Again with the issue of truth versus free speech: Think Progress on Facebook’s breezy indifference to truth:

The latest instance of Facebook doubling down on its failure to avert the spread of misinformation came after an altered video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) went viral on the social media platform last week. Facebook was widely criticized for refusing to take down the video — even after admitting that it had been doctored to make her look like she was slurring her words or drunk.

What was particularly shocking is that in defending this move, Facebook told the Washington Post, “We don’t have a policy that stipulates that the information you post on Facebook must be true.”

We … Read the rest

This kind of thing.

SNP Students puts out a Statement (or Declaration or Affirmation or Prose Poem) on Twitter that is full of…no one can tell what.

At SNP students, we have one simple belief. Trans rights are human rights. No ifs, no buts. #TransAlly pic.twitter.com/8qEn1XWtfr

— SNP Students (@SNPStudents) April 17, 2019

Trans rights are human rights.

Ok, fine, but what are we talking about? What are trans rights exactly?

We believe that regardless of someone’s sexuality or gender identity they should be respected.

Ok, fine, but what are we talking about? “Respected” how? Not bullied or persecuted? Well, agreed, of course. Not disagreed with? That’s not “respect” and it’s not a “right.”

SNP Students will stand up for

The Guardian reports:

Boris Johnson has been summoned to court to face accusations of misconduct in public office over claims that he lied by saying Britain gave £350m a week to the European Union.

This stems from a crowdfunded private prosecution.

Johnson lied and engaged in criminal conduct when he repeatedly claimed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign that the UK handed over the sum to Brussels, Westminster magistrates court was told last week by lawyers for a 29-year-old campaigner who has launched the prosecution bid.

The judge in the magistrates court has ruled that there’s enough to go to trial. There will be further hearings before a trial. By the time it goes to trial BoJo could be … Read the rest

Not actually new; just tweaking the date.

Time for a new one.

An item or two I want to look into further.

https://twitter.com/Susan_Hennessey/status/1064565119101865989

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1064556378054905856

We have never in American history seen an administration with such contempt for the Constitution, from Trump's launch with blatant violations like emoluments & the first Muslim Ban, to this continuing assault on @acosta & @cnn — and so the First Amendment. https://t.co/7TNdfpVirH

— Norm Eisen (#TryingTrump out now!) (@NormEisen) November 19, 2018

Okay four. We live in interesting times.… Read the rest

Ladies-only public pool in London made fully accessible to trans women. A GOOD MOVE. https://t.co/4HHkALmsrV

— Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) May 28, 2019

A GOOD MOVE, shouts Peter Tatchell about a move that takes a women-only pool away from women, because Peter Tatchell doesn’t think women should have any right to get away from men in public places.

https://twitter.com/Docstockk/status/1133419636819714048

Peter, this is so sad. Do you not see that women's rights to protection on the basis of their sex is important? You have been a campaigner all your life, you live for it & are respected for how you devote yourself to it. You have not & can NEVER lived the fenced life of a woman.

— AquatintDeliberatelyDefiantandDistasteful (@Aquatint) May 28,

Huh. Jon Ronson’s squalid betrayal of Graham Linehan to the trans army yesterday wasn’t his first rodeo.

In case you were in any doubt about Jon ronson here he is yucking it up with transphobes underneath the women's march defending inclusivity pic.twitter.com/YUjXZgRis9

— Ewan (@jelly_pack) January 21, 2019

“yucking it up with transphobes”=joking with Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman. How very dare he. He must have told “@jelly_pack” to fuck off, right?

Uh – I am not transphobic and the only stuff I have ever written about trans people has been extremely positive, like this: https://t.co/MhpThlbX2G

— jon ronson (@jonronson) January 21, 2019

Hadley who? Never heard of her.

Another Twitter cop wasn’t going to let him get away with it … Read the rest

Brief philosophy.

https://twitter.com/rachelvmckinnon/status/1132976462800121856

Remember, McKinnon teaches philosophy.

What does the poster communicate? “A person of a type claimed to be a potential threat was here at this toilet and nothing bad happened.” What does McKinnon want us to think it communicates? “A person of a type claimed to be a potential threat was here at this toilet and nothing bad happened, therefore nothing bad ever will happen when any person of that type is at any toilet anywhere.” I think that makes the problem reasonably clear? You can’t get from “this one incident involving one person at one place” to “all incidents involving all similar people at all places.”

It’s the so far so good fallacy – no that’s not … Read the rest

None of the literal, physical, natal women were good enough. They never are, are they.

I think I can now announce that I have accepted the position of Director of Women's Studies at Rutgers University – Newark. Relatedly, we can finally answer the age-old question "how do I know when my transition is over?"

— Cat Fitzpatrick (@intermittentcat) May 21, 2019

… Read the rest

Remember that story about the private Facebook group of male students at Warwick University that featured a lot of rape threats (virtual rape threats, since they were confined to the private group) against fellow students of the female persuasion? The BBC has a new documentary on it.

Early last year, Anna, then 19, was sitting on the sofa in her student house when a stream of explicit messages began popping up on her friend’s laptop.

As more came through, she asked him what they were about, and he laughed.

“He said: ‘Well, if you think that’s bad you might want to see our lads’ chat’,” Anna says. “That’s when he took me through a year and a half’s worth

I can’t help it, it made me laugh. I tried to scowl but I couldn’t sustain it – his solemnity, his toddler-careful word-saying, his little across-the-abdomen gesture, his use of the word “happy” – I crumbled and laughed helplessly.

To anyone unsure if Donald Trump was the dumbest human being alive…

He just wished a Happy Memorial Day to the JAPANESE Military pic.twitter.com/u5AIoL0Y2t

— ALBΞRT MacGloan (@AlbertMacGloan) May 28, 2019

… Read the rest

One bit of good news though: UKIP did very badly in the elections and Tommy Robinson and (wait for it) yes Carl Benjamin got hosed.

Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin, also known as his YouTube name Sargon of Akkad, was also hit with milkshakes (and fish) on the campaign trail.

His policies were overshadowed by controversy over rape “jokes” he directed at Labour MP Jess Phillips, for which he refused to apologise.

Mr Benjamin appeared with right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been condemned for his remarks on subjects including feminism, paedophilia, trans people, race and religion, and has called for journalists to be shot.

He failed to win a seat in South West England, where Ukip won just

Eleven people have died on Everest so far this year.

Mountaineers have suggested difficult weather conditions, a lack of experience and the growing commercialization of expeditions as contributing factors to the backlog.

British climber Robin Haynes Fisher was one of those who had warned of the dangers of overcrowding.

“With a single route to the summit, delays caused by overcrowding could prove fatal so I am hopeful my decision to go for the 25th will mean fewer people. Unless of course everyone else plays the same waiting game,” he wrote in a captioned Instagram post on May 19.

He’s one of the eleven; he died on the way down.

During the week beginning May 20, crowds of climbers became

What happens if the forced birth lunatics do prevail and Brett Kavanaugh & co do overturn Roe v Wade and all those state laws banning abortion become law?

None of the restrictions have gone into effect, either because of delays built into the legislation itself or legal challenges. If they do, they’ll spark an unintentional, vast experiment in public health. Already, states with the most restrictions on access to abortions are also those with the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality. The connection isn’t direct—abortion access can be a kind of proxy for access to all sorts of pre- and postnatal health care, not to mention correlating roughly with better-funded education systems, lower poverty rates, and tighter environmental regulation.

A ratchet in the stupid:

If you only ask someone’s pronouns if they ‘look trans’, you are expressing transphobia – EVERYONE looks transgender.

Tomorrow’s ratchet will be something about how transphobic it is to ask anyone’s pronouns.… Read the rest

Today’s blowup:

https://twitter.com/HJJoyceEcon/status/1133030006710558721

What’s that? Jon Ronson? Surely not.

But yes.

https://twitter.com/glosswitch/status/1133067032348569602… Read the rest

A tragic headline:

Mumbai: Protests held over suicide of Dr Payal Tadvi who killed self due to abuse from seniors

Abuse why? Caste.

Payal committed suicide due to alleged casteist abuse in a Mumbai hospital and demanded stringent action against the culprits here on Monday.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) and other student organisations staged vociferous protests against the recent suicide of a post-graduate woman medical student due to alleged casteist abuse in a Mumbai hospital and demanded stringent action against the culprits here on Monday.

“This is the first time in Maharashtra that any post-graduate medico has taken the extreme step of ending her life after alleged harassment on grounds of her caste background,” Maharashtra Association of Resident