Originally a comment by Sastra on Far from being deprived of a chance.

As far as I know, when black athletes were allowed in the mainstream sports teams & leagues, the argument was about fairness and wasn’t followed up with “it won’t be that many and they won’t be that good.” When gay marriage passed into law nobody was reassuring people to “relax, there won’t be a lot of same-sex marriages.” That’s because if it’s fair, it shouldn’t make a difference whether there are a lot of them or whether they win all the prizes or not.

And since they’re now arguing that it’s “fair” to let trans-identified males into women’s sports, I give absolutely no weight to the … Read the rest

Hmmmm. Who has a cringeworthy desperation to be edgy? Who wants to be considered dangerous, rebellious and exciting? As opposed to self-involved, dim, and pseudo-radical?

I really don’t think it’s feminist women who refuse to agree that men are women if they say they are.

One thing transphobes and xenophobes have in common- alongside their Tufton street mailing address- is a cringeworthy desperation to be edgy. To be considered dangerous, rebellious and exciting rather than what they in fact are, which is boring, predictable and conservative.

— Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) December 18, 2022

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Harald Hanche-Olsen on No tell us what you really think.

This is a bit of an aside from the main story, but since monarchy was discussed, I dare say that Norway has the best functioning constitutional monarchy in the world. The royal family demands tremendous respect, and much of it is well deserved.

When the union between Norway and Sweden was dissolved in 1905 and king Oscar of Sweden could no longer be king of Norway, prince Carl of Denmark (full name Christian Frederik Carl Georg Valdemar Axel, how is that for a mouthful?) was offered the throne. Many Norwegians were in favour of a republic instead, so prince Carl demanded a referendum to decide … Read the rest

The public shaming of women is nothing new, just as lynching is nothing new, torture is nothing new, misogyny is nothing new, brutality and sadism are nothing new. We know that already. We don’t need the Jeremy Clarksons of the world to remind us, let alone instruct us.

French women after the liberation for example:

The victims were among the most vulnerable members of the community: Women. Accused of “horizontal collaboration” — sleeping with the enemy — they were targeted by vigilantes and publicly humiliated. Their heads were shaved, they were stripped half-naked, smeared with tar, paraded through towns and taunted, stoned, kicked, beaten, spat upon and sometimes even killed.

Women in Aceh under sharia:… Read the rest

No doubt he’s relishing the attention.

A Jeremy Clarkson column in the Sun about the Duchess of Sussex has provoked outcry online, with social media users labelling it “vile”, “horrific” and “abusive”.

…

The comments have drawn widespread condemnation. The comedian John Bishop tweeted that the remarks were a “blatant appeal to incite humiliation and violence on a woman” and the actor Kathy Burke called Clarkson a “colossal cunt”.

How stupid is that? Horrible man says horrible things about a woman, a different woman angrily calls him a woman’s genitalia. A cunt never raped anyone; dicks on the other hand…

The 5 Live presenter Rachel Burden tweeted: “So … there’s Jeremy Clarkson writing what he did. And then the

Scottish Human Rights Blog at Amnesty International UK assured us a couple of weeks ago that men taking everything that belongs to women is fine fine fine not a problem at all.

Women’s and human rights organisations in Scotland, including Amnesty, have written to the UN Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women and Girls restating their support for Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

The organisations – many of whom provide services for women and girls – wrote to Ms Alsalem detailing why they do not share concerns she expressed about the Bill. 

To refresh our memories on those concerns she shared last month:

The Scottish government’s proposals to reform gender recognition laws could allow violent males to “abuse” the

Oh the joys of privatization.

Dozens of people have been evacuated from their flooded homes and thousands have been left without water after two water mains burst in north London.

And not just any North London.

About 60 firefighters were called to Belsize Road in Camden at about 02:50 GMT when homes were deluged with about 50cm (1.6ft) of water.

Belsize Road in Camden=Belsize Road in Hampstead, one of the very poshest and most desirable areas of London.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 24 people were led to safety and a hub was set up at Swiss Cottage Library.

Thames Water apologised after multiple postcodes were left without water.

The bitter joke is Thames Water is private, aka a … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Holms at Miscellany Room.

Connecticut rule allowing transgender athletes in girls’ school sports upheld

The usual lie is packaged in the article heading – the issue is male athletes in girls’ sports. Par for the course.

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged a Connecticut policy allowing transgender students to compete in girls’ high school sports.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by four cisgender female students that the policy deprived them of wins and athletic opportunities by requiring them to compete with two transgender sprinters.

They had sued the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which oversees scholastic sports in Connecticut, saying its

Why do women keep banging on about misogyny, eh? I just can’t figure it out.

I don’t have a settled opinion about Meghan Markle. There are too many conflicting accounts, and I’m not interested enough to delve into them all. But I very definitely do have a settled opinion about men writing in widely-read newspapers about wanting to see a particular woman dragged naked through the streets while people throw shit at her. Yes I do indeed. In fact his writing this has helped me out a good deal with the conflicting accounts: if people think stuff like this about her, and the Sun is happy to publish it, then maybe she and Harry haven’t been exaggerating all that … Read the rest

“Activism” in Brussels:

A mysterious “Ursula collective” violently tried to prevent the holding of a conference by Céline Masson and Caroline Eliacheff on the excesses of the trans movement, at the Café Laïque in Brussels.

It’s a machine translation so excuse the stiltedness. Café Laïque=Secular Café.

The subject was appropriate: while two French speakers were invited Thursday evening to the Café Laïque in Brussels to discuss the ” excesses of the transgender movement “, around twenty young activists came to walk the talk and concretely illustrate the intolerance that is sometimes blamed on their cause.

And in came some men to throw shit at women. How illustrative.

The associative café received child psychiatrist Caroline Eliacheff and Professor Céline Masson

Oh. my. god. It’s an actual video. He did an actual video to peddle it.

The CRINGE.… Read the rest

The Beeb tells us:

A top UN official has backed the Scottish government’s plan to reform gender recognition laws. Ministers want to make it easier for trans people to change their gender.

The UN high commissioner for human rights said the Scottish bill is a “significant step forward”.

For women it’s a disastrous leap backward. UN high commissioner for human rights doesn’t care. Women don’t matter.

Last month, a UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, warned the Scottish bill could endanger women.

Because of course it could, but way too many people are determined to pretend otherwise.

Reem Alsalem said it “would potentially open the door for violent males who identify as men to abuse the

Where too much inclooosion can take you:

A western Sydney woman who thought she was messaging an underage girl about being a transgender person with “boobs and a c–k”, but was actually messaging undercover police, will remain behind bars.

Not a woman though. Even newspapers won’t tell the truth, even in a story about a man who tried to abuse a young girl.

Tianne Miller, 49, of Greystanes, appeared at Sydney Downing Centre District Court on Thursday after sending a series of sexually explicit messages to investigators in 2020 and 2021.

In July 2020, Child Exploitation Internet Unit detectives caught the widow sending sick messages on Chatiw and Facebook Messenger when she told an identity known as “41”

Guest post by Jonathan A. Gallant

My adolescence, which went on for 50 years, was a difficult period.  I was afflicted by  perpetual dissatisfaction and  unease.   I could never seem to find myself, although I searched everywhere: in closets, in the refrigerator, under my bed, behind the the piano.   I had almost reached the age of retirement before I finally discovered the solution to my problem.  By then, the academic world was filled with news of individuals who claimed that they had been born in the wrong body.  When this news reached me, I had an epiphany: the wrong body issue was no doubt the source of my own difficulties, and thus it implied the solution. 

   The … Read the rest

And the Times:

The advert says the job, with a salary of £110,000 to £115,000, will involve “amplifying the voice of those using services” within the hospital and “facilitating cultural changes”.

Whoever gets the six-figure job will be responsible for ensuring patients’ experiences and stories are heard at board level by bosses at the NHS trust, based in Stafford.

Well that at least sounds potentially useful (although it’s not clear why existing staff can’t do that) but it sure as hell doesn’t clarify why it’s worth four times as much salary as the actual medical people get. It’s a communications job, a management job, a connect the pieces job – it’s not stopping climate change.

The new role will

Ewan Somerville at the Telegraph is on the Lived Experience story.

The NHS has hired an army of “lived experience” tsars on salaries of up to £115,000, despite ministers vowing a war on waste.

An army – so this recruitment ad we saw is just one of many.

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) is recruiting a “director for lived experience” who must have experiences of “a life altering health condition” and “significant power imbalances” in their use of health services.

The tsar will “ensure brave spaces” for people to give feedback and be based at St George’s Hospital, in Stafford, on a salary of £110,000-115,000 per year – four times that of a newly qualified nurse or

UN official says what?

Trans women are women & arbitrary obstacles to legal recognition of gender identity violate State human rights obligations. 350M+ persons live in self-identification systems and there are no judicial or administrative findings of abuse by predatory males:https://t.co/q3iJgzXZj6

— Victor Madrigal-Borloz (@victor_madrigal) December 16, 2022

Who he is according to his Twitter profile:

He/him. UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity & Eleanor Roosevelt Senior Visiting Researcher and Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School

What kind of “expert” on genner idennniny? What kind can there be? Like experts on the Koran or the Talmud or the Gospels are they? Experts on fictions, fantasies, inherited beliefs?

Anyway, it’s grim to see the UN signing up … Read the rest

Even funnier than the Director for Lived Experience – Trump with muscles:

Former US President Donald Trump has launched a collection of digital trading cards depicting him in various guises including a superhero, astronaut and Nascar driver.

There’s just one problem. He’s fat, and lazy, and clumsy, and a chickenshit. I suppose you could say those are four problems but I think it’s more efficient to bundle them into one “He’s not that guy.” He doesn’t stomp around in pseudo-military pants shooting ducks, and he doesn’t have that muscle definition under his business suit. He talks endlessly and stupidly, and he throws catsup at walls: that’s it, that’s the extent of his superpowerhood.

Mr Trump said: “These limited edition

Speaking of vital information on Twitter…how can this possibly be real as opposed to a joke?

Job overview

We are seeking an interpersonally talented and strategic bridge-builder, to join our Trust board in the exciting new post of Director for Lived Experience.

How is that not a bit of script from The Office rather than a genuine situations vacant announcement from the NHS? What in hell is a director of lived experience??? Where are the grownups?

The post holder will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the highest levels of Lived Experience practice

What does that mean???

and amplifying the voice of those using services within decision-making at all levels of the organisation.

What does that mean???… Read the rest

UN and EU tell Elon Musk ok now you’re pissing us off:

The United Nations has joined the European Union in condemning Twitter’s decision to suspend some journalists who cover the social media firm.

Reporters for the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post were among those locked out of their accounts.

The UN tweeted that media freedom is “not a toy” while the EU has threatened Twitter with sanctions.

This is the thing, you see: Twitter isn’t just an annoying social media item for kids, it’s also a de facto news outlet, and a quite significant one. That’s why I keep ignoring it when one of you reminds us that Twitter is dummm.

Melissa Fleming, the UN’s