BC GOVERNMENT
Saved by @Mollyycolllinss

The crisis in the NHS is overwhelming this week. It has reminded me of conversations I had with my late father on how to manage within the state sector. I think they're worth sharing.

 My father worked for the nationalised electricity industry from the late 1940s to late 1980s. He spent much of that time as a fairly senior engineer. He was committed to what he did. He believed electricity supply was a human right. And he sought to delver it.
He left the industry and retired when he realised that privatisation challenged what the believed in. The priority was no longer supply. It was, instead, profit. He had a clear example of the difference this made. It was about emergency management.
In his day the state electricity boards ensured that they had all the capacity they needed to manage emergencies to keep supply going as well as possible, come what may. It meant there was excess capacity. But it wasn't wasted - maintenance and training was done instead.
Privatisation saw that excess as waste, and it went. It was assumed contracts could buy in support when needed. My father believed that was dangerous - because when demand was strongest the most inexperienced people would be put to work on the job.
We can see the same logic now in the NHS. Instead of having capacity to deal with an emergency a decade of cuts have delivered a survive reduced to the most basic level possible. And what we've seen is that outsourcing cannot make up the slack. And that is dangerous.
The NHS is now being overwhelmed. Coronavirus was predictable - and predicted. What was also predictable was that an NHS with reduced beds, staff, equipment and even training because of a lack of slack to let it happen would not be able to cope. And that's happening.
People are going to die now, because of a failed management ideology - that lower cost is always best when what is at stake is the supply of essential public services. So, some questions are appropriate.
Were the tax cuts to big business and the well off worth the deaths we are now seeing from coronavirus?
Was the goal of a balanced budget worth having people die for?
Could we have done better by committing to a universally high standard of basic public services - supplied by an integrated NHS?
Will we learn the lesson now and provide a properly resourced, staffed and trained NHS in the future?
Are people still going to have to die in pursuit of an economic dogma that puts profit before people, and cutting government spending above people's lives?
This is not the time to delay asking these questions. This is the time to ask them. Now is when we have to decide. We need commitment to care, not commitment to cutting deficits, and we need it now. It's time for politicians to deliver that, now.

More from Richard Murphy

Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy
@RichardJMurphy
I am bored by being patronised by those telling me ‘don’t you know Remain is dead?, closely followed by ‘Move on.’ I can tell you, I have. That’s why I want to Return. To Europe, for sure. But to something much more than that.

I want to also Return to a positive politics. That’s the form rooted in compassion, care and genuine concern. But it’s also one that’s also learned that economics has moved on from what was taught by that subject in the 1980s, as has our understanding of the environment.

I want a politics that is not based in materialism. Or jingoism. Or nationalism. Or populism. Instead, I want a Return to the principles of mutual respect, tolerance, acceptance and co-existence, with each other and the rest of this world, human and otherwise.

I want a Return to a bias to the least well off. That’s because we all know the best off can already look after themselves. It’s those who have trouble doing so, for whatever the reason, that I want to be the priority in politics. I wonder, who wouldn’t, and why?

I want a Return to long term vision based on principles.
ECONOMY
Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy
@RichardJMurphy
The more I read it the more I am perplexed by the Brexit deal.

It is an OK deal for trade in goods. Except for a mountain of very expensive and burdensome red tape, that is. And red tape and burdens on business are the thing the Tories always supposedly hated.

And the priority on the trade in goods also makes no sense for a service economy, which we are since the Tories abandoned manufacturing.

Plus, the deal leaves financial services, that are supposedly our greatest success story, and the biggest suppliers of funds to the Tories, in limbo.

The professions, barring lawyers, are meanwhile stuffed without mutual recognition. Many career paths will fall apart as a result of that. And the progressions have been the backbone of Tory support for generations.
ALL
Advertisement
Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy
@RichardJMurphy
I keep hearing people complain that the ‘mainstream media’ does not understand economics and that we’re talked down to as if everything must be explained as if the economy is a household. In this thread I explain all you (and they) need to know. Economics in one thread then....

Very few people seem to understand how money is created. Mainly that’s because when they’re told it seems so simple that they can’t believe something that’s so important that we’re willing to pay a lot to get it is created so easily. This thread explains how money is created.

What this thread also explains is that if we understand money we can completely reimagine how the economy really works, which is the pathway to rebuilding from the mess we are in. Which makes this a pretty big deal. I make no apology for its length as a result.

Let’s start at the very beginning. A person goes into a bank and asks for a £1,000 loan. The bank checks them out, and agrees. And that is all that it takes to create new money. Money is just a promise to pay. That simple exchange of promises is all it takes to create it.

Most people think there must be something that backs up the value of money. Gold, most likely. But there isn’t. Money is just a promise to pay, and has been for almost 50 years now. Mutual promises to pay creates all the money we have.
ECONOMY
Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy
@RichardJMurphy
There is a growing and numbing realisation of just how bad Sunak's budget really was. Worse, he’s even now saying that there is nothing he can do about poverty. This is a long thread to explain why he’s failing and what we can do about it if we want to change our politics.

For those who don’t want to read a long Twitter thread there is a blog version here. https://t.co/AuTdAr1f1n if you want a summary of the whole thread it’s this: the neoliberal thinking that all our main political parties subscribe to is now bankrupt. We need something new now.

Sunak faced a challenge this week. A winning Chancellor has to decide how to secure the support their party needs to win elections. In that case there will always be winners and losers in a budget. So Sunak had to make decisions.

However, it’s fair to say that decisions are always constrained. No budget has, I suspect, ever delivered precisely the policies any Chancellor has really wanted. That’s because all politicians are fantasists and reality has to be addressed as well in any budget.

The overwhelming realities that Sunak needed to address yesterday were really not hard to spot. First, there was the real economic chaos created by shortages in the economy. These are the result of Covid, Brexit and now war, but which heavily pre-dated the last.
ALL
Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy
@RichardJMurphy
Tax cuts are in the news as Tory party leadership candidates are talking about them as if tax was going out of fashion. It is very apparent that none of them know much about tax, so a thread to discuss some of the issues.

First, because all government spending is, as a matter of fact, funded by government money creation via the Bank of England, which was proved in the quantitative easing eras, the proper role of tax in the economy needs to be understood by these politicians.

That proper role of tax in the macroeconomy - which is what they’re going to be responsible for - is to reduce inflation. Tax cancels government money creation. It takes government-created money resulting from government spending out of circulation.

There is no direct relationship between money creation and inflation. But it’s clear that a government cannot spend without limit with newly created money and not create inflation as a result. So governments tax to reclaim the money that they spend.

This means that there are questions for ministers who want to cut taxes now.
ALL

More from Government

David Begnaud
David Begnaud
@DavidBegnaud
Riley J. Williams is charged in the Capitol riot.
She allegedly stole a computer from @SpeakerPelosi’s office, & now @FBI is investigating a tip that she intended to send the computer to a friend in Russia who’d sell it to Russian intelligence.
Williams appears to have “fled”.


From the affidavit against her: Riley Williams’ former romantic partner called the FBI several times in the days following the riots to report that they had seen her in videos inside the Capitol, but friends of Williams had shown the tipster a video of Williams taking a laptop...

... computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi’s office. The witness told the FBI that “WILLIAMS intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service...”

“... but that the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and Williams still has the computer device or destroyed it. “This matter remains under investigation.”

Williams has appeared to have fled, she packed a bag & did not tell her mother where she was going but said she would be gone for a couple of weeks. She has changed her telephone number & deleted what are believed to have been her social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram...
GOVERNMENT
The SNP
The SNP
@theSNP
First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us today. I've got quite a lot to cover in my opening remarks today so please bear with me, but it's all by way of important and, I hope, useful update to you."

NS: "First of all, to today's statistics. The total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 2,649."

NS: "That is 11.3% of the total number of tests carried out, and the total number of confirmed cases is now 143,715."

NS: "660 of the new cases are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 389 in Lanarkshire, 357 in Lothian and 302 in Tayside. The remaining cases are across 9 other health board areas."

NS: "I can also confirm that 1,467 people are currently in hospital. That is an increase of 83 from yesterday."
GOVERNMENT
Advertisement
Cleveland Documenters
Cleveland Documenters
@cledocumenters
Last week, @CleCityCouncil started reviewing Mayor Frank Jackson’s proposed city budget for 2021. There was robust discussion, and Documenters were there to cover it. Here’s a thread of what we learned last week about the #CLEBudget

First, it helps to know where we are in the budget process. From today through Feb. 24, the council will meet about the General Fund budget. The council will then agree on a budget with their changes (if any); 15 days after doing so, they can vote to make the budget official.


In other words, there’s still time to use your voice! The #refundcleveland tool can help. Create the #CLEBudget you want and send it to your council member. Click “Change the Budget” on the homepage and follow the on-screen instructions from there.

Want to know the budget basics? Our #CLEBudget primer details the timeline, different types of budgets and the funds involved, and defines budget-related terms. It can be a helpful guide during City Council’s discussions.

And don’t forget: all these meetings are livestreamed on City Council’s YouTube channel. They’re slated to start at 9 a.m. every business day from today through the 24th. You can also follow along with #CLEDocumenters live-tweet threads and
GOVERNMENT
Dr. SpoonyT DNP, MSN/Ed
Dr. SpoonyT DNP, MSN/E...
@SamWitherspoon4
What should have been enough for @GOP @LeaderMcConnell @LindseyGrahamSC @ChuckGrassley but seem to make up excuse after excuse

What should have been enough: Charlottesville should have been enough. Then Ukraine. Then Covid failure. Then Attack on our Capitol. If you don’t #LeaveTheGOP then you have no moral compass

What should have been enough
Federal civil rights VIOLATIONS at Trump properties

WHAT should have been enough
The Central Park Five should have been enough

What SHOULD have been enough
Birtherism should have been enough.
GOVERNMENT
Absurdistwords
Absurdistwords
@absurdistwords
They shouldn't be.

The pattern is:
GOP in power - GOP dictates policy

Dems in power - GOP dictates policy


The Dems shouldn't legislate toward the GOP.

The GOP doesn't represent its constituents.

The GOP can push it's agenda on its own time.

If Dems push an agenda that actually helps people, it'll also actually help the GOP constituency.

The GOP won't. So give them nothing.

The Dems should ignore the GOP just like the GOP ignores the Dems.

Make them pay for every moment of obstruction.

Just a hard press on legislation that is unassailable and shine a light on the GOP.

Constant. Relentless. Unyielding.

Shut them out and shut them down.

The GOP is not a legitimate political party. It is an anti-democratic, fascist criminal syndicate with no interest whatsoever in governance.

Nobody should give them the slightest bit of credit or legitimacy ever again.

Not a fucking ounce.

Nobody should engage them in legitimate debate in Congress.

They should be pariahs and treated as unserious occupants of Congress.

Because these people were totally ok with their colleagues being killed in furtherance of the destruction of the insitution.
GOVERNMENT

You May Also Like

DTBhat
DTBhat
@dtbhat
The thread explains my momentum scanner and how to build it in #TradePoint software.
@Definedge
Conditions :
1)EMA 8 above EMA 34 and rising
2)Candle close above previous 5 candle high
3) RSI above 60
4) Volume above previous 5 candles
5) ADX above 30
1/n

Select Double Moving Average 8 and 34
2/n


Under Patterns select Close Above Prev Bars
3/n


Qualify the candle close
4/n


RSI above 60
5/n
SCREENERS , SCREENER , A SCANNER
Ramsay Rippers \U0001f354
Ramsay Rippers 🍔...
@RamsayRippers
🧵EMA + VWAP STRATEGY

Every trader has a go-to strategy that works best for them. My trading is all about keeping it simple stupid and revolves around two indicators - Exponential moving averages and vwap.

Here's the strategy that I utilize on nearly 80% of my trades.

👇

What are Exponential Moving Averages?

EMA's are a type of moving average that places a greater weight on more recent data points.

8EMA = Exponential Moving Averages of the last 8 candle closing prices.

EMA's adjust with respect to chart time frame.

What is VWAP?

Volume Weighted Average Price - A key intraday indicator in my trading that offers the true average price based on price & volume.

Calculation: (Price x # of shares traded) / total shares traded

EMA's I use

- 8
- 21
- 50

While I do utilize the 50EMA, the 8 & 21 EMA are most important for this strategy. Some people use the 9 and 20 which are essentially the same thing. REMEMBER: EMA'S adjust with respect to time frames.

A+ Set Up Criteria - (What I look for)
STRATEGY
Advertisement
Vibhu Vashisth
Vibhu Vashisth
@VIBHU_Tweet
दधीचि ऋषि को मनाही थी कि वह अश्विनी कुमारों को किसी भी अवस्था में ब्रह्मविद्या का उपदेश नहीं दें। ये आदेश देवराज इन्द्र का था।वह नहीं चाहते थे कि उनके सिंहासन को प्रत्यक्ष या परोक्ष रुप से कोई भी खतरा हो।मगर जब अश्विनी कुमारों ने सहृदय प्रार्थना की तो महर्षि सहर्ष मान गए।


और उन्होनें ब्रह्मविद्या का ज्ञान अश्विनि कुमारों को दे दिया। गुप्तचरों के माध्यम से जब खबर इन्द्रदेव तक पहुंची तो वे क्रोध में खड़ग ले कर गए और महर्षि दधीचि का सर धड़ से अलग कर दिया।मगर अश्विनी कुमार भी कहां चुप बैठने वाले थे।उन्होने तुरंत एक अश्व का सिर महर्षि के धड़ पे...


...प्रत्यारोपित कर उन्हें जीवित रख लिया।उस दिन के पश्चात महर्षि दधीचि अश्वशिरा भी कहलाए जाने लगे।अब आगे सुनिये की किस प्रकार महर्षि दधीचि का सर काटने वाले इन्द्र कैसे अपनी रक्षा हेतु उनके आगे गिड़गिड़ाए ।

एक बार देवराज इन्द्र अपनी सभा में बैठे थे, तो उन्हे खुद पर अभिमान हो आया।


वे सोचने लगे कि हम तीनों लोकों के स्वामी हैं। ब्राह्मण हमें यज्ञ में आहुति देते हैं और हमारी उपासना करते हैं। फिर हम सामान्य ब्राह्मण बृहस्पति से क्यों डरते हैं ?उनके आने पर क्यों खड़े हो जाते हैं?वे तो हमारी जीविका से पलते हैं। देवर्षि बृहस्पति देवताओं के गुरु थे।

अभिमान के कारण ऋषि बृहस्पति के पधारने पर न तो इन्द्र ही खड़े हुए और न ही अन्य देवों को खड़े होने दिया।देवगुरु बृहस्पति इन्द्र का ये कठोर दुर्व्यवहार देख कर चुप चाप वहां से लौट गए।कुछ देर पश्चात जब देवराज का मद उतरा तो उन्हे अपनी गलती का एहसास हुआ।
ALL
meilong
meilong
@meilong15
一个北大毕业的殡葬工自述武汉封城期间的经历，凄惨。这应该才是武汉的真实情景，跟很多人的叙述是吻合的。


https://t.co/QYTO1SYedG
WUHAN FUNERAL WORKERS REPORT
Katie Mack
Katie Mack
@AstroKatie
Light travels at about 1 foot per nanosecond.

Hold your hand up 12 inches from your face: you’re seeing your hand as it was a nanosecond ago. Everything you look at is, to one degree or another, in the past. The farther away in space, the more ancient in time.

You can’t see the Sun as it is now, but you can see it as it was about 8 minutes ago. You can’t see Alpha Centauri now, but you can see it 4.4 years ago. You can see the Andromeda Galaxy as it was 2.5 million years in the past. And so on.

With powerful telescopes, we can see galaxies whose light has been traveling to us for more than 13 billion years. We see them shining in a universe that’s still young, where gravity has just begun to pull matter together into stars and galaxies.

We can see something even more distant, and more ancient, than the first galaxies. If we peer out far enough, in between the galaxies, we can see parts of the Universe that are so far away, it has taken the light from that distance almost the entire age of the cosmos to reach us.
SCIENCE