Daily Mail (sorry) reports:

Pregnant transmen shouldn’t be pressured to stop taking testosterone despite the risks it poses to babies, researchers have controversially claimed in a Government-funded study.

Current maternity care guidance for transmen — biological women who identify as the opposite gender — recommends they stop hormone treatment in pregnancy. The NHS warns it could ‘affect the baby’s development’, with some studies linking exposure to the male sex hormone in the womb to genital abnormalities. 

Testosterone is listed as a ‘category X’ substance in pregnancy in the US because of the dangers it poses to a foetus. But a panel of experts, including three from Britain, said the current advice centres too heavily on preventing babies from developing

… Read the rest

The Open University says sorry.

Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University responds to the ruling:

This judgment made for difficult reading for all of us. In several areas we fell very short. We apologise unreservedly to Professor Phoenix for the hurt and distress this has caused.

This is not The Open University we want to be.

The University has supported and continues to support the work of the Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN) as part of the many important research activities that take place  at the OU. But our understanding of academic freedom and freedom of speech at the time meant we did not intervene about the open letter, statements and social media posts that followed the

… Read the rest

The phobias are proliferating. Don’t be a proproliferator.

https://twitter.com/UTOTALBELLEND/status/1751570317674238445… Read the rest

Ok cool the next big thing is to stick Dennis rolling his eyes on all the absurdities. Hours of fun for the whole family.

https://twitter.com/EvadneDr/status/1751627377551999072 https://twitter.com/iseult/status/1751574124269343052 https://twitter.com/theneonrequiem/status/1751471144345989245… Read the rest

Lesbians but not THOSE lesbians.

Autogynephiles invade a lesbian conference… pic.twitter.com/Cnc9G3HuCz

— Jonny Bell (@Jonnywsbell) January 27, 2024

The conference was more than a year ago but still…this is interesting. The group or organization is called Lesbians Who Tech & Allies, and (of course) the people doing all the talking are not the lesbians but the “allies” aka appropriators.

About Lesbians Who Tech & Allies:

LESBIANS WHO TECH & ALLIES IS A COMMUNITY OF LGBTQ WOMEN, NON-BINARY AND TRANS INDIVIDUALS IN AND AROUND TECH (AND THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THEM).

What are “LGBTQ women”? They can’t be G surely, nor can they be T. Why call them “LGBTQ women” at all, why not just stick with lesbians? Why start … Read the rest

Gwyneth Rees at the Telegraph talks to Jo Phoenix:

She explains how the gender critical research network, which launched in June 2021 with just a handful of people, initially had the backing of OU. Prof Phoenix and her fellow lead, Prof Jon Pike, promoted it with a podcast and interest poured in from academics across the world. It was, she says, one of the proudest moments of her life

But then, less than 24 hours after its launch, trans activists got wind of the project and the “onslaught began”. She admits now that she was terribly naive: “I thought I was protected because I was a senior professor.”

I don’t call that naïve. The level of bullying … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Freeminder on 24% more energy efficient than required.

For a ship this big, I’d expect to see a fuel usage of 200 metric tonnes per day as a minimum. Constantly running generators, for propulsion and electricity needs, would take some serious usage. Wonder how much generating ‘reserve’ capacity the ship has, if maxed out with crew and passengers?

And when does the cruise ship market say “That’s big enough” and “We have enough”? One of these things arriving in a small harbour would feel like an invasion. My other concerns are safety (what if this one sinks or is ablaze, can they evacuate in time?) and security (potentially 9,950 people on board makes it a … Read the rest

The Beeb answers some of those questions.

The 365m-long (1,197 ft) Icon of the Seas has 20 decks, and can house a maximum of 7,600 passengers on board. It is owned by Royal Caribbean Group. The vessel is going on a seven-day island-hopping voyage in the tropics.

But environmentalists warn that the liquefied natural gas-powered ship will leak harmful methane into the air. “It’s a step in the wrong direction,” Bryan Comer, director of the Marine Programme at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. “We would estimate that using LNG as a marine fuel emits over 120% more life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than marine gas oil,” he said.

Yebbut all … Read the rest

Ah yes, very good, the world melts and fries and burns thanks to global warming so the thing to do is keep building bigger cruise ships.

The world’s largest cruise ship is set to begin its maiden voyage Saturday as it gets underway from the Port of Miami.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which runs nearly 1,200 feet from bow to stern, is leaving South Florida for its first seven-day island-hopping voyage through the tropics.

Great. Fabulous. It’s definitely worth speeding up warming that little bit for the sake of taking tourists “island-hopping” for a week.

“Icon of the Seas is the culmination of more than 50 years of dreaming, innovating and living our mission – to deliver

… Read the rest

Law boffins say Trump’s showy rudeness in court probably influenced the jury to give him a sharp shock.

A federal jury saddled former President Donald Trump with a hefty $83.3 million decision in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against him on Friday, closing the curtain on a raucous week-and-a-half of acrimonious legal proceedings.

The jury deliberated for under three hours before delivering their verdict, which included $18.8 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages for Carroll.

The significant sum comes after Trump displayed a brazen lack of legal decorum throughout the duration of the trial, repeatedly railing against Carroll online and going head-to-head with US District Judge Lewis Kaplan during his much-anticipated but ultimately brief testimony.

Dialing … Read the rest

Et tu National Secular Society?

Interesting edit there… pic.twitter.com/SfTRW0Vqwg

— Ben Cooper (@bencooper) January 27, 2024

Seriously? All Lives Matter on Holocaust Memorial Day?

The name “Holocaust” is specific to the genocide of six million Jews.

It’s not a good look to hide the genocide of six million Jews on Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Holocaust was the explicit campaign to eliminate Jews. You knew that when you first wrote this post. Who made you change it and what do you think motivated them – and you – to obscure the truth?#FragilityofFreedom right enough.

— Helen #NoToSelfID 👻♀️🧙 (@Susanshox) January 27, 2024

How dare you edit this to eliminate the word Jewish. Why did you erase the Jews? You are

… Read the rest

88 million bucks.

A jury awarded $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll on Friday in a stinging and expensive rebuke to former President Donald Trump for his continued social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store.

The award, when coupled with a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in a case brought by Carroll, raised to $88.3 million what Trump must pay her. Protesting vigorously, he said he would appeal.

“Vigorously” is one word for it. I can think of others.

Carroll’s attorneys had requested $24 million in compensatory damages and “an unusually high punitive award.” The jury awarded $18.3

… Read the rest

Remember the recent outrage about Munroe Bergdorf’s appointment as a UN Women UK champion?

Mr Menno does.

Message to @UNWomenUK: 🎶Women don't have bollocks!🎶

Shout out to @roseveniceallan and @MForstater for telling it like it is❤️👏#Bergdorf pic.twitter.com/ChKst15CNZ

— MrMenno 🏳️‍🌈🎶 (@MrMennoTweets) January 26, 2024

… Read the rest

Well if you decide you dislike someone and want to make sure she isn’t allowed to speak, the thing to do is just tell one brazen lie after another. That’ll fix it.

I attempted to book the @cityofhobarttas Town Hall in my personal capacity for a "women's rights and free speech forum". My attempt was deliberately blocked and I'm taking the Hobart City Council to Discrimination Tribunal – first appearance in February.
The below relates to my… pic.twitter.com/Ch8h3HpWMD

— Louise Elliot (@LouiseElliotM) January 26, 2024

Hi Jacqui,

Let’s shut up those pesky women by telling a stream of lies about them.

Love ya,

Rodney Croome… Read the rest

From the NY Times live reporting of the Carroll-Trump matter:

Carroll’s brand before 2019 was that of a respected columnist, Crowley says. Let’s talk about [the] Trump brand, she tells the jury: “What could be more on brand for Donald Trump than malice?”

This is what I’m saying.

I for one can’t think of anything else like it. People with mean streaks sure; people who play dirty, who are ruthless, who do damage, yes, but not people who are constantly energetically noisily mean and rude and sadistic and insulting. People who have nothing but venom and contempt toward everyone but the Self. People who are never embarrassed or ashamed to carry on that way in public. And this is the … Read the rest

From NY Times live coverage of the Trump defamation trial:

Michael Madaio, Trump’s lawyer, objects when Crowley [Carrol’s lawyer] accuses Trump of defaming her. Judge Kaplan asks why. “Defamatory,” Madaio says, objecting to the use of the word even though a jury in May found she had been defamed. Judge Kaplan overrules him.

That’s bold. Trump lawyer says it’s defamtory to say that Trump is defamatory even though a jury found he was defamatory just a few months ago.

In addition to that, of course, one could make a good case that defamatory is what Trump is – not just what he does now and then, but what he is. He’s a dedicated full-time defamer; he defames people any … Read the rest

Cozying up to Erdoğan:

The Turkish government paid for the wife of the First Minister to attend a summit in Istanbul, according to the Scottish Government’s latest list of ministers’ interests.

Nadia El-Nakla and an SNP press officer attended Emine Erdoğan’s “United for Peace in Palestine” conference on November 15, following an invitation from the Turkish consulate in Edinburgh.

…

Earlier this month it emerged that Turkey had given Mr Yousaf’s in-laws short-term refugee status to help them escape Gaza.

Last week, The Herald revealed that the First Minister had invited Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Scotland when the two men met at COP28 in December.

What’s next? A camping trip with Putin?… Read the rest

Sigh.

It’s not a “belief.” It’s a fact. An ordinary humdrum fact. Nobody has to waste any energy “believing” it; it’s just there. Of course humans “exist in two sexes.” If they didn’t there would be no Stephen Whittle saying they don’t.

Being a Gender Critic is NOT a protected characteristic
Religion/belief is a PC (unless the R/B is not worthy of respect)
In work a Belief that humans exist in 2 sexes can be a PC, but becoming a Gender critic outside your head by acting on your belief won’t be: it’s subtle

— Prof. Stephen Whittle OBE, PhD, DLaws, FAcSS, (@stephenwhittle) January 26, 2024

What is “acting on your belief” that there are two sexes? What does that … Read the rest

Even the Telegraph reports on this subject using the terms of the cheaters instead of the non-cheater, reality-based ones. It makes their reporting worthless, because it’s not reporting to keep repeating a blatant lie.

Thomas’s triumph in the 500-yard freestyle event in Atlanta, Georgia, almost two years ago made global headlines and sparked a major furore in the United States and beyond over her participation in women’s races.

Her landmark victory came less than three years after she began transitioning – she had previously been ranked just 65th over the same distance in the division’s male category – and led to protests from rival swimmers.

The ugly fallout, which continues to this day, has included accusations Thomas had been

… Read the rest

Lia Thomas is suing.

The US swimmer Lia Thomas, who rose to global prominence by becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA college title, is taking legal action in a bid to compete again in elite female sport – including the Olympics.

Or, to put it more clearly and accurately, the male US swimmer William “Lia” Thomas, who rose to global prominence by pretending to be a woman and thus winning women’s races, is taking legal action in hopes of cheating women that way again.

Thomas has always denied transitioning to get ahead. “The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned,” Thomas said in 2022. “People will say: ‘Oh, she just transitioned so she would

… Read the rest