All entries by this author

Leave the f-bomb, take the cannoli

Feb 19th, 2022 8:55 am | By

A cancel-cancel:

The bestselling author Joanne Harris has turned down a US book deal after the publishers demanded she take out an “f-bomb” from the novel.

Well done that woman.

The Chocolat author, who lives near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, tweeted on Saturday: “Today I turned down a book deal in the US because they wanted to edit out my use of ‘the f-bomb’. I refused for two reasons: one, because I don’t use words accidentally. They matter. And second, because I don’t believe my use of the word ‘fuck’ harms anyone.”

Exactly so. I do a bit of writing myself and I don’t use words accidentally. I thought we’d agreed as a society or a grown-up reading public … Read the rest



ACLU resorts to lying

Feb 18th, 2022 4:17 pm | By

Indiana ACLU turning its back on girls and their civil liberties.

Transgender girls aren’t girls.

https://twitter.com/ACLUIndiana/status/1494715308933849094

THE ISSUE ISN’T TRANS KIDS.

The issue is boys destroying girls’ sports.

Nobody is saying trans students don’t belong in sports. The issue is trans students who are maleRead the rest



It’s not “kids” it’s BOYS

Feb 18th, 2022 4:08 pm | By

If only this discussion could get out of the baby talk stage. Let trans girls play sports!! Yes thank you nobody is trying to stop them.

A controversial bill to ban transgender girls from playing girls sports in school has passed a key committee, signaling it’s on its way to becoming law.

Last week, lawmakers heard hours of testimony from individuals on both sides of the bill. There are supporters of the bill, who are concerned what impact the participation of transgender girls may have on girls’ sports. They say transgender girls may have unfair physical advantages that would make it harder to cisgender girls to secure a spot or compete on an even playing field.

Of course they … Read the rest



Guest post: What, exactly, would be changed?

Feb 18th, 2022 2:34 pm | By

Originally a comment by Freemage on Imagine.

Okay, I’m gonna leap down this rabbit-hole for a moment, because I think it really gets at the critiques of Rowling and Harry Potter from the TRAs:

H. P. Lovecraft was the creator of the Cthulu “mythos”. He pretty much invented, whole-cloth, the idea of ancient gods who are so far beyond human experience that to apply mortal morals to them is absurd, and to contemplate them directly is to invite insanity. Just as Mary Shelly created the first real Sci-Fi Horror story, Lovecraft pretty much invented the whole genre of Existential Horror. His writings have inspired scores of other writers to produce work in the same genre, as well as art, … Read the rest



Unwaveringly correct

Feb 18th, 2022 11:43 am | By

Another tantrum.

https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494734546339872768

“transphobic scholarship” “pain and suffering” “the damage caused” “injurious scholarship” “directly and indirectly harmed” – it sounds like something really terrible, doesn’t it.

https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494734757254545412

“harmful scholarship”

https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494735350434091008

How dare those traitors be unoffended by the content? How dare they not do everything they can to get it removed and rejected and forever silenced?

https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494735647705288706 https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494735995429953544

“personal safety” “harmful scholarship”

https://twitter.com/mewydman/status/1494736434577788928

“unwaveringly correct decision” “harmful and problematic”

Melodrama is a powerful drug.… Read the rest



#462 to #1

Feb 18th, 2022 11:31 am | By

Useful summary of state of play.

Read the rest



The depth of his folly

Feb 18th, 2022 10:21 am | By

Harriet Hall on Charles Windsor as self-proclaimed Enemy of the Enlightenment:

Edzard Ernst has a new book out: Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorized Biography. I wrote a full book review that will appear in the next issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, but I wanted to give my readers on Science-Based Medicine a heads-up.  Charles’ efforts to promote alternative medicine have been mentioned many times on SBM, but readers may not appreciate the depth of his folly. I know I didn’t, until I read this book. The full story has never been told until now.

Ernst uses Prince Charles’ own words to demonstrate his ignorance of science and medicine. He thinks conventional medicine is nothing but “pills and procedures”.

Read the rest


The proper balance

Feb 18th, 2022 9:17 am | By

CNN “reports”:

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, won the 500-yard freestyle race at the Ivy League women’s swimming and diving championships on Thursday night in 4 minutes and 37.32 seconds, beating her next closest competitor by 7.5 seconds.

In other words William Thomas, a man, won the 500-yard freestyle race at the Ivy League women’s swimming and diving championships on Thursday night in 4 minutes and 37.32 seconds, beating his next closest competitor, a woman, by 7.5 seconds. Which is to say, a man won a women’s race by blatantly gaming the system. This should not be allowed to happen, end of story.

Her dominance in the pool has raised questions about the 

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Imagine

Feb 18th, 2022 8:45 am | By

Huh. Subway ads for the New York Times attacking JK Rowling. That’s a new level.

The New York Times has come under fire for an ad that describes a woman imagining what Harry Potter would be like without its author JK Rowling.

Setting aside the morality of a major newspaper singling out a woman for hatred in its advertising, that’s just plain a stupid thing to say. Let’s imagine what The Trout Quintet would be like without Schubert. What would King Lear be like without Shakespeare? Wuthering Heights without Emily Bronte? Fallingwater without Frank Lloyd Wright?

At least it’s an easy exercise. The answer is nothing. Zero. An empty space.

And as for the morality…well. It’s beneath contempt.

The

Read the rest


Over 7 seconds

Feb 17th, 2022 5:33 pm | By

Why isn’t everyone there booing?

Read the rest



Living a few years in girl mode

Feb 17th, 2022 4:28 pm | By

Julia Beck on that ratbag who got her kicked off a city commission and has now “detransitioned.”

Four years ago I was ousted from a city commission, all because I said “sex” is important. Now I hear the man who took my place, the man who then called himself a lesbian and led the charge against me, has since detransitioned. I welcome every person’s decision to detransition or desist, and at the same time abusers must be held accountable for their actions. Sure, finding yourself in life is a process, but it never requires traumatizing women, or pretending to be one.

I wouldn’t even mind the pretending to be one all that much if it were called that. I would … Read the rest



Within the next three weeks

Feb 17th, 2022 3:54 pm | By

The crook and his crook kids have to testify.

Donald Trump and two of his children have been ordered by a New York judge to appear for a deposition within the next three weeks, as part of the billowing investigation over alleged fraud in the valuation of assets belonging to his family business.

The ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron to force Trump and his two eldest children – Donald Jr and Ivanka – to comply with subpoenas amounts to a sharp escalation of the legal perils that are rapidly tightening around the former president.

I know, I know, he keeps getting away with it, but you know, you can play with fire 153 times and not get burned and … Read the rest



More talking points

Feb 17th, 2022 10:34 am | By

The one with Andy Lewis and Aaron Rabinowitz.

I’ve watched only a clip so far, in which Helen asks Aaron if he thinks Lia Thomas has a right to be in the women’s changing room and Aaron says yes.

One way of looking at it is that critics of trans ideology are obsessed with the subject [and by implication kind of weird and crazy for being so obsessed].

Read the rest


Guest post: Really bad, really fast

Feb 17th, 2022 10:23 am | By

Originally a comment by James Garnett on Triple threat.

I’m not a climate scientist, but my professional work is in control theoretic modeling of real, nonlinear systems. It’s difficult to underscore just how frightening a positive feedback runaway can be; the results are catastrophic for the system in question, even for small things. For example, induction motors form the basis of modern processing engineering, so their function and use are taught in most electrical engineering programs. One aspect of these motors is that when they are running, if one opens the field circuit while the driving circuit is still energized, the torque of the rotor becomes infinite (in theory), because the field acts as a negative feedback control mechanism. … Read the rest



Triple threat

Feb 17th, 2022 8:57 am | By

More on permafrost:

Thawing Arctic permafrost laden with billions of tons of greenhouse gases [threatens not only] the region’s critical infrastructure but life across the planet, according [to] a comprehensive scientific review.

Nearly 70% of the roads, pipelines, cities and industry — mostly in Russia — built on the region’s softening ground are highly vulnerable to acute damage by mid-century, according to one of half-a-dozen studies on permafrost published this week by Nature.

Another study warns that methane and CO2 escaping from long-frozen soil could accelerate warming and overwhelm global efforts to cap the rise in Earth’s temperature at livable levels.

Exposure of highly combustible organic matter no longer locked away by ice is also fueling unprecedented wildfires, making

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We we we we we

Feb 17th, 2022 7:38 am | By

Still pretending it’s not just Jo and his ego.

Seriously, who is this “we”? Why does he keep pretending when there is no “we” in evidence? If it’s a “we” why does no one else ever speak up as part of the “we”? Why is not a single name other than Jolyon’s ever mentioned? How is he getting away with this absurd … Read the rest



Jolyon speaks for women

Feb 16th, 2022 4:22 pm | By

But what are trans rights?

What trans rights are women more supportive of?

He probably means some leading question version, as in “Do you support trans rights?”, as opposed to an actual specific spelled-out claimed right such as “the right for men to be treated as women in all settings and circumstances because that’s how they identify.” I think when people … Read the rest



About principles

Feb 16th, 2022 4:03 pm | By

I’m beginning to think Our Jolyon isn’t as widely or intensely admired as he would have us believe.

Who is “our”? Jolyon & his invisible friend?… Read the rest



Thomas was a priority

Feb 16th, 2022 12:22 pm | By

The editor-in-chief of Swimming World doesn’t mince words:

Must give credit to the Ivy League. It didn’t hide its position. From the early days of the Lia Thomas debate, the conference made it clear that it would wholly support one swimmer over hundreds of athletes. It made it clear that Thomas was a priority. It made it clear that its female athletes – specifically its swimmers – were inconsequential.

One male swimmer over hundreds of female athletes. It could be thousands or billions, it would make no difference. The man and his idenniny must have priority.

The Ivy League Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships begin Wednesday at Harvard University and Penn’s Thomas – according to the psych sheets –

Read the rest


Burgers and tits

Feb 16th, 2022 11:39 am | By

A Hooters in Liverpool – Julie Bindel is not impressed.

The all-female waiting staff are required to wear extremely skimpy shorts, tight, low-cut T-shirts, and tights. When a birthday or stag crowd are in, which is most nights, coins are tossed for which of the waitresses take part in the odd wet T-shirt competition, to keep the crowds entertained. The restaurant is, of course, aimed at large groups of heavy-drinking men and, on occasion, customers will be offered half-price entry into the nearest lap-dancing club for afters.

Kind of like beach volleyball without the volleyball.

In 2008, I visited the first UK branch in Nottingham. It was hideous and more than one of the waitresses told me, in the

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