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How anti-Reform tactical voting could deny the SNP a majority – politicalbetting.com

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  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 43,077
    @chadbourn.bsky.social‬

    A mass casualty event has been declared after a Ukrainian drone strike hit one of Russia’s largest petrochemical complexes, Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

    Pretty big #explodey

    @chadbourn.bsky.social‬

    Contact has been lost with a Russian Antonov An-26 over occupied Crimea, Russia's Ministry of Defence says. (TASS)
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,758
    boulay said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I’m sure hedgehogs like a bit of man on man action. Could have been a weird dream though.

    Dolphins are dirty fuckers however with a nose like that you may as well use it.

    Ducks (mallards especially) are very gang rapey.

    Sloths are massively into BDSM and as for beavers, they certainly love their namesake.
    Leslie Nielsen: "Nice beaver!"

    Priscilla Presley: "Thanks, I just had it stuffed." [hands him a stuffed beaver]
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165
    edited 8:52PM
    X or the social media formerly known as twitter just gone down
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165
    edited 8:48PM

    Have Reform given up on the shadow cabinet thing?

    No the same posts as announced before
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,807
    edited 8:49PM
    If we didn't already know it

    England only have 2 world class players

    Jude Bellingham
    Harry Kane

    Neither plays in the Premier League

    The likes of Foden would struggle to get in a decent Championship Team

    Japan are well organised, very very fit. Could be a dark horse in the World Cup

  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    SNP and Greens down a net 5 seats on 2021 so no mandate for anything
  • wooliedyedwooliedyed Posts: 17,041
    HYUFD said:

    Have Reform given up on the shadow cabinet thing?

    No the same posts as announced before
    I wondered where the rest of them were. Foreign affairs probably needs a little attention at the moment
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,969
    HYUFD said:

    X or the social media formerly know as twitter just gone down

    Iran?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 19,708
    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    You are probably right, I will admit my total lack of experience - I've often said the only Kinks I have are in my record collection. But this is mostly due to being a bit of a fraidy-cat and a repressed prig and never really experimenting when I was young. And I feel that sex parties are for cool, attractive young things, rather than paunchy middle aged men in ill fitting leather chaps looking slightly out of place. I have mates who are into torture garden and killing kittens and all that, but I wouldn't know where to look, much less begin!
    Sex parties should be for Coll, attractive, young things, but are, I understand, largely filled with paunchy middle aged men.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165

    HYUFD said:

    Have Reform given up on the shadow cabinet thing?

    No the same posts as announced before
    I wondered where the rest of them were. Foreign affairs probably needs a little attention at the moment
    Farage delegates that to Big Don
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 1,807

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    Tories slipping to 5th in Scotland from 2nd would be critical damage for the Party

    A similar result in Wales quite probable
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165
    edited 8:54PM
    Brixian59 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    Tories slipping to 5th in Scotland from 2nd would be critical damage for the Party

    A similar result in Wales quite probable
    If they were second UK wide as with today's Yougov Kemi could survive that but not if they were third or below
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 27,690
    Brixian59 said:

    If we didn't already know it

    England only have 2 world class players

    Jude Bellingham
    Harry Kane

    Neither plays in the Premier League

    The likes of Foden would struggle to get in a decent Championship Team

    Japan are well organised, very very fit. Could be a dark horse in the World Cup

    It will be okay when it's Rice and Saka putting the corners in.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 55,839
    Brixian59 said:

    If we didn't already know it

    England only have 2 world class players

    Jude Bellingham
    Harry Kane

    Neither plays in the Premier League

    The likes of Foden would struggle to get in a decent Championship Team

    Japan are well organised, very very fit. Could be a dark horse in the World Cup

    I think we still have some real talent. In the last 10 minutes we did threaten much more.

    The problem is getting the team ethos. That is what the Japanese did, superbly organised, keeping cool and knowing where they and their team mates would be.

    I like the Japanese style of football, but I don't think them good enough to win.

    The US conceeding 5 goals at home doesn't look good.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 43,077
    @JenniferJJacobs

    A total of 348 US service members have been wounded in the war with Iran. 315 of them have returned to duty. Six service members are considered seriously wounded,
    @ellee_watson
    reports.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,758
    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)

    There's a copy on eBay
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    rcs1000 said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    stodge said:

    Battlebus said:

    Seems it's all over according to the US. I get the feeling that the fog of war is particularly foggy this time round.

    Stocks surge to session highs on optimism that Iran may be ready to end war

    By Isabel Wang

    U.S. stocks were surging to their session highs in afternoon trading on Tuesday on optimism over an unconfirmed report said that Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian may be ready to end the war, but that guarantees are still wanted.
    Pezeshkian claimed all this a fortnight or more ago not long after Khamanei had been killed at the start of the conflict.

    It soon became clear he had little or no power in Iran and the IRGC ignored him completely.

    Yet it seems people are so desperate for even a hint of optimism they will buy on any silly rumour and the sheep all follow as no one wants to be behind the rumour curve.

    Likewise the China-Pakistan initiative which is platitudinous nonsense. The Chinese get 50% or more of their oil from the Gulf so are particularly vulnerable to a prolonged closure of Hormuz.
    Chinese tankers have been allowed to pass.
    Are we then saying Hormuz is closed only to ships going to countries Iran doesn't like and everyone else is getting free passage?

    Are the Chinese ships paying a toll to Tehran?
    https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-container-ships-pass-through-strait-hormuz-second-attempt-data-shows-2026-03-30/
    The reports I'm seeing suggest three ships transited the Straits of Hormuz today out of a normal one hundred and forty.

    On the wider politics, the schism between the Trump Administration and Europe seems to be widening. The usual undiplomatic verbosity from the White House notwithstanding, there seems a lack of coherent thinking in the administration over how this ends.

    Could Europe approach Iran directly with a proposal or proposals?

    Yet who in Iran would want to deal with Europe or indeed anyone else when they seem, to use the vernacular "to hold all the cards" in respect of Hormuz and to have paralysed American thinking.
    The main thing the Iranians seem to want is for the US to withdraw its troops from bases in the region. So a separate deal with Europe doesn't really get them what they want, and it reduces the pressure on the US to make a deal to end the conflict.

    The consequence of the schism between Europe and the US seems most likely to find its expression over Russia and Ukraine. The possibility is growing that the US will come to terms with Russia and fully lift sanctions imposed after the Ukraine invasion.
    The irony being that Russia and Iran are besties. (The second irony is that Russia is poor, and getting poorer. So what is the US going to get out of letting Russia in from the cold?)

    But logic doesn't seem to be a big part of current US policy. 
    Not much.
    Trump and his cronies ? Potentially a lot.

    There are plenty of billionaires in Russia, and plenty if opportunities for someone like Trump.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,739

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)

    There's a copy on eBay
    Is it yours?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 71,057
    Brixian59 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    Tories slipping to 5th in Scotland from 2nd would be critical damage for the Party

    A similar result in Wales quite probable
    I wouldn't bring Wales into this when labour are looking at a shellacking
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,758
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)

    There's a copy on eBay
    Is it yours?
    No, not mine!
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 71,057
    HYUFD said:

    Brixian59 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    Tories slipping to 5th in Scotland from 2nd would be critical damage for the Party

    A similar result in Wales quite probable
    If they were second UK wide as with today's Yougov Kemi could survive that but not if they were third or below
    She is going nowhere
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    Incidentally, for anyone who wants to know what Jilly Cooper looked like fifty years ago, iPlayer has some 1976 episodes of Call My Bluff.
    (Loved watching it as a kid.)

    BTW she has a very obvious tell, and can't bluff to save her life.

  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,969
    edited 9:13PM
    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,609

    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192

    Bilmey.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 39,687

    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.

    It's the logical thing for Trump to do in the circumstances.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    How does one tell the two apart, in say, a nurses changing room?
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 22,054

    HYUFD said:

    Have Reform given up on the shadow cabinet thing?

    No the same posts as announced before
    I wondered where the rest of them were. Foreign affairs probably needs a little attention at the moment
    [Checks which Reform MPs don't already have a frontbench role]

    That's probably the answer.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    Andy_JS said:

    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.

    It's the logical thing for Trump to do in the circumstances.
    Is it ?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 58,758
    Andy_JS said:

    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.

    It's the logical thing for Trump to do in the circumstances.
    Worst President in US history.
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,592
    edited 9:21PM
    Nigelb said:

    Incidentally, for anyone who wants to know what Jilly Cooper looked like fifty years ago, iPlayer has some 1976 episodes of Call My Bluff.
    (Loved watching it as a kid.)

    BTW she has a very obvious tell, and can't bluff to save her life.

    Much later era but I survived my Higher Grade/CSYS exams through a combination of studying and a study leave lunchtime break with a bakery hot sausage roll and Bob Holness/Sandi Toksvig-era Call My Bluff. Good times.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 43,077
    Andy_JS said:

    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.

    It's the logical thing for Trump to do in the circumstances.
    Sacrifice more American lives for no obvious gain?
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 6,113
    edited 9:22PM
    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    As one can have a coalition government, can one have a coalition official opposition?

    (Looking it up, the "official opposition" is not a concept in Holyrood, so this would be a Westminster specific question)
  • kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 5,081
    edited 9:24PM

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    How does one tell the two apart, in say, a nurses changing room?
    The same way one tells them apart when a trans woman signs up for a gym membership. Her government ID will only have the sex marker changed if she has been properly diagnosed by a medical professional and demonstrated proof of this. Since everyone needs to show their passport as proof of work now, this should be fairly simple - those with the diagnosis are allowed access to women's spaces, those without, aren't. There is another arugment to be had about shared spaces (i.e. undressing in front of others) but that is not the argument I am making here. Merely that we have an existing, reliable way in the UK at least of assorting genuine, medically diagnosed trans women for access to most female spaces - e.g. at work, for membership of the WI, at the gym, etc. The loos at victoria station are different unless one wants to force an ID check on everyone stopping for a piss, but again, this isn't my point. My point is that genuine trans women can be assigned that status and granted limited rights according to medical intervention/government ID based on the current system.Thus "creepy guy with latex boobs who only dresses as a woman to get off on his kink" can be separated out from trans women in active transition, and pointing at him as an argument and reason for keeping all trans women out of all women's spaces is an argument in bad faith.
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,592
    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Given collapsing has been used up, what word are you using for the Conservatives polling there?
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 28,120
    Foxy said:

    viewcode said:

    kyf_100 said:

    ...only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access...

    I'm not being funny, but I'm extremely cynical about the "medical diagnosis" part now. Leaving aside the question of what the failure rate for the diagnosis is and what is the maximum we can accept, there is also the question of "what is it exactly we are diagnosing"? Things like brain sex may or may not be true but doesn't translate to a testable test. Past behavior can be faked. Narratives can be learned and regurgitated.

    If we limit ourselves to "does this person has a penis" or "is this person chemically or physically castrate" then I can do a test for that. But "I am a woman in a man's body"? Am I supposed to use divination? Vibe diagnosis?
    That is true of a lot of medical diagnoses of course, including Autism, ADHD, and other forms of neuro-diversity, and also a whole bunch of non-medical things like being gay.

    That makes it worse, not better

    (Plus, IIRC, the pre-Trump US immigration service had a way to diagnose gayness - you had to give them the names of (I think) three same-sex people who had had sex with you and they contacted them and checked)
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 71,057
    Pro_Rata said:

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    As one can have a coalition government, can one have a coalition official opposition?

    (Looking it up, the "official opposition" is not a concept in Holyrood, so this would be a Westminster specific question)
    Reform will not be the official opposition in Scotland
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 39,687
    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,739
    edited 9:27PM

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    That's easy: one goes to one's boss and asks to be paid less for doing the same work as a colleague.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    Not good.

    A great journalist who cares deeply about the #MiddleEast & its people has just been kidnapped in #Baghdad, #Iraq.

    Shelly Kittleson (@shellykittleson) was taken by #Iran’s proxies within #Iraq’s state security apparatus.

    #Iraq’s government must immediately secure her release.

    https://x.com/Charles_Lister/status/2039028387239362687
  • kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 5,081

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    You sound interested in the process! I'm sure a friendly trans woman could tell you more - there are forums dedicated to it I'm sure! It's never too late to start HRT, my questioning friend.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 8,609
    edited 9:29PM

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    It's an odd one. Because if a woman wants to wear stereotypically male clothes, why shouldn't she?

    So how doesn't it boil down to "feeling as if she's a woman"? Or "She tells people she's a woman and they accept it"? At which point the test falls.

    So we either do self-ID or we don't. Purity tests don't seem to help.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Andy_JS said:

    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t

    You don't watch football much do you?

    Italy last qualified for the world cup in 2014..
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    OK, legitimate lol about Noem's husband.

    "Much safer choice than being a furry."
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    How does one tell the two apart, in say, a nurses changing room?
    The same way one tells them apart when a trans woman signs up for a gym membership. Her government ID will only have the sex marker changed if she has been properly diagnosed by a medical professional and demonstrated proof of this. Since everyone needs to show their passport as proof of work now, this should be fairly simple - those with the diagnosis are allowed access to women's spaces, those without, aren't. There is another arugment to be had about shared spaces (i.e. undressing in front of others) but that is not the argument I am making here. Merely that we have an existing, reliable way in the UK at least of assorting genuine, medically diagnosed trans women for access to most female spaces - e.g. at work, for membership of the WI, at the gym, etc. The loos at victoria station are different unless one wants to force an ID check on everyone stopping for a piss, but again, this isn't my point. My point is that genuine trans women can be assigned that status and granted limited rights according to medical intervention/government ID based on the current system.Thus "creepy guy with latex boobs who only dresses as a woman to get off on his kink" can be separated out from trans women in active transition, and pointing at him as an argument and reason for keeping all trans women out of all women's spaces is an argument in bad faith.
    A comprehensive answer, but doesn’t really address the question. In the two recent cases intact males claimed to be women in order to access single sex spaces. They may indeed be the legitimate trans you believe them to be but how would a woman in there know?
  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 3,656
    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Italy miss the world cup for the third successive tournament.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 5,926
    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)
    There's a slightly more recent take on the theme:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099283751

    Lots of biology is weird.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712

    Nigelb said:

    Incidentally, for anyone who wants to know what Jilly Cooper looked like fifty years ago, iPlayer has some 1976 episodes of Call My Bluff.
    (Loved watching it as a kid.)

    BTW she has a very obvious tell, and can't bluff to save her life.

    Much later era but I survived my Higher Grade/CSYS exams through a combination of studying and a study leave lunchtime break with a bakery hot sausage roll and Bob Holness/Sandi Toksvig-era Call My Bluff. Good times.
    PBers might be rnlightened to learn that Frank Muir (along with writing partner Dennis Norden) originated the phrase "infamy, infamy ! They've all got it in for me."
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    You sound interested in the process! I'm sure a friendly trans woman could tell you more - there are forums dedicated to it I'm sure! It's never too late to start HRT, my questioning friend.
    As in can you define it? Does it involve not liking football, or taking up knitting?
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,821
    Have we done this?

    British billionaire to donate £190m to Cambridge University

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y8gdwqklxo

    Given the light blues haven't produced a PM since Stanley Baldwin (who graduated with a Third in 1888) you might say a school of Government is long overdue. But £190m may not be enough to help them catch up.

  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Given collapsing has been used up, what word are you using for the Conservatives polling there?
    Desquamating ?
  • FairlieredFairliered Posts: 7,734

    Andy_JS said:

    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t

    You don't watch football much do you?

    Italy last qualified for the world cup in 2014..
    They haven’t qualified this time, either.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,969
    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Going to the world cup.

    If it happens.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    rcs1000 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    That's easy: one goes to one's boss and asks to be paid less for doing the same work as a colleague.
    And then sues and wins as that’s illegal.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 39,687

    Andy_JS said:

    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t

    You don't watch football much do you?

    Italy last qualified for the world cup in 2014..
    I still thought Italy was one of the best teams in the world.
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,592
    Nigelb said:

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Given collapsing has been used up, what word are you using for the Conservatives polling there?
    Desquamating ?
    Sounds painful!
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712

    Have we done this?

    British billionaire to donate £190m to Cambridge University

    No.
    Personally I just can't raise the cash.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 62,037
    rcs1000 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    That's easy: one goes to one's boss and asks to be paid less for doing the same work as a colleague.
    Wrong.

    You get men explaining everything to you, that you know already.
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,592

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    I'm not worried until they start building a Thunderdome.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 47,273

    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192

    I’m sure a common interest in nautical matters on the Clyde was what brought them together.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Andy_JS said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t

    You don't watch football much do you?

    Italy last qualified for the world cup in 2014..
    I still thought Italy was one of the best teams in the world.
    They are weird, they won Euro 2020/21 but they've got this weird world cup block since 2006 when they won it.

    The only side Italy have beaten in the world cup finals since they won it in 2006 was ***drum roll*** England.

    Italy last made it to the knock out stages in 2006, so if they qualify in 2030, it'll be at least 24 years since they made it to the knockouts.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 87,712
    Nigelb said:

    OK, legitimate lol about Noem's husband.

    "Much safer choice than being a furry."

    Really ?
    You tell that gag, and ... Crickets.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    Andy_JS said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Does anyone know what on earth is going on with the Italian football team? They've failed to beat Bosnia in normal time (with ten men) and it's gone to penalties.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c624z0yy530t

    You don't watch football much do you?

    Italy last qualified for the world cup in 2014..
    I still thought Italy was one of the best teams in the world.
    England have had bleak qualifying for tournaments. Euro92 was notable for Greece winning and for England not being there. And then not at the 94 World Cup after making the semis in 1990. In recent times they’ve made qualifying look rather easy, but it hasn’t always been so. Expanding tournaments helps, of course. Even Scotland make it these days…
  • DoctorGDoctorG Posts: 601
    Foxy said:

    Japan 1 nil up at the break.

    Englands defence looks fragile and I am not convinced by the options up front.

    I suppose we will follow Scotland in boycotting the later stages of the World Cup.

    It will be a Scotland v USA final Foxy

    Specially designed for Trump to enjoy a battle between his home nations
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,969

    Have we done this?

    British billionaire to donate £190m to Cambridge University

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y8gdwqklxo

    Given the light blues haven't produced a PM since Stanley Baldwin (who graduated with a Third in 1888) you might say a school of Government is long overdue. But £190m may not be enough to help them catch up.

    It was done a bit earlier on here. iirc someone pointed out the donor went to Oxford Poly so a bit odd decision.

  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 63,739

    rcs1000 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    That's easy: one goes to one's boss and asks to be paid less for doing the same work as a colleague.
    And then sues and wins as that’s illegal.
    Woosh.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    OK, legitimate lol about Noem's husband.

    "Much safer choice than being a furry."

    Really ?
    You tell that gag, and ... Crickets.
    PBers are a tough crowd.
  • eekeek Posts: 33,150

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    You had it by September - it looks like May is more likely.

    Which is annoying as I'm off on holiday in early May but thankfully via a Turkish airline so we may get fuel..
  • kyf_100kyf_100 Posts: 5,081

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    You sound interested in the process! I'm sure a friendly trans woman could tell you more - there are forums dedicated to it I'm sure! It's never too late to start HRT, my questioning friend.
    As in can you define it? Does it involve not liking football, or taking up knitting?
    Look up "social transition" and "lived experience requirements" as well as what a psychiatrist will ask as supporting evidence from friends and family. For contrast, you should also read Julia Serano's "Whipping Girl", which rails against precisely the sort of stereotyping you're bringing up here.

    You do seem very interested and I assure you, even at your age, it's totally normal to be questioning your feelings about your gender. Perhaps you could experiment a little bit by growing out your hair, painting your nails, or treating yourself to some other form of gender affirming care? I promise I won't tell!
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 5,926

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    I remember buying a big chest freezer before the pandemic got going (Feb I think) and asking in the store if there was a run on them, and the staff looking a bit nonplussed.

    It feels like we are at that stage. Everyone has noticed the fuel prices but they haven't twigged what happens next.

    If one were to want to acquire an electric runaround, some solar panels and a battery...where to start?

    In a month there aren't going to be any available.

  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    I'm not worried until they start building a Thunderdome.
    Have they repaired the Millenium Dome after that storm yet? Already set up for action.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    eek said:

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    You had it by September - it looks like May is more likely.

    Which is annoying as I'm off on holiday in early May but thankfully via a Turkish airline so we may get fuel..
    As I said, our reasonable worst case scenario became our reasonable best case scenario, we didn't factor in the Yanks not realising the Iranians would shut the Strait of Hormuz.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 8,075

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)
    There's a slightly more recent take on the theme:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099283751

    Lots of biology is weird.
    Duck sex is basically rape combined with waterboarding. And sheep farmers accept that a certain proportion (around 10%?) of rams are gay.
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,914
    Andy_JS said:

    Andrew Neil
    @afneil
    ·
    43m
    I am told by White House sources that Trump is seriously considering taking Kharg Island.

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2039077417264853393

    ===

    "Seriously" is doing a fuck load of work there.

    It's the logical thing for Trump to do in the circumstances.
    So you don't think he'll do it?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 59,001
    Nigelb said:

    OK, legitimate lol about Noem's husband.

    "Much safer choice than being a furry."

    Not even an Epic Furry?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    You sound interested in the process! I'm sure a friendly trans woman could tell you more - there are forums dedicated to it I'm sure! It's never too late to start HRT, my questioning friend.
    As in can you define it? Does it involve not liking football, or taking up knitting?
    Look up "social transition" and "lived experience requirements" as well as what a psychiatrist will ask as supporting evidence from friends and family. For contrast, you should also read Julia Serano's "Whipping Girl", which rails against precisely the sort of stereotyping you're bringing up here.

    You do seem very interested and I assure you, even at your age, it's totally normal to be questioning your feelings about your gender. Perhaps you could experiment a little bit by growing out your hair, painting your nails, or treating yourself to some other form of gender affirming care? I promise I won't tell!
    My interest is purely academic. I find the concept of gender being different to sex weird. And I think the idea of living as a different gender when there is no definition of how that gender lives is tricky. We are all different. Celebrate those differences. But you can’t change sex.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    Wowsers (part II)

    MP wife of alleged spy reported for ‘drunken incident’ at nuclear base

    Joani Reid, whose husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China, is alleged to have previously behaved inappropriately with a senior naval officer


    An MP whose husband is facing claims of spying for China was reported for inappropriate conduct with a senior naval officer working on Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

    Joani Reid left the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) last year shortly after getting “carried away” during a visit to the Faslane naval base in Argyll and Bute, which is home to the UK’s nuclear submarines.

    She was alleged to have behaved inappropriately with a senior naval officer during a drinks reception. The incident is thought to have led to her leaving the scheme, which has been operating for more than 30 years and offers MPs firsthand experience of the military, early last year.

    The incident also led to Reid being reported to parliamentary authorities by an MP after her husband, David Taylor, was arrested on suspicion of spying for China in March. He denies the allegations.


    https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/mp-wife-alleged-spy-drunken-incident-nuclear-base-zprvfqrp9
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194
    I am so glad I am such a good Muslim and do not drink the devil's buttermilk.

    It seems people get drunk and make complete arses of themselves.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 135,165
    edited 9:51PM

    Have we done this?

    British billionaire to donate £190m to Cambridge University

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y8gdwqklxo

    Given the light blues haven't produced a PM since Stanley Baldwin (who graduated with a Third in 1888) you might say a school of Government is long overdue. But £190m may not be enough to help them catch up.

    There is no PPE degree at Cambridge, most budding politicians there studied either History eg Rab Butler, Portillo, Jenrick and Streeting, Law eg Ken Clarke and Michael Howard or Economics eg Norman Lamont with the odd Social and Political Sciences graduate (eg Clegg which also includes anthropology and sociology). Burnham is also ex Cambridge but studied English
  • solarflaresolarflare Posts: 4,592

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)
    There's a slightly more recent take on the theme:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099283751

    Lots of biology is weird.
    Duck sex is basically rape combined with waterboarding. And sheep farmers accept that a certain proportion (around 10%?) of rams are gay.
    Well this news drastically changes my view of Donald and Daisy's relationship.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 67,443

    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192

    I’m sure a common interest in nautical matters on the Clyde was what brought them together.
    As I said the other day, my MI5/6 psychiatrist boffin has told me the security services are terrified that the entire UK Establishment has been penetrated and compromised by the Chinese

    From the judiciary to defence to parliament. If it’s true it explains a lot of otherwise inexplicable things
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 70,969

    I am so glad I am such a good Muslim and do not drink the devil's buttermilk.

    It seems people get drunk and make complete arses of themselves.


    "offers MPs firsthand experience of the military"

    Unintentionally funny?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,549
    By election in East Kilbride and Strathaven?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444
    Any update from Derby? Not suggesting anything suspicious but surely they have enough to charge by now? I know they can no longer question once charged but seems a long time considering the alleged guy was arrested at the scene.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194

    I am so glad I am such a good Muslim and do not drink the devil's buttermilk.

    It seems people get drunk and make complete arses of themselves.


    "offers MPs firsthand experience of the military"

    Unintentionally funny?
    Yes, I went all Kenneth Williams when I read that.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 8,075

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    maxh said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Leon said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    It’s not just men who like kink

    I once had a very pretty girlfriend who had really involved sexual fantasies surrounding bath time. She demanded that I go to Hamleys and a buy a bath toy which she found particularly arousing

    The toy had a clockwork mechanism meaning it could whirr around the bath-water and go into corners… and indeed into all sorts of places. The toy made her very happy. She called it “Mister Squiddy”

    In daily life she had a very sober and serious job. Humans are gloriously weird
    In my experience the ladies are far kinkier in the bedroom than I have ever been. I think it is because women use this thing called "the imagination" whereas men tend to be much more physical/visual in their choice of stimulus...
    I have a fair amount of experience in this. I’ve got a few kinks - indeed accepting then exploring them was a transformative moment in my life. I was encouraged by a wise female friend who pointed out my obvious tendencies. “Just accept it and find girlfriends that like it the other way round”

    I thank her for that because I became much happier. I had far better sex from then on. Indeed better relationships. I only wish I’d done it sooner

    As for gender differences I suspect men and women are equally kinky given the chance. Why should they not be? The only difference is that women have to be more cautious due to relative physical weakness. But they certainly don’t lack in relative imagination
    There is some interesting research ( I forget the source, sorry) that suggests hunter-gatherer societies were far less kinky than modern societies.

    The reason for this isn't certain, but the author suggested that it was because there was less repression of desire, fewer taboos against what we'd now call sexual deviancy, as well as fewer societies where monogamy was encouraged.

    The tentative conclusion is that kink relies on our desires to be taboo-breakers. No real idea if this is true but it's interesting.
    I’m not very convinced by this. Animals are kinky as fuck

    One of my favourite books of all time is all about kink and “perversity” in the animal world. It’s called Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl

    Ducks are particularly depraved and dolphins would shock the average Epstein dinner party
    I have just done a quick hunt for the research and can't find it, so I shall defer to your knowledge of dolphin depravity.
    Looks like it’s out of print. Which is nuts. It’s a masterpiece

    https://orionmagazine.org/article/homosexuality-nature-animals-mating-biological-exhuberance/

    Try and find a 2nd hand copy. You won’t regret it. At the very least it will give you a lifetime supply of killer animal kink facts, like “wuzzles”

    (A wuzzle is a same sex dolphin orgy where groups of dolphins ride on each other’s dorsal fins giving each other homosexual orgasms for hours)
    There's a slightly more recent take on the theme:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099283751

    Lots of biology is weird.
    Duck sex is basically rape combined with waterboarding. And sheep farmers accept that a certain proportion (around 10%?) of rams are gay.
    Well this news drastically changes my view of Donald and Daisy's relationship.
    A guy called Kees Moeliker famously won an IgNobel Prize for a paper about gay necrophilia in mallards
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 59,001

    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192

    Flirting about sinking his pink submarine?
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194

    Any update from Derby? Not suggesting anything suspicious but surely they have enough to charge by now? I know they can no longer question once charged but seems a long time considering the alleged guy was arrested at the scene.

    He’s been charged.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444

    Any update from Derby? Not suggesting anything suspicious but surely they have enough to charge by now? I know they can no longer question once charged but seems a long time considering the alleged guy was arrested at the scene.

    He’s been charged.
    Ah. Nothing on the main BBC website.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 101,955

    HYUFD said:

    Projection based on the new Survation Scottish Parliament election poll has the SNP collapsing to just 56 MSPs in May, their lowest total since 2007. Reform official opposition just 1 seat ahead of Labour

    SNP: 56 (-8)
    RFM: 21 (+21)
    LAB: 20 (-2)
    CON: 13 (-18)
    GRN: 11 (+3)
    LDM: 8 (+4)

    Changes w/ 2021.

    https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2039024824303911155?s=20

    Still an SNP Green independence government
    Given the persistent levels of political support for Indy, and the divided unionist vote, then that kind of result seems likely to persist for some time.

    Which is funny when you consider the Westminster seats in Scotland have been through a rollercoaster of a time in the last 16 years.
  • RattersRatters Posts: 1,914
    edited 9:55PM

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    kyf_100 said:

    kyf_100 said:

    Foxy said:

    Taz said:

    This Kristi Noem husband story is quite something

    https://x.com/nypost/status/2039006843763044817?s=61

    It is a magnificent contribution of solidarity to mark Trans Day of Visibility.



    Incidentally we used to have a poster on PB who went by the name @byronic. I wonder if they are one and the same?
    I know you're only joking but I think it's important not to lump creepy fetishistic guys in with trans people, who experience a genuine disconnect between mind and body that only medical intervention can fix.

    Sadly it's often the transphobic, far right men who are most into kinky "trans" porn (all unrealistic tosh aimed squarely at male fetishists), which leads many to believe that trans women are in some way deviant and perverted, when it is perverted blokes that have the problem. If you look at the data, trans porn is, by the way, far more popular in red states in America than Blue.

    The louder the transphobe, the more interesting a peek at their browser history becomes.
    The lumping in of creepy fetishistic men with trans people isn't the fault of those sitting on the trans-sceptical side of the argument, it is a feature of a law that allows a person to declare themselves the opposite sex if they so desire. This silly sod with his bizarre uneven fake boobs is exactly the type who could demand his right to enter a ladies' changing room because he is a woman.
    This is not true. In the UK at least (I did quite a bit of research into this for Viewcode's article) you can only change gender markers and thus be considered female if you have a doctor's note and so called "real life experience", i.e. you need to prove you are living as a woman full time before you can change your status and be seen as one in law.

    And it is precisely to keep fetishistic men out of women's spaces that I oppose self ID and think medical intervention is necessary.
    The recent judgement does rather render a GRC meaningless, but I agree there should be some sort of formal medical evaluation.

    In practice it is very difficult to access gender services, and waiting lists are years long on the NHS, so people live in their new gender without any real support.
    Indeed, this was noted in my response to Viewcode (which I don't think anyone read) where I pointed out that the "transmedicalist view" (that one should have a diagnosis and be on active medical treatment to be treated as trans) is complicated by the fact the adult waiting time on the NHS for even a diagnosis in 12 years and full SRS up to a decade after that, so one could come out as a teenager and not be transitioned until middle age.

    Better trans healthcare for all who need it I say! Now, if only there was a party with a leader who knew something about growing breasts...

    Also - To briefly come back to luckyguy - there's no contradiction. I'm literally saying that only those with medical diagnoses should be granted access, which requires medical intervention and living full time as a woman. So your weird guy with latex boobs would not count, as no doctor would sign it off. That's why medical gatekeeping remains important.
    There is also the catch 22 of being required to live as the chosen gender for 2 years in order to get a GRC, but how can you do so without access to single sex spaces?
    Indeed. And it's not about toilets, either. "Prove you're a woman by living as a woman, by the way also you're banned from joining the Women's Institute"...
    How does one live as a woman?
    You sound interested in the process! I'm sure a friendly trans woman could tell you more - there are forums dedicated to it I'm sure! It's never too late to start HRT, my questioning friend.
    As in can you define it? Does it involve not liking football, or taking up knitting?
    Look up "social transition" and "lived experience requirements" as well as what a psychiatrist will ask as supporting evidence from friends and family. For contrast, you should also read Julia Serano's "Whipping Girl", which rails against precisely the sort of stereotyping you're bringing up here.

    You do seem very interested and I assure you, even at your age, it's totally normal to be questioning your feelings about your gender. Perhaps you could experiment a little bit by growing out your hair, painting your nails, or treating yourself to some other form of gender affirming care? I promise I won't tell!
    My interest is purely academic. I find the concept of gender being different to sex weird. And I think the idea of living as a different gender when there is no definition of how that gender lives is tricky. We are all different. Celebrate those differences. But you can’t change sex.
    Accepting at face value that gender now means something different to sex: I don't believe in gender.

    In the same way I don't believe in God. And just as with that, I support others rights' to believe they have a gender, whether that is the same or different to their sex. Or believe they are non-binary. Just as I support people's rights to practice their own religion, whatever that may be.

    I just don't think any social behaviours or actions should be limited to one gender. People should be able to dress and act as they like regardless. No need for a separate gender concept for that to be true.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 127,194

    Any update from Derby? Not suggesting anything suspicious but surely they have enough to charge by now? I know they can no longer question once charged but seems a long time considering the alleged guy was arrested at the scene.

    He’s been charged.
    Ah. Nothing on the main BBC website.
    I just got an alert from Sky News.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 62,037

    Reasons not to be cheerful, part three.

    Andrew Neil on our economic prospects...

    https://x.com/afneil/status/2038966047592616420

    "We have yet to feel the full force of oil and gas price spikes and energy shortages.

    "But they’ve started in Asia, the destination for most oil and gas that went through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re now coming our way, arriving by the middle of April at the latest, as they roll west across the globe.

    "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to. Energy shocks unfold sequentially NOT simultaneously...

    "Western governments need to wake up to the economic tsunami coming their way. The Starmer government in particular needs to get a grip.

    "The PM and his ministers are dangerously insouciant in the face of what’s about to hit them. They speak in generalities, with no sense of urgency, complacently out of their depth. I fear they have no idea what’s in store."

    I've been saying this since the start.

    We're headed for a de facto lockdown.

    Blessed be the EV drivers.
    I remember buying a big chest freezer before the pandemic got going (Feb I think) and asking in the store if there was a run on them, and the staff looking a bit nonplussed.

    It feels like we are at that stage. Everyone has noticed the fuel prices but they haven't twigged what happens next.

    If one were to want to acquire an electric runaround, some solar panels and a battery...where to start?

    In a month there aren't going to be any available.

    It would take about a month to charge a modern EV off an array of panels you could put in/around mists houses in the U.K.

    Unless you happen to have a pile of farmland.

    You can get second hand EVs for reasonable prices.

    An electric bike would be more practical for the solar panel charging thing,
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 101,955

    I am so glad I am such a good Muslim and do not drink the devil's buttermilk.

    It seems people get drunk and make complete arses of themselves.

    Teetotallers are more than able to make complete arses of themselves of course, believe me, but some people realllly cannot handle their booze it seems.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 58,549
    In the other war, the Ukrainians seem to be gaining the upper hand.

    https://x.com/jayinkyiv/status/2039096362516578382

    In addition to the Russian fighter jet lost 3 hours ago, now a Russian An-26 is down with 30 aboard.

    Rough night for Russian aviation.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 22,444

    Any update from Derby? Not suggesting anything suspicious but surely they have enough to charge by now? I know they can no longer question once charged but seems a long time considering the alleged guy was arrested at the scene.

    He’s been charged.
    You sure? Can’t find anything anywhere to say that.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 101,955

    Wowsers

    🚨EXC: The captain of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines has stepped back from his role this week after being investigated over his relationship with Joani Reid, the Labour MP whose husband has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China

    Royal Navy launched investigation last year in response to allegations the senior military officer — who’s married — had conducted an inappropriate relationship w/ Reid, acc to people familiar with matter

    Probe was from “due diligence perspective” to examine any blackmail risk

    Fresh security checks were carried out this month after Reid’s husband was arrested under the UK National Security Act on suspicion of assisting China’s foreign intelligence service, the people said

    MoD was satisfied by the checks & remains confident of no breach of security

    This week, after the MoD was approached about the matter by the Financial Times, the officer decided to step back from his position for personal reasons. He has not left the Royal Navy

    People familiar with case said that allegations of an inappropriate relationship were thoroughly investigated last year and the captain was not subjected to disciplinary action. The officer has not broken any military rules

    However, the captain and Reid were found to have exchanged flirtatious messages & action was taken to mitigate any blackmail risk, one of the people said. Reid rejects that the messages were flirtatious, a person close to her said

    There was no physical relationship btwn the pair

    A Royal Navy spokesperson told the FT: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”

    Reid’s spokesperson declined to comment


    https://x.com/LOS_Fisher/status/2039077567349621192

    I’m sure a common interest in nautical matters on the Clyde was what brought them together.
    Story as old as time, the heart wants what it wants.
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