Christmas Day: Open thread

impossibly large rodents

Cappy Christmas!

Speaking of rodents and Christmas, my guinea pigs had a fine Christmas was more treats than usual. Pipsqueak was even more dramatic than usual when dinner time rolled around, screaming at me that she was starving and on the verge of death, so great was her hunger.

Then she turned up her nose at carrots, but snatched the brussel sprout out of hand hand faster than I could see.

Pippin was less dramatic, but once he got his treats he fluffed out into what I’m sure was a most intimidating ball, so as to scare other piggies away from his food.

@ g I joel

When you’re a carpincho it’s all one big holiday.

(No wonder Argentina won the world cup if even their giant rodents can play football.)

@Alan
Pretty sure that’s Brazil, the sign’s in Portuguese

@ sunnysombrera

You got it pretty much spot on as far as I’m aware. This site has really good commentary though for more detail.

https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2022/08/03/discrimination-and-freedom-of-belief-in-the-sex-and-gender-debate/

But yeah, the fifth limb of the test for protection is “worthy of protection in a civilised society”. So Nazi type beliefs aren’t protected. Some of the decisions have worthy doing a lot of heavy lifting though. To me, and I’m not an expert in human rights law, the test more seems to be ‘a lot of people do think that’.

That’s not an uncommon test in law. Law very rarely says there’s only one objectively correct view. There’s a thing called Wednesbury unreasonableness. That’s basically, something is only unreasonable if no reasonable person could hold that view. And when it comes to defining a reasonable person we talk of ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’. So it’s your hypothetical average citizen.

So it’s more an amalgam of where society is at that particular moment; rather than where it might ideally be one day. There’s a huge debate in jurisprudence as to whether the law should lead societal attitudes, or follow them.

Incidentally, that test crops up all over. Even in stuff like medical negligence. It’s a defence that at least some doctors might use a particular technique or procedure, even if the mainstream majority don’t. So you have to get into real Andrew Wakefield territory before you cross a line.

As to protected views; there’s three elements.

The right to hold a belief. That’s a pretty low bar.
The right to express that belief. Generally you are allowed to say you hold a belief. But that can cross the line into the next category.
The right to manifest that belief. That’s where the law is most likely to intervene; as this is the area where conflicts of interest arise.

So you can hold GR beliefs. You could probably generally indicate you did in the abstract. But you wouldn’t have a right to misgender an individual. The mere fact you are manifesting a protected belief isn’t a defence.

That though isn’t special treatment for trans people. That’s just no-one is allowed to harass anyone else. And obviously misgendering someone, especially to their face, would amount to harassment.

Even at first instance Forstater (the case) made it clear that there was no new principle here. It’s just that calling someone something you know they don’t want you to can amount to harassment. The tribunal said the same rule would apply where someone used terf or even cis to describe someone who had asked you not to.

Interestingly the tribunal said that describing someone as AMAB/AFAB couldn’t amount to harassment as assigned could be synonymous with observed, and that was just a neutral fact.

@Alan Robertshaw:

Some of the decisions have “worthy” doing a lot of heavy lifting though.

That heavy lifting wouldn’t happen to include a certain hammer? 🙂

Meanwhile, this is interesting and disturbing (and long):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwhUpu9MfZ0

The apparent emptiness of their city, aside from occasional rescuees, combined with this:

https://stopcop.city/

Atlanta Police Foundation is trying to build the largest police training facility in the US in Weelaunee Forest, a watershed surrounded by primarily Black residents who overwhelmingly oppose the project.

The plans include military-grade training facilities, a mock city to practice urban warfare, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad.

leads me to hold a certain pet theory.

The Paw Patrol city is a training mockup! The rescuees are employees testing the trainees.

And that just makes it even creepier.

Went to friends’, ate lots, played with cats, watched Dr. Who Xmas episodes reruns. About to have lefovers.

@bumblebug

Congratulations! Finishing a sweater is always cause for celebration, but getting one done in time for Christmas? That’s AWESOME.

@bumblebug:

I needed to share my excitement with someone, but I’ve spent the last 2.5 months working on knitting a sweater for my husband and I actually finished it, wash and dry it completely just in time to get it under our tree (meaning I literally stealth folded this thing on christmas morning and placed it while he was brushing his teeth…).

That’s my second sweater done and it fits!

Bravissima (hope I gendered you correctly?) You scraped right under the wire, but now your husband won’t have to go through life with a swan’s wing for an arm!

Viktoria Apanasenko’s costume theme to represent Ukraine in the 2022 Miss Universe pageant, designed by Lesya Patoka, is “Warrior of Light”:

http://i.imgur.com/WuEbxX9.jpeg

http://i.imgur.com/MLxcbzN.jpeg

@Full Metal Ox:

Square Enix may want to have words with her.

Not sure what those words might be, but words nonetheless.

@ Full Metal Ox and Victorious Parasol
Thanks!! It was a mad rush to the finish, but I’m super elated.

And you’ve got the right pronouns (though I’m happy with either she or they)

@Full Metal Ox
That’s a wonderful costume!