All entries by this author

Some of the drug regimens bring long-term risks

Jan 13th, 2022 4:29 pm | By

A breach in the defenses perhaps:

An upsurge in teenagers requesting hormones or surgeries to better align their bodies with their gender identities has ignited a debate among doctors over when to provide these treatments.

An international group of experts focused on transgender health last month released a draft of new guidelines, the gold standard of the field that informs what insurers will reimburse for care.

How about informing the well-being of the patient first?

A new chapter dedicated to adolescents says that they must undergo mental health assessments and must have questioned their gender identity for “several years” before receiving drugs or surgeries.

How about questioning the very idea of “gender identity”? How about not treating it as … Read the rest



A quick reaction force

Jan 13th, 2022 11:59 am | By

Oath Keepers guy charged with sedition.

Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was arrested on Thursday and charged with seditious conspiracy for organizing a wide-ranging plot to storm the Capitol last Jan. 6 and disrupt the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s electoral victory, federal law enforcement officials said.

I think that might be a fairly serious crime.

The arrest of Mr. Rhodes was a major step forward in the sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack and the case marked the first time that prosecutors had filed charges of sedition.

The Oath Keepers, along with the Proud Boys, have emerged as the most prominent far-right extremists to have taken part in the

Read the rest


A colonized mind

Jan 13th, 2022 11:33 am | By

I find I have to go back to the dreadful Quisling LSE blog post by Ilaria Michelis, because there are just too many irritations and outrages to ignore.

The impact of their rhetoric and political action has been and will continue to be devastating for trans people, from the halting of reforms to the Gender Recognition Act despite public support, to ever more intense levels of transphobic violence taking place online and offline.

What is online violence? Besides an oxymoron? And note the very selective catastrophizing. Oh oh oh trans people; women, meh.

I explore the function of so-called ‘gender critical’ feminism as a reactionary response to anti-racist and decolonial campaigns…

And by “explore” she means “make up.”

In

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If he’s toxic, ma’am

Jan 13th, 2022 9:39 am | By

But he identifies as royal; surely that’s all that’s required?

The Queen has removed a range of military affiliations and royal patronages held by Prince Andrew, Buckingham Palace has said. The move comes after a US judge gave the green light for her second son to face a sexual assault civil lawsuit.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

The dramatic move comes hours after more than 150 military veterans wrote to the Queen to ask

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She couldn’t un-see it

Jan 13th, 2022 8:27 am | By

She thought of it, therefore it’s true. Boy does that make fact-checking easy!

She couldn’t unsee “the connection” she made up in her own febrile brain. Well hey, I can play that game too. She posted this article at the height of the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, so I can’t un-see the connection. It’s right there, staring me in the face!

Shall we take a look? … Read the rest



More than a dozen

Jan 12th, 2022 4:14 pm | By

Open Democracy adds its lashes to the dead horse.

“When the trans community is discussed in the British media, there is a particular word that crops up again and again,” said Niamh Simpson, a trans illustrator and community organiser from Oxford. “That word is ‘debate’.”

A trans illustrator? So he identifies as an illustrator but actually can’t draw a recognizable stick figure?

“Trans people cannot simply exist. We must justify our existence in the public arena – in a format that is inherently dehumanising because it assumes that a fundamental aspect of our personhood is up for discussion.”

Ha no. “Trans people can’t simply exist” because they have to be always telling us about themselves. Trans people are the … Read the rest



A sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay

Jan 12th, 2022 11:31 am | By

Loathsome man.

https://twitter.com/WarrenDavidson/status/1481216313196437504

He’s a Republican representative from Ohio.

Read the rest



Appeal to victimhood while victimizing others

Jan 12th, 2022 10:53 am | By

Linda Blade on the Lia Thomas question:

The recent editorial in Swimming World Magazine defending the right of Lia Thomas (LT) to swim as a woman deserves a response.

Allow me to begin this critique with applause for author Lucas Draper (LD). As a female athlete who self-identifies as a man, LD has chosen the ethical pathway in competing in a much more difficult field with male swimmers rather than to be competing unfairly against fellow females while doping.

Unfortunately, in the manner typical of proponents of gender ideology, LD’s editorial comments deploy escalating levels of emotional gaslighting.

Facts and arguments don’t make their case, so emotional bludgeoning is all they have. Unfortunately it works.

Fourthly, there is an

Read the rest


Apologies work best when given promptly

Jan 12th, 2022 9:21 am | By

Things are not going all that well for Boris Johnson. Now that everyone has been discussing that “work party” for days he has admitted it was a booboo and “apologized” – if it can really be called apologizing when it doesn’t happen until it has been discussed into the ground and out the other side.

The prime minister says he went into the garden of Downing Street on 20 May 2020 to thank staff before going back into his office 25 minutes later.

He says in hindsight he should have sent everyone back inside.

“In hindsight” meaning “now that everybody is screaming at him and won’t shut up.”

He says he should have recognised that even if it could be

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Oh no, not people

Jan 12th, 2022 8:38 am | By

It doesn’t get much more absurd than this.

Who is Brian Piddick? Profile: Lib Dem Spokesperson on Home Affairs in House of Lords. Ran for Mayor of London 2008 & 2012.

He’s a politician. That’s what he does. Politicians engage with lots of people; that’s what they do. It’s the nature of the work: engaging with lots of people. Yet … Read the rest



Guest post: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Reason

Jan 11th, 2022 6:32 pm | By

Originally a comment by Artymorty on THIS is the culture war.

Latsot, you’ve really nailed it here. It’s all about narratives now. People want a tidy story to explain things, not the complicated, underivative truth. A tidy and familiar and comforting story. This is dangerous because sometimes the truth doesn’t have a precedent to model itself on; we can’t just rely on pattern recognition and narrative familiarity to figure out what’s real and true versus what’s illusory and untrue.

It’s pattern recognition and narrative familiarity that has led everyone to treat gender identity ideology like it’s just as simple as Gay Rights 2.0. It’s also what’s behind the cringeworthy line “my truth” that I hear all the time among … Read the rest



Hottest

Jan 11th, 2022 5:10 pm | By

Hottest on record:

Last year was New Zealand’s hottest year on record, according to the country’s National Institute of Water and Aeronautic Research (NIWA), and seven of the past nine years are among New Zealand’s warmest ever. The country’s steadily rising temperature brings increased risk of major floods, bushfires and storms.

And – surprise! – that’s not going to change.

The increases won’t end anytime soon without significant action on climate change, said Victoria University of Wellington’s Dr Nathanael Melia. “Every year we spin the roulette wheel of weather variability; however, like a casino, we have rigged the game, and the hothouse always wins in the end.”

In July 2021 heavy rain engorged the West Coast’s Buller River,

Read the rest


Define “gender-affirming”

Jan 11th, 2022 12:25 pm | By

They what?

Washington state now appears to allow minors to undergo life-changing gender reassignment surgery without parental consent.

Under a new law, health insurers must cover “gender-affirming” care, including surgical treatments that were previously denied coverage. Democrats rejected a proposal to apply the new law to patients over 18 years old.

So young Billy age 13 can get his penis lopped off and present his parents with a fait accompli? Seems a bit rash.

Up until this law, gender reassignment surgery and other procedures like facial reconstruction or laser hair removal were considered cosmetic by health insurance companies. Due to its classification as cosmetic, health insurers did not usually cover the procedures, even when doctors medically recommended them.

If … Read the rest



Born with a physical strength advantage

Jan 11th, 2022 11:12 am | By

Tennis coach Judy Murray is not convinced that trans women should compete against women.

[Murray] told Radio Times magazine: “It could be really off-putting to female athletes to feel you could train for years to get to whatever level and then be knocked out or beaten by someone born with a physical strength advantage.”

To say the least. I would use words stronger than “off-putting,” myself.

“I don’t know enough about it and it’s incredibly complex but it’s important there’s a lot of research into creating a fair solution. Where there are clear physical advantages, (for) governing bodies involved in creating the rules about the point at which there is too much of a disadvantage, it’s really important they get

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Let’s play “Is it controversial?”

Jan 11th, 2022 10:55 am | By

Well, let’s think about it.

Is it controversial to say that white people and black people have distinct but overlapping experiences of oppression, or is that standard intersectional anti-racism?

I suppose one answer is that it’s not exactly controversial to say that, because hardly anyone does say it, so there’s no fuel for controversy. But if white people did say that? A lot, and noisily, and with menaces and insults? Yes … Read the rest



A nearby Snorlax

Jan 11th, 2022 10:29 am | By

Sorry we missed your call, we were busy playing Pokémon.

Two Los Angeles police officers were fired for chasing Pokémon rather than fleeing robbers, court documents show.

So the robbers caught them?

No no don’t be silly, the BBC means they were chasing Pokémon rather than chasing fleeing robbers.

The pair were parked nearby when a radio call came in for officers to respond to a shop robbery.

But a review of their in-car camera footage showed they had been playing Pokémon Go and chose to pursue a nearby Snorlax – a relatively rare catch – instead of providing back-up.

Air Traffic Control to pilot: I wish I could deal with your questions but I can’t right now, there’s … Read the rest



Her callous acts

Jan 11th, 2022 5:53 am | By

Eric Trump, Constitutional scholar.

Eric Trump has called New York Attorney General Letitia James the “most unethical prosecutor in the history of the United States” while saying her office’s investigation[s] into his father’s business practices are unconstitutional.

No, hon. He’s not president any more. He’s just a shameless crook, and the law can touch him.

Donald Trump’s son made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on Sean Hannity‘s Fox News show more than a week after it was revealed James had subpoenaed two of the former president’s adult childrenDonald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, as part of the inquiry.

Chronologically adult. Intellectually, morally, psychologically, not so much.

James’ office is looking into allegations Donald

Read the rest


White Christian nationalism?

Jan 10th, 2022 12:51 pm | By

I don’t even recognize this world.

https://twitter.com/mauscuba7500/status/1480579079292153858

Who are these people they’re talking about? Nobody I know.… Read the rest



Guest post: THIS is the culture war

Jan 10th, 2022 11:09 am | By

Originally a comment by latsot on “Mass formation psychosis”.

Ah that word narrative – be very cautious around anyone telling you something is a “narrative” when it bears no resemblance to a story. It’s a favorite of bullshitters.

That’s partly because to many, many people ‘narrative’ is the same thing as ‘evidence’. I mean this in the most literal sense; I come across many people, especially on social media, who seem to sincerely believe that being able to tell a story about something – even if that story doesn’t really seem to explain the facts – is the same as providing huge great chunks of evidence of something being true.

In fact, they feel it gives them license to … Read the rest



Even the white nationalist

Jan 10th, 2022 10:17 am | By

We’ve only spelled out our goals eleventy billion times.

Policy goals – not allowing trans ideology to erode women’s rights and women’s prizes, set-asides, honors and the like. I think we’ve been very clear and very forthcoming about it. Where’s he been?

The replies are uniformly nuts.

https://twitter.com/UltraVioletPod/status/1480566322438283268

“the genocidal” – yes sure, plus we’re vampires and that thing from Alien.… Read the rest