Originally a comment by Rob on The judgment of history is too late.

A couple of years ago I attended a conference for the oil and gas industry. We’re not directly involved in that industry, but they make use of our companies services for specialist environmental monitoring.

The conference was heavily picketed and was protected by a significant police presence for the three days it was on. Protestors had even gone to the trouble of placing remote triggered sleep disruption devices on and around the hotel prior to the cordon going up. Kudos for commitment I guess.

Apart from the fact that some of the protesters had taken a four hour return flight to attend the protest, what I … Read the rest

What were we just saying? When the climate report came out?

The White House is calling on OPEC to boost oil production to combat spiking gas prices. @ylanmui reports. https://t.co/EsDNcXeW0l pic.twitter.com/FtVuNzFLOt

— CNBC (@CNBC) August 11, 2021

That. Climate, oh gosh, that’s terrible, we really have to do something at last, and by the way please up your production of oil.… Read the rest

Sackbut alerted us to Roy Speckhardt’s piece on signs you’re having unapproved thoughts. The piece is…flawed.

Even humanists, despite our commitment to critical thinking, are susceptible to disinformation campaigns, especially when we aren’t fully up-to-speed on the latest scholarship and are unaware of the campaigns calculated to use us to advance in-humanist agendas.

First sentence, and already…

This is style rather than substance, but style matters, dammit. It’s not “up-to-speed.” It’s just “up to speed.” There’s no rule that says all familiar phrases require hyphens. Decent writers avoid bonehead mistakes like that because they’re annoying. One of ten signs you’re an annoying writer: you insert meaningless hyphens where they don’t belong.

8) You think the word feminist

… Read the rest

Julie Bindel on the bit where they say it and the bit where they take it back:

The University of Essex is fast becoming an example of what happens when institutions capitulate to extreme transgender ideology.

In May the university apologised to two female academics for preventing them from taking part in seminars following baseless accusations of transphobia. The university admitted that they had made “serious mistakes” to Professors Freedman and Phoenix, who are not employed by Essex, and in a damning report, barrister Akua Reindorf criticised the university’s actions. The Vice Chancellor assured both academics that recommendations in the report would be actioned.

But that was May, you see. This is August. You do the math.… Read the rest

Speaking of climate…Lake Oroville, 130 miles northeast of San Francisco.

The first photo is from 3 years ago. The 2nd photo was taken April 27 2021. The 3rd was taken last week.

KQED July 23:

California has descended deep into one of the worst droughts in its recorded history. And perhaps no single location shows more starkly how deep that really is than Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir and a crucial source of water supply for the state’s farm and city water users alike.

San Francisco-based Getty Images photographer Justin Sullivan has been visiting the lake off and on since the driest days of our last severe drought, in 2014.

“Lake Oroville provided the most stunning and visible

… Read the rest

We can always just #AskRapeCrisisScotland.

Maggie, as former COO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis, do you think shouting Orwellian mantras that tell women to deny the evidence of their eyes and ears is helping promote your cause? #AskRapeCrisisScotland

And does this dispels fears the SGP is captured by unscientific queer theory? https://t.co/WdvD3k9MaL

— For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) August 10, 2021

And we still would like to #AskRapeCrisisScotland what their understanding of schedule 9 is and what legal advice they received that told them they could offer a job they claimed was only open to females to a legal, biological male? https://t.co/F7MmB9kfVp

— For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) August 10, 2021

So they’re actually telling untruths now?

It just gets worse and worse.… Read the rest

“When someone tells you their pronouns, the only option is to use it.”

Wrong! There are other options. One option is to step away and talk to different people. Another is to say no. Another is to leave the scene altogether. Another is to say “I have no plans ever to refer to you for any reason so I have zero need to know what ‘your’ pronouns are, child.” Another is to say “I didn’t ask and I don’t care.” That’s only the beginning – there are many woundingly indifferent things one can say in reply to such a stupid thing as “telling” someone what “your” pronouns are.

https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1425094550276788229… Read the rest

David Gorski is still going “nyah nyah” instead of correcting errors.

https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424747616928161795

Jesse Singal is really not “a hard core GC advocate.” Not even close.

https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424755258522210304 https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424759488737943552 https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424912463770828806

As the man said – very unprofessional.… Read the rest

Sister Outrider on the Rape Crisis Scotland issue:

I have great respect for @rapecrisisscot, and no wish to contribute to the abuse they received. So I’m going to try and unpack why I find this statement frustrating whilst holding compassion for both RCS and the women who (like me) are alarmed by some of what they said. Here goes https://t.co/KAOxKL9VS3

— Claire (@ClaireShrugged) August 10, 2021

Here is @WG_Scotland’s original thread. They are quite clearly advocating for women being able to access services “on a female-only basis.” And the implication that they said otherwise was a bit of a red herring. https://t.co/MvXxhbfa0M

— Claire (@ClaireShrugged) August 10, 2021

If women are accessing Rape Crisis etc., it is because they

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by latsot on Another late anti-vaxxer.

Former Silentbob – can I call you “Former”, I feel like we’re friends? – Former:

As Bjarte said, we’re not the ones who changed. We’re still applying skeptical analysis to unlikely truth claims. You’re the one who stopped doing that. We’re still skeptical of radio hosts who say we shouldn’t get vaccinated and anti-mask podcasters in their rocking chairs. We remain dubious when we’re told that a centuries-dead cult leader can be so upset by a cartoon that slaughter is the only moral recourse. We continue to raise a quizzical eyebrow at homoeopathic cures, ancient prophecies and magical underpants. We still think Bigfoot is probably just made up.

And we … Read the rest

Rape Crisis Scotland continues to get comments on its tweets that it no doubt views as yet more “abuse” when in fact the comments are simply reminding RCS that their policy of “including” trans women in their women only spaces makes their women only spaces NOT WOMEN ONLY. Ok I shouted, and they can call that abuse if they like, but they don’t listen.

This tweet in particular:

https://twitter.com/rapecrisisscot/status/1424767097108934662

It calls the discussions “harmful” but what about its “harmful” policy of saying it provides women only spaces when in fact it includes males who say they identify as female? What about that? I think the policy is a good deal more harmful than the discussions.

They say the discussion is … Read the rest

Rape Crisis Scotland has joined the fray.

Rape Crisis Scotland is Scotland’s leading organisation working to transform attitudes, improve responses and ultimately to end rape and sexual violence in all its forms. Our helpline is open to anyone – including women, trans and non-binary people, men and boys – affected by sexual violence…

Accessing support is – for many survivors – a daunting and difficult thing to do. We think that all survivors should be supported to access specialist services when they are ready and that these should be available at the point of need.

Sexual violence is a gendered and has a disproportionate impact on women and girls; our services reflect that. Women only spaces are a core

… Read the rest

For Women Scotland has thoughts on the man who runs Rape Crisis Edinburgh and tells women to expect to “reframe” their trauma if they have to use his rape crisis centre.

They transcribed what he said in that interview:

But I think the other thing is that sexual violence happens to bigoted people as well. And so, you know, it is not discerning crime. But these spaces are also for you. But if you bring unacceptable beliefs that are discriminatory in nature, we will begin to work with you on your journey of recovery from trauma. But please also expect to be challenged on your prejudices, because how can you heal from trauma and build a new relationship with your

… Read the rest

Ron DeSantis is making every effort to kill as many Floridians as he can.

The Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who defy the governor’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates.

Now…why would school officials impose mask mandates?

To try to reduce the body count among students, teachers and staff. That’s it, that’s the reason. It’s not a personal insult to DeSantis, it’s an attempt to keep casualties down.

It’s extremely odd and unpleasant to see an elected official planning to punish other officials for doing that. Some people are choosing to see it as a political shouting match, but the reality is … Read the rest

Apologies for reposting this from Facebook (thus boring anyone who’s already seen it) but I discovered it’s not unique so I wanted to share.

I took the bus to a park on another bit of Puget Sound, because today is the nicest the weather is going to be until the other side of the approaching heat wave. It was indeed a perfect day for it – bright, warm but not hot, a cool breeze, interesting clouds.

Across the aisle of the bus from me was a teenage girl or young woman wearing a binder as if it were an item of clothing, like a tube top – but it was a binder. It’s quite a disconcerting sight, especially if you’ve … Read the rest

The CEO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis has said "Sexual violence happens to bigoted people too. But if you bring beliefs that are discriminatory, expect to be challenged on your prejudice. Reframe your trauma"

Apparently, survivors are to be "educated" in this service. https://t.co/K1Or2MhBcG

— For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) August 9, 2021

The CEO of Edinburgh Rape Crisis, you may recall, is a man. From the Glinner Update May 5:

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre has just appointed its new CEO. He’s a man.

But “she” is a man.

Mridul Wadhwa is a trans-identified male. He has no gender recognition certificate so, not only is he biologically male, he’s also legally male.

He was formerly the manager of Forth Valley

… Read the rest

Lionel Shriver on the incendiary tuber:

When conceiving Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, Helen Joyce anticipated a rough ride. Sure enough, an initially interested literary agent who considered her proposal “well-argued”, “persuasive” and “timely” eventually demurred that Joyce would need an advocate to “weather the storm that publishing this book will create. I am sorry to say that I am not that person.”

One sceptical British editor wrote, “Debate over trans issues is incredibly polarised and siloed, and if we are going to torch our own credentials as woke members in good standing we would prefer to do it for a book that has some chance of selling.”

Oops. The book is selling like crazy. It’s doing so … Read the rest

The blessings of religion:

An eight-year-old Hindu boy is being held in protective police custody in east Pakistan after becoming the youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy in the country.

Not a record Pakistan should be trying to set.

The boy’s family is in hiding and many of the Hindu community in the conservative district of Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab, have fled their homes after a Muslim crowd attacked a Hindu temple after the boy’s release on bail last week. Troops were deployed to the area to quell any further unrest.

Muslims and Hindus duke it out again! Nostalgia for Partition or the Babri Masjid riots or both?

The boy is accused of intentionally urinating on

… Read the rest

Nowhere to hide:

The repeatedly ignored warnings of scientists over past decades have now become reality. Humanity, through its actions, or lack of action, has unequivocally overheated the planet. Nowhere on Earth is escaping rising temperatures, worse floods, hotter wildfires or more searing droughts.

…

The key aspect of the IPCC report is that the 42-page summary is agreed, line by line, by every government on the planet, with the scientists vetoing any politically convenient but unscientific proposal.

As a result, governments that continue to fail to take action have nowhere left to hide – the crystal-clear report has bust all of their alibis. “Too many ‘net-zero’ climate plans have been used to greenwash pollution and business as usual,”

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Holms on Misinformation circulated.

…I was expected to agree that scientific facts such as sex are to be sidelined. This position has never been debated and agreed by Conference but appears to be an implicit consequence of the Party’s stance on trans rights.

An ‘implicit consequence’ is exactly right. Rejection of the very existence of sex is not a stance that any of them would have held ordinarily, it is a stance that they were forced to hold – or pretend to hold – as part of the support structure of beliefs build around TWAW/TMAM. This central belief is in need of such support specifically because it is untrue: when it clashes with some other … Read the rest