Links - 13th April 2024 (3)

"What Happened To Me In India...": Spanish Tourist Gang-Raped In Jharkhand - "A Spanish tourist, who was allegedly gang-raped while on a bike tour with her husband in Jharkhand's Dumka district, has said she doesn't regret anything about her visit to India. The alleged assault took place on March 2 when the 28-year-old was spending the night with her partner in a makeshift tent. The couple, now back in Spain, spoke to South China Morning Post (SCMP) about the bike trip that took them through 67 countries, and their experience in India.  "I think everyone in the world expects me to say 'Don't go to India', but life is far more complicated than that. What happened to me in India could have happened anywhere else. Not so long ago, a couple travelling in Belize, in Central America, the same thing happened to them," the woman told SCMP.  "My advice to women is to get out of the house, travel and do so without fear. If you are going to camp, it should be in a place not too far from the road where you can easily call for help and have a signal for your phone," she added."
The feminist cope is that sexual assault is at least as high in Western countries, if not higher, so there's a lot of under-reporting

Man in Thailand goes on rampage in temple, dies after being impaled by Buddha statue - "A man in Thailand who went on a violent rampage at a temple in the Chonburi province died after being impaled by a Buddha statue.   On Feb 27, the 49-year-old man, who went by the name Ek, had taken methamphetamine in the temple with his friend - a monk at the temple who goes by the name Best, reported Thai media outlet Thaiger... According to investigations, he had tried to climb and deface the largest statue in the hall but slipped and fell, landing on the sharp end of another statue below, South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday (March 13).  The statue's head had pierced his heart and lungs...   Best told the police that he took drugs with Ek and agreed to leave the monkhood for his misconduct."

'I was so consumed by work': DBS CEO Piyush Gupta reflects on career failures, gives tips on navigating setbacks - "Work-life balance can be a real conundrum for many - especially for those who are at the starting point of their careers.  For Piyush Gupta, the chief executive of DBS Group, giving up his interests to pursue his career is one of his many regrets in life.  In a TikTok video shared by DBS on Wednesday (April 19) the 63-year-old said: "I made that mistake in my twenties and thirties… I was so consumed by work and did nothing else.  "It's one of my biggest regrets in life. I found it very hard to go back and pick up what I have left along the way."... Gupta advised against giving up one's interests just to focus on work.   "If you like music, find some time for it," Gupta said. "Keep your interests going. These anchor you. And in these times of anxiety, you need [them] to hold on as you go ahead.""

Short film shows why a world without secrets would end up badly - "This surreal short film shows how life in a western saloon changes dramatically thanks to the malicious influence of a smart-ass voiceover. The voice reveals all the thoughts from the villagers dragging them into a true ballet of death. The film, directed by Erick Kissack, features the voice of Nick Offerman."

Officer confuses a falling acorn for a gunshot — here is why it can easily happen again - "Early in 2024, body-worn camera footage was released showing a Florida deputy mistaking a falling acorn striking his vehicle with the sound of a gunshot. He then shot several rounds at the handcuffed and unarmed prisoner sitting in the patrol car... Law enforcement officers will watch the viral video, criticize the actions of the deputy and share silly memes of acorns on their social media feeds — but they will not learn a thing. The reason is that perhaps no investigation into the “why” will be conducted.  The deputy’s agency completed an investigation looking for policy violations and found them. The local prosecutor’s office completed an investigation looking for criminal violations and declined to charge the deputy. But who is investigating why this happened? Who is examining the human factors or whether training played a role? In plain terms, we may never get to know why this happened and how to avoid this happening again because no one may be asking why. The deputy himself is not incentivized to share his story with researchers, and neither is the agency because it will all be used against them in the inevitable civil lawsuit. If this had been an aviation mishap, the authorities would come in and investigate the “why.” The investigation would culminate in a report that the aviation industry could read and learn from. There would be data on things like how many hours the pilot slept in the preceding nights. The industry would then use the findings to make changes in training and procedures. Wouldn’t it be amazing if law enforcement mishaps were studied like that instead of only being analyzed for fault? Just think of how much the profession could advance! Certainly, the other investigations (administrative and criminal) needed to be conducted but it’s tragic that those are where the investigations stop. So, what are officers left to do? Many officers have watched the video and posted their criticism on social media. They believe they would never have taken such action. But without a robust analysis of what occurred, how can any of us say for certain how things like priming, post-traumatic stress, sleep deprivation or any number of other factors might impact our decision-making?  Some commentors on social media posted things like, “This guy never should have been a cop! Why are they hiring people like this?” implying the deputy lacked the kind of mental acuity or stress tolerance needed to be a cop. Those same commentors may be shocked to learn the deputy in this case was a graduate of West Point, an officer in the US Army’s Special Forces and was twice deployed to tours in Afghanistan. Without knowing more, the deputy certainly seems like someone with the proper background to thrive in a high-stress environment. Some commented that the deputy’s agency had delt with several life-threatening incidents in the time preceding the shooting and suggested those incidents played a role.  Unfortunately, we may never get to know. We may never have a chance to learn from this incident beyond whatever assumptions can be gleaned simply from watching the video. Certainly, the video does tell us a lot and we can and should learn from it. But, if you were captured on video in a highly controversial shooting, I bet you would say that the video doesn’t tell the whole story. The agency’s investigative report concluded that the deputy subjectively believed he had been shot but it wasn’t objectively reasonable for him to use deadly force. Wouldn’t it be good for the rest of us to know what factors caused the deputy to honestly believe he was shot, even believing his own legs were no longer functioning properly? This deputy, like every cop, is a human, with human performance capabilities, fallibilities and limitations. Because we all have brains, we must understand how those brains work and what causes our fallible brains to believe things that aren’t true. With any luck, this agency will be one of those very rare organizations that does take a look at the why and then allows the rest of us to learn from this mishap."

Users ditch Glassdoor, stunned by site adding real names without consent - "Glassdoor, where employees go to leave anonymous reviews of employers, has recently begun adding real names to user profiles without users' consent, a Glassdoor user named Monica was shocked to discover last week... Glassdoor's support team would take the real name that she provided in her support email and add it to her Glassdoor profile—despite Monica repeatedly and explicitly not consenting to Glassdoor storing her real name. Although it's common for many online users to link services at sign-up to Facebook or Gmail accounts to verify identity and streamline logins, for years, Glassdoor has notably allowed users to sign up for its service anonymously. But in 2021, Glassdoor acquired Fishbowl, a professional networking app that integrated with Glassdoor last July. This acquisition meant that every Glassdoor user was automatically signed up for a Fishbowl account. And because Fishbowl requires users to verify their identities, Glassdoor's terms of service changed to require all users to be verified. While users can remain anonymous, this change raises some potential concerns about data privacy and anonymity... "Glassdoor now requires your real name and will add it to older accounts without your consent if they learn it, and your only option is to delete your account," Monica's blog warned. "They do not care that this puts people at risk with their employers. They do not care that this seems to run counter to their own data-privacy policies." Monica soon discovered that deleting her Glassdoor account would not prevent them from storing her name, instead only deactivating her account. She decided to go through with a data erasure request, which Glassdoor estimated could take up to 30 days. In the meantime, her name remained on her profile, where it wasn't publicly available to employers but could be used to link her to job reviews if Glassdoor introduced a bug in an update or data was ever breached, she feared."

Scientists unravel mystery of the loose shoelace - "In a series of experiments involving a human runner on a treadmill and a mechanical leg designed to swing and stomp, the scientists revealed that shoelace knot failure happens in a matter of seconds, triggered by a complex interaction of forces.  Oliver O’Reilly, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California Berkeley and the study’s senior author, said: “It’s unpredictable but when it happens, it’s in two or three strides and it’s catastrophic. There’s no way of coming back from it.”  This article is more than 6 years old Scientists unravel mystery of the loose shoelace This article is more than 6 years old  Researchers discover how laces come undone and offer alternative way to tie them that does knot involve your granny Hannah Devlin Science correspondent Wed 12 Apr 2017 00.15 BST Last modified on Mon 2 Jul 2018 14.53 BST 345  Things can start to unravel at any moment, but when failure occurs it is swift and catastrophic. This is the conclusion of a scientific investigation into what might be described as Sod’s law of shoelaces.  The study focused on the mysterious phenomenon by which a shoe is neatly and securely tied one moment, and the next a flapping lace is threatening to trip you up – possibly as you are running for the bus or striding with professional purpose across your open-plan office.  In a series of experiments involving a human runner on a treadmill and a mechanical leg designed to swing and stomp, the scientists revealed that shoelace knot failure happens in a matter of seconds, triggered by a complex interaction of forces.  Oliver O’Reilly, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California Berkeley and the study’s senior author, said: “It’s unpredictable but when it happens, it’s in two or three strides and it’s catastrophic. There’s no way of coming back from it.”  The study found that the stomping of the foot gradually loosens the knot while the whipping forces produced by the swing of the foot act like hands tugging on the ends of the laces. As the tension in the knot eases and the free ends start to slide, a runaway effect takes hold and the knot suddenly unravels.  The findings also revealed what knot experts, such as sailors and surgeons, have long suggested: that the granny knot many of us use to tie our laces comes undone far quicker than an alternative method that is no more complex... The scientist enlisted a pair of PhD students and initial tests revealed that sitting on a chair and swinging your leg or stamping your foot does not generally cause a knot to come undone. It appeared to be a combination of both motions that conspired to unravel laces. Next, the scientists captured slow-motion video of a runner on a treadmill. They found that the foot strikes the ground at seven times the force of gravity and as the fabric of the shoe squashes down on impact, extra lace is freed at the top of the shoe, causing the knot to loosen slightly with each stride. Meanwhile, the swinging leg causes the lace’s free ends to whip back and forth tugging them outwards. As the knot loosens, the friction holding the knot tight decreases, and as the free ends lengthen, the whipping force goes up, leading to an avalanche effect."

Meme - "Two people I'm yet to see in the same room *Ben Shapiro* *Dylan Mulvaney*"

Nigerian Islamic police in Kano arrest non-fasting Muslims during Ramadan - "He added that the search operations would continue but said that non-Muslims were exempt.  "We don't arrest non-Muslims because this doesn't concern them and the only time they could be guilty of a crime is when we find out they cook food to sell to Muslims that are supposed to be fasting."  Regarding those who were arrested he said that they were freed after promising to start fasting from now on and "for some of them we had to see their relatives or guardians in order to have family monitor them". Just over two decades ago, Sharia was introduced to work alongside secular law in 12 of Nigeria's northern states that all have a majority Muslim population."

Meme - Daily Beagle: "Spider-Man kills bird!"
Peter Parker: "I SURVIVED ANOTHER NEWSPAPER. FINALLY, I CAN RELAX WITH MY MANY GIRLFRIEND."
*Peter in Diner with Betty Brant, Cindy Moon/Silk, Gwen Stacey, Mary Jane, Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, with all of them having root beer floats*
"PARKER!"

Meme - Garett Jones @GarettJones: "Name other scholars beside Oppenheimer who spent their later years running away from their early work"
kira @kirawontmiss: "the creator of the flappy bird game"
Dong Nguyen: "I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I I cannot take this anymore."

another fine mess I've gotten myself into - "Anti-revenge narrative this, anti-revenge narrative that, I personally think that Inigo Montoya had the right idea when he stabbed Count Rugen in the gut and said "I want my father back, you son of a bitch""
"A lot of revenge arcs end with the hero saying “there’s nothing you can do to bring my loved one back, so me seeking revenge is pointless.” The Princess Bride’s revenge arc ends with Inigo Montoya saying “there’s nothing you can do to bring my loved one back, so there’s nothing that can save you.”"

We can't even beat S'pore, I quit: Chinese football team captain after 2-2 World Cup qualifiers match - "While Singaporeans cheered on the Lions' 2-2 draw against China during the World Cup 2026 qualifiers on Mar. 21, 2024 at the National Stadium, the mood from the other side of the pitch was not as celebratory.  In particular, the Chinese football team's captain, Zhang Linpeng, has decided to quit the national team... "We couldn't even defeat the Singapore team. I think it's unacceptable, and I find it humiliating." While Singaporeans praised the Lions' performance, Chinese online commenters found the Chinese team "disappointing"."

Meme - "Dragon's Dogma 2 Director Dislikes Fast Travel: "All You Have To Do ls Make Travel Fun"
"Downloadable Content. This content requires the base game Dragon's Dogma 2 on Steam in order to play. Buy Dragon's Dogma 2: Portcrystal - Warp Location Marker. $2.99"

Blaine Smith on X - "Twitter Bullshit: You have to pay real money to fast travel in Dragon's Dogma 2
Reality: Oxcarts take you to every major city, are unlocked automatically at the start of the game, and cost an average 200g. Fast Travel crystals can be purchased in-game for 10,000g and also found on enemies/as rewards.
You can be attacked while riding an Oxcart but otherwise, you can skip the entire journey and traverse almost the entire map in 60 seconds."
Tony D on X - "I made the point that it should not be a paid microtransaction if it can easily be obtainable in game. Practices like this should NOT be acceptable or dismissed because other companies may adopt the same philosophy. THAT’S THE ISSUE."

Meme - TheQuartering @TheQuartering: "You have to pay $2 every time you want to make a new character or edit your character in Dragon's Dogma 2  It's a SINGLE player game!!  A $70 game also you have to PAY for fast travel.......  Wanted to try this one, but there no way"

Oldschool_Navy on X - "My Kid: Can I keep the night light on?
Me: And provide the monsters with a beacon to your location? Use your head, sweetie."

Meme - "It didn't happen"
"It's going to happen again"
"They deserved it"
*Gigachad at intersection of all 3*
My guess is that this is alt-right anti-Semitism about the Holocaust

Maryland 20-Year-Old Dies Never Having Aged - "Brooke Greenberg, who baffled scientists because she never aged, has died at the age of 20, never having developed beyond the physical size of an infant or the mental capacity of a 2-year-old. The daughter of Howard and Melanie Greenberg from Reisterstown, Md., Brooke is one of about a dozen children in the world who have what some call syndrome X -- a kind of Benjamin Button disorder that prevents them from aging... only her hair and fingernails grew.  In her first six years, Brooke went through a series of medical emergencies from which she recovered, often without explanation. She survived surgery for seven perforated stomach ulcers. She had a brain seizure followed by what was diagnosed as a stroke that, weeks later, had left no apparent damage.  At 4, she fell into a lethargy that caused her to sleep for 14 days. Then, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor, and the Greenbergs bought a casket for Brooke... Not only do the people he's studying have a growth rate of one-fifth the speed of others, but they live with a variety of other medical problems, including deafness, the inability to walk, eat or even speak."
From 2013

15 "Italian" foods that don't exist in Italy - "Combinations of chicken and pesto, chicken and pasta, or chicken and pizza... At All’antico Vinaio in Florence, a famous sandwich shop, there is even a sign near the door that says “no pesto,” probably because of too many American tourists coming to Italy and trying to recreate their favorite sandwich from Panera... Seu Pizza Illuminati had a pizza topped with chicken and peppers on their Summer 2020 menu, so you may find that modern restaurants and pizzerias play with the aforementioned combos, but they’re still not super common.   In other exceptions to the rules, my sweetheart was once in Genoa and texted me to tell me that he was at a place that served chicken and pesto (him texting me about food is my version of a love note) so it does exist, it’s just rare.
Bonus nope: Chicken Parmesan... What you will find: parmigiana di melanzane  Fear not, because you can get parmigiana di melanzane, or simply parmigiana (eggplant parmesan). And you should get it, because yum.
Fettuccine Alfredo (well, sort of)... there are two restaurants in Rome that claim to have invented this dish – Il Vero Alfredo and Alfredo alla Scrofa. They’re close together in the area near the Spanish Steps.  The original version of fettuccine alfredo has just two ingredients: butter and parmigiano. No cream, no chicken, no funny business.  The interesting part is that both restaurants claim the same origin story for the dish, stating that it was created to nourish a pregnant or postpartum female family member, and then became famous when two famous American actors, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, tasted the dish while honeymooning in Rome...   Anyway, if you’re eating at any restaurant besides these two in Rome and want something creamy and delicious, try a carbonara, or a cacio e pepe. Just don’t ask for chicken in either of them. Play it safe and don’t talk about chicken at all, guys.
Hawaiian pizza.  The thought of pineapple on pizza is a thing that traumatizes many, many Italians... If you’re craving a salty-sweet/meat-fruit combo, get prosciutto e melone (prosciutto with cantaloupe), which is commonly on menus in the warm weather.
Note: Since originally writing this post, I have encountered pineapple on pizza in Rome at an aperitivo at a fancy hotel, and it was disgusting.
Pepperoni pizza. Ok, this is a tricky one, because pepperoni pizza sort of exists, but if you order a “pepperoni pizza” you’re going to get something that surprises you. Peperoni in Italian are bell peppers (or capsicum, for my friends Down Under), not pepperoni as in spicy little circles of processed meat. What you will find: pizza alla diavola.  If you want a pepperoni pizza, you should order una pizza alla diavola, or, a pizza of the devil, (spicy food here is usually “of the devil,” or sometimes arrabbiata, “angry”) which comes with salame piccante on it (spicy salami).
Bonus note: Italian pizza. While on the topic of pizza, it’s important to point out that here, it usually doesn’t have a whole mess of toppings, and it’s not really customary to make adjustments...
Oil and vinegar for dipping bread before dinner...You should resist the urge to fill up on bread, anyway. Save it for the end of your meal so you can “fare la scarpetta,” aka use the bread to swipe up all the leftover sauce from your pasta.
Cappuccino after a meal...   My reader kindly pointed out that cappuccino or caffè latte in the afternoon is something that people might have as a merenda, or snack. So, it’s not the time of day that matters, it’s the proximity to meal time.  I believe it has to do with the amount of milk in a cappuccino or caffè latte on a full stomach that people find off-putting. It’s true – I can’t imagine having a cappuccino after eating a carbonara...
Garlic bread. I know, I know. Garlic bread is very good, but it is not very Italian.
What you will find: bruschetta or crostini all’aglio. Again, fear not, because you can get a bruschetta with aglio (garlic), and you’ll probably never want to eat garlic bread again, because the bruschetta will be delicious!... A reader also told me that in his home town of Mirandola in Emilia, you can get stria con aglio, which is, as he said “a thin pizza-like bread topped with chopped garlic."...
On a recent trip to Abruzzo, I nearly cried when I saw Chitarrine alla Teramana on the menu, which is basically spaghetti and meatballs... A reader also informed me that similar dishes are also made in the south, but they’re usually family recipes made by older generations at home rather than being served at restaurants. You may also find lasagne with mini-meatballs in the south, too.  Meatballs are common on menus in many cities, just not with pasta. In Veneto, they’re often served as a “cicheto,” which is a little snack one has with one’s evening spritz during aperitivo...
Mozzarella sticks with tomato sauce... What you will find: mozzarelline.  Mozzarelline are little fried balls of mozzarella that are served as fritti, or fried appetizers, at pizzerias all over Italy.  I’ve never had them served with any kind of sauce, but that doesn’t mean that some places don’t serve them that way."

The correlation between the decline of Italian food and the country's economy - "food in Italy has become mediocre, exactly like the sloppy lasagne I tasted when I first arrived in the UK. With a very few exceptions made of highly rated, and I am not talking about Tripadvisor’s ratings, and expensive restaurants or small, hidden eating places, difficult to find, often located in uninhabited villages, run by husband and wife where there is barely a menu, offering one and only one option, but where the food is still great, it has become very difficult to find good places to eat. Italy has an advantage, it has the ingredients. Italian soil is fertile and the sun does the rest, and every chef will agree with me when I say that when the ingredients are fresh and in season, the food has plenty of flavour. In the UK unfortunately we do not have the same luck; most of the ingredients are imported. However, despite the availability of the ingredients, the advantage, food in Italy has become very average. Driving through an Italian village is no different than driving through a UK village or city, plenty of boards inviting diners in with unbelievable low prices, eating out is now cheaper than buying the ingredients. Whether touristic resorts or small villages, there is no difference, and Italians have got used to this, their palate has changed and I believe, for the worse. Italian supermarkets are no different, with people queuing to buy extra virgin Italian oil costing a couple of euros made with olives from Greece or Morocco or Eastern Europe when Italian olive growers are struggling to sell theirs. Italian cities have been flooded with hard discounters forcing small, independent, deli shops out of business. When at university in Rome, each street had a small deli, “l’alimentare”, where Italians would go to get a panino for lunch: fresh bread and freshly sliced ham. Only to get there, the aromas on the street when approaching the deli and inside the shop, was a joy, almost better than sex, not the pre packed, tasteless, cold flavourless tuna sandwich that has now taken its place. My friend Bruno, from a village near mine in Abruzzo, when he first came to England and opened its restaurant put a big sign outside saying “orgasmic food here”, and he kept repeating it to all diners visiting its restaurant in his English with a strong Abruzzo’s accent. Great food is good for the mind as well as the body and science confirms it. These changes in eating habits have affected not just restaurants, but the whole chain, from top to bottom, from producers that have been forced to look for cheaper ingredients, ingredients that had to be imported, to employment. Funnily enough, the Italian trade body, has recently launched an initiative against what they call “Italian sounding names” given to products made all over the world other than Italy with names that sound exactly like the original and labels with images of the Coliseum or the Pisa’s lining tower, wrongly thinking that by removing the “copies”, the originals will fly off the shelves. Until poor quality products are allowed to be made by Italian companies, sales will not improve. Consumers choose with their palate and if the taste is the same, why paying more, only because it says “made in Italy”? I believe there is a strong correlation between the nation’s economy, and I would add the quality of the politicians running the country, and the decline of Italian food, in Italy and abroad. Not only, the dramatic economic situation the country has been living for the last forty years has reduced the income available for Italians to spend in food and wine, but it also has profoundly affected their mental and physical health. Italians in the last twenty years have been constantly fighting for survival, fighting to meet ends. Italians were famous for the “bella vita” or the “joy de vivre” as the French calls it; this is now gone, the only evidence left of that way of living is the movie “La dolce vita” from the great Federico Fellini."

Meme - "In questa osteria non serviamo:
Spaghetti con le polpette
Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine alla bolognese
Lasagna
Cappuccino
In this restaurant we don't serve
Spaghetti with Meatballs
Fettuccine Alfredo Style
Fettuccine Bolognese style
Lasagna
and
Cappuccino."

The Inside Story of How Palestinians Took Over the World

The Inside Story of How Palestinians Took Over the World

"The brilliant Palestinian plan to capture the pliable minds of American college students was laid out in front of me 25 years ago, during a very sinister business meeting in Israel. 

It was around the time of the Oslo Accords. I had been hired by the Ford Foundation to create a marketing institute for their grantees in the country. Ford was funding the operations of both Jewish and Arab organizations within the Israeli green line, in an effort to help build a vibrant liberal civil society...

When we interviewed the Jewish organizations, the atmosphere was almost giddy with hope, possibility and belief in Shimon Peres’s new Middle East. Each organization we interviewed talked excitedly about peace and co-existence, a flourishing economy among both the Jews and the Palestinians, collaborative projects and interchanges. 

But when we interviewed the Arab organizations, the word “peace” never passed their lips. They spoke of independence, dignity, self-rule, a state. One person even told me she would never use the word “du-kiyum” (co-existence). “There is no such thing as co-existence,” she stressed. “We are just the tenants living on the property that the Jews now own. That’s not a balanced co-existence.” 

I tried to explain to my fellow Jewish liberals that we — the Jews and the Arabs — were having two very separate conversations. We were talking “peace.” They were talking “independence.” But as the weeks of interviews progressed, I found the Arab organizations were talking about a whole lot more. 

I asked hard questions of both the Jews and Arabs in the interviewing process. With the Arab organizations, when I brought up any  sensitive, and not-so-sensitive, issues—like terrorism, cooperation and even budget—the interviewee would slam on the brakes. 

And then from each organization, the same words were spoken: “When you are in Haifa meeting with Itijaa, you can ask that question to Ameer Makhoul.” Itijaa was an Arab civil rights organization. Ameer Makhoul was its executive director. It became clear to me that Ameer Makhoul had some type of control over all the Arab NGOs I was speaking to. 

Finally, Debra and I arrived at the offices of Itijaa. Skinny, bespectacled, young Ameer Makhoul emerged from his office, took a look at me and said, “So this is the Gary Wexler who has been asking all the questions.” And then he ticked off every question I had asked along with the name of each person I had posed the question to. 

He brought us into his office and began pacing. “So, Gary Wexler, let me answer your questions in the following way. One: Gary Wexler, who is sitting in front of me now, went to Los Angeles City College for two years where you were an Israel activist and editor of the school newspaper. You wrote a lot about Israel. And continued to do so at California State University, Northridge. You spent five summers as a volunteer on Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar. Through your marketing agency, Passion Marketing, you service the following clients of the Jewish world and in Israel.”  He named every one.

I knew this guy was trouble. 

“And now, Gary Wexler,” he sat down, “let me give you more direct answers.” He looked me straight in the eye. “Just like you were a Zionist campus activist, we will create, over the next years, Palestinian campus activists in America and all over the world. Bigger and better than any Zionist activists. Just like you spent your summers on the kibbutz, we will bring college students to spend their summers in refugee camps and work with our people. Just like you have been part of creating global pro-Israel organizations, we will create global pro-Palestinian organizations. Just like you today help create PR campaigns and events for Israel, so will we, but we will get more coverage than you ever have.”   

He stood again this time, right over me. “You wonder how we will make this happen, how we will pay for this? Not with the money from your liberal Jewish organizations who are now funding us. But from the European Union, Arab and Muslim governments, wealthy Arab people and their organizations. Eventually, we will not take another dollar from the Jews.” 

Then he approached real close. “What do you think of this?”

I took a breath. I remained professional. “Nothing. I’m here on behalf of the Ford Foundation collecting information for a planned marketing institute.” 

He came even closer. “I am asking what does Gary Wexler think of what I just said. You, Gary Wexler.”

I repeated my answer. 

He came even closer. “I ask again. What does Gary Wexler think of what I just said.” 

Debra and I got up. I took my writing pad. “I feel that you are threatening me and we are leaving.” 

The next morning I received a call from the program officer at the Ford Foundation. “Gary, we have a problem. We received a call from Ameer Makhoul and we understand you spewed out all sorts of Zionist propaganda and he felt very threatened by you.” 

I told him it was a lie. 

The program officer continued to press me as to what I had said. I related the conversation word for word. He repeated what Ameer Makhoul had said. I told him to call Debra London who was with me through the entire interview, and verify it with her. I also told him that they better check their funding to these Arab organizations, because Ameer Makhoul appeared to be controlling all of them with some very hateful behaviors...

Several years later, I learned Ameer Makhoul had been arrested by the Israelis as a spy for Syria. 

As the years went on, I began to see what Ameer Makhoul had laid out to me taking shape. The PR coverage was first: The Muhammad al-Durrah incident in Gaza, when a 12-year-old boy was shot to death on the second day of the Second Intifada, capturing global headlines. The Mavi Marmara, the Turkish Flotilla to Gaza that the Israelis stormed, killing several Palestinian activists, grabbing global headlines. I knew the Mavi Marmara was manufactured for the exposure it would gain. 

Then the campuses: The creation of Apartheid Week worldwide. The growth of BDS. The student volunteers who began by the thousands to work in the Palestinian territories and its refugee camps. The shocking creation of anti-Zionist Jewish student groups. 

As an award-winning copywriter and creative director in ad agencies and a professor of Communication at USC, I have developed an intuitive antenna to detect similarities between writing styles, idea styles and conceptual creation. In the early years of this pro-Palestinian campaign, I could see the commonalities of excellence, style and manipulation across all their platforms. Teaching on a university campus gave me a front-row seat at this theater of darkening skies.

People of color, particularly antisemitic Black groups like BLM, were organizing to identify with the Palestinians. Many organizations representing people seen as oppressed were moved to identify with the Palestinians. Students of every variety were swayed. I could see the commonalities of language creation and transfer — my field — being applied to the Jews. Many of them were old antisemitic tropes into which new life was being breathed:  

Israel and Jews are colonialists just like other white oppressors around the world. Israel is an apartheid society, the same as South Africa was. 

Jews have white privilege, even though more than 50% of Jews are dark-skinned people from the Arab world, Iran and Africa. 

Jews hold power in media and banking, making them the enemy.  

Jews center themselves as capitalists and donors. 

Jews don’t hold space for anyone but themselves. 

Jews need to be held accountable for the pain they are causing.  

If you challenged any of this you were a racist, the worst thing you could possibly be accused of. 

(Except if you are racist against Jews. Then you prove you are a true ally of the oppressed.) 

Our enemies have had a real success.  They have formed a winning international communication army with trained troops everywhere. 

Israeli writer, producer and former antisemitism envoy Noa Tishby recently said that students, particularly Jewish ones who are protesting against Israel, have been “played,” but I don’t know if even she understands the background and extent of it. They haven’t just been played, they’ve been turned. Many of them are alumni of Jewish day schools and camps. Those students believe they have joined the other side because they were the victims of a propagandized Zionist education and have now seen the light. No, they are the victims of a propagandized, slow, well-crafted plan, laid out to me by Ameer Makhoul. 

And what has been the Jewish world’s response to all of this?  

Funders are now putting up pro-Jewish and pro-Israel billboards in American cities. As if a clever one-line message can combat all these brilliant, strategized organizing efforts on behalf of our enemies. 

Others are organizing TikTok and Twitter troops. But that work is in response to the playing field that has been established and won by the enemies of the Jewish people. We show ourselves in a defensive mode. We are playing on the field they have drawn. We need to draw our own, in a very big way...

American Jews are sending cans of food and socks to Israel while the Palestinians are conceptualizing bigger and better worldwide actions. We’re still fighting and demonizing one another. Many organizations have not yet woken up that it is no longer business as usual."

 

Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 on X

"In case you’re wondering how it so happened that Palestinian terror ideology was sugarcoated as freedom fighting and hand-fed to liberal college students as a just cause— it was all planned, planted, and executed precisely.

Young American liberals are easy to play. Reality is what it is."

Links - 13th April 2024 (2 - General Wokeness)

'How Dune: Part Two erases its MENA and Muslim influences'
Of course, if it had been more explicity so, it'd have been racist, Islamophobic and ethnocentric, as well as cultural appropriation
So much for being able to do whatever you want in fiction. Of course, what the left mean by that is that their agenda must be shoved in everywhere

Hussein Aboubakr Mansour on X - "Decolonization, once a slogan of African dictators and Middle Eastern eternal leaders, has become the ethos of radicals intent on dismantling American culture, learning, art, literature, and public spaces.  Palestine, once the opioid choice by Arab dictators to be deployed against the illiterate masses, is now an elite social justice cause in Hollywood and the Bay Area.  Critical Theory, once an esoteric development in German intellectual history, is now the subject of unprecedented laws all over the country trying to regulate educational content and a topic around which suburban soccer moms fight.  Your truth and my narrative, once the hallucinations of  French misanthropic intellectuals, are now the default mindset of young Americans.  Yet, yet, very educated Americans, very intelligent, are still talking, and writing books, about American cultural history as a fantastically self-contained world and whether we should blame our current tragedy of identity politics and self-destruction on a straight line from the civil rights movement or from the foundations of American liberalism itself.  Reminds me of the joke of the Muslim intellectuals who spent their lives trying to spoon-feed their masses Marxism, and after their societies collapsed to rubbles, they cried regrettably about how the problem always was that Islam is so fantastically self-contained in its monstrous similarity to Leninism."

HIV Is No Longer a Death Sentence. But States Still Have Laws Targeting People Who Live With It - "Over the years, critics say, these laws have become another tool to criminalize Black people, LGBTQ+ people, and sex workers."
memetic_sisyphus on X - "Activists coming out against laws requiring you to notify any sexual partner that you are HIV+ reveals the truth behind comprehensive sex education. It’s always been about making it culturally acceptable to have anonymous sex without consequences."
Left wing logic: stealthing is awful but concealing your HIV status is fine and if you object, you're a bigot

Meme - i/o @eyeslasho: "In survey after survey — in matters ranging from mental health to viewpoint intolerance to threat perception — women who self-identify as "very liberal" seem to be a breed apart — a unique classification of human being, almost a different species."
"Percent of Women Reporting Experience of Sexual Harassment. 72% of extremely liberal women, 47% of liberal women, 45% of slightly liberal women, 44% of moderate or middle of the road women, 38% of slightly conservative women, 27% of conservative women, 28% of extremely conservative women"
Clearly, the extremely liberal women are definitely right and even liberal, slightly liberal and moderate women just have internalised patriarchy and don't recognise when they're being sexually harassed. Higher neuroticism, among other things, can't have anything to do with it
This ties into how in other contexts, left wingers treat disagreement with them as "harassment"

CK32 on X - "For extremely liberal women, even another person breathing next to them is sexual harassment. They are a bunch of highly insecure people for whom almost everything is a threat and attempt at sexual harassment. And they also tend to play the victim of sexual harassment everywhere. These people are extremely dangerous as they are likely to randomly accuse anyone of sexual harassment just to play the victim. Because of this most self respecting men would avoid them and stay away from them and wouldn’t come to their aid for the fear of being accused of sexual harassment.   Conservative women on the other hand are strong and confident women who know how to command the respect they deserve from other people. These women are mostly well respected there will be men ready to fight for and protect them. Hence these women are less likely to face sexual harassment."
Joey Katzen on X - "Recently, people who identify strongly as Liberal/Left seem especially focused on victimhood. It wasn’t always this way. It’s like all the big important cultural fights were won and thought leaders needed something more to shoot for and trapped themselves in perceived misery."
HMSP on X - "Part of that is their absurd standard as to what constitutes “sexual harassment”. Many modern leftist women believe being asked out on a date by a man when they aren’t interested constitutes sexual harassment."
Dagny Taggart-Galt on X - "Another possibility is that very liberal men (whom these women would likely be hanging out with) are more likely to harass women than men with more conservative/traditional values."

Meme - "The Economist/YouGov Poll November 5 - 7, 2017 - 1500 US Adults
87. Consider sexual harassment - A man asking a woman out for a drink
Which of the following would you consider to be sexual harassment if a man, who was not a romantic or sexual partner or friend, did them to a woman?
Always sexual harassment - 4% male, 3% female, 7% 18-29, 4% 30-44, 3% 45-65, 1% 65+, 2% White, 7% Black, 3% Hispanic, 10% Other
5% Dem, 4% Ind, 3% Rep"
Someone claimed no one thinks that a man asking a woman out on a date when she isn't interested is sexual harassment
These are assuredly the same people who think that a man talking to a woman he doesn't know is "catcalling", as per the "viral catcalling video"

i/o on X - "Big 5 Personality traits help explain the phenomenon of female-centric wokeness.   "Women have been found to score higher than men on Neuroticism... [and] score higher than men on... indices of anxiety... Women consistently score higher than men on Agreeableness... Agreeableness comprises traits relating to altruism... [and] the tendency toward cooperation, maintenance of social harmony, and consideration of the concerns of others (as opposed to exploitation or victimization of others).""
Mankosmash on X - "Women are easier to manipulate. Emotional manipulation allows liberals to escape the bonds of reality, logic, & reason that would otherwise bind them."
lightshield222 on X - "TLDR Women are generally more predisposed to caring about others while being more prone to overestimating dangers & are interested in socially conforming to groups. So basically attributes that would suit child-rearing for example then? Shocker 😯"

Kaeley Triller on X - "Yes, Jesus hung out with prostitutes and drunkards and outcasts. Here’s the thing, though- By the time Jesus was finished with these people, they weren’t prostitutes or drunkards or outcasts anymore. We are to align ourselves to His standard, not the other way around."
Clearly, Jesus was woke, because he didn't tell people to stop sinning

Dr. Debra W Soh on Twitter - "Sex differences are now "discriminatory & constitute sexual harassment." This will set scientific research back 50 years"
Dr Jordan B Peterson on X - "Is pointing out that women are more prone to depression (beginning at age 12) also discriminatory?"

HBCU President Reinstated After Cleared Of Bullying Inquiry - "The president of Lincoln University, an HBCU in Jefferson City, Missouri, has been reinstated after being cleared from bullying claims surrounding an administrator’s suicide.  The independent investigation into John Moseley followed the Jan. 8 suicide of Lincoln’s administrator Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey. The Guardian reports the inquiry found no substantial evidence that Moseley bullied Candia-Bailey, who killed herself in January, sending shockwaves throughout the campus...   In the wake of Candia-Bailey’s death, a social media campaign of #FireMoseley emerged to remove Moseley as president. Critics called Mosley’s fitness to run a historically Black institution as a white man into question"
Of course, there were left wingers who were very upset about this

Not everything that happens to a Muslim at work is related to religion, tribunal judge rules - "Employment Judge Kirsty Ayre ruled an NHS consultant was not discriminated against after bosses told her to roll up her sleeves at work in line with hygiene rules.  Dr Farhat Butt, who wears a hijab and covers everything other than her hands, feet and face while in public, said she was “racially profiled” and then “bullied” by managers into exposing her forearms... After the length of her fingernails was also criticised, Dr Butt was “unable to continue at work” and cancelled her operating list for the day."

Meme - "WE MUST STOP PROPAGATING ETHNIC STEREOTYPES"
"Me-" *Man in green hat drinking Guinness*

Releasing statistics on racial composition of prison inmate population could deepen stereotypes, says Shanmugam - "Releasing statistics on the racial composition of the prison inmate population and criminal offenders could "deepen" stereotypes, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam... Mr Shanmugam said that the Government has been “careful” about publicly disclosing such data...   “The fact is that minorities are disproportionately represented in the prison inmate population and in crime statistics,” said Mr Shanmugam...   Over time, this could undermine efforts in building “harmonious relations” among all the races and make it harder to achieve racial harmony, Mr Shanmugam added...   “Overall, the community leaders were clear. They said that we should not simply look at racial breakdown, as it would not take into account other contributing factors which could have led to a person committing a crime. It would also detract from the improvements made by the respective communities and we take these views quite seriously.”  Mr Shanmugam explained that any decision by the Government has to be guided by what is in the public interest, including assessing what information should be made public.   “We don’t take an ideological position on these matters. So, in certain respects, releasing data can adversely impact the community and society and this particular question relates to one such example,” he said...   “Through the M3 network, an initiative by Minister Masagos (Zulkifli), we have also released specific statistics on the Malay community, like the number of Malay graduates from institutes of higher learning, number of Malay professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) and the recidivism rate of the Malay inmate population,” he added.  The Government also releases race-based statistics on drug and inhalant abuse through the Central Narcotics Bureau’s (CNB) annual reports, he noted.  “Why do we, for example, release those statistics? We do so to effectively mobilise the communities into action,” said Mr Shanmugam. “By working with the community, we are then able to come up with interventions that are better suited for different communities.”  While releasing data on drug and inhalant abuse could lead to stereotyping, Mr Shanmugam noted that this is where “judgment” comes in. "
Way to say that they're accurate

Meme - "White privilege is people thinking you're less likely to commit a crime"
"Am I?"
"That's not that point!!"

Columbia College and Columbia Engineering to Host Segregated Graduations in May - "Columbia College and Columbia Engineering will host a variety of special graduations based on students’ race and sexual orientation from May 1-15.  These “Multicultural Graduation Celebrations” aim to provide “more intimate settings for students who self-identify in a variety of ways,” according to Columbia’s website... The decision to hold segregated graduation ceremonies in 2021 has attracted criticism, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) commenting on X in reaction to the news: “The endpoint of critical race theory: segregation.”"

Keith Woods on X - "The End of Race: We have all heard the statement "we're all one race, the human race". Yet just a century ago the existence of distinct biological races was taken for granted. How did our perception of race change so drastically?... "Boas did not arrive at the position from a disinterested, scientific inquiry... There is no doubt that he had a deep interest in collecting evidence and designing arguments that would rebut or refute an ideological outlook—racism" - Carl N. Degler. Boas would train a generation of anthropologists that would dominate the newly emergent field of anthropology... While Montagu’s book received mostly negative reviews from other academics, he would have the honour of playing a leading role in UNESCO’s highly influential Committee on The Race Question... The final statement declared the controversial beliefs of the cultural determinists who made up the panel to be scientific fact.  Underlying this historic statement was “widespread revulsion at the Jewish Holocaust.” -David Cannadine, The Undivided Past... the work of many of Boas's students, such as Margaret Mead, was later roundly refuted by other anthropologists as ideologically motivated.  Yet despite their hostile reception among other academics, the Boasian cultural anthropologists won the 20th Century.

'Family-friendly' Pride parade in West Hollywood had men depicting graphic BDSM sexual act - "A gay Pride Parade in California billed as fun for "the whole family" caused a stir online after graphic videos from the parade were shared on social media.  West Hollywood had a three day "WeHo Pride" event last weekend featuring concerts, a street fair, a "Women’s Freedom Festival," and a "dyke march." The event ended with a "WeHo Pride Parade" on Sunday, which was billed as appropriate for the entire family... feminist outlet the Reduxx shared one graphic video from the parade where a nearly nude man was choked and whipped by another man in bondage gear... A journalist who shared their video from the event with the outlet said there were thousands of people lined in the streets and children were present."
Graham Allen on X - "This was a “family parade” in West Hollywood. HOW IS THIS SEXUAL DISPLAY BETWEEN TWO MEN “FAMILY FRIENDLY???”"

Meme - "Last year in NYC, the per capita offending rate:
- 26.5 for black men.
- 11.0 for Hispanic men.
- 2.0 for Asian men.
- 1.6 for white men.
- 1.2 for black women.
Note: The other three groups of women are another order of magnitude lower, not coherent to visualize here.
NYC Murderers per 100,000"
Clearly, there is more racism and sexism against Asian men than there is against black women

Why Did the Dean of the Most Diverse Law School in the Country Cancel Herself? - The New York Times - "Discussing a contentious issue of race and tenure in a committee meeting last fall, she had likened herself to a “slaveholder.”  It was a strange, deeply jarring thing to say, but she had been trying to make the point that her position left her responsible for whatever racial inequities might exist institutionally. What the dean might have regarded as an admission of culpability, some of her colleagues viewed as an expression of the buried prejudices well-intentioned liberals never think they have... the magazine National Jurist had named the CUNY School of Law the most diverse in the country. More than half of first-year students in the current academic cycle identify as Black, Latino, Asian-American or Indigenous; 42 percent of faculty members are people of color.  Decades ago, long before it became commonplace, Ms. Bilek railed against the bar exam and other standardized tests for their disparate impact on low-income students. “Her reputation in the world of deans is that of someone who cares deeply about racial justice,” said Ronald Weich, an assistant attorney general in the Obama administration and the dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law. She had spent much of her career, he pointed out, working to “expand access and to ensure that the legal profession looks like America.”... Kept under wraps, news of all this turmoil reached the student body only last week, and when they discovered what Ms. Bilek had said and done and how long they had been left oblivious, a large and vocal faction did not feel as generously. A petition called for her to leave at once, to pass on the remainder of her salary to the Black Law Students Association and to refrain from coming to graduation. Graduating students also asked that her name not appear on their diplomas in May."
Ironically, the woke blame white people for slavery and view them as still responsible, so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't
The more liberal a place is, the more obsessed they are with maintaining purity and the more they complain about imagined grievances. So giving in to grievance mongering is a losing proposition.

Furor over 'whites only' moms and tots group in Tri-Cites - "Racist signs reportedly advertising a "whites only" moms and tots group is under investigation by RCMP.  The City of Coquitlam states in a news release that it is aware of racist and exclusionary notices, which are "contrary" to community values and confirms that Mounties are looking into the matter.   Port Coquitlam's mayor is also speaking out against the notices and the city has sent out a statement, as well.  Brad West said via social media there is no place for racism in his city in response to a post about a sign advertising a "white's only" playgroup for kids.  "This vile garbage isn't welcome in our community, or anywhere else," wrote Brad West on X, the social media outlet formerly known as Twitter.  West said city bylaw officers went out immediately to remove the sign advertising the playgroup after hearing about it but couldn't find any signs... According to a social media post by Black Vancouver on Sunday, Sept. 24, a sign advertising a "whites only" playgroup was spotted at a bus stop at the intersection of Shaughnessy Street and McAllister Avenue, close to city hall...   Screenshots of the WhitesTri-CitiesParentsandTots Telegram chat, posted by Black Vancouver, show that those interested in the group are asked to make their profile anonymous and to not reveal their phone number... Coquitlam RCMP are aware of the incident and encourage residents to report incidents such as this to the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550.  A file number for this incident has been opened for the public to report to #23-25827 if any more signs are found. Under B.C.'s Human Rights Code, a person can't be discriminated against for race, ancestry, colour and place of origin."
Black Student Space | Student Services - "The Black Student Space is an identity-affirming space available only for Black undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the UBC Vancouver campus to study, connect with each other, recharge, host events and sessions, as well as build community."
It's only racist and exclusionary if white people do it. If you complain about black-only spaces, you are the racist

A trio of Irish politicians/censors argue that law means not hurting other people's feelings - "In a short clip of the Irish Green Party senator, Pauline O'Reilly, she claims that all law is about the restriction of freedom. "It’s an insane thing to say that all government is about shrinking your freedom, and that’s just something that’s normal and has to be accepted," Ezra argued. "That’s a bully’s idea, a madman’s idea, an authoritarian dictator's idea. That’s someone who doesn’t trust their friends and neighbours — but wants to rule over them."  Similarly, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is defending Irish hate crime legislation and saying its opponents are "fringe" — even though polls clearly show a majority oppose the laws. Finally, Senator Joe O'Reilly argues that the Holocaust started with jokes. So we should... ban jokes?"

Ernie Hudson didn't see a point in the 2016 Ghostbusters - "As Ernie Hudson told The Independent, it seemed like a waste to make the Ghostbusters back in 2016, saying, “Look, I’m a fan of [director] Paul Feig so I have nothing negative about him to say. Other than: I don’t quite understand why you do a reboot, you know what I mean? Just make another movie.”"
Sexist! Racist!

'Ghostbusters' star denies racism contributed to his reduced role in first film: 'Not quite that simple' - "Hudson acknowledged that it’s "very tempting" to say that these limits were due to racism in the industry, but admitted that wouldn’t be an accurate representation of what happened to him in the '80s.  The actor played Winston Zeddemore in the beloved 80s action/adventure film, and though he is seen as one of the four classic Ghostbusters – alongside Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis – his role in the first film was reduced before filming began... "You know, being a person of African descent anywhere in the world, we’re all just learning how to live together and get along together and realize that we’re all connected. And it’s very tempting, sometimes, to blame anything that doesn’t work in your life on racism. But there are a lot of things that play into it," he said. "It’s not quite that simple."  Hudson was also paid less than his famous co-stars, though again he said it probably wasn’t due to racism, considering that if African American actor Eddie Murphy took on the role – as he was the rumored first choice – he would have been paid a lot more.  "We can say it’s a racial thing, but I think if Eddie Murphy had played the role I played, he would have been paid very well," the actor said. He provided his real theory as to why he got paid less, stating, "I think studios are in the business of making money, and they pay what they feel they have to.""

The NOT Exhaustive List of the Many Scams Shaun King Has Run - "Probably impossible to list all his scams. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Shaun King. In that article, I said white liberal were to be blamed for Shaun King’s continued success in running his scams. Many white liberals took issue with that. Many pointed out that they personally don’t know who Shaun King was, let alone give him money. So, I thought it would be a good idea to give a very short bio of Shaun King and provide a very PARTIAL list of the scams he has been running."
Every time I point out that Shaun King is a scammer, people get upset

Meme - "WHEN YOU TAKE THE PISS OUT OF THE LEFT AND THEY TAG GROUPS IN THE COMMENT SECTION
'Racist!' 'Reeee' 'Bigot^ 'Fascist!'

Meme - "Liberals turn into malleable putty if they think they might be accused of any of the various "isms" and "phobias." Identitarian progressives know this, and it largely explains how they've been so successful wresting so much control of opinion-shaping institutions from liberals.
Which of the following labels would hurt the most if you knew someone thought that about you? Racist
White Democrat  33.95%
White Independent 30.94%
White Republican 26.96%"

Meme - "LEFT WING: Us signs
RIGHT WING: Me signs"
"The left believe in group rights and judging people based on the groups they belong to. The right treat people as individuals"

Meme - Left Way Forward: "kinda tired of being brow beat by my comrades over the fact that bigots exist. Yes they show up in the comments, yes i block them when i see it. Im one person and i have kids, work, partners and a personal life outside of facebook. Im doing my best here. I block people EVERY DAY but the truth is is that it doesn't do anything. I block 20 phobes today and 30 new ones show up tomorrow. I dont like it any more than anyone else. please give me some grace."
These are the people who go on about "white fragility"

Stop Stop AAPI Hate

From 2023. Of course, conflict of interest and money are only problems when left wingers say they are (i.e. when they want to discredit those they disagree with):

Stop Stop AAPI Hate

"America’s latest era of racial turmoil has been a boon to many organizations. Black Lives Matter is merely the highest-profile group to claim the mantle of authority on racism, while bringing in millions of dollars in contributions. Stop AAPI Hate (AAPI stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander), purporting to be the leading authority on “anti-Asian hate crimes,” has followed BLM’s model, promoting the story that America is racist toward Asians. Its motto reflects that mission: it seeks to “advance equity, justice, and power by dismantling systemic racism.”

Stop AAPI Hate’s first cause for suspicion is its loftiness. Asians in America don’t need a victimhood narrative: they are, in broad demographic terms, flourishing in the United States... To the extent that Asian Americans are experiencing racism, it’s either coming directly from progressive elites (as in college admissions policies that have discriminated against Asian students) or is only selectively discussed by progressive elites (as in the case of violence against Asians, which the Left is interested in blaming only on whites). What Stop AAPI Hate does choose to focus on is subjective, to say the least, and tailored to fit a desired political narrative.

Stop AAPI Hate’s selling point to the public and to its funders is its database of anti-Asian hate crimes, which documents a rise in violence against Asian Americans in 2020 and 2021. “New Data Shows that Asian Americans Remain Under Attack,” reads an August 12, 2021, press release.

The methodology underlying these data is flawed. For one, it is self-reported to the group through surveys that it administers, via its website. The alleged increase in hate crimes comes from more people reporting to Stop AAPI Hate about hate crimes. A self-reinforcing bias could be at work here: the more attention that Stop AAPI Hate and others draw to racism narratives, the more incentive people have to characterize threats against them as racist.

The scale of “hate incidents” in the database is also suspect. Out of the 9,081 incidents reported, 63.7 percent fall under the category of “verbal harassment.” While unpleasant, verbal harassment is hardly comparable, say, to racially motivated physical or sexual assault. Another 19.5 percent of incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate are “shunning.” This includes scenarios in which the individual believes that he or she was excluded from work opportunities or social functions because of race. Such allegations are necessarily complicated to adjudicate. But what’s perhaps most significant is that only 13.7 percent of the database’s self-reported incidents are classified as physical assaults.

Certain high-profile examples loom larger than others in Stop AAPI Hate’s telling: Robert Aaron Long, the white shooter who killed six Asian women (along with two other men, one white and one Hispanic) at an Atlanta spa in 2021; and President Donald Trump’s comments about the “China virus” at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate has used these incidents to reinforce a larger “oppression” narrative, in which white xenophobia is primarily to blame for increased attacks against Asians.

Department of Justice data on the racial demographics of perpetrators of violence against Asians don’t support this narrative. Whites make up neither the majority nor even the plurality of perpetrators of such violence. In 2018, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) kept track of interracial violent altercations. Blacks, who made up about 12.5 percent of the population in 2018, accounted for 28 percent of reported violence against Asian Americans. Non-Hispanic whites, who made up about 60 percent of Americans, accounted for 25 percent.

Janelle Wong, an Asian American studies professor at the University of Maryland–College Park, seems unfamiliar with these data. “The racist kind of tropes that come along with [accusing Blacks of anti-Asian violence], especially that it’s predominantly Black people attacking Asian Americans who are elderly—there’s not really an empirical basis in that,” says Wong, who has used Stop AAPI Hate data in her research. She asserts that “75 percent of news stories identified perpetrators as male and white in instances of physical or verbal assault and harassment when the race of the perpetrator was confirmed.” She bases this claim on news stories and reports of anti-Asian hate incidents compiled by Stop AAPI Hate, with which she is affiliated. But, as we know, Stop AAPI Hate’s data are self-reported, making Wong’s claim suspect.

Further raising suspicion is the term “hate crime” itself. How do we determine “hate”? According to the Justice Department’s official definitions, the crimes must be motivated by “bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law.” The key clause here is “that are defined by the law.” Progressives tend to interpret these terms as referring only to certain protected classes, such as racial minorities—meaning that a crime committed against a white victim is much less likely to be deemed a hate crime than one committed against a black or an Asian victim, even if the underlying crime is the same. In other words, the white-against-minority framework is built in to the classification process. The term’s self-defining nature means that we simply can’t trust the claims of Stop AAPI Hate, Wong, and others. They are using questionable data, precut to fit their preferred narrative.

That is not to say that Asians don’t have legitimate concerns about rising violence—they do. But FBI data show that many races were affected by the recent nationwide increase in violence. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of black victims of homicide rose by 28 percent, while the number of white victims grew by 16 percent. The number of Asian homicide victims, however, fell 4 percent.

Stop AAPI Hate was just one of a range of “Asian American” groups that received substantial funding in the wake of the Atlanta spa shooting. Corporations and unnamed individual backers pledged more than $125 million, for example, to a group called the Asian American Foundation, “to stem a surge in anti-Asian violence and take on challenges that are often ignored by policymakers.” Groups claiming to fight “Asian hate” pulled in a record $25.8 million in 2021, following the spa shooting. In 2020, by contrast, the same groups were pledged only $500,000.

One of Stop AAPI Hate’s sponsors is Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), a liberal policymaking organization whose position is summed up by its name. In 2020, CAA had total revenues of $7.1 million, $4.3 million of which came from contributions and grants, while $2.6 million came from program services. It employs 149 people who receive total salaries of $2.8 million...

I became curious about the organizations under the umbrella of CAA and what purpose they were serving, so I called Stop AAPI Hate’s CEO, Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State, to talk about his organization’s priorities and funding structures. According to Jeung, Stop AAPI Hate “gathers data and educates the public” about anti-Asian prejudice and “systemic racism.” I asked what kind of advocacy this entails. He mentioned Trump’s calling the coronavirus the “China virus.” I asked Jeung whether he publishes data showing that Asians are also the targets of violence from black perpetrators. “We don’t address hate crimes” between blacks and Asians, he said. His organization, however, seemed to be more than happy to capitalize off the racism narrative when a white man shot and killed six Asian women, along with two others.

I asked him what he thought of anti-Asian bias at Harvard University. I explained to him that many Asian Americans are concerned that Harvard, a largely white university in terms of the student body, has discriminated against Asian Americans in the college-admissions process because it wants more black and Hispanic applicants, even if they are less qualified—a practice the Supreme Court has now ruled unconstitutional. Jeung dismissed my charge, saying, “No . . . we’re sponsored by Chinese for Affirmative Action,” which supported Harvard’s race-preferential policies... At every turn, he tried to redirect the conversation away from Harvard or the Ivy League. 

The logical inconsistencies that arose during my conversation with Jeung are prevalent among the intellectuals directing these well-funded nonprofits. On the one hand, Jeung complained about white-on-Asian violence and Trump’s language. On the other, he defended Harvard University’s actions against Asian Americans, which resembled the same sort of racially motivated discrimination that it practiced against Jewish Americans in the early twentieth century...

I also asked Jeung what his organization is doing to help ordinary Asian American communities. He confessed that Stop AAPI Hate “provides no direct service.” Its benefit to the public, he says, is taking down the “structural institutional sources” of racism against Asian Americans. In his world, Asian Americans would thrive, if not for white racism.

But there’s a problem with his claim: Asian Americans are already thriving. They have higher incomes and higher educational levels, and, by all accounts, they are assimilating into the upper middle class of America. How could a racist country let an entire racial group surpass whites in key indicators of socioeconomic status?...

Yes, some Asian Americans are struggling. Yet most still believe in the American dream. According to a 2016 Atlantic Media poll, a greater percentage of Asians than of blacks or even whites believe that they can get ahead and that the United States is a land of opportunity. What’s the point of teaching an already-self-confident, successful group that the society in which they’re advancing is racist toward them? This makes Stop AAPI Hate’s narrative about Asians both disheartening and incorrect.

Indeed, Stop AAPI Hate is pushing this narrative at a time when the need for racial harmony is perhaps greater than at any time since the 1960s. Between 2013 and 2021, the share of Americans who told pollsters that race relations were “favorable” or “good” dropped from 70 percent to 42 percent. In 2015, black Americans reported feeling prouder about the state of race relations than even whites (51 percent to 45 percent); that figure has since slipped precipitously, with only 33 percent of black Americans saying this in 2021. For the past few years, the media have saturated us with negative coverage of race relations, including those concerning Asian Americans.

But consider the story of Binh Vo, a Vietnamese immigrant whose story I tell in my book. Coming to America with little more than a grade-school education, Binh had his first encounter with a policeman. The officer offered him a ride to wherever he wanted to go. Back in his home country of Vietnam, the police were corrupt and sometimes cruel, so Binh said no. But now he realizes that he should have said yes... Binh runs a thriving real-estate business, but his dream is to serve his adopted country as an air-force pilot. “I don’t see the racism in white people,” he tells me. “I feel like liberal media has been pushing strong images about America. According to liberals, English is my second language. I am more welcome here in the U.S. than in my own country.”

Binh Vo’s experience of acceptance and assimilation represents the kind of stories we should be hearing more about, because they are not only true and motivating but also common. The systemic-racism narrative that Stop AAPI Hate and similar organizations promote serves only to divide us."

 

Clearly the black people who were proud about the state of race relations just had internalised white supremacy.

Links - 13th April 2024 (1 - Trans Mania)

Planet Fitness plummets after defending male photographed shaving in woman's locker room - "Planet Fitness saw the valuation of the company’s stock drop this week after an Alaska gym canceled a woman’s membership when she photographed a male using the women’s locker room... Patricia Silva encountered a “man in women’s locker room shaving.”   She also claimed in a video posted to Facebook that there was “a little girl sitting in the corner. She could have been [12 years old] … in a towel kind of freaked out.”"

Breigh Genderawesome on X - "I will always b #prochoice, but tbh cis women need 2 remember that needing an #abortion is a privilege they have over trans women."

What if your identity doesn't matter at all? - "Ezra Miller — an actor I’ve never heard of and wish I had still not.  Miller is 27 years old, insists on being referred to as “they” or “them,” and has a personality to match these demands. He is intolerable, in other words. The fawning interviewer, who can’t have been more than 30 years old themselves, or they wouldn’t have fallen for the embarrassing charade of faux-intellectualism, conveyed through the use of as many big words as Miller could memorize... Genius! This is a man who knows his history (and can convey ideas in a clear, cogent way). Obviously, the notion that females are women and males are men is a modern invention of oppressors! Same with heterosexuality. Pre-colonialism, no one could tell what sex anyone was and no babies were produced at all. That’s why civilization fully collapsed in the 19th century, and the planet is now inhabited by aliens. Oh did you guys not learn that at college?... anyone so narcissistic as to insist they exist outside material reality — those who identify as “non-binary, queer, genderqueer, and trans,” in other words — is probably not much of a hero in bed. A chubby, polyamorous inside cat of a human, posting facetuned selfies of themselves in an attempt to force the world around them to validate their fuckability, is unlikely to thrive in warfare.   And here we are: in a time that has been compared, by numerous people, to World War III. It is major crisis, at very least, that will have a major impact. And where are the Ezra Millers of the world? The young trans-identified and non-binary warriors? Well, apparently joking about “boomers” dying from coronavirus; posting dramatic selfies of themselves fake crying outside their mansions; complaining that their cosmetic surgeries have been postponed, due to hospitals being overwhelmed by treating actual sick people; and buying lingerie.   Diana Willow Penrose Thomas — formerly David William Penrose Thomas — who has been writing a column for the Telegraph about his transition at 60 years old, and informed us last week that the pain of childbirth was comparable to having his legs lasered, says what he worries about the most, in terms of the impact of this pandemic, is his hair...   If anything, what we should learn from this is that, in the grand scheme of things, your pronouns; your complaints about “misgendering” and invalidation of your imagined uniqueness; and your overdependence on superficial, unnecessary cosmetic alterations like fillers, botox, weaves, laser hair removal, hormone treatments, and plastic surgery, should not be our top priority...   “Ezra Miller confirming that trans people are superior to other folks? Motion passed,” PinkNews crowed.  But the truth is that anyone who is so heavily reliant on a weave, surgeries, laser treatments, filler and botox, as well as on fashion, for their “survival,” is not going to survive trying times like these. Claims that “misgendering literally kills” or that one’s cosmetic surgeries are a matter of life and death are laughable at best, and contemptible at worst, considering our current circumstances. Those who are so weak of mind that they fall apart without strictly controlled forms of validation will not have the mental fortitude to withstand isolation and a sudden withdrawal of fawning attention from yes-men, due to society’s sudden need to pay attention to, well, things that actually matter. Currently, no one is going to care about your OOTD or the trauma of being “misgendered.”   If you want people to believe you are a “superior being,” you need to work on resilience. You also need to contribute something of worth to society, beyond self-indulgent whining, flagrant superficiality, and profound fragility, manifested as a demand that the entire world become your helicopter parent. People who have chosen weakness as their political manifesto cannot simultaneously announce superiority."
From Mar 2020

French report says sex reassignment in minors may be medical history's 'greatest ethical scandal' - "French Senators want to ban gender transition treatments for under-18s, after a report described sex reassignment in minors as potentially “one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine”.  The report, commissioned by the opposition centre-Right Les Republicains (LR) party, documents various practices by health professionals, which it claims are indoctrinated by a “trans-affirmative” ideology under the sway of experienced trans-activist associations.  The report, which cites a “tense scientific and medical debate”, accuses such associations of encouraging gender transition in minors via intense propaganda campaigns on social media. Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, an LR senator who led the working group behind the report, concluded that “fashion plays a big role” in the rise of gender reassignment treatments.  If this factor and the risks involved are underestimated, she added, “the sexual transition of young people will be considered as one of the greatest ethical scandals in the history of medicine”.  LR senators now want to table a Bill by the summer that would effectively ban the medical transition of minors in France by halting the prescription or administration of puberty blockers and hormones to people under the age of 18. Sex reassignment surgery could also be banned for minors.  Reacting to the report, Ypomoni, a French parents’ group, said: “We welcome this return to reason.” Maud Vasselle, a mother whose daughter underwent gender transition treatment, told Le Figaro: “A child is not old enough to ask to have her body altered.  “My daughter just needed the certificate of a psychiatrist, which she obtained after a one-hour consultation. But doctors don’t explain the consequences of puberty blockers,” she added.  “My daughter didn’t realise that life wasn’t going to be so easy with all these treatments... She was a brilliant little girl but now she’s failing at school. And she is far from having found the solution to her problems.”... The French report comes after the NHS banned children from receiving puberty blockers on prescription earlier this month.  France’s health regulation body, the Haute Autorité de Santé, was already examining a similar move... One hospital in Paris receives around 40 new requests from minors every year, with 16 per cent of those under the age of 12 and the report points out that many suffer from other issues.  A quarter of the children seen at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital for gender dysphoria have dropped out of school, 42 per cent have been victims of harassment, and 61 per cent have experienced an episode of depression. One in five has attempted suicide.  Their conclusions are in line with those of British experts called in to investigate London’s Tavistock clinic over its use of mass gender reassignment surgery on minors.  David Bell. a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, found that a third of the children consulted at the Tavistock suffered from autistic disorders, and many were victims of family violence or had difficulty in accepting or expressing homosexuality, yet they were rushed into gender transition regardless."
Since American left wingers admire Europe so much...

Mia on X - "I now stand accused of the crime of “deliberate misgendering” for using male pronouns to refer to WPATH’s president, Marci Bowers, in this clip. As if I’m somehow setting out to cause offence.  But I’m not deliberately trying to offend anyone. I’m not being disrespectful. I am just not a believer. I do not believe there’s such a thing as a male woman, and no amount of hormones or surgeries can turn a man into a woman. I won’t pretend to believe in something that I know is not true.  The language I use reflects those beliefs. I use accurate sex-based pronouns at all times because I believe the truth matters. I believe there are consequences when a society becomes untethered from reality.  One such consequence, the one I care about the most, is that when we all started to pretend that some men could be women and some women could be men, untold numbers of young people were destabilised during a crucial stage of their identity development and came to the devastatingly harmful conclusion that they too could be members of the opposite sex. Many fixated on hormones and surgeries as their only road to happiness. Society, in its madness, aided and abetted this dangerous delusion, and the worst crime the medical world has ever committed is the result.  Using sex-based pronouns doesn’t equate to hating transgender people. It’s not an attempt to dehumanise. For me, it’s the refusal to pay lip service to an ideological belief system that I believe is doing immeasurable harm to a generation of vulnerable young people."

Meme - "Remember boys. If saying "leave kids alone" is an attack on a certain community, that community deserves attacking"

Meme - "If they weren't grooming kids, they wouldn't be so mad when we ask them to leave em alone"

Meme - "I don't care if you identify as a man, woman, dog, cat, or a hairy nosed wombat. Just leave the kids alone"

Meme - "r/Transgender_Surgeries
"How is the sex after surgery
Greetings. I'm about to start the vaginoplasty journey and would like to know what it's like to have intercourse after the operation. Thanks in advance."
"Crap. Over two years post op and I can't even let my wife touch it as it just hurts, there is no nice sensation down there at all. I'm in constant pain and getting infections every few months where it's tearing at the base just by doing exercise or riding the bike with a padded seat and cycling shorts on. Even walking hurts and running is out of the question as nerves have been damaged in my groin."

Meme - Eric Berg: "I'm doing the side by side picture thing with my nonbinary Elliot looking self" *cute cartoon avatar* *odd IRL face*
*ugly MTF looking at mirror while drawing a cute anime girl*

Meme - *Keychain with trans flag*
*Shadow of person who's hung himself*

Meme - MTF: "Don't call me "sir." I'm a woman."
Woman: "Don't call me "cis." I'm a real woman."
MTF: "You can't stop me from calling you "cis." That's what you are."
Woman: "And you can't stop me from calling you "sir." That's what you are."

Meme - chris mate: "Australian swimwear brand Moana Bikini has decided the best model for their women's swimwear is a man. Imagine alienating your core customer demographic in order to appease the gender delusions of a tiny minority..."

Meme - *MTF*
Christian: "You can't be trans, because According to the Bible-"
*MTF stabs and kills Christian*
Why are MTFs so violent?

Meme - "The last thing a TERF sees after asking me why I'm in the restroom with their daughter: *ugly crying MTF with stubble as Rogue facing camera and punching someone*"

Meme - "The last thing a TERF sees after asking me why I'm in the restroom with their daughter: *Rogue facing camera, punching someone*
"YOU WERE ALREADY A WEAK MAN, BUT AFTER YEARS OF ESTROGEN INJECTIONS YOUR BONES ARE POROUS AND BRITTLE. I DO NOT FEAR YOU, YOUR DESIRE TO UNDRESS NEAR MY DAUGHTER DISGUSTS ME, AND I WILL NOT BE HELD HOSTAGE BY A WARPED SENSE OF COMPASSION TO PRETEND YOU ARE ANYTHING BUT A MENTALLY ILL GROOMER" Lola on X - "A new mothers milk:
- produces colostrum
- adapts to the baby’s growth spurts
- is supply/demand
- is tailor made for that baby
- changes with hot weather
- helps fights baby’s colds
- is beneficial to the post-partum mother’s recovery
- regulates baby’s heartbeat next to mums
If you interrupt the mother’s feeding with other feeds you will affect her supply and this could end breastfeeding for her.   TIMs need twice as much Domperidone as women to simulate lactation, no evidence of safety testing for this. Newborn formula would be a better match for a newborn baby’s needs that TIMs milk if mum can’t breastfeed.
TIMs - if you start trying to normalise this you break down important safeguards for the baby. Men have lactation fetishes and we need to protect babies from that. This is about the baby, not about ‘gender validation’. Show us you take safeguarding seriously and stop this...
Breastfeeding/pumping porn is A Thing"

Thread by @audraf637 on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "I’ve been staying out of this debate but I think I have finally formulated my thoughts on “drug induced breast feeding”.  So I looked up each and every one of these drugs listed, and let’s see what exactly they are:
Let’s go through these drugs one by one:
Domperidone-is a anti-nausea medication. Haloperidol-is an anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia. Risperidone-another antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia. Chlorpromazine (aka Thorazine)-another antipsychotic. Fluphenazine-another antipsychotic  Metoclopramide-another GERD/anti-nausea medication.  And finally we have Prolactin and Progesterone, which are naturally occurring hormones but can be supplemented  Prolactin can cause bone density loss, menopausal symptoms, infertility. Progesterone’s side effects are so numerous I’ve included a link here. What’s more, Domperidone was warned against by the FDA due to cardiac events in patients using it, and the drug is secreted in the breast milk with unknown consequences to the infant eating it.  And metoclopramide can cause involuntary muscle movements which can be permanent in some people...
So I guess is this real life right now?  Are we actually prescribing medication meant for schizophrenia so that people can breast feed?  Is this really happening right now?  Drugs that have horrific side effects, some of them permanent? How is this ethical, under any circumstances, to prescribe risky medications to people, some of which have zero studies in breastfeeding infants,  When you can buy a can of formula? The assertion that we are giving adoptive parents these drugs so they can breast feed,  Doesn’t make the situation better, it makes it WORSE.  If you have a heart attack /stroke, can’t hold your kid because you can’t stop shaking, you can’t buy back your health! I will caution anyone who is considering this that you can buy a can of formula for your kid,  But you know what you can’t buy?  A new mom.  And your child NEEDS YOU more than breast milk! ❤️
Just to make things clear, I’m unsure whether or not these drugs leak into breast milk.  The point of my thread was to point out the affects of these medications on the patient, not to center the affects of these medications on the infant.  Hope that clears things up"

NHS trust says transgender women’s milk just as good for babies - "The hospital became the first to use the gender-inclusive terms “chestfeeding” and “human milk” for its perinatal services in 2021. It created what it called the “first clinical and language guidelines supporting trans and non-binary birthing people”... The hospital last year defended using World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance of “overwhelming evidence” that “human milk” is better for a baby than formula milk.  It also cited a 2022 study, which found “no observable side effects in babies” breastfed with “testosterone concentrations in baby milk”. However, there is little scientific research into the effects of induced breastfeeding among transgender women. Lottie Moore from the think tank, Policy Exchange,  who revealed the letter, told the Telegraph: "This letter is unbalanced and naïve in its assertion that the secretions produced by a male on hormones can nourish an infant in the way a mother’s breast milk can.  "A child's welfare must always take precedence over identity politics and contested belief systems that are not evidence-based. The NHS should not be indulging in this nonsense.  Activist and campaigner for women’s rights, Milli Hill also told the Telegraph: “Male people, however they identify or describe themselves, cannot breastfeed.”"

CASE STUDY 2 – Experiment of Induced Lactation in a Trans-identifying Male (excerpt from ‘Born in the Right Body’) - "In 2018, media outlets all over the world reported on a case study where a doctor, and a nurse, at a clinic in the United States used a cocktail of drugs to enable a male patient, who identified as a woman, to breastfeed a newborn baby (Reisman & Goldstein, 2018).  A UK expert commented that this was “exciting” research which could lead to more cases of “transgender women” breastfeeding (Therrien, 2018). According to Reisman & Goldstein, the male patient (who is referred to as a “she” throughout the study) claimed that his partner – the baby’s mother – was pregnant but not interested in breastfeeding, and that he was hoping to take on the role of being “the primary food source” for this infant. However, reading the paper, I could not find any evidence that the authors interviewed the mother to verify their patient’s claims, or that they obtained informed consent from the mother by discussing the risks that male drug-induced galactorrhoea (nipple discharge unrelated to milk production during pregnancy and breastfeeding) could pose to the baby...   There’s a paucity of research into the effects of elevated testosterone on breast milk and breastfed infants... When we talk about the safety of medicines in breastfeeding, we weigh the benefits of mother’s milk to the health of the child, and of bonding between the mother and baby, against the risks of discontinuing the medication. If it is at all possible and medically justified, mothers who take medicines that could be passed to their babies via breast milk often decide, or are advised, not to breastfeed in order to avoid adversely affecting their baby’s health.  Contrast this with a man taking unnecessary medications to induce galactorrhoea, just so he can fulfil his desire to breastfeed. A word on a male’s desire to breastfeed.  Psychosexual disorders such as autogynaephilia are present in a proportion of men who identify as women, and a breastfeeding fetish can be a feature of this condition...  the research on the composition of male nipple discharge is very scarce, and the research into the effects of this type of fluid on infants is non-existent...   I have no evidence that the baby who was allegedly subject to this experiment was harmed in any way. However, there are so many omissions, unknowns and missing data that I cannot help but ask, why was a trans-identified man held to a drastically different standard of infant care than actual mothers?  That this experiment was conducted by a Transgender Clinic, which neither had licence, nor expertise, to oversee the breastfeeding of a newborn, only adds to my concerns regarding ethics, safety and bias in this study."

Should trans identified men be supported to breastfeed? Why we say the answer’s ‘no’ - "Babies don’t exist to validate their parents, and should not be expected to fulfil that role."

CANADA: HIV Positive Trans-Identified Male Boasts of 'Breastfeeding' Infant with Professional Support - "A trans-identified male residing in Canada who claims to be HIV positive and inserts progesterone rectally has been allegedly “breastfeeding” his child with the support of established medical clinics. Former men’s rights activist Murray Pearson, 52, who uses the name Margaret (Margie) Fancypants on social media, has been criticized after he shared an image of himself at a lactation clinic holding a young infant."

Genevieve Gluck on X - "The "mixture of cocoa butter and shea butter" that he uses as lubricant to rectally intake progesterone is the same combination he says he rubbed on his partner's pregnant belly"

Two Australian Women Told They Broke The Law After Criticizing Trans-Identified Male Breastfeeding Child - "Jasmine Sussex and Standing For Women Queensland (SFWQ) were both contacted by Twitter on May 16, with the platform informing the two accounts that specific content they had posted would be censored to Australian users in order to comply with Australian law... Sussex first came across Jennifer Buckley, a trans-identified male who had begun to participate in motherhood discussions on the ABA’s Facebook page.  Buckley, who began transitioning in 2017, first induced lactation in 2019 in en effort to breastfeed his biological son after his wife gave birth. The 41-year-old paramedic said he had wanted to “experience what it was like to be a mum and breastfeed.”"

Meme - "Chris Tyson's Ex wife says that their son misses his dad and that he constantly asks her what happened to him and where did he go."

4 kids found in 'unsanitary conditions' at Boston apartment - "Public officials in Massachusetts are expressing their disgust after four young children were found to be living in squalid conditions at a South Boston apartment.  First responders were called to an apartment at the Mary Ellen McCormack complex Saturday night after receiving a report that someone had suffered cardiac arrest. According to authorities and public officials, the children — all under the age of 10 — were found in an apartment with sex toys, drugs, alcohol and six cross-dressing men.  An incident report filed through the Boston Fire Department states the kids were discovered by first responders after one of the adults in the apartment was found dead. Several adults in that apartment were also accused of hiding those children in a back room.  According to the incident report, the apartment was in "extreme unsanitary conditions," and all adults in the unit were being uncooperative and denied having children inside."

UK: Trans Activist Known For Urine Protests Presents In Lingerie At Tate Museum, Children Present In Area - "A trans activist known for staging protests involving human urine was invited to perform at the Tate Museum on Sunday, where he gave a reading while dressed in women’s underwear.  The event, part of Queer and Now, an LGBTQIA+ art festival, was organized by three trans-identified males; June Bellebono, Jamie Cottle, and Carly Yvoty Fernandez. The three read excerpts from their publication, oestrogeneration, a magazine describing itself as a “platform highlighting transfeminine voices in the UK.” Content on the publication’s website is overtly sexual and promotes the sex industry.  The men who presented their publication read selected articles from the first issue, Tenacity, described as containing “essays covering orgasms, squatting and security culture,” which is self-lauded as “a dynamic display of the breadth of expressions our identities hold.”  “Mr. Menno,” a Dutch content creator who advocates for the rights of women and homosexuals, was in attendance at the event, and shared a number of disturbing photos and video clips to his Twitter.  In one video, Cottle can be seen reading an article aloud to an audience while wearing women’s lingerie. The crotch of the thong was emblazoned with the words “Sugar Money,” and Cottle’s testicle flesh appears to be faintly visible through the sides of the fabric... Menno explained that the presentation was intended for an audience aged 16 and older, but that no barriers had been put in place and events for children were actively occurring in other parts of the museum...   “[Cottle’s] whole outfit was geared to draw attention to his groin. It’s just so utterly bizarre to be face to face with guys who are clearly male calling themselves some kind of women. To me there’s something creepy about the name oestrogeneration, basing the identity of a whole generation of men around taking synthetic drugs to acquire female-typical hormone levels,” he said...   The most recent article featured on the oestrogeneration site is called “Against All Odds, I Will Cum,” and is accompanied by an illustration of a childlike figure. The author, a trans-identified man named Samantha Lacob, describes his masturbation habits after he began taking estrogen, and claims that he experiences “orgasm synesthesia.”...   One article from oestrogeneration presented and written by Cottle, titled “A Strong Feeling of Desperation,” is written in the form of experimental prose and contains sexual language.  “Walking here felt as it always does, my desires rendered in retinal surveillance; their lust, my lust, meeting, fleeting outside Oxford circus, in a primordial slime of the vitreous inside eyes… Gabriel’s angels brim with life, fakery, and lust; they are droplets of cum ossified into marrow and faux pearls sewn into satin.”  Cottle, a trans-identified male who uses the moniker “Biogal” on social media, is associated with a protest group that calls themselves Pissed Off Trannies, or POT.  Twice in the past year, POT has staged demonstrations that involved dumping large quantities of human urine outside of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to protest laws that strengthen women’s protections. A recent Instagram post suggests they may be using water mixed with turmeric to supplement their urine.   Most recently, members of POT gathered outside of the EHRC on May 22 to leave 90 liters of their supposed waste around the perimeter of the building.  The protest was in response to a recent statement by chief executive of the EHRC, Melanie Field, in which she affirmed the definition of “sex” in a show of support for protections for biological sex as a protected characteristic, as well as for plans to prevent trans-identified males from accessing women’s facilities on self-declaration.   “Pouring piss is an anarchist act of resistance that stakes an urgent and lingering claim on our basic human rights … If you take away our toilets we will make one on your doorstep,” POT stated in an Instagram post depicting the protest.  After staging his first protest outside of the EHRC last year, Cottle boasted about his actions on Instagram, revealing his association with the group. As reported by Vice, during the demonstration, Cottle “pissed [himself] in [his] bejewelled gown, before pouring bottles of urine on [himself] and the pavement outside the building, all the while shouting: ‘The EHRC has blood on its hands and piss on its streets.'”  Other performances by Cottle, which he claims are demonstrations of trans activism, are similarly graphic.  In one performance from 2022, simply titled “FISH,” Cottle strips while slapping himself with a dead fish. In another from that same year, titled “Prayer for the Pearl Oyster,” Cottle is seen wearing women’s underwear, transparent platform heels, and a pearl necklace. He rips fabric, tosses about oysters, and screams while stomping on the shells. Cottle then begins writhing, strips naked, and removes a sex toy from his anus."

Dr. Debra Soh on X - "I left the field of sex research because I saw what was coming down the line. I wish I had been wrong:"
Too many transgender activists are sadistic bullies - "If you’ve ever wondered why so many scientists have remained silent as gender ideology overtakes the universe, here’s another example to contemplate.  A new study was recently released on the subject of rapid-onset gender dysphoria , or ROGD. ROGD refers to the epidemic of predominantly young women and teenage girls who transition to male or a so-called “third” gender, often suddenly and without any previous history of gender problems. Twenty-six states have banned therapeutic approaches that are not gender affirmation, and an increasing number, including California and Minnesota, have become sanctuary states for minors seeking transition services. Unsatisfied at stopping there, transgender activists have taken to warping research findings to promote their agenda, censoring all others, and embarking on witch hunts, harassing dissenting scientists for decades of their careers... activists are now demanding that the aforementioned ROGD study be retracted and that the editor responsible for publishing it be removed from the academic journal. Over 100 clinicians and academics have signed an open letter denouncing the paper’s publication.  Both the study’s senior author, Dr. Michael Bailey, and the editor in question, Dr. Kenneth Zucker, are accredited scholars and leading experts on gender dysphoria... Parents also said they believed clinicians pressured families to support a child’s transition. The study discussed ROGD in boys, a lesser-understood presentation. Girls tended to transition socially earlier than boys. Boys were more likely to receive hormonal intervention while skipping a social transition. In my opinion, this is because autogynephilia (sexual arousal at the thought of having a woman’s body) is likely driving teenage boys’ desire to transition, and male puberty has a later onset than puberty in girls."