I have made several critiques of the left & leftism recently, as many have noticed, one concerning the *past* & its idealization, one concerning the present & its contradictions & hypocrisies, & one linking the two thru the idea of statist & settler colonial cope

There are 3 common responses to these critiques:
1. For the past ‘what about X statement from Y person?’
2. Leftists may have believed that then but not now
3. You believe X things so why not identify as a leftist

These are flawed critiques

They’re actually all roughly flawed for the same reasons—they:
1. Focus on ideas, slogans & beliefs not actions, behaviors, policies, material conditions
2. Isolate some ideas but not others
3. Idealize the left as an abstraction separate from the people themselves

However, in recognizing these flaws, there actually lies a legitimate set of rebuttals to my arguments, which is ironic, but since I try to portray multiple sides of a debate, I will enumerate then

1. The first is to simply say, “the left is a genealogical & ecuwomenical term, that’s always comprised a contradictory, loosely affiliated, set of people, has no idealistic abstract content, so, in that sense you, Yungneocon, are a leftist”

[thread] When our opponents talk about socialism, they either talk about it as though it is some sort of utopian, fantasy idea that can never happen or a dangerous alternative to what we have right now. I just don’t connect with that view at all. (1/8) #GV6 #GrassrootsVoice

My view of socialism is as a political expression of love for one another - a system based on our natural drive to love one another. The truth is, for so many millions of people in the UK & elsewhere in the world this capitalist system is hard, scary & uncertain.(2/8)

Socialism is a set of principles, a different way to organise the world. It is based on a common love for our fellow human beings - not about seeing other people as competition, but as others we can work with, who can enrich our experience in life. (3/8)

Socialism is about not accepting suffering, pain, exploitation, embarrassment, malnourishment, monotony, dissatisfaction, loneliness, injustice, fear & premature death as an inevitability...(4/8)

...purely to allow a tiny minority of people to suck more and more power & wealth away from us & the work we do. It doesn’t need to be like this, there is another way. (5/8)

Mini Mike Bloomberg, who made a fool of himself on the Dems debate stage when Elizabeth Warren & the others simply took him apart, is going “crazy” trying to buy his way back into the Liberal Democrat’s hearts. His Florida ads are lies. I am much better for SENIORS than Sleepy!

Could Turkish drones be the silver bullet in Nigeria's decade long war against insurgency. Turkey has in recent years become a major player when it comes to the world of drones. Weve seen what Turkish drones did in Syria.

In Libya, in what can be described as the largest drone war in the world we saw how the LNA's goal of seizing the capital Tripoli abruptly ended after Turkeys intervention with its Bayraktar drones. There is no doubt these drones will be of immense value to the Nigerian military

The relatively flat featureless terrain of the northeast means that ground units are easily spotted, with few natural barriers to hide. The Alpha jets and L-30ZA are valuable yet limited by numbers. Besides they antiquated platforms.

While manned fighter aircraft have been used for most part of the war the NAF needs to start considering the employment of unmanned aerial vehicles on a strategic level. UAVs are useful for several reasons. Not only do they provide valuable information about the enemy

..that can be spotted from standoff distances, they are able to attack targets immediately with a far higher rate of success. In the event a drone is shot down...BIG DEAL !..the pilot is safe, back at base and able to pilot the next drone that takes off.

Listening to your body isn't just a cliche. It's a skill.

The better our ability to read our internal signals, the better our performance and decision making, as well as lower anxiety.

When there's a disconnection, the opposite occurs.

In running, the better you're able to sync internal signals of effort and fatigue, the better you are at pacing to maximize performance.

In stock traders, a better ability to read inner signals predicted profitability:

In everyday life, research suggests that a large difference between perceived and actual ability to listen to your body's inner signals predicts more anxiety

A dysfunction in this ability, called interoception, is linked to a slew of mental health issues:

The good news is it's trainable. If you're an endurance athlete, you know this. You've learned to distinguish what different sensations of pain and fatigue mean. What's normal, and what could mean injury or worse.

The same applies to our everyday life. Learn to listen.

Lots of folks say “you must be brave” when they find out I work in the ER.

It’s true that I don’t (usually) get upset at the sight of blood. But there are plenty of things that scare me.

A non-exhaustive list of things this emergency physician is afraid of:

Choking

Because I’ve seen a child choke on a hot dog or grape that wasn’t cut lengthwise.

Door slamming

Because I’ve had to repair way too many fingertip amputations in little kids.

Throwing sticks

Because one time I saw a kiddo lose their eye after an innocent game with a sibling.

Jumping on the trampoline with your dog

Because...just don’t do it. It’s a bad idea.

The worst things I see among friends and people around me and in social media is they say who sees caste in 2020. They also say caste is wrong and it should be abolished. First friends please understand reality, don't come to a conclusion by seeing whatsapp forwards 1/n

Misleading YouTube videos and the common stuff that comes in cinema and in TV. First you must understand the biggest problem of India ia not Corruption but it's caste.Majority of movies we watch shows that that biggest problem of India is Corruption and if we stop it we will 2/n

Become a developed nation. But according to me these people are cheating us by hiding the biggest problem. For the people who say is there caste in 2020, I just want to ask a question. How many of you during your marriage search for your partner in same caste. 3/n

I think majority will do that, then how can you say there is no caste in 2020. Caste has just gone out of our names that too in TN only, but it's still there in everyone's home and everyone's minds. So please accept the truth and start your journey against it. 4/n

There is one group of people who speaks about everything about cinema, cricket and other stuffs, but when this topic comes to a discussion the becomes silent. I can understand that they don't want to speak about this because they may think it as a sensitive issue. 5/n

Trump tweets about his health remind me of a story my late father-in-law Peter Worthington told about covering the Six Day War in 1967 ... 1/x

Pete was in Cairo on the day the war started. He was awoken early by air raid sirens. He turned on Radio Cairo to listen for news. Time passed until an announcer delivered a bulletin. "The Zionists attacked at dawn. We shot down six of their planes and suffered no losses." 2/x

Pete shaved and prepared to go visit the air ministry for himself. The announcer returned to the air. "Update: we shot down TWELVE Zionist planes and suffered no losses ourselves."

He understood the Egyptians had suffered a bad defeat. 3/x

He finished dressing, knotted his tie, and the announcer was back.

"Update again. We shot down FIFTY Zionist planes and suffered no losses ourselves."

That's when he realized that the entire Egyptian air force had been wiped out.

4/x

(NB I may have the figures wrong in the anecdote, I'm telling the story from memory, but you get the idea.)

5/x

NEW INTERVIEW: Former Chairman of Sony Entertainment on Nintendo's Everlasting Intellectual Property

'Mario is probably impervious to extinction'

$NTDOY

https://t.co/MI0mMmSDsf

Nintendo has 100 years of experience in gaming.

'They are the masters in this field'

'As a platform holder, our job is to create a wider audience, continually.'

'I think Nintendo really understands the game design maxims for a handheld platform and then how to leverage their very powerful IP vault in that medium.'

It seems Fortnite and Roblox is additive to the industry and not exactly zero-sum vs AAA games?

I got the following text this morning. Here was my reply:

1. Tell them that you love them, aren’t ashamed of them, and that this is something that you have had to overcome. Tell them they can do the same.

2. Tell them that porn is bad for them spiritually, physically, and relationally. And then explain how.


3. Tell them that you are going to set up “speed bumps” to help them when they’re tempt but it comes down to their desire to live with integrity. Those speed bumps are:

a. Filters (on devices & IP)
b. Screens only in shared spaces
c. Weekly check ups: Have you looked at porn of any form this week?

4. Ask them to identify the a) the times that are most tempted and b) the things that seem to trigger the desire to look at porn.

5. Show them ways to deal with stress that are productive: bible reading, prayer, running, pushups, developing a skill, etc.

6. Remind them again that you love them, that porn makes you weak, & living a lie is hell. Let them know that you won’t look down on them if they stumble & they need to let you know so you can conquer it together: "You can overcome this. You can have a good conscience. Fight!"

To those who have asked me, sincerely, how President Trump's "Do not be afraid of Covid" differs from Jesus's "Be not afraid," some thoughts:

First, Jesus often told his followers "Be not afraid." In fact, that phrase brackets his earthly life. I.e., the Angel Gabriel...

....says that to the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation. And after his Resurrection, the Risen Christ says it to his disciples. It's one of the few phrases Jesus utters several times in the Gospels. He is encouraging his followers to turn away from fear and rely on him. But...

....Jesus is not telling us to ignore the reality of human life. That is, God does not ask us to check our brains at the door and be stupid about our bodies. We don't jump off of tall buildings expecting not to get hurt. We don't drink poison expecting not to get sick....

God gave us brains for a reason. So "Don't be afraid of Covid" not only makes no sense, it's dangerous. Like Jesus, we have human bodies that must be cared for. There are also others whom we have to protect from illness. That's part of being pro-life: reverencing lives....

...both yours and those of others. That means taking the necessary precautions: going to the dentist, getting an annual physical, taking medicine when needed. Today this means taking precautions against Covid: wearing masks, maintaining social distance, washing your hands...

Impressions of today's Walter Reed presser:

a) Conley's mea culpa: “I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team. Didn’t want to give any information that would steer the course of his illness.” Trump's fingerprints.

But even so, today was only slightly better. (1/8)

b/ Biggest news is that T had 2 episodes of hypoxia (down to 93-94% O2 saturation), & Conley evaded whether sat was ever <90. "Never in low 80s" is all he offered.

c/ Re: Chest CT: "There were some expected findings but nothing of concern." What the hell does that mean?...(2/8)

...To be clear, the "expected findings" on a chest CT is NORMAL. If it was normal, he should say that. Anything else should have been described.

(The only semi-benign interpretation would be if the prez has a known chronic finding – like a benign nodule – that was seen)...(3/8)

... But it seems far likelier that they found evidence of pneumonia or other manifestations of Covid lung involvement or inflammation, which is serious and raises the level of concern and risk. (4/8)

d/ They pulled trigger & started dexamethasone. So they were clearly concerned. Given documented low O2, dex definitely was indicated.

e/ Said they're starting to plan for possible discharge, as early as tomorrow. Even w/ WH's medical capacity, that seems like an awful call. 5/8

One of the weirdest things about modern urbanism is that we build the opposite of what we like.

We adore Europe’s narrow streets, but build skyscraper-lined cities with six-lane roads and sterile shopping malls, that are impossible to walk.

Right now, I’m living in a suburb of Austin, Texas. I don’t have a car so I’m entirely dependent on delivery workers and my roommates (who have cars) if I want to go anywhere.

Tires, not feet, are the engines of practical reality which makes you feel powerless as a meager human.

American society is entirely oriented around the car.

I saw this when I registered to vote last week. To prove identity, the form asked for my driver’s license, not my passport. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it reveals how we serve cars instead of making them serve us.

I’m increasingly convinced that avoiding scale is a recipe for happiness.

Keep a small group of close friends, work with a small team of people, and avoid big companies (yes, there is nuance here).

Economically, the notion is absurd. Emotionally, it increasingly feels true.

Back to cities, I’ve always liked this cartoon about how much space we allocate for cars instead of people.

Technology should serve us, but sometimes, it feels like we forget that and start serving technology.

(h/t @JWellsCFO)

PAST FASHION TABOOS

Change, they say, is the only constant thing. The world of fashion has not been left out of the ever changing dynamics of life. Today, we identify modern fashion trends that used to be a "No No"...

#Thread

1)

#EndSARS #MUNTOT Jose Wizkid

📸
Whowhatwear

"All of this is a reminder that the fashion industry has stopped dictating fashion." "The consumer is dictating lifestyle fashion." Brands are "taking the feedback and adapting the information and putting it back into the supply chain."

6)

📸
Whowhatwear
Elitereaders

#MUNTOT

*Thread* - Needing nothing attracts everything

Building your kingdom

Do they need you more than you need them?

Answering this question honestly, can almost always predict the outcome

(Sales, Dates, Friendships...anything)

Are you inviting them to your kingdom

Or are you inviting yourself into their kingdom?

Be like the lighthouse

Firm & grounded

In the country (life) you’ve built

You shine so bright those who see the lighthouse are attracted to come

Getting out of the sea into certainty
To the promise land, where their needs & desires are met

Fill your own cup
Build your country

Then you need nothing

Needing nothing attracts everything

Now when you invite people to your kingdom

it is genuinely more needed/desired by them

Because you live there, you already have it & invite them to share in it

But if it is you who is lost at sea

You need it more than they do

When you port they will check your passport

Make you jump through hoops, qualify yourself, prove yourself, chase

Build your kingdom & you’ll never need to chase again

You’ll already have what others chase

I went looking for a remote-controlled power switch (the wireless christmas kind, not the modern IoT kind) and didn't find it, but I did find this thing I bought just to figure out why it exists.
It's a timer outlet, but you program it from your phone... but it's not wireless.

Yeah instead it plugs into your phone's HEADPHONE PORT

I got it on sale.
probably because iphone dropped the headphone port and they had to get with the 21st century and make it bluetooth

So inside the box is the device. it's got a little 2-prong polarized outlet with no ground.

on top is the only controls: on/off/timer.

Let's discuss all of this and take potential arguments and put them out there, and then, for a second, discuss how bad it is that we have to do this.

Someone here, and I cannot find your post, so that's on me; come claim your genius prize, called Trump "Schrodinger's President"

This is because he simultaneously sick and not sick, very ill and mildly ill, all of it, at the same time.

So, scenario 1: He's really sick. In this scenario, we have a really sick fool who didn't wear a mask and who infected basically an entire garden party.

In this scenario, with claims by unreliable liars (including him), everyone got sick and one guy, Grassley, is refusing to test because he wants that judiciary committee to have a quorum.

In this scenario, McConnell, a corrupt a-hole is pulling the Senate until the 18th, to avoid voting on a bill to help ppl in distress but also to protect Senate leaders, except the judiciary committee. Which is convening on the 12th to destroy rights and access to healthcare.

In this scenario, Trump is really sick or very sick or mildly ill, depending on whether you believe the nervous looking doctors on the podium surrounded by goons in white coats who look like bouncers, not physicians.