Just thought we should have a thread for the rest of the crap going around the world.
To start, absolute crazy scenes coming out of the French protests! Suggestions that a state of emergency will be called. Sounds like most of the protesters are coming from the country, with the biggest issues being that the far-right and far-left groups are joining in purely to try and stir up shit.
Biggest disappointment for me was the graffiti of some of Frances most historical icons, including the Arc de Triumph. Donât understand how some idiots can be so nationalistic, and yet deface some of Franceâs reminders to their greatest victories!
Pretty crazy vision from France with Notre Dame burning, still awaiting news if they can save the structure. Apparently blaming renovation work on starting the fire
Yeah one of the French Ministers is saying the fire is now dying down and structure has been saved. Apparently most of the artwork and historical artifacts were saved, although the stained glass has been destroyed.
Devastating stuff. I was there a couple of years ago and was reluctant to walk through yet another cathedral but i was so glad i did. It was absolutely breathtaking. Iâm not religious in the slightest so the religious stuff didnt really do much for me, but the architecture, history, stained glass and detail throughout the building were amazing. I hope they can do it justice in the eventual rebuild.
On the situation in general, the way the IAAF have only targeted her alone and not addressed all events under their banner is disgusting. I hope she has some recourse for discrimination against them. The way they have handled the entire situation makes the FFA look like a highly competent organisation.
On her specific case, itâs a very tough one and my stance goes against where I stand on gender & gender identity.
I do believe she has every right to call herself a woman but I donât believe she should be allowed to compete in Womens sporting events.
As she has functioning sets (hormonally) of both male & female genitalia she has an unfair advantage when competing against women but an unfair disadvantage if forced to compete against men. The only fair answer is for her to compete against others like her but there is hardly a plethora of athletes like her out there.
The idea that she can and has taken testosterone blockers/suppressants and competed âfairlyâ is ludicrous. Why not take more testosterone and compete against the men? Itâs not about what is in your system when you compete, itâs when you are preparing that makes the difference (power based). She can build all of the extra muscle in the lead up to events then go on the blockers in time for the event.
For the argument that sheâs not much better than her competition so it mustnât give her that big of an advantage: Maybe it is the only thing that is making her competitive?
As for the âItâs natural so banning her is like making all basketball players the same heightâ argument: Height, hand/feet size, weight and the like donât make someone any more or less a man or a woman in competition. While it may give the athlete an advantage at their chosen discipline it is not an unfair advantage. These natural advantages donât preclude someone without them from competing equally without artificial restrictions/enhancements.
Overall though I feel so incredibly sorry for her. Something so private has been playing out in the public sphere for nigh on a decade. If it wasnât for running she wouldnât have the life she has. She also wouldnât have the life she hasâŚ
All she wanted to do was run. She became quite good at it. Due to her level of competition she gets drug tested. Test comes back for high levels of testosterone so she is assumed to be a cheat. Claiming innocence further tests reveal the cause and results made public. Fellow competitors an governing body stop her from running unless she takes drugsâŚ
Itâs not so much the current testosterone levels, itâs the years of higher test resulting in larger/stronger bone structures and stronger ligaments allowing for greater force production.
Hong Kong has officially removed the extradition bill. Government will now start negotiating with community leaders etc. Wonder how far off China is from intervening now.
As much as I hate to admit it, Hitlerâs infrastructure projects/spending played a big part in getting Germany out of the Great Depression faster than most developed countries. Plus, they now have some of the best roads in the world. While it probably doesnât apply to the Egyptian situation, glossing over facts like infrastructure building etc is pretty stupid IMO (obviously not taking away from the fact the guy was fucked up).
