Good morning on cat shabbos, CaturSaturday, April 13, 2024, and National Peach Cobbler Day, one of the best cobblers, and a treat in the American South. Here’s a fancy one from Wikipedia; the ice cream is essential.
Today’s Google Doodle click below celebrates “the 93rd birthday of Mexican American psychologist Dr. Martha Bernal, who became the first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology in the U.S. and made major contributions in children’s clinical work and multicultural psychology.”
Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the April 13 Wikipedia page.
Da Nooz:
*I haven’t read the new Cass Report on the UK’s gender clinics and gender treatment, but we’ll have an analysis by a reader early next week. But apparently Andrew Sullivan has read it, and writes about it this week in a post called “Will Big Trans be held to account?” He starts by being surprised at where the parties stand on various issues, and then gets to Big Trans:
But would anyone have predicted that the Democrats and the left in general would soon favor a vast, completely unregulated, for-profit medical industry that would conduct a vast, new experimental treatment on children with drugs that were off-label and without any clinical trials to prove their effectiveness and safety? In the 2016 presidential race, both Dem contendersrailed against Big Pharma, with Bernie going as far as calling the industry “a health hazard for the American people.” Back in 2009, you saw MSM storieslike this:
The Food and Drug Administration said adults using prescription testosterone gel must be extra careful not to get any of it on children to avoid causing serious side effects. These include enlargement of the genital organs, aggressive behavior, early aging of the bones, premature growth of pubic hair, and increased sexual drive. Boys and girls are both at risk. The agency ordered its strongest warning on the products — a so-called black box.
Nowadays, it’s deemed a “genocide” if you don’t hand out these potent drugs to children almost on demand. Drugs used tocastrate sex offendersand to treat adult prostate cancer have been re-purposed, off-label, to sexually reassign children before they even got through puberty. Big Pharma created lucrative “customers for life” by putting kids on irreversible drugs for a condition that could not be measured or identified by doctors and entirely self-diagnosed by …children.
. . .The reason we were told that children couldn’t wait and mature was that they would kill themselves if they didn’t. This is one of the most malicious lies ever told in pediatric medicine. While there is a higher chance of suicide among children with gender distress than those without, it is stillextremely rare. And there is absolutely no solid evidence that treatment reduces suicide rates at all.
Don’t take this from me. The most authoritative and definitive study of the question has just been published in Britain, “The Cass Report,” by Hilary Cass, one of the most respected pediatricians in the country. It’s 388 pages long, crammed with references, five years in the making, based on serious research and interviews with countless doctors, parents, scientists and, most importantly, children and trans people directly affected. In the UK, its findings have been accepted by both major parties andeven some of the groupswho helped pioneer and enable this experiment. I urge you to read it — if only the preliminary summary.
. . .It’s a decisive moment in this debate. After weighing all the credible evidence and data, the report concludes that puberty blockers arenotreversible andnotused to “take time” to consider sex reassignment, but rather irreversible precursors for a lifetime of medication. It says that gender incongruence among kids is perfectly normal and that kids should be left alone to explore their own identities; that early social transitioning is not neutral in affecting long-term outcomes; and that there is no evidence that sex reassignment for children increases or reduces suicides.
. . .The British child-gender service had almost no followup with patients into adulthood, and, amazingly, when Cass asked for contacts for former patients to follow up herself, the doctors refused to cooperate. What on earth, one wonders, are they trying to hide? And why would any doctor want to restrict rather than expand our knowledge base?
One answer is what Megan McArdlehas suggested: the doctors and activists behind this are now caught in the Oedipus Trap. Having conducted many sex-reassignments for children, sterilizing them, removing their capacity for org*sm, and rendering them patients for life, these doctors can hardly now admit they had no solid studies to back them up. But they didn’t. And they have no excuse.
And some finger-pointing. I especially appreciate the criticism of the odious Chase Strangio, the ACLU “gender lawyer” who said that censoring Abigail Shrier’s book was a “hill he would die on”. Time for these people, if they’re honest and rational, to admit they were wrong. But Sullivan is right: they won’t:
Accountability? Good luck with that. Will any of the Twitter mobs whohounded the skepticstake stock? Will the ACLU’s Chase Strangio feel any regret fortrying to censorthe first major book raising the alarm? Will groups like GLAAD and HRC confess to their grotesque lies — “The Science Is Settled” — and ugly bullying tactics to suppress reporting on the question? Will they cop to having supportedgay conversion therapyin which many gay kids were “fixed” by being turned physically into the opposite sex?
Will HRC and countless educators temper thecurriculumthat tells small children that their bodies are irrelevant to whether they are a boy or girl, and that they can change their sex at will? Will these ideologues ever concede thefoul hom*ophobiabehind questioning the maleness of a girly boy or the femaleness of the tomboy? Will they ever admit that their ideological extremism, and their “queer” conflation of trans and gay experiences, has led to one of the greatest medical abuses of gay kids in history? Of course they won’t. As I write, HRC and GLAAD have not uttered a peep about the report’s findings. They are intellectually and morally bankrupt institutions, desperate for money, and using the scarred bodies of gender-dysphoric children to fundraise.
In the future, people may well look back and wonder at the madness that swept gender medicine in our era, permanently mutilating children who didn’t need such drastic treatment.
According to aWall Street Journalreport, Iran may attack Israel on Friday or Saturday.
This is an update of a warning earlier in the week by US intelligence officials who said Iran could potentially attack proxies of Israel or embassies abroad.
However, a more recent warning from a US official said the attack could occur “possibly on Israeli soil” as opposed to Israeli interests elsewhere, and likely in the north or the south of the country.
Iran has made several threats to retaliate for the strike that killed an IRGC Quds force general, his deputy, and 6 other terrorists in Damascus earlier this month.
Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the airstrike in Damascus, it is widely assumed that Israel was behind the killing of the terrorist general.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond forcefully against any attack on Israel.
He said, “Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”
. . . and the second:
Amid warnings that Iran may attack Israeli soil on Friday or Saturday, the IDF said it was on high alert and prepared to respond.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a press conference that Israel is “on alert and highly prepared for various scenarios.”
He added, “We are ready for attack and defense using a variety of capabilities that the IDF has, and also ready with our strategic partners.”
Among the partners is head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael Kurilla who traveled to Israel and met with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi concerning the current security challenges.
Responding to the warning, the US government has urged its employees not to travel beyond the major city centers of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba “out of an abundance of caution.”
Iran has warned Israel that it would retaliate for strikes that killed an IRGC Quds Force general along with other terrorists on April 1st in Damascus.
Iranian sources toldReutersthat the attack would be planned carefully to avoid any escalation that will destabilize the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sought to reassure Washington that the attack will be “controlled” and “non-escalatory” and planned “to use regional proxies to launch a number of attacks on Israel.”
No escalation that will destabilize the region? I’m wondering how that is going to happen! Israel will retaliate if Iran does anything, especially if it strikes Israeli soil, and then all hell will break loose. I’m still wary about Iran striking Israeli assets, but if that happens I’ll worry if the U.S. will really help go after Iran.
The U.S. rushed warships into position to protect Israel and American forces in the region, hoping to head offa direct attack from Iranon Israel that could come as soon as Friday or Saturday.
The moves by the U.S. that are part of an effort to avoid awider conflict in the Middle Eastcame after a warning from a person familiar with the matter about the timing and location of the potential Iranian attack. A person briefed by the Iranian leadership, however, said that while plans to attack are being discussed, no final decision has been made.
Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, discussed a possible Iranian attack with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Israel on Friday. “We are prepared to defend ourselves on the ground and in the air, in close cooperation with our partners, and we will know how to respond,” Gallant said, according to Israel’s Defense Ministry.
The U.S. moves included repositioning two destroyers, one of which was already in the region and another that was redirected there, U.S. officials said, adding that at least one of the vessels carried the Aegis missile-defense system.
President Biden, asked Friday when an Iranian strike on Israel may occur, said, “My expectation is sooner than later.” Asked if he had a message for Iran, Biden said: “Don’t.”
“We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel and help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden said.
. . . Late Thursday, U.S. Defense SecretaryLloyd Austinhad called Gallant to reassure him Washington would defend its closest ally in the region if Tehran struck on its soil. Austin told Gallant “Israel could count on full U.S. support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, which Tehran has publicly threatened,” a Pentagon spokesman said.
Well, it’s not a massive amount of preparation, but the proof is in the firing, and Israel will take what help it can get.
*I’ve never read The Scroll before, but they have a post called “Most of the hostages are dead, U.S. and Israel say.” Indeed, I’ve heard this several times recently, and one friend told me, when the war began, that we should just assume that none of the hostages would make it out alive. Fortunately, that isn’t the case, but there are supposed to be 130-odd hostages left.
Mainstream reporting is catching up to The Scroll’s speculations. In our March 25 edition, Tablet’s geopolitical analyst wrote:
My guess is that most or all of the hostages are dead and their bodies are buried deep in tunnels—which is why these “negotiations” don’t and can’t go anywhere. The reason the hostages are dead is that moving them around became a clear strategic liability, while their gruesome accounts of torture and rape at the hands of their captors would only further inflame Israeli and perhaps world opinion against Hamas. The eventual report of their deaths will be merely a “drop in the bucket” next to the “tens of thousands of dead Gazans.”
The Israelis are obviously constrained from saying this because it is speculative—and giving Hamas an excuse to kill any surviving hostages would be morally questionable and politically explosive, which obligates them to go through the motions. On the other hand, assuming an 80% or higher probability that some version of this scenario is right, which only grows over time, “the fate of the hostages” is no longer sufficient to constrain Israeli action.
Following reports from earlier this week that Hamas could not produce 40 living hostages as part of a deal,The Wall Street Journalreported on Thursday:
Around 130 remaining hostages taken in the attack are still in Gaza. Of those, Israeli officials have publicly confirmed that 34 are dead, but Israeli and American officials estimate privately that the number of deaths could be much higher. …
Some U.S. estimates indicate that most of the hostages are already dead, U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said. They stressed, however, that U.S. visibility on the hostages is limited and depends, in part, on Israeli intelligence. Some were likely killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza, the officials said, while others have died from health issues, including injuries suffered during their initial capture.
The Israeli military, the Israeli prime minister’s office, and the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment publicly on these estimates. TheJournalnotes that these estimates represent a marked increase from Israeli and U.S. assessments in February, when about 80 of the 130 hostages in Gaza were believed to still be alive. The “majority” of the dead, according to the paper, died from wounds suffered during the Oct. 7 attack, though some have likely been killed by Hamas in captivity or by Israeli airstrikes. Israel has admitted to mistakenly shooting three hostages, and a fourth was killed in a failed rescue mission.
Hamas still won’t produce a list of hostages, living or dead, and claims not to know where 40 of them are. Without such a list, how can Israel possibly negotiate with Hamas for the return of the hostages? But yes, many of the ones that were taken alive are certainly dead now.
*As always, I’ll steal some items from the estimable Nellie Bowles’s weekly news summary at The Free Press, called this week “TGIF: No Justice. No Peace. No Hors D’Oeuvres!” I’ll steal four this week; I’m sure Ms. Bowles won’t mind:
→ Hamas made plans for a conquered Israel:When Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, they had real plans to take the country. Anastonishing report fromHaaretzdetails the agenda, which included splitting Israel into smaller territories. It’s unclear what exactly would have been done to the residents of Israel, but apparently some Jews would be kept alive and/or made to stay. From conference documents obtained byHaaretz: “Educated Jews and experts in the areas of medicine, engineering, technology, and civilian and military industry should be retained [in Palestine] for some time and should not be allowed to leave and take with them the knowledge and experience that they acquired.” Anyway, read the whole story. Basically, what many saw as wild fantasies and metaphors were actually very specific plans Hamas had in mind. We all laugh when a Houthi chants “Death to America,” but it turns out theyreally, reallymean it.
→ Biden considering shutting down the border:After we had a lot of fun with the open border–palooza, the Dems have decided they might temporarily close the southern border with Mexico to ensure it doesn’t cost them this election. Or at least give border shutdownvibes. And so, Biden this week said he ismulling closing off the borderand is “examining whether or not I have that power.” Now, I actually thinkthe theory(promoted a lot by Elon Musk and others) that the Biden administration opened the border for some future voting demographic advantage gives them too much intellectual credit. My theory: there is a strain of elite thinking that truly believes all borders are evil, that lines on Mother Nature’s green earth are bad, that no human is illegal. This is the crowd that believes any enforcement of anything is bad, man. That says subway turnstile jumpers are heroes. This is unfamiliar to organized, rule-following Nordic socialists, my favorite kind. But don’t worry! Biden is sending out border shutdownvibes. He’s really thinking hard about laws this time.
→ Comedy break:
Yes, the argument now is that the men randomly sucker-punchingwomen in New York are suffering Trump-induced rage.
Trump does stir up wild feelings, nativist feelings, rages and furies, and there’s a lot to write about his fans and whatever else. But sweet New Yorkers, you can’t blameallof your problems on Trump, as though he is the secret hand behind all sin. Like, my dog biting someone cannot be blamed on Trump, even if they’re both sort of orange. The potholes in Los Angeles cannot be blamed on Trump, even if they both bother me and are rounded. The men randomly attacking people for fun on your streets, that’s ayouproblem, New York.
→ That’s...not a First Amendment right:Berkeley law school studentsstaged an anti-Zionism protestinside a random professor’s house this week. And when the professor tried to stop them, the demonstrators just calmly repeatedthis is our First Amendment right, this is our First Amendment right. It is, in fact,notyour rightto enter a home and scream at the homeowners. But let’s back up: the protest was against Dean Erwin Chereminsky, who the anti-Zionists are obsessed with—they love makinglittle antisemitic portraitsof him. I can’t figure out what Erwin did exactly. He’s very, very left-wing (I once sawa viral videoof him saying he illegally discriminates when hiring new professors to bring more diversity). Just to say: this is not someone who appears to be an enemy of the movement. But heisJewish. And he hasn’t called on Berkeley to divest fromallJewish businesses, which is what the movement wants. And he was hosting a dinner party, which I guess extra-upset them. No Justice. No Peace. No Hors d’Oeuvres!
In other notes of insanity on this issue, Jodi Dean, a professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, has come out witha full-throated embrace of Hamas and October 7, zero holds barred. Here she is: “The images from October 7 of paragliders evading Israeli air defenses were for many of us exhilarating. Here were moments of freedom, that defeated Zionist expectations of submission to occupation and siege. In them, we witnessed seemingly impossible acts of bravery and defiance in the face of the certain knowledge of the devastation that would follow.” And: “When we witness such actions many of us also feel this sense of openness.” This is a professor at a real college.
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili has a solution to the Jehova’s Witnesses, who even go as far as the tiny hamlet of Dobrzyn:
Hili: Jehovah’s Witnesses are coming.
A: We will tell them that we can’t have a chat because we are studying the Bible.
In Polish:
Hili: Świadkowie Jehowy idą.
Ja: Powiemy im, że niestety nie możemy rozmawiać, bo studiujemy Biblię.
From Masih. Women imprisoned in Iran don’t often speak about rape as a form of punishment, but this brave woman does.
"Having endured the trauma of rape in Iran, I struggled for years to find justice. Narges Jalali bravely breaks her silence, joining the United Against Gender Apartheid campaign to shed light on the brutality of Islamic regimes. In Iran and Afghanistan victims of assault and… pic.twitter.com/QRwQxgtEJ5
From Malgorzata, a disturbing tweet that I retweeted:
Only in a regime where dying as a "martyr" is regarded as a good thing could a mother and father celebrate this way after the death of one of their children. https://t.co/7LpVZsCdVa
Here’s the Berkeley Law student who interrupted the Dinner that the dean gave to third-year students. Her first mistake comes by saying “there is not an inappropriate time to talk about policy.” Her second is to say “there is an [Israeli] genocide going on.” Remember that the only reason she disrupted the dinner was because the Dean was Jewish. And then she acts as a victim. Since her name was publicized, potential employers will know who she is.
She showed up at a dinner party to protest with a microphone and now she’s playing the victim and claiming Professor Fisk is a racist: pic.twitter.com/rHEuH8cf3a
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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