The perversion of the English language

Language is a powerful vessel. It defines how we think, speak, write, and communicate. If you control language, you control the masses.

It is no wonder that left-wing ideologues are working to hijack the English language.

As a writer, it has been deeply concerning to see how certain words and phrases have been altered to suit modern narratives and agendas over the past few years. Take Covid as the example. We saw definitions ‘evolve’ to current needs when the predictions of ‘experts’ failed to live up to historical standards. Instead of an apology, words were changed.

Readers may remember ‘vaccine’ and ‘herd immunity’.

The World Health Organisation’s definition of ‘herd immunity’ on June 9, 2020 was:

Herd immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection. This means that even people who haven’t been infected, or in whom an infection hasn’t triggered an immune response, they are protected because people around them who are immune can act as buffers between them and an infected person. The threshold for establishing herd immunity for COVID-19 is not yet known.

Five months later, on November 13, 2020, the definition was changed to the following:

‘Herd immunity’, also known as ‘population immunity’, is a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached. Herd immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to it.

See the difference?

The scientific concept of herd immunity did not change. There was no ‘new science’ or medical revelations to justify the alteration of its definition.

What we had instead was a gap emerging between public expectation and raw Covid statistics. They even added quotation marks to lower the status of a hard scientific principle to a ‘concept’.

We come to the inescapable reality that the definition was changed to protect governments around the world, their health ministers, and medical bureaucrats.

The CDC also changed their definition of ‘vaccination’ from ‘the act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease’ to ‘the act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce protection from a specific disease.’ They claimed it was changed because a false impression was given that vaccines were 100 per cent effective, when no vaccine is. Mind you, most childhood vaccines are over 96 per cent effective while flu vaccines remain generally ineffectual. Covid did not alter this dynamic, merely highlighted a little-known fact.

If you run a ‘fact check’ on this, you’ll come up with the usual screeching of ‘this is fake news!’ but click through to the detail and you find that it is true, it just ‘lacks context’. The context in question is the lacklustre performance of mRNA vaccines.

‘The change also addresses the new technology of mRNA vaccines in light of the Covid pandemic,’ says USA TODAY.

You might as well write, ‘They performed so poorly we had to lower everyone’s expectations via the language.’

Definitions surrounding Covid were not the only ones altered.

More recently, we have seen the definitions of ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ changed to accommodate the Woke teachings of gender fluidity.

(I want to note here that when editing this piece, Microsoft Word’s Editor function, which now has an ‘inclusiveness section’ suggested I change boy and girl to ‘children’ because ‘a gender-neutral term here would be more inclusive’.)

Merriam-Webster ‘updated’ their definition of ‘girl’ to:

A person whose gender identity is female.

Then they ‘updated’ the definition of ‘boy’ to:

A child whose gender identity is male.

They also took the liberty of ‘updating’ the words ‘female’ and ‘male’ to:

Female: Having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.

Male: Having a gender identity that is the opposite of female.

These definitions are vague when they should be distinct. They place the emphasis on identification, not biology. If one identifies as male, or identifies as female, then they are now, by definition, male or female.

Watering down words into ambiguities allows the conflating of sex with gender. Children learning this revised language are led to believe, wrongly, that reality is as malleable as language. It is not hard to see why more people are homeschooling their kids…

Merriam-Webster also changed the definition of ‘racism’, now defining it as:

The systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another. Specifically: WHITE SUPREMACY

Sound familiar? That’s because it is the doctrine of left-wing ideologues. We often hear about how ‘systemic racism’ is a problem in America from these individuals, be they in government, the media, or protesters on the streets at a Black Lives Matter riot (ahem?) protest. There’s a whole lot more of this kind of nonsense on the page for ‘racism’ on Merriam-Webster’s website, which you can take a look at here.

America is now, by means of determining whether a country is in a recession, in a recession. But the government does not want to admit the country is in a recession. The Biden administration knows that it has done a terrible job of managing the economy, but rather than come out and say it, the administration changed the definition recession.

The White House updated their website during the week to declare the following:

What is a recession? While some maintain that two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP constitute a recession, that is neither the official definition nor the way economists evaluate the state of the business cycle. Instead, both official determinations of recessions and economists’ assessment of economic activity are based on a holistic look at the data – including the labor market, consumer and business spending, industrial production, and incomes. Based on these data, it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year – even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter – indicates a recession.

Biden’s economic adviser, Brian Deese also stated:

‘Two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of recession.’

A quick Google search for the definition of ‘recession,’ which comes from the Oxford Dictionary, says the exact opposite:

A period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

The media went along with it. They told everyone that there were ‘fears of a recession,’ not that the country was already in one. They are rewriting reality as it occurs, much like the Ministry of Truth featured in Orwell’s 1984.

Wikipedia quickly changed their definition of ‘recession’ to favour the Biden administration before locking the page so that no one could change it back to what it truly was. They followed this by updating the page to include a warning at the top stating that ‘some media outlets have circulated an outdated version of this article, claimed to be its current state’. We can’t be having people seeing the true definition of a recession if it makes the government look bad, now can we?

Why should we care about dictionaries and websites changing definitions of words? Why does it matter?

Here’s why.

If they can alter definitions, they can alter are perception of reality. They can alter facts. And, ultimately, they can alter truth.

It is clear that these definitions have been changed to suit political agendas. This is about redefining reality. It is exactly what the Ministry of Truth did in 1984. That fictional regime altered facts and changed what was real to suit the needs of the Party (the government). In fact, they updated the dictionary often, publishing new editions with the acceptable definitions of words. The language used was NewSpeak, a language where terms had been altered beyond recognition, far from what they really meant.

This is taking place around us, and it is only the start. They will go after more terms and change more definitions until no one remembers what the old, true meanings were. And if someone accuses them of changing these meanings, they will gaslight them, claiming they never did.

Gaslighting is a common tactic. For an example, see Planned Parenthood. Prior to Wednesday July 27, their website stated:

Treating an ectopic pregnancy isn’t the same thing is getting an abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure that when done safely, ends a pregnancy that’s in your uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are unsafely outside of your uterus (usually in the fallopian tubes), and are removed with a medicine called methotrexate or through a laparoscopic surgical procedure. The medical procedures for abortions are not the same as the medical procedures for an ectopic pregnancy.

They have since updated the website to remove this distinction. The result has been a heightened sense of fear from those that believe the overturning of Roe v. Wade will prevent them from legally terminating ectopic pregnancies. This is despite the fact that every state exempts ectopic pregnancies from their abortion laws.

If the manipulation of language in pursuit of politics is not addressed, the situation will worsen. We have a consortium of people who seek the death of truth. Eventually, society will no longer be able to tell the truth from a government fiction.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/09/the-perversion-of-the-english-language/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Teacher who refused to use student's gender-neutral pronouns condemns 'insanity' as he is JAILED in Ireland

A teacher who refused to use gender-neutral pronouns for a transgender student has been sent to Mountjoy prison for contempt of court.

Enoch Burke was arrested yesterday morning for breaching a court order not to teach at his Westmeath school, or be physically present there.

After Judge Michael Quinn made his ruling, Mr Burke said: 'It is insanity that I will be led from this courtroom to a place of incarceration, but I will not give up my Christian beliefs.'

Counsel for Wilson's Hospital School's board of management said it was with a 'heavy heart' that it sought Mr Burke's committal to prison, but she said her client had been left with no choice as Mr Burke continued to attend the school, despite the court order which it had obtained last week.

The dispute began over his refusal to address a transitioning student as 'they' rather than 'he', as requested by the student and their parents in May, and agreed to by the Church of Ireland school.

This escalated to his suspension on the day before the start of the autumn term, pending the outcome of a disciplinary process.

He had refused to remain away from the school on paid leave for that suspension, the court heard, and would sit in an empty classroom, declaring that he was there to work.

Mr Burke told Judge Quinn: 'I am a teacher and I don't want to go to prison. I want to be in my classroom today, that's where I was this morning when I was arrested.'

He said he loved his students, to whom he teaches German, history and politics, as well as debating.

'I love my school, with its motto Res Non Verba, actions not words, but I am here today because I said I would not call a boy a girl.'

He added: 'Transgenderism is against my Christian belief. It is contrary to the scriptures, contrary to the ethos of the Church of Ireland and of my school.'

Referring to his suspension, Mr Burke said: 'It is extraordinary and reprehensible that someone's religious beliefs on this matter could ever be taken as grounds for an allegation of misconduct.

'My religious beliefs are not misconduct. They are not gross misconduct. They never will be. They are dear to me. I will never deny them and never betray them, and I will never bow to an order that would require me to do so. It is just not possible for me to do that.'

He described his suspension as 'unreasonable, unjust and unfair'. He added: 'There has been a dumbing down of the seriousness of suspension. It is a serious step.

'It has tarnished my good character and my good name, particularly in the profession of a teacher, where one is so close to a large number of members of the local community. It leaves a stain on what has been, for me, an unblemished teaching record.'

Mr Burke said he had a wonderful relationship with his pupils, who knew him as a man of 'professed morals and convictions'.

He asked how he could return to school and bow to something he believed to be 'manifestly wrong', which he also described as a 'violation of my conscience'. Mr Burke told the court that he believed that 'around this country, teachers are being forced to participate... they are being forced to use the pronoun "they" instead of either "he" or "she".'

Rosemary Mallon BL, for the board of management, told Judge Michael Quinn that her client had no choice but to ask the court to send Burke to prison for breach of a court order.

'It is a coercive order we are seeking, not a punitive order. We are simply seeking to have Mr Burke comply with the order.

'...Mr Burke is knowingly in breach of this order, he is therefore in contempt and he has made it clear that if he is not committed to prison he will attend at the school [today], and the concerns of the school regarding the ongoing disruption to the students remain,' she added.

She noted that Mr Burke could make his arguments at court tomorrow, when the injunction obtained last week is due to be reviewed, and at the school's disciplinary hearing this month.

Judge Quinn said he was not ruling on the merits of Mr Burke's arguments regarding his religious belief or his suspension, but merely on the question of whether there had been a wilful breach of a court order.

He said that Mr Burke could purge his contempt at any stage, by agreeing to the order not to attend the school or attempt to teach there.

Mr Burke was accompanied to court by four gardaí, his father Seán and brother Isaac.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11184043/Teacher-refused-use-students-gender-neutral-pronouns-JAILED-Ireland.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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The Untold Story of the Flight Attendant Fired for Expressing Pro-Life Views

Although she was about to publicly reveal a nightmarish personal experience—and the worst mistake of her life—Charlene Carter strode confidently through a stately Dallas federal courtroom.

Carter knew her testimony would prove pivotal in her five-year quest to be reinstated as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant. But she also believed she was carrying the torch for freedom of speech, employee rights, and right versus wrong.

As muffled gasps rippled through the gallery, Carter disclosed the untold story that gave rise to the anti-abortion views that got her fired. At age 19, she aborted an unwanted pregnancy. The decision would haunt Carter in almost every facet of her life, touching off a chain reaction that thrust her into the national spotlight.

Last month, days after Carter testified in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, a jury voted to award her more than $5 million—a unanimous verdict declaring that Carter’s ex-employer trampled her rights and illegally fired her for “protected speech” about religious beliefs and opposition to her union, Transport Workers Union of America Local 556.

The jury also decided that Local 556 breached its duty to represent Carter. Instead of protecting Carter’s interests, the union president sought to get Carter fired for social media activities. On Facebook, Carter railed against the union’s participation in the 2017 Women’s March—a massive protest that abortion provider Planned Parenthood sponsored in Washington, D.C., the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Now, as lawyers spar over how the will of Carter’s jury should be imposed, Carter still doesn’t know whether she’ll get her job back—and concerns are mounting over the alleged unholy alliance that Carter’s case exposed: union leaders and company management working in concert to target union dissidents for terminations.

“For a long time, Charlene stood by herself, with very few people by her side … people misunderstood the nature of the lawsuit,” said a Southwest worker who asked not to be identified for fear of losing her job.

Now that Carter’s trial transcripts are publicly available, many airline employees have been reading them. “And they see this is much bigger than her, and that she’s not just some crazy right-wing, pro-life nut,” the Southwest employee said. “This is about freedom of speech for all of us, freedom to oppose the union, and to stand up for what you believe in.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-untold-story-of-the-flight-attendant-fired-for-expressing-pro-life-views_4671438.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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U.S. Forces Ordered to Stop Using Gender Pronouns to Improve ‘Lethality’

A division of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the branch tasked with confronting China, has ordered its senior leaders and commanders to stop using gender pronouns in written formats, saying the shift to more neutral language will help improve the fighting force’s "lethality."

"In accordance with the Diverse PACAF priority, ‘We must embrace, promote and unleash the potential of diversity and inclusion," states a May email sent to senior leaders and commanders at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, which operates under the Pacific Air Forces, according to a partial copy of the order obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Leaders at the base are instructed, "Do not use pronouns, age, race, etc." when writing performance reviews or other materials, such as recommendations for awards. "Competition against near-peer adversaries requires a united focus from the command, the joint team, and our international partners. Welcoming and employing varied perspectives from a foundation of mutual respect will improve our interoperability, efficiency, creativity, and lethality."

The policy change is part of a larger effort by the Biden administration and U.S. military to foster what it says is a more culturally sensitive environment. The U.S. Navy, for instance, recently published a video instructing its sailors on proper gender pronouns. The Army also mandates gender identity training and trains officers on when to offer subordinates gender-transition surgery, the Free Beacon first reported in March. Critics of these moves say a woke cultural agenda is handicapping America’s fighting forces and distracting it from pressing global challenges, such as terrorism and China’s aggressive war moves.

A spokesman for the Anderson Air Force Base confirmed the authenticity of the email, telling the Free Beacon that the Air Force is shifting "to a narrative writing format for awards and performance reports." The ban on "pronouns, age, race" and other written descriptors is "intended to eliminate any information that could identify the nominee's name, gender, age, or race so that all members had a fair and equal chance at winning."

The Andersen air base, the spokesman said, specifically "developed local quarterly award guidance to ensure each nominee was considered without the potential of unfair biases." Leaders at the base are "continually working to remove barriers and [are] dedicated to ensuring all members have the opportunity to excel."

The email goes on to list "authorized" and "unauthorized" examples of pronoun use. The "unauthorized examples" include: "He/She did," "Best male/female," "Youngest/Oldest," and "Sergeant Murray." The list of "authorized examples" include: "This sergeant," "This NCO [Non-commissioned officer]," and "This member."

The policy shift jibes with the Pacific Air Forces’ overarching goal to promote "diversity and inclusion" at all levels of the service, according to the military spokesman.

"Unleashing the potential of diversity and inclusion at all levels is a Pacific Air Forces' priority and something we strive for at Andersen," the spokesman said. "Diversity and inclusion are force multipliers and warfighting imperatives that enable our competitive advantage against near-peer adversaries."

Rebeccah Heinrichs, a defense policy expert and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank, told the Free Beacon that the Pacific Air Forces’ intense focus on pronoun issues is "a giant sucking waste of time."

Military leaders who should be focused on defending the United States from an ever-increasing array of threats—particularly in the Pacific, where China is flexing its military might—are instead spending valuable time thinking about rules on proper pronoun use.

"It is painful to think about the amount of time servicemen have already spent writing these rules instead of figuring out how to beat China," Henrichs said. "Somebody needs to remind DoD leadership that they’re in the business of preventing and winning wars and not in the Oberlin lounge."

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-forces-ordered-to-stop-using-gender-pronouns-to-improve-lethality/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Twitter Suspension of "Libs of TikTok" Is Blatant ‘Double Standard

Twitter has suspended the "Libs of TikTok" account, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn says that only further highlights the social media platform’s double standard.

“Time and again, we’ve witnessed Big Tech’s double standard against conservatives,” Blackburn, R-Tenn., told The Daily Signal in an email Tuesday. “The Ayatollah is allowed on Twitter without question, but conservatives who hold up a mirror to the left’s agenda get suspended for ‘misinformation.’”

Libs of TikTok has gained international attention for sharing the radical left’s videos posted on the social media platform TikTok. The posts often highlight the radical nature of the left’s view on issues such as the transgender movement.

Libs of TikTok, which is run by Chaya Raichik of Brooklyn, New York, has 1.3 million followers on Twitter.

On Saturday night, Seth Dillon, the CEO of the satirical news website The Babylon Bee, tweeted that “Libs of TikTok has been locked out for ‘hateful conduct.’”

Libs of TikTok won’t be allowed to post or share content for seven days. It’s not clear which post Twitter found to be “hateful conduct,” but the suspension follows a post containing an audio recording of a telephone conversation that indicates Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., performs “‘gender-affirming’ hysterectomies on minors, including 16-year-olds and ‘younger kids.’”

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/08/31/twitter-suspension-of-libs-of-tiktok-is-blatant-double-standard-sen-blackburn-says

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Woke language

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) once said: ‘The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.’ And if the woke have their way our world is getting smaller all the time; the walls closing in like the trash compactor in Star Wars. And in this world nothing remains where it was the last time you looked. J.K. Rowling is part of the furniture today and on the trash heap tomorrow. In one decade the gay community is sneering at marriage as an outdated institution for ‘breeders’ in the next they are demanding it for themselves.

In this linguistic and ontological fog we are grateful to Kevin Donnelly for shining a bright light in the form of his new book The Woke Dictionary. This is a fully revised, expanded and updated edition of his earlier book, A Politically Correct Dictionary and Guide (2019). What is remarkable is how much has changed in the three years since the earlier publication.

For example, did you know that cow’s milk ‘has long been a symbol of white supremacy’? That is the remarkable claim made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Why this is so, is not exactly made clear. Is it only because it’s white? In which case, is chocolate milk okay? And do we have to stop using white paper as a ‘symbol of white supremacy’?

Or, did you know that whenever you add milk to your coffee you are supporting rape? The Woke Dictionary quotes PETA’s website as saying: ‘Rape is perhaps the single most heinous crime involving both power and violence. But it’s the standard procedure in the dairy industry. Cows on dairy farms are forcibly impregnated so their milk production will continue. They’re restrained in what the farmers themselves call “rape racks” while insemination instruments are shoved into their vaginas’. Well, no, they’re not called ‘rape racks’– they’re called ‘bails’. But, hey, in the world of woke, words the facts don’t matter. I also discover I am often guilty of ‘culinary white supremacy’ – every time I enjoy sushi, tandoori chicken or tacos I have committed ‘cultural appropriation’. Do I have to go back to the meat and three veg I grew up on?

In Dr Donnelly’s own area of expertise, education, the entries are especially revealing. It turns out that schools no longer have ‘students’ or ‘pupils’- instead, kids are now ‘digital natives’ and ‘knowledge navigators’. Those formerly known as ‘teachers’ are now ‘facilitators’ whose work with each child is just to be a ‘guide by their side’. The result, of course, is that our PISA test results continue to tumble. I suspect we are now somewhere below Rwanda.

No fewer than fifteen of Kevin Donnelly’s entry headings contain the word ‘gender.’ In a series of sharp, snappy entries he ushers us through the world in which babies no longer have any ‘gender’– instead, they have a ‘gender assigned at birth’. XX and XY chromosomes have ceased to exist (has anyone told the biosciences yet?) and the dangly bits on the baby boys should be politely ignored.

One of the strengths of the book is that as well as 352 definitions (from ‘ableism’ to ‘zie’) it includes seven articles by Dr Donnelly telling us where this movement came from and (most importantly) what we can do about it. He points the finger at the ‘invisible man’ looming like a giant puppet master over the World of Woke (never openly acknowledged) – Karl Marx.

Kevin also acknowledges the astonishing prescience of George Orwell. In reality, this Woke Dictionary is a dictionary of Newspeak. As Orwell noted, ‘The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the worldview and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc [English Socialism], but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought – that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc – should be literally unthinkable, at least so far thought is dependent of words.’

https://spectator.com.au/2022/09/woke-language/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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How WeirDO: students protest as Anh Do’s book series banned from US schools

Astonishing news from the US: the land of the free last year banned 17 books by one of Australia’s happiest refugees.

And Anh Do didn’t even know.

Do, 45, who arrived in Australia aged three after surviving a perilous boat journey from Vietnam, is – among many other things – the author of the WeirDO series of children’s books, all of which were banned for use in Pennsylvania public schools in November 2020.

The ban was lifted only in January after a spirited campaign by students, who took to the school grounds with placards demanding their reinstatement and opposing censorship in all its forms.

Do, a four-time finalist in the Archibald Prize, author of The Happiest Refugee and star of Anh’s Brush With Fame on the ABC, was never made aware of the ban.

His agent, Andrew Laing, said: “It’s amazing. Just incredible. Good on those kids who had it overturned.”

His publisher, Scholastic Australia, was likewise in the dark, until contacted by The Australian on Thursday.

Do’s books deal with the immigrant experience – and, like most of the books on the banned list, they are about people of colour. Other titles on the list included books about segregation activist Rosa Parks and murdered civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. Malala Yousafzai’s autobio­graphy was there, as was an episode of Sesame Street that dealt with racism.

The school board banned Do’s books after concerns were raised by parents about their “divisive” nature. Some teachers wanted to use the material as “anti-racism” tools, others thought they would do more to divide than unite the school community.

While free speech is protected by the US constitution, censorship is gaining momentum in the US.

The ban on Do’s books came to light in July when PEN America, which champions literature and campaigns against censorship, published a public list called School Book Bans, which covers books recently removed from classrooms and libraries.

Seventeen of Do’s book were on it. He was in fine company: the list also included The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; Night by Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner, Elie Wiesel; To Kill A Mockingbird by Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee; I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner; and John Green’s Looking for Alaska.

“Books in the US are under profound attack. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators and prison authorities,” PEN said, in a statement.

The ban on 17 of Do’s books was specific to the Central York school district in Pennsylvania, which covers about 5000 students. The Australian understands the board met in August 2020, to consider the “diversity” aspect of the local curriculum.

In a statement to parents at the time, the board said it had been concerned about teaching materials that “may lean more towards indoctrination rather than age-­appropriate academic content.” Some parents were concerned about teachers pushing their political beliefs on students. Others were concerned about the introduction of books about gay kids, for example, particularly if they contained explicit material.

The board voted unanimously in November 2020 to ban all books on the classroom resources list, and it seems the WeirDo series was caught in the dragnet.

When students found out, they began protesting outside schools before classes every day. They received support from Bernice King, the daughter of the Martin Luther King Jr. The ban was overturned last January.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/how-weirdo-students-protest-as-anh-dos-book-series-banned-from-us-schools/news-story/09f4de83ddea2cc6b38ef5dac68a43c6

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Google BLOCKS Trump's Truth Social from being downloaded on Android devices because of 'lack of content moderation'

Donald Trump's social media platform hasn't been approved for download on Android devices yet because of the applications lack of content moderation.

Truth Social was made available for download on the Apple App Store in February, but an Alphabet Inc spokesperson said the insufficient moderation has kept it from being approved for the Google Play store, according to Axios.

While Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes say the decision to make Truth Social available on Android devices is 'up to Google', the company has put the onus on the platform.

'I don't know what's taking them so long,' Nunes said.

Alphabet said it sent a notification to Truth Social on August 19 stating the platform is in 'several violations of standard policies in their current app submission.'

Google noted that 'having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11160887/Truth-Social-Android-app-not-approved-Google-Play-Store-Axios.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Australian radio host ignites controversial transgender bathroom discussion

Former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves says there has been “deafening radio silence” on the issue of gender reassignment. She said the media has been “shocking” on their “failure” to report on the Tavistock clinic. Ms Deves also said European countries were backtracking on medicalised pathways for transgender…

Paul “Campo” Campion from River 94.9FM’s Marnie & Campo show said he disagreed with transgender students being able to use any bathroom they wanted. He also referred to the student’s genitalia.

The controversial topic started over a lighthearted discussion on people identifying as animals in Victoria.

Campo, who has been on the show since 2015, said he was concerned about his daughter in school who was sharing the bathroom with a transgender student.

He said he needed more education around the topic and didn’t agree with the Queensland Department of Education’s policies around transgender bathroom use.

The school was not named however due to the public profile of the radio host, members of the community were concerned the child mentioned would be identifiable.

The station received complaints and Michelle Inns, founder of popular Facebook group Parents of Transgender Kids, encouraged all members to write a formal complaint.

“There is a significant level of disgust in our community for the comments made on the show about transgender children, their access to school bathrooms (a right that is enforced by Education Queensland),” Inns said.

“The discussion of a minor‘s genitalia on public radio is also extremely inappropriate.”

It is bitterly disappointing after all of the recent community backlash against transgender discrimination in our schools and political system that the radio station has allowed this kind of behaviour.

“People seem to assume that shared bathroom use is putting their children at risk.

“Our kids are already struggling with their bodies and are incredibly self conscious, it’s more likely they will be seeking privacy and trying to avoid conflict.”

Station general manager David Wiltshire said they reviewed the broadcast and did not breach the commercial radio code of practice.

He said however he was not dismissing the concerns.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ipswich/ipswich-radio-host-ignites-controversial-transgender-bathroom-discussion/news-story/f1bb2f7430ffe0c59d5d1d2b551ce84c

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Turkish singer Gulsen jailed for controversial religious school comment

A Turkish court Thursday jailed a pop star famous for her racy outfits and support for LGBTQ rights on charges of “inciting hatred” over a comment about religious schools.

Singer Gulsen Bayraktar Colakoglu — a 46-year-old known by her first name on stage — was detained at home in Istanbul and taken to court.

A judge then remanded her in jail pending an investigation into remarks she made on stage in April about Imam Hatip religious schools, AFP reports.

The schools raise children to be Muslim preachers and remain highly controversial among secular Turks.

A clip of the comments went viral and created outrage among senior members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party this week.

Gulsen is a household name in Turkey and her case has turned into headline news in the officially secular but mostly Muslim and highly polarised country.

The controversial comment saw Gulsen remark to an unknown person on stage in apparent jest that his “perversion” was caused by his upbringing in an Imam Hatip school.

“Targeting a fraction of society with the allegations of ‘perversion’ and trying to divide Turkey is a crime of hatred and disgrace of humanity,” AKP spokesman Omer Celik said.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/turkish-singer-gulsen-jailed-for-controversial-religious-school-comment/news-story/91ed969624dde70d0cf8fa261518d6dc

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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If you don't vote the way I do, the answer is no

I have encountered this a few times when dating. I have met what seemed like a compatible lady without any prior discussion of politics. The initial discussions were about cultural and lifestyle matters. When it emerged that I liked Donald Trump, however, the shutters really came down. There was nothing I could say or do to stop the lady from breaking off contact. Their minds just snapped shut.

And that is despite the generalization that the older both men and women get the more conservative they become. As I am in my 70s and mostly meet people of a similar vintage, women I meet should have by now become closer to me politically. And I do find that. But for some Leftist women, Donald Trump is a move too far

by Jeff Jacoby

BACK IN the 1980s, when I was single and looking, I went on a first date with a woman who was in the microbiology graduate program at MIT. I no longer remember how we met or where we went that evening, but even after all these years I vividly remember how the date abruptly crashed.
The conversation had meandered into politics and my companion asked if there was a potential presidential candidate I liked. Indeed there was: I told her I was a fan of Jack Kemp, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback who had become a Republican congressman from New York. Half libertarian, half "bleeding-heart conservative," Kemp was considering a run for the White House, and I hoped he would go for it.

My date was appalled. She wanted nothing to do, she heatedly said, with someone who could support the likes of Kemp. Our first and only date quickly came to an end.

The experience left me baffled, for two reasons. One was that I truly couldn't understand how a political figure like Kemp — a man of integrity, commitment, intellectual curiosity, and optimism — could possibly inspire such animosity. The other was that I had never before gone out with someone for whom a deviation in political outlook outweighed everything we might have in common. I was certainly used to political disagreements with my peers. But to recoil from the prospect of getting to know someone just because they voted differently? That was a first.

Now it's normal.

NBC News reported last week on the findings of a new survey of second-year college students it conducted with Generation Lab, a polling firm that specializes in young people's views and behavior. Of the survey's 21 questions, three focused on the willingness of respondents to make a connection with someone who supported a different presidential candidate than they did in the last election. The results indicate a generation far more likely to see political dissimilarity the way my long-ago date did: as an automatic deal-breaker.

Asked whether they would choose to be roommates with someone who voted differently in 2020, nearly half said they probably or definitely would not. That antipathy was especially intense among Democrats, a combined 62 percent of whom said "probably not" or "definitely not." But even among self-identified Republicans and independents, the refusal to room with someone from the other side of the political aisle was well into double digits.

The results were even more pronounced when respondents were asked if they would go on a date with someone who voted differently the last time around: A combined 53 percent said they would not. As for marriage, nearly two-thirds — 63 percent — said they could not imagine marrying someone whose choice for president diverged from theirs.

Given the state of contemporary America, it is hard to be surprised by these results, which roughly parallel what other surveys have found. Evidence of our political, cultural, and social abyss abounds, especially for those who spend an inordinate amount of time on social media. Still, of all the ways in which college has been transformed over the past generation, this has to be the saddest. Life eventually wraps most of us in a cocoon of familiar faces, ideas, and experiences. But one of the great blessings of college and early adulthood ought to be the chance to be exposed to new faces, ideas, and backgrounds — to encounter people with different upbringings and beliefs, and, just maybe, be enriched by the experience.

When I was in college, I never had roommates whose political views lined up with my own and never thought there was something wrong with that arrangement. I am friendly to this day with the freshman roommate who was (and remains) a passionate liberal, the one who constantly played Tom Paxton protest songs and avidly supported Jerry Brown for president. I concede that I didn't form the same bond with another roommate, the one who kept a copy of Mao Zedong's "little red book" of quotations on his dresser. Still, even he and his outlandish views contributed something meaningful to my experience.

That isn't possible when politics take priority over everything else. As it becomes more and more unthinkable today to share a dorm room, go on a date, or contemplate tying the knot with someone whose politics aren't a close match, Americans will have less and less to say to each other. Division, discord, and distrust are already at crisis levels in this country. I shudder to imagine where we are headed as the current generation of college students comes of age.

https://jeffjacoby.com/26412/if-you-dont-vote-the-way-i-do-the-answer-is-no

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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A regional Australian newsletter that published a “blatantly sexist” joke column has been referred to the nation’s press watchdog

Murgon Moments, a free monthly newsletter distributed in the South Burnett town, published a “Joke For The Month” in its August edition that made reference to violence against women.

It involved a woman being told by her doctor she could avoid becoming a victim of domestic violence by keeping her mouth shut.

Ms Fentiman said the content of the column was blatantly sexist and insulting to women and showed a complete disrespect for domestic violence survivors, their families and support workers.

She confirmed on Thursday a complaint had been made to the Australian Press Council — an industry-funded body that sets standards and responds to complaints about material published in newspapers and magazines.

“As Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, it is deeply troubling that a Queensland community newspaper would publish such disgraceful content, and it must be reprimanded for disseminating this so called ‘joke’ to its readers,” she said.

“As a nation, we have come so far in our fight to end all forms of domestic and family violence, but it is these types of publications which belittle and undermine the very abuse we are trying to eliminate.

“I strongly urge the Australian Press Council to act swiftly on this complaint, to ensure all media outlets in every community are held to the highest standard.”

The APC has no legal or legislative powers to penalise the press.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/domestic-violence-qld-newsletter-reported-to-watchdog-for-sexist-joke/news-story/68d71106c2c8efc4dfc54ce5e5f2dbdd

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Hang on, doesn’t Murdoch support free speech?

This article in a Left-leaning newspaper is being deliberately obtuse. Defamation has never anywhere been protected speech. It has always been actionable speech. And this case is no different. Lachlan Murdoch was clearly defamed so is free to sue no matter how strongly he supports common free-speech immunities. He can do so with no inconsistency

This is a story that, in many respects, is of David and Goliath proportions. On one side is Fox News boss Lachlan Murdoch, one of the world’s most powerful media executives, and on the other is Crikey, a small, progressive news website ran by long-time local media proprietor and former editor Eric Beecher.

At issue is an almost throwaway last line in a comment piece published in late June by Crikey on the US congressional hearings investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in 2021. The opinion article was about Donald Trump’s egregious attempts to subvert the election result and ended thus: “The Murdochs and their slew of poisonous Fox News commentators are the unindicted co-conspirators of this continuing crisis.” According to Lachlan Murdoch’s lawyers, the story implied the media scion “illegally conspired with Donald Trump to incite an armed mob to march on the Capitol”.

Murdoch took umbrage, and threatened to sue Crikey for defamation. The website responded by removing the article but refused to apologise and questioned the validity of the case. In a tit-for-tat exchange of legal letters, the stoush escalated, with both sides unwilling to back down and Crikey goading Murdoch into taking it to court.

The case may well end up before a judge – a juicy case indeed – but there are some broader implications at play. First, Lachlan’s father Rupert – one of the richest and most powerful media moguls in the world – has never sued for defamation. You can criticise the elder Murdoch for much, but at least he appears to understand that with his endless opportunities to have his say, suing for supposed reputational damage is not appropriate.

His son, however, has no such self-awareness but is thin-skinned – the article never even named Lachlan. For any Murdoch, presiding over media organisations which at their worst insult, distort and aggressively attack opponents, to sue a small website for saying bad things about him is astonishing. The Murdoch media champion “free speech” to the point of nausea, but not this time.

https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/hang-on-doesn-t-murdoch-support-free-speech-20220825-p5bcmu.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Facebook and Instagram Ban Children’s Health Defense Amid Legal Challenges Over Censorship

The non-profit Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has been booted off Facebook and Instagram for 30 days for allegedly violating the company’s community standards on “misinformation” about COVID-19.

“Facebook is acting here as a surrogate for the Federal government’s crusade to silence all criticism of draconian government policies. Our constitutional framers recognized this peril of government censorship,” wrote CDH founder, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a public statement.

“We don’t need the First Amendment to protect popular or government-approved speech. They incorporated the First Amendment specifically to protect free expression of dissenting opinions.

“They understood that a government that can silence its critics has license for every atrocity.”

Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

On Aug. 17, Meta notified the CHD that it had suspended its webpage for 30 days. The page had hundreds of thousands of followers.

“This is because Children’s Health Defense goes against our Community Standards on misinformation that could cause physical harm,” the notice read.

“We encourage free expression but don’t allow false information about COVID-19 that could contribute to physical harm.”

“Your page has been unpublished.”

In August 2020, the CHD filed a lawsuit against Meta, accusing the Big Tech company of censorship.

In the 150-page lawsuit, the CHD said a judicial remedy is “urgently required” to redress the damage to the organization, including the “abridgement of its fundamental rights caused by Facebook and its Chairman Mark Zuckerberg’s aggressive and illegal efforts, embarked upon in response to state pressure and in conjunction with state actors, to censor and suppress CHD’s posting of material critical of those very state actors and voicing alternative views concerning the safety and efficacy of vaccines.”

The CHD appealed against a judge’s ruling in favor of Meta and produced U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents the agency shared with Facebook.

“These documents, provided to Facebook on a regular basis, contained what the CDC considered misinformation,” according to the CHD.

Titled “COVID Vaccine Misinformation: Hot Topics,” the documents asked tech giants to “be on the lookout for various topics the CDC considers to be misinformation, including COVID-19 vaccine shedding, VAERS reports, spike protein data, and more.”

The CHD argues that its de-platforming by Meta came days after the CDC issued new and less restrictive COVID-19 guidelines while admitting it had made mistakes responding to the pandemic.

“Within hours of the CHD de-platforming, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky shared her plans for overhauling how the agency works while admitting to a flawed response to COVID-19 and pandemic missteps,” the CHD said in a statement.

“Censorship is not only unconstitutional, [but] it’s un-American,” said Roger Teich, CHD lawyer for the Meta lawsuit.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/facebook-and-instagram-ban-childrens-health-defense-amid-legal-challenges-over-censorship_4680852.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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'I was sacked for suggesting that drag acts were a gross caricature of femininity'

A lecturer at a prominent music academy says she has been forced out of her job after she suggested drag acts could be viewed as sexist.

Cathy Boardman, a lecturer in cultural studies, had asked her class to reflect on 'womanface' – a critical term for female impersonation – and whether or not it was demeaning.

But bosses at the BIMM Institute , which has outposts around the country and links with Sussex University, told her this was a 'deeply sensitive' subject and that transgender students had been left upset.

Ms Boardman was then dismissed from her post. The lecturer, who is now taking legal action for unfair dismissal, said she had already been warned by the college principal that a small group of students were 'out to get her'.

'I could lose everything,' she told The Mail on Sunday. 'I've been in insecure work for my whole life – but this salaried job gave me hope that I could get a mortgage and provide a better future for my boys.'

Ms Boardman is claiming that she is the victim of discrimination on the basis of her sex and her 'gender-critical' belief that birth sex is immutable.

She is among a growing number of academics and professionals to be attacked for challenging – or appearing to challenge – transgender orthodoxy.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11130491/Music-academy-lecturer-sacked-comments-drag-queens-femininity-takes-legal-action.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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‘Extreme misogynist’ shuts money-making scheme after global ban

Feminist hatred of men is OK. Why not male hatred of women? Many men are very angry with women. I'm not but maybe it has a place

“Extreme misogynist” Andrew Tate has had further action taken against him in a bid to stop the spread of his “rape culture” videos.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, banned the controversial influencer for violating its policies on dangerous organisations and individuals on Saturday.

Tate, who had 4.7 million followers on Instagram alone, was already banned from Twitter.

Now TikTok has confirmed the former reality TV show contestant has been banned from its platform, stating extensive efforts are also being made to remove videos containing him that have been shared by his fans.

Tate had encouraged members of his affiliate marketing program Hustler’s University to promote his content in exchange for commission, leading to thousands of videos of him circulating online and propelling him to viral fame.

However, the 35-year-old has shut down the business in response to his social media bans saying it has “no future”, The Guardian reported.

TikTok is now reviewing and removing videos containing Tate that violate the platform’s community guidelines on misogynistic language.

“Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok,” the company told Fox29.

“Our investigation into this content is ongoing, as we continue to remove violative accounts and videos, and pursue measures to strengthen our enforcement, including our detection models, against this type of content.”

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/extreme-misogynist-shuts-moneymaking-scheme-after-global-ban/news-story/dba5cecb751990b0361b8e6548d02a19

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Feds Seek Shutdown of Site Predicting '24 Biden Loss

These days, the website PredictIt is about the only place to go for unfiltered opinions of everyday Americans speculating on the future of U.S. politics. PredictIt users have registered their collective opinion that Joe Biden has only a 20 percent chance of being reelected in 2024—a staggeringly low number for a president who’s barely a year and a half into his term.

Naturally, the Biden Administration wants to shut it down.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), headed by Biden appointee Rostin Behnam, has decreed that PredictIt must cease operations by February 15, 2023. The reason is unclear. The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) explains PredictIt “has not operated its market in compliance with the terms of the letter” that authorized its operation. As a result, the DMO has withdrawn its authorization. And that’s it. That’s all the agency thinks Americans need to know.

For its part, PredictIt “maintains that all open markets are within the terms of the . . . letter.”

PredictIt lets everyone see what everyday Americans, rather than just “experts,” think about future political events, without filtering those opinions through potentially biased pollsters. This makes the site a valuable resource.

https://amgreatness.com/2022/08/16/biden-gives-predictit-zero-chance-of-survival/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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‘Terror Campaign’: Trans Activists Push for Censorship of Discussions on Child Sex Changes

Prominent Twitter users that have criticized child sex-change procedures were accused of engaging in “terrorism” by transgender activists. (Photo Illustration: Ryan J. Lane/Getty Images)

Transgender activists have accused Libs of TikTok and other prominent Twitter users of engaging in “terrorism” in an attempt to have them removed from the platform for criticizing child sex-change procedures.

Libs of TikTok, commentator Matt Walsh, Manhattan Institute senior fellow Chris Rufo, and activist Billboard Chris shared several publicly available documents and videos purporting to show that Boston Children’s Hospital was performing sex changes on minors, such as a video promoting “gender-affirming” hysterectomies.

Activists accused the accounts of “stochastic terrorism” and demanded Twitter take action to censor the conversation and take down their accounts.

“In the last 5 days, Libs of Tiktok has tweeted and retweeted 14 posts about Boston Children’s Hospital. As a result, BCH providers are being inundated in death threats and harassing calls and emails,” Alejandra Caraballo wrote. “It’s now affecting their services. This is stochastic terrorism, full stop.”

The post was retweeted by Ari Drennen, LGBTQ program director at the left-wing activist organization Media Matters, along with several other posts expressing concern about criticism of the hospital posing a potential safety threat.

“I once again ask, when will Twitter do something about this account and their ability to rile up massive harassment campaigns against their targets? Last time it was Nazis at pride and drag events. This time it’s threatening pediatricians,” Caraballo wrote.

Caraballo said there was a link between Libs of TikTok’s tweets and real-world violence against LGBT people, but that Twitter was ignoring the account because of policies in place related to Elon Musk’s attempt to buy the company.

“Matt Walsh, LOTT, Christopher Ruffo, and Billboard Chris continue to wage a stochastic terror campaign against Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. As a result, service is being interrupted and workers are being threatened. Twitter must stop this,” transgender activist Erin Reed wrote.

Twitter permanently suspended commentator James Lindsay Aug. 5 after Drennen, Caraballo, and other transgender activists engaged in a similar campaign over Lindsay’s use of the word “groomer,” which describes adults who form inappropriate friendships with children in order to prime them for sexual abuse, but has also been used to refer to those who expose young children to sexual content regarding gender identity and sexuality.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/08/17/terror-campaign-trans-activists-push-for-censorship-of-discussions-on-child-sex-changes/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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Episode of Australian children's show Bluey is BANNED in America because it contains 'inappropriate content'

An episode from popular Australian children's show Bluey isn't available on American streaming service Disney+ because it was deemed 'inappropriate' and didn't meet the streaming service's guidelines.

The episode, titled 'Family Meeting', was was initially banned because one of the cartoon dogs farts in a scene.

However a Disney Branded Television employee told Pirates and Princesses the episode will soon be available after they had a change of heart.

'Family Meeting' will roll out on US platforms soon. Some of the Bluey content did not meet Disney Junior broadcast S&P in place at the time the series was acquired,' they said. 'Now that it is rolling out on other platforms, it is a great opportunity to reevaluate which is what we plan to do.'

During the episode, Bluey's dad Bandit is accused of letting off a fart in front of his eldest daughter.

The Aussie animated series is wildly popular in the US and won the Kids: Preschool Award at the 2019 International Emmys.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11121787/Australian-childrens-Bluey-BANNED-America-contains-inappropriate-content.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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The next alarmist goal: Stifling debate on costs of green energy

Progressives first demanded that social-media platforms silence critics of climate alarmism. Now White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy wants them to censor content on the costs of a force-fed green-energy transition.

 A few years ago, Facebook enlisted third-party “fact checkers” to review news stories about climate. That didn’t satisfy Democratic Senators who howled about a “loophole” for opinion pieces. Facebook then began appending fact-checks to op-eds, including by Wall Street Journal contributors Bjorn Lomborg and Steven Koonin, that criticized apocalyptic climate models and studies. The goal was to restrict readership.

 Now progressives are moving to censorship phase two, which is shutting down debate over climate “solutions.” “Now it’s not so much denying the problem,” Ms. McCarthy said in an Axios interview. “What the [climate denial] industry is now doing is seeding doubt about the costs associated with [green energy] and whether they work or not.”

 Ms. McCarthy cited the week-long power outage in Texas in February 2021. “The first thing we read in the paper was” that the blackouts occurred “because of those wind turbines,” she said. “That became the mantra.”

In fact, most of the media immediately blamed climate change and fossil fuels. The Wall Street Journal was among the few to point out that wind energy plunged as temperatures dropped and turbines froze. Gas-fired plants couldn’t make up for the wind shortfall despite running all-out, and then some went down too.

Ms. McCarthy doesn’t want to admit the inconvenient truth that renewable energy sources are making the grid increasingly unreliable. Comparing fossil-fuel companies to Big Tobacco, she complained that “dark money” is being used to “fool” the public about “the benefits of clean energy.”

“We need the tech companies to really jump in,” she said, because highlighting the costs of green energy is “equally dangerous to denial because we have to move fast.” Got that, Mark Zuckerberg? Merely pointing out technical limitations of lithium-ion batteries could be “disinformation.”

Asked whether climate disinformation posed a threat to public health, Ms. McCarthy replied “absolutely,” while adding hilariously that “President Biden doesn’t focus on, and neither do I on, bashing the fossil-fuel companies.” The Axios interviewer smiled and nodded along.

Some conservative scholars argue that Big Tech companies could be sued as “state actors” for violating users’ First Amendment speech rights when they censor content at the behest of government officials. Ms. McCarthy is helping make their case. Now Gina McCarthy tells Big Tech to stifle debate on solutions.

https://climaterealists.ca/climate-censorship-phase-two/

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

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