The Environment Agency has documented 243 violations of the “farming rules for water” since they came into effect in April 2018 - but there have been no prosecutions or fines issued to polluters.

My latest exclusive for The

The region with the most breaches recorded was Devon and Cornwall, with 75, followed by Wessex with 52 .

The breaches the Environment Agency has recorded are a fraction of the actual number, according to conservation organisations.

said: “This legislation is being violated on a regular basis across the country by farms and virtually nothing is being done to monitor it or enforce it.”

“Even when the Environment Agency identifies breaches, they don’t have the resources to follow up. All of the effort put into crafting the rules and consulting on this issue has proven to be a complete waste of time.”

The legislation, which was first announced in November 2017, gives the Environment Agency the power to prosecute or fine individuals and companies found to be polluting waterways with contaminated runoff water, or acting in a way that creates a high risk of pollution.

Ok, time for a big thread on a general theory of history and society.

Every human society has to navigate the relative importance of the individual versus the group. You can think of every society as being placed somewhere on a spectrum between "Everything is about the individual" and "Everything is about the group."

Human society--tribal society--starts out at the extreme "group" end of the spectrum, because the overall imperative is survival. The individual needs to defer to the group because that's how the group survives. Natural selection means we're all descended from such a society.

Then over time society generates some surplus and there's more scope for the individual. And I do believe that the particular genius of the West is that it decided, earlier and more firmly than the rest, to shift the cursor further to the side of the individual.

First with the Greeks, then with Christianity, then with Modernity, we collectively pushed that cursor further away from the "group" end and towards the "individual" end. And lo and behold, each time we did, amazing things happened!

Rarely does a pressure group go into a closed door meeting with the govt and come out the same. History is replete with examples; the trust deficit is justified.
The wiles of the oppressor haven't changed either.

*Brute force - already in display.
*Divide & rule - currently in play.
Money doesn't seem to be working, the PDP/APC card is dead and the last few days have shown that the religious and ethnic division is mostly inherited and sustained only by the ignorant

... and those benefitting from the resulting disunity.
Time to pit them one against the other.
The one who plants, is not necessarily the one to harvest. And e fit be say who harvest; no no go chop. Everyone has a role to play.

If the fight is truly for and about "country" it will not be sacrificed at the altar of ego. If you find yourself saying "I" too many times; re-examine your motives.
My age grade with the knowledge and experience; how far? With all the wisdom, nibo la ba de?

Barely 3 weeks ago we were all groaning under the weight of multiple increased taxation. Not a month goes by that we don't clutch our chests because another young Nigerian has been murdered in cold blood or another village massacred & razed by bandits.

Weekend Musings

Step by step guide on how to prove via SM photographs that you have embraced Class and crawled out of your Indian middle class origins and are ready to look down upon fellow Indians with that high society subtle and pretentious scoff and ‘OMG’!

Let’s go -

1. ‘The book I’m reading’ photograph isn’t about the book. It should have a frappe, cappuccino, anychino..basically any Barista level fancy stuff. Coz honestly neither you nor your friends understand or use French press or Colombian beans. An eatable, casually thrown around, but

make sure the label is visible. And it HAS to be some foreign brand of cookies, cheese, cake you picked up at your last Khan market visit and we’re saving for this photograph. Try Scandinavian brands. No one understands what’s written and everyone will assume it’s really fancy.

And all this should cover not more than 30-40% of space in your photograph. Rest should be of the ‘view’ of the localé which ‘ OMG I wasn’t even aiming at but it just came in picture’ kinda stuff. An opportunity to show your house, garden, hotel etc. Make sure the beverage is

in a big cup. Never China. That’s Middle class. Go for those heavy stone/ Earth shade ones that prove how you always prefer staying connected to ground but everyone know they are pretty costly at those fancy stores. You can also buy them from road side vendors and fool everyone.

For everyone saying the current democrat party will improve systemic racism and racial unity I need to point this out.

Historically democrats have always been racist and even misogynist and this isn’t even ancient history it’s modern history too. Let me give you the list that I can pull from memory.

1. Democrats voted unanimously against ending slavery.

2. Democrats created the KKK.

3. Democrats were against the civil rights act of 1964.

4. Democrats voted against women’s suffrage.

5. Democrats instituted and enforced Jim Crow laws.

6. Democrats historically discouraged integration policies and encouraged segregationists.

7. 46 authored and sponsored the 1994 crime bill which was signed by then democratic president Clinton. This bill has been attributed to systemic racism in America.

8a. Margaret Sanger, the founder of PP and also democrat, instituted PP to cull the African American community. While it may have a mildly nobler purpose today, under the guise of women’s health it was intended as a racially eugenic operation.

Thread 🧵
The number of deaths in the nuclear research facility presents a horrific story as 73 suicides, including by many scientists, were reported between 1995 and 2016.
1966 Dr. Bhabha had died in an air crash after he publicly said India could produce a nuclear device
1

On June 13 2009, India’s television channels reported the death of Lokanathan Mahalingam, a not-so-well-known nuclear scientist. Mahalingam was working for eight years in the Kaiga atomic power station, located in the South Indian State of Karnataka
2

Uma Narasimha Rao, aged 63 and a retired scientist of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), committed suicide at her house at Govandi owing to chronic depression. In a suicide note, she said none was to be blamed for her “extreme step.” 2011
3

Ravi Mule
Another employee of the Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd, Ravi Mule, went missing and was later declared murdered. His brother made his own efforts to investigate after police failed to make any headway. 
4

On February 2010, M Iyer, an engineer working with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, was found dead in his residence. Police investigations reached a dead end, with forensic experts declaring, as in all cases of unexplained deaths of employees involved in nuclear programme
5

1/ The Evidence-Based Social Work Alliance has written an open letter to the Chief Executives of all four UK social work regulators, CAFCASS and BASW.

A request for policy review and practice guidance

https://t.co/xfISp9y9Vd

2/ "EBSWA gathers and considers evidence on the questions of sex and gender identity in order to inform professional discussion. We are concerned by the uncritical use of gender identity theory in social work and other professions".

3/ "Of immediate concern is the increasing numbers of children and young people with gender dysphoria who are presenting to the profession. The welfare of gender-dysphoric children is increasingly being discussed within the child-protection context...

4/ "...and yet our attempts to explore alternatives to the affirmation model are being met with accusations of hateful conduct and referrals to our regulator for investigation. We are being silenced in our attempts to understand and discuss the evidence-base approaches to this".

5/ "The recent high-profile Judicial review of the Tavistock and Portman Trust’s treatment of Keira Bell...will change the way in which professionals approach this issue. Social work policy and practice must engage and respond in line with these developments".

The truth in Black and white: An apology from The Kansas City Star. In a six-part investigation, @KCStar finds it "scorned generations of Black Kansas Citians and...robbed an entire community of opportunity, dignity, justice and recognition."

As floodwater upended Black lives in 1977, Kansas City newspapers fixated on Plaza, suburbs and all but ignored how the flood destroyed the homes of Black citizens -- part of @KCStar investigation of itself in, "The Truth in Black and White."

Charlie Parker? Jackie Robinson? For The Star, Kansas City Black culture was invisible

When civil rights movement marched forward, @KCStar lagged behind. The newsroom was run by white men. They overlooked the protest the way they overlooked nearly everything else involving the Black community in the mid-60s

‘Brutes’ and murderers: Black people overlooked in KC coverage — except for crime. Rarely, even up into the 1960s, did the papers doubt, challenge or investigate the police version of events, or interview Black victims.

A lot of the conversation revolves around Nazis & yes, let’s hate Nazis. But that’s easy. More people need to focus on loving, supporting, & standing up for Jewish people. Antisemitic people aren’t only out-in-the-open white supremacists. Antisemitism is everywhere. 1/10

Punching Nazis, again, great-they’re trash that deserve a good throat punch -but it does nothing to solve the problem of antisemitism. Start by looking at yourself and understand the ways in which you, yes you, perpetuate antisemitic stereotypes. 2/10

Stand up for us when you hear other people perpetuating those stereotypes. Do more than just say “oh, sad” every time a synagogue or Jewish cemetery is vandalized (which is often). 3/10

Educate yourself. Regurgitating that 6m Jews were murdered during the Holocaust isn’t enough. How did it get to that point? They didn’t just start killing Jews. Years of propaganda & scapegoating- by the time Jews were dragged from their homes, their neighbors didn’t care. 4/10

Do you know anything else about the history of the Jewish people? That the Black Plague was blamed on Jews? A conspiracy that Jews were poisoning the wells? They burnt Jews alive. Jews always required to live in their own areas (Jewish Ghettos) throughout European history. 5/10

Adam McNeil, 34, rents out entire laundromats to allow Black Philly moms to do their family's clothes for free, and he gave away 25,000 diapers, 2 fridges and 2 sets of washers & dryers to Black Philly moms in the last six months alone (a thread):

Here’s the thing about about McNeil's program, SistaTalkPHL: It doesn’t have a fancy executive board or big donors — it’s just got McNeil, his unemployment checks, and donations from people who believe in his grassroots work.

McNeil himself has a hell of a story, having spent nearly a decade of his life in prison and having survived getting into a near-death car wreck.

"I have taken so much in my life," he told me. "Now, I just want to give."

Due to space constraints, I had to cut a section of McNeil's story out that I felt was very powerful. I'd like to share it here.

McNeil never got to meet his dad, who was imprisoned for most of his life.

While McNeil himself was serving time at the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale he realized a guy he ran around in Philly with, who was in the same prison, was his half brother on his father’s side.

State of this children's home in Lancashire, run by the private company Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd: this Ofsted report was uploaded today

Firstly, it is a shit hole (excuse the language, but...)

A child's clothes and shoes are taken away to stop him from running away.

The home is short-staffed and in chaos.

Staff take under-age children to buy cigarettes.

Another thread so soon? This one's going to be about a classic argument, sex determination. There are five methods of sex determination and I'm going to go into depth on my arguments on why I state that sex is able to be determined in all cases. #intersex

As you know if you follow me, there are five factors in sex determination. I've briefly gone into this in other threads but this thread is dedicated entirely to dissecting this whole thing apart. You only need one, or two for 99.98% of people when they are born.

However we're going to talk about those who are "ambiguously sexed" like myself and that brings me to my next argument and point.

The five determination methods in question:
Karyotype, Presenting Genitalia, Gonads, Hormone Production, Internal Reproductive Structures.

Starting with Karyotype.
XX, XY. The point is, humans can only possibly have either a X and Y in their karyotype. However a Y monosomy isn't possible, at least not survivable anyways. The X also comes before the Y as well, but there's more to this particular determination.

It isn't as simple as having a Y, or having only Xs that'd be far too easy for more ambiguous cases. So there's something known as SRY [Sex Region Y] Which is a region on the Y chromosome that is normally necessary for testis development and male development as a whole.

A TOTALLY DISENCHANTED DEMOCRAT SENT THIS. TRY TO PUNCH HOLES IN THIS! These facts speak volumes about the DNC.

The woman who researched and wrote this lives in Sedona Arizona and is a retired lawyer. She writes in simple language as a former Democrat to all Democrats in general:

Democrats –
Now I know you don't like President Trump. That’s a given, SO let's move on from that.
How about the division of America. Do you really blame Trump for that? How about when NONE of the DEMOCRATS showed up for his inauguration?

Don't you think that started the division? He hadn't even been president yet, and EXCEPT for Clinton and Obama, not one Democrat showed up.

Is that when Trump divided America? Can you imagine if the REPUBLICANS didn't show up for Obama's inauguration because they lost? Can you even start to imagine what would have happened?

My Da Tom (90) is coping with #Lockdown3 by consuming ribs & cabbage, marmalade & soda bread, fancy cakes & tay, drawing, painting, playing his fiddle, reading papers, watching snooker, scrolling through Facebook & Insta, playing with dogs & strong whiskey every night.
#Legend

Here is his fridge.
The dude with the fag is called "Lucas Batteries"
He has been drawing him for his whole life.
On school copy books, hotel napkins, and the backs of envelopes.
And on one memorable occasion with a blue marker on a glass door.
"I always give him a #smoke!"
✒️

I bought him a canvas and lent him his late brothers painting set. Filled with colours and brushes, rulers and the nub of a little yellow pencil.
He did this with a sharpie and wax crayons I also brought
And stuck those elves on with Superglue
He tells me it's done an hour later.

Here he is reading the review of #TheScourge by @Katy_Hayes in the @Independent_ie at the weekend
He's quietly orating like the 1st reading at Mass but I can't hear him above the noise of #FlogIt
He's as deaf as a post
And as stubborn as a mule
"Spell it" says he when I'm hoarse

"I finished that in FIVE minutes sure" he laughs when I ask about the canvas, as if it was a competition.
He knows I have one too. Are you done says he to the child sleeping in her clothes.
I haven't had time to brush my hair, says I truthfully.
"Sid is waitin on ya" -
His dog..

The stunning announcement of >$6B in philanthropic donations in one year by @mackenziescott deserves wider

Fine piece by @nkulish in the @nytimes that addresses some of the key

But this should be just the start.

Important first to put the $6B total in context. Total grantmaking in 2019 by @darrenwalker at the @FordFoundation was ~$350M. Total at @Hewlett_Found was ~$450M.

So @mackenziescott is ~15x some of the largest and most discussed foundations.

To the best of my knowledge, what we know about her philanthropy stems from a total of two posts on @Medium.

No address. No website. No known staff. We don't even know much about the entities she's using -- DAFs, LLCs, private

What's interesting about her philanthropy?

*Proves it's not that difficult to give away a billion dollars.
*No strings attached giving - all general operating support over multiple years
*No reporting requirements, AFAIK