All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Dalak]

Schools do not have to accept a child's request to socially transition

Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers

Not to mention the constant attacks on the transgender community from members of the government.
Rishi Sunak
Suella Braverman
Kemi Badenoch


Do you think it has nothing to do with the toxic atmosphere in the society and attacks (and murders) on trans people?

Neither of the things you quote were new laws passed in Parliament, both were guidance documents. One indicated thar schools had a responsibility to consult parents when children wanted to change gender.

The other was a decision by medical professionals that puberty blocking drugs should not be ROUTiNELY prescribed by the Nattional Health Service. Thats driven by the lack of medical certainty that the drugs are completely safe. (Its still legal to get a private prescription, and NHS doctors can prescribe if they think it's medically necessary.)

I think characterising those guidelines as transphobic would be an enormous stretch.


I do agree that the public statements of sone politicians are hateful and misguided.

And, of course..there are some vile incidents in UK society, but those break existing laws and are punished.

On balance, the legal framework in UK, and just importantly the general liberal approach of most members of UK society is supportive of principle that individuals should be able to live the life they chose, more so (I think) than most societies. (I know 2 trans women well...one a close work colleague, one a close friend. Both live happy and productive lives. I think that would be difficult in many countries.)

In general, I don't "get" why UK is often singled out for adverse comment on this issue.

I believe that if people are questioning the safety of puberty blocking medications that have been used since the 80's, it isn't a valid medical opinion motivating the questioning. In that case, there is no stretch to classify it at least as Transphobic. I've heard lots of references to TERF Island, but that's more about the feminists seen as attacking Transgender individuals. I think that Transphobia in particular and anti-LGBTQ+ hate in general are being ramped up globally as it's a way for authoritarian-minded people to focus hate on a minority to distract the populace from other harms being done, and that doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon.

Yeah I’m shocked people still celebrate when he gets charged with a crime or still truly believe he will get any prison time. Haven’t we all learned by now that he will never have any comeuppance?

I have always know deep down he would never go to prison even if he were to be convicted. I guess I still had hope they would at least take his money away, but now I see they won't even allow that.

So I'm done.

The judgment is still in place.

If I believed that there isn't a possibility of a successful attempt to get out of it, the fact that there is a judgement would reassure me. As I don't have that confidence, I am not reassured.

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses in Baltimore after ship strike

Twitter is already blaming Biden, Ukraine, and the Jews.

I saw the footage. All that room UNDER that bridge, yet that ship struck it. Assuming the ship's bridge had been destroyed in the collapse, and the crew killed, we might never learn what happened.

I am sure they will find out if it was mechanical failure or human failure.

*fingers crossed*

So if I get this right, Putin is now saying that the Jewish Nazi in Ukraine sent Islamist terrorists to Moscow?

Hell, give Putin some time and he'll release an undercover video of Zelenskyy personally paying the killers before sending them off to Moscow.

The gays must be in on it.

I want an acceptable 80's level Acronym for LGBT that makes them as terrifying as COBRA!

[AnakinFlair]

I saw the footage. All that room UNDER that bridge, yet that ship struck it. Assuming the ship's bridge had been destroyed in the collapse, and the crew killed, we might never learn what happened.

The bridge on those ships are near the aft of the vessel. All crewmembers have been reported to have been rescued. What I'm hearing now is that the ship lost power shortly before it hit the bridge.

[Dalak]

If it's not a matter of anti-conservative bias, we could consider whether there are any regular posters who share my views or are to my right (or willing to vote for Trump for that matter) who are treated more warmly.

I also don't think that people here would mind if I used the same tone or sources or confidence, but was never critical of Democrats (except sometimes to suggest that they consider going more to the left.)

If we wanted to look at the specifics in this case and not your loaded framing of the situation, we would examine how many other posters share the same behaviors you've displayed. Those behaviors being (and not limited to these, which aren't in any particular order): Ignoring Evidence Posted, Playing Dumb to the point of Pretending not to Understand basic things like arithmetic, Sealioning, Refusing to Post Requested Evidence, Innumerable Double Standards, Lying about & to other posters while refusing to accept the evidence of your own posts, Gaslighting, Saying others should call out people who are wrong on the facts but when you are called out you frame it as a personal attack, Saying others can't ask you to spend your time a certain way and yet wasting other's time by deliberately not replying to specific posts/points within them, Shifting Goalposts, Excusing Bigotry in some you agree with politically, Refusing to admit you are wrong on so many occasions, and far more which have been brought up with your own posts & others as evidence in the past.

I believe that if other regular posters shared those behaviors and/or the view that they are acceptable, they would have been permanently banned long ago. Those behaviors have nothing to do with political beliefs even if I feel they are influenced by your political bias and encouraged by others who share your political beliefs.

BTW, I think that if you were actually focused on specifics and being on the factually correct side of an argument as you've claimed, you'd be more focused on the facts and specifics of this situation instead of making such an easily disproven post.

[Tendrin]

With regards to the bridge collapse, it looks like the ship lost power, raised alarm at the port, that they tried to evacuate the bridge, and the ship collided with it despite the crew trying to deal with the power outtage. Kind of a worst-case-scenario for everyone involved.

No bridge could survive a ship colliding with a main support pillar after all.

On the other topic: puberty blockers are safe and effective. They have been prescribed to cis children suffering from precocious puberty for decades. Their use in trans children is 'off label', but the effects and side effects and mechanics are well understood. Given that these medications will still be routinely prescribed to cis children, it is safe to say that transphobia is still the root cause here. Of course it is. The Tories are looking to suffer a major beating in the next UK elections and they're targetting trans people because transphobes are noisy losers.

[ed2962]

It was a power failure that the crew reported before striking the bridge. It was under the control of one of the port's pilots. At least two people were rescued from the water so far, one in critical condition, and the other seems fine. There seem to be six people known to be missing. Others were saved when drivers who had not yet gotten on the bridge stopped others from trying to get on the bridge. It happened around 1:30 AM.

Give it a little time. Folks will start blaming it on DEI.

[Tendrin]

Give it a little time. Folks will start blaming it on DEI.

Oh, they already are. And Ukraine.

[CaptainEurope]

I am sure they will find out if it was mechanical failure or human failure.

The video shows a complete blackout on the ship, and then what looks like an effort to fire up the main Diesel engine quickly to avoid the disaster.

[CaptainEurope]

I want an acceptable 80's level Acronym for LGBT that makes them as terrifying as COBRA!

Qualified Unit Endorsing Extreme Radicalism. Q.U.E.E.R.

[Zelena]

So if I get this right, Putin is now saying that the Jewish Nazi in Ukraine sent Islamist terrorists to Moscow?

He looked so pissed on the video to have to say that maybe it isn’t Ukraine… So he’s still said it even if it doesn’t make any sense. Putin would be funny if all of this wasn’t so serious…

[Catlady in training]

Neither of the things you quote were new laws passed in Parliament, both were guidance documents. One indicated thar schools had a responsibility to consult parents when children wanted to change gender.

The other was a decision by medical professionals that puberty blocking drugs should not be ROUTiNELY prescribed by the Nattional Health Service. Thats driven by the lack of medical certainty that the drugs are completely safe. (Its still legal to get a private prescription, and NHS doctors can prescribe if they think it's medically necessary.)

I think characterising those guidelines as transphobic would be an enormous stretch.


I do agree that the public statements of sone politicians are hateful and misguided.

And, of course..there are some vile incidents in UK society, but those break existing laws and are punished.

On balance, the legal framework in UK, and just importantly the general liberal approach of most members of UK society is supportive of principle that individuals should be able to live the life they chose, more so (I think) than most societies. (I know 2 trans women well...one a close work colleague, one a close friend. Both live happy and productive lives. I think that would be difficult in many countries.)

In general, I don't "get" why UK is often singled out for adverse comment on this issue.

I agree that UK is generally more tolerant and liberal than the rest of the world. I was talking specifically about the current direction of the Conservative party. Yes, they are very transphobic and it is not a surprise, finding a group of people to attack in order to distract from mistakes that affect the majority of population is a tactic used by many, if not most politicians. In less liberal countries it can be other groups, like LGBTQ+ people in general, racial minorities, liberals, etc. My guess is that at this point, attacking other groups would not be quite as tolerated by the general public, so they pick the one group they think they might get away with.

Regarding the guidance documents: I might be wrong but I thought that NHS being publicly funded makes it government adjacent and technically under Department of Health and Social Care. If that is not how it works in the UK, my mistake. But the guidance for schools has been issued by the Department for Education, so I don't see how there can be any confusion on my part in placing the blame on the government. The fact that all of the backlash I have seen on the internet is directed at them makes me think I am not wrong in that. And yes, it is transphobic.

As for why the UK is often singled out: I can only provide my own personal opinion which might lack a lot of perspective, so take everything following with a grain of salt. I think it might be a combination of:
1) A lot of prominent "gender critical" figures being from UK. Why that is, I don't know.
2) Exactly because UK has been pretty liberal in LGBTQ+ rights, so a backslide seems more alarming than other countries not moving forward. I certainly don't want to look like I'm critical only to UK and USA. I apologize if I come across that way. I have a lot of criticism towards my own country's government and population about their attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people which are just as alarming. Same for our neighboring countries. I just don't post about it here, unless there is something so bad it makes international news. A homophobic and transphobic country continuing being homophobic and transphobic is not as newsworthy as country that was once a champion in LGBTQ+ rights going backwards. Especially if it's been seen as safe haven for people from other countries who now don't know just where is it safe to move to, if this trend might continue for other liberal countries as well. It's not just about the laws and rhetoric aimed at trans kids. As has been pointed out by other posters multiple times, it starts at trans kids and then moves to trans adults, then to all LGBTQ+ people.

[Username taken]

Give it a little time. Folks will start blaming it on DEI.

I've already seen comments online today.

[Catlady in training]

So if I get this right, Putin is now saying that the Jewish Nazi in Ukraine sent Islamist terrorists to Moscow?

I don't think that people who still genuinely believe what he says are the sharpest thinkers, so he might just get away with it with his loyal fanbase.

[Gray Lensman]

With regards to the bridge collapse, it looks like the ship lost power, raised alarm at the port, that they tried to evacuate the bridge, and the ship collided with it despite the crew trying to deal with the power outtage. Kind of a worst-case-scenario for everyone involved.

No bridge could survive a ship colliding with a main support pillar after all.

On the other topic: puberty blockers are safe and effective. They have been prescribed to cis children suffering from precocious puberty for decades. Their use in trans children is 'off label', but the effects and side effects and mechanics are well understood. Given that these medications will still be routinely prescribed to cis children, it is safe to say that transphobia is still the root cause here. Of course it is. The Tories are looking to suffer a major beating in the next UK elections and they're targetting trans people because transphobes are noisy losers.

Puberty blockers do require constant testing to be able to react in time to possible side effects - there have been cases of extremely early osteoporosis in some who have taken them. I don't think it's enough to try to ban them, but anyone on them needs to keep up on testing. You never know if you are going to be that unlucky one out of a hundred (or whatever the actual number is).

[Mister Mets]

If we wanted to look at the specifics in this case and not your loaded framing of the situation, we would examine how many other posters share the same behaviors you've displayed. Those behaviors being (and not limited to these, which aren't in any particular order): Ignoring Evidence Posted, Playing Dumb to the point of Pretending not to Understand basic things like arithmetic, Sealioning, Refusing to Post Requested Evidence, Innumerable Double Standards, Lying about & to other posters while refusing to accept the evidence of your own posts, Gaslighting, Saying others should call out people who are wrong on the facts but when you are called out you frame it as a personal attack, Saying others can't ask you to spend your time a certain way and yet wasting other's time by deliberately not replying to specific posts/points within them, Shifting Goalposts, Excusing Bigotry in some you agree with politically, Refusing to admit you are wrong on so many occasions, and far more which have been brought up with your own posts & others as evidence in the past.

I believe that if other regular posters shared those behaviors and/or the view that they are acceptable, they would have been permanently banned long ago. Those behaviors have nothing to do with political beliefs even if I feel they are influenced by your political bias and encouraged by others who share your political beliefs.

BTW, I think that if you were actually focused on specifics and being on the factually correct side of an argument as you've claimed, you'd be more focused on the facts and specifics of this situation instead of making such an easily disproven post.

I don't think my framing is loaded, but we could evaluate whether there are any untrue assumptions like whether there is any regular poster who is as or more willing to vote for Republicans in general elections who is treated more warmly.

I do think I'm nicer to "many other posters" than they are to me, and that I'll meet their standards in terms of things like responding to counter-evidence or admitting errors.

I do think we should be respectful of others' time and that some claims on my time have been unreasonable.

If anyone wants to point to specifics, we can do that.

As I've said before, in our big argument, which has spanned years and hundreds of posts across the previous thread, you seemed to believe that it's so obvious that a writer for a mainstream media outlet lied about a sensitive topic in a way that nobody else has noticed that is worth insulting someone years later for disagreeing. I disagree.

I'll post the links in case anyone thinks I'm misinterpreting anything.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6292552

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6292556

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6293027

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6633654

You have a habit of making typos and then getting angry and evasive later, which makes it hard to figure out what the specific disagreement is.

I addressed that post at the time.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6635443

I also addressed the other post you quote.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6636609

It does require the writer to make a mistake equivalent to assuming that the average human being has one testicle and one ovary, with nobody else calling them out. I don't think that's the case, nor is to so obvious as to merit dozens of posts over several years hectoring someone who disagrees.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

With regards to the bridge collapse, it looks like the ship lost power, raised alarm at the port, that they tried to evacuate the bridge, and the ship collided with it despite the crew trying to deal with the power outtage. Kind of a worst-case-scenario for everyone involved.

No bridge could survive a ship colliding with a main support pillar after all.

Saw a video on Facebook where the lights on that ship winked out before it hit the bridge. The only saving grace was that it happened around 1:30 in the morning when there was very little traffic on the bridge. If that happened, say five or six hours later in the middle of morning rush hour, it would've been a monumental disaster with heaven only knows how many lives lost.