I know that Paddy-look. There's really no saying,"No" to it. I've marked the Jews Milk Goats in my Amazon account - it sounds lovely and I will order once I've gone through a couple more of the ones already in my stack.
As to the International Women's Day, I thoroughly agree. Celebrate for adult human females only. It is only one day of 365. Find another day for anyone else you wish to celebrate, but let women have their day.
It is a lovely book. I do hope you enjoy it. It is one of those gentle reads which packs a punch.
I have just watched a video put out by the WRN Afghanistan about the brutal conditions women endure there. There is still work to be done. International Women's Day should be a day to highlight some of the problems as well as celebrating the successes of biological females. Other days can highlight other groups. It is not a zero sum game. At times it feels like trolling.
Good morning, WARRIOR! Congrats on that—and well deserved.
It’s kinda ominous—to put it mildly—to feel like the world has turned into 1930s Germany. Thanks for mentioning Jews Milk Goats. I’m so excited to read it because I have a dream of living in the country, but it’s difficult to live as an Orthodox Jew without a community. Very curious to see how the Freedmans did it. My copy is on its way from Amazon (which IMO is the greatest company in the world). Also looking forward to checking out the Crufts show!
Thank you. I was v surprised and touched it by it.
As I was reading Jews Milk Goats, I thought Chana must read this. I found it so interesting. Gill explains the difficulties and how they maintain their community etc. Until reading it, I had no idea about the secret code to show certain foods were kosher -- apparently Walker's short bread is. Any way, it gave me real insight into how people manage and is just a lovely book. V life affirming. Ends with the words '' L'Chaim' -- to life! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
And Amazon has been a life changer, particularly where books are concerned.
I felt it v ominous about what people were saying and I know people are concerned and looking into it. Being aware of what was done to GC writers, particularly women, I am determined to play my part in ensure it is nipped in the bud.
Another great collection of articles You've put together here, Michelle. And especially congrats on being named a Woman Warrior. You truly are. And especially also congrats on the advance. Those are both great items to "hear" about. Sorry to hear about some-a the other things going on, of course.
Paddy looks marvelous. Like he's full-a fun.
Wishing You continued good luck on the writing and want to say Thank You, as always, Michelle.
And because this made me angry -- a pro-Palestinian activist decided to vandalise the portrait of Lord Balfour which hangs in Trinity College Cambridge. This is not peaceful protest. I hope the police arrest who ever did it and whoever aided and abetted them. I also hope the University expels them. https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1766108386423132459
Excellent work today. And good for JKR! I like someone who doesn’t allow herself to be bullied and instead speaks the truth. She speaks for many of us, really.
Sorry to see there is so much idiocy in our respective countries, though. What silly times we live in!
Congratulations, and another wonderful weekly post.
I have one comment regarding your J.K. Rowling segment that to me is the root engine behind all the other issues you discussed in subsequent topics (and have been discussing in all your other wonderful weekly posts…), and I would love your thoughts.
I don’t think that J. K. Rowling was being rude at all. I think that she was speaking truth to power, and pushing back on abject insanity, lies, and Leninist/Maoist style propaganda. It is not rude to tell someone they are wrong, or to point out the depravity/vile lies of propagandists, whose actions are directly removing the inherent rights and legal protections of entire groups of people in service of a cult. It is courageous and NECESSARY! If more people have been willing to speak truth to power over the past 20 or 30 years, I don’t think that we would be in this situation in the west.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
I do think Jo Rowling is speaking 'truth to power' as you put it. Her great moral courage has certainly inspired others to speak out (including me). At Christmas time my family and I re-watched all the HP films and in the v first one, you have Voldemort making what can be described as Marcuse like statements. V totalitarian. So she did say when it first started that anyone who thought she'd be on the side of people trying to shut down debates etc had not been paying attention.
If people had been more willing to speak up and say -- no, our institutions work and legal protections are not loopholes but necessary earlier on. And that vranyos (polite lies or sometimes not even polite but straight up lies) harm society. Some people point to the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989 when the West first had to confront political Islamism as a huge failure on governments and institutions to push back, particularly in the UK. Today in the Telegraph Baroness Falkner in an interview is saying the same thing that Suella Braverman said -- multiculturalism in the UK has failed because there are a substantive number of people who not integrate. Baroness Falkner is a moderate Muslim btw https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/09/ehrc-baroness-falkner-interview/ or https://archive.is/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/09/ehrc-baroness-falkner-interview/
It is v easy for people to look the other way and not to confront the shouting activist for a number of reasons, but they have to be confronted or democratic rights get eroded. And when you start to have government by quango or NGO, it is v easy for activists to take over elements. The Irish referendum which was a decisive no-no shows how wrong the major Irish political party got the mood of the general public. In a republic, it is always the people who have the last say. (NB same thing happened in Australia when they tried to change the constitution to give Pacific Islanders and Aboriginals more of a voice. It wasn't even close.)
Fully agreed with all you outlined above. Thanks so much for the detailed reply! By letting zealots into positions of INFLUENCE without the counterbalance of speaking truth to power against their craziness decades ago we put ourselves here. We allowed them to gain hard POWER within institutions (schools and NGOs), while extending their influence exponentially to very malleable young minds. These now indoctrinated young people went forth as cult crusaders into other institutions (government agencies, law enforcement, corporation) and executed a Maoist style takeover though bullying, manipulation of policy/HR, scare tactics (legal and social) etc.
The one thing they have not done is actually indoctrinated a vast majority of people. They have just intimidated them into silence, or created a cost/benefit equation so out of balance that normal people weren’t willing to speak out.
However, the more rational centrist people that speak out against this in a compelling, non-partisan manner, the more influence these people loose, because all that’s left for them is the hecklers veto, which is abhorrent, obvious, and every normal person hates it. And the more LEGAL pushback (lawsuits against DEI violations of the 14th amendment in the US, etc) to show institutions that these people do not have a silver bullet legally by crying racism/pick your flavor of phobia/etc, the more power they loose.
I know that Paddy-look. There's really no saying,"No" to it. I've marked the Jews Milk Goats in my Amazon account - it sounds lovely and I will order once I've gone through a couple more of the ones already in my stack.
As to the International Women's Day, I thoroughly agree. Celebrate for adult human females only. It is only one day of 365. Find another day for anyone else you wish to celebrate, but let women have their day.
It is a lovely book. I do hope you enjoy it. It is one of those gentle reads which packs a punch.
I have just watched a video put out by the WRN Afghanistan about the brutal conditions women endure there. There is still work to be done. International Women's Day should be a day to highlight some of the problems as well as celebrating the successes of biological females. Other days can highlight other groups. It is not a zero sum game. At times it feels like trolling.
Good morning, WARRIOR! Congrats on that—and well deserved.
It’s kinda ominous—to put it mildly—to feel like the world has turned into 1930s Germany. Thanks for mentioning Jews Milk Goats. I’m so excited to read it because I have a dream of living in the country, but it’s difficult to live as an Orthodox Jew without a community. Very curious to see how the Freedmans did it. My copy is on its way from Amazon (which IMO is the greatest company in the world). Also looking forward to checking out the Crufts show!
Thank you. I was v surprised and touched it by it.
As I was reading Jews Milk Goats, I thought Chana must read this. I found it so interesting. Gill explains the difficulties and how they maintain their community etc. Until reading it, I had no idea about the secret code to show certain foods were kosher -- apparently Walker's short bread is. Any way, it gave me real insight into how people manage and is just a lovely book. V life affirming. Ends with the words '' L'Chaim' -- to life! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
And Amazon has been a life changer, particularly where books are concerned.
I felt it v ominous about what people were saying and I know people are concerned and looking into it. Being aware of what was done to GC writers, particularly women, I am determined to play my part in ensure it is nipped in the bud.
Crufts is always amazing.
Hello Northumberland!
Another great collection of articles You've put together here, Michelle. And especially congrats on being named a Woman Warrior. You truly are. And especially also congrats on the advance. Those are both great items to "hear" about. Sorry to hear about some-a the other things going on, of course.
Paddy looks marvelous. Like he's full-a fun.
Wishing You continued good luck on the writing and want to say Thank You, as always, Michelle.
And because this made me angry -- a pro-Palestinian activist decided to vandalise the portrait of Lord Balfour which hangs in Trinity College Cambridge. This is not peaceful protest. I hope the police arrest who ever did it and whoever aided and abetted them. I also hope the University expels them. https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1766108386423132459
TY. I'm sorry to see this. Me too.
Thank you JT. So pleased you enjoy this.
The other stuff which is going on is worrying in the extreme. I am not entirely convinced that the government or the police have a handle on it.
Paddy is great -- even if at times, he gives into spaniel humour.
Excellent work today. And good for JKR! I like someone who doesn’t allow herself to be bullied and instead speaks the truth. She speaks for many of us, really.
Sorry to see there is so much idiocy in our respective countries, though. What silly times we live in!
Hopefully you have seen the excellent news that the NHS England are banning Puberty Blockers. A return to evidence based medicine. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/children-no-puberty-blockers-nhs-gender-identity-clinic-6tck7wm52 Of course Stonewall has doubled down and still calls them reversible.
The kerfuffle about the Princess of Wales continues. Why should she put out her medical records? The photo (though edited) was a decent photo.
Michelle,
Congratulations, and another wonderful weekly post.
I have one comment regarding your J.K. Rowling segment that to me is the root engine behind all the other issues you discussed in subsequent topics (and have been discussing in all your other wonderful weekly posts…), and I would love your thoughts.
I don’t think that J. K. Rowling was being rude at all. I think that she was speaking truth to power, and pushing back on abject insanity, lies, and Leninist/Maoist style propaganda. It is not rude to tell someone they are wrong, or to point out the depravity/vile lies of propagandists, whose actions are directly removing the inherent rights and legal protections of entire groups of people in service of a cult. It is courageous and NECESSARY! If more people have been willing to speak truth to power over the past 20 or 30 years, I don’t think that we would be in this situation in the west.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
John --
I do think Jo Rowling is speaking 'truth to power' as you put it. Her great moral courage has certainly inspired others to speak out (including me). At Christmas time my family and I re-watched all the HP films and in the v first one, you have Voldemort making what can be described as Marcuse like statements. V totalitarian. So she did say when it first started that anyone who thought she'd be on the side of people trying to shut down debates etc had not been paying attention.
If people had been more willing to speak up and say -- no, our institutions work and legal protections are not loopholes but necessary earlier on. And that vranyos (polite lies or sometimes not even polite but straight up lies) harm society. Some people point to the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989 when the West first had to confront political Islamism as a huge failure on governments and institutions to push back, particularly in the UK. Today in the Telegraph Baroness Falkner in an interview is saying the same thing that Suella Braverman said -- multiculturalism in the UK has failed because there are a substantive number of people who not integrate. Baroness Falkner is a moderate Muslim btw https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/09/ehrc-baroness-falkner-interview/ or https://archive.is/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/09/ehrc-baroness-falkner-interview/
It is v easy for people to look the other way and not to confront the shouting activist for a number of reasons, but they have to be confronted or democratic rights get eroded. And when you start to have government by quango or NGO, it is v easy for activists to take over elements. The Irish referendum which was a decisive no-no shows how wrong the major Irish political party got the mood of the general public. In a republic, it is always the people who have the last say. (NB same thing happened in Australia when they tried to change the constitution to give Pacific Islanders and Aboriginals more of a voice. It wasn't even close.)
It is a really interesting topic imho.
Michelle,
Fully agreed with all you outlined above. Thanks so much for the detailed reply! By letting zealots into positions of INFLUENCE without the counterbalance of speaking truth to power against their craziness decades ago we put ourselves here. We allowed them to gain hard POWER within institutions (schools and NGOs), while extending their influence exponentially to very malleable young minds. These now indoctrinated young people went forth as cult crusaders into other institutions (government agencies, law enforcement, corporation) and executed a Maoist style takeover though bullying, manipulation of policy/HR, scare tactics (legal and social) etc.
The one thing they have not done is actually indoctrinated a vast majority of people. They have just intimidated them into silence, or created a cost/benefit equation so out of balance that normal people weren’t willing to speak out.
However, the more rational centrist people that speak out against this in a compelling, non-partisan manner, the more influence these people loose, because all that’s left for them is the hecklers veto, which is abhorrent, obvious, and every normal person hates it. And the more LEGAL pushback (lawsuits against DEI violations of the 14th amendment in the US, etc) to show institutions that these people do not have a silver bullet legally by crying racism/pick your flavor of phobia/etc, the more power they loose.
Thanks again for what you do!
Thank you. It was v kind of the WRN NE to nominate me. Totally unexpected.
I really liked the Sonya Douglas poem that the WRN have just tweeted and think you will as well:
Here's to the women who stand
The women who take their lives in their hands
Who hold to the truth on point of pain
Who are told they're insane
and to stay in their lane
Here's to the women who still speak out
The women who say, speak, and scream and shout to
make their voices heard
I know there's safety in silence
But you know that doesn't protect you from
violence
Here's to the women who fight
The women with foresight
The women who teach
And each of you expounding, expanding her reach
so that others can fight
Here's to the women who know their worth, and
what their sisters are worth
Who birth daughters for warriors with only their words
And step down from pedestals
Who rise up from doormats
Who hang their full weight from barred windows
and count reps while making their plans
Here's to those women
Here's to the women who stand.