BC POLITICS
Saved by @Alex1Powell

I want to echo Ibrahim’s welcome for this engagement with Syrians by @AnnaMcMorrin and @WayneDavid_MP.

At the same time I am overwhelmed with how far we are from where we need to be.

I have such a flood of thoughts, it is hard to know where to

 One difficulty is having too much to say. Another is that so many of my thoughts are by now steeped in bitterness.

I think it is very important to say that Labour’s problems on Syria don’t begin and end with Jeremy Corbyn and his associates.
There is too much bitterness on Twitter, but I think I need to write a little on mine here, and how it colours my view.
This year’s anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre comes to mind. Labour leader Keir Starmer marked it here:

https://t.co/jaf27nIEuh

Inevitably some couldn’t help think of Corbyn’s record of siding with mass murderers.
The month after came the anniversary of the Ghouta Massacre. I don’t believe Starmer mentioned it. I don’t think @lisanandy said anything about it either.
It was after the Ghouta Massacre that Ed Miliband led the PLP in opposing action against Assad.

https://t.co/Pv2aR5k7Fl

Ed Miliband is in Starmer’s shadow cabinet.

Labour can’t talk clearly about Syria without facing up to the consequences of the choice the party made in 2013.
One consequence of the 2013 vote was that both Labour and Conservatives emphasised humanitarian aid.

But no amount of aid could stop Assad’s bombing of civilians.

Ministers recite enormous numbers for UK aid spending on Syria. Those numbers are a measure of failure.
No amount of aid can bring Assad to release a single prisoner from his torture dungeons.

Aid helps keep some of Assad’s victims alive. It has also kept Assad’s regime alive, allowing the regime to continue its torture and mass murder.
Let’s look at the letter by @AnnaMcMorrin and @WayneDavid_MP.

They call for UK action on Assad regime detention and torture. What action?

The regime sustains itself on torture, and torture will continue as long as the regime remains.
https://t.co/beKWIqEPoT
They call on the UK to ensure transparency and accountability in elections under the Syrian regime.

This is nonsense.

The regime is sustained by torture and other crimes. Transparent and accountable elections are simply impossible with the regime in place.
So the letter calls for things the UK can’t deliver, or at least calls for them within a framing that makes them seem impossible.

Because for them to be possible, you have to think about how to bring about the fall of the regime. And no UK politician wants to go there.
Between these practically impossible and politically impossible choices, there is a third way to work towards a better future inside Syria, which is to focus on transparency and accountability in those parts outside regime control where the UK or its allies are present.
What does that mean and where does it lead?

The past decade has seen the UK and allies seek influence in Syria while avoiding responsibility.

We need to act responsibly, starting with UK and Coalition transparency and accountability east of the Euphrates and in the Tanf Zone.
We need the Coalition to pay reparations to civilian victims of Coalition actions in Raqqa.

We need public recognition by UK politicians that the current Coalition-backed SDF administration falls short on transparency and accountability, falls short on political inclusion.
We need the UK-US Coalition to uphold its legal duty to civilians in the Tanf Zone as set out in Geneva Convention IV.

We need the UK to bring in food and medical aid to Rukban camp as a minimum.

We need the UK to support proper schools and other civilian facilities.
Just these actions could make a big difference, but we need to go further.

The SDF is one problematic ally of the UK in Syria. Closely related is another problematic ally, Turkey.

The challenge is to work with both, and to work for transparency and accountability in both cases.
Realism demands recognition that Turkey is the largest economy in the region, and shares the longest border with Syria.

Realism demands recognition that millions of displaced people in Idlib currently rely on Turkey for protection from the Assad regime.
The UK needs to back Turkish protection of Idlib.

The UK also needs to encourage greater local accountability, civil control and political inclusion in areas now under Turkish control.

That’d be easier if the UK and US were already doing the same in SDF areas and the Tanf zone.
The Coalition’s military policy in eastern Syria has been effectively to arm a minority to rule the majority. It can be seen as a repeat of French colonial practice in Syria, a legacy which laid the foundations for the Assad regime.

For everyone’s sake, we need better than this.
With the knock-on effects of the 2013 vote, Labour had a negative effect on Western policy beyond what MPs that night can have expected…
The UK has little prospect of leading anything post-Brexit.

Western policy on Syria will continue to be led by the US

But a wiser Syria debate amongst those few in UK politics who are still engaged with the issue could yet do some good.
Postscript: Much credit for this glimmer of light is due to @DavidTaylor85 and his colleagues in @LabourCID for years of working for better engagement with Syrians.

More from Politics

Kanekoa
Kanekoa
@KanekoaTheGreat
*The Evidence Collection*

There is overwhelming evidence of election fraud. Therefore it is the duty of the Executive, Legislative, & Judicial branches to throw out the fraudulent votes & to honor their oath to protect & defend the Constitution of the USA.🇺🇸🦅

A list below.🔻


1/ Navarro Report: The Immaculate Deception - Six Key Dimensions of Election Irregularities -

2/ Analysis of 3,000 U.S. counties shows Joe Biden received 5.6 % more votes in counties using Dominion Voting Systems (Video) -

3/ Antrim Michigan Dominion Voting Systems Forensics Report -

4/ Evidence Grows: ’20 Election Was Rigged -
POLITICS , ALL
Brian Cates
Brian Cates
@drawandstrike
Trump is gonna let the Mueller investigation end all on it's own. It's obvious. All the hysteria of the past 2 weeks about his supposed impending firing of Mueller was a distraction. He was never going to fire Mueller and he's not going to


Mueller's officially end his investigation all on his own and he's gonna say he found no evidence of Trump campaign/Russian collusion during the 2016 election.

Democrats & DNC Media are going to LITERALLY have nothing coherent to say in response to that.

Mueller's team was 100% partisan.

That's why it's brilliant. NOBODY will be able to claim this team of partisan Democrats didn't go the EXTRA 20 MILES looking for ANY evidence they could find of Trump campaign/Russian collusion during the 2016 election

They looked high.

They looked low.

They looked underneath every rock, behind every tree, into every bush.

And they found...NOTHING.

Those saying Mueller will file obstruction charges against Trump: laughable.

What documents did Trump tell the Mueller team it couldn't have? What witnesses were withheld and never interviewed?

THERE WEREN'T ANY.

Mueller got full 100% cooperation as the record will show.
POLITICS
Advertisement
Werise
Werise
@We_Have_Risen
I was working on something before the election that became the election...

Color revolutions are real and we just witnessed one live and direct...

1.
POLITICS
Brossentia @ Home!
Brossentia @ Home!
@Brossentia
Watching the Congress hearing on Gamestop/Robinhood/Reddit. I'll let people know if there's anything super interesting.

Right now, it seems like both Democrats and Republicans are sympathetic with average Americans rather than the companies. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

I kind of like Rep. Patrick McHenry's (R) take. Basically, he says it's dumb that it's easier to buy a lottery ticket than to invest.

Now, Congressional hearings in committees are often more about figuring out problems than attacking each other; I fully expect both Democrats and Republicans to have good insight here.

Rep. Al Green says that fines -have- to outweigh the benefits from breaking the law. I completely agree.
POLITICS
Jennifer Cohn \u270d\U0001f3fb \U0001f4e2
Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢...
@jennycohn1
Rs made gains in state legislatures in 2020. Even where manual audits are conducted, they rarely include state races. 😢

“Ds spent big to take control of state legislatures but lost their key targets. Now they’ll be on the sidelines as new maps are drawn”

I reported on the sorry state of election auditing laws in the US in this pre-election piece for @NYRDaily. This must change. #RobustManualAuditsNOW
1/

2/ “Earlier this year, ... Republicans blocked federal legislation, the SAFE Act, which would have required such [manual] audits for most federal races.”

3/ “America’s preeminent election-auditing expert, Philip Stark, a professor of statistics at...UCB, told me a few weeks ago that “only a few jurisdictions currently audit elections in a way that has a good chance of catching and correcting wrong reported outcomes.” @philipbstark

4/ “That requires a trustworthy paper trail—primarily hand-marked paper ballots kept demonstrably secure throughout the election and the audit—and [what is known as] a risk-limiting audit using that paper trail.” #HandMarkedPaperBallots
POLITICS

You May Also Like

Anu Satheesh \U0001f1ee\U0001f1f3
Anu Satheesh 🇮🇳...
@AnuSatheesh5
Thirumalai Murugan Kovil
#Panpoli
#TamilNaduTemples 🚩

Thirumalai Murugan Temple is located in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu. Muruga is worshipped as Thirumalai kumarasamy. Temple is situated near Kerala border and known to be where Shri Murugan gave darshan to Rishi Agasthiar


Devi is worshipped in the temple as Thirumalai Kaali amman

Sthala Puranam says that, there was a priest named Poovanbhattar of Thirumalai Kaali amman. Murugar appeared in a dream of the bhattar and said to find a Vigraham, lying in particular place which is of Thirumalaikumaran


Bhattar conveyed the news to the Pandalam Raja and they went to find out the vigraham. Surprisingly ants showed the way to find the Vigraham. Thus Murugan vigraham was found and Prathista was done here. There is a lake with pure water on the top of the hill


which is said to be created by Agasthiyar. It is believed that kannaki of
Chilapathikaram visited here before going to Kerala. Sapthamathrukkal also worshipped Murugan here. Kanthashashti Thiruvizha is very famous here.

Om Muruga
Muruganukku Harohara
🙏🕉🙏
ALL
Sevak Sathaya
Sevak Sathaya
@Sevakofmata
Sharing one incident... After Modi's Trichy youth conference, the very next morning when police were clearing up their mini-control room, they found 5 strange boys who were roaming there with bags. When police enquired them "Sir, we are from Subramaniapuram in Trichy.

Whatever political meeting or conference is held in this ground, we come here on the same night or morning hours to collect the Liquor bottles to sell in the scrap shop for 50 paisa to 1 rupee per bottle and we used to earn Rs 200 to Rs 400 on each such event.

Even in the last DMK meeting the very next day we collected around 1500 bottles. But for Modi's BJP meeting, we could not find even a single bottle in the whole ground. We are coming around and around and not a single bottle in any corner of the G Corner ground in Trichy,

we are much disappointed, sir!". Police seem were stunned and pleasantly surprised. This is what Modi magic does in this nation. Modi is the one who can lead our nation and make everyone prosper with hardwork in right direction and proper approach.

This funny but interesting anecdote was published by a statewide local daily Dinamalar. I have just translated and posting it here for rest of the nation;
INDIA
Advertisement
Emma Hilton
Emma Hilton
@FondOfBeetles
This is Kuinini ‘Nini’ Manumua, the woman who was ultimately displaced by inclusion of Laurel Hubbard.

She’s 21, and it would have been her first Olympics.
ALL
Suhas S. Hardutt
Suhas S. Hardutt
@HarduttSuhas
Marvels of Medical Science in Ancient India

ACHARYA SUSHRUTA and SUSHRUTA SAMHITA

Ancient Indians were pioneers in diverse fields of study and their genius was centuries ahead of their times. Feel the glory, basking in pride of their unparalleled achievements.

(Thread)


Sushruta (circa 7th or 6th century BC) was a surgeon who in present times is known as the “father of Indian medicine” and “father of plastic surgery” for inventing and developing surgical procedures. He lived in Kashi on the banks of river Ganga.(1)

His work documented in the Sushruta Samhita (compendium) is one of the oldest texts in the world on plastic surgery and regarded as one of the trilogies of Ayurveda. The other 2 being the Charaka Samhita and Astanga Hridaya.(2)

Sushruta compiled the Sushruta Samhita as an instruction manual for physicians to treat patients.(3)

The Samhita caters to surgical techniques listing over 300 surgical procedures and 120 surgical instruments. Additionally to 1,120 diseases, injuries and their treatments with over 700 medicinal herbs and their application.(4)
RELIGION
Nikita Poojary
Nikita Poojary
@niki_poojary
Mr. Vijay Kedia built a net worth of over Rs. 800 crores.

But you probably never read past that headline.

So I binged hours of interviews to learn his investing principles and strategies.

Here are 20 lessons on investing from @VijayKedia1 Sir:

Collaborated with @AdityaTodmal


Before I start, a quick disclaimer, please don't ape his portfolio.

As the entry price, horizon and risk appetite would be far different than yours.

Rather lets draw inspiration and try to learn his stock picking skills.

Now let's DIVE IN👇

1/ Started off as a trader:

- Soon, beginner’s luck started to fade out and loses started to mount, to an extent where his mother was about to sell her ornaments.

- Although he was able to dodge the situation.

- This incident taught him the biggest lesson to have a stop-loss.

2/ Punjab Tractors:

- In 1990, he made his first investment by putting in his 10-years savings of Rs 35,000 in this stock, based on a news trigger that tractor industry will witness a turnaround.

- It worked and fetched him 4-5 times which he calls it as a fluke.


3/ He believes that an investor must possess three qualities:

i. Knowledge,
ii. Courage, and
iii. Patience.
GENERICLEARNINGS , ALL