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Putin Will Lose, Here's Why

When Worlds Collide.

World-views anyway.

 Here are two therapeutic handbooks, both widely used in psychological counseling.

The first is
The Christian World View of Psychology and Counseling
www.reformation.net/COR_Docs/Christian_Worldview_Psychology.pdf
Mr. George C. Scipione, Th.M., M.A., Chairman
Dr. Lawrence Crabb, Ph.D., Co-Chairman
Dr. Ed Payne, M.D., Co-Chairman
With contributions by members of the Psychology and Counseling Committee of The Coalition on Revival
Dr. Jay Grimstead, D.Min., General Editor
Mr. E. Calvin Beisner, M.A., Assistant to the General Editor

6. Scientific Method
We affirm that the scientific method is useful in carrying out the creation mandate of Genesis 1:28 to subdue and have dominion over creation when the investigators have Biblical presuppositions and when the Bible does not directly give us the answers we seek; that the use of the scientific method is entirely controlled by the presuppositions of the investigators and therefore the results are a pronouncement of faith rather than of scientific fact; and that the faith nature of the results of scientific investigation is evidenced by the investigators’ proselytizing intent, that is, their attempt to transform man into their idea of what man should be.
We deny that the scientific method can ever be applied in psychology without its being thoroughly determined by the presuppositions of the investigators.
...
23 Angels and Demons
We affirm that creatures who have only a spiritual dimension exist, that some serve God faithfully(angels) and others are in active rebellion against God (demons), and that the latter may possess unregenerate persons and oppress or influence regenerate persons.
We deny that the Christian counselor may neglect the reality of demons, and that personal problems, organic or non-organic, are never the result of the influence of or possession by demons.

In this world view, scientific results are a pronouncement of faith, not facts. Evil Spirits and Demons exist, and can even "possess" people.

Here's another handbook, and a quite different world view. One where objective evidence exists, where facts matter. One devoid of ghosts and goblins.


Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health
7th Version 2011
www.wpath.org/uploaded_files/140/files/IJT%20SOC,%20V7.pdf

Mental health professionals need to be certified or licensed to practice in a given country according to that country’s professional regulations (Fraser, 2009b; Pope & Vasquez, 2011). Professionals must adhere to the ethical codes of their professional licensing or certifying organizations in all of their work with transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming clients.

Treatment aimed at trying to change a person’s gender identity and lived gender expression to become more congruent with sex assigned at birth has been attempted in the past (Gelder & Marks, 1969; Greenson, 1964), yet without success, particularly in the long term (Cohen-Kettenis & Kuiper, 1984; Pauly, 1965). Such treatment is no longer considered ethical.

If mental health professionals are uncomfortable with or inexperienced in working with transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming individuals and their families, they should refer clients to a competent provider or, at minimum, consult with an expert peer. If no local practitioners are available, consultation may be done via telehealth methods, assuming local requirements for distance consultation are met.

The results of using the first rather than the second are often fatal. Literally.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=27912326

In the note, Alcorn details the difficulty she said she faced growing up.

"The life I would've lived isn't worth living in… because I'm transgender," read a portion of the post. "I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy's body, and I've felt that way ever since I was 4," the note states.
...

The note reportedly written by Alcorn detailed her experience coming out as gay and wrote that her peers and school were receptive, but that her parents were not. She said she was taken to Christian therapists, who did not help her overcome her depression.

"After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn't make mistakes, that I am wrong," the note states.

The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren't treated the way I was," reads the post. "They're treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something."

"Christian Counseling" kills Trans kids. Not an opinion, a fact, with a mountain of corpses as evidence for that. Now one more.

Superstition,  Snake-oil and Witchdoctors have no place in psychological therapy. They should be prevented from killing children.

From the religious site, http://catholicexchange.com

"Now I am going to say something that may seem harsh but remember I am talking to you about objective reality – where the rubber meets the road. It is better to die than to offend God."

When dealing with a case possibly involving suicidal ideation, I feel such a statement, however sincere and well-meant, is likely to be counterproductive, and that death is in fact not a more desirable outcome compared to mainstream medical treatment.

At least some "Christian Counselors" differ on that.
 

An Oopsie in Arizona.

HB2153 was supposed only to target GLBT people. But the way it's been drafted means it goes rather further than that.

Sec. 2.  Section 41-1493.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

41-1493.01.  Free exercise of religion protected; definition

A.  Free exercise of religion is a fundamental right that applies in this state even if laws, rules or other government actions are facially neutral.

B.  Except as provided in subsection C, government of this section, state action shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.

C.  Government State action may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it the opposing party demonstrates that application of the burden to the person person's exercise of religion in this particular instance is both:

1.  In furtherance of a compelling governmental interest.

2.  The least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

D.  A person whose religious exercise is burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, and obtain appropriate relief against a government regardless of whether the government is a party to the proceeding.  The person asserting such a claim or defense may obtain appropriate relief.  A party who prevails in any action to enforce this article against a government shall recover attorney fees and costs.

E.  In For the purposes of this section, the term substantially burden is intended solely to ensure that this article is not triggered by trivial, technical or de minimis infractions.

F.  For the purposes of this section, "state action" means any action by the government or the implementation or application of any law, including state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and policies, whether statutory or otherwise, and whether the implementation or application is made or attempted to be made by the government or nongovernmental persons.

While the government has a compelling interest in preventing murder in general, it's arguable that there is no compelling interest in preventing the murder of gays, just as there is no compelling interest in preventing them from being arbitrarily fired. The state often sanctions killing, by police in the course of their duties, or execution. There are thus obvious exceptions to the general rule.

Similarly, while the the state has a compelling interest in preventing the murder of children in general, does it have a compelling interest in preventing the sacrifice of a particular child by the child's parent?

This bill is so broad in its exemptions that such cases are at least arguable, and I think, the defendant would succeed on the wording if not the intent.

It's not just *an* interest, it's a *compelling* interest the government must have, in that particular case and those particular circumstances, not in general. And the law must not be over-broad, it has to be the minimum needed to satisfy the *compelling* interest. Exceptions are allowed.

So yes, they have just legalised human sacrifice, if it's done in the name of religion. In fact, all laws unless very narrowly drafted as the minimum to accomplish a goal that is of *compelling* interest no longer apply, if religious belief is invoked as a defence.

That apparently wasn't the intent, but judges have to interpret the law as written.

Thought For Today

Heinlein – Specialization is for Insects | Not Always On

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein

I prefer to live rather than die gallantly though. That's a last resort. Instead, I try to fight so efficiently that it's the other side that has to contemplate that. No matter, I intend winning. Consequences to myself are secondary. If a battle is worth fighting, win it, regardless of personal cost. If not, avoid it.

You see, RAH said something else too.

It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier.

 I'm lazy, I guess.

Warm Fuzzies Department

The logo of the NRO's Launch 39. A recon sat.



This does not give me warm fuzzies about the corporate culture there now. In times not so long ago, something more like this was used by similar organisations. I know, I have the coffee mugs.

Dishonesty - Moral Compass Broken

Ratings from the public rely on good faith. Professional liars like this guy break the model, making it useless for everyone. You also have to ask - what limits would such people observe? If they can be dishonest here, why not criminal elsewhere?
I've panned a few books - but never without reading them.

AC360 - The 'Sissy Boy' Experiment

There's rather more on George Rekers in various posts on this blog over the last few years.

His attitude towards inconvenient facts is summarised below, from The Christian World View of Psychology and Counseling:

6. Scientific Method

We affirm that the scientific method is useful in carrying out the creation mandate of Genesis 1:28 to subdue and have dominion over creation when the investigators have Biblical presuppositions and when the Bible does not directly give us the answers we seek; that the use of the scientific method is entirely controlled by the presuppositions of the investigators and therefore the results are a pronouncement of faith rather than of scientific fact; and that the faith nature of the results of scientific investigation is evidenced by the investigators' proselytizing intent, that is, their attempt to transform man into their idea of what man should be. We deny that the scientific method can ever be applied in psychology without its being thoroughly determined by the presuppositions of the investigators.

And this is the resulr.

Similar, though far less harsh, methods are used by Dr Zucker in CAMH in Toronto. Her realises that he can;t "pray away the Gay", but he does claim he can "pray away the Trans", with only 15% of gender nonconformant kids ending up being Trans not Gay. "Gender Nonconformant" means exactly that, in most the degree is mild. They're not Trans in the first place.

As for George Rekers? From his website:

He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, his M.B.A. in executive management from Southern Wesleyan University, and his Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) degree from the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of South Africa.

Dr. Rekers has delivered many invited research presentations on child and family variables before committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and has served as an invited expert for White House staff and several presidential cabinet agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services.

He has delivered over two hundred invited lectures in universities and academic societies in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and in Western and Eastern Europe.

Professor George served as one of the multidisciplinary experts for the legal team that successfully defended the state of Florida’s law prohibiting adoption of children by homosexually-behaving individuals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services.

Dr. Rekers is a past recipient of the NARTH Sigmund Freud Award for his research contributions on child gender identity disorder.

His work is still being cited as bona fide by Vanguard University's Psychology Department in their Parenting section. It is, after all, a Christian University.

Three views on Trans Children

It's time.

This makes the case far clearer than mere words can. It's time.

The Meaning of Christmas

From a mailing list I'm on.

In the last 24-36 hours, I've seen our community come together from different parts of the world to help one of our own, and I am truly thankful.

Long story short, an 18 year old trans girl, kicked out by her parents, was unsafe and on the streets of a small town in Kentucky. No food, no money, no phone, no friends. She was able to borrow a computer long enough to contact me through email, and what I can only call a blessing began to unfold.

Through the power of Facebook and online networking, people from all over, including the UK & Mexico, came together to get this young gal onto a Greyhound bus, and enough food & beverages at various bus stops along the way to make it through to Phoenix where she will arrive in the early morning hours tonight to live at H.O.P.E. House.

This is not the first time we've brought someone to Phoenix on a Greyhound, nor even the first time we've had people help us; in the past it was with donations to pay for her bus ticket. This time, however, people stepped up and gave their time and energy to continue networking until contact could be made with the girl to get her something to eat during the trip at stops along the way.

So many of us lose our families and friends simply because we are trans. We reach out to our only true family, our "Chosen Family" - other trans men and women who are there to help support us and give us faith.

Thank you to everyone who has been, and continues to be through today, involved in making this journey to Phoenix a very special one. Thank you for stepping up and being there for someone in need. You are ALL AWESOME!

TransMentors International will continue to help trans men, women and youth for as long as there's a need. We provide emergency assistance, safe housing, mentoring, support, and resource referrals/connections. Your donations help make it possible. You can donate through our Cause page, our website, or even monthly through your checking account.

Contact me if you want to become involved in TransMentors International at michaelb@transmentors.org

TransMentors International Inc.
2942 N. 24th Street, Suite #114-337
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Phone: 877-366-3888
Fax: 866-755-2514

Facebook Page


OK, so Christmas has come a little early this year. And you don't have to be Christian to take part. Nor Trans for that matter. Merely Human. Moving the mountain one teaspoonful at a time.

Do Not Bend, Spindle, or Mutilate

Gordon R Dickson's 1965 story "Computers Don't Argue". Please go and read it to find out how corrupted data entry can cause things to go horribly wrong...Originally published when I was 7, it was reprinted in "creative computing" when I was an undergrad like my students, and still relevant today.

The technology has moved on; we don't use punched cards - we use relational database management systems (RDBMS). But it's now even easier to

INSERT INTO CourtJudgement
VALUES amount, statute, address

instead of

INSERT INTO CourtJudgement
VALUES statute, amount, address

I'm teaching a course on Databases this semester - and this story is one of the teaching materials I use, in the Ethics section. I don't want any of my students to ever bend, spindle or mutilate someone because of such errors.

MIDDLE SEXES

A Film about Diversity in Sex and Gender. Because of the diversity, it's inevitable that I identify strongly with some, while being bemused and bewildered by others.

If you want to learn something about others, please view this video. I learnt a lot about people very different from myself - while recognising characteristics of my own personality and situation in others. I cried a few tears over some parts, and went "Ewwwwwww" over others. As some people go "Ewwwwww" over me.

Intersex in the House

A post in three parts:


Part I: Confronting the Issues:

While this video is fictional, from the TV series "House Private Practice" - yes, this happens. In the USA, in England, and in Australia.



When I saw it for the first time, I teared up. Not from my personal experience as a baby, for I looked unambiguously male at birth.

My son... had to have genital reconstruction at 18 months. He was in increasing pain. He's Intersex too, very mildly.


Part II - endocrinology for dummies

11-beta-hydroxylase deficiency is a rare form of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.

I'll try to explain things as best I understand them, given that I'm no enocrinologist. You really need to see this diagram first:



That shows the chains by which cholesterol is changed into various hormones, and their precursors. The green and red horizontal and vertical bars show the enzymes necessary to help along the conversion.

To simplify, only cortisol, testosterone (the main male sex hormone), dihydrotestosterone (the super-virilising hormone that causes male-pattern baldness), estrone (a mild female hormone), and both estrodiol and estriol, (main female sex hormones) will be looked at.

For example: 17-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase (17BHD) - the long green horizontal bar near the bottom - is needed to convert dehydroepiandrosterone into androstendiol (which then in turn gets converted to testosterone), androstenedione into testosterone, and estrone into estrodiol.

Total 17BHD deficiency means "you can't get there from here" as regards testosterone production. Mildly feminising estrone is the only sex hormone being produced. However, most cases are partial, and once you get some testosterone being produced, as happens in puberty, some gets changed to the super-virilising dihydrotestosterone. So 46XY people born looking like girls because they didn't have much testosterone exposure in the womb virilise to look somewhat male.

5-alpha-reductase deficiency (5ARD) is even more "targeted" if you like, and explains the subtle differences between 5ARD and 17BHDD. Both can cause a "natural sex change" from female looking at birth to male looking later, but the change in 5ARD people is more complete, as it's only the production of dihydrotestosterone that's blocked.

Now see the red vertical bar on the far right. 11-beta-hydroxylase. It's needed to produce corticosterone from deoxycorticosterone, and cortisol from 11-deoxycortisol.

Low cortisol is a life-threatening condition, so in foetal development, the adrenal glands enlarge to compensate by producing more of the precursors to cortisol.

Because 11β-hydroxylase activity is not necessary in the production of sex steroids (androgens and estrogens), the hyperplastic adrenal cortex produces excessive amounts of DHEA, androstenedione, and especially testosterone.

These androgens produce effects that are similar to those of 21-hydroxylase deficient CAH. In the severe forms, XX (genetically female) fetuses can be markedly virilized, with ambiguous genitalia that look more male than female, though internal female organs, including ovaries and uterus develop normally.

If the leftmost vertical bar, 3-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase (3BHD), is deficient... pretty much any darn thing can happen, the whole system's out of whack. Mild 3BHD deficiency can cause all sorts of effects. Trust me on that. But I digress...

The point is, 11-beta-hydroxylase deficiency causes virilisation of 46XX people. Some - about 10% - end up with male gender identities.


Part III - Some advice for parents in this position.

1. Pick a sex, any sex. Socially (not surgically) assign your child to that for now. It won't do any harm if it's wrong, sex is in the brain, sex of rearing doesn't matter.

2. Be prepared at any time from age 2 onwards (median is 5) for your child to say that a silly mistake has been made, that she's really a boy, or he's really a girl. Change sex of rearing accordingly.

3. Many people with ambiguous genitalia are happy with things that way. More are not, and desire corrective surgery, one way or the other. Your duty as parents is to bow to the inevitable, and supply resources and options so your child can have, or not have, surgery as they choose.

The Face of Evil

A follow-up from a previous post.

From the Grauniad:

The founder of a controversial school that treats severely autistic and emotionally disturbed children by shocking them into submission with the use of electrodes has been forced to quit the institution and serve five years' probation.
...
The criminal charges brought against Israel relate to an incident in August 2007 at one of the school's residential homes where students sleep at night. A call came in from someone posing as an authorised supervisor, who informed the carers on duty that two teenagers had misbehaved and should be given shock treatment.

At 2am, the boys were strapped on boards and given multiple shocks. One of the boys, aged 18, was shocked 77 times over a three-hour period and the other boy, aged 16, was shocked 29 times. It was later discovered that the initial call had been a hoax.

The Massachusetts attorney general, Martha Coakley, indicted Israel over allegations that he ordered his staff to destroy video evidence that revealed exactly what happened that night. Prosecutors had previously ordered that the video recordings from the home were preserved.

He knows what he's doing is wrong. He knew that what he did could have landed him in trouble - so like any evildoer, he tried to conceal the evidence.

Anyone who gave him the benefit of the doubt as being merely misguided must now admit that there's no doubt any more.

"I am now almost 78 years old, and it is time for me to move over and let others take the reins," he said in a resignation letter.

But his departure will not materially change the way the school operates, crucially its technique of disciplining children by meting out electric shocks as a form of supposedly therapeutic punishment. Of the school's 225 students, 97 are currently on the electric shock regime.

The terms of the plea deal struck between Israel and the prosecutors require the school to introduce additional monitoring to prevent a similar lapse of security happening again. But the shocks themselves can continue.

The Evil that men do lives after them....

Rights of the Parents; Rights of the Child

From a comment over at the Volokh Conspiracy, about the proposal in the county of Santa Monica to ban circumcision unless it's medically necessary:

rumpelstiltskin: Look up the statistics on botched circumcisions. You’re talking about something like between 2% and 10%, depending on what study you look at, with over a million circumcisions per year. Literally TENS OF THOUSANDS of cases of messed up circumcisions. You can’t possibly compare that to the future potential for a few hundred cases of penile cancer, many of which are also contingent upon lack of hygiene and STDs

leo marvin: Do we really want parents feeling like they need an opinion letter before they can risk exercising good faith judgment about their children’s best interest?

The issue of parental rights over their children as property is a fraught one. The assumption has been that unless otherwise proven to the contrary, the parental judgement about what is right for the child should prevail.

The question is about “unless otherwise proven”.

Examples:

• The removal of legs from children so they will have successful careers as beggars, a common practice in much of the 3rd world. It is for the good of the child.
• The binding of the feet of little girls, breaking the bones so they will have “lilly feet”, more attractive to men, and so they will not be different from their peers.
• FGM of course, ranging from a cosmetic nick to the clitoral hood, to complete removal of the external genitalia.
• Circumcision.
• Castration of boys so they will not be tempted into the sin of Onanism, and so imperill their immortal souls.
• Sex-reassignment of Intersexed children, often sterilising them and leaving them with insensate genitalia, but at least it looks normal so they won’t be bullied at school and won’t be rejected by their parents.

All “for their own good”. All actually practiced in many parts of the world, some of them not just common, but nigh universal in the USA.

I’m currently involved in a Legal Reform effort in the Australian Capital Territory. Current thinking is that parental rights to alter their child’s body are conferred only by objective medical neccessity. If it does harm, it’s not permitted.

This puts us on a collision course with the religious beliefs of a significant fraction of the community. It may be that in a purely practical “harm reduction” model, that fewer problems would be caused by de-criminalising un-neccessary circumcision, in order to reduce complications from backyard, covert procedures. That should really be the test. The medical evidence against circumcision is overwhelming: it’s the complication rate that’s the problem, it’s many orders of magnitude worse than even the most optimistic claims for circumcision’s efficacy at preventing disease, a claim that is very debateable but I think has to be accepted given the deeply-held beliefs of many.

Ritual clitoral hood nicking may also have to be permitted, if we’re not to have backyard infibulations with broken glass.

“Normalisation” surgery on Intersexed children, which is often (1/3 of the time for most conditions) the “wrong way”, usually lumbering little boys with female bodies, should be forbidden. Only genital reconstruction to provide urinary and fecal continence, to reduce pain, or to remove an immediate (not long-term post-pubescent) cancer risk or similar medical neccessity is allowable.

The opposite side of the coin is that when the child is Gillick-competent, or reaches the age of consent, or is otherwise judged to be competent enough to make decisions (younger if supported by medical experts and parents), then they should be allowed such surgery.

I hope that it would be possible for circumcision in the Jewish Faith to be part of the leadup to Bar Mitzvah — a procedure performed (or not performed) with the boy’s informed consent between the ages of 12 and 13. A compromise between medical facts and religious belief.

I really hate arrogantly riding roughshod over others beliefs. But the ones that are most important are the children, and the record of parents when it comes to genital modification of their children is quite frankly bloody appalling.

Collect the Set!

A fun game for all the family. See how many entirely independant, grass-roots organisations all run the same scare-campaign clip. Sometimes to show how Gays are a danger to children, sometimes against human rights for Trans or Intersexed people.

All entirely independant of course, no connection whatsoever between the Tennessee Family Values Coalition, Citizens for Good Public Policy, Kalamazoo Citizens voting NO for Special Rights Discrimination, Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government... it's just a coincidence.













Then there's this one:

Gainesville police are looking for a man who rode a purple bike to the Home Depot store in mid-February, followed a woman into the restroom and then tried to photograph her by holding a cell phone camera underneath a stall divider.
...
McCollum said that when the woman saw a hand holding the cell phone in a way that allowed it to be used to take pictures, she screamed and the man ran out. An employee saw the man fleeing and provided additional details about him.

The white man was about 5-foot-9, 140 to 150 pounds and had a thin build. He had thick, dark, collar-length hair and a well-trimmed goatee. His right arm was almost completely covered in tattoos. His left arm had fewer tattoos, but one that stood out – a black rectangle on the back of his left forearm.

The man was wearing a black, sleeveless T-shirt, dark baseball-style cap, cargo pants and white tennis shoes.

Source.

Not exactly the description of a trans woman, or someone pretending to be a trans woman, is it? The logical connection with the legislation a bit tenuous, maybe?

Maybe it was the fact that one of their supporters who owned a store was found to have left a phone camera in the ladies changing rooms - and saved the consequent videos for later perusal - that meant this got little air time.

Or that the perp, Timothy Malone, was caught a month later.

The Evolution of Altruism

From Scientific American, a story that has some bearing on my PhD work, in a peripheral way.

Each test consisted of 500 generations of eight robots. To mimic what might happen in nature, the successful robots from each generation were "randomly assorted and subjected to crossovers and mutations…forming the next generation," the researchers explained. And although the 33 "genes" were randomly distributed at first, "the robots' performance rapidly increased over the 500 generations of selection," the researchers noted. And along with acuity at collecting the food, "the level of altruism also rapidly changed over generations," with those robots around more closely "related" individuals becoming the most altruistic.

Aside from demonstrating Hamilton's rule in a quantifiable—if artificial—system, the work also shows that "kin selection does not require specific genes devoted to encode altruism or sophisticated cognitive abilities, as the neuronal network of our robots comprised only 33 neurons," the researchers noted in their paper.

Not only is altruism am inevitable consequence of evolution, we can even quantify it using very simple genetic and evolutionary systems.



We have two parameters - population size (8) and number of generations till termination (500). I'd be interested to see the mutation rate, crossover rate, and parental selection mechanisms though, to determine whether it is a truly genetic or a degenerate evolutionary algorithm at the end.

And I'd be really interested in using a meta-genetic algorithm to optimise those parameters.

Two from the Canberra Times

Things are starting to happen here in Canberra. People are starting to notice how TS and IS people are being treated in society.

Transgender people most likely abused

The Human Rights Commissioner, Catherine Branson, has called on the federal government to introduce federal laws to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
...
State legislation is inconsistent and incomplete and it is unclear whether its reach covers those working in federal bodies.

Ms Branson said federal legislation, apart from providing uniform and comprehensive protection, would be an important symbolic statement which would help bring about attitudinal change.
...
Ms Branson said the most distressing and egregious examples of violence came from people who were intersex or who were transitioning from male to female or the other way round.

A 2010 survey found that 92 per cent of trans women and 55 per cent of trans men reported they had been the subject of verbal abuse, and 46 per cent and 36 per cent respectively had been punched kicked or beaten; almost 40 per cent of trans women reported having been attacked with knives, bottles or rocks.

The report, Addressing Sexual Orientation and Sex and/or Gender Identity Discrimination, also heard examples of discrimination in nursing homes, in the healthcare system, in sporting clubs, and in the use of toilets and change rooms.

As regular readers of my blog are no doubt aware.

Transgender people face 'social isolation'

Transgender and intersex people living in the ACT are six times more likely to be unemployed than the rest of the population and have difficulty accessing health services, a new survey shows.

The Gender Diversity in the ACT survey is the first of its kind and reveals high rates of social isolation and discrimination among the local transgender and intersex population.

Compiled by advocacy and support group A Gender Agenda, the survey reveals 78 per cent of transgender and intersex people in the ACT have had difficulty accessing medical care.

A further 21 per cent of respondents travelled interstate to access general practitioner services because local doctors did not have the knowledge to treat them or refused to provide appropriate treatment.

I'm in that situation myself. I have a marvellous GP, but I have to travel interstate for every 15 minute endocrinologist's appointment. 12 hours travel time, catching busses and trains, and at considerable expense. A 400 mile round-trip.

The survey findings coincide with the opening of Canberra's first place for the sex and gender diverse, which will be launched today by Deputy Chief Minister Katy Gallagher.

In March, the ACT Government launched an inquiry into the legal recognition of transgender and intersex people living in Canberra which will be completed by the Law Reform Advisory Council.

With a little help from an advisory panel from the Australian National University, comprised of medical and legal experts in the area. And at least one member of staff who knows more about the law than the medics, and more about the biology than the lawyers.

I'm meeting with the chair of the Law Reform Advisory Council on Thursday, to discuss my role and other issues.

Mercenaries in the Culture Wars

Assuming you're a bigwig in some Ideological group, with vast funds from a tiny handful of financiers, but very few people who actually support your position. How do you make it seem to politicians that you've got far more popular support - and hence influence at the ballot-box - than you actually do?

One way is to run an Astroturf campaign. From Wiki:

Astroturfing is a form of advocacy often in support of a political or corporate agenda designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. The term is a derivation of AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.

Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation) means. Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual promoting a personal agenda, or highly organized professional groups with money from large corporations, unions, non-profits, or activist organizations. Very often, the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research. Beneficiaries are not "grass root" campaigners but distant organizations that orchestrate such campaigns.

Here's the "Win Points to Earn Valuable Prizes" scale for the National Organisation of Marriage. Which, oddly enough, actively campaigns against marriage. But only those involving gays, lesbians, transsexual and intersexed people.



That's from a spreadsheet recently made public by Louis J. Marinelli. You see, he was anti-same-sex-marriage on moral grounds. But.. one problem with having people who work for you out of a sense of morality. If you're obviously morally bankrupt, they're likely to defect.

As part of my job with NOM, I was instructed to create a point system to reward the propagandists. Everything they do will be tracked and NOM plans to reward them. In the future, when this team gets off the ground, NOM intends to use the technology behind Mr. Brown’s ActRight conservative activism website to facilitate tracking, create a competitive atmosphere between the propagandists and allow them to redeem the points they earn in a variety of ways, including lunch with Mr. Brown himself.

Cheapskates. From another article, about the financing:

I am sharing this with you because I want you to realize that NOM is a small group of devoutly religious Catholics supported by a couple of undisclosed sources. NOM is essentially made up of Brian Brown, its President, Maggie Gallagher, the CEO, a handful of other Board members (who are scattered across the country involved in other matters), a couple of advisors to Mr. Brown and a small and largely incompetent office staff.

Their social media management isn’t operated by NOM – they’re not big enough for that nor do they understand social media! As Jeremy Hooper detailed, Opus Fidelis manages NOM’s social media and websites.

From the Opus Fidelis website:

OPUSfidelis is an advisory services firm specialized in:

- Management Strategy (go-to-market and operations turn-around),

- Sales Acceleration (business development & sales coaching),

- New Media Strategy (Viral & Social media, and Cloud-based enterprise technologies).

Through its unique consulting approach, OPUSfidelis is delivering high value strategy advisory services to corporate customers, US Federal Contractors, Not for Profit (501c3-c4...), and political organizations & candidates.

OPUSfidelis is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and works with local, national, and international organizations. Our portfolio of customers include Fortune 100 REIT (Real Instate Invesment Trust), US-based leading Real Estate Services provider (commercial, corporate, residential), political organizations including congressional and senatorial campaigns, US Federal contractors (technology and consulting), IT companies (software vendors, system integrators), international engineering firms, and Non for Profit organizations.

And... the "non denominational" "no contact with any religion" National Organisation for Marriage.

Also, it's "Estate" not "Instate". "Investment" not "Invesment".And "Not for Profit" not "Non for Profit".

We provide solutions for a dynamic environment where business and technology strategies converge. Our work team approach focuses on new ways of business combining best practices innovation and adoption while also leveraging an organization's current human talents and IT assets.

We are distinguished by the technical expertise of our staff and partners, our solid foundation in business strategy and operational improvements.

Business Performances are paramount to us and are the drivers to our customers’ relationship: we accelerate schedules with a high degree of time and cost predictability. OPUSfidelis helps industry leaders make crucial business decisions; increasing agility, slashing schedules. A chain reaction of success that dramatically improves efficiencies and positively impacts the achievements of an organization.

That's obscene. Not their secrecy or dishonesty, the Dilbertesque Full Buzzword Compliance, together with a lack of actual professional competence. Not even bothering to check the spelling of words on their website.