This gaffiti appeared near where I live soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and it got me to wondering first, how Putin would respond if he saw it. I reckon, if it was translated into Russian, it would lose the colloquial meaning it has in English, which is kind of friendly, like something you’d say …
All Posts Filed in ‘Politics’
How not to be a transphobe
Since I waded into the trans debate I’ve been accused of being a transphobe on several occasions, though it’s rarely been spelled out what I did to deserve that label, but the other day it was. So, according to evie.rose.music, believing that humans cannot change sex and accepting the dictionary definition of women makes one …
Do you think we might be wrong again?
Someone posted this cartoon on Twitter, trying to suggest that those who argue against gender ideology are opposed to trans rights and are therefore on the wrong side of history. This is an argument I’ve heard a lot, but don’t think it holds.
Justice, Windrush and the family court
You obey the rules and you do the right thing but then the system shafts you. Were you naive to expect to be treated fairly? This is Britain, after all. Not Russia, or Turkey, or China, or the US even. We know the system’s not perfect. Things go wrong and people get hurt, you just …
On coronavirus, socialism and libertarianism
The coronavirus has shown that health is not just a private matter, it’s public, and if it isn’t it needs to be made public. And people are expecting to be bailed out by the government. There are demands for government intervention. You can’t let the market decide when the market is collapsing around you.
What if we could measure intelligence?
Well, some people say we can already whilst others say we can’t. To measure something we need to be able to define what it is we’re measuring and the term intelligence as it is commonly used may be too vague. According to Wikipedia: Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem …
On Brexiters being called stupid
Why is it that Brexiters are so insistent they’re being called stupid? Is it because they are being called stupid? In some cases, yes. You can easily find Remainers saying Leave voters are stupid, ignorant, racist or whatever, just as you can find Leavers accusing Remoaners of being unpatriotic traitors or elitist snobs, and the …
What do we mean when we talk about democracy?
Democracy is defined as a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Typically through elected representatives, but not always. In ancient Athens, democracy was direct rather than representative, with citizens selected by lot to sit in the assembly, the same selection process we …
Facebook and identity politics
Is it a coincidence that the rise of identity politics coincides with the rise of the Internet and in particular of social media? Identity politics has been around for a while and predates the internet, but it’s become particularly impactful in the last few years. Facebook is centred on the personal profile. It encourages people …
Twitter to introduce pronoun field
With many users already displaying their preferred pronouns in their profiles, Twitter has decided to introduce a pronoun field which all users will be encouraged to fill. Robots will be required to use the it/its pronoun, with humans having to pass an “I am not a robot” captcha test before being allowed to enter their …