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Posts Tagged ‘The Face of Trafficking’

In the News (#1420)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2024| 1 Comment »

The advertising technology ecosystem is the largest information-gathering enterprise ever conceived by man.

Droit du Seigneur

What did this guy think he was, a cop?

A Las Vegas family court marshal is accused of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl…Bryce Tokunaga…is not [alleged to have harmed or threatened]…the girl [in any way, but bought her] condoms, food, hygiene products, hair and nail services, and…hotel rooms where she could [work]…Tokunaga [was caught driving the girl to a stroll]…

Despite the story being larded with the usual weird “sex trafficking” dysphemisms, what Tokunga actually appears to be guilty of is extremely poor judgment by functioning as the pimp of a girl who was already an experienced street worker despite her age and was determined to continue regardless of the State’s defining her as a passive, doll-like “child”.

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Gerardo Quijada-Soto…smuggled Javier Rodriguez-Castro from Honduras to the United States, through Mexico, along with 12 other individuals.  They initially crossed the border January 8, 2021.  Rodriguez-Castro was…taken to…Fun Noodle in Abilene….[where] he…observed a large stack of cash change hands between Quijada-Soto and owner of Fun Noodle, Hai Zhuang.  From that moment on, Rodriguez-Castro was…treated as a…slave.  “His passport was thrown into a water heater closet,” and he “was forced to work 10-12 hour days,” without breaks…In late summer…[he] was able to escape to Dallas…during his more than six months in captivity…Zhuang beat him, and…he was forced to eat scraps from customers because he wasn’t fed properly…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1306)

“Criminality” is a status defined entirely by the State:

At least five people have been detained in Moscow after attending the funeral of Alexei Navalny…One woman who attended the rally and was caught on video chanting “glory to the heroes,” a pro-Ukraine slogan, was arrested on M[arch 4th]…but allowed to return home the following day.  Police a[rrest]ed two other attendees [the next]…day, although the charges remain unknown…Moscow’s extensive surveillance system and facial recognition technology [was likely used] to identify attendees…[given that] several new surveillance cameras [were installed] around the church and cemetery [a few days before] the ceremony…

You Were Warned (#1396)

Politicians no longer bother to consider whether their new diktats are Constitutional:

Politicians won’t stop trying to make a TikTok ban happen…We went here with Trump, who tried to ban TikTok via executive order in 2020. (The courts said no, and the Biden administration rescinded the order.)  We went here with Montana, which passed a TikTok-banning law last year. (The court said no…though Montana is appealing.)  We went here with multiple bills…in 2022…and…in 2023…[which foundered] after being introduced…Now, here we are again, with a [theatrical] bill…call[ed]…the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA?)…[which] would…expand…presidential power to restrict Americans’ access to tools for getting and disseminating information—what could go wrong?… 

Creepy Coppers (#1411)

It didn’t take long for this one to demonstrate exactly what he is:

A 19-year-old [Florida man] was sworn in as a deputy on M[arch 4th]– but by sundown, [his employer] had a search warrant for his phone…[typical and representative cop] Kai Cromer…was [sent to lurk]…at a…high school…[and four girls] recognized [him as someone who]…had [demanded] explicit photos and videos over Snapchat…[by] telling [them], “I’m going to be law enforcement. I’m very powerful”…video of an underaged girl was found on Cromer’s phone which led to his arrest…

I Spy (#1412)

In mass surveillance, fascism runs rings around communism:

In 2019, a government contractor…named Mike Yeagley began making the rounds in Washington, DC.  He had a blunt warning for anyone in the country’s national security establishment who would listen: The US government had a Grindr problem…Yeagley was able to access the geolocation data on Grindr users through a hidden but ubiquitous entry point: the digital advertising exchanges that serve up the little digital banner ads along the top of…nearly every…ad-supported mobile app and website….[which make] your precise location available in near-real time to both advertisers and people like Mike Yeagley, who specialized in obtaining unique data sets for government agencies…Yeagley showed…all that information was available for sale, for cheap.  And it wasn’t just Grindr, but rather any app that had access to a user’s precise location—other dating apps, weather apps, games.  Yeagley chose Grindr because…when speaking to a bunch of intelligence agencies, there’s no way to get their attention quite like showing them a tool capable of revealing when their agents are visiting highway rest stops…

I’m a bit skeptical of this timeline, given that I’ve been aware of this collaboration since 2017, and I’m no tech expert.  But the article is lengthy and contains a lot of interesting information on this rights-destroying surveillance machine.

The Cop Myth (#1418)

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

A [typical and representative Alabama cop attacked]…his wife and caus[ed] her to miscarry…[in March 2022] Robert Allen Maddox Jr…threw his then-wife to the floor of their home…and began choking her…he…then began punching [her] in the stomach, causing her to miscarry…Maddox was arrested…and…four months…[later was] charge[d]…with…murder [because Alabama].  That murder charge was later reduced to one count of manslaughter [because cop]…

 

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 (#1410)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Being calm and reasonable doesn’t get headlines.  –  Mike Masnick

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

A [Utah politician] is facing a felony charge of human trafficking…[due to] disturbing mistreatment of one of his [ranch] workers, a Mexican national.  Dusty “Hootie” Roche…treated A.S. abusively, housed him in a dirty, dilapidated…trailer without running water and didn’t provide him with timely deliveries of food…Prosecutors also describe the Roche Ranches operators as dismissive of A.S.’s complaints after he was bucked from a horse and stepped on several times while working, suffering a fractured orbital socket…The trailer…sat on a remote part of the ranch and had “rat excrement on the floors,” a bathtub containing “animal parts and animal excrement,” a leaking roof and no working refrigerator or water system…A.S…was not paid regularly and…was treated poorly once he reported the issue to the staffing agency he had obtained his job through…he lived in “constant fear” after he was hit, kicked, yelled at and called names…

The Last Shall Be First (#1349)

This will keep happening, because too many people want it to keep happening:

The father of a junior varsity girl’s basketball player confronted the principals of both his daughter’s school and the opposing school…demanding one of the girls not be allowed to play because he [imagin]ed she was transgender…Both principals assured the parent…that the girl, like her teammates, had uploaded the required birth certificate documenting her age and gender and that “every player on both teams was 100% eligible to be on the court”…The angry parent wasn’t satisfied…he [demanded his fantasies be given veto power over reality, saying]…“I wasn’t born yesterday, I know that’s a boy and you better be able to prove yourself because I am going to the top.”  He became belligerent enough that they asked him to leave the building…[and he will] not [be] allow[ed]…to return to any other games…

Creepy Coppers (#1397)

They only start with relatively minor offenses:

Columbus [cop] Adam Nguyen [was rewarded with a paid vacation]…for…taking upskirt video of a young woman at an anime convention near Chicago last year…[he] was sentenced to two years of probation, ordered to complete 100 hours of community service…pay more than $870 in court costs and fees…[and] undergo evaluation and treatment for…sex…offen[ders]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1401) 

Texas seems completely uninterested in controlling its psychopathic politicians:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton [has demanded] medical records of Texas youth who have received gender-affirming care from a Georgia telehealth clinic, marking at least the second time he’s sought such records from providers in another state…QueerMed said it stopped servicing youth in Texas after the state banned transition-related care last year…[but the demand want]ed information about patients dating back to Jan. 1, 2022…and…nearly mirrors one…sent to Seattle Children’s Hospital…in response to [which]…Seattle Children’s [has] sued…Karen Loewy, a lawyer with Lambda Legal representing organizations…trying to block [Texas’ anti-trans law]…said there is “zero authorization” in the law for Paxton’s [demand]s to clinics outside of Texas…Loewy said that “a handful” of other organizations have received [similar demands]…from Paxton…A QueerMed official could not immediately comment on how the clinic will respond…

The Cop Myth (#1401)

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

Police have arrested a [screw] in Connecti[cut for]…fatal[ly] shooting…a [stranger] in what is believed to be a road rage incident…William Lucky, Jr…murder[ed]…Scott Kracke…[after Lucky] cut [Kracke] off and Kracke [responded by] pass[ing Lucky] and brak[ing] suddenly.  The[y both] got out of their vehicles after stopping at the side of the road…then [Lucky] shot Kracke…several [times before fleeing]…in his car…A short time later, Lucky…turn[ed] himself in [at the instigation of his child’s mother]…

Shame, Shame (#1405)

In which natural stupidity masquerades as artificial stupidity:

The estate of…George Carlin sued the makers of a podcast…[who] claimed to use [a computer program] to impersonate Carlin for a comedy s[how]…Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, hosts of the podcast Dudesy…infringed on the estate’s copyrights…for “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” which [has apparently been made “private”] on the podcast’s YouTube channel…The lawsuit calls for a judge to prevent Dudesy…from using Carlin’s copyrighted works in the future and to require the podcast to destroy the episode…Danielle Del, a spokeswoman for Sasso, [admitted that] Dudesy is not actually a…[computer, but rather] “a fictional podcast character created by…Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen…the…video…was completely written by Chad Kultgen”…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1408)

Progressives have given all authoritarians a powerful censorship tool:  declare anything a “public health crisis” and it can be harassed at will:

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is facing a pretty big list of crises, some of his own making…But…[he’s] zeroed in on…the real problem in New York City…the evidence free declaration that social media is “toxic”…This is ridiculous on multiple levels.  First off, last year we had a big post detailing why any comparison between social media and “toxins” like lead paint or tobacco is inherently stupid.  Those are things that are known to cause real harm.  With social media, that’s just not true…the actual science simply does not support the claim that social media is inherently harmful to kids…recent research suggests that the real cause of the teen mental health crisis is the lack of spaces for teens to be teens without parents hovering over them…

Other cities are attempting to bleed social media companies using this asinine propaganda; I won’t be surprised if New York soon attempts to cash in as well.

 

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 (#1396)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

You would think…the government would want to encourage a substance that helps people to quit smoking rather than discourage its use.
–  Kyle Kutasi

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Three [Missouri] men kept a student from India in a locked [basement] and forced him to work, do chores and endure severe beatings over the course of several months…Venkatesh R. Sattaru was charged with human trafficking, kidnapping and other charges after…forc[ing] a 20-year-old college student who moved to the U.S. last year to work for Sattaru’s company and sleep…on an unfinished floor without access to food, water or a bathroom…Sravanvarma Penumetcha and Nikhil V. Penmatsa…helped Sattaru further the abuse by issuing beatings and lashings with electrical wire, PVC pipe, metal rods, wooden boards, sticks and [plastic] hoses…a neighbor…called [the cops after]…the…student…ran out of the house…trembling uncontrollably, heavily scarred and suffering from bruises and swelling all over his body… Sattaru is a wealthy, powerful man in India with political…connections…and [cop friends, so the victim] feared that he would be killed if he identified Sattaru…

Dutch Threat (#1005)

Though cloaked in “helping” language, this is actually just a way for the Dutch government to establish more effective financial surveillance over sex workers:

Dutch banks want to make it easier for sex workers to open a business bank account…Sex workers often encounter problems with business bank accounts because they work a lot with cash, making it difficult for b[usybodie]s to know where the money comes from.  It is also difficult for banks to determine the sector’s typical income and expenditures, which complicates [pry]ing [into their financial affairs]…the banks [have] set up a new Sector Standard, which specifies that banks can use sex workers’ tax returns to determine where their income comes from and what is typical for them…

Creepy Coppers

Cops of all types love their child porn:

A [typical and representative Vermont screw named]…Benjamin Mallery…pleaded guilty to [a minor charge]…under a plea deal [to avoid a series of child porn charges.  Unlike non-cops, Mallery will skate] with…a…[mere] 60 days — with 10 years of probation…and…[condemnation] to [the]…sex offender [registry]…

Typical and representative cop Blake Gruny of St. Johns County Florida was arrested for child porn in early October, and typical and representative cop Jordan Collins of Elgin, Illinois was charged for the same thing on December 6; both stories consist mainly of their bosses strutting around, vomiting bombastic rhetoric about how these typical and representative predators are neither typical nor representative.

You Were Warned (#1341)

Politicians no longer bother to consider whether their new diktats are Constitutional:

A TikTok ban in Montana is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge [has] ruled…Judge Donald Molloy…issued a temporary halt to enforcing the ban.  It was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024, and [politicians with dollar signs in their eyes imagined they would collect]…$10,000 penalties per day for app stores or TikTok “each time that a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok”…

A Moral Cancer (#1374)

A dangerous new front in the Drug War claims its first victim:

A[n Australian] man has been charged with possessing liquid nicotine despite Health Minister Mark Butler [ly]ing [that] smokers will not be personally targeted [by cops due to] vape cr[iminalizatio]n.  Trinite Williams…pleaded not guilty…after [cops found it while rooting through] his car on October 8 [in order to find something to charge him with]…Mr Williams’ lawyer Kyle Kutasi [said] his client was “extremely frustrated” because he [was foolish enough to actually] believe…a [politician’s lies]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1386)

Cops are sexual predators who often specifically target traumatized women:

A Surrey [BC] RCMP [cop] abused his power to search police databases for information on a troubled 19-year-old sex worker…then appeared at [her] home under false pretences to [try to maneuver her into] sex…Peter Leckie knew the young woman had recently experienced the murder of her father, a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and entry into the sex trade…[this is not the first time] Leckie…specifically targeted [vulnerable] women…[yet he was let off with] six months of house arrest and…a year of probation…

The Widening Gyre (#1388)

Poor “sex traffickers” have apparently been forced to give up their ambitious schemes to abduct women and children from big-box stores such as Target and Ikea, and instead to pathetically lurking in strip-mall parking lots.  While they could once afford to lure them with roses, honey, or $100 bills, they’ve now been reduced to attempting to trick them with empty candy wrappers.  And while one of these dopey Twitter posts once attracted thousands of “likes”, I’ve never seen as much mockery as this one drew.  So scary!

 

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

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In the News (#1360)

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

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

If Men Were Angels

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

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

The Face of Trafficking (#585)

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

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

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

I Spy (#1213) 

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

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

Torture Chamber (#1346)

Fascism in action, profiting from human misery:

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

Shifting the Blame (#1357)

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

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

The Widening Gyre (#1358) 

At least this one confessed quickly:

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

Served Cold (#1359)

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

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

 

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

 

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In the News (#1290)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Venereal disease was primarily an excuse to police women and reduce sexual opportunities for soldiers.  –  Eric Rogers

Bad Girls

Did they really think they’d get away with this?

An ex-Playboy model…has reportedly reached a plea deal despite maintaining her innocence in the [bludgeoning death of her sugar daddy]…California psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Burchard…[was] paying numerous bills [for]…Kelsey Turner…[to the tune of] over…$300,000…[yet] Judy Earp – the [victim’s conventional] girlfriend…[is in deep denial about] that…In March 2019, Burchard drove to Turner’s Las Vegas apartment – for which he had been paying the rent…[with the] inten[t] to break off the relationship…[then] on March 7, 2019, Burchard’s bludgeoned body was found stuffed in the trunk of [Turner’s Mercedes] near Lake Mead…Turner and her…boyfriend Jon “Logan” Kennison…[lived in the apartment with] Diana Pena…who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder in 2019…[and] testified that she witnessed Kennison viciously beat Burchard to death with a baseball bat…In June, Kennison pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder.  He was sentenced to between 18 and 45 years in prison…

License to Rape

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

Two Georgia women…were exposed to strangers…[during sexual molestation under the pretext of “]strip searches[“]…Dee Dee Estes [molested one]…woman…on the night of July 23, 2020…in plain view of the public after deputies [decid]ed [it would be fun to belch out the word]…drugs during a traffic stop.  “And she’s putting her fingers like inside me in the front, and then like up the backside of me”[besides penetrating the victim]’s private areas [without her consent, the rapist cop also forced] her [to] expose her breasts in front of male [pig]s and onlookers at a truck stop…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Extra-amusing given that Northern Ireland lives under the Swedish model:

A [cop was] arrested on suspicion of paying for sexual services [after his fellow cops ratted him out for] using his PSNI computer to contact escorts…His…identity is [being hidden by his superiors, unlike the identities of non-cops arrested for the same “crime”]…

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Three [Louisiana] children were forced to bake and sell brownies by their stepfather[,] who…[also] sexually abus[ed] them and us[ed] violence, including waterboarding, to keep them working seven days a week…instead of going to school…for three years…Darnell Fulton…also…sexually abus[ed] the children and [apparently pimped] them to other[s]…Fulton…agreed to a 35-year prison term and to pay more than $700,000 to his victims…the…younge[st of whom]…was [under]…12…at…the…[time]…He…us[ed] “violence, sexual abuse, withholding of food, degradation and intimidation” to [forc]e the children…[to] keep up with his daily sales quotas…the [abuse]…included…[forcing] them “get on their hands and knees on rice and stay in a push up or plank position for hours”…and…[beating] them with a belt [when they could no longer hold the position]…

Red Lamp

Modern military leaders like to pretend soldiers can be ordered to be asexual; those of a century ago tried to exploit soldiers’ frustrated libido:

The United States Government sought to sexually stimulate then frustrate its soldiers to prepare them for an unpopular conflict in Europe [by]…recruiting attractive canteen staff; inviting female civilians to closely supervised dances; disseminating alluring propaganda; pressurising troops to write to women back home; and detaining allegedly promiscuous women to prevent soldiers [“]wasting[“] energy…At the heart of this experiment was the Commission on Training Camp Activities (CTCA), a War Department-directed umbrella agency…[which] sought to control soldiers’ and women’s sex lives to prevent venereal infection and protect social morality in the US.  The CTCA has been portrayed as one of the last stands of an older generation of moral reformers against the onrush of a liberalizing sexual culture.  But Cambridge historian Eric Wycoff Rogers shows that the agency was far more interested in sexuality as a weapon…

The Cop Myth (#1052)

Cop cultists continue to deny reality no matter how much police violence and corruption is revealed:

…in 2020, Ricky Jones, a [typical and representative cop], jumped to his death from the Prince of Wales Bridge spanning the River Severn…He spent 26 years as a [violent thug for hire, so it’s no surprise]…he subjected his family to decades of domestic abuse.  After his death, Jones’s eldest daughter looked through his iPhone, hoping to get some insight into her father’s cruelty…WhatsApp and Facebook messages show Gwent police officers openly discussing the sexual harassment of junior female colleagues; racist, homophobic and misogynistic abuse; the leaking of sensitive police material; and corruption…Jones shared regular messages with his friend Clarke Joslyn, who [has a]…26 year…[history] of domineering, controlling and physically abusive behaviour…

The End of the Beginning (#1139) 

Let’s hope many more challenges to these medieval laws succeed:

…the state of Idaho [has] settled Doe v. Wasden, an ACLU lawsuit challenging enforcement of the state’s “Crime Against Nature” law.  The state required three men to register as sex offenders in Idaho for engaging in consensual oral and anal sex…The settlement…requires the state to remove the three men from the Idaho Sex Offender Registry and to create a policy for removing other individuals who may have similar claims…

 

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 (#1235)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The fact that a reporter has to call and tell me…is the issue.  –  Luis Correa

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Everyone involved in this story, excluding the sex worker but including the reporter and headline writer, is garbage:

A…Boston attorney who once [worked to destroy people’s lives for the State]…was caught literally with his pants down on [a stroll pigs think it’s funny to label] Methadone Mile with a prostitute…Bruce Singal…asked to speak to a police supervisor…but when he further asked for “lenience and consideration,” [cops vomited a lot of disgusting, misogynistic “sex trafficking” propaganda all over him]…The woman…was not arrested, but taken in to be connected with services…

“Not arrested, but taken in to be connected with services” is a euphemism for “arrested”.

Torture Chamber 

Your “leaders” refer to wanton murder as “correction”:

Three Florida [screws] were arrested on murder charges for [brutal]ly beating an inmate to death, while a fourth [fled the consequences of his actions]…Christopher Rolon…Kirk Walton…and Ronald Connor…were arrested…following a monthslong [attempt to cover up the murder] at the Dade [Torture] Institution…The [murder] occurred on the morning of Feb. 14, before the [victim] was scheduled to be transferred to a [different cage stack] in Lake County…the [attackers claimed that the murder was justified by their]…mental[ly-ill victim supposedly throwing urine]…at…the[m]…”The[y]…beat…[him] so badly he had to be carried to the transport van…During a stop in Ocala…over 300…[miles away, the murderers discovered their victim had died from their brutality.  An autopsy later revealed]…the [victim]’s death was caused by a punctured lung leading to internal bleeding…The incident initially led the Florida Department of C[ages to reward]…10 [screws with paid vacations]…

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Gawain Baxter was 6 years old when he signed a contract agreeing to work for the Church of Scientology for 1 billion years…he spent his childhood doing manual labor at Scientology’s Flag Land Base in Clearwater, [Florida] and getting no education beyond basic reading, writing and math.  At 15, Baxter attempted to leave by writing a letter to a superior about constant abuse and intolerable living conditions.  Instead…church officials sent him to Scientology’s Freewinds ship in the Caribbean, where he worked for little or no wages for 14 years.  Through its highly regimented Sea Org workforce, Scientology officials systematically trafficked Baxter, 39, and others by indoctrinating them as children and making it financially, physically and psychologically impossible for them to leave as adults, according to a lawsuit filed…in Tampa federal court against Scientology leader David Miscavige and five church entities…on behalf of Baxter, his wife…Laura…and Valeska Paris, who all were raised in Scientology and worked on the Freewinds, where…the church [stole] their passports and identification documents…

To Molest and Rape

An armed robber is also a rapist.  Gee, what a surprise:

A [typical and representative cop from] the [violently-corrupt Alabama] town of Brookside has been arrested on a rape charge in Jefferson County.  Deshawn Mark Cook…[forcibly] rape[d his]…victim…on May 22, 2021…Cook was [previously] indicted in 2019 on a charge of strangling his girlfriend…[but a] judge dismissed that case when the woman failed to show up for court…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1212)

Undermining of civil liberties only starts with “undesirables”; it never stops there:

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be paying surveillance…company Trust Stamp $7.2 million annually to develop tech to track migrants [who enter the US] at the southern border…Trust Stamp…provid[ed] ICE with 10,000 smartphones that include the company’s app with facial recognition and GPS tracking…ICE then gives these…to migrants in order to surveil their whereabouts and behavior daily…migrants…are expected to complete “biometric check-in” once a day, meaning they scan their faces…An ICE [spook] looks at the result of each check-in, as well as the migrant’s location…[and] the…[phone] also…track[s its holder via] geolocation…

The Cop Myth (#1223)

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

A [typical and representative]…Massachusetts [cop]…threaten[ed] to kill his estranged wife in a brutal attack…Tomas Morales…showed up at his family’s home and said he wanted to talk to his [victim] about Christmas presents…after trying to kiss her, Morales threw her to the ground…forced her into a bedroom…said, “You’ll always be mine”…threatened to kill her, then strangled her and punched her in the face…Woburn police Chief Robert Rufo [thought the most important thing to tell reporters was that Morales wasn’t wearing his magical clown costume at the time]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1229)

Politicians are competing to see how many rights they can violate with one law:

Missouri [politicians are]…seeking to restrict access to gender-affirming care [not just to] minors…[but also] young adults under the age of 25…[in support of the scheme, they trotted out a quack] psychologist…[named Laurie] Haynes [who] also…support[s the discredited form of conditioning called] conversion therapy.  [This is merely the latest attempt to undermine the civil rights of young adults using the excuse]…that the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for executive functions like decision making – is not fully developed until roughly the age of 25…[a claim which is notably absent when politicians discuss voting, marriage, criminal responsibility, and enlisting in the military]…

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In the News (#1212)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

You don’t exist if you can’t use the banking system.  –  Kristen DiAngelo

The Face of Trafficking

Note that even cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

A married couple was charged with sex trafficking young women into…prostitution…prosecutors [claim]…Kareem…and Sharice Mitchell…pushed at least eight women into prostitution, including at least two who were…[their wards]…none of the women was under 18.  In New York, young people can leave foster care once they reach the age of 18, but they can also choose to stay in care until they turn 21…

Decentralization (#818) 

There’s nothing in this article on sex workers accepting bitcoin that will surprise any sex worker, except the claim that escorts typically charge upwards of $1700/hour.  Unfortunately, even the reporter’s incredibly-naive acceptance of the government’s claims about the intent of FOSTA, Operation Choke Point, and various other anti-whore policies is nothing new.  But what is new is the way most non-local news media (the local ones are way too busy licking cops’ boots to stay up with the rest of their industry) are now treating sex work as normal and sex workers as sympathetic.  Prohibitionists are still winning most of the battles which involve the players in the fascist Establishment, but we’re winning the war.  And in the long run, there’s absolutely nothing the whore-haters can do about it.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1001)

Undermining of civil liberties only starts with “undesirables”; it never stops there:

A tech firm is offering police a capability to identify and pull up information on [homeless] people…[via] facial recognition…“Police [can] use ODIN…to identify even non-verbal or intoxicated individuals,” the [company’s] brochure…reads…a section called “What’s The Problem?” [includes this graphic]:

…after [scann]ing…a person police would be provided with a slew of information on the individual, including their date of birth, prior contacts, labels such as “needles,” “assaultive,” or “registered sex offender,” their warrant status, notification of who their probation officer or parole agent is, contact information for therapists or social workers, their arrest history, and their temporary housing history…

Panopticon (#1012)

Another government scheme to normalize constant surveillance:

[Politicians] in Iowa introduced a bill…that would require cameras to be installed in nearly every K-12 school classroom across the state, allowing parents to s[py on classes in order]…to censor classrooms and intimidate educators …[as part of the “]critical race theory[” witch hunt]…teachers, administrators and other school staff members who fail to keep the cameras active and in working order or who “obstruct” the camera’s views could be fined up to 5 percent of their weekly salary per infraction…Meanwhile…in…Nevada [a pro-censorship group]…recently proposed placing body cameras on teachers to ensure they aren’t teaching critical race theory…[politicians] in Florida introduced a bill similar to the Iowa proposal…that would require cameras in classrooms and require teachers to wear microphones…and…Missouri [politician] Cindy O’Laughlin…[also] called for…teachers to wear body cameras as a way for parents to [spy on them]…

I sincerely doubt teachers’ unions will agree to this kind of Maoist surveillance, but the very fact that it’s being seriously proposed does not bode well for the future.

Negative Secondary Effects (#1122)

It’s rare for an article on sex work in the UK press to be so free of dysphemisms:

Women who work in Bristol’s two s[trip clubs]…have threatened a judicial review against the city council, if it goes ahead with a proposal to close the venues down.  The United Voices of the World trade union, which represents the dancers at Urban Tiger and Central Chambers, has warned Bristol City Council that…the “nil cap” policy…constitute[s]…gender discrimination and [thereb]y break[s] the law…“The [policy would]…prevent…strippers from working in an occupation, city, and venue of their choice.  This…poses a serious threat to the…livelihoods, safety, and health of over 100 individuals”…[especially given] that other venues that host male stripper nights do not [suffer] the same level of regulation and are not included in the fresh attempts to close down their venues…

Legal Is as Legal Does (#1164) 

Victoria has become the world’s fourth jurisdiction to achieve decriminalization:

…This historical move makes the Australian state of Victoria only the fourth jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work…provid[ing] sex workers with access to the same workplace health and safety protections as other Victorians…The…bill…repeal[s] over the next two years criminal laws associated with consensual adult sex work.  This is an important first step in acknowledging sex work as work…Crucially, and uniquely, the bill strengthens anti-discrimination protections available to sex workers…

To Molest and Rape (#1189)

Why are reporters so unable to comprehend that forced sex is still rape when the rapist is a cop?

The detective [rap]ing…the woman he’d just a[bduc]ted in the toilets at Charing Cross Police Station didn’t react when Sue opened the toilet door…During Sue’s time at the Central London station in the 2000s the building’s toilets and cells were often used by some officers for [rape]…“It was a place to go and [commit rape] before they went home to their girlfriends or wives”…[victims] were [usually either] highly intoxicated [or] in vulnerable situations.  Sex workers in the area were [often the victims]…details of an investigation into…a…[cop who raped] a drunk [woman]…revealed other incidents of “abhorrent behaviour”…Text messages between [cops] at the station…discussed raping [other cops], [murder]ing black children and beating up girlfriends, with one [cop] nicknamed “McRapey Raperson“…

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In the News (#1128)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2021| 1 Comment »

A lot of…urban legends [are] old wine in new bottles. – Benjamin Radford

A Broker in Pillage (#863)

Go on, keep giving governments more excuses and powers to literally rob people.  I’m sure you’ll never regret it:

South Korean prosecutors have sold bitcoin…[stolen from people they branded] criminals…turn[ing] a profit of around 12.3 billion won (around US$10.9 million)…the [excuse used for the robbery was that the victim was]…”the operator of [an] illegal pornography site”…While the U.S. government has been auctioning [stolen] bitcoin since 2014, Korean prosecutors have held on to the [stolen] bitcoin for the past four years…[until] March 25, the exact day when the country’s [politicians]…classifie[d] crypto as “virtual assets”…

The Notorious Badge (#976)

Twitter’s connection to movies exploiting sex workers isn’t usually so direct:

After receiving rave reviews at last year’s Sundance festival, the full trailer for Janicza Bravo’s Twitter-storm dramedy Zola is finally here…the film follows Zola (Taylour Paige), a Detroit waitress who strikes up a friendship with a customer named Stefani (Riley Keough). Together, they head to Florida to earn some money stripping at a club where Stefani has heard dancer tips are excellent.  As the trip progresses, Stefani puts Zola and herself in more insane and dangerous situations, including run-ins with a nameless pimp and some Tampa gangsters…Zola is based on a viral Twitter thread posted in October 2015 by Detroit-based stripper A’ziah “Zola” King…detail[ing] a weekend of debauchery that quickly descends into a hellish whirlwind of sex, murder, and near-suicide…

The Last Shall Be First (#977) 

Since their “bathroom bills” kept getting struck down, transphobes are now trying to accomplish their goals by controlling doctors:

Arkansas [politician]s passed a bill…that would flatly prohibit medical professionals from providing any sort of gender transition treatments to minors…the…act…forbids the prescribing of puberty blockers to suppress hormones, bans genital reassignment surgeries, and bars any medical treatment that would “alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features for the individual’s biological sex” or “instill or create physiological or anatomical characteristics that resemble a sex different from the individual’s biological sex”…[it] further forbids medical professionals from referring minors to any doctor who could provide the forbidden treatments…says that public funds may not be granted to any entity that provides trans treatments to minors, declares that medical transition treatment procedures are not tax-deductible forms of health care coverage (regardless of age), and prohibits the state’s Medicaid program from providing coverage for these treatments for minors.  Medical professionals who defy the law could lose their licenses to practice in the state…

It’s impossible to miss the resemblance of this strategy to that of imposing arbitrary restrictions on abortion providers.

Dangerous Speech (#1097)

US “authorities” keep pretending “because sex” is an excuse for any tyranny:

…a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected a defense petition that the court order federal Judge Susan Brnovich’s recusal from the Lacey/Larkin case…due to an “appearance of partiality” created by prejudicial statements made by the judge’s husband, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, concerning…Backpage…The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 23…

The Widening Gyre (#1103)

It was only a matter of time before “sex trafficking” scarelore invaded TikTok:

“OK, so I saw this TikTok that Target is the new sex trafficking hub”…Makenzie Jade says in her video.  She then tells a story about being followed by a man…in…her local Target, then being circled by two additional men with nothing in their shopping carts…Over the past week…there have been dozens of [similar] videos, some with millions of views, in which young women from all over the country describe being followed by strange men or women in Target in what they [fantasize is] an attempted trafficking operation…what[ever] that…means…experts are highly skeptical of these reports.  “I have never heard a case of anyone being abducted from Target in my 20 years in this field,” says Jean Bruggeman…of Freedom Network USA, [the largest coalition of groups actually concerned with exploitation rather than simply using it as a cover for persecution of sex workers]…the TikTok rumors…adhere to a familiar pattern of…urban legends intended to spread hysteria…Dubious rumors purporting to raise awareness about the “realities” of sex trafficking are nothing new…

In a sign that the hysteria is dying, note that even the perennially-clueless Rolling Stone bluntly calls this what it is (“hoax”) rather than deferentially referring to it as a “mistake” or the like.

Predictable Consequences

Oh look, somebody at Washington Post realized how tone-deaf their initial coverage was:

[When cops raided] three massage businesses…they [branded with the moralistic epithet “]illicit[“, they vomited out a lot of filth about]…“human trafficking and child exploitation” [to]…cover [up the fact that the disguised cops raped sex]…workers, then arrested them…local media outlets…[then abetted the outrage by outing the cops’ victims, complete with names and] photos of their mug shots on the evening news…[barfing up the magic word “]illicit[” has for decades given disguised, lying thugs a court-approved pretext for raping]…spa workers…[none of whom were inter]viewed by The Post…[but after decades of these repeated atrocities, a few politicians] are [finally] beginning to propose new limits on [rape] by police, which [any person with a functional moral compass should understand] serves to dehumanize — and [deepl]ly traumatize — the very women the raids are [claimed by psychopaths] to help.  The…[rapists in] law enforcement, experts said, [nearly always] go unpunished…

As you can see, the article is still replete with copsucking, but some editor appears to have at least some inkling that maybe they’re on the wrong side.

Pyrrhic Victory (#1124)

Still think this djinni can be crammed back into its bottle?

A…facial recognition tool designed [to give government even more power over individual lives] has been quietly deployed across the [US] with little to no public oversight…more than 7,000 individuals from nearly 2,000 [government] agencies nationwide have used Clearview AI to search through millions of Americans’ faces, looking for p[otential victims]…BuzzFeed News has developed a searchable table of 1,803 publicly funded agencies whose employees…used…the [surveillance] tool before February 2020.  These include local and state police, [ICE], the Air Force, state healthcare [bureaucracies], [politicians’] offices…and even public schools.  In many cases, [bureaucrats] at these agencies [claimed to be] unaware that employees were using the tool; five [lied]…in response to questions about it…210 organizations denied any use…1,161 [others ignored] questions about whether they had used it…Hoan Ton-That, the company’s cofounder and CEO, [expressed glee that his invention has done so much to undermine privacy and empower cop shops]…

What makes it worse is, cops just keep blatantly lying about it:

Despite statements from the NYPD in early 2020 stating that it had no relationship with…Clearview AI, documents…reveal that the company was an acknowledged vendor to the department from as early as 2018, and that it continue[s] to enjoy a congenial relationship…that [has] included in-person meetings and customer support from Ton-That [himself]…

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In the News (#992)

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

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

Check Your Premises 

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

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

South of the Border

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

Train Wreck

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

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

The Face of Trafficking

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

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

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

It’s impossible to state this too often:

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

The Swedish Pimpocracy (#741) 

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

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

Pyrrhic Victory (#974) 

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

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

Rescued To Death (#977)

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

To Molest and Rape (#985)

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

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

Panopticon

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

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

Disaster (#988)

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

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

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

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In the News (#875)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 29, 2018| 4 Comments »

I pray…that what happened to me…never happens to those who did this to my son.  –  Rosario Rodriguez

Bait and Switch

How convenient:

Cody Wilson…started [by] selling blueprints for 3D printed guns, and [then] launched Hatreon, the now-defunct platform he billed as “the #1 funding platform for the Alt Right”…Wilson…used a sugar daddy dating site to contact [a 16-year-old girl who advertised herself as an adult]…they allegedly started communicating via text message and he identified [himself]…On August 15, Wilson met her in person…and paid her $500 [for sex].  He was charged with a second degree felony count of sexual assault…Wilson’s last known location was Taipei, Taiwan, and [cops are trying to extradite] him to the U.S…police said they believed Wilson skipped a scheduled flight back to the U.S. after receiving a tip that he was under investigation…

I have little sympathy for Wilson, because his funding white supremacists far outweighs the good of circumventing prohibition, which someone else would’ve eventually done.  But I also know a honey pot setup when I see one, and characterizing a sugar relationship with a young woman who lied about her age to get on the platform as “child rape” is demeaning to both young people and sex workers and will only help those who want to censor such platforms.

The Face of Trafficking 

What an actual attempt to force an unwilling Nigerian woman into prostitution looks like:

A Benin based pastor has been arrested for his part in trafficking a 22-year-old [woman]…to Russia…Marvelous Odalo, who is the General Overseer of Mega Charismatic Fire Ministry, reportedly worked with a “madam” in Russia…[the young woman said] she and her sister were deceived and fell for the antics of the pastor and his accomplice… “They told me that I was going to meet a woman who is pregnant in Russian and I will assist her with domestic chores.  They said I will also be working as a stylist in her saloon…When I got there, it was a different ball game.  I was forced to engage in prostitution in Russia which I resisted, I rejected it and told them I will rather go home than sell my body to satisfy one greedy woman”…in the heat of the argument with her madam, she met a Nigerian in Russia, who introduced her to the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Anti-Human Trafficking Issues, Comrade Solomon Okoduwa, who eventually took the matter up in Nigeria…

For more on the juju aspects of this story, see “That Old Black Magic” below.

Moving Pictures 

Another “sex trafficking” hysteria film for future generations to laugh at:

Love Sonia, a [propaganda] film about sex trafficking, will be showcased at the UN…in New York on October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child.  The screening will be hosted by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime [which is one of the few UN agencies opposed to decriminalization of sex work] and Indian anti-[sex work] organisation, Apne Aap…

In case you have forgotten, Apne Aap is a “rescue” organization which runs a private prison in which sex workers are locked up indefinitely for the enrichment of the organization.

Pimps Ahoy

Pigs and screws team up to help a private prison previously shut down for abusing inmates:

Northern California [screws] are banding together [for] the [fantasy] of ending child sex trafficking…In 2013, Dawn Hershberger, a [screw] at California Correctional Center (CCC) in Susanville, heard Jenny Williamson speak about her nonprofit, Courage Worldwide, which [profits from arrested underage sex workers]…She reached out to the nonprofit to ask how she could assist, and was told they were in need of a way to transport [inmates] to appointments and other…events.  Hershberger partnered with fellow [screw] Joanne Vice and [pig] Randy Hewitt, and the team began organizing a run to raise funds to buy a van…they raised more than $4,000.  Inspired and motivated, they set their sights on a bigger goal, and the Courage Triathlon was born.  Since its inception the triathlon has raised more than $60,000 to [line of pockets] of [Williamson and other profiteers]…

If you don’t remember the ugly story of “Courage House”, click on the subtitle above.

Send In the Clowns 

Dare I hope for a return of “creepy clown” hysteria?

Two boys claimed they were chased by a man in a clown costume shouting “run or die” while clutching…something “which looked like a knife”.  After the boy’s parents called the police, a car was sent to the area to investigate…but no person matching the description was seen…

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#728) 

Sex workers worried about sex dolls are saying a lot more about themselves than about the dolls:

[Three] legal prostitutes…at Nevada’s…Sheri’s Ranch brothel are [using sex robot hysteria] in hopes of [promoting themselves in the media, since advertising is illegal there]…”It’s dehumanising,” said licensed sex worker Allissa [parroting prohibitionist drivel often used against sex workers]…”Offering sex dolls as a substitute for human sex workers is…[magically] an insult to sex workers…[and] clients [who are not in the room with them]”…”The idea that women should be like dolls – unresponsive and lethargic during sex – is downright dangerous” said Roxanne Price, [despite the fact that nobody selling sex dolls has ever even implied such a thing]…

Sex dolls are a silly fad which will have zero effect on sex workers.  But you know what is dangerous and dehumanizing to whores?  Pompous twits in “regulated” Nevada brothels who regurgitate prohibitionist rhetoric to try to set themselves above other sex workers.

That Old Black Magic (#825) 

Remember, most of what Europeans brand “trafficking” is just migrating to wealthy Europe to work:

…During a ceremony in March, Oba Ewuare II, leader of the historic kingdom of Benin in southern Nigeria, invoked curses on anyone who used witchcraft to aid illegal migration.  Since then, anecdotal evidence suggests the trafficking has slowed although it is too soon for firm data to be collated…Belief in black magic is deep-rooted in Benin, and many fear crossing their traditional leader could incur death, mental breakdown or a myriad of unexplained physical ailments…David Edebiri, the second highest ranking chief in Benin…believes the Oba’s involvement, inspired by repeated bad press in the international media, has reduced trafficking and could help bring more traffickers to justice as many women involved were too afraid of juju rituals before to testify…

Notice the quick elision of the difference between “illegal migration” and “sex trafficking”.

Disaster (#845)

Why is The Hill turning itself into a platform for rabid prohibitionists, censors and anti-human rights cultists? This vile anti-internet, anti-consent, pro-censorship screed, paid for by the veteran Christian fundamentalist anti-porn organization “Morality in Media“, which rebranded a few years ago to the more secular (and authoritative) sounding “National Center on Sexual Exploitation” (by which they actually mean “against sex work“).  It’s pretty poisonous shit, so I’m not going to quote it here, but if you decide to read it note that it represents Melissa Farley’s propaganda as “fact”, puts forth a bizarre interpretation of Section 230, and pretends that sex workers literally being forced into the streets, where they are exposed to violence from cops and other monsters, is a good thing.

The Spiral of Absurdity (#849) 

It’s fascinating in a train-wreck kind of way to watch the lies spiral out of control:

The University of Alabama school of social work department shared some new a[rous]ing [fantasies] on human trafficking in the state this week…In 2017, authorities recovered more than 600 human trafficking victims stuck in the sex industry…more than half of them were minors, and that’s only about 10 percent of the victims actually out there, [sic] Stats show there are thousands more still suffering in Alabama.

If cops had really discovered 300 kids being held hostage in freaking Alabama, this would be international news, not a minor local story.

The Monsters Are Due (#869) 

More on the young man literally burned alive by “human trafficking” hysterics:

Ricardo Flores…21, and his uncle, Alberto Flores Morales, 56, [were lynched by a hysterical mob who] beat…them before dousing them with gasoline and burning them alive on the street…[while] the police [did nothing]…The pair had been [accused of child abduction]…The barbaric episode — reminiscent of mob killings in India fueled by viral messages — illustrates how [moral panic over “human trafficking” spread by politicians, cops and the mainstream media]…can generate hysteria and vigilante justice…Mob attacks are nothing new in Mexico, where cellphone video of townsfolk pummeling cornered suspects accused of robberies and other misdeeds is a regular feature on TV news…In the days before Flores and his uncle were targeted, half a dozen Mexican states issued public warnings refuting incendiary social media tales of kidnapping rings that remove organs from captive children to sell on the black market…

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