@Justfirenews Not quite. I’m arguing that they did the best that they legally could when constrained by bad policy. These are hard ethical calls. Do you continue working for an org that you think is heading in the wrong direction, or do you try to do your best from inside?

I think about this a lot. For instance, my university brought back uni students for in-person learning last fall w no surveillance testing or modified housing. I thought that was a reckless decision. But I didn’t quit my job...

Partially bc the balance of the work my colleagues were doing locally, nationally, & globally was so important and I could support that in a small way. Also income and longterm professional goals that I think will help public health beyond covid.

I think my position is justified. I think the work of many of my applied public health colleagues has been heroic and harm-reducing.

But I recognize that there are always ethical minefields. For instance, finders. My research is mostly supported by the federal government. I think it’s ethical to use that money for my work. But what about Department of Defense? They also...

I know my opinion doesn’t count for much. I’m a faceless name on Twitter (for valid reasons I won’t dilute this message with). However I have been massively affected by what has taken place over the last few days in Scotland and I wanted to air my feelings around this. 1/

We are being told that sex and gender are interchangeable by many and that changing the wording within the amazing Forensic Medical Services Bill makes no difference to the services survivors receive.

We are told this as though we haven’t been privy to the raging debate 2/

around it for the last few years. In years past people often replaced sex with gender to appease sensibilities around sex. This was an accepted practice because it caused no real concerns or issues in regard to the actual protected characteristic of sex. 3/

However, in more recent times gender is no longer used in the same way. Gender is not defined in law but it is being conflated with sex to the extent that people are suggesting that they mean the same thing. They do not and the law agrees that they don’t. 4/

There appears to have been policy capture at the highest levels, within our government, LA’s, NHS and other orgs. These places have made preemptive assumptions on advice from lobby groups that they proudly display champion badges for and pay thousands of pounds to each year. 5/

You know how unwilling men are to accept that their attraction to women is socialized to desire and prefer women closer to a child’s age/ aesthetic? They will deny it until they die even when you point out how that most of what they find attractive represents “youth” 🙂🙂🙃🙃

First: Skin

No wrinkles or blemished skin, even if their skin looks like a Google satellite map

Ask a man over 30 if he finds wrinkles in a woman’s face sexually desirable, see what he says. He should. He likely cant. He doesn’t know how. He’s never learned to see them that way

Second: Fitness

They seek evidence of “health” bc that is associated with youth. We know that as we age, our bodies/ health deteriorates. Women who “work out” are seen as healthier and more youthful, not old and decrepit. However, this doesn’t apply to fat women who exercise

Third: Body Count/Marital status

The assumption is that the older a woman is the more men have been inside of her and if she’s divorced, a man used to own her pussy. This isn’t something pushed as attractive. Older men seeking younger women is connected to this

body count matters for various reasons but the one we don’t talk enough about is sexual insecurity and the fear of not measuring up to past lovers. The more there are, the greater the risk of failure. Younger women are more attractive bc they minimize this risk of embarrassment

Too popular admin - good or bad?
The hype industry is a field in which even two admins, sometimes, can hardly turn around. Most likely they won't. Projects that are launched every day are most often similar to each other.

Only a few projects work stably and efficiently thanks to admins who know what to do. Once having gained popularity, the admin must continue to keep the brand. But whether this is true, let's figure it out.

THE SNP'S 12-POINT PLAN FOR AN ILLEGAL REFERENDUM

1. We intend to fool our followers by proposing that we can hold a referendum on Scottish Separation.

2. A bonus is that we can distract them from Sturgeon’s problems in the Salmond inquiry.

3. We'll not tell our followers that we have no legal right to hold a referendum and never mention that it’s a matter reserved to the UK government.

4. We’ll tell them that it’s up to the UK Government to challenge the legality of our actions. Just like someone saying that burglary is not a crime, breaking into your house and then telling the judge it's legal because they said so.

5. We'll not mention that, because it’s illegal from the outset, local authorities, who control polling places, will reject holding it. And The Electoral Commission? Better not say anything about them either.

Ethnic cleansing are all forms of attempts of elimination of a particular ethnic group. Ethnic cleansing may take place in subtle forms as well as radical forms. Ethnic cleansing may take place mentally or physically.

Ethnic cleansing usually takes place to homogenize the population of a given particular territory or make the dominant ethnic group(s) culture omnipresent.

Ethnic cleansing is usually accompanied by efforts to remove physical and cultural evidence of the targeted group in the territory through the destruction of homes, social centers, farms, and infrastructure, through the desecration of monuments, cemeteries, and places of worship.

1. Enforced - Ethnic cleansing could be enforced. Such as the state power could use institutionalized force to conduct ethnic cleansing. The dominant group with the aim of ethnic cleansing may form their own army to create an enforcing state.

For example: the government declares use of X language illegal, use of X language invalid for administrative purposes.

2. Systematic - The systematic forms of ethnic cleansing takes a well planned or a step-wise process to achieve the wider goal of ethnic cleansing.

I think I just realised why the cipher of ‘trans rights’ (which few seem to be able to define in concrete terms) has become the sine qua non of human rights.

Unlike inclusion of women or ethnic minorities, Jolyon et al. know they won’t need to cede any spaces in boardrooms.

@salty3y3s @matthaig1 1. Thank you for asking! I don't mind sharing, but an important question deserves a full answer and hopefully it will help someone else too.
I was "stable", but not ideally so on strattera for several years, it kept me emotionally level, although now I'm off it,

@matthaig1 2. I realise that it kept me somewhat muted in my emotions. I avoided the extremes, but that included the highs as and the lows. I didn't enjoy watching comedy or listening to music as much for example, but I figured that was worth it at the time, to escape the extreme emotions.

@matthaig1 3 I also found that it wasn't as good as when I was on methylphenidate, at controlling my "primary" ADHD symptoms, such as how to prioritise and actually start tasks. That makes atomoxetine (Strattera) sound rubbish, but it gave me a period of emotional stability over a very

@matthaig1 4 stressful time and allowed me to function during some very difficult life events, it really was what I needed at the time and it could work for others.
My decision to come off it was kind term and very considered. I was frankly, terrified to do so. I hadn't been unmedicated

@matthaig1 5 Since my diagnosis almost 10 years ago and my life before that was very different. Very chaotic and basically surviving, desperately feeling like life was so hard and not understanding why, veering from one last minute by my fingernails achievement to another, that never felt

It’s 3 a.m. and the 2020 Fall Sitting of the 30th Alberta Legislature has concluded. #ableg 1/10

Jason Kenney and the UCP shut down debate on a number of their horrendous bills, including one to strip away workers protections and supports for the very Albertans on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. #ableg 2/10

The Government also rammed through legislation to accelerate their failed $4.7-billion corporate handout tonight. #ableg 3/10

Earlier in the session, the UCP passed broad legislation to put tolls on new Alberta roads and existing roads that are under construction. They also stripped away rights for drivers injured in motor-vehicle collisions. #ableg 4/10

The UCP pushed forward healthcare legislation with glaring privacy holes that have been flagged by the Information and Privacy Commissioner. #ableg 5/10

Here are their names:

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ralph Abraham of Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Rick W. Allen of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. James R. Baird of Indiana’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District

Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois’s 12th Congressional District

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas’s 8th Congressional District

Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District

Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District

Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina’s 13th Congressional

Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Michael C. Burgess of Texas’s 26th Congressional District

Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Ken Calvert of California’s 42nd Congressional District

Pete Buttigieg testifies today on his nomination to run the Dept. of Transportation.

I spent almost a year covering Buttigieg. He refused to speak with me, so I’m going to thread some of the things senators could ask him about today.

In 2011, Jiha’d Vasquez, 16, was found dead, hanged, on a utility tower.

In 2012, Buttigieg became mayor and Jiha’d’s mother asked him for help with the case. Common Council records show Buttigieg was at the meetings where she spoke about her son.

Jones and a local NAACP official wanted help because her son’s death had been ruled a suicide…with no autopsy and no investigation.

Items were missing from his backpack.

Jones told reporter @jharrell6468 that she asked Buttigieg to help get the case re-opened. She says he gave her his card and told her to call.

But when she did, she never got through to him, and no one ever returned her

When we looked into it in 2019, the county coroner told me it would be “prudent” to reopen the case. And also told us the file on the case was missing.

Buttigieg never responded to Jones or to our questions about the case. It remains closed

Part 1
Here’s the Hancock breakdown in case you missed it:
1) it’s the public’s fault
2) I’m not answering that question about the police arresting people - properly
3) act like you’ve got the virus because most of you will soon (herd immunity)
4) the rich can fly in
#marr

Part 2 (had to make a cup of tea):
1) I love the NHS (ha ha)
2) we aren’t heading for a national lockdown (Pinocchio moment)
3) the new variant deflections: respond to different question, use vague language ‘not quite right’, verbal stumble (I’m in trouble)
#marr

Part 3 (the deflection continues)
1) November 5th - December the 3rd anomalies you say and I’m supposed to know what is going on (la la la I’m going to my happy place)
2) The only journalist I deign to give pretend answers to is you, Andrew (please please please be nice)

Part 4:
1) genomic surveillance (who’s a clever boy, eh?)
2) spread the blame: ‘brought to ministers’ attention’
3) no, no don’t show me the video of ‘the Boss’, making him look like a liar ...
4) mention the Archbishop of C (I’m a good person too!)

Part 5:
1) ‘when the evidence is clear’ (when we had to face the fact we’ve endangered even more lives for a Brussel sprout)
2) called my mum (I’m a human being too, guys!)
3) being in government is hard (face palm at this point)
4) the variant is to blame (keep saying it)

Hey, Happy New Year's Eve, I want to talk about the federal workforce 1/

Let's say in theory that a prominent retired military leader recently suggested that you could "pink slip 50% of the [defense civilian] workforce = 4x gain in productivity."

This is in no way unique, and is totally acceptable political rhetoric by public leaders.

Bashing the federal workforce as lazy, slow, pointless, non-responsive, intransigent, or even subversive is common, even successful, political commentary on a bipartisan basis.

There are many interesting things about this to me, but I'll start with an aside: do you imagine that a congressman could remark, to applause, that we should remove half the soldiers in the Army in order to experience a massive increase in military readiness? Probably not.

But back to your basic bureaucrat. I'm fascinated by understanding the origin of America's derision for the average federal worker. Because to start, it doesn't match with federal worker's view of themselves.

The client was always a scary landscape to me. Not necessarily because of the many inconsistencies of the browsers. Not because of the idiosyncratic and plain silly parts of javascript, the chosen language of the client. Not even…

I don't trust the client. This, I always thought, is a good thing. A back-end developer should not trust the client. Every input should be validated and mistrusted, all possible interactions with that less (and less-than)…

I think some of the inherent conflict, not enmity - never that obvious, between front-end and back-end stems from such mistrust. How can we not mistrust them? To us they are a load of hippies using toy languages and eldricht incantations to work around…

But, something has changed. The browser-wars have quieted down somewhat. Javascript performance has begun to approach a qualitatively acceptable domain. HTML has matured and with FlexBox and Grid even CSS is starting to make some sense (if I squint at it).

And now we have Web Assembly. I'm not going to poke into that with my time and effort, I lost enough nights to assembly back at university. After that i took a look at Java and later C#, and decided that life is far too short to spend it managing…

Yes there is an ignorant part of me that loved both Chief Wahoo and the "Indians" name. Growing up as a kid watching Major League, it was cool.

1/

The name change for the Cleveland "Indians" is however long overdue, a great step towards progression regarding how Native Americans and their cultures are perceived in the U.S. and the wider world and I applaud Cleveland's acceptance of this.

2/

Stephanie Fryberg: We found that among Native people who are “highly identified” with being Native — people who voted in tribal elections, attended Native ceremonies or powwows, spoke their language, told Native stories

3/