Plenty of talk this morning about how UK sovereignty is what is stopping an EU deal, that the EU want to impinge on this.

Sorry, the argument is totally bogus. It is a combination of EU hatred and cakeism dressed up in respectable clothing. 1/ n

How do we define sovereignty in trade deals? Complex question, so let's just look at this government. It believes in trade deals and membership of the WTO. These contain binding rules. Therefore for this government sovereignty and binding rules are compatible. 2/

Therefore sovereignty in terms of trade rules for this government is a relative concept either in content or partner terms. So when they say the EU proposals go too far is that because of what is proposed, or who it is proposed with? 3/

We haven't been told the detail. But with regard to the level playing field it is suggested that no country could sign up to a situation where not following the rules leads to tariffs being imposed. However we agree to this in the WTO and FTAs. So that is untrue. 4/

Fish is a slightly different matter, and it is being said that the EU proposal would deny the UK control of our waters. But definitionally that can't be true. We're showing our control through the discussion. We don't have to do a deal. 5/

This thread will quickly show, step-by-step how to use GIS to plan protest escape routes, using the example of the last hour's confrontation in Bangkok. With some of the legwork already done (can be done at a city scale), this took 10min to adjust and process.

Essentially, this boils down to using the notion of assigning a cost to transversing each pixel, and letting computers work out what the most efficient routes are. Here's an example of that concept being used for Lord of the Rings.

In Bangkok, and pretty much every other major city in the world, we can cut out the tricky modelling of how difficult each part of a map is to walk through by turning to @Strava's heatmap, which shows approximately that, easier paths are travelled more.

You need to turn this into a format that can be read by the mapping programs though. By turning off the background, changing the colour ramp to blue and making it 100% opacity you get closer. I took a bunch of screenshots to cover bangkok and stitched them together in photoshop.

TIP: Strava only renders its heatmap to Zoom level 15, so although you can zoom in further on the map there is no extra detail, if you change this in the URL to 15 you can scroll pan around and take screenshots and always be at the peak zoom level.

Tax Thread for Influencers/Freelancers - Managing Finances:

Open a separate bank account, where all your freelance/bus income gets paid to and where you pay business transactions from.

This not only makes accounting easier, but shows the monthly profit you're making.

1. Freelance income, especially when you're booked with an agent will normally have a 25% deduction and the 10-15% agency fee.

Be sure that you deduct the agency fee as an expense against your freelancing income, as well as the other business related expenses.

2. If you travel (by car) a lot for business, keep a logbook. There are many apps and websites that can do the tracking automatically, using the GPS on your phone.

When you have lots of motor vehicle expenses, the logbook will allow you to claim a % of that expense.

3. Set aside 10 - 20% of your non-PAYE income for provisional tax payments, or for the annual tax payment. The reason for this is that non-PAYE is not covered and many people spend all the income, leaving them panicking when they need to make a large tax payment.

4. The more business related expenses you have, the more you can claim against SARS, but do note that EXPENSES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN TAX.

Tax is always a % of an expense. See example in note 5

This FT piece on deb #cancellation is interesting and poses a few interesting questions.

Let me begin with what I do not like.

The case against cancelling debt at the #ECB https://t.co/o0Vvvf6leU

#monetization 1/

The excessive focus on Italy is off the mark. Any serious discussion on sterilizing this exceptional debt linked to the pandemics should concern all EMU countries. All have had a spike in deficit

2/

Nor I like the argument that debt sterilization would not bring fresh cash. It would not, and of course it would not be needed. EMU public debt is today (and for a long period to come) in excess demand. On top of that the ECB will keep the PEPP umbrella open for a while

3/

Sterilizing the EMU pandemics-related public debt is a medium term issue, related to future fiscal space. Will this exceptional stock of debt that built in 2020 constrain EMU countries in their ordinary fiscal policies in the future? This is the question to ask
4/

If the answer is yes (I believe it is), then sterilizing that debt is eventually going to be an issue to be dealt with. And the ECB will have to be part of the solution
This is what the FT seems to suggest too (this is why the piece is more complex than it seems)
5/

Satan & his demons are better organized.

We should have been the one taking credit for this.
1.
When Jesus asked , what is your name in Mark 5:9 KJV
And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

2.
They responded, we are a Regiment, we match together, we are orderly.

Satan has a highly organized and effective army and this is because, his agents or demons are not disorganized as we erroneously think when they come against you and I.

3.
When Satan matches with his demons they all match with a "spirit" of unity.
they accused Jesus of casting out Satan in Satan's name..Luke 11:17-18 KJV
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house

4.
divided against a house falleth. [18] If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

Jesus was saying that Satan's kingdom is not divided against itself.

I will also like to remind you that from

5.
Genesis-Revelations you will never find demons fighting demons, principalities fighting principalities, witches fighting witches, its only when we take a look inside d church that we see so much of royal rumble. Ministers of d Gospel fighting each other, churches antagonizing

The first time he heard that his wife was cheating on him
He cried all the way from Atlanta to Nigeria
He saw a message from his mother
The message said one of the instrumentalists in his church went to report himself to some elders in the church for disciplinary action because

had been engaging in sexual immorality.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that the person he was having sexual relations with was the pastor's wife
The elders didn't know how to go about it
Some said the instrumentalist was framing the pastor's wife in order to bring down

the pastor's ministry and tear his family apart
Others said the pastor's wife should be invited to face the elders and defend the allegations
it was a political issue
Had it been any other person, they would have acted swiftly but the pastor's wife was off-limits, even for the

elders
So they took the case to his mother and his mother sent him a message asking for directions
The message was not such a shock to him
His wife had been threatening that she would ruin his ministry for several months if he does not quit the ministry and return to his medical

practice
He had told her what she was asking him to do was next to impossible
He knew from the age of twelve what his calling was in ministry
He preached his first sermon at a village crusade at the age of fifteen
He got his B. TH degree at the age of twenty before proceeding to

Awareness is the key metric to bring the change in society. As a law student, I see many educated women in society, don’t aware about their basic rights. So, this thread will help you to know your basic rights.

Legal Rights of Indian women

A Thread 🧵👇

1/ Women have the right to equal pay - Acc. to the provision listed under the Equal Remuneration Act, one cannot be discriminated on the basis of sex when it comes to salary, pay or wages. Working women have the right to draw an equal salary as compared to men. Ask for equal pay.

2/ Women have the right to dignity and decency - In an event that the accused (a person who has been arrested) is a woman, any medical examination procedure on her must be performed in the presence of another woman.

3/ Women have the right against workplace harassment - The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, gives a female the right to file a complaint against any kind of sexual harassment at her place of work.

4/ Under this act, she can submit a written complaint to an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at a branch office within a period of 3 months.

When Biodun Fatoyinbo's case went viral, Timi Adigun of Mine Teenage Ministry told his church members not to be talebearers or speak against a man of God.

Little did anyone know that he himself had been sexually abusing and harassing his female teenage members for years!

Timi Adigun runs a teenage ministry whose MAJOR core value is sexual purity. They run a yearly VIRGINITY day. If anyone should be caught in such a scandal, it should NOT be Timi Adigun. Not him.

"Oh, maybe it is not true".

Yes, maybe it is untrue but he and his wife suddenly shut down their church, The Ark, when news broke out. It may not be true but they cancelled all events till further notice.

May not be true but he has started another church lowkey in another name

It may not be true but comments are restricted on IG and people are getting blocked for asking questions.

May not be true but members are getting encouraged not to be "talebearers".

If you know anyone who was actively a member of the teenage ministry (whether teenagers or adults), please check in with them. I have spoken with a number of them in the last two months and those people are extremely hurt and broken. Too hurt.

@JohnBrennan Sit and wait for your handcuffs. You lost all credibility years ago. Shocking to see you still given airtime...

1.
Symbolism Comms Thread: Humpback Whale

Let's start with an example.

01/27/2016 Dead humpback whale washes up on North Carolina coast

"a baby humpback between 1 and 2 years old"

"More biologist on scene. Something's about to

If an example was needed about how much sex and gender have been conflated in law and public policy it’s the debate around @JohannLamont’s amendment to the Forensic Services Medical Bill. /1 thread

The shift to gender (gender pay gap/gender based violence etc) seems to have occurred because we as a society have felt more comfortable with the g word because sex is about sexual intercourse rather than a biological class of people. /2

However gender is not specified in law, unlike sex, and depending on who you talk to, there are umpteen genders as it’s about a performative identity rather than a biological certainty. How then if you are a rape victim can you ask for a medical examiner of a specific gender? /3

You can’t. You can, however, ask for a medical examiner of the same sex as you. Putting this clarity in the Bill for traumatised people seems a no brainer. And has the added advantage of shining a light on the lack of female examiners and thereby forcing a response to that. /4

Without that NHS trusts don’t have to address the issue. If gender is used and as self ID has become accepted - ahead of law - esp in the NHS, then hypothetically a woman who has been raped could be examined by a person who says their gender is “woman” but their sex is not. /5

Principle of FEDERALISM in US Constitution DOESN'T refer to a strong central FEDERAL government

(e.g. in many other countries such as Russian Federation, Pakistan, India etc.)

Instead, it refers to a loose "Federation" based on a minimum-yet-optimal "FEDERAL" Constitution :

Tying together multiple strong, individually self-sufficient state governments.

Going back to the days of founding of the nation, referencing the original "Federalist Papers",

Alexander Hamilton-John Adams "Federalist Party" faction

& their vigorous, spirited & @ times violent debates w/ Thomas Jefferson-James Madison Democrat-Republican faction :

It was Hamilton's Federalist faction that emerged as losers in the early years.

Hamilton's FEDERALISM idea was in fact of a strong central FEDERAL government similar to the Russian Federation of today.

Jefferson-Madison faction emerged as winners in the early years.

However, it's obvious that the nation has strayed very far away from the principle of FEDERALISM as envisioned by those Jefferson-Madison winners from the early years.

I spent the last few weeks thinking about how brands differentiate themselves

Thread 🧵

1/ Let's start with this line by Ted Morgan.

“Positioning is like finding a seat on a crowded bus”

Most brands sleepwalk onto the bus and sit on top of one another.

The smart brands look left, right, find an empty row, paint their logo on it and sing sweetly like the Sirens.

2/ Positioning is an easy thing to complicate so let's keep it simple.

*Your goal is to own a space in the customer’s mind. You do this by differentiating yourself.*

Differentiation is not a dark art. It's something you can learn. Here’s the different ways to achieve it:

3/ Through contrast

Point at the status quo and pit yourself against it. Contrast burns your brand into the customer's mind.

• Hey pit themselves against mainstream email
• Lemonde pit themselves against insurance stereotypes
• “I'm a Mac” pit themselves against the PC

4/ Through values

Think Patagonia and the environment, Ben and Jerry's and social justice, Black Rifle Coffee and gun rights.

Some will hate it. Others will rally behind you. And that's the point. Fence sitters don't buy.

For audio folks (or really anyone interested in a peep behind the curtain), I'd like to share our adventures in long-distance audio storytelling for this week's ep:

We've wanted to do this for a while, and we got a special donation to report it this year. But we wanted to visit in person! How to do so from afar? So, we set to work figuring that out. Can't hire locals to tape folks in person, but wanted to recreate that warm, in-person feel -

I did a bunch of research on gamer headsets, gamers like good sound. Figured we'd mail everyone headsets with return labels. Also bought Blue Yeti USB mic. Hated the sound of the Blue Yeti, not great if you're not a pro. Went to MicroCenter to try out headsets....

Talked to a super helpful young guy there about the headsets, and then he pointed me to a really inexpensive mic made by a gaming company. He hadn't tried it, he said, but he heard great things. I bought it. Wouldn't have worked on its own with a laptop (rather for desktop) BUT

Luckily I had a small dongle to turn my pro mic into a USB mic, and it worked with that. And it was so much better than the headsets! SO I bought four of them, ordered four of the dongles. Planned to send them around to the interviewees. BUT

The Pursuit Knowledge Is A Duty Imposed By The Almighty Creator, Allah Upon Every Human Being. It Is The Acquisition Of Knowledge Is Obligatory Imposed Upon Every Muslim Male And Female.

Acquire Knowledge, It Enables Its Possessor To Distinguish Right From Wrong. It Light Our Way To Heaven, It Is Out Friend In The Desert, Our Society In Solitude, Our Companion When Friendless.

It Guides Us To Happiness, It Sustains Us In Misery, It Is An Ornament Amongst Friends, An Armor Against Enemies.

Learn To Know Yourself. Who Are The Least Learned. They Practice What They Know. Philosophy Is a the Stray Camel Of The Faithful. Take Hold Of It Wherever You Find It. All Knowledge Is Allah And Came From Allah.

No Man Is Independent And Self-Taught. Allah Taught The Angels, And The Angels Taught The Prophets; And The Prophets Taught Humanity And Humanity Teaches Each Other.

This Is The Way Knowledge Was Acquired.

Yesterday, at the end of @dbongino's pod...he talked about creating a "parallel economy."

I have a few questions for you pertaining to this. Specifically, what is the end game of a "parallel economy?"

Did we not have a parallel economy back in the 50s? An econ that was segregated for white people and "negros" (Historical context, NOT derogatory meaning).

So, I understand your idea about creating competition in the market place

Competing News Aggregators
Competing social media platforms
Video hosting platforms
PAYMENT processing platforms

Competing scholarly journals
1000s of competing news outlets...

But a parallel econ?

A parallel econ in it's entity will continue the wedge in the country which, historically, is exactly the discourse and demoralization that the left/communists THRIVE IN!

You're advocating for a systemic chaos system of constant conflict...hear me out.

Will this "parallel econ" create a "parallel country?" What geographic territory will this "parallel economy" hold?

By creating a parallel economy, you're creating a parallel country that is running in two separate, but diametrically opposed directions.

What is your endgame?

1/ It’s time to defund the GOP. In yesterday‘s rant, I laid out all the reasons why Democrats should put at the top of their priority list “defunding the Republican Party.“ Here’s a little background, and how to do it. (THREAD)

2/ Back in 1981, the Republican Party decided to defund the Democratic Party. While the Republican party had principally been funded by rich people and big business since the 1920s, the Democrats were largely reliant on the labor unions.

3/ So Ronald Reagan, as part of his “Reagan Revolution,“ figured the best way to destroy the Democratic Party was to destroy America’s unions. His first shot was to destroy Patco, the air traffic controller‘s union, and he did it in less than a week in August, 1981.

4/ He, with Republicans in Congress and conservatives on the Supreme Court than embarked on an eight-year campaign to eliminate unions from the American landscape, thus wiping out the Democratic Party’s ability to win elections.

5/ It worked, and by 1992 American union membership, and their ability to fund elections, had collapsed so severely that Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party had to take money from giant corporations and billionaires to prevail in that election year.