Mick Hartley

Mosquito Crossing

Marion Post Wolcott - April 1939. "Mosquito Crossing, near Greensboro. Greene County, Georgia."

[Photo: Shorpy/Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration]

Lizardist of the year

An interesting point about that American Humanist Association disavowal of Richard Dawkins for his supposed transphobia: if Dawkins is no longer worthy of his Humanist of the Year Award, what about Alice Walker? She was their Humanist of the Year in 1997, one year after Dawkins. But her antisemitism is by now notorious. For one, she's an admirer of David Icke - and he ain't no humanist, for sure. More of a lizardist. 

Blatant antisemitism gets a pass, but transphobia - even a hint of transphobia, questioning the dogma that people can change genders when they feel like it - is beyond redemption.

It's almost as though Jews don't count.

Defending China

Here we go again. On Monday I featured a MEMRI TV clip where the Saudi and Palestinian ambassadors to China disgraced themselves by defending the Chinese oppression - aka genocide - of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. This latest clip is actually from a week earlier (March 11) and this time features the Syrian, Iranian, and Armenian ambassadors to China jumping through similar hoops as they fall over themselves in their support for China:

The MEMRI summary (yes it's in English but subtitles would've been helpful):

Syrian, Iranian, and Armenian Ambassadors to China condemned Western accusations of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Province of China on a show aired on Phoenix TV (China) on March 11, 2021. Syrian Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha said that the Western accusations reflect the mentality of the Western powers and their “false sense of superiority.” Iranian Ambassador to China Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh said that Western countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia had committed crimes of genocide against the local aboriginal populations, and they want to deflect attention from these crimes by accusing China of genocide in Xinjiang. Ambassador Moustapha agreed to this and added that the Western powers are targeting China because it constitutes an alternative successful model to capitalist powers. He added that these Western powers criticize human rights violations in Xinjiang while they themselves are violating human rights and practicing genocide in Syria. Armenian Ambassador to China Sergey Manassarian said that the policy of sanctions has never been successful.

Western powers "practicing genocide in Syria"? The bare-faced shamelessness of it...

How much pressure was applied, one wonders? Whatever, it's a despicable display - especially from the two Muslim countries, fawning over those responsible for the genocide of their co-religionists. As I've said before: so much for the Ummah.

The ideological grip of transgenderism

Joanna Williams on the latest from trans-friendly Police Scotland:

Allowing male rape suspects to declare that they are women makes clear the disastrous consequences of self-identification. It allows men to rewrite history in the most egregious way imaginable. Describing a suspected male rapist as female fundamentally alters the nature of the crime. It trivialises and invalidates the experiences of the victim. A woman may have been violently penetrated by a penis, but if her rapist identifies as female then she must accept that she was attacked by a woman. Today we are repeatedly told to believe the victim – just not if she says her attacker was male.

Police Scotland are placing the feelings of male rapists above those of female victims. Yet to raise questions about this is to be labelled a bigot: it is the female victims who find they are in the wrong. This is state-sanctioned, police-enforced misogyny made possible because of the ideological grip of transgenderism.

Certainly Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, just like the Greens here, seem transfixed by the shiny progressive clothes of trans activism without caring to look at the misogyny underneath - never mind the sheer offensive absurdity of the whole trans-women-are-women claim.

Transgender ideology harms women. Yet anyone who questions it – be they a teenage girl who finds she no longer has a place on her sports team or a woman rape victim – is branded a bigot. Sadly, from schools to the police, the very institutions that should be defending the rights of girls and women to participate in society as equals have either swallowed whole the braindead mantra that ‘trans women are women’ or are so fearful of being accused of bigotry that they now sacrifice women to salve their sense of moral superiority. This is a shameful act of cowardice at best, misogyny at worst.

Stealing young Syrians

Deputy Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and former representative to the UN Bashar Al-Jaafari: Europe took a million young, educated people from Syria as "humanitarian refugees", and all we got in return was thousands of lousy terrorists.

"Europe took approximately one million Syrian citizens out of Syria. That's Europe I'm talking about – not Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, or Iraq. Europe took one million Syrians out of our country. They were all young, all educated, all with expertise. They took these young Syrians as humanitarian refugees.

"Who did Europe export to us in exchange? 14,000 terrorists. These were terrorists from ISIS, Jabhat Al-Nusra, and similar organizations. What have we ever done to Europe that made it export terrorists to us and steal our young people? Did the Syrian government ask those millions of Syrians to leave the country? What have we ever done to Europe that made it send to us, in exchange for those brilliant young minds, tens of thousands of terrorists?"

Well, we didn't exactly lure these young people over: they fled Syria to avoid the bombs and chemical weapons being dropped on them by your government.

Still, not to worry. Your beloved president is not without friends:

Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), sent a message of greeting to Bashar Al-Assad, president of the Syrian Arab Republic, on April 17.

In the message the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un extended warm congratulations and greetings to the president, friendly government and people of Syria on behalf of the DPRK government and people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the independence of Syria.

Since the independence of the country, the Syrian people have carried on the strenuous struggle to repel all kinds of aggression and interference by the imperialists and the forces following them, firmly defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country and build a new prosperous society, the message said.

The Korean people always extend invariable support and solidarity to the Syrian people for their just cause to achieve independence, justice, peace and development, the message noted.

In the belief that the historic friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Syria would grow stronger in conformity with the noble intention of the preceding leaders and the desire of the peoples of the two countries, it sincerely wished the Syrian president good health and bigger success in his responsible work.

Pink blossom

Spring colour:

An approach antithetical to humanist values

Once again Richard Dawkins is in trouble with his tweets. 

In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a white chapter president of NAACP, was vilified for identifying as Black. Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men. You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as.

Discuss.

— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) April 10, 2021

Already he's been attacked for supposedly deciding to "question the humanity of transgender people", whatever that means. Now the American Humanist Association has joined the fray with its very own portentous pronouncement on the subject.

American Humanist Association Board Statement Withdrawing Honor from Richard Dawkins:

Established in 1953, the Humanist of the Year Award is conferred annually by the American Humanist Association (AHA), recognizing the awardee as an exemplar of humanist values. Communication of scientific concepts to the public is an important aspect of advancing the cause of humanism. Richard Dawkins was honored in 1996 by the AHA as Humanist of the Year for his significant contributions in this area.

Regrettably, Richard Dawkins has over the past several years accumulated a history of making statements that use the guise of scientific discourse to demean marginalized groups, an approach antithetical to humanist values. His latest statement implies that the identities of transgender individuals are fraudulent, while also simultaneously attacking Black identity as one that can be assumed when convenient. His subsequent attempts at clarification are inadequate and convey neither sensitivity nor sincerity.

Consequently, the AHA Board has concluded that Richard Dawkins is no longer deserving of being honored by the AHA, and has voted to withdraw, effective immediately, the 1996 Humanist of the Year award.

Oh dear. 

I must have missed the bit where he attacks Black identity as "one that can be assumed when convenient". Of course that's precisely his point: that it can't be assumed when convenient - so why then can gender identities be assumed when convenient?

Ah well. Question the gender identity dogma at your peril. It's blasphemy.

Democratic decay

The South Korean government banned the sending of propaganda balloons across the DMZ to North Korea last year, after Kim Jong-un's charmless sister indulged in one of her outbursts against the South and the "human scum little short of wild animals" who engage in such activities. It was a spineless response by President Moon, particularly as the spreading of South Korean culture among North Korean youth is perhaps the one thing above all others that Pyongyang really fears. Balloons with leaflets and memory sticks provided an excellent means of spreading the word.

Now, embarrassingly for Moon, the US has joined the criticism:

U.S. Republican Representative Chris Smith, the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in a Congressional hearing on April 15 described the South Korean government's ban on sending propaganda leaflets -- or "bible and BTS balloons" -- as a "retreat… from its longstanding commitment to human rights," and said he is "extremely" alarmed by it.

In the same hearing his co-chair, Democratic Representative James McGovern expressed hope that the National Assembly will "fix the bill" and provide the "redress" which democratic process allows. Both U.S. political parties believe the South Korean ban to be an infringement of freedom of expression and human rights. Witness after witness testified that the South Korean government is suppressing criticism of the North Korean regime in its harebrained pursuit of cross-border rapprochement.

That is a spectacular embarrassment for the government, but the Unification Ministry vowed to uphold the leaflet ban. One supposedly progressive academic who is thought to be Moon's mentor accused the U.S. of "meddling" in South Korea's internal affairs, and some die-hard supporters of the president gathered in Seoul to stage an anti-U.S. protest....

But Smith said the South Korean government's infringements have been described as "democratic decay" and urged it to "resume its commitment to civil and political rights in particular, and human rights in general. It must do so, not only for the sake of Korea both South and North, but also for the entire world." The U.S. Congress accusing South Korea of violating human rights and suppressing democracy and the South accusing the U.S. of meddling is reminiscent of the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 80s. That it should be replayed now, with a government that has set itself up as a shining beacon of democracy, is a disgrace.

Pressure on Moon might well be a more productive use of US energies than engaging in more absurd high-level summits with Kim Jong-un.

In keeping with audience expectations

From the Jewish News (via):

A complaint has been lodged to the BBC after actor David Tennant read out a comment on a popular comedy show, saying Israel “ignores the Arab population” when it comes to vaccinations.

The actor read out the remarks on ‘Have I Got a Bit More News For You’ on Friday 9 April, as Israel’s embassy insists the country offers a jab to all its citizens, and has even run campaigns to encourage vaccination take-up for minorities.

During the clip, Tennant said: “According to the current roadmap, Britons will only be able to travel to countries with ‘a similarly high level of vaccination rate’.”

Displaying a list of the most vaccinated countries, which has Israel at the top on 61 percent and Britain second on 46 percent, he said: “As you can see Israel have populated 61 percent of their population which is pretty much everyone there if you ignore the Arab population, which they do. So they’re done.”

Criticising the segment, an Israeli Embassy in London spokesperson said: “Israel offered vaccines to all of its citizens above the age of 16, regardless of their religion, ethnicity or social status. Arab citizens in Israel have been offered vaccines and special campaigns in Arabic have targeted these communities in order to prevent misinformation and address any concerns that they may have in order to increase uptake.”

The BBC dismissed the complaint, however:

A BBC spokesperson said: “The comments were satirical and in keeping with audience expectations of this well-established topical entertainment show.”

The audience expectations include a diet of lame smugly progressive jokes on HIGNFY, and in particular they love the occasional lame anti-Israel jibe. So hey, why not give it to them? What's the problem? OK so it's all lies, but these are Jews, remember. They ask for it, the Jews. They run a superb vaccination campaign, so of course they deserve a kicking.

China knows how to deal with its internal affairs

How delightful. The Saudi and Palestinian ambassadors were most impressed with their visit to Xinjiang:

The MEMRI summary:

Saudi and Palestinian ambassadors to China spoke about their impressions from a visit to Xinjiang province in China on a show aired on Phoenix TV (China) on March 19, 2021. Saudi Ambassador to China Turki Mohammed Al-Madhi said that governments use human rights issues to pressure third world countries. He explained that he believes in the principle of non-interference, and these are internal matters and added that China knows how to deal with its internal affairs. Palestinian Ambassador to China Fariz Mehdawi concurred and said that he does not want to be lectured about human rights from those who “colonized us.” He also said that these countries have double standards because they do not criticize human rights violations in Gaza. Ambassador Mehdawi added that Western democracies do not necessary fit all countries, for instance, in Africa their priority is to fight starvation, not to form a democracy. Ambassador Al-Madhi agreed and said that democracy has destroyed many countries in the Arab region, as was the case with the Arab Spring. Both ambassadors said that they were impressed by technological and infrastructure investments in the Xinjiang region, as well as the upkeep of mosques.

To be added to the Muslim book of shame on the Uighur genocide.

Living through a moral panic

The trans war against JK Rowling just gets sillier and sillier. From a piece at the Stanford Review (via):

When I moved back to Stanford last week for the first time in over a year, I grinned almost childishly when I saw the Hufflepuff name-tag on my door. For all that’s strange about campus during the pandemic, it was nice to see my new dorm continue the Stanford tradition of each house choosing a fun theme: “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.”

What’s not to love? Oh, how naive I was...

As it turns out, choosing a beloved children’s fantasy series as a theme for a college dorm in 2021 is dangerous territory. Being well-versed in the ways of the woke, I admit that I should have seen it coming. But I did not, and was completely floored when student staff read the following statement during our first virtual house meeting:

“We want to acknowledge that J.K. Rowling has made many transphobic, anti-semitic, and racist statements over the past year. Her beliefs do not reflect our values as a house, and we want to make it clear that we do not tolerate comments like hers in this dorm. Our theme… is intended to make this space safe and fun for you this quarter.”

The supposed transphobia isn't enough: she's now anti-semitic and racist as well. And no doubt disablist, homophobic, and ageist too. Probably not so great with the personal hygiene either, come to mention it. And see those warts? Yep, she's a witch.

Right now, we are living through a moral panic. This panic goes by many names (wokeness, cancel culture, identity politics, etc) and it is corroding major institutions, including journalism, government, and academia. When otherwise thoughtful and well-intentioned people — in this case liberals concerned about racism, broadly speaking — get caught up in the panic, evidence and process become secondary considerations, and narratives take over.

Rowling’s witty heroine Hermione Granger once observed that "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Our moral panic has produced an environment where the fear of a word like “racism” has disproportionately increased fear of the thing itself. Let me explain:

The goal of increasing societal awareness of racism where it exists is both laudable and desirable. But we are no longer in a stage of increased awareness — or even hyper-awareness — of racism. We are now witnessing the mass hallucination of racism. The obsessive search to uncover bigotry in everything and everyone has led people to see bigotry where none exists.

London blossom

Out and about this morning:

Cut Rate Drugs

Jack Delano - September 1941. "South Royalton, Vermont. Storefronts on the main street."

[Photo: Shorpy/Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration]

Deeply connected to women’s liberation

Nancy Kelley, head of Stonewall UK, has a letter in today's Sunday Times:

There is something ironic about your male columnist Rod Liddle claiming that Stonewall “thinks women don’t really exist” (Comment, last week). As a woman and feminist who happens to be that charity’s chief executive, I was surprised to find I was still around to be annoyed by this.

A core part of our work as an LGBT+ charity is tackling the inequalities faced by lesbians, bi women and trans women. All women have a right to have their identity and experiences respected. This is vital because the fight for LGBT+ equality is deeply connected to women’s liberation. True equality is a collective struggle.

Fair enough. As she notes, LGBT+ equality as practised by Stonewall is indeed deeply connected to women’s liberation....they're in direct contradiction. Trans women have different priorities from real women, and, as far as Stonewall's concerned, trans wins every time.

Some readers comments:

• And what has Nancy Kelley done for the many lesbians who only wish to date biological women without having men who claim to be women foisted upon them on every chatroom and dating website? Stonewall has betrayed its LGB mission for the transdollar...
• Nancy Kelley of Stonewall claims Stonewall represents the rights of all women. So, Nancy, can you tell us what happens when the rights of one of these groups contravenes, and then supersedes, the rights of another group? It seems to me that Stonewall has only one true objective: for the rights of trans women to be deemed more important than the rights of natal women, and if natal women object they deserve to be smeared as transphobic who deserve to have their hard fought for rights removed. Stonewall has no interest in protecting the rights of natal women if these rights stand in the way of the trans activists she truly represents. At least be honest, Nancy, and stop declaring you have all women’s interests at heart. Just admit that you will side with trans activists against natal women on every single occasion and if women object to this Stonewall couldn’t care less.
• Few women have done as much harm to women's rights as Nancy Kelley (and Stonewall). Trans women are male, they have no place in facilities for women. To say Stonewall supports lesbian women is beyond risible.They expect them to date males, intact or not, who identify as women. I will not be forced to give validation to this.
• I am a woman. It's not a feeling in my head. I was born female and belong in the sex class we call women. I used to be identified by my name but thanks to Stonewall, I now have to post under a pseudonym as the very act of defining my sex - one which does not include male-bodied people - is sufficient provocation for the trans-activists, emboldened by Nancy Kelly's organisation, to send death and rape threats. Perhaps she could explain how this aids my liberation and equality.

The message about Stonewall seems to be getting through.

Bank Top

Documentary photographer Craig Easton has been awarded first place in the Portraiture category of the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards for his series Bank Top, set in Blackburn, Lancashire:

Bank Top is a the result of a collaboration with writer and academic Abdul Aziz Hafiz and small, tight-knit community in Blackburn challenging, as Aziz puts it, the “simplistic representation of Blackburn and the callous use of the word ‘segregation’ by policymakers and the media when they try to explain the challenges faced by such neighbourhoods and towns.”

[Photos © Craig Easton]