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Posts Tagged ‘racism’

In the News (#1447)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

This is a case of human trafficking without victims.  –  Jorge Daniel Pirozzo

Torture Chamber

“Died after an altercation” is such a sterile way to say “murdered by screws”:

The family of a Texas man [murdered by] jailers…who…kne[lt on his]…back [while pepper-spraying him]…called for a federal investigation into the practices at the jail.  Anthony Johnson Jr…a [retired] Marine…[was intentionally asphyxiated by the] jailers…[after they oinked the magic word “]contraband[” at him].  The Tarrant County Medical Examiner…ruled the death a homicide…[murder]er Rafael Moreno…kne[lt with all of his weight] on Johnson’s back…while he was handcuffed…[and another screw repeatedly] pepper-sprayed [him in the face]…

See also “I Can’t Breathe” below.

Imaginary Evils (#1347)

Are prosecutors now going to retroactively label all cults as “sex trafficking”?

…Argentinian…prosecutors are trying the [Buenos Aires Yoga] School’s 85-year-old founder, Juan Percowicz, and a number of its members, alleging that the school was really a cult engaged in brainwashing and sex trafficking.  Authorities raided the group’s headquarters and the houses of 50 members two summers ago, accusing the group of being a front for an international sex slavery ring. Seventeen people, including Percowicz, were arrested and jailed…It wasn’t the first time the Buenos Aires Yoga School faced criminal allegations; a similar case was brought in the 1990s.  But after an intense investigation that involved [illegal] raids and wiretaps…that earlier case was closed with nary a conviction.  And it’s looking like the newer case may face a similar fate…The government says at least seven women were forced into prostitution by BAYS…But the women in the case have denied ever having sex in exchange for money, or being victims of any crime…

Thought Control (#1405)

Florida censors have descended completely into self-parody:

[Authoritarian bureaucrats] in Florida have banned a book about book banning.  The Indian River County School Board voted to remove Ban This Book by Alan Gratz from its shelves…overruling its own [hand-picked] book-review committee’s decision to keep it.  The children’s novel follows a fictional fourth grader who creates a secret banned books locker library after her school board pulled a multitude of titles off the shelves…[censor]s…disliked how it referenced other [banned] books…and accused it of “teaching rebellion of school board authorit[arianism]”…The book…was [target]ed by Jennifer Pippin…the [chief censor] of the area’s local chapter of [pro-censorship cult] Moms for Liberty…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1409)

Any use of this error-prone surveillance system is misuse:

In 2019 and 2020, three Black men were accused of, and jailed for, crimes they didn’t commit after police used face recognition to falsely identify them.  Their wrongful arrest lawsuits are still pending, but…all three…are speaking out against pending California legislation that would make it illegal for police to use face recognition technology as the sole reason for a search or arrest…[because due to a combination of confirmation bias and plain laziness, cops will merely] seek corroborating evidence [for the computer’s false identification instead of properly investigating the crime.  One of the men is]…Robert Williams [of Detroit,] the first known instance of false arrest involving face recognition in the United States…the…[second is] Njeer Parks…[of] New Jersey and the…[third is] Michael Oliver…who was wrongly accused of assaulting a high school teacher in Detroit in 2020…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1423)

Non-busybodies block Indiana’s float in the “monkey see, monkey do” parade:

A lawsuit…aims to block a new Indiana [surveillance] law …[because it] violates [both] the Constitution and the 1996 Communications Decency Act.  Fred Cate…[of] the Indiana University [Law] School…said…“The Supreme Court decided more than 25 years ago that you couldn’t require age verification online…because age verification is really hard to do online…How do you verify age for someone you can’t actually see? Usually, we do that by collecting a lot of information about them…the state law prohibits you from saving that information but, of course, you have to save it to prove that you did it”…

I Can’t Breathe (#1439)

Dare I hope fewer journalists are willing to cover up cops’ crimes?

…In recent years, the Vallejo Police Department has made headlines for gang-like rituals glorifying [cops] who [successfully get away with murder]; the illegal destruction of evidence; and an inordinately high rate of police shootings, among other scandals.  But the [murder of Darryl Dean] Mefferd [by Vallejo cop Jeremy] Callinan has remained covered up…[large]ly because the Solano County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office [obediently] ruled Mefferd’s death an accidental drug overdose…allow[ing] local officials to keep the killing secret for nearly a decade despite state transparency laws mandating the release of records about deaths and serious injuries caused by [cops]…His family wanted to sue the city, but several lawyers declined to take their case because official records labeled Mefferd’s death an accident…[and] the city [pretends] that…Mefferd[‘s]…death [by positional asphyxia was his own fault]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #12)

Oh look, WaPo has discovered what I’ve been writing about for 14 years:

…over the past two decades, hundreds of [cops] in the United States have sexually abused children while officials at every level of the criminal justice system have [covered up their crimes, refus]ed to…punish abusers and [facilitated] additional crimes…by botching background checks, ignoring red flags and [intentionally] mishandling investigations. [Rapist] cops have used their knowledge of the legal system to stall cases, get charges lowered or evade convictions. Prosecutors have given generous plea deals to [fellow pig]s who admitted to raping and groping minors. Judges have allowed many convicted [cops] to avoid prison time. All the while, children in every state and the District of Columbia have continued to be targeted, groomed and violated by officers [who have no legal duty] to keep them safe…at least 1,800 state and local [cops]…were charged with crimes involving child sexual abuse from 2005 through 2022…

 

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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Why Zombies?

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , on June 17, 2024| 2 Comments »

First off, they aren’t actually zombies; as any student of folklore (or any D&D player, for that matter) could tell you, zombies are corpses animated by black magic and used as slaves.  They’re neither fast nor clever, and most of the danger they present comes from the fact that since they’re already dead, they have to be completely hacked to pieces to stop them.  They don’t eat people, and their condition isn’t contagious.   So those aggressive dead people which became ubiquitous in fantasy fiction (written or acted) over the past few decades aren’t zombies, though everyone calls them that; actually, they’re a kind of “hungry dead”, more akin to ghouls (or even low-rent vampires) than the true zombies of folklore.

But why have they become so popular as a subject of horror and fantasy adventure, eclipsing ever other kind of undead and humanoid monster (with the possible exception of superhuman fantasy killers a la Jason Voorhees and evil ghosts a la Freddie Krueger)?  The horror of true zombies derives from their origin in the folklore of enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean:  it’s the idea that a slave might not be able to find rest from oppression even in the grave, because their bodies might be dug up and forced to continue toiling even after death.  But what is it about hungry-type “zombies” which makes them so fascinating to modern people?  I think the key to understanding that is to recognize that while traditional zombies are objects of horror to be feared, modern “zombies” are objects of loathing, to be exterminated.  Modern zombie shows are full of heavily-armed characters blowing out the brains of creatures who look like other human beings, often even former friends, family, and neighbors.  They roam a lawless post-apocalyptic landscape where might makes right, and the only rules the zombie hunters need follow are practical survival rules of their own making.  Sad to say, most humans want there to be some group of people they can imagine as subhuman, creatures whose rights and dignity need not be respected.  They want that group (slaves, outcasts, infidels, “illegals”, homeless, “criminals”, whores, “sex offenders”, “colonizers”, “terrorists”, “wingers”, “groomers”, “sinners”, “traffickers”, those whose skin is a different color, those who speak a different language, “people who disagree with me”, etc, etc) to not be protected by any laws, and to be fair game for abuse so they can inflict upon those pariahs the petty frustrations they feel from being abused by their rulers and bosses (“shit rolls downhill”).  Fictional zombies are people it’s OK to hate and even kill without having to worry about their rights, a fantasy outlet for violent impulses.  Alas, far too many of our species don’t restrict that kind of behavior to make-believe, and are more than willing to gang up with others of their ilk to inflict whatever evil they think they can get away with upon their fellow humans without even waiting for them to die first.

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Links #727

Posted in Current Events, Links, Miscellaneous, Music, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2024| 1 Comment »

[As] a Black man…in America…I can’t just do regular things like take a plane home.  –  Xavier Veal

After the castration of boys for musical purposes fell out of favor in the mid-19th century, only one of them, Alessandro Moreschi, lived long enough to make a solo recording.  Though castrati sang in the adult female register, their male timbre produced a distinctly different, and sometimes eerie, effect, which you can hear in this video.  All of the links above it were provided by IncarcerNation except “RIP” from Franklin Harris, “artificial stupidity” from Asawin Suebsaeng, and “smug” from one of my gents.

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 (#1434)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I can’t breathe.  –  Demetrio Jackson

I Can’t Breathe

Paramedics should not be injecting people with powerful drugs for the convenience of cops:

…The practice of [forcibly inject]ing sedatives [in]to people detained by police [without the victim’s consent] has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on [pseudo]science…backed by police-aligned experts…At least 94 people died [in this way between]…2012 [and] 2021…That’s nearly 10% of the more than 1,000 deaths identified during [an] investigation of people subdued by police in ways that are not supposed to be fatal.  About half of the 94…were Black…Behind the racial disparity is a [make-believe] medical condition called excited delirium, which fueled the rise of sedation outside hospitals…the [investigation] found…[that most of the victims were] agitated people…held by police facedown…handcuffed and with [pigs sitt]ing on their backs…[while they] struggled to breathe and tried to get free.  [Barfing out the magic cop word “]combativeness[” justified cops demanding] paramedics administer…sedatives, [predictably] slowing their breathing.  Cardiac and respiratory arrest often occurred within minutes…

Censorship Ascendant

Cops claim reporting their crimes is “an inherent danger to the community”:

Calling her “an inherent danger to the community,” prosecutors [have] asked a Miami judge to throw a 51-year-old [woman] back into jail for posting news articles on Facebook recounting her arrest on charges of stalking a Miami [cop] who had [murder]ed her mentally ill son.  Prosecutors say Gamaly Hollis violated a judge’s order against using social media by sharing several stories this week about the June 2022 [murder] of her son…Richard Hollis…by [cop] Jaime Pino…a year earlier, [Pino] had [threate]ned [to murder] her son if he ever [saw him holding] a gun…Hollis…took to the streets and the internet, [truthfully] calling [murderous pig] Pino a killer and once confronting him [in public.  Cops] arrested her on charges of aggravated stalking, resisting arrest and trespassing.  After a year in jail, she was [recently] released on bond…[but cops are scheming to] jail [her] again — this time simply for sharing news stories, without comment, on Facebook…

You Were Warned (#1383)

Australia’s rulers seem even more eager to destroy the internet than US rulers:

…An Australian judge…[petulantly demanded] that [Twitter] must block every user in the world from accessing video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church…Despite disagreeing with the…takedown order, [Twitter]’s Global Government Affairs team…”complied with the directive pending a legal challenge“…[but now Australian politicians and bureaucrats want to] control…what can be seen by people…every place on the globe outside Australia’s borders.  If Canberra can impose its rules across the world on any online platform that happens to do business in Australia, why can’t China, or Russia, or Saudi Arabia do the same?…If [Australia is] successful [in its megalomanical demands], the same reach would be available to every government everywhere, including those even more authoritarian than the notoriously illiberal democracy…Australia’s censorious officials…may be exploiting the conflict…to promote legislation restricting “misinformation”…

Vulture Watching (#1404)

Politicians really believe everyone lies as blithely as they do:

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador c[laimed that] doctors…[are lying about] transferring an increasing number of patients out of state for care to comply with the state’s strict abortion laws…[at] a U.S. Supreme Court hearing…[to] de[cid]e whether Idaho abortion law conflicts with…EMTALA…St. Luke’s chief physician executive Dr. Jim Souza…[said] the hospital system has transported six patients out of state for obstetric emergencies since January, when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Idaho’s law to fully take effect.  In 2023, St. Luke’s transferred a single patient out of state for an emergency abortion…Labrador…implied that those transfers either didn’t happen or were unnecessary…“It’s really hard for me [as a medical ignoramus and moral imbecile] to conceive of a single instance where a woman has to be airlifted out of Idaho to perform an abortion,” Labrador said…

Dangerous Speech (#1409)

Couldn’t she have done this before driving Jim Larkin to suicide?

A federal judge has acquitted Backpage co-founder Michael Lacey of dozens of counts, including a majority of those on which federal prosecutors planned to retry [him] later this year.  U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa also acquitted former Backpage executives Jed Brunst and Scott Spear on multiple counts of which they were convicted by a jury last fall…In November, a jury found Lacey guilty of just one the 86 counts against him and not guilty of one count…[but] hung on the other 84 counts…The feds then decided to retry Lacey on those 84 counts, despite the fact that there had already been two [mis]trials on the same charges…Lacey is still looking at a retrial later this year on the [31] remaining counts…and on June 17, Lacey is scheduled to be sentenced on the one count…on which the jury found him guilty…[which] Lacey plans to appeal…Brunst is scheduled to be sentenced along with Lacey in June and…still faces sentencing on 14 counts.  And Spear, who is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, still faces sentencing on 29 counts.

I Spy (#1422)

Is having a shiny new status symbol really worth being spied on and price-gouged?

…I’m the reporter who broke the story [about GM’s spying on its customers, and] I recently discovered that I’m among the drivers who was spied on…This month, my husband received his “consumer disclosure files” from LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk, two data brokers that work with the insurance industry and that G.M. had been providing with data…I had requested my own LexisNexis file while reporting, but…though both of our names are on the car’s title, the data from our Bolt accrued to my husband alone because the G.M. dealership listed him as the primary owner.  G.M.’s spokeswoman had told me that this data collection happened only to people who turned on OnStar…and enrolled in Smart Driver, a[n ironically-misnamed] program that offers feedback and digital badges for [“]good[“] driving…I had connected our car to the MyChevrolet app to see if we were enrolled in Smart Driver.  The app said we weren’t…But in April, when we found out our driving had been tracked, my husband signed into a browser-based version of his account page, on GM.com, which said our car was enrolled in “OnStar Smart Driver+.”  G.M. says this discrepancy between the app and the website was the result of “a bug”…We couldn’t get insights into our driving, but insurance companies could…

To Molest and Rape (#1431)

Even by the standards of rapist cops, this is horrifying:

A…Pennsylvania [cop named]…Steven Kyle Cugini was arrested [for raping]…a 13-month-old child [sometime] between April 11 and April 15…the infant had a broken tibia and fibula in her left leg and other injuries that showed evidence of sexual abuse…Cugini blamed the injuries on diaper rash, a fall and the family dog…police were notified by a day care center after the [victim] was dropped off with “severe bruising” on her face and head and wounds on her left foot…

 

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 (#1433)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

They destroyed my life…and now they want to keep quiet.  –  Daegun Chun

Traffic Jam (#694)  

The first exoneration of a victim of “sex trafficking” hysteria has come, 14 years earlier than I expected.  Of course, it happened in Canada, where the hysteria was never as virulent as in the US, and like the Heather Wyker “Somali sex trafficking gang” case, it was based entirely in cop wanking fantasies without a shred of actual evidence or a single credible witness, and collapsed because the primary victim refused to be intimidated into signing a fake confession and “admitting guilt” to the mob at gunpoint.  But the victims of the Satanic Panic were convicted on even more fantastical (and often physically-impossible) charges, with even more absurd “evidence”, and it was more than ten years after the end of the hysteria before any of them were exonerated.  I don’t know if this bodes well for most victims of “trafficking” hysteria, given that the US government is still actively engaged in promoting the lies and fantasies that were used to cage them.  This is a long and intense article, but I think it’s worth every free-thinking person’s time and effort to thoroughly grasp the lengths to which modern “democratic” governments will go to destroy innocent people’s lives in order to advance a propaganda narrative those in power find convenient to their agenda.

I Spy (#787)

Surveillance beyond the wildest dreams of the Stasi:

…the [newly-enacted]…RISAA…’s primary purpose is to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act…But the bill also… “vastly expands the U.S. government’s warrantless surveillance capabilities”…that provision means  that nearly any…entity with access to telecom or internet equipment could be forced to participate in the federal government’s digital spying regime.  The big target…is likely to be the owners and operators of data centers…but…”any company, vendor, or any of their employees who touch the physical infrastructure of the internet could now be…compelled to assist with FISA surveillance“…even someone like a custodian could be legally compelled to assist in the federal government’s spying efforts…gathering places like hotels and coffee shops have been specifically excluded from the law.  But…because…places where journalists work are not specifically exempted…”American newsrooms [could be]e bugged by the government.  And journalists won’t [honestly] be able to reassure [sources] that they’re not, because, for all they know, the building maintenance worker is an involuntary government spy”…

I Spy (#1376)

This is not Grady Judd’s domain in Florida, but it has the same love of using sleazy means to violate people’s civil rights using the typical excuses:

A…[surveilla]nce system that can identify aliases and collect years of personal data from hundreds of online sources is now being used by the Polk County [Iowa] Sheriff’s Department…ShadowDragon surveillance software is [one of many justified to the public by barfing out the words “]human trafficking[“, but in reality has mostly been used so far to spy on protests, pregnant women, gamers, black people and kinky people]…The…software can…map out online identities and associations or correlations among people using…social media, chat rooms and dating platforms…Operation Underground Railroad — a [disgraced Utah]-based [“rescue industry” corpor]ation — donated $4,000 to pay for Polk’s first-year of software expenses…

Cops and Robbers (#1379)

“Journalists” lionize a sexual predator who gets his jollies destroying lives:

…Olive Hugh…use[s fake] Facebook accounts…to [fantasy role-play as] girls between the ages of 12 to 16…[so he can entrap young men with trickery in order to get them charged as “]child predators[” by p]rosecutor[s who don’t care that they’re getting people convicted entirely on the evidence of online conversations]…Hugh finds a sense of [sexual satisfaction] with each successful [entrapment, especially since he has an audience in cops who]…monitor…the chats between [Hugh] and [his victims, not to mention his]…social media accounts have over 50 thousand followers…

You Were Warned (#1420)

Politicians no longer care about whether their new diktats are Constitutional:

…the House of Representatives [has] passed a measure that would require a change in [TikTok]’s ownership or ban it if that doesn’t happen…it’s essentially the same divestiture-or-ban bill…now tucked into…the insanely named 21st Century Peace through Strength Act…that deals with everything from fentanyl trafficking to Russian sanctions, Iranian petroleum, Hamas, and boatloads of foreign aid.  The…Act would ban TikTok unless it completely breaks ties with its Chinese parent-company, ByteDance, within 270 days…and could be used to justify a ban on all sorts of popular apps tied to China, Russia, Iran, or any other country that gets deemed a foreign adversary…The most obvious constitutional problem is the First Amendment…It may also amount to a[n unconstitutional] bill of attainder.—a law punishing a specific person or entity, without a trial…and…the forced sale violates the Fifth Amendment…[because on paper] the government cannot take your property without accusing and convicting you of a crime…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1424)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

…the California Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee voted last week to move forward a version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by [pro-censorship] activists…AB 3080 is backed by Exodus Cry…and [a host of other busybodies, bluenoses, pearl-clutchers, and other useful idiots]…

Torture Chamber (#1427)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

[Prisoners] in…Oklahoma…were locked in filthy shower stalls…for days on end.  In a lawsuit filed last week, the [prisoners seek reparations for such]…an obvious violation of their Eighth Amendment rights…[screws] at the Great Plains C[age Stack] locked [their victims]…in [the] stalls for extended periods, without access to basic amenities like adequate food and water.  Most were placed in 3-foot by 3-foot shower cells, though at least one was confined in an even smaller space.  Confinement periods listed in the suit ranged from 24 hours to four days…[some of] the…stalls [were] filled with human feces and [they were given no] bathroom…the only water they had access to was scalding hot shower water.  One prisoner…was repeatedly pepper sprayed during his [confinement] in the ad hoc [oubliette].  Another…was left without clothing, and had to borrow a shirt…[which] he later used to attempt suicide [in order to escape unending torture inflicted solely]…because guards knew that he was a sex offender…a…state…investigation…found that several different Oklahoma facilities regularly locked [prisoners] in shower stalls…

 

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 Last Angry Tweets

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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In the News (#1431)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

To prohibit vice is not ordinarily considered within the police power of the state.  –  Justice Jackson Temple, 1887

The Camel’s Nose (#584)

There is nothing as hard to kill as a bad law:

Twelve years ago, internet users spoke up with one voice to reject a law that would build censorship into the internet at a fundamental level.  This week, the Motion Picture Association…announced that it hoped we’d all forgotten how dangerous this idea was…What the MPA wants is the power to block entire websites…using the same tools as repressive regimes like China and Russia.  To it, instances of possible copyright infringement should be played like a trump card to shut off our access to entire websites…It is not simply calling for the ability to take down instances of infringement—a power they already have, without even having to ask a judge—but for the keys to the internet…The bills known as SOPA/PIPA would have created a new, rapid path for…major studios to use court orders against sites they accuse of infringing copyright.  Internet service providers…receiving one of those orders would have to block all of their customers from accessing the identified websites.  The orders would also apply to domain name registries…registrars…and…other companies and organizations that make up the internet’s basic infrastructure…all of those would have to build new infrastructure dedicated to site-blocking, inviting over-blocking and all kinds of abuse…In other words, the right to choose what websites you visit would be taken away from you and given to giant media companies and ISPs.  And the very shape of the internet would have to be changed to allow it…

The Peril

As I have said many times, all prohibition is the same, yet people often fail to understand just how much the same it is.  In this article, Reason‘s Jacob Sullum traces the origin of the US drug war back to exactly the same root as the US War on Whores: the deeply racist anti-Chinese moral panic of the 1870s.  Unless you’re already intimately familiar with the topic, you will definitely want to read this one in its entirety.

Creepy Coppers

Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops:

[A Phoenix, Arizona cop named] Alaa Robert Bartley…[regularly engaged in ageplay with] a Michigan woman [named] Sarah Elizabeth Chadwick…via…WhatsApp…[Chadwick] transmitted child pornography to Bartley on several occasions, and…[when she] was arrested in November 2023…and…federally charged with…child pornography…[the] FBI [rooted in her]…phone[, thus leading them to] Bartley…On April 4, co[ps tossed]…Bartley’s person, residence, personal vehicles, and…phone…[and found] over 49,000 images and 700 videos…of [child porn]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1332) 

Missouri seems completely uninterested in controlling its psychopathic politicians:

…a St. Louis judge has allowed Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s investigation into…gender-affirming care services to proceed.  Last year, Planned Parenthood…sued Bailey over his [illegal] demand that they turn over patient documents disclosing private information on minors to whom the clinic provided gender-affirming care…Judge Michael Stelzer denied Bailey’s [illegal] Demand for these [HIPAA-protected] patient documents, but has allowed his investigation into the clinic’s care to continue…Bailey treated the decision as a political win [despite its stopping his attempt to criminalize and harass the parents of trans youth]…

Texas’ attorney general is conducting a similar theatrical “investigation”.

You Were Warned (#1377)

“Monkey see, monkey do” politicians never bother to observe the consequences of laws they ape:

Google has temporarily blocked links from local news outlets in California from appearing in search results in response to the advancement of [yet another arse-backward “link tax”] bill that would require [internet] companies to pay publications for [sending them free traffic]…Google will also…cut…California publications from its…News Showcase…[Facebook has] said it would be forced to [take similar measures if politicians foolishly pass the law]…The California bill is the latest [mind-bogglingly stupid attempt] to [break the internet]…Facebook…and…Google…have [been forced to take] similar [action due to similar idiotic] legislation in Australia and Canada…Similar legislation is being considered in Illinois [despite the obvious fact that the outcome will be exactly the same]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #8)

Give sexually-aggressive thugs power over teens; what could possibly go wrong?

A…Wisconsin [cop assigned to spy on, harass, and intimidate students] has been arrested on a felony sexual assault charge for [molesting] a female student…after [her] parents reported…his…behavior…Kewaskum Police Chief Thomas Bishop immediately [started bloviating hot air about isolated incidents and “high moral standards”, yet is hiding the identity of the porcine molester]…

UPDATE: Molester cop Steven Rosales’ name and picture were revealed after he was also caught fucking his dog.

To Molest and Rape (#1429)

This will continue for as long as cops are allowed to “police” themselves:

David Gregson was around 12 years old…when…[New York cop] Roger L. Coon Jr…[began to subject him to] four years of sexual abuse…Coon — who died in 2003 at age 73 — molested him at his house, at a camp he furnished behind his property, and “dozens” of times in his [pigmobile] during a period stretching from around 1977 to 1981…Gregson is [now] suing the state of New York…under the 2019 Child Victims Act, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for…child sexual abuse.  Although Coon…sexually abus[ed] numerous boys over a period of decades, and [was] convicted twice…[for it], the state is fighting Gregson’s lawsuit…[cops covered for Coon until] September 1982, after a [different] teenager [reported] Coon…[who was allowed] to retire two weeks later…without facing any discipline or criminal consequences…Two years after his retirement, Coon pleaded guilty…to molesting three boys between the ages of 10 and 12 years old…he…was sentenced to three years’ probation…but [insisted] he [ha]dn’t…done anything wrong [because] there was “never any force” used in his sexual abuse…In 2001, Coon was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation for sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy…

 

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 (#1424)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Artificial intelligence is not that intelligent.  –  Ella Dawson

Dirty Amateurs

Why are amateurs so damned averse to using condoms?

…Calmara claims to use AI to screen photos uploaded by users for STIs.  They want you to open their website, take a picture of your partner’s genitals before having sex, and upload it to their database so that a…[computer] can review it and scan for 10+ “conditions” including herpes, syphilis, and HPV.  Buried in the Q&A section…Calmara makes it clear-ish that they cannot actually diagnose anyone with any STI, the AI only “works” for penises, and you should really just go to a doctor for an accurate STI test.  But you wouldn’t glean any of that from their cocky Instagram or glossy imagery.  “No cap, just facts,” the copy reads beneath an illustration of a dancing robot.  “Up to 90% accuracy, our AI is grounded in real science.”  Uh… sure…the service is so misguided that it’s easy to dismiss it as satire.  But…Calmara is…not satire, and available to download right now…their…own fine print says, “These offerings should not be used as substitutes for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or management of any disease or condition.”  So what is this service for?  Literally why does it exist when it cannot provide the service it advertises?…

Moral Climate

Never make the mistake of thinking the current zeal for library censorship is limited to either the US or the so-called “right wing”:

Cathy Simpson, the CEO of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, [h]as [been] fired…[because the board dislikes a group she quoted in] an op-ed column published by The Lake Report.  The Feb. 22 opinion piece, “Censorship and what we are allowed to read”…drew strong criticism from a few…over its promotion of some of the principles espoused by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR)…[regarding] “hidden library censorship,” which she said takes two forms — “the vigorous defence of books promoting diversity of identity, but little to no defence of books promoting diversity of viewpoint, and the purchase of books promoting ‘progressive’ ideas over ‘traditional’ ideas”…[library board chair Daryl Novak tacitly admitted that Simpson was fired purely due to the] content related to FAIR, [because] “the balance of (Simpson’s) article, you can’t really criticize”…

Censorship Ascendant

Censors are now pretending ideas they don’t like constitute a “crime”:

Police Scotland…will in[timid]ate actors and comedians if a…[wannabe censor points at them and croaks the magic words] “threatening and abusive” [because] under the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) [Law, the taboo magic] can be communicated “through public performance of a play”…the Assistant Chief Constable responsible for overseeing the implementation of the controversial legislation has [washed his hands of it] after just a year in the post…Police Scotland has [threaten]ed that it will investigate every [incident, no matter how trivial, reported as a “]hate crime[“]…despite the force adopting a “proportionate response” approach to [actual] crimes…there [h]as [been] an outcry from artists…[pointing out] that in the past shows ha[ve] been picketed by organisations trying to get them shut down and warn[ing] that “putting theatre in its own category makes it a target”…

I Can’t Breathe (#1329)

It’s about time cops stopped being allowed to cover up their murders so easily:

The Colorado Senate [has] pass[ed] legislation that would bar the term “excited delirium” from use by [cops and medical examiners.  If signed by]…Governor Jared Polis…it would bar the term [or any of its synonyms] from being used in [cop] training or incident reports, or from being listed as a cause of death on a death certificate…Prominent medical organizations have urged [cops and medical] professionals to not use the [pseudoscientific] term…[whose sole purpose is] to justify injury or death to individuals [attacked and restrained by] police…

Thought Control (#1345)

Some censors are so mentally ill they feel threatened by the sexuality of trees:

The Floyd County (Va.) Public Schools have suspended a…community reading of Katherine Applegate’s Wishtree following complaints that the middle-grade novel depicts a monoecious red oak, a tree with reproductive parts that can pollinate and flower simultaneously.  In the book, originally published in 2017, the tree claims an identity that is “both” female and male and responds to diverse pronouns:  “Call me she.  Call me he.  Anything will work”…[wannabe censor] Jodi Farmer…took to Facebook to [warn] Floyd County residents about the [terrifying] reference to…[vegetable biology], calling the book “indoctrination at its finest”…

Apparently, Farmer imagines these scary, scary words will bewitch her children into transkingdomism.

The Next Target (#1371)

Rather than actually filing a lawsuit against Mastercard for its discriminatory policies against sex workers (which would cost them actual money), ACLU prefers to Tweet, to dilly-dally with complaints to the FTC (a bureau of a government which actively persecutes sex workers and encourages corporations to do the same), and now to file a petition which I can’t imagine will prove to be any more effective than its other slacktivist efforts.  Given the wording of the petition and the website page it’s included in, this seems more like an exercise in virtue-signaling than an actual effort to right an injustice, but I reckon it can’t actually hurt you to sign it.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1417)

Tennessee’s float in the current “monkey see, monkey do” parade will cost it millions every year:

A Tennessee bill would make it a felony for an adult content website to allow access to a minor without age verification…[bill sponsor] Becky Massey…[burbled a lot of nonsense about magic sex-ray emitting pictures, but didn’t publicize that her exercise in morality theater] will cost the state more than $4 million in the first year and then $2 million each year after that…

 

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 (#1423)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Parents have the right to exercise their religious beliefs…but…not…in a manner that causes…harm to [their] child.  –  Indiana Court of Appeals

Monsters (#591) 

If you have to ask the State to compel your 16-year-old to submit to your control, you have already lost them regardless of what a court rules:

The Supreme Court declined to [intervene in the case of] an Indiana couple who believe [young adults are “]children[” who] should be [tortured for not conforming to] their sex at birth [and therefore] lost custody of their [16-year-old] transgender [daughter]…The state said the parents, who are self-described devout Christians, lost custody not because of their views but because…the[ir unceasing abuse]…of…the teen…[was causing a] severe eating disorder…Indiana also argued that the custody dispute is [moot] because the teen, who was 16 when removed from the home, is now an adult…Mary and Jeremy Cox re[peatedly portrayed themselves as champions of “]parental rights[” despite the fact]…that the State…remove[d]…the teen…[because] the parents…verbally and emotionally abus[ed her]…and [would not relent despite] individual and family therapy…[and court orders] not to discuss transgenderism with their [daughter] outside of the therapy sessions…The Indiana Court of Appeals sided with the state, and the Indiana Supreme Court declined to review the case…

To Molest and Rape (#1088)

The Washington Post has “discovered” something I’ve been writing about for over a decade:

Americans have been forced to reckon with sexual misconduct committed by teachers, clergy, coaches and others with access to and authority over children [and adolescents].  But there is [widespread denial] of…sex crimes perpetrated by members of another profession that many children are taught to revere and obey: law enforcement…At least 1,800 state and local police officers were charged with crimes involving child sexual abuse from 2005 through 2022…[and] were rarely related to the children [or adolescents] they…rap[ed], fondl[ed,] and exploit[ed].  They most frequently targeted girls…13 to 15 years old — and regularly met their victims through their jobs…In case after case, [rapist cops] intentionally earned the trust of parents and guardians, created opportunities to get kids alone and threatened repercussions for broken silence…and…when abuse is suspected, [rapist cops] are [either] allowed to remain on the job [or rewarded with paid vacations] while investigations of their behavior are left in the hands of their c[ronies]…

The Cop Myth (#1297)

How long will America ignore the costs of its sick worship of state-sanctioned violence?

For decades, we’ve been [s]old [the lie that cops] just need training and resources to do their jobs correctly…cultural sensitivity training, implicit bias training, de-escalation training, and so on, cost billions every year…But [the evidence clearly demonstrates]…that no amount of training or resources will stop police from killing…or…ensure that police treat people with dignity and respect.  Worse still, the “training” that cops already receive often glorifies violence, reinforces racist ideas, and is taught by [cops] with histories of misconduct…at least 46 states have paid a…company…which does business under the name “Street Cop”—to fill [cop]s’ heads with hateful rhetoric and bad legal advice…trainers urge…[their fellow pigs] to make unconstitutional traffic stops and indiscriminately shoot at those who defy their authority…[and feed] trainees a steady diet of racism and misogyny…[one] advised [pigs] to treat criminal suspects like “live tissue labs” to “practice on”…When Street Cop’s instructors weren’t too busy talking about their penis sizes or mimicking masturbation (yes, really), they were promoting a…checklist…riddled with legal inaccuracies about what is needed to justify a traffic stop or search…

The Vultures Descend (#1381)

Prohibition can never succeed, regardless of which substance is prohibited:

The Oklahoma House of Representatives [has] passed a bill Thursday that bans the…possession of non-prescribed abortion inducing medications…since all of the surgical abortion clinics in the state have [been] closed…there has been an increase in unattended at-home [chem]ically induced abortions…and [politicians are butthurt that]…someone can simply buy the pill, take it, and terminate their pregnancy for any reason [without having to beg The Almighty State for permission]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1391)

Indiana’s float in the “monkey see, monkey do” parade took a few months to get rolling:

Indiana…governor…Eric Holcomb…has signed into law the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by [pro-censorship] activists…SB 17…goes far beyond [other such laws by]…stipulat[ing] that any website [which fails to guess what some politician or wannabe censor will point at and barf]… “material harmful to minors”…can [be subjected to a nuisance lawsuit by either opportunistic citizens or opportunistic politicians]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1400)

The currently-fashionable “monkey see, monkey do” parade has escaped the US:

…a private member’s bill introduced by Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne…aims to…requir[e] people to use a third-party service to verify their age to access adult content online in Canada…Proponents of the bill [speciously argue] that…the…[internet is a bar]…but we’re not talking about controlling access to a physical space or object.  It’s access to ideas, to data…and to intercept specific ideas, you need to control access to all ideas…

That’s just about everything worthwhile about this piece; the writer’s naive and somewhat-silly opinions about politicians’ motivations and why surveillance and infantilization of adults are wrong (synopsis: TITTIES!) are good indicators of why this keeps happening and why there isn’t a vehement public outcry against these internet-censorship schemes.

The Cop Myth (#1422)

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

…Bellingham [Washington cop] Joshua Richard McKissick…was ordered Feb. 26 to surrender all firearms and other dangerous weapons and any concealed pistol licenses to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.  An emergency domestic violence protection order was also issued the same day…[on behalf of] McKissick]’s girlfriend] and her two children…because…McKissick subjected her to a “significant amount” of [physical, sexual, and] emotional abuse in 2022[, often while drunk]…

 

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 (#1422)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2024| 1 Comment »

Infantilization of young adults is all the rage these days.  –  E.N. Brown

Winding Down (#1087)

Politicians are terrified of losing ways to destroy peaceful citizens’ lives:

Oregon [politicians have] overwhelmingly [signaled their disdain for the will of their constituents by voting for] recriminalization of low-level drug possession , reversing a landmark reform that voters endorsed when they passed Measure 110 in 2020.  Gov. Tina Kotek has indicated that she is inclined to sign the bill, ratifying a regression driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions…[boss politician] Kate Lieber…claims, “we are…mak[ing] sure Oregonians have access to the treatment and care that they need.”  But Oregon is not merely making sure that people “have access” to treatment; it is foisting “help” on people who do not want it by threatening them with incarceration…

Still a Child (#1154) 

The 5th Circuit sucked Louisiana politicians’ dicks on this in 2018; will the 11th imitate them?

Florida [politicians have]…approved a bill banning 18- to 20-year-olds from being strippers or from working in any other capacity at an adult entertainment venue.  Like a similar bill passed in Texas in 2021, the Florida bill [was justified by vomiting out the phrase “]human trafficking[“, with the usual]…potential to…make abuse and exploitation worse.  It’s also part of a growing movement across the U.S. to push up the boundaries of childhood, [criminaliz]ing all sorts of things once legal for 18- to 20-year-olds…[if] Ron DeSantis…signs it, the law will take effect July 1.  Young adult strippers…would not themselves be subject to penalty.  Rather, the bill would make it a crime to…employ…someone under age 21…in these businesses…[even] if an establishment is tricked by a fake ID…It also says the employment must be done “knowingly,” so it’s unclear exactly how these two standards can coexist…

Thought Control (#1250)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

Hundreds of new books featuring characters of color and LGBTQ+ themes were found [in] the trash at a Staten Island elementary school…sparking an education department investigation…Some had sticky notes on them…A note on My Two Border Towns, about a boy’s life on the United States-Mexico border, read “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.”  A note on The Derby Daredevils…read…“Discusses dad being transgender.  Teenage girls having a crush on another girl”…a note on We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know read “negative slant on white people”…A note on Julian Is A Mermaid…read “Boy questions gender”…Notes on pages of Black Panther: The Young Prince read “Witchcraft? Human skulls” and “Pact with Devil. Burned in fire”…[the person who discovered the books said] “this [censorship] feels like censorship…It feels like book banning”…

I Spy (#1372)

Is having a shiny new status symbol really worth being spied on and price-gouged?

LexisNexis is a…global data broker with a “Risk Solutions” division that caters to the auto insurance industry and has traditionally kept tabs on car accidents and tickets…[but] General Motors [and other automakers are now surreptitiously providing data to]…LexisNexis…to create a risk score…for insurers to use as [an excuse for raising people’s]…insurance [rates]…In recent years, insurance companies have offered incentives to people who [foolishly] install dongles in their cars or download smartphone apps that monitor their driving, including how much they drive, how fast they take corners, how hard they hit the brakes and whether they speed.  But “drivers are historically reluctant to participate in these programs,” as Ford Motor put it…[so] car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles for use by the insurance industry…[without] a driver’s awareness [or] consent…

Thought Control (#1405)

I’m unsure of how this affects Florida’s more widespread censorship problem:

…Equality Florida and Family Equality, [along with individual plaintiffs, have] reached a…settlement agreement with the…Florida Department of Education, and school districts that resolves their facial challenge to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law… The agreement effectively nullifies the most dangerous and discriminatory impacts of…the law…The settlement restores the ability of students, teachers, and others in Florida schools to speak and write freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in class participation and schoolwork.  It also…reinstates Gay-Straight Alliances…[and] requires the State Board of Education to…make clear that the settlement reflects the considered position of the State of Florida on the scope and meaning of this law…

The Cop Myth (#1420)

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

[A typical and representative] South Carolina [screw named]…Joshua Bradford..[h]as [been] charged with [aggravated] domestic violence…and [other felonies for]…shooting…[his wife] while she was holding a child in a [car] seat…

Note the attempt to obscure that this psycho is a cop by referring to him as a “sheriff’s office employee”; we’ve seen this weasel-trick before.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1421)

Texas residents, like those of several other states, now need VPNs to watch porn:

Aylo has blocked access to Pornhub in Texas…following the decision by the…5th Circuit upholding the state’s controversial age verification law [while a challenge filed by Aylo and others proceeds].  The company posted a message explaining its decision, which can be read by those attempting to reach the platform in Texas…Aylo is also calling on all adult sites to comply [in this way]…

Pornhub has repeatedly taken the principled stand of refusing to spy on its users for the State.

 

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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