Stephen Fry is anxious about his trans friends. (Does he have a lot of them? It seems unlikely. There aren’t many trans people, and most of them are very young.)

Stephen Fry has urged calm in the debate over transgender issues, but said he has many trans and intersex friends who are “deeply upset” by JK Rowling.

Many? Come on.

“I know that JK Rowling doesn’t want to see trans people bullied, alienated, shut out of society, made to feel ashamed, guilty, laughed at, all those things.

“But I also know that there are people who believe that safe feminine spaces and the idea of difference between sex and gender is very important, and that they repudiate with all

… Read the rest

The NY Times four days ago:

Elon Musk continued cutting Twitter’s work force in his third week of owning the social media company, firing employees who had criticized him and eliminating contractors.

So his filter for employees is personal vanity as opposed to skills. How might that go wrong?

Early on Tuesday, Mr. Musk’s team ordered nearly two dozen Twitter employees who had pushed back publicly and privately against him to be fired, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The billionaire, who completed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last month, later confirmed the exits on the platform and mocked the former employees.

Thus no doubt inspiring remaining employees to think very highly of him.

Mr. Musk’s

… Read the rest

Anything to win:

Washington’s Seattle Academy High School girls’ cross-country team qualified for the state championship thanks to trans student, Aspen Hoffman. 

Last year, Hoffman was a mediocre cross-country runner on Seattle Academy’s boys’ team. During freshman year, Aspen Hoffman competed as a boy and finished 72nd in the League finals. Now, as a sophomore competing as a girl, Hoffman broke Seattle Academy’s school record in the girls’ 5000-meter category and ranks 1st in League.

Seattle Academy competes in the Emerald Sound Conference which is comprised of 14 schools. Libs of TikTok spoke with a coach in the conference who told us, “allowing [Hoffman] to compete against biological girls deprives other girls’ teams of the chance to compete

… Read the rest

This is a long thread, and very disturbing. I didn’t read all of it. The Dr Gallagher is Sidhbh Gallagher, of yeet the teets.

https://twitter.com/testosteronejew/status/1593477552697384961

Many horrifying tweets later:

https://twitter.com/testosteronejew/status/1593477590680883202

Rylan is still vehemently pro the ideology though, still eager to call doubters terfs.… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Bjarte Foshaug on Dr Brat.

I’m under no illusion that free speech in any way guarantees that the best evidence and the strongest arguments will rise to the top in the “marketplace of ideas”. Despite what Movement Skeptics™ might like to think, judging evidence and arguments on their merits is not a straightforward matter, but something that requires a great deal of experience and accumulated pre-knowledge in its own right.

Also, the strongest indicators of truth vs. falsehood objectively speaking rarely coincide with what seems most subjectively persuasive to a lay audience. Playing by the rules of science, critical thinking, and intellectual honesty is nothing if not limiting while the peddlers of nonsense are free … Read the rest

Movement or just more delay?

Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Friday to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.

The presence of classified documents=Trump’s theft of classified documents.

Though the appointment installs a new supervisor atop the probes — both of which are expected to accelerate now that the midterm elections are over — the special counsel will still report to Garland, who has ultimate say of whether to bring charges.

The role will be filled by Jack Smith, a veteran prosecutor who

… Read the rest

Always remember kids – knowing that men are not women is bigotry. The right, moral, just, decent, humane view is that men are women if they say they are. Knowing that mere saying isn’t magic, and that while declaration can change some kinds of reality, it can’t change all of them, is evil, shameful, malevolent, deserving of every kind of hostility and ostracism.

Society is divided, but when people unit to stand up to bigotry it is always a win.

— Ian J Brown (@ijb19662) November 18, 2022

https://twitter.com/Shake26316550/status/1593645721479266311 … Read the rest

Aw yeah.

https://twitter.com/lnmackenzie1/status/1593283511238139906… Read the rest

The Telegraph reports:

The Society of Authors has been “lost” to cancel culture, members fear, after free speech rebels failed to oust the current chairman in a row over gender ideology.

It can be confusing trying to pick out who is for free speech and who is for cancel culture in this dispute. Joanne Harris was exercising her free speech when she used the violent attack on Salman Rushdie to sneer at JK Rowling, but critics see her sneering as an abuse of her role as chairman.

The UK’s largest writers’ union has faced an internal revolt over claims it has not properly defended gender-critical authors from being “cancelled” if they do not agree with prevailing opinions.

…

… Read the rest

I can’t help finding the Elon Musk car crash funny. Dude bounces in shouting threats and insults at his employees and guess what, most of them quit.

Twitter has told employees that the company’s office buildings will be temporarily closed, with immediate effect. In a message seen by the BBC, workers were told that the offices would reopen on Monday 21 November. It did not give a reason for the move.

The announcement comes amid reports that large numbers of staff were quitting after new owner Elon Musk called on them to sign up for “long hours at high intensity” or leave.

And they said “We’re already working long hours at high intensity so fuck you, we’re out.” Musk’s only … Read the rest

Well that’s one way to get away with murder: become a Head of State.

The US has determined that Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader – Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – has immunity from a lawsuit filed by murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancé.

…

[I]n court filings, the US State department said he has immunity due to his new role as Saudi prime minister.

So if you’re a murderer the thing to do is get a new role as prime minister.

It was always highly unlikely that the US, as Saudi Arabia’s strategic partner and arms supplier, was ever going to facilitate the arrest of MBS. But granting him immunity in this way will cause some relief in the

… Read the rest

Joanne Harris remains.

The novelist Joanne Harris has seen off an attempt to remove her from a leading position at the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators, after members comprehensively backed her in a vote.

…

In a vote of its members at its AGM, held online, a resolution to unseat Harris as chair of the Society of Authors management committee fell by 608 votes to 143. It represented 81% of voters backing her.

Too bad. She seems very unpleasant to me – bratty, sneery, flippant, and a bully.

The move to oust Harris followed a row earlier this year over her response to the stabbing of Salman Rushdie in New York state. The Booker prize-winning

… Read the rest

Billy Bragg says those evil women caused harassment of trans people to increase, doubters asked for evidence, he produced “people said.”

Individuals have the right to say and believe whatever they want. But they don't have the right to do so with impunity. Words have consequences, as the students at Cambridge well understand. When Helen Joyce spoke there, harassment of trans people went up.

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) November 17, 2022

https://t.co/eCXqXyulvp pic.twitter.com/81HHicfIz4

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) November 17, 2022

Several students said. Hearsay Your Honour. Also what was the baseline? Also, we know from long irritating experience that many trans activists call any kind of disagreement or skepticism “harassment,” so no, “several trans students have reported” doesn’t add up … Read the rest

The vacuous smug bullies are out in force today.

BREAKING: person arguing in favour of right to offend is offended that others take offence at things she has said. pic.twitter.com/olyPvGHvne

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) November 17, 2022

Only Kathleen didn’t say anything about being “offended.”

Hi Kathleen, could you clear up something that has been a matter of debate in this thread? What exactly is it that you're tired of?

— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) November 17, 2022

Condescending shits like Billy Bragg probably.

https://twitter.com/Amandycat/status/1593308046184390658

Amanda Brunton calls Stock names and urges people to go protest her talk, then whines about people talking back. Solidarity forever wot wot?… Read the rest

The people they hire at Cambridge these days. Good grief.

https://twitter.com/Amandycat/status/1593171664589983744

Childish as well as censorious.

https://twitter.com/Amandycat/status/1593287439434539010… Read the rest

It’s right there on the sign – votes for WOMEN.

https://twitter.com/FrancesW05/status/1593252510428299264… Read the rest

Today in women’s prison news:

A prisoner who identifies as a woman – despite having the physicality of a tall man – battered a fellow inmate in the male wing of a Scottish jail after being made the subject of “comments” by other lags, a court heard on Wednesday.

Having the physicality of a tall man=being a man. He has the physicality of a tall man because he is one.

Katie Dolatowski, 22, a convicted paedophile who sexually assaulted a 10 year old girl in a Fife supermarket, was serving a sentence in Polmont Young Offenders’ Institution for physical assault.

Let’s pause to notice this. He’s a tall man who assaulted a ten year old girl. He’s not … Read the rest

And a pony.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the launch of a new guaranteed income program for the city’s transgender community on Wednesday.

Why? Why them in particular? Why not people who need it rather than a particular “community”?

The Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) Program will provide low-income transgender residents with $1,200 each month, up to 18 months to help address financial insecurity within the community.

Why?

The city also said that the new pilot program is the first guaranteed income initiative to focus solely on transgender people and will provide 55 eligible participants with temporary income. Additionally, the city said it will provide the same individuals with “wrap-around” direct services, such as gender-affirming medical and

… Read the rest

Man explains how indifferent he is to women and their petty selfish desire to compete in sports against other women:

Australia’s most successful male Olympian Ian Thorpe has hit back at [criticized] a decision by international swimming’s governing body Fina to ban transgender women athletes from elite female competitions.

The swimming great, who won five gold medals at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, said the sport’s leaders had made the wrong decision.

“This is a very complicated issue, I can’t deny that, and I am personally opposed to the position Fina has taken on this,” he said. “I am for fairness in sport, but I’m also for equality in sport. And in this instance, they’ve actually got

… Read the rest

I went for an explore this afternoon, and on the way home I experienced the following:

• On the return leg of the trip I transferred to a different bus downtown, and as it arrived and I made for it there was a woman lying on the sidewalk seizing. People were approaching her so I didn’t stop, and anyway there’s always a heavy police presence in the area because it’s an open air drug den. A block away is the McDonalds where there was a mass shooting a few years ago.
• I sat on the first front-facing seat and a woman sat in front of me in the side-facing seat. She had a paper bag from which she took some fired

… Read the rest