🐱 Interesting clickbait, op-eds, fluff pieces and other smaller stories

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/24/caitlyn-jenner-halloween-costume-sparks-social-media-outrage-.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...een-costume-labeled-817515?utm_source=twitter

It's nowhere near October, but one ensemble is already on track to be named the most controversial Halloween costume of 2015.

Social media users were out in full force on Monday criticizing several Halloween retailers for offering a Caitlyn Jenner costume reminiscent of the former-athlete's Vanity Fair cover earlier this year.

While Jenner's supporters condemned the costume as "transphobic" and "disgusting" on Twitter, Spirit Halloween, a retailer that carries the costume, defended the getup.

"At Spirit Halloween, we create a wide range of costumes that are often based upon celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes," said Lisa Barr, senior director of marking at Spirit Halloween. "We feel that Caitlyn Jenner is all of the above and that she should be celebrated. The Caitlyn Jenner costume reflects just that."

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Looks like that news won't be covered nationwide compared to that other event.

JUST IN: Teacher, LGBT Activist Arrested On Charges Of R*ping Boy In Deep Red State

A junior high teacher and coach from Boise, Idaho was arrested Monday on suspicion of raping a minor he once taught. Eric McDermott, 59, was accused of rape

trendingpoliticsnews.com

JUST IN: Teacher, LGBT Activist Arrested On Charges Of R*ping Boy In Deep Red State​

By ChrisApril 19, 2023Updated:April 20, 2023

A junior high teacher and coach from Boise, Idaho was arrested Monday on suspicion of raping a minor he once taught. Eric McDermott, 59, was accused of rape and sexual battery by lewd or lascivious actions on a child aged 16 to 17.

During a video arraignment on Monday, the prosecutor said that McDermott, a geography teacher and boys’ basketball coach at Fairmont Junior High, taught the male juvenile when he was 15 years old. McDermott was a vocal advocate for the LGBT community.


According to the prosecution’s statements during the arraignment, McDermott purportedly reached out to the boy on a dating hookup site when he was 16 years old in 2020. After communicating with the teen for several days and sending nude photographs, McDermott allegedly drove him to his home and sexually assaulted him. In response to his arrest notification from the Boise Police Department, the Boise School District placed McDermott on leave immediately, as stated in a letter to parents by the district’s spokesperson, Dan Hollar.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

Japan’s average lifespan is increasing. About one-third of the country’s population is aged 65 or above. 80-year-olds are taking to football pitches, proving that age is just a number.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

US Democrats threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest

Democratic congresswoman Stacey Plaskett called for Matt Taibbi’s arrest based on an apparently bogus accusation by a fellow journalist

www.rt.com

US Democrats threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest​

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett accused Matt Taibbi of perjuring himself during his bombshell congressional testimony last month

Democratic congresswoman Stacey Plaskett has threatened Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi with prosecution for perjury, journalist Lee Fang revealed on Thursday.

Plaskett reportedly accused the independent journalist of deliberately misrepresenting the partnership between the social media giant and various US government agencies during his testimony before Congress last month.

Fang, who obtained and published a copy of the letter from the Virgin Islands representative, pointed out that Plaskett based her allegations largely on claims made by MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan during a recent confrontational interview between Hassan and Taibbi - accusations Fang had already debunked in a recent piece published on his Substack blog.

Plaskett’s claim that Taibbi had deliberately mixed up CISA (the Homeland Security subsidiary, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and CIS (the Center for Internet Security) in order to falsely depict an unconstitutionally cozy relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and Twitter was based on a single tweet, which Taibbi had deleted upon realizing his error and which was unrelated to his March 9 testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

As Taibbi pointed out to GrayZone journalist Aaron Maté on Friday, that comment referred to just one of many well-documented connections between DHS, its contractors (like CIS and the Election Integrity Partnership), and Twitter, and the Twitter Files ultimately revealed the platform was working with both CIS and CISA in the same manner.

Plaskett, who denounced Taibbi as a "so-called journalist" during the subcommittee hearing and accused him of posing a threat to people who disagreed with him, rounded out her letter with seven questions, demanding answers by this past Friday on the penalty of prosecution for perjury, which carries a five-year prison sentence. However, Taibbi claimed he did not even receive the message until the deadline had already arrived. Analyzing the document, Fang revealed it was co-written by staffers for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler.

Taibbi was the first journalist hand-picked by Twitter CEO Elon Musk to report on internal communications confirming the depth of the collusion between a dozen US government agencies and the major social media platforms to squelch dissent and promote narratives desirable to Washington.

While he was in Washington testifying before Congress, a tax agent visited his home, leaving a note in what Republican lawmakers have denounced as an intimidation tactic from their political foes.

 

[AnOminous]

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett accused Matt Taibbi of perjuring himself during his bombshell congressional testimony last month

Remember that Taibbi has been an open liberal for most of his career, but now he disagrees with current woke bullshit. I am mostly on the same page with nearly every position Taibbi takes.

This is the level authoritarian vermin Democrats are on. I'm not going to vote Republican but I'll be goddamned if I vote for these fucking vermin again.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Remember that Taibbi has been an open liberal for most of his career, but now he disagrees with current woke bullshit. I am mostly on the same page with nearly every position Taibbi takes.

This is the level authoritarian vermin Democrats are on. I'm not going to vote Republican but I'll be goddamned if I vote for these fucking vermin again.

I’d also like to point out that his Hate Inc. book looks like a pretty good read. If anything, it’s actually nice to see see that since 2008, he has not changed his views all for the sake of not capitulating to mob mentality.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

Good luck

The European Union and the Philippines launch the 'first space cooperation' program in the Southeast Asian region. Philippine Science and Technology Secretary Rendato Solidum Jr. talks more about the program.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Well well well, it's not healthy for Fox then Black Rock own 15% of Fox corporation.

Blackrock Owns 15.1% of the Fox Corporation

That can't be healthy

rwmalonemd.substack.com

It doesn’t take a genius to know that yesterday, we got another really big flag to get off of main stream news if you seek any unbiased news analysis or editorial content. That the biases, the censorship is only going to get worse. And no, I am not necessarily writing of Tucker’s departure, although that too is another signpost.

What really has me concerned is that earlier this year, it was announced that BlackRock has increased its ownership position in Fox Corporation (FOXA).

This increase in stock ownership now means that Blackrock owns 15.1% of the Fox Corporation. They are the second largest owner, just after the Murdock family.

Now, the Family Trust Murdoch still owns 19% of the company, with other, smaller institutional investors owning the rest. The CEO of the Fox Corporation was Rupert Murdoch, but it is currently Lachlan Murdoch.

BUT with this increase in 2.7% of Fox Corp, it is clear that Blackrock is fast becoming a controlling entity in Fox Corporation.

Black Rock increasing their ownership position at Fox corp. just after they kick Tucker Carlson. It's not a "cohencidence" that's for sure.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Sorry for the double post but Erdogan cancelled his campaign travel after health scare.

Turkey's Erdogan cancels campaign travel after health scare

Despite earlier claims that the president's televised health scare was "a mild inconvenience," Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the day off from active campaigning and will attend a high-profile ceremony at Turkey's new power plant through a video link on Thursday.

www.al-monitor.com

IZMIR, Turkey — With just 17 days to go until the elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s health has caused alarm on Wednesday after canceling his campaign travel two days in a row, including a previously planned trip for a high profile ceremony at Turkey’s new power plant in Mersin on Thursday.

The cancelation follows a health scare that the Turkish leader suffered during a live-TV interview on Tuesday night.

"Today, I will rest at home with the advice of my doctors," Erdogan wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

Did Ergodan once said "Assad must go"? If he was part of the guys who wanted Assed gone, he might be next on the "Assad must go" meme list.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

Several people in Oregon succeed in suing retailers for racial discrimination https://archive.is/Rt7gr​

Historically, it's been hard to prosecute cases of racial discrimination against customers. But some in Oregon have had recent success suing retailers for discriminating against them.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Many people of color are familiar with the experience of shopping while Black, walking into a store and being followed by a security guard, maybe being asked to leave or asked for a receipt on the way out. Legal recourse can be difficult, but as Katia Riddle reports, several people in Oregon have had success suing retailers for racial discrimination.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: March 26, 2020, was a day that would change Michael Mangum's life forever. It started, like many other days, with the to-do list. His wife had been bugging him to replace a lightbulb.
MICHAEL MANGUM: And I knew my wife was going to be coming home from work, so I said, I better go get this lightbulb.
RIDDLE: The light he needed was for the refrigerator - a tiny, specialized bulb, not something he had in the house. He went to Walmart. In the aisle, he described seeing out of the corner of his eye a guy standing close by.
MANGUM: And the first thing out of his mouth was, what are you looking at me for? So I looked back to my right to see if it was somebody else he could have been talking to.
RIDDLE: The guy was a security guard.
MANGUM: I said, man, you just need to leave me alone. I'm just looking for a lightbulb.
RIDDLE: Instead, he says, the security guard told him to leave. Mangum refused. The security guard called the police. Now, Mangum is an outreach worker, and he says after this incident, he thought of the vulnerable teenagers he mentors. Something he tells them all the time - stand up for yourself.
MANGUM: And then when this happened to me, I had to practice what I preach to the youth. You know?
RIDDLE: He took Walmart to court for racial discrimination and won. Still, Walmart continues to dispute Mangum's version of the event. The company declined to be interviewed for this story, but in an email, a representative sent a statement that reads in part, quote, "we do not tolerate discrimination. We believe the verdict was excessive and not supported by the evidence." Here's Mangum's attorney, Jason Kafoury.
JASON KAFOURY: Suddenly, jurors have been saying, we want to send a message to these big corporations that discriminating against Black people is not OK.
RIDDLE: The jury awarded the maximum amount in this case, more than $4 million.
KAFOURY: And we're going to do it in the only language they understand, which is money.
RIDDLE: This is one of two unprecedented wins that Kafoury's had recently in shopping-while-Black cases. He believes there are a number of reasons for this success. One factor is cellphone cameras. It's easier than ever to document mistreatment. And Kafoury has another theory.
KAFOURY: A ton of white guilt about what white people have done to Black people in our country came out through the Black Lives Matter movement.
CHRIS DOMINIC: From what we've seen, I would say that is true.
RIDDLE: Chris Dominic is a jury consultant in Portland. He studies the behavior of juries and says before George Floyd, there was often at least one holdout on a jury in these kinds of cases, often a white person - not anymore.
DOMINIC: And so now there's a general sense that, OK, there's a contingency of people out there that are shamelessly racist.
RIDDLE: Dominic says this is especially true in Democratic strongholds, like Portland. Experts say it's still hard to get these cases in front of a jury. Often, they're settled before they come to trial. But Kafoury continues to pursue new cases in Portland. Another of his clients is plaintiff Jordan Dinwiddie.
JORDAN DINWIDDIE: Probably stood about right there.
RIDDLE: She's outside the front door of the cosmetics store Sephora, which she is suing. A few months ago, a security guard was waiting for her here when she came out of the store.
DINWIDDIE: He popped out from the right-hand side.
RIDDLE: She says he accused her of shoplifting. Dinwiddie is a creative director at an advertising firm downtown. She was taking a break at lunch for some retail therapy when the incident happened. This is the first time she's returned to the store since.
DINWIDDIE: And then there was a big man sitting, like, right here.
RIDDLE: Retelling the story in the place it happened is shaking her up.
DINWIDDIE: I felt myself, like, balling up my fists as I walked up. Like, my body physically remembers being back here.
RIDDLE: Since the incident, she avoids going into stores altogether. She's self-conscious about her appearance when she goes out, and she's sad she had to break up with her favorite cosmetics store.
DINWIDDIE: I went to Sephora every day, damn near. Like, I have over 2,000 points.
RIDDLE: The company declined to be interviewed for this story. Dinwiddie's lawsuit is still pending. She hopes that if people like her speak out enough, retailers will start training their employees in subjects like diversity and unconscious bias.
DINWIDDIE: Like, I would not be doing this if I didn't really feel that I was harmed.
RIDDLE: She's not from here. She moved to Portland for work. But now she's thinking about leaving. Dinwiddie wants to live in a city where she doesn't feel anxious every time she walks into a store.
For NPR News, I'm Katia Riddle in Portland, Ore.

tl;dr If a security guard assumed you're going to do your part as a high crime demographic you can get millions of dollars.

 

[Prester John]

Ann Coulter:
"‘Pro-life’ hardliners will get more babies killed"

Extremists have got to learn to take half a loaf. Just like the cheap labor-demanding GOP donors, pro-lifers need to be told: you can’t get everything you want. If Republicans give you this, they’ll lose their jobs, and the people who’ll replace them want you dead.
Unlike a lot of people complaining about the anti-abortion zealots, I am an anti-abortion zealot. That’s why I’m begging them to stop pushing wildly unpopular ideas. These fanatics are going to get millions more babies killed when Democrats win supermajorities in both houses of Congress and immediately pass a federal law making abortion-on-demand the law of the land.

They’re also going to get a lot more adults killed when those same Democratic supermajorities pass laws taking our guns, defunding the police and packing the court, among other great Democratic ideas.
We’ve been rolling our eyes at pro-choicers forever, telling them to calm down, that overturning Roe would just return the issue to the states. Blue states would make abortion legal until the kid turns fourteen. A few states, such as Louisiana, would impose tough restrictions, but most states would come out in the middle — allowing abortions in the first trimester, plus parental notification laws, and exceptions for rape and incest.

Instead, the moment Dobbs was released, pro-life nuts rushed to the mics, saying, This is gonna be great! We’re going to ban abortion from the moment of conception and prosecute the mothers for murder!

The Democratic Party has been using abortion to scare suburban women in every election cycle for fifty years. Now, Republicans are finally giving them something to be scared about.
In Michigan, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, Tudor Dixon, said she opposed abortion for fourteen-year-old girls who’d been raped because giving birth to her rapist’s baby could be “healing.”

Does the name Todd Akin mean anything to you? Anything at all? Richard Mourdock?

Dixon lost by eleven points.

Pennsylvania responded, Watch this! Doug Mastriano, Republican candidate for governor, called abortion the “number one” issue of his campaign and said he looked forward to signing a six-week abortion ban. In 2019, he’d called for criminally prosecuting women who got abortions and doctors who performed them.
Mastriano lost by fifteen points, taking the Republican Senate candidate down with him.

If we don’t bind and gag these pro-life militants, in about two more election cycles, we’ll have no Republicans in office anywhere. Good luck saving babies then!
Of course, it’s possible that there were other things voters didn’t like about Dixon and Mastriano.

Ah, but we also have pure test cases. Since Dobbs, there have been a total of six statewide ballot initiatives exclusively about abortion. The pro-life side lost every single time. They lost in blue states, in purple states and in red states. They were not outspent. These were direct-to-the-people votes. The tiniest restriction on abortion failed — even wholly theoretical restrictions! Every expansion of abortion rights won.

Army of Todd Akins: I don’t care! They’re wrong! They’re evil! What about the babies??? [Please give me a standing ovation now.]
In Montana, a proposal merely to require doctors to give life-saving treatment to babies born alive after a botched abortion lost 53 percent to 47 percent. Trump won Montana by twenty points in 2016 and fifteen points in 2020.

In Kansas, pro-lifers wrote a ballot initiative that would have amended the constitution to clarify that it said nothing at all about abortion. The initiative placed no new restrictions on abortion, but simply moved the issue from the courts to the legislature.

It failed by eighteen points, 59-41, losing in every congressional district in the state. Trump won Kansas by twenty points in 2016 and fifteen points in 2020.
Kentucky voted on a similar initiative, proposing to amend the state constitution to say: “… nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

That initiative lost 52-48. In 2016, Trump won Kentucky by a whopping thirty points, and in 2020 by twenty-five points.
In three other states, Michigan, Vermont and California, voters put a right to abortion in their state constitutions.

Six ballot initiatives expressly on abortion, and the pro-life side lost ’em all.

We’ve been waiting half a century to get Roe overruled so Americans could finally vote on the issue. Well, guess what? They’ve voted! In the privacy of the voting booth, the people have spoken, and what they’ve said is: We don’t want the stupid and incompetent having any more babies.

The fanatics cite three Republican governors who won reelection after signing six-week abortion bans as proof that a certain miracle governor in Florida hasn’t just nuked his own presidential chances by approving such a law. All three governors signed their six-week bans when Roe was still the law of the land. All three bans were tied up in litigation on Election Day.

But more important, in the entire country, only one incumbent governor lost in 2022 — pro-life, pro-choice, it didn’t matter. Thirty-six governors up for reelection; thirty-five won.
The only flipped governorship was in Nevada, where the winning Republican, Joe Lombardo, said he opposed a national abortion ban. Luckily, abortion was a complete nonissue because state law already allows abortion up to twenty-four weeks and can only be changed by a vote of the people. (Lombardo also said there was no fraud in the 2020 election, for any Republicans who care about winning.)

But even in the face of a brutal 6-0 losing record, there are still pro-lifers who will say, I’m proud and I’d do it again! (Did you see my write-up in Catholic Insights magazine?)

This is our “DEFUND THE POLICE” faction — people whose ideological zealotry outruns their rationality.

Fine, be a showoff. Just understand, you’re going to get a lot more babies killed. I hope that’s worth your moral preening.
This article was originally published on Unsafe, Ann Coulter’s Substack.

By
Ann Coulter

 

[thegooddoctor]

This was certainly a 'saucy' little article.

 

[Dozernaut]

Pride committee to file human rights complaint after Norwich, Ont. bans flags on civic property | Globalnews.ca

The Township of Norwich, Ont., passed a motion Tuesday to ban non-government flags, including Pride flags, on municipal properties.

globalnews.ca

In a Exccedingly rare win for Ontario, the Township of Norwich has decided to ban the flying of the Child Molestation LGBT flag on civic property, now homos, fags and troons alike are coping and sneeding about this decision.

fun fact, the Town of Norwich is just little under a hour east from London, ON. the godless shithole City where Keffals resided.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

One mother from NYC who slammed blm protestors, escaped jail time.

NYC mother-of-three who slammed into BLM protesters accepts plea deal

Kathleen Casillo, 53, who drove her BMW into a group of BLM protesters in 2020, has walked free from court after being sentenced to five hours of community service.

www.dailymail.co.uk

https://archive.is/N1qx2

NYC mother-of-three who slammed into BLM protesters after they terrorized her finally accepts plea deal and is sentenced to five hours of community service - instead of six days she was originally offered​

• Kathleen Casillo who drove her BMW into a group of BLM protesters in 2020, has walked free from court after being sentenced to five hours of community service
• Casillo, 53, had faced up to seven years in prison if convicted in the incident that left six people injured. She pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment
• Casillo claimed that she had inadvertently hit the gas pedal in panic because the protesters were being 'aggressive'

A New York City mother-of-three who plowed her BMW into a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 walked free from court on Monday having been sentenced to just five hours of community service as part of a plea agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Kathleen Casillo, 53, was facing the possibility of up to seven years in prison if convicted in the December 2020 incident that left six people injured.
Under the deal, Casillo pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, she will have the charge reduced to a disorderly conduct violation if she fulfills her sentence and stays out of trouble for six months, prosecutors and her lawyer said.
But the family of one of the victims was furious with the light sentence Casillo received.
'You f****d people's lives up, you're a criminal,' one woman screamed at in the corridors of Manhattan Supreme Court following Casillo's plea hearing. 'You're a criminal and you have not taken accountability.'

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

NYC mother-of-three who slammed into BLM protesters after they terrorized her finally accepts plea deal and is sentenced to five hours of community service - instead of six days she was originally offered

5 hours later

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class for 2023 has been announced:

2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class: Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, George Michael

The all-star class of inductees includes Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners, while special honorees are Chaka Khan, Bernie Taupin, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Al Kooper and Don Cornelius.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

The 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s all-star class of inductees include Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners and Willie Nelson, who celebrated his 90th birthday last week.

The icons will officially be anointed as rock ‘n’ roll royalty on Nov. 3 when the 38th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

“This year’s incredible group of Inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement Wednesday. “We are honored that this November’s Induction Ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.”

Others to make it into the Rock Hall include hip-hop founding father DJ Kool Herc and guitar great Link Wray, who will both earn the Musical Influence Award; funk-R&B queen Chaka Khan and prolific songwriter-musicians Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin will receive the Musical Excellence Award; and the Ahmet Ertegun Award, an honor for non-performing industry professionals, will go to Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, who died in 2012.

Artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to be eligible for induction into the Rock Hall.

Elliott is being inducted in her first year of eligibility and becomes the first female rapper to enter the prestigious music organization. She is the 11th rapper overall, following acts like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Jay-Z, N.W.A. and Eminem.

Nelson, Crow and Michael — who died in 2016 — were selected to be inducted into the Hall after being nominated for the first time.

Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Zack de la Rocha will be inducted for Rage Against the Machine, while inductees for The Spinners include Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobbie Smith and Philippé Wynne.

 

[AnOminous]

One mother from NYC who slammed blm protestors, escaped jail time.

She shouldn't have got even that. Fuck those rioters. They fucked around and found out.

 

[Aspiring Artist]

Masturbation Month - Puberty Curriculum​

WENDY SELLERS / MAY 15, 2016 / EDUCATORS TEACHING PUBERTY, PUBERTY TOPICS FOR PARENTS

May is National Masturbation Month.​

Now, before you stop reading, please give me a moment to explain why I have decided to write about Masturbation Month.

This might be the first time you have ever heard about this annual event. If so, you aren’t alone. Masturbation is one of those topics that very few people ever talk about. So, it makes sense that its commemorative month would also be largely undiscussed, let alone celebrated. In fact, the reason the commemoration of national masturbation month began is because someone talked about it publicly, and then, lost her job for doing so.

Perhaps you remember Joycelyn Elders, the Surgeon General who served during President Bill Clinton’s term. After a speech at the 1994 United Nations World AIDS Day, Elders was asked a question about masturbation’s potential for discouraging early sexual activity. Her response was, “I think it is something that is part of human sexuality and a part of something that perhaps should be taught.” She was fired eight days later. The first National Masturbation Day was initiated the following year on May 7, 1995 in order to continue the discussion; later it expanded from one day to the month of May.

What is it about masturbation that provokes such negative reactions from so many people?​

Shame, silence, and stigma are common adult reactions to the topic. Americans have even developed a long list of expressions and euphemisms, so we never have to use the forbidden “m” word.

Yet, the topic of masturbation is consistently mentioned in all the groups of students with whom I’ve worked. Students often ask if it is okay. Silence from adults communicates stigma to our young people: masturbation is shameful and taboo. So, young people learn not to talk about it. They hide their questions and behavior from the adults who love and care for them. Our children develop unhealthy attitudes about the ways their bodies work and feel during puberty.

How did this occur? Well, 100 years ago, the “experts” devised all sorts of devices and sex education recommendations to prevent infants, children, and adolescents from touching their genitals. Masturbation was considered ruinous and deviant. This teaching changed in the 50s when parents were taught that they should NOT tell their children not to masturbate, but weren’t told what to say and do instead. These parents were still hung-over from the actions and attitudes of their own parents, and many communicated their anxiety about masturbation anyway.

So, what do we really know about masturbation?​

What can we say and do to prepare our children for that time when our children masturbate? What is normal childhood behavior?

• Infants and babies already know that it feels good to touch their genitals. This is a great time to teach them the proper words for their body parts. Yes, even those parts.
• Preschoolers may masturbate as a soothing mechanism, rather than a sexual behavior. They have no inhibitions regarding nudity, and like to play house and doctor. This is a great time to teach them about private versus public behaviors, and how to establish body boundaries. It is important to do this in a way that doesn’t teach shame or make your child feel guilty for their natural curiosity.
• Children ages 5-8 enjoy body function jokes and gendered play. They may want to play with friends of both sexes in ways that allow them to explore sexuality and bodies. Masturbation occurs mainly in privacy. This is a great time to help children understand their gender identity, human reproduction, and changes in puberty. At this age, teach children that masturbation is a private activity, and teach ways to show respect for themselves and others.
• Children ages 9-12 become more interested in their own privacy and independence from parents. They seek peer relationships and are very curious about adult bodies. As they learn social norms, masturbation is likely to occur in private. This is a great time to communicate in an ongoing manner about physical, social, and emotional changes in puberty. At this age, provide information about sexuality and sexual behavior that children can read independently and discuss with you. Teach them how to tell the difference between reliable versus unreliable information and media messages. Encourage healthy and respectful friendships and other relationships that are not sexualized.
• Read more about typical healthy childhood sexual development.

In summary, it is normal if someone does masturbate, and it is also normal if someone does not masturbate. Whether or not a person masturbates is an individual choice. One’s family values or spiritual beliefs may impact their convictions about masturbation. However, guilt and shame are much more likely to cause harm than will masturbation.

An old joke states, “98 percent of people masturbate… and the other 2 percent are lying.” While the true percentages are lower than that, the majority of males and females report having masturbated. Don’t you agree that it’s time we started talking about it with our children? With May being National Masturbation Month, this is the perfect opportunity to make it a normal part of our conversations about sexual health. Read more.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/entertainment/scarlett-johansson-disney-adult-lawsuit/index.html

https://lite.cnn.com/2023/05/09/entertainment/scarlett-johansson-disney-adult-lawsuit/index.html

https://archive.ph/7qh7F

Scarlett Johansson may have sued Disney in 2021 for breach of contract, but the “Black Widow” star still is – and always has been – a full-fledged Disney adult. (A Disney adult can be defined in many ways depending on one’s level of fandom, but the term tends to refer to a grown person that is a dedicated Disney fan.)

Johansson shed some light on her level of Disney devoutness in a new Variety interview published on Tuesday, where it was revealed that the actor still visits Disney World at least 10 times a year and was described as somebody who “geeks out” when speaking about Disney movies.

“We had annual passes to Disney World, and I have a real passion for the Disney parks,” Johansson said, adding that the obsession with Disney began when her family lived in Florida for two years when she was younger.

She went on to share that when she was growing up, “it was a great time for Disney animation — ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Lion King’ with the incredible soundtrack. Like, I will be pre-buying tickets to ‘The Little Mermaid.’”

“I actually need to text my sister about that,” she added.

The star even said her dream job is to have a “corner office” on the Disney studio lot when she appeared on Bruce Bozzi’s “Table for Two” podcast in 2022.

Johansson has appeared in nine Disney-owned Marvel films as the Black Widow, since 2010, and is still attached to headline Disney’s Taika Waititi-directed “Tower of Terror” movie based on the iconic theme park ride.

Johansson sued the studio in 2021, alleging Disney breached her contract by releasing “Black Widow,” a 2021 Marvel film she starred in, on home streaming platform Disney+ the same day it was released in theaters.

The actor claimed in the suit that the same-day streaming release would reduce her financial stake in the film because she agreed her salary would largely be based on the film’s box office numbers. When Bob Chapek, then-CEO of Disney, released a statement in which he revealed her $20 million salary, the legal battle escalated.

Ultimately, Johansson and Disney came to a settlement in the fall of 2021, the terms of which were not publicly disclosed, and in what is perhaps the ultimate sign of pure Disney devotion, Johansson said in Tuesday’s interview that she harbors no bad blood.

Remaining steadfast, she said, “I believe in the magic of Disney.”

 

[Wallace]

Tim Urban of the blog Wait But Why was on Bari Weiss' podcast this week, talking about his new book. I've listed to and read them respectively, and while they are a little basic, they do a good job of explaining why Clown World is the way that it is.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/13/world/bobi-oldest-dog-31-birthday-trnd/index.html

https://lite.cnn.com/2023/05/13/world/bobi-oldest-dog-31-birthday-trnd/index.html

https://archive.ph/5WDRr

Bobi, the world’s oldest dog, celebrates 31st birthday​

The world’s oldest dog is living it up in his 30s.

Bobi, a Portuguese pooch who was declared the world’s oldest dog by Guinness World Records in February, celebrated his 31st birthday on Thursday, according to a news release from Guinness.

Bobi’s family planned a Saturday birthday party at his home in Conqueiros, a rural village in southern Portugal.

His owner, Leonel Costa, told Guinness that it will be a “very traditional” Portuguese party. Over 100 people are set to attend and a dance troupe are set to perform, according to the news release.

Costa told Guinness that Bobi has been enjoying a lot of attention since being crowned the world’s oldest dog.

“We’ve had a lot of journalists and people come from all over the world to take a picture with Bobi,” he said in the release.

He added that the senior pup was in good health and recently received a check-up due to Costa’s concerns about the stress of frequent visitors.


Leonel Costa caresses Bobi at their home in the village of Conqueiros near Leiria.

“There were a lot of pictures taken and he had to get up and down many times,” he said in the release. “It wasn’t easy for him.”

Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed of Portuguese dog trained to guard livestock, according to his owner. As he’s gotten older, he has had difficulties walking and also experienced a decline in his eyesight.

Costa attributed his dog’s longevity in part to the “calm, peaceful environment” where he lives.

In addition to being the oldest dog currently living, Bobi is also the oldest dog ever recorded, according to Guinness. Costa was just 8 years old when his canine companion was born.

“Bobi is special because looking at him is like remembering the people who were part of our family and unfortunately are no longer here, like my father, my brother, or my grandparents who have already left this world,” he said in the release.