NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

A Transitioner Posts Her Uterus on TikTok By Lincoln Brown

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/lincolnbrown/2022/10/31/a-transitioner-posts-her-uterus-on-tiktok-n1641525

“Surgeries like the one this person underwent should be approached with a degree of solemnity. These are life-changing procedures, and as I have said, they cannot be undone. And when the vagaries of society change and transgenderism is no longer interesting or popular, it won’t be a matter of making a trip to the Gap to catch up with the times. For some, there will be no going back, no matter how much they may want to.”

A TikTok user has had her uterus and cervix, complete with fallopian tubes, removed and placed in a jar. Think twice before you click on the video below, not just because it indeed shows a healthy human organ in a jar, but because it is an altogether uncomfortable thing to watch.

I hope that she is comfortable with this stage of her transition because there is no putting her uterus back. Aside from being an LED-lit conversation piece, what she has is a jar of medical waste, which is normally incinerated. And she seems perfectly happy with one of her internal organs being turned into a paperweight. And if she sees this transition through to the ultimate end, will she be as proud of the phalloplasty scar on her forearm?

If she should change her mind later in life, which has been known to happen, in some cases as soon as a patient has come out of the anesthesia, will that piece of preserved flesh still look so attractive on her bookshelf?

Having come of age in the 1980s, I remember the wide array of clothing and hairstyle choices. I remember in high school, I started out mimicking the look of the members of Duran Duran, and as time went on and that group drifted down the charts, I ended up looking a little more preppy by the time graduation rolled around.

In my late 30s, in a valiant but also lame attempt to remain on the cutting edge, I got two tattoos, one on each shoulder. In retrospect, I wish I had not got either of them. Not because I have anything against tattoos; I just made the decisions impulsively and probably for all the wrong reasons.

Styles come and go. And it was easy for me to change my look with a trip to the mall. Well, multiple trips since I worked during high school and had to save for a clothing budget. And if I decide that I want to get rid of my tattoos, it will cost some money and there may be a little scarring, but my life will be largely unchanged. Those things are reversible. Altering your body, outside of letting a piercing close up, is not so easy.

MEDIA Comments turned off

The Press Has Officially Lost Its Grip On Reality

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://issuesinsights.com/2022/11/01/the-press-has-officially-lost-its-grip-on-reality/

Journalists these days bemoan the adherence to “both sides” reporting. Too often, they say, it misleads readers into thinking there are two legitimate sides.

“I’m convinced that journalists — specifically those who cover politics — must keep a sharp focus on truth-seeking, not old-style performative neutrality,” wrote former Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan.

Because, you see, democracy is at stake.

Sullivan didn’t need to preach this sermon, because the press has already been living by this credo.

The problem is that dumping “old-style neutrality” hasn’t made news coverage more accurate, it’s just led the news media even further into the swamp of hysterical partisanship.

It’s left them prone to hoaxes and forced them to issue countless retractions and corrections. Any story that makes Republicans look bad gets paraded around before lifting a fact-checking finger — from Russia collusion to Jussie Smollet to the supposedly racist Catholic schoolboys.

Immediately after the attack on Paul-Pelosi, the press jumped to the conclusion that his attacker was some sort of MAGA nutjob. He’s hardly that.

Just as bad, the non-neutral, truth-seeking press does its level best to keep the public in the dark about any scandals (Hunter Biden, anyone?) and crises that make Democrats look bad — a challenge that gets harder by the day.

Truth, it turns out, now matters far less to the “truth-seeking” press than ever.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Climate Doomsday Is Nigh—Again And the U.N. says it’s your fault for eating meat, among other sins.

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-doomsday-is-nigh-again-united-nations-environment-climate-change-fossil-fuels-11666989086?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

Human beings, the wretches, continue to disappoint the savants at the United Nations, and never more than on climate change. The global body announced last week that despite all of the world’s climate sacrifices and trillions of dollars in renewable spending, we’re all still doomed unless mankind makes radical changes in lifestyles and standards of living.

The 2015 Paris climate agreement required countries to commit to reducing their emissions to keep the world from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It’s already warmed about 1.1 degrees. Not that the alms offered up by President Biden and European leaders will do much good.

According to the U.N. report, all climate policies currently in place will result in warming of 2.8 degrees. Most countries haven’t implemented policies to meet their emissions targets. But even if they did, temperatures would still rise by 2.6 degrees. And if Western countries meet their “net-zero” goals? The world would warm 1.8 degrees.

Ponder that. Even if Europe and the U.S. banish fossil fuels from the electric grid, ban gas-powered vehicles, and find a way to capture CO2 from factories, the world still wouldn’t avoid the U.N.’s climate doomsday. One reason is that China, which emits two-thirds more CO2 than Europe and the U.S. combined, has only committed to peaking its emissions by 2030.

Thus, the U.N. report says drastic changes in human behavior are needed. To take one example, about a third of emissions come from the global food system. According to the report, about seven gigatons in CO2 reductions—roughly equal to those from today’s global natural gas production—by 2050 will need to come from people eating less meat.

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

UK Trapped In The Green Energy Cul-de-Sac Francis Menton

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=a9fdc67db9&u=9d011a88d8fe324cae8c084c5&id=7648e06456

Often I have referred to the situation that the UK, Germany, California and others have set themselves up for as “hitting the green energy wall.” But now that the UK has actually gotten there and has begun to deal with the consequences, I’m not sure that “hitting the wall” is the best analogy. A better analogy might be “driving into the green energy cul-de-sac.” After all, when you hit a wall you can probably just pick yourself up and turn around and be on your way. In the cul-de-sac you are trapped with no evident way of getting out. You might be in there for a long time.

This is where the UK finds itself today. For well more than a decade, they have been aggressively and intentionally pursuing the green energy fantasy. The Net Zero emissions target was made mandatory by legislation in 2019. They have built hundreds of wind turbines and solar panels, while at the same time closing almost all of their coal mines and coal power plants. That has left them largely dependent on natural gas to back up the intermittent renewables. They have plenty of natural gas right under their feet in a large shale formation, but for years they dithered about allowing fracking to produce the gas, and then in 2019 they imposed a blanket moratorium on fracking. With production from their North Sea gas fields declining, they must buy gas on the European market. And although they don’t buy much gas directly from Russia, the European market has been driven to great heights by the cutoff of Russian supplies. Result: average annual residential energy bills in the UK, which were around £1000 as recently as earlier this year, went up to about £3000 this month, and have been projected to go as high as £5000 by this coming April absent some sort of government intervention.

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

The High Cost of Low American Military Spending Ukraine’s lesson: Deterrence isn’t about preventing only nuclear war. Walter Russell Mead

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/articles/military-spending-ukraine-defense-budget-putin-deterrent-taiwan-china-north-korea-entente-supply-chain-11667242695?mod=opinion_featst_pos1

Vladimir Putin has reminded us of a forgotten lesson of the Cold War: Deterrence isn’t merely about preventing nuclear war.

The U.S. and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization failed to deter Mr. Putin from launching a conventional war in February, and the costs of that failure—in blood and tears, in the military and economic support needed to keep Ukraine in the fight, in the economic shocks reverberating across Europe, in the food and fuel inflation threatening to destabilize governments across the Global South—continue to mount.

If conventional deterrence also fails against China, and Beijing attacks Taiwan, the costs will be even higher. Ukrainians at least were able to flee from the war zone. Trapped on their island, the people of Taiwan would have no place to go as war engulfed their homes. The shock to the world economy would be almost immeasurably greater. The importance of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to world commerce eclipses that of the Black Sea. It isn’t only computer chips whose global supply chain would be crippled by war over Taiwan. Everything made in China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan would become scarce. Global financial markets would tank. Japan and Korea would face critical shortages of fuel and food. Africa and Latin America would face massive economic damage.

Meanwhile, the failure to deter Russia is leading to increased American spending in Europe. We have sent around $20 billion to Ukraine since the invasion began and have dispatched an additional 20,000 troops to Eastern Europe. All this makes sense, but the contrast with our Asian commitments is sobering. Senators are currently working to send Taiwan $10 billion in U.S. aid over the next 10 years, half of what Ukraine has received in eight months of war. The U.S. announced plans to send six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to Australia Monday morning, but the impact was offset by news that up to half the American combat aircraft stationed in Japan will be withdrawn, with no agreed Pentagon plan for permanent replacements.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Can Harvard Discriminate by Race Forever? The school’s advocates can’t say when racial bias in admissions will end.

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/articles/racial-discrimination-forever-supreme-court-students-for-fair-admissions-v-harvard-university-of-north-carolina-college-admissions-11667254607?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

The Supreme Court Justices exhibited supreme patience Monday in hearing nearly four hours of argument in a pair of major cases involving race and college admissions. But the argument was worth the time, because it exposed some unhappy truths about those who believe in the necessity of discriminating by rac

The Justices are considering challenges to the admission practices of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, in particular that they discriminate illegally against Asian-Americans in favor of other races. (Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and SFFA v. UNC.)

This means revisiting Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), which said schools could use race as one factor in admissions in the name of achieving diversity. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor also famously wrote in Grutter that the use of race to achieve diversity probably wouldn’t be needed in 25 years.

That was 19 years ago, and on Monday several Justices pressed the question about when racial preferences would end. Seth Waxman, Harvard’s advocate, admitted that the school is trying hard to get to a race-neutral future but sees no end in sight for preferences.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

UN committee demands Israel destroy its alleged nuclear arsenal By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

It also called for a nuclear-free Middle East while ignoring the immediate threat of the Iranian nuclear weapons program.

With an overwhelming 152-5 majority, a UN committee devoted to world security called on Israel Friday to renounce its nuclear arsenal and put all its nuclear-related sites under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC, or First Committee) resolution, submitted annually by Egypt for years, demands that Israel join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), even though Jerusalem never acknowledged possession of nuclear weapons.

It is “important” that Israel sign onto the NPT “without delay,” agree “not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons,” and accede to IAEA oversight in order to “realiz[e] the goal of universal adherence to the Treaty in the Middle East,” and “as a step toward enhancing peace and security,” the resolution stated.

Iran, a member of the NPT, has openly said it is enriching uranium to near-weapon’s purity, and according to the IAEA, the Islamic Republic began producing uranium metal last year although it has no civilian purpose. This was not mentioned in the resolution.

Arab countries at peace with Israel besides Egypt sponsored the resolution, including Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco, as did the Palestinian ambassador, Riyad Mansour. The “State of Palestine” was granted non-member observer State status in the UN in 2012.

The five countries that voted against it were Israel, the United States, Canada, Micronesia and Palau. There were 24 abstentions, including all member states of the European Union.

Iran was also one of 170 nations that approved a sister-resolution calling for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Democrats deserve a drubbing in the Midterms They have shown nothing but contempt for voters’ concerns. Sean Collins

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/11/01/the-democrats-deserve-a-drubbing-in-the-midterms/

With about a week to go until the US Midterms on 8 November, pundits are predicting a ‘red tsunami’ – that is, huge Republican gains across the country. Democrats know it and are ‘[bracing] for a red wave in the House’, according to the New York Times. They are even having to spend resources defending formerly safe seats.

So, in a sign of things to come, Democrats have already begun the blame game. As a sorry Politico headline has it: ‘Democrats debate themselves: why do we suck?’ Some Democrats say it is their messaging. For others, it is a lack of focus on jobs and inflation. Barack Obama believes the Democrats’ problem is that they have become too woke. The former president warns the Democrats not to be ‘buzzkills’, saying that political correctness makes people ‘feel as if they are walking on eggshells’. Everyone is looking to blame something.

Whatever the cause, the Democrats are right to be worried. At stake in the Midterms is control of Congress, as well as many state governorships and legislatures. Right now, the Democrats have effective control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate (the latter is split 50-50, but vice president Kamala Harris casts tie-breaking votes). The Republicans need to flip only five Democratic seats to retake a House majority, and polls indicate they will do so handily. In the Senate, the Republicans need only one seat from the Democrats, and their chances look promising in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. Controlling both the House and Senate would be a huge win for the Republicans, meaning they could block president Joe Biden’s agenda for the remaining two years of his term.

It is true that, in terms of the election cycle, the Democrats are swimming against the tide. Since the Second World War, the party holding the White House has lost an average of 28 House seats in the first Midterms of a new presidency, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Paul Pelosi and the violence we care about The liberal media’s double standards on political violence are horrifying. Brendan O’Neill

Posted By on November 1st, 2022

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/31/paul-pelosi-and-the-violence-we-care-about/

It was the mention of zip ties that got me thinking. Apparently the man who allegedly broke into the San Francisco home of Nancy and Paul Pelosi on Friday was carrying zip ties. A possibly crazed individual approaching the home of a powerful politician with plastic fasteners that can be used to bind a person’s hands – it was both a nightmarish prospect and a familiar one, too. Wasn’t another public figure in the US recently targeted by someone who had zip ties? And a gun, a knife, pepper spray and a crowbar? Yes. It was Brett Kavanaugh. But many don’t remember that. Because thanks to the media, certain acts of political hate get less traction than others.

People are rightly horrified by what happened to Paul Pelosi on Friday. David DePape allegedly broke into the Pelosi home and yelled ‘Where is Nancy?’. She wasn’t there. DePape then allegedly attacked Mr Pelosi, who is 82, with a hammer. Pelosi suffered a skull fracture and is still in hospital, though he is expected to make a full recovery. This was a horrific assault on an elderly person, as well as seeming to have been motivated by a deep political animus. Sadly, it was not a one-off. There was a creepily similar incident at the home of Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh in Maryland in June.

A 26-year-old man from California travelled to Maryland allegedly with the intention of murdering Kavanaugh. That’s what he is charged with – attempted murder. He was armed with a tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol, zip ties and other murderous paraphernalia. The difference between Kavanaugh’s alleged tormentor and the man who allegedly broke into the Pelosi home is that the former failed to gain entry. He spied two US marshals close to Kavanaugh’s home and called off his deadly mission. Kavanaugh was luckier than Paul Pelosi.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Palestinians: Why Are Attacks on Christians Being Ignored? by Khaled Abu Toameh

Posted By on October 31st, 2022

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19066/palestinians-attacks-christians

“Did you see ever a Christian attacked a Mosk [sic] in Christian majority towns in Middle East? Off course No. This shows difference of culture, faith, respect & recognition we hold” — Shadi Khalloul, prominent Christian rights advocate, Twitter, October 29, 2022.

As in previous instances, the Palestinian Authority has failed to take real measures to punish those who attack Christians or Christian holy sites in the Bethlehem area.

The attacks by Muslims on Christians are often ignored by the international community and media, who seem to speak out only when they can find a way to blame Israel.

Another disturbing situation is that the leaders of the Christian community in the West Bank are reluctant to hold the Palestinian Authority and their Muslim neighbors responsible for the attacks. They are afraid of retribution and prefer to toe the official line of holding Israel solely responsible for the misery of the Christian minority.

Sadly, it is safe to assume that the plight of the Palestinian Christians will only intensify in light of the silence of the international community and the all-too-justified fear of retaliation burdening their own leaders.

A series of violent incidents in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and the nearby towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, have left Christians worried about their safety and future under the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Many Christians living in these communities are complaining that the Palestinian Authority is not doing enough to punish those who attack churches and Christian-owned businesses. The perpetrators are Muslims who make up the majority of the population in the Bethlehem area.