Tag: Rape

A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” (2020)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The question of women’s liberation is central to any revolutionary project, and thus so is the question of “sex work.” Esperanza Fonseca’s contribution, although coming from a Maoist political orientation with which we often have differences, [1] makes the stakes of this debate crystal clear, as she combines personal experience, public policy research, and historical materialism to argue that Marxists cannot uphold what she calls “sex-trade-expansionary feminism.”

Content Warning: Descriptions of rape.

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The right of the subordinated classes of men to buy access to women’s bodies has been used historically to break class solidarity in order to maintain the dominant social relations of the time. This was true in feudal Europe and remains true today: when proletarian and petit bourgeois men get to buy women too, they develop a false consciousness and build solidarity with bourgeois men of their own gender rather than aligning with women of their own class. And because the overthrow of capitalism is only possible by the overthrowing of the bourgeoisie, prostitution serves two great purposes: (1) allows bourgeois men access to a reserve army of women for their pleasure, and (2) prevent class consciousness and thus helps stop the proletariat from organizing as a class.

A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” (2020)

What’s Up With Linkin Park’s New Singer?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The media is whitewashing her connection to Scientology. She was raised in the ‘church’ according to Growing Up in Scientology! That said, the song isn’t too bad. As far as I’m concerned, no one will be able to fill Chester’s shoes!

In the end, it wasn’t actually the end for Linkin Park. The rock band is back with new music for the first time in seven years — and a new singer as well. Emily Armstrong joined the band, replacing the late Chester Bennington, who died in 2017. Armstrong has sung in the band Dead Sara since 2005, and makes her Linkin Park debut on new single “The Emptiness Machine,” sharing vocal duties with Linkin Park cofounder Mike Shinoda. (Colin Brittain is also joining Linkin Park as their new drummer, with Rob Bourdon not returning.) She joined the band on stage for the first time on September 5, and will feature on their new album From Zero, out November 15. But Armstrong’s addition has already been controversial, as fans scrutinize her history with Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

What’s Up With Linkin Park’s New Singer?

Related:

Linkin Park’s Emily Armstrong Apologizes For Danny Masterson Support

Beyond Leah Remini: 25 Musicians Associated with Scientology

Listening to Linkin Park

Sex-trafficking victim Chrystul Kizer gets 11 years for killing her abuser

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

KENOSHA, Wis. — A judge on Monday sentenced a Milwaukee woman charged with killing the man who sexually abused her as a teenager to 11 years in prison plus five years of extended supervision. The decision ends a six-year legal saga that tested the limits of the court’s leniency toward trafficking survivors who commit crimes.

Sex-trafficking victim Chrystul Kizer gets 11 years for killing her abuser

Previously:

A Woman Who Killed Her Rapist Gets Major Victory as Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules that She Can Claim Self-Defense

Inside Mnuchin’s far-fetched plan to rebuild TikTok from scratch + Controversial former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick could buy TikTok with help from Sam Altman

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Inside Mnuchin’s far-fetched plan to rebuild TikTok from scratch

Mnuchin said he has discussed his pitch with an assortment of billionaires and big businesses, including the tech giant Oracle and the former head of the Activision Blizzard video game empire Bobby Kotick, the two people said.

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Dan Wang*, a visiting scholar at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center who studies Chinese tech and policy, said Mnuchin’s proposal would probably hit a dead end in China, which has shown no interest in consenting to a forced sale and could use its “highly discretionary” political system to block the deal.

Related:

Controversial former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick could buy TikTok with help from Sam Altman

Bobby Kotick spent 33 years as CEO of Activision, during which time he faced plenty of controversy. His departure from the company in December following Microsoft’s acquisition was met with celebrations from gamers and developers. There were tales of his interference with the development of Activision games over the years and his role in killing off Blizzard titles in China.

Kotick was also accused of leaving a voicemail threatening to kill an assistant in 2006 and was the subject of a flight attendant’s sexual harassment lawsuit in 2007. He faced allegations of incidents involving rape and harassment stretching from the mid-2010s through 2021, and Kotick and Activision had to pay a $35 million settlement last year after failing to maintain adequate controls to report and address misconduct within the company. Activision Blizzard also paid $54 million in 2021 to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit in California.

The alleged $15 million golden parachute Kotick received upon leaving Activision did little to endear him to the public, too.

*Dan Wang (not the dissident).

Mossad-linked Mnuchin wants to buy TikTok