Opinion

TikTok testicle taste-test trend (sorry that was a bit of a mouthful) I regret to inform you that men are dipping their balls in soy sauce to see if their testicles have taste-buds. A 2013 science finding that mice can taste with their testicles recently made the rounds on TikTok and inspired this “challenge”. Seems like a good time to remind everyone of the Twitter account @justsaysinmice which calls out shoddily reported stories that rely on studies of mice to make overstated claims. To be very clear: you can’t taste things with your genitals. … [Read more...] about Trump knows all he needs for evangelical votes is to crack down on women’s rights

Drug companies such as Eli Lilly, which Azar headed as president, oppose such importation, citing safety concerns. Study after study – and independent medical experts – have repudiated this claim. Not only has Azar publicly opposed importing drugs from other countries, he went on Fox News to encourage the administration to pressure Europe to raise prices. … [Read more...] about Alex Azar is big pharma personified. He must not become US health secretary

While Little Britain targets generally took their lampooning well, I’d argue that’s to their own credit, not the makers’. Certainly, it’s no justification for empowering bullies to feel they suddenly had a legitimate cultural moment to hang their bile on. Nor does it excuse what came across as less a valid creative process than a forensic study of “little” people’s lives, as observed, one presumed, from the smug seat-belted comfort and safety of a gratis black cab bound for Broadcasting House. That sense of a rock being gingerly lifted to examine the sub-humanity pathetically wriggling beneath. “See that, Matt, it’s comedy gold – take notes!” … [Read more...] about Can Little Britain stagger out of the gutter this time? We can only hope

She had clashed the previous day with Donald Trump, who alone among the political luminaries attending the World Economic Forum refuses to acknowledge the existence of global warming and does not accept the need to do anything about it. Ms Thunberg and her followers were, he said, false prophets of doom. He may or may not be right, but he is like Canute seeking to turn back the tide. … [Read more...] about Our elites need a dose of reality on how to tackle global warming

Terminology is helpful (“rape culture” is much snappier, is it not?), but it can preclude nuance. Is Judge Mowat symptomatic of a “rape culture” when, as she clarifies, she was not saying that drunk girls deserve to be raped, but that drunkenness has implications for juries attempting to establish the reliability of witness testimony? Is that “victim-blaming”? I’m not sure because, by the time the term has been invoked and the polarised sides have formed their ranks, the gap for discussion or investigation has essentially closed. I’ll be pilloried for this, said Judge Mary, and she was right. … [Read more...] about Have accusations of rape victim blaming gone too far?