This is Northumberland Calling 4.8.23
The 'Is it storm clouds breaking or a false dawn' edition
Hello America! This is Northumberland Calling
British Rowing finally calls time on transwomen competing in natal female sport after more than 80% of the membership indicated they wanted to keep sex-based categories rather than having them be ‘gender’ based. Transwomen will now have to row in the ‘open’ category against fellow natal males. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rowing/2023/08/02/british-rowing-transgender-athletes-womens-sport/ or https://archive.is/mv5a0
The actual guidelines are not looking to exclude anyone – simply ensuring that the women’s category is for those who are observed female at birth only. Everyone else can row in the open category and indeed observed female at birth can row in the open category if she desires. They go further than the swimming guidelines as they do preserve the female category for natal females and does not allow natal males at all in that category. World rowing now needs to alter its position. Afterall when men are competing in the mixed event, 50% must be natal female so they do know what a woman is….https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/08/british-rowing-updates-competition-eligibility-policy-and-procedures/
This from former British Olympic rower Alex Storey says 'a trans woman is a bloke in a wig pretending to be a woman'
https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1687066967260471298
Gender Critical campaigner Kellie Jayne Keen has won her defemination case against the Independent and the journalist Patrick Strudwick who libelled her in his article back in May. She has won an undisclosed sum. The Independent printed an apology. The journo repeated the apology and has pinned it to his twitter feed. I am not sure if he was required to do an apology of his own. It would be depend on the exact terms of the court order. But you can see the pinned tweet here:
https://twitter.com/PatrickStrud/status/1687206974142947328
The NHS has opened up its consultation about Puberty Blockers. It has updated the terms and pointed out ‘ NHS England commissions treatment based on
evidence of clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and safety. WPATH standards of care
do not determine clinical commissioning decision for the NHS.’ And ‘As part of this NHS England-led process, the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) was commissioned to review the published evidence. Overall, there was
no statistically significant difference in gender incongruence, mental health, body image and
psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents treated with PSH.
The quality of evidence for all these outcomes was assessed as very low certainty. There
remains limited short-term and long-term safety data for PSH, however, PSH may reduce the
expected increase in lumbar or femoral bone density during puberty.
NHS England has carefully considered the evidence review conducted by NICE, any
subsequent evidence found in the follow up literature surveillance, further evidence
suggested during stakeholder testing as well as the interim recommendations of the Cass
Review and has concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety, clinical
effectiveness and cost effectiveness of PSH to make the treatment routinely available at this
time.
NHS England recommends that PSH for children and young people with gender
incongruence should only be accessed through research.’ You can read the consultation document here: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/puberty-suppressing-hormones/user_uploads/consultation-guide-puberty-suppressing-hormones-for-gender-incongruence-or-dysphoria-updated.pdf
Although there is much to celebrate with this, some councils do not seem have learned the lessons of the Forstator case. South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS trust issued guidance about the trans issue which is at odds with the current law. The Free Speech Union has written to the trust in question, reminding them of the law. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12370811/NHS-managers-told-not-offer-sympathy-female-colleagues-worried-sharing-toilets-biological-men-woke-handbook.html
In a number of libraries across England, librarians have been instructed to hide best selling GC books such as Material Girls by Kathleen Stock, Trans by Helen Joyce and Time to Think by Hannah Barnes. The leaflet ‘Book 28’ also advises them not buy too many copies of gender critical authors such as JK Rowling. What next book burnings? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/01/librarians-hide-books-from-gender-critical-authors/ or https://archive.is/rxLsj
Jeremy Hunt has ordered the FCA to investigate the banks re de-banking practices after the Farage scandal has grown. It now includes the hunting and shooting sector. Farage and Coutts are in negotiations about his bank account. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeremy-hunt-asks-financial-watchdog-to-report-on-extent-of-debanking-dvxsjbj0l or https://archive.is/xqkiV
Rishi Sunak has taken his family to California for their vacation, apparently this will include Disneyland. Sunak is a massive Star Wars fan and of course met his wife at Stanford. Greenpeace took advantage of his absence to stage a protest at his private residence. The protestors are now in custody. They claimed to have knocked first. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/greenpeace-activists-target-rishi-sunaks-home-over-north-sea-oil-8h6wcrrjb or https://archive.is/Wn2Hi
All in all, it’s just another (historic) brick in the wall. Part of the Roman wall which surrounded London will now go on display, having been hidden in a basement for years. This is part of a trend for mini museums showcasing London’s heritage in situ. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/part-of-londons-roman-wall-on-display-after-40-years-in-basement-nl36vnlp8 or https://archive.is/hGus8
Finally because I have had a failure in training my English Springer spaniel with recall. He has now been neutered and I have discovered the book Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson. We are currently in the pre-call stage. It is about introducing the whistle in a way that makes him think ‘something good will happen’ and then ‘proofing’ the entire thing. Spaniels apparently are more prone to this. Border collies herd back to their owner and labs tend to see their owner as a food source. It is a learning curve…but I think it is working. Hope springs eternal.
Ah, Michelle! Another Friday, another eye-opener.
I skimmed the NHS consultation doc. The part You quoted on following WPATH guidelines was the best part. "WPATH standards of care do not determine clinical commissioning decision for the NHS." I was gonna say that the NHS is so sound, until I saw the South Tyneside and Sunderland guidelines. I still don't know how Truly Radical Feminists took over and destroyed women's rights.
And I fear the next step librarians will take *will* be book burnings. Isn't that, essentially, what's going on here? It's not surprising that Book 28 was, in part, written by an 'academic Dr Elizabeth Chapman, whose doctoral thesis was on “provision of LGBT-related fiction to children and young people” in public libraries.' No surprise they recommend 'including hosting drag queen story hours and making toilets gender neutral, partly to relieve anxiety for women with “masculine” hairstyles.'
But I really love Toby Young, as I'm sure You do too:
“It seems there are still Witchfinder Generals in the 21st Century, except instead of wearing witchfinder hats and black cloaks they display rainbow lanyards.
“Equity, diversity and inclusion is the Holy Trinity of the new puritans.”
You're so lucky to have the Telegraph and the Daily Mail. I donno if we have anything like them over on this side-a the pond. I don't know of anything, but maybe that's because I've never paid much attention to Fox.
Greenpeace? Pfft. I guess maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time taking them seriously.
That was really interesting about the London Wall. I figure it must be a great strength for the UK to have history going that far back. Or maybe I should recognize that U.S. history does, in essence, go that far back as well in a way.
As always, just wanted to say "Thanks a bunch!" Ma'am.
Cater cater cater to LGBTQNOP. Jeez, when will this stop? Books by Stock, Rowling, and any other alternate view should be displayed along side those that seem to promote the alphabet mix. When young people are trying to determine their gender or sexual preferences they need to be presented ALL sides. If they are so fragile as to be dissuaded from being ‘alternate’ by seeing something other than promotion then perhaps they are not homosexual or transsexual in the first place.