After a long period of extended fear, terror and daily assaults on political and social norms, many will want to forget and move forward.
But we cannot take our eyes off those out to dismantle democracy.
This was exactly what I was about to write a thread warning about.
A change in leadership in the US at the executive level does not alter the Republican Senators and Congress representatives. A few of whom are implicated in January 6, 2020 insurrection.
Canada has officially survived the presidency of Donald Trump. Well done gang. \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6
— Gerald Butts \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6 \U0001f637\U0001f590\U0001f9fc\U0001f91a (@gmbutts) January 20, 2021
After a long period of extended fear, terror and daily assaults on political and social norms, many will want to forget and move forward.
But we cannot take our eyes off those out to dismantle democracy.
The urge to move on is strong. Resist it. Celebrate victories and achievements, but DO NOT walk away and forget.
None of them are going to give up. They’ll regroup. They’ll reorganize.
In the mean time, we are all required to stay alert. There is much to do.
They will continue to pursue this agenda.
Yesterday 12 National Guard members were removed from service.
All is NOT well. We are still required to fight for democracy. The US barely survived. Only by luck and incompetence did January 6, 2021 fail.
But the war isn’t over. Just a significant battle. The tides have turned. And hope can be cherished again. But one very large battle win is not the end.
KXL is the least of Alberta’s worries. We still have covid, climate change and coal excavation in Alberta to address, & a premier who has impunity.
Rest, celebrate, breathe like you haven’t been able to in 5 years.
And get ready for more battles.
On February 20, a "Walk for Freedom" is being planned at the Edmonton #yeg Legislature building. The photo uses iconography from the unite the right Charlottesville rally.
— Anti-Racist News & Watch (@YYCantiracist) January 19, 2021
I took a look at some of the names & realized they're part of smaller conservative parties. #ableg pic.twitter.com/FfcvR7KIXv
More from Sunshiny
This is one of the most important threads I’ve read in the last year. Maybe more.
@PaulDoroshenko hits the ball out of the park!
This is exactly what we need to do.
And remember, Harper stacked public service with loyalists. RCMP, judiciary, senate, government departments.
We need Denazification in Canada too!
There can be no tolerance for intolerance.
Many are opining about free speech. In Canada we have freedom of expression and it comes with some caveats. Harmful hate speech is not free.
We have been inundated with hate speech for decades.
It must stop. We must remove the fascists from power and eradicate the platforms they use to build support.
I’ve taught both my children by age 9 what fascism is and what it looks like. I can be done.
School based education is a must to nullify hatred.
But what about the adults? First we remove the ability to indoctrinate through the internet. Mainstream media needs to be purged of nazi sympathizers. And the internet needs regulation. Because some people cannot be trusted to refrain from hate speech.
You got a problem with restrictions on speech, take a look at the US where any form of speech is free. Lying, disinformation, promotion of hatred and psychological manipulation propaganda. And the result is January 6, 2021 attempted “patriot” insurrection.
@PaulDoroshenko hits the ball out of the park!
This is exactly what we need to do.
And remember, Harper stacked public service with loyalists. RCMP, judiciary, senate, government departments.
Denazification was the official term to describe the processes to de-platform nazis from all aspects of German society after the war.
— Paul Doroshenko, Q.C. (@PaulDoroshenko) January 9, 2021
It was effective.
Now the US must do the same.
\u23fa close his Twitter account \u2705
\u23fa arrest the thugs \u2705
\u23fa denounce nazism
\u23fa remove nazis pic.twitter.com/p9x3DFFOtB
We need Denazification in Canada too!
There can be no tolerance for intolerance.
Many are opining about free speech. In Canada we have freedom of expression and it comes with some caveats. Harmful hate speech is not free.
We have been inundated with hate speech for decades.
It must stop. We must remove the fascists from power and eradicate the platforms they use to build support.
I’ve taught both my children by age 9 what fascism is and what it looks like. I can be done.
School based education is a must to nullify hatred.
But what about the adults? First we remove the ability to indoctrinate through the internet. Mainstream media needs to be purged of nazi sympathizers. And the internet needs regulation. Because some people cannot be trusted to refrain from hate speech.
You got a problem with restrictions on speech, take a look at the US where any form of speech is free. Lying, disinformation, promotion of hatred and psychological manipulation propaganda. And the result is January 6, 2021 attempted “patriot” insurrection.
As we wait for the transition of power from despot to democrat, Facebook (Zuckerberg) has taken it upon itself to aid in the obstruction of that power transfer, facilitation of an insurrection narrative and disregard for the will of the American electorate.
In other words, the Social Media monopoly Facebook commands globally has gone full fascist in an attempt to preserve the corrupt and criminal hold on power by Republicans and Trump Administration.
Aiding and abetting a coup d’état.
As if there weren’t enough other reasons to dismantle Facebook’s monopoly, Zuckerberg is playing his cards and revealing clearly that Cambridge Analytica election interference was not just a onetime anomaly, but is now a feature of Facebook’s business model.
Megalomaniac Marc has now revealed the true colours of Fascist Facebook.
Facebook is a weapon to manipulate the masses. A tool to carry out disinformation campaigns with impunity.
And the response of the left... is to delete their Facebook account.
As if the deletion of a Facebook account will do anything. It might send a message that your virtues are principled, your morality superior. But it enables the weapon to be continued to gaslight and manipulate the electorate.
An inherent flaw in the left’s critical thinking.
If you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after.
— Bill Russo (@BillR) November 10, 2020
Look at what has happened in just the past week.
In other words, the Social Media monopoly Facebook commands globally has gone full fascist in an attempt to preserve the corrupt and criminal hold on power by Republicans and Trump Administration.
Aiding and abetting a coup d’état.
As if there weren’t enough other reasons to dismantle Facebook’s monopoly, Zuckerberg is playing his cards and revealing clearly that Cambridge Analytica election interference was not just a onetime anomaly, but is now a feature of Facebook’s business model.
Megalomaniac Marc has now revealed the true colours of Fascist Facebook.
Facebook is a weapon to manipulate the masses. A tool to carry out disinformation campaigns with impunity.
And the response of the left... is to delete their Facebook account.
As if the deletion of a Facebook account will do anything. It might send a message that your virtues are principled, your morality superior. But it enables the weapon to be continued to gaslight and manipulate the electorate.
An inherent flaw in the left’s critical thinking.
Still believe Calgary protests are peaceful?
Not so much!
Not since Calgary police began enforcing the public health edict for masks and for gatherings.
Pair this violent Calgary protest with this opinion piece.
Is it any wonder that “liberty” ideologues are rebelling against Public Health Measures after the premier gave them every indication their freedom was superior to everyone else’s right to
We have evidence that Kenney is instigating STOCHASTIC TERRORISM.
This is what Trump is currently using to effect a coup in the US.
Maybe a journalist can ask Kenney why he stoked the ire of far right immediately prior to ordering a lockdown?
https://t.co/Ypw27JKeE1
As Albertans, we are unfamiliar with the tactics used by fascists. Albertans are naive to subterfuge and sedition.
Stochastic terrorism is common in eastern European nations. Russia & Al Qaida use these tactics all the time, but with much more regularity, brutality & deaths.
Here’s an article from 2011. Spelling out the process of creating a “missile” or “lone wolf” by appealing to those individuals who are mentally unstable. Experts have known how stochastic terrorism works for well over a decade.
https://t.co/zo1vkIoSXC
Not so much!
Not since Calgary police began enforcing the public health edict for masks and for gatherings.
Been waiting for this.. \U0001f644
— Taylor McNallie (@TaylorMadeYYC) December 20, 2020
CPS took action against anti-maskers today, and this is what it turned into.
I got some things to say...
1/7 pic.twitter.com/nGGRxqJ2um
Pair this violent Calgary protest with this opinion piece.
Is it any wonder that “liberty” ideologues are rebelling against Public Health Measures after the premier gave them every indication their freedom was superior to everyone else’s right to
We have evidence that Kenney is instigating STOCHASTIC TERRORISM.
This is what Trump is currently using to effect a coup in the US.
Maybe a journalist can ask Kenney why he stoked the ire of far right immediately prior to ordering a lockdown?
https://t.co/Ypw27JKeE1
As Albertans, we are unfamiliar with the tactics used by fascists. Albertans are naive to subterfuge and sedition.
Stochastic terrorism is common in eastern European nations. Russia & Al Qaida use these tactics all the time, but with much more regularity, brutality & deaths.
Here’s an article from 2011. Spelling out the process of creating a “missile” or “lone wolf” by appealing to those individuals who are mentally unstable. Experts have known how stochastic terrorism works for well over a decade.
https://t.co/zo1vkIoSXC
More from Government
The Government is making the same mistakes as it did in the first wave. Except with knowledge.
A thread.
The Government's strategy at the beginning of the pandemic was to 'cocoon' the vulnerable (e.g. those in care homes). This was a 'herd immunity' strategy. This interview is from
This strategy failed. It is impossible to 'cocoon' the vulnerable, as Covid is passed from younger people to older, more vulnerable people.
We can see this playing out through heatmaps. e.g. these heatmaps from the second
The Government then decided to change its strategy to 'preventing a second wave that overwhelms the NHS'. This was announced on 8 June in Parliament.
This is not the same as 'preventing a second wave'.
https://t.co/DPWiJbCKRm
The Academy of Medical Scientists published a report on 14 July 'Preparing for a Challenging Winter' commissioned by the Chief Scientific Adviser that set out what needed to be done in order to prevent a catastrophe over the winter
A thread.
The Government's strategy at the beginning of the pandemic was to 'cocoon' the vulnerable (e.g. those in care homes). This was a 'herd immunity' strategy. This interview is from
Government #coronavirus science advisor Dr David Halpern tells me of plans to \u2018cocoon\u2019 vulnerable groups. pic.twitter.com/dhECJNbmnI
— Mark Easton (@BBCMarkEaston) March 11, 2020
This strategy failed. It is impossible to 'cocoon' the vulnerable, as Covid is passed from younger people to older, more vulnerable people.
We can see this playing out through heatmaps. e.g. these heatmaps from the second
Here are the heatmaps for Covid detected cases, positivity, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions. This is for the week to 3 January 2021.
— Dr Duncan Robertson (@Dr_D_Robertson) January 7, 2021
I have marked a line on 21 September, when SAGE recommended a circuit breaker, so you can see how the situation has deteriorated since then. pic.twitter.com/SEEVgUVK4j
The Government then decided to change its strategy to 'preventing a second wave that overwhelms the NHS'. This was announced on 8 June in Parliament.
This is not the same as 'preventing a second wave'.
https://t.co/DPWiJbCKRm
The Academy of Medical Scientists published a report on 14 July 'Preparing for a Challenging Winter' commissioned by the Chief Scientific Adviser that set out what needed to be done in order to prevent a catastrophe over the winter
One thing civil servants learn is to write things down. Here is @acadmedsci's 14 July report commissioned by @uksciencechief. For the record.
— Dr Duncan Robertson (@Dr_D_Robertson) September 17, 2020
Which metric is a better predictor of the severity of the fall surge in US states?
1) Margin of Democrat victory in Nov 2020 election
or
2) % infected through Sep 1, 2020
Can you guess which plot is which?
The left plot is based on the % infected through Sep 1, 2020. You can see that there is very little correlation with the % infected since Sep 1.
However, there is a *strong* correlation when using the margin of Biden's victory (right).
Infections % from https://t.co/WcXlfxv3Ah.
This is the strongest single variable I've seen in being able to explain the severity of this most recent wave in each state.
Not past infections / existing immunity, population density, racial makeup, latitude / weather / humidity, etc.
But political lean.
One can argue that states that lean Democrat are more likely to implement restrictions/mandates.
This is valid, so we test this by using the Government Stringency Index made by @UniofOxford.
We also see a correlation, but it's weaker (R^2=0.36 vs 0.50).
https://t.co/BxBBKwW6ta
To avoid look-ahead bias/confounding variables, here is the same analysis but using 2016 margin of victory as the predictor. Similar results.
This basically says that 2016 election results is a better predictor of the severity of the fall wave than intervention levels in 2020!
1) Margin of Democrat victory in Nov 2020 election
or
2) % infected through Sep 1, 2020
Can you guess which plot is which?
The left plot is based on the % infected through Sep 1, 2020. You can see that there is very little correlation with the % infected since Sep 1.
However, there is a *strong* correlation when using the margin of Biden's victory (right).
Infections % from https://t.co/WcXlfxv3Ah.
This is the strongest single variable I've seen in being able to explain the severity of this most recent wave in each state.
Not past infections / existing immunity, population density, racial makeup, latitude / weather / humidity, etc.
But political lean.
One can argue that states that lean Democrat are more likely to implement restrictions/mandates.
This is valid, so we test this by using the Government Stringency Index made by @UniofOxford.
We also see a correlation, but it's weaker (R^2=0.36 vs 0.50).
https://t.co/BxBBKwW6ta
To avoid look-ahead bias/confounding variables, here is the same analysis but using 2016 margin of victory as the predictor. Similar results.
This basically says that 2016 election results is a better predictor of the severity of the fall wave than intervention levels in 2020!
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A brief analysis and comparison of the CSS for Twitter's PWA vs Twitter's legacy desktop website. The difference is dramatic and I'll touch on some reasons why.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
