#doi 2019

[timberwind]

[randanopterix]

DOI, RUDE

[maevemills]

Vengeance is a bow And arrows only justice when fired I have loved, I have lost I am the archer

[nyancrimew]

almost a year after i released a 2019 copy of the nofly list for journalism and research there is now an in depth paper on the ethno-religious over-representation in it. very interesting read, and confirms much of what we already suspected!

Garofalo, M. (2024) “Singular Purpose: Calculating the Degree of Ethno-Religious Over-representation in the US No-Fly List”, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy. doi: 10.5204/ijcjsd.3069.

[trans-axolotl]

this is a shortened works cited from my thesis, pulling out the sources about American intersex history and activism from the past 30 years. i have pdfs for most of the sources there, if there's something that isn't linked send me a message and i can try to find it!

just thought i'd try to put a lot of intersex history sources in one place.

Works Cited: 

Amato, Viola. “The Intersex Movement of the 1990s: Speaking Out Against Medical and Narrative Violence.” In Intersex Narratives: Shifts in the Representation of Intersex Lives in North American Literature and Popular Culture, 55–102. Transcript Verlag, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1xxrsz.6.

Bauer, Markus, Daniela Truffer and Daniela Crocetti. “Intersex Human Rights.” The International Journal of Human Rights. 24, no.6. (2020):724-749.https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2019.1671354 

Brown, Lydia X.Z., Erickson, Loree, da Silva Gorman, Rachel, Lewis, Talila A., McLeod, Lateef, and Mingus, Mia.  “Radical Disability Politics.” In Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics, edited by A.J. Withers and Liat Ben-Moshe, 178-193. Routledge, 2019. 

Cameron, David. “Hermaphrodites With Attitude.” Newsletter. 1994. https://isna.org/library/hwa/ 

Carpenter, Morgan. “Fixing bodies and shaping narratives: Epistemic injustice and the responses of medicine and bioethics to intersex human rights demands.” Clinical Ethics. 2024;19, no. 1. (2024) :3-17. doi:10.1177/14777509231180412

Chase, Cheryl. “Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism.” Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 4, no.2, (1998): 189-211. 

---, Hermaphrodites Speak! 1997; Rohnert Park: Intersex Society of North America. Video tape. 

Cohen, Julie, dir. Every Body. 2023; United States: Focus Features, DVD.

Denny, Dallas.  "Chrysalis Quarterly, Vol. 2 No. 5 (Fall, 1997 / Winter, 1998)."  Periodical.  1998.  Digital Transgender Archive,  https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/7s75dc39s  (accessed April 08, 2024).

Davis, Georgiann. “Introduction: Normalizing Intersex: The Transformative Power of Stories.”  in Voices: Personal Stories from the Pages of Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics: Normalizing Intersex, edited by James DuBois and Ana Iltis. 1-4. John Hopkins University Press, 2016. 

Dreger, Alice. “Rejecting the Tranquilizing Drug of Gradualism in Intersex Care.” Alice Dreger (blog). November 2015. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://alicedreger.com/dsd_human_rights/ 

Dreger, Alice and April Herndon. “Progress and Politics in the Intersex Rights Movement: Feminist Theory in Action.” Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 15, no. 2. (2009): 199-224.

Fausto-Sterling, Ane. Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books. 2000. 

“A Framework for Intersex Justice.” Intersex Justice Project. 2021. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.intersexjusticeproject.org/intersex-justice-framework.html 

"FTM Newsletter #37."  Periodical.  1997.  Digital Transgender Archive,  https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/kd17cs89j  (accessed April 08, 2024).

Hegarty, Peter, Marta Prandelli, Trove Lundberg, Lih-Mei Liao, Sarah Creighton, and Katrina Roen.”Drawing the Line Between Essential and Nonessential Interventions on Intersex Characteristics With European Health Care Professionals.” Review of General Psychology. 25, no 1. (2020): 101-114. 

Hermaphrodites With Attitude.  "Hey AAP! Get Your Scalpels Off Our Bodies! Flyer."  Ephemera.  1990.  Digital Transgender Archive,  https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/qj72p712h  (accessed April 08, 2024). 

“Hermaphrodites With Attitude,” Intersex Society of North America. 2006. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://isna.org/library/hwa/ 

“How To: Organize an #EndIntersexSurgery Protest in your hometown--a toolkit created by Intersex Justice Project (IJP.” Intersex Justice Project. 2019. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20191111232744/https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EgYy2jfSO04HF_FGv-8RXYEgWW422L-RB7oxMOaIiBc/edit 

Hughes, Ieuan, Christopher Houk, Syed Faisal Ahmed, Peter Lee, and LWPES1/ESPE2 Consensus Group. “Consensus Statement on Management of intersex disorders.” Disease in Childhood. 91, no.7. (2006): 554-563. doi: 10.1136/adc.2006.098319

“I Want to Be Like Nature Made Me: Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex Children in the US.” Human Rights Watch. InterACT. July 2017, accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/lgbtintersex0717_web_0.pdf 

“InterACT Statement on Intersex Terminology.” InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth. 2015. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://interactadvocates.org/interact-statement-on-intersex-terminology/#:~:text=interACT's%20use%20of%20terminology%20and,of%20the%20term%20%E2%80%9Cintersex%E2%80%9D. 

Lindhal, Hans. “Is PCOS an Intersex Condition? Here’s 5 Reasons Why Some Say Yes.” HansLindhal.Com (Blog). February 2023, Accessed April 7, 2024. https://hanslindahl.com/blog/is-pcos-an-intersex-condition 

---., “9 Young People on How They Found Out They Are Intersex.” Teen Vogue. October 2019. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/young-people-on-how-they-found-out-they-are-intersex 

“M.C v. Aaronson.” Southern Poverty Law Center. 2017. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice/case-docket/mc-v-aaronson

Merrick, Ten. “From ‘Intersex’ to ‘DSD’: A Case of Epistemic Injustice.” Synthese 196, no. 11 (2019): 4429–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45220035.

Orr, Celeste. Cripping Intersex. University of British Columbia Press, 2022. 

Pagonis, Pidgeon. “#EndIntersexSurgery Protest At Lurie Children’s Hospital Recap + 5 Ways To Get Involved.” Intersex Justice Project. 2018. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.intersexjusticeproject.org/blog/endintersexsurgery-protest-at-lurie-childrens-hospital-recap 

Pagonis, Pidgeon and Sean Saifa Wall. “Open Letter to AIS-DSD Support Group.” EndIntersexSurgery. Intersex Justice Project. February 2018. Accessed April 8, 2024.  http://www.endintersexsurgery.org/ 

Redick, Alison. “What Happened at Hopkins: The Creation of the Intersex Management Protocols.  Cardozo Journal of  Law & Gender. 12 (2005): 289-296 

Reid, Graeme, and Minky Worden. “Caster Semenya Won Her Case, But Not the Right to Compete.” Human Rights Watch. July 2023. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/18/caster-semenya-won-her-case-not-right-compete  

Reis, Elizabeth. Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex. John Hopkins Press, 2021.

---, “Did Bioethics Matter? A HIstory of Autonomy, Consent, and Intersex Genital Surgery. Medical Law review. 27, no.4, (2019):658-674. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwz007 

Rios-Espinosa, Carlos, Koomah, Syrus Marcus Ware, and Sean Saifa Wall. “Liberating All Bodies: Disability Justice & Intersex Justice In Conversation.” Webinar at the Crip Camp Impact Team and Human Rights Watch Film Festival, United States, October 2020.  

Rubin, David, Michelle Wolff and Amanda Lock Swarr. “Creating Intersex Justice: Interview with Sean Saifa Wall and Pidgeon Pagonis of the Intersex Justice Project.”  Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9, no. 2. (2022): 187-195. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-9612823 

Sharman, Zena. “Intersex Justice and the Care We Deserve: ‘I Want People to Feel at Home in Their Bodies Again.’” Ms. Magazine. 2022. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://msmagazine.com/2022/02/03/intersex-justice-the-care-we-dream-of-queer-trans-healthcare/  

Sharpe, Sam. “No one-size-fits all: Myths and Misconceptions about PCOS.” InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth. Advocates for Informed Choice. October 2022. Accessed on April 7, 2024. https://interactadvocates.org/no-one-size-fits-all-myths-and-misconceptions-about-pcos/ 

Spurgas, Alyson. “(Un)Queering Identity: The Biosocial Production of Intersex/DSD.” in Critical Intersex edited by Morgan Holmes. 97-122. Ashgate Publishing, 2009. 

Tamar-Matis, Anne. “ Advocates for Informed Choice, Newsletter Fall 2007.” Newsletter. 2007. AIC Legal .https://aiclegal.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/fall-07-newsletter-final.pdf

---. “Advocates for Informed Choice: Newsletter Spring 2008.” Newsletter. 2008. AIC Legal.https://aiclegal.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/spring-08-final.pdf

---. “Advocates for Informed Choice: Newsletter Summer 2009.” Newsletter. 2009. AIC Legal.https://aiclegal.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/aic-2009-summer-newsletter-pdf.pdf

---. “Advocates for Informed Choice: Spring 2010 Newsletter.” Newsletter. 2010. AIC Legal.https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=f8291560ebb2dafc25097480f&id=5803ec8c71

---., “June 2011: Promoting the Civil Rights of Children Born With Variations of Sex Anatomy.” Newsletter. 2011. AIC Legal. https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=f8291560ebb2dafc25097480f&id=cec68ddac 

---.. “June 2012: Promoting the Civil Rights of Children Born With Variations of Sex Anatomy.” Newsletter. 2012. AIC Legal. https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=f8291560ebb2dafc25097480f&id=b4d4dd90cf

---. “ 2012 Annual Report.” Newsletter. 2012. Advocates for Informed Choice. https://interactadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AIC-2012-Annual-Report.pdf 

---. “2013 Annual Report. “ Newsletter. 2012. Advocates for Informed Choice. https://interactadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2013-annual-report-FIN1.pdf  

“US: Anti-Trans Bills Also Harm Intersex Children.” Human Rights Watch. October 22. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/26/us-anti-trans-bills-also-harm-intersex-children 

Vecchietti, Valentino. “A Journey to the Intersex-Inclusive Pride Flag.” Global Inclusive Pride Flag. Intersex Equality Rights. 2021. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.globalinclusiveprideflag.com/ 

Wilchins, Riki Anne.  "In Your Face No. 5 (Spring 1998)."  Newsletter.  1998.  Digital Transgender Archive,  https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/vq27zn45k  (accessed April 08, 2024).

Withers, AJ. Disability Politics and Theory. Fernwood Publishing, 2012. 

Woo, Elaine. “David Reimer, 38; After Botched Surgery, He was Raised as a Girl in Gender Experiment.: Los Angeles Times. May 2004. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-13-me-reimer13-story.html 

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

Covid is certainly not the flu, but covid deniers shouldn't be downplaying the flu either. Viral disease isn't a walk in the park.

By Julie Corliss

A diagnosis of influenza (flu) was linked to a sixfold risk of having a heart attack over the following week, according to a study in the June 25, 2024, issue of NEJM Evidence.

The study included adults ages 35 and older who were tested for respiratory viruses over a 12-year period ending in 2019. The testing revealed more than 23,000 separate cases of influenza. Researchers then compared the incidence of heart attack during the risk period (the week after a positive test) to the control period (one year before and 51 weeks after the risk period). Heart attacks were six times more likely to occur during the risk period versus the control period. Earlier research has consistently shown a heightened risk of heart attack soon after viral infections like the flu, as well as the common cold and COVID-19.

The findings are a good reminder to get your annual flu vaccine if you haven't already. On average, the vaccine can reduce your chance of getting the flu by about 50%.

Study link: evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDe2400175

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Intuit: “Our fraud fights racism”

Tonight (September 27), I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine. On October 2, I'll be in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab.

Today's key concept is "predatory inclusion": "a process wherein lenders and financial actors offer needed services to Black households but on exploitative terms that limit or eliminate their long-term benefits":

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2329496516686620

Perhaps you recall predatory inclusion from the Great Financial Crisis, when predatory subprime mortgages with deceptive teaser rates were foisted on Black homeowners (who were eligible for better mortgages), resulting in a wave of Black home theft in the foreclosure crisis:

https://prospect.org/justice/staggering-loss-black-wealth-due-subprime-scandal-continues-unabated/

Before these loans blew up, they were styled as a means of creating Black intergenerational wealth through housing speculation. They turned out to be a way to suck up Black families' savings before rendering them homeless and forcing them into houses owned by the Wall Street slumlords who bought all the housing stock the Great Financial Crisis put on the market:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

That was just an update on an old con: the "home sale contract," invented by loan-sharks who capitalized on redlining to rip off Black families. Back when banks and the US government colluded to deny mortgages to Black households, sleazy lenders created the "contract loan," which worked like a mortgage, but if you were late on a single payment, the lender could seize and sell your home and not pay you a dime – even if the house was 99% paid for:

https://socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plunder-of-Black-Wealth-in-Chicago.pdf

Usurers and con-artists love to style themselves as anti-racists, seeking to "close the racial wealth gap." The payday lending industry – whose triple-digit interest rates trap poor people in revolving debt that they can never pay off – styles itself as a force for racial justice:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/29/planned-obsolescence/#academic-fraud

Payday lenders prey on poor people, and in America, "poor" is often a euphemism for "Black." Payday lenders disproportionately harm Black families:

https://ung.edu/student-money-management-center/money-minute/racial-wealth-gap-payday-loans.php

Payday lenders are just unlicensed banks, who deploy a layer of bullshit to claim that they don't have to play by the rules that bind the rest of the finance sector. This scam is so juicy that it spawned the fintech industry, in which a bunch of unregulated banks sprung up to claim that they were too "innovative" to be regulated:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/01/usury/#tech-exceptionalism

When you hear "Fintech," think "unlicensed bank." Fintech turned predatory inclusion into a booming business, recruiting Black spokespeople to claim that being the sucker at the table in the cryptocurrency casino was actually a form of racial justice:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/business/media/cryptocurrency-seeks-the-spotlight-with-spike-lees-help.html

But not all predatory inclusion is financial. Take Facebook Basics, Meta's "poor internet for poor people" program. Facebook partnered with telcos in the Global South to rig their internet access. These "zero rating" programs charged subscribers by the byte to reach any service except Facebook and its partners. Facebook claimed that this would "bridge the digital divide," by corralling "the next billion internet users" into using its services.

The fact that this would make "Facebook" synonymous with "the internet" was just an accidental, regrettable side-effect. Naturally, this was bullshit from top to bottom, and the countries where zero-rating was permitted ended up having more expensive wireless broadband than the countries that banned it:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/countries-zero-rating-have-more-expensive-wireless-broadband-countries-without-it

The predatory inclusion gambit is insultingly transparent, but that doesn't stop desperate scammers from trying it. The latest chancer is Intuit, who claim that the end of its decade-long, wildly profitable "free tax prep" scam is bad for Black people:

https://www.propublica.org/article/turbotax-intuit-black-taxpayers-irs-free-file-marketing

Some background. In nearly every rich country on Earth, the tax authorities send every taxpayer a pre-filled tax return, based on the information submitted by employers, banks, financial planners, etc. If that looks good to you, you just sign it and send it back. Otherwise, you can amend it, or just toss it in the trash and pay a tax-prep specialist to produce your own return.

But in America, taxpayers spend billions every year to send forms to the IRS that tell it things it already knows. To make this ripoff seem fair, the hyper-concentrated tax-prep industry, led by the Intuit, creators of Turbotax, pretended to create a program to provide free tax-prep to working people.

This program was called Free File, and it was a scam. The tax-prep cartel each took a different segment of Americans who were eligible for Freefile and then created an online house of mirrors that would trick those people into spending hours working on their tax-returns until they were hit with an error message falsely claiming they were ineligible for the free service and demanding hundreds of dollars to file their returns.

Intuit were world champions at this scam. They blocked their Freefile offering from search-engine crawlers and then bought ads that showed up when searchers typed "freefile" into the query box that led them to deceptively named programs that had "free" in their names but cost a fortune to use – more than you'd pay for a local CPA to file on your behalf.

The Attorneys General of nearly every US state and territory eventually sued Intuit over this, settling for $141m:

https://www.agturbotaxsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0

The FTC is still suing them over it:

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/192-3119-intuit-inc-matter-turbotax

We have to rely on state AGs and the FTC to bring Intuit to justice because every Intuit user clicks through an agreement in which we permanently surrender our right to sue the company, no matter how many laws it breaks. For corporate criminals, binding arbitration waivers are the gift that keeps on giving:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/24/uber-for-arbitration/#nibbled-to-death-by-ducks

Even as the scam was running out, Intuit spent millions lobby-blitzing Congress, desperate for action that would let it continue to privately tax the nation for filling in forms that – once again – told the IRS things it already knew. They really love the idea of paying taxes on paying your taxes:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/20/turbotaxed/#counter-intuit

But they failed. The IRS has taken Freefile in-house, will send you a pre-completed tax return if you want it. This should be the end of the line for Intuit and other tax-prep profiteers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/17/free-as-in-freefile/#tell-me-something-i-dont-know

Now we're at the end of the line for the scam, Intuit is playing the predatory inclusion card. They're conning Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender into running headlines like "IRS Free Tax Service Could Further Harm Blacks,"

https://defendernetwork.com/news/opinion/irs-free-tax-service-could-further-harm-blacks/

The only named source in that article? Intuit spokesperson Derrick Plummer. The article went out on the country's Black newswire Trice Edney, whose editor-in-chief did not respond to Propublica's Paul Kiel's questions.

Then Black Enterprise got in on the game, publishing "Critics Claim The IRS Free Tax Prep Service Could Hurt Black Americans." Once again, the only named source for the article was Plummer, who was "quoted at length." Black Enterprise declined to tell Kiel where that article came from:

https://www.blackenterprise.com/critics-claim-the-irs-free-tax-prep-service-could-hurt-black-americans/

For Intuit, placing op-eds is a tried-and-true tactic for laundering its ripoffs into respectability. Leaked internal Intuit memos detail the company's strategy of "pushing back through op-eds" to neutralize critics:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6483061-Intuit-TurboTax-2014-15-Encroachment-Strategy.html

Intuit spox Derrick Plummer did respond to Kiel's queries, denying that Intuit was paying for these op-eds, saying "with an idea as bad as the Direct File scheme we don’t have to pay anyone to talk about how terrible it is."

Meanwhile, ex-NAACP director (and No Labels co-chair) Benjamin Chavis has used his position atop the National Newspaper Publishers Association to publish op-eds against the IRS Direct File program, citing the Progressive Policy Institute, a pro-business thinktank that Intuit's internal documents describe as part of its "coalition":

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6483061-Intuit-TurboTax-2014-15-Encroachment-Strategy.html

Chavis's Chicago Tribune editorial claimed that Direct File could cause Black filers to miss out on tax-credits they are entitled to. This is a particularly ironic claim given Intuit's prominent role in sabotaging the Child Tax Credit, a program that lifted more Americans out of poverty than any other in history:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/29/three-times-is-enemy-action/#ctc

It's also an argument that can be found in Intuit's own anti-Direct File blog posts:

https://www.intuit.com/blog/innovative-thinking/taxpayer-empowerment/intuit-reinforces-its-commitment-to-fighting-for-taxpayers-rights/

The claim is that because the IRS disproportionately audits Black filers (this is true), they will screw them over in other ways. But Evelyn Smith, co-author of the study that documented the bias in auditing says this is bullshit:

https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/working-paper/measuring-and-mitigating-racial-disparities-tax-audits

That's because these audits of Black households are triggered by the IRS's focus on Earned Income Tax Credits, a needlessly complicated program available to low-income (and hence disproportionately Black) workers. The paperwork burden that the IRS heaps on EITC recipients means that their returns contain errors that trigger audits.

As Smith told Propublica, "With free, assisted filing, we might expect EITC claimants to make fewer mistakes and face less intense audit scrutiny, which could help reduce disparities in audit rates between Black and non-Black taxpayers."

Meanwhile, the predatory inclusion talking points continue to proliferate. Nevada accountants and the state's former controller somehow coincidentally managed to publish op-eds with nearly identical wording. Phillip Austin, vice-chair of Arizon's East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, claims that free IRS tax prep "would disproportionately hurt the Hispanic community." Austin declined to tell Propublica how he came to that conclusion.

Right-wing think-tanks are pumping out a torrent of anti-Direct File disinfo. This surely has nothing to do with the fact that, for example, Center Forward has HR Block's chief lobbyist on its board:

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4125481-direct-e-file-wont-make-filing-taxes-any-easier-but-it-could-make-things-worse/

The whole thing reeks of bullshit and desperation. That doesn't mean that it won't succeed in killing Direct File. If there's one thing America loves, it's letting businesses charge us a tax just for dealing with our own government, from paying our taxes to camping in our national parks:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/30/military-industrial-park-service/#booz-allen

Interestingly, there's a MAGA version of predatory inclusion, in which corporations convince low-information right-wingers that efforts to protect them from ripoffs are "woke." These campaigns are, incredibly, even stupider than the predatory inclusion tale.

For example, there's a well-coordianted campaign to block the junk fees that the credit card cartel extracts from merchants, who then pass those charges onto us. This campaign claims that killing junk fees is woke:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

How does that work? Here's the logic: Target sells Pride merch. That makes them woke. Target processes a lot of credit-card transactions, so anything that reduces card-processing fees will help Target. Therefore, paying junk fees is a way to own the libs.

No, seriously.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/27/predatory-inclusion/#equal-opportunity-scammers

[typhlonectes]

A remarkable example of suspected Batesian mimicry of Gaboon Vipers by Congolese Giant Toads

Eugene R. Vaughan, Mark S. Teshera, Chifundera Kusamba, Theresa R. Edmonston, and Eli Greenbaum

Abstract

Batesian mimicry is a phenomenon in nature whereby a non-toxic animal emulates a noxious one, seeking to deter predators by deception. This type of mimicry occurs in many animals, with numerous documented examples of invertebrates, harmless squamates, and even birds that mimic venomous snakes. However, no observations of anurans mimicking venomous snakes have been reported. Based on comparative data from colour pattern, morphology, geographic distribution and behaviour, we propose that the Congolese Giant Toad (Sclerophrys channingi), endemic to Democratic Republic of Congo, is a Batesian mimic of the geographically widespread Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica). Although the colour pattern similarity between these taxa is not an exact match, aposematism and precise imitation are not required for Batesian mimicry to be effective, especially when the model (B. gabonica) is dangerously venomous and carefully avoided by other vertebrates. Given the morphological similarity between S. channingi and two other African toad species (S. brauni and S. superciliaris) that are sympatric with B. gabonica and its sister taxon (B. rhinoceros), similar examples of Batesian mimicry are likely.

Read the paper here: A remarkable example of suspected Batesian mimicry of Gaboon Vipers (Reptilia: Viperidae: Bitis gabonica ) by Congolese Giant Toads (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Sclerophrys channingi ) | Request PDF (researchgate.net)

Journal of Natural History 53(29-30): 1853–1871. (2019)

doi: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1669730

[bullshit-tqia]

A list of side effects and risks for mtf estrogen:

This is thanks to a friend, she gets full credit for this post.

"Some takeaways: almost none of the studies report that estrogen does anything positive to male bodies, except lowering blood pressure in young people and stopping balding

Essentially most of the articles were freaking out about how we need more high quality data to determine if estrogen is safe or not, but of the studies I went through:"

Risks associated with estrogen use by men found:

Heart Risks: Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): 9 articles

Myocardial Infarction (MI): 5 articles

Ischemic Stroke: 5 articles

Other Cardiovascular Events: 6 articles

Fertility Risks: 6 articles

Cancer Risks: 8 articles

Key Dangers that evidence found in MTF people:

Dangers to the Heart:

Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): Increased risk reported across multiple studies.

Myocardial Infarction (MI): Elevated risk associated with estrogen therapy.

Ischemic Stroke: Increased incidence observed in studies.

Other Cardiovascular Events: General cardiovascular disease risks

Dangers to Fertility: Impacts on spermatogenesis and testicular health, with some studies noting fertility preservation in a portion of trans women.

Dangers to Cancer Risk: Potential increased risk for breast cancer and other hormone-sensitive malignancies. Dangers that are suspected based on know qualities of estrogen:

Cancer Risks: Potential increased risk for specific cancers beyond breast cancer, such as papillary thyroid cancer and other hormone-sensitive malignancies.

Liver Toxicity: Concerns regarding hepatotoxic effects and liver integrity due to long-term estrogen use.

Cardiac Arrhythmias: Suggested increase in the rates of cardiac arrhythmias in some studies, although direct causation remains unclear.

Gallbladder Issues: Potential association with gallstones and pancreatitis, but more research is needed for conclusive evidence.

Long-term Bone Health: Uncertainty about how long-term estrogen use affects bone density and overall bone health.

Psychiatric Effects: Speculation about possible mood changes or psychiatric effects, though this is often individualized and not well documented.

Metabolic Changes: Concerns about changes in metabolism and body composition, including the risk of obesity, but conclusive links remain to be established.

On regaining fertility after estrogen:

After an average of three years on estrogen, ony 40% of trans women will still be fertile. After discontinuation of hormones, 66% will get their fertility back (with the span of the study), and most of the people observed had impaired semen quality after stopping. The contributing factor may be the age when hormones were started, with older people being more protected.

But hey, I'm just an alarmist.

Sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429519306302 https://www.cell.com/cell-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00422-0 [1:12 PM] Bock, M. E., et al. "Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism in Transgender Women Prescribed Estrogen." Clinical Chemistry, vol. 65, no. 1, 2019, pp. 57-66. https://academic.oup.com/clinchem/article/65/1/57/5607952.

Keshavarz, M., et al. "Spermatogenesis in Transgender Women." Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429519306302.

Bhasin, S., et al. "Estrogens and Tumorigenesis." Prostate, vol. 79, no. 9, 2019, pp. 1027-1033. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pros.23322.

Kearney, T., et al. "Prostate Cancer in Transgender Women." JAMA Network Open, vol. 2, no. 7, 2019. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2820386.

Kley, M. A., et al. "Estrogen and Testicular Health." BMC Urology, vol. 18, 2018, p. 68. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13256-018-1894-6.

Chen, C. L., et al. "Cardiovascular Risks in Transgender Patients." American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, vol. 324, no. 4, 2023, pp. H674-H688. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00299.2022.

Lee, D. L., et al. "Hematologic Complications of Estrogen Therapy." Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 167, no. 1, 2017, pp. 46-55. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M17-2785.

Van Kesteren, P. J., et al. "Long-term Cardiovascular Risks of Hormone Therapy." Circulation Reports, vol. 5, no. 4, 2023. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circrep/5/4/5_CR-23-0021/_article/-char/ja/.

Naderi, H., et al. "Risks of Cardiovascular Disease in Transgender Women." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 104, no. 8, 2019, pp. 3505-3514. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623820301295.

Mehta, A., et al. "Estrogen and the Liver." American Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 115, no. 1, 2020, pp. 15-23. https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2020/10001/S2417_The_Skinny_on_Estrogen_and_Liver_Fat.2417.aspx.

Miller, L. J., et al. "Venous Thromboembolism in Transgender Women." American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 78, no. 18, 2022, pp. 1674-1680. https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article-abstract/78/18/1674/6264946. Smith, C. R., et al. "Bone Density in Transgender Patients." Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, vol. 37, no. 4, 2022, pp. 643-650. https://academic.oup.com/jbmr/article/37/4/643/7516770.

Tam, D. Y., et al. "Implications of Estrogen on Cancer Risk." Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 12, 2021. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.718200/full.

Gupta, A., et al. "Estrogen Therapy and Pancreatitis." The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 125, no. 12, 2020, pp. 1836-1842. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623820301295.

Johnson, J. E., et al. "Long-term Effects of Estrogen on Metabolism." Cell Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2022. https://www.cell.com/cell-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00422-0.

[eclipsophie]

☆ The Moon’s Glow;

୨୧ Apresentando a minha DR principal - Laneige Dr !

°. 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐞:

Laneige é uma marca de cosméticos sul-coreana lançada em 1994. Seu nome vem do francês "la neige", que se traduz como "a neve".

Sophie Moon é a CEO da marca coreana, sendo uma sucessora escolhida por Lee Yoori e Kim Siwon

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

⁺

°. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧:

Sophie Moon Gonçalves ou Sosophie, nasceu em 24 de junho de 2001 (22 aninhos), na Zona Sul de São Paulo, capital.

☆! Mora em Seoul, Coreia do Sul, desde 2019.

𝗡𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲: Brasileira - Coreana / 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼: Câncer

⁺

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

°. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬:

𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺: Lizeth Selene

𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼𝘀: Oni nas costas, sol e lua nos ombros.

𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗵𝗲𝘀: Piercings diversos!! Sardinhas, olhos cor de mel.

⁺

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

°. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢́𝐥𝐢𝐚:

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐬 : Maria Gonçalves & Moon Minho

☆! Mamis é médica e o painho é advogado. Eles são a minha base para enfrentar tudo de cabeça erguida.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜̧𝐚̃𝐨 : Lee Yoori & Kim Siwon (Meus chefinhos :c)

⁺

°. 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐨:

─ backstory ; Nathan e Dylan já se conheciam por conta que suas carreiras profissionais são ligadas em certo ponto, desde a primeira produção de Ddy com o Nathan, os dois viraram próximos no mesmo instante. Certo dia em uma festa universitária, um amigo em comum me apresentou os dois, e naquela festa todos beberam muito e foi muito fácil de construir uma amizade. E então os três até hoje não souberam se largar um do outro.

✿ 𝓜𝔂 𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼... ࿚ ♡

─ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧: (lado direito >)

𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗲: Nathan Kazumi

𝗜𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲: 24 anos - 08 de abril de 1999

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮: Modelo e influêncer

𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮: Nath é o mais atentado do grupo, mas também é o mais atencioso.

─ 𝐃𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧: (lado esquerdo <)

𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗲: Dylan Yamaoka

𝗜𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲: 23 anos - 15 de novembro de 2000

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮: Compositor, Produtor e Editor de grandes artistas

𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮: Dylan é mais quieto, mas sempre que está se divertindo vira um papagaio e ri que nem uma hiena.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

⁺

°. 𝐇𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐲:

Jay Park. Nos conhecemos da maneira mais engraçada e inusitada possível, mostrando para ambos corações ocupados que pensavam apenas no trabalho, que o amor pode nascer dos lugares mais improváveis e nos trazer uma paz e calmaria imensa para o nosso mundo de agito.

♡! Ficantes to Lovers

- Atualmente ainda somos apenas conhecidos, não temos nenhuma intimidade ou aproximação.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Espero que tenham gostado! Qualquer dúvida sobre a minha DR podem comentar!

⁺

Insp: @delicatears / @multidimensionalslvt

[wild-icarus]

Wow I really like that one musical with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Loconte, Mikelangelo (Mozart L'opera Rock), Rei, Makoto (Mozart L'opera Rock 2019 Takarazuka), Park, Han Keun + Kou, Yo-Jin + Kim, Ho-young (Mozart L'opera Rock 2012 Kr)

Nakagawa, Akinori (Mozart L'opera Rock 2013 Jp), Sato, Ryuji (Nigero! Mozart no Daihon Sakusha 2023), Stanke, Patrick (Mozart! 2008 Tecklenburg)

Romdal, Yngve Gasoy (Mozart! 1999 Wien), Yamazaki, Ikusaburo + Furukawa, Yuta (Mozart! 2021 Jp), Lee Hae-jun (Mozart! 2023 Kr)

Slanina, Aleš (Mozart! Czech 2009), Kuipers, Odeo (Mozart! 2015-16 Wien), Dolhai, Attila (Mozart! Budepest 2003)

Doi, Yuuko (Madamoiselle Mozart 1991?), Niizuma, Seiko (21 C: Mademoiselle Mozart 2005), Rio, Asumi (Mademoiselle Mozart 2023)

Park, Yoo-duk (Salieri 2014), Hur Gyu? (Salieri 2016) Hirama, Soichi (Da Ponte: Mozart no Kage ni Kakureta mou Hitori no Tensei 2023)

Bonus Cast Info: While I'm still not super knowledgeable of Mademoiselle Mozart, I do know more about the Kr and Jp Mozart! and Mor Mozart casting.

Mozart l'Opera Rock Jp

Nakagawa Akinori and Yamamoto Koji

Mozart! Jp

2002+05+07: Nakagawa Akinori, Inoue Yoshio

2010-11+2014-15: Inoue Yoshio, Yamazaki Ikusaburo

2018+21: Yamazaki Ikusaburo, Furukawa Yuta

2024: Furukawa Yuta, Kyomoto Taiga

Mozart! Kr

2010: Im Taekyung, Park Gun-Hyung, Park Eun-Tae, Kim Junsu

2011: Im Taekyung, Jeon Dong-seok, Park Eun-Tae, Kim Junsu

2012: Im Taekyung, Jang Hyun-seung, Park Eun-Tae

2014: Im Taekyung, Park Hyo-shin, Park Eun-Tae

2016: Lee Jee Hoon, Jeon Dong-seok, Kyuhyun

2020: Park Kang Hyun, Park Eun-Tae, Kim Junsu

2023: Lee Hae-jun, Suho, Yoo Hwe-seung, Kim Hee Jae

[thepotentialof2007]

Twenty thousand years ago, someone dropped a deer-tooth pendant in a cave in southwestern Siberia, where it lay until archaeologists excavated it in 2019. Now, researchers have caught a glimpse of its last wearer. After years of effort, Elena Essel, a graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (EVA), developed a way to extract DNA embedded in an artifact’s porous surface by sweat and skin cells. Her team’s analysis of the ornament, reported this week in Nature, shows it once adorned a woman whose ancestry lay far east of the cave.

“It’s the first time to my knowledge that we have a nondestructive way to extract DNA from Paleolithic artifacts,” says co-author Marie Soressi, an archaeologist at Leiden University. The technique promises a window into how, and by whom, ancient ornaments and tools were used. Human DNA gleaned from their surfaces could offer “new insight into cultural practices and social structure in ancient populations,” says evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The EVA team found some of the ancient DNA came from wapiti, the species of elk whose tooth was used to make it. But some DNA was from a female modern human; its sequence revealed she was most closely related to people of the Maltinsko-buretskaya culture, known to have lived 2000 kilometers farther east near Lake Baikal—and who are among the ancestors of Siberians, Native Americans, and Bronze Age steppe herders. By comparing the DNA from both the woman and the elk with other ancient samples, the researchers dated the pendant to between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago.

The paper has come out just in time for a new field season, Essel says. She has a request for colleagues as they unearth new artifacts: “Please, please, please wear gloves and face masks if you want to look at the DNA of the people who were making these things and using them.”

In theory, such analyses are most promising for artefacts made from animal bones or teeth, not only because they are porous and thereby conducive to the penetration of body fluids (for example, sweat, blood or saliva) but also because they contain hydroxyapatite, which is known to adsorb DNA and reduce its degradation by hydrolysis and nuclease activity. Ancient bones and teeth may therefore function as a trap not only for DNA that is released within an organism during its lifetime and subsequent decomposition but also for exogenous DNA that enters the matrix post-mortem through microbial colonization or handling by humans.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2

[todaysbat]

Title: Higher fat stores contribute to persistence of little brown bat populations with white-nose syndrome

Study published: February 18, 2019

Reading Level: Academic

Access: Full Access Free

Link: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.12954

[flowercandy]

Olá pessoal, tudo bem com vocês? Eu realmente espero que sim, para quem não me conhece eu sou a Nath (@.flowervil). Bom, eu comecei a editar capa lá em 2019, dois anos depois de começar a usar o Spirit, e eu sempre via as inúmeras capistas do site lançando seus desafios pessoais e achava isso um máximo! Eu, particularmente, sempre tive muita vontade de ter ideia para meus próprios desafios pessoais mas nunca conseguia, então eu acabava entrando nesses desafios das outras capista e isso sempre foi muito bom para mim, aprendi muito com isso e até hoje tem inúmeras capistas que me inspiro muito. Esses dias enquanto pensava em uma ideia para capa, tava ouvindo uma música que estou ouvindo muito esses dias e pensei: Por que não fazer as minhas capas inspiradas em músicas e MVs que eu gosto? Foi pensando nisso que nas últimas duas semanas eu montei uma tabelinha com trinta dias para cada música, são 30 músicas dentro de conceitos que achei interessante abordar e que se bem criativo dará grandes resultados. Resolvi compartilhar aqui, porque achei bacana a ideia e acredito que todo mundo pode desenvolver alguma parte que tenha dificuldade de trabalhar nas edições usando as ideias das músicas. Então espero que vocês gostem da ideia e adotem ela, vai ser muito bacana ver vocês participando. Eu não sei se algum outro capista já teve alguma ideia parecia ou desafio igual a esse, porque nunca havia visto nenhuma ideia parecia antes, então se houver, dou os créditos a artista.

— O desafio: serão 30 dias, no total vocês irão fazer 30 capas, não precisam fazer em dias seguidos e nem mesmo na ordem de sequência da tabela, só tentem concluir o desafio. Quando forem postar as capas do desafio usem a TAG #30MX30C, para que todos possam ver as obras de artes feitas, e não se esqueçam de doar as capas no final do desafio e de divulgarem a música que vocês usaram como inspiração.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive (Daily updates!)

A new study—published in Nursing Research—has found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted patient safety indicators in U.S. hospitals. The study, from Penn Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), examined data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators to assess trends in nursing-sensitive quality indicators from 2019 to 2022. The prevention of these very distressing, uncomfortable conditions is considered to be under the nurse's purview and directly influenced by nursing care.

The investigation found that rates of falls, bloodstream infections from central line catheters, urinary tract infections from urinary catheters, pressure injuries from devices or immobility, and pneumonia associated with ventilator use, all increased significantly during the pandemic. While some of these rates have begun to decline, they have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. When a patient falls, develops a pressure injury, or suffers a hospital-acquired infection, these adverse events delay the patient's ability to go home, to be comfortable, and to heal.

"The pandemic placed an immense strain on health care systems and frontline workers, and the impact on patient safety is evident in these data," said Eileen T. Lake, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology; Professor of Nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences; and Associate Director of CHOPR. "It's crucial that we address the ongoing challenges faced by nurses and invest in this professional workforce."

The study highlights the importance of supporting nurses and ensuring they have the resources and support they need to provide high-quality care. It also underscores the need for continued efforts to improve patient safety indicators even as the pandemic subsides.

More information: Eileen T. Lake et al, COVID-19 Pandemic Increases in Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators, Nursing Research (2024). DOI: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000771 journals.lww.com/nursingresearchonline/fulltext/2024/11000/covid_19_pandemic_increases_in_nursing_sensitive.16.aspx

[starlightomatic]

“For the last few years, Wikipedia’s articles on the Holocaust in Poland have been shaped by a group of individuals (‘editors’ or ‘Wikipedians’ in Wiki parlance) with a Polish nationalist bent...

Combined, these individuals have authored substantial portions of multiple Wikipedia articles, both large (like ‘History of the Jews in Poland,’ where they have authored 67 percent) and small (like ‘Naliboki,’ where they are responsible for 70 percent – see Chart 2).

Their massaging of the past ranges from minor errors to subtle manipulations and outright lies.

In one glaring example authored by Halibutt, which reached the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in 2019, an entire Wikipedia article claimed for fifteen years that in a concentration camp in Warsaw, the Germans annihilated 200,000 non-Jewish Poles in a giant gas chamber.

Two editors named K.e.coffman and Icewhiz removed this falsehood, but other manipulations remain and more are added daily to the online encyclopedia."

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25785648.2023.2168939?fbclid=IwAR0lAp-TTWh3bEy1Q0b2kDXrApWej4rDMCnuZj7nM-iDQGqqQU-2eoimaE0