Thanks to Rev David Brindley for alerting us to this gem:

The Victorian Greens have regained the prize from the WA Greens as the most authoritarian branch of the Australian Greens.

Last night, the State Council resolved: pic.twitter.com/zjMSNLZ7uc

— Greens Against 'No Debate' (@greensdebate) April 21, 2023

And how will we be defining “vilifying”? “discriminating against”? “the rights of trans people”? How will we be knowing when it’s “unnecessary” to prioritize “sex characteristics” over “gender”? How will we be knowing why sex has “characteristics” (which there’s no need to prioritize) while gender doesn’t? How will we be defining “transition care”? How will we be defining “leading questions”? How will we be defining “harms”?… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Artymorty on Serious people.

I still can’t quite figure out where all of this passion about “trans rights” has suddenly come from. It’s got little to do with the ‘Western’ concept of transsexualism as it was understood a few decades ago, and it’s got nothing to do with celebrating or encouraging gender diversity in general. Nor does it have anything to do with the ways other societies are structured around sex, sexuality, and gender roles, like in indigenous, collectivist cultures around the world. “Transphobia” as the term is presently used is an elusive spectre that seems to have been conjured entirely out of people’s minds. None of the terms it relies on can be consistently … Read the rest

Yuh huh.

I am so excited to make my way to Regina and join @YWCARegina in celebrating incredible women changemakers at the 2023 Women of Distinction Awards! https://t.co/OhP21unklf

— Fae Johnstone, MSW (@FaeJohnstone) April 21, 2023

He’s a guy. He may be a guy of distinction, I don’t know, but he’s a guy.

That’s a woman who won’t get a 2023 women of distinction award, because this fella got it instead.

Twitter transphobes are bullying a feminist organization in Saskatchewan – @YWCARegina – for inviting me to be the keynote speaker at their upcoming awards ceremony.

If you support women’s rights and trans inclusive feminism, consider making a donation: https://t.co/lwLlERJSeg

— Fae Johnstone, MSW (@FaeJohnstone) April 22, 2023

Well, feminist … Read the rest

And another thing.

This is the man who for the past five years has said we must not debate trans rights… pic.twitter.com/RxSywvGQbz

— Maya Forstater (@MForstater) April 22, 2023

“…but trans rights are human rights. They shouldn’t be up for debate amongst serious people…”

Jolyon Maugham is a lawyer. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it an important part of a lawyer’s job to be very careful about precision in language, and to make sure everybody is talking about the same thing?

I ask because what exactly are “trans rights”? How can we tell whether they’re human rights or not if people aren’t clear about what they mean by the category?

Is it a human right to force … Read the rest

Jolyon continues to out-Jolyon himself.

I'm not going to fight with you, Jo. No good will come of that. But you know very well that I wrote to you privately and warmly because you responded – by blocking me. I'm very happy to publish the message, just say the word.

— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) April 22, 2023

What possesses him to keep calling her “Jo” in that infuriating way? He’s not her friend, so he doesn’t get to “Jo” her – especially since in his case it’s not just inappropriate familiarity, it’s also male condescension plus intrusion. It’s a deeply hostile act, so it makes his whiny “Y won’t you make a truce with me??” all the more passive-aggressive and … Read the rest

Now for the scathing review of Jolyon’s book by Yuan Yi Zhu in the Times.

How to explain the rather indefinite but very real fame of Maugham to those who do not tweet? Well, you see, he was a successful but obscure tax barrister. Then he started a mildly successful blog, which led to him advising the Labour Party on tax policy and even to fleeting fantasies of becoming attorney-general in the House of Lords in an Ed Miliband government.

But what really made him famous was his energetic abuse of anyone who disagreed with him on Twitter…

That yes but I think his colossal ego also played a large part. It really is a sight to behold.

For instance … Read the rest

Heh Rowling finds Jolyon’s “we both know” as absurd as I do.

'We both know'? How on earth would I know who you write to? Or do you imagine your missives are handed round like holy relics by the awestruck and intimidated womenfolk? If you want to cosy up to feminists, go lose another court case. We like a laugh. https://t.co/NA8iY82akE

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 22, 2023

He does! Of course he does. The conceit of that man could power a rocket to Mars.… Read the rest

Hilarious. Jolyon Maugham has published a book. The Times has a disdainful review. JK Rowling remarked on the review.

I'm sometimes asked how to handle bad reviews and usually answer along the lines of, 'we've all had them and it's never fun. Sometimes you can learn from them. I find it helps to remember even Moby Dick got some stinkers.'

In future, I'll just say 'never go full Jolyon.' pic.twitter.com/bfZaqOS2E1

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 22, 2023

So what does the notoriously pompous self-admiring barrister do? He tells her – chummily calling her “Jo” as if they were friends which they are NOT – she should read it.

You should read it, Jo. We both know the review has got

Hmmm. Something doesn’t add up here.

There’s this show on Channel 4 in the UK:

Channel 4 is known for pushing the boundaries and kickstarting conversations with its shows – and Naked Education is no exception.

Fronted by Anna Richardson, the six-part series – co-hosted by Yinka Bokinni and former Love Island star Doctor Alex George – aims to break taboos and aid body positivity with frank discussions and a whole load of nudity.

One pair we meet in episode three is Finlay Games and Lucian Main, two transgender men who get candid about coming out, transitioning, surgery, and navigating life as trans people.

In a truly powerful moment, the guys bare all, with Lucian showing his scars from

J.A. alerted us to the fact that Science Friday on NPR was about menstruation and went big on the “people” who menstruate bullshit. Let’s read their summary:

Saying the phrase “menstrual blood” or or the word “period” can feel almost dirty. That’s because in the western world, people with periods are taught not to discuss this exceedingly normal biological process. Half the world will menstruate at some point in their lives, and yet menstruation remains exceedingly under-studied. 

Sure enough – they tactfully bashfully ashamedly hide the fact that it’s women who are subject to this association with dirt and failure to study. It’s intensely ironic (and of course enraging) to hide women even on this subject, because how can … Read the rest

Breaking news out of Australia:

Fox Corporation chief executive Lachlan Murdoch has dropped his defamation case against the Australian publisher of news outlet Crikey and several of its editors and executives.

Friday’s move came [after] Fox News and Dominion Voting reached a last-minute settlement in a billion-dollar defamation case in a US court on Wednesday, in the final minutes before a trial was due to begin.

Mr Murdoch launched legal action against Crikey publisher Private Media in the Federal Court in August, claiming it defamed him in referring to his family as “unindicted co-conspirators” in the US Capitol riots.

The action related to a June 29 opinion piece that was taken down and then posted back online on August

Louise Perry on women as flowerpots:

Last month, the Law Commission published its long-awaited report on the legal status of the surrogacy industry. It contained – as expected – one particularly alarming recommendation. Alongside various tweaks to payment and regulation processes, the Commission suggests a crucial change to the parental status of a baby born by surrogacy.

At present, the woman who gives birth to the baby is considered to be that child’s legal parent, and the intended parents are obliged to apply for a parental order following birth. But if the Law Commission gets its way, the situation will be reversed. Although the surrogate will still have the right to object, the default presumption in law will be

Saudi Arabia uses various sports to try to make itself look not horrible.

Now Saudi Arabia is coming for cricket – just another step in the grandest sportswashing campaign in history. The country is an autocratic monarchy run on the fundamentalist principles of Wahhabist Islam. Laws of ‘guardianship’ mean that women cede control of their lives to male relatives.

No that’s not the right way to put it. Women don’t cede anything, they’re not given the chance to cede anything – laws of “guardianship” mean they never have control of their lives at any time.

The legal system uses prison, torture or execution against political dissent and anyone outside proscribed sexual or gender norms. The Saudi-led war in Yemen

Again, adult news outlets parroting the childish fantasy-based jargon.

Montana’s House speaker on Thursday refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak about bills on the House floor until she apologizes for saying lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they supported a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, the lawmaker said.

“She” is “he” and there’s no such thing as “gender-affirming medical care.” “Affirming gender” is not medical and it’s not care.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who was deliberately misgendered by a conservative group of lawmakers demanding her censure after Tuesday’s comments, said she would not apologize, creating a standoff between the first-term state lawmaker and Republican legislative leaders.

“Misgendered” is silly jargon too. … Read the rest

What are they even for? One minute we’re told “head of state” and the next it’s “bringing in the tourist cash.” Are they any real use at either of those, or anything else? Are they enough use to justify the enormous amount of tax-free money they keep having more of?

A common argument in defence of the royal family is the benefit they bring to the UK economy through tourism. But despite widespread claims of their tourist value, firm evidence that the Windsors are what bring visitors to Britain is hard to come by, with most assertions anecdotal or speculative. The storm-tossed tourist industry may be desperately hoping for a coronation bump, but the benefit the event will bring is

Says it all.

KØN – Gender Museum Denmark, formerly Kvindemuseet (Women’s Museum), is a history museum in Aarhus, Denmark focused on the cultural history of gender and sexuality in Denmark.

Of course it is. It used to be Women’s Museum, but then people came to their senses and remembered that women are worthless and don’t matter, so they changed it to Gender Museum. SO much better. Why anyone ever thought women mattered is a mystery.

There’s a statue of Gender out front.

So the pillow guy said “Prove me wrong and I’ll give you 5 million dollars!” So someone proved him wrong and he hasn’t paid up. He has to pay up.

Mike Lindell has to pay $5 million for losing his “Prove Mike Wrong” 2020 election challenge, an arbitration panel has ruled.

In a decision dated Wednesday, the panel found software developer Robert Zeidman had won Lindell’s 2021 contest challenging experts to prove that data he had was not from the 2020 election, and directed the MyPillow founder to pay him the reward money he’d promised in the next 30 days.

…

The contest took place in August 2021 at a cyber symposium that Lindell — an outspoken election denier

Daddy instinct.

A bald eagle that went viral after nurturing a rock it thought was an egg has become an adoptive father to an eaglet at a Missouri bird sanctuary.

The 31-year-old bird, Murphy, is flightless due to a permanent wing injury. It was “very protective” of the rock, which it treated like an unhatched egg, and would squawk at other birds and charge at those that came too close.

I have no idea why The Telegraph refers to the male eagle as “it,” especially since his sex adds to the interest of the story. Eagles do share the chick-rearing duties.

While Murphy received nationwide press coverage and hoards of online fans for his seemingly natural, if misdirected, parenting

Labour MP Fleur Anderson is very glad to see an organization for women “supporting” men at the expense of women.

Very glad to see the WI supporting trans women. It is such a common sense statement of women supporting women. #TransRights

Women’s Institute will ‘continue to celebrate’ transgender women amid inclusivity row | Women's Institute | The Guardian https://t.co/PNFCEmb93Q

— Fleur Anderson MP (@PutneyFleur) April 20, 2023

It’s not a “common sense statement of women supporting women”; it’s a grotesque statement of an institute for women supporting men who pretend to be women.

It’s both, you know. Both aspects are important. It’s the women aspect but it’s also the truth aspect. It’s the brazen, ridiculous, insulting insistence that “women” no … Read the rest

Hilarious. LBC announces two new presenters and up pops Inja to yell “what about me????”

Gee why would anybody not want to give Willz a show? Apart from the bad temper, the entitlement, the conceit, the smugness, and the playacting a woman. … Read the rest