Prof David Wootton 🇺🇦🇮🇱
@ProfWootton
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Historian. Emeritus Professor, University of York
UK
Joined March 2020
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Jacob Breslow had an LSE PhD. He was hired by the people who had supervised him. They must have thought he was one of their very best. They knew exactly who he was and what he would write about.
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I'm now on p. 52 of the OU/Phoenix judgment. Crikey. The Tribunal doesn't hold back. The OU is getting a drubbing. It's a great day for freedom of speech in universities, but a shameful day to see the tawdry character of academic life exposed like this. Justice done, & well done.
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My wife and I have wills where when we are both dead everything goes to UCL. I guess we'll be changing them...
BREAKING:
@ucl_ucu
academics voted for “Intifada until victory” and a “mass uprising” against Israeli civilians. This is a horrific incitement to violence and terror.
We have written to UCL’s Provost to express disgust at the motion & call for urgent action in the wake of this.
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A small group of very smart lawyers -- Peter Daly, the Legal Feminists, Ben Cooper and some others -- have changed the course of British history. But for them Stonewall Law could have become the law, GC views could have staid NWORIADS. No debate would have won. We owe them a lot.
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Lots wrong with the GC letter, but I knew at once that it wasn't ok when I read the phrase: "the authentic voice of the working classes". This is Leninism. No class has an authentic voice. I'm lucky if I manage to have an authentic voice. Very disappointed
@RosieDuffield1
signed.
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I was a little sceptical of this case, but following it on
@tribunaltweets
has been eye-opening. The OU is seriously exposed. And if they were following legal advice, they should sue their lawyers.
If this tribunal doesn't peak the nation nothing will. Well done to Jo Phoenix for bringing this into the daylight. I'm speechless after listening today tbh.
Don't understand how the Open University think their witnesses present them in a good light. I must be missing something.
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Apply this to history -- only Catholics to write books on the Crusades, only Protestants on Luther, on witches on the witch trials, only Communists on Bolshevism...
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My wife tells me I owe my happiness to Robbie Coltrane. She was only interested in thin men until she saw Cracker. And that’s how I got my big chance.
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@SketchesbyBoze
If you think Heathcliff was of mixed race just because he is described as dark you are confused about mid nineteenth century language. Marx was called a Moor -- didn't mean he was black or brown, just a bit darker than his compatriots.
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I have had a quick search through the signatories of the GC anti-racism letter, and I have to say who didn't sign is much more interesting than who did.
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@Mumoftwo1329
@amscanlon
@ripx4nutmeg
@billybragg
I’m a little puzzled: do they ask Muslims and Orthodox Jews to share their values? Or do they find a workaround?
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Someone in Hachette's legal department will spend next week reading Employment Tribunal Claims: Tactics and Precedents by Naomi Cunningham and Michael Reed. I'm sure they'll enjoy it.
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@radfem_witch
On the contrary, as far as my comment is concerned (tho' you are right in a larger sense) -- I'm with those who didn't sign, and glad to find myself in good company.
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The prodigal son was not abducted and held captive; his father did not ransom him. He went and came back of his own accord. It's a totally inappropriate misuse of the parable.
It’s a sign of our illiterate culture that Irish PM beautifully quotes Luke 15:10 and is attacked for speaking of a lost child as if he meant lost in the mall
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20% of Israeli citizens are Muslims. Some 50% of the other 80% are refugees from Muslim countries. This is not an apartheid or colonialist state. It's a state for refugees.
@StandWithUs
She’s a settler colonialist apartheid officer patrolling and policing stolen land with an automatic rifle
Her life is not worth more than the Palestinians she oppressed through her armed and violent service to the racist military occupier
As an apartheid occupier, she likely
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When I resigned from
@Soc_of_Authors
the professional staff behaved impeccably. But, invited by her own staff to say she supported free speech and diversity of opinion, the Chair failed to do so, and I left. The Society is welcome to ask me for a copy of the emails.
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For anyone (like me) struggling to understand Lady Haldane’s judgment, I strongly recommend this essay by the superb Naomi Cunningham of
@legalfeminist
:
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@MForstater
@TimJBlackman
His problem is that he shouldn't need time to consider it in detail. They lost. They lost big. They won't appeal if they have any sense. He should have worked that out before making any statement.
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Material Girls was a bestseller. One has to wonder why a publisher interested in making a profit wasn't thrilled, and keen to commission more such books.
I have lodged a claim at the employment tribunal against my former employer, Hachette, on the grounds of sex and belief discrimination - full story below. I need to raise money towards legal fees. If you can share and/or donate, that would be brilliant💜
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Parliamentary supremacy is not a notion. It’s the basic principle of the British constitution.
"Suella is so radical that she [consulted one Oxford law professor and a Cambridge law fellow]."
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An editorial director of a publisher completely unfamiliar with the law since Forstater... Ignorance is no excuse. Take legal advice, and fast.
Sighing as I write because I know how horny the terfs get when anyone gives them attention, but also can’t let statements like this go unchallenged within our industry, so here we are. Looking forward to the usual, not-at-all sexist accusations that I am ‘shilling for men’ ♥️
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Does she imagine that the biological advantage of men is simply their hormone levels at a moment in time? How ignorant can a university academic be? Answer: she does; and very.
Ah so one concern is about fairness in sports competitions. But when these men are transitioned into women, they have the same hormone levels, etc. as any other (biological) women, so they don’t really have any advantages, do they?
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I am going to unfollow anyone who posts or reposts tweets containing careless use of the words "Nazi" and/or "fascist". One can carry on a vigorous political debate without use of such slurs (or their close equivalents).
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If the BMA vote for this they will have to face the consequences. At best their interests are not aligned with their patients'; but his goes beyond narrow self-interest into sheer bad medicine. The BMA is too often a fundamental obstacle to an NHS which looks after patients.
NEW: The governing body of the doctors’ union - the BMA - will vote tomorrow on a motion to ‘disavow’ the Cass Review into the care provided to gender-questioning children and young people. Exclusive by me for the
@NewStatesman
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Everyone saying it’s wrong to appear on Tucker Carlson and Fox News should watch
@KDansky
showing how to do it right:
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@DalgetySusan
I am very aware we wouldn't be here without the grassroots campaign and the stalwart bravery of Maya, Jo, Rachel, Sonia, Allison and others. But the lawyers weren't just doing a job of work -- they were changing the way the courts thought, and that's a remarkable achievement.
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@blablafishcakes
@CV_Dalcher
@Waterstones
@TillyLovesBooks
It's also the case that Waterstones must know they have a problem that their customers are much more likely to be sex realist than their staff. There have been lots of complaints of books unavailable or hidden. They will have felt the need to draw a line.
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Am I engaging in malicious communication? Happy to supply my address to any police force interested.
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This settler state trope is profoundly ahistorical. Every European state is a settler state -- Goths, Huns, Saxons, Vikings conquered and settled across Europe, killing, displacing, and enslaving Celts and other "indigenous" peoples. 1/x
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@LouiseDistras
@andrewdoyle_com
@GBNEWS
@StandingforXX
lawyers on x, is it normal to conduct an arrest in this fashion for an offence which, had it happened, would have consisted merely of some words spoken? wouldn't it be more proper to invite to attend a police station for interview?
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Majority of 7,210. Who is running against her?
I'll save them the bother of doorstepping me.
Yes some women have a penis.
It's clear that Tory allies will help with their
#waronwoke
Vilification of trans people to distract from mess country is in.
How about asking MPs if they will eradicate Homelessness & Child Poverty?
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I would hope that if
@RosieDuffield1
decided to run as an Independent the Conservative Party wouldn’t field a candidate against her. This Parliament is distinctly short of people of principle and steadfast courage. She is without compare.
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@VeteranGamerUK
@RosieDuffield1
I think I agree with both those comments. I think (rightly?) that the letter is primarily directed against PP. I saw one tweet by her that I thought seriously misguided. But a) don't hint, state your criticisms and b) don't divide a movement over a tweet or two.
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BC examines a witness.
IF: tone down is your choice of words.
BC: no its yours
IF: no its yours
BC: its yours written here
IF: OK fair enough
BC: u sent it to (lists) and not usual to send it to LGBTplus network for review?
IF: wasn't review it was notification
BC: [reads 'any concerns let me know']
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Femicide, which refers to the gender-related killing of women and girls, represents the most extreme cases of violence against women. In 2020 there were 400 femicides in Poland, 117 in Germany, 102 in Italy, and 99 in Hungary.
16 trans people have been murdered in Europe in 2023 so far.
NWC stands in solidarity with the trans community 💜
#TransAwarenessWeek
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@JTE85
@ProfAliceS
@BBCElaine
@BBCNews
@Docstockk
Take the organiser of the letter, widely described as a “doctoral researcher” and as one of 100 “members of staff”. I assumed this meant he was a post-doc employee. But he isn’t — he’s a PhD student — students are not “academics”.
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@SaintCirce
@tribunaltweets
Indeed. But they keep saying "We took legal advice", as if that means they aren't at fault. But they won't divulge what the advice was. It was either bad advice and they followed it, or good advice and they ignored it. Either way, you are responsible for the quality of the advice
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@paolomossetti
@stefanauer_hku
So when will we see an Italian whose family originated in Libya, Eritrea, Somalia or Ethiopia in charge of the Italian government?
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This is why NHS staff and police should not wear lanyards announcing their beliefs.
@ennuiforlife
I’ve never had a problem except one patient (Israeli) who started yapping when he say my Palestinian flag pin. I had the nurse sedate his IV infusion to quiet him down.
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@rejserin
@sleeepysandy
@HannahQuirk1
@JoPhoenix1
@sally_hines
The judge was very careful and sensible. Admirable judgment which requires colleagues to continue to behave in a collegial fashion even when they disagree. That a judge has to come in and point out this is a legal obligation is shameful -- it's a matter of common courtesy.
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@TimBarnsley1
@QcWynter
@OpenUniversity
As the judge said, they outsourced Jo's grievance to the Tribunal. And they did so because they did not dare tell the bullies they were bullies. So they invited them all to testify, and left the judge to give them the bad news. Smart -- in a perverse way.
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"I've always said" -- to be trustworthy he would need to say "I was wrong; now I get it."
"Do biological males with gender recognition certificates have the right to enter women-only spaces? It’s a simple yes/no question”
Starmer is emphatic. “No. They don’t have that right. They shouldn’t. That’s why I’ve always said biological women’s spaces
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Brittney Cooper is a tenured professor of Women and Gender Studies. And if this isn't racism what would be?
Rutgers Professor Brittney Cooper says that white people are evil villains and need to be “taken out”
When you call for white genocide in our top universities, you get promoted.
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@iseult
@Mielly007
No -- doesn't surprise me. It looks like there are now in effect three groups -- lefties aka head girls, PPites, and in the middle a group who want a united not a divided movement, and, like the PPites, want to stick to sex realism and avoid bundling it up with socialism.
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@rules_of_izzy
@StephenORahilly
We know the tests were carried out by an authorised lab, and we know enough about the results.
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Historians have always had axes to grind; but the discipline ceases to have any intellectual merit if arguments are not constrained by evidence.
"Oxbridge scholars clash over claims that Industrial Revolution hero stole ideas from Jamaican slaves
"Another row has broken out after journal’s editors suggested critics are guilty of “profoundly selective historicism that supports white domination”"
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It's always easy to spot a first class mind.
Since this keeps coming up, I have a first class LLB from Trinity College Dublin (not in the U.K.), which won the Julian Prize; an MSc in Law and Anthropology from the LSE; and a PhD in constitutional and equality law from Cambridge which won the Yorke Prize.
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@janeclarejones
Still an expert witness whose favourite line is “I’m not an expert” isn’t really putting up a fight. Hard to see why they brought the case in the first place if they didn’t intend to put up an argument.
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@Baroness_Nichol
@roseveniceallan
@KatKitten1
Writes truly wonderful reviews for
@thetimes
and lots of others — but has now seriously put her foot in it.
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@ForWomenScot
@RobbieTravers
@JamesEsses
@CostaCoffee
My wife had a double mastectomy for cancer and continues to have daily pain and discomfort. Deborah Orr wrote movingly about how no one warns women of the pain they will live with after the operation -- entirely worth it to get a new lease of life, but entirely wrong otherwise.
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@VeteranGamerUK
@RosieDuffield1
I think the GC movement is becoming bad at handling internal diversity. Not everyone needs to sing from the same hymn sheet. There are people I used to follow I now steer well clear of. It's painful, but there we are.
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@Mielly007
On quick inspection couldn't see any Legal Feminists or any leading members of Sex Matters -- not claiming to have done this carefully. Did see three prominent lawyers. Not all of founders of LGB Alliance, but one.
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Bridget Phillipson has been appointed Women and Equalities Minister, just days after being unable to say in a radio interview whether biological males should be able to use a women’s toilet.
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@ProfAliceS
@OpenUniversity
An obvious problem is that in large organisations bullies are often promoted into management. I had the misfortune to work for a VC who was a bully and a shameless liar (and got a knighthood). There is good leadership out there, but a lot of bad leadership.
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Hang on, there are people on here who say things I agree with one day, and things I disagree with the next. That's not ok. We must all think correctly or always be wrong.
Hang on, there are people on here who are not consistent with my values? I’d like to speak to the manager please.
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"Sensitive healthcare decisions are profoundly personal" -- which is why NICE exists to take them for us...
I’m deeply concerned at news that Wes Streeting is considering making the ban on puberty blockers permanent.
Sensitive healthcare decisions are profoundly personal and are best taken on an individual basis with appropriate professional support - not by the health secretary.
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@redgreenrevolt
@GoodwinMJ
So students who weren't Marxists were made to feel welcome? It sounds as if your tutor was confident he and his like had successfully made higher ed in their image.
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Quite something when Warner Brothers is more reliable than
@Soc_of_Authors
Good to see Warner Brothers come out with a statement in support of JK Rowling:
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Perhaps
@Waterstones
have worked out that if push comes to shove there are more sex realist customers out there than "Queer" ones (whatever "Queer" means here). And if Waterstones can work it out, the publishing industry as a whole may not be too far behind.
Hi
@Waterstones
you have lost my custom, and I'm encouraging my followers to do the same
As a Queer man I am horrified that you platform transphobes like
@CV_Dalcher
If you're looking for books by trans + queer authors, shop
@gaystheword
or
@QueerLitUK
#Waterstones
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I have a had a good response from the provost of UCL to the UCL-UCU "intifada until victory" motion. He is evidently taking the matter extremely seriously, as he should.
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I believe Hamas broke a ceasefire on October 7 and again on 1 December. Ceasefires and negotiations with Hamas will never work.
I believe two things:
1) The October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas that killed over 1,200 Israeli civilians and led to mass torture, rape, sexual violence and kidnapping was absolutely horrific and inexcusable, and must be strongly condemned.
2) Israel’s military action in
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@SaintCirce
@tribunaltweets
I'm going to take a flyer here. The judge started by asking for pronouns; and this was (rightly) seen as a statement of her own views. I think she is finding the case eye-opening as well. But time will tell.
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@MsRachelCooke
@helenlewis
@mrianleslie
A very good question. I resigned ages ago. I’ll be giving the equivalent of my annual sub to
@Gillian_Philip
‘s crowdfunder.
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@DStrungk
@Sephardi_Bee
@StandingforXX
And what about Orthodox Jews and Muslims? Do they tell them they won’t get the treatment they need? I agree this is a complicated case but they did say they had a problem with her values — which is straight discrimination as her values are worthy of respect.
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@DrSarahLiu
@EdinburghUni
What you are trying to say is "I support academic freedom for people I agree with but not for people I disagree with."
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@JoPhoenix1
I'm afraid the claim that biology is a social construct, and that facts are constructed not identified, is perfectly orthodox across the social sciences. This is magical realism, and those who believe it are caught in an intellectual maze from which they can't escape.
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When we see 500 faculty at Harvard are supporting Gay we have to ask how many of them were hired because of her DEI policies or hope to be tenured. 1/2
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On consideration I have decided my communication with the Chief Executive of
@Soc_of_Authors
wasn’t private, and have published it. I would have had no problem remaining in the society if its Chair had taken the opportunity to echo the very sensible views expressed by the CEO.
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I am afraid this is shameful for
@joannaccherry
. The evidence is clear. And many claims of "indiscriminate bombing" are based on fake news -- images taken in Syria not Gaza.
What a performance by the Israeli Govt spokesperson on
@BBCr4today
. When his government have been indiscriminately bombing civilians for days it is perfectly reasonable to question their insistence that the hospital bombing has nothing to do with them.
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@DPJHodges
Nobody knew about the freebies two months ago and nobody knew about the winter fuel payment. So you can.
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@shadowcat_mst
@HJoyceGender
@KyleWOrton
Judgment here:
The way in which Ms Forstater expressed her belief was not such that objection could reasonably be taken to it.
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@Emmaline_999
@LoobyLouDino
@Joannechocolat
@AmandaPCraig
@Soc_of_Authors
I can’t follow this conversation as I’m blocked by JC, but as an ex-member, who resigned in part over the Society’s failure to support
@AmandaPCraig
, I very much hope there is a change of management at
@Soc_of_Authors
.
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@antoniafrances
@RosieDuffield1
I understand that -- but when you sign you sign up to every part and not just to the broad sentiment. It was a badly drafted letter and many of those who signed should have said it needed rewriting -- and some, like Rosie, might well have got their way.
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@iseult
@Mielly007
People I admire in all three groups, but I have reservations about all three of them. JKR seems much the most reliable when it comes to knowing where and when to draw a line. (PPites aka ultras, of course.)
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@AdrienneMahsa
Taking combatants from the other side prisoner, and ensuring they are not armed and cannot resist is not a war crime. Here have a read:
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@soniasodha
It is not a benevolent stereotype when it is assumed people of colour must be failures, oppressed, and poor.
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@DalgetySusan
I am second to none in my admiration for the Legal Feminists, individually and as a group.
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@OzKaterji
The obvious problem of course is that like doctors, school teachers, university professors, and UNWRA workers, journalists can be members of HAMAS. And indeed there are photos that show "journalists" carrying weapons on October 7.
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BC examines a witness
It's a letter to withdraw support from GCRN isn't it?
NAS: not why I signed it
BC: do accept if u sign a letter u agree with it and what it is saying?
(Pause)
NAS: I need to remind myself of the letter. Can I have a moment.
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@JjTooner
You will have seen distinguished lawyers saying the police will be sued for their actions. Are you at risk of being caught up in the forthcoming legal action? Might be an idea to find a decent lawyer to give you some advice... just in case you are held responsible...
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@Bozenka_2023
@RosieDuffield1
@gc_letter
Yes -- I was hesitating to speak (being a man and all) until I read that.
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“Might we talk?” Is not a demand. It’s a polite enquiry carefully using the subjunctive tense.
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@tcbtttc
@Bozenka_2023
@RosieDuffield1
@gc_letter
@Baddiel
Yes -- I'm afraid I hadn't understood the extent to which
#JewsDontCount
until I saw the response to October 7. And your tweet has made me look back at PP on Israel, and I was happy with what I found (tho' this is not a generalised endorsement).
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@QcWynter
My wife's only really bad experience in having a double mastectomy for breast cancer was the nurse who was assigned to her to supposedly give her support during the whole process -- everybody else was lovely, but she was a real source of dark thoughts and misery.
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There are people who believe
@UofGlasgow
is the finest in the world (
@afneil
@FraserNelson
). Always had my doubts (they educated my daughter which was uphill work). But they do have
@michaelpforan
which gives them a strong claim.
Let's assume that 'trans equality rights' don't mean the protected characteristic of gender reassignment or the carefully balanced exceptions set out in the Equality Act but something like self-ID or legal sex change for all purposes. There would clearly be conflicts of rights:
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Find another way — perhaps invite Hamas for tea?
The call for a ceasefire is a moral cry for humanity to find another way to achieve justice, security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians.
The bloodshed must cease, hostages must be released, and aid must reach those in dire need.
In Christ’s name, we cry from our hearts:
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@DPJHodges
Presumably one factor is fear of prosecutions that lead to acquittal, as in HSBC / Just Stop Oil. Average London jury will have two muslims on it. Even magistrates can't be trusted -- see the acquittal of Sarah Baker.
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@0Calamity
@JamesEFoster
@JakeWSimons
@jpjanson
@naftalibennett
Hamas is committed to a single Islamic caliphate ruling the whole world. If they eliminate Israel they won't stop there for the simple reason that their goal is not a Palestinian state but jihad against all non-believers.
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I'm voting Conservatice for one reason only: there is a good chance that
@KemiBadenoch
will be the next leader, and that would be great. Unfortunately my local candidate is hopeless, but so it goes.
I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.
A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly
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@wontsomeonethi2
@DrSarahLiu
There’s no excuse, not even professional malformation. The ignorance involved in thinking that hormone levels are the sum total of biological advantage is just astonishing.
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