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Posts Tagged ‘Philippines’

Links #649

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Since there are trees and you are Black, you could climb onto the trees.  –  “Officer” Yohan C

For Christine McVie’s memorial, I selected this song of all those she penned for Fleetwood Mac because it was for many years used as the band’s final encore; it’s also the song Mick Fleetwood has said he wants played at his funeral.  The links above the video were contributed by Dan Savage, Jesse Walker (x2), Walter Olson, and Cop Crisis (x3), in that order.

From the Archives

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

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In the News (#1211)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

We should not allow people…in positions of authority to…lie to us.
–  Los Angeles Times

Buried Truth

I think we have enough evidence to start calling this “McNeill’s Law”:

A Missouri man who sought to ban several LGBTQ books from schools…is now facing a felony charge of…child molestation.  Ryan Utterback…of Kansas City, also faces a misdemeanor charge of…domestic assault and, in a separate case, a misdemeanor of furnishing…pornographic material to a minor.  Utterback had spoken at a school board meeting in November…to advocate for [censorship] of books in North Kansas City Schools libraries…Accusations against Utterback…describe separate instances in 2020 in which he…touched a 12-year-old girl…and…a teenager…under…[their clothes, and]…in 2021…showed pornographic video footage to a child…around 4 years old…

Don’t Call It Trafficking 

Silly nurse; don’t you know that defrauding and exploiting workers is only “trafficking” when sex is involved?

Novie Dale Carmen paid $20,000 to quit her nursing job…[with] Health Carousel…the…staffing agency that had helped get her from the Philippines to a hospital in…Pennsylvania…she was paid much less than the American nurses around her.  She was banned from discussing her working conditions or going out of town without notifying the agency.  Health Carousel seemed to keep finding ways not to count her work toward the 6,240 hours on her contract—the first three months of shifts didn’t qualify, the company said, because it considered that time part of her orientation period.  Mandatory overtime didn’t count toward her quota, either.  And because she couldn’t refuse overtime, her shifts could stretch as long as 16 hours in an understaffed emergency room…To pay [the]…quitting fee, she borrowed the money from her boyfriend, who’d been saving for years to buy a house.  She…was desperate to get away from Health Carousel without being sued for quitting, as had happened to many of her peers.  Now Carmen is the one suing.  She’s filed a proposed class action in Health Carousel’s home state of Ohio, accusing the company of human trafficking…

Peeping Toms (#690)

Cops love their “crackdowns” against gay men, but some politicians don’t like the optics any more:

Over the course of a six-week operation, Cincinnati police arrested or cited 20 men in Mt. Airy Forest, a huge and heavily wooded park on the city’s west side…[long] known as a place where gay men meet up for sexual encounters…[disguised] cops recently targeted this area…posing as [peaceful] men [in order to] prowl [for victims].  Police were set to release video of the stings [in order to shame their victims]…but the mayor’s office asked them not to…while also criticizing the premise of the stings…[new] Mayor Aftab Pureval…told police to “cite nonviolent offenses to court rather than…shaming…or jailing nonviolent offenders”…But [Spokespig] Dan Hils isn’t happy with this outcome [and angrily oinked copisms such as]…”values”…and…”law and order”…

Torture Chamber (#1037)

This will continue as long as screws have absolute power over their victims:

Inside one of the only federal women’s prisons in the United States, [prisoners are routinely]…subjected to rampant sexual abuse by [screws] and even the warden, and [a]re…threatened or punished when they…speak up.  [Reporters and bureaucrats absurdly refer to the torture as “]correction[“, but prisoners and some staff refer to the] institution in Dublin, California…[as] “The rape club”…[the] toxic [US prison] culture…[has] enabl[ed] years of sexual misconduct by predatory employees[, while] cover-ups…have largely kept the abuse out of the public eye…prisoners [are often condemned] to solitary confinement for reporting abuse and…officials in charge of preventing and investigating sexual misconduct…themselves [regularly] abus[e prisoners and ignore their pleas for help]…

The Implosion Begins

I did not foresee that the “sex trafficking” moral panic would implode in such a spectacular and entertaining fashion:

The National Butterfly Center on the Rio Grande in [Texas]…clos[ed]…after receiving “credible threats” against staff.  Marianna Wright, the center’s executive director, made the decision after a confrontation last week with a Republican congressional candidate from Virginia…[named] Kimberly Lowe [who] visited the center, demanding to see “illegals crossing on rafts”…[and repeating popular media fantasies about] sex trafficking….Wright has fended off…[QAnon-style fantas]ists for years, after the center filed suit against the Homeland Security Department in 2017 over former President Donald Trump’s plans to build a border wall through the 100-acre nature preserve…since 2019, [the fantasies]…have [grown to include]…dead bodies and a “rampant sex trade” at the center…Doctored images of the center’s dock, suggesting it was used to transport migrants, were spread by Brian Kolfage, the head of the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign…

Stupor Bowl (#1110)

Pathetic public promotions of misogynistic masturbatory material like this appear to be all that’s left of the once-popular “gypsy whores” myth.  This one starts with a religious fanatic sharing his sexual fantasies about 7-year-olds and claiming that having sex involves selling one’s soul, then continues with a professional “survivor” babbling incoherent rubbish about the internet, and concluding with a pig making furtive movements in his pants while spinning fantasies about all the “victims” he’s going to rescue.  But on the same day KABC was sharing tragedy porn, the generally-prohibitionist LA Times gave us this instead:

…the [claim that the] Super Bowl…is linked to a spike in human trafficking…is solemnly repeated by [cops], [politicians] and news outlets…[even though] it’s a myth.  It has been debunked many times over, including by some leading organizations that fight trafficking.  Academic studies and serious news reporting have found no connection between trafficking and the game…Like all urban legends that just won’t die, this one appears to confirm but compartmentalize our fears…It’s like the fake but persistent Halloween story that pedophiles snatch trick-or-treaters from their porches…Panic over the sexual abuse of children…is good for law enforcement business…and because fear of crime is good for the news business as well, false or imagined threats uttered by [cops] and repeated uncritically by news outlets or even in [cop glorification] dramas like CSI become part of a body of “copaganda” — statements that serve police interests and become commonly accepted despite…being demonstrably untrue…

To Molest and Rape (#1205)

Notice how often rapist cops’ victims are underage?

A [typical and representative] DeKalb County [Georgia cop named Derrick Gardner] is behind bars after being charged with rape, child molestation, and more…

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In the News (#1077)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2020| 3 Comments »

The law punishes sex workers…and…turns us into criminals.  –  Mai Junta

The Immunity Syndrome (#318)

Don’t try to imagine this in the US; you’ll overload your brain:

On a stage…in Copenhagen stood five adults in bathrobes…Facing [an audience of] children…they stood completely naked, like statues, with their hands and arms folded behind their backs.  And so began a recording of the latest episode of an award-winning Danish children’s program, Ultra Strips Down, which is shown on…the…children’s channel…the program is meant as an educational tool to fight body shaming and encourage body positivity…The program is now in its second season, and…is highly popular in Denmark…[except for the usual puritan minority.  Most] Danes believe children should not be shielded from the realities of life…

Dysphemisms Galore 

When the topic is sex, Philippine reporters seem even less able than most to write in normal adult sane-person language:

With nightclubs closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus…there has been a dearth of customers for commercial sex workers, according to [Iloilo City’s] Task Force on Morals and Values Formation.  Suffering a heavy economic beating from the pandemic, this city’s prostituted women and men…have left, said task force chief Nestor Canong…Workers in the flesh trade were suddenly faced an awful choice between livelihood and health…[blah blah] sex workers…spread…[disease]…

What kind of mind thinks a busybody brigade called “Task Force on Morals and Values” would have anything worthwhile to say about people whose lives are so alien to them they need to make up silly fantasies about them?

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs (#1017)

Thai sex worker activists are made of awesome:

Sex workers in Thailand have launched a petition calling for prostitution to be decriminalised and urging authorities to remove all penalties for selling sex.  Empower Foundation…said it hoped to collect 10,000 signatures and present the petition to parliament…More than 1,000 people had signed the petition [in its first three days]…activists say the current law, which made prostitution illegal in 1960, [harms]…sex workers…w[ith] repeated arrests and fines [that]…drive…them further into poverty.  The women’s affairs department at Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security said it was in the process of amending the prostitution law and would launch an online public hearing next year, without giving further details…

Disqualified

A report by Hacking/Hustling on shadowbans and similar policies:

Content moderation, censorship, and shadowbanning facilitate sex worker erasure and normalize the digital and physical oppression of sex working and [activist] communities.  Sex workers are disproportionately losing access to social media platforms, having bank accounts seized, being banned from major payment processors, and being used as test subjects for facial recognition databases…This research shows how communities are negatively impacted by content moderation practices, and how surveillance technologies disrupt their ability to both earn an income and organize…

All-Purpose Excuse (#1063)

Trumpists are completely taking control of the “sex trafficking” narrative:

…the federal government is awarding more than $100 million in grants to target [migrants and sex workers for increased persecution using the same old excuse of] human trafficking.  The money will [mostly] go to [vice cops]…and…[prisons.  Attorney General William] Barr made the announcement…with pr[ohibitionist] Ivanka Trump and [infantilized sex workers as] “boys and girls”…

Loose Cannons (#1068)

Of course, the non-wealthy victims of this illegal surveillance still had their lives ruined:

After nearly two years, Florida prosecutors are finally giving up on prosecuting…Robert Kraft for [consensual sex]…Florida cops had pretended to be hunting a “human trafficking” ring in order to get a warrant for the secret surveillance cameras…authorities went forward with the “trafficking” lie…and…a…local sheriff called the [arrest of adult women]…”a rescue operation”…now, those “rescued” women may be the only ones still in legal trouble…Hua Zhang, the 59-year-old owner of Orchids of Asia…41-year-old Lei Wang…and…60-year-old Shen Mingbi…[are still] charged with…[various] prostitution[-rated “crimes”]…Zhang and Wang [were] also [robbed by cops using “asset forfeiture” laws]…

Tissue of Lies

Looks like Michael Hobbes has joined the debunkers’ club:

The biggest problem, I’ve found, is the definition of “child sex trafficking” itself. Under the law, anyone under 18 who trades sex for money, drugs, a place to stay or anything else of value is a victim of trafficking.  They don’t have to be recruited by a pimp, moved across state lines or forced into prostitution.  A homeless runaway having sex with some sleazeball in exchange for a warm bed is a tragedy, but it’s a less salacious one than the Taken myths that trafficking memes circulating on social media imply…The internet is awash in exaggerated, misleading and downright fabricated numbers about how many children are forced into the sex trade every year.  This is my attempt to debunk all the false trafficking numbers…

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In the News (#1054)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

When “decriminalisation” was formulated we were smoking indoors.  –  Cheryl Overs

Think of the Children! (Updates Galore)

In some parts of the Anglosphere, male teachers who do sex work can manage to keep their jobs:

…Gordon Parsons will still be allowed to teach at Queensland’s Ipswich State High despite allegedly making graphic sexual videos with his porn star girlfriend…Luci Power…Parsons was moved from Corinda State High last year after the Education Department discovered his extra-curricular activities…[and] now teaches under the name of James Parsons after allegedly agreeing to remove any sexual content he was involved in.  But…he…was reportedly spotted [by a deeply hypocritical parent while] at[tending] the Brisbane Sexpo with [his porn star girlfriend. Luci Power]…who was [making a paid appearance] at the exhibition…the [shockingly two-faced slimeball] wrote…a [poison pen] letter…to the school [to try to get Parsons fired despite the fact that he was at the same event]…

Apparently, hypocrisy rays are far less dangerous than sex rays.

So Close and Yet So Far

This could’ve been a decent article about why Filipino sex workers are afraid of cops and refuse to participate in their witch hunts and morality plays.  But instead the reporter insists on smearing them with the agency-denying prohibitionist slur “protituted women”; uncritically labels a prison with the authoritarian euphemism “safe house”; claims prohibitionists really want to help sex workers; and even used the insulting phrase “so-called ‘clients'”.  Not worth wasting your time on.

The Widening Gyre (#697) 

The NY Times is still pretending “Pizzagate” is about cranks, when actually it was a natural & predictable outgrowth of the “sex trafficking” hysteria they’ve aggressively promoted for two decades:

Four minutes into a video that was posted on Instagram last month, Justin Bieber leaned into the camera and adjusted the front of his black knit beanie…someone had posted a comment asking Mr. Bieber to touch his hat if he had been a victim of a child-trafficking ring known as PizzaGate…there [i]s no evidence…Bieber [saw] that message.  But…[fetishists] quickly uploaded hundreds of videos online analyzing…Bieber’s [casual] action.  The videos were translated into Spanish, Portuguese and other languages, amassing millions of views.  Fans then left thousands of comments on…Bieber’s social media posts asking him if he was safe.  Within days…the hashtag #savebieber started trending.  Four years ago…the [fantasy] that Hillary Clinton and Democratic elites were running a child sex-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizzeria spread across the internet, illustrating [the damage done by the] crackpot idea [called “sex trafficking”] with no truth to it [which was irresponsibly spread by mainstream] media — and how dangerous it could be…Facebook, Twitter and YouTube managed to largely [censor] PizzaGate.  But now, just months before the next presidential election, the conspiracy theory is making a comeback on these platforms — and on new ones such as [the Chinese-developed] TikTok — underlining the limits of their efforts to [censor] speech online…PizzaGate no longer focuses on…Clinton…its new targets…includ[e]…Bieber, Bill Gates, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey and Chrissy Teigen…

I Swear To God (#712)

US courts are happy to allow US censorship of non-Americans:

Foreign groups that receive American funding to fight HIV and AIDS must still pledge to oppose sex work…[even though] a similar requirement for U.S. nonprofits was struck down as unconstitutional in 2013…U.S. groups whose international affiliates must still abide by the rule sought to have it overturned, too, arguing that compelling anti-prostitution speech from these foreign affiliates was attributed to the American groups and therefore violated their First Amendment rights.  But in a 5-3 decision, the Court [said]…”plaintiffs…[get what’s coming to them for] affiliating] with [dirty] foreign[ers]”…

To Molest and Rape (#835)

Imagine how many others like him are still free:

Four decades after he started sneaking into homes, tying up victims, raping women and murdering couples, [typical and representative cop] Joseph DeAngelo pleaded guilty…to 26 charges, admitting…he was the sadistic Golden State Killer…He only stopped…when he got old and was no longer spry enough to overpower victims…he was responsible for more than 60 rapes…in…[all], but the statute of limitations expired on those crimes…

Legal Is as Legal Does (#995) 

Cheryl Overs on the erosion of the line between legalization and decriminalization in Australia:

…the Australian state of Victoria…is about decriminalise sex work after thirty years of disastrous legalisation…so I…[tried] to identify exactly which “ordinary business regulations” should apply to a decriminalised sex industry here.  Big mistake…In 2020 the regulatory framework of a wealthy country like Australia requires every business and service provider to apply for a dizzying number of permits and permissions; to pay various fees and taxes; to register their names in various places and to comply with a web of regulations including allowing access to authorities to inspect and enforce those regulations.  No one gets out this.  Some combination of these rules apply whether you are a large engineering plant or a self employed hairdresser working from home…most require the legal name of a “natural person”…When “decriminalisation” was formulated…we could walk into banks and open an account in whatever name we wanted…There were always regulations and records and cross checking of course, but analogue data collection and retention was expensive and limited…So I’m quite thrown by discovering that history has narrowed the gap between “legalisation” and “decriminalisation” in this way.  As Maggie McNeill says, “what we’re seeing here is less a sex-work-specific issue and more just government’s ever-expanding intrusion into all people’s lives and private affairs.  But that’s cold comfort to those who are targeted first as tyrants expand their reach”…

Quiet Genocide (#1002)

There are still some in the West who insist China isn’t trying to exterminate the Uighurs:

The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities…even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children…an AP investigation based on government statistics, state documents and interviews with…ex-detainees…[demonstrate that China] is [carrying out] what some experts are calling…“demographic genocide”.  The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces intrauterine devices, sterilization and even abortion on hundreds of thousands…The…measures are backed by mass detention both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply.  Having too many children is a major [excuse Beijing uses] to [condemn people to concentration] camps…with the parents of three or more ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines.  Police raid homes…[to] search for hidden children…

Loose Cannons (#1005)

Apparently, Florida prosecutors don’t know when to stop digging:

Judges from the 4th District Court of Appeal heard arguments…on whether they should allow [illegal] surveillance video captured by [masturbating pigs]…to be…the evidence in the prostitution case against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others.  The controversial “sneak and peek” warrants [were illegally used by] Jupiter police to install hidden cameras that recorded all activities at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa…similar warrants and tactics were also used at spas in Martin and Indian River counties…[after cops lied, spouting] human trafficking [sex fantasies to judges]…there [was of course] no…human trafficking…[several] judge[s]…suppressed the videos…[but the state] argued…that the videos should be allowed…because [sex]…

Social Distancing (#1034)

A “No shit, Sherlock” headline from the ever-confused Vice:

In Spain, sex work employs an estimated 100,000 women and…like many other countries…legalis[ation includes a host of ridiculous laws which essentially treat sex orkers as tolerated criminals who must]…pay taxes, but aren’t recognised as employees.  When the country went into lockdown in March, sex work was not considered an essential service, and [was] therefore banned…after initially leaving sex workers completely in the lurch, on the 21st of April the Spanish government announced emergency measures [pre]tended to help [the minuscule number of] women forced into sex work…To qualify, workers had to [pretend] they were victims of exploitation by [lying to] social services, or [have an arrest record]…It’s a policy that excludes [the great majority of sex workers]…

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In the News (#1005)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Poke any “Super Bowl sex trafficking sting”…and all you’ll find is a bunch of sex workers and their customers arrested.  –  Elizabeth Nolan Brown

Finding What Isn’t There (#778)

Because the numbers are so low, fetishists want cops trained to manufacture larger ones:

…a state Department of Justice survey…found that human trafficking data is “inconsistent across [Wisconsin]”…and more needs to be done to train [pigs to pretend that sex workers are]…victims…[and] children…[Attorney General Josh] Kaul said…”there’s…clearly a need for more training…so…we can make sure that [cop shops define eveything possible as]…human trafficking [so we can get more federal]…money…in Wisconsin…The number of agency heads who believe that human trafficking happens in their jurisdictions has increased”…Milwaukee has be[en fantasized as]…a hub for sex trafficking [absurdly called “the Harvard of sex trafficking“], in part because of a…[masturbatory fantasy about] “pimp roundtables,” focused on [learning how to walk through walls and do black magic]…

Comfort Zone (#847)

Sometimes the attempt to hide migration control behind the “sex trafficking” narrative is especially apparent:

Forty-seven people have been arrested in a major operation against a network trafficking people between Gibraltar and Spain…the gang kaked [sic] the documentation necessary for the migrants to obtain a visa to enter Gibraltar and then cross the border into Spain clandestinely, hidden in four-wheel drive vehicles with tinted window.  The organisation charged each Moroccan migrant between 7,000 and 8,000 euros for the visa, which increased by between 500 and 700 euros if they needed temporary accommodation…or transfer to another province or country…the traffickers planned the migrants’ journeys, preparing a complete file with false documentation…a plane ticket…a hotel reservation in Gibraltar and [instructions on] steps to follow and who to contact…

Does that sound like “victimization” to you?  This business is providing a service to people who want it, and the attempt to frame it as a “crime” against anyone but the State is patently absurd.

Something Rotten in Sweden (#908)

The public will believe anything it sees on billboards, no matter how ridiculous:

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley…[is behind] a new public [disinformation] campaign to [perscute sex workers]…that’s called, “Take The Pledge”…[which] invites [ignorant conformists] to [jump on the “sex trafficking” bandwagon.  Propaganda]…will be presented on Clear Channel billboards and bus shelters throughout Alameda County…[so gullible yahoos] can [fork over their hard-earned money to] support [pogroms against sex workers and their clients and families]…O’Malley said the billboards drive internet traffic to the her office’s [propaganda] website, where people can take the pledge [under the pretense of] anonym[it]y and sign up for text and email alerts with [their identifying information stored on the prosecutor’s office computers]…

Micromanagement (#927)

They’re not only giving cops people’s info, but selling it to corporations as well:

DNA testing company 23andMe has sold the rights to a new drug that it has developed using its customers’ data…the drug…is…a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases…The drug is likely to be the first of many the company licenses…More than 80 per cent of their customers have agreed to their data being used by the company for research…“In general, I think it’s really good that human genetic information is useful for drug discovery,” says [molecular geneticist Tim] Frayling.  But he questions whether it is fair for the company to financially profit from genetic data that its customers volunteered for medical research…Commentators have already suggested that companies that offer consumer genetic testing pay their customers for the data, rather than charge for it…

Rescued To Death (#977)

Once again Philippine cops “rescue” Chinese women from lucrative employment:

Nearly 300 Chinese sex workers and their clients were [arrested] in raids by…Philippine…Police…in the second half of last year…the managers were…charged with human trafficking…and…the…women…were sent to [jails described by cops as] shelters [pending deportation]…The sudden proliferation of Chinese prostitution is tied to the explosive growth of Philippine offshore gaming operators…that cater to players in China, where gambling is illegal…Teresita Ang-See, chair of the [authoritarian] group Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order….[claimed] the sex workers were themselves victims…

Stupor Bowl (#989)

Virtually the only people who still profess to believe this nonsense are cops and politicians…and, apparently, the Associated Press:

To [profit from hysteria over] human trafficking during the Super Bowl, [pigs oinked]…that they need hotel workers, ride-hailing service drivers and security personnel to be especially [hysterical]…at the “No Room for Trafficking” conference [cops publicly masturbated while sharing their fantasies of young girls]…enslaved for sex…[at] the…Super Bowl…“We’re enlisting people to [build a fascist surveillance state],” said [Florida Attorney General Ashley] Moody…

The public recitation of prohibitionist sexual fantasies about whores and sports fans has become such a pathetic annual ritual, Liz Brown decided to gather a convenient list of articles debunking the tales.

The Widening Gyre (#996)

Amateurs’ fantasies about their value to “sex traffickers” are growing ever sillier.  This one not only thinks each supposed “trafficking” attempt is worth $100, she also believes in a magic contact poison that incapacitates in seconds and cops as magic angels of safety (note the similarity of their role in this tale to the classic “THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!” instant warrantless phone tracing shtick).  The substitution of something of real value for the usual zip tie, scrap paper or the like is like an amplification of the “jar of honey” version we’ve also seen recently; this one also adds the visible lurking stranger of other versions.  It’ll be interesting to see if the car-marking ghosts start using white vans soon.

Dutch Threat (#999)

Dutch authorities keep pretending their registration scheme is intended to help sex workers:

A lack of [government] control has turned Leeuwarden’s red light district into “the cesspit” of Dutch legal prostitution [in the minds of cops and other busybodies]…prostitutes in the Frisian capital, often from other countries, are largely unregistered and invisible to the authorities making them…able to [avoid police] abuse…[and the] unsafe working conditions [created by the laws using the exuse of] possible human trafficking…[migrant] women can immediately start work in…Leeuwarden…[without jumping through hoops or having their lives snooped in by cops.  This de]creases the risk of exploitation [by government actors]…

Loose Cannons (#1002)

Florida prosecutors have apparently realized how desperate they look:

[Prosecutors]…have backed down from a recent claim that…Robert Kraft committed a felony [by having consensual sex with an adult woman] a year ago…[they] revised their position in an appeal concerning video…[obtained with] an unlawful warrant when they recorded Kraft and other people…the state is…contending that…[illegal acts by cops are actually] legal…[because] prostitution…Kraft’s attorneys cited two older federal court cases to make the point that “hidden video surveillance” by [cops] “raises the spectre of the Orwellian state”…

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In the News (#992)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2019| 1 Comment »

Sex workers are better aware than most of the value of sex. – Jerry Barnett

Check Your Premises 

“Sex trafficking” charges are often hurled at anyone who helps an underage sex worker instead of ratting her out to the pigs:

A transgender woman [entrapped by pigs] nearly two years ago was sentenced to at least eight years imprisonment for…[showing] a girl who was 17 at the time of the incident [how to post an online ad].  Ashanti Welton McLean…was [caught in a trap planned by]…the FBI…District Attorney Ben David…[vomited up a lot of sick sex fantasies and then bragged about his part in getting a shitty. draconian law passed]…McLean…was a transgender escort…only involved in sexual services with adults…the 17-year-old…told court officials that “Ms. McLean had no idea what I was doing”…[the prosecutor gleefully crowed that after her]…release…from prison…McLean [will be condemned to the]…sex…offender [registry]…for…30 years…

South of the Border

It’s difficult to be completely sure due to all the “sex trafficking” mumbo-jumbo in this article, but it seems to be saying that Mexico is headed toward a kind of soft decriminalization by getting rid of “avails” laws.  There’s a lot of nonsense about “consensual exploitation”, but the article mentions that Mexico intends to follow UN recommendations, and most UN bureaus other than UNODC recommend decriminalization.  Also, arch-prohibitionists CATW don’t like the change, which almost certainly means it will benefit sex workers.  So…yay?  I’ll let you know when I find a clearer article.

Train Wreck

I’m fascinated by the bizarre & stilted language used in African news articles about sex workers:

There was drama at a famous brothel in…Mombasa…after police disrupted business, leading to unceremonious end that saw clients scamper away without paying…While castigating police for the clumsy raid, the women of easy virtue demanded respect, saying that theirs is a business, just like any other and it was important for police to have some decency during their operations…So embarrassing was the incident that some of the sex workers took to the streets to protest the harassment the following day…[reporting that] police…extort…them of the little money they make, with some demanding [they submit to rape or be arrested]…

The Face of Trafficking

What an actual attempt to abduct women into forced prostitution looks like:

…aspiring pimp Andrew Frey…[was] arrest[ed for trying to abduct two women]…Frey…initially hired the Long Island wo[men]…before attempting to kidnap the[m]…He arranged separate meetings with the women…one in October 2018 and one this July — and then used force to keep them in line as he drove into secluded areas with plans of abduction…“Both separately managed to escape Frey by jumping from his moving vehicle and sustaining injuries in the process…The nature of his conduct … was sufficiently violent that both deemed it a safer option to throw themselves from a moving vehicle in order to escape”…Frey later reached out to both victims [again]…and even attempted to forcibly abduct Jane Doe #1 with a weapon on a second occasion…Frey has a history of violence against sex workers, including one who sought an order of protection after he intentionally slammed his car into her vehicle.  Frey then violated the order by leaving threatening voicemails on the victim’s phone…He was currently charged with attempted sex trafficking…and attempted kidnapping…

An Older Profession Than You May Have Thought (#635)

It’s impossible to state this too often:

The total value of the sex trade could be said to be the value of the net transfer of wealth from men to women…The UK flower industry was worth almost £1bn last year…many are bought…by men for…courtship. What about restaurant meals, hotel rooms, concert tickets, diamonds, taxi fares, cocktails, vacations…?…Historically, what proportion of the silk carried (invariably by men) along the Silk Road found itself worn by the wealthy wives and mistresses of Europe?…The original female industry—the sex trade—was undoubtedly far bigger than any of the other (male-created) industries, because its role was to collect a dividend on all male-led activity. The greater the innovation and diversification of male-run industries, the larger the sex trade became….

The Swedish Pimpocracy (#741) 

As I’ve said for nine years, Sweden has never given a damn about this rape charge; it was simply an excuse to turn Assange over to the US:

…Deputy director of [Swedish] prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson told journalists that the case against Assange had been discontinued…Assange remains [caged in a London] prison…[while] American prosecutors seek…his extradition…for [the “crime” of revealing facts the US didn’t want revealed]…He faces a full extradition hearing…in February 2020, with the inevitable appeal probably being heard…in the second half of next year…

Pyrrhic Victory (#974) 

Why I keep telling you local laws banning facial recognition are feel-good bullshit:

Over the last decade, large police forces…like the Seattle Police Department…have turned to facial recognition technology to…track down [people they want to cage]…and…thousands of pages of…emails…confirm the existence of a massive, secretive network of police departments working together to share these…tools [since]…at least 2016…these departments explicitly tried to keep this…secret from the public…requests in Washington state were made through a [secret] listserv known as FITlist…[Pigs] on the listserv are encouraged to adopt a Fight Club-style directive that precludes group members from discussing [its] existence…One document explicitly says: “Do not mention FITlist in your reports or search warrant affidavits”…Shankar Narayan…of the…ACLU of Washington…says…secret partnerships like these [will] be used to circumvent jurisdictions [like California] that have banned facial recognition technology…[for example,] despite public claims by New Orleans officials that the city’s police do not employ facial recognition…[they] tap…state police to do the job…

Rescued To Death (#977)

Here’s another American “journalist” who thinks her sadfeelz about sex trump poor women’s right to make a living.  Note her liberal use of scare quotes and her devotion to words like “illegal” (used as a synonym for “wrong”), “exploitation” (used as a synonym for “work”), and “hold accountable” (used as a synonym for “prosecute someone who isn’t a government actor“); note also that most of her “facts” come from rescue industry profiteer ECPAT, one of the most active pushers of “100,000 child sex slaves” propaganda and bogus “checklists” used to justify surveillance of women and minorities in hotels, airplanes and other public places.  She talked to exactly one sex worker, whom she says was underage but admits did not have a pimp; no Philippine sex worker activists were even mentioned despite their previously-stated strong opinions on Westerners writing tragedy porn of this sort about them:  “We really do not care about  ‘patriarchy’, ‘commodification’ and other words they spew.  Those matters don’t bring food on our table nor pay for our rent.  All we are interested in is to work undisturbed“…

To Molest and Rape (#985)

Cops show you what they are all the time; why don’t you believe them?

Bristow, OK…[cop] Bradley Don Goodin…was arrested…and charged with [multiple] counts of…child sexual abuse…[after] the [mother] of one [nine-year-old] victim…walked into a bathroom on Oct. 5 and found Goodin with his hand inside the little girl’s pants…Goodin…threatened to hurt the mother and the child if they told anyone…he [then]…claimed to be applying itch creme to…bug bites [conveniently located in her genital area]…Goodin then [changed his story]…to claim his watch got stuck in the girl’s clothing, which the mother mistook as molestation…The second victim, an 11-year-old girl, told investigators that Goodin had touched her inappropriately more than five times…he has since been [rewarded with a]…paid [vacation]…

Panopticon

The state believes it owns you and you have no right to defend yourself from it:

…the state of Indiana charged a [citizen] with theft for removing a government-owned GPS tracking device from his [vehicle].  This month, the state’s Supreme Court began considering the case…in July 2018…the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office got a warrant to attach a GPS tracking device to Derek Heuring’s car…[after a cop claimed that a snitch told] them…Heuring was…sell[ing] meth…Heuring…discovered and removed it…[so cops got] a warrant to search Heuring’s home and…found methamphetamine and [the GPS tracker]…So Heuring was charged both with drug dealing and with theft of the GPS device…the search…[was] illegal because the police didn’t have probable cause…[for] theft…[and] even if Heuring did [remove] the device…it…wasn’t…labeled as the property of the [pigs]…most important…multiple justices seemed skeptical of the idea that taking a tracking device off your own car amounted to theft…

Disaster (#988)

Morons cheer when a highway is destroyed, then get upset when the traffic goes into side streets:

[Busybodies in San Jose absurdly fantasize that] a growing prostitution problem has made them prisoners in their own homes…[blah blah] “kids walking to school and seeing…underwear on the street” [THE HORROR!!!]…[sows role-play as sex workers] to catch the johns…[blah blah] proactive…[blah blah] criminal element…[blah blah] send a strong message…[blah blah] innocent moms…being a target for johns…

There is no bourgeois housewife fantasy funnier than the notion that they are so hot men just can’t keep from propositioning them or that they’ll be stalked by “sex traffickers” in Ikea.

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In the News (#977)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2019| 1 Comment »

The police are the true sex predators.  –  Peter Aiken

Gullible’s Travels

Americans will believe basically any scaremongering about teenagers:

Fort Bend County [Texas cops] are [fearmongering] about a [supposedly] new teen drug trend called, “Robo Tripping” [AKA drinking cough syrup]…to get high…”Robo Cough…[is] a legal substance [that we’re trying to scare people with,” bloviated Sheriff Troy] Nehls…Robo Cough…is…[an ordinary] Dextromethorphan [based]…cough suppressant [which pigs seem to imagine is more]…potentially dangerous [than other over-the-counter cough medicines] because cops’ little tin badges magically grant expertise in pharmacology without the trouble of having to earn a degree]…

Anyone who thinks trying to get high on cough syrup is something “new” is too ignorant to be allowed to run around loose.

The Last Shall Be First 

Since their “bathroom bills” keep getting struck down, transphobes are now trying to accomplish their goals by spreading hysteria:

Drugs that are being used to halt puberty in gender-confused youth have been linked to thousands of adult deaths…The Food & Drug Administration has recorded thousands of deaths associated with Lupron, a…drug…routinely used to treat prostate cancer in men and [both breast cancer and] endometriosis in women…since 1984…there have been 40,764 adverse reactions…[including] 6,370 deaths…

For those unfamiliar with prohibitionist propaganda tactics: when prohibitionists claim that a drug is “linked to” or “associated with” a death or other serious effect, what that means is the drug was present in the person’s system when they suffered the effect.  For example, if I died today cops could say my death was “linked to” cannabis consumption, because there are detectable levels of THC in my system.  Given that Lupron’s most common use is in cancer patients, the statements made in this article would be equally true when made about insulin, painkillers, antibiotics of last resort, etc.  Also: barely over 1000 adverse reactions a year to any drug as widely used as Lupron is not exactly a crisis.

Bullies With Badges

Big masked heroes in riot gear prove their manhood by brutalizing naked women:

[Pigs invited reporters along to humiliate dancers]…as [they dressed up like little boys playing soldier and frog]marched employees in handcuffs out one by one at the Wacko’s Gentlemen’s Club [last] Friday night…Other clubs in Jacksonville [Florida] are taking legal action in response to recent raids…[which clearly] violated the constitution [sic] rights of the dancers….Emperor’s Gentleman’s Club and Flashdancers…filed a federal lawsuit against the city and Sheriff Mike Williams on Thursday…[thus precipitating retaliation the next day]…the…raids violated a 2004 court order that stated performers should be given a “notice to appear”, rather than be arrested for minor violations…dancers [abducted by violent pigs] in those raids…were shackled in leg irons…While Wacko’s is not a party in the recently filed lawsuit, [it] was the lead plaintiff in the case resulting in the 2004 court order…

Rescued To Death

The Asian press just can’t let go of the word “rescue”, even when it’s patently absurd:

Authorities rescued some 91 Chinese women and 4 Filipino women inside an upscale…bar allegedly used as front for prostitution in…Makati City [The Philippines]…the victims…[charged] at least P15,000 [$288 US]…They…will face [charges] for violating…the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.  This is the third incident this month that authorities have rescued several foreign women involved in the sex trade…

“Rescued” from jobs in which they made as much money as many US sex workers (in an economy where that represents a lot more buying power), then prosecuted.  And you can bet deportation will follow whatever time they’re locked in cages for.

Bait and Switch

Cops don’t care how many lives they destroy with their sick fantasies:

Hamid Keshmirian committed suicide…after bonding out on charges related to his conversations…with a…[pig fantasy role-playing a teenage girl]…on…SkipTheGames.com, where Keshmirian responded to an ad that appeared to be for an adult escort…but [was really placed by lying pigs]…Keshmirian, a [62-year-old] single man, whose two adult daughters say he was battling depression and loneliness…ultimately agreed to meet up with the [imaginary] girl on Thursday, Sept. 19 — his birthday.  He was arrested upon arrival, spending two nights in jail because…[pigs] denied him a phone call and kept his arrest out of the computer system while they continued to hunt other men…the [victims]…were looking to talk to other adults on legal, adult dating sites and…would never have considered talking to underage teens…[but] bait-and-switch tactics on adult dating sites have become more frequent for [pigs] that seek to boost arrest numbers related to sex crimes…[lying pigs] have resorted to teasing men who didn’t want to meet up with underage teens, pushing conversations about sex on men who didn’t want to talk about it, and offering gas money to convince one man to make a trip he initially declined.  Some men are arrested for their conversations with decoys, even if they don’t ever travel to meet up…most of the [cops’ victims]…have no real criminal history and suffer from behavioral and/or emotional disorders…Some…are autistic…

R.I.P. Madame Claude

Normal people are growing increasingly sick of prohibitionism and puritanism:

French label Guy Laroche has raised eyebrows by celebrating prostitution in its Paris fashion week show just a day after police in the city raided a modelling agency linked to the Epstein scandal.  Designer Richard Rene defended “cocking a snook” at political correctness by lionising the [late]…Fernande Grudet, known as Madame Claude, and the band of…girls [who worked for her]…high-class call girl agency in Paris in the 1960s and 1970s that counted several heads of state among its clients…Rene [said] the show was a reaction to…a growing atmosphere of uptight puritanism…

R.I.P. Petite Jasmine (#806)

A documentary about how the Swedish model led directly to the death of a young Swedish sex worker is now available on Amazon, and is included with a Prime subscription.  I recently watched the film, entitled Everything’s Better Than a Hooker, and I highly recommend it to anyone who still has any illusions about the Swedish model being “well-intended”; the film unflinchingly portrays how Swedish “authorities” ruthlessly and maliciously persecuted a young woman to death and wrecked the lives of her entire family because they disapproved of her pragmatic choices.

Fair-Weather Friends (#906)

Every sex worker arrested in a “sting” should sue the cops if at all possible:

…Stormy Daniels settled her lawsuit against the city of Columbus, Ohio, over her arrest last year at a strip club…Daniels will receive $450,000 and drop all claims made in her federal civil complaint against the city…[she] could have reached a settlement for more…but she was satisfied with changes implemented by the Columbus Police Department following her arrest…“Her main goal was to make sure people weren’t going to be treated like she was going forward” [said her attorney]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#964)

As I’ve repeatedly stated, it’s far too late to put this evil djinni back into its bottle:

…Unilever…is among companies using AI technology to analyse the language, tone and facial expressions of candidates when they are asked a set of identical job questions which they film on their mobile phone or laptop.  The algorithms [supposedly] select the best applicants by assessing their performances in the videos against about 25,000 pieces of facial and linguistic information compiled from previous interviews of those who have gone on to prove to be good at the job.  Hirevue, the US company which has developed the interview technology, claims…that it provides a more reliable and objective indicator of future performance free of human bias [and that this isn’t anything like astrology or phrenology, no sirree]…

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In the News (#910)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2019| 3 Comments »

The state should not be putting people in cages for consensual sex.  –  Kaytlin Bailey

It Looks Good On Paper

Yet another story touting bullshit “safe harbor” laws:

…according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1 in 7 runaways are likely child sex trafficking victims…According to Linda Smith, the president of Shared Hope International, children who are forced to in essence become sex slaves in New Jersey may still initially be arrested for the very crime that is committed against them…She said creating a diversion system to deal with minors who have been victimized may not be easy, but it must be done…Shared Hope International is working on specific legal measures that New Jersey could enact…

If prohibitionists really wanted to protect girls, they’ push for decriminalization rather than laws which define young women as legal incompetents who can be jailed indefinitely “for their own protection” and subjected to brainwashing.  Also: given that only 0.014% of all “missing children” are abducted by strangers, NCMEC’s claim that “1 in 7 runaways are likely child sex trafficking victims” is not just an exaggeration; it’s a blatant lie.

End Demand (#638)

Prohibitionist uses a story about an exploited hotel worker to promote anti-sex fantasies:

…“A hotel worker was being forced into work by her uncle to clean hotels here in King County,” said Mar Brettmann, executive director of Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking.  “One of her colleagues noticed she had signs of abuse and trauma…her paycheck was being taken and she was being abused by her uncle at home.  She was able to get out and get help”…Hotel workers can also be the ones who see signs of sex trafficking of young people, Brettmann [fantasizes.  Propaganda about]…such issues is what Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking…does…[blah blah, “end demand” nonsense]…

Vendetta (#730) 

Another group of technically competent but woefully naive kids is exploited by the police state to attack sex workers:

There will soon be a new app to help [persecute sex workers in Eugene, Oregon]…The app was created in a team effort at the…Hack for a Cause event in April 2017.  It’s called Emerald Citizen.  The goal is to [indoctrinate] people [in] how to recognize signs of sex [work] and…report [them to]…the Eugene [vice squad]…Tamara LeRoy…said because [“authorities” use the word “trafficking” to mean]…so many [things], it [is easy to convince the gullible to spy on virtually anyone]…LeRoy said it could be beneficial to [pigs to] have more community members [spying on and reporting each other]…

The “Emerald Squealer” app contains the helpful categories “buyer” and “victim” so the user need not worry about difficult things like using their own judgment.

Scrupleless in Seattle (#806)

Cops are on the same intellectual level as monkeys; that’s why they ape each other’s “sting” tactics:

…[state-employed thugs raided] Angel Massage [in Fresno]…arrested the workers…then took over the business…posing as massage therapists [to entrap adults seeking consensual sex]…Three women…were…booked…for operating a house of prostitution…[cops] are treating them as victims…

They are indeed victims: victims of rapist thugs carrying out a pogrom.

A Woman’s Point of View (#806) 

We’re definitely not giving up on New Hampshire:

A national group that advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution has hired New Hampshire lobbyists…and is pushing for a review of the state’s prostitution laws.  Representatives of Decriminalize Sex Work appeared before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee earlier this month to oppose a bill that would have toughened penalties against customers…A lobbyist opposing the bill, former Republican Senate majority leader Bob Clegg, said he believes he has convinced the committee to hold the bill for further study, including review of New Hampshire laws addressing prostitution.  Stricter penalties against prostitutes and their customers drive the women underground, he said.  “It makes it that much more dangerous for the women involved,” Clegg said…Two years ago, the New Hampshire House passed legislation to study a change in the laws.  It died in the state Senate…Decriminalize Sex Work is a national organization that is launching its website later this month, said Kaytlin Bailey, the organization’s communications director…She said the national organization kicked into gear after President Trump signed [FOSTA-SESTA]…a California philanthropist provided seed money for a full-time staff and lobbying forms.  The staff includes three people active in the marijuana-legalization effort and lobbyists in New Hampshire and Rhode Island…

Something Rotten in Sweden (#812)

California now has its own annual anti-whore pogrom:

Fourteen minors were among the nearly 50 [sex workers arrested]…during a sting across California that netted 339 [other] arrests…Some of the victims [of] law enforcement were as young as 13 [and] [cops also abducted sex workers’] children as young as 6…Among those arrested during “Operation Reclaim and Rebuild” were [associates of sex workers whom spokespigs fantasized as] pimps who had put victims up for sale…”Dramatic [masturbatory fantas]ies” of rescues and arrests have been shared between law enforcement agencies…

Cops and Robbers (#844) 

The rescue industry provides many opportunities for wealthy white folks to play cowboy:

For four-time Olympian Chris Lori, saving children in Southeast Asia from human traffickers feels more gratifying than winning any medal…he…spent the past seven years volunteering with a [prohibitionist] organization dedicated to [arresting young women]…in the sex trade.  Initially, Lori helped to fund the group’s operations, but after a few years behind the scenes, he became an undercover [snitch]…“Every time you see these little girls, your heart just breaks,” said Lori…“They are precious little things, totally innocent, and have no idea what’s going on in the world”…Lori participates in surveillance and raid operations in the Philippines for Destiny Rescue…

If you’re interested in what the women Lori infantilizes as “precious little things” in his racist rescue fantasies actually have to say for themselves, try this link for Thailand and this one for the Philippines.

The Real World (#857)

Though this article exaggerates the prevalence of serious mental health issues in sex workers, it makes some very important points:

…elevated rates of mental illness are presumed [by amateurs] to signify an inherent problem with the sex industry…because only “broken dolls” would even consider pursuing sex as a career.  Furthermore, the industry itself is [fantasized] to be so exploitative and abusive that anyone involved is just setting themselves up for trauma and PTSD…[but] the fact [is] that the high pay and flexible hours of…sex work make these jobs appealing to people whose mental health issues make committing to a 9-to-5 office job difficult…[also] the stigma of being a sex worker isolates people and prevents them from finding competent mental health care…many sex workers who seek out mental health care find that disclosing their line of work often provokes unwanted and unsolicited opinions…the majority of therapists either aren’t aware of the particular issues faced by sex workers or come to these sessions with inaccurate, stereotypical ideas…“Amidst a nationwide campaign about human trafficking, many therapists grow concerned that a patient involved in sex work has been subjected to human trafficking,” therapist Dr. David Ley writes in an essay on therapy and sex work, noting that this assumption can alienate sex-working clients and damage their relationship with their therapist…

Signs (#887)

Motel 6 gets some comeuppance for its eager copsucking:

A federal judge overseeing the settlement between Motel 6 and a Latino civil rights group said he needs more information on the number of guests who may have been affected by the…practice of giving guest lists to immigration authorities…an attorney for Motel 6 acknowledged that tens of thousands of guests’ information was turned over to [feds]…However, data on Motel 6 guests who were questioned by ICE or deported is in the hands of the federal government, the attorney said – if such data even exists…

Top Cop 

The “progressives” have anointed this sleazebag as their new messiah:

…Kamala Harris…is the latest political celebrity to get a mini-me version of herself from the company FCTRY…the…manufacturer announced the release of its…Robert Mueller action figure…[and has] fashioned figurines…[of] Elizabeth Warren…Ruth Bader Ginsburg…Bernie Sanders…and…Obama. The[re’s also]…an “Evil Trump” figure…FCTRY CEO Jason Feinberg [made a number of cringeworthily obsequious comments praising the vile, racist, pro-slavery, police-state goon Harris]…

Stupor Bowl (#909)

The War on Whores is also a war on migration:

Myths about sex trafficking at the Super Bowl are rearing their heads once again…Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…tweeted her desire to “scrap” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after comedian Mohanad Elshieky, who is in the U.S. legally, was detained by border patrol agents while traveling between gigs.  Washington Examiner  contributor and former…DHS…supervisor Jason Piccolo…responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet by declaring that the congresswoman wanted to abolish “the agency fighting the illegal sex trade at the Super Bowl…Yes, the same ICE synonymous with immigration enforcement will deploy teams of special agents to combat the sex trade in Georgia“…fact-checks have found little support for the assertion that the game doubles as a major sex trafficking event…Still, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies continue to ignore the facts in favor of their own narratives…[about] the mythical problem…

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In the News (#906)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2019| 2 Comments »

I am here of my own free will and no one has threatened me.  –  Irish sex worker to cops, during a raid

Counterfeit Comfort 

Facts have absolutely nothing to do with US sex laws:

…in…2002’s McKune v. Lile…Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in a plurality opinion that there was a “frightening and high risk of recidivism” for [sex offenders]…and that “the rate of recidivism of untreated offenders has been estimated to be as high as 80 percent.”  That statement has since been used in numerous legal verdicts as well as to support countless pieces of state and local legislation aimed at curbing the rights of those found guilty of [sex] crimes…[but] the sole piece of evidence that led Justice Kennedy to make such a bold claim came from a 1986 Psychology Today article written by Ronald Longo, a counselor…in an Oregon prison—and there was absolutely no statistical basis for his “80 percent” assertion.  Moreover, Longo himself has since rejected that figure…actual sex-offender recidivism rates are low.  In three-year studies done by Connecticut, Alaska, Nebraska, Maine, New York and California, recidivism figures are generally less than 4 percent—hardly a “frightening and high” figure.  Furthermore, most conclude that there’s no correlation between recidivism rates and geographic proximity, meaning that laws passed to keep registered sex offenders from living close to schools, playgrounds, or other kid-centric areas generally have no impact; if wrongdoers are likely to seek prey nearby, it’s often in their own homes, or in churches or educational settings, where they know their intended targets…

Gingerbread House

Quite possibly the most appalling euphemism for “jail” of the entire moral panic:

Vista Maria plans to break ground this spring on a new human trafficking stabilization center to improve and expand services for young female victims…The new Aaron and Helen L. DeRoy Stabilization Treatment Center will provide residential treatment housing for up to 16 girls, doubling Vista Maria’s current capacity, and a first-of-its-kind emergency intake wing to provide services for up to three rescued adolescent girls…with best practices gleaned from [prohibitionists and cops]…

Whimsical Notions

Based on my experience, this is like demoting a captain for eating at local restaurants:

Capt. Travis Zettel…commander of the USS Bremerton was removed from his post and demoted last summer…the Navy did not elaborate on his dismissal, only saying that there were “questions of inappropriate personal conduct” and that his superior officers had lost confidence in his ability to lead his crew…The Kitsap Sun filed a Freedom of Information request…and discovered that Capt. Travis Zettel was relieved from command because he had hired prostitutes while in the Philippines.  A [snitch] called the inspector general’s office and said that Zettel had requested ten local women to come to his hotel room in Subic Bay…

It’s like watching an entire culture lobotomizing itself.

Where Are the Victims? (#631)

There weren’t any actual victims, but we just have to harass and threaten people, because SEEWEEUSS UFFENSE!

A woman running massage parlours in Dublin who…thought the offering of “manual relief” was legal has received a suspended prison sentence.  Nan Wu…[was] sentenced…to two years imprisonment, but [the judge] suspended the entirety of the sentence…[the cops] admitted…that there was no evidence of coercion and that one of the woman working at the parlour had told gardaí “I am here of my own free will and no one has threatened me”…there was no sexual intercourse taking place at the massage parlours and…Wu had not directed her employees to engage in sex acts…her employees kept the money they earned from [providing a normal, healthy service to clients]…Wu had believed what her employees were doing was legal.  She had once sacked an employee for [intercourse] with a client…The judge said the [only] aggravating factor in the case was the seriousness of the offence…

Traffic Jam (#656)

If you thought “pimp” classification schemes were stupid, how about “human trafficking typologies”?

Human trafficking claims some 25 million victims worldwide, but analysts are hard at work uncovering these illegal operations through state of the art methods and typologies, combining AI with human detective work.  The human trafficking epidemic is so widespread that [cops have been caught raping underage girls]…[invent]ing human trafficking rings is one of the many [profitable] issues [promoted] by UK-based [fascist collaborator] Quantexa…Typologies are compiled by analyzing many factors that make up a profile that is indicative of human trafficking behavior…“we were looking for things like lots of airline purchases to Eastern Europe [because the only] circumstances [when a woman would come from]…over here [to the UK is] to be sex trafficked…we see stuff on things like craigslist and back pages and massage parlors and this kind of stuff”…

Obviously if cops (specifically, UN “peacekeepers” in this case) rape vulnerable young women as cops have always done in every place they’ve existed, it’s part of a “human trafficking epidemic” so we should give these con artists more money.  Because women are mindless cows who only travel if “pimps” herd us, plus “craigslist and back pages and massage parlors and this kind of stuff”.  SO SCIENTIFIC!

Monsters (#730) 

US media condemns violent persecution of one sexual minority, while justifying violent persecution of another:

The Russian republic of Chechnya has launched a new crackdown on gays in which at least two people have died and about 40 people have been detained…media outlets have interviewed some of the victims, who spoke about torture at the hands of Chechen [pigs]…Chechen authorities have denied those accusations, and federal authorities [covered for them, as police states always cover up police brutality]…

Moving Pictures (#835) 

Looks like Theresa Flores has competition for the most ludicrous, exaggerated conglomeration of “sex trafficking” masturbatory fantasies intended to profit from moral panic:

Perhaps the low point of Toni Rivera’s life as a sex slave happened when she was forced to have intercourse with 23 men back-to-back to pay off her pimp’s Super Bowl bet.  Perhaps her breaking point happened when she begged a Miami cop to free her from violent bondage, only to have that police officer say that he’d love to take her home and have sex with her himself.  Or maybe Rivera’s low point came when she became a sex pimp herself and she began recruiting young girls out of churches every week.  Or maybe it was the time when a known national sex trafficker tried to grab Rivera’s 6-year-old daughter off the famously crowded 6 Train in New York City, and no one would step in to help her…Toni Rivera Presents Silent Screams on the Frontlines…is a captivating but heart-wrenching recap of how Rivera went from being a naive, small-town South Carolina teen with big dreams of being a singer who wound up being a piece of property that was bought and sold with impunity on the streets of Atlanta…the critically acclaimed film Traffik…is based partially on Rivera’s tortured existence in the sex trafficking business…

I literally LOLed at “sex pimp”, but there’s SO MUCH hilarity here…23 clients back to back!  The Super Bowl!  Violent bondage!  Hero cops!  “Recruiting” out of churches every week!  A “nationally known sex trafficker”!  And a movie that was supposedly based on this wanking fantasy, despite the filmmaker’s previous claim that it was based on “real life sex trafficking incidents near his home in Northern California“…

Pyrrhic Victory (#851) 

I’m afraid it’s far too late to put this evil djinni back into its bottle:

…A group of Amazon shareholders are looking to force a vote at the upcoming annual meeting to prevent the company from selling its facial recognition technology to the government until the company’s board of directors has a chance to look at the societal impacts…The resolution was submitted by lead filer Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood and four co-filers:  The Sisters of St. Francis Charitable Trust (Dubuque), Sisters of St Francis of Philadelphia, Maryknoll Sisters and Azzad Asset Management…one of three things could happen next: Amazon principals could address the shareholders’ concerns, prompting the group to withdraw the resolution; the company could take no action, which would bring the resolution to a vote at the annual meeting; or the company could fight the filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission…

Fair-Weather Friends (#881)

Every sex worker arrested in a “sting” should sue the cops if at all possible:

Stormy Daniels is suing the Columbus Division of Police and several [vice pigs for] her July 2018 arrest…her arrest was planned days before [the] July 11, 2018 performance…as part of an attempt by [cops] to disparage her character and credibility due to her criticism of President Donald Trump.  Prosecutors dropped charges against [her] hours later, saying the law cited in her arrest applied only to those who regularly performed at the club.  The city prosecutor later said the law was “glaringly inequitable” and should no longer be enforced.  The lawsuit seeks more than two million dollars in damages…

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Overdue

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , on February 16, 2018| 12 Comments »

When I was an undergrad, I came up with a model for how cultures develop over time.  It was divided into four stages:

Barbarism:  All substance, little form.  Barbaric cultures have youth, vigor, drive and often a lot of good ideas; they just haven’t learned to apply them to best effect yet.  Barbaric cultures often borrow or steal ideas from older cultures, as the young Romans borrowed Greek mythology and the young US borrowed from England and Rome.

Civilization:  Form and substance in balance.  Civilized cultures are mature, but still strong, and have developed institutions, systems and mores that reflect their values and ideas.  History often speaks of this period as the “Golden Age” of a culture, the period of its greatest accomplishments.

Decadence:  All form, waning substance.  Decadent cultures have outlived their youth and vigor, and are obsessed with their own past greatness.  They look down on other cultures and are often xenophobic, focusing on elaborate rituals and worship-words which no longer have any meaning.

Decay:  Corrupt form, no substance.  Decaying cultures are those which have completely lost their way; they mistake their institutions and procedures for the ideals they were created to further, which a decaying culture no longer remembers.  These cultures may collapse or be conquered, but sometimes go on decaying for many centuries before that happens.

At the time, I wasn’t sure if the US was at the very end of the second stage or somewhere in the third.  I hadn’t even thought about that for many years, until recent events made it very clear to me that it’s the latter.  Remember when I criticized the way US media were more concerned with the fact that Trump had said the word “pussy” than that he was admitting to sexual assault?

…someone at CNN actually seems to believe, and undoubtedly many people agree, that the most salient point of the controversy was Trump’s language, that he had uttered taboo words which would presumably ritually pollute the dainty hearing of anyone viewing the video.  The fact that he used these common words about women is presented as though that somehow makes it worse than if he had used similar words in talking about men, children, mixed groups of people or Shetland ponies; the assumption seems to be that women are delicate china dolls who are magically harmed when men emit certain sounds from their vocal apparatus, even if the woman in question did not even hear them.  If he had joked about violating the physical boundaries of women without using those words, perhaps saying “I attempted to get her in bed” and “grab their crotches” instead, would that have made it all better in the minds of this unknown CNN editor and others like her?  Because that’s certainly the implication…

Now this week, we’re faced with a one-two punch from the New York Times which leaves little doubt that we live in a culture obsessed with forms and uninterested in substance.  First, the Times lavishly praised and obsequiously fawned on the sister of a murderous dictator, a monstrously evil woman with an important role in her brother’s totalitarian regime, a person who has herself ordered and directed literal mass enslavement and actual “human trafficking”…because she gave a dirty look to a US politician Times editors don’t like.  So now we know the secret, ladies.  Do honest work making people feel good? The Times will say you’re a “victim” and a “slave”.  Literally enslave and “traffic” people?  The Times will admire you and call you a “diplomat”.  And how would the Times (not to mention actual human rights organization “officials”) react to another murderous dictator ordering that women be sexually maimed?  Why, by complaining that he didn’t give those orders in nicer language, naturally:

President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine strongman who has earned a reputation for dirty tactics and language, was criticized…for having boasted that he had ordered soldiers to shoot female communist guerrillas in the genitals…the president said in a speech…“We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina”…the criticism of his choice of words has been fierce.  It “is just the latest in a series of misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made about women,” said Carlos H. Conde, the Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch…This is not the first time Mr. Duterte had been criticized for crude remarks about women…
Presumably, if Duterte had ordered rebels be maimed in a genteel way, and he gave some Republican a dirty look while doing so, the Times and all its allied talking heads (not to mention the legions of marching morons who take their cues from such pompous ninnies) would be perfectly OK with that.  A society more concerned with words and pictures, which talks about “porn as a health crisis” while its cops are actually shooting people down in the street and torturing them to death in cages, and worries more about politicians’ language and manners than the fact that they are murdering their own people by the thousands, is long overdue for collapse.

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