… Read the restAlex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and founder of Infowars, is responsible for all damages in two lawsuits stemming from his false claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a “giant hoax,” a judge ruled this week.
District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County, Tex., issued default judgments Monday against Jones and Infowars after he did not comply with court orders to give information in a pair of 2018 lawsuits brought against him by families of two children killed in the 2012 massacre. Jones repeatedly failed to hand over documents and evidence to the court supporting his damaging and erroneous claims that the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., which killed 26 people, 20
All entries by this author
Callous disregard
Oct 2nd, 2021 12:20 pm | By Ophelia BensonTo challenge men for violence against women
Oct 2nd, 2021 11:51 am | By Ophelia BensonI’m not the only one who thinks so, either.
When I say that we’re not doing enough to
“challenge men for violence against women & girls,”
am I to say we’re not doing enough to
“challenge people for violence against people?”
I will not do that
It doesn’t put the blame where it belongs
It doesn’t protect those most at risk— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) October 2, 2021
There are many many more furious retorts, but they’re all replies so the Guardian tweet would reappear with each one so I’ll leave it at that.… Read the rest
Pregnant robots
Oct 2nd, 2021 11:04 am | By Ophelia Benson… Read the restPregnant and breastfeeding people are facing abysmal vaccination rates and increasing health risks from the Delta variant, and they urgently need to be vaccinated, experts warn.
…
Only one-third of pregnant adults in the US have received the Covid vaccines – less than half the vaccination rate of all American adults. And stark disparities exist among different communities, with only 15.6% of Black pregnant people vaccinated so far.
At the same time, pregnancy is a risk factor for serious illness from the coronavirus. Being pregnant and unvaccinated doubles the risk of needing intensive care for those who have Covid, and leads to a 70% increased risk of death. In August alone, 22 pregnant people
Losers
Oct 2nd, 2021 10:39 am | By Ophelia BensonTrans-identifying man Laurel Hubbard has been named New Zealand Sports Woman of the Year. Who has not been named that?
This is Lisa Carrington. She is a New Zealand canoeist.
She won three gold medals at Tokyo 2020 and became NZ’s most successful Olympian ever. pic.twitter.com/lP4O8IztRt
— Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) October 2, 2021
This is Emma Twigg. She is a New Zealand rower.
She won her first Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020. pic.twitter.com/u1eZlqu6MF
— Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) October 2, 2021
… Read the restThese are the New Zealand women rugby 7s.
They won gold medals at Tokyo 2020.
Michaela Blyde
Kelly Brazier
Gayle Broughton
Theresa Fitzpatrick
Stacey Fluhler
Sarah Hirini
Shiray Kaka
Tyla Nathan-Wong
Risi Pouri-Lane
Alena Saili
Ruby Tui
Tenika Willison
Sportscheat of the year
Oct 2nd, 2021 2:07 am | By Ophelia BensonMan named sportswoman of the year.
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard has been named sportswoman of the year by the University of Otago.
So insulting. They’re rubbing our noses in it.
She is the first transgender winner of the award in its 113 year history celebrating sporting greatness.
He is the first man to win the award for women.
Ms Hubbard competed at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year in the 87+ kg womens’ weightlifting.
Mr Hubbard.
Ms Hubbard, who transitioned in 2012, qualified for the Olympic Games after the International Olympic Committee changed their rules to allow women to compete if their testosterone levels are below a certain threshold.
Mr Hubbard qualified for the Olympic Games after the … Read the rest
Committed? Really?
Oct 1st, 2021 3:48 pm | By Ophelia BensonBut…
The tragic murder of Sarah Everard was the result of an unforgivable abuse of power by a serving police officer. I am committed to doing everything in my power to address this including making sure the police treat violence against women and girls as a priority. @BBCLondonNews pic.twitter.com/aFyGk6RSKI
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) October 1, 2021
Everything in his power?
Really?
Then why did he sack Joan Smith without a word of explanation?
Why has he ignored her since? Why has he refused to explain or meet with her or anything else?
It was entirely within his power not to sack Joan. She wrote the damn book on the subject. He should apologize and ask her to … Read the rest
Guest post: The only winners have been the upper class
Oct 1st, 2021 2:27 pm | By Ophelia BensonOriginally a comment by tigger the wing on Women’s fault.
This is how I remember things were for those of us born in the fifties. When I left secondary school in 1976, all general education was still being run, and paid for, by the government. So they had a vested interest in making sure that, insofar as possible, only those teens who would stick at studying and actually gain a good degree were funnelled into university. So kids were tested at eleven to assess what kind of further learning they were suited to, and the more academically-minded kids were sent to grammar (arts and sciences track) and technical (engineering track) schools, and those of a more practical bent were … Read the rest
Perhaps women need to consider
Oct 1st, 2021 10:49 am | By Ophelia BensonWHAT???????????
Just when you think the absurdity of victim blaming could not possibly go any further, here is a Police Commissioner openly blaming Sarah Everard for what happened to her on BBC radio https://t.co/brN6rRSf2q #FixTheSystemNotTheWomen pic.twitter.com/eja5uJp7z2
— EverydaySexism (@EverydaySexism) October 1, 2021
Yes definitely because the police are always so understanding when people resist arrest, as everyone knows. So stupid of Sarah Everard not to shout “NO!” and flag down a bus (because there is always a bus coming down the street at any given moment, and the drivers always stop for people waving at them nowhere near a bus stop).
… Read the restA police boss who said women “need to be streetwise” about powers of
Not assumptions, not manufactured, not safe
Oct 1st, 2021 10:21 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Stonewall thread:
Amidst the current manufactured moral panic around trans people, it's important that governing bodies' policies are based on solid evidence about the reality of sport & inclusion.
The new guidance fails to properly reflect that safe, fair trans inclusion in sport already exists.
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) September 30, 2021
Sport plays an important role in giving people pride, and a sense of community and belonging.
Sport should be a safe haven for trans people, just as much as it is for anyone else. The new guidance destabilises the progress that has already been made for trans inclusion.
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) September 30, 2021
Sinister liars. If they succeed in making sport a “safe haven” for trans women … Read the rest
Safe and fair?
Oct 1st, 2021 9:59 am | By Ophelia BensonStonewall.
The truth is that trans women are already participating in sports, without any evidence of unfair advantages or safety risks.
The guidance fails to properly reflect that in its data, and serves only to create confusing distinctions for sporting bodies to navigate.
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) September 30, 2021
Without any evidence?… Read the rest
But not the first men to do so
Oct 1st, 2021 9:46 am | By Ophelia BensonTwo German politicians from the Greens have made history by becoming the first transgender women to win parliamentary seats in Sunday’s national election.
Two men have won parliamentary seats in Sunday’s national election.
That’s not making history. The fact that they call themselves trans women doesn’t make it history.
“It is a historic victory for the Greens, but also for the trans-emancipatory movement and for the entire queer community,” Ganserer, 44, told Reuters, adding that the results were a symbol of an open and tolerant society.
What do trans people need emancipation from?
… Read the restTopping the priority list for Ganserer, who was elected to Bavaria’s regional parliament in 2013, is an easier procedure for ratifying a change
Women’s fault
Oct 1st, 2021 6:09 am | By Ophelia BensonAnd what are these bad clever women supposed to do?
Men fall behind women, and that’s a problem
More female graduates will change work for the better but create a dangerous pool of underachieving and alienated men.
Oh I see, it’s our fault. We create dangerous pools of alienated men who don’t do much. How do we create them? By being cleverer and doing more. The evil just never ends, does it. It might be best to kill most of us off, even things out a little.
Via
Well that doesn't sound remotely threatening to "over-achieving" women https://t.co/AgQd0qTHfH pic.twitter.com/uJK3aXlVFW
— Victoria Smith (@glosswitch) October 1, 2021
Officers failed to identify him
Oct 1st, 2021 6:00 am | By Ophelia BensonIt seems the police had plenty of hints about Wayne Couzens but didn’t act on them.
… Read the restThe Guardian understands that an investigation into Couzens’s phone, which was seized after he was arrested for the attack on Everard, revealed he was part of a WhatsApp group involving police officers now under investigation over alleged misogynistic, racist and homophobic messages, sources say.
…
New details of previous indecent exposure claims against Couzens emerged on Thursday. A man was accused of being naked from the waist down in a car in Kent in 2015, and of twice exposing himself at a London McDonald’s days before the murder, with details of cars linked to Couzens in both instances passed to police.
A simple registration
Inspiration
Sep 30th, 2021 4:39 pm | By Ophelia BensonYou couldn’t make it up.
The chief safeguarding officer at the British Kickboxing Council lists Fallon Fox as an inspiration. pic.twitter.com/vQ8vA4ZwGR
— Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) September 30, 2021
Fallon FOX?????? He’s the trans-identified guy who broke a woman’s orbital bone, aka eye socket, in a fight.
Some safeguarding inspiration.… Read the rest
Fight 4 Equality
Sep 30th, 2021 12:07 pm | By Ophelia BensonDangerous to women? Meh. We don’t care.
Today's SCEG report is NOT mandatory for NGBs. Trans people have every right to participate in sport at ALL levels without discrimination; we will continue to follow our current policy, which maintains a fair and unbiased approach.#Fight4Equality #InYourCorner #EqualityForAll pic.twitter.com/geNkAasTiC
— British Kickboxing Council (BKC) (@thebkc) September 30, 2021
Fight 4 the equal right of men to kickbox women.… Read the rest
He seemed to understand
Sep 30th, 2021 11:23 am | By Ophelia BensonGraham Linehan responds to Matt Lucas, starting with a phone call from Lucas a few months ago begging not to be cited for throwing women under passing buses.
He told me that with a big gig coming up, he had to stay out of trouble. I agreed to lay off, because he seemed to understand that he had called the whole thing wrong.
So Lucas shits on the LGB Alliance anyway.
… Read the restMatt, I’ll say again what I just sent you in a text. Kate and Bev have been fighting for the rights of gay and gender-nonconforming people since before you were born. Allison Bailey is a lesbian barrister who Stonewall tried to have fired for standing up for her
Words matter
Sep 30th, 2021 10:44 am | By Ophelia BensonNot literally “whole” though.
It’s not his whole life. It’s what remains of his life, but that’s not the whole of it. It is in fact a much smaller piece of his life than the piece he stole from Sarah Everard by murdering her after he raped her. He’s 48.… Read the rest
All it is
Sep 30th, 2021 10:19 am | By Ophelia BensonAnother witness testifies.
The LGB Alliance is an anti-trans group. That’s all it is. It doesn’t represent me or any gay people I care to know.
— Matt Lucas HQ (@RealMattLucas) September 30, 2021
What does he mean by “anti-trans”? That the LGB Alliance wants to harm trans people, or exploit them, or oppress them?
No, of course not, he just means that the LGB Alliance doesn’t view trans people as literally the sex they identify as, and that it defends the rights of lesbians and gay men.
… Read the restSo you don’t know any lesbians excluded from LGBT groups for “transphobia” (i.e. only being attracted to other females)? Or LGB detransitioners who now live with the results of unnecessary medicalization –
Five out of eight
Sep 30th, 2021 9:55 am | By Ophelia BensonSelf-styled good men
Sep 30th, 2021 9:19 am | By Ophelia BensonVictoria Smith quotes Andrea Dworkin’s “The only good woman is a dead woman.”
… Read the restSelf-styled good men are very good at feeling sad about women that bad men have killed. They are not so good at thinking these bad men might have anything to do with them, let alone that the “epidemic” of male violence against women and girls might be the responsibility of male people as a sex class. They’re worse still at listening to women who might have an analysis — one built up over decades of feminist scholarship in addition to personal experience — into why male people, and not female ones, feel entitled to do what they do. These men are good at seeing