All entries by this author

Wait minister

Jun 28th, 2025 10:09 am | By

Huh. The Scottish government is still trying to get away with it.

Earlier this month, officials told For Women Scotland (FWS) that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had advised ministers to wait for the Commission’s final Code of Practice before making changes and to “not do anything in advance of that”.

The comments earned a stinging rebuke from Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the Chair of the EHRC, who said the Commission had made it “clear” to civil servants that public bodies should not wait for updated guidance before acting on the judgment.

“Comments” is not the right word there. It should be claims or assertions or orders. We’re not talking casual remarks over a beer, we’re talking officials … Read the rest



Actually

Jun 27th, 2025 5:35 pm | By

Sigh.

CNN:

President Donald Trump stepped up attacks on his handpicked Federal Reserve chairman on Wednesday, claiming Jerome Powell has “low IQ” and suggested that he has narrowed down the list of potential replacements to three or four people.

“He’s an average mentally person…Low IQ for what he does,” Trump said of Powell during remarks at a press conference at the NATO summit in the Netherlands Wednesday. “I think he’s a very stupid person, actually.”

Well which is it? Average or very stupid?

Tell you what: only a very stupid person starts with “average” and then pivots to “very stupid” and tries to get away with it by adding “actually.”

But really. Trump is horrifyingly successful, obviously, but not … Read the rest



He was sympathetic

Jun 27th, 2025 10:55 am | By
He was sympathetic

Oh did he now.

Men won’t comply with laws or rules or norms that tell them to stay out of women’s toilets and changing rooms. Man MP says hooray, taller man visitor smirks.… Read the rest



A means to exclood

Jun 27th, 2025 10:28 am | By

Nancy Armour, a sports columnist at USA Today, rounds up the usual suspects.

The days of transgender athletes being able to compete at the Olympics are numbered.

The International Olympic Committee will no doubt dispute that, arguing that new president Kirsty Coventry’s announcement Thursday was only for a working group to examine how to “protect the female category.” But from her loaded language to the dearth of transgender athletes at the Games, it’s obvious this is intended as a means to exclude, not include.

Let’s start with her lede. Is there some moral law that says transgender athletes should be able to compete at the Olympics? I mean, one could also write a sob story about how crappy athletes … Read the rest



It takes one

Jun 27th, 2025 8:36 am | By

Hmmm.

President Donald Trump stepped up attacks on his handpicked Federal Reserve chairman on Wednesday, claiming Jerome Powell has “low IQ” and suggested that he has narrowed down the list of potential replacements to three or four people.

“He’s an average mentally person…Low IQ for what he does,” Trump said of Powell during remarks at a press conference at the NATO summit in the Netherlands Wednesday. “I think he’s a very stupid person, actually.”

But…sir…you…you yourself are…

Oh never mind.

Read the rest



Because other people have rights

Jun 27th, 2025 6:10 am | By

What’s this what’s this?

The Guardian three weeks ago:

EHRC commissioner calls for ‘period of correction’ on trans rights after legal ruling

Transgender people must acknowledge a “period of correction” of rights after the supreme court decision on gender because they “have been lied to over many years” about what their rights actually were, one of the commissioners drawing up the official post-ruling guidance has said.

Speaking at a debate about

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Who needs disease control?

Jun 26th, 2025 5:15 pm | By

Occupy Democrats on Facebook:

Senator Jon Ossoff streamrolls Donald Trump’s slimy OMB Director Russell Vought after he tries to shift blame to Joe Biden during a hearing: “I don’t want to hear about the Biden administration! You’re here on behalf of the Trump administration.”

Finally, someone shut down the MAGA blame game…

“You guys are making mistakes and I want to focus on the mistakes that you’re making at the CDC. Have you visited the CDC Mr. Vought by chance?” asked Ossoff.

“I have not,” admitted Vought, who was testifying on behalf of the Office of Management and Budget about Donald Trump’s disastrous proposed cuts to federal funding.

“It is the flagship epidemiological and public health agency for the

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Seen on Facebook

Jun 26th, 2025 11:10 am | By
Seen on Facebook

Spot the problem.

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In full daylight

Jun 26th, 2025 10:24 am | By

Just one paragraph from the Everyday cancellation article:

A criticism of SEEN in Publishing, a sex equality and equity network for publishing professionals, was that its organisers chose to remain anonymous, but reactions from the industry – including naming it a “vile TERF publishing group” (commissioning editor) and a “nasty, anonymous, hate-filled little network” (editor), and telling its members to “get fucked” (publisher) – show why it has been necessary for them to do so. “I was really scared,” said a representative of SEEN in Publishing of her decision not to reveal her identity. She pointed out that most of the abuse directed online at the network had been sent from social-media accounts that were linked to their employers

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Publishing v reality

Jun 26th, 2025 9:20 am | By

Sex Matters has a new report on Everyday cancellation in publishing.

This research investigates the working environment for authors, agents and publishing staff who believe that sex is binary and immutable, and that it matters in life and law. It was commissioned to investigate widespread but anecdotal reports that publishing has become a hostile environment for people who hold gender-critical beliefs.

That’s an important thing to investigate. Publishing, like universities, journalism, social media, conversation, is how we learn about things: how we learn truths and also falsehoods. We all rely on these institutions and pastimes to get things right, so that we can get them right ourselves, and not fuck everything up by getting them badly horrifyingly wrong. … Read the rest



Round up the usual quacks

Jun 26th, 2025 4:34 am | By

Make America Sick Again.

The new members of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s panel of vaccine advisers will review long-approved immunisation schedules for children and teens. The seven members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) met for the first time on Wednesday, weeks after Kennedy ousted all 17 of their predecessors.

The Acip recommends who should be vaccinated and when these immunisations should occur to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ahead of the meeting, public health experts and politicians raised concerns about the qualifications of the new members – several of whom are vaccine critics.

Who the hell wants immunity from dangerous diseases anyway? Getting extremely sick builds character. Dying builds … Read the rest



You cannot protect what you cannot define

Jun 26th, 2025 3:36 am | By

Nailed it.

https://twitter.com/UN_HRC/status/1937824019207561702… Read the rest


Reasoned debate

Jun 26th, 2025 3:08 am | By

The opposition.

https://twitter.com/MShipworth/status/1938002038572683291… Read the rest


One in three what?

Jun 25th, 2025 4:51 pm | By

Oh gee will you look at that.

Kind of conspicuous, isn’t it.… Read the rest



Doctors say no

Jun 25th, 2025 4:48 pm | By

Or as the Telegraph puts it, doctors are revolting.

Doctors who support the Cass Review into children’s trans services are revolting against the British Medical Association (BMA).

Insiders claimed that “ideologues” have infiltrated the union and “silenced” doctors who backed last year’s report by Baroness Cass into the care of children who think they are transgender.

The BMA controversially decided to reject the review during a council meeting, but later backtracked to a “neutral” stance after receiving a barrage of complaints from members.

What, doctors complaining about their union’s belief that men can be women? How hoity-toity of them.

It said it would carry out its own evaluation into the Cass Review’s recommendations by the end of 2024,

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Zeal

Jun 25th, 2025 3:20 pm | By

Absolute monster.

The U.S. will no longer contribute funding to Gavi, a global alliance that helps buy vaccines for the world’s poorest children, because it ignores safety, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Wednesday, without providing evidence.

In a video statement seen by Reuters and shown at a Gavi fundraising event in Brussels, Kennedy – a long-time vaccine skeptic – also accused Gavi of making questionable recommendations around COVID-19 vaccines, and raised concerns about the DTPw (diphtheria-tetanus-whole cell pertussis) vaccine.

Gavi said in a statement that safety was key, and that it acts in line with World Health Organization recommendations. It has full confidence in the DTPw vaccine, which has contributed to halving child mortality in the

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One of the “dumbest”

Jun 25th, 2025 11:17 am | By

Hmmm. Trump on Truth Social:

Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the “dumbest” people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before. The reason for her “rantings” is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration. The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again. When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed

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Professors owned people forced into bondage

Jun 25th, 2025 9:46 am | By

I’m reading a long Guardian piece about Harvard and slavery and what to do about that whole massive scar on US history. In doing that I find myself doing what I always do, which is wonder how it worked – how people explained it to themselves, lived with it, understood it, all that. It’s a puzzle. If I’d lived then instead of now I would have done the same thing, so naturally I’m curious how it worked.

Part one is that it’s not all that puzzling that bad working conditions were taken for granted, because that was just a given and had been since forever. It’s the ownership part, the permanent capture part, that sticks out. The enslavement.

As the

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How dare women say no

Jun 24th, 2025 11:24 am | By

This guy…

As well as politicians, desperate for attention and relevance, like JK Rowling and others

Stop right there, Sherlock. JK Rowling is desperate for attention and relevance? Really? Really? You seriously think she’s starved for attention and relevance?

have poisoned the public discourse with attacks on our trans communinny, all under the false dichotomy that you cannot be a true feminist and protect women’s rights without attacking

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Bad choices

Jun 24th, 2025 10:06 am | By

So, she’s been found, dead. I continue to wonder why anyone thinks it’s a good idea to take tourists (as opposed to experienced climbers) on such a dangerous walk.

After a complex rescue operation, teams finally reached her body on Tuesday, her family said in a statement on social media.

That’s another thing. Letting amateurs do dangerous climbs puts rescuers in danger too.

I wonder if she had any idea how dangerous the climb is – I wonder if the people who make money from taking tourists on such strolls pretended it was exciting but totally safe, because they want to make the aforementioned money.

One group member told Brazilian TV that the terrain was slippery, the climb “very

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