1. Oh shit, he’s done a thread
Yes, and it won’t be the last. Put them all together, and they might make a roadmap. You can guess what the destination is. Just start reading it, don't worry about how long it is. It's not that long.

2. So here’s step One on the journey I think we should take. If you want to take a different route, fine, but naturally, I think mine is the best, and I will tell you why.
3. Lots of people hurting right now, and emotional reactions to events are normal and natural. Hard to process what has happened. First acknowledge the fact. We have been dragged out, against the wishes of the majority.
4. No quick easy route back. Why not? Two reasons. British Politics, and the EU itself; both equally important, but one is something we can do something about directly, the other is something we can now only influence indirectly.
5. British Politics. The 2016 referendum scared British politicians shitless, and the division in the country still scares many. The Tory Party has given in to a coup by those who think they can use this to stay in power.
6. I know that in recent polls more people think Brexit is a bad idea than a good idea. But, there are some serious buts.
7. But 1; the margin still isn’t decisive. If it were decisive, politicians would begin to recognise there is no choice but to listen to the majority. What’s decisive? Anything over 60/40 consistently over several polls.
8. We’re not that far away. But anything less doesn’t look solid to a politician. A massive gamble that could simply make the division worse.
9. But 2. Most of the polls are asking what would you vote now if you had the referendum again, or is this Brexit a good or a bad idea? These are hypothetical questions, and you cannot place much faith in the answers people give.
10. But 3. The Brexit forces haven’t gone away. They’re populists. When they have a clear target they can mobilise, and they have shown they can do that effectively. But they’ve said Brexit is done. They can’t remobilise for every little thing. People get bored.
11. The EU: Put yourself in their shoes. This country has put the EU through a miserable time recently, but in truth we’ve been pretty irritating for many years. A brake on the progress they wanted to make. Worth keeping in though, because, big economy, global influence.
12. Now we’re out, the EU will get on with learning to live without us. The core of the project is solid. They might even lose Hungary and not care particularly.
13. This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t take us back. They would, but only if they can be sure we are stable and committed to membership. Why put themselves through the misery for less?
14. Even if we applied tomorrow, and there were signs we had seriously changed our minds, they would treat an application carefully. There are plenty of ways to strengthen the relationship while keeping the candidate sitting in the waiting room until everyone is certain.
15. You have to take those two factors, our politics, and the EU itself into account if you are going to have a well-founded analysis and a credible plan.
16. As far as our politics, and the relationship with the EU is concerned, they’re not going anywhere with this, or any future Tory government. That party has sold out to people whose lives and credibility now depend on staying out.
17. As for Labour, I know many, many people feel betrayed by Starmer’s decisions on the vote, and by his statement about the next election. But if you accept the analysis above, he’s just being realistic. There is no chance of rejoining in 2024, so why tie yourself to it?
18. The last thing anyone who wants to rejoin the EU should do is launch a scheme to do it in a few years and see it fail. That will set the cause back, not advance it.
19. Starmer of course, is not the whole Labour Party. Nor are the MPs. There are many members of that Party who are in the “rejoin” camp. Cutting yourself off from them is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
20. Our electoral system; out of date, no longer fit for purpose, but it is all we have. If you want to play the game, accept the rules and play hard, to win. That means either a lot more people vote Labour, or there is an electoral alliance of the parties in England and Wales
21. (Scotland is a separate case)

That's step 1, beat the Tories. That is the step you have to take, whatever you think the route to the destination is.

More in a day or two.

More from For later read

The common understanding of propaganda is that it is intended to brainwash the masses. Supposedly, people get exposed to the same message repeatedly and over time come to believe in whatever nonsense authoritarians want them to believe /1

And yet authoritarians often broadcast silly, unpersuasive propaganda.

Political scientist Haifeng Huang writes that the purpose of propaganda is not to brainwash people, but to instill fear in them /2


When people are bombarded with propaganda everywhere they look, they are reminded of the strength of the regime.

The vast amount of resources authoritarians spend to display their message in every corner of the public square is a costly demonstration of their power /3

In fact, the overt silliness of authoritarian propaganda is part of the point. Propaganda is designed to be silly so that people can instantly recognize it when they see it


Propaganda is intended to instill fear in people, not brainwash them.

The message is: You might not believe in pro-regime values or attitudes. But we will make sure you are too frightened to do anything about it.
I’ve been frustrated by the tweets I’ve seen of this as a Canadian. Because the facts are being misrepresented.

We’re not under some sort of major persecution. That’s not what this is. A thread. 1/8


This church was fined for breaking health orders in Dec. They continued to break them. So the pastor was arrested and released on conditions of... you guessed it, not breaking health orders. And then they broke the health orders. 2/8

So then he was arrested and told he couldn’t hold church services in person if he was to be released. He refused. He’s still in custody.

Here is my frustration as a Christian in Canada:

1. They were able to gather, with some conditions. They didn’t like those. 3/8

2. He is not actually unable to preach. He is just unable to hold church services because they broke the conditions given by the public health office in Alberta. He says he can’t in good conscience do that, so they are keeping him in jail (because he will break the law). 4/8

3. This is the 1st article of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: “guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” 5/8

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Great article from @AsheSchow. I lived thru the 'Satanic Panic' of the 1980's/early 1990's asking myself "Has eveyrbody lost their GODDAMN MINDS?!"


The 3 big things that made the 1980's/early 1990's surreal for me.

1) Satanic Panic - satanism in the day cares ahhhh!

2) "Repressed memory" syndrome

3) Facilitated Communication [FC]

All 3 led to massive abuse.

"Therapists" -and I use the term to describe these quacks loosely - would hypnotize people & convince they they were 'reliving' past memories of Mom & Dad killing babies in Satanic rituals in the basement while they were growing up.

Other 'therapists' would badger kids until they invented stories about watching alligators eat babies dropped into a lake from a hot air balloon. Kids would deny anything happened for hours until the therapist 'broke through' and 'found' the 'truth'.

FC was a movement that started with the claim severely handicapped individuals were able to 'type' legible sentences & communicate if a 'helper' guided their hands over a keyboard.