After, in my last two updates, forcing my readers to wade through large extracts from two pieces of legislation, I think that some light relief is required.
Firstly, thanks to Mole at the Counter for this amazing image 😎
And now the next episode of Dr Woo
DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM WOO WOO
DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM WOO WOO
WOOO WOOO WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO
DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM DIDDLY DUM WOO WOO
To assist readers who don’t know the Dr Who theme tune here it is ( now sing along - see above):
So, here we go…Dr Woo’s new assistant is going to be a trans identifying man:
https://twitter.com/therealmissjo/status/1660525776201023489
And…a major role is to be played by a Drag Queen!
https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/jinkx-monsoon-joins-cast-doctor-who-series
As ever, there is a serious side to this - a very serious side! This is meant to be a children’s programme. How on earth does a parent explain this nonsense to a child? Do you not allow the child to watch it? But his or her mates will be watching it?
Well done, BBC you have excelled yourself yet again!!
All thoughts - especially from parents - gratefully received!
Be The Billboard
Or, more to the point, be the Billboard Chris! What a hero!
Great interview by Andrew Doyle on GB News.
Kathleen Stock
Louisa Clarence-Smith in The Telegraph (Those who want to silence free speech ‘do not speak for us’, say Oxford students 21 May) reports:
Oxford University
More than a hundred Oxford students have declared that those at the university who wish to silence free speech “do not speak for us” amid a row over a talk by a prominent feminist.
The group, from various colleges, has chosen to speak out following efforts by students to cancel an appearance by Prof Kathleen Stock at the university debating society.
In a letter to The Telegraph, they condemn the alleged “harassment, bullying and threats” made against the Oxford Union committee for inviting the feminist, who believes it is a fiction to claim “transwomen are women”, to give a talk at the end of the month.
They write: “We are appalled to see the tarnishing of the reputation of the University of Oxford by the few individuals who seek to silence Professor Stock and punish the Union.
“The society was founded with the key aim of discussing ideas which some may find challenging, as was the University itself. It is not necessary to agree with Professor Stock’s views in order to recognise the dangerous precedent that would be set if ‘the last bastion of free speech’ could not stand firm at this moment.
“Our belief is that there is much to gain from hearing opposing views on important topics, and furthermore reject the notion that Professor Stock’s visit to the Union constitutes any real danger to members of the University or the public.”
Kathleen Stock
They added: “The Oxford Union is part of the city and the university’s heritage. Whilst recognising it is an imperfect organisation, we value it because we value free speech. It is free speech we sign to defend, as the lifeblood of universities, learning, and modern democracies. Those who aim to silence it do not speak for us.”
The university is braced for a major demonstration when Prof Stock visits the Union on May 30. Junior Common Rooms at several colleges have issued statements calling for Prof Stock to be no-platformed. The LGBTQ+ society is expecting hundreds of students to join the protest “to show support for the trans community”.
The row over Prof Stock escalated after Oxford’s Student Union (SU) voted to block the Union from the freshers’ fair. The SU said the decision was not related to Prof Stock’s planned appearance and accused the Union of having a “toxic culture”.
Charlie Mackintosh, a politics, philosophy and economics student at New College, Oxford, who recently served as president of the Oxford Union, claimed that the current committee had been physically threatened and shouted at on the street for inviting a controversial speaker.
More than 40 Oxford academics warned students on Tuesday that free speech has been put at risk by the row.
The letter to Telegraph, signed by dons including Prof Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, and Prof Nigel Biggar, the theologian, said that universities exist to “promote free inquiry and the disinterested pursuit of the truth by means of reasoned argument”.
The letter added: “Professor Stock believes that biological sex in humans is real and socially salient, a view which until recently would have been so commonplace as to hardly merit asserting.”
The dispute follows a spate of free speech rows at UK universities over gender-critical speakers, including an attempt by the University of Bristol to ban the public from a feminist society talk and activists at the University of Edinburgh preventing a screening of a women’s rights documentary.
The Oxford row has been seen as a test for Prof Irene Tracey, Oxford’s new vice-chancellor, who has vowed to protect free speech on campus.
The university intervened on Thursday, with Prof Martin Williams, one of the university’s pro-vice-chancellors, telling students they must be prepared to “encounter and confront any difficult views, including ones they find unsettling, extreme or even offensive”. Following talks with the university, the SU rowed back on the decision to cut financial ties with the Union.
Whitehall insiders and free speech campaigners celebrated the university's intervention as a sign that the new Free Speech Act is already having an impact.
New legislation passed in Parliament explicitly requires universities to actively promote free speech and requires student unions to secure freedom of speech for all students at the university. It states that they cannot disaffiliate societies or bar them from premises on the grounds of their ideas or beliefs. Academics and students will also be able to sue universities for free speech breaches under the new legislation.
Kathleen Stock looks really dangerous doesn’t she!? Great letter!
I hope the University and the Students’ Union are getting their heads around the Higher Education ( Freedom of Speech) Act which I reported on in last night’s update. They need to take steps to ensure that any protest does not prevent Professor Stock from delivering her speech . They are not allowed to put any security costs on to Professor Stock. If they fail to take adequate steps and the speech does not proceed, they ( i.e. the University and the Students’ Union who are also covered by the Act) may well find themselves in court.
Boycott Adidas
The boycott list is growing, isn’t it!?
Christopher Sharp in The Daily Express (Adidas swimming costume provokes ‘woke nonsense' backlash 22 May) reports:
An Adidas swimming costume campaign has provoked a "woke nonsense" backlash. The sportswear producer is receiving a wave of backlash in the USA after it released a campaign featuring a model who appears to be male modelling a women's swimming costume.
The campaign features a male-presenting model [ Dusty - I think this means ‘a bloke’]with chest hair and a bulge sporting what the brand describes as their "Pride Swimsuit" a brightly coloured one-piece.
The garment has been launched ahead of June's Pride Month. The brand partnered with South African designer Rich Mnisi on the collection.
While some have taken the design well, in other corners it has sparked outrage with some saying it is contributing to the "erasure" of women.
One person posted on Twitter: "We women will not be erased! Quit trying to replace us with male models! We've fought hard to be heard. Quit attempting to erase us again!"
Hear, hear! Sounds like one of my readers 😎
Adidas's latest campaign has also received criticism from professional swimmer Riley Gaines. Ms Gaines tweeted: "I don't understand why companies are voluntarily doing this to themselves.”
Go, Riley!
EDI Jester
Three in a day!!!
First one on Humza Useless ( as Barry calls the Scottish First Minister) backing up the Scottish Care Inspectorate saying that puberty blockers should be given to children as young as 12!! Despite the Opposition referring to the Cass Report and the closure of the Tavistock! FFS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=___JCwsYuww
Second one demolishes a bonkers Guardian article about trans and non-binary.
This article is so even more bonkers than usual it could even be a spoof and brings to mind the fake papers that Helen Pluckrose et al got passed by identity studies and other journals ( see Michael Nayna 'The Reformers'). Could Barry write a piece for the Guardian under the name of Barista Wallflower on the link between levels of non-binariness and the weather? 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xzaU-5kXI8
Third one is a special treat - a live one where many of us were joining in the chat. This looks at the alarming UNESCO guidance for schools on sex education, the need to ignore that and the need for the Government to get a shift on in getting the new, promised guidance out:
What’s the betting that I’ll post this and JL will publish the Good News Supplement on the Glinner Update!
Ta.
Oh for the innocence of the days when children didn’t realise that Daleks couldn’t get up or downstairs. Now they have to have their innocence totally destroyed in order to accommodate ‘inclusivity’. 🤬
Well done Oxford students, it’s about time that sanity returned to universities otherwise the future looks bleak with the prospect of so many nut jobs getting into positions of authority.
Billboard Chris was great.
I hope adidas get budweisered.