A few more years of this and we'll be a failed state.

It is hard to imagine a radically different future for the country in which you live. But plenty of nations have flipped from prosperity into political and economic collapse, often through gross misrule.
Gross misrule is the UK's other pandemic.
And there's currently no vaccine.

The usual treatment is effective opposition. But, given the scale of the crises we now face, Labour is being remarkably quiet and passive. It should be mobilising its base in protest, while articulating a fresh and exciting political vision.

A crucial aspect of this vision is political reform:
Proportional representation, so the many can never again be dominated by the few.
Get the money out of politics.
Cut Murdoch and the other media barons down to size.
Build a new, more participatory democracy.

The crisis makes a much bolder and more radical Opposition response necessary.
It also provides an opportunity for a new politics, that wasn't there before.
Why isn't Labour grasping it?

1. It's time for the weekly "data from Sweden" thread.
This week 4 main things.
A. Increase in the number of reports
B. Deaths still being reporting back to mid-december
C. Comparing to France?
D. Data on school suggest closing would help.

Let's go!
⬇️⬇️⬇️

2. First, before this week, somehow the swedish public health agency did not consider COVIC too important and reported on deaths only twice a week.

3. I mentioned last week that things are being taken much more seriously now since the government has passed a new temporary law to allow them to close public places likely to spread the virus.

4. You can read more about it in a great article reporting on the Swedish situation with analysis from @FLAHAULT as well. It's all in French though, but would be happy to help if google translate is not enough.

5. If you've been following me before, you know that I have mentioned many this and all the other issues with the situation in Sweden before. You can find short sum ups in these two videos (also in French and with

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The latest IMF report on China was released yesterday and provides a lot of good information and intelligent insight on the Chinese economy. The IMF’s measure of China’s adjusted fiscal deficit (including estimated off-budget

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spending) is projected to rise to 18.2% of GDP in 2020 from 12.6% in 2019. The authors correctly note the worrying surge in debt and warn that Beijing must continue to try to contain financial stability risks, but I notice that they are projecting average GDP...

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growth of just over 6% between 2012 and 2025, including a downward revision of their 2021 forecast from 8.2% to 7.9% (which I still think is a little high).

As I’ve long argued, it will be impossible for China both to control the surge in debt and to achieve growth...

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targets above the real underlying growth rate of the economy, which I suspect is 2-3% at best. I know the IMF is constrained in what it is able to say about the Chinese economy if it wants to remain part of the advisory process, but I do think that after 10 years...

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of watching this game we should be a lot more explicit about the relationship between unreasonably high GDP growth targets and high credit growth. There really is no point in advising Beijing to get financial risks under control while at the same time approving...

PRESS RELEASE

FG URGES NIGERIANS TO PUT UNITY AND PEACE ABOVE ALL

The Federal Government has called on the citizens and good people of Nigeria to put unity and peace above all, especially in light of the simmering tension in Ondo and (northern regions of) Oyo States.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni @raufaregbesola who gave the advice today in his office in Abuja, implored all citizens in the country to exercise restraint and pursue active efforts on how to use the tools of constructive dialogue, good neighbourliness and the primacy of

peace-building as ways of dousing anger and resentment that can only lead to anarchy.

In his speech, titled “A TIME TO PUT UNITY AND PEACE ABOVE ALL”, which he personally signed, Aregbesola observed that “The regrettable incidences of heightening ethnic and religious tension in

our country are, in part, outcomes of political and economic strains that have persistently defined our land and continue to exacerbate security challenges, making the task of development more traumatic.”

According to him, “Government is keenly aware and genuinely concerned about these complications that, sadly, have been sharpened by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic through the growth of anxieties about issues, life and livelihood in our communities.”

“⌚️ 👀 started”
There are more good people than bad. The wizards and warlocks (inside term) will not allow another Satanic Evil POS control our country. Realize Soros, Clintons, Obama, Putin, etc. are all controlled by 3 families (the 4th was removed post Trump's victory).

Amazing places in Nigeria you won’t believe exist in Nigeria

Retweet to educate someone

1. Gurara waterfall, Niger state

Gurara Waterfalls is located in Gurara, a local government area of Niger State, North Central Nigeria. The waterfalls is approximately 30 metres in height and it lies on the Gurara river along the Suleja-Minna Road

2. Sand dunes of Yobe
Located in Geidam, Yobe, Nigeria, these sand dunes are just like those found in Dubai 😁. You can do that desert safari in Nigeria

3.The Awhum waterfall
It is 30 metres high and is located in udi LGA,Enugu state, Nigeria.The locals believe the water has healing powers and is capable of driving away evil spirits if used. The Awhum Waterfall is also a popular tourist location in Nigeria

4.Oguta Lake
Located in Imo State, Southeastern Nigeria; within the equatorial rainforest region of Niger Delta. One part of Oguta Lake in Imo State, Nigeria is blue, the other part is brown. But they never mix

The world must know what Jair Bolsonaro is doing to Brazil
[thread]

DECEMBER 12TH, 2019
Chinese scientists detect a new viral outbreak that, in the following month, would be reported as the “Wuhan virus”, the eighth most populous city in

The timeline of the news, however, is different from that of the facts. And there are several signs indicating that the virus was already spreading in Spain, France, and even Brazil – aside from China itself, of course – on earlier

DECEMBER 31ST, 2019
After 19 days of research upon detection of the virus, China informed the World Health Organization that a pneumonia caused by unknown sources had been reported in

JANUARY 8TH, 2020
Less than a month after the detection of the outbreak, Chinese scientists find out that the pneumonia had been caused by a new type of coronavirus.

Here is the thing about these 2015 conversations that many appear to have refused to move on from.

They should be a teachable moment. Sadly, aren't asking the right asks. Too many people from my neck of the woods (SE/SS) keep insisting on narratives that won't stand scrutiny.

I'll speak for the Igbo side, we are letting ourselves down in what should be a race to advance our agenda within #Nigeria

Yes, it is undeniable that there was an element of ethnic chauvinism in the coalition that came together against GEJ, but to attribute his loss simply to that factor is to completely miss the lessons of 2015, and as a result, set yourself up for another failure.

I'll talk about two of these:

First, Benue. In 2015, Benue state voted for Buhari.

No one within the set of people who keep shouting about ethnic jingoism ever seems to ask themselves why.

There are/were two reasons: first, Gabriel Suswam's government was unbelievably bad.

As of January 2015, Benue owed workers almost a year in salaries, and he never got as much as a reprimand from Abuja.

Instead, Suswam was mollycoddled by the GEJ govt.

A thread on how several muslim countries work hard on fighting extremism and MB, meanwhile infiltrated media work hard on whitewashing islamistic terrorism and MB.
Note: this is NOT about being against muslims. This is about seperating criminal activity from religion. 🕊️

#SaudiArabia According to a review by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education @IMPACT_SE positive changes have been occurring in Saudi Arabia’s educational curriculum since 2016. Changes that have been accelerated in the 2020-21 curriculum👇

1⃣ A Hadith, which teaches that war between Jews and Muslims (in which Muslims will kill the Jews) is inevitable. “Historically, this Hadith has considerably influenced antisemitic attitudes in the Muslim world, so its removal from the 2020 Saudi textbooks is hugely significant"

2⃣ A text describing the evil means utilized by “Zionist forces,” such as money, women and drugs, lending to the promotion of common antisemitic tropes - removed

3⃣ A text describing that Jews have no religious-historical rights since they refused to accept Mohammed - removed

GLOBAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION - A PRIMER

We have hopefully all seen this wonderful diagram from LLNL showing the Flow Diagram of the world’s Energy Consumption in a very useful form full of diagnostic power

So how did we get to here ?

And where are we going from here ?

1. The recent history of Global Energy Consumption

Back in the 1800s the primary use of energy was to generate heat by cutting down trees and vegetation and burning them as fuel - referred to here as “Traditional Biomass”

- this was a defining feature of our World 2.0

2. And then with the advent of the Industrial Revolution fossil fuels like Coal, Oil and Gas became increasingly important

- and they started to define many of the characteristics of our World 3.0

3. Wood-burning Biomass has remained as a significant source of Energy even though its proportion has declined

4. Coal reached as high as 50% of our Energy supply and has continued to grow in absolute terms even though its proportion has shrunk to around 25%

5. Oil took over 40% of the Energy market until the Oil Shock of 1973 started changing our attitudes about the efficiency of its consumption

6. And Gas has been steadily growing its share of the market

Good evening and welcome to the live tweet feed where former @crossriverstate Governor, @LiyelImoke tours public and private properties in #calabar destroyed last weekend in a massive looting.

#EndSARS #calabarprotest

Perhaps Btselem was an important element to have in Israeli society. Even when I was a soldier I respected the need for a watch group. However, over time the increasingly moved away from legitimate criticism, in favor of demonization of soldiers, Israelis, and Israel.

Today they have shown that they are no longer a rights group, but a political group that is against the state of Israel and the right of Jewish self-determination itself.

Their newest policy paper is an announcement that they have adopted a antagonistic mindset.

They claim that the entire history of Israel and all the policies and actions that occurred from it have stemmed from a principle of Jewish Supremacy. They of course mean Zionism, and I expect in future statements they will conflate the two.

Jewish Supremacy is a term long used by white supremacist, Neo-Nazi, and Antizionist groups as a talking point. Btselem has fully adopted it. It contends that Jews are racist supremacists seeking to oppress others. This is simply false framing, and is not a position held by many.

The idea that all the Israel does is under a single principle is inane to anyone who has met an Israeli. Firstly, it implies that politicians, different parties, different people, have been acting in accordance to a general plan. Israeli governments barely plan for the year.

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WoW

Did YOU know this

#vanpoli Vancouver's Non-Partisan Association will have a general meeting to elect a new board. Angelo Isidorou has stepped down.

But if the NPA really believes "in an inclusive, compassionate and caring city free from hate, stigma and discrimination," 7 more also have to go:

1. NPA president David Mawhinney

He oversaw Isidorou's addition to the board and signed off on a "Trumpian" press release that reads like Isidorou's work for far-right propaganda site The Post Millennial. He has refused to answer pertinent questions about extremism in his party.

2. NPA director Wes Mussio

He's an outspoken Trump & anti-mask supporter who called Dr. Henry "Dumb Bonnie." He challenged a reporter to a fight "if you are a man" & encourages people to join a far-right social media platform. He claims to be in the process of moving to Florida.

3. NPA director Dave Pasin

He echoed Trump's lies about the US election being rigged, which incited the Jan. 6 takeover of the Capitol by violent right-wing mobs. He has also attempted to defend Isidorou's use of a white supremacist gang sign, as well as Andy Ngo's "journalism."

4. NPA director Chris Wilson

Former BC bureau chief of far-right Rebel Media, which also employed well-known extremists. His videos defend Trump and white nationalist conspiracy theories. He called Catherine McKenna "Climate Barbie" and encourages "harassing" unhoused people.

𝑨-𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈
#chengling #xicheng

Jin Ling learned at a very young age that sharing applies to not only his toys and his snacks but his favorite uncle, too.

So when Jiang Yanli and her husband dropped of their son at his uncle’s for their usual Friday night Uncle and Nephew quality time, Jin Ling did not expect he would be spending it with an additional person.

Jin Ling is always excited when Friday’s approaches and this Friday was no different from all the others he’s spent with his Uncle. Jin Ling waves goodbye to his parents as his Uncle picks him up and brings him inside his apartment.

This weekend, Jin Ling and his Uncle are going to finish building the dinosaur lego set. He was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. That is when they reached the inside of his Uncle’s apartment, Jin Ling suddenly felt all his happiness fly away.

There is someone else here and Jin Ling doesn’t know who he is but he already doesn’t like him.

“Jiujiu, who is that?” The six years old asked clinging tighter to Jiang Cheng.

Lan Xichen was politely nervous to meet the owner who has occupied Jiang Cheng’s heart since birth.