And this is the latest statement from La Leche League GB about their decision to 'support' biological males and breastfeeding. I suspect they have had words from the Charity Commission. Their charitable objects include supporting mothers which has a defined meaning in UK which does not include trans-women... https://laleche.org.uk/statement-from-lllgb-council-of-directors-14-11-24/
I thought they muddied the waters and it was v much having to put this out to placate the Charity Commission, rather than giving up on their attempt to include biological males.
I forwarded the times article on the attack in Amsterdam that you posted a few days ago to folks I have long engaged in a peace vigil with and I got sent articles in reply refuting that that incident even happened or did not happen as the times reported. I haven't responded. It's pointless as they want to believe the pro Hamas rhetoric as they have invested in it for so many years now. But that has completely ruined the local peace vigil for me as these folks run the show. My point being that as a peace vigil we should not be taking sides, either pro Palestine or pro Israel , regardless of our own personal feelings and beliefs, we should be standing for peace period at the vigil.
Instead the peace vigil has been covered every single week in Palestinian flags for over a year now. And they convince themselves that is standing for peace. I haven't been able to attend in all this time because I am not going to align myself with that. I kept thinking they would get over it, but they obviously are not going to, so I am sadly saying goodbye to that part of my life. Yet another chunk of community I'm losing over all this stupid polarization over every single thing.
I am so sorry that happened to you. Yes peace vigils should not try to apportion blame.
The two attacks in Amsterdam definitely happened. My daughter happened to be in Amsterdam last weekend and said things were v quiet and the Dutch were ashamed. There are golden cobblestones in front of the houses where the Jews live until WW2 and it makes one realise what a large community it once was. The tram attack happened on Monday. Thankfully no one was in the tram at the time.
This is an article about the tram attack . The French police did their job last night and there was not any real trouble.
I would recommend reading Iran: A Modern History . It does echo some of the things which Ben McEntyre mentioned in his books about the cult of martyrdom and indeed the cults surrounding certain figures. I also suspect you will find this article interesting about the Iranian woman who stripped to protest and has not been seen in public since. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/15/how-ahoo-daryaei-became-a-symbol-of-resistance/
Polarization is not good for anyone. The freedom to think differently is being lost and that is v sad.
These women who push back in totalitarian countris are so very brave. I mean in the US you can be made to suffer in various ways for challenging the status quo and you can indeed be killed and/or disappeared, but it usually isn't an instant death sentence to challenge the government here in the western world as it can be elsewhere.
I am also currently thinking about the US's greatest gift to the world -- the concept of enfranchisement for all philosophical beliefs. It is often thought of the separation of church and state but it is rather the ensuring of enfranchisement. The concept really originates in modern times in the US. (Sorry to inflict this on you but because of my Santa Clara County CA upbringing, my baseline never had me think about it before -- massive failing on my part I know)
There are many other models around -- including the Iranian Shi'a of the state is religion and all other philosophical beliefs are forbidden from taking part in the political process and power structure. They had a concept of dhimmi which applied first to Judeo-Christian but expanded to include all other religions). The Iranian Shi'a also expanded the concept of najis to include all those who do not follow their religion. This is different from the Sunni which only apply najis to objects and not to people as far as I understand, although Sunni did also operate a dhimmi system.
I think it helps explain why the settling of Palestinian question is so hard. Because the Hamas take inspiration from the Iranian Shi'a model, they have a hard time conceiving that another state can enfranchise other philosophical beliefs and are operating from a place of fear, particularly as the religion has always (and particularly recently) encouraged martyrdom.
I am trying to get my head around it as it is a fundamentally different belief about the state than the one which I grew up with. But if you think it about it, it is one which has been utilised through history. Great Britain struggled for a long time to have allow any other religion purchase within its political system, partly because of its earlier religious wars and in some ways ran a dhimmi system (the taxes Catholics had to pay for example). It was some of this disenfranchisement which led directly to the colonization of America.
The Shah and his forebears were trying to move Iran away from the dhimmi model which in part caused the revolution as clerics saw their power base being severely diminished.
The women in these totalitarian states like the IR or the Taliban Afghanistan are very brave in a way which is beyond the average person's comprehension in the West (people who grew up under communism and other totalitarian regimes and came to the West do understand it).
Do you mind if I share this wonderful analysis? With your name? or not? I think you are correct as to why the Palestinians are having a hard time believing that Israel is more than willing to co-exist with them. If the Palestinian religion is teaching them that all other religions are basically heretical and even dangerous to their one 'true' religion ,it all makes so much sense.
Learning about certain tenants of the Shi'a religion has helped me. The fear is a real one I think. It is such a different mindset to the American one I grew up with. The freedom of religion or enfranchisement of all philosophical beliefs is part of why the US is so successful, I think.
Happy Friday! I am very glad to hear that Khelif is getting more scrutiny. He deserves it.
Love the new tartan, though I find it ironically hilarious that orange is such a dominant color in it.
Btw, if you haven’t heard it, give a listen to Mike Cross’s song “The Scotsman.” I promise it will make you smile!
Poor Paddy! I sympathize with both parties since I have a reactive dog. He was traumatized from being attacked by another dog, so it is very much like PTSD. He doesn’t mean to be bad, but he does come across as a jackass because of it. It takes time and training to overcome.
Khelif should get more scrutiny but appears to be going out of his way to avoid it.
Paddy went for a playdate this morning and had no problems so I suspect he is fine. I did have sympathy with the woman as it is hard to have a reactive dog. It is an explanation, but not an excuse. And there were steps she could have taken. Training is all.
Hah! Never seen that photo before. I’m sure Her Majesty would have had some hilarious commentary.
I agree that no reactive dog should be off-leash if there’s the slightest chance they could encounter another dog. Here in the US we have Sniffspot—like Airbnb for dogs, where you can rent a private yard or other outdoor space for an hour or two, so they can run around and have fun without the chance of encountering another dog.
The free speech and the NCHI is becoming a big thing as the Essex police apparently refused to investigate an academic who tweeted far worse things about Jews than the flag with police photo which Pearson wrongly attributed the Gaza cause but was in fact about a Pakistani political party (British police should not have been posing in front of any foreign flag or partisan flag but that is another conversation) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/15/essex-police-allison-pearson-antisemitism-israel/ or https://archive.ph/n1tOD
I finally got to the last season of The Crown and as we were watching the last episode I googled Charles to see how old he was when he married Camilla and discovered it was his birthday.
I didn’t realize Camilla was referred to as the queen. We never hear anything except Kate is back and the markles might move to Portugal for privacy which is weird because Megan wants publicity
I’m not sure how much of the Crown is true because so many of the conversations were private and I didn’t think most of the royals did kiss and tell.
Apparently not a lot of the Crown, particularly the more recent stuff, is true. There was an agenda with it.
Kate is going to be doing her Carol Concert this year (6 Dec?) which will go out on the 24th Dec. It is normally v pleasant to watch. It is good she is feeling better.
Camilla is now referred to as the queen because that is what she is. It does take some getting used to though. I suspect her chest infection is not great -- she certainly did smoke in the past.
Harry is v much a busted flush over here. The caravan has moved on -- something which was always going to happen. I suspect Portugal is less expensive than California and they have been burning through their money.
"Children are among thousands of people being investigated by police for non-crime hate incidents ... " (The Times)
Michelle, you write: "The mapping of NCHI came from good intentions – there was Stephen Lawerenc’s murder and then you had a woman kill herself and her disabled child because of the low-level harassment. "
Sorry, exception and anecdote do not reveal intentions. Certainly not good ones. And intentions are just like "hate" - hard to discern, difficult to describe. After the fact musings of "we coulda, shoulda stepped in and locked those folks up before they did something bad" is the sort of post facto rationalization to justify "pre-crime" authoritarian control. What is needed is for good people to step forward and protect the abused. That is not a job for cops.
That linked Times article explains everything one needs to understand why the whole concept of "hate" is just a tool for scolds, busybodies, and authoritarians to control others' behaviors. And THE LAST folks society needs to have a role in "pre-crime" and hate speech investigation are cops. That's like asking the prosecutor to determine guilt, never mind the jury or the trial process.
The Macpherson report was good intentioned, but whether or not it was the right approach is another matter. Sometimes good intentions make for poor law and this is what I think has happened here.
I personally don't think the so-called hate incidents recording are actually assisting particularly as there has been this huge (and as you point out foreseeable) overreach. Sweeping things under the carpet doesn't actually alter minds. Controlling language doesn't alter the sentiment.
Speaking of scolds and busybodies (and cops getting in the way!), there is a great Netflix series titled "Wicked Little Letters". Funny and truthful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeTeCWbF8KY
And this is the latest statement from La Leche League GB about their decision to 'support' biological males and breastfeeding. I suspect they have had words from the Charity Commission. Their charitable objects include supporting mothers which has a defined meaning in UK which does not include trans-women... https://laleche.org.uk/statement-from-lllgb-council-of-directors-14-11-24/
Is it just me or did they deliberately make it unclear that they were actually backing away from supporting biological males breast feeding?
I thought they muddied the waters and it was v much having to put this out to placate the Charity Commission, rather than giving up on their attempt to include biological males.
That sure is the impression I get.
I forwarded the times article on the attack in Amsterdam that you posted a few days ago to folks I have long engaged in a peace vigil with and I got sent articles in reply refuting that that incident even happened or did not happen as the times reported. I haven't responded. It's pointless as they want to believe the pro Hamas rhetoric as they have invested in it for so many years now. But that has completely ruined the local peace vigil for me as these folks run the show. My point being that as a peace vigil we should not be taking sides, either pro Palestine or pro Israel , regardless of our own personal feelings and beliefs, we should be standing for peace period at the vigil.
Instead the peace vigil has been covered every single week in Palestinian flags for over a year now. And they convince themselves that is standing for peace. I haven't been able to attend in all this time because I am not going to align myself with that. I kept thinking they would get over it, but they obviously are not going to, so I am sadly saying goodbye to that part of my life. Yet another chunk of community I'm losing over all this stupid polarization over every single thing.
I am so sorry that happened to you. Yes peace vigils should not try to apportion blame.
The two attacks in Amsterdam definitely happened. My daughter happened to be in Amsterdam last weekend and said things were v quiet and the Dutch were ashamed. There are golden cobblestones in front of the houses where the Jews live until WW2 and it makes one realise what a large community it once was. The tram attack happened on Monday. Thankfully no one was in the tram at the time.
This is an article about the tram attack . The French police did their job last night and there was not any real trouble.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/12/tram-set-on-fire-amsterdam-new-wave-of-violence/ or https://archive.ph/hKGfM
I would recommend reading Iran: A Modern History . It does echo some of the things which Ben McEntyre mentioned in his books about the cult of martyrdom and indeed the cults surrounding certain figures. I also suspect you will find this article interesting about the Iranian woman who stripped to protest and has not been seen in public since. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/15/how-ahoo-daryaei-became-a-symbol-of-resistance/
Polarization is not good for anyone. The freedom to think differently is being lost and that is v sad.
These women who push back in totalitarian countris are so very brave. I mean in the US you can be made to suffer in various ways for challenging the status quo and you can indeed be killed and/or disappeared, but it usually isn't an instant death sentence to challenge the government here in the western world as it can be elsewhere.
I agree.
I am also currently thinking about the US's greatest gift to the world -- the concept of enfranchisement for all philosophical beliefs. It is often thought of the separation of church and state but it is rather the ensuring of enfranchisement. The concept really originates in modern times in the US. (Sorry to inflict this on you but because of my Santa Clara County CA upbringing, my baseline never had me think about it before -- massive failing on my part I know)
There are many other models around -- including the Iranian Shi'a of the state is religion and all other philosophical beliefs are forbidden from taking part in the political process and power structure. They had a concept of dhimmi which applied first to Judeo-Christian but expanded to include all other religions). The Iranian Shi'a also expanded the concept of najis to include all those who do not follow their religion. This is different from the Sunni which only apply najis to objects and not to people as far as I understand, although Sunni did also operate a dhimmi system.
I think it helps explain why the settling of Palestinian question is so hard. Because the Hamas take inspiration from the Iranian Shi'a model, they have a hard time conceiving that another state can enfranchise other philosophical beliefs and are operating from a place of fear, particularly as the religion has always (and particularly recently) encouraged martyrdom.
I am trying to get my head around it as it is a fundamentally different belief about the state than the one which I grew up with. But if you think it about it, it is one which has been utilised through history. Great Britain struggled for a long time to have allow any other religion purchase within its political system, partly because of its earlier religious wars and in some ways ran a dhimmi system (the taxes Catholics had to pay for example). It was some of this disenfranchisement which led directly to the colonization of America.
The Shah and his forebears were trying to move Iran away from the dhimmi model which in part caused the revolution as clerics saw their power base being severely diminished.
The women in these totalitarian states like the IR or the Taliban Afghanistan are very brave in a way which is beyond the average person's comprehension in the West (people who grew up under communism and other totalitarian regimes and came to the West do understand it).
Do you mind if I share this wonderful analysis? With your name? or not? I think you are correct as to why the Palestinians are having a hard time believing that Israel is more than willing to co-exist with them. If the Palestinian religion is teaching them that all other religions are basically heretical and even dangerous to their one 'true' religion ,it all makes so much sense.
Be my guest. Use my name or not.
Learning about certain tenants of the Shi'a religion has helped me. The fear is a real one I think. It is such a different mindset to the American one I grew up with. The freedom of religion or enfranchisement of all philosophical beliefs is part of why the US is so successful, I think.
Thank you for the update. Europe has a chance to pickup on Trump’s “bulls in the the china shop” team and break the stupid policies.
One can only hope.
Happy Friday! I am very glad to hear that Khelif is getting more scrutiny. He deserves it.
Love the new tartan, though I find it ironically hilarious that orange is such a dominant color in it.
Btw, if you haven’t heard it, give a listen to Mike Cross’s song “The Scotsman.” I promise it will make you smile!
Poor Paddy! I sympathize with both parties since I have a reactive dog. He was traumatized from being attacked by another dog, so it is very much like PTSD. He doesn’t mean to be bad, but he does come across as a jackass because of it. It takes time and training to overcome.
The Scotsman song reminded me of a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and the Scots Guards where one revealed slightly more than intended... https://de.pinterest.com/pin/289074869807034451/
Khelif should get more scrutiny but appears to be going out of his way to avoid it.
Paddy went for a playdate this morning and had no problems so I suspect he is fine. I did have sympathy with the woman as it is hard to have a reactive dog. It is an explanation, but not an excuse. And there were steps she could have taken. Training is all.
Hah! Never seen that photo before. I’m sure Her Majesty would have had some hilarious commentary.
I agree that no reactive dog should be off-leash if there’s the slightest chance they could encounter another dog. Here in the US we have Sniffspot—like Airbnb for dogs, where you can rent a private yard or other outdoor space for an hour or two, so they can run around and have fun without the chance of encountering another dog.
Link to The Scotsman:
https://youtu.be/pMKOvdnBvTE?si=R6RqevHojWIG2Bk1
Hello Northumberland! Good to see Ya. Makes Friday's so special.
I'm amazed at how little crime there must be in the UK. So police have so much spare time to concentrate on non-crimes. <puke>
I'm equally disturbed by the antisemitism in Europe.
And You're right. Some people have too much time on their hands.
That was interesting about Khelif.
I'm glad to hear Paddy didn't get into a fight with that ill-mannered dog.
Hope Your writing is going well. And TY, as always, for the wonderful roundup Michelle.
Lovely to see you as well JT.
It is amazing what the police are concentrating on instead of solving actual crimes.
My writing is progressing which is sometimes all one can hope for.
Because I know you like me are Team Kemi -- this is her first interview since becoming Tory leader. It is a good one. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/11/15/free-speech-is-under-attack-warns-kemi-badenoch/ or https://archive.ph/FfDEo
The free speech and the NCHI is becoming a big thing as the Essex police apparently refused to investigate an academic who tweeted far worse things about Jews than the flag with police photo which Pearson wrongly attributed the Gaza cause but was in fact about a Pakistani political party (British police should not have been posing in front of any foreign flag or partisan flag but that is another conversation) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/15/essex-police-allison-pearson-antisemitism-israel/ or https://archive.ph/n1tOD
Two more good articles. Have a good weekend, Michelle.
I finally got to the last season of The Crown and as we were watching the last episode I googled Charles to see how old he was when he married Camilla and discovered it was his birthday.
I didn’t realize Camilla was referred to as the queen. We never hear anything except Kate is back and the markles might move to Portugal for privacy which is weird because Megan wants publicity
I’m not sure how much of the Crown is true because so many of the conversations were private and I didn’t think most of the royals did kiss and tell.
Apparently not a lot of the Crown, particularly the more recent stuff, is true. There was an agenda with it.
Kate is going to be doing her Carol Concert this year (6 Dec?) which will go out on the 24th Dec. It is normally v pleasant to watch. It is good she is feeling better.
Camilla is now referred to as the queen because that is what she is. It does take some getting used to though. I suspect her chest infection is not great -- she certainly did smoke in the past.
Harry is v much a busted flush over here. The caravan has moved on -- something which was always going to happen. I suspect Portugal is less expensive than California and they have been burning through their money.
Was the agenda to hammer harry? Because he came off the worst. I thought maybe some of the inside stuff came from his book which I didn’t read
I haven't read his book either. I think it was v partisan though...
"Children are among thousands of people being investigated by police for non-crime hate incidents ... " (The Times)
Michelle, you write: "The mapping of NCHI came from good intentions – there was Stephen Lawerenc’s murder and then you had a woman kill herself and her disabled child because of the low-level harassment. "
Sorry, exception and anecdote do not reveal intentions. Certainly not good ones. And intentions are just like "hate" - hard to discern, difficult to describe. After the fact musings of "we coulda, shoulda stepped in and locked those folks up before they did something bad" is the sort of post facto rationalization to justify "pre-crime" authoritarian control. What is needed is for good people to step forward and protect the abused. That is not a job for cops.
That linked Times article explains everything one needs to understand why the whole concept of "hate" is just a tool for scolds, busybodies, and authoritarians to control others' behaviors. And THE LAST folks society needs to have a role in "pre-crime" and hate speech investigation are cops. That's like asking the prosecutor to determine guilt, never mind the jury or the trial process.
The Macpherson report was good intentioned, but whether or not it was the right approach is another matter. Sometimes good intentions make for poor law and this is what I think has happened here.
I personally don't think the so-called hate incidents recording are actually assisting particularly as there has been this huge (and as you point out foreseeable) overreach. Sweeping things under the carpet doesn't actually alter minds. Controlling language doesn't alter the sentiment.
Speaking of scolds and busybodies (and cops getting in the way!), there is a great Netflix series titled "Wicked Little Letters". Funny and truthful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeTeCWbF8KY