1. "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves;...

when I was a teenager, the dominant criticism my closest friends had of me was that I was too arrogant, and they were right. I was too caustic, abrasive, eager to nitpick, quick to criticize, and I was way too certain of myself. I spent my entire 20s trying to correct for this

the social niceties stuff were relatively trivial for me to address. learning to be gracious, patient, I could manage all of that. But "too certain of oneself" goes order of magnitudes deeper. It goes into philosophical territory about risk, certainty, the nature of knowledge

I very seriously experimented with beliefs like "almost everything I know is wrong to a degree I do not understand", "my mental models are contaminated beyond repair", "I have been indoctrinated and need to be deradicalized", I subjected myself and my mind to radical rewrites

Over 8+ years I wrote over 800,000 words of introspective journaling, investigating my own mind, investigating the investigator. I read & talked to thousands of people from around the world to seek out different ways of thinking, seeing, being, believing, knowing, understanding

I tried to think of myself as a robot that needed debugging. I actually made substantial progress with that

I tried to think of myself as a garden that needed tending. I made substantial progress with that

I tried not to think of myself at all, and I transcended progress itself

How do you compare the understanding of a generation that was propelled into protest by the music of Bob Marley,Peter Tosh Okosun and Fela to the one ravaged by the music of Wizkid,Badoo😁 and Naira Marley? A child that say his father is not rich and said his mother doesn’t have

money,na there him dey now. Nobody taught me history, I was 20 when I read Obafemi Awolowo biography,Das Capital by Karl Max at 23 and became a Marxist later to become a social democrat at 26 after reading Awolowo’s trilogy. You don’t even know your history and you are washing

your dirty mouth on your elders. We were on the street as kids in secondary school in 1978 when Segun Okeowo led Nigerian student against the Obasanjo regime,we did the SAP riot against IMF Conditionalities,we fought IBB to a standstill. We are not begging for recognition😁😁you

you are only exhibiting your foolishness and ignorance. The fact that you can’t wine and dine at a protest venue across Nigeria,the price was paid by the blood of a generation. Do you know Beeko-Ransome Kuti, Olisa-Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Segun Mayegun and many others who got this?

The day I lost interest in this generation was when they started comparing Burna Boy to Fela Anikulapo! Fela didn’t become a legend because of weed,it was his intellectual depth that made him one. Do something for your generation and stop blame game,fight your fight,I fought mine

Some preliminary thoughts and questions about policing. All thoughts welcome, but especially thoughts from professional police officers, criminologists, sociologists, and people who've studied policing around the world:

I take as given that we need the police and will need them so long as the human species remains recognizably human. For any population x, some percentage will be dangerous predators, and without the police, we'll all be the prey.

We need the police. In principle, everyone should feel grateful to the men and women who do the difficult and dangerous work of finding and apprehending predators and bringing them before a court of law.

Yet in practice, it seems there's an immense public uneasiness with the police that it by no means confined to the US. The attacks on the police yesterday in France shocked and disgusted me. There's no possible justification for it.

Yet it's important to understand what the perpetrators were telling themselves about why they sought to kill the men who in principle protect them. The scenes represented a breakdown of some kind in both public trust and public discipline.

@JeffLadish I think because the reward structure of being a bio-ethicist rewards saying level-headed sounding, cautious-sounding, conventional wisdom?

Though I'm not sure why that is.

I guess if you want to radically improve the world, you mostly don't go into a field that is about opining on other people's work, you go into something like Engineering and do the work?

I note that Nick Bostrom is what a Bioethicist should be: he thinks hard about tradeoffs and risks, and crystalizes concepts like the Unilateralist's curse and black ball technologies.

But this is starting from a place of "The world could be vastly better. How do we get there?"

I don't know why bioethics doesn't look more like a field of (less smart) Bostroms.

I guess because everyone's disgust reactions are triggered by the actually good proposals, and in order to make those proposals the consensus of the field a lot of people have to bite the bullet and stick their neck out saying "I know this sounds crazy / absurd / vaguely evil...

PRUs and AP - A thread on the impact of the current situation....
Let’s start by saying that I don’t want us to be closed to any child at all, I want every pupil in accessing their education; but I want that to be done safely for children, staff and the wider community...

When the government announced a delay to pupils returning to school PRUs and AP were not included; then organisations like @prusapuk and beyond applied pressure to have this rolled back, we can now work with parents for the first week. Whatever that means...

Here’s a few of the reasons why PRUs and APs must be treated equally:
Firstly, the view that all of our pupils are somehow vulnerable at home is disrespectful to our families. They did amazingly during the first lockdown and would do the same again; the same as any other family!

IT access is an issue, but we have had good engagement with online learning when bubbles have closed and this shouldn’t, in my view, be used as a balance against safety and health! There are ways around it....

My experience is that we have a higher number of families living in 3 generation households than many mainstreams; pupils with elderly grandparents living with them! Protecting these families is crucial to protecting lives and the NHS capacity.

1 / A thread about ‘gender markers’. I’d never heard of the term until I visited a friend in hospital after they’d just been castrated and had their penis inverted (‘bottom surgery’ in gender woo woo speak). I went along to be supportive and gave my friend a pink “It’s a girl!”

2 / card. Because I knew that would make my friend feel good. Also brought a cupcake, stuck a candle in it and celebrated the new ‘birth day’. At one point I reached for my bag on the floor and as I got back up unsuspectingly caught a glimpse of the bloodied bandages in between

3 / my friend’s legs, that was only visible from that particular angle. “You’re having your first period!” I squealed nervously, and felt a weird pang in my groin, knowing my friend used to have a rather sizeable and beautiful penis b4 the surgery and now it was all so... flat!

4 / We laughed and my friend also joked about having been worried that the newly created ‘canal’ wouldn’t be deep enough (for penetration, I assume), but that the surgeon had said it was pretty deep (due to big penis) & my friend better be careful not to lose anything down there

5 / There were 2 other friends there - males identifying as women. The talk was all about surgery, and particularly FFS (facial feminisation surgery). I never knew that was a thing. FFS is about reducing or removing the appearance of ‘gender markers’. I felt so naive and asked

Vaccines against the three major killers of the world's poorest: TB, HIV and malaria are unlikely to have vaccines anytime soon unless vastly more money is committed to researching them, according to the Bill Gates-funded Gates Open Research...

Combined, HIV, TB and malaria kill up to 6 million people a year worldwide, yet the foremost leading voice for production of vaccines in the world says getting vaccines for them is not a priority. Why is that?

When one considers that only about 500 people die of TB in the United States a year, it becomes clear that millions dying in Africa, is not important enough to warrant putting more effort into researching vaccines for them

This reveals - albeit expected - a level of hypocrisy from those who claim to want to save the lives of Africans from a pandemic which doesn't even do anything to Africans, at least relative to the Big 3 killers...

Furthermore, other solutions including a hepatitis C vaccine, a combination vaccine against the four leading causes of deadly diarrhoea and a rapid TB cure have been identified by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and by extension the WHO as non-priorities

Imagine if, in the midst of the massive BLM riots this summer, the entire tech infrastructure had deplatformed Facebook because some had used that app to plan events devolving into violence. People would rightly have called that an insane act of ideological fascism.

Yet today, media will celebrate Amazon doing exactly that to Parler. The tech bros are making a horrible and dangerous moment significantly more horrible and dangerous. There are no consistent standards being applied. There is reactionary deplatforming in the name of one side.

Private companies are by law free to do what they like. That’s why I have always said that the solution to the censorship of Twitter is alternatives -- which is what Parler was attempting to be, whatever its flaws.

But when the technological instruments necessary for speech are located in essentially three companies, all of which are moving toward like-minded censorship (Amazon controls about half of all public-cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 16%, and Google 4%), that avenue closes.

I am by nature anti-regulation. But even the consumer-based theory of anti-monopoly championed by free market advocates cuts in favor of anti-monopolistic regulation if these companies are acting in de facto collusion to shut all avenues of dissent.

Reflecting on the discussion over School Exclusions, it's struck me that many see the concept of Abolition as like "Reform, only better". My experience of running a prison segregation unit has informed my view of how wrong this is. And so... A THREAD 1/

Firstly, updating laptop prevents a blog post, but I may get to that later, if so, I'll link below. To begin: A few years ago, I took over the senior management position in a prison that had departmental responsibility for the prison's Segregation Unit 2/

A Segregation unit is essentially a small living unit within a prison, where people can be taken for the purposes of punishment, or separation from the general population for safety reasons. 3/

When I took over the function, there were normally 12-16 residents, and almost never fewer. There are rules around how/why you can segregate people, which are too much for twitter, but for our purposes, we'll use the two main "themes"- Punishment and Safety 4/

People can be segregated as a punishment after an Adjudication, or held for the good order and discipline of the prison. (See the parallels with the school exclusions debate?) Segregation is not the only punishment available from Adjudication, but is often seen as the top one 5/

Ian Wright of Food and Drink Federation says transport will get worse - trucks corssing short straits now about 2,000 - normally 10,000. Also Irish sea volumes very light, system not stressed but will be

Was Covid crisis a dress rehearsal for Brexit? Supply chais for food and medicines kept running. No, says Ian Wright, because there was no paperwork. Says Covid health checks at Dover was more of a dress rehearsal. Says backlog from that was still being cleared on NYE

Andrew Opie says Covid food supply was internal challenge, not external. Learnings from Dover: problem is often empty food lorries going back to Fr, ESP etc - about 1/3rd going back empty - being prioritised to keep food supply going

Stephen Kinnock MP says steel exports subject to quota - above quota tariff of 25% applies. Exports GB to NI count as part of export quota to EU (Port Talbot steel works in his constituency)

Phipson of Make UK says there are easements that could be put in place for steel and other matters but claims EU reluctant to do so for political reasons

Have you seen the stories about how Trump administration officials and staffers for Ted Cruz are finding that no one in the private sector will hire them because they are forever tainted by their former bosses' disgraceful behavior?

They're bullshit.

https://t.co/XvYDPpR9yd

1/

The Swamped site from @twittlesis is a crowdsourced list of Trump's ugliest swamp-gators and the employers who put them in positions of power and authority despite their complicity with a fascist would-be

On @TheProspect, @alex_sammon provides highlights of the swamp-to-industry pipeline.

Unsurprisingly, babykiller companies LOVE Trump's gators. Jim Mattis? Board member for General Dynamics. Andrea Thompson? Northrop Grumman. HR McMaster? Zoom.

Rick Perry is back at Energy Transfer Partners, parleying his government service into a plum role in energetically rendering the planet unfit for human habitation.

Ryan Zinke's in fintech.

4/

As punishment for his multitude of sins as the president's personal attorney, Donald McGahn has been sentenced to the Wearing of the White Shoes, threatening people on behalf of the clients of corporate law powerhouse Jones Day.

5/

#nofgm thread about getting period for the first time. Trigger warning. So in our communities no ones discuses period or sex. So you don't know that .you are suppose to get period and its part of life. You truly have no idea

The first time I got period. I freaked out . I thought, I was dying literally. I told my cousin I am dying
She asked how .I said I am bleeding and my abdomen is on fire 🔥. First she said you are not dying . You have become a woman .

There its my panic gear goes into overdrive. She mentioned the word woman. The source of my pain. I associate the womanhood with something terrible will occur again. Before the Mutilation. They throw you a party and what everyone says to you is. You are going to be a woman.

For me at that time .everytime I heard the word woman. I panicked and literally scared. My cousin explain abit more. She said now that you have your period
You are a woman. That means you ready for marriage. You are not dying. Its a celebration for the family .

She must have told my mother and other aunties. All of a sudden they were whispering and I can see in their faces the happiness. I dont trust them. I am extremely wary of been hurt again. They are truly happy.. my aunty says. Mashallah( praise the lord) you are a woman

The Seven Schools of Feminist Ideology

1. Liberal Feminism: Also known as mainstream feminism. Believes women’s oppression is rooted in legal structures. Strives to attain gender equality through legal and political reforms. Notable figure: Mary Wollstonecraft.

2. Radical Feminism: Believes women's oppression is rooted in patriarchal gender relations. Strives to attain gender equality by destroying patriarchy and revolting against social norms and institutions that ensconce male privilege. Notable figure: Shulamith Firestone.

3. Socialist Feminism: Believes women’s oppression is rooted in class conflicts imposed by capitalism. Disagree with radical feminists about patriarchy as the cause of women’s oppression. They blame wealth disparity and financial dependence on males. Notable figure: Heather Booth

4. Cultural feminism: Believes there are essential differences between men and women in terms of biology, personality and behavior. Women are seen to have different and superior virtues that provide the foundation for a shared identity, solidarity and sisterhood.

Cultural feminists view women as naturally kinder and gentler than men, and argue that if women were in power, the world would be a better place. In the 1960s and 70s, some cultural feminists supported the idea of forming separate women-only cultures. Notable figure: Mary Daly

If women knew how they carried the divine letters they carried, they would understand why dark groups made so much effort to break the marriage tradition. The hymen of women is not only for health and hygiene purposes.

Especially as it is thought in the eastern parts of the world, it has nothing to do with honor. Every woman has a divine letter with her virginity. This divine letter is in the first sexual experience after a true spiritual marriage, in the presence of God, in sickness-health, ..

good day-bad day, until death separates them (without any earthly condition), in the first sexual experience that takes place after a true spiritual marriage, where they are promised to be with each other for their spiritual development.

During the opening of the membrane, its seal is opened with the first drop of blood flowing. This blood is the only divinely allowed blood. All other bloodshed violates divine laws. When there is no marriage, that is, when the oath is not given before God,

the divine protection is removed and this letter is destroyed by the dark beings. This is why the peoples of Europe were taken to unmarried partnerships, polygamy, youth madnesses, and these were normalized, especially for the destruction of the sacred letters of great importance

I’ve seen lots of people defending porn and BDSM on this website recently, and a lot of other people critiquing them for it. I feel like both sides miss something important that the other side has to say. I usually stay out of this debate, but I feel quite strongly about this.

The critics of BDSM have many things right. The fact that BDSM is used as a smoke screen by abusive men who murder their partners and then blame it on a “sex game gone wrong” should appal all right thinking people.

Pornography/ 50 shades have mainstreamed many of the more extreme practices of BDSM, including choking and anal. This mainstreaming has not brought with it any understanding of consent, or how to reduce the risks associated with more extreme practices.

This has led to young women being pressured into painful and humiliating sex acts that they do not want, did not ask for, and do not understand, without having any trust in their partner to carry out the acts safely, or even with regard to their own desires. This is appalling.

Many defenders of BDSM would agree with all of this. No really, they would. The argument is that if you are pressuring an unwilling partner, murdering people, if you are a dom who has no concern for your sub’s experience, you are not practicing BDSM, you are being abusive.

Who wants to go on an adveventure ???

Ontario based company owns shares in a Chinese company 🇨🇳

China amc owned by CITIC Securities

CITIC security ones by CITIC Group

CITIC Group is communist State corporation/ CEO chang Zhenming important to remember ☝️☝️💰💰