WTF Sh*t's F*cked Up and Bullsh*t - a "Who Cares" thread for news

[Rose Karuna]

He said, "Kid, what'd you get?"

I said, "I didn't get nothin'. I had to pay fifty dollars and pick up the garbage."

He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?" and I said, "litterin'"
And they all moved away from me on the bench there, with the hairy eyeball
And all kinds of mean, nasty things, till I said, "And creatin' a nuisance"
And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the
Bench talkin' about crime, mother-stabbin', father-rapin', all kinds
Of groovy things that we was talkin' about on the bench, and everything was fine

Alice's restaurant was the first thing I thought of when I read about moving over on the "group W" bench.

 

[Free]

He said, "Kid, what'd you get?"

I said, "I didn't get nothin'. I had to pay fifty dollars and pick up the garbage."

He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?" and I said, "litterin'"
And they all moved away from me on the bench there, with the hairy eyeball
And all kinds of mean, nasty things, till I said, "And creatin' a nuisance"
And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the
Bench talkin' about crime, mother-stabbin', father-rapin', all kinds
Of groovy things that we was talkin' about on the bench, and everything was fine

I don't recall the lyric about probing a man's anus.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Video shows North Carolina deputy picking up, slamming child to floor

Footage of the Vance County Middle School resource officer's action "stunned" and "shocked" the county sheriff.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Tigger]

Video shows North Carolina deputy picking up, slamming child to floor

Footage of the Vance County Middle School resource officer's action "stunned" and "shocked" the county sheriff.

www.nbcnews.com

Sheriff Brame said he was not aware of any previous complaints about this deputy. It also wasn't clear what the child might have said or done leading up to the body slams, but Brame said.

(bolding mine)

It doesn't matter what the kid did or said. The kid could have called the guys mother a whore it doesn't matter. One is a child and one is paid, trained professional who should be conducting himself with the highest of professional standards mindful of his position representing law enforcement to the children of the school.

The guy is not fit to wear a uniform, except a prison uniform. That is one of the more outrageous things Ive seen from american policing.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Darth Vader as gargoyle at Washington National Cathedral:

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Technically that's just a grotesque because it doesn't have a spout.

 

[Romana]

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

It gives me no joy to see this one, but I can't seem to muster much more than a shrug.

 

[Free]

Church elder tried to pay for Grindr sex with Arby's card, say police

“Sir? This is an Arby's card.”

boingboing.net

The times they are a-changin'.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Judge rules against researcher who lost job over transgender tweets

Maya Forstater’s view of sex ‘not worthy of respect in democratic society’, employment judge finds

www.theguardian.com

The quotes from Ms Forstater and her representatives present the issue as one of freedom of speech about an important social and medical issue, but as the article suggests, and the judgment makes clear, the real problem was her instance on misgendering people.

It's only a preliminary ruling, of course, and, as the Employment Judge's very full and helpful analysis shows, it raises a wide range of human rights issues, so it will doubtless go all the way to the Supreme Court and possibly the ECHR.

Nevertheless, good news, to my mind, and I think anyone interested in trans rights and free speech issues may find the judgment provides a useful and accessible analysis of several important questions.

 

[Romana]

I guess this belongs here, too, then:


The Brits here have probably heard of this story, but for the non-Brits like me, here's a link:

Judge rules against researcher who lost job over transgender tweets

Maya Forstater’s view of sex ‘not worthy of respect in democratic society’, employment judge finds

www.theguardian.com

And if you're interested, check that hashtag for a lot of angry pro- and con- tweets. Whew!

 

[Tigger]

US free trade agreement with Wakanda has ended.

Yeah, you read that right.

Free trade isn't forever: USDA tariff tracker removes fictional Wakanda as country

"The Wakanda information should have been removed after testing and has now been taken down," a USDA spokesman said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Rowling also said that wizards just poop wherever they happen to be and vanish the leavings.

 

[Romana]

Rowling also said that wizards just poop wherever they happen to be and vanish the leavings.

Stuff like that, I think she’s just trolling the fans, though.

 

[Lady Darnk Juniorette]

Good to see JK go public with her terf bullshit.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I guess this belongs here, too, then:


The Brits here have probably heard of this story, but for the non-Brits like me, here's a link:

Judge rules against researcher who lost job over transgender tweets

Maya Forstater’s view of sex ‘not worthy of respect in democratic society’, employment judge finds

www.theguardian.com

And if you're interested, check that hashtag for a lot of angry pro- and con- tweets. Whew!

I have this weird habit of reading the judgment in contentious court cases, rather than relying on summaries in either the press or twitter, which often leaves me feeling I live in a somewhat parallel universe to many people and, in this case, J K Rowling.

So far the case hasn't been decided one way or another, and won't be for some months, but this was a preliminary hearing, requested by both sides, to determine whether or not, in the Tribunal's view, the insistence of the claimant (Ms Forstater) on misgendering people was an example of protected speech as defined by both domestic and ECHR law.

In other words, it's similar territory to "it's offensive to my religious beliefs to bake wedding cakes for same sex marriages or to issue marriage licences for them, so I shouldn't have to do it."

After a detailed consideration of the facts of the case and the law, the judge analyses the various arguments advanced by both sides and concludes (para #84, p 26)

There is nothing to stop the Claimant campaigning against the proposed revision to the Gender Recognition Act to be based more on self-identification. She is entitled to put forward her opinion that these should be some spaces that are limited to women assigned female at birth where it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. However, that does not mean that her absolutist view that sex is immutable is a protected belief for the purposes of the EqA. The Claimant can legitimately put forward her arguments about the importance of some safe spaces that are only be available to women identified female at birth, without insisting on calling trans women men.

Seems to me not unreasonable to fire people for refusing to follow the law of the land by misgendering people -- whose dignity, privacy and right to freedom from harassment and intimidation are, of course, also protected by UK and European law.

 

[Lady Darnk Juniorette]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Also:

The Claimant could generally avoid the huge offense caused by calling a trans woman a man without having to refer to her as a woman, as it is often not necessary to refer to a person sex at all. However, where it is, I consider requiring the Claimant to refer to a trans woman as a woman is justified to avoid harassment of that person. Similarly, I do not accept that there is a failure to engage with the importance of the Claimant’s qualified right to freedom of expression, as it is legitimate to exclude a belief that necessarily harms the rights of others through refusal to accept the full effect of a Gender Recognition Certificate or causing harassment to trans women by insisting they are men and trans men by insisting they are women. The human rights balancing exercise goes against the Claimant because of the absolutist approach she adopts.
Judgment, para 91

 

[Romana]

Thanks, Innula. It was the hullabaloo on Twitter that had caught my attention, and when I posted it here I had only just found the news articles myself.
I hadn't thought to look up the actual judgment, which doesn't sound at all f**ed up.
The acrimony on Twitter is.
I can understand the ire of the trans community; I don't understand that of the people who are bothered by addressing them correctly, including Maya Forstater. It's like their opinion that binary is all there is, is a religious belief, like the cake thing, as you said.
I particularly don't understand why JK Rowling had to dive in to the fray.
FFS, why can't they let people be who they are?