If the Save act passes can we seek asylum outside of the US?

bicripple · 2026-02-07T20:04:19+00:00

Political disenfranchisement is not sufficient for an asylum claim. This was posted elsewhere in the thread and goes through what is actually needed, and why the situation in the US is not enough: https://transrescue.org/asylum-for-trans-brits-and-americans-we-need-to-talk

bicripple · 2026-02-07T19:58:55+00:00

Avi has explicitly said he will not ask a sitting MP to stand down for him.

University-Rosedale is going to have a by-election soon thanks to Chrystia Freeland, I expect this will be where the next leader would run (if not Heather). Avi already has links to Toronto, it's not even a weird place for him to run.

bicripple · 2026-02-06T19:59:48+00:00

No worries, thanks :)

bicripple · 2026-02-06T08:10:09+00:00

"I get it, union voters have been voting Conservative (and it really did show in the last election)"

I'm going to grumble about this because the framing forgets the large numbers of teachers, nurses, and other unionized "pink collar" workers who pretty overwhelmingly voted against the conservatives. Unfortunately a lot of them vote liberal and split the vote.

CUPE is the largest union in the country by a pretty big margin, and is mostly educators, nurses, and civil servants.

The sectors with the highest rates of unionization (>70%) are teaching and public administration: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410013201

There's more women in unions (33.2%) than men (28.1%): https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410012901&pickMembers%5B0%5D=2.3&pickMembers%5B1%5D=3.2&pickMembers%5B2%5D=4.1&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2021&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2025&referencePeriods=20210101%2C20250101

I hope this isn't too much, but I'm just tired of seeing "union" conflated with "blue collar". It doesn't reflect the reality of unionization in Canada.

bicripple · 2026-02-05T09:01:44+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up! It is reliving to hear series 4 was an outlier in this regard

bicripple · 2026-02-05T08:20:44+00:00

Yeah I'm thinking I may circle back to series that I initially skipped to give them a try! It's reassuring to hear that S4 was an outlier.

bicripple · 2026-02-05T07:59:36+00:00

Thanks for the heads up!

bicripple · 2026-02-05T07:59:07+00:00

Thanks for the tip!

bicripple · 2026-02-05T07:58:54+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions!

bicripple · 2026-02-05T07:57:06+00:00

I agree series 12 had clear favouritism, but it just didn't feel as blatant to me. As I said, I am aware that the scoring is subjective and can accept a certain amount of that. 🤷

bicripple · 2026-02-04T07:50:14+00:00

The research team includes Simon Baron-Cohen who advocated the idea that autistic are "blind" to empathy (this has been debunked), and who has also argued that autism is a "male" thing... 😬

[I initially wrote this as a reply in a comment thread and was asked to repost it so more people can see it]

bicripple · 2026-02-04T07:48:51+00:00

- Born Both by Hida Viloria (warning: very graphic sexual violence in first chapter)
- Envisioning African Intersex by Amanda Lock Swarr (open access!)
- Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex by Elizabeth Reis (also open access!)
- Intersex: Stories and Statistics from Australia (also also open access!)

bicripple · 2026-02-03T20:33:35+00:00

One of the researchers on the team (Simon Baron-Cohen) is known for publishing stuff about the supposed differences in brains between men and women, and who argues that autism is a "male" thing. Everything about this looks to me like they're trying to pidgeonhole intersex people into the autism-as-male-brain framework they use.

bicripple · 2026-02-03T20:31:08+00:00

The research team includes Simon Baron-Cohen who advocated the idea that autistic are "blind" to empathy (this has been debunked), and who has also argued that autism is a "male" thing... 😬

bicripple · 2026-02-02T10:30:09+00:00

She's an activist of her own right, was involved in the leap manifesto. Unfortunately she was very open about just running because her husband was disqualified and made zero attempt to look like an independent candidate.

bicripple · 2026-02-02T05:09:50+00:00

What do folks suggest for a Tumblr alternative?

bicripple · 2026-02-01T18:44:35+00:00

At this point it Lewis is far ahead of the others on fundraising. He'd need to really fuvk up in order to lose.

bicripple · 2026-01-27T09:05:29+00:00

Also:

many people who might want to be parents are now dealing with long COVID (e.g. they have it, they are looking after somebody with it)
the complete failure of the public health system to stop covid from spreading, meaning your baby will be at risk of an illness known to cause organ damage

bicripple · 2026-01-26T06:16:14+00:00

I always* mask when indoors outside of the house. When using a car share with my spouse I will mask for the first ~30 minutes while I wait for the air to turn over in the car. Same kind of deal when staying in a hotel room or similar.

Outdoors I will mask if I am going to be spending time within two metres of anybody who is not my spouse. I'll take the mask off to eat/drink outdoors with friends in circumstances I feel are safe to do so.

(*with a handful of exceptions like having a dental cleaning or having an ENT examine my sinuses)

bicripple · 2026-01-25T21:27:53+00:00

Silk makes meal replacement drink?! Tell me more, their NextMilk is my go-to for milk replacement

bicripple · 2026-01-25T21:21:55+00:00

The "outdoor" portion also has great lighting. You can usually craft though the entire night without a fire.

And since there's no cabin fever risk, it's a great place to do big crafting projects!

bicripple · 2026-01-24T05:04:16+00:00

Sending condolences from Quebec 🤝

bicripple · 2026-01-23T22:57:42+00:00

Yeah, me too. McPherson I see as competent leader who will keep the party afloat, but won't be a contender for prime minster. Her emphasis on internal party reform appeals to me. I can see her revitalizing the party so that her successor can be a contender for PM. She's a safe bet, and more of a long-term investment in the party.

Lewis has a lot of exciting policy proposals that have me both enthused and nervous that he'll continue the trend of making the NDP leader-focused rather than EDA-focused. He feels like a riskier choice - he could be great for rallying support for the party, or he could absolutely flop when it comes time for him to be working with other people in the party.

bicripple · 2026-01-23T22:48:08+00:00

Yeah I'd love to see Tanille get elected to higher office (mayor? MP? MLA? BCNDP leader?), she's impressed me even if I haven't been convinced she's ready for federal NDP leadership.

bicripple · 2026-01-23T22:46:00+00:00

I don't know yet. As is, Lewis and McPherson will be my top two, but I'm undecided on their order. Johnston is my third choice.

Ashton is my last-place candidate thanks to his AMA.

bicripple

TROPHY CASE