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Posts Tagged ‘pizza!’

Should…the United States…abandon the human right to privacy and the U.S. Constitution, everyone will lose.  –  Fight for the Future

If Men Were Angels

This will continue until fools stop teaching children unquestioning obedience to “authority”:

A…[South Carolina] preacher…[named] William Franklin Galbreath…[has been] arrested…[for repeatedly] sexually assaulting a victim in 2019 while she was a child and [continuing to do] so in her teenage years from 2022 until this year…[there also appears to be] a 2nd [teenage] victim…

Under Review (#779)

Though the “sex trafficking” panic is over, UK politicians are still bleating nonsense about “pimping” and “pizza”:

During the…reading of…[a] bill…[a UK politician named] Rebecca Paul [suddenly started bloviating about]…“the scourge of commercial sexual exploitation” [and demanded] banning advertising of prostitution online[, no doubt via a giant firewall which would keep Brits from accessing any site outside the country]…Paul [seemed to be having some kind of retro seizure, vomiting out decayed garbage from 2012 about]…“young people…treated as merchandise…[by] pimps and traffickers”…“the Etsy of sexual exploitation”…[and] “pizza”…

Decentralization (#1181)

Using the mad emperor’s two favorite bugaboos to ramp up surveillance:

More than one million Americans are about to [be subjected to] a new level of financial surveillance.  The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network…announced that the threshold for currency transaction reports has been lowered from $10,000 to $200 for Americans living in 30 zip codes in California and Texas…[using the excuse that it’s] “to further combat the illicit activities and money laundering of Mexico-based cartels…along the southwest border of the United States”…Alex Nowrasteh…[of] the Cato Institute…warned people in February that…Trump’s decision to [falsely] designate cartels as terrorists could have repercussions for civil liberties and the economy at large…the designation would allow the government to freeze assets, enact secondary sanctions, and take greater control of the financial system generally…

I Spy (#1376)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

A contractor for…ICE…and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual’s publicly available data from a wide array of sites, social networks, apps, and services across the web at once, including Bluesky, OnlyFans, and various [Facebook properties], according to a leaked list of…more than 200 sites that…ShadowDragon…[illicitly] pulls data from and makes available to its government clients, allowing them to map out a person’s activity, movements, and relationships.  The news comes after ICE detained Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Columbia University protester and green card holding legal permanent resident…with the intention of deporting him…Multiple tech companies and websites whose public data ShadowDragon pulls [complain that] the contractor [is] violating their terms of use around scraping…

The Vultures Descend (#1483)

This insanity will keep getting worse until these maniacs are forcibly stopped:

States have long kept centralized databases to monitor prescriptions for…drugs [they think politicians should control instead of doctors].  Now, abortion pills are being [added to the list]…in [forced-birth states].  Last May, Louisiana [launched that particular “monkey see, monkey do” parade]…Bamboo Health, the [fascist] company running Louisiana’s prescription [surveillance] database, is ready to track the drugs.  As of March, Louisiana clinicians are required to log every mifepristone and misoprostol prescription they write in Bamboo’s database…[and] Texas, Indiana, and Idaho are considering similar [spying]…Prescription monitoring programs…are routinely [ab]used to [persecu]te doctors for…doing [their jobs when politicians have decided they know better.  Similar campaigns were used to make examples of doctors for giving suffering patients]…much-needed [pain] care [in order to terrorize] doctors…for doing their jobs…[doctors practicing] reproductive medicine could share the same fate…

No Escape (#1488)

The inevitable result of giving aggressive men total power over women:

In women’s prisons, sexual intrusion, harassment, coercion and violence are daily realities.  And in solitary confinement, this conduct is so routine that many women — particularly the younger ones…believe it’s simply an inevitable part of their incarceration…This isn’t just a few rotten apples in one facility.  In 2023, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TCDJ) reported over 700 [incident]s of staff-on-prisoner sexual abuse and harassment to the PREA Ombudsman…Almost 90 of those cases involved sexual harassment, nearly 150 were categorized as voyeurism, and a little more than 500 were classified as sexual abuse…[but] only 20% met the prison system’s onerous criteria for sexual assault or “improper sexual activity with a person in custody”…these stats only scratch the surface…prisons…make the grievance process too painful to be worth it.  Women who make reports can end up being cited for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a guard, which is grounds for being sent to solitary…[which] means no phone calls, and contact visits can also be suspended during investigations, which I’ve seen last 60 to 90 days, or even longer.  In the hole, guards use a variety of methods to retaliate against women who complain about their abuse.  They can write bogus disciplinary infractions that can lead to the loss of visits and phone calls, more time in solitary confinement, and ultimately a longer sentence.  [Screws] can also turn off the electricity and running water in women’s cells and refuse to serve them meals…

Thought Control (#1515)

They realized there would be public outcry if the state actually started arresting librarians, so they’re trying to seem more “reasonable”:

The South Dakota Senate gutted a bill…that would have subjected librarians to criminal prosecution for [working in a library containing any book any politician decided to point at while belching “]obscene material[“]…and replaced that language with a [demand] that [wannabe censors be]…allow[ed to] appeal…[any decision by any librarian in]…court…Supporters of the original version [foamed at the mouth while making barbaric threats.  Pro-censorship politician]…Taffy Howard…[actually called for literally lynching librarians]…

 

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 government has demonstrated that it cannot and will not be constrained by Section 230, the First Amendment, or even the venerable principle of presumption of innocence.  –  Maggie McNeill

Surplus Women

Decriminalization is only the first step:

Sex worker advocates have expressed their “rage and sadness” after a man who was due to face a double-murder trial for killing two women struck a manslaughter plea deal with Victorian prosecutors. Xiaozheng Lin, who killed sex workers Yuqi Luo…and Hyun Sook Jeon…in late 2022…now faces significantly less jail time [despite intentionally murdering the sex workers in order to rob them, so as to pay off his gambling debts]…Fiona Patten, former Victorian upper house MP, said she believed the decision reflected the stigma faced by sex workers in society…

Mumbo Jumbo 

It’s not surprising that this woman promotes the Nordic Model; it’s about as rooted in reality as her other beliefs about sex work:

…the Scottish government has instructed local authorities to partner with [an anti-sex group named] Azalea, led by a religious anti-porn activist who has stated that sex workers are “possessed by demons”…Ruth Robb…has in the past recommended “carrying out exorcisms on sex workers”…believes yoga is an “occult practice” and [claims] sex work leads to a “lesbian lifestyle”…[she claims] “Most prostitutes have had some exposure to the occult,” and her [Nordic model-based “outreach”] guides [for fellow religious busybodies] offer a checklist to determine if a sex worker is undergoing “demonic possession”.  Supposed symptoms include “flailing limbs” or a “sudden change of voice”…

The Face of Trafficking

The first actual association between “trafficking” and pizza:

The owner of Stash’s Pizza…in Massachusetts, was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 for forced labor charges. [Stavros Papantoniadis] forced or attempted to force six victims to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse; threats of violence and serious harm; and repeated threats to report the victims to immigration authorities for deportation…[he] was sentenced…to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and…a $35,000 fine…

The Last Shall Be First (#1408) 

“Bathroom bills” are a political fad that neither court rulings nor public protest have deterred:

The [Odessa, Texas] City Council [has] banned transgender people from using restrooms outside of the sex assigned to them at birth, [despite protests by]…residents…Mayor Javier Joven, who is up for reelection…has said his mission has been to help the city “repent”.  Under the amended ordinance, the city can seek fines of up to $500 and [criminal] trespassing charges…[and] also [encourages nuisance lawsuits for] $10,000 in damages plus the cost of the lawsuit and attorney fees…It [specifically] excludes [male cops who enter bathrooms to harass, rape, or otherwise attack women]…

Dangerous Speech (#1435)

Liz Brown’s articles on sex work are so thorough, it’s just too hard to come up with a pull quote.  So I’ll just point you to her latest on the Backpage persecution, and embed the accompanying video.  Watch it, and go read the article!

Vulture Watching (#1477)

Texas doesn’t care how many women die because of its terrible laws:

Josseli Barnica…[miscarried at] 17 weeks…doctors…should have offered to speed up the delivery or empty her uterus to stave off a deadly infection…but…[instead] the[y]…told her…they had to wait until there was no heartbeat…[and] it would be a [“]crime[“] to give her an abortion…For 40 hours…her uterus remained exposed to bacteria.  Three days after she delivered, Barnica died of an infection…[because psychopathic politicians threaten] doctors…[with] prosecution, prison time and professional ruin [for doing their jobs]…Barnica’s…death was “preventable,” according to more than a dozen medical experts who…called her case “horrific,” “astounding” and “egregious”…

The Cop Myth (#1481)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

[An] El Paso [cop named]…Joseph Andrew Shreve, [who is paid to lurk in schools in order to spy on, harass, and intimidate students], was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for…firing at a truck that he [pretend]ed had rear-ended his vehicle on Sept. 18…Shreve…[attempted to escape consequences by belching out the magic formula] “in fear for [my] life”, [but witnesses told] police [otherwise]…

 

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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Murder is illegal in Germany, no matter whether a terrorist’s weapon of choice was otherwise banned or permitted.  –  J.D. Tuccille

Time Warp

The Free Press recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 12 years ago.  If you have the stomach to actually read it, you’ll quickly discover why: both the writer and her primary source are Trumpists, and they blame “America’s fastest-growing criminal industry” (remember when that claim was obligatory in every “sex trafficking” tall tale?) on that Trumpist bugaboo, “Biden’s open border”, which apparently exists in the same fantasy world inhabited by toddler hookers shuttled around the country by pimp gorillas in dog crates to be raped 100 times a day by invisible men.  That source is a wannabe “rescuer” of the MAGA variety, similar to the nut bars in Tennessee who were recently raided by the TBI, or the associated Froot Loops in Arizona who harass aid workers and chase people through the desert.  Stenographer Madeleine Rowley gullibly swallows and regurgitates the self-aggrandizing wanking fantasies, the racist tropes, the bogus statistics and psychobabble, the “gang” copaganda, the asinine bragging of dangerous psychopaths like Grady Judd, etc; the only things missing are “King of the Hill” posturing and the claim that the average “victim” is 13.

The Punitive Mindset (#804) 

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

The Texas Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] has banned yet another book in its prisons…this time, it was written by inmates themselves.  TEXAS LETTERS…[is] an ongoing anthology of letters written by [prisoners] detailing their experiences with solitary confinement…The publisher and editor, Damascus James…describes the project as a work that “explores the loss of sanity, humanness, and, oftentimes, hope through the personal writings” of [human being]s who have spent months, years, and sometimes even decades in solitary confinement.  Much of the collection features portrayals of violence from [screws] and grueling accounts of the living conditions…The banning of TEXAS LETTERS was not a surprise for James.  Not only does the Texas prison authority have a reputation for book banning but also for trying to e[uphemize] the term solitary confinement

Torture Chamber (#1441)

The inevitable result of letting sociopathic thugs lock legally-innocent people in filthy cages for long periods of time:

…The[re has been a] spike in deaths at the…Tarrant County [jail since the election of] Sheriff Bill Waybourn…in January 2017…[more than] 65 people have died in [Waybourn’s filthy cages], compared to 25…during the 8-year period that preceded him.  Most of the…[victims were legally innocent], meaning they [were] never…convicted of…[any] crime…[and] his office…appears to be flouting a state law requiring sheriffs to commission outside [cop shop] investigations into all deaths in their jails…Waybourn…blame[s] the deaths on [his victims while]… Tarrant County has paid out millions of dollars to settle lawsuits [due to] horrific treatment of vulnerable people in [his cages]…the largest…involved a [mentally ill] pregnant woman…who deteriorated…for months until she became non-verbal, and eventually gave birth to…a…baby [who] died ten days later…[meanwhile,] Waybourn…[has] cultivated his celebrity status in [the MAGA cult, including going on talk shows and harassing migrants]…despite his county being hundreds of miles from the…border…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1462)

Surveillance beyond the wildest dreams of the Stasi:

German…politicians are responding to an August attack at a festival in Solingen with proposals for knife controls and biometric surveillance.  Given that the country’s already restrictive laws didn’t deter a terrorist from committing violence, it’s not clear why more laws would finally do the trick…The suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian man who was denied asylum and ordered to leave the country; he didn’t…he’s not a law-abiding guy…Would a terrorist…be deterred by stern signs forbidding carrying knives at festivals?…Also proposed is wider use of biometric data, including automated scanning of publicly available photos, audio files, and video on platforms including social media.  Any online information would be considered fair game for German authorities to grab and match against data from protests, crimes, suspects, or…watch lists…the coalition government is keen on expanding mass surveillance even though it was elected in part on a promise to curb such practices

You Were Warned (#1477)

Politicians will use any trick to gain control of the internet:

The U.S. and the U.K. have signed a joint agreement to coordinate efforts to [control the] internet…[using the perennial excuse of] “stronger protections for children”…though…the U.K. [has]…no…free-speech legal tradition or anything like First Amendment jurisprudence …the agreement…[pre]tend[s] that U.S. and U.K. rights and practices can be considered compatible in order to enforce internet [censorship] of materials [politicians in] either…[country point at while belching out] “harmful to children”…according to…the Online Safety Act and the [opinion of]…the Baroness Bertin, [who has had a hand in drafting laws in the US], all adult content would fall into [bannable] categories …By signing the joint agreement, the U.S. appears to endorse…age verification[, which]…has repeatedly been struck down as unconstitutional by U.S. courts…The U.S. domestic legislative proposal most analogous to the OSA is the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA), which is currently stuck in Congress…because of serious constitutional and privacy concerns…

The Cop Myth (#1478)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to, and everyone is shocked:

A [typical and representative] NYPD [cop murdered] his wife before [turning the gun on himself]…Sean…and Arlene O’Neill…[had] three school-age sons [who] were home at the time of the shooting [but were mercifully spared by their murderous father]…Sources [said] the couple [were fighting]…

The Vultures Descend (#1479)

This will keep getting worse until these maniacs are forcibly stopped:

The US…Postal Service…has known for at least the past decade…that foreign-made abortion pills are entering the U.S. and being distributed in quantity without prescription.  FDA regulations hold that this is illegal…[but] days after Roe was overturned in June 2022, the USPIS announced that it would not proactively pursue pill mailers, even in states where abortion was being banned…however…the USPIS does go after people…without medical credentials who mail prescription drugs…so it employs local police dogs and their handlers to check the mail for contraband and provide the probable cause needed to get warrants…Police dogs…are trained to smell only the illegal drugs heroin, marijuana, ecstasy, fentanyl, and cocaine, not the ingredients in abortion pills…[but] canines are exquisitely sensitive to the minutiae of a human’s posture, eye movements, and other subtle behaviors.  Handlers wishing to develop probable cause to do intrusive searches for narcotics can coax their dogs into drug-alerting behavior…Cueing can be deliberate, but it’s more often unconscious…

 

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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Regardless of how much partisan “journalists” bray that “sex trafficking” hysteria is a “right-wing conspiracy theory”; they themselves did at least half of the work to turn it into a moral panic, from its introduction in the New York Times in January ’04 until it was finally taken over by QAnon in 2018-19. For a while there was a tug-o-war between Trumpists & Anti-Trumpists for control of the narrative, and when MAGA won the soi-disant “progressivessuddenly pivoted to debunking it.  These people absolutely do not care about sex workers or anyone else their shamelessly-puritanical rhetoric harmed for two decades; they just suffer from a pathological need to be “correct”, and when it became obvious they were losing control of their own propaganda narrative, they turned to “sour grapes”.

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In…40 years…I have never seen that level of deliberate cruelty by the police.  –  Jerry Steering

I have never understood why many of the same critics who love the Sherman Brothers’  work for Disney dislike their comparable work in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which is why I feature a video from the latter every chance I get.  The links above it were provided by Dan Savage, Jesse Walker, Popehat (x2), Mike Masnick, Kevin Wilson, and Mistress Matisse, 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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I spent almost a year in a locked-down facility, with a disgusting, horny, grown man that’s supposedly my probation officer.  –  victim statement

I Spy (#1060)

Fascism in action:

A federal inquiry has found that several major pharmacy chains have a policy of turning over customers’ pharmacy records to police without a warrant.  The results [are]…concern[ing]…especially as fights over prescription abortion medication continue nationwide…these [porcine] demands typically come in the form of a subpoena, an order that doesn’t require approval from a judge, unlike a warrant…as debates over controversial medications—from abortion pills to opioid medications—loom large, customers’ ability to keep their prescription history private from [rooting pigs] is paramount…

The Implosion Begins (#1145)

I am deeply amused by mainstream media furiously backpedaling from a hysteria they eagerly promoted for two decades:

Prominent [MAGATs]…are promoting a…[fantasy, founded in the popular “sex trafficking” hysteria,] that pedophiles have been using Etsy to distribute child porn, sold under the guise of wildly expensive digital downloads of images of pizza.  This new [myth] has emerged from the fecund muck of [“child sex trafficking” hysteria, aggressively promoted by cops, politicians, “rescue” profiteers, and the mainstream media since the mid-Oughts, which more recently developed into] QAnon and Pizzagate…The fixation with pizza among [“sex trafficking”] adherents stems from the [constant repetition of the moronic myth] that “[getting a ‘sex trafficking victim’ online is as easy as ordering a pizza]”…or that pizza, generally, can be a veiled reference to pedophilia…[recently, nut cases on] Twitter…began [obsessing about] strange listings on Etsy…[which] purported to sell digital downloads of images of pizza — some of them marketed with images of hungry children — for exorbitant prices, running thousands of dollars…YummyYumPizza…was offering an encrypted “Pizza file” for $4,000.  Another…offered a similar “Pizza Image” for $9,000…These shops are no longer active on the site…because they violate…policies…[against] inflated pricing…

“Sex trafficking” hysterics’ bizarre fixation on pizza is so popular, I have an entire tag dedicated to it.

Eavesdropping (#1152)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpteen:

A marketing team within…Cox Media Group…claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations of consumers through embedded microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices to gather data and use it to target ads…Called “Active Listening,” CMG claims the capability can identify potential customers “based on casual conversations in real time.”  The news signals that what a huge swath of the public has believed for years—that smartphones are listening to people in order to deliver ads—may finally be a reality in certain situations.  Until now, there was no evidence that such a capability actually existed, but its myth permeated due to how sophisticated other ad tracking methods have become.  It is not immediately clear if the capability CMG is advertising…is being used on devices in the market today, but the company [call]s it…“a marketing technique fit for the future. Available today”…

Torture Chamber (#1267)

This will continue as long as sexually-aggressive men are given power over young women:

Faced with roughly 1,500 plaintiffs [su]ing the county [for] tolerating unchecked sexual abuse at its juvenile [jails, Los Angeles]…has spent the last two years removing [serial] sexual abusers from its ranks…[usually by letting them retire or giving them paid vacations]…Courtney Thom, whose [law] firm represents roughly 150 clients suing the county, said…“that number — and I guarantee it’s probably double if not more — it just shows how irresponsible the county is”…In April, the county estimated it will need to spend $1.6 billion to $3 billion to resolve a deluge of lawsuits [result]ing [from the] county [tolerating] staffers…raping and molesting the [legal minors] they were paid to [confine and torture]…officials said at the time that they expected roughly 3,000 people to sue.  But as of early November, the county had seen roughly 3,800 plaintiffs [including the] 1,500 [who were raped or otherwise] sexual[ly] abuse[d] at the probation halls and camps.  Nearly all the rest [were raped or molested by thugs working for] the county’s Department of Children and Family Services…

A little over a year ago, I said of this abuse, “I guarantee you that the number is a lot higher than 70, probably by at least one order of magnitude.”  Of course I was right, as usual.

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1378)

Whatever these kids ate wasn’t fentanyl, because these aren’t opioid symptoms:

Two people have been arrested and charged after seven Virginia elementary students ate gummy bears from a plastic baggie that [cops pointed at and oinked “]fentanyl[” after using a notoriously-unreliable]…field test [on] the bag…The students – all fourth-graders – experienced symptoms including nausea, vomiting, headache and muscle spasms…

Field tests used by cops “have an error rate so high that they’re akin to ‘witchcraft, phrenology or simply picking a number out of a hat’.”

Business Opportunity (#1394)

Sometimes, a little light is all it takes to send the cockroaches scurrying:

After over a month of mounting public criticism, the government of Hanover County, North Carolina, has decided to drop its plans to s[teal] the strip club adjacent to its government center building…the county will now explore a voluntary purchase of the club…

To Molest and Rape (#1397)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [Pennsylvania cop named]…Tyler Humphreys, was charged with rape, statutory sexual assault…[and] other…[offenses against] a 9-year-old boy and two girls [aged]…15…and…11…[he violently] assaulted [the] 9-year-old…[when he] was [only] 12 [himself, but]…rap[ed the] 15-year-old [last December and molested the 11-year-old for years]…

They often use their cop privileges to stalk victims:

A Staten Island cop arrested for sexual…abuse of teen…[boys stalked]…his victims…using an NYPD database…Christopher Terranova…[found one victim] after the boy had been the victim of a robbery…

And sometimes they’re even convicted:

A [typical and representative Louisiana cop named]…Bryan Dawayne Kibodeaux was found guilty of…rap[ing three]…juvenile…victims…from 2016 through 2019…he faces two life sentences…[plus] 125-495 years…

 

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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A system that allows this level of sustained incompetence and cruelty…is morally bankrupt.  –  Tod Wilcox

Where Are the Victims?

They’re talking about ordinary-sounding escort agencies or phone services:

…a BBC [news show claims it]…has evidence that…pimps are using Vivastreet to advertise multiple women under their control…one mobile phone number was being used for 78 ads on the site – which suggests the women might be controlled by a single person [because obviously, women are much too stupid to hire answering services like other businesses do]…some of the adverts for sex contained [what prohibitionists, cops, and others who wank to fantasies of passive, doll-like women enjoy calling] the warning signs of sexual exploitation.  One such sign is when multiple women [use the same phone answering service]…Diana Johnson, chair of the [politicians’] Group [trying once again to impose Swedish criminalization on the UK, barfed up childish nonsense about]…”a pimp’s paradise”…Stuart Peall…a…Lancashire [vice cop, made furtive movements in his pants while burbling about how]…”it’s like a takeaway menu”…

It’s really sad that the BBC has sunk to the “IT’S LIKE PIZZA!” level of journalism.

Surplus Women

Your government wants this to happen more often:

Police have arrested a man believed to be the serial killer responsible for six murders and several shootings that happened in St. Louis…and Kansas City…during a span of several weeks in September and late October…Perez Reed…used the same gun to shoot all of the victims…He is also suspected of multiple other homicides in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas…[but his] motive remains unknown.  Most of the victims were women…some were involved in sex work.  And other[s appear to have been transwomen]…Some…were shot in the back of their heads…some victims didn’t fit into any type of pattern and some survived.  One man was waiting for a bus when he was shot but survived…most of the…[victims]…did not know their killer — who does not have much of a criminal history…

Missouri cops of course had to demonstrate what they are by misgendering some of the dead.

Rooted in Racism (#966)

The racism of European “anti-trafficking” schemes is getting harder to disguise:

EU [politicians want to]…e[conomically] sa[botage] Minsk…[for allowing] large numbers of [brown people into]…Belarus…in hopes of [stopping them] crossing into Polish territory…European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called…[the migration of brown people a] “hybrid attack”…[and said] that the EU “will explore how to…blacklist…third-country airlines” that a[llow brown people to buy tickets, referring to the sales as]…”human trafficking”…[another politician bloviated that] “All airlines of the world should understand that they cooperate with the criminal regime by flying to Belarus”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#996)

A tactic pioneered by China:

The Israeli military has been conducting a broad surveillance effort in the occupied West Bank to monitor Palestinians by integrating facial recognition with a growing network of cameras and smartphones…a…technology called Blue Wolf…captures photos of Palestinians’ faces and matches them to a database of images so extensive that one former soldier described it as the army’s secret “Facebook for Palestinians.”  The phone app flashes in different colors to alert soldiers if a person is to be [harassed], arrested or left alone.  To build the database…soldiers competed last year in photographing Palestinians, including children and the elderly, with prizes for the most pictures collected by each unit…The surveillance program was described…by…soldiers…to…Breaking the Silence…an advocacy group composed of Israeli army veterans that opposes the occupation…

The Implosion Begins (#1172)

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

John Eisenman [of Spokane fantasized] that his underage daughter’s boyfriend had…sold her into a [“]sex trafficking organization[“] in Seattle.  [After the daughter returned home, an event described by]  Eisenman…as…rescue…[he stalked] the boyfriend, 19-year-old Aaron Sorensen…[and murdered] him…by beating and stabbing…[then put his] body in the trunk [of a car, which he] then abandoned in North Spokane County where it sat for nearly a full year.  In October 2021…[someone found the car and] drove [it] back into Spokane…On Oct. 22, [police] received calls from [someone]…who discovered the body when rummaging through the abandoned vehicle…

Here’s the wholly predictable chaser:

The family of Andrew Sorensen…[pointed out that this supposed “trafficker”] “was born with cerebral palsy, autism, and [was] developmentally delayed…Both the FBI and Washington State Patrol said there is no sex trafficking investigation”…John Eisenman…is facing the charge of first-degree murder and is being held in jail on a $1 million bond…

Torture Chamber (#1184)

Arizona screws are notably devoted to yelling “Stop faking!” at the sick and dying:

A paraplegic man was left to physically deteriorate until his penis had to be amputated.  A man with undiagnosed, untreated lung cancer lost 90 pounds and died “slowly and agonizingly” without pain medication.  A woman’s multiple sclerosis was ignored and misdiagnosed until she was left, at age 36, nearly completely paralyzed.  Arizona’s prison system is on trial once again in a long-running civil lawsuit over [systemic] medical neglect…and a doctor’s testimony in the case paints a stomach-churning picture of unnecessary suffering, malpractice, and death…medical neglect is widespread in American prisons and jails, despite the Eighth Amendment’s supposed guarantee of basic medical care, hygiene, and living conditions.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and several law firms have been litigating the case since 2012…

To Molest and Rape (Long Hidden)

UK reporters have discussed this more in weeks than US ones have in years:

More than 30 a[ccus]ations of sexual misconduct were made against Suffolk [cops] in the past five years…the figures come amid fresh focus on police conduct after the kidnap, rape and killing of Sarah Everard by [typical and representative cop] Wayne Couzens in March…The case has raised questions about how police forces [refuse to] deal with sexual misconduct amongst their own rank and file after it emerged that Couzens was referred to by his own colleagues as “the rapist”.  Three days before he [raped and murdered a young woman], Couzens also…exposed himself in a McDonald’s restaurant…

Yet reporters still feel the need to include denials and excuses from spokespigs who want to expose even more women to the danger of rape and other violence from cops:

A scheme that will see [disguised cops secretly spying on] clubs and bars [using the excuse of] safeguard[ing] women will instead put them at risk of police violence…the government…first announced plans to roll the scheme out nationwide in the spring…after the kidnapping, murder and rape of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer…Deniz Ugur…of the End Violence Against Women Coalition said trying to safeguard women from predatory men using [other predatory men] would not tackle the root of the problem…“Given that one woman a week reports domestic abuse by a police officer and that police abuse of power for a sexual purpose is…the most common form of police corruption…these plans will be ineffective and…leave women…at risk of police violence”…

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In the name of protecting women, [Kamala] Harris has pushed sex workers back onto dangerous street corners.  –  Cherie DeVille

The Puritan Recrudescence

A deep dive on the history of the current US pro-censorship cabal:

Adult content [i]s now routinely described…by both sensationalistic tabloids and supposedly liberal establishment papers as “a scourge”…“a danger,” “harmful,” “exploitation,” and “infestation.”  Newspapers and TV news segments f[eed] this rhetoric to politicians around the world…who happily regurgitate…exaggerations, deliberate obfuscations and outright cant such as “porn is a form of human trafficking,” “no person can consent to be a sex worker,” [and] “all sex workers are victims”…Porn, they declare…is not free expression protected by the First Amendment in the U.S. and by long-standing traditions of freedom of speech in other lands.  It is “a public health crisis,” “a drug” and “slavery.”  This language and these notions are, of course, not new.  They have been brewing for years — in some cases decades — in well-funded, religiously-motivated think tanks and lobbies.  These groups literally have an agenda: to shut down, by whatever means necessary, online porn…

To Molest and Rape (#843)

It took four years for a serial rapist to actually be tried. Guess his profession:

Roger Golubski…w[as a Kansas City cop for]…35 years…before retiring in 2010.  But it was[n’t until] 2017, when Lamonte McIntyre was freed from prison after serving 23 years for two murders he did not commit, that [“authorities”] began to…[final]ly [pay attention to stacks of complaints] about the [typical and representative]  cop who…had [used threats and sexual violence to] cultivate…a vast network of informants…Golubski, whose [lies] led McIntyre to prison…used his police badge to [threaten] vulnerable Black women [into submitting to rape] and coerced some of them into fabricating testimony to c[age innocent human being]s he [targe]ted.  In at least one instance, he…repeatedly rap[ed] a woman whose children he’d promised to help get out of legal trouble…[in a hearing for] the civil lawsuit filed by McIntyre and his mother, Rose McIntyre, who[m] the [typical and representative cop brutally raped]…Golubski [took the Fifth]…555 times…the McIntyres’ law[yers demonstrated that]…Golubski’s superiors in the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department [well] kn[e]w…[that he was a serial rapist of women stigmatized as] prostitutes [by the state]…and either look[ed] the other way or tacitly endors[ed the rapes.  Reports of]…Golubski[‘s behavior] date back 25 years…[but] “The Department never accepted] any formal complaints regarding misconduct” [said a spokesow]…the suit names [as accomplices]…Wyandotte County/Kansas City, detectives W.K. Smith, Clyde Blood, James Brown, Dennis Ware and the estates of…[cops] Dennis Barber, Steve Culp and James Krstolich…

Everything Old is New Again (#863)

This absurd language and association of sex work with pizza is not limited to Christian prohibitionists:

It is hard to believe the testimonies of Israeli tourists returning from the UAE, in which they describe Dubai as the Las Vegas of the Middle East…8,000 Israelis travelled to Dubai to celebrate the New Year.  They apparently took hashish and marijuana with them…the…dark reality…[is] gangs of Israeli men who set out for the new holiday destination with prostitution in mind…any Israeli tourist in Dubai can…pay $1,000 and jump into the pool of iniquity…The[y] can sit and eat next to a swimming pool while watching frenzied scenes of sexual activity…”Everything is open, like a menu with pizza toppings”…it is…an extension of the Israeli sex industry, with prostitution apps advertising women…The fruit of normalisation is that Israelis are now heavily involved in the whole shameful business…

The “swimming pool of iniquity” may be my favorite Middle-Eastern ludicrosity since “the dangerous cycle of prostitution”.

I Spy (#1001)

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

In recent years, [cops] have realized that automobiles — particularly newer models — can be treasure troves of [surveillance data].  Their onboard computers generate and store data that can be used to reconstruct where a vehicle has been and what its passengers were doing.  They reveal everything from location, speed and acceleration to when doors were opened and closed, whether texts and calls were made while the cellphone was plugged into the infotainment system, as well as voice commands and web histories…Privacy4Cars…makes a free app that helps people delete their data from automobiles and makes its money by offering the service to rental companies and dealerships…[Pigs mostly root] in…two main information sources: the telematics system — which is like the “black box” — and the infotainment system.  The telematics system stores a vehicle’s turn-by-turn navigation, speed, acceleration and deceleration information…when and where the lights were switched on, the doors were opened, seat belts were put on and airbags were deployed.  The infotainment system records recent destinations, call logs, contact lists, text messages, emails, pictures, videos, web histories, voice commands and social media feeds.  It can also keep track of the phones that have been connected to the vehicle via USB cable or Bluetooth, as well as all the apps installed on the device…

The Widening Gyre (#1019)

Here’s another entry in the “sex trafficking” scare story invasion of Twitter.  I find them both funny and sad;  funny because Chicken Licken here doen’t realize that there has never been a single case of an adult woman abducted by so-called “sex traffickers” from any public place (much less a crowded retail store), and sad because the hysteria feeds weak-minded panic over ordinary social interactions such as conversation and nodding “hello” to strangers (which I do almost every time I pass someone in public).  Add to that the uncritical acceptance of utterly absurd “King of the Hill” propaganda (“[Atlanta is] the human trafficking capital of the world“) and we have a nearly perfect cross-section of late-stage moral panic; all that’s missing is an actual violent attack on the people to whom she’s attached this waking nightmare.

I Spy (#1035)

I’ve been saying this would happen since politicians started belching about “contact tracing”:

Singapore has admitted data from its Covid contact tracing programme can also be accessed by police…Officials had previously [lied in order to trick as many people as possible into “voluntarily” downloading a surveillance]…programme, which is used to [track people’s movements and] also monitors who [the patsy has] been in contact with…To encourage people to enrol, Singaporean authorities [lied that] the data would never be used for any other purpose…But Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan told parliament [last week] that it can in fact also be used “for the purpose of criminal investigation”…

Top Cop (#1065)

Sex workers cannot let people who claim to be allies forget about this psychopath, now only an old man’s heartbeat from the power she so desperately craves:

Kamala…Harris’s hatred [of sex workers] goes back to her days as San Francisco District Attorney.  In 2008, Harris opposed a San Francisco ballot initiative to legalize prostitution.  “I think it’s completely ridiculous”…Harris told The New York Times.  She proclaimed the law would roll “a welcome mat out for pimps” and…“compromise…the quality of life in a community.”  In other words, sex work looks terrible.  As a district attorney, senator, and presidential candidate, Harris has trafficked in outdated sex-worker cliches.  Out reports that California Attorney General Harris fought in court in 2015 to ensure the state continued criminalizing sex work…[claiming that] sex…[workers are] disease…[vectors]…

Working From Home (#1079)

When a headline asks a question, the answer is nearly always “no”:

…the great sex boom of 2020…has been…widely publicized.  Outlets that usually skirted such tawdry subjects published how-tos for aspiring online sex workers.  Masturbation made The New York Times headlines, and reports of sex toy sales enjoying a 200 percent increase (tripling in New Zealand) were heard around the world…Then…no matter your age, race, gender or even perceived good looks, for the financially upended by Covid-19, OnlyFans became The Promised Land…and porn began to feel like yesterday’s news…especially once the celebrities caught on.  Bella Thorne elicited immediate backlash from online sex workers after [scamming] a record-breaking $1 million dollars in her first day on the platform…prompting OnlyFans to cap tips and pay-per-view charges.  While the move may have infuriated existing cam girls, it brought the platform widespread attention…

To Molest and Rape (#1098)

Notice how often rapist cops’ victims are underage?

…Chatham County [Georgia cop]…Christopher Crick was [arrested for raping]…a minor…he was booked on three felony charges: aggravated child molestation, sodomy and statutory rape.  The victim is apparently someone previously known to Crick…

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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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Men…want sex. And I want their money.  –  Maggie, a sugar baby

Whimsical Notions

It’s difficult to tease out what actually happened in this incident due to all the dysphemisms, racism, agency denial, “American exceptionalism” propaganda, and pretenses that healthy young men can be ordered to be asexual:  “While the [NCIS] investigated numerous sailors for crimes involving sex trafficking and prostitutes in Bahrain in recent years, Navy prosecutors have struggled at times to win criminal convictions…due to a recurring problem:  the [refusal of] the Thai prostitutes at the center of the cases…[to pretend to be] victimized women…

Drawing Lines

Amateurs’ attempts to draw lines between different “types” of pragmatic sexual behavior are even more absurd when the amateur in question has a PhD:

Although sex is indeed common in sugaring, not all sugar daddies seek such intimate relations.  Similarly, although most sugar babies engage in sugaring in order to meet their expenses, some are hoping for a serious relationship…Self-esteem can be a tricky issue for both sugar babies and daddies.  A sugar daddy does not want to feel like he is a john and a sugar baby does not want to feel like she is a prostitute.  Accordingly, sugaring aims for mutual respect between the partners.  This is reflected in the sugaring terminology of “partner” rather than “worker” and “client”…while people speak about “ordering,” or “going to,” a prostitute, they speak about “meeting” or “dating” a sugar baby.  Maren Scull (2020) has identified a range of sugaring types: at one end of the continuum there is sugar prostitution, and at the other end there is sugar friendship and sugar love.  Scull further claims that 40% of women who have sugared do not have sex with their benefactors—and that those who do often have genuine connections with the men…

“Ordering”.  Like a pizza, presumably.  The later parts of the article reveal that this dude seems to have derived most of his “information” about sex work from prohibitionist talking points rather than by consulting sex workers.

Bread and Circuses

The owner of CityGuide was a fool for not moving both his websites’ and his own domiciles to somewhere outside of the violently-prohibitionist US:

A Bay Area man is…awaiting extradition to Texas, where he is set to face federal charges that [describe ordinary escort advertising sites as “]sex trafficking websites on an international scale[” and include federal prosutors’ disgusting wanking fantasies about…“numerous child trafficking victims”…[Wilhan] Martono first purchased a CityXGuide domain in 2004, but in 2018…he…purchased a domain called “New Backpage”…The websites were set up with physical addresses listed in a Hong Kong apartment, and phone numbers that went back to a property management company there…[but the dumbass sent] wire transfers [back to the US, so]…the U.S. Department of Justice is moving to [steal] the contents of 12 bank accounts…[and] an undisclosed amount of silver bullion…

Business As Usual

All sex workers victimized by cops should sue if at all possible, especially now:

SWOP Behind Bars…caught up with Donah Sandford regarding her federal case against Missouri law enforcement, where [rapist cop] Leon Pullen eventually pleaded guilty to robbing and sexually assaulting escorts…Previously interviewed by FOX Files investigator Chris Hayes, Donah…shares the full story…of her 2009 experience with…law enforcement in St. Louis…

Pyrrhic Victory (#915) 

The word for authoritarian corporate/government “partnerships” is “fascism”:

…all-expenses paid [junkets] for [boss pigs and bureaucrats] is one of the ways Nextdoor has been looking to promote its network of online communities to government agencies.  It reflects a trend that’s worrying to civil rights and government accountability experts:  that local [cop shops] and other types of government officials are closely collaborating with private companies whose interests don’t…align with the public’s…Nextdoor and the [pigs, bureaucrats and politicians] it [colludes] with say that close ties between the social media platform and the government can help them [build a more pervasive surveillance system]…

On the Simultaneous Having and Eating of Cake (#943)

It’s good to see a lockdown house getting some well-deserved pushback:

…a…lawsuit claims that Sheri’s Ranch misclassified its [legal prostitutes] as independent contractors, and should have instead classified them as employees and paid them in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  The [petitioners] claim that Sheri’s Ranch owes unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation to them and…other[s] who join[ed] the case, as well as portions of their tips they were required to give to the Ranch.  Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Sheri’s Ranch filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that its business is not covered by the FLSA because it does not operate in interstate commerce.  The Court rejected this argument, finding the allegations in the complaint that Sheri’s Ranch’s annual sales exceed $500,000, and that its sports bar sells food and beverage products produced outside of Nevada, sufficient to bring the Ranch within the coverage of the FLSA…

Lack of Evidence (#991)

Where “rescued” means “arrested” and “safety shelter” means “deportation prison”.  How stupid do these pigs think we are?

Three addresses in Luton suspected of housing brothels…were [raided] by police…All of the women, who were from Romania, have been [infantilized] as victims of modern slavery and taken to a safety shelter…[pig] Jim Goldsmith, who led the [raid, admitted]: “It can take up to 10 e[pisodes of harassment by] the police…before [women break down and accept the label of] victim…[to make the persecution stop.  Cops] lie to, bully and exploit…sex [workers to destroy their livelihoods], all in the name of [“rescue”]…

You’d be traumatized too, if a gang of rapist thugs invaded your place of business, stole your money, and abducted you.

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