Society's ChildS


Quenelle

MIT becomes first elite university to ban diversity statements

MIT president Sally Kornbluth end diversity statements
© Getty ImagesPresident Sally Kornbluth made the decision to end diversity statements at MIT.
In what's likely to be a watershed moment, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has ended the use of diversity statements for faculty hiring, making it the first elite private university to backtrack on the practice that has been roundly criticised as a political litmus test.

On Saturday, an MIT spokesperson confirmed in an email to me that "requests for a statement on diversity will no longer be part of applications for any faculty positions at MIT", adding that the decision was made by embattled MIT President Sally Kornbluth "with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, and all six academic deans".

The decision marks an inflection point in the battle over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. Since at least the late 2010s, diversity statements have been ubiquitous in faculty hiring, sometimes carrying serious weight in the selection process. As one dean at Emory University put it while describing her approach to hiring, "Diversity statement, then dossier."

Comment: Don't expect the DEI fanatics to tuck their tails and leave just because they've lost a skirmish. There are many ways to enforce a DEI mindset without requiring an explicit statement. But it does appear the tide is slowly turning.


Bullseye

South Carolina latest state to approve ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors

autistic children transgender lgbt flag
© Tyrone Siu/Reuters
The South Carolina Senate on Thursday approved a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors after supporters defeated efforts to only ban treatments that would be considered irreversible.

The 27-8 vote in favor included all Republicans present and one Democrat voting for the ban. That came after the remaining Democrats tried to walk out so there wouldn't be enough senators to stay in session, but the vote was called too fast.

The bill bars health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty blockers and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18.

Rainbow

The true child-indoctrination centers these days are being run by the State

Child-Indoctrination Centres
Can modern children really trust what they are being taught in their schools?

I well remember my shock, aged around 12 years old, when I first read in a school science textbook the distressing news that the world's supplies of oil were due to run out in approximately 30 short years' time, a period when I hoped still to be alive. It was not only power and heating-supplies that would be affected by this looming shortage, the textbook warned: in chemically-processed form, oil was used to make everything from textiles to plastics, rendering modern life essentially unliveable. It turned out even some forms of rope were manufactured using oil-derivatives, making it impossible to so much as hang yourself, once society collapsed by the time I reached my 40s.

Then, however, I noticed something which seemed to make the whole situation even worse. According to the copyright notice at the front of the textbook, it had first been published 10 years beforehand. So, presumably, this meant humanity now had only 20 years left of life outside the neo-Dark Ages, not 30 at all! Therefore, when it came to answering the subsequent comprehension question, "How many years until the oil runs out?" I asked my teacher if I was supposed to actually write down this smaller number instead. "No," I was told. "The answer's still 30." I didn't understand. Had mankind suddenly found some more stores of untapped oil in the interim? Say, around 10 years' worth? Explanation came there none.

Handcuffs

Prisoners of themselves

trumpnoose
© Mark Meadows/Getty Images/Alex WongFormer US President Donald Trump
You realize, don't you, that the gross misconduct of government officials from RussiaGate on down to the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan has amounted to one continuous operation against the American people? If it were ever honestly adjudicated, many hundreds of them might go to prison, or worse. Each successive seditious and treasonous action they attempt against their arch-nemesis, Mr. Trump, only compounds their criminal liability — the Steele Dossier, CIA agent Eric Ciaramella's 2019 impeachment prank, the Covid-19 caper, the George Floyd-BLM hustle, the 2020 election hijinks, the J-6 op and the House J-6 Committee conjured up to spin it, the present battery of farcical court cases — and yet the Golden Golem of Greatness not only remains defiantly at large, but seems to amass ever more electoral mojo.

The epic failure of these mighty efforts, and the humiliation entailed, has lately driven this vast bureaucratic cabal — collectively styled as "the blob" — to a stage of abject desperation that looks a lot like insanity. They fear for their lives, their fortunes, their chattels, and their families, and they seem ready to wreck the republic to save themselves. They have so far pretty much wrecked American justice with their lawfare tactics — a degenerate campaign to use the vested authority of prosecutors and judges to twist and cheat the law at the cost of the law's legitimacy. Merrick Garland, Norm Eisen, Andrew Weismann, Mary McCord, Lisa Monaco, Marc Elias, Christopher Wray, Letitia James, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg have made law the enemy of the people.

Syringe

Why has China cancelled the creator of its covid vaccine?

Yang Xiaoming
© SCMPYang Xiaoming is a former chairman of Sinopharm’s vaccine subsidiary, China National Biotec Group
The short answer to the question posed above is that we don't know. But we do know that the vaccine scientist Yang Xiaoming who developed China's first vaccine against COVID-19 has been deposed from China's highest body of state power, the 3,000 member National People's Congress. One wonders how many people even knew he was a member. There is speculation that his suspension may be connected to the development of the vaccine and possible problems with it that have not been revealed.

The first outlet to break this news was Business Insider which reported the story on April 28th. The story was picked up next day by the Hong Kong newspaper of record, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and subsequently reported by Asia News and by the Indian outlets World in One News (WION) and the Economic Times.

The reasons for the expulsion are not stated, except in the Economic Times where they are reported as "graft". However, that remains speculation. For example, Asia Times says that the expulsion is for "serious discipline and law violations" which, according to Business Insider is "a phrase alluding to corruption".

Black Cat

When life imitates apocalypse culture...

apocalypse culture
Real world "cancer cure" eerily mirrors zombie flick setup

If anybody remembers the opening segment from the Will Smith zombie apocalypse flick I Am Legend, it starts with a comically ironic scene wherein a precocious female scientist, endearingly played by Emma Thompson proudly announces a "cure for cancer" that involves reprogramming the measles virus to act more beneficially toward its human host - thereby eradicating cancer cells, and thus, the disease itself:


Passport

Roma flocking to Switzerland for benefits using fake Ukrainian passports - media

Roma nomads
© AndyRoland
The ethnic group has reportedly been taking advantage of the temporary protection status granted to refugees from Ukraine

Some Romani people have been abusing social benefits granted by Switzerland to Ukrainian refugees, Nau news outlet reported on Tuesday citing Swiss authorities.

The Roma are an ethnic group that has lived throughout the world since their migration from India over 1,000 years ago. They are not recognized as a national minority in Switzerland, and have reportedly been taking advantage of the so-called 'S protection status system' activated in the country shortly after the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022. S status grants Ukrainian refugees the right to an extended visa-free stay, accommodation, medical care and other social benefits. Those applying for S status also do not have to go through the usual asylum-seeking procedure.

According to the report, authorities in Bern have identified at least ten Roma families who have been staying in the city under illegally obtained Ukrainian passports. Alexander Ott, head of Bern's immigration police, told the news outlet that the documents themselves were in fact real, but their owners had no true claim on them.

Boat

Zuckerberg shows exactly how worried he is about climate change on his new diesel 5,000 ton Mega-yacht

Zuckerberg Superyatch
© marinetraffic
They're not even pretending anymore

Hands up who thinks Mark Zuckerberg lies awake at night worrying that climate change will destroy Pacific islands? This is a man who fights "climate misinformation online" but destroys ecosystems on weekends...

Hypocrisy is thy name: He hopes you will use his virtual reality glasses so you can visit friends online without using a car, a boat or a plane, but he'll visit his own friends in his $300 million mega-yacht.

In the world we thought we lived in, this would have made him a laughing stock on MSN et al, and pretty much rule him out from grandstanding on climate change, or ever being invited to the UN struggle sessions again, but we know the prostitutes for climate grants will smile and fawn, and so will the politicians, and so will the media.

But all over the internet, people are mocking him: "Don't you love it when they lecture us about our CO2 emissions from the private jet or their super yacht?"


Bulb

I oppose Israel's atrocities in Gaza because I'm not a psychopath

I oppose
I don't oppose the butchery in Gaza because I love Hamas or hate Jews or love Islam or hate America.

I don't oppose the butchery in Gaza because I'm a lefty or a commie or an anarchist or an anti-imperialist.

I oppose the butchery in Gaza because I'm not a fucking psychopath.

Opposing Israel's butchery in Gaza is so obvious, so common sense, such a bare-minimum, fundamental-level, Being Human 101 position that if it isn't immediately self-evident to you after learning the basic facts, your problem is much, much deeper than whatever ideology or bias or prejudice you might happen to have. There's something wrong with you as a person.

If you support Israel's butchery in Gaza, you've got much bigger problems than merely not having the correct ist or ism belief system. You're just all fucked up inside. Your conditioning has made you into a generally shitty human being. You have deep and immensely consequential flaws in your character, and you won't mature as a person until you heal and transcend them.

Evil Rays

Man kills 2, injures 21, in hospital knife attack in China's Yunnan province

knife
Two people were killed after a knife attack at a hospital in southwest China on Tuesday (May 7), according to local authorities.

Twenty-one people were also injured after the attack at the hospital in Zhenxiong County in southwestern Yunnan province, said Zhenxiong County police in a statement posted on its official WeChat account.

"According to investigations, the suspect is a male villager from Zhenxiong County's Poji Town."

The injured are currently receiving treatment and investigations are ongoing, said the local police.

Comment: Since China isn't considered to be suffering from weaponised mass migration nor the collapse in living standards seen in the West, and yet has also reported a spike in these unusual, violent, incidents, it perhaps reveals that there may be more going on.

In just the last few days: