Signs of Times: Latest Madness from the Modern World
Serious Trend: Trans-Species. Woman claims She Was Born a Cat…
Calling this broad a “crazy cat lady” would be an affront to all decent “crazy cat ladies.”
I remember the olden days when one could simply laugh at insanity and mock it with great vigor.
But in this new world where men are called brave for claiming they’re actually women, while others can claim that they are a six year old girl and get adopted by another family, this girl who claims she was really born a cat is well, just par for the course.
I’m Nano, 20 years old. I have been a cat all my life. I realized I was a cat when I was sixteen when doctors and psychologists found out what was the “thing” with me. Under my birth was a genetic defect.Calling this broad a “crazy cat lady” would be an affront to all decent “crazy cat ladies.” The worst part? This psychopath was interviewed by a legitimate reporter and appears to be taken seriously.
Sometimes I hiss when meeting dogs on the street. It’s because of their behavior and my instinct automatically reacts by hissing.”You know, you’d think the worst part of my job is dealing with human tragedy. The shootings, the abortion the general morbidity that surrounds a 2016 news cycle. Those are bad, don’t get me wrong. But stories like this are faaaarrrrrrrrr more frustrating. It’s petty, I know. I’m a horrible person.
Why? Because I can already see the comments section now. “Well this is just absurd!” “No one’s going to take this seriously!”
Only it will be immediately followed with, “Well, rather than mock them, why don’t you try and understand them?” “Let people live however they want! Not cool, bro!”
The truth, is that the only reason this seems absurd today is because it isn’t quite mainstream yet. You know what seemed absurd a mere four years ago? A man winning “Woman of the Year.” But here we are. Progressivism all but ensures that this trend will be taken seriously. Why? Because progressivism disregarded science, humanity and reality a long time ago, replacing it instead with feelings and delusion. If somebody “feels” like a cat, there can be no valid leftist argument against it. There can’t. It doesn’t matter that one can’t scientifically change their species. It can’t matter. Because the left has already disregarded the blatant fact that one can not scientifically change their sex. It has never, and can not, be done. Period.
So a few years down the line, when this is all considered “normal” and everyone is asking how we strayed so far off the beam, just remember, I told you so.
Here’s a video of a 52year old tranny who claims to be a 6year old girl. Yes, he’s already taken seriously.
A Large Satanic Cross Is on Display Outside of a City Hall in Florida
Passerby will notice a curious display outside of the Hallandale Beach City Hall in Florida this week: a giant upside-down cross — a satanic symbol that is expected to be on the premises through Friday. The cross was erected by Chaz Stevens, a local atheist, who posted it along with the message, ”In Chaz We Trust, All Others Pay Cash,” as the Sun-Sentinel reported. Stevens was reportedly able to get clearance for the satanic cross after arguing that a Christmas tree, nativity and menorah were all allowed to be put on the property during the holiday season.
His placement of the cross is also reportedly a protest of sorts against the mayor’s idea of placing an “In God We Trust” banner at city hall. “It’s pretty tacky. We were going for tacky,” he said of the cross, which lights up red after dark. “It’s horrible looking. I love it.” Rather than endorsing satanic values, the atheist appears to be trying to make a broader point, as he said that the government shouldn’t be in the “business of religion.” FULL REPORT
DAYS OF LOT – San Francisco Moves to Mandate City Bathrooms as Gender Neutral
Surprisingly, San Francisco is behind the curve on gender neutral bathrooms. But all that is about to change. “On Monday, San Francisco Supervisor David Campos took the first substantive steps toward changing that when he announced plans to introduce a bill that would make many city bathrooms gender-neutral.” The proposed measure would mandate that all single-occupancy bathrooms would be relabeled for all genders.
The bill would also go beyond similar laws in other cities by putting in place sweeping enforcement mechanisms, including a complaint process handled by the Human Rights Commission, an LGBT rights organization, and adding these facilities as a standard checklist item for building inspections. If the measure passes, San Francisco would join Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., West Hollywood, Calif. and Austin, Texas, as cities that have gender neutral bathrooms. Even the White House has gender neutral bathrooms. Campos developed the new law along with the Transgender Center. “Many people right now are impacted negatively by the gender-specific restroom,” he says. For example, he said a mother who wants to accompany her son to the bathroom. But the measure is mainly about LGBT. FULL REPORT
Warning: Immodesty/Sensitive material
I bet this will help out the whole "rapeugee" crisis
UK: Check out 'No Pants' day on the London underground
Suit filed in Akron federal court to remove ‘In God We Trust’ from currency
AKRON, Ohio– A California lawyer has filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to stop the government from printing money with the phrase “In God We Trust.”
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Akron, names defendants like U.S. Congress, Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew and Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Leonard R. Olijar.
The attorney filing the suit is Michael Newdow, who has long been fighting to have the words “Under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. Newdow, an atheist, also filed a lawsuit in 2009 to prevent references to God from being used in President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Newdow and Westlake attorney Thomas M. Horwitz write in court documents that currency minted or printed with the words “In God We Trust” violations the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“Plaintiffs either specifically do not trust in any ‘G-d’ (with NOT trusting G-d being a basic tenet of their belief systems) or hold G-d’s name so dear and exalted that to inscribe it on a monetary instrument is deemed sinful,” court documents said.
Plaintiffs include two Summit County children and their father, who is an atheist. According to court documents, the discussion of “In G-d We Trust” in schools opens the kids up to ridicule.
Two other Ohio children and their mother are also listed in the suit.
Farmers Forced to Fork Over $13,000 for Refusing Gay Wedding Gig
A New York court Thursday affirmed a Division of Human Rights ruling against an upstate couple for declining to coordinate a same-sex wedding ceremony in their own backyard. “All Americans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs, especially in our own backyards,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton, who argued before the court on behalf of the couple in Gifford v. Erwin. “The government went after both this couple’s freedom and their ability to make a living simply for adhering to their faith on their own property. The court should have rejected this unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion, so we will consult with our client regarding appeal.”
Robert and Cynthia Gifford live in a barn they built on their farm and have occasionally hosted weddings on the first floor and the surrounding backyard area. Cynthia serves as a wedding coordinator for those events and does everything but officiate the ceremony. After the agency ruled that the Giffords were guilty of “sexual orientation discrimination,” it fined them $10,000, plus $3,000 in damages and ordered them to implement re-education training classes designed to contradict the couple’s religious beliefs about marriage. FULL REPORT
NWO Transhumanism
Researchers Are Teaching ATLAS To Do Household Chores Like Rosey from The Jetsons
The DARPA Robotics Challenge
put countless robots through a series of real-world challenges that
involved driving, drilling holes, and climbing stairs. But let’s be
realistic, the only thing any of us really want a robot for is
housework, and that’s what ATLAS is finally learning.
The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition,
or IHMC for short, actually did quite well at the DARPA Robotics
Challenge. But as the team prepares for future challenges, they’re
putting their multi-million dollar ATLAS humanoid to good use by slowly
teaching it to do basic household chores.And revealing that ATLAS has learned to become more human than we ever could have expected, the humanoid can now even slack off when it’s supposed to be doing those chores, as is demonstrated by it tossing a paper airplane. Truly we have taught ATLAS to be too human at this point, and it’s time to end this research before robots eventually learn what a nap is.
C.S. Lewis on Transhumanism
(Illuminati Philosophy)
Man uses microchip implanted in hand to pass through airport security
No boarding pass required for Andreas Sjöström, who becomes the first person to use new microchip technology to breeze through an airport
A man who implanted a microchip containing his
airline booking details into his hand was able to use it to pass
effortlessly through security to his flight.
Andreas Sjöström, vice president of digital for technology consulting
company Sogeti, had the near-field communication chip (NFC) about the
size of a grain of rice injected into his hand with a syringe, before
using it at Stockholm Arlanda Airport to pass through security and board
his plane.
The technology has been used before to make digital payments, control a mobile phone and unlock doors, in the same way contactless payment cards work. All it requires is a scanner to link up to that is compatible with the NFC.
Sjöström uploaded his Scandinavian Airlines EuroBonus member ID to the xNT implant and using NFC readers in the Swedish airport was able to register his boarding pass and passport by simply pressing his hand to a scanner.
Uploading a video of his effort to Youtube, Sjöström explained: “A few weeks ago I had an NFC chip implanted into my hand, just beneath the skin. In this video I use the chip to pass through Stockholm Arlanda airport, through security, at the lounge, and finally through the gate to the aircraft.”
Sjöström uploaded his Scandinavian Airlines EuroBonus member ID to the xNT implant and using NFC readers in the Swedish airport was able to register his boarding pass and passport by simply pressing his hand to a scanner.
Uploading a video of his effort to Youtube, Sjöström explained: “A few weeks ago I had an NFC chip implanted into my hand, just beneath the skin. In this video I use the chip to pass through Stockholm Arlanda airport, through security, at the lounge, and finally through the gate to the aircraft.”
U.S. Army Documents Reveal: Monsanto Linked to Horrific Weapons Dropped on Civilian Populations
Monsanto has long sought to deny accusations and disassociate itself with its history of Agent Orange involvement, but the truth is undeniable. Now, redacted U.S. Army documents have surfaced linking Monsanto to another horrific chemical weapon of war: white phosphorus, which has been used against people in the Gaza Strip (most recently), El Salvador, Lebanon, and other countries including in Vietnam during the war.
White phosphorous is a chemical-based weapon that is capable of “sticking” to skin, and can burn through many types of surfaces causing horrific injuries to all who come in contact with it; it’s characterized by large clouds of toxic smoke as seen above. It is officially (and unfortunately) still not recognized as a chemical weapon, but it is considered an incendiary weapon, one that causes fires widespread collateral damage where it is dropped. That makes it internationally banned for use in civilian areas, and yet that’s exactly what has happened in the Gaza Strip which is currently under an occupation and has suffered terrifying injuries and infrastructure damage.
According to the documents, Monsanto provided both the Israeli and U.S. militaries with white phosphorous as early as 2009. The documents were recently published by the website Current Events Inquiry and show that Monsanto provided Israel with 180,000 pounds of white phosphorous which was used in Gaza on Palestinians in 2008 and 2009. The site linked to the U.S. Federal Business Opportunities website where the documents are hosted.
Israel’s use of white phosphorous in densely populated civilian areas also constitutes a war crime according to a 71-page document from the international Human Rights Watch non-profit:
The 71-page report, “Rain of Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza,” provides witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza. Human Rights Watch researchers in Gaza immediately after hostilities ended found spent shells, canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing white phosphorus on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards, and at a United Nations school. The report also presents ballistics evidence, photographs, and satellite imagery, as well as documents from the Israeli military and government.
Monsanto, a company that remains prominently involved in the production of our food, is the sole provider of this horrific weapon according to documents shown at the bottom of this article.
Once again Monsanto, the company that is responsible for a large portion of the our food supply through its seed production and farming operations, has been linked to widespread death and misery (just search “Gaza white phosphorus” if you’d like to see how horrifying these weapons are when used in civilian areas, but be warned, the images may be graphic).
Vicious Lesbians Attack 5-Year-Old Son With Hammer and Kicked Him in the Groin So Savagely it Caused Bleeding and Seizures
It has been reported that 2 Oklahoma lesbians have been charged with savagely abusing one of the women’s son over a period of several months with a hammer, belt, duct tape and violent physical attacks which caused him to suffer multiple strokes and be hospitalized.
Rachel Stevens, 28, and Kayla Jones, 25, were arrested by the Muskogee Police and are facing felony charges of child abuse by injury and child neglect.
As reported by Tulsa World:Police were called to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa on Dec. 8 after the boy was transferred there from a Muskogee clinic because of lesions on his face and seizures he was having, according to information from an affidavit and a Muskogee Police Department news release.
The boy was then airlifted to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where it was discovered that he had multiple broken bones at different stages of healing, and was malnourished, the affidavit states.
While the boy was being treated at OU Medical Center, he suffered two strokes due to trauma, the affidavit states.
After conducting forensic interviews, investigators determined that the boy had been locked in a room and bound with duct tape over his eyes. The boy told investigators that his mother, Stevens, and Stevens’ girlfriend, Jones, had beaten him with a belt, the affidavit states.
Carrie Underwood Supports Gay Marriage, Says God Probably Does Too ?
Michigan Dentist Sued for ‘Forcing Her Beliefs’ on Employees by Playing Christian Music in the Office
Four former employees are suing a Michigan dentist for playing Christian music in her office, allegedly holding mandatory prayer meetings and forcing her religious beliefs on them through discrimination, according to an article published by the Washington Post on Friday. Dentist Tina Marshall of Lake Orion, Michigan, has been accused of firing or reprimanding the four employees when they objected to her religious beliefs and practices, according to the lawsuit that was filed in August 2015. The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial, which, if granted, would most likely take place during the summer, the Washington Post reported.
“We were all on edge. We were trying to be nice to the patients and do good dental work, but she kept forcing the music and her beliefs on us,” plaintiff Nancy Kordus, a former dental assistant of Marshall’s, told Clarkston News. “Several patients questioned the music, and I turned it off and turned on the TV. So I was ‘disobedient.’” The four plaintiffs in the case against Marshall are seeking ”damages for loss of past and future income and employment benefits, outrage, humiliation, embarrassment, mental anxiety, emotional distress, and loss of professional reputation,” according to David Kotzian, the lawyer representing the former employees. The complaint also claims that Kordus preferred to keep her Christian music on at all times in order to “ward off demons.” FULL REPORT
Dissolvable brain implant the size of a grain of rice invented by scientists
A surgical implant no bigger than a grain of rice which measures a patient’s temperature and blood pressure for several days before dissolving harmlessly in body fluids has been invented by scientists.
The biodegradable device could be implanted into the brain or other vital organs to monitor a patient’s medical recovery without the need for cumbersome wires or operations to remove the implant once its job is done, the researchers said.
Tests carried out on laboratory animals shows that the disposable implant can monitor slight variations in the intracranial pressure between the brain and skull as well as measuring temperature in this sensitive part of the body before dissolving completely, they said.
Similar, absorbable devices that do not need to be retrieved from patients could soon be tested on people to see if they can be used as alternatives to existing instruments for measuring a important health markers, they added.
“The ultimate strategy is to have a device that you can place in the brain – or in other organs in the body – that is entirely implanted, intimately connected with the organ you want to monitor and can transmit signals wirelessly to provide information on the health of that organ,” said Rory Murphy, a neurosurgeon at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.
Rise of the Robots Will Eliminate More Than 5 Million Jobs
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-18/rise-of-the-robots-will-eliminate-more-than-5-million-jobs
Report: 2015 Saw ‘Most Violent’ Persecution of Christians in Modern History
The brutal, worldwide persecution of Christians during the past year makes 2015 “the most violent and sustained attack on Christian faith in modern history,” according to a watchdog organization that has been monitoring Christian persecution for decades.
Open Doors, an organization founded in 1955 to assist persecuted Christians, publishes an annual “World Watch List,” documenting attacks on Christians and ranking the most hostile national environments for believers.“The 2016 World Watch List documents an unprecedented escalation of violence against Christians, making this past year the most violent and sustained attack on Christian faith in modern history,” Open Doors CEO David Curry said at the rollout of the list.
Persecution in “continuing to increase, intensify and spread across the globe,” he said.
At the top of the Watch List, for the 14th consecutive year, stands North Korea, where an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in labor camps. Carrying on as one of the last holdouts of Communist totalitarianism, North Korea bears a particular hatred for Christians, who are a constant reminder of accountability to a higher power than the state.
“Christianity is not only seen as ‘opium for the people’ as is normal for all communist states,” the report says. “It is also seen as deeply Western and despicable.” During 2015, thousands of Christians living in North Korea were forced to renounce their faith or flee under threat of death.
As in the case with last year’s report, the vast majority of countries experiencing acute Christian persecution are Muslim nations. In 2015, nine out of the top ten countries where Christians suffer “extreme persecution” had populations that are at least 50 percent Muslim, a phenomenon replicated in 2016.
The 2015 report found that “Islamic extremism is by far the most significant persecution engine” of Christians in the world today and that “40 of the 50 countries on the World Watch List are affected by this kind of persecution.”
The 2016 list places Iraq in second place, immediately after North Korea, with horrific Islamic violence dominating news headlines during 2015. Throughout the year, Christians were forced to flee their homes by the thousands or be killed.
Just this week, the United Nations released an extensive report on Islamic State violence in Iraq, and estimates that ISIS currently holds some 3,500 people, mostly women and children, in the country.
The report, jointly issued by U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq and U.N. human rights office in Geneva, declared ISIS atrocities in Iraq to be “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.”
Some of the crimes described in the report include executions by shooting, beheading, bulldozing, burning alive and throwing people off the top of buildings.
The other nations making the top ten in Christian persecution are Eritrea, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, and Libya, all of which have Muslim majorities.
The report underscores the geographical extent of Christian persecution, and Curry highlighted the global nature of the problem, noting that it has become more acute not just in a few isolated regions, but “in every continent in every country.”
“The levels of exclusion, discrimination and violence against Christians is unprecedented, spreading and intensifying,” Curry added. “Christians, longing to stay in their home countries, are being forced to flee for their lives and for their children’s lives,” he said.
“Sexting” and the Dangers of Hidden Apps
The phenomenon of “sexting”—the practice of taking and sending sexually provocative or explicit photos of oneself and sending them to another person via email or mobile device—has taken youth culture by storm. According to a CBS News article that quotes Dr. Kristin Perry, a psychologist and founder of a parenting resource called Inparentis, “sexting is the new flirting.”
But let’s be clear: sexting among those under 18 is more correctly considered self-produced softcore or hardcore child pornography depending on what is depicted. Even though it is self-produced, it is important to recognize that tweens and teens are immature and that key psychosocial skills, such as the ability to weigh risks, are not fully developed. Additionally, they are frequently enticed, pressured, and even bullied by their peers to create and send sexts. In many other instances, they are groomed by older, predatory adults seeking sexually suggestive or pornographic images of, and even sexual encounters, with minors.
The so-called “sexting scandals” that have occurred in Cañon City, Colorado, Long Island, New York, as well as other states, reveal how today’s technologically savvy teens use “Hidden” (a.k.a. “Ghost”) and other apps in order to surreptitiously send sexually explicit images privately on their mobile devices. Among these apps are names like iVault, KeepSafe, Secret Calculator, Poof, Whisper, and KiK Messenger to name a few. Each of these has different features that hide sensitive photos or videos, and/or can be used to facilitate connections with unknown individuals. How harmful are these apps, and what can parents do to mitigate the dangers that they can pose?
Let’s first explore some of these apps in terms of their functions and features to see where harm can lie. The ability to self-destruct messages and images is an app feature that appeals to teens who wish to engage in sexting. For instance, BurnNote, as the name implies, is a messaging application service that claims to destroy users’ message data as does the popular Snapchat app.
Another feature found in many apps permits users to not authenticate their identity, thus allowing them to remain anonymous. An example is the dangerous Omegle. It functions as a video chatting app, which randomly pairs anonymous users who can chat either by video or by text. Users are able to connect to Facebook to find chat partners who purport to have similar “likes.” The service is also home to sexual predators. The app Whisper also does not require users to register. It is known as a “confessional” app that allows users to communicate with other users nearby through GPS. Megan Maas, a sex educator, whose summary of dangerous apps appears on the ForEveryMom website, tells of a Seattle man who was charged with raping a 12-year-old girl he met on the Whisper app.
Blendr, a non-authentication sexting or “flirting” app, allows a teen to meet users close to home through GPS. Apart from being a venue to send sexual images, videos, and messages, users of Blendr can rate the “hotness” of other participants’ images much the same as does the Hot or Not app. Unfortunately, sexual predators can use Blendr and similar apps to entice or coerce a minor to a meet-up locally.
The Tech Journal lists its own top seven apps to hide one’s private photos and files, which parents should review before monitoring their teens’ phones. These are:
- iPrivacy
- Lock Photo + Video Safe Free
- HiFolder
- iVault
- Secret Calculator Folder Free (an interface that looks like a calculator but requires a PIN)
- Best Secret Folder (password and pattern lock protected; sets off an alarm if accessed without permission)
- Lock Photo Pro: Private Album Manager & Organizer (sexy ‘pics’ can be kept in a separate stash)
- NQ Vault – Hide private pictures (hide photos, videos, and Facebook messages)
What can parents do about dangerous hidden apps to address specifically if their teen is using them?
Parents need to identify the types of apps specific to their teen’s mobile device. Some are specific to iPhone while others to Android phones, as explained in an Uknowkids article. In addition, the Teensafe site describes a number of apps particular to each phone type. Hide it Pro, disguised as an “Audio Manager,” is an example of an app that is available for both Android and iPhone smartphones.
Teensafe
describes red-flag behaviors that parents might watch for when
monitoring the digital media activities of their teens. Among these are a
sudden increase in media usage, a browser history with missing chunks
of texts, and the act of hiding phone screens in the presence of
parents. Refusing to hand over passwords could also indicate a red flag.Based on the discussion above, it becomes clear that dealing with the secretive and ubiquitous nature of hidden apps is a challenge. Parental controls on mobile devices and Internet usage is one way to address the problem. Thankfully, there are also apps that allow parents to monitor their kids’ smartphone activity, such as Kids Place and Abeona, but be aware that some messaging services like Kik Messenger, however, do not offer parental controls.
Parents need to be cautious in their monitoring efforts. A Mashable article describes Private Photo Vault’s (iPhone) capabilities and features. This vault app provides a “break-in report,” the GPS location of someone entering the app, as well as their photo. When monitoring is not enough, the way forward might be to engender in the young some digital media “street smarts.”
Ensuring that Internet filters are installed on home computers, video games, and smart phones is also essential. Internet filter providers such as Covenant Eyes can help shield your family from the dangers. Nevertheless, it is important to be vigilant in monitoring your child’s online activities, to maintain an open dialogue about their Internet presence, and what is happening among their friends and acquaintances, as much of what happens in schools and children’s social networks is beyond parental control.
The National Coalition on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) advocates that parents engage early on with their tweens and teens about the sexting issue. In a deeper conversation, parents could ask for instance: “What do you want your online persona to be?” or “What do sexts say about the people sending and requesting them?” The wisdom parents need to convey to their young is that their value as a human being is not in their sexuality.
In closing, parents can find valuable information on the topic of sexting. Porn Harms Research, which is affiliated with and linked to NCOSE, is a resource for studies on sexual exploitation. The research topics vary and include the emerging trend of youth-produced sexual content (IWF study). On the Uknowkids website parents will find notable sexting facts and statistics.
Could 2016 Be The “Year Of The Clone”?
For anyone wondering what strange or foreboding things 2016 might bring, here s one clue. We’ ve had car production plants for many years, churning out thousands of standard cars in factory production lines. This year, we might well see thousands of ‘standard cows’ being churned out in factory production lines. How s that for a change? We aren t talking toy cows here either, or even the storyline in some twisted ‘stranger than fiction’ movie script. As reported by Abby Haglage in the dailybeast.com, we really are likely to see the rise of mass-produced animal clones, thanks to an “enterprising and madcap” scientist in China named Xiao-Chun Xu.
Xu is a Chinese-born doctor who founded a massive stem-cell database with the help of seven research institutes in 2009. Three years later, he founded Boyalife Group, a $2 billion venture with four locations and 22 subsidiaries the newest is Boyalife Genomics. Xu is also an adjunct professor of molecular medicine at Peking University, where he s heralded as an expert in everything from arthritis to oncology. FULL REPORT
Jewish Transgender man gives birth, embraces life as a single ‘abba’
When Rafi Daugherty of Denver went to the hospital for the birth of his first child, he posted a sign on the delivery room door. “I am a single transgender man having my first baby,” it read. “I use he/him/his pronouns and will be called ‘Abba’ (Hebrew for father) by the baby. Papa, Dad, Daddy, Father…are also ok.” Rafi, 33, wanted hospital staff to be prepared for what they were about to see: a man laboring in bed. “I didn’t want them to assume that I identified as female because I was having a baby,” he said.
After eight hours of labor, Rafi was holding his 7-pound, 10-ounce daughter: Ettie Rose, named, in the Jewish tradition, for Rafi’s maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. Since bringing Ettie home from the hospital, Rafi’s days have been filled with frequent feedings — unable to nurse, he gives his daughter donor breast milk — and diaper changes and stroller walks around his Denver neighborhood. FULL REPORT
Olympics Rule Change: Transgender Males Will Be Allowed to Compete as Women Without Reassignment Surgery
There’s great news for adventurous male Olympic hopefuls: if they declare themselves women and reduce their testosterone below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to competition, they can compete against ladies.
There’s even better news for these men; according to transgender guidelines approved by the International Olympic Committee, genitalia does not serve as a prerequisite. The guidelines state: “To require surgical anatomical changes as a pre-condition to participation is not necessary to preserve fair competition and may be inconsistent with developing legislation and notions of human rights.”Cyd Zeigler at OutSports.com reported on the policy change.
The IOC held a “Consensus Meeting on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism” in November at which they created the new guidelines, loosening prior rules adopted in 2004 to allow transgender athletes into the Games. The previous rules required that transgender athletes must have undergone external genitalia changes and removal of gonads, as well as obtaining legal recognition of their assigned sex from appropriate official authorities.
The new guidelines attempt to justify themselves by citing various societies’ acceptance of fluid gender identity, writing, “Since the 2003 Stockholm Consensus on Sex Reassignment in Sports, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of autonomy of gender identity in society, as reflected in the laws of many jurisdictions worldwide.”
The IOC ignores evidence that the fairness of male to female transition still leaves men larger in general than the women they compete against. As Robert S. Beil, M.D., of Montefiore Medical Group, acknowledged, “MTF trans people tend to be bigger, and may have certain strengths from before they started using estrogen.” As noted in a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine:
The decision to categorically restrict male to female transsexual athletes from competing in a given sport as females rests on two critical assumptions. The first is that most people exposed to testosterone from puberty onward will develop physical and/or physiological attributes that contribute to a distinct performance advantage over most women. Although the performance boundaries between male and female athletes have narrowed in the past several decades, there are distinct gender differences that exist on average.The second assumption needed to justify restricting male to female transsexual participation in female events is that these attributes can withstand the hormonal manipulation of sex reassignment, thereby giving the male to female transsexual athlete an unfair competitive advantage. Certainly, there are some effects of testosterone that cannot be reversed, including (most notably) its effect on postpubertal height in men. Men are on average taller than women, with the pubertal growth spurt accounting for most of the gender difference.After acknowledging that surgery is unnecessary for trans athletes to compete, the IOC guidelines pontificate, “The overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition. Restrictions on participation are appropriate to the extent that they are necessary and proportionate to the achievement of that objective.”
Here’s how that “fair competition” works, according to the guidelines:
Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction.Joanna Harper, a transgender medical physicist who attended the November meeting, explained further, “The waiting period for trans women goes from two years after surgery to one year after the start of HRT. This matches up with the NCAA rules and is as good as anything. The waiting period was perhaps the most contentious item among our group and one year is a reasonable compromise.”
Those who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the female category under the following conditions:
The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female. The declaration cannot be changed, for sporting purposes, for a minimum of four years.
The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to her first competition (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 12 months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in women’s competition).
The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 10 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.
Compliance with these conditions may be monitored by testing. In the event of non-compliance, the athlete’s eligibility for female competition will be suspended for 12 months.
Strange Spheres Falling From the Sky in North Atlanta (Video)
Christian schools can’t pray at championship game in Florida
Prayer is important at Florida’s Cambridge Christian School. “We train our students that prayer is foundational to their walk with Christ,” Head of School Tim Euler told me. “Our faith is founded in prayer.” So when Cambridge Christian faced off against University Christian School last December in the 2A state championship football game, they asked the Florida High School Athletic Association if they could begin with a word of prayer. The FHSAA said no.
They told both Christian schools that offering a pre-game prayer was against the law – that it could be viewed as an endorsement of religion since the schools would be praying on government property. “This is ridiculous,” said Jeremy Dys, an attorney with Liberty Institute. “We’ve got two Christian schools being told they can’t pray.” Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in religious liberty issues, is representing Cambridge Christian. Dys said the FHSAA broke the law when they forbade the Christian schools from praying last December at the Citrus Bowl. CONTINUE
First Canadian Euthanized Under New law in Quebec, Officials Expect 50-60 More To Follow
At least one person and perhaps three have been euthanased in Quebec since the Canadian province’s legislation went into effect in December. Dr. Georges L’Espérance, president of the death-with-dignity group l’Association québécoise pour le droit de mourir dans la dignité, said that he was not aware of the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Dr. L’Espérance does not believe that the number of euthanasia deaths will be very large. “Considering our population here and what has happened in other countries (where euthanasia is legal), I would be very surprised if we have more than 50 or 60 cases in the first year,” he told the National Post.
Quebec health authorities say that data on euthanasia will be confidential. The first figures will be released in June. The legality of the deaths is disputed. Although the Supreme Court struck down the prohibition of assisted suicide and euthanasia in February 2015, Quebec is the only province which has passed a law regulating it. Technically, however, this conflicts with the still-extant national criminal code. Drafting of new legislation has been held up by a change of government after October’s election. FULL REPORT
Study: Teens, adults opting for porn, 'less risky than actually having sex'
In the study, "The Porn Phenomenon," the only area of growth area of why young and older men and women age are turning to porn is because they believe a picture or a video is safer than the real thing.
For those age 51-69 it is the fourth highest reason for why they watch porn.
But it also one of the key reasons teens age 13-17 use porn. "'Being less risky than actual sex' is higher motivation among both teens and older adults — for different reasons, presumably," said the study, portions of which were provided to Secrets from the Barna Group. The full report will be released in April.
The study is a comprehensive look at who uses porn, how they use it and why, with a special focus on morality.
The morality question found that the older the people are, the more immoral they view porn. But for teens, it amounts to a shoulder shrug. Consider: Most teens believe that not recycling garbage is more of a moral crime than porn, said the study.
It explained, "32 percent say viewing porn is 'usually or always wrong' compared to 56 percent who say not recycling is 'usually or always wrong."
And while older Americans believe porn is bad, younger Americans "believe it's good.
There were two other major findings: Women are into porn in a big way and teen sexting is still hot.
From the report:
While porn has typically been a man's domain, its usage among young women seems to have become more common, perhaps due to digital access.
— Teenage girls and young women are significantly more likely to actively seek out porn than women over age 25, which is similar to men.
— However, more than half of women 25 and under ever seek out porn (56% versus 27% among women 25-plus) and one-third seek it out at least monthly (33% versus just 12% among older men).
Most teens are "sexting" — either on the receiving or sending end of sexually explicit images.
— 62% of teens and young adults have received a sexually explicit image and 41% have sent one (usually from/to their boy/girlfriend or friend).
— 69% of girls have received a porn image via sexting, and 51% have sent one, way more than males at 33 percent.