? I think we've all come to some sort of consensus ! ?

Pity the House was so empty (as it so often is).

I don't think I've encountered the 2 MPs here before, but ...

Miriam Cates [CON] was very good, and seems a decent MP, but I didn't agree with *everything* she said.

However, Lloyd Russell-Moyle [LAB] behaved like a complete dick, and I thought it very appropriate that it was Madam Speaker able to tell him to calm down! My guess is that he's got plenty friends who are TRAs and he too easily switched into outrage mode.

In fairness, he does quickly & completely calm down, and this subsequent 2 mins should also be watched for some balance ...

https://twitter.com/lloyd_rm/status/1615411732851134486

Another Scottish rapist wanting to be locked up with women.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64438457

3 good clips, @jez, and it's difficult to disagree with most of the points.

I've liked Bindell (and Greer) for decades, and although that GBN guy is a bit of a dick generally, it's a solidly written piece (apart from the snidey sarcasm). Credit to Bindell's GBN interviewer, who does a largely decent job of playing devil's advocate.

Having said that, I do like Sturgeon too - Scotland seems to produce more than its fair share of decent politicians. In this News Agents interview she's articulate, knowledgeable, experienced ... and normal, without any Westminster grandstanding. But as we've said before, it's very likely her heels are dug into the trans issue for mainly political points.

https://pca.st/aziw0n39

And here's a good roundup >

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-63823420

A little light relief for this thread.

Well now I'm being encouraged to boycott a new Hogwarts game because an author some talked sense, and poor game streamers are forcing themselves to play the game reluctantly. Seriously, people need to grow spines and give the trans troopers (and their career-minded supporters) the response they deserve: 'oh, just shut the fuck up'. I wonder if the young actors that Hogwarts made famous approve of these games, or whether they're still biting the hand that indirectly made them multi-millionaires.

Wired gave the game 1/10 "The game is mid at best, and its real-world harms are impossible to ignore.". Reviewed by a transgender woman.

The person who reviewed the game for IGN admitted in a podcast that everyone else at IGN was too scared to review the game because of all the blowback they'd get.

Eurogamer hasn't acknowledged that the game exists since March 2022.

Despite their efforts, it's still been one of the most successful single player releases on Steam (600,000 concurrent players at release).

So if we simply replace the word Woman with Female, everything is then ok and biological women can have their own dressing rooms and hospital appointments. Have to admit, I'm less than convinced. What if a trans-woman wants to have her non-existent cervix checked over? Should we be allowed to stop her access to female medical services?

I started to read the Wired review but gave up when it became obvious it's not a review of the game, but of how the writer's feelings were hurt by their once-beloved author. I hadn't actually heard of the game until this morning (despite owning a console) when I read about it in a news article.

My head spins when I try to get it round the whole female/woman/trans/phobia thing. I honestly don't think I'll ever understand it. I'll defend the right of anyone who feels they identify with the opposite of whatever way they were born (I don't know the current approved way to phrase that) - but I'll also assert my right to consider a person with a penis in a dress a man, and whether or not I 'respect' their chosen pronouns is my decision, not theirs.

I don't intend to post all the anti-trans news stories that I encounter, Jez-style, but this really belongs in here for some balance.

RIP ?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-64620539

Except that at the moment the police don't think her gender identity was a factor?