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Posts Tagged ‘The Notorious Badge’

In the News (#1523)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s a fake legal process…[that] reeks of pure politics.  –  David Webbert

If Men Were Angels

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

…Jose Saez, Jr., [the] pastor [of] a church…in Brentwood, New York, pleaded guilty to…child [molestation, and]…faces a minimum sentence of…30 years…Saez used an encrypted messaging service to engage in sexually explicit conversations with [a cop fantasy role-playing as a child, stating]…he had sexually abused an infant, that his “sweet spot” was molesting children between the ages of 11 and 15, and that he was able to find his younger victims at “church”…FBI agents [also found] numerous images and videos of child pornography [when they searched his stuff]…

The Next Target (#1151)

People everywhere are getting sick of prohibitionist censorship:

The Administrative Court in Düsseldorf is set to decide on the future of online pornography in Germany…The North Rhine-Westphalia State Media Authority (LfM)…demands that pornographic sites meticulously verify the age of all visitors…or…face network blocking.  The operators of the world’s largest porn sites…don’t want to harass their millions of visitors with ID checks…Pornhub and YouPorn, both owned by Aylo…refuse to [spy on visitors thus, so LfM]…demanded that Germany’s largest internet providers block their websites…However, most porn fans are unlikely to have noticed this, as the affected porn sites simply changed their domains.  Pornhub is…accessible at “de.pornhub.org”; the…block only applied to “de.pornhub.com”…In addition, users can easily circumvent a network block…with…a VPN…Two cases before the Düsseldorf Administrative Court revolve around the question of whether the blocking orders issued by the media regulator are even [legal]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1244)

Another disgusting genital inspection law:

…the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill that would allow health care providers to “visually or physically examine a minor”…for the purpose of identifying their “biological sex” without the “consent of the [minor]’s parent, guardian, or custodian.”  The bill, S.B. 456, would define sex based on whether a person produces eggs or sperm…[and limits]  gender-segregated spaces like locker rooms or restrooms…to…a person’s sex…at birth…an amendment…[restricted the “right” to violate a minor against their will to their] “treating health care provider”…[which] was actually an improvement over a previous version of the bill, which…would have allowed teachers to perform the [molest]ations…

In the authoritarian mind,  for students to voluntarily allow other people to examine their genitalia for the purpose of pleasure is a “crime”, but for the same students to be forced by law to allow strangers to examine their genitalia for the purpose of bigotry is “protection”.

Eavesdropping (#1379)

Remember, Amazon eagerly hands data from internet-connected devices to cops:

With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the [LLM] voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased devices…Amazon said that Echo users will no longer be able to set their devices to process Alexa requests locally…starting on March 28, recordings of everything spoken to…Echo speakers and…displays will automatically be sent to Amazon and processed in the[ir servers]…One of the most marketed features of Alexa+ is its more advanced ability to recognize who is speaking to it…To accommodate this…Amazon is eliminating a privacy-focused capability for all Echo users, even those who aren’t interested in…Alexa+…In 2023, Amazon agreed to pay $25 million in civil penalties over the revelation that it stored recordings of children’s interactions with Alexa forever…the company [also] allowed employees to listen to Alexa voice recordings…and…watch video recordings of customers’ private spaces…taken from Ring cameras…

The Last Shall Be First (#1517)

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were at least a few adults in office?

…after a [politician feign]ed outrage on Facebook about a transgender girl winning a high school pole vaulting event…[mad emperor] Trump singled out Maine’s governor…and threatened to cut off the state’s federal funding.  “See you in court,” Gov. Janet Mills shot back.  Then came a barrage of investigations and threats [from] the…Department[s] of Education…Health and Human Services…Agriculture…and…Justice…The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…pulled $4.5 million for marine research…[and] the Social Security Administration…cancel[ed] contracts that allowed hospitals to automatically report births and funeral homes to report deaths…more federal agencies are pressing down on Maine than there are transgender girls competing in girls’ sports in the state…David Webbert, a longtime civil rights attorney in Maine…[observed that] it’s as if Trump is saying: “Maine believes in transgender rights? Well, you’re going to see what happens to you”…

To Molest and Rape (#1518)

Though his victim wasn’t a student, would you want a rapist lurking around your daughter?

…[An Indiana cop named] Zachary Kerley is [paid to lurk in]…schools [to spy on, harass, and intimidate students].  He…[was friendly with his victim] via Snapchat…and asked her out for drinks.  She…accepted but told him “it’s not going any further than that”, and…he agreed…[but then raped] her at [her] hotel…despite her physical and verbal objections…Kerley [has been rewarded with a paid vacation]…

The Notorious Badge (#1519)

Didn’t this ignorant clod used to be a comedian or something?

Bill Maher…took some time during his “New Rules” segment to exclaim, “Whores are having a moment…You gotta give me more than a week to get used to a new word or phrase or name for what we call something…We did this with homeless until it was unhoused. We did this with illegal alien until it was undocumented migrant…And now we’re doing it with prostitute…If it’s such an important liberal cause…why didn’t you do it 10 years ago or 20 or in 1975?”…

NB: The term “sex worker” was coined by Carol Leigh in 1979, became popular among activists in the ’80s, and has been commonly used in the mainstream media for about ten years now.

 

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 (#1519)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[Sex work] should be decriminalized and not in any way regulated because it is a sex worker’s body and it is up to them to decide how they will use it in their livelihood.  –  Sean Baker

The Notorious Badge

From Hustlers to Pretty Woman, films centering sex workers continue to drive blockbusters for Hollywood — and last year was no different.  Anora was one of Hollywood’s most lauded films of 2024…By casting real-life sex workers in the club scenes…the film made strides that are rare for Hollywood.  Multiple sex workers were reportedly hired as consultants to ensure the accuracy and fair portrayal of these characters, and there was even a private screening of the film…for…sex workers…[but] the film industry continues to discriminate against…actors with a history of sex work — ironically, even when they’re auditioning to play sex workers…

Sexcrime (#1354)

It’s only been six years since the UK lost in court the last time it tried this:

…pornography should be banned…[if any bureaucrat working for the UK censorship agency] Ofcom [points at it and belches the magic formula]…”degrading, violent and misogynistic”…[the] propos[al is basically an attempt to reinstate the overturned 2014 law] that porn videos [refused]…for any [BBFC] certificate in the offline world should be banned online.  Baroness Bertin[, a fanatical pro-censorship politician, claimed in Nixonian fashion]…”I’m not a prude”…[while demanding that] the state should police people’s sex lives…

Shame, Shame (#1421)

These thieves have absolutely no shame:

Botify AI, a site for chatting with [computers]…hosts bots resembling real actors that state their age as under 18, engage in sexually charged conversations, offer “hot photos,” and in some instances describe age-of-consent laws as “arbitrary” and “meant to be broken”…MIT Technology Review…found popular user-created bots…meant to resemble Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and Millie Bobby Brown, among others.  After receiving questions…about such characters, Botify AI removed the[m]…from its website, but numerous other underage-celebrity bots remain…Botify…[is] operated by Ex-Human, a [corporation] that…also licenses [chatbots] to other companies, like the dating app Grindr…and…has more than a million different characters, [imita]ting everyone from Elon Musk to Marilyn Monroe…


The Cop Myth (#1484)

Good riddance to bad rubbish:

A [typical and representative] Nashville [cop] died [of old age] while in [jail] for [murdering] his wife…87-year-old John Sorace died on Feb. 20, following…[his] arrest…for…reckless homicide after [murdering] his wife on Jan. 9…

Thought Control (#1498)

It’s sad that the First Amendment has been so weakened it needs a state law to give it teeth:

Several [wannabe book-banners] spoke out…against the effort to pass legislation designed to deter book banning in Connecticut libraries.  They [bloviate] that [individual] parents should have [power to overrule librarians and remove]…books [from] library shelves…[for all legal minors], particularly…those [which might] contain [information authoritarian parents want to deny them]…Bob Duff…co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1271, said Connecticut libraries dealt with 113 [attempts] to [ban] books in 2023 alone.  Duff said that bans “pave the way for greater censorship”…and…[waste] librarians[‘ time while threatening them with culture-war violence]…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1499)

Politicians will use any asinine rhetoric to gain control of the internet:

[The U.S. Congress’ top anti-porn crusader, Utah] Senator Mike Lee has introduced [a bill with the deeply-moronic moniker] the Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act, a step toward [age-gating the entire internet so as to make government surveillance of adults even easier than it already is.  Previous attempts at similar censorship, both at the State and federal level]…have [repeatedly] been challenged and overturned by [federal courts, up to and including] the Supreme Court on the grounds of not [being remotely Constitutional].  Nonetheless…[politicians keep trying anyway because defending the indefensible in court doesn’t come out of their pockets, and culture-war jihads appeal…to the authoritarian nitwits who vote for them]…and garner…[financial] support from the [usual collection of pro-censorship gangs and cabals which infest the US]…

If Men Were Angels (#1517)

Wannabe preachers are often as bad as the real thing:

[North Carolina cops] arrested Lucas Timothy Hunt…the founder of the “Thank You Jesus” signs movement, [for child porn, acting on information from]…the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children…the Thank You Jesus mission…re[fu]sed…[to] comment…

 

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 (#1312)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2023| 1 Comment »

Pay sex workers to educate you so you’re not reiterating harmful stereotypes out of ignorance.  –  Mahx Capacity

The Notorious Badge 

Hollywood follows rather than leads, so this is a good sign of a cultural shift:

…sex worker character[s] in…movie[s] or TV show[s]…are [typically] nameless, background-less, and function as nothing more than victims to be killed in a violent manner…but…a handful of [recent]…shows have represented sex work as ordinary work, and sex workers as complex characters, not singularly defined by the way they make money…What’s more, sex workers are becoming some of the most beloved characters — no longer the victims, but the heroes of their own stories.  In recent releases like the second season of The White Lotus, and movies like The Menu, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and Pleasure, sex workers are…among the most likeable (or, in the case of The White Lotus and The Menu arguably the only likeable) characters …and their choices are front and centre in the narratives…

Creepy Coppers

The people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

…a [typical and representative Michigan cop named]…Todd Barraco…was arrested on Wednesday for possession of…over 230,000 images and over 9,000 videos…of boys between the ages of 3 and 12 being sexually abused by adults…Barraco was initially arrested on March 17, 2022…when he went to a house…with the intent of having sexual relations with a[nother cop fantasy role-playing as a] minor…

Lack of Evidence (#1249) 

Useful idiots can always be counted on to eagerly lick up whatever toxic sludge cops vomit all over their upturned faces as they kneel in obeisance before the police state.  Here’s an example; it’s mostly just the usual wildly-exaggerated demonization of streetwalkers which yellow journalists parrot every time a stroll shifts due to police harassment.  But in this case, cops fed the ninnies the lie that the problem is due to the fact that they can no longer point their filthy fingers at any woman they want and oink out the word “prostitute” in order to justify assault, rape, and abduction (revoltingly euphemized as “rescuing women they believe to be human trafficked”).  Even by the abysmally-low standards of local news copaganda, this one is repellent in the extreme.

Torture Chamber (#1291)

Rather than solving this problem by convicting fewer people and giving screws less power over them, politicians say the solution is MOAR PRISON:

Wash[ington politicians are considering]…legislation that would lead to more prison time for [screw]s who sexually abuse [people locked in cages by the state and put completely under the power of those screws]…the bill…[is a response to the case of typical and representative] Forks jail guard John Gray…who…served [only] 13 months of his 20-month sentence…[after] Kimberly Bender…died by suicide in [the] Forks [cage stack] in 2019 after [her] report…to [bureaucrats] that Gray sexually [abu]sed her [was completely ignored until she was dead]…

Winding Down (#1302)

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

Australia…announced that…MDMA and psilocybin…will soon be used in the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress.  Psychiatrists will be able to prescribe the two substances from July…[due to] “sufficient evidence for potential benefits in certain patients”.  The two drugs are…“relatively safe”…and provide…an “altered state of consciousness” that could help patients…

No Escape

The government is beginning to grudgingly admit what everyone already knew:

…the…Bureau of Justice Statistics…released detailed data…on more than 2,500 substantiated incidents of sexual assault in U.S. prisons and jails between 2016 and 2018.  The data starkly show how federal, state, and local officials have ignored their constitutional duty to protect incarcerated people from sexual assault, despite federal laws [pre]tended to create zero-tolerance policies for prison rape…the report found that perpetrators of staff sexual misconduct were…convicted, sentenced, fined, or pleaded guilty in [a mere] 20 percent of incidents in jails, and only a minuscule 6 percent…in prisons.  And less than half of those staff lost their jobs…The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 was supposed to create zero-tolerance policies for sexual abuse in U.S. prisons.  However, PREA is largely toothless and, in many prisons, it’s a bad joke…

To Molest and Rape (#1310)

This time, they’re trying to pretend he isn’t typical and representative by stating his continuous molestation of at least one kid started before he became a cop:

An El Paso [cop] was arrested [for]…aggravated sexual assault of child over a period of at least three years…Eric Bernardino Ramirez…[started] the repeated…molestation…[in 2014] before Ramirez joined the El Paso Police Department six years ago…

 

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 (#1241)

Posted in Biography, Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The nuisance comes from drinking and drunkenness, but no one is saying close the bars.  –  Brenda, Dutch sex worker

The Notorious Badge 

I wonder when Hollywood will catch up?

The brothels look brighter, the alleyways are cleaner, and a stirring soundtrack accompanies the protagonists, but a new Bollywood film set in Mumbai’s red-light district has struck a chord with India’s roughly one million sex workers.  Gangubai Kathiawadi is a biopic telling the story of a sex worker of the same name who went from being a [coerced underage sexworker] to fight[ing] for the rights of women working in the trade in the 1950s, a battle still being fought today…Many sex workers in Kamathipura…and across India say the film starring celebrated actress Alia Bhatt shows rare understanding of their everyday struggles…“There have been so many films on women like us, but none that raised these issues,” said Kiran Deshmukh, president of National Network of Sex Workers.  “People believe what they see in Bollywood films. And this film has shown that sex work is work…that…helps us live our lives and feed and raise our children”…

Guinea Pigs (#757) 

And it can find you just as easily:

Cher Scarlett, a software engineer…uploaded some images of her[self]…to PimEyes, a facial-recognition website meant to be used to find pictures of yourself from around the web — ostensibly to help stamp out issues such as revenge porn and identity theft…the results [included]…porn…[she was coerced into making as a 19-year-old] addict…in New York in 2005…She has since tried and failed to get all of the explicit photos removed from PimEyes’ search results, despite the site saying it would scrub images of Scarlett from results…Giorgi Gobronidze…the current owner and director of PimEyes…[deflected blame by saying] “The problem isn’t that there is a search engine that can find these photos; the problem is…people who actually uploaded [the photos] on purpose”…Scarlett’s saga starkly shows how easily facial-recognition technology, which is now available to anyone with internet access, can lead to unexpected harms that may be impossible to undo…

The Prudish Giant (#1104) 

Instagram and TikTok users, take note:

Digital studies and sexuality researcher Dr. Carolina Are is asking sex workers, adult performers and others who have experienced discrimination to participate in a study investigating Instagram and TikTok’s approach to malicious flagging or reporting of “gray area” content, including nudity.  Are is seeking participants over 18 years of age who have received negative comments and simultaneously had their accounts and/or content removed…Are plans to circulate an anonymous survey and then interview specific case studies.  Those wishing to share their experience with social media discrimination can fill out the survey here…

Dutch Threat (#1136)

The Dutch scheme to Disnify De Wallen is no longer merely a scheme:

In November 2020, Mayor Femke Halsema announced plans to [forcibly] relocate sex workers to a purpose built “Erotic Center” on the city’s outskirts in hopes of luring bands of drunk men and general carnality away from residents to make space for new cafés, art galleries, and designer boutiques…according to the mayor’s office…“We want less dominance of cheap nightlife”…if built, it will be the most extreme measure taken to “clean up” De Wallen, which has, in recent years, already been subject to a raft of new regulations and s[urveillance]…Amsterdam’s sex workers are ambivalent about the city’s plans to relocate them.  Brenda, a sex worker…[who] met me at the Prostitution Information Center…said sex workers were soft targets in the city’s gentrification push…Iris, a coordinator at the center, said the “so-called nuisance and antisocial behavior” was just another excuse to get rid of sex workers and free up lucrative real estate in the sought-after inner city…

Winding Down (#1148)

Over half of Americans now live in states with legal cannabis:

Rhode Island…became the 19th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use…[the] bill…immediately allows adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis in public and grow up to three plants at home.  State-licensed recreational sales are supposed to start on December 1, beginning with the state’s three existing medical marijuana dispensaries.  The law also requires automatic expungement of marijuana possession convictions…public consumption…will be legal in any place where cigarette smoking is allowed…The law caps the number of retailers at 33, which amounts to about one store per 32,000 people…Rhode Islanders may find it easier to buy pot from black-market dealers or from stores in Massachusetts or Connecticut, both of which have legalized recreational use.  Like California, Rhode Island will allow local governments to ban pot shops, but only through referendums and not in the three cities (Providence, Warwick, and Portsmouth) where medical marijuana is already being sold…

Opting Out (#1199)

French law provides some defense vs religious activism:

A Paris court of appeals rejected…the attempt by local War on Porn groups, led by an extremist Catholic organization, to use France’s media authority and the courts to block the most popular adult tube sites in the country…following months of…threats pressuring tube sites to implement vaguely defined age verification schemes, French media regulator ARCOM went to court…to demand that French ISPs block Pornhub…and [a number of similar sites, but]…the Council of State…issued a ruling rendering null all the activities taken up by…ARCOM in connection with the…block…the Council…specifically pointed out the role played by extremist Catholic organization Civitas in orchestrating the campaign…

Civitas is associated with the Society of Saint Pius X, the reactionary organization founded by Archbishop Lefebvre to fight modernization efforts such as performing the Mass in the vernacular rather than Latin.

The Mob Rules (#1231)

The number of laws empowering busybodies to harass victims with nuisance lawsuits will only keep growing until they’re ruled unconstitutional:

Shortly after the nation’s latest mass shooting…at an elementary school in Texas, the California Senate passed a bill…to allow private citizens to file suit for at least $10,000 — a bounty-hunter provision modeled on a Texas abortion law — against makers or sellers of [3-D printed firearms] or [rifles banned under California law]…

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In the News (#1148)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

It’s essential to include input from sex workers when writing a narrative about a sex worker character.  –  Misha Calvert

Maggie in the Media

Last weekend I was on the Scot Goes Popcast, talking about the Swedish model (which prohibitionists are once again trying to impose on Scotland).  For those who just can’t get enough Maggie!

The Notorious Badge

Another sign we’re past the watershed:

When award-winning creator Misha Calvert first showed her new series, Strut, at the Tribeca Film Festival Creators Market in 2018, she offered some choice words on the show’s…subject matter.  “Hollywood has long used the archetype of the prostitute to heighten storytelling, be it as a seductress, a villain, seedy set decoration, or another dead body…The reality of sex workers is so much more complex”…Strut, starring Margaret Judson (The Newsroom), Christina Toh (Orange is the New Black), Manini Gupta (You), and Calvert herself, tells the story of a group of best friends in New York…starting their own escorting agency, wading into the world of sex work, and loving it…

To Molest and Rape (#997) 

Hey, female cops; how’s that collaboration with the police state working out?

A f[emale] NYPD cop was repeatedly raped, sodomized and mentally tormented by a [gang] of [fellow pig]s over the course of five years but…the Manhattan District Attorney…[refus]ed to prosecute…Maria Mendez…resigned from the department in January 2019 after a 14-year career, [during which] she was [repeatedly] raped by [gang members]…and…regularly forced to ingest oxycodone, ecstacy and alcohol…she suffered “physical deformities to her vagina and anus requiring surgical repair” and she was left suicidal and suffering from…post traumatic stress disorder [just like many victims of cops]…he[r federal] lawsuit…paints a vivid picture of sexual abuse and harassment that ran rampant…Mendez was not only regularly raped but was subjected to sexualized comments and requests by…[pig union rep] Alfred Gallicchio…[other sows refused to help; they] called Mendez a “slut” and [pretended her statements were]…“false allegations against good officers”…[despite the fact that] videos of Mendez being raped and assaulted were regularly shared across the department in a group chat…the abuse[rs included pigs]…Ryan Marrero…Jimmy Gutierres…Michael Ganz…and…Peter Montalbano…Marrero [was especially imaginative]…rap[ing] her on a series of public streets…in hotels, [pigmoblies], the p[igsty], the female bathroom and locker room and while out on emergency calls, [sometimes yelling at her to “stop resisting”]…He also [beat] his department canine…in front of Mendez as a form of intimdation and regularly talked about how he liked [raping] unconscius women because they don’t fight back and showed her naked pictures of teenage girls he…had [raped]…

To Molest and Rape (#1047)

Rapists are attracted to police work for obvious reasons:

A[rkansas] constable…Coby Ryan Poe…was [arrested for rape for the second time this year, despite having only]…been a constable…since November…in [the first case he w]as…[also] charged…with…child [porn] and three counts of second-degree sexual assault…

Winding Down

Over half of Americans now live in states with legal cannabis:

The Connecticut Senate voted…to legalize recreational marijuana…the fifth [state] this year to drop its war on weed…The bill [contains the usual ridiculous leaf-counting provisions so beloved by politicians, but]…also includes provisions to allow those in cities hit hardest by the drug war to apply for expedited licenses to sell…automatically expunging criminal convictions for possession of less than four ounces…and banning police from searching vehicles solely because [they claim they smelled weed]…Con[necticut is]…the 19th state…to legalize recreational marijuana.  Neighboring New York legalized it in late March.  New Jersey, New Mexico, and Virginia all legalized…this year as well…But…Biden [still wants the government to destroy people’s lives over a common plant]…

Torture Chamber (#1116)

Government bureaucracy at work, “correcting” people to death:

Last year, as the coronavirus killed hundreds [of caged human beings] in…Texas lockups and sickened tens of thousands more, prisoner rights advocates unsuccessfully pleaded for [lazy, incompetent bureaucrats] to more quickly release the thousands of people…who had already been approved for parole…18…parole[es] died with COVID-19 before they could walk out of prison…At least another two dozen…died in prison…in the same period…due to chronic health issues…At least 26 p[arolees] died in prison in 2019…In April, about 10,800 people held in Texas prisons had already been approved for parole…More than a quarter of them had been [waiting] at least six months…and nearly 900…for more than a year…That’s in part because the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles requires most prisoners to [be subjected to lucrative-for-the prisons]…re…programming before their parole release, which can last from three to 18 months…

A Moral Cancer (#1134)

Rulers of majority-black city openly target black people with police violence:

The D.C. Council…voted to ban flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, and flavored cigars, ratcheting up the drug war [by] creat[ing] another black market…This tobacco ban follows…D.C.’s legalization of recreational marijuana and the quasi-decriminalization of psychedelics…by voter ballot initiatives and…a viral incident…in…wh[ich cops] were [videoed] tasing and beating teens…for…vaping…The government enforces every law at gunpoint, even those [sold as] intended to “protect” our health…Eric Garner was…[murder]ed by [a typical and representative cop]…in 2014 for selling loose cigarettes…

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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 (#1061)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Scholars who pathologize sex workers in the classroom grant the state license to mete out gratuitous violence in the streets.  –  Rahsaan Mahadeo

Maggie in the Media

I was recently interviewed on an Australian sex worker radio show named Behind Closed Doors; it was originally supposed to be only one show, but Kitty, Dean & I were enjoying ourselves so much we just kept going and did a two-parter!  Here it is in podcast form (Part One & Part Two); I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking!

The Course of a Disease

The Swedish rot has reached Eastern Europe:

Since July 1, in Latvia…[prostitution is technically not] illegal  as politicians have been unable to reach a compromise on this issue…The only [criminalization] proposal has been submitted by the party alliance Attīstībai/Par! (AP!) and its sets forth punishing only the buyer of the prostitution services and not the person providing them.  The proposal is to be reviewed in the Interior Ministry. Following this process, the ministry plans to bring the draft law for discussion in the government…

The Notorious Badge

Critics just can’t resist inserting their own dumb beliefs about whores into even good reviews:

Alice, the feature debut from Australian writer-director Josephine Mackerras, is…a leftfield take on female empowerment…Alice…discovers that her husband has cleaned out their accounts and stopped paying their mortgage; a bit of digging later and she discovers the money has been spent on prostitutes…With the bank threatening to foreclose on her home and a huge sum to pay…Alice agrees to work for the very escort agency her husband favoured; there is quite simply nothing else that will keep the roof over her head…Mackerras’s take on prostitution won’t be for everyone, and it does sugar-coat the profession somewhat, but it’s a sympathetic and often gutsy portrait of a woman doing what she must, and surviving, even thriving…

Acknowledging that selling sex is pragmatic and lucrative is “sugar-coating”.

Feminists and Other Puritans

An excerpt from The Feminist War on Crime by Aya Gruber: 

…The feminist penal regimes implemented in the 1980s and 1990s are now entrenched institutions overseen by prosecutors…administrators, and for-profit actors with vested interests in their continued survival.  Politicians are certainly not apologizing for VAWA…[and] plenty of feminists…remain committed not just to upholding the existing feminist crime control regimes and closing “loopholes” in them but also to creating new ones—new antitrafficking laws, revenge-porn laws, laws against hosting prostitution ads, [etc]…Campus antirape sentiments have proven a boon to prosecutors eager to implement strict versions of affirmative consent…and expand pro-prosecution trial rules…some of the most ardent prison critics…proceed as if there were a carve-out to the mass incarceration critique for sexual misconduct—including, or perhaps especially, intoxicated sex or sex without affirmative consent—even though there is no such carve-out for aggravated assault, drug dealing, or even murder…

Wise Investment (#1024)

In every country, sex workers, clients & everyone else harmed by “prostitution stings” needs to keep suing over them:

Liberal scholar [and long-time critic of the Chinese Communist Party] Xu Zhangrun has hired two lawyers to prepare legal action against police who accused him of soliciting prostitution…Xu was dismissed by Tsinghua University in Beijing…after he was taken away by police who [claimed] that the…scholar had solicited prostitutes in the southwestern city of Chengdu last year.  Xu, who had taught at Tsinghua for 20 years, was sacked because of “moral corruption”…The law professor…[hired] lawyers Mo Shaoping and Shang Baojun, and former human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang…to represent him…in an attempt to overturn an administrative ruling b[ased on a]…confession…police [pretend he made but]…Xu [denies]…

The Cop Myth (#1045)

Sociologists may at last be admitting their role in creating the police state:

Now is the time for sociology to reckon with its role…in the production of a criminal legal system subsidized by Black captivity, dispossession, debt and death…Any academic attempt to distinguish between “good policing” and “bad policing” or “overpolicing” and “underpolicing” makes policing itself not just theoretically possible, but legitimate…The University of Minnesota has already committed to cutting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department.  Now it and other sociology programs around the country must take the next step by canceling carceral curricula…According to an American Sociological Association report, “criminology/delinquency” was the highest-ranked specialization sought by employers…in 2019.  Courses like “Deviant Behavior,” “Criminal Behavior and Social Control”…and “Juvenile Delinquency” not only legitimize state violence, but also employ academics…sociologists fail to consider how “deviance,” “delinquency,” “criminal” and “terrorist” still conjure up racialized images that cops…and [spooks]…use…to…justify the killing of people of color…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1060)

Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is the opposite of accepting responsibility:

[Pennsylvania politician] Mike Folmer [was convicted on child pornography charges despite]…pleas [that the]…judge [should let him skate because Jesus]…Folmer [was]…sentence[d to 2 years in prison]…8 years on probation…[and] sex offender [registration] for 15 years…[his] defense attorney [also made the bizarre argument that he should be let off easy because he is a career sociopath]…“He had an addiction to pornography,” [attorney Brian] Perry said…Folmer [demonstrated his megalomania]…to the judge…[by comparing himself to] King David…

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In the News (#1060)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2020| 2 Comments »

She’s an adult as much as any fictional slime insect bug monster can be.  –  Slugbox

The Prudish Giant (#853)

Once Patreon started following in the footsteps of Facebook, this was inevitable:

Whether by choice or force, Patreon’s NSFW creators are increasingly ditching the site over its 18+ rules.  The latest casualties include a gay hypnosis erotica site and an adult anime artist [over whom] Patreon tried to “exercise a scary amount of financial and public control.”  On July 15, Gay Spiral Stories owner Martin announced that the site would no longer be available for funding on Patreon…when…Patreon [demanded he]…remove…fictional, fantastical stories around mind control…Patreon was attempting to control what content Gay Spiral Stories could host off-site, regardless of Gay Spiral Stories’ Patreon presence…Patreon is [also] increasingly forcing adult artists to surrender their portfolios to the site’s control.  In June, adult anime artist Slugbox…decided to leave Patreon for good…[because] under the site’s contemporary terms of service…“‘Slugbox’ becomes a ‘project’ that belongs to Patreon…[which can] dictate where Slugbox can operate, where Slugbox can make money, and how [Slugbox can] make money, and then hold my success here as a hostage”…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#855)

Blaming bad behavior on an imaginary “addiction” is the opposite of accepting responsibility:

A former west Kentucky teacher and track coach, Mark Boggess was sentenced to ten years in prison…for setting up a video recording device in the bathroom of the nurse’s station in the high school…[so he c]ould…watch people change in and out of clothes…The defense claimed Boggess has a porn addiction…

Lack of Evidence (#945) 

Alas, these lawsuits usually end in “settlements” that simply force cops to find a different excuse for harassing women:

A woman is suing San Jose police in federal court…[after] she was targeted, arrested, and jailed because [cops claimed]…transgender [women are all]…sex worker[s]…She is being represented by Bruce Nickerson, a prominent LGBTQ-rights attorney who is pursuing class-action status for the suit…Nickerson successfully sued San Jose police over undercover decoy stings…that…unlawfully targeted gay men…San Jose police declined to comment on the lawsuit…But [claimed stalking and harassing people for supposed bad thoughts was really FOR THE CHILDREN™!!!]…and [that]…street prostitution [magically attracts unspecified but scary]…harmful activity…from…other cities…

Pyrrhic Victory (#985) 

Another (very) slight setback for universal facial recognition in the US:

Over about eight years, the American drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp quietly added facial recognition systems to 200 stores across the United States…in largely lower-income, non-white neighborhoods…after Reuters sent…findings [from its investigation] to the retailer, Rite Aid [claimed] it had quit using its facial recognition software….[and] all the cameras had been turned off…Rite Aid [also claimed]…that customers had been apprised of the technology through “signage”…[but] reporters found no notice of the surveillance in more than a third of the stores…with the facial recognition cameras…and [further claimed]…the rollout was…based on stores’ theft histories, local and national crime data and site infrastructure…Among the systems used…was one from DeepCam LLC, which…[is lin]ked with a firm in China whose largest…investor is [the] Chinese government…The Home Depot Inc said it had been testing facial recognition to reduce shoplifting in at least one of its stores but stopped the trial this year…Walmart…has also tried out facial recognition in a handful of stores…

You Were Warned (#1031)

Torture Chamber (#1041)

No human is truly free while governments claim the “right” to lock people in filthy, disease-ridden cages:

…conditions at the Indiana Women’s Prison are being [recognized as] “inhumane” by some [politicians.  Chief screws deny it, but a whistleblower sided with prisoners in telling the truth.  Bureaucrats claim that prisoners]…can go to the restroom every 30 minutes and are allowed to leave their cell every two hours to roam the common areas.  [But in reality the women are locked in cages and told to “stop faking” if they need to use the toilet]…Before the pandemic, the [screws] would keep the cell doors open so [prisoners] could go into the common areas and the air would easily flow through the facility.  However, the[y now use the pandemic as an excuse to keep]…cell doors [locked at all times]…“They are passing out from heat exhaustion as well as experiencing seizures,” said [politician J.D.] Ford…“I have seen vomiting, I have not personally seen seizures, but I frequently see reports of them,” said the…whistleblower…

To Molest and Rape (#1057)

Notice how often rapist cops’ victims are underage?

A San Diego [cop was finally] arrested…on criminal charges of child molestation, pandering and luring a child into a sex act, among other offenses…Jaylen Devon Fleer…is being held without bail…[after being on paid vacation since] May…[other pigs from the same cop shop who have been] charged with sexual misconduct…in recent years [include molester] Richard Fischer…[molester] Timothy Wilson…[rapist] Juan Andrade…[and sexual harasser] Assistant Sheriff Rich Miller…

If you can stomach it, read down to the part where the reporter tries to build up sympathy for a molester by telling us how good he was at playing kids’ games in high school.

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In the News (#1009)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2020| 1 Comment »

The harmful idea that women are naturally sexually ignorant…has been the basis for repressive laws throughout history.  –  Hallie Lieberman

The Notorious Badge

It’s good to see more writers criticizing insulting hooker tropes in movies:

Working Girls, which has the more connotative and ironic title Filles de joie in French…is…an honest, if sometimes strident, three-way portrait which gains much from its deft juggling of character arcs…Axelle (Sara Forestier), Conso (Annabelle Lengronne) and Dominique (Noémie Lvovsky)…live in France…but…travel…each day across the border to Belgium to work in a legal brothel…Wisely, Working Girls is markedly more interested in which goes on in the living room than in the bedrooms.  However…it’s a pity that a screenplay which deals with the everyday life of prostitutes struggles to find anything for them to talk about together other than sex…

Skewed By Taboo

The majority of self-reports about sexual accidents are lies:

An Arizona woman [claims]…she was…only using [her ultra-slim Vesper vibrator] on the outside of her body…[when suddenly] “out of nowhere I just felt a really sharp pain”…[and] the vibrator was nowhere to be found…But…she could still feel it…“emergency room staff wasn’t able to find it in the vagina,” said OBGYN Dr. Greg Marchand…he found on the x-ray [that the]…“device [wa]s actually in the bladder”…They had to surgically remove it.  The woman plans on filing a lawsuit against the company for lack of warning on the label that [you might lose it if you shove it up your urethra]…

There are many people who enjoy shoving things into their urethras, but because our puritanical culture would judge it “perverted” and “bad”, she can’t admit what happened, even to the doctor; instead she told this silly story about how the vibrator just leapt out of her hand and went all the way up into her bladder like some kinky guided missile.  If you know any emergency room doctor or nurse, ask them sometime about how many people “accidentally” sit on things while naked and can’t retrieve them from the rectum.

Nothing New

Five years ago I wrote that the ridiculous myth that Victorian doctors invented female masturbation and didn’t know what a female orgasm looked like “is so incredibly recent I never heard of it during any of my extensive sexological reading in my teens and twenties; it seems to date to the nineties at the earliest.”  Well, if sexologist Hallie Lieberman is correct, we’ve now got a date for the birth of this idiocy:  “…The myth can be traced to Rachel Maines’s 1999 book Technology of Orgasm…[which] seemed like a well-researched scholarly book, with 465 citations and a plethora of primary sources, some in Greek and Latin; the problem is that none of them actually supported this story…“

Traffic in Nonsense (#917)

The “sex trafficking” propaganda from these fetishists is some of the most blatantly derived from sexual fantasy in the entire rescue industry:

Workers at the UPS Atlanta Regional Hub…[were indoctrinated in how to fantasize that all women they see are] potential cases of sex trafficking…UPS had already [indoctrinated] its freight drivers on how to [imagine everything as] signs of sex trafficking.  Now they’re [indoctrinating] the drivers who actually go into neighborhoods…[with propaganda provided by] the organization Truckers Against Trafficking. [Head propagandist]  Helen Van Dam…[is] counting on the ignorance of the general public [about sex work to infantilize all]…prostitute[s as]…victim[s of]…sex slavery.  Van Dam [shared silly, juvenile sexual fantasies about]…“branding” tattoos on victims…

On the Simultaneous Having and Eating of Cake (#919)

In the current anti-whore climate, this was a wholly predictable development:

Soldiers of Pole, a Los Angeles-based group of dancers who are working to unionize their colleagues statewide, [feels]…the reclassification of dancers as employees marks a positive shift in the industry.  As employees, strippers will have the ability to bargain collectively, which they didn’t have as independent contractors.  But it’s also led to pushback from strip club owners.  AM Davies, a board member of the group, said club owners have been “making dancers sign very illegal contracts under duress” and charging exorbitant house fees, which “in and of itself is a union busting tactic.”  Davies cited a strip club in Orange County, the Library Gentleman’s Club, that tripled the amount they charge dancers to work, increasing the fee from $65 to $200 practically overnight…“So…it makes it look like, to the dancers, that being an employee is worse — because the clubs are implementing even more illegal practices”…she said…

Pyrrhic Victory (#939)

All Londoners are now part of a perpetual police lineup:

The Metropolitan Police…announced [that] on Friday, 24 January…it…beg[a]n the operational use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology…This will help [cops harass many more people than before, especially minorities]…The technology…provides [cops] with an additional tool to assist them in doing what [cops] have always done – to try to [root like pigs in things that don’t actually concern them and lock as many human beings as possible in filthy cages]…

To Molest and Rape (#966)

Not much of a sentence for attempted kidnapping & rape:

A[n attempted abduction for the purpose of rape netted a mere] 4 1/2-year prison sentence [for] a [typical and representative] Cleveland [cop] who admitted to urinating on a 12-year-old girl [while filming it with his cell phone] after she refused to [submit to abduction from] a school bus stop.  Solomon Nhiwatiwa [vomited out the usual prescribed platitudes containing the words]…”apologize” [and]…”responsibility”…Nhiwatiwa…[was] disciplined four times in his five years [as a cop and had murdered someone]…in 2012 before he joined the force…

Disaster (#975)

Good news about the FOSTA challenge:

…the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals revived Woodhull‘s challenge to FOSTA.  The court ordered that the constitutional challenge be sent back to the district court for a ruling on the merits…The decision can be found here…

In plain English, the district judge dismissed the case under the pretense that FOSTA’s chilling effect was imaginary and the litigants had nothing to fear from malicious prosecution; the circuit court said “bullshit” and ordered the district judge to do his fucking job and actually consider the case.

Fair-Weather Friends (#977)

Imagine keeping your job for 18 months between a blatant offense and actually being fired for it:

Two vice [pigs] were fired on [January 23rd] by the city of Columbus, Ohio, for their role in the wrongful arrest of…Stormy Daniels…in [July] 2018…that a lawyer for Ms. Daniels said was the result of a “conspiracy of dunces”…Steven Rosser and Whitney Lancaster, were found to have…[cost the city] $450,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Ms. Daniels.  It also [reb[r]anded the [corrupt] vice [gang] [to allow cops to continue raping sex workers]…Two other [pigs]…Ronald Kemmerling and…Scott Soha, were [rewarded with paid vacations]…

To Molest and Rape (#978)

Prince George’s County, Maryland is well-known for rapist cops:

A [typical and representative Prince George’s County], Maryland, [cop]…rap[ed] a woman [during] a traffic stop last year…knowing he had HIV…Martique Vanderpool was indicted by a grand jury on 11 counts, including first- and second-degree rape …“These are [very typical cop behaviors]”…Prince George’s County police Chief Hank Stawinski [would have said if he were honest]…

If It Were Legal (#988)

While stigma and criminalization exist, this will keep happening:

More than 11,000 identifying documents of…sex workers for the adult website SextPanther were reportedly exposed in a security lapse.  Passports, driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers used to verify models’ ages [to comply with US government requirements] were stored on an Amazon Web Services storage bucket that wasn’t protected by a password…a representative for the company [tweeted]…”at this time there is no evidence of [SextPanther] data being accessed with the exception of the security firm that found the exploit and informed the media.  The vulnerability was fixed within one hour of being notified”…A similar security lapse of sex worker information on adult webcam…site PussyCash was discovered on Jan. 3…In August, adult site Luscious exposed the data of over 1 million users…

Websites ask for all this sensitive information to cover their arses if raided by the pigs; they wouldn’t bother with it if not for increased criminalization and persecution of sex workers.

Dark Corners (#997)

More “truth” from the rag that claimed there were more Vietnamese “trafficking victims” in the UK than there are Vietnamese people of all kinds:

…lack of [fluency in] English…is one of the [so-called] warning flags that…put[s nail salons]…on a list…for possible [immigration raids excused by bogus]…human trafficking charges…[reasonably] price[d] nail bars have become a cornerstone of the high street, flourishing as [overpriced] shops [run by white people] close. In the past 20 years, manicures have gone from being an extravagant luxury mostly enjoyed by a moneyed elite to an affordable treat, easily accessible to everyone [so naturally something must be done to teach the peasants that nice-looking hands are only for the ruling class]…it is very hard to link such an innocuous service with such serious crimes [but UK cops and yellow journalists aren’t going to let that little detail get in the way]…

Keep in mind that despite many huge and expensive raids, the UK has never found more than a single-digit number of cases of genuine exploitation; these are actually just immigration raids cloaked under the pretense of “rescue”.  Also note that despite a failed attempt by the arch-prohibitionist New York Times to establish the racist “nail salon slaves” myth here in the US, it remains a distinctly English classist fantasy, like “pop-up brothels“.

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In the News (#976)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

These sites, these actors, these directors, these writers cannot keep using us, our bodies, and our stories to line their pockets while simultaneously refusing to support us and our needs.  –  Adrie Rose

Sex Work is Work

This could potentially be useful in winning the support of bureaucrats:

…gaining allies within governments remains a challenge…despite calls for decriminalisation by a number of international human rights organisations…and several United Nations agencies.  One of the biggest difficulties has been the…conflation of sex work with trafficking, which is linked to the belief that sex work is inherently immoral.  This [ignorant] view of sex work has shaped national policies for decades, pushing the industry outside the formal labour market and the scope of national labour laws and international standards.  However…the International Labour Organization (ILO) released a study on Unacceptable Forms of Work (UFW)…[which] contains twelve dimensions of unacceptability…unacceptability in sex work manifests where these twelve dimensions occur, but the work itself is not treated as inherently unacceptable.  Used well, this framework could be a way for sex worker rights advocates to argue for the inclusion of sex work under national labour law systems…

Pyrrhic Victory (#615)

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

[China’s] major tech city, Shenzhen…recently debuted a new system which allows people over the age of 60 to register for free subway rides, using their face as their ticket.  This…is also being experimented with in other cities including Jinan, Shanghai and Nanjing…[he excuse is] to speed up passengers moving through the barriers to get to platforms, as well as prevent fraud…

Under Every Bed (#734)

So much for the claimed “increase in sex trafficking in Montana”:

The FBI has cut in half the time its human trafficking agent in Montana will spend on [persecuting sex workers.  “Rescue” profiteer]…Penny Ronning…called the change “a blow” to anti-[sex worker] efforts in Montana…the decision…comes as the state brings on board two new [pigs] dedicated full-time to [harassing Asian massage businesses]…

Cooties (#797) 

Belgian cops have sadfeelz that AirBnB “sex trafficking” fantasies aren’t popular on their side of the Channel:

Sex workers in Bruges are renting rooms through…Airbnb for work, in what local authorities say is the start of a rising trend to “keep an eye on”…landowners who notice or suspect their properties are being used for sex work are encouraged to report them.  Failing to do so could put them at risk of being prosecuted for pimping…

Fallen Idol (#911)

This was a wise move on Stagliano’s part:

…Evil Angel [has] published its docu-porn Consent, which was originally slated to co-star James Deen, who has been accused of abuse by multiple women…following the numerous allegations against Deen, the company decided to stop working with him, but earlier this year, owner John Stagliano…[said] Evil Angel was welcoming Deen back…in a film…featur[ing] explicit sex alongside documentary-style footage exploring women’s agency within rough porn scenes.  Deen was cast after a woman performer asked to work with him for the film…[but] when the film finally hit the company’s site on Monday, there was no James Deen to be found…Evil Angel filmed a scene between Deen and Casey Calvert, the performer who requested to work with him, as well as an interview with Lily LaBeau, one of Deen’s accusers…Ultimately, all that footage was left on the cutting room floor.  (The film does, however, feature two other male performers who have been accused of on-set boundary violations)…

An Avalanche of Bullshit (#922)

Seattle sex workers are pushing back on the narrative that destroying Asian masseuses’ livelihood constitutes “help”:

Last month, dozens of community members gathered…at Seattle City Hall to discuss consequences of the large-scale police raids on 11…”Asian” massage parlors back in February.  The months-long sting operation resulted in the “rescue” of 26 Chinese-speaking women…According to Elene Lam…this kind of rescue narrative misconstrues the nuanced realities of the sex industry…Lam is an expert at the Toronto-based organization Butterfly, a support and advocacy group for Asian and migrant sex workers. The event…called Rescue Hurts, was organized by API Chaya and other local advocacy initiatives to correct misinformation around sex work and to propose alternative solutions that do not rely on state or police intervention…

You Were Warned

This decision is necessary to prevent a cascade of predatory lawsuits that would make the tobacco & breast implant lawsuits look reasonable and moderate in comparison:

A San Francisco Superior Court judge has tentatively sided with tech company Salesforce in a civil lawsuit brought by 90 women who claim they were sexually exploited.  The suit is the first of its kind since…FOSTA…As a large business-to-business software company, Salesforce counted Backpage among its clients. [Ambulance-chasers]…allege that Backpage…enabled them to be trafficked for sex.  But Backpage [and its assets were] seized by the U.S. government last year, making [a lawsuit against it unprofitable]…hence, lawyers got to work targeting Salesforce…lawyers…led [their clints] astray, big time, while marking a new low in attempts to assign legal liability to internet companies for their users’ actions and words…[because] under a large body of legal precedent, Salesforce would be unequivocally shielded by Section 230 in this case…

Japanese Prostitution (#930)

This is still a hot-button issue in Japan:

…Miki Dezaki…ma[d]e a documentary…[asking] why…a small but vocal group of politically influential conservatives still fervently dispute [sic] internationally accepted accounts of Japan’s…sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of Korean women and others in military brothels during World War II.  He explored in detail the conservatives’ case that the so-called comfort women were in fact paid prostitutes…Dezaki…concluded that the conservatives were “revisionists,” and used terms like “racism” and “sexism” to characterize some of their claims.  Now, five of them are suing him for defamation…[the] official 1993 Japanese government apology to the comfort women….has been a festering wound for…[nationalists] including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who have insisted that the Korean women were not sex slaves because there is no proof that they were physically forced…

The Notorious Badge (#934)

Twitter welcomes fake sex workers while working to silence real ones:

Hustlers…has been mired in controversy since the early production phase.  The living inspiration for the lead role…is reportedly considering suing the production company for misrepresenting her…and using her life story without compensation …Jennifer Lopez and fiance Alex Rodriguez have been accused of going to strip clubs for “research” and paying dancers a pittance for their time…Show Palace, the club…where much of Hustlers was filmed, has attracted criticism for closing its doors for a week of filming, giving dancers and staff little notice and no back pay…But the most ridiculous, bordering on the outright absurd, aspect of the film…was the marketing campaign…#TweetYourHustle….Women across the country began chiming in with stories of their…“hustles”…but there was no evidence of…sex workers.  There were no pictures of strip clubs or dressing rooms, no pictures of porn production sets, no pictures of in-call hotel rooms or AirBnB’s from escorts.  There was nothing from the community that put Hustlers on the map…

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