How about a New Year's Eve thread about Gordon Parks & the photo world's deeply entrenched culture of white supremacy? Ok? Let's go.

We celebrate Gordon Parks as one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century. Rightfully so. His photos were more than exquisite aesthetic objects. They also profoundly shaped the way that white people saw & understood poverty & race. BUT...

But we rarely talk about *why* Parks was able to achieve so much in the photo world.

The answer is simple & clear: He -- alone among Black photographers of his & earlier generations -- received the same kind of mentoring & opportunities that as promising white photographers.

During most of photography's history, the single most important predictor of mainstream professional success was the possession of a white skin.

UK Government just released 70 pages of case studies today, showing how the borders will operate after 1 January 2021.

They're essentially hardcore porn for red tape fetishists.

Doomed, we are. Doomed.

(e.g. exporting fish; exporting mechanical goods)
https://t.co/zWpkdGJeim

This is exactly what should have been presented years ago so that firms could prepare.

Or, arguably, before the Brexit referendum. Just the 70 pages of case studies released TODAY could have tipped the result the other way. Not everyone is blinded by sovrinty & hating forrins.

Going back to the examples...

The person in France buying (say) UK mechanical goods will take one look at the procedures involved, and Google an alternative supplier inside the EU instead.

As for the fish, they could probably swim to their intended destination faster of their own accord than following the new process, if only they had water in between to traverse.

The purchasers will smell them coming a mile away.

Auto parts. I am practically weeping at my keyboard.

1/ Some people on the left have this magical thinking problem when it comes to why our ideas don't often carry the day within the Dem Party. We act like it's all "big Pharma money" etc. And yes, that money is corrupting. But it's not magic...

2/ If a Rep knew the majority of THEIR constituents (not Dem voters from other parts of the country but THEIR constituents) supported more left policies *and would actually show up & vote against them if they didn't vote for those policies* they would vote for them, obviously.

3/ A major goal of a Rep is to keep being one, so no one would go against the wishes of the majority of their constituents just to get contributions, if that would cost them the job. But it WON'T. Either bc the folks who could punish them don't bother to vote, or, more likely...

4/ bc most voters are savvy enough to care about more than one issue, so even if a Rep doesn't fight for M4A, they might be good on other things voters care about and much better than the GOP alternative. Now, if these are progressive districts where the D is sure to win..

5/ ...it's different. THERE it makes sense to push hard for those Reps to do the left thing. But that means running good candidates in primaries, so those Reps feel the heat. Twitter shaming them or forcing floor votes to "expose" people means nothing w/o a viable alternative...

Daily Bookmarks to GAVNet 12/31/2020

1. Year End Tax Tips:

Yes, there is still time to save money on taxes for 2020....even today.

Here is a list of some of your top options:

A) You can pay your kids up to age 18 up to $12,400 and if they have no other income, they owe NO federal taxes, but YOU get the deduction

2. Next up, you can prepay your expenses up to 1 year, using the IRS Safe Harbor:

This allows cash-basis taxpayers to prepay and deduct qualifying expenses up to 12 months in advance without challenge, adjustment, or change by the IRS.

3. Qualifying expenses include, among others:

-lease payments on business vehicles

-rent payments on offices and machinery

-and business and malpractice insurance premiums

4. Buy Office Equipment

With bonus depreciation now at 100 percent along with increased limits for Section 179 expensing,

buy your equipment or machinery and place it in service before December 31 and get a deduction for 100 percent of the cost in 2020.

5. Qualifying bonus depreciation and Section 179 purchase examples

-new and used personal property such as machinery, equipment, computers, desks, furniture, and chairs (and certain qualifying vehicles).

I'm picking up a stand up desk since someone went and filled my bin.

A thread of appreciation for Gloria Purvis:

This past year, I was blessed to be in dialogue with many people within the Academy and the US Catholic Church. I mean no offence to anyone, but, amongst them all, Gloria Purvis was easily the most edifying and impressive. She soared.

I had never met nor spoken to Gloria before my interview with her. I sent a few prompts and questions beforehand to show respect and honesty, but we did not agree to anything too formal in terms of the conversation or content of the interview. We had a time set and that’s it.

The moment the Zoom call connected, we got started, with no chit chat. I felt bad initially for this oversight, but she took to it like a duck to water. I opened asking about framing the conversation around anti-Black white supremacy, citing Du Bois. She took flight.

Not only did she accept the frame, she extended it, citing a far less known, and more radical, essay by Du Bois, weaving it into common associations like Our Lady of Guadalupe. She did this with great enthusiasm, but also humility and even a certain pressure on my chosen source.

Seeing this range in her very first response, I realized I needed to dig deeper. Every move I made she accepted on its own terms but then extended and enriched and even subtly challenged or subverted with great joy. But none of this was even the most impressive part for me.

It’s time to post my top 20 films of 2020 and top 20 tv shows of 2020!
As usual, I need to have seen it, it was released in 2020 in the UK and it is just my opinion. If you disagree, please tell me about your choices, I’d love to know!
#FilmsOf2020 #TVShowsOf2020

One thing to note, that is different this year, due to Tier 4 restrictions in London, I am going to make #WonderWoman1984 eligible for next year’s list (2021). I am classing it’s release date as 13 January 2021.

#TVShowsOf2020
10. Ted Lasso
A real surprise and a gem of a comedy.

9. The Stranger
A bizarre Netflix mystery drama. Captivating watch.

8. The Twilight Zone
A brilliant reprisal of the old series. Such great, mysterious stories and incredibly entertaining.

#TVShowsOf2020
7. Manhunt: Deadly Games
Little known in the UK, but this series was fantastic. Thrilling.

6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
This sitcom keeps going from strength to strength, so funny.

#TVShowsOf2020
5. The Boys
Action? Thriller? Drama? I’m not sure what to call this show. It’s bizarre, dark, controversial and well worth a watch!

4. The Mandalorian
Mando has brought peak Star Wars back. This series is just pure joy, and so much fun to watch. Plus, BABY YODA!

Thread: ARE YOU PREPARED TO LOSE EVERYTHING?
Because we are looking at the edge of an ABYSS right now.
President Trump has MASTERFULLY taken us to the cusp of unrecoverable DISASTER, a plunge that, if taken, would be fatal to our Republic & bring misery & suffering Worldwide.

🎩🎉🥳⏳ 2020 New Year's Time Capsule in oil paintings -

Thread 🖌️20 highlights of (approx 50) projects from 2020.
No particular order, but some have greater impact than others.

Tweets are numbered,
last one will say /end thread/

1) "Turning Angel"
A tribute to...

1b) "Turning Angel monument, built over the graves of five children killed in a factory explosion in the early 1900’s:

(2020)She was recently vandalized, toppled, had a broken wing. She is made whole here.
This was my first time painting in only black & white, no color at all."

1c) "When I first heard about this statue being toppled and damaged, something about it tugged at my heart. When I found out that it was a memorial over the graves of five children, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I looked up the statue to see what it looked like…decided to

1d) "paint it. I understand how it feels to create something to honor the deaths of people, & to have someone destroy it in a hateful action. That beautiful angel statue, installed as a memorial for children who died so tragically young- toppled to the ground with a broken wing"

2) 🖌️ Even in 2020, we are welcome at His table, multitudes.
Come as you are.

!!Decode/Thread (12/31/20)

Well this could be the LAST Decode/Thread of the Year ...

... Have a Happy and Safe New Years Eve ...

...

What You Should Know About The New Lagos-Ibadan Standard Railway, Also Called Buhari-Train

Thread...

On 7th March 2017, the Vice-President, @ProfOsinbajo, in a groundbreaking ceremony, unveiled the standard Lagos-Ibadan Rail Line on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Lagos-Ibadan line is the first part of a new 2,773km Lagos-Kano standard gauge line.

A quick reminder that the Track laying was completed on 28th March 2020, and delivery of rolling stock from CRRC Tangshan was completed in May 2020.

The Lagos-Ibadan rail line is a double-track standard gauge rail, the first of its kind in West Africa. The train covered the 156km journey between Ibadan and Lagos in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

After the official inauguration, travel time will be cut to two hours, according to a statement by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCEC), the project’s contractors.

Welcome to the end of year Brendan thread. I am going to post every Brendan I have in my phone (253). They're literally just going to appear in the order I saved them. Unfortunately I've no idea who the vast majority of them were made by so I can't attribute credit. Let's begin.

The one and only original. I do know who made this because I asked her (@katastrophising) to do it for an article. Lol.

Another classic.

Brainworms, this was for another article.

Moody shot.

And #BigDickAnon is back in his CIA Fren persona, this time in thread titled, "China is the modern day Nazi Germany" headed by the tweet below from Clay Travis.

https://t.co/49yWJyfZLb

"The Chinese leadership knows China is a dying country and that explains their aggressive behavior. It is an attempt to save China through expansion before the clock runs out. The environmental damage that industrialization has cause Chinese cannot be underestimated."

"A secret Chinese study conducted 4 years ago laid out a grim future for the country. Currently only 23
% of China`s water is safe. Over 50% of the land is poisoned and air pollution is creating such destruction over 40% of the population has lung poisoning and..."

"...the figure is rising. The biggest danger in the short run is the damaged caused by the insane population polices of limiting families to small sizes. This has created havoc with the population demographics and basically China is an aging country with..."

"...the wrong mix that is creating a disaster with too many old people. The most telling sign though was the Xi visit to Trump in the first year of his presidency. American intelligence bugged Xi`s plane and on his stop in Alaska on the way back to China Xi declared to..."