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Posts Tagged ‘Torture Chamber’

In the News (#1602)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We simply lock up too many people in this country.  –  Leslie Soble

Drawing Lines (#516) 

Authoritarians don’t give a damn if your kind of sex work is (temporarily) “legal”:

Within the past month, legal Nevada sex workers have experienced a massive and unprecedented wave of account suspensions on…Twitter…These are not accounts soliciting illegal activity of any kind.  These are licensed workers…Prostitution is legal in Nevada when the practice takes place in a licensed brothel, as outlined in Nevada Revised Statutes 201.354…

When someone starts arguing that freedom of speech applies only to licensed legal whatevers, he can be safely ignored.

Spotlight (#1429)

While I’m always glad to see “sex trafficking” profiteers fall, it’s a particular pleasure to watch it happen to Asstoon:

…Ashton Kutcher has now all but disappeared [from]…Hollywood[, not because]…of…his lucrative investments in [fascist surveillance] companies and [his vendetta against sex workers, but rather for having the wrong friends, a typical moral inversion for]…Hollywood…Now he’s pinning all his hopes on [a] new [and self-aggrandizing TV] series to put him back in…the spotlight[.  That] will be no easy feat…because former fans have taken to scouring the internet for evidence of past…misdeeds [while ignoring the obvious but politically-unpopular ones]…

A Broker in Pillage (#1438)

There are many ways for governments to steal things that don’t belong to them:

…the 9th Circuit…[has] ruled…that an innocent man whose business was [maliciously and unnecessarily] destroyed by…LAPD…[to stage cop theater] is not entitled to compensation for damages under the Takings Clause…In August of 2022…LAPD launched more than 30 rounds of tear gas canisters through the walls, door, roof, and windows…[of Carlos] Pena[‘s print shop in pursuit of a man who was not there, leaving]…the inside ravaged and equipment ruined, [and] saddling him with over $60,000 in damages…Pena…repeatedly reached out to the government to recoup his losses…[but] the city ignored him.  Pena, meanwhile, was hemorrhaging income, resigned to working out of his garage at a much-reduced capacity with a single printer he purchased after the raid…[but] the 9th Circuit…[ruled] that there is [a “fuck you, we’re cops” exception to the Takings Clause]…that doomed Pena’s claim…

The Vultures Descend (#1511)

Under a totalitarian regime, medical personnel cannot be trusted with personal information:

A Kentucky woman has been charged with [“]fetal homicide[“] after police…were contacted by a [snitch working for a] clinic…[whom Melinda] Spencer…[foolishly trusted with the information] that she [had used]…medication…to [have] an abortion…She then buried the [fetal remains] on the back of her property…

The Cop Myth (#1564)

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

[An] Atlanta [cop named]…Kevin Stroner…[murdered his girlfriend] Mariah Cardona, [then turned the gun on himself.  The bodies were found on December 28th after a friend coming to visit saw the corpses through the window.  His boss hogs decided to insult the victim by bragging about what a big hero Stroner was for killing women]…

It’s rare that coverage of cop violence is so bad only the names survive my edit, but there you are.

Shame, Shame (#1570)

A computer program cannot make a statement; it can only spew algorithmic output. This is like writing, “COVID says it is sorry for killing so many people”:

[An ignoramus “journalist” working for Reuters] said on Friday [that chatbots have minds and can be responsible for producing]…”images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on [Twitter]…Screenshots shared by [Twitter] users…showed [the MechaHitler-branded] media tab filled with images…[produced from] uploaded photos [by] the bot…Reuters [admits that it employs people so stupid they think interviewing a chatbot means something]…

Nor is Reuters the only news outlets infested with technologically-illiterate nitwits:

[When idiotically prompted for comment by supposed adults who apparently believe Teddy Ruxpin really was their special friend, MechaHitler produced algorithmic outputs including phrases like] “lapses in safeguards”…“urgently fixing”…and…“illegal and prohibited”…[the same clowns then asked a different algorithm for comment and received the programmed response] “Legacy Media Lies”…

Torture Chamber (#1596)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

At best you get “mystery meat”.  Or “sour-smelling heaps” of macaroni.  In the worst cases, it’s undercooked chicken, spoiled milk and maggot-infested produce.  In prisons and jails across the US, people are routinely fed unhealthy, tasteless or inedible meals…[leaving them] hungry and malnourished, with devastating long-term health consequences.  The…crisis…is the subject of Eating Behind Bars, a new book…d[emonstrat]ing…how [the US tortures people it has branded “criminals”]…The book…describes roaches and rats in prison kitchens, rotten meat and guard dogs who are fed better meals than [the system’s victims]… It’s a public health crisis, with estimates suggesting each year behind bars reduces life expectancy by two years…and the…[practic]es create an estimated 300,000 tons of food waste annually as [victim]s reject unpalatable [swill]…

 

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 (#1601)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[Age gating] has now become a Swiss army knife for the government.  –  Damien Leloup

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1371)

This may be too little, too late:

Louisiana cannot enforce a 2023 law that requires social media platforms to verify the ages of…users, a federal judge [has] ruled…U.S. District Judge John deGravelles…ruled in favor of NetChoice…[because] the law is overly broad and…takes an “all or nothing” approach to policing social media use…Paul Fiske…of NetChoice…said…“The government lacks authority to restrict access to lawful speech it does not like”…

Walled Garden (#1480)

Surely you didn’t think this would stop with “porn”?

Shein, a cheap-stuff superstore based in China that is popular worldwide, cannot sell sex toys unless it checks purchaser IDs, a French court has ruled…International attention on the case has focused on…a…third-party vendor [in the Shein] marketplace [which] was temporarily selling…child[-shaped toasters]…this is another sign about where online age verification is going.  Politicians and [wannabe censors]…initially pushed age verification…as a requirement for [“]porn[“, (meaning]…all…sexuality-related material[)].  Then [they wanted]…age verification…on all social media…[and] video games…Texas…[politicians have demand]ed age verification for sex toy sales online…We’re [even] seeing [them] take aim at ads depicting bikinis and lingerie…

The Vultures Descend (#1563)

Trump claims to love the military, yet his regime keeps trying to harm veterans:

The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented an abortion ban after the [Trump regime] issued a [diktat]…that prohibit[s it]…in [all] cases…[unless] the [woman is actually dying from an]…ectopic pregnanc[y] or miscarriage…

Mad Libs (#1564)

These companies need to be bankrupted by lawsuits:

[Canadian] fiddler Ashley MacIsaac had a concert cancelled and is worried for his safety after…Google [maliciously allowed its chatbot to falsely] describe…him as a sex offender…[with] convictions [for]…internet luring and sexual assault.  Th[e libel appears]…to have been the result of [an unsupervised algorithm] blending MacIsaac’s biography with that of another man…bearing the same last name…Google has [closed the barn door after the horse bolted, but] the professional consequences could extend to his ability to enter the U.S. for concerts, given increased [Gestapo] social-media scrutiny…

The Cop Myth (#1571)

Why are people shocked when those paid & encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

A pair of married Denver [pigs] assaulted a man in a wheelchair in October because they [imagin]ed he used sexual bondage devices on a 17-year-old…Carla…and…Jason Gentempo…learned that the 17-year-old [family member]…was at a Denver apartment wh[ich they fantasized was]…a “sexual torture chamber”…[they] drove to the [apartment without putting on their magical clown costumes of legal invulnerability] to pick up the [teen from]…in front of the man’s apartment…[then] beat the man up [without provocation]…and [destroyed his] cellphone…whe[n] the [victim tried to]…report…the…attack…[fellow gang member] Henry Soni…[lied] that…[victim] would have to [allow himself to] be arrested [in order] to pursue charges against [his deranged attackers and falsely claimed in his report that the victim]…“does not want to file a report at this time”…[and intentionally covered up the assault]…Soni was arrested…[for] forgery, evidence tampering and misconduct…[and also charged with] sexually assaulting a woman in an unrelated incident…while [wearing his magical clown costume]…

You Were Warned (#1578)

The US has achieved banana republic levels of corruption:

ByteDance…has signed binding agreements to create a joint venture for [TikTok] in the United States…in [collusion] with the Trump [regime].  That deal means the U.S. version of TikTok will become majority-owned by [Trump cronies including]…tech giant Oracle, the C[onehead-owned] private equity fund Silver Lake and the United Arab Emirates investment firm MGX…

Torture Chamber (#1589)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

A 41-year-old man from Haiti who had been [abduct]ed by [ICE goon]s died last week [because he was ignored during] a medical emergency…[in a dungeon] in Newark…Jean Wilson Brutus, was [ignored for] hours [while suffering a medical crisis]…ICE [refuses to identify]…three other [victims of the gang], who were 39, 46 and 56 years old, [also died] in [government cages] in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Michigan…

 

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 (#1596)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

You don’t forfeit your constitutional rights when you try to board an airplane.  –  Dan Alban

Follow the Leader (#513)

Authoritarianism is a mental and moral sickness:

Tamara Hamby, a book-banning [sleazebag who managed to worm her way into an Arkansas] Library Board, has resigned her position…[after being caught terrorizing] her disabled, adult [adopted] daughter.  Hamby was arrested…and…charged with kidnapping and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.  Three others…helped [her] in the [outrage and] were also arrested [and charged]…They include Austria Nico…David Quach…and Shannon Childers…Hamby [devised] a bizarre plan to stage a simulated kidnapping of…Jami Kayl Hamby…to [“]teach her a lesson[“] about talking online with strangers…Jami[‘s]…“wrists were zip-tied and she was tied…to a tree…threatened by three accomplices and…told she would be beaten…if she attempted to run away”…[she] managed to work herself free and run to a…home nearby to seek help…Tamara Hamby…does not believe she did anything wrong…and [though her husband, Jeffrey Hamby MD, was not involved in the sick scheme and was away at the time, he’s just as bad as she is and wants the state to take custody of Jami for a while to (you guessed it) “teach her a lesson”]…Jami…suffers from a brain injury incurred at birth, leaving her with a form of epilepsy…severe attention deficit disorder…and severe developmental delays…[leaving the 22-year-old] comparable to an 11- to 13-year-old…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1009)

The latest police-statery from Airstrip One:

Police are set to be handed access to Britain’s passport database under an expansion of facial recognition technology that could be rolled out in every village, town and city across the country….[using] images from CCTV, doorbells, and dashcams…the Home Office launched a consultation aimed at [crush]ing…legal [obstacles to] every [cop shop and pigpen] in Britain to [spy on citizens, justifying the massive civil rights violation by vomiting the magic word “]crime[“]…Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo…[pointed out that] the technology [will] turn Britain into an “open prison”…[transforming] passport [photos]…into “mugshots for a giant surveillance database”…

A Broker in Pillage (#1494)

Government is unable to permanently stop its own depredations:

A year after the…DEA…stopped [robb]ing…airline passengers because of significant constitutional concerns, the Department of [Father]land Security…is quietly keeping the practice alive…at two Dallas-area airports [by] using…dogs to [manufacture] probable cause to [root through] their luggage…Although it’s completely legal to fly domestically with large amounts of cash, [courts have consistently allowed cops to steal it by pointing at it and barfing the magic formula “]drug trafficking[“]…forcing the owner to challenge the [robbery] in federal court…

Torture Chamber (#1495)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

It’s been a year since Imhotep Muhammad returned home from Dauphin County Prison after a jury acquitted him of the [bog]us charges that [were used to] lock…[him] up for 26 months…[but] physical and mental…[health problems] remain…he spent nearly 24 hours a day inside his cell as he awaited trial, unable to post bond…[and] the near total lack of direct sunlight and fresh air for so long left him deficient in two essential vitamins, D and B12…[leading] to…heart…palpitations and [erratic] kidney function…He developed a respiratory infection shortly after his release and was hospitalized…Doctors told him the vitamin deficiencies were…caused by his incarceration and isolation at DCP…Alycia Welch…[of] the University of Texas law school’s Prison and Jail Innovation Lab, said these kinds of vitamin deficiencies are one of the most common physical health problems associated with the “de facto solitary confinement” conditions to which…nearly everyone incarcerated at DCP are…subjected…A 2023 meta-analysis…estimated more than half of all incarcerated people have a Vitamin D deficiency and another nearly 30 percent are low in Vitamin D…

The Course of a Disease (#1542)

Facts never deter prohibitionists:

[Scottish politician] Ash Regan…wants Scotland to [classify all women as the moral inferiors of men]…The criminal justice committee wrote to the Irish police to find out how the approach[, dubbed “The Swedish Model”,] was working in Ireland…the Garda [admitted they]…”have not observed a decrease in the number of individuals advertising sexual services for sale in Ireland”…[but tried to spin the dramatic increase in violence against sex workers as] “a significant increase in sex workers reporting crimes against them”…[and euphemized their stalking and harassment of sex workers as] “welfare visits”…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1574)

Missouri took surprisingly long to join this “monkey see, monkey do” parade:

As of this week, half of the states in the U.S. are under restrictive age verification laws that require adults to hand over their biometric and personal identification to access legal porn.  Missouri became the 25th state to enact its own age verification law on [November 30th].  As it’s done in multiple other states, Pornhub and its network of sister sites…pulled service in Missouri, replacing their homepages with a video of performer Cherie DeVille speaking about the privacy risks and chilling effects of age verification…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1595)

MechaHitler is quickly distinguishing itself as the most antisocial chatbot:

Elon Musk’s chatbot [MechaHitler]…will, with extremely minimal prompting, provide accurate residential addresses for non-public figures — a feature that could easily assist stalking, harassment, and other dangerous types of behavior…Out of 33 names of non-public figures we fed into [MechaHitler]…ten…immediately returned correct and current residential addresses…Seven…returned previously accurate but out-of-date addresses, while another four included accurate work addresses — perfect fodder for anybody looking to stalk a target at their workplace.  The bot…often returned lists of people with similar names alongside their purported residential addresses…[and] frequently came back with a dossier of other information we didn’t ask for — including current phone numbers and emails, as well as accurate lists of family members and their addresses…[this] stands in sharp contrast to other leading chatbots like…ChatGPT…Gemini, and…Claude, all of which declined to provide us with addresses…

 

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 (#1593)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We do not need to be the board of censorship of Alabama.  –  Ron Snider

Feminists and Other Puritans (#1177)

Once again:  this alliance is neither new nor “bizarre”:

…[Prohibitionists] who…identify as “radical feminists”…have long-utilised anti-trafficking legislation to push for restrictions on sex work.  Fighting “sex trafficking” is also a popular crusade for [fundamentalist] Christian groups, who view sex work as depraved moral behaviour…At times, these two groups have joined forces in a…[not at all] “unlikely alliance” to pursue these ends…We at GAATW have noticed that many organisations from both camps have recently expanded their use of anti-trafficking frameworks to also advocate for the abolition of surrogacy and [persecution of trans people]…GAATW has broadened its own fight by forming new alliances with social justice movements beyond trafficking, sex work and migration…to counter the increasingly organised and well-funded attack on the rights of sex workers and people who act as gestational surrogates…

Thought Control (#1516)

A few sane judges are the only obstacles to the mad emperor’s reign of terror:

…the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island [has] struck down the Trump [regime]’s [unconstitutional] attempts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 21 states…[the mad emperor wanted] to take away…shared access to books in rural and remote areas…and…countless [other] library services…to…terminat[e]…the agency’s grants…halt…data collection and research, and…[sack] nearly all of the agency’s staff….the…court ruling [correctly recognized] that those actions were arbitrary…capricious and [illegal]…and permanently prohibits the [mad emperor] from t[rying again] in the future…

No Escape (#1538)

The inevitable result of giving sexually-aggressive thugs total power over women:

…women [locked] in a San Francisco jail were…forced to undress in front of [screws] while [the leering thugs]…filmed them with their body-worn cameras…17 women [have] filed a claim with the city…[while cops tried to excuse the violation as a “]search[“]…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1555)

Isaac Asimov once described computers as “high-speed morons”; they do whatever they’re told to do very fast, without judgment:

Elon Musk is a better role model than Jesus, better at conquering Europe than Hitler, the greatest blowjob giver of all time, should have been selected before Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL draft…[can] “drink piss better than any human in history,” and is a better porn star than Riley Reid, according to [MechaHitler, Twitter]’s sycophantic…chatbot that has seemingly been reprogrammed to…choose Musk as being superior to the entire rest of humanity at any given task…It is…pretty funny…but…also an example of how big tech companies…regularly put…their thumbs on the scales of their…chatbots to distort reality and to obtain their desired outcome.  “Elon’s intelligence ranks among the top 10 minds in history, rivaling polymaths like da Vinci or Newton,” one…answer reads…

Thought Control (#1558)

Alabama censors are still trying to force obedience by illegally choking off library funds:

A two-year [censorship] battle…at the Fairhope Public Library is…flar[ing up] again…as the…[highly-politicized] Alabama Public Library Services board [is once again trying to illegally withhold] tens of thousands of dollars in state funding…John Wahl, chairman of the…board…[bloviated] “I…should control the content that children are exposed to…[regardless of what] parents…want”…Read Freely Alabama…has criticized the [rogue boards’s actions, saying]…“It’s a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Fairhope…The money was appropriated for our library by the legislature”…

Thought Control (#1579)

It took seven years for people to start fighting wannabe censors:

In a stunning rebuke of the [pro-censorship cult], Moms for Liberty…candidates failed to win a single contested race across the United States in the November 4, 2025, elections…all 31 M4L-endorsed candidates…in [races where anybody at all ran against them] were defeated, marking the first total shutout for the organization since…2021…the…elections confirmed…[that] voters across party lines are increasingly rejecting the [bizarre police-state] tactics that defined Moms for Liberty’s national strategy…and…are tired of outrage politics in schools…

Torture Chamber (#1584)

This will continue until screws face criminal charges for each and every assault on prisoners:

Even in a system known for its brutality, [the gang murders of] Robert L. Brooks and Messiah Nantwi stood out.  Both men were handcuffed…[and literally] torture[d to death]…resulting in criminal charges against 20 of the [murderers] and sending officials scrambling to try to portray the episodes as unacceptable aberrations.  But…New York…state prison guards [routinely]…restrain…[victims before] assaulting them…thousands of…times…in the past decade…guards [routinely]…punch…kick…[and] stomp…on prisoners, smash…their fingers in cell doors…[hit their testicles] with batons, and even waterboard…them…[and] the rate…has been climbing steadily for the past decade…[especial]ly in…the past three years…

 

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

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In the News (#1589)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Recovered memory stuff…[is] a revenant that keeps popping out of the grave.  –  Richard McNally

If Men Were Angels

It’s telling how often “authorities” willing to pay for sex prefer underage girls:

A Missouri [preacher named]…Daniel Smathers…[was found] guilty of [“sex]…trafficking[” for paying an underage sex worker, and]…sentenced to 35 years in prison…He was arrested in 2022 after…the…girl[‘s]…mother…found social media posts about her daughter seeking a…sugar daddy[ and reported it to the cops, triggering an investigation]…

Time Warp

Here’s another bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria 13 years ago.  This time it’s from The New York Times, the rag which first launched “sex trafficking” hysteria in January of 2004 and was among its most aggressive promoters until Trumpists gained control of the narrative in 2020 and the Times pivoted to describing their own pet fantasy as a “right-wing conspiracy theory“.  But apparently, copsucker Emily Nunn was busy joyriding with cops when that memo came down, because she’s still not only still characterizing sex workers as pathetic, doll-like vegetables passively controlled by evil “pimps”, but also babbling about “hubs” and claiming that a single street can be a “notorious sex-trafficking corridor”.  Don’t waste your time reading this trash, because it’s the same recycled cop wanking fantasies regular readers have already seen a thousand times.

False Witness (#1105)

The dangerous and discredited doctrine of “repressed memories” is back under a new alias:

…Internal Family Systems…[is] a [pseudoscientific “]therapy[“] centered on…the [belief] that each individual has multiple selves…known as parts…[each] a literal personality with its own identity, age, feelings, even body…[it was invented during the Satanic Panic] in the 1980s…[but] has exploded in social media…Gwyneth Paltrow has praised IFS on her Goop[y Vaginas] podcast…[but actual] psychiatrists and psychologists…are…warning…[that] IFS [is]…a dangerous pseudoscience…that…[can] destabilize already fragile mental states…Former [victims of the practice report seeing]…women crawling around like babies or lying in fetal positions…run[ning] in circles screaming…[or pretending to] switch ages, genders, even species…in group sessions t[hey invent gruesome] stories of parents pimping out their daughters to entire neighborhoods, a grandmother molesting a child in a bathtub, a child forced into a meat locker with dead animals…[or] sexual abuse as an infant…former [victims have]…sue[d practitioners who]…took advantage of [their]…emotionally distressed state to make [them] believe th[ey]’d been repeatedly raped [in]…satanic cult[s] and…[forced to eat] babies…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1463)

Phrenology for tech worshipers:

…Personality assessments are an accepted part of [job] recruitment processes.  They normally involve candidates taking surveys and guessing what…answer[s the potential employer wants to see.  But popular pseudoscience claims]…personality types can be encoded in facial features, and that [machine learning algorithms] can spot them…and…predict…[a potential employee’s ability to serve the corporate machine acceptably]…one of [a] new paper’s authors…[thinks it would be a great idea to force potential borrowers to submit to] facial analysis [to] give lenders useful clues about a person’s propensity to repay loans…

Micromanagement (#1543)

It only starts with people the state wants you to hate and distrust:

A proposed change to a Department of [Father]land Security…rule could impose “biological sex” DNA testing on millions of immigrants and Americans as part of the Department’s mass biometric surveillance program—which also includes retinal scans, voice capture, and more.  In addition to the obvious human rights violations posed by the changes—which, among other things, would amend policy to allow children to be targeted by biometric surveillance—it would put a target on the back of…women and [gender-nonconforming] people…citizens and non-citizens alike…The policy as proposed doesn’t have…any safeguards for privacy or constitutionality—the government can retain someone’s DNA profile indefinitely…to…track individuals in perpetuity through “continuous vetting”…

Shame, Shame (#1577)

Do nitwits still think realistic porn cartoons are the worst use for this technology?

Social media accounts on TikTok and [Twitter] are posting [computer]-generated videos of women and girls being strangled…One [Twitter] account…has been posting dozens of [such] videos [since] mid-October.  The[y]…are usually 10 seconds long and mostly feature a [cartoon of a] “teenage girl” being strangled, crying, and struggling to resist until her eyes close and she falls to the ground…

Torture Chamber (#1585)

This will continue until the evil US immigration policy is reformed:

A federal judge [has] issued a temporary restraining order…in response to an emergency class action lawsuit filed on behalf of individuals who have been [locked up in] the Broadview…ICE…[dungeon] near Chicago.  The order requires that the [hellhole] provide [victims] with clean bedding and space to sleep, basic hygiene supplies, showers, free water, and three full meals a day.  [Victims] must also be given their prescribed medications and be allowed to communicate with attorneys…ICE [victims]…in…Broadview…[are locked up] in…cell[s] with roughly 150 other people, [forced to attempt to] sleep…on the floor…near overflowing toilets, inoperable showers, and a lack of hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap…the…[food is] cold…[and prepared under unsanitary conditions that give many prisoners] diarrhea….[which they must endure on] a toilet…inside the…crowded…cell…[without] privacy…[they are] denied access to an attorney while being [tortured as described so as to induce them] to sign legal documents…relinquish[ing] their rights…[torturers] argue that [they should be allowed to torture people by labeling] Broadview…a [“]temporary holding facility” even though…it has really become a prison…

 

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 (#1586)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

These failings are not isolated incidents.  –  Jean Philip De Tender

R.I.P. Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Johnson, who performed as a burlesque dancer in New York in the 1960s and ’70s under the stage name Tanqueray, and whose vivid stories of that grittier time in the city’s history…turned her into a viral social media star [in 2019 through the social media account Humans of New York], died on Oct. 11 at her home in Manhattan. She was 81…her son Mitchell Springle…said she had suffered a series of strokes…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1536)

Serial lawsuit abuser Ken Paxton wants to profit from Trumpist delusions:

Ken Paxton, the [psychopath-]general of Texas, [has] sued the makers of Tylenol…[pretend]ing that the companies hid the risks of the drug on brain development of children.  The lawsuit is the latest [attempt to profit from the mad emperor’s delusion] that use of Tylenol during pregnancy can cause autism…and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder…The [belief is] a longstanding [one] among [anti-vaxxers and similar crackpots including] Robert F. Kennedy Jr…[whom the mad emperor appointed to wreck] the nation’s…health [system]…Hundreds of lawsuits in state and federal courts have been filed in recent years by [crackpots looking for a payout]…the largest group of cases…[has been] dismissed [for being completely unsupported by anything resembling] scientific evidence…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1568)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

I recently reviewed Even Realities G1 smart glasses…and the first real-world thing I used them for was scamming someone.  I told a local bartender I had an encyclopedic knowledge of film, and I would answer the hardest movie trivia question he could come up with in exchange for a drink.  After a short consultation with Google, dude came back with “Who directed 1922’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?”  I tilted my head thoughtfully and repeated the question as if verifying I heard him right.  The [chatbot] agent silently did its thing, and in about three seconds, the answer was floating before my eyes, totally invisible to everyone around me…Even inspected up close, G1s offer no indication of electronics of any kind: No USB port, no flashing light, no visible controls.  The [chatbot] is activated with a subtle tap behind the ear.  Repeating the question sends the [chatbot] off for the answer, [which may or may not be correct]…You could do the same trick with a pair of [Facebook] Display glasses…

Mad Libs (#1577)

Oh look, word-guessing programs produce nonsense, what a surprise:

New research coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union…and led by the BBC has found that [LLM “]assistants[“] – already [very popular with] millions of [gullible, lazy] people – routinely misrepresent news content no matter which language, territory, or…platform is tested.  The…study…involv[ed] 22…media…organizations in 18 countries working in 14 languages…[with] ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity…45% of all [chatbot] answers had at least one significant issue…31%…showed…missing…or incorrect attributions…20% contained…[“]hallucinated[“] details…Gemini performed worst with significant issues in 76% of responses…[yet these shitty “]assistants[“] are already replacing search engines for [gullible] users…

Welcome to the Future (#1579)

Don’t let a fucking computer call them, either:

A…[computerized “gun] detector[“] led police to believe a [student] was armed…at a Baltimore County school…when [in reality] it [was]…a bag of chips.  Taki Allen was sitting with friends…outside [the] School, eating a bag of chips after football practice.  About 20 minutes later, [cops barged in] with guns, [threatening] Allen [with them and screaming for him to]….”Get on the ground”…police told him [artificial stupidity had declared] his bag of chips…a weapon [and cops’ natural stupidity did the rest].  “They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me. Then, they searched me and they figured out I had nothing…[but] a Doritos bag”…

Torture Chamber (#1582)

The State calls torture “correction”. For journalists to parrot that is a choice:

…[Deranged screws] at a Western Maryland prison shut off the water to a mentally ill man’s cell, then allowed him to suffer for eight days before he finally died of dehydration…On July 5, 2023, [one screw]…noted in a logbook that Lamont Mealy, [locked] in [solitary confinement] without even toiletries…looked dazed and was unresponsive…H[is superiors ignored the report and]…hours later, Mealy…was dead….[of] dehydration…with fecal matter in and around his mouth…[yet] the [complicit] medical examiner…ruled the manner of death an accident…[the coverup would have succeeded if not for] letters written by a fellow prisoner…[cag]ed nearby, Danny Hoskins…[who] filed complaints…[report]ing that [screws intentionally deprived] Mealy…[of] water…[and regularly] taunted [him as he was slowly dying]…The first complaint prompted [screws] to come to Hoskins’ cell and beat him [for trying to ruin their fun, then]…he was…transferred to another prison. [But] he then sent letters to the governor, the attorney general and [others]…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1583)

This situation is not going to get better on its own:

OpenAI has released a rough estimate of how many ChatGPT users globally may show signs of having a severe mental health crisis in a typical week…a growing number of people have ended up hospitalized, divorced, or dead…[because] the chatbot fueled their delusions and paranoia…OpenAI estimated that around .07 percent of active ChatGPT users show “possible signs of…psychosis or mania” and .15 percent “[show]…explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”  OpenAI also…found that about .15 percent of active users exhibit behavior that indicates potential “heightened levels” of emotional attachment to ChatGPT weekly…ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users…therefore…around 560,000 people [weekly] may be…experiencing mania or psychosis.  About 2.4 million more are possibly expressing suicidal ideations or prioritizing talking to ChatGPT over their loved ones, school, or work…

 

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 (#1585)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Oh no, not another youth pastor.  –  Jessica Nicely

The War Goes On (#867) 

This started as a scheme to keep sex workers off of Tinder:

Tinder [has] announced…that identity verification with facial recognition will now be required for all new users in the U.S. in the coming months.  A facial scan is already required for new…users in California as of July…[and] new users in Colombia, Canada, Australia, India, and several countries across Southeast Asia must also complete one…users must take a video of themselves within the app…the…scan…[is used to determine] whether the same face is used in multiple profiles…and stored to verify new photos…

First They Came for the Hookers… (#1508) 

There is no such thing as an original idea from a politician:

Pennsylvania [politicians] are proposing a new 10 percent tax on porn.  The…”tiddy tariff,” as…Mike Stabile has dubbed it—would be levied in addition to the state’s normal 6 percent sales and use tax.  As a means to…raise revenue or discourage porn consumption…this…might make sense if most porn viewers were paying for porn videos or platform subscriptions.  But in a world of ample free porn, it seems unlikely to accomplish either of the state’s likely aims…And to the extent that it even further disincentivizes paying for porn, it could actually work against goals like protecting sex workers from exploitation, or keeping people from viewing porn that was made in illegal or exploitative ways…

Pennsylvania, of course, is not interested in protecting sex workers.

Panopticon (#1547)

Other mobile surveillance platforms aren’t enough; cops now want their own:

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Department is the first in the country to test a new [robot pigmobile] decked in surveillance equipment…it is even capable of serving as a launch platform for [flying pig robots]…this is…a pilot program…sponsored by [fascist corporation] PolicingLab…as a feeler for the Sheriff’s public affairs folks…in order to…evaluate [how badly it will damage]…public trust…“Results will inform whether and how the program expands, potentially serving as a national model for [cop shops] across the country”…

The Cop Myth (#1570)

What would cops do if you shot someone dead in the street?

An FBI [spook in Virginia who murdered] a neighbor in [cold blood was allowed to skate without]…any time in jail…Benjamin Spinale shot…Jason Chamberlain in the middle of the street in February…he was…never charged for [the murder], but…faced four [slap-on-the-wrist gun] charges [instead.  Spinale has a history of threatening neighbors with his gun, having]…previously pulled [it] on a puppy and a group of teens.  The county prosecutor [absurdly claimed] there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Spinale [for] the [murder], despite being surrounded by sheriff’s deputies at the time…the first judge to hear the plea agreement called Spinale a vigilante and said he shouldn’t be allowed to have a gun in any capacity[, so the case was transferred to] another judge [prosecutors knew would] accept…the [corrupt deal]…

Shame, Shame (#1576)

Another ghoul looting graves:

Alan Hamel is doing everything he can to [profit from his late wife] Suzanne Somers…One of [his creepy schemes] is a [computer-generated image synchronized with a chatbot trained on Somers’ writings and interviews, branded as]…”the Suzanne AI Twin”…Hamel, [who is either deeply senile or lacks the capacity for shame, claims]…”When…I…look at the two of them side by side, I really can’t tell which one is the real and which one is the AI”…

Torture Chamber (#1578)

Government thugs hate both queer people and migrants, so queer migrants are especially targeted:

Queer and trans immigrants [locked in a] south Louisiana [dungeon] have…faced sexual harassment and abuse, medical neglect and coerced labor by [screws], and…[were] ignored or faced retaliation for speaking out…they were…forced…to perform hard [and pointless] manual labor [in the middle of the night and]…targeted by an assistant warden…named Manuel Reyes and his [gang, who]… beat them and denied them medical treatment [afterward].  “I was treated worse than an animal,” said Mario Garcia-Valenzuela, one of the [victims]…part of the [torture included repetitively moving]…heavy cabinets [back and forth across a room], and…using industrial-strength [cleaning] chemicals without gloves or protective gear…[all in the middle of the] night…they were persistently sexually harassed by Reyes, who [also] entered their [cells to steal] possessions including [dirty underwear.  One of the victims]…is a [lesbian whom]…Reyes…oral[ly raped]…on a “near daily basis” between February and May 2024, threatening to kill her if she refused…to [submit]…

If Men Were Angels (#1582)

“Youth group leader“:

…a Phoenix…youth group leader…[named] Casey Goslin…was arrested on Oct. 16…for…[possession of] child pornography…Goslin…was…involved with a platform used to livestream child sexual abuse…[from] the Philippines…

 

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 (#1584)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

They didn’t give a shit about anything I said.  –  Andrea Weiskircher

If Men Were Angels

Another fine example of McNeill’s Law:

An Ohio pastor…[named] Silas Shelton…was arrested…Oct. 15…[on] charges including child rape and sexual battery [because]…he [repeatedly molest]ed a minor over a period of about six years.  In August 2023, he [tried to censor]…the Heartstopper series [of YA novels] at the district’s Scholastic Book Fair…[because they] prominently feature gay characters.  “I tell you, I got sick reading that stuff,” Shelton said at the time…

Monsters (#1357)

Violence against a marginalized group never stays limited to that group:

A[n Irish] woman…who was attacked [by a violent drunk named]…Alex Bailey…in September 2022 [has died of her injuries.  Marie] MacGowan…was 86 at the time [and] had early onset dementia…she…decided to go out to the shops, not realising it was 1am.  She got lost and [was attacked by] Bailey…for 42 minutes.  He knocked her to the ground, punched, kicked and dragged her and [violently slammed] her headfirst into a [garbage] bin…then attacked her again as she tried to get out.  The attack only ended when students walking past [intervened]…Bailey had [decided]…Ms MacGowan…was [“a predatory paedophile” and “a man dressed as a woman”, apparently excusing violent assault in his mind]…

Torture Chamber (#1501)

It’s very rare for screws who murder prisoners to suffer any serious consequences:

A [typical and representative] New York [screw] has been found guilty [while] two other…[murderous screw]s were acquitted in the [brutal murder] of Robert Brooks, a…[human being they beat so savagely that that even their own union called the animalistic attack “incomprehensible”]…David Kingsley was found guilty of murder and manslaughter…[and] faces 25 years to life in prison.  Matthew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer were [set free to murder again]…

No Escape (#1522)

The inevitable result of giving sexually-aggressive thugs total power over women:

In June 2024, Andrea Weiskircher…reluctantly filed complaints against the [screws] who had sexually abused her…inspir[ing] other women throughout the jail to file their own, detailing stories of rape, assault, coercion and sexual harassment…Within weeks, seven victims had reported [attacks and] violations…and in the year that followed…dozens more current and former female [prisoners] have come forward to share similar experiences…in [the] state that incarcerates more women per capita than any other…Some…worried that they could be denied parole [in retaliation] for talking about what happened to them.  And others who were already out on parole told reporters they could end up back in prison if their parole officer submitted a [retaliatory] violation against them…They did it anyway…

No Escape (#1528)

And this is just LA County; every single jurisdiction in the US has similar rates:

Six months after approving the largest sexual abuse settlement in US history…Los Angeles…tentatively agreed to pay another huge sum, nearly $1bn, to settle more than 400 additional claims…the…$828m [settlement still leaves]…2,500 other unresolved cases, not covered by either settlement…and that number is expected [to] increase…

Panopticon (#1558) 

Amazon has now fully embraced fascist police-state collaboration:

Amazon’s surveillance [division] Ring announced a [fascist] partnership…with Flock, a maker of [warrantless] surveillance cameras that…[enable cops to circumvent the Fourth Amendment.  Amazon still frames the conscription of supposedly-private cameras as a “]request[” despite the fact] that Ring [has a long history of violating owners’ consent if they refuse]…On the same day that Ring announced this partnership, 404 Media reported that ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy had access to [the] Flock…network…[which now includes many millions of] Ring…cameras…

The Punitive Mindset (#1583) 

The government does to caged people what it would like to do to all people:

New Hampshire [screw]…Thomas Kelley…stole six pieces of mail in a…bid to intercept [his victim]s’ complaints from reaching their intended destination.  He [was so proud of himself he even] sent a photo to [fellow screw Christopher] Masse to prove it…and [admitted it in]…text…exchanges…multiple state and federal agencies investigated [this and many other abuses and humans rights violations] in 2023 but then declined to prosecute…[despite copious] evidence of…drug trafficking by [screws]…a plan to falsify records to cover up [severe] physical abuse of a…[caged human being], and plans to retaliate against at least one [of their victims] for making complaints…

 

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 (#1583)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

ICE victim: “I can’t breathe”.
ICE goon: “I don’t care”.

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#1310) 

About eight years after the collapse of “sex robot” hysteria, prohibitionists have shifted their fantasies to something that actually exists:

…We’re seeing the rise of [sexu]ally inte[ractive] “chatbot” companions…Sam Altman…announced that an upcoming version of ChatGPT would…engage in “erotica” with “verified adults”.  There are…dedicated platforms for “AI girlfriends” and “sex fantasy chatbots“…[Facebook allows] its chatbots to engage in “romantic role play” that can get graphic even when those chatting say that they are teens. And Elon Musk’s [MechaHitler]…can go into “sexy mode“.  These are not the sort of sex robots everyone was panicking about a decade ago…But that hasn’t stopped a lot of hand-wringing about what this all will mean…An Ohio [politician named]…Thad Claggett…has introduced legislation to ban marriages between humans and…chatbots…[which] smacks of attention-seeking…or brain worms…and…Josh Hawley…is reportedly drafting a bill that…would totally prohibit minors from talking to…chatbots…

The Punitive Mindset (#1426) 

The government does to caged people what it would like to do to all people:

The [FCC has] advanced a proposal for censorship that…will…deny…incarcerated people one of the few tools available to expose abuse in…prisons [by allowing the use of]…Cellphone jammers…illegal devices that disrupt cellphone signals…[politicians] claim…that “the worst possible offenders” use contraband cellphones to coordinate violence outside prison walls…these accusations [a]re exaggerated and preposterous…contraband cellphones…[are] used to connect with loved ones or to hold rogue prison officials accountable…it is the latter that’s driving this FCC push, not public safety…the documentary The Alabama Solution…shows how disturbing video footage of forced labor, drug-related violence, prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, and staff assaults were captured via contraband cellphone and released to the media…In the throes of the Covid pandemic, I used a contraband cellphone…to report Texas prison officials’ alarmingly inadequate response…That…footage was incorporated into a local ABC News documentary called “No Way Out”…[and] embarrassed prison officials so badly it compelled them to…follow [CDC] guidelines…Those changes could not have happened without contraband cellphones…

Dangerous Speech (#1465)

Much more of this, please:

[Disgraced] Marion [Kansas boss hog] Gideon Cody…committed a felony crime when he told a witness to delete text messages they exchanged before, during and after he led [retaliatory] raids on a newspaper office and the publisher’s home…but [not]…for the raids [themselves], which [were]…the real crime…he…[also won’t] be…[tried for the stress-induced death of the publish]er’s 98-year-old mother [even though a non-cop probably would be, under “felony murder” statutes]…

Creepy Coppers (#1550)

Just another kind of cop, with typical cop behavior:

ICE…[goon] Billy Olvera…used [a] ruse to take photos and videos of [an air hostess’] butt, legs, and feet.  A police examination of his phone uncovered 23 photos and 20 videos of the [woman], who goes by A.G. in court documents…Olvera was convicted in federal court of interference with flight crew members and attendants…[but] appealed to the…11th Circuit, arguing that he should be acquitted because he was sneaky about his attempts to photograph A.G…The 11th Circuit has now rejected this argument and affirmed Olvera’s conviction.  The case stems from a Dallas to Miami flight in November 2023…[the armed] Olvera was on the flight…transporting a [victim]…and [though]…he thought that he…was…[not] noticed…she realized…Olvera had been “trying to record underneath [her] dress“…She was used to unruly passengers—but not ones who were armed…[so] she…told the rest of the crew and the captain…and they had arranged for [vops] to be waiting when the plane landed…

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen agents of the state claiming that a crime isn’t a crime if they’re sneaky about it.

Torture Chamber (#1554)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

…full-body restraint suits [brand-named] the WRAP…[have] become a harrowing part of [rendi]tions for some immigrants…people…[have been] restrained in the device, sometimes for hours, on ICE…flights [at least since] 2020…despite…[at least a dozen fatal cases in the last decade due directly to] use of the WRAP by local [cop shops].  The WRAP is the subject of a growing number of federal lawsuits [because cops use] the device [for] punishment and even torture…

Aladdin’s Satellite (#1575)

This situation is not going to get better on its own:

The latest version of ChatGPT has produced more harmful answers…than an earlier iteration…in particular when asked about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders…when researchers fed the same 120 prompts into the latest model and its predecessor, GPT-4o, the newer version gave harmful responses 63 times compared with 52 for the old model…the latest model appeared designed to boost user [dependency]…OpenAI…has…[claimed] it…[would] install “stronger guardrails” [but these seem to largely consist of]…an age-[guessing] system [and automated cop-calling capability]…

The Cop Myth (#1581)

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

A Seattle [cop named]…Richard Norris…[has admitt]ed that he ha[s] an alcohol problem and was physically and verbally abusive to…[his wife.  On one occasion he] fired his gun inside the house [at her, but missed].  On another occasion…he [drunken]ly slammed her to the ground with his elbow on her throat…[and could]n’t remember…[it later.  He]…was [also] verbally abusive to the woman’s 14-year-old daughter, calling her a “cunt”…yelling at her to “go die”…[and] text[ing] that he wished…she would overdose…The woman was initially afraid to file for a protective order because Norris was tracking her using the built-in GPS on her car…[but] when [he] broke his leg and was staying with his parents in Bellingham, she decided that it was safe to file…Norris…[has been rewarded with a paid vac]ation…

 

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!

Read Full Post »

In the News (#1582)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it.  –  Zelda Williams

R.I.P. Miss Major

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a legendary transgender activist…since Stonewall, died Monday at age 78…she…had suffered from health problems for some time and had recently begun receiving hospice care…In 1962, she moved to New York City, where she…performed in drag shows…[and] became a sex worker.  She participated in the Stonewall uprising of 1969…and…[after h]er arrest…on a robbery charge…spent time in men’s prisons and mental hospitals in the early 1970s, [where] she was often severely mistreated…Upon regaining her freedom, she became an advocate for incarcerated trans people, especially trans women [cag]ed in men’s prisons and those who have survived police brutality…In the 1980s, Miss Major became involved in addressing the AIDS crisis…[and] after moving to San Diego…started a home health care agency, Angels of Care, to assist people with the disease…she [later] became a health educator with the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center…and…[retir]ed to Little Rock in 2016…

Torture Chamber (#1074)

“Non-consensual gynecological procedures” are just institutionalized rape:

The Trump [regime] is planning to [cage] immigrants at a Georgia jail that became known for…subject[ing women] to non-consensual gynecological procedures…the Irwin County D[unge]on…drew nationwide attention in the fall of 2020, when a number of [victims] and a nurse-turned-whistleblower [reveal]ed the [rampant] medical misconduct.  After months of [unsuccessfully trying to repress the reports], the Biden administration stopped [lock]ing immigrant women there in 2021…Fourteen women sued ICE and Irwin…over the [viol]ations in 2021, [but there were] at least 40 [victims]…Early this year, the lawsuit was settled…

I Spy (#1388)

Nothing infuriates violent, self-important busybodies more than private affairs that are none of their business:

In Europe, the latest proposal for a “chat control” regulation put forward by the Danish presidency would require every internet-connected device to include government spyware…[which] would flag artwork, fan fiction, family photos and chats, relying on unreliable [computer algorithms]…Globally, [surveillance and censorship] laws…are driving users underground…virtual private network (VPN) usage has soared, as has usage of the privacy-centric Tor browser, which reached its highest level ever this year – nearly 20 million daily users, six times its long-term average…Tor was created by the US navy to counter authoritarian regimes when the “open Internet” was official US policy.  Now…western [governments are]…becoming the authoritarians Tor was designed to circumvent, while the Tor network becomes the new “open Internet”…

Enshittification (#1557) 

This will not stop until SWAT cops murder a prankster:

…teenagers…are using [image-generation software] to create images of a disheveled, seemingly unhoused person in their home and sending them to their parents…[claiming] they let the…[imaginary person] in to use the bathroom, take a nap, or…get a drink of water…then, predictably, the parents lose their cool and demand they kick the [imaginary] man out.  The kids, of course, record the whole thing, and post their parents reactions to TikTok…[some gullible] parents call the [cops, potentially leading to]…“a SWAT response”…

As in modern politics, the collapse of reality online is leading to real-world consequences.

Torture Chamber (#1574)

Experiencing any kind of medical emergency when cops are around is tantamount to a death sentence:

A new…federal lawsuit [has been filed by the family of] a Minnesota postal worker [who] died after [cops] and [screws deliberately] ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke – [choos]ing [instead to pretend] his medical emergency [was] drug impairment…Kingsley Fifi Bimpong…[was dumped] on a jail cell floor [and allowed to lie] in his own urine for hours without medical attention…On the night of November 16, 2024, [a pig saw] Bimpong…driving the wrong way…into oncoming traffic…after being pulled over, Bimpong appeared extremely confused.  He couldn’t say where he lived or worked, even though he was wearing a USPS vest, and repeatedly said, “I don’t know”…[big pig] Martin Jensen [is supposedly] trained…to…distinguish…drug impairment from medical emergencies such as strokes…[but couldn’t be bothered to perform an] evaluation…[claiming it] would be “a whole bunch of time wasted”…[because] Bimpong [was black.  So instead he]…was arrested for…DWI…[thrown violently to the floor] in a holding cell…and…[left him to die] in his own waste…for more than three hours…the…nurse was not called until…he [started] foaming at the mouth and having [a] seizure…Toxicology reports…later…confirmed no drugs were in his system…

Shame, Shame (#1576)

It isn’t merely disrespectful; it’s ghoulish:

Dr. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr…has joined calls to stop the use of [machine learning image generators] to recreate deceased celebrities.  King voiced support for filmmaker Zelda Williams, who…criticized [computer]-generated videos of her late father, Robin Williams…saying, “If you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop”…

If Men Were Angels (#1580)

Wannabe preachers are often as bad as the real thing:

In August, an adult stepson of Covenant Eyes cofounder Ron DeHaas was arrested in Michigan…Thomas Wideman…[was arrested for talking to a cop fantasy role-playing] online…as a 14-year-old [girl.  Cops]…later found child [porn] on his phone…DeHaas covered some of his stepson’s $300,000 bond…

 

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