Physical surgery for psychological issues is hardly novel, because there isn't exactly a bright line between the physical and psychological. I have a tic disorder, likely Tourette syndrome. Never bothered to get a diagnosis because it's pretty mild, particularly after adolescence (tic disorders typically reduce somewhat in adulthood)...unless I'm quite tired/stressed, I'm the only person who generally notices it. But for people with extreme Tourette's, there is basically only one therapy that has shown results: implanting a neurostimulator that is wired directly into their brain. And as invasive as that is, the medical community is well and truly on board, because the risks inherent in having a brain implant are worth it for the improvement in quality of life. You aren't convinced that we know enough, but the medical community overwhelmingly is. The people being treated overwhelmingly favour that treatment, too. The medical community should absolutely keep looking for other options to treat people, as they should look for novel therapies for any condition. But right now, there ain't any. So we should back what works. We're all jumped-up apes with some faulty wiring, and empathy and support for others should be our default, even when we don't understand the wheres and wherefores.
Ah yes that well known and reputable rag the Toronto sun. Still no hard evidence produced against Tate so far, yet as usual your incredible intelligence obviously knows the truth EVEN before the prosecution. Schad the problem you are overlooking in the trans debate (and most debates) is that you are too busy virtue signalling for the few instead of thinking how it will affect the majority. I think we can all sympathise with trans people. But BECAUSE of that very sympathy we need to be extremely careful not to amplify and glorify the trans message. These people are damaged in some way psychologically and the more we pander to them at the expense of regular children, the more the mind virus will spread to naive children. There is NO DOUBT that the ideology is spreading and accelerating. I have had this discussion with a trans person that I know, and even they say the agenda in schools etc is going too far.
And, entirely as expected, the "teacher allowing kids to identify as a cat" story turns out to be bilge. It's arse-gravy. It's something Southern Water would pump happily into the sea. It was all extrapolated by hysterical editorialisers from a clearly out of context short TikTok recorded by children. How on earth did it end up with a number 10 spokesman talking about "schools (that) are allowing children to identify as cats, horses and dinosaurs." Whatever happened to critical thinking? Explanation here: https://bylinetimes.com/2023/06/20/fake-cats-and-the-legitimisation-of-hate/ Vin
The problem is that you think that basic compassion is virtue signaling. As for how it affects the majority, that's the cool thing: it doesn't in any meaningful way. Trans people having basic rights and bodily autonomy will have absolutely no substantive impact on your life except that you impose on yourself.
Interesting to see the Wagner leader coming out and saying that the Russian invasion was unnecessary and they weren't at threat of an attack from Ukraine/NATO. Wonder if he's trying to place himself in a position to take over should Putin die / be forced out.
It's fascinating to watch. Prigozhin basically hasn't been back in Russia, as far as I can tell, for months...he's been with his men, because he'd be in significant risk of defenestration if he found himself in Moscow. And Russian channels are now claiming that the DoD intends to detain him if they can get their hands on him: Igor Girkin/Strelkov -- the FSB agent who was the 'defense minister' of the DPR -- has been saying many of the same things, doomsaying the current state of the invasion and gleefully admitting to a bunch of things that Russia had officially denied about their actions in 2014-2022. They're definitely positioning themselves either for some sort of post-Putin world, but the downside is that they're all ultranationalists and their position is that Russia should be committing even more resources to the war, rather than ending it, and that the only way out is to enter a state of total war. As far as I can tell, they're trying to win the support of the security state -- the intel agencies that have gotten sidelined, the lower-level army officers that feel they're getting hung out to dry -- so that, if something happens to Putin, they're in a position to seize power. I don't think they'll actually take a run at Putin...they're all very careful to do the ol' "attack the boyars, not the czar" thing where you pretend that the wise and benevolent leader isn't responsible for the corruption and incompetence. But I do wonder if their willingness to do it so publicly speaks to the rumours about Putin's health. It'd make a lot more sense to be taking these risks if they expect there to be a power vacuum in short order.
You don’t want Prigozhin anywhere near any levers of power. Replacing Putin with him is of the Ralph -> Jones scale of “be careful what you wish for”.
Absolutely, he stands out as a truly monstrous character among a sea of pretty monstrous characters, a psychopath's psychopath. I wouldn't lose sleep if he took a short stroll from a fourth-floor window, particularly if it meant that the various organs of Russia's military and intelligence services spent more of their energies fighting each other and less the Ukrainians.
That escalated quickly. Prigozhin is claiming that the MoD launched a missile attack on the Wagnerites, and this is their response. Girkin/Strelkov claiming that a military coup is underway: Ukrainians now claiming that there are firefights between the Wagnerites and Russian regular forces... ...and the FSB seems to think that the coup is a real-by-god thing, which means that Prigozhin appears to have just taken a flying leap over the Rubicon.
The Russian state is setting up checkpoints, the Rosvgardia is on the streets in force, and Prigozhin may be on the move in the country with what a Russian general referred to as "columns". Maybe the real three-day Special Military Operation is just beginning.
I don't expect the Wagnerites to win (and I don't want them to, frankly), but the fact that they seem to have completely ad libbed a coup and seized one of Russia's more important military hubs while the actual Russian military watched does not speak well of the capabilities of the latter.
Bluffing that you have much greater levels of support than you do is Coup-ing 101. I doubt they have 25,000 committed fighters or even a fraction of that. However, back when this started, Putin panic-deployed the Rosvgardia (Russia's internal military police) as front-line troops. They got absolutely mauled. Getting mauled isn't really what they're there for: beating up unarmed civilians is. I don't expect them to turn on Putin, but Prigozhin is openly calling on the Rosvgardia to defect, and they do have some incentives to do so, what with the 'Putin might send you to your death again' thing a distinct possibility. And the side with the Rosvgardia pretty much wins here. Still don't expect it to happen, but if this goes completely sideways, that's likely why.
I blame the West. If they'd just allowed Russia to invade and take over Ukraine without resistance 18 months ago, this wouldn't be happening. Putin would be in charge in both countries and all would be well in the world. What were we thinking? Cue the usual suspects saying that supporting a successful invasion of Ukraine would been worth it to avoid this instability...
