OK I’m taking this apart since no one else will.

1 The living wage

The living wage is not law. No one is obliged to pay it & only about 7,000 employers in the UK do so. Thus there is ‘no requirement’ in the UK just as there is none in the EU.

Contrast the minimum wage ..

.. which, subject to exceptions IS mandatory in those countries which have one.

Setting minimum wages is not an EU competence. Each (sovereign) member state decides whether to have one & how much it should be. This, it is misleading to have an EU column in the graphic ..

.. anyway.

FWIW, France & Germany’s min. wage is about the same as ours. Ireland, The Netherlands & Luxembourg have significantly higher minimum wages.

2 Sick pay

This is proving easier than I thought. 1st, note that sick pay is not an EU competence. Each (sovereign) member state sets its own. So it’s misleading to compare the UK with the EU. 2nd, the graphic glides over the AMOUNT of sick pay &

.. here the UK ranks pretty much bottom. See the map. Note that German workers receive 100% pay when sick. ..

Lets see who else has a close relationship with Christine Fang (Fang Fang).

The focal S:N501 build is now updated with data from 13 Jan!

There are a total of 247 non-UK & non-South African sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7 #b117) & 501Y.V2.

I'll do an additional thread later on, covering S:E484 & the 'Ohio variants'.

1/18

https://t.co/3bdttjKVl4

There are 244 new sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain & USA, as well sequences as from Ecuador and Greece for the first time.

2/18

Greece has 3 new sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time. They indicate 2 separate introductions.

Ecuador has 2 sequences for the first time. They also indicate 2 separate introductions.

3/18

The USA has 61 new sequences (orange), from Florida, Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania, & New York.

A few of these represent separate introductions. Others form distinct clusters that may indicate ongoing local transmission.

4/18

Israel has 35 new sequences (orange). Some of these show separate introductions, but many link with older sequences, indicating ongoing local transmission.

5/18

@JustUsADOS @AbdullaahDawud @BreakingBrown @doritegrocery @Amazon_Queenn @melanatriot In my humble opinion, there are some (few) who claim “FBA” because they don’t like the moniker “descendants of slavery”. But, they don’t understand the significance, connection and necessity in being explicit that we are owed reparations BECAUSE OF “slavery”... 1️⃣▶️

@AbdullaahDawud @BreakingBrown @doritegrocery @Amazon_Queenn @melanatriot And, everything that followed on the timeline from slavery til now. But, these *few*, need to understand that “FBA” IS an “org” (that does nothing) except for dox people, speak recklessly about ADOS, Black immigrants, and other people who ARE doing the work. Tariq can *say* 2️⃣▶️

@AbdullaahDawud @BreakingBrown @doritegrocery @Amazon_Queenn @melanatriot it’s not an “org”, but once he trademarked it, created some kind of “flag”, took money from thousands of people for a “conference”, and created some sort of weird and dangerous *allegiance* amongst those people... it’s an “org”. That does NO real work in furthering our cause.3️⃣▶️

@AbdullaahDawud @BreakingBrown @doritegrocery @Amazon_Queenn @melanatriot So, those *few* who are doing some work (in Marlon’s case) need to pick a definitive side in name, and principle. Because, whatever work they are doing, needs to be within the continuity of the foundation and work of ADOS who IS an actual WORKING ORGANIZATION. As well as a 4️⃣▶️

@AbdullaahDawud @BreakingBrown @doritegrocery @Amazon_Queenn @melanatriot DEFINED lineage. Those *few* are NOT actually helping, but are in the long run, harming the momentum and progress of those (ADOS) who ACTUALLY created and initiated the definitions, foundation and momentum for the reparations *movement* in the past few years. I can clearly 5️⃣▶️

Hello new followers! Can I introduce you to some of @RSF_inter’s other priority cases? They all deserve much more attention and support! Thread.

#DaphneCaruanaGalizia was a courageous Maltese journalist assassinated by a car bomb near her home in October 2017. More than three years on, there’s still been no justice for Daphne or the extensive corruption she had uncovered. Some background here:

We are working to support her family’s campaign for #JusticeforDaphne. Follow @daphnefdtn, her sons @mcaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia & @pcaruanagalizia, her sisters @Corinne_Vella & @MandyMallia, and her niece @meg_mallia. @TheShiftNews is also an excellent resource.

For the best overview, listen to #DaphneCaruanaGalizia’s son @pcaruanagalizia’s incredibly moving podcast, My Mother’s Murder.

Christopher Allen was a 26 year-old freelance journalist, and dual US/UK national, who was killed covering the civil conflict in South Sudan in August 2017. More than three years on, there’s still been no investigation and no justice.

The recent focus on reaching herd immunity through vaccination may be overblown.

My modeling suggests that it is increasingly unlikely that the US will reach the immunity levels required for theoretical herd immunity in 2021.

https://t.co/7jDgND5vE1

(A 🧵 w/ my thoughts)

This conclusion is based on the following new developments over the past month:

- Remained high levels of vaccine hesitancy
- New variants that may lower vaccine efficacy
- Rollout of the J&J vaccine (efficacy ~70%)
- Delayed arrival of the children vaccine

That said, herd immunity does not have a hard threshold, and being close to herd immunity may be sufficient to prevent large outbreaks.

Our goal should not be to reach "herd immunity", but to reduce COVID-19 deaths & hospitalizations so that life can return to normal.

From my recollection, this was the goal last year, to have a vaccine that would reduce deaths and strain on our healthcare system.

But now the messaging has shifted to "getting at least X% of the population vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity".

I believe this new public health messaging that herd immunity means "X% of people vaccinated" is flawed.

It seems to ignore the fact that:

1) Vaccines do not provide 100% immunity
2) Nor do they stop 100% of transmissions
3) ~30% of population have already been infected

Awareness is the key metric to bring the change in society. As a law student, I see many educated women in society, don’t aware about their basic rights. So, this thread will help you to know your basic rights.

Legal Rights of Indian women

A Thread 🧵👇

1/ Women have the right to equal pay - Acc. to the provision listed under the Equal Remuneration Act, one cannot be discriminated on the basis of sex when it comes to salary, pay or wages. Working women have the right to draw an equal salary as compared to men. Ask for equal pay.

2/ Women have the right to dignity and decency - In an event that the accused (a person who has been arrested) is a woman, any medical examination procedure on her must be performed in the presence of another woman.

3/ Women have the right against workplace harassment - The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, gives a female the right to file a complaint against any kind of sexual harassment at her place of work.

4/ Under this act, she can submit a written complaint to an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at a branch office within a period of 3 months.

1. LIDAR thread. Will write a longer article in a few days. Light Detection and Ranging is technology using lasers to measure distances. In particular Robots, Autonomous Cars and industrial applications.

2. Although LIDAR tech has been around for a while, it is very useful for autonomous driving. Either in passenger cars or "robot taxis". Since 2010 over 30 startups have been founded to build LIDARs specifically for these applications

3. There are 3 types (high level) Scanners (MEMS and non MEMS), Frequency modulated and Time modulated. Every vehicle will need LIDARs. Think of LIDAR as the CPU for autonomous vehicles.

4. Many of the companies developing LIDARs have been acquired as well. E.g. GM Cruise acquired one and the first tier auto suppliers have made investments in multiple.

5. The "furthest along" in this is Google WAYMO and Velodyne. But Velodyne LIDAR is big and expensive ($75K). So the race is on to make them smaller and <$100. $VLDR announced a sub $1000 and sub $500 LIDAR in late 2019 but $LAZR is making prototypes in <$1000 LIDAR

People who haven't studied guns tend to assume that the evolution of small arms towards an assault rifle was in someway inevitable.

I'm here to say that this doesn't follow.

In this thread, I'll pickup on the US crossovers I referenced but didn't cash out in my last thread

1/

If you look closely, there is a tendency among some scholars to erroneously link 3 things:

-the qualities of the infantry

-the soldier's capacity to think & use weapons independently

-& the notion of a democratic values

2/

This really struck me when reading Stephen Biddle's really interesting (but obvs I don't agree with it)

The problem with that argument is its underlying technological determinism that implies only democracies can really produce the type of soldier capable of employing weapons like assault rifles.
4/

The argument makes little empirical sense but it also demonstrates a misunderstanding as to how technologies emerge into the military organisation.

5/

Age has nothing to do with delivery of good governance.. Yahaya Bello, Bukola Saraki, ORJI Uzor Kalu, Tunde Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi were all in their early/mid 40s when they became governors, we know what their report cards says as regards their performance...
There was a time

We had a speaker at the national assembly who was in his 30s, single and very eloquent...He didn't pass any meaningful bill as regards the problems we have today...If you elect the so called angels in political offices today, will you also terminate the appointments of your

Parents, family members, husbands, wives and friends who are also stealing in the ministries that they work? It's really a difficult thing to do..The problem we are faced today isn't institutional but foundational...
Some of u abroad who see some of us that Partisan

As traitors, always wishing the worse for us and having a mindset that we will call you to our rescue are just ignorant and unnecessarily dramatic!
We can't change or take charge of these political offices from outside!
The US have better candidates than Trump and Biden, they

Both belong to parties that we have all known since we were born..The UK has the labour and the conservatives..If you feel we are not doing it well here, fucking come back home and take charge! I wouldn't be intimidated because of my partisanship! I will support my party and

Issues of Sikh Identity: Sanatanist-Sikh Debate (Sheena Pall):

The earliest known leader of Sanatan Dharm movement in Punjab, Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri did not show much concern with Hindu-Sikh identity in his Sikhan de Raj di Vithya (Story of Sikh Rule) published in 1865.

The Bharat Dharm Mahamandal did not show any interest in the issue of the identity of the Sikhs in its first report of 1889.

In 1897, however, in a large public meeting at Lahore the Sanatanist Hindus passed a resolution that the Sikhs were a part of the Hindu community.

Question of Sikh identity became a legal issue when Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia died in Sep 1898 and his widow contested his Will, claiming that "Hindu law of inheritance under which he had given his property in trust did not apply to a Sikh".

The Chief Court of the Punjab ruled that Sardar Dyal Singh was, in fact, a Hindu.

The Bharat Dharm Mahamandal took notice of this issue and passed a resolution in a meeting at Delhi, asserting that the ten Gurus of the Sikhs from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh were Hindus.

Furthermore, "Baba Khem Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak", and "Bawa Sumer Singh (Bhalla), a descendant of Guru Amar Das", subscribed to the view that Sikhs were Hindu.

I’ve done two interviews in the past day with media about the Twitter/Facebook bans and the Parler shut down.

I’m trying to use these opportunities to stress something is getting lost in all the debates about the action: conversation about free expression is the wrong debate. 1/

It’s pretty clear at this point the First Amendment doesn’t apply. The only people making that argument are craven politicians who are trying to gin up anger.

An expression debate focuses on the content. What I keep underlining is social media is a distribution platform too. 2/

What this means is that when someone gets on and posts conspiracy theory content or seditious incitement, it isn’t a question of whether it will be distributed. The publishing platform has the tools for outreach and connection that let that content travel. 3/

Think about me in my basement printing up some nutty manifesto on my laser printer. I still have a problem of reach. How do I get that message out? I could walk the neighborhood or the city, but I’m limited by time and ability.

Working with others takes social connection. 4/

Publishing through a third-party allows for mass printing, but the real power is distribution. They have marketing, sales, shipping arms to make sure those things end up in the hands of others. 5/

⚠ The Texas electric system is facing an unprecedented power shortage situation due to the extreme winter weather impacting the entire state, including Houston & the region. Texans’ electricity consumption needs have far surpassed current power generation. #houwx #hounews 1/10

Early this morning, @ERCOT_ISO declared a statewide power generation shortfall emergency and asked electricity delivery companies to reduce load through controlled outages in an effort to bring the supply of and demand for electricity back into balance. #houwx #hounews 2/10

As CenterPoint Energy made preparations to follow @ERCOT_ISO's directive to reduce load, we were anticipating outages of 15 minutes to more than an hour. #houwx #hounews 3/10

This morning, conditions for power generation were, & continue to be, very serious; @ERCOT_ISO needs electric companies to reduce their load at a higher level & longer than they originally thought, which in turn is resulting in longer outages for customers. #houwx #hounews 4/10

Unfortunately, if you are a customer who is currently experiencing an outage, you should be prepared to be without power for at least the rest of the day. #houwx #hounews 5/10

Thread:
What does State Sponsored Genocide on ethnic #Amharas and #Agaws in Metekel Zone in BSG look like?
Representatives of ethnic #Amhara residents in Metekel have travelled to #BahirDar to raise the ff grievances:

Ato Ayal Engide

“In April 2011,Ethiopian Calendar(1/)

[two years ago], right after Ethiopian Easter, they(ethnic Amharas and Agaws) were forcibly chased out of the rural parts, before they could even finish their Easter celebrations. When we knew we were next, then those of us who were in the urban areas, ended up moving to (2/)

Amhara Region. In May, there was a reconciliation between Mandura Woreda in BSG and Guanga Woreda in Amhara RS. All of us that were displaced believed that this was a true reconciliation and moved back to BSG. But those from the rural parts were still not allowed to go back. (3)

“Targetted killings of ethnic #Amharas and #Agaws has been happening for a while now. But recently, it has been out of control. For example, three brothers who were my neighbors were killed in 2011. Their names were Habte, Ayalew and Yeshewas and are all buried together. (4/)

After the reconciliation, the BSG administration started bothering us again. 12 families were killed in Banjimago. We can tell you by name who are doing these killings and it’s the Zonal administration. (5/)

A short thread on how face masks work, why we wear masks *to protect other people from ourselves* and not the other way around, & why wearing face-shields without a mask, masks with valves, or masks that hang open on the bottom or sides IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS FOR EVERYONE ELSE...

I am going to start off by citing from a great paper by @trishgreenhalgh about the benefits of mask wearing, which you can read in full here:

Masks can work in 2 ways: protecting the wearer, & protecting other people from exhalations emitted by the wearer. Surgical grade masks are supposed to do both. They block out small particles emitted by the source, AND they filter those particles out from other emissions

For cloth masks, however, they are not so good at filtering out tiny particles which can contain viruses. But what they are good at doing is limiting the large droplets people give off when they breathe or cough – before they become aerosolised.

This means when you wear a cloth mask, the most important role that it plays is not protecting you from other people's exhalations but *protecting them from yours*. @trishgreenhalgh calls this 'source control' i.e. 'protects other people from droplets emitted by the wearer'

1) Top US intelligence expert on China explains how CCP combines spying with political influence operations by targeting "soft targets" like politicians. @neftimiades

2) The Chinese op against @ericswalwell "showed how the Chinese regime is willing to invest in the long game—targeting local officials who might become state or national representatives years down the line. It’s a strategy ... that 'can really be devastating to another country.'"

3) "By targeting politicians, Fang was gaining access to those who might shape the United States’ policies toward China.

"'When you have access to that, why do you need classified information?' @neftimiades said."

The focal S:N501 build has been updated with data from 15 Jan, & includes 164 non-UK, non-South African sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7 #b117) & 501Y.V2.

The S:E484 build has also been updated. Includes 501Y.V3 & 20B/S.484K (predominantly in Brazil).

1/16

https://t.co/3bdttjKVl4

There are 161 new, non-UK sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) from the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Spain, Norway, Germany, the USA, & Switzerland, and from Turkey and Ecuador for the first time.

2/16

Turkey has 19 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time. These indicate many independent introductions, though a few clusters may indicate local transmission, and pairs with common exposure.

3/16

Ecuador has 4 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time, which represent 2 separate introductions (pic 2). 3 are identical, and may represent exposure to a common source (pic 3). The connection to the Spanish sequence may be a common source, or onward transmission.

4/16

Denmark has 66 new sequences (orange). A few are independent introductions, though many link with older sequences, showing continuing local transmission.

5/16

This is gonna be a long tweet. Be on the look out for the different parts.

PART ONE

@VRSVirginia- Whats the deal sis? Before I begin, let me make myself CRYSTAL F*CKING CLEAR: I’m on TEAM TRUTH as well as TEAM SURVIVOR. As I KNOW you are aware, survivors of physical......