If lockdowns worked as advertised, we would not see such enormous variability in the death rates. – William Briggs
As I’ve said for decades, so-called “radical” feminism is a cult:
…Looking back on her time in the “gender critical” feminist movement, [Amy Dyess] is unequivocal: it’s a cult…that groomed her when she was vulnerable and sleeping in her car; a cult that sought to control her, keeping tabs on her movements and dictating what she could and couldn’t say; a cult that was emotionally and sexually abusive towards her. As Amy began to notice more and more red flags about the GC movement – like how it defended abusive women, how it wouldn’t let lesbians speak out about sexual assault perpetrated by women, and how it was forming alliances with homophobic groups – she started asking questions. Last year, she began speaking out against what she saw as increasingly blatant homophobia in the gender-critical movement. The cult tightened its grip. Lesbian journalists who are household names “lovebombed” her, she says, trying to keep her in the movement…
More blood on prohibitionists’ hands:
Lawrence Paul Mills III…targeted…sex workers on the southside of Detroit…he would [hire] his victims…and [transact their business] in…his [car]. When the victim left the vehicle, he would [intentionally run them down]…and then [steal back] his payment…Mills was arraigned…in connection to a Dec. 22, 2017, incident in which he…[ran over] a then-pregnant woman…several times before driving away…The woman and her unborn child survived…
The Swedish Pimpocracy (#719)
The key to understanding Swedish law: the government thinks it owns the citizens:
As infections continue to grow in Sweden, several parents and teachers in the country have raised concerns over the risk their children (and everyone the kids come into contact with) face due to the mandatory school attendance required among those aged from six to 15 amid the ongoing pandemic…parents (some of whom have serious health conditions) have reported being threatened with fines, being reported to social services and other repercussions for choosing to keep their children at home to minimize the risk to their own lives…
Safe Position (#947)
This is the woman who beat the pro-decrim candidate Tiffany Caban:
District Attorney Melinda Katz…announced the creation of a [so-called] Human Trafficking Bureau that is exclusively dedicated to [persecuuting sex workers]…in Queens County. This newly formed Bureau will…aggressively prosecut[e sex workers’ clients, friends, family members and associates]…and will also [infantilize and criminalize sex workers]…
I Spy (#1035)
It boggles the mind that anyone could be gullible enough to install this:
The Care19 app, developed for the North Dakota Department of Health by developer ProudCrowd, [claimed it would] assist health officials in their battle against coronavirus by logging users’ location data…[which] it also sent…to Foursquare…this is especially concerning, as the app’s [supposed] privacy policy [claims] to explicitly prohibit [exactly] what [the app does]…”This location data…is stored securely on ProudCrowd, LLC servers,..It will not be shared with anyone including government entities or third parties, unless you consent or ProudCrowd is compelled under federal regulations”…
Reawakening
In case you missed this:
…quarantining an entire population is not some set-in-stone technique that has been used for decades to stem the spread of a virus. It was first proposed in 2006 by two [medical bureaucrats]…neither of them infectious disease specialists — after President George W. Bush asked for a plan to combat pandemics…But four scientists who were infectious disease specialists…wrote…a devastating critique. There was no science to support the notion that a national quarantine would halt the spread of infection, they wrote. It could increase the risk of infection for people living in close quarters. Closing theaters, malls, restaurants, stores and bars…would have “serious disruptive consequences.” Closing schools was not only impractical “but carries the possibility of a seriously adverse outcome”…there is surprisingly little evidence that lockdowns work…a statistician named William M. Briggs…compar[ed] countries that locked down with countries that didn’t. As of May 12, the U.S. had 237 deaths per million people. Taiwan, a no-lockdown country, had 0.3 deaths per million…No-lockdown Sweden has had 347 deaths per million; lockdown Belgium, with a similar population, has had 763 deaths per million. Ethiopia…had no lockdown — and a death rate of 0.04 per million…
Social Distancing (#1037)
India refuses to give sex workers stipends to survive on, so I’m sure these pompous blowhards’ scheme will work:
India can add 17 days of additional delay to reaching the peak of novel coronavirus cases, and prevent 72 per cent of projected new cases by closing down its red light areas till a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, [prohibitionists fantasize]. Based on [authoritarian nonsense that imagines people can survive indefinitely with no income if the government demands they do], the [prohibitionists claim]…closing down these places of sex work may reduce projected COVID-19 death toll increase in India by 63 per cent [and besides, whores are expendable]…
Working From Home (#1038) 
Internet companies use sex workers to build themselves, then screw us over:
…In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, [OnlyFans] has exploded in popularity, seeing a 75 percent increase in sign-ups in recent weeks and garnering 170,000 new users per day…[so-called “]influencers[“] like Caroline Calloway have flocked to the platform as a way to monetize their content by selling directly to their fan base. The influx of…civilians…has prompted concern among many sex workers, who’ve long relied on the platform as a source of income and are worried about oversaturation of the market…To make matters worse, some…[are] being pushed out of the platform, reporting that their accounts have been deleted [and their funds stolen by the platform] even when they have not violated OnlyFans’ terms of service…Emails shared with Rolling Stone show the boilerplate language OnlyFans has sent to such creators, saying accounts are “typically being deleted due to suspicious/fraudulent activity”…
This is, of course, exactly what Paypal did, down to stealing sex workers’ money and claiming it was about “fraud”.
Social Distancing (#1041)
At their core, the Netherlands are still prohibitionist:
The red-light district is one of the main tourist attractions in Amsterdam. While coronavirus…restrictions are starting to ease, sex work is not allowed to resume until September…the lack of support for sex workers has exposed how vulnerable they are under Dutch law. Hella Dee…started a fundraising campaign when she realized how many of her colleagues were in financial distress…The campaign collected over $20,000 that was distributed to over 400 sex workers. Masten Stavast, who rents out 31 windows…is compiling a protocol with sex workers, club owners and other people from the red-light district to lobby policymakers on how sex work can safely resume before September…”If everything goes all right on July 1, there can be 100 people together, why not one to one then with all the protection that everybody has?” M[ost] sex workers are [also intentionally] excluded from the billions of dollars of government support offered to overcome economic hardship…
