming “naked”…Other titles [censored] from elementary schools include Eric Carle’s illustrated classic Draw Me a Star, Judy Blume’s coming of age novel Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret, Dr. Seuss’ Wacky Wednesday, and Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess, all of which have been in circulation for more than 40 years…

Property of the State (#1306)

Women of childbearing age should avoid Alabama entirely if at all possible:

The number of arrests of women for allegedly harming their fetuses has increased sharply since 2006, and almost half those cases happened in Alabama, according to a new report by the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice…[which] followed up on prior research that found 413 criminal cases against pregnant women from 1973 to 2005.  The [new] study…found more than four times that number, 1,396 cases, from 2006 until last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.  Alabama accounted for 649 of those cases, followed by South Carolina with 180, Tennessee with 131 and Oklahoma with 113…Etowah County had the highest number of cases for any county in the country,..

I Spy (#1369)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

ShadowDragon…[is] a government contractor…selling social media surveillance technology…[to] ICE…[DEA, FBI, and the State Department.]  It..can be used to monitor protests…and…gather[s] data [not only from large social media sites, but also smaller ones such as] video games like Fortnite and [specialty sites like] BabyCenter, a reference and pregnancy tracking site…as well as social media sites for Black people, bodybuilders, and the fetish community…In one video on ShadowDragon’s website, Elliott Anderson, president and targeting instructor at ShadowDragon, says that with [its chief product] SocialNet “You can pop in an email, an alias, a name, a phone number, a variety of different things, and immediately have information on your target.  We can see interests, we can see who friends are, pictures, videos.”  [Anderson further describes pregnant women, gamers, black people and kinky people, among others, as] “the bad guys”…

I Spy (#1372)

A new censorship regime has been imposed on British subjects:

The U.K. Parliament [has] passed the much-delayed Online Safety Bill, despite vocal criticisms by virtually all digital rights and free speech organizations and advocates…the…law [is] aimed at making social media firms…responsible for users’ s[peech]…and will force firms to…censor any content [arbitrarily] deemed “harmful” or “pornographic” by the politicians who happen to be in power in the U.K. at any given time…The bill grants broad powers to the politicians and bureaucrats appointed to the UK’s regulation agency, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), to target material they [declare] “harmful,” essentially reestablishing content-based state censorship in the U.K…

 

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 (#1372)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It happened as frequently as they wanted it to.  –  Miranda Williams

The Slave-Whore Fantasy

It’s been 7 years since we’ve had an example of what real sex slavery looks like:

…a woman who was chained and being held in a locked room [in a travel trailer in Arizona] was able to break free and run for help…to a neighbor’s house…Aaron Cortez had the unidentified woman chained in his travel trailer.  He whipped her with a charging cord and chains, then left her alone locked inside…once she felt he was gone long enough that day, she escaped…Cortez…[fancied himself a pimp and] went by “King Ace”…he…had [placed] about 70 ads for prostitution online with pictures of him[self], some with the victim, and some depicting violent sex acts…Cortez…is currently facing charges including aggravated assault…[and] kidnapping…

The fact that this violent freak forced his victim to sign a “sex slave contract” and was planning to force her to get a tattoo tells me he’s been reading waaaaay too much “sex trafficking” propaganda.  That, and te fact that his ads mostly had pictures of him, tells me he isn’t very bright.

The Course of a Disease (#421)

Not even Australia is safe from Swedish rot-fanatics attempting to spread their loathsome tyranny:

A [dangerous and discredited] sex-work model would attack the men who buy sex [and infantilize] the women who sell it in a move to [define women as men’s moral inferiors]…The Bill, introduced by South Australian Upper House Liberal leader Nicola Centofanti, would [impose the Swedish model, which defines women as permanent adolescents unable to consent to] sex [except in ways politicians allow]…Centofanti…[vomited the usual disgusting propaganda about evil men and infantile women] in parliament…attacking the de[criminalization model supported by all evidence, human rights organizations, and sex workers themselves]…Sex Industry Network general manager Kat Morrison said…the “Nordic”…criminalisation model had failed in Europe…Greens member Tammy Franks backs full decriminalisation and said the Bill was a “political strategy” to end sex work.  “This Bill says basically a sex worker can do their work but not be paid for it,” she said.  “In what other jurisdiction or area or work would a worker be expected to do their work but not get paid for it?”

Decriminalization has become the norm in Australia, but South Australian prohibitionists have managed to keep it out of their state despite repeated attempts.

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastor”, “youth leader”, “youth minister”, “youth director”…can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?

The [typical and representative] youth minister of a [Georgia] church faces up to 40 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to child molestation charges…Austin Wray Perkins was arrested on March 9, 2022…[for] victimizing a minor who…had no family or support…[Perkins took the youth] into his home and molested him…[then] coached [him] about how to act in pornographic videos with himself…

I Spy (#1103)

When it comes to mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Modern cars are a privacy nightmare…All 25 car brands we researched earned our *Privacy Not Included warning label — making cars the official worst category of products for privacy that we have ever reviewed…every car brand we looked at collects more personal data than necessary and uses that information for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with you…56%…say they…share your information with…[cops and spooks] in response to a “request.”  Not a high bar court order, but something as easy as an “informal request”…car companies’ willingness to share your data is beyond creepy.  It has the potential to cause real harm and inspired our worst cars-and-privacy nightmares…

Welcome to the Future (#1164)

The government thinks it even has the right to leer at the inside of your body:

What if your [body] could be monitored from a distance…to track your use of medications, such as opioids, to make sure you’re not using them in frequencies and dosages frowned upon by…politicians…who want to…stop [you] from getting high[?]…the Cato Institute…[warns that such surveillance is] “another example of ‘cops practicing medicine’…[which] will intimidate health care practitioners into further curtailing opioid prescribing to their patients in pain…exacerbat[ing] the misery that state and federal opioid prescribing policies have already inflicted on them that is driving many to suicide and some to homicide”…

No Escape (#1298)

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

…at least a dozen women…were [repeatedly raped] by [typical and representative screws] at [Federal Cage Collection] Coleman…in Florida…th[e rapists]…admitted [their crimes] in sworn interviews with internal affairs investigators…Yet thanks to a little known Supreme Court precedent and a culture of corrupt self-protection inside the prison system, none of those guards were ever prosecuted—precisely because of the manner in which they confessed.  Most…retired before they could be fired, meaning they walked with their retirement benefits intact…Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003.  It was [pretend]ed to create zero-tolerance policies for sexual abuse in U.S. prisons and jails.  PREA is mostly toothless, though—and in the federal prison system, festering corruption made it a bad joke…

I Spy (#1362)

This was merely a way for politicians to save face rather than be the direct cause of every encrypted app leaving the UK market:

The UK government will concede it [can]not…scan messaging apps for…content [politicians dislike without destroying end-to-end encryption] until it is “technically feasible” to do [the impossible], postponing measures that…threaten users’ privacy…mark[ing] an eleventh-hour effort by ministers to end [the looming threat of politicians being made total fools of by] tech companies…pull[ing] their services from the UK over [politicians’ demands that] they [submit to] an intolerable threat to millions of users’ security…The online safety bill, which has been in development for several years and is now in its final stages in parliament, is one of the [most outlandishly-pigheaded] attempts by any government to make [communications] companies responsible for [messages sent] on their networks…Officials have now privately a[dmitt]ed to tech companies that [they understand] there is no…technology able to scan end-to-end encrypted messages that would not also undermine users’ privacy…However, the statute will still give Ofcom powers to [demand] platforms…[conjure up] a technology [that] does not exist [and cannot exist]…

 

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 (#1369)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The potential for abuse is immense.  –  Patrick Toomey

License to Rape (#1249)

Apparently, pigs are only allowed to excuse sexual assault as a “search” if the victim is female:

…”squeezing a detainee’s penis hard is not a ‘proper part of a search,'” a federal appeals court has held.  The case, before the…8th Circuit, was brought by Wilbert Glover against Minnesota [screw] Richard Paul….[who sexually assaulted] Glover [in]…jail…in 2015…Paul responded by claiming that he “never touched [Glover’s] genitals”…and that even if he had, he was protected by qualified immunity.  The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota rejected Paul’s argument, concluding “that Paul’s alleged actions violated [a male’s] clearly established constitutional right to be free from…sexual assault or abuse”…the appeals court…affirmed the district court’s ruling…

A Moral Cancer (#1306)

Crypto-moralists want people to believe they could live forever by simply eliminating every single pleasurable activity from their lives:

George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism…[sez] the…USDA…might soon revise its dietary guidelines to recommend that adults consume no more than two alcoholic drinks per week.  Canada’s health [nann]ies recently shifted to that guideline …Currently, the federal dietary guidelines advise no more than two drinks per day for adult men and one drink per day for adult women…Thankfully, most Americans don’t give a shit what the federal guidelines…say.  Following [them]…would mean a joyless existence devoid of many fine drinks (particularly if you’re a woman), anything less than well-done steak, or eggs benedict.  Oh, and don’t forget to microwave your prosciutto!…

The Punitive Mindset (#1307)

If there’s anything more petty and warped than the mind of a prison official, I’m not sure what it might be:

A Florida prison refused to deliver copies of a local newspaper to an incarcerated subscriber…[under the bizarre pretext] that a puzzle game in the publication “may be used to create coded messages indecipherable by staff”…the “Celebrity Cipher”…[is] a syndicated word puzzle that appears next to the crossword.  Staff [preten]ed that the game violates a…rule prohibiting “publication[s] … written in code”…The Florida Press Association has asked the Literature Review Committee to reverse the [moronic] decision and allow incarcerated people to receive [newspapers because the ban is]…“arbitrary and irrational” and violates the First Amendment rights of the publisher and its incarcerated subscribers…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1341)

Tyrannies often start with sex workers, but never stop with us:

…it…seems to be that online [sex work] advertising is a surefire way to get flagged at the border…Some sites are seemingly safer than others.  Sex workers who advertised on Tryst, for example, never heard of the advertising platform mentioned by Border Control… it’s almost exclusively full-service sex workers being flagged, but there are examples of online creators being targeted, too…The ads reportedly don’t even need to be live in order to be flagged…It is unclear how the US government is identifying sex workers. It could be facial recognition, it could be advertising sites working with the government.  The fight right now is for transparency…some websites disclose that they co[llaborate with pigs and spooks], but…these statements are often buried in opaque terms and conditions, and no site is forthcoming in terms of speaking to the media…

I Spy (#1342)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Customs and Border Protection…has bought millions of dollars worth of software from a company that uses [error-prone algorithms] to detect “sentiment and emotion” in online posts…related to inbound and outbound travelers who the agency [imagin]es may threaten public safety, national security, or lawful trade and travel…the…company called Fivecast also offers “AI-enabled” object recognition in images and video, and detection of “risk terms and phrases” across multiple languages…the software…[surveils] big social platforms like Facebook and Reddit, but also…smaller communities like 4chan, 8kun, and Gab…Fivecast…[also says] the tool could be used against [sex workers]…which can include U.S. citizens…CBP has deployed multiple [algorithmic] systems…[of dubious] accuracy and utility…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1366)

Now that politicians are vomiting out the “magic fentanyl” myth, will the media finally back away from it?

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass falsely claimed that “touching fentanyl could kill you”…according to all reputable toxicology experts, fentanyl powder cannot penetrate the skin under casual circumstances.  And overdosing from inhaling fentanyl particles in the air is nearly impossible, despite news reports published by…[bootlicking local media from both “culture war”camps pretend]ing otherwise…

The Mob Rules (#1368)

Much more of this, please:

As more and more states pass [unconstitutional] laws targeting “pornographic material” in books and online, they are repeatedly running up against a problem:  The Bible has not just a few passages that could be considered indecent…Reddit users…in…Virginia…[are] encourag[ing] people to use the new law to file consumer complaints to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares…[about] websites…[which a]re “failing in requiring age verification before accessing pornographic material” from the Bible…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1368)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

You’re an asshole, police chief.  –  Joan Meyer

Bad Girls

“Sex trafficking” is an increasingly-popular excuse for young women to try to evade consequences for violent crimes:

A Texas woman whose case received [attention from opportunists]…after her family alleged she was a victim of [“]sex trafficking[“] has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for her role in a fatal robbery…Zephaniah “Zephi” Trevino…was charged in connection with the death of Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Murillo…Trevino was among three people charged…Philip Aguilera Baldenegro and Jesse Martinez…were each charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery and are awaiting trial…Trevino’s attorney and family [claim she]…was [blameless because] Aguilera, her co-defendant, [was her pimp]…But Aguilera’s attorney, David Finn, says…it was Trevino who organized the robbery…

Micromanagement (#1012)

The fascists who own most of these companies allow cops to root in them at will, regardless of what the patsies who contracted with them believe they “agreed” to:

…several high-profile [police collaborators]…exploited a loophole in a commercial database called GEDmatch, allowing them to search the DNA of individuals who explicitly opted out of sharing their genetic information with police.  The loophole…allows genealogists [collaborat]ing with police to manipulate search fields within a DNA comparison tool to trick the system into showing opted-out profiles…[this is only one] disturbing example of how genetic genealogists and their [cop cronies], in their zeal to [destroy strangers’ lives], skirt [paper-thin] privacy rules put in place by DNA database companies to [give] their customers [a false sense of security].  How common these practices are remains unknown, in part because police and prosecutors have fought to keep details of genetic investigations from being turned over to [legally-innocent people the prosecutors wish to lock in cages].  As commercial DNA databases grow…the genetic privacy of millions of Americans is in jeopardy…

The Widening Gyre (#1134)

It’s been over two years since we’ve seen an unembellished “sex trafficking from a store” scary tale:

[A Facebook] post claims that a friend’s husband brought his kids to Walmart and his daughter wandered to another aisle…and when he reached her, he saw a man in a trench coat picking up the young girl and leaving…Walmart employees tackled him and police were called…a group of men who have “come out here from Mexico to sex traffic kids in all of [Idaho]” and lists local places such as Pocatello, Rexburg, and Rigby.  The post has been shared countless times on social media and many [gullible nitwit]s have contacted EastIdahoNews.com asking us to investigate.  We found that no police departments in eastern Idaho have received any reports of kidnappings or sex trafficking in Walmart or any other stores…

“Mexicans in trench coats ‘sex trafficking’ children from Idaho Walmarts” is the most ridiculous non-Q “sex trafficking” tall tale we’ve heard in quite a while.

The Cop Myth (#1286)

Cop deals with disagreement in typical cop fashion, and the press is shocked:

Four people are dead and six more are in the hospital after a [typical and representative cop] opened fire at a historic biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, [California]…deputies shot the [violently-deranged cop, yet somehow cops claim]…it is unclear how the [murdering cop] died…the [senseless attack] started [when the cop attacked] his wife…[then decided to start shooting at random until] at least nine people were shot…

The Mob Rules (#1338)

Ignoramus censors are shocked when people they have no power over ignore their stupid laws:

Virginia [politicians demanded adult sites spy on their users, but]…the majority of these websites are [simply ignoring the stupid]…law…[and] an increasing number of Virginians are using [VPNs to] easily g[ain] access to these websites…[the stupid law] also [encourages profiteers] to sue pornographic websites [which ignore it]…some…websites — most notably Pornhub — have opted to block…access…[to] their platforms [from non-VPN using] Virginia [users in order to] prote[ct themselves from predatory lawsuits enabled by] the new law, [but] residents can still easily access adult content through a plethora of…lesser-known websites…only one website, xHamster, is [spy]ing [on users as demanded]…by [censorious politicians].  Ten websites…block…[access as Pornhub does], and 54 remain entirely unrestricted…because their companies are not based in the United States, which makes [them less vulnerable to publicity-seeking US politicians and ambulance-chasing US lawyers]…

I Spy (#1353)

The direct result of the Establishment’s sick lust to know everything about everybody:

…a secret weapon criminals are selling access to online…appears to tap into an especially powerful set of data: the target’s credit header.  This is personal information that the credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion have on most adults in America via their credit cards.  Through a complex web of agreements and purchases, that data trickles down from the credit bureaus to other companies who offer it to debt collectors, insurance companies, and [cop shops]…criminals [who don’t belong to state-sponsored gangs] have managed to tap into that data supply chain, in some cases by stealing…identities [of members of state-sponsored criminal gangs], and are selling unfettered access to their criminal cohorts online…communities where this tool is advertised include chat rooms focused on swatting…SIM swapping, in which hackers take over a victim’s phone number to then receive login codes and break into their online accounts; and physical violence, where criminals [not sponsored by the State] hire one another to rob, shoot, or assault their enemies and vandalize the target’s home [without state permission].  Overall, the tool offers exceptional power and requires little to no technical sophistication to obtain a victim’s sensitive data…even for people who have otherwise been careful with distributing their personal information, and who have taken steps to have their details scrubbed from other data brokers…

Dangerous Speech (#1365)

The publisher of the Record died on her feet, at least figuratively speaking:

Marion County Record co-owner Joan Meyer leaned into her walker and stood up to at least six [pigs rooting]…her living room during a bizarre series of [il]legal…raids of her residence, the newspaper’s office and a city council member’s home.  Meyer, 98, died of cardiac arrest the day after [cops invaded and robbed]…her house despite her protests…the [rooting herd] included Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody [who had been hired despite resigning in disgrace from his previous job due to incompetence and shitty behavior]…

 

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 (#1362)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Once you get the scarlet letter, nobody wants you anymore.
–  Kristen DiAngelo

If Men Were Angels

Oh look, another “youth pastor”, what a surprise:

A [typical and representative] youth pastor at a Twin Falls [Idaho] church faces sexual battery charges after…[molesting] a girl in 2021 when she was 16 years old.  Dakota Austin Kennemer…was charged…after…the pastor [reported him to cops]…

This one, on the other hand, is a bit surprising:

Amanda Buchanan Justice…of [North Carolina]…was charged with sexually assaulting a child…She…was a youth leader at New Life Family Worship Center in Kings Mountain…her…husband…is still serving as a pastor…[but] stepped down from his role as a youth minister following…his wife [admitting the molestation to him]…

Torture Chamber (#690)

US officials already know prisons exacerbate crime; they simply don’t care:

In 1999 Connecticut had so many people in prison that it paid to send 500 of them to be [cag]ed in Virginia.  Nearly 25 years later, the state has not only sliced its number of imprisoned people in half, but been able to close more than 10 prisons while keeping its crime rate at its lowest level in more than 40 years…Connecticut currently runs 13 prisons, which [cag]e about 10,000 people.  Two-thirds of these are serving sentences; the other third are those who have yet to be sentenced…The state’s rate of 155 people imprisoned per 100,000 residents is now the ninth lowest in the country and well below the national average of 350 people per 100,000…

Guinea Pigs (#1307) 

Another bunch of vigilante bigots playing games with people’s lives:

Victor Marx…is…a [jarhead and] self-proclaimed exorcist…[who] helped launch the Skull Games, a privatized intelligence outfit that purports to hunt pedophiles, sex traffickers, and other “demonic activity” using a blend of sock-puppet social media accounts and commercial surveillance tools — including face recognition software…Recent games have been [sponsored] by the [Israeli] surveillance firm Cobwebs, and an upcoming competition…[by] Anomaly Six…Marx has savvily ridden recent popular attention to the [propaganda] film Sound of Freedom…and conservative “groomer” panic…to [sell harassment of sex workers as somehow]…Christ[ian]…Skull Games…is…a sort of hackathon for would-be Christian saviors…play[ers win] points based on their sleuthing.  Finding a [sex worker]’s high school diploma…nets 15 points, while finding [a common] tattoo on multiple women would earn…300…as they prepare intelligence dossiers on women before turning them over to p[igs]…what sets Skull Games apart from other amateur predator-hunting efforts is its reliance on “open-source intelligence”…a military euphemism…[for] surveilling the public internet and purchasing sensitive information from commercial data brokers…one [recent participant was]…able to use PimEyes to find a sex worker’s driver’s license…Clearview [and Amazon’s Rekognition were]…heavily used in the January 2023 Skull Games…

Lack of Evidence (#1312) 

Courts are still more dependable sources of relief from bad laws than politicians:

…The Dallas County Criminal Court of Appeals has struck down a law against “manifesting the purpose of engaging in prostitution.”  The law…”trespasses on the constitutional rights of Dallas citizens,” wrote Judge Kristin Wade…The Dallas law…[basically] prohibits looking like [a whore, and can bring]…a fine of up to $500…there’s been a growing movement against these laws, which make it easy for police to hassle and arrest people without cause…The case that led to the law being struck down involved the arrest of Iqbal Jivani, who “was in a known prostitution area and stopped to engage passers-by in conversation,” per a police complaint…

Thought Control (#1343)

It seems I was destined to be threatened with state violence regardless of my career path:

A federal lawsuit…challenges an Arkansas law that would subject librarians and booksellers to criminal charges if they provide…materials [politicians have pointed at while belching out “harmful”] to minors.  A coalition that includes the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock filed the challenge to the law, which [took] effect Aug. 1.  The law also creates a new process [for any busybody] to [demand] library materials…be [censored]…The number of attempts to ban or [censor] books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts…at least 121 proposals introduced in state legislatures this year target…libraries, librarians, educators and access to materials…39 of those…would allow for criminal prosecution…

Creepy Coppers (#1348)

The people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A Vevay, Indiana [cop named]…Kyle Davis…was arrested…[for] attempt[ing] to video record an underage [girl]…while she was using the bathroom…on May 30, 2020, she was at his home when she wanted to use the bathroom…Davis went in…before her…and she noticed an iPhone pointed toward the toilet set to record video…[when later questioned] Davis…[tried to blame] his teenage son…[but] Davis’ phone…[held a nude photo] of two pre-pubescent girls about 8 years old…[and] searches related to “voyeurism” [and] “spy cams”…

I Spy (#1352)

This totalitarian nonsense is a danger to the entire internet, worldwide:

…the privacy of people around the world…[will be undermined by] the Online Safety Bill, now at the final stage before passage…which will destroy end-to-end encryption.  No amendments have been accepted that would mitigate the bill’s most dangerous elements…If the Online Safety Bill becomes British law, the damage it causes won’t stop at the borders of the U.K…because…undermining encryption, whether by banning it, pressuring companies away from it, or requiring client side scanning, will be a boon to bad actors and authoritarian states…That’s [why]…U.K. civil society groups have condemned the bill, as have technical experts and human rights groups around the world…In response to this outpouring of resistance, the U.K. government’s response has been to wave its hands and deny reality…

 

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 (#1360)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

When a film claims to be “based on a true story,” it can still be 99% fiction.  –  Robert Gehrke

If Men Were Angels

He wasn’t a “former pastor” when he murdered a little girl:

…83-year-old David Zandstra [has confessed to the]…murder of…[8-year-old] Gretchen Harrington…on August 15, 1975.  Zandstra was a pastor at…Trinity Church Chapel Christian Reform Church [in Media, Pennsylvania], where Harrington was going to [Bible] camp…[when Harrington’s] skeletal remains were found…[Zanstra was questioned but claimed he hadn’t seen her that day.  Then]…earlier this year, investigators learned Zandstra [had] groped a girl, who was best friends with his daughter, years ago…In [her] diary from 1975, she noted that she thought Zandstra kidnapped Harrington…[when confronted] in Marietta, Georgia, where he [now] lives…Zandstra admitted…he [had] offered Harrington a ride and took her to a wooded area…[where] he [tried to molest her, then fatally]…struck [her] in the head with a fist when she refused…he…[then] cover[ed her] body and [fled] the scene…

The Face of Trafficking (#585)

Another case of what really happens when a wannabe “pimp” abducts a girl:

Terrique Devon Milam, 19, [and an unnamed 17-year-old were] charged with…promotion of prostitution…[after being] arrested Thursday, July 20, by…Seattle Police…[when a] father…reported that his daughter was being held against her will…his daughter had told him she could not leave, shared her location and abruptly hung up the call…The victim told police she met a woman in her home state of Texas who…[had shared an especially-silly version of the “gypsy whore” myth with] her…she [was abducted by]…several [wannabe] pimps…[who for] two weeks [took her] to and from Aurora Avenue…[by] two men [who stole] the money she earned…

Note the lack of actual “sex trafficking” charges, despite the attempt to invoke the “sex trafficking at sporting events” myth.

I Spy (#1213) 

The government thinks you shouldn’t be allowed any privacy whatsoever:

…From the bluntly named World War II-era Director of Censorship’s power to restrict mail, to the 1873 Comstock Act fueling the power of the post to [censor] contraception information…to the PATRIOT Act’s many tentacles, the Post Office hides nasty habits under its all-American exterior…Mail covers involve the USPS recording any information displayed on the outside, then giving that information to [cop shops and spook houses].  It is…a kind of metadata for the analog realm that gives a…picture of who the suspect knows, what they are interested in, and sometimes where they have gone…The USPS has also not released data about mail covers since 2014…[but] “no higher authority, judge or otherwise, needs to endorse the process”…A legal concept called the third party doctrine…broadly says that if you willingly give your information over to a phone company, an internet service provider, or the post office…you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy…

Torture Chamber (#1346)

Fascism in action, profiting from human misery:

The price of bottled water [has gone] up 50% in prison commissaries across Texas…as [humans locked in the filthy cages] struggle to endure an entrenched and deadly heatwave in facilities without air conditioning.  The state raised the price from $4.80 per case (24 bottles) to $7.20 per case [after]…vendor Royal Pacific Tea Company requested to raise the prices in March even though it contract was incomplete.  The price…[gouging was obtained via kickbacks to] the state comptroller’s office and…Texas Department of Criminal Justice…the men have access to tap water.  But…the water quality [in] the aging prisons [is far below acceptable standards]…the smell…resembl[es] sewage…[and] has [been] described…as “rancid” smelling…

Shifting the Blame (#1357)

Will we ever know the connection between this guy and disgraced former Police Chief James Burke?

…authorities [have begun] digging up the Long Island…home of Rex Heuermann, the man suspected of killing at least three women found at Gilgo Beach, and reportedly found a soundproof room in Heuermann’s basement that they think at least one woman may have died in…[they] are excavating his backyard, and…brought cadaver dogs and radar tools to the property…Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup…has since filed for divorce…and…Heuermann is a “prime suspect” in the death of a fourth woman, Marueen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in July 2007…

The Widening Gyre (#1358) 

At least this one confessed quickly:

[Carlee Russell] has confessed to fabricating a story that she was kidnapped after stopping to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of the interstate…there was no kidnapping…she did not leave the city, and acted alone…it is possible that Russell could face charges.  [Cops] are trying to determine where she was in the two days she was gone…

Served Cold (#1359)

The schadenfreude of watching Tim Ballard’s reputation go down in flames is so very sweet:

Ballard’s [highly-exaggerated] version of the story [he claims inspired him to profit from “sex trafficking” hysteria] provides the basis for the new film, Sound of Freedom, which has [not] done [as] well at the box office [as its promoters pretend]…But in the movie, even more liberties are taken…there are obvious discrepancies between the story Ballard tells and the narrative in court documents…When embellished or exaggerated or untrue statements are used to raise money, it becomes…problematic…much of Ballard’s origin story is flatly, provably false, and the people who have donated tens of millions of dollars to Ballard’s organizations deserve to know how much of what he has told them is true and how much has been concocted to fuel his celebrity status and ego.

 

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 (#1353)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Sex workers…should have access to the same legal mechanisms to enforce their agreements as any other service provider.  –  Jessica Rose

The Prudish Giant (#1104) 

The headline writer omitted the word “temporarily”:

A days-long ban by Instagram on dozens of kink and sex-positive creators [has been] lifted [for now]…Those impacted by the bans, which lasted from June 22 to June 28, still…[somehow can’t understand why the compulsively-censorious Facebook, which owns] Instagram…blocked [their accounts again as it did two and a half years ago], and [naively expect] explanations of how those involved in the sex-positive community can safely interact on [the] platform…without [being lumped in with those dirty, bad sex workers Facebook has repeatedly censored for years without a peep from the “sex positive community”]…

Property of the State (#1133) 

Pregnant women & new mothers are uniquely vulnerable to state coercion:

…in 2016…Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act…[which] included a one-word change to…federal law…requir[ing] newborns vaguely identified as “affected by” illegal drugs to be flagged to child protective services.  In this new iteration, [politician]s removed the word “illegal”…[so] hospitals…were required to [snitch to pigs] any time a newborn was “affected by” any substance, legal or [otherwise]…Many [states] responded by expanding child abuse reporting requirements to include the use of prescription medications during pregnancy…States such as Arizona…doubled down on investigations…women [have been] reported after taking antidepressants, anxiety and ADHD medications, and even over-the-counter cold medicine…some…were reported after testing positive for the fentanyl in their epidurals.  States are even less forthcoming about how many…newborns are [abducted under this pretext]…

Whither Canada? (#1256)

I’m happy to have been proven wrong about her chances:

A Halifax sex worker has won her small claims court case over an unpaid fee from a client in what her advocates say is a huge step toward strengthening the rights of all sex workers…On Jan. 26, 2022, Brogan Sheehan…[agreed] to provide companionship services to a man named Bradley Samuelson…at a rate of $300 per hour.  Seven hours…later…after [a great deal of hassle]…he finally paid her $300, leaving a balance of $1,800…Samuelson [bizarrely] argued that a contract for sexual services is not enforceable in law because it’s an illegal contract…[but adjudicator Darrel] Pink ruled that the contract was enforceable…because sex work is not illegal, [therefore] it follows that normal commercial law benefits afforded by civil law should be available to sex workers…Samuelson voluntarily hired her, agreed to pay for her services and communicated intent to pay…[he] was ordered to pay Ms. Sheehan $1,800 plus interest and costs, which he did on May 24.  Ms. Sheehan said she’s relieved and proud that the victory now clears the way for other sex workers to seek a legal remedy when clients refuse to pay, which happens often…

To Molest and Rape (#1278)

It’s rare that a rapist cop stops at only a few victims:

A [typical and representative] Philadelphia [cop] already [caged] on child sex assault charges is now charged with dozens more sex crimes that stem from his [long career as a rapist cop]…Patrick Heron…has [been]…charged…in 19 new cases…from 2005 to 2019…the 233 new counts…include kidnapping, [anal rape, child molestation, rape, witness intimidation]…sexual assault, child sexual abuse, indecent assault, and [rape of a caged woman]…

I Spy (#1315)

When it comes to surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Numerous government agencies, including the FBI, Department of Defense…[NSA, and] Treasury Department…have purchased vast amounts of U.S. citizens’ personal information from commercial data brokers…a partially declassified…report released on June 9…shows the breathtaking scale and invasive nature of the consumer data market and how [it] directly enables wholesale [unconstitutional] surveillance of people.  The data includes not only where you’ve been and who you’re connected to, but the nature of your beliefs and [highly-flawed] predictions about what you might do in the future…[this] information, coupled with the now-ubiquitous decision-making a[lgorithms]…like ChatGPT, significantly increases the threat to privacy and civil liberties by giving the government access to sensitive personal information beyond even what it could collect through court-authorized surveillance…

Thou Shalt Not (#1347)

Crypto-moralists believe people enjoying something is enough reason to declare it “unsafe”:

“The dose makes the poison.”  That’s always what you have to bear in mind when you hear any claim about whether some substance…is “toxic”, or even “causes cancer”.  Many “poisons” only do…harm at very high concentrations, and even water can be toxic if you drink enough…the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is about to declare that aspartame…is “possibly carcinogenic” …[despite being] repeatedly…declared safe by multiple health authorities over the years after dozens of studies…the IARC [has]…four categories…Group 1 is things they think definitely cause cancer.  Group 2A is things that are “probably carcinogenic”.  Group 2B is “possibly carcinogenic”.  And Group 3 is “not classifiable”.  Aspartame isn’t currently…on the list, but [IARC wants]…to add it to Group 2B…[along with] aloe vera…working as a carpenter…joiner…[or] dry cleaner…[and] pickled vegetables…Group 2A…[includes] red meat…working night shifts…[and] drinking hot beverages…At a certain level, all of these things might be hazardous to our health – but what is that level?…

You Were Warned (#1351)

It’s too bad politicians don’t always end up with egg on their faces after issuing stupid authoritarian diktats:

Google has followed [Facebook] in announcing it will block Canadian news content from its search engine in Canada after [Canadian politicians refused to back down from foolish demands it pay for the “privilege” of linking to other websites]…The Liberals say the law is meant to end tech titans’ dominance of the digital advertising market [by reversing the centuries-old traditional advertising relationship (where companies pay to have their products advertised in mass media) via magical proclamation]…platforms would face fin[es on top of the extortion fees] for failing to [dance in the way politicians demand, so the only way for these companies to win is not to play]…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1352)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat…and could put UK citizens at greater risk.  –  Apple

If Men Were Angels

Oh look, another “youth pastor”, what a surprise:

…Rejoice Lutheran Church [in Geneva, Illinois] hired the Rev. Michael C. Willis to lead its youth ministry in 2016…[he] was ordained as a pastor in 2022 [and accused of possessing and disseminating child pornography in March of this year]…Willis was arrested [on June 27th]…

Finding What Isn’t There (#1005)

Opportunists want to prop up the moribund hysteria by demanding government manufacture “victims” from thin air:

Human trafficking [opportunists want people  to believe their outrageous fantasies of imaginary]…traffickers operat[ing] with impunity…[and] predators rent[ing passive, inert] children for commercial sex, and [complain that] governments fail to implement [violent] enough action plans…governments [regularly] identify [far fewer “victims” than the rescue industry pretends there are]…governments around the world reported identifying only 115,324 human trafficking victims in the last year…slightly lower than the high of 118,932 victims identified in 2019…[even though] the [fantasiz]ed number…is [still] increasing [despite all evidence to the contrary.  Profiteers now claim] 27.6 million people in…forced labor or sex trafficking…

License to Rape (#1167)

“Search” is the most common government euphemism for “molest”:

…the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held 3-0 that the Federal Tort Claims Act allows lawsuits against the government when TSA screeners [sexually] violate passengers.  Two months ago, the Fourth Circuit held the same, and previously the Third and Eighth Circuits took the same path in 2019 and 2020, respectively…the government attempts to combine two laws to preclude any lawsuits against anyone.  First, the Westfall Act allows the government, when one of its employees gets sued for on-the-job conduct, to say, “sue us instead of the employee.”  This would not be a problem — the treasury is more likely to pay a judgment than a random TSA employee anyway — except they next use the Federal Tort Claims Act, which basically says…the government can’t be sued for…assault and battery when committed by anyone other than an “investigative or law enforcement officer.”  So the argument is: 1) you have to sue only the government, but 2) the government isn’t liable.  Luckily, now four appellate courts have concluded that TSA screeners are “investigative or law enforcement officers”…and the government may be sued for their…misconduct.

Peeping Toms (#1211)

Lawrence v Texas actually overturned these laws 20 years ago, but many were left on the books anyway and used by cops to harass gay men:

The state of Maryland has repealed the Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practice Act, which criminalized any sexual act outside of vaginal penetration…the Woodhull Freedom Foundation submitted testimony in February…explain[ing]…“We cannot allow antiquated and discriminatory laws to remain on the books and leave us vulnerable to prosecution…This exact ordinance was used to arrest four gay men as recently as 2021…[despite] the Supreme Court’s ruling in Lawrence v. Texas…[which] Maryland’s ordinance stood in direct opposition to…

The politician who spearheaded the repeal was apparently motivated by the reversal of Roe v Wade, reasoning that the same court might overturn Lawrence.

To Molest and Rape (#1222)

He wasn’t a “former” cop when he repeatedly raped a teenage girl:

A [typical and representative cop] turned criminal defence barrister has been jailed for 16 years for the rape and indecent assault of a teenage girl more than 30 years ago.  James Boyle, now aged 69, w[orked for the] Cambridgeshire Police when…he [repeatedly raped his victim] between 1986 and 1991…The judge…[also fin]ed Boyle…£4,500…[and condemned him to] the sex offenders’ register…

I Spy (#1319)

The pretexts for such surveillance would not long remain limited to “child porn” and “terrorism”:

Apple has become the latest operator of an encrypted messaging service to raise concerns about the UK’s [misnamed] Online Safety Bill…join[ing]…WhatsApp and Signal in opposing a provision that would allow [surveillance & censorship agency] Ofcom…to use “accredited technology” to identify child [porn] “whether communicated publicly or privately” and swiftly take it down.  Apple is calling for the bill to be amended to offer explicit protections for end-to-end encryption…[because] forcing companies to scan messages for illegal content, even if using an approach such as client-side scanning, would fundamentally [break] this encryption and hence the privacy and security of users.  Apple previously [delay]ed plans to [spy on users in this way] after a backlash from privacy advocates…The government[‘s entire defense of] that the bill…[has been to repeatedly barf out the word] criminals…

The Course of a Disease (#1347)

Maine officially defines women as moral imbeciles, and men as our moral superiors:

Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Monday that [imposes the Swedish model of] prostitution [law o]n Maine.   The new law…[defines women as unable to consent to sex when money is involved, in the same way underage girls are deemed legally unable to consent to any sex, therefore] eliminat[ing] criminal charges for [the specific crime of prostitution] while [defining men as full adults with sexual agency who]…can still be criminally charged…Supporters [of the model ignore both these legal implications, and the measurable rise in violence against sex workers and rape in general which resulted when the model was imposed on] Canada, Ireland, Sweden and France…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1344)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2023| 2 Comments »

Anti-sex-work rhetoric…continues to dominate mainstream media.  –  Holly Randall

If Men Were Angels

One would think that by now, the title “youth pastor” would be a big red flag:

[A typical and representative] youth pastor [previously] charged with child sexual assault is now facing new charges…Jordan Huffman…jump[ed bail in Wisconsin]…and [fled to]…Florida [where he] was [caught and] extradited to Wisconsin…the [newly-reported] victim said the crimes began in 2017…[at] 12 years old…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#907)

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

The Texas legislature has passed a new age verification law that compels adult websites to post pseudoscientific anti-porn propaganda disclaimers declaring that “pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.”  The measure, HB 1181, is a much-augmented version of Louisiana’s age verification law and its many copycats, and echoes the debunked “porn addiction” language of faith-based anti-porn groups…

Compelled speech is, of course, unconstitutional, but Southern politicians in particular seem determined to negate that inconvenient fact by wishing very hard.

Held Together With Lies (#938)

In case you ever doubted the danger of letting government dictate what constitutes “disinformation”:

YouTube [has] removed…an episode of the Holly Randall Unfiltered industry podcast, featuring an interview with…Elizabeth Nolan Brown debunking myths about sex trafficking spread by anti-sex-work activists, mainstream media and politicians.  YouTube [claims] the content was removed due to a supposed violation of its policies against “harmful conspiracy theories.”  Randall appealed the removal but YouTube [bots automatical]ly dismissed the appeal, [pretending actual humans] had reviewed the content…and [claiming that debunking harmful propaganda]…is [not] “safe”…YouTube consistently platforms…pseudoscientific and religious attacks against sex workers and the adult industry without flagging the frequent lack of factuality in those videos…

Winding Down (#1289)

Occasionally, cops’ lies are too outrageous even for politicians:

As of July 1…Maryland…law will allow adults 21 or older to publicly possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana.  In anticipation of that…Maryland [politicians] last month passed H.B. 1071, which will bar police, also effective July 1, from treating the [actual or pretended] smell of cannabis as sufficient grounds for stopping or searching pedestrians or cars.  Virginia enacted a similar law in 2020, and…Missouri and Illinois…have proposed the same basic reform…Any evidence obtained in violation of the new rules is “not admissible in a trial, a hearing, or any other proceeding.”  Notably, that includes “evidence discovered or obtained with consent,” which is little more than a legal fiction when people are waylaid by armed agents of the state with the power to informally punish uncooperative drivers…

Panopticon (#1316)

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

[Three civil liberties groups demanded that] seventy-one California [cop shops]…immediately stop sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with [cop shops] in other states because it violates California law and could enable prosecution of abortion seekers and providers elsewhere,  The letters from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU NorCal), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) gave the agencies a deadline of June 15 to comply and respond…Since 2016, sharing any ALPR data with out-of-state or federal [cop shops or spook houses] is a violation of the California Civil Code…Nevertheless, many agencies continue to use services such as Vigilant Solutions or Flock Safety to make the ALPR data they capture available to out-of-state and federal agencies [because, as is typical of laws pretended to control cops, the law has no criminal penalties for violators].  California…also [passed]…a[nother toothless] law…prohibiting state and local [cop shops] from providing abortion-related information to out-of-state [cop shops]…

You Were Warned (#1337)

The censors are growing bold enough to admit their real goals:

Democrats naively (and incorrectly) believ[e] that because [KOSA is] called the “Kids Online Safety Bill” it will magically protect children, even though tons of experts have made it clear it will actually put them at greater risk.  Meanwhile, Republicans are now freely admitting that they’re going to use KOSA to force websites to censor LGBTQ content.  They’re literally proud of it.  The Heritage Foundation, which at least used to have some principled stances before being taken over by culture warriors without any principles, is bragging about how it will use KOSA in this manner…the enforcement mechanism in the bill is that state Attorneys General get to bring lawsuits against websites for not removing such “harmful” content.  And if you don’t believe that there are GOP state AGs itching to bring exactly these lawsuits, you haven’t been paying attention…

Torture Chamber (#1343)

Denying medication to people locked in cages is just a silent version of yelling “Stop faking!” at them:

Dexter Barry waited 12 years to get a new heart…In 2020, his long wait paid off.  His new heart allowed him to imagine a healthy life…But in 2022, after…[the state unnecessarily locked] him in [a cage] for two days [for arguing with a neighbor, and refused to give him] his life-sustaining medication, his body rejected the heart [and he died]…Barry told [both the pigs and the judge] at least seven times that he needed to take his anti-rejection medications every day to survive…[but they didn’t give a shit]…

 

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