BC CULTURE
Saved by @WebbDarrrel

.@bellingcat's attempt in their new book, published by
@BloomsburyBooks, to coverup the @OPCW #Douma controversy, promote US and UK gov. war narratives, and whitewash fraudulent conduct within the OPCW, is an exercise in deception through omission @marydejevsky @freddiesayers

 1) 2000 words are devoted to the OPCW controversy regarding the alleged chemical weapon attack in #Douma, Syria in 2018 but critical material is omitted from the book. Reading it, one would never know the following:
2) That the controversy started when the original interim report, drafted and agreed by Douma inspection team members, was secretly modified by an unknown OPCW person who had manipulated the findings to suggest an attack had occurred. https://t.co/QtAAyH9WyX… @RobertF40396660
3) This act of attempted deception was only derailed because an inspector discovered the secret changes. The manipulations were reported by @ClarkeMicah
and can be readily observed in documents now available https://t.co/2BUNlD8ZUv…. https://t.co/9kEMqb6wR7
4) .@bellingcat's book also makes no mention of the @couragefoundation panel, attended by the @opcw's first Director General, Jose Bustani, at which an OPCW official detailed key procedural irregularities and scientific flaws with the Final Douma Report: https://t.co/9Mkfam0AAB
5) The @couragefound panel learned that an engineering study, sidelined by OPCW management, indicated that the damage seen here on a chlorine cylinder and roof were not consistent with each other:
6) The panel also learned that a toxicology report by NATO chemical warfare experts had been suppressed come the final @opcw report. This report evaluated how these victims came to to be killed, on the spot, by the alleged chemical chlorine gas. @2ndNewMoon
7) This report is ignored in Bellingcat's book, even though it concluded that the observed symptoms were not consistent with chlorine gas poisoning them where they were found. @samibarrek @LenP91535865 https://t.co/MCmW6hjiTJ
8) So compelling was the evidence presented at the @couragefound panel that an open letter, signed by eminent figures including Noam Chomsky and Hans von Sponeck, was sent to all OPCW member states- https://t.co/cQoU9bzK24…But you will not learn about that in the Bellingcat book
9) .@bellingcat also chooses to ignore how the OPCW's first director general spoke out in support of the Douma inspectors trying to tell the truth but was blocked by the US and UK at a UNSC meeting. https://t.co/4CFGsNG9ob… @aaronjmate @thomasphipps @SJobDigital @McCormack_Tara
10) Whilst omitting all of these facts, @bellingcat
instead reinforces the attempt by OPCW senior management to smear some of its most experienced inspectors using a 'leak investigation' to spread lies and disinformation. @RealDeeptiC @UK_OPCW @CanadaOPCW @NLatOPCW
11) and in doing so ignores entirely the detailed and factual rebuttal of these smears provided by British journalist @ClarkeMicah in the Mail on Sunday:- https://t.co/ZkluynYRmt…. @PeterCronau @OborneTweets @alextomo
12) .@bellingcat's discussion of #Douma and the
@OPCW controversy also conveniently forgets to mention the claim from a @BBC producer @Dalatrm
that he could confirm the hospital scenes shot at Douma were staged: https://t.co/YZwfPITgbr… @bbclysedoucet @BreesAnna @cerumol
13) Ignoring relevant facts is one thing, but @bellingact also obscure their own role in the events at Douma and the OPCW controversy @beek38. As @MichaKobs explains here, @bellingcat deleted a tweet confirming manipulation of the cylinder on the balcony:-https://t.co/5IquuNu6Sb
14) This cylinder, the subject of the engineering study mentioned above (5) can be seen to have been rotated through 180 degrees, to line up a dent with a steel bar, and then tilted so that its nozzle points into a hole in the roof.
15) Not only were Bellingcat in contact with activists manipulating evidence on the ground, they also published a fraudulent story seeking to discredit an OPCW inspector & involving a letter allegedly sent by OPCW DG. https://t.co/WQTouuk1fg…
@MaxBlumenthal @aaronjmate
16) The letter Bellingcat leaked was never sent and its leaking confirms that a) nefarious actors within the OPCW are leaking false information and b)
@bellingcat serve as their conduit. The description of the conditions within the OPCW described by this official appear accurate
17) Fortunately there are individuals with integrity who are analysing *all* the evidence and detailed analyses of the
@opcw Douma issue are available https://t.co/Giy4xbJ6wF…. And, in the coming months, more voices will come to be heard.
18) In the meantime, @BloomsburyBooks
have published an account of a major controversy that demonstrably ignores critical facts/material. As shown by the material in this thread, it is a deception through omission. @GeorgeMonbiot @lukeharding1968 @anneapplebaum @haynesdeborah
19) I doing so @BloomsburyBooks is complicit in the attempts by the UK and US governments to conceal their propaganda activities and complicit in preventing the truth coming out of how these civilians came to be killed at Douma.
fyi @JefferySachs @MaxAbrahms @joshua_landis @cwccoalition @JPZanders @bbclysedoucet @alextomo @PeterCronau @OborneTweets @TulsiGabbard @rogerwaters @pamfoundation @SusanSarandon @medialens @PeterCronau @MaxAbrahms @RenieriArts @MichaKobs @afshinrattansi @johnpilger @ggreenwald

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Thread on best books + readers to learn Sanskrit. I will list only books I have read & their pros and cons.

1. Samskrita Bharati (4 Part Series)

This is by far the best structured english course to learn to read, speak & write Sanskrit. The material is well-structured.


... and grammar is introduced at apt phases. There is enough Sanskrit text to immerse yourself & best part is they have accompanying online/in-person courses entirely in Sanskrit. This is the best method to learn spoken Sanskrit.

2. Svayam Sanskrit Shikshak (Hindi)

This is the second best immersive-learning series. There are 2 parts and progression is gradual. The advantage is it is entirely in Hindi, so the 1:1 syntax + vocab connect for native speakers is instant, Hindi being a daughter of Sanskrit.


this however is also it's only disadvantange. It's language restricted & not suitable for say a Telugu with poor Hindi or for an American or European learner. There is enough reading material here to "learn" Sanskrit.

3. The Sanskrit Language – Walter H Maurer

This is an amazing course. The best to learn Sanskrit for Americans/Europeans & an excellent one for Indians to use to learn the western grammar terminology. Best part about it? It is extremley long & has at least 100 pages of Sanskrit.
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The Calvin and Hobbes comic strip ended 25 years ago, so let’s celebrate a New Years treat by analyzing it! Awhile back I had a students annotate structures in every C&H strip, so we have data on the whole thing. As Calvin says: let’s go exploring! 1/ https://t.co/GAm45Ni1m5


An interesting feature of this strip is that Watterson took a few sabbaticals during its run, and came back with more artistic freedom. So, I’ll focus here on how a few aspects of the strip change over time. Here’s what every panel per strip looks like (all 14,712 panels!) 2/


Let’s start with storytelling. Overall, the strip shifts to becoming more visual and multimodality balanced in meaning over time. In this graph, higher numbers mean more meaning carried by pictures than words (0=balanced) 3/


You can also see this in the overall increase of wordless panels across strips. Interestingly, you see the same trends for both daily and Sunday strips, suggesting broader shifts in Watterson’s storytelling inclinations 4/


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Tony Blair is LOTO, behind the scenes, other Blairites are involved too. Keir Starmer is just a front man, Alexandre Samuel Barros-Curtis is Labour's version of Dominic Cummings, he's THE top man. Everything makes sense from this perspective. #LabourLeak #StarmerOut 👇 #BREXIT


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He has worked extensively on derivatives and structured finance matters in Europe and Hong Kong; as well as formerly working for the Clinton Foundation. Asked to comment on Mr Barros-Curtis and his role in the party Labour said they do not discuss staffing issues. #LabourLeaks

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Latest update from @TheBernician

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Hancock, Whitty, Vallance & Ferguson Stand Accused of Pandemic Fraud.

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2/19

The four defendants will be Matt Hancock, Chris Whitty, Patrick Vallance and Neil Ferguson, each of whom has inextricable and ultimately incriminating connections with Bill Gates and Big Pharma.

3/19

As well as three counts of fraud by false representation and seven counts of fraud by non-disclosure, under sections 2 and 3 of the Fraud Act 2006, we can now also prove that the entire worldwide scamdemic originated on these shores.

4/19

In fact, we can show that, without the dishonest statements and non-disclosures of the four defendants we are initially proceeding against, COVID-1984 would not have transpired.

5/19

Furthermore, the 1st defendant, Matt Hancock, cannot rely upon the defence of Parliamentary Privilege, on the ground that none of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution is capable of preventing parliamentarians from carrying out their lawful business in Parliament.
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One of the most Monkey's Paw things about my life is my relationship to books. When I was a teenager, I read all the way through the school and public libraries, spent everything I had on books, and still couldn't get enough and dreamt of more.

1/


Today, as a reviewer, I have more books than I can possibly read, huge, teetering mountains of books that I'm desperate to read, far beyond my ability to ever get through them. Periodically, I declare "book bankruptcy," sweep away the backlog and start over.

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For example, for some reason, my ninth grade computer science course included lengthy readings on ENIAC, Univac, the Mark I and the Mark II, but none of those mentioned that they were all programmed exclusively or primarily by women.

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If there is one thing I have learned it is that people love bullshit. They buy bullshit stories from professional bullshit artists, accept bullshit philosophies, purchase bullshit how-to-books, vote for bullshitting politicians.

At first, I resisted believing this because it is illogical and dumb and frankly, doesn't reflect well on the human race of which I am a member (and thus have long been hopeful that it is more of a distinction than it actually turns out to be.)

But if you actually are interested in facts you begin to notice how little most people care for them. Sometimes it is because they are heard to learn and bullshit is so much more widely and easily available. Sometimes it is because facts make them uncomfortable about themselves.

Sometimes it is because just one tiny fact will upset a whole worldview that has grown as comfortable as an overstuffed chair. (Settling into such worldviews is a lot like settling into chairs like that because the longer you're there and the deeper you sink...

...the harder it is to hoist yourself up and out of your fat-assed intellectual laziness.) But I actually think the reason people have such an appetite for bullshit goes deeper, goes to an aspect of ourselves we just can't accept.
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Sri Gurubhyo Namah.
Some tweets on Adi Shankaracharya and in particular the Guru Parampara of @sringerimath. [I had done this series earlier 5 years ago on account of Shishya Sweekaram].


Adi Shankara established the Sringeri Peetham as the 1st of 4 amnaaya peetams.

The four being
1. Sarada Peetam at Sringeri.
2. Govardhana Peetam at Puri
3. Kalika at Dwaraka
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He installed his 4 most prominent shishyas as heads of the peetams.

Sureshwaracharya was assigned to Sringeri as its head.

Sringeri is a corruption of Rshyashrunga giri.

Rshyashrunga maharshi [and his father Sri Vibandhaka Maharshi] did their tapas at this place.

It is at Sringeri that Shankara spent 12 of His precious 32 years!!

That gives you and idea how much He loved this place.

Rshyashruga maharshi had a horn on his forehead, a result of being born to a deer. His mere presence was enough to shower rains!!

Rshyashrunga was one who led Putrakamesthi Yaagam of Dasaratha Maharaj and which resulted in Sri Rama's birth!!
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The best way to know if people like your product is NOT:

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- Have people that saing "I'll pay"
- Have a lot of free users

The best way to know if they're actually pay for it.

The only thing that matters is your product providing a value, and you can't know this until people will pay money for it.

We can have a first signal of a product/market fit after the launch by check how many sales we've got in the first 24h. Some scale:

200+ This has a high potential.
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50+: Some people need it.
10+: People almost don't need it.
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This is for a single time payment product. For a subscription probably it should be less because people hate subscription.

And obviously, you should have a lot of traffic like 3-5k+.

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Ok I was wrong about theHouse. 2 years of legislative gridlock = not fun. Few bills passing.

Control of the House is useless when it comes to keeping Trump from declassifying all the SpyGate docs. Or stopping an Inspector General from releasing a report.

Trump still gets control of judicial appointments so we can expect another 100 judges over the next two years. This time there’ll be no McCain or Flake playing the Maverick role with their swing vote.

That new margin in the Senate is huge if another Supreme Court seat comes open.

So from the responses I’m getting, people seem to think if Trump declassifies the Spygate stuff now, nothing happens.

Are you under the impression federal prosecutors have to wait until CONGRESS finishes an investigation and makes criminal referrals before the DOJ can act?

There’s a federal grand jury on McCabe right now. Did Congress ever finish it’s investigation and make a referral to the DOJ against him?

No.

BUT INSPECTOR GENERAL HOROWITZ DID. On finishing his McCabe leak report.

Funny how nobody remembers that.
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