Louise Perry on women as flowerpots:

Last month, the Law Commission published its long-awaited report on the legal status of the surrogacy industry. It contained – as expected – one particularly alarming recommendation. Alongside various tweaks to payment and regulation processes, the Commission suggests a crucial change to the parental status of a baby born by surrogacy.

At present, the woman who gives birth to the baby is considered to be that child’s legal parent, and the intended parents are obliged to apply for a parental order following birth. But if the Law Commission gets its way, the situation will be reversed. Although the surrogate will still have the right to object, the default presumption in law will be

Saudi Arabia uses various sports to try to make itself look not horrible.

Now Saudi Arabia is coming for cricket – just another step in the grandest sportswashing campaign in history. The country is an autocratic monarchy run on the fundamentalist principles of Wahhabist Islam. Laws of ‘guardianship’ mean that women cede control of their lives to male relatives.

No that’s not the right way to put it. Women don’t cede anything, they’re not given the chance to cede anything – laws of “guardianship” mean they never have control of their lives at any time.

The legal system uses prison, torture or execution against political dissent and anyone outside proscribed sexual or gender norms. The Saudi-led war in Yemen

Again, adult news outlets parroting the childish fantasy-based jargon.

Montana’s House speaker on Thursday refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak about bills on the House floor until she apologizes for saying lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they supported a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, the lawmaker said.

“She” is “he” and there’s no such thing as “gender-affirming medical care.” “Affirming gender” is not medical and it’s not care.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who was deliberately misgendered by a conservative group of lawmakers demanding her censure after Tuesday’s comments, said she would not apologize, creating a standoff between the first-term state lawmaker and Republican legislative leaders.

“Misgendered” is silly jargon too. … Read the rest

What are they even for? One minute we’re told “head of state” and the next it’s “bringing in the tourist cash.” Are they any real use at either of those, or anything else? Are they enough use to justify the enormous amount of tax-free money they keep having more of?

A common argument in defence of the royal family is the benefit they bring to the UK economy through tourism. But despite widespread claims of their tourist value, firm evidence that the Windsors are what bring visitors to Britain is hard to come by, with most assertions anecdotal or speculative. The storm-tossed tourist industry may be desperately hoping for a coronation bump, but the benefit the event will bring is

Says it all.

KØN – Gender Museum Denmark, formerly Kvindemuseet (Women’s Museum), is a history museum in Aarhus, Denmark focused on the cultural history of gender and sexuality in Denmark.

Of course it is. It used to be Women’s Museum, but then people came to their senses and remembered that women are worthless and don’t matter, so they changed it to Gender Museum. SO much better. Why anyone ever thought women mattered is a mystery.

There’s a statue of Gender out front.

So the pillow guy said “Prove me wrong and I’ll give you 5 million dollars!” So someone proved him wrong and he hasn’t paid up. He has to pay up.

Mike Lindell has to pay $5 million for losing his “Prove Mike Wrong” 2020 election challenge, an arbitration panel has ruled.

In a decision dated Wednesday, the panel found software developer Robert Zeidman had won Lindell’s 2021 contest challenging experts to prove that data he had was not from the 2020 election, and directed the MyPillow founder to pay him the reward money he’d promised in the next 30 days.

…

The contest took place in August 2021 at a cyber symposium that Lindell — an outspoken election denier

Daddy instinct.

A bald eagle that went viral after nurturing a rock it thought was an egg has become an adoptive father to an eaglet at a Missouri bird sanctuary.

The 31-year-old bird, Murphy, is flightless due to a permanent wing injury. It was “very protective” of the rock, which it treated like an unhatched egg, and would squawk at other birds and charge at those that came too close.

I have no idea why The Telegraph refers to the male eagle as “it,” especially since his sex adds to the interest of the story. Eagles do share the chick-rearing duties.

While Murphy received nationwide press coverage and hoards of online fans for his seemingly natural, if misdirected, parenting

Labour MP Fleur Anderson is very glad to see an organization for women “supporting” men at the expense of women.

Very glad to see the WI supporting trans women. It is such a common sense statement of women supporting women. #TransRights

Women’s Institute will ‘continue to celebrate’ transgender women amid inclusivity row | Women's Institute | The Guardian https://t.co/PNFCEmb93Q

— Fleur Anderson MP (@PutneyFleur) April 20, 2023

It’s not a “common sense statement of women supporting women”; it’s a grotesque statement of an institute for women supporting men who pretend to be women.

It’s both, you know. Both aspects are important. It’s the women aspect but it’s also the truth aspect. It’s the brazen, ridiculous, insulting insistence that “women” no … Read the rest

Hilarious. LBC announces two new presenters and up pops Inja to yell “what about me????”

Gee why would anybody not want to give Willz a show? Apart from the bad temper, the entitlement, the conceit, the smugness, and the playacting a woman. … Read the rest

Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.

At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, during a charity event for Ramadan, officials say.

…

Poor people made their way to the Maeen School in central Sanaa on Wednesday night after being told that a local merchant would be handing out zakat (alms) to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, posted a photo on Twitter apparently showing hundreds of people queuing outside the school before the crush.

…

A health ministry official said women and children were among the 78 people killed in the crush.

The WI washes its hands of Threaty McThreatface.

1/3 Thanks to all who notified us of concerns about someone who signed up as a WI supporter, which we took this very seriously, investigated & reported immediately. A WI supporter is not the same as a WI member, it confers no membership rights & has no contact with WI members…

— Women's Institute (@WomensInstitute) April 20, 2023

3/3 We welcome all women who want to learn more, share their experiences and views in a respectful way, and be part of our wonderful movement.

— Women's Institute (@WomensInstitute) April 20, 2023

So he never was a member? He was a supporter, not a member? Did they ask him how he identifies?… Read the rest

But he says the WI has rescinded his membership. Just for a bunch of threats to kill women!

One of the great mysteries of life. Considering these fanatics are, perhaps, the most humourless bunch ever to roam the planet, it’s certainly astonishing how often they’re ‘cracking jokes’ about murdering people….@DrShanuVarma pic.twitter.com/nyUp6Sjhkh

— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) April 20, 2023

Two conflicting stories in one tweet – the WI has canceled his membership, and he won’t be surprised if the WI Labour cancels his membership. Which is it? Who knows.

It’s the people who object to murder threats who are cruel and heartless. Wah.… Read the rest

This is all fine.

Now trans activist who boasts of her violence joins Women’s Institute: Self-professed ‘violent and cruel’ martial arts champion signs up to organisation amid row over policy to allow transgender members

That’s the headline. They do long headlines, the Daily Mail.

A transgender activist who claimed she was drawing up a kill list of ‘Nazi’ opponents says she has just joined the Women’s Institute.

Shanu Varma, who has described herself as ‘violent and cruel’ and purports to be a martial arts champion, said she had signed up to the organisation amid a row over whether or not it should allow transgender members.

No, the row is over whether it should allow men who are trans. It’s … Read the rest

Ok, so this guy is promising to kill any woman who objects to a man in the women’s toilets. “It will be the last mistake you ever make,” he says smugly.

Calm down sir! Just go pee in the men’s where you belong.
He needs put on some kind of watchlist likes! pic.twitter.com/es0H8kbt2B

— мiсhеllе тhоmsоn (@mscots41) April 19, 2023

… Read the rest

One, man charged with punching woman in the face.

Police have charged a 20-year-old man with allegedly assaulting an elderly woman at an Auckland anti-transgender rally last month.

The charges arise from the heated clashes at the speaking engagement for activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, who goes by the alias Posie Parker, at Albert Park.

Videos online show both supporters of Keen-Minshull and protesters clashing, with one showing a man hitting a woman twice in the face.

Two, he got to hide his name.

A man charged with assaulting an elderly woman during a protest against an anti-transgender speaker has received name suppression.

The man appeared in the Auckland District Court on Thursday morning, where he was given name suppression

Wikipedia sheds light on what is is about Thank You, Jeeves that would make a publisher anxious.

The book uses the dated and now derogatory term “nigger minstrels” which was once a common term for white performers in blackface. Blackface minstrels were a staple of British seaside resorts until World War II.^[19] The term “nigger minstrels” was historically used to differentiate blackface minstrels from “colored minstrels” who were actually black performers.^[20]

Blackface performances, widely considered offensive today, were popular at the time Wodehouse was writing this novel. During this period, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Shirley Temple were among the many actors who performed in blackface.^[21]

What’s a publisher to do?

Maybe there’s no answer … Read the rest

Guess who hasn’t been reporting on the Fox News-Dominion settlement…

Fox News’s last-minute settlement with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday earned banner coverage on every television news network but one: Fox News.

The $787.5 million settlement was covered only three times by Fox News in about four hours after the settlement became public, amounting to about six minutes of coverage. For most of the day, including during the network’s prime-time shows, hosts appeared to be focusing on other issues, like illegal immigration and Covid-19’s possible origins.

Sorry, we’re busy here, very very very busy, we’ve got breaking stories about immigration and Covid.

Anyway. The settlement is a record-breaker.

The $787.5 million that Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting

Wait a second.

Willoughby is very grumpy here, but the thing is – he says two trans women are not trans. Starting at 1:28 he says it. He goes on to say they’re not pretty enough. “They both look terrible, they look like a bag of spanners” – so it’s all about what one looks like? Not the soul? I thought it was the soul.

Moving past the headline…

The Women’s Institute will continue to “celebrate” the lives of the transgender women enriching its membership, the head of the organisation said on Tuesday, following reports that it was facing a bid to overturn inclusive policy.

Why should the WI, or any such organization, have an “inclusive policy” that entails being “inclusive” of people who are explicitly and inherently not part of that organization’s constituency? Why is the WI expected to be “inclusive” of men at all? Should peace organizations be “inclusive” of people who promote war? Should labor unions be “inclusive” of the bosses? Should atheist organizations be “inclusive” of Catholic priests and nuns?

And, second question, in what sense does a man “enrich” … Read the rest

The Guardian exclaims

Women’s Institute will ‘continue to celebrate’ transgender women amid inclusivity row

Women’s Institute will continue to celebrate men as women object to letting men join the Women’s Institute on account of how they’re not women.

Women’s Institute will continue to celebrate men as women object to being told, even by institutions that are specifically and explicitly for women, that we must be “inclusive” of men in everything that’s ours, even in things that actually say “Women” on the door or label or title.

Women’s Institute will continue to celebrate men while women struggle furiously to keep what’s ours.

Women’s Institute will continue to gloat about celebrating men and to sneer at women for objecting to … Read the rest