It's the devil's bargain we made taking over as the Empire once the old European colonial powers fell following WWII. We made out like a bandit, relatively unscathed and with a booming economy while they were sifting through the rubble and working to rebuild, and we more or less agreed we'd foot the bill and put boots on the ground wherever we could in order to defend our mutual economic interest and undermine and rein in communism (especially the Soviets).
That allowed every other industrialized nation to develop the safety nets for their people that those of us on the left here envy (and the right dismissed as a half-step to communism). It also allowed us to mutually exploit vulnerable countries and populations around the world in order to extract resources and force debt agreements that left them perpetually unable to gain footing to compete with us (while also funding those safety nets and military budgets). This isn't something from our past, we do this even today (and by we, I do mean the US and Europe).
But, when someone actually does something legitimately worth fighting against (not Iraq, and not the Taliban's government for having a non-extradition policy for religious extremists hiding in caves in their country) it's nice to be able to do something about it other than use harsh words.
I don't blame Europeans for having a distaste for the empire thing and wanting to focus on taking care of their populations rather than investing in their militaries more than was absolutely necessary. I've wanted the same for us. Still do, however much it's nice to funnel aid against a belligerent force at the moment.
Maybe there's a middle ground (though closer to the current European model) we should both strive for?
The Cover Contest Weekly Winners ThreadSo much winning!!
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
“It’s your party and you can cry if you want to.” - Captain Europe
Bwahaha.... the Bavarian Vice-Governor from the CSU, Aiwanger, a staunch conservative, wanted to praise himself from his anonymous secondary twitter account and posted it from his main account by mistake before deleting and reposting, but somebody screencapped it fast enough.
And of course, he had used his secondary account for right-wing trolling, Islamophobia, covid denial etc. in the past. Bavaria is out Texas.
Translation:
Mr. Aiwanger, we need more politicians with you, with such intelligence and pragmatism. Always listening to us citizens. not like too many who lost touch in their ivory towers. You are a fighter and had to work hard to get your post as Bavarian Economy Minister, against much opposition!
Last edited by CaptainEurope; 09-30-2022 at 12:42 AM.
UK Trans charity Mermaids investigated after 'offering chest binders without parental consent':
https://news.sky.com/story/trans-cha...nsent-12708037
"Mermaids offered to send a breast flattening device to a girl it believed was 14. It is alleged to have happened "even after (Mermaids) were told that she was not allowed to use one by her mother", the newspaper added. The Metropolitan Police has said breast binding can cause "serious physical issues", including cysts and tissue damage. Although there's no specific law within the UK around breast ironing, it's a form of child abuse."
"Mermaids' online help centre has been telling teenagers that hormone-blocking drugs are safe and "totally reversible".
"In a statement, Mermaids described puberty blockers as "an internationally recognised safe, reversible healthcare option which have been recommended by medical authorities in the UK and internationally for decades".
"But the NHS, on its website, says: "Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria."
NHS link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender...ria/treatment/
This is an (big) example of why I think kids should be left out of this. Adults? Sure, but not kids.
Conspiracy theories here are that either the US or the Russians did it. We might never know for sure...
It's a disaster. She promised "trickle down economics" (Reagan would be so proud...) and that's what she's doing. The markets obviously reacted very negatively and if the Bank of England hadn't stepped in, there would have been massive defaults on mortgages and irreversible hits to pension plans. It's a complete disaster. Actually, Rishi Sunak (who lost the Tory bid) warned this would happen.
A new poll came out yesterday and it has Labour up by over +30%! Keir Starmer has a wide smile right now.
Personally, I don't think it was that bad. Biden calling for Jackie... I mean, it's not good, but it's not that bad. It's a gaffe. What I didn't like was the White House Press Secretary trying to spin it - she could've just said "it was a mistake" and that's it. No need to try to spin something that can't really be spun.
Everything Mermaids is doing is above board and legit. Chest binders are also completely safe as long as you're not trying to wear them 24 hours a day, as are puberty blockers, and asking for parental consent just opens trans children to abuse from violently transphobic parents.Totally shocking to see you jump back in the thread with the latest gender critical moral panic about trans support groups, though. I'm sure we're all totally surprised.
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/09/2...breast-binder/
The story largely relied on an unidentified adult masquerading as a 14-year-old child to access services from Mermaids, including the charity’s youth forum and web chat helpline.
The newspaper reported an email exchange between the charity and the adult – pretending to be a 14-year-old trans boy named “Kai” – in which staff agreed to provide them with a free binder after they had become “a member of the charity’s online Youth Forum for a month and posted three times”.
Mermaids also reportedly provided extensive information about safe binder wearing, and risks associated with binders, which can reduce dysphoria in some trans people.
The Telegraph expressed outrage that the charity did not grill the “child” on their mental health and require that they inform an adult, even though “Kai” had already described their family as unaccepting.
Last edited by Tendrin; 09-30-2022 at 02:51 AM.
I am shocked but not surprised that you would defend this garbage, what they're doing is disgusting. They are doing this to minors without authorization from their parents. On top of that, some parents have expressly said they do NOT authorize this - and they still went ahead and did it. To kids.
NHS is the UK's National Health Service and they say: "Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria."
I think the NHS - the UK's official health service - know more about this than you or me. It's interesting how folks only pay attention to science when it suits them.
The UK Police officially considers the chest binders a form of child abuse in the UK, link here:
https://www.met.police.uk/advice/adv...ng-flattening/
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you once said that these decisions (puberty blockers, surgery), for minors, should be taken between a doctor, the parents of the minor and the child (I can go back and find your post, if needed). And now you're saying that parental consent isn't required? Wow
"Everything Mermaids is doing is above board and legit" - an official investigation has been opened, so let's see if you're right about that... or not! It's all over the press here, here's another link from a left leaning news outlet, so you can't cry "moral panic":
https://www.theguardian.com/society/...en-to-children
(the Guardian is a bit more serious than "Pink News", btw)
Last edited by hyped78; 09-30-2022 at 03:22 AM.
So you agree that an external party should influence minors into doing something - which is considered potentially harmful by both the UK's National Health Service and the UK's Police - against their parents' wishes? Really?
On top of the NHS and the UK Police, there was a UK commissioned independent review (it's referred in the Sky News article), that concluded "that binding breasts can be painful and potentially harmful".
Parents can do whatever they think best for their minor kids. I am certainly not exposing my kids to this type of garbage.
Last edited by hyped78; 09-30-2022 at 03:34 AM.
Better known are the long-term side effects of DENYING hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria, they include severe depression and suicide.
They didn't do anything to kids. They offered them help and services, as pointed out, and let the children make their own decisions. Contrary to the view of some people, like yourself, children are not extensions of their parents and they are not owned by them.
First, puberty blockers have been around for decades. This is just some weasel wording about the idea of 'long-term' use of them. We don't know what they mean by 'long-term', but since very few chldren are on them 'long-term', it's not relevant to the discussion. Most children who go on puberty blockers do so as a step towards discerning their identity or not. The average use of puberty blockers is a year before they either drop it (very rare) or switch to HRT (way more common), so the statement is largely irrelevant beyond being useful to people trying to fearmonger like you are right now about treatment for trans children.NHS is the UK's National Health Service and they say: "Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria."
I think the NHS isn't perfect, and that the statement doesn't really allude to what you want it to.I think the NHS - the UK's official health service - know more about this than you or me. It's interesting how folks only pay attention to science when it suits them.
https://www.met.police.uk/advice/adv...ng-flattening/The UK Police officially considers the chest binders a form of child abuse in the UK, link here:
The UK police know the difference between what you're linking here (breast ironing) and breast binding. Unfortunately, you do not. Trying to conflate them just shows how easily manipulated you are by gender critical rhetoric and the depths of your ignorance.
Yes, I trust a child to know if their parent is safe to be open with with regards to their gender identity. Parents are not, in fact, safe, and no organization which cares about the safety of children should be required to out them to their parents.Correct me if I'm wrong, but you once said that these decisions (puberty blockers, surgery), for minors, should be taken between a doctor, the parents of the minor and the child (I can go back and find your post, if needed). And now you're saying that parental consent isn't required? Wow
It is, in fact, a moral panic."Everything Mermaids is doing is above board and legit" - an official investigation has been opened, so let's see if you're right about that... or not! It's all over the press here, here's another link from a left leaning news outlet, so you can't cry "moral panic":
https://www.theguardian.com/society/...en-to-children
The Guardian has a long history of indulging transphobia, just like most of the UK press.(the Guardian is a bit more serious than "Pink News", btw)[
Last edited by Tendrin; 09-30-2022 at 03:41 AM.
Last edited by Tendrin; 09-30-2022 at 03:40 AM.