Author: Mick Hartley

gical construct wherein the client essentially diagnoses themselves and also determines their own severity, (the Humpty Dumpty effect). The therapist is simply expected to ‘affirm’ the client’s false belief. The clinical assessment, intervention, evaluation and reformulation that occurs with every other psychological condition is not allowed. It is often even illegal. In some countries such as Brazil, Taiwan, Ecuador, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Canada, a therapist attempting to work ethically, (ie carrying out exploratory psychotherapy such as simply asking a client why they think they are ‘trans’) can lose their practicing license, or even be convicted for practicing so-called ‘conversion therapy’.

This is what Labour has been threatening: a ban on gender "conversion therapy", ie instant affirmation of the child's fantasy, or else. We shall see.

And because there is no instrument to measure Gender Dysphoria, there is no way of assessing whether whatever the client is feeling has reached a clinical threshold, its severity, if and when it has reduced or been alleviated, or even if it exists. And yes, clients can lie or be deluded. This is why any assessment for Gender Dysphoria, such as it is, ought to be a systemic and lengthy process to eliminate and redirect individuals who are confabulating. (The UK’s Gender Recognition Act, even though very flawed, may have recognised this by imposing a minimum period of two years). And for children, any assessment of Gender Dysphoria should always involve their family, school and wider social systems. It should never be with the child alone…..

ker Sharren Haskel was the victim of an antisemitic assault by “Arab thugs” outside Paris, the Knesset member said on Wednesday.

“Antisemitism in France has been on the rise for a long time. Since October 7, it has become unbearable, and the government of France ignores it,” Haskel wrote in a post on X, responding to a report by Israel’s Kan News on the incident, which took place earlier this week.

Two men attacked the 88-year-old after she left her home in Val-d’Oise, just north of Paris, according to the report.

One of the assailants reportedly punched Haskel’s grandmother in the face, breaking her teeth and knocking her to the ground. After the fall, one of them was said to have continued to kick her in the back while shouting, “Dirty Jew, dirty old lady, this is what you deserve.”

Just for being a Jew.

French authorities confirmed to Kan that a probe had been opened into the attack. In the complaint, Haskel’s mother noted, “I think they saw my Star of David necklace, otherwise they wouldn’t know.” She had to seek medical attention for pain in her back, knees, shoulder and right wrist.

ve committee to adopt a motion which claims that the landmark Cass Review into gender identity services for young people, published in April, “falls short of the standard of rigorous and ethical research expected of research professionals” and “provides no evidence for the ‘new approach’ it recommends”.

The 388-page report by Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, has been hailed as the most extensive and thorough examination of evidence relating to medical care for gender-dysphoric children.

But it came to the wrong conclusions! It wasn't trans-friendly. So…bad, very bad.

Using a union motion to argue against a lengthy and detailed report was also unwise, suggested Alice Sullivan, professor of sociology at UCL. “The notion that the way to counter a scientific report is to vote against it shows a total lack of comprehension of the scientific method. It is sad to see a union which is supposed to represent academics opposing evidence-based medicine,” she said….

A UCU spokesperson said the union was “an unequivocal supporter of trans rights, a position established and repeatedly endorsed by our annual congress”.

“This motion was brought by our members after listening to concerns about the Cass report from the trans community, including LGBTQ charities such as Mermaids and Stonewall.

“Our union will proudly work with trans-led organisations to resist any recommendations that could harm young trans people and will pressure the government for an approach to trans healthcare that affirms and centres the trans community.”

Never mind the science, feel the ideology.

John Collier, February 1943. Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Photographs show the modern city and 'Old Town' Albuquerque."

[Photo: Shorpy/John Collier for the Office of War Information]

Still there:

0px”>Starmer, just like Harriet Harman, cannot admit that what we know now is completely different to what was known during the passing of the GRA in 2004 and the Equality Act in 2010. Apart from the few prescient feminist voices out there, I doubt many people were anticipating that soon there would be claims that trans women could menstruate and breastfeed, or that lesbians would be told by Stonewall to overcome their genital preferences, or that women in general would end up being rebranded vagina owners, uterus havers, bleeders and the like. Likewise, little attention was paid to the tremendous influence of misogyny-soaked porn on the self-perception of trans-identified males. The trans woman for whom the GRA was written was Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper, the post-operative trans woman who never once told Roy that “sissy porn made me trans” or that she liked nothing better than being “treated like a piece of meat”. Today, we know how male people behave when it is made easier for them to identify as women. It is not like Hayley Cropper.

So yes, there's a genuine problem: the issue of men being legally able to claim that they've changed sex has not worked out well for women. Not that the Eye cares.

Another Eye column mentions the Starmer – Rosie Duffield disagreement:

Why the obsession with what's in people's pants? Bluntly, because Rishi Sunak knows it reliably generates him favourable headlines on GB News and in right-wing papers.

Hmm. Clear enough, I think. Gender-critical is just right-wing obfuscation.

ont-size: 11pt”>Why is Rosie Duffield so terrifying to Keir Starmer that he cannot say her name, cannot speak with her, cannot answer questions about her directly in interviews? He would have to do just one thing; he would have to say that she is not wrong. He would have to tell the Party he agrees with her views, which he does when they are expressed by Tony Blair, and that would be it. The thorn would be out and the painful interrogations over.

The fact that he cannot do this is, I believe, very much to do with his real, and legitimate fear of what would come next. This would be the point where he would have to admit the root of the “toxicity” he is so keen to point to whenever Duffield is mentioned. If Starmer stood up against the misogynist, trans activist bullies in the Labour Party and backed Rosie Duffield, a rage would be unleashed that would tear his leadership to shreds. Women know this because it has happened to us as individuals and collectively in groups. We have been demonised, ostracised, harassed and silenced. Starmer knows this and he rightly fears it more than he fears the much more reasonable feminist women. 

Facing down the calls of women’s groups is significantly safer to do than facing the vicious trans juggernaut and trying to stop it rolling over you….

are core symbols that are constantly present in people’s lives, at work and at home (portraits) and on clothing (badges).

However, for the first time it has been confirmed that Kim Jong Un’s solo badge has replaced a badge with portraits of both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il (known as the “double portrait”). This is no small event. In short, Kim Jong Un has openly revealed his intention to “break away from previous generations and stand completely on his own,” a direction he has been cautiously pursuing for some time.

Since taking power, Kim Jong Un has outwardly emphasized the Baekdu bloodline succession by emulating Kim Il Sung (including physique, dress, and speeches) to supplement his legitimacy. Behind the scenes, however, he has shown tendencies to break away from Kim Jong Il by purging designated protectors such as Ri Yong-ho and Jang Song-thaek, accompanying his wife and daughter to public events, normalizing party organizations, and recklessly developing nuclear weapons. Now he’s gone further and broken with both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Notably, this year North Korea has focused more on overtly promoting Kim Jong Un by distinguishing him from previous generations. Notable examples include: ①declaration of the “two-state narrative”; ②reconstruction and relocation of the Party’s Central Cadre School with the reintroduction of Marx-Lenin and the installation of Kim Jong Un’s portrait; ③reduction of events related to Kim Il Sung; and, ④distribution of Kim Jong Un badges.

First, the two-state narrative is a Copernican revolution that completely negates the Kim Il Sung-Kim Jong Il line and changes North Korea’s 79-year strategy toward South Korea from cooperative/forcible reunification to hostile/forcible incorporation. The destruction of the Three Charters of National Reunification Monument and the recent construction of barriers along the Military Demarcation Line are symbolic actions of this change….

The return of the Marx-Lenin portraits shows Kim’s determination to compete not only with the Juche ideology of his predecessors but also with orthodox communism. Meanwhile, hanging portraits of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un together is a measure to impress upon his people that he has now reached the same level as his predecessors. It could also be an attempt to show that Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are supporting actors and Kim Jong Un is the leading actor….

In his 13th year in power, Kim Jong Un continues to take steps to stand alone (positioning himself as the country’s “New Sun”). While this is fundamentally based on the two-state narrative when considering domestic, inter-Korean, and international factors, the “de facto alliance treaty” that resulted from two summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin may have boosted Kim’s confidence.

Going forward, I would expect North Korea to reinforce the idolization of Kim Jong Un by expanding the distribution of his portraits and other idolization objects, and by declaring his birthday a national holiday. The regime is likely to emphasize and propagate Kim Jong Un as an outstanding ideological theorist and global leader who surpasses his predecessors through the two-state narrative, the people-first policy, and the formalization and dissemination of the new Five Major Ideas of Party Construction (political, organizational, ideological, disciplinary, and work style building).

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

See also, Kim's new best friend Putin.

John Vachon, March 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Davidson Transfer Company trucking terminal. Lubricating a truck tractor."

[Photo: Shorpy/John Vachon, Office of War Information]

From the Times of Israel:

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — An anti-Israel protester approached this reporter while narrowly avoiding the guidelines of the 20-odd tents that dotted Erasmus University campus’s main square. Wearing a keffiyeh over her face, she asked about the purpose of my visit.

About 30 of her comrades watched while eating dinner: a rice and lentil dish served from a large pot atop a portable gas stove.

“It’s a Zionist,” she called out, upon learning the name of this publication, prompting the group to cover their faces with their keffiyehs and surgical masks. They encircled, screaming, “Intifada!” as they placed a Palestinian flag over the camera to prevent any filming of the events taking place at one of Europe’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

The protesters had a tray with red paint at the ready, which they use during blockages. Only those students or faculty who agree to dip a palm in the paint to show solidarity with Palestinians are let through to various campus facilities.

A man who sounded like a native Arabic speaker began drumming on a bucket. The other activists started chanting “From the river to the sea,” and the man shouted: “Falastin arabiyeh,” Arabic for “an Arab Palestine.”

“It’s a Zionist” – that is, “It’s a Jew” while trying to dodge the charge of antisemitism. 

Some 75% of the Dutch-Jewish population were murdered in the Holocaust.

his girlfriend pregnant.

When they… pic.twitter.com/5GKTNkpTqN

— Christian Concern (@CConcern) July 2, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

"When they complained, they were told by management they needed 'educating' and had to 'broaden their mindset.'

The poster was also visible to members of the public and patients. Is this acceptable @Keir_Starmer @wesstreeting @RosieDuffield1 ?"

See here for more on the Darlington nurses.