Also new.

Looks like Trump’s impeachment lawyers have some new ads up in the subway. pic.twitter.com/StkZlnqUUQ

— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) February 10, 2021

… Read the rest

New item.

Remember: Brian Sicknick deserves justice. pic.twitter.com/doBHaL05hO

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) February 10, 2021

… Read the rest

The most dangerous jobs during the pandemic:

A new study from the University of California, San Francisco suggests that line cooks have the highest risk of mortality during the Covid pandemic — even more than healthcare workers.

For the study, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, researchers analyzed California death certificates for working-age people 18 to 65, during the first seven months of the pandemic. Then they looked at how the number of deaths increased in that time frame compared to pre-pandemic times.

…

Line cooks had a 60% increase in mortality associated with the pandemic.

The top five occupations that had higher than a 50% mortality rate increase during the pandemic include cooks, line workers in warehouses, agricultural workers, bakers

Free at last!

The prominent Saudi dissident and women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from prison after 1,001 days in custody.

Following a concerted campaign by her relatives and global rights groups, Hathloul was granted probation by a judge in Riyadh and released to her family on Wednesday afternoon. Her sister Lina published a photo of a smiling Loujain on Twitter early evening Riyadh time – the first image of the most celebrated political prisoner in the Kingdom since she was detained almost three years ago. “Loujain is at home !!!!!!”, the accompanying message said.

Loujain is at home !!!!!!
تم الافراج عن لجين pic.twitter.com/fqug9VK6Mj

— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) February 10, 2021

It is understood that

The long arm of the law is getting longer and longer…

Prosecutors in Fulton county, Georgia, are investigating Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the southern state’s 2020 presidential election results, according to a letter, in the second criminal investigation faced by the former president.

In Georgia! How dare they! Georgia was supposed to be solidly in the white supremacist yay-trump column. That’s the whole point of suppressing the black vote.

The Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, has sent a letter asking state government officials to preserve documents, including those related to the then president’s call to the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, pressuring him to “find” more votes.

“This matter is of high priority, and I

Trans man knows what it’s like.

I am a 48-year-old transgender man. I was thrilled when the medical community told me six years ago that I could change from a woman to a man. I was informed about all the wonderful things that would happen due to medical transition, but all the negatives were glossed over. Since then, I have suffered tremendously, including seven surgeries, a pulmonary embolism, an induced stress heart attack, sepsis, a 17-month recurring infection, 16 rounds of antibiotics, three weeks of daily IV antibiotics, arm reconstructive surgery, lung, heart and bladder damage, insomnia, hallucinations, PTSD, $1 million in medical expenses, and loss of home, car, career and marriage. All this, and yet I cannot sue

Trump is mad that his lawyers are so sucky. Well, Mister Sir, that’s what happens when you’re such a horror that nobody wants to defend you – you can’t get the pick of the crop.

A Trump advisor told the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman that Trump attorney Bruce Castor’s confusing, meandering performance was a “deliberative strategy.” designed to lower the emotion in the room, though, I’d counter, a master strategist wouldn’t need to put out a background statement explaining their strategy.

No that too is to get everyone to calm down.

Other reviews also not great.

“The president’s lawyer just rambled on and on,” said senator John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas. “I’ve seen a lot of

Meanwhile today the impeachment trial has started.

Democrats are aware that the trial outcome is a foregone conclusion – another Trump acquittal, barring sensational new evidence – and that the stakes are lower because he has already left office. But sometimes symbolism is the point. The impeachment trial is a test of accountability, stability and rule of law before a global audience.

…

Like a criminal lawyer, Democrats are seeking to appeal to not only the head but also the heart. They are not only prosecutors but also survivors of the rampage, a point brought home with visceral force by Jamie Raskin in a closing argument that had the chamber silent and spellbound on Wednesday.

“And then there was

It gets worse. (This is interesting because he’s not Owen Jones or Adrian Harrop, but…it seems he might as well be.)

Just got a lovely little message from the "LGB Alliance", I hope they understand where I'm coming from and I hope I wasn't too vague regarding where I stand on their anti-trans hate agenda. pic.twitter.com/MNS03wGkG2

— Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) February 9, 2021

Might as well be.… Read the rest

Yes of course these issues should be discussed – but obviously not by you, because you’re much too informed and concerned about them.

I think they absolutely should be discussed, but I think they should be discussed by people who aren’t so evidently and extremely prejudiced against trans women such as yourself.

— Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) February 9, 2021

Thank god he’s not at all prejudiced against anyone himself.

You do you Janice, you’re the one with the daily megaphone, not me. Nobody is out here silencing you, you are free to broadcast your anti-trans campaign & earn a handsome wage for it. That’s your prerogative, my prerogative is to label your bilious hateful agitprop for what it is

—

Never enough.

So tired of this crap. If you wanted a model for writing carefully and compassionately, it was JK Rowling's piece. But no woman can *ever* write carefully and compassionately about sex and gender because, by definition, her writing about it at all is an horrendous affront. pic.twitter.com/C8pOMHxNn1

— Victoria Smith (@glosswitch) February 9, 2021

And so others can piously demand "compassion and nuance", "less heat more light" etc. because it creates the impression that you would, in theory, tolerate female disagreement if it was done in the right way (just as you'd tolerate the "right" female president etc.)

— Victoria Smith (@glosswitch) February 9, 2021

Another bollocks thing I've remembered: when men then say they'd "defend you" from

Julie comments on the sudden stab in the back:

Thread: During a book tour in Australia I was invited to do one of those 'an evening with' events during which I read from my book (on the horrors of the global sex trade) and conversed with the women and men in the audience. Almost three years later……https://t.co/QLpk9S52NJ

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) February 9, 2021

read all my articles and prided himself on remembering one on rape from 2010. They sold a load of my books. It was one of my favourite events of the tour. Now I see the witch burner generals are out, denouncing me in their efforts to be invited to join the

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj)

16 hours ago:

We are honoured to be hosting an event with @junodawson in conversation with @_budgie
about Dawson's brilliant new book, What's the T?

Join us for this online event Thursday 25 February by booking here: https://t.co/zPdXkt4dW1 pic.twitter.com/oRRTq66gAF

— Readings (@ReadingsBooks) February 9, 2021

Two hours later:

pic.twitter.com/D8ipPjcyGw

— Readings (@ReadingsBooks) February 9, 2021

Bam, that’s Julie Bindel thrown under the bus to make way for a man who identifies as a woman.

Imagine a bookstore doing this to, say, Isabel Wilkerson or Ta-Nehisi Coates to make way for a white person who identifies as black.

It wouldn’t happen. It wouldn’t happen, and the white person would be excoriated and chastised.

Why is it ok to do it to … Read the rest

Her book is like that, too. A review from LSE:

In Me, Not You, Alison Phipps builds on Black feminist scholarship to investigate how mainstream feminist movements against sexual violence express a ‘political whiteness’ that can reinforce marginalisation and oppression and limits the capacity to collectively achieve structural change and dismantle violent systems. This short and accessible book challenges us to think deeply about how the politics of woundedness, outrage and carcerality are embedded within the feminist movement and our own organising, writes Lili Schwoerer, and serves as another encouragement to explore and engage with alternative imaginaries.

So what should we have then, feminist movements for sexual violence?

Also, if we’re talking about marginalization and oppression, and … Read the rest

Shahdin Farsai wrote an opinion piece for Canadian Lawyer Magazine in October, titled British Columbia’s practice directions on preferred gender pronouns in court are problematic. Yesterday the magazine removed the article.

Statement regarding a recent opinion posted on our website https://t.co/iCHBe3SfFa

— Canadian Lawyer Magazine (@CanLawMag) February 7, 2021

The article is archived.

On December 16, 2020, both the BC Supreme and Provincial courts issued practice directions to lawyers that require parties and/or lawyers to state their preferred gender pronouns at the beginning of all court proceedings, which are “to be used” by all participants appearing before the courts including judges.

My antennas naturally went up as a lawyer. I see these practice directions as problematic for three central

Voting rights are being attacked again. Ari Berman at Mother Jones:

Georgia Republicans have already introduced an avalanche of new laws that would radically limit voting options in the state. On Monday—the first day of Black History Month—Republicans in the state Senate introduced nine bills to restrict access to the ballot, including eliminating automatic voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting, and mail ballot drop boxes, as well as prohibiting third-party groups from sending mail ballot applications, and banning people who move to Georgia after the general election from voting in runoff elections. Many of the bills were sponsored by Republicans who backed Texas’ unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Supreme Court to throw out election results from Georgia and other states

See also

So reporting a rapist is like 'Karen demanding to speak to the manager' and white women who get upset (cry white tears) when we are raped are white supremacists. Shame on her. Who needs men's rights activists?

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) February 8, 2021

… Read the rest

But white tears when it’s Phipps telling us about them are a whole different story, it seems.

A very well known colleague of mine is deep into this of course – if anyone is wondering why I have largely withdrawn from my institution in the past few years, the absolute impunity with which this person behaves is a major part of it pic.twitter.com/RG5qOOvEv6

— Alison Phipps (@alisonphipps) February 8, 2021

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments and solidarity, it really does help. I usually just ignore/keep quiet as others have it so much worse, but sometimes that feels like allowing myself to be bullied (which is triggering) and that's why I spoke up this time. Thanks again x

Jane Clare Jones expresses the disgust at Alison Phipps’s sneers better.

I have so much cortisol in my brain I can't fucking concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing this afternoon now.

Guess that's me weaponising my trauma again.

— Dr. Jane Clare Jones (@janeclarejones) February 8, 2021

unwavering witness and compassion of my best friend, to even start to process… this abject fucking gaslighting of young women in the name of feminism….

This flagrant sneering at one of the greatest burdens of trauma carried by any population in history.

— Dr. Jane Clare Jones (@janeclarejones) February 8, 2021

That. Why is it now the done thing for a feminist academic to sneer at women who report sexual … Read the rest

From the new Glinner update week in the war on women –

THE TELEGRAPH: The psychotherapist blocked from researching detransition is taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights.

James Caspian is a psychotherapist who has specialised in counselling trans people for over 10 years. He has worked with numerous de-transitioners and had planned to conduct an academic study into this massively under-researched area. However, Bath Spa University rejected Caspian’s MA proposal. He was told, “Attacks on social media may not be confined to the researcher but may involve the university.” 

And the university is too fragile to cope with “attacks on social media”? So much too fragile that it vetoes research on something one … Read the rest