THREAD. 1. We simply must stop seeing Freedom of Movement of People as a thing that causes mass immigration or that we must be scared of it. It avoids the need for “permanent immigration” & opens opportunities for British people and ensures our prof quals are recognised /...

Xi Jinping's speech at Davos boiled down to: The world has no choice but to do business with China, and if you want to do business with China, you need to stop criticizing our tyranny and questioning our lies about the

Xi's address to the World Economic Forum will serve as well as any other moment for historians to mark the beginning of the Authoritarian Era. He said nothing new, but he restated the narratives and demands of Chinese fascism from a post-pandemic position of aggressive strength.

For the first time, Xi spoke to a world that is beginning to accept the tenets of authoritarianism, thanks to the incredible political and economic damage from China's coronavirus. China's ideals have become as viral as Covid-19.

Thanks to the pandemic, the political elites of the world now universally see their citizens as dangerous mobs that must be tightly controlled for their own good. Most of them always thought that way, but now they can say it openly and act aggressively on their prejudices.

Xi clearly stated that China will not be contained, censured, or judged for its actions. He denounced Western ideals of human rights as "arrogance" and imperialism. After Covid and Biden's inauguration, he sees no nation with the strength or will to thwart China's ambitions.

The Great Northern Forests of Canada, Russia and Scandinavia are doomed to destruction due to the most severe expected temperature increases from global warming anywhere on Earth which will turn them to savannah within decades with severe consequences for all life on Earth.

*An extensive review of studies published in the journal Science found that the boreal forest can't migrate north fast enough to outpace the impacts of a changing climate.*

"This forest will convert to a type of savannah."

'consequences..will be

'feedback loops created by permafrost melt and wildfire destruction represent just a few of the worrisome effects of climate change in the boreal. Boreal forest ecosystems are particularly at risk to the rising temperatures of climate change'.

'Worrisome'!https://t.co/zZNKrRnqoZ

'Boreal forests aren’t just important for the climate. They are also home to over 20,000 species and of these more than 300 species listed in the IUCN Red List.. from woodland caribou in North America, and Blakiston’s fish owl in Russia, to Siberian

'When you add up both the absorption and emission, Canada's forests haven't been a net carbon sink since 2001. Due largely to forest fires and insect infestations, the trees have actually added to..greenhouse gas emissions for each of the past 15

#endsars #endpolicebrutality

Dear Friends,

On a rather deeper look at things, Police brutality is the topmost of the agitation but the anger and fury is deeper, bottled up for many years. An oppression our fathers have endured and the children now say No More, Enough is Enough!

In the context of the current scenario “SARS” has become a metaphor.

“SARS” in our society today represents all the inefficiencies, corruption, structural imbalances, faults and All the shenanigans of the Political class

If this present fury does not inspire an overhaul of the Nigerian system, then we may be headed for another restless round of 60 year of disastrous merry go round. This Nation needs a RESET NOW!!

It’s a good time to negotiate the fixing of this great Nation.

How long do we keep singing; Nigeria has great potentials? Let those potentials start working for good

If we must tell our selves the bitter truth as a people we urgently need to fix these;

* A drastic cut in cost of governance
* Federal Ministers shouldn’t be more than 10

* Remove the lofty attraction in public office
* Reduce the powers of the centre and decentralize reasonably
* Fix our defective constitution
* Reset the civil service
* Create regional economic/developmental competition
* Allow states to explore their resources/endowment

A lot has been written about what Mario Draghi's arrival in Italy means for Italy. But little has been said about what he could mean for Europe. I think Draghi could be a game changer for EU; he could even turn its toxic North-South dynamic on its head. Thread 1/

Why? The @EU_Commission is currently reviewing (quietly) member states reform plans. These are basis upon which EU capitals hope to begin receiving their allocation, in transfers & loans, from the €750 billion Recovery Fund, starting later this year 2/

Remember the numbers are unprecedented. Italy is eligible for ~€188bn (roughly €65.5bn in grants; €123bn in loans). Spain a €144bn, roughly €59bn in grants & €85bn in loans etc etc. The amounts for all member states are unprecedented 3/

Yet despite this, & fact Fr & Ger pushed hard for this deal, officials in Bxl are scathing about proposals advanced by.. Paris & Berlin. I oversimplify: but basically, Macron is distracted by Covid; Merkel, elections in Sept. Sweeping reforms are the last thing on their minds 4/

This puts Commission in its usual bind. If Bxl doesn’t raise the reform bar with Chancellery & @Elysee, it will have no credibility to push southern Europe to do same. But it also can’t impose reforms on countries that aren’t willing to do them, especially not the big 2 5/

Those with a stated interest in heritage, like e.g.
@theSpurtle @NTBCC
may be interested to read our new section covering the extensive advice given to the Council & Developer by Historic Environment Scotland.

To save people having to read the whole thing here are a few key points. HES conclusion: "the proposed development would give rise to "adverse effects on the OUV of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site (WHS) & the setting of the Category A listed Royal Crescent"

Regarding the application brought forward HES "recommended changes to the design of the development which we consider would reduce and avoid the impacts described" (on the OUV of the WHS). These included reduced height.

However, even the 1st pre-application advice issued to the developer & Council said "On the northern part of the site.. six-storey blocks would constrain... views to the Crescent from the north… Reducing the height of the.. blocks…would… protect the WHS topography & townscape"

Then on another occasion "our clear preference would be for the consideration of alternative options for the footprint and massing of development in this area" Referring to the southernmost blocks nearest to Royal Cres