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Posts Tagged ‘Traffic Jam’

In the News (#1433)

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

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

Traffic Jam (#694)  

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

I Spy (#787)

Surveillance beyond the wildest dreams of the Stasi:

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

I Spy (#1376)

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

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

Cops and Robbers (#1379)

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

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

You Were Warned (#1420)

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

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

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1424)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

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

Torture Chamber (#1427)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

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

 

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

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In the News (#1430)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Obituary, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2024| 1 Comment »

The procurement of health insurance is not a mandatory religious ritual.  –  Judge Leanna K. Weissmann

The Punitive Mindset (#838) 

We need a class-action suit for booksellers affected by these evil policies:

A Georgia jail is refusing all books shipped to inmates, except those that come from major retailers.  One local bookshop is suing…[over the] unconstitutional…policy[, which is excused by having cops barf out the magic word]…”contraband”…prison officials [all over the US pretend] that inmates receive shipments of paper that has been soaked in drugs…[when in reality, it is well-known that drugs in prisons are smuggled in by screws]…Jeffrey Singer, a practicing physician and senior fellow at the Cato Institute [politely expressed the absurdity of the “paper soaked in drugs” fantasy by saying]…”I don’t know if any of these things have ever occurred, or whether law enforcement is simply imagining such scenarios”…

False Witness (#1105)

Good riddance to toxic rubbish:

Bennett Braun, a Chicago psychiatrist whose diagnoses of repressed memories involving horrific abuse by devil worshipers helped to fuel what became known as the “Satanic panic” of the 1980s and ’90s, died on March 20 in Lauderhill, Fla…He was 83…Braun…claimed that he could help patients uncover memories of childhood trauma…which…were responsible for the splintering of a person’s self into many distinct personalities.  He…became…frequently quoted…in the news media…and…publicized his [bizarre fantasies]…of…patients discover[ing] memories of being tortured by satanic cults…key[ing] into a growing national panic…[that] began in 1980 with the book Michelle Remembers…and spiked following allegations of abuse at day care centers in California and North Carolina…[tabloid] TV…[heavily] promoted such claims…[but] the psychiatric profession bore [most of the] responsibility…[because fabulist]s like…Braun [gave] it a gloss of authority…[rather than urging proper investigations of literally-impossible claims]…

Cops and Robbers (#1181) 

Only a few years ago, media outlets were lionizing wackos like these:

Members of a[n Arizona-based] militia group called Veterans On Patrol have spent recent weeks conducting “operations” in Spokane — searching the streets near homeless shelters looking for people they think are victims or perpetrators of human trafficking.  The group has been distributing fliers to homeless people with a phone number and instructions to call Veterans On Patrol instead of the police if they suspect trafficking is occurring…Michael “Lewis Arthur” Meyer, the leader of the group, arrived in Washington earlier this year and has been attempting to establish a base of operations in the Inland Northwest…Arthur…is not a veteran.  The group started [in 2015] with the stated goal of veteran suicide prevention, but later evolved to focus on immigration and…[fantasies of “]preventing child trafficking[“]…In 2018, Arthur discovered an abandoned homeless camp in Tucson, Arizona, that he [imagin]ed was part of a massive sex trafficking network…Arthur says he isn’t a QAnon adherent, but he does espouse related conspiracies involving chemtrails and Satanic pedophiles who supposedly harvest adrenochrome from children’s blood…In Arizona, Veterans On Patrol members have harassed aid workers, chased people through the desert and physically detained migrants…Arthur has a warrant out in Arizona after skipping out on his sentencing for destroying humanitarian water stations set up for migrants…

Vulture Watching

Psychopathy is typical in politicians, but this is complete derangement:

Arizona’s…Supreme Court [has] revived a near-total ban of abortion, invoking a 1864 law that forbids the procedure except to save a mother’s life and punishes providers with prison time…It superseded the previous law, which mandated the right to end a pregnancy by the 15-week mark, resetting policy to the pre-Roe v. Wade era and adding Arizona to the roster of 16 other states where abortion is virtually outlawed…the…ban could force Arizona’s licensed abortion clinics to ramp down dramatically or shutter…The legal upheaval landed as reproductive rights advocates push for a November ballot measure that would protect access to abortion in the Arizona state constitution.  Campaigners have already gathered more than enough signatures to qualify…

The Vultures Descend (#1308)

Now this is an interesting development:

The U.S. Supreme Court 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby allowed religious, anti-abortion employers to refuse to cover contraception in their employee health insurance.  But an extraordinary April 4 appellate court decision in Indiana turned the…decision into a winning argument for abortion rights…The…case was brought in 2022 by five anonymous plaintiffs of…the group Jewish Hoosiers for Choice….[who] argued that their religious doctrine teaches that a fetus is part of a woman’s body, not an independent being with its own rights.  The abortion ban, then, violates their religious freedom to decide whether to have an abortion.  This argument, which undergirds similar religious freedom lawsuits across the country, including in Kentucky, Missouri and Florida, is a profound pushback against the Christian right’s attempts to assert their position, that life begins at conception and that a fetus is a person, as the only genuine religious belief…Judge Leanna K. Weissmann [wrote that]…If the owners of Hobby Lobby could engage in religious exercise by refusing to provide coverage for contraceptives they considered abortifacients…then “it stands to reason that a pregnant person can engage in a religious exercise by pursuing an abortion”…

Stalkers in Blue (#1408)

This cannot be reformed:

Dana Rachlin, a prominent police reform advocate, once collaborated so closely with local precincts in North Brooklyn that she often worked out of the office of NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey…Rachlin…[foolishly] grew [to trust him] so much…that when…she was raped in October 2017, one of the first people she called was Maddrey, who urged her to file a police report, despite her reservations…Now Rachlin…[has filed] a federal lawsuit [because] police officials weaponized [supposedly-]confidential details of that sexual assault to retaliate against her for her vocal criticism of violent policing…in mid-2020 NYPD officials cut off her access…and told precinct leaders not to work with her.  Soon afterward…[details of] her…sexual assault was circulated to community advocates, mixed in with misinformation… and the [lie] that she fabricated the attack and falsely accused a Black man of rape. Those same claims later surfaced in two anonymous letters sent to…politicians and others… Rachlin [said] “This isn’t just about me. It’s about…a department that reacts to even the slightest criticism with ruthless tactics designed to instill fear and cause compliance”…

Thought Control (#1415)

I was destined to be threatened with state violence regardless of career path:

[Two Alabama bills] comprise a package…aimed at [redefin]ing…obscenity [in a manner that violates the First Amendment] while also removing free speech protections for school and public libraries…[thus] allowing [librarians] to be criminally prosecuted…[if a politician points at books or other library] materials [while barfing out the magic formula] “harmful to minors”…librarians…would have to guess…which…materials…[any of hundreds of censorious politicians might target, which is impossible, so] librarians will likely favor caution and simply not place [any book which has ever been “challenged” by any wannabe censor anywhere in the country] into circulation instead of dealing with the potential liability that comes from making those materials accessible…

 

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 (#1417)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 2, 2024| 2 Comments »

This…is a very good example of panic legislation.  –  Mary deYoung

Winding Down (#1106)

Until the concept of prohibition itself is challenged, these measures are just crumbs thrown to the peasants from their masters’ tables:

Germany’s parliament is expected to…make [it] the third country in Europe to legalise the drug for personal use…Adults would be allowed to possess 50g at one time at home, and 25g in public…[prohibitionists burbled the usual pro-police-violence nonsense, including dishonest] doctors…[who vomited lies about] the risk of addiction [even though cannabis is not addictive]…

Eavesdropping (#1167)

Shotspotter is a boondoggle designed to manufacture false evidence for cops:

ShotSpotter…places its microphone sensors primarily in low-income communities of color…the exact locations…have been kept secret from both its [cop shop] clients and the public at large…[but] a leaked document…details the…precise locations and uptime of 25,580 ShotSpotter microphones.  The…surveillance devices…[are] at more than a thousand elementary and high schools…atop dozens of billboards, scores of hospitals, and…more than a hundred public housing complexes…More than 12 million Americans live in neighborhoods with at least one…microphone, [and] sensors can be found in 84 metropolitan areas and 34 states or territories in the United States.  Nine cities have more than 500 sensors installed, including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Las Vegas, Nevada…in aggregate, nearly 70 percent of people who live in a [surveilled] neighborhood…[are] either Black or Latin…

The Implosion Begins (#1265)

The hysteria is imploding so hard, it’s falling all the way back to its roots:

Utah [poluticians] are moving forward with a bill that would criminalize so-called ritualistic child sexual abuse [despite the complete lack of evidence that such a thing exists or has ever existed.  A recent]…hearing…[was packed with mentally ill] adult…[fantasists who have been enabled and encouraged to dwell in their delusions for decades]…Utah’s role in the 1980s [Satanic] panic was significant.  Many of the first well-known cases of alleged ritual abuse originated in the state, as did the movement’s central figures, including therapists who used hypnosis and manipulative interview techniques to [create false] memories [in] alleged child victims…Local media promoted the claims…

The Vultures Descend (#1323)

Alabama has at long last got the “fetal personhood” it claimed to want; let’s see how they like it:

The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system is pausing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that [absurdly declared] frozen embryos are children…reproductive rights advocates and medical experts have been warning…for days…that the high court’s decision could have devastating consequences for Alabamians seeking infertility treatments…and…could soon have profound impacts far beyond the state’s borders…[the unscientific declaration] will likely not only make the already high costs of infertility treatments substantially higher, but will likely also discourage many providers from offering them at all in the state in fear of being held liable for wrongful death…

And if that worries you, how about this?

Most House Republicans have cosponsored a bill declaring that life begins from the moment of conception…[almost immediatel]y after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are “unborn children”…the “Life at Conception Act“…states that the term “human being” includes “all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization”…[and] does not include any exception for in vitro fertilization…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1327)

Maybe this will teach fools what a danger biometric identification actually is:

…it’s becoming clear that biometric screens are just as easy to bypass as…other…security…[as demonstrated by a new] banking trojan that steals people’s faces.  Un[wary] users are tricked into giving up personal IDs and phone numbers and…prompted to perform face scans.  These images are then swapped out with AI-generated deepfakes that can easily bypass security checkpoints.  The method — developed by a Chinese…hacking family — is believed to have been used in Vietnam [last] month, when attackers…[used it to] withdr[aw] the equivalent of $40,000 from [a victim’s] bank account…This discovery reveals the alarming, growing threat that biometrics pose…Face swap deepfake attacks increased by 704% between the first and second halves of 2023…The[re was]…also…a 672% increase in the use of deepfake media being used alongside spoofing tools and a 353% increase in the use of emulators (which mimic user devices) and spoofing to launch digital injection attacks…

Remember this the next time some ninny tells you that cartoon porn is the worst possible use for deepfakes.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1405)

Nebraska’s float in the “monkey see, monkey do” parade is notable for its open infantilization of women:

…Nebraska [politicians are considering] a bill t[o use] young people…[as a pretext] to [spy on adults’ viewing of] online porn by [“age verification” of people too ignorant to use a VPN]…Dave Murman…[admits] his goal is to pr[etend]…women a[re equivalent to] children…[and also that] he [wants to join the “monkey see, monkey do” parade because] Utah,  Louisiana, and Arkansas [did]…

Served Cold (#1406)

This just keeps getting better:

A [Colombian] woman is suing for defamation and emotional distress because of the way she was portrayed in the [propaganda] film Sound of Freedom, marking a fifth lawsuit filed against Tim Ballard and [his rescue industry outfit], Operation Underground Railroad…Kely Johana Suarez Moya…“was tragically condemned by the Defendants to the entire world as being a child trafficker without any due process or due diligence by the Defendants,” the lawsuit reads.  Other defendants…include…[the] movie [itself]…the distributor…and…writers…Katherine Ballard, [and]…Janet Russon, a former OUR employee and Tim Ballard’s psychic…Ballard and OUR lied to the public about a “sting operation” in Colombia…where operatives “rescued” children at a “pedophile party” on the Colombian Island of Baru in 2014…In reality…[they lured]…in impoverished…young adults with the promise of money…[and] “None of the young adults…were trafficked in any way (other than by Ballard)”…

 

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 (#1314)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[Some prosecutors] don’t want to turn miscarriages into crime scenes.  –  Miriam Krinsky

A Mound of Filth (#907) 

Though “sex trafficking” hysteria is moribund, outlets which once promoted it are now distancing themselves from it, and supporting the human rights of sex workers is no longer the kiss of political death, one wouldn’t know it from this article, which reads like something written nine years ago at the apex of the moral panic.  All the tired Arizona tropes and stale characters (the Phoenix Dream Center, “Cuckoo Clock” McCain, bogus “statistics”, “Body Fluids” Sepowitz, wanking fantasies about sex workers’ lives, “King of the Hill” claims, etc) are trotted out in juxtaposition with the mummified “gypsy whores” myth in order to promote a re-animated “Project Rose”, now rebranded as “The Arizona model”.  It would almost be sad if these people weren’t dangerous, well-funded sociopaths on a crusade against women’s sexual autonomy, and employing an army of rapist thugs to accomplish it.

Zeitgeist

Sexual violence is not merely a problem of US policing; it’s endemic to policing as an institution:

…we need to recognize that [sexual violence] is systemic…it is built into policing cultures…Last year, the B.C. Municipal Undercover Program, was shut down…following [revel]ations [of the extreme lengths to which cops would go to “prove” they weren’t cops]…14 women working for the Ottawa Police…reported that they were sexually assaulted or harassed by male [cops] over the previous three years…The 2022 Tiller report…said, “The all-too-common attitude was that women were in the workplace for the sexual amusement and gratification of male members”…Even more, what happens in the force does not stay in the force…[cops regularly inflict sexual violence on women they encounter, with] Indigenous women [being] disproportionately impacted…police do not protect individuals and communities from sexual violence.  The history of police mishandling sexual assault cases, and further traumatizing victims in the process, is well documented…an[d]…policing institutions themselves are sites of sexual violence.  Police are often the perpetrators…

Devil’s Advocate (#1114) 

The absurdity becomes more obvious when we substitute “toaster” for “sex doll”:

A [Utah politician] committee…gave unanimous approval to a bill that would prohibit the possession, purchase, or distribution of [toasters] made to look like minors or children…a representative from the Utah Attorney General’s Office said there is a “high correlation” between possession of the [appliance]s and [possession of marijuana.  Politician]…Nate Mutter…said…s[toners often smoke up all their weed, so rooting pigs]…aren’t able to find evidence [that doesn’t actually exist]…”What we do know about the [toaster]s, though, is that there’s a high correlation between them being found in homes with [weed, because stoners get the munchies and use them to heat pop-tarts] or [frozen waffles]…So, in those cases where we [want to harass someone who hasn’t actually done anything wrong], this would be an additional tool to [arrest] someone…and [lock] them in…[a cage]”…

Creepy Coppers

He aced the predatory pervert job requirement, but failed the lying test:

Sergio Celaya arrived at the El Mirage [Arizona] Police Department on February 6 hoping to get hired as a police assistant.  However…whilst doing a polygraph test Celaya reportedly confessed to having videos showing underage girls having sex on his computer…police [then] searched his home…and…found a flash drive holding thousands of pornographic videos and photographs, including one of children aged 12-13…

Negative Secondary Effects (#1226)

I’m glad I was wrong about the lawsuit’s chance of success:

Edinburgh sex workers prevailed…when a judge ruled that the city council’s attempt to ban all strip clubs was unlawful.  The council’s policy, known as “nil-cap,” effectively banned all “sexual entertainment venues”…in the…capital.  Local sex workers, alongside the clubs where they make their living, launched a judicial review and…Lord Richardson released an 82-page judgment ruling the policy unlawful…

The Vultures Descend (#1273)

Bloodthirsty politicians are furious about having their crusades thwarted:

Republican…[politicians] frustrated by…district attorneys who have publicly pledged not to bring charges under their state’s abortion laws…have introduced bills that would allow state officials to either bypass the local prosecutors or kick them out of office…In Texas, [two mob-rule] bills…would allow [lawsuits against]…a district attorney who fails to prosecute abortion-related offenses…[or] anyone suspected of “aiding and abetting” an abortion.  In Georgia, [politicians] want to create a…commission that could…remove local prosecutors who [offend state politicians]…A…South Carolina [bill] would give the state attorney general the power to prosecute abortion cases…And [an] Indiana…[bill]…would allow a…special prosecutor to enforce laws when a local prosecutor declines to do so…

To Molest and Rape (#1309)

“Attempted to engage in a sexual relationship” is such a long-winded way to say “tried to molest”:

A Walton County [Florida cop named]…Artie Rodriguez…was immediately removed from his position [as a thug paid to  spy on, harass, and intimidate students] at Walton Academy after…a [genderless person reported] Rodriguez attempted to [molest them]…in person and [groom them] via text…Rodriguez showed the student explicit photos, [grop]ed them…and provided them with a vape pen…

 

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 (#1311)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[Forcing people to provide private] data…is dangerous, because it’s not a matter of if it will be breached; it’s a matter of when.  –  Caden Rosenbaum

Schadenfreude 

Yet another opportunistic fraud has been unmasked:

…the…[“]sex trafficking[” opportun]ist known as Eliza Bleu has broken into some of the top tiers of right-wing media in just a few years, growing her audience through…[claims that she is] “a survivor of human trafficking”…But now Bleu[‘s lies have been exposed by]…embarrassing images from her past…and…contradict[ions in her backstory from different] videos and interviews—and her frequent use of different names online…Now two former friends of Bleu [have come forward with more details which reveal]…that, at best, Bleu is exaggerating her experiences for attention…Carly Wenzel, a one-time pal…who has known her for two decades…added she believes Bleu is “completely lying”…

Lying Down With Dogs (#335)

What other country uses the term “prostitution” to criminalize consensual behavior the regime dislikes?

An Iranian court has handed jail sentences of more than 10 years each to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran’s main landmarks in a video seen as a symbol of defiance against the regime…Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance, Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, were arrested in early November…Haghighi was not wearing a headscarf…women are also not allowed to dance in public, let alone with a man…The couple, who already had a following in Tehran as popular Instagram bloggers, were convicted of “encouraging corruption and public prostitution” as well as “gathering with the intention of disrupting national security”…they [were]…deprived of lawyers during the [kangaroo] court…and attempts to secure their release on bail [were] rejected…

Negative Secondary Effects

It usually starts with sex workers, but it never stops with us:

A bill introduced in West Virginia…aims to ban adult entertainment businesses from the state…The language of the bill is both borderline graphic and incredibly vague: it defines the body parts that stores are prohibited from showing in books, live performances, and films with meticulous specificity…but specific details on which businesses will actually be affected if this bill were to pass into law are left mostly undefined…Under th[e bill’s current language], a bookstore that sells [sex education books or videos]…would be considered an adult business…the terms of this bill could effectively make gay bars and nude modeling at art schools illegal…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1021)

This would be terrible even if the cops weren’t lying:

The…NYPD…is in the process of redesigning its fleet of p[igmobi]les, which will now have 360-degree cameras installed in them for constant [surveillance] of the [citizen]s…Po[rk] Commissioner Keechant Sewell…[lied] that…there are no plans to e[quip] the [cameras with] facial recognition technology…[but she bragged about]…an “augmented reality” app…will allow [cops] to point their smartphones at a location, such as a…[person’s home], and learn about things like wanted suspects or previous 911 calls connected to the address…

Creepy Coppers

The people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A [Virginia cop named]…David Stone…is currently being held without bond a[fter being]…arrested on Jan. 25…[on] 50 child pornography charges…

Stupor Bowl (#1277)

It’s unsurprising that Arizona is still promoting this nearly-mummified fantasy with police violence against women:

Despite more than a decade of research, reports, editorials, magazine articles and even police accounts debunking the odious myth that the Super Bowl is a magnet for sex trafficking, this zombie lie remains catnip to local politicians, police and media ahead of Super Bowl LVII…But occasionally a little truth sneaks through the miasma of misinformation, as is the case with…Fox 10’s report bolster[ing] the long-disproven…hoax…it inadvertently reveals [that]…Phoenix Police…ha[ve] been regularly arresting unknown numbers of adults [under the pretext that they might be “]victims of sex trafficking[” and] allowing [prohibitionist] groups to proselytize them while in custody…If that sounds familiar, it should, because about 10 years ago, the PPD was involved in a similar, highly-controversial program with ASU’s School of Social Work called Project ROSE…

The Mob Rules (#1307)

Tyrannical politicians are now competing to see which state can make adolescence most closely resemble a prison sentence:

A pair of bills in Utah would impose draconian requirements on social media platforms [under the pretext] of protecting children….social media companies would be required to verify the ages of all users from Utah, get parental consent before allowing someone under age 18 to open or maintain an account, provide parents or guardians of minors with “access to the content and interactions” of accounts maintained by their children, and…minors would be prohibited from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m…The bill would also authorize a[nyone, including bureaucrats]…to sue social media companies for [supposed] violations…

Update: This was signed into law in March.

 

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 (#1274)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

We cannot set the house on fire to roast the pig.
–  Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, after Frankfurter

Imaginary Victims 

The state’s pretended sympathy for “sex trafficking victims” applies only to imaginary “perfect” ones; real ones are treated as hardened criminals:

A teenage [runaway] who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her…rapist to death was sentenced…in an Iowa court to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family.  Pieper Lewis, 17…pleaded last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in the June 2020 killing of…Zachary Brooks of Des Moines.  Both charges were punishable by up to 10 years in prison…judge David M. Porter…deferred those prison sentences, meaning that if Lewis violates [even the most arbitrary or trivial condition] of her probation, she could be sent to prison to serve that 20-year term.  As for being required to pay the estate of her rapist, “this court is presented with no other option,” Porter said, noting the restitution is mandatory under Iowa law…Lewis was [a] 15 [year old]…runaway who was seeking to escape an abusive life with her adopted mother…when a 28-year-old man took her in [and started] forcibly [pimp]ing her…Brooks…had [paid her pimp to] rape…her multiple times in the weeks before his death…after Brooks had raped her yet again, she grabbed a knife from a bedside table and stabbed [him] in a fit of rage.  Police and prosecutors…took issue with Lewis [correctly] calling herself a victim…and [were eager to make it look like she was at fault for being coerced and raped]…

Maggie in the Media

Cathy Reisenwitz interviews me on her podcast:

The Day of the Dead (#44) 

In Taiwan, strippers are a traditional part of funerals and autumn festivals.  This is no more “raunchy” than having performers in Halloween costumes would be in the West, and any pretense to the contrary is due to the influence of more puritanical cultures such as China and the US:

The Taoyuan Veterans Home, a state-run facility for retired army personnel in Taiwan, paid [a stripper to perform for] for a…celebrat[ion of the] Mid-Autumn Festival — an important holiday in [several Asian] culture[s]…the…performance…[was branded “raunchy” by bluenosed busybodies who were not present, but saw a video] filmed by an attendee…[which] went viral…nursing home residents clapped along enthusiastically…relish[ing] the…show.  But [people uncomfortable with the idea that the elderly are stil sexual beings attacked the]…facility…[whic] subsequently released a statement saying: “The intention of the event was to entertain residents and make them happy.  We are very sorry for the offense that was caused”…

If Men Were Angels

It’s getting harder to tell the preachers from the cops:

Five woman are suing an international megachurch and its leader, convicted felon Naasón Joaquín García, in California state court over decades of…child sexual abuse…earlier this year…[Garcia] was…sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison…[but] his church, which claims more than 5 million members worldwide, has stood b[ehind him the whole time]…Now, in a 49-page complaint, the church, García, and several affiliated businesses and individuals are being sued for various damages to a class that is expected to include well over 500 alleged victims as plaintiffs.  The introductory lines of the complaint do not mince words and stake out shocking allegations that criticize the church…as an enterprise that intentionally existed for the purpose of finding and providing children to be raped by the leader…The five principal plaintiffs are Jane Doe women [now] aged 20-28…who were originally cited in the criminal complaint…

The Pro-Rape Coalition (#1089) 

India protects rights the West now seems determined to destroy:

The Supreme Court of India has rejected a petition seeking to codify a…[pretend]ed link between viewing internet pornography and committing crimes such as rape and child sexual abuse…the…court…stated that “child sex abuse is a crime by itself” and [said]…“What you are advocating may be surveillance and collection of data”…The court expressed concern about where the type of Internet surveillance being proposed might lead…

Permanent Record (#1099)

If prohibitionists really want to “rescue” sex workers, why do they keep trying to shut us out of other jobs?

An OnlyFans content creator…was [fired] from her nursing position because other nurses were watching her adult videos on the clock…Jaelyn says she was called into the office of a woman she’s never met, who told her she knew about the OnlyFans.  The woman allegedly claimed that the nurses at this particular nursing home have been looking at her socials and OnlyFans while [she] is with patients…Jaelyn adds that her co-workers would have to be paying for her OnlyFans in order to be watching her videos on the clock…This isn’t the first time someone found out their co-worker was watching their OnlyFans videos, as one creator claimed their manager subscribed to their account.  Similarly, another Only Fans creator…was forced out of her nursing job due to her adult content in August…

The Implosion Begins (#1265)

The hysteria is imploding so hard, it’s falling all the way back to its roots:

…in…a spate of recent examples…individuals have been targeted with accusations of Satanism or so-called ritualistic abuse, marking…a [recrudescence] of the moral panic of the 1980s, when hysteria and hypervigilance over protecting children led to [wildly-]false allegations, wrongful imprisonments, decimated communities and wasted resources…While the current obsession with Satan was boosted in part by the QAnon community, partisan media and…politicians have been instrumental in spreading newfound fears over the so-called ritualistic abuse of children that the devil supposedly inspires, sometimes weaving the allegations together with other culture war issues such as LGBTQ rights…which are amplified on social media and by [yellow journalism], and can mobilize mobs to seek vigilante justice…Online accusers can bypass police, therapists and the traditional media and out their alleged accusers straight to audiences of millions…

It’s rather funny to see the expression “partisan media” used pejoratively by NBC News, considering the stark partisanism of its offspring MSNBC.

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In the News (#1249)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

People applauding this policy should also specify what prison term they favor for people who sell full-strength cigarettes.  –  Jacob Grier

Not for Any Reason Whatsoever

No, your reason is not an exception:

A new investigation by The [Washington] Post reveals at least 178 cases from 2019 to 2021 in which calls for help resulted in [cops murdering]…the very people they were [foolishly] called on to assist.  We used The Post’s nationwide database of fatal police shootings along with public reporting to identify cases in which the callers were concerned primarily for the individuals’ well-being and no imminent harm to others was reported.  Many of the calls [referr]ed…to people in mental health crises, [ignorantly] requested wellness checks or reported suicide threats.  The calls came from the distressed individuals themselves or were made by worried [but foolish] family members, friends or neighbors…

License to Rape (#957)

The police state’s insulting idea of compensation for a mass public gang rape:

In July 2020, when I had been out of prison for about 18 months, IDOC offered us money and asked us to sign an agreement absolving them of any wrongdoing.  I asked my attorney what would happen if I didn’t sign the papers, and he told me that the judge might throw the lawsuit out…I was still not going to sign.  But my attorney…convinced me.  “You know there are women inside that need that money,” he said.  I knew…it was a manipulative statement.  But…I [also] knew…that this money could mean the difference between deprivation and a pair of shoes, a pack of T-shirts or the chance to shop for food…The shame of those days stayed with me for years.  But…there is not enough space in one piece to detail the atrocities.  For the Halloween strip search, IDOC mailed me a check for $325.  Although the agency continues to assert that their staff did nothing wrong, this check that I may never cash is proof that they are guilty…in the eyes of IDOC, my pain — and that of my sisters — is only worth $325…

Robocops (#1044)

SCOTUS expands one of the greatest legal abominations ever conceived:

…anyone who has their rights violated by federal government agents…ha[s] no recourse against those rogue actors.  A federal badge will now serve as an impenetrable shield against civil liability…The justices announced…that they would decline to consider two major petitions. In the first, St. Paul [sow] Heather Weyker, who was serving on a federal task force, conjured a fake sex-trafficking ring and [cag]ed a teenage girl for two years on trumped-up charges.  In the second, [spook]…Ray Lamb a[ttempted]…to [murder] a man…though [the voctim was spared when his gun] jammed…[neither] Weyker [nor] Lamb…are…protected by qualified immunity…but because they were working for the federal government, they are protected by absolute immunity…and their victims—Hamdi Mohamud and Kevin Byrd, respectively—[are shit out of luck]…

Lack of Evidence (#1203) 

Contrast the speed with which legislatures manage to pass laws increasing cops’ powers:

California [politician]s are finally sending to Gov. Gavin Newsom a hot potato of a bill that would bar police from…arrest[ing women for standing in a public place after a cop points at them and belches out the magic word “]prostitution[“, a delay of] nine months after the measure passed the Legislature…[copsuckers] see it as a further erosion of criminal penalties that tie the hands of police on [consensual] issues…Greg Burt, a spokesman for the California Family Council, and other opponents fear it’s part of an eventual effort to decriminalize [thoughtcrime.  In support of his authoritarian agenda, he vomited out the words]…”sex trafficking”…[all over open-mouthed reporters]…

Welcome to the Future (#1227)

Conditioning kids to accept constant, intrusive surveillance:

Spyware apps were foisted on students at the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns…long after most students have returned to in-person learning, those apps are still proliferating, and enabling an ever-expanding range of human rights abuses…Americans face an unprecedented, record-breaking wave of legislation targeting transgender youth…and…[the overturn of] Roe v. Wade…That means that students who use their devices to research trans healthcare or abortion related material could find those devices weaponized against them, potentially resulting in criminal charges…

The Vultures Descend

22 vultures coming in for the kill:

[Jacob Sullum of Reason has published] a state-by-state rundown of what we can expect now that the Supreme Court has decided the Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion after all.  Red indicates the 22 states that are certain or likely to soon impose or start enforcing new restrictions on abortion, ranging from moderate to severe.  Green indicates the 23 states where abortion will remain broadly legal.  Blue indicates the five states where new restrictions are unlikely in the short term but are possible in the longer term, depending on electoral outcomes or judicial decisions…

A Moral Cancer (#1227)

Because obviously prohibition doesn’t ruin enough lives yet:

…the…FDA…[has arbitrarily banned] Juul’s…tobacco- and menthol-flavored vaping products…[despite the fact that Juul’s] application…was…detailed and data-heavy, showing just how effective it was at transitioning smokers away from cigarettes, toward a safer alternative …The company…became a victim of an intensely ideological war on nicotine…[when prohibitionists decided to blame] Juul…for the rise of youth vaping…[using the venerable puritan lie] that flavors like mango and cucumber [only]…appeal…to the younger demographic…The claim that Juul’s flavors were the underlying cause for the rise in youth vaping is highly dubious, considering there were thousands of different flavors for other e-cigarettes on the market years before Juul took off…

And just in case you think the government isn’t intentionally trying to create a black market so as to start a horrific new front in the drug war:

The Biden administration continues its misguided war on nicotine….[with] plans to require cigarette makers to severely cut the amount of nicotine in their products…nicotine itself isn’t what makes cigarettes so dangerous…it’s the other ingredients…and the byproducts of combustion, that make smoking cigarettes so bad for you.  This is one reason why the war on vaping is so stupid, and also speaks to the half-baked premises of the Biden administration’s latest anti-smoking plan…people already addicted to nicotine will still be addicted—they’ll just have to smoke more cigarettes to get their nicotine fix…low-nicotine cigarettes could actually make smoking riskier by requiring smokers to smoke more and consume more of the other substances in cigarettes in order to get the same level of nicotine they’re used to…[also,] other countries will still be producing full-nicotine cigarettes.  And this opens up a great opportunity for smuggling and black market sales of higher nicotine cigarettes…

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Wicked Problem

Posted in Current Events, History, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , on October 18, 2021| 6 Comments »

I scan a lot of articles every day in search of material for this blog, so I simply don’t have time to read most of them thoroughly even if I feature them in a news column; even if they’re interesting I generally read most of them in a somewhat cursory fashion, stopping to read more thoroughly whenever I hit a point that seems important.  And if a piece is longer than 1000 words or so, I’ll generally start skipping at about that point to see if there’s anything of note further down.  So when I find myself reading an article in its entirety, that is noteworthy in itself, as in the case of this post:

The parents of the 1980s and 1990s were Baby Boomers…until recently…the most panicky and gullible generation in American History…They grew up sheltered, coddled, [and] emotionally stultified…by PTSD-ridden survivors of World War 2 in atomized nuclear families…without nearby relatives…disconnected from the filial and familial bonds that had historically characterized social institutions…under the most suffocating and paranoid propaganda campaign ever undertaken in the West up to that point…Is it any wonder that this generation fell for every conspiracy theory that could be cooked up to fleece them? Is it any wonder that, once they had children they got paranoid? Or that, as parents, they freaked out about the same sex/drugs/rock’n’roll culture that they enjoyed and championed in their youth? Or that they believed that the risk for child-abduction in the 80s was both new and ubiquitous? Or that they believed that there was a Satanist behind every bush and that one in four young girls are being raped in occult rituals so that their babies might be sacrificed at a Black Mass?…Gen X and the Millennials grew up watching this insanity, and the State power that followed it. When a child claims (or is claimed by others) to be abused, the State comes in and runs through a bureaucratic checklist, frequently resulting in long-term fracturing of families, sending children into a…system where they are more likely to be abused than if they stayed with relatives or friends, all while the State was willing and able to violate every point of law and civil liberties at the merest rumor of abuse, domestic violence, drug use, or sexual or religious deviance…They had to submit to more onerous interference in their personal lives…and/or submitting to the most invasive surveillance state in world history…People in such a situation don’t have many children, and tend to be too fearful as parents to let their children actually grow up…

That’s a good taste of it, but I think you’ll find the whole piece worth your time.

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In the News (#1169)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Financial Times omits any mention of the nature of [the] groups…[who] inten[d] to “eradicate” an entire legal industry.  –  Gustavo Turner

Follow Your Bliss

Understand that people like this are the norm in policing sexual offenses, and always will be:

An FBI agent who investigated sex crimes against children has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against children across several states…David Harris [got himself] tasked with investigating crimes against children, including child pornography…[so it’s no surprise that] in February…he…expos[ed] himself to a 14-year-old girl…while on vacation in [Florida]…but…the…investigation…led to other [sex] crimes committed by Harris [against both] minors and adults in…Louisiana and Texas…[snooping in Harris’ phone revealed] conversation[s in which he admitted]…his sexual preference [for] underage [girls] and [bragging about] his exploits…Harris was arrested earlier this summer in Ascension Parish [Louisiana] and…has outstanding arrests warrants…from East Baton Rouge and Orleans Parish[es and] Tyler, Texas…

Traffic Jam (#403)

By this standard of “evidence”, Johnny Cash is lucky he was never accused of murder:

A jury found Defendant, Jaimian Sims, guilty of sex trafficking a minor and…the…court imposed a life sentence.  Sims appeals…arguing [among other things] … that certain rap videos were improperly admitted into evidence and shown to the jury…He contends that the lyrics…were fictional and did not depict his real life…Although these videos speak only generally to the pimping lifestyle and are cumulative of testimony in that respect, the violence and weapons depicted in the videos are relevant to the force charge—that Sims sex trafficked by force, fraud, or coercion…[the judges declared they we]re satisfied that the videos were not harmful to the defense…

License to Rape (#652)

Prohibition turns the body of every citizen into a “crime scene”, which can be violated by cops at will:

State officials say a new grant will be used to provide training for Georgia law enforcement officers to draw blood from drivers [without their consent so as to]…prosecut[e them for] DUI…

If you’re not horrified by the prospect of psychopathic thugs running around with permission to jam needles into people’s bodies without their consent on the side of the road, you must be new to this blog.

The Puritan Recrudescence (#799)

Expect the equation of human sexuality with pollution to become more common:

The editorial board of the Financial Times — arguably the world’s most influential news source for the banking, investment and overall finance industries — published an editorial…[which] compares sex work and adult content to…environmental pollutants, and parrots sensationalist pieces by The New York Times and the BBC alleging a non-existent “proliferation” of illegal content on adult sites…The subhead…soberly warns its readers…that working with the porn industry “can pose legal as well as reputational risks”…It’s the old circular argument favored by censors, prudes and well-paid religious anti-porn activists: reputable banks should not do business with sex workers or porn because they have been known to look for alternative forms of financing — which sex workers and porn are forced to resort to because reputable banks won’t do business with them…“The argument for banks to stay away from porn is, if anything, stronger than staying away from coal,” is the Financial Times’ take on that dubious comparison…

Scapegoats (#930)

It’s fascinating how the State has changed the excuse for these laws from “morality” to “animal abuse”:

[Typical and representative cop] Terry Yetman…was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of animals…including filming sex with his own police K9.  This decorated cop was also charged with 31 counts of child pornography several months later.  Now, nearly 3 years after his initial arrest…Yetman — despite facing over 70 charges — pleaded guilty to just one count of possession of child pornography and five counts of sexual abuse of an animal…He faces a total of 45 years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender…

Rough Trade (#1043) 

Gee, I wonder why this happens so often in Ireland?

A Dublin man [who] attack[ed] and violently h[eld] three women in his home against their will during separate incidents has been denied bail.  Aaron Barwell…[attacked] three [different]…escorts…on 29 January, 13 August and [27 August].  He is also accused of making threats to kill or cause serious harm to two of the women…[Barwell apparently believed that claiming] the third incident was prompted by a theft of cocaine, and the others arose after [he refused to] pay…[the escorts would somehow get the judge to grant him bail]…

A Moral Cancer (#1157)

Though the claim that certain foods can take “time off one’s life” is not new, I’ve never seen one this absurdly specific:

…[Nutritionists] at the University of Michigan…created a Health Nutritional Index which [claims to quantify] the nutritional impact…of almost 6,000 foods and calculated the health burden of each one.  Their findings [predictably singled out popular, pleasant foods, claiming] that every hot dog a person eats takes…36 minutes off their healthy life expectancy.  Soft drinks…shortened life by 12 minutes, bacon by six minutes…each double cheeseburger…nine minutes….[and] each portion of cheese…a minute off [the un]healthy [end of] life…the index also [claims] that it’s equally possible to [magically]  add minutes…each banana was [claimed] to add 13 and a half minutes…as was a portion of baked salmon…a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…[supposedly] adds a whopping 33 minutes to life…

The puritanical notion that lifelong deprivation of pleasure in the vague hope of adding a few extra minutes of senility and decrepitude to the far end of one’s old age – a time one has only a 50% chance of reaching in the first place, statistically – is so alien to my way of thinking, I’ve never been able to wrap my head around it, even as a concept for consideration.

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In the News (#1164)

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2021| 4 Comments »

The myth of sex addiction is a pathological view of male sexuality, sexual diversity, non-monogamy, and non-normative sexual desire.  –  David Ley

Here We Go Again 

Prohibitionism never, ever changes:

…in the early 20th century…prostitution became seen [by busybodies] as a social evil that concerned a wide range of [people who were completely univolved in it]…evangelical Christians, feminists, business leaders and medical experts demanded immediate and unrelenting repression of [sex work]…self-styled “abolitionists” in both the United States and the United Kingdom gained public support for their efforts by [spreading propaganda about a fantasized epidemic] of “white slavery”…the legislation they produced was antithetical to prostitutes’ interests…policies that sanctioned state control and punishment of prostitutes flourished…[but] rather than eliminating prostitution, the anti-prostitution movement simply changed the nature of the sex trade…and…subjected [all women] to increased state control.  During World War I, the “American Plan” authorized the arrest, inspection and detention of women suspected of carrying venereal disease…surveillance of women in the name of public health increasingly committed the U.S. to a “neo-regulationist” prostitution policy that controlled women’s bodies…

The article has some interesting information, but if you notice the faint reek of Swedish thinking (as if some cretin had stuffed used toilet paper down between the sofa cushions), it’s not your imagination.

Traffic Jam (#619)

You may remember that I called this as bullshit ten years ago:

St. Paul [Minnesota sow] Heather Weyker…[fabricated] an interstate sex trafficking ring run by Somali refugees…result[ing] in 30 indictments, 9 trials, and 0 convictions.  Hamdi Mohamud, then a 16-year-old refugee from Somalia, found herself caught up in that scheme in 2011, when one of Weyker’s witnesses, Muna Abdulkadir, tried to attack her and her friends at knifepoint.  Mohamud called the police…Weyker…arrested Mohamud and her friends for allegedly tampering with a federal witness, and Mohamud subsequently spent two years in jail before the trumped-up charges were dismissed…but…since [Weyker framed all those victims]…as part of a federal task force, she is entitled to absolute immunity and cannot be sued…Mohamud hopes to change that…by asking the Supreme Court to hear her case, which she made official last week…

No Difference (#888) 

American puritanism is a pox on the entire world:

One of the world’s most restrictive “anti-pornography” laws, the indecency statute passed by Uganda in 2014, has been struck by the nation’s Constitutional Court as unconstitutional…the law was “quashed” following pressure from women’s rights groups, with a panel of five judges unanimously ruling “that sections of the law that defined pornographic offenses, including a ban on ‘indecent’ clothing, were unconstitutional”…the…law…was [typically]…used for morality policing and led to…song lyrics and music videos…be[ing] labeled pornographic…[with] the…artists criminally liable…the [censorship law and an anti-LGBT law were passed due to lobbying by]…American evangelicals…[especially] the…International House of Prayer…the parent ministry of Exodus Cry…

Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic (#1033) 

It’s always a pleasure to watch experts trash harmful sex myths:

…it’s important to recognize that the concept of sex addiction was introduced…in the 1980’s during the HIV/AIDS crisis.  As…a society, we were terrified of sexual excess, of non-monogamy, of casual sex, of sex outside relationships, and of gay male sex…It is not by accident…that gay men get diagnosed as sex addicts…around three times more than anybody else.  The second very large group…are people struggling with a moral conflict over their sexual desires…[due to growing] up in religious household or communities where they were taught that any sex other than hetero sex within marriage is a sin…the third group…[consists of] men who get in trouble for sexual behavior…who self-identify as sex addicts to avoid responsibility for those behaviors…going to sex workers is…literally a diagnostic criterion in the sex addiction screening test that many therapists use…sex workers are [therefore] framed as analogous to either a drug or a drug dealer…self-destructive things that help people destroy their lives…

Welcome to the Future (#1052)

Prohibition by human idiots is bad enough:

Over the past two decades, the US…has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into developing and maintaining state-level prescription drug databases…In the past few years…a single [fascist collusion] called Appriss has…merg[ed] the[se] into…a…national prescription drug registry…[managed by] algorithms to generate “data insights” and…[accessing] huge reservoirs of data outside state drug registries to arrive at them.  NarxCare…is Appriss’…“analytics tool”…that purports to instantly and automatically identify a patient’s risk of misusing opioids…the software mines state registries for [so-called] red flags indicating that she has engaged in “drug shopping” behavior…the[n]…assigns each patient a unique, comprehensive Overdose Risk Score…Appriss is adamant that a NarxCare score is not meant to supplant a doctor’s diagnosis.  But physicians ignore these numbers at their peril.  Nearly every state now uses Appriss software…and most legally require physicians and pharmacists to consult them…on penalty of losing their license.  In some states, p[igs]…can also [root in this database]…without a warrant…to prosecute both doctors and patients…

The Pro-Rape Coalition (#1096)

Sex workers and allies speak out about Nick Kristof’s latest anti-sex crusade:

Kristof’s “The Children of Pornhub” — a…[propaganda screed] dropped as 2020 was winding to a close…triggered the removal of millions of videos from Pornhub and led to both Mastercard and Visa cutting ties with the adult industry giant…protecting…l[egal minor]s [ca]n’t  [be accomplished with] sweeping legislation and widespread content moderation, which endanger the safety and income of sex workers [and the civil liberties of everyone]…“Treating child sexual abuse as a moral failing is the wrong approach and is harmful to sex workers,” [says] Jeremy Malcolm, director of the child protection organization Prostasia Foundation…“dealing with [child sexual abuse] through a harm reduction lens is far more effective and less likely to [be used to cloak]…intended [attacks] on marginalized communities”…

Legal Is as Legal Does (#1151) 

It looks like Victoria is about to become the world’s fourth jurisdiction to achieve decriminalization:

Victoria will join a growing number of states by decriminalising sex work…the…government announced it would begin a two-year legislative overhaul, starting with the removal of offences and criminal penalties for consensual sex work, with the aim of having it passed by Parliament by the end of the year…sex work will be regulated through existing government agencies and…laws will be updated to support a decriminalised system…Victoria will join New Zealand, the Northern Territory and NSW…

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