Links - 11th November 2019 (2)

The oppressive individualism of human rights - "Democracy is more than mere majoritarianism, this much we are told. Though the majority of citizens must have the lead say in who governs, the minority must have a minimum level of protection from the wishes of that majority. That is why in a true democracy the wishes of the majority must be qualified by the presence of human rights and the rule of law.Following this sort of reasoning, the Shadow Attorney General and former Liberty director, Shami Chakrabarti, argued on the BBC’s Today programme this week that the right to an abortion should be imposed by law upon Northern Ireland – even if the majority of its citizens do not want it. The right to an abortion is a fundamental human right and thus it even supersedes the wishes of the majority – that was basically her line... Imagine, for instance, that the language of human rights has been extended to the unborn child, as some argue it should be, and used as a means of nullifying the wishes of the majority of voters in the recent Ireland referendum. There would rightly have been a massive outcry. So why does the Shadow Attorney General think it acceptable in the case of Northern Ireland? Because, of course, she believes that human rights, when properly understood, map onto her own political values, and are a means of achieving them."
It's easy to have political courage "do the right thing" and impose your views despite the majority's when "the right thing" happily happen to coincide with your values

Shout Your Cannibalism - Posts - "Just be honest. When you say "I don't like it when cannibals eat people," what you mean is "I hate cannibals. I want them to be second class citizens, and I want to control their bodies.""

Being Classically Liberal - Posts - "If you don't like unsafe, illegal abortions, then don't get one.
*Dabs*"

Being Classically Liberal - Posts - ""If women can't get federally funded third-trimester abortions then we are living in the Haidmaid's tale."
- The left, in like one year"

Quiz: Who said it, intergalactic Marvel super-villain or founder of Planned Parenthood - "Can you guess who said it? Was it the mad titan, Thanos we quoted or was it the founder of the world’s largest abortion provider, Margaret Sanger? Take our quiz to find out!"

Nicholas J. Fuentes on Twitter - "Apparently when you tell Africans (fertility rate >6) to have less kids, this amounts to eugenics or genocide... but when you tell Europeans (fertility rate <2) to stop having kids altogether that’s “sustainable development.”
At once they want us to believe that Europeans & European Americans need to stop eating meat, stop using straws, and stop having children in order to “stop climate change” yet at the same time they tell us we need mass immigration from the third world to “support the economy”
So why is it that Europeans, with low fertility rates, are subject to explicitly anti-natal propaganda & policies but non-Europeans, with high fertility rates, are not? The answer is obvious, their goal is to displace White People."
Comments: "Those are 2 *different* groups of people.No one who believes telling Africans to have fewer children is smells of eugenics (like I do) also believes that Europeans should have no children. Not one.Eugenicists believe the world is overpopulated. My folks don’t."
"The west does in fact promote abortion and birth control in Africa...(https://stringsattachedfilm.com) Said Africans just tend to be less interested in it than Europeans. I get the frustration, & low European fertility rates is bad news, but as they say you reap what you sow"

Biologists' Consensus on 'When Life Begins' by Steven Andrew Jacobs - "Many Americans disagree on ‘When does a human’s life begin?’ because the question is subject to interpretive ambiguity arising from Hume’s is-ought problem. There are two distinct interpretations of the question: descriptive (i.e., ‘When is a fetus classified as a human?’) and normative (i.e., ‘When ought a fetus be worthy of ethical and legal consideration?’). To determine if one view is more prevalent today, 2,899 American adults were surveyed and asked to select the group most qualified to answer the question of when a human’s life begins. The majority selected biologists (81%), which suggested Americans primarily hold a descriptive view. Indeed, the majority justified their selection by describing biologists as objective scientists that can use their biological expertise to determine when a human's life begins. Academic biologists were recruited to participate in a study on their descriptive view of when life begins. A sample of 5,502 biologists from 1,058 academic institutions assessed statements representing the biological view ‘a human’s life begins at fertilization’. This view was used because previous polls and surveys suggest many Americans and medical experts hold this view. Each of the three statements representing that view was affirmed by a consensus of biologists (75-91%)... Overall, 95% of all biologists affirmed the biological view that a human's life begins at fertilization (5212 out of 5502). Historically, the descriptive view on when life begins has dictated the normative view that drives America's abortion laws: (1) abortion was illegal at ‘quickening’ under 18th century common law, (2) abortion was illegal at ‘conception’ in state laws from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s, and (3) abortion is currently legal before ‘viability’ due to 20th century U.S. Supreme Court cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey."
Of course, supposedly only conservatives are anti-science

Late-Term Abortion and Medical Necessity: A Failure of Science - "Roe V. Wade (1973) placed the concept of medical necessity at the center of the public discourse on abortion. Nearly a half century later, 2 laws dealing with late-term abortion, 1 passed in New York and 1 set aside in Virginia, are an indication that the medical necessity argument regarding abortion has been rendered irrelevant. More importantly for this discussion, these laws are an indication of the failure of the US scientific and medical communities to inform this consequential topic with transparency, logical coherence, and evidence-based objectivity... while the occasional politician or news reporter will still indicate that late-term abortions are most often performed in the case of “severe fetal anomalies” or to “save the woman’s life,” the trajectory of the peer-reviewed research literature has been obvious for decades: most late-term abortions are elective, done on healthy women with healthy fetuses, and for the same reasons given by women experiencing first trimester abortions. The Guttmacher Institute has provided a number of reports over 2 decades which have identified the reasons why women choose abortion, and they have consistently reported that childbearing would interfere with their education, work, and ability to care for existing dependents; would be a financial burden; and would disrupt partner relationships. A more recent Guttmacher study focused on abortion after 20 weeks of gestation and similarly concluded that women seeking late-term abortions were not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment... A prescient proabortion author predicted today’s events with remarkable foresight when he concluded that the “rhetoric of medical necessity” is a mistaken strategy because “it is not the empirical evidence of what is or is not medically necessary which is important,” but rather “who possesses the ability to interpret necessity within key political contexts.” When viewed from this perspective, it is possible to see the recent New York and Virginia legislation as a signal that politics, not science, is the most powerful influence on abortion issues and legislation... Exempting abortion from the test of medical necessity essentially relinquishes any claim that it is health care. While the concept of medical necessity has been defined in myriad ways, a few key elements present in all of the definitions across a range of medical specialties are especially relevant in the context of induced abortion"
Many people claim abortion is healthcare and if you refuse to do it you are violating medical ethics and not doing your job. In 30 years time healthcare professionals will probably be fire for not performing euthanasia, i.e. "providing healthcare"
I was told that this paper admitted there was no data on how many late term abortions were elective

Parents demand school district change 'unfair' dress code - "A petition, started two weeks ago by parents in the district, claims the current dress code is "unrealistic, arbitrarily enforced, and unfair," particularly against female students, and has so far garnered over 5,000 signatures.The Change.org petition asks that the Fort Mill school district “create a fair and realistic dress code for students in Fort Mill public schools.” In particular, it raises concerns regarding the unfair bias against female students, as they are often targeted for skirt and short length as well as tank top strap width."Calling girls out for dress code violations has a negative impact on class time, self esteem and relationship building with teachers and administrators," the petition reads, adding that finding dress code appropriate clothing for female students is "difficult or impossible."... A representative of the Fort Mill school district informed Yahoo Lifestyle that the district's dress code is "gender neutral and does not have separate requirements for males and females.""
Maybe they should just make them all wear uniforms

A high-carb diet may explain why Okinawans live so long - "Even by the standards of Japan, Okinawans are remarkable, with a 40% greater chance of living to 100 than other Japanese people... one of the most exciting factors to have recently caught the scientists’ attention is the peculiarly high ratio of carbohydrates to protein in the Okinawan diet – with a particular abundance of sweet potato as the source of most of their calories... could the “Okinawan Ratio” – 10:1 carbohydrate to protein – instead be the secret to a long and healthy life? Although it would still be far too early to suggest any lifestyle changes based on these observations, the very latest evidence – from human longitudinal studies and animal trials – suggest the hypothesis is worth serious attention. According to these findings, a low protein, high carbohydrate diet sets off various physiological responses that protect us from various age-related illnesses – including cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. And the Okinawan Ratio may achieve the optimal dietary balance to achieve those effects... Unlike the rest of Asia, the Okinawan staple is not rice, but the sweet potato, first introduced in the early 17th Century through trade with the Netherlands. Okinawans also eat an abundance of green and yellow vegetables – such as the bitter melon – and various soy products. Although they do eat pork, fish and other meats, these are typically a small component of their overall consumption, which is mostly plant-based foods. The traditional Okinawan diet is therefore dense in the essential vitamins and minerals - including anti-oxidants - but also low in calories. Particularly in the past, before fast food entered the islands, the average Okinawan ate around 11% fewer calories than the normal recommended consumption for a healthy adult.For this reason, some scientists believe that Okinawans offer more evidence for the life-enhancing virtues of a “calorie restricted” diet... Solon-Biet has conducted a series of studies examining the influence of dietary composition (rather than sheer quantity) on ageing in animals, and her team has consistently found that a high-carb, low-protein diet extends the lifespan of various species, with her most recent study showing that it reduces some of the signs of ageing in the brain. Amazingly, they have found that the optimum ratio is 10 parts carb to one part protein – the same as the so-called Okinawan Ratio. Although there aren’t yet any controlled clinical trials in humans, Solon-Biet cites epidemiological work across the world that all point to similar conclusions. “Other long-lived populations have also been shown to have dietary patterns that include relatively low amounts of protein,” she says. “These include the Kitavans, [who live on] a small island in Papua New Guinea, the South American Tsimane people and populations that consume the Mediterranean diet.”"

Muslims, non-Muslims in M'sia barred from praying together under new directive - "Joint prayers at unity events involving both Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia have been barred under a directive issued by an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department.The directive from the committee to promote understanding and harmony between religions, which is under national unity and integration department... the 113rd Federal Territories-level meeting concluded that Muslims could not attend mass prayer events organised by non-Muslims or in functions where the meanings of such prayers can’t be understood.The Federal Territory body said these conclusions are based on the principle of sadd al-zara’i (to close off the paths of destruction) to stop the spread of religious pluralism, a belief that “conflicts with many religions”.The ban against Muslims is to also prevent the spread of other religions among Muslims according to the Article 11 of the federal constitution.According to Mr Yusof, Negri Sembilan’s mufti, the act of Muslims reciting the doa in a joint-prayer setting with non-Muslims lowers the status of Islam"

31 Shadiest Scams Restaurants Thought They Could Get Away With

Subway Response To 'Footlong' Controversy: Name 'Not Intended To Be A Measurement Of Length' - "After finding itself in the middle of an 11-inch controversy, Subway has responded to claims that its "Footlong" subway sandwich is one inch too short by saying that "Footlong" is only a name and not a measurement.The Subway Footlong debate began on Tuesday, when teenager Matt Corby ordered a supposed 12-inch sub from a Subway in Perth, Australia. Before eating, he pulled out a tape measure to see if the sandwich really measured up, only to discover that his Footlong was a measly 11 inches... Subway Australia posted a response to the Footlong controversy on its Facebook page, alleging that "Footlong" is merely creative license and does not designate measurement... The Subway Australia Facebook post has since been deleted"