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Posts Tagged ‘Mexico’

Law enforcement feels they can treat mental health issues like criminal issues.  –  Ben Crump

Torture Chamber

This will continue until journalists stop obediently referring to senseless violence as “correction”:

A [ga]ng of [screws] at a Memphis jail used handcuffs as makeshift brass knuckles to beat a Black inmate and kneeled on his back and neck until he went limp in a pool of blood, according to surveillance video…The county medical examiner ruled Gershun Freeman’s death on Oct. 5, 2022, a homicide…Freeman seemed to be experiencing a mental health crisis and was [confin]ed naked and alone to minimize the risk of [escaping further torture by killing himself]…surveillance video shows two [screws decided to]…mace…him [for no particular reason]…Freeman is seen shielding himself from the mace with an orange piece of fabric, which he was given [in lieu of an actual blanket]…and…attempting to…bat away the mace can…at least seven [screws used that as an excuse to attack Freeman]…kicking…and beating him with fists, handcuffs…mace cans…heavy rings of jailer’s keys…and “sets of brass handcuff keys”…[until he succumbed, then] kneeling on [his] back, neck and head for over five minutes…[until he] stopped breathing…jail staff did not perform CPR or attempt any resuscitation…[instead walking] over…[his] body, until medical staff arrived…

Torture Chamber (#1116)

Remember, these people were locked in this cage facility because of US policies:

Guards…in [a prison for migrants]…walked out of the burning building as screams could be heard on the street in downtown Ciudad Juárez.  Thirty-nine migrants died locked in that cell as the [cage stack] burned on the night of March 27, and another died later at the hospital…Survivors say those who died did so for one reason: they could not or did not pay a $200 bribe to s[crews] to be released…the…jail…was a de facto “extortion center,” where only migrants with the means to pay were released.  Others would have to stay in jail and be sent to Mexico City or deported back to their origin country…

Torture Chamber (#1292)

Yelling “Stop faking!” at the sick and dying is one of screws’ favorite games:

Ta’Neasha Chappell was arrested for theft in Brownstown, Indiana, in May 2021…Her bail was set at $4,000—an amount too high for her family to pay…On July 15, [she] became mysteriously and violently ill…she called for help repeatedly throughout the night…[as] she was throwing up blood.  During the night she became increasingly incoherent, stripping off her clothes and soiling herself…no one provided medical care or called an ambulance…At 3:12, a jail employee told Chappell—who was lying on the floor moaning, “This just makes us think you’re faking it”…she was pronounced dead at 5:45 that evening…Chappell’s death was “probable toxicity from an unknown substance,” based upon “a green liquid in Chappell’s abdomen and her altered mental state, among others”…several inmates…said that Chappell had been poisoned by other prisoners, who “had allegedly been slipping a cleaning product…into her food and drink”…Chappell’s…family has filed a lawsuit against the jail employees who ignored her cries for help…Chappell is not the first person to die under mysterious circumstances in the Jackson County Jail.  In August 2021, Joshua McLemore, a man with untreated schizophrenia died of multiple organ failure after he was left in a solitary cell for three weeks—during which time he refused to eat and became increasingly delirious.  McLemore’s family has also filed a lawsuit against the jail…

Here’s more detail on the McLemore case:

…Joshua McLemore…was l[ocked] in a small, windowless cell for 20 days straight in Jackson county jail in July and August of 2021.  The cell had no bed or bathroom and had fluorescent lights on at all hours.  In [recently-released surveillance] footage, McLemore, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, appears detached from reality, speaking gibberish, rolling in filth and his own waste and becoming clearly emaciated.  He received daily meals through a small slot in his jail door, but appears to have rarely eaten them.  H[is only] human interactions [were] on…four occasions…when guards [decided to mindlessly brutalize] him…McLemore [had originally been hospitalized for]…psychosis…[but] when…he pulled [a nurse’s] hair…a guard…called…police, which sent [a whole gang of thugs]…to…carry…him out of the hospital in his underwear [and throw him into the dungeon where he eventually died]…

Of course, Georgia has an unusually-high number of these as well:

A 32-year-old man [locked in a cage] at Georgia’s Clayton County Jail begged for medical help for nearly two months before succumbing to testicular cancer in January…Alan Willison had been locked up at the scandal-plagued jail since October on a third-degree forgery charge.  In November, he began complaining of severe pain and swelling in one of his testicles, but [screws]…gave him only over-the-counter medication to manage his pain.  “NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL,” Willison wrote in a Nov. 23 request for medical care…In early December, Willison received testing indicating that he likely had cancer, but it was not until Jan. 19 that he saw a urologist, who officially diagnosed him.  He died a week later, on Jan. 26…the Clayton County Medical Examiner…determined that Willison had died of testicular cancer complicated by medical neglect….unhygienic living conditions at the jail…malnourishment and physical abuse…

Another case from Georgia:

LaShawn Thompson was at the Fulton County Jail for three months before he was found dead in a jail cell…”[that] was not fit for a diseased animal”…Thompson…had mental issues…but [screws] did nothing to administer aid to him or help him…until he died…[covered with bites from bed]bugs and [other] insects…

The Punitive Mindset (#1294) 

“Drug” fantasies are just a pretext; the real reasons for this are petty torture of prisoners and more profits for the carceral state’s fascist partners:

P[ropaganda about] drug overdoses in the jail…[is being used by well-known prohibition fantasist] Tom Dart…[as an excuse to] ban…visitors from bringing in paper, including documents routinely carried by attorneys fulfilling their constitutional duty to provide legal counsel to [Dart’s victims].  The facility…is among jails and prisons across the country [pre]tending…th[at]…paper soaked with illegal narcotics…[is the the cause of overdoses, despite the fact that it is well-known that drugs in jails are smuggled in by screws, as demonstrated by the fact that overdoses actually increase when mail and books from outside are banned]…Dart’s office…[c]ould not provide any…[actual facts to support the cop fantasy of] overdoses tied to deadly paper…Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell Jr.’s office…seemed surprised and distressed by the restrictions…[which appear to be aimed at forcing] public defenders to share information with their clients…[via] computers [so cops can secretly spy on conversations they are not legally allowed to access]…

No Escape

Your “leaders” refer to state-employed thugs raping women as “correction”:

[After] raping a…[prisoner]…a [Tennessee screw named]…James Thomas…[not only] still works as a [screw] for the Maury County Sheriff’s department…but…was given a raise…

In the rest of this confused mess of a news item, a so-called “victims’ advocate” burbles nonsense about “sending messages“, while the reporter thinks a 60-word digression about the rapist’s sister is more important than the crime the story is supposed to be about.

No Escape (#1312)

Prosecutors are rarely interested in going after rapists with badges:

Terry Grassaree [got away with rape] for years b[ecause he was first a cop and later sheriff]…in Macon, Miss…There were [regular]…rape[s] inside the jail [by] Grassaree…and [others, both cops and prisoners, and Grassaree always]…covered up the episodes.  At least five people, including one of his fellow deputies, [witness]ed him…beating [prison]ers or choking them with a police baton…Now, more than three years after losing an election and retiring, and 16 years after a woman first [report]ed that…Grassaree pressured her to lie about being raped, the [typical and representative] sheriff faces criminal charges…of…bribery [rather than rape and assault]…

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

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The political discourse around the border tends to be built around a fantasy.  –  Dave Maass

If Men Were Angels

At least this one wasn’t a “youth pastor”:

A [typical and representative] Orange County [California] pastor has been convicted of sexually abusing two young girls he is related to…Jose Andres Lopez…[committed the assaults from] 1991 through 2020…[he was caught] on Aug. 21, 2020, [when] the [second] victim…was…13…but the abuse started when she was 3…The victim’s brother…was…in the house and…[over]heard…“noise he describes as a rhythm that sounded like having sex”…the victim [later told] her brother…what was happening…[and] the next day, the brother told his mother and the tearful victim confirmed it…During the investigation, deputies “stumbled on a police report” out of Massachusetts from a 12-year-old who said [Lopez] had molested her for years…

Nor was this one:

Indianapolis pastor…Tyree Coleman…offered to pay…a…17-year-old…[for sex and] the teen told police…they got a search warrant for Coleman’s cell phone and…discovered that Coleman…the founder of…[a charity] which feeds homeless people in Indianapolis…was using donations to his non-profit to pay [male sex workers]…During that investigation, police received a new complaint from a…man who accused Coleman of raping him…[after] he missed his bus…and was left stranded…Coleman offered him a room at his home…Coleman would pay him [for]…oral sex and later [for intercourse, but]…the victim [later changed his mind and] told Coleman to stop several times but Coleman refused…Coleman [also] threatened to kill him if he had a sexually transmitted disease…

The Red Umbrella (#1033)

As long as sex work is marginalized, sex workers will be targeted for violence:

A man [named Matthew Sean Donaldson who is] obsessed with video games…brutally bludgeoned [a sex worker] with a hammer in a luxury hotel…with intent to murder [her]…on February 23, 2021…Donaldson bought a hammer and read numerous news articles about women being murdered before he brought the [victim]…to his hotel room…He used a knife to cut off the woman’s underpants in what was to be his first ever sexual experience…the[n started]…a heated argument about the ethics of sex work [to give himself an excuse to attack her]…He left her lying in a pool of her own blood with severe cranial and body injuries as he fled the scene.  Later that night…Donaldson sent the victim a cruel taunting text that said: “Should have picked a different career, honey”…and…also posted a photo of the luxury hotel room to social media with the caption: “game over”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1083)

All too often, evil arrives cloaked in the mantle of expediency:

Panera Bread is rolling out palm scanners that will link customers’ handprints to their loyalty accounts — a move the company paints as convenient but that privacy advocates have decried.  The biometric…technology, developed by Amazon, will hit stores in the next few months…The gadgets will [also] suggest menu items based on customers’ order histories…Amazon One technology is [already] in use at some 200 locations across the country, including Amazon’s Whole Foods Market subsidiary and Amazon Go stores.  Panera says the technology will securely store its customers’ biometric data.  However, digital rights activists [correctly point out] that [any] information [which exists] could be [demand]ed by federal agencies or accessed by hackers…

Feudalism Redux (#1251)

The crusade to reduce Americans to serfdom continues:

…Idaho Republicans…seek…to limit minors’ ability to travel for abortion care without parental consent.  The legislation would create a whole new crime — dubbed “abortion trafficking” — which is defined in the bill as an “adult who…either procures an abortion … or obtains an abortion-inducing drug” for the minor…The legislation also includes a statute allowing the Idaho attorney general to supersede any local prosecutor’s decision, preemptively thwarting any prosecutor who vows not to enforce such an extreme law…The legislation doesn’t actually say anything about crossing state lines, but…since nearly all abortions are illegal in Idaho…[the people politicians want to terrorize are] traveling to the border with the intent of crossing state lines, likely into Washington, Oregon or Montana, to get an abortion there…

Panopticon (#1254)

This is only going to get worse for the foreseeable future:

There is perhaps no stretch of American land as politicized as the U.S.-Mexico border…There are towering fences and walls.  Border agents…patrol…the boundary in trucks.  But border security is becoming increasingly stealthy…as the government erects a “virtual wall”—a fortification not made of steel and concrete, but drones, surveillance towers, and artificial intelligence…border [hawks pretend] this…is a more humane and efficient way of keeping undocumented immigrants out…but in reality, the virtual wall has…been expensive, broadly expanded the surveillance abilities of unaccountable government agencies, and forced migrants into taking more dangerous journeys rather than keeping them out.  More dollars are being spent, more migrants are dying, and more civil liberties violations are occurring…

License to Rape (#1263)

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

Police are [molest]ing children in their p[igmobile]s…Almost 3,000 children were [molested under the pretext of a “]search[“]…by police in England and Wales between 2018 and mid-2022, [650 between 2018 and 2020 and 2197 in the next two years]…Nearly a quarter of [molestation]s involved a child aged between 10 and 15, while the youngest [victim was]…an eight-year-old…1 per cent were [molest]ed within public view, and 6 per cent…with at least one [cop] of a different gender than the [victim lurking to watch]…

The Cop Myth (#1297)

UK officials are just as dedicated to hiding the truth about cops as US ones:

[Cop shops] in England and Wales have been…[caught] trying to “evade public scrutiny” after an Observer investigation found that the outcomes of dozens of officer misconduct cases have been deleted from their websites.  They include some of the most serious cases of criminality, including that of the serial rapist David Carrick…the vast majority were either failing to publicise cases, despite a legal obligation to do so, or deleting misconduct cases from their websites after 28 days…including cases related to sexual offences or domestic violence…The law specifically calls on forces to publicise the results of misconduct hearings “as soon as practicable after the officer has been notified of the outcome”…but…the records at 72% of forces were incomplete.  Many were missing more than half or all of the misconduct outcomes…

 

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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No one wants to hear the Cookie Monster say he’s going to kill their family.  –  LA business owner

Some of you may know the name of Wayne Shorter, the great jazz saxophonist whose passing is commemorated by this week’s video. But few will know the name of Ricou Browning, the diver, underwater stunt man and underwater cinematographer who played the “gill man” in The Creature from the Black Lagoon and also directed many underwater action sequences in movies of the ’50s & ’60s, notably Thunderball.  The links above the video were provided by Jesse Walker, Franklin Harris, Jesse again, Franklin again, Scott Greenfield, Joe Lancaster, and Fiona Harrigan, 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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It’s difficult to measure how much you’re harming someone’s relationships and connections with the free world.  –  Keri Blakinger

Surplus Women

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

A suspect behind serial killings of sex workers in Tijuana is thought to be somewhere in San Diego, and the Attorney General of Baja California says he is working with U.S. authorities to find the killer…a U.S citizen…[who] finds his victim’s [sic] in strip clubs and bars in Zona Norte…the suspect [rapes]…his victims, [then] beats them and kills them…Each woman was found dead in a motel room…Authorities say they are keeping some details of the murders confidential so as not to alert the suspect…[but] they…know who he is and that he crossed the…border into San Diego…

Follow Your Bliss

The naive believe the government propaganda that “sex predators” are creepy dudes who hang out at playgrounds; in reality, they are largely people in positions of authority over their preferred targets:

A campus [cop named David Laudon] at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth resigned…[after groping a female student and then constantly harassing her with frequent unwanted texts and calls] in 2010…Laudon, was then…hired…in the nearby town of Blackstone, Massachusetts [to lurk in schools and harass students.  While there]…Laudon was [given his dream job of]…investigating reported sexual assaults and [leering at] students…who have been sexually victimized…Blackstone [sacked]…Laudon…after…[finding out about his previous] misconduct…but [w]as [kept] on the town police force…as an investigator who handles sexual assault reports…

Above the Law (#1142)

They usually make these cases sound like the scumbag was doing his victim a favor:

…police chief…Kenny Payne of Plaquemine, Louisiana, was indicted by a grand jury with…malfeasance in office…[after demanding] a…woman…[reveal her] breasts and perform oral sex on him [in exchange for dropping a case against her boyfriend]…The next day, Payne ordered a lieutenant to delete text messages from the woman to the [cop she] report[ed] the [demand to]…Payne also requested Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stasi to…cease…investigati[ng]…him after the woman filed a…complaint…

The Punitive Mindset (#1159) 

“Safety” is just a pretext; the real reasons for this are petty torture of prisoners and more profits for the carceral state’s fascist partners:

…On Nov. 14, New York City Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] commissioner Louis Molina outlined plans to digitize mail in city-run facilities…cit[ing cop fantasies of] “dozens” of letters “soaked in fentanyl” [to justify a scheme] to have mail scanned by a third-party vendor and delivered to incarcerated people via tablet.  If the plan goes into effect, it will make New York the latest in a string of carceral systems to end the delivery of paper mail…By damaging…people’s ties to the outside community, the policy could make it more difficult for them to re-enter society, potentially increasing their chances of recidivism…Wanda Bertram…[of] the Prison Policy initiative [says] mail bans are nothing but the flavor of the week in prison and jail policy…11 state prison systems…about 140 jails nationwide…and the Federal Bureau of Prisons [inflict this petty mistreatment on those condemned to their clutches despite]…a host of technical issues: delayed deliveries, blurred photographs, unreadable letters, and missing pages.  In…Pennsylvania…scanning…has resulted in Christmas cards being delayed until March…

Creepy Coppers

Reporter tries to bury the lede; headline writer won’t participate:

A [Georgia cop named]…Robert Vaughn [was arrested] and [charged with possession of child porn] in both Clay and Early County…after receiving [too many reports on his online activity to ignore]…from…NCMEC…[but his cronies are still hiding his identity by refusing to release a mugshot]…

Panopticon (#1256)

Amazon’s fascist collaboration with cops just keeps getting worse:

The New York Police Department…has joined Neighbors, [the] public neighborhood watch platform owned by Amazon’s Ring where video doorbell owners can post clips, and where [cops] can enlist the help of [snitches and useful idiots to fink on their neighbors]…over 2,000 of the nation’s [cop shops] have [already] signed on, including in Los Angeles and Chicago…[NYPD] do[es] not…[yet] have the ability to view or tap into Ring cameras…in real-time [as San Francisco cops already do]…

To Molest and Rape (#1293)

Your “leaders” refer to raping kids as “correction”:

Two [California screws] have been arrested [for]…sex crimes against children…The [screws lurked in] different prisons.  It’s unclear if the two [rapi]sts [a]re connected.  Matthew James Leavens…is being charged with six counts…including rape…[and] Matthew Robert Solem…was [charged with]…14…

 

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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You ain’t paralyzed.  –  typical Florida screw

The Public Eye (#789)

It’s always heartening to see a sex worker run for office, especially when she wins:

A transgender politician in Mexico’s ruling MORENA party is under fire for posting pornographic videos of herself on Twitter.  But María Clemente García Moreno—a federal deputy in Mexico City who made history in 2021 when she and another politician became the first trans people elected to the country’s congress—also moonlights as a sex worker and contests that it’s within her rights to post whatever she wants…

Torture Chamber (#1069)

Florida screws love yelling “Stop faking!” at their victims after intentionally breaking their necks:

Craig Ridley…[was] a 62-year-old prisoner in Florida who, after having his neck broken by guards, was left to die in his cell…Ridley…was…tackled…to the ground face first on Sept. 8, 2017…[by brutal screws who th]en manhandled, mocked and ignored [him]…even as he begged for help…as he lay in his cell, unable to walk and starving because he couldn’t reach the food he was being given.  After five days of this paralysis, guards finally took him to a hospital, where…he died on Oct. 12…intubated and unable to communicate…the…story was kept hushed for years…

Winding Down (#1179)

Destigmatization of psychedelics is happening much more quickly than I would’ve expected:

Shroomyz is Toronto’s first magic mushroom dispensary and the second in the province…A Shroomyz in Ottawa opened in May of this year…Shroomyz is akin to any cannabis store you’d find in the city.  Windows are taped off for privacy and customers need to buzz in to enter…The store supplies everything from dried psilocybin and microdose capsules to mushroom chocolates and mushroom tea…

Winding Down (#1243)

It’s great to see anti-prohibitionist views quickly becoming mainstream:

Prohibition is not working—and that can be seen most strikingly with cocaine, not cannabis…Global production hit a record of 1,982 tonnes in 2020, according to the latest data, though that is likely to be an underestimate.  That record high is despite decades of strenuous and costly efforts to cut off the supply.  Between 2000 and 2020 the United States ploughed $10bn into Colombia to suppress production, paying the local armed forces to spray coca plantations with herbicide…or…yank up bushes by hand.  To no avail…murder in Colombia is three times more common than in the United States; in Mexico, four times.  In some areas, drug gangs are so wealthy and well-armed that they rival the state…the cocaine gangs will remain powerful so long as their product is illegal in the rich countries that consume most of it, such as the United States.  Half-measures, such as not prosecuting cocaine users, are not enough.  If producing…is still illegal, it will be criminals who produce it…the real answer is full legalisation, allowing non-criminals to produce a strictly regulated, highly taxed product, just as whisky- and cigarette-makers do…

To Molest and Rape (#1263)

The New Orleans cop who stood by and watched a rape has thought up an excuse:

Earl J. Brown III…resigned a week after The Times-Picayune published audio from a 911 call demonstrating that — though he was just a block away — Brown declined to intervene [in a rape] for more than three minutes.  By that point, the suspect had fled.  Brown later [claimed]…he was working a security detail on a movie set and that he had been trained to wait for backup before responding.  Brown also heard over the radio that New Orleans [cops] had been dispatched…[so he figured they would eventually get there, and called it good]…Scott Seymour…who investigated the incident, rejected Brown’s explanation and concluded he violated several department policies by failing to act.  Seymour recommended firing Brown, but he resigned before…that [happened, which] means Brown maintains a clean record…and [could be rehired as a cop somewhere else]…

See also “To Molest and Rape (#1273)” below.

The Cop Myth (#1271)

You’ve heard of “burying the lede”, but this one just keeps getting worse:

A Louisville [cop sent]…a sexually explicit photo of a woman to more than a dozen people without her consent….Harry Seeders…was arrested…and charged…under the so-called Kentucky “revenge porn” law that went into effect in 2018…Seeders…was on [paid vacation as a reward for] a previous domestic violence incident…in May 2021 [in which he attacked] a woman he was dating…[by] hit[ting her]…in the mouth and then chok[ing] her…those charges[, which] are still pending…[were filed when] Seeders was [already enjoying a paid vacation he received as a reward for murdering]…a [random] man…on Nov. 22, 2020…and [trying to blame his victim]…

To Molest and Rape (#1273)

It’s not only Louisiana cops who prefer to rape by proxy:

A garda is under suspension…[for trying] to hire a man to [rape] a female colleague…the [cop apparently]…contacting a man online, possibly on the Darkweb…[and the scheme] apparently came to light when the man, understood to be in Scotland, began arranging to travel to Ireland…

 

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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Qualified immunity does not protect the officer who orchestrated this outrageous clown show.  –  Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan

The links above this video for my favorite Earth, Wind & Fire song (in honor of the passing of their saxophonist) were provided by Scott Greenfield, Jesse Walker, Cop Crisis, Greg Lukianoff, Popehat, Cop Crisis again, and Billy Binion, in that order.

From the Archives

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No [one]…has the right to…speak and make choices for women who have not asked to be represented by them.  –  Efrat Rubinstein

Above the Law 

Just another kind of federal cop, with behavior to match:

Brian Jeffrey Raymond…is [a CIA agent who was arrested]…after a naked woman was seen screaming for help from the balcony of his latest residence in Mexico City…in May of 2020…the woman had no idea how she got to his home and [said] she had no memory after the pair ate dinner together.  When searching his devices, the FBI discovered hundreds of images and videos taken over the the course of 14 years from 2006 to 2020.  This serial rapist had dozens of victims and all of them were unconscious during their rapes…in some of the…images…Raymond can be seen holding open the victims’ eyelids, waving their limp arms and legs around, or putting his fingers in their mouths to demonstrate that they are unconscious…Raymond resided in the Washington, D.C., and San Diego areas…traveled extensively for work and leisure, and lived in numerous countries, including Mexico and Peru…[so] there could be many other victims…

Accredited Whores

There’s nothing wrong with “sexological bodywork”, as long as you understand that the stuff described in this article is no different from what many thousands of sex workers do every day, all over the world, without the fancy title.  But you wouldn’t know it from this article, which pretends that one needs to pay an “accrediting body” money and hide under a “certificate” and a euphemized job title for sex work to be ethical; the writer’s phraseology even seems to imply that ordinary, unsanitized sex work is not consensual, which is one of the most toxic claims of 21st-century prohibitionism.  The writer breathlessly informs us that “Sex bod is one-way, which allows the client to focus solely on their own experience without the pressures that come with a partnered sexual experience.”  Sure sounds like sex work to me; in fact there’s nothing mentioned in this article that one can’t get from sex workers, but don’t tell that to Gwyneth Paltrow; “certified” whores with fancy titles who only touch you through medical gloves are celebrated on Goopy Vaginas or whatever she calls her show, but she claims the rest of us are “harmful to women”.

The Course of a Disease (#1057)

How’s Israel’s plan to force sex workers into low-paid menial “women’s work” going?

The…Knesset…held its first discussion on prostitution [of this session], attended by various representatives of ministries and welfare and [prohibitionist] organizations…[but not] sex workers…[the scheme has] led to an increase in [violence against sex workers, and]…plans to [replace their income]…have not been effectively implemented…Efrat Rubinstein, the head of Israel’s Stripper’s Union…[pointed out] that “no welfare or aid organization representative has the right to represent Israeli sex workers, and they are being given the right to speak and make choices for women who have not asked to be represented by them.”  Rubinstein also demanded that Israel’s strip clubs be reopened, saying that their closure has created unsafe working environments for strippers and that programs have only offered them employment for minimum wage…creat[ing] an impossible situation where strippers must choose between unsafe working conditions or poverty…

Rotting Fruit (#1174)

Presented without comment:

Prince Andrew has asked a New York court to dismiss a legal action brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.  The Duke of York’s lawyers said the “baseless lawsuit” should be dismissed because Ms Giuffre failed to sufficiently outline her claims against him…If a dismissal is not granted, Ms Giuffre should provide a “more definitive statement” of her allegations, [the] lawyers…said…”Giuffre has initiated this baseless lawsuit against Prince Andrew to achieve another payday at his expense…Epstein’s abuse of Giuffre does not justify her public campaign against Prince Andrew…[also, Epstein’s 2009 settlement with Giuffre included a] broad release…cover[ing] any and all persons who Giuffre identified as potential targets of future lawsuits, regardless of the merit – or lack thereof – to any such claims”…

The Cop Myth (#1179)

41% of cops admit to beating their wives. Some don’t stop with mere beating, or with just their wives:

A [screw paid to torture caged people in Monroe, Louisiana]…was…arrested for [murdering]…his wife and child [on Halloween night]…Blake Bardwell [was apparently still hanging out]…at…home [with their corpses] on [Sunday when he was arrested]…

Think of the Children! (#1182) 

This happens all over the US, but Florida is the worst:

A Florida mother who has spent the last five years volunteering at her children’s school has been banned from donating her time [because a busybody snitched to puritans at] the school district…that she has an OnlyFans page…Mark NeJame, one of Triece’s lawyers, [pointed out that]…“she kept it away from the children. You can’t access her [page] unless you’re an adult.” They plan to sue the school district for $1 million…

To Molest and Rape (#1182)

Notice how often predatory cops’ victims are underage?

A Roy [Utah cop named]…Ryan A. Estes…[was arrested for raping] a girl younger than 14 [at least twice, and molesting her many other times]…between May 2015 and May 2019…[boss pig] Matthew Gwynn [though the most important thing to comment on was that] Estes w[asn’t wearing his magical clown costume at the time of the rapes]…

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Coming together, even in private, is a radical, resistant, and dangerous act for [those] whose very identities are criminalised.  –  Erin Kilbride

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs

The story is the same the world over:

Sex worker activists are among the most at risk defenders of human rights in the world, facing multiple threats and violent attacks…research…published…by…Front Line Defenders…found that their visibility as sex workers who are advocates for their communities’ rights makes them more vulnerable to the violations routinely suffered by sex workers.  In addition, they face unique, targeted abuse for their human rights work.  Drawing on the experience of 300 individuals in Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, El Salvador and Myanmar, the report focuses on cases of sexual assault, threats from managers and clients, [and police] raids…physical attacks and…surveillance…

Torture Chamber 

A “mistake” during “correction”.  This is not reformable:

A man was brutally beaten by [violently-deranged thugs] and denied medical treatment at the Valencia County [New Mexico] jail…Marvin Silva…was…naked in a holding c[age]…when a [screw rolled up and vomited out the magic word “]contraband[” at Silva’s dentures, thus giving a gang of dangerous cretins an excuse to]…beat Silva…[their cronies pretending to be] medical personnel [then] denied Silva’s [obvious need] for medical care before he was [thrown out] to walk 5 miles toward home…[with] fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, [and] injuries to the spleen…head, neck and abdomen…

Banishment (#848)

How a country treats its prisoners reveals a great deal about it:

For many men…co[nvicted]…of…[so-called] sex offenses in Texas, their prison term never really ends…because they’re [condemned to a different prison pretended to be] a…mental health facility…Civil commitment is the practice of [warehous]ing people…[for years or decades] past their release date, on the [pretense] that they are so dangerous they need therapy…Of course…if the state really…wanted them to have treatment and counseling, they had…20 to 25 years…in an ordinary prison before being civilly committed…For their first year or two…the men are required to wear electronic ankle monitors that they have to pay for…The…only…way…out…[is to] work their way up through four tiers of [shaming and humiliation mislabeled as] treatment…they have to keep a masturbation log…[includ]ing…what they’re masturbating about…so [a so-called therapist can arbitrarily declare] it…deviant…the prison also employs polygraphs and penile plethysmography…When an inmate moves up a tier, which can take a year, he can find himself demoted for [arbitrar]y reasons…One man who had…made it through all four tiers was finally about to get his release hearing.  But…a [screw vindictively] knocked [him] back down to tier 1…He went to his cell and hanged himself…Another man…[treated similarly] castrated himself…Until recently, inmates also had to pay a 33 percent tax on any packages they got, further isolating them from any support system they might have on the outside…

Shame, Shame (#951)

In which a bluenose describes cartoon nudity as “horrifying”:

…a new…website…boasts that it developed…image translation algorithms to “nudify” female bodies, and that the technology is so powerful there is not a woman in the world, regardless of race or nationality, who is safe from being “nudified.”  But it doesn’t work on men…the results are strikingly realistic, often bearing no glitches or visual clues that the photos are deepfakes…The [hysterical reactions of prudes] lays bare the grim and increasingly dangerous reality [that censorship is becoming increasingly popular among sheltered ninnies who can’t conceive of a more harmful use for]…powerful deepfake tools…[than realistic porn cartoons, such as cops manufacturing evidence to frame innocent people and/or excuse brutality and murder]…

The solution to this problem isn’t increasing the censorship powers of the already-bloated police state, as these rabid pearl-clutchers are demanding; it’s fighting the idea that a woman’s body is something to be ashamed of.  But good luck explaining that to people who actually think fake nude pictures are worse than totalitarianism.

Elephant in the Parlor (#1078)

People keep pretending “politician hires whores” is something more than a yawn:

Hunter Biden claimed…to [have]…lost a total of three computers – the first abandoned at a Delaware computer store and the second seized by federal agents –  each likely to hold…embarrassing pictures, videos and communications…The third laptop…was taken by Russian drug dealers after they partied with [him] in Vegas, he told a prostitute in a conversation caught on camera.  After filming himself having sex with the woman using his laptop in January 2019, Hunter left the camera rolling as he recounted [the] Vegas bender…

The Implosion Begins (#1091)

Everyone who spread “sex trafficking” hysteria contributed to this atrocity:

Matthew Taylor Coleman…kill[ed] his young children…after he said he became “enlightened” by [“sex trafficking” propaganda of the]…QAnon [branch]…Coleman’s…3-year-old son, Kaleo, was found stabbed 17 times at a ranch in Baja California…[his] 10-month-old daughter, Roxy, was stabbed 12 times…Coleman told investigators he used a spear-fishing gun to shoot and kill his children and then moved the spear…stabbing them with it…[because] “he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them…[he] was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife…possessed serpent DNA and had passed it onto his children…he…knew it was wrong, but it was the only…course of action that would save the world”…The QAnon movement evolved out of [the “sex trafficking” hysteria intentionally spread by governments, police agencies, news media and “rescue industry” profiteers for the past 18 years]…

The Next Target (#1160)

It was only a matter of time before “sex trafficking” fetishists extended their pet fantasy to OnlyFans:

…Ann Wagner…the religious-right [politician]…who was the original drafter of FOSTA-SESTA, has released a letter to the Justice Department asking for an investigation into OnlyFans, claiming — without…any…evidence [whatsoever] — that the platform has “become a major marketplace for buying and selling Child Sexual Abuse Material…in the United States, as well as soliciting sexual activity with minors.”  Wagner also penned an editorial for congressional news site Roll Call stating her [ill-informed] opinion that all “sex work” (her quotation marks) is “illegal”…Wagner also [fantasized about]…the impact of FOSTA-SESTA…[whose] impact on human trafficking investigations has also been demonstrably the exact opposite of what Wagner claims…

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I feel like I’ll never get out of here.  –  17-year-old inmate of a US “shelter”

The End of the Beginning (#772) 

Perhaps we’re at last about to witness the beginning of the end of these evil laws:

On June 8, the American Law Institute…voted to approve the most recent draft [of its model penal code], which…state[s that] sex offender registries…should be limited to law enforcement access for law enforcement purposes, as is the case in virtually every other country besides the US…people [condemned to these] regist[ries]…can be searched on public online databases, along with a slew of other data including their home addresses…this…enables…exile, extortion and vigilante violence a[gainst]…such [people] and…their family members.  T[he] Supreme Court…still [pretends] that public registries of this kind are not “punishment,” though lower courts are growing more skeptical…[indeed,] public registration is…such a thoroughly soul-crushing punishment that it disincentivizes following the law for people subject to it…

Surplus Women (#931)

A classic case of NHI:

Since 2001, at least 55 women (and counting) have lost their lives at the hands of the Chicago Strangler, whom the police have denied even exists.  The…serial killer’s methods are brutal, cold, and repetitive, practically a calling card at this point…[yet] the police swear they see no connections [because]…the…victims are, without exception, women, killed on Chicago’s South and West sides…Three-quarters…are Black…47 had some history of sex work…the women were killed by strangulation, either by bare hands or with a ligature like a belt, rope, or the women’s bras.  Some were suffocated via plastic bags placed over their heads.  Most were at least partially undressed, if not completely naked, and many of them showed some signs of sexual assault.  The bodies were found in semi-public places, like back alleys, empty lots, snowbanks, or dumpsters — places where someone should have seen them placed and set on fire.  The Chicago Strangler barely attempts to hide his crimes, and that’s if he’s not outright gloating about them, knowing that the police do not take him seriously…

The Crumbling Dam (#1105)

The feds will try to stop this just as they did in Philadelphia:

[Rhode Island] Gov. Daniel McKee…signed into law a proposal to…establish…safe injection sites…The goal is to provide clean needles to curtail the spread of infectious diseases; test drugs; and provide a bridge to medical and substance abuse treatment.  The [new] law…requires the approval of a center by the city or town council in which it is proposed…[and] the funding would all come from foundations and private donors…Federal prosecutors successfully blocked a…safe…[injection site] in Philadelphia…[and] President Biden…is [a hypocrite and unrepentant drug warrior]…

Winding Down (#1121)

Much more of this worldwide, please:

The Mexican Supreme Court first ruled that marijuana prohibition was unconstitutional in 2015.  That decision became binding nationwide three years later, when the court gave the Mexican Congress 90 days to pass a legalization bill.  [Politicians ignor]ed that deadline and several others, and [finally] the court lost patience, ordering the federal government to issue permits that will allow cannabis consumers to possess and grow marijuana at home.  Similar permits have been available since 2015, but until now they were limited to [individuals] who had filed lawsuits and obtained injunctions.  Commercial cultivation and distribution remain illegal…

Guinea Pigs (#1136) 

Apparently, Psychology Today doesn’t bother to check whether its writers actually know anything about the subjects they write about:

Felipe Aros-Vera is an…assistant professor of industrial engineering at Ohio University…[who programmed] one of the world’s more powerful computers, the IBM Watson [with a lot of prohibitionist sexual fantasies about “]human trafficking[” in order to act out a puerile cops and robbers fantasy of]…caus[ing] the greatest damage to a human trafficking network.  He focuses on [the myth that sex workers are] victims…[who are] groom[ed]…acquir[ed]…[and] transport[ed by “pimps”] from place to place…and that…demand for…sex…is [not natural to humans, but artificially created by]…internet…advertising…

Despite the author’s panting nonsense, this is actually an example of the principle of garbage in, garbage out, and therefore unlikely to be as dangerous as systems such as Palantir and Memex.

Torture Chamber (#1141)

A prison doesn’t magically become a “shelter” just because those confined there are minors:

[Legal minors] inside the Biden administration’s largest [concentration camp] for unaccompanied migrant youth were subjected to filthy living conditions and medical neglect under the watch of unqualified government contractors…said…Laurie Elkin and Justin Mulaire, two federal employees who were detailed to the Fort Bliss [concentration camp]…near El Paso, Texas…they were repeatedly ignored or discouraged by [bureaucrats]…when they tried to report the…unsanitary conditions and poor care…Elkin recounts three instances where she discovered girls in distress, only to encounter resistance from contractors wh[o apparently think]…medical care [consists of shouting “Stop faking!” at sick prisoners]…contractors used loudspeakers to play music at intolerable volumes throughout the day, starting in the morning…at around 6 a.m. or 7 a.m…One contractor…used a bullhorn to wake [inmates] up in the morning…

Simple rule of thumb for reporters: if those confined there can’t come and go as they please, it isn’t a “shelter”, “center”, or “school”; it is a prison.

To Molest and Rape (#1142)

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

A [typical and representative cop paid by the state to stalk, harass, and spy on students], Neil Dolan, a[greed to a]…plea…[bargain in which he confessed] to two…sexual [assault]…charge[s in order to escape more serious rape charges]…The hearing was held…via Zoom with Dolan appearing from [a cage where] he’s [locked for] two years for another…[plea-bargained-down] sexual [assault charge]…[the prosecutor thought it was very important] that Dolan wore [his magic clown suit while being a dangerous pervert]…Dolan groomed students at Bagley High School [by literally offering them candy] and…sending [his targets dick pics since at least]…2011 or 2012…he…also [hunted]…victims…as a…Boy Scout camp program director…

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I can’t breathe.  –  Marvin Scott III, probably

Most of these “songs in old languages” things aren’t very good, but this one was too appropriate to pass up!  It was provided by Emma Evans, and the links above it by Yasmin Nair, Dan Savage, Mistress Matisse, Kevin Wilson, Cop Crisis, Mike Riggs, and Dan Savage again, in that order.

From the Archives

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