To the incredibly brave women all over the world who wear the hijab despite the islamophobia & discrimination that exists, I am proud to be standing with you. The crown on your head is a symbol of our religion & there aren’t enough words to express our gratitude. #WorldHijabDay pic.twitter.com/OJeS3RWfNb

— Yasin (@yescene) February 1, 2019

And yet, he doesn’t wear the “crown” himself. Why is it only the female half who is told to wear it? If it’s a symbol of their religion why doesn’t he wear it? If he’s so grateful why doesn’t he wear it?… Read the rest

The Times (London of that ilk) reports that students are being told they can’t ban speakers for “transphobia.”

Feminists who believe that transgender women are still men should not be barred from speaking at universities because their views do not break the law, students have been told.

What an odd way of putting it. We’re not the ones using our “beliefs” as bludgeons here. It’s not a matter of believing trans women are men, it’s just a matter of acknowledging obvious and slightly banal facts. It’s the people who insist that trans women are women [in every possible sense] who are resorting to beliefs, not the people who say no, the word “trans” isn’t that magical. By the same token … Read the rest

It could be fatal to drive a car with expired tabs in Detroit if you’re not white.

A veteran Detroit police officer has been demoted and reassigned after posting a Snapchat video showing a black woman whose car he had just impounded walking home alone while he and another officer make derogatory remarks about her to each other in the background.

Meanwhile, pre-made captions that say “What black girl magic looks like” and “celebrating Black History Month” appear at the bottom.

A very young woman: a teenage girl. And this was Tuesday night, during the polar vortex.

The Snapchat video, which was first published by ABC affiliate WXYZ, shows the woman walking away down a snow-covered street.

“Priceless,”

It’s time for Bangladesh’s annual book fair…but watch out.

DMP chief warns against publishing books that hurt religious sentiments

Legal action will be taken against writers and publishers if any book hurting religious sentiment or disrupting communal harmony is published at this year’s Amar Ekushey Book Fair, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia has said.

He made the comments while inspecting the security measures at the annual event’s venues—Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka—on Thursday morning.

“We have requested writers and publishers not to bring any book that can hurt religious sentiments, or instigate communal violence,” he said.

Any book that can hurt religious sentiments? That would be almost any book, because people who are determined to find … Read the rest

It was “World Hijab Day” yesterday.

What shall we do next? World Yellow Star Day? World Bound Feet Day? World Chains Day?

I know; many non-Muslims who observe the day don’t think they’re celebrating patriarchal religion and the subordination of women; they think they’re expressing solidarity with Muslims who are subject to racism and xenophobia. In a sense they are doing that, but they’re also expressing solidarity with theocrats who force women to wear hijab, and they’re expressing unsolidarity with women and girls who refuse to wear hijab and those who want to refuse but can’t.

And in the process they are sometimes teaching very young girls that female people need to Cover Up.

I was going to … Read the rest

Pink News, or as so many call it now, Penis News.

“This is a lingerie campaign championing female empowerment, no matter what your size, shape, sexuality, race or gender identity.” https://t.co/A00t9bidIP

— PinkNews (@PinkNews) January 31, 2019

Yaaaaaaaa female empowerment by showing us yer tits what could be more powerfully empowering than that? That’s why porn stars and underwear models have so much power.

Also Munro Bergdorf is a trans woman, and there are about 3.5 billion women I need to hear from on empowerment before I need to hear from Munro Bergdorf in the blond wig and heavy makeup.… Read the rest

Asia Bibi may or may not be reunited with her family in Canada. Sources are not being frank about it because of course there are maniacs who would like to kill her.

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, has arrived in Canada with her husband, her lawyer told German media early Friday.

“She is united with her family,” Saif-ul-Malook told the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. Bibi’s two daughters already live in Canada.

The lawyer did not disclose any further details about Bibi’s departure from Pakistan, citing security reasons.

The lawyer however reportedly refused to confirm the statement after he was contacted by the German Catholic charity

No big deal then?

Women discussed as rape targets by a group of male students at the University of Warwick say they are terrified of seeing the men return to campus after the university reduced the length of their suspension.

Last year five men were barred or suspended by the university over their membership of a long-running group chat that discussed rape and sexual assault of women, including individual students, as well as racism, antisemitism and homophobia.

After a decision from the university’s disciplinary proceedings in June, two of the men were banned from the Warwick campus for 10 years. But it has emerged that, after an appeal, the two will be able to return to the campus from September.

Hmmmm.

If she’s right, “God” has very weird tastes.… Read the rest

Masha Gessen says no, it’s not that Putin is a mastermind of fiendish cunning, it’s that he’s a crook just as Trump is a crook. That’s all. It’s not fancy.

(I kind of knew that, maybe via Masha Gessen. I read or heard someone who would know say that we wildly exaggerate the talents of Putin, that he’s just a very typical and mediocre hack who got lucky.)

We [people who write about Russia] cringed at the characterization of the Russian online influence campaign as “sophisticated” and “vast”: Russian reporting on the matter—the best available—convincingly portrayed the troll operation as small-time and ridiculous. It was, it seems, fraudulent in every way imaginable: it perpetrated fraud on American social networks, creating

Is Trump right that the polar vortex means we need more of that fine fine global warming? Of course not.

The important thing is to look at long-term average temperatures.

The current bone-cracking cold in Chicago is “weather” not “climate”.

The rule of thumb is that weather is what is happening outside your house now; climate is what happens over many years.

So, it can be very cold where you live but the world as a whole could still be getting warmer.

And be in no doubt, says Tim Woolings, the world is continuing to warm.

As Chicago freezes, wildfires are raging in Australia which is in the grip of yet another blistering summer.

And last summer wildfires raged … Read the rest

Sunset yesterday afternoon was a stunner.

The #Seattle sunset tonight is truly amazing!! #WAwx @KSeattleWeather pic.twitter.com/czdarJ9Pq4

— Thomas (@TRButcher) January 31, 2019

https://twitter.com/AckermannArt/status/1090791662287151104

Note Puget Sound mirroring the sky. I have an even better view of that here, because all those tall buildings aren’t in the way.

https://twitter.com/PrestonTVNews/status/1090782363318083584

Washington State Ferry Kitsap sails into the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in West Seattle with an UNBELIEVABLE sunset overcasting Elliott Bay on 1/30/19.

Photo © 2019 David Rosen / SlickPix Photography pic.twitter.com/SvZLd0nveC

— West Seattle Herald (@westseattleher) January 31, 2019

https://twitter.com/Magic_AF/status/1090784538328854528

Seattle, you so pretty. #seattle #sunset #pnw pic.twitter.com/9jotjMVIGf

— Cassidy Rush (@cassidyhrush) January 31, 2019

… Read the rest

Speaking of Mister Coffee and the price of Cheerios, I missed one of Trump’s explosions of stupid a few days ago, before he had to call off the shutdown.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross caused a bit of a stir yesterday during a CNBC interview when he said, in reference to federal workers affected by the government shutdown who’ve turned to food banks. “I don’t really quite understand why.” A few hours later, a reporter asked Donald Trump about Ross’ comments, and the president replied:

“No, I haven’t heard the statement, but I – I do understand perhaps he should set it differently. Local people know who they are when they go for groceries and everything else. And I think