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How people define biological sex - no matter how they do - is consequently a use of language.

That's fair, but when did I say those fans you speak of have the right to feel and behave that way? And no, players are not paid only to play football. No matter what you or I would prefer, those days are long gone.

They may be one pf the few orgs that understand or have records of how the valyrian empire crumbled etc so they may undertand the stark bloodlines gifts etc.

Had to Google Tim Duncan. Netball.

If someone said 40 million and you don't have to engage with any cunts, I'd go for that option every time. But then again I only have a very minimal SM footprint anyway (Facebook only and rarely used) so it would be no skin off my nose.

To you and me those amounts seem like infinity, but I'm quite confident that we would both go for 50M$ per year instead of 40M$ if given a chance. Also, Tim Duncan retired in 2016 which is almost a decade ago. Things have changed since then.

This is just a tangent, but I can't resist commenting on how different the stereotype of "double surnames" would be for politicians in the UK vs the USA. I just checked the present US House of Representatives. There are 10 who go by "double surnames" -- some hyphenated, some not -- and they are ALL women, with there being 9 Democrats and only 1 Republican. I think the assumption would be that these are all women affected by feminism who retain their "maiden name" along with adopting their husband's surname, which is why they use the double surname. Are there any women politicians in the UK who use a double surname for feminist reasons, or does the "upper crust Conservative" stereotype prevent this?

That's fair, but some fans seem to feel entitled that footballers have a duty to have social media accounts so they can be abused. Despite all the 'age we're living in' bollocks, my view is players are paid to play football, not to be punchbags for nobs. I'm with Mexal, - I fully understand why a footballer or any celebrity for that matter doesn't fancy putting themselves in the firing line.

Technically, at least according to the NYT's account of a briefing from an Israeli military spokesman, Hamas attacked IDF soldiers near the crossing, but not the Kerem Shalom crossing itself. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/05/world/middleeast/hamas-rocket-kerem-shalom-israel.html Whether that's a good idea when it's predictable that Israel would close the crossing in response, probably not. On the other hand, since Hamas and Israel are at war, all Hamas fighters/terrorists and all IDF soldiers are legitimate targets. I don't think any civilians were injured in the attack.

Tim Duncan notoriously didn't have social media, it never affected him (you could say he lost out on a bit of income, but when we are talking of the difference between 40 and 50m, who cares?). The bullying of Rice's partner had been particularly abhorrent.

Sex is binary. Many of the characteristics exhibited by sex are bimodal. Ovaries and testes are not bimodal. Seems to me you are talking past people with your use of language.

It would be very strange if they were cutting Marston Waters to replace him with some other original character. And I don't think Marston even makes sense as a crony of Aegon II. The point of his character is more that he is, overall, a more decent character than Aegon's other buddies and sycophants (men like the Toms, Alfred Broom, etc. in the book) and is thus actually deserving of the white cloak Aegon gives him. Even if he was involved in the Peake scheme to murder Aegon III and Daenaera much later on, he certainly was quite decent until then. The Eddard Waters fellow would more likely to be the show's take on the silent five which could then mean the man can die in some of the many battles. And thinking about that a bit - as the show will likely make the Dance last longer in-universe than it does in the books - so that Joffrey, Aegon III and Viserys II can grow up a bit - as well as considering the fact that Baela and Addam/Alyn will be older in the show, the chance is not so bad that Daenaera Velaryon - if we get her in the show at all - might be reconceived either as a child of Jace and Baela or as a child of Alyn and Baela. Daenaera is the ward of Alyn and Baela when she is married to Aegon III, so she is, in effect, their child, just not in the biological sense. That could easily enough be changed in the show. In the book Daenaera is born in 127 AC, so if the Dance were to last, say, five years rather than two in the show then the show canon could easily enough have Daenaera as Aegon III's child bride if she were, say, born in the second or third year of the war. Also, of course, if Aegon III is younger upon his ascension at the end of the war then the Regency era would last longer, allowing Daenaera to grow up some more before the wedding. While something like that is possible, I'd actually hope the show guys come around and restore (at least) some of the cut scenes to the episodes in some fashion. If you look at episode 9 then the cut of the Dalton Greyjoy thing seems to be a huge blunder. The interaction between Otto and Alicent after the Green Council has totally changed. Alicent feels betrayed by her father, and the whole 'hunt of Aegon' plot is supposed to determine the coming government. Alicent knows her father will cut her out of the new government if he were to be the kingmaker. That is something that makes little sense in the episode as aired as all the Green Council did there was to prepare for a coup without Alicent's knowledge - but a coup leading to a king she herself also wanted to make. So the idea that Alicent and Otto would not continue to work amicably together once the truth is out makes actually little sense. Ditto Alicent turning to Larys for information independent of Otto in that humiliating scene. This all makes more sense if she has realized that her father and his cronies plan to cut her out of the new government completely and send her to Pyke as mother-wife to a 16-year-old pirate. As things play out in episode 9 Alicent is the kingmaker now and she controls her son (so far), so the notion of marrying her off is something that must be off the table now. If this is a plot line they reintroduce in season 2 it would have to come through Aegon II himself (wanting to get rid of mommy, say) or Aemond, not so much Otto. Rather, I think, Alicent could come up with the idea that her father take a new bride. Alicent would have to mourn her late husband the king, whereas Otto is a widower for decades by then.

Millions of followers on social media are a pretty good indicator of player's popularity, and since we live in a world where players' ability is not the only factor clubs consider signing them, it's perfectly reasonable that players would have social media. They should probably avoid running their official accounts themselves, though.

Unless Bran the Broken brings things back together.

I don't think that your point that you are making is particularly good here. It still frames sex in terms of a simple binary rather than as bimodal while also presenting a false dilemma with a splash of slippery slope. Biological sex exists, which is also has not been argued otherwise, but it's generally understood by biologists as bimodal rather than binary, which is something that even Jerry Coyne agreed about in his 2018 blog post before he started complaining about wokeness. Sex being bimodal effectively puts sex on a spectrum, even if populations tend to clump around two primary modes. As I said before, I am not the best equipped person to answer your questions about what trans people are complaining about, which probably should be directed in good faith towards people who are trans or gender non-binary. Again, here I am assuming good faith with your questions, and I would hope that you would give them the time of day to listen earnestly and genuinely without making silly arguments such as identifying as an ewok doesn't make people ewoks. I would also advise caution with viewing the gender identity of trans people simply as something that they "want" rather than how they are or identify. That said, let's go back to your earlier point here: "Either biological sex exists and there are those who aren’t born into the sex they wish they were,..." The issue is that you are again conflating (1) the existence of biological sex with (2) biological sex existing as a binary and possibly (3) defining biological sex simply in terms of gametes. Earlier I mentioned phenotypic sex, which includes gametes, chromosomes, but it also includes things like brain hormones/chemistry, other genetic markers, outward appearance, development, etc. Phenotypic sex generally plays a much bigger part than simply genotypic sex (e.g., gametes, chromosomes, etc.) when it comes to trans identities because these issues involving their brains, genetics, hormones, and their development, etc. may impact their gender identity and dysphoria. So there can be an incongruence between their mind and their birth assigned sex. However, the degree of correction or gender-care treatment required will vary with each individual trans person. But often the people who put a lot of personal research into this issue tend to also be trans people or people only slowly realizing they are trans who are trying to make sense of their experiences around their gender and their birth-assigned-sex. I would welcome to be corrected by any trans person if my information above is incorrect as I cannot really speak from a place of trans identity, dysphoria, etc.

Presumably toilet seats?

You forgot the informants and the bounties, scott.

Like FantasyCreature said, it was probably her magic. I like to think it was a way to further grab his attention, as she's urging him to embrace whatever magic is within him. And the next paragraph sound like she's recruiting him for her shadow baby business. Don't do it, Johnny!!

I don't understand how any professional athlete has social media. In a world of anonymous ability to say whatever anyone wants with no repercussions, it's destructive to their mental health. I've read the comments on Xhaka, Havertz, Rice (when his gf is posted), Saka (post-Euros) social media posts and it's insane. I can just imagine how bad it is on Nunez's.

The people who cannot see the Palestinians and their history that Israel has made makes me so very sad. These latter far far far out number those who endorse Hamas. Which is what keeps Hamas and those ilks going. What lies beneath Gaza’s rubble and ruin The hysteria over campus protests in the United States has shifted American attention away from the depth of the ongoing calamity in Gaza. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/06/gaza-destruction-rubble-calamity/

I can see how you might draw some parallels between Big Rob the simpleton and Jon Snow, but Jon is described as being small and slight (like Ned) whereas Robb Stark was the big one. Jon was stabbed multiple times, but his abdomen wasn't gored or ripped open. I also disagree with the theory that Jon is the son of Lyanna. I understand it is a very popular assumption. It's just not one that I buy into. Whenever Ned thinks of Jon, it's his "honor" that he's ashamed of. He has stated that he dishonored himself. Now why would that be? Is it possible that he impregnated Ashara and then didn't marry her because he needed to bring the Tullys to Robert's cause? I think there is compelling evidence that Ashara came to Winterfell, crossed the Bite with Ned when he went home to call his banners, and then gave birth to Jon at Winterfell. The story of the Bastard O'Winterfell being "born in the crypts" applies to Ashara as well, because people believe that she is dead. It is my assertion that she assumed the identity of Wylla just as Sansa is now Alayne, and is yet alive living in her family home at Starfall. I posit that a few weeks after Ned married Catelyn he rode back to Winterfell to send Ashara back home on a ship from White Harbor, and convinced her to leave Jon with him much like LC Jon Snow convinced Gilly to leave her son at the Wall. Gilly set sail with Mance's son along with Sam and Maester Aemon - sort of a reversal of the Fisherman's Daughter story. The whispers that Catelyn heard at Winterfell were enough for her to come right out and ask Ned about Ashara. She touched a nerve. Why was Ned so angry? Wouldn't it be convenient for people to believe Ashara was Jon's mother if Ned wished to keep the true mother's identity concealed? The servants of Winterfell must have been saying that Ashara was Jon's mother because its implied that this is the question that Catelyn asked the truth of. Ned specifically addresses this question and he's very, very angry about it. Angry enough to frighten Catelyn. I'd say his reaction is more evidence that Ashara is Jon's mother. As for Lyanna, I believe her life was paralleled by Arya, traveling through the Riverlands, becoming "no one", dying from a sword inflicted wound to the belly, and most definitely childless. Arya, of course, is not dead, but for all intents and purposes she isn't Arya any longer either.

I'll admit I found the proposals a bit confusing but my reading is the opposite to yours - new builds MUST provide single sex facilities, unless there is not sufficient space. They may still provide GN spaces but this is not a requirement. Personally, gender neutral toilets have been excellent for me, and provide a lot of comfort for those whom look what is perceived as traditionally masculine or feminine (whether they identify as male, female, NB or otherwise). I have cis-female friends who've had some unpleasant moments in female bathrooms because of their appearance, and the same with my cis-male friends in male spaces. The point about smell, embarrassment awkwardness etc. Doesn't really register with me because its a public bathroom, noone wants to be there so sure it might be a bit awkward at times

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2xly8vxreo My reading of that is that they should provide universal toilets instead of single sex ones if there isn’t enough space. So from what I can see the regulations mean new builds need to provide universal and single sex toilets? If true, what is the problem? It also seems to be something that was very popular in the consultation. Either way, if new builds have to provide both types of toilet then I think that is a good thing. Gender neutral toilets I’ve noticed are pretty horrible, with long queues and awkward moments by the sinks. I know even as a guy I don’t feel massively comfortable taking a massive dump and then smiling at a group of ladies afterwards as the smell wafts up their noses. But maybe that’s just a me issue.

You are just trying to play up an issue. The R'hllorians are not more or less intolerant of other religions as (the current faction running) the Faith. And, of course, trying to burn down the idol of Shub-Niggurath is a noble and valiant thing. The vilest cult in the Free Cities we know so far is that of the Black Goat. Aegon will make matters worse simply by being there and fighting to gain the throne. And once (or if) he gets he will have to fight to keep it and to pacify the Realm. Hell, if he takes the Others seriously he even might to rise an army to march up north to help defend the Wall and crush Stannis and subdue the North on the way. Even if they were playing things nice - like they do in the Stormlands right now - they will be hated by the people they displace. If Tommen and Myrcella were merely deposed/captured the Westermen are still not going to cheer Aegon. And the Tyrells and the Reach won't just sagely nod if Margaery is deposed as queen because Aegon refuses to marry her. And since things are almost certainly set up in such a way that the High Septon will declare Aegon the rightful king and champion of the Seven chances are very good that the Tyrells won't make their peace with Aegon lightly or at all since the Faith actually dared to arrest Margaery - and might yet play a crucial role in destroying her reputation or even her person. The High Septon's attack on both queens was nothing short but suicidal in the long run as the chance that the Iron Throne and the noble elite will actually suffer this kind of behavior for long is ludicrous. Randyll Tarly already wants to butcher all the sparrows, and a King Tommen ruling in his own right might very well remember how his mother and wife were treated by the Faith in his childhood. That's it. Just as Stannis magically doesn't have 20,000 cavalrymen at the Blackwater never mind that he could have only won cavalry men at Storm's End as Renly only went there with his horsemen.

we had cod marinated in chilli lime and cumin served with salsa, rice and a mango salad