htaccess/hotlinking for WP

[cd34]

do you have any .htaccess files down below the one in your top directory?

if so, do they contain:

RewriteOptions inherit

in them?

If they don't, they replace the existing rewrite rules

also, your rules that end with .$ won't match much of anything -- you need them to either be .*$ or remove the .$ at the end.