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Posts Tagged ‘violence vs. sex workers’

In the News (#1491)

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

Making the police the central focus of delivering sex work policy is utterly pointless and doomed to fail.  –  Raven Bowen

I Spy (#826)

Toward the end of privacy, everywhere:

The United States will support the United Nations cybercrime convention…follow[ing] months of internal deliberations at the White House and other agencies…[due to] serious concerns over…its potential misuse by countries like Russia and China…The decision is likely to face pushback from human rights groups…be[cause it could be] used…to justify surveillance…and infring[e] on digital rights…One key concern…[i]s a clause that would allow [signatory] nations…to request data on [anything they choose to label a “]serious crime[” regardless of the act’s legal statu]s in other nations…

I Spy (#1067)

When it comes to surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

Officials inside the Secret Service [actually claimed]…they [didn’t] need…a warrant to use location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on smartphones…[because] citizens have agreed to be tracked…by accepting app terms of service, despite those apps…not saying their data may end up with [cops, spooks, and other violent authoritarians who might wish them harm]…hundreds of pages of internal Secret Service emails obtained by 404 Media…provide deeper insight into the agency’s use of Locate X, a powerful surveillance capability that allows [pigs and spooks] to follow a phone, and person’s, precise movements over time at the click of a mouse.  In 2023, a government oversight body found that the Secret Service, [CBP], and [ICE] all used their access to such location data illegally.  The Secret Service [now claims] it is no longer using the tool…

The Mob Rules (#1351)

Ambulance-chasers can’t wait to capitalize on mob rule laws:

A [gang of shysters] is actively courting potential plaintiffs in Kansas, using the state’s age-verification law to dangle the prospect of large financial judgments from adult companies…[in front of the moral imbeciles who infest evangelical] church networks…In Kansas, simple access of an adult website by a minor may be enough to bring a civil case with statutory damages — no proof of actual harm is required…[and] statutory damages begin at $50,000.  The state’s attorney general is separately empowered to bring [nuisance] litigation…

Censorship Ascendant (#1427)

Cops are now being dispatched to intimidate people for “bad” thoughts:

[On] Remembrance Sunday…two [cops turned up at my door]…to inform me that I had been accused of a non-crime hate incident (NCHI)…[due] to…something I had posted on…Twitter…a year ago…The co[p claimed]…he wasn’t allowed to tell me [what I had supposedly said or]…who…my accuser…was…[I was] shocked…[and] astonished…to have [cops invade my privacy] on the saddest, most solemn date in the calendar with this kind of malevolent nonsense…

Torture Chamber (#1446)

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

For years, San Francisco’s public defenders and prisoners have filed formal complaints about the city’s lengthy pretrial detention and jail conditions.  Late last year, a federal judge ruled that San Francisco was “recklessly indifferent” in denying prisoners sunlight…the average [detention period i]s 324 days…[so] many people spend months or even years without time outside…at least four [legally innocent] people [have been] held…for nine years or longer…hundreds of [the city’s victims are accused of] non-violent property crimes…[and] lock[ed] up…without sunlight, exercise, adequate healthcare, hygiene, or drinkable water…[and with] frequent use of [solitary confinement]…retaliation [by screws, and]…sexual…assault…

Thought Control (#1462)

Just keep plunging that ice pick in; the bad thoughts will go away eventually:

Since February, the Rutherford County [Tennessee] Board of Education has banned 35 books, including well-known young adult novels such as Wicked, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Beloved…The…bans were initiated by board member Caleb Tidwell, who [pointed at] the titles a[nd belched “]sexually explicit[“]…and… “pornographic material”…Butch Vaughn, a retired principal was just recently elected to the board…call[ed the censorship]…“political grandstanding”…Stan Vaught, another new board member…[said] “It…reminds me of 1930s Germany”…Ken Paulson, Director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University…said…“the [notion that the] books…are somehow written to capture the same audience as…Hustler magazine is nonsense.”  Both Vaughn and Vaught worry that the district is headed down the road to a federal lawsuit which could cost the school district hundreds of thousands of dollars…[and] the…ACLU…is [already] considering legal action…But instead of waiting for [legal] guidance, Tidwell…[ran out and belched “pornographic” at] ten additional titles, and…[his collaborator] Frances Rosales [vomited “obscenity” all over] another 150 titles…including…Catch-22 and A Clockwork Orange…

But no other state’s self-lobotomization can hope to keep up with Florida’s:

Florida school districts…axed about 700 additional books from school libraries…in the 2023-2024 school year.  PEN America…estimates that 4,561 books [in all] have been removed from Florida school libraries since July 2021…[including] works of classic literature…[such as] A Clockwork Orange…Slaughterhouse-Five…and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings…The [mass censorship was enabled by] a law that allows [any Froot Loop] to [demand] removal of any book [by pointing at it and belching the words]…“sexual content” or…“pornographic”…

Mumbo Jumbo (#1487) 

When the “sex trafficking” hysteria was at its height, this wouldn’t have been considered a problem:

The Scottish government’s strategy to [impose the Swedish model on]…sex [workers] has been cast into disarray after it was forced to ditch a proposed partnership with [“rescue” profiteers] whose founder…[wrote] a handbook for “Christians involved in outreach to prostitutes”…[which] says: “Most prostitutes have had some exposure to the occult in childhood…others may have learnt about tarot cards and Ouija boards in prison,” and…offers a checklist of…“occult activity” that includes yoga and playing Dungeons & Dragons…Groups who [actually] support sex workers…have serious concerns about the government’s shift in focus back to policing, less than nine months after the conviction of Iain Packer…exposed chronic police failings [to do anything about] the horrific levels of violence still faced by women selling sex[, especially at the hands of the police themselves]…

 

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 (#1487)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The government has demonstrated that it cannot and will not be constrained by Section 230, the First Amendment, or even the venerable principle of presumption of innocence.  –  Maggie McNeill

Surplus Women

Decriminalization is only the first step:

Sex worker advocates have expressed their “rage and sadness” after a man who was due to face a double-murder trial for killing two women struck a manslaughter plea deal with Victorian prosecutors. Xiaozheng Lin, who killed sex workers Yuqi Luo…and Hyun Sook Jeon…in late 2022…now faces significantly less jail time [despite intentionally murdering the sex workers in order to rob them, so as to pay off his gambling debts]…Fiona Patten, former Victorian upper house MP, said she believed the decision reflected the stigma faced by sex workers in society…

Mumbo Jumbo 

It’s not surprising that this woman promotes the Nordic Model; it’s about as rooted in reality as her other beliefs about sex work:

…the Scottish government has instructed local authorities to partner with [an anti-sex group named] Azalea, led by a religious anti-porn activist who has stated that sex workers are “possessed by demons”…Ruth Robb…has in the past recommended “carrying out exorcisms on sex workers”…believes yoga is an “occult practice” and [claims] sex work leads to a “lesbian lifestyle”…[she claims] “Most prostitutes have had some exposure to the occult,” and her [Nordic model-based “outreach”] guides [for fellow religious busybodies] offer a checklist to determine if a sex worker is undergoing “demonic possession”.  Supposed symptoms include “flailing limbs” or a “sudden change of voice”…

The Face of Trafficking

The first actual association between “trafficking” and pizza:

The owner of Stash’s Pizza…in Massachusetts, was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 for forced labor charges. [Stavros Papantoniadis] forced or attempted to force six victims to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse; threats of violence and serious harm; and repeated threats to report the victims to immigration authorities for deportation…[he] was sentenced…to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and…a $35,000 fine…

The Last Shall Be First (#1408) 

“Bathroom bills” are a political fad that neither court rulings nor public protest have deterred:

The [Odessa, Texas] City Council [has] banned transgender people from using restrooms outside of the sex assigned to them at birth, [despite protests by]…residents…Mayor Javier Joven, who is up for reelection…has said his mission has been to help the city “repent”.  Under the amended ordinance, the city can seek fines of up to $500 and [criminal] trespassing charges…[and] also [encourages nuisance lawsuits for] $10,000 in damages plus the cost of the lawsuit and attorney fees…It [specifically] excludes [male cops who enter bathrooms to harass, rape, or otherwise attack women]…

Dangerous Speech (#1435)

Liz Brown’s articles on sex work are so thorough, it’s just too hard to come up with a pull quote.  So I’ll just point you to her latest on the Backpage persecution, and embed the accompanying video.  Watch it, and go read the article!

Vulture Watching (#1477)

Texas doesn’t care how many women die because of its terrible laws:

Josseli Barnica…[miscarried at] 17 weeks…doctors…should have offered to speed up the delivery or empty her uterus to stave off a deadly infection…but…[instead] the[y]…told her…they had to wait until there was no heartbeat…[and] it would be a [“]crime[“] to give her an abortion…For 40 hours…her uterus remained exposed to bacteria.  Three days after she delivered, Barnica died of an infection…[because psychopathic politicians threaten] doctors…[with] prosecution, prison time and professional ruin [for doing their jobs]…Barnica’s…death was “preventable,” according to more than a dozen medical experts who…called her case “horrific,” “astounding” and “egregious”…

The Cop Myth (#1481)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

[An] El Paso [cop named]…Joseph Andrew Shreve, [who is paid to lurk in schools in order to spy on, harass, and intimidate students], was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for…firing at a truck that he [pretend]ed had rear-ended his vehicle on Sept. 18…Shreve…[attempted to escape consequences by belching out the magic formula] “in fear for [my] life”, [but witnesses told] police [otherwise]…

 

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 (#1482)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Any alternate channel devoted to access by one party will undoubtedly be discovered, accessed, and abused by another.  –  David Ruiz

If Men Were Angels

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

…an [Oklahoma] pastor…[named] Roy Shoop was…[found guilty of molest]ing several girls during horse riding lessons at Shoop’s ranch, or while the girls stayed at the family’s home…

Eavesdropping (#1195)

If a system lets “authorized” busybodies spy on you, “unauthorized” ones can do the same:

…A recent Chinese incursion into U.S. internet providers using infrastructure created to allow police easy wiretap access offers [more] evidence…that weakening security for anybody weakens it for everybody…Among the companies breached by the [Chinese government–supported] hacker group, dubbed “Salt Typhoon” by investigators, are Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies…Joe Mullin and Cindy Cohn of the…EFF…believe the wiretap-ready systems penetrated by the Chinese hackers were “likely created to facilitate smooth compliance with wrong-headed laws like CALEA”…[which] dates back to 1994 and “forced telephone companies to redesign their network architectures to make it easier for [cop shops and spook houses] to wiretap digital telephone calls”…This isn’t the first time that CALEA-mandated wiretapping backdoors have been exploited by hackers…[because] “virtually every phone switch sold worldwide contains ‘lawful intercept’ functionality”…[such as] was subverted by hackers targeting Vodafone Greece…in…2004…

License to Rape (#1234)

Cops raping whores is so ubiquitous, others pose as cops to facilitate rape:

A [young] Delaware man…[named] Jemeire Perry…was [arrested and] charged with se[veral crimes]…after he threatened a woman with arrest unless she [submitted] to [rape]…Perry [pretend]ed to [be a client, but when she showed up]…he…identifying himself as a “Confidential Informant”…[and] threatened to have the woman arrested…The woman…fle[d] and reported the incident to police…

Eavesdropping (#1300)

Why does a vacuum cleaner need either a speaker or a wifi connection?

Robot vacuums made by Ecovacs have been reported roving around people’s homes, yelling profanities at them through the onboard speakers after the company’s software was found to be vulnerable to intrusion…The most common issue people have with so-called “smart” home devices is that they often require a software subscription…and if the manufacturer goes under or stops supporting the device, it simply becomes a paperweight…Remote access is [pointless and unnecessary, and]…every couple of years we hear about something egregious, like intruders accessing a baby monitor and whispering through it at night…

I Spy (#1415)

This is only going to get worse:

A Massachusetts woman used an online platform to schedule an appointment seeking abortion medication from a local clinic in May.  Two minutes after she uploaded her insurance information to finalize the appointment, a representative from a nearby “pregnancy crisis center”…called the woman and, purporting to be the clinic, told her she needed to come in for an ultrasound prior to obtaining the medication.  The crisis center…[called] AWHC…had intercepted the electronic communications between the abortion clinic and the woman, according to a lawsuit filed by the clinic, Four Women Health Services…the federal judge presiding over the case [has] ordered AWHC to stop [eavesdropping] and refrain from contacting [Four Women’s] patients…AWHC has long sought to confuse Four Women patients and has…deceived them when they have inadvertently come into its offices…[after it] moved directly next door to Four Women years ago…AWHC workers [regular]ly patrol a shared parking lot, giving Four Women patients anti-abortion literature…

Thought Control (#1457)

Anyone with a functional brain could’ve predicted this outcome:

[Under] new [censorship] rules enacted by the Alabama Public Library Service in July…libraries can lose their state funding if [a politician points at any book]…in the children or teens section of the library [and belches the magic word “obscene”, “sexually explicit”, or “inappropriate”.  So the] Cullman County Public Library…[has] gotten rid of their entire young adult section…[and] moved everything [in it] to the adult fiction section…over 2,000 books [in all.  The library director]…said they d[id this] because the new rules from the state are [intentionally vague and] confusing…Minors who want to check something out from the library must get…their parents…[to] sign a waiver, saying that they understand exactly what their child is checking out…

Paying the Bills

Three weeks ago, I told y’all that I’m facing a projected $3000 shortfall for my annual operating budget, and asked for help making up that difference.  Well, several of my loyal readers have already stepped up, generously helping me to the tune of $1100.  So now I’m only facing a $1900 shortfall; if you aren’t yet a subscriber, won’t you please consider becoming one?  A $1/day subscription would take $90 off of that total, and other levels would help in proportion.  Or if you’re already a subscriber but can spare some extra right now, I’d really appreciate it; it would be great if I can catch up by my birthday!

 

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 (#1477)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Doesn’t all political speech induce some kind of emotional distress for those who disagree with it?  –  Dan Crenshaw

Where Are the Protests? (#830)

When consensual acts such as migration or selling plants are criminalized, conditions are ripe for exploitation:

Lin’s story is a rare firsthand account of the harsh conditions and violent atmosphere endured by Chinese workers on many marijuana farms in Oklahoma and other states…Chinese criminal groups, some with suspected ties to the Chinese state, have become a dominant force in the [criminalized] U.S. marijuana trade and subjected thousands of Chinese immigrant laborers to abuse and exploitation.  Until now, though, much of that information about illegal activity in the cannabis industry has come from law enforcement [propaganda, and is therefore of dubious validity]…Lin gave a frightening front-line look inside the underworld…

The Red Umbrella (#1414)

As long as sex work is marginalized, sex workers will be targeted for violence:

Three Jersey City men held two [escorts] against their will at gunpoint, repeatedly raped them, transferred more then $2,000 from their phones and stole cash from them…Mohamed Mohamed…Abdalla Abdelsalam Elsayed…and Mahmoud Hegazi…were arrested Sept. 20 and are being held…[on] 21 counts…on Sept. 11…[the victims were tricked in]to go[ing] to an apartment…[under the pretext of a normal business arrangement, but]…one of the men pulled out a handgun…[and] forced [her to lie to her safety call] at gunpoint[, claiming]…she was “OK”…the woman was then [gang-raped] and [electronically robbed]…The second victim…was [similarly violated]…

You Were Warned (#1459)

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

[Politicians have] advanced two internet [censorship] bills, including a [sligh]tly revised version of the [horrible]…KOSA…which had stalled after passing the Senate….KOSA [is] one of the most potentially dangerous federal bills among those that [civil rights advocates] have [warned the public about; it] resurfaced in the last few weeks, as part of a package with a…[more restrictive] version of…COPPA…[sponsor] Marsha Blackburn…[tipped her hand] last year…when she stated that KOSA would aid in her mission of “protecting minor children from the transgender”…[and] last week…[she tried to] stok[e] up panic among her base by [belch]ing [out the magic bugaboo word]…“fentanyl”…

Vulture Watching (#1464)

Texas’ ruling psychopaths want permission to let women die and ruin doctors’ careers if they try to prevent that:

…Texas is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to continue denying emergency medical care to pregnant women…Across the United States, maternal mortality rose 11 percent between 2019 to 2022; in Texas…the maternal death rate surged 56 percent…[yet] officials in Texas are nevertheless charging ahead with their effort to ensure that the state can continue blocking doctors from providing emergency medical treatment to pregnant residents.  The state sued the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that…[Texas] hospitals [should be required] to [deny] emergency abortions [even] if necessary to preserve a woman’s health…

The Cop Myth (#1466)

Why are people shocked when men paid and encouraged to behave violently, behave violently?

…a Fort Worth [cop has been] charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon…William Martin…was [not wearing his magical clown costume]…when he [had] a collision…on the freeway…[with a man named Samuel] Christopher [which was so minor Christopher] was not [even] aware of [it], but [he] noticed Martin closely following him, constantly changing lanes to stay behind…he tried to get away, but Martin sped past him and pulled…in front of Christopher, [intentionally] causing…[another] collision…Christopher…[then] tried to drive away [because] Martin…got out with [a] handgun…[and] shot at [Christopher] three times…Police talked with 14 witnesses…and none of them saw the initial collision [because it was so minor, but]…they [all] saw Martin chas[e] Christopher…pull in front of [him] to cause the collision, and [shoot] at [him]…Martin…[lied to other cops later, spinning an elaborate yarn in which]…Christopher looked directly at him before driving into his lane and hitting the side of his car…[then intentionally] rammed [him again when he cut Christopher off and jumped out]…with his pi[stol]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #14)

“Misconduct with minor” is quite a way to say “getting a teenage girl drunk so he could molest her”:

A [typical and representative] Tallahassee [Florida cop] is behind bars [because he got]…a [teenage girl drunk] and [molested her]…Danny Moore…[was] re[ported by a neighbor who saw the girl drunk]…Moore initially [lied to his cop cronies about being a cop, then told]…them a young teenage girl was inside his apartment…as [though she had suddenly magically appeared there]…in…[reality]…he…[found her] on a mobile app and…drove [her] to a nearby liquor store [specifically so he could molest her]…

If Men Were Angels (#1476)

Cop and preacher is like the molester equivalent of a full house:

…a…[typical and representative Florida cop] who was also a youth group pastor…was arrested on child molestation charges…Pablo Rios Hernandez…[molested a 12-year-old in February of 2023, and could have been] arrested [in March of that year, but his cronies dawdled as long as they could]…

 

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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Bikini Throwback Thursday

Posted in Miscellaneous, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The greatest defect of any democracy lies in the tendency of a certain segment of the population to cooperate with the agents of oppression.  –  “Bootlickers”

The existence of a movie featuring “lurid tall tales” about sex work does no more to prove them than the existence of The Wizard of Oz proves the existence of flying monkeys and talking scarecrows.
–  “A Tale That Grew in the Telling (#329)”

The common yokel considers my job degrading, but I’m not the one getting paid to lie about violent thugs so the public stays asleep while a vast police state is constructed around them.  –  “Lipstick on a Pig“

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In the News (#1456)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Perception, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

In my movies, everybody always dies.  –  Brian Steven Smith

Surplus Women

Your “leaders” work hard to ensure this happens more often:

Brian Steven Smith…[of] South Africa…[has] been [sentenced to 226 years in prison for the]…murder[s of two Alaska native sex workers,] Kathleen Henry in 2019 and Veronica Abouchuk, either in 2018 or 2019…[Smith made] graphic videos…[of] Henry’s [murder, then drove around with her]…body in the back of his pickup for two days before dumping her body on a rural road south of Anchorage…The video never shows [his] face but his distinctive [South African] accent is heard…narrat[ing] as if to an audience and urges Henry to die as she’s repeatedly beaten and strangled in an Anchorage hotel room…Valerie Casler…who provided the images to police…stole…Smith’s [phone from the console of his] pickup when they were on…a [professional] date…[and] found…[the] video on it…[then] transferred [it] to an SD card she [gave to police]…During an eight-hour police interrogation…Smith confessed to police that he also killed Abouchuk…and shot her in the head before dumping her body north of Anchorage…police…later found a skull with a bullet wound there…

To Molest and Rape

Rapist cops often specifically target vulnerable women:

A West Palm Beach [Florida cop named]…James Bush…was arrested on July 12 [for trying to rape a woman]…after a man called [911] to evict his girlfriend.  When Bush arrived, he told the man to leave…the[n immediately] asked her if she wanted to “go upstairs and have some fun.”  He then grabbed her arm…[and dragged] her to a bedroom, [where he] tried to…oral[ly rape her, then switched tactics to]…offer…her “$2,000 to get your own place”…[she] eventually [got him to leave, but he returned with another cop]…hours later…[when] the…boyfriend called police again…The woman [then] told the [other cop] that Bush had sexually assaulted her and that she had evidence on her phone.  “Bush grabbed her phone during a struggle and deleted video, which was retrieved during the subsequent investigation”…

The Implosion Begins (#1079)

Now that the hysteria has imploded, local media are happy to attack the same fantasies they eagerly spread for two decades:

…a sting operation to nab sexual predators…was run…in May by Millersville [Tennessee] Assistant Police Chief Shawn Taylor and a colorful cast of [fellow psychopaths] he assembled…Taylor did not involve other law enforcement agencies with more experience in such operations because of his un[til-recently popular] conspiracy theories that…state officials are involved in child sex trafficking…Members of a private group posed online as minors — despite Millersville police being told by prosecutors that the sting would be legal only if [pigs] were the ones doing the [entrapment]…Taylor [claimed] investigators would be using [illegal] “pre-signed search warrants”…he…has voiced support for all sorts of bizarre…child sex trafficking [myths which were popular with reporters as long as they only demonized sex workers instead]…of…powerful…Democrats…[and] imagines that Millersville, a community of about 6,000 people just north of Nashville, is at the center of Tennessee’s drug and human trafficking operations…Two of the men were introduced to the group as “prayer warriors,” who are part of a group that believes…human trafficking i[nvolves]…”demons”…and former Navy SEAL Craig “Sawman” Sawyer…[who in 2018] took a Tucson TV crew to a camp that he [fantasiz]ed might have been used for child sex trafficking…

Follow Your Bliss (ROTW #2)

Beware of men who “volunteer” to be in positions of authority over your kids:

A [Michigan church volunteer named]…Jonathan Russell is facing 10 charges [of child molestation]…Russell [targeted] children he…was [given authority over as] a volunteer youth organizer for the [First Baptist] church [of Bridgeport].  In March…he…was arraigned in Crawford County on three similar charges…[and] previously was convicted in North Carolina in 2016 on charges that he spanked [children] without their parents’ permission…

I Spy (#1398) 

If “official” thugs can obtain your data without a warrant, so can unofficial ones:

The call and text message records of tens of millions of AT&T cellphone customers in mid-to-late 2022 were exposed in a massive data breach…the telecom company…blamed [on] an “illegal download”…the compromised data includes the telephone numbers of “nearly all” of its cellular customers and the customers of wireless providers that use its network between May 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022….[and] every number AT&T customers called or texted – including customers of other wireless networks – the number of times they interacted and the call duration…customer names were not exposed…however…publicly available tools can [easily] link names with specific phone numbers…AT&T…learned [about the breach] on April 19 [of this year, but]…the US Department of Justice…de[mand]ed in May and in June that [the company] delay…public disclosure…

Any information which exists can be misused by corporations or demanded by cops; the only way to stop that privacy invasion is not to collect the information in the first place.

I Spy (#1415)

Cops and politicians should never have been allowed to insert themselves into any doctor-patient relationship, but that ship sailed long ago:

 J.D. Vance…Trump’s pick for vice presidential nominee, pressured federal regulators last June to kill a privacy rule that prevents police from accessing the medical records of people seeking reproductive services…The rule was designed to prevent [cops] in anti-abortion states from using private records to hunt down and prosecute people who cross state lines in search of abortion services.  If the Trump-Vance ticket wins this year’s presidential election, the new administration could rescind the rule…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1450)

Politicians increasingly use nuisance lawsuits to circumvent the Constitution:

…NGL…seems like a fairly standard social media offering, allowing users to post questions or prompts and receive anonymous responses.  Now, the Federal Trade Commission…has ordered [it] to ban users under age 18…[claiming that it] “unfairly” marketed the app to minors…[while barfing out the magic censorship-justifying buzzwords] “cyberbullying and harassment”…To settle the lawsuit, the agency is not only making NGL pay $5 million, it’s also requiring the app to ban those under age 18 from using it…[which] is effectively a backdoor way to accomplish what Congress has been failing to mandate legislatively and what courts have been rejecting when state [politician]s do it…the FTC does not seem to be requiring NGL to check IDs…[yet,] but…it doesn’t seem like a long shot from here to either a) punishing the company further if kids lie about their ages, thereby necessitating the use of ID checks or other age verification schemes by NGL, and/or b) requiring more invasive age verification schemes in future orders to social media companies…

 

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 (#1454)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, The Dark Side, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

We decline the invitation.  –  Justice Eric Rosen

Monsters

Words fail me in the face of such barbarity:

A Western Pennsylvania man…[named] DaShawn Watkins…is facing…charges [for the murder and dismemberment] of 14-year-old Pauly Likens…[a trans girl] missing since June 22…Police…found dismembered human remains…in and around…Shenango River Lake…the cause of death was ruled to be a sharp force trauma to the head, and…surveillance footage, social media records and cellular phone records found that Likens appeared “to be on the phone and waiting to meet someone near the canoe launch area”…footage also captured Watkins making several trips out of his apartment carrying multiple bags, and driving to his apartment in the vehicle seen near the crime scene.  Multiple locations in Watkins’ apartment tested positive in a preliminary blood test…

Creepy Coppers

Another of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

[A typical and representative] St. Tammany Parish [cop named] Christopher Cassidy pleaded guilty to [189 charges related to child & animal] pornography…[and] was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each count without…parole [plus condemnation to the] sex offender [registry] for…25 years [if he somehow manages to survive 2835 years in prison]…

Eggs and Bacon (#1348)

Kansas courts aren’t allowing politicians to circumvent the will of the voters:

The Kansas Supreme Court [has] reaffirmed abortion protections in the state’s Constitution…striking down [attempt]ed laws that banned a common second-trimester abortion procedure and created additional licensing requirements for abortion clinics…The rulings were the latest setbacks for [forced-birth pro]ponents in Kansas, a…state that has…recently [confounded Manicheans who insist that all voters in every state are partisan robots who unfailingly obey both their “leaders” and the expectations of the New York Times]…

Artificial “Intelligence”?

There is no part of this reeking pile of shit that fails to be stupid, so I’ll just comment instead of quoting it.  1) Things that are not alive cannot commit suicide.  2) “Cyborg” is not a synonym for “robot”; a cyborg has living parts.  3) A robot cannot be an “officer”.  4) A malfunctioning machine tumbling down a flight of stairs does not constitute a “jump”.  5) If a machine is observed malfunctioning and nothing is done, it’s no surprise if the situation worsens.  6) For a malfunctioning machine to break is not a “tragedy”.  7) A machine has neither mind nor personality and therefore cannot be “depressed”.  8) I think it highly unlikely that this robot was actually “unique” in any way.  9) Anyone who issued a “civil service officer card” to a piece of office equipment should be sacked for incompetence.  10) Robots cannot be “diligent” (see #7).  11) Too many technology reporters know nothing about technology.  12) What is possible in fantasy movies is in no way reflective of reality.

The Red Umbrella (#1414)

As long as sex work is marginalized, sex workers will be targeted for violence:

Two sex workers were violently assaulted in Edmonton [Alberta by]…a man [who] contacted both women through a website and arranged to meet them [early on July 6th]…At around 7 a.m…he attacked [the first victim, leaving her]…significantly injured and…unconscious…he [then] arranged to meet [the second victim]…around 7:50 a.m…the[n]…violently attacked…her…[leaving her] unconscious…[and stealing her] wallets, identification, cash and cell phones…detectives believe there may be more victims…

Torture Chamber (#1445)

I’m sure they helpfully yelled “Stop faking!” at him every time he coughed:

S[crews] at Brooklyn’s [abominable federal jail] ignored a…[prisoner]’s cancer diagnosis for months, letting a mass in his lungs grow to double its size while he coughed up enough blood to fill a milk carton…Terrence Wise…is [only] the latest [human being] subjected to what defense attorneys and judges describe as grievous medical mistreatment…[including a prisoner] who couldn’t use a CPAP machine for 85 days because the jail didn’t provide an extension cord, another…whose broken cheek had to be re-broken because the jail defied a judge’s order for treatment [until] it…improperly healed, and yet another who waited more than three months for emergency surgery for a twisted bowel…staff [also] lied about giving a…[prisoner] his antibiotics after his appendix burst…and…defied [another judge’s] order to send a…[prisoner] with a severe contagious MRSA infection to a hospital.  Instead, the[y just forced their victim into] a yellow jumpsuit to single him out as sick…

A Moral Cancer (#1450)

Crypto-moralists want the gullible to be afraid of even moderate alcohol consumption:

A[nother crypto-moralist] has [claim]ed that even moderate drinking can reduce life expectancy, [repeat]ing [scary tales prohibitionists have been pushing for two years]…Dr. Tim Stockwell, a [pseudo]scientist at the Canadian Institute for [Coming up with “]Research[” to Reinforce What Prohibitionists Want You To Believe], [made] the [absurdly-specific universal claim] that consuming an average of two drinks per week over a lifetime can shorten one’s life by 3 to 6 days.  One drink per day, seven a week, can cut life expectancy by 2 1/2 months…

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.

 

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 (#1452)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The First Amendment…does not go on leave when social media are involved.  –  SCOTUS

Surplus Women

Your “leaders” work hard to ensure this happens more often:

A man [named Jason Kendall turned himself in to Las Vegas police after]…he murder[ed] an escort…[by] strang[ulation while raping her at]…the Palms Casino Resort…The [attack was on June 12th, but the] woman…died [of her injuries several days later] at the hospital…

Censor Chic (#1046)

Instead of making life harder for censors, Microsoft makes censorship easier:

…new research by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab…found that Microsoft censors its Bing translation results more than top Chinese services, including Baidu Translate and Tencent Machine Translation.  Bing became the only major foreign translation and search engine service available in China after Google withdrew from the Chinese market in 2010. “If you try to translate five paragraphs of text, and two sentences contain a mention of Xi, Bing’s competitors in China would delete those two sentences and translate the rest. In [contrast], Bing always censors the entire output. You get a blank”…[said] Jeffrey Knockel…[of] Citizen Lab…Bing’s…China-based search engine also censors more extensively than Chinese firms’ services do.  The studies challenge the [ludicrous] popular belief that U.S. tech giants might resist Chinese censorship demands more strongly than their Chinese counterparts…

Creepy Coppers

Cops are not known for intelligence and good judgment:

A [Florida screw] resigned after being arrested for watching and sharing child porn videos [at] work…Trevor Scott Willis…was [caught watching]…videos…of children between…five and fifteen…[including one] showing a child engaging in sexual activities with a dog…Willis used his personal cellphone…and was logged into the [cop shop] Wi-Fi while watching the videos…

I Spy (#1213) 

Cops will continue to ignore the Constitution until there are criminal penalties for violating it:

Cellebrite is a dream come true for police surveillance.  Plug in any cellphone, even a locked one, and get a full report of every file on its hard drive.  Cellebrite, along with its main competitor, Grayshift, is one of the few companies offering this service.  No wonder…6,900 [cop shops and spook houses] bought a subscription…In September 2022…[a court] in Maryland ruled that police must stop using “general and overbroad warrants” to scrape the entire content of people’s cellphones…Baltimore police announced that they would suspend their use of Cellebrite and work with lawyers “to ensure the current search warrant template is in line with all requirements”…[of course they were lying, and have] re-upped their Cellebrite subscription…[through] September…Cellebrite…market[s]…its…s[no]oping [tools by repeatedly belching out “The] children[!!!”, but it]…provide[s]…services to police states like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Belarus, Bahrain, and Myanmar…

Censor Chic (#1438)

SCOTUS isn’t quite ready to allow full-on government censorship just yet:

The Supreme Court [has] ruled…in two cases that could have a major impact on how social media platforms operate…NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice…opposed social media moderation laws in Florida and Texas.  The Court unanimously agreed to vacate decisions by the 11th Circuit and the 5th Circuit—which upheld a preliminary injunction on the Florida law (finding it likely did violate the First Amendment) and reversed a preliminary injunction on the Texas law (finding it did not likely violate the First Amendment), respectively—and to remand both cases for further review…It’s not quite the total blow to these laws that many free speech advocates…were hoping for.  But the court did admonish the 5th Circuit for its flawed interpretation of the First Amendment.  And the Supreme Court’s own analysis here backs the tech groups’ position that social media platforms are engaged in protected expression when they decide what content to allow and how to present it…

The Cop Myth (#1440)

Cop violence is never limited to members of the public, nor to male cops:

An…NYPD cop was arrested [on June 30th] after she and her husband…broke down the door of her sister-in-law’s…home [in the middle of the night] and [beat and] choked [her]…Maria and Robert Villalta…[broke in] around 2:15 a.m…and [started attacking both] her…and [her boyfriend]…Both victims [were throttled so viciously they had] trouble breathing a[afterward]…The cop’s sister-in-law also had marks on her face, neck and arm, as well as a bloody nose…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #12)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [cop named Simon Short] who [molested] a “vulnerable” 16-year-old…has been dismissed without notice…[from] West Yorkshire Police…Short…was granted anonymity while the proceedings took place…[officials] lifted this at the conclusion of the hearing, [but only because] the…restriction was challenged by [journalists]…

 

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 (#1451)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Th[e Assange] precedent now can and will be used in the future against the rest of the press.  –  Stella Assange

If Men Were Angels

Anyone “shocked” by this must live in a cave:

[Jonathan Elwing, a Florida pastor caught using cryptocurrency to buy child porn of children as young as 4] is now facing more charges…[after] a…search of [hi]s cell phone revealed…at least 14 pictures of him [rap]ing a 2-year-old…

The Face of Trafficking

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

A [West Virginia] couple [who]…lock[ed two of their adopted] children up in a barn and forc[ed] them to work are back behind bars…on a bond that’s more than double what they had already been given– now set at $500,000 each.  Donald Ray Lantz…and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather…[pled] not guilty to over a dozen new charges against them…the adopted children, who were black, were specifically targeted by the couple and forced to work because of their race…the couple was able to acquire the $400,000 bond money for their release from jail in February…[despite claiming] that they had no income or assets, bringing into question where they had acquired the money…from…the couple [say they] sold an 80-acre ranch in Tonasket, Washington [that they claimed not to own] for $725,000 on Feb. 2…the[n]…on March 28…they…sold the…home [that they also did not own]…for $295,000…their bond money…still remains in the custody of the…Court Clerk’s office. [But in a rare moment of normal human decency, the prosecutor said he] believes it should be transferred over to a trust fund for the children…

To Molest and Rape

Good grief, don’t volunteer to be around them either:

A Riverside County [California cop is at large] after [somehow] posting $1 million bail following his…arrest…[for] kidnapping…rape…and…oral [rape] of a sheriff’s office volunteer…Alexander Ravy Vanny…was… [arrested on June 22nd and out the next day after his victim]…told [another cop] about the [rape]…

Joey the Player (#1382)

At least these shitty laws were used against an actual violent criminal for a change:

On Wednesday, June 26th, 2026 “Joey The Player”, [AKA] José Olivio Torres was sentenced to 30 years in prison for 4 counts of Sex Trafficking related charges…The FBI interviewed more than 30 victims, [but]…the court was aware of likely hundreds more victims who were too afraid to come forward.  A search of Torres’ home and office revealed more than 400 phone numbers and hundreds of email addresses he used to evade identification…he sent out between 60 and 150 texts and emails daily, trying to lure new victims to New [Jersey]…Torres had written nearly a million dollars in bad checks to sex workers…He sued the prosecutor, the victims’ attorney’s firm, and even the judge…filed hundreds of self-written motions with the court and fired at least four attorneys…most motions were denied, and the lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice…Torres…repeatedly stated that his “real crime” was theft of services…However, [neither] the judge…no[r anyone else involved]…was…convinced by Torres’ attempts to minimize his actions.  The court never once referred to the survivors as anything but sex workers and treated them with the utmost dignity and respect…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1421)

“Simply claiming that the ‘age verification preserves online anonymity’ does not make it so“:

A company that verifies the identities of TikTok, Uber, and [Twitter] users…by processing photographs of their faces and pictures of their drivers’ licenses, exposed a set of administrative credentials online for more than a year potentially allowing hackers to access that sensitive data…The Israel-based company, called AU10TIX, offers what it describes [using buzzwords] as “full-service identity verification solutions”…The news comes as more social networks and pornography sites [have been forced by politicians to] move towards an identity or age verification model…[and] highlights that identity services could themselves become a target for hackers…

Vulture Watching (#1434)

Mutually-contradictory laws are an inevitable result of rampant authoritarianism:

The Supreme Court will allow emergency abortions in Idaho…while a lawsuit over the state’s controversial abortion law [goes] forward…the state…[even] prohibits abortions required to protect a pregnant woman’s physical health…[in] violat[ion of]…EMTALA…a federal law that requires many hospitals to provide stabilizing care to patients who show up to emergency rooms…An Idaho federal district court judge placed a preliminary injunction on [the] law in August 2022…but…Idaho appealed, and the Supreme Court reversed the block in January…[resulting in] “the State’s largest provider of emergency services ha[ving] to airlift pregnant women out of Idaho roughly every other week, compared to once in all of the prior year”…With Thursday’s decision, the Supreme Court has dismissed Idaho’s appeals, allowing doctors to provide health-preserving abortions in the state while the case continues…

Bits and Pieces (#1450)

A short EN Brown piece on the legacy of the Assange persecution:

…it’s hard to exactly call this a win for the WikiLeaks founder.  But on the surface, it is a loss for the U.S. government, which wanted to put Assange away for a much, much longer period of time.  And yet, on some level, authorities got exactly what it seems they wanted: a warning to anyone who would dare to publish information that makes the government look bad.  It provides a clear view of what happens when you actively try to expose government secrets.  Shots have already been fired against future renegade journalists…Assange’s prosecution almost certainly serves as a deterrent for journalists who would encourage whistleblowers…or any outlet that would aim to function, like WikiLeaks, as a source for unredacted publications of government information…

 

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 (#1450)

Posted in Current Events, Miscellaneous, News, The Dark Side, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2024| 1 Comment »

This is arguing for banning video games because some kids who play video games might someday drive a few miles per hour over the posted speed limit.  –  Eric Boehm

Bits and Pieces (#9)

Assange was freed as soon as it became politically expedient:

…Julian Assange flew out of the UK on [June 24] apparently a free man after reaching a plea deal with US authorities…to plead guilty to a single espionage charge in a court appearance on [the] US-controlled Pacific island [of Saipan, east of the Philippines] and prosecutors will seek a sentence equivalent to time served…Assange has been a wanted man since 2010 when WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq…In 2012, as authorities circled him for that and [long-since abandoned] sex crime allegations from [the Swedish government], he fled into London’s Ecuadorian embassy where he remained for seven years…After falling out with [Ecuador]’s rulers he was dragged out…in 2019 and locked up in [a UK prison] while the US attempted to extradite him.  But that legal process ended abruptly [when the US found it convenient], and WikiLeaks broke the news with a [Twitter] post…reading: “Julian Assange is free!”…

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

[Michigan politician] Neil Friske…was arrested [at his house for]…chasing a stripper and firing a weapon….[after] sexually assault[ing]…her…The [political] district is no stranger to scandal…[politician] Lee Chatfield…who represented it from 2015 to 2021, had his own guns-and-strippers controversy.

Quiet Genocide (#1248)

Truthful headline: “Chinese rename other people’s villages against their wishes”:

Chinese [bureaucrats] in Xinjiang have been systematically changing hundreds of village names with religious, historical, or cultural meaning for Uyghurs into names reflecting recent Chinese Communist Party ideology…Human Rights Watch research has identified about 630 villages where the names have been changed that way.  The top three most common replacement village names are “Happiness,” “Unity,” and “Harmony”…Maya Wang, [HRW] China director [said]…“These name changes appear part of Chinese government efforts to erase the cultural and religious expressions of Uyghurs”…most of these changes occurred between 2017 and 2019, when the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity escalated in the region…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #1)

When a woman dies by “hanging”, it’s nearly always a murder:

A prominent forensic pathologist hired by the family of Sandra Birchmore, the young woman who was…groomed [and molested] by three [typical and representative Massachusetts cops], has concluded that her death was a homicide, contradicting earlier findings by [cop cronies] that there was no evidence of foul play…Dr. Michael Baden…cited the extent of Birchmore’s injuries and the placement of a ligature found on her body as factors in his determination…that Birchmore…[had not] killed herself by hanging…“The cause of Ms. Birchmore’s death is ‘Strangulation’ and the manner of death is ‘Homicide’,” Baden wrote…Birchmore’s estate is suing [the] three [rapist cops] for wrongful death…They are [the murderer,] Matthew G. Farwell…[the] father [of] Birchmore[‘s unborn child]…as well as his twin brother, William, and Robert C. Devine…a [typical and representative cop and sexual predator] who…led the department’s [grooming] program…the state medical examiner [covered up the murder by]…not send[ing] fetal tissue for DNA analysis to determine [paternity]…On Feb. 1, 2021, surveillance cameras captured Matthew Farwell arriving and then leaving Birchmore’s apartment…and [nobody ever saw] her alive [again after his visit]…

I Spy (#1360) 

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

The U.S. Postal Service has shared information from thousands of Americans’ letters and packages with [cop shops and spook houses] every year for the past decade, conveying the names, addresses and other details from the outside of boxes and envelopes without requiring a court order.  Postal inspectors [pretend] they fulfill such requests only when mail monitoring can help find a fugitive or investigate a crime.  But…[the pigs and spooks get to define “crime” and] Postal Service officials have received more than 60,000 requests…[of this sort] since 2015, and…97 percent of the requests were approved…[totaling] more than 312,000 letters and packages between 2015 and 2023…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1444)

The claims in these nuisance lawsuits are increasingly absurd:

…a dozen [nuisance] lawsuits filed since last year by the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia…accuse [Facebook] of [magical]ly ensnaring teenagers and children on Instagram and Facebook while deceiving the public about the [power of the magical spells used].  Using a [playbook] reminiscent of the government’s pursuit of Big Tobacco in the 1990s, the attorneys general seek to [profit from Facebook while bringing it more under their control]…The state lawsuits…reflect mounting [fantasies] that [interactions] on social media [are magically different from those in real life]…and [that young people can be hypnot]ically induced into compulsive online use…Vivek H. Murthy, the [charlatan currently holding the often-politicized post of] United States surgeon general, [absurdly] called for warning labels to be placed on social networks, [pretend]ing the platforms present a public health risk to young people.  His [childish hysterics] could boost momentum in Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act, a[n internet-censorship] bill that would [enshrine catastrophic internet censorship into law]…

A Moral Cancer (#1446)

Prohibitionism is a dangerous mental illness:

Molly A. Bowdring, a c[rypto-moral]ist at Stanford…wrote this week in STAT that nonalcoholic drinks meant to resemble beer or cocktails are “a potential public health crisis”…[because] drinks that contain no alcohol are generally not subjected to limitations placed on drinks that do contain alcohol…and…Bowdring [pearl-clutches that]…”Among minors, consuming non-alcoholic beverages can socialize them to the drinking culture, with the beverages being perceived as cool, adult, and modern.”  Goodness gracious, not that…

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

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