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Chxta
Chxta
@Chxta
#Nigeria tells us that today is #ArmedForcesRemembrance Day, a day set aside for our “heroes” in uniform.

We'll do well to remember the lives that have been lost to various atrocities in this blood-stained country of ours...

While there is no doubt to my mind that many officers in @HqNigerianArmy are heroes, think Sani Bello who saved the life of Gen. Ironsi’s ADC, Andrew Nwankwo, or Usman Jibrin, who flew many Igbo officers to safety during the pogroms of 1966...

or even Mohammed Shuwa, who ensured that Igbos were protected in the area under his command, the fact is that on the balance, @HqNigerianArmy has a murderous reputation, and as I once referred to them, are an equal opportunities brutaliser.

is only an arm of @NigeriaGov, and this video attempts to chronicle some of the atrocities committed in #Nigeria, by both state and non-state actors.


This is one of the tragedies of #Nigeria.

The number of people who have been killed in mass atrocities in the country since “independence” perhaps gets close to the 100,000 mark.

Imagine that!
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🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸LindaAFBB⭐️⭐️⭐️...
@LindaWarriorGal
.1

WoW

Did YOU know this
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Jubril A. Gawat
Jubril A. Gawat
@Mr_JAGs
Mr. Governor LIVE on “Politics Today” on Channels TV TONIGHT ... Tune in

@jidesanwoolu @gbenga_omo @gboyegaakosile


[COVID19]: “We will continue to encourage our frontline Heath Workers” - @jidesanwoolu

“2020 is behind us now, For me it’s to continue to serve Lagosians” - @jidesanwoolu

“I am looking futuristically and looking forward to a prosperous 2021” - @jidesanwoolu

“For me personally, It’s not really to dwell so much about the past, you need to learn from the past” - @jidesanwoolu
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GIGI | \u6c5f\u665a\u541f
GIGI | 江晚吟...
@_jiangwanyin
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.
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Gert Huskens
Gert Huskens
@gerthuskens
On the occasion of the recent turmoil in Ethiopia's insurgent Tigray province, I'm resharing my thread about the history of Belgian expansionism towards the region in the 19th century. 🇧🇪🇪🇹⏳

⬇️

During the 19th century, Belgian imperialism did not only affect the Congo, a whole list of other countries were seen as potential colonies. Already in the 1840s Abyssinia (the region which roughly corresponds with Ethiopia) was on the radar of Belgian expansionism 2/14

During the reign of King of the Belgians Leopold I, Belgian consul general in Alexandria Edouard Blondeel van Cuelebroeck was sent on an exploratory mission into Abysinnia. 3/14


At the time, Abyssinia went through an era of internal fueds called "Zemene Mesafint". This was seen as a perfect opportunity to apply some of Belgium's finest 'divide and conquer'-tactics. It promped Blondeel to approach local warlord Biru Goshu of the Gojjam in 1841. 4/14


In order to convince Biru Goshu of the potential to become an ally of Belgium, the local warlord received samples of Belgium's finest industrial products such as: small arms, textiles and jewelry. Blondeel message was clear, he had to showcase the prospects of trade. 5/14
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BobbyPiton
BobbyPiton
@BobbyPiton3
There is no doubt that this is a REAL THREAT. I'm not going to sugar coat the severity of the situation, but I find myself thinking a lot about the far Larger Threat to Freedom and Capitalism than China and it is all around us ... Artificial Intelligence Systems.

A company
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Dr Emma Hodcroft
Dr Emma Hodcroft
@firefoxx66
The latest S:N501 focal build is now up, with data from 28th Dec:

We can see new sequences from Italy, Israel, Spain, France, & Ireland in the SE England variant (501Y.V1) & Switzerland in the South African variant (501Y.V2).

1/8

https://t.co/PEU7dhptO6


In 501Y.V1 (SE England variant), we can see 1 new sequence from France & Spain, each. The French sample has a travel history to the UK.

3 new sequences are from Israel (marked 1 & 2). Zooming in on '2' (divergence view) shows they are identical, indicating 1 introduction.

2/8


There are 7 new sequences from Ireland, found roughly in 5 places on the tree (4 are singletons, 3 cluster together - 2nd 'group' from the top).

These indicate at least 5 introductions, but we need to zoom in on the 3 that cluster to see more clearly.

3/8


Zooming in to the 3 that cluster together (divergence view), shows it can be difficult to distinguish introductions sometimes, especially as we expect strong travel links between the UK & Ireland, & may only be sampling the total diversity present in Ireland.

4/8


14 new sequences from Italy are scattered across the tree - some alone & some clustering.

Zooming in on a few clusters shows some seem to be linked, while others are harder to determine.
4 seem to be clearly linked as 1 introduction.

5/8
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Edvinas Volkovas
Edvinas Volkovas
@EVolkovas
Legendary Lithuanian satire show Dviračio Žinios ("Bicycle News") features an improvised conversation between @MartinHelme and @GLandsbergis. I'll post English translations to this thread

(Part 1)

- Tere tere Martin Helme. And what did you tell to that Estonian Radio, that our elections were forged?
- But it was just like that. Lithuania elected too many liberals and women. It's not fair
- But if we forged our elections, our victory wouldn't be so small <...>

(Part 2)

- <...> and also our elections happened in October. You what, noticed only now?
- Well, we noticed instantly. And we were fast to react
- But it's January. 3 months passed
- That's what I'm saying, "we were fast to react"
<...>

(Part 3)

<...> By the way Martin, how is the financial situation during pandemic in Estonia now?
- I'm trying not to think about that
- But you're Estonian Minister of Finances
- That's exactly why I'm trying not to think about it. It's better to think about a "deep state" <...>

(Part 4)

- <...> that controls Lithuania now
- What deep state? Well we do have a few holes in our roads around Biržai but they're not that deep. And here we don't have anything deep, only some stuff on the surface, on the surface... Of course, asphalted.
<...>
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Sam Bowman
Sam Bowman
@s8mb
Good question @allisonpearson! What did they do in China and Wuhan that has allowed them to get back to normal?


Well, they *didn't* try to infect their teenage children at university, like you said we should.


They didn't treat Covid like a lie, and *didn't* listen to people like you who said they were "pretending" that it was a lethal pandemic.


They didn't cancel lockdowns as people like you said *we* should.


They didn't tell people that you were more likely to kill your granny by not seeing her than by seeing her, like you did.
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〰️👁‍🗨 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 ©️〰️...
@BoliqueAna
1. UN Human Rights Office Handed Names of Dissidents to Chinese Regime putting lives in direct danger.


2. UN Rights Council Attacks Western Sanctions, Backs Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba.


3. UN Elects Turkey to Head General Assembly in 2020-2021.


4. UN’s WHO Names China Booster Helen Clark to Head COVID-19 Inquiry.


5. UN Condemns Israel 17 Times, Rest of the World 6.
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George Peretz QC
George Peretz QC
@GeorgePeretzQC
A thread on useful material explaining what our subsidy control regime currently is.

An introduction with various comments

A not entirely complimentary account of where the current government has left us.

An account of the role of the courts in the current subsidy control regime.

An account of what the TCA says about subsidies.
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VIADUCT
VIADUCT
@viaduct_eu
Our #VIADUCT_EU Guest Lecture: "EU-Turkey-Russia Energy Security Realm" is starting now!

With @MarcoSiddi (@FIIA_fi), Suhnaz Yilmaz from @kocuniversity

Follow the highlights here!

/THREAD


"Energy security is traditionally defined as a government's efforts to ensure energy supply at a good price"

- Suhnaz Yilmaz from @kocuniversity

/2

"The EU adopts a comprehensive approach, going beyond the notion of uninterrupted supply and affordability to highlight issues of sustainability and environmental concerns"

- Suhnaz Yilmaz from @kocuniversity

/3

"While #COVID19 has posed challenges, foreign policy dynamics have made unclear how sustainability and environment concerns will factor into recovery"

- Suhnaz Yilmaz from @kocuniversity

/4

"World Population is expected to increase (on current trends) from 7.4bn to more the 9bn in 2040. It is not only a growing population, but a rapidly urbanising population"

- Suhnaz Yilmaz from @kocuniversity

/5
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Dr Louise Hansen \U0001f337\U0001f54a
Dr Louise Hansen 🌷🕊...
@drlouisehansen
For the Prime Minister of Australia:

Dear Scott Morrison,

I am writing to you because I am concerned about Australia’s refugee policy and human rights record. 1/20

Australia appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Council for its Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on January 20, 2021. More than 40 nations questioned Australia’s policies toward asylum seekers and refugees. 2/20
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Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193
Billy Bostickson 🏴👁&👁 ...
@BillyBostickson
@Ayjchan 1. Great idea & it is all for a good cause, isn't it?
I predicted this in April and was the first to catch them doing it on Dec 2.
https://t.co/PMcICHQWUi
So, make sure to credit me in any article you write!
Taiwan News reported it on basis of my tweet as @keverington can confirm


@keverington 2. Here you go, Alina, about


@keverington 3. My prediction from


@keverington 4. Supporting Links


@keverington 5. Holmes and
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Muju 5.1\U0001f388\u2753
Muju 5.1🎈❓...
@mujunaeem
Western governments need better mechanisms in place to be able to integrate refugees they help with. The world has a lot of displaced refugees who need genuine help. Bad actors are actively looking to exploit this as a vulnerability. Better screenings and integration is needed!


At this point what is glaringly obvious is that without proper integration into the social contracts of the host country, societies tend to get fragmented and tribes emerge.

As soon as this happens, separatists movements begin their work to dismantle the host country’s social contracts. While those separatists movements such as Islamists may just merely cause disruption and terror, they won't still be able to change those countries immediately.

But that change process would have already begun in a trajectory that has active selection pressures until contain will continue to optimize. But the immediate disruption and terror should be setting off alarm bells when you zoom out to see where those trajectories are heading.

We can already see this happening in many western countries with already past headway made in an increasing trajectory of encroachment onto the years of hard won social contracts of those countries.
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Sarah Leah Whitson
Sarah Leah Whitson
@sarahleah1
1) MORE on #Saudi #UAE arms freeze: As we shift to reassuring Gulf dictators that we will continue to “defend” them and sell them “defensive” weapons, notwithstanding arms freeze and pending JCPOA, keep in mind that this is exactly what “propping up” abusive dictators means.

2) These dictators do not represent the people of their country, they’re not legitimately elected, and they’ve repeatedly shown that they see the freedom of their citizens as an existential threat. It’s a fallacy to confuse “defending” them with defending their “country”.

3) It’s also a fallacy to assume that their “security concerns” are national security concerns. They’re first and foremost personal concerns for survival and preservation. This is why they fear democracy and democratic Islamist including the Muslim Brotherhood most of all.

4) The US should have no interest in defending, protecting, and yes propping up abusive self appointed government leaders in the UAE Saudi Egypt. Or apartheid leaders in Israel, where the ruled Palestinians have no say, so also dictatorial.

5) The distinction that “defensive” weapons sold to them might be ok so long as @JoeBiden ends “offensive” weapons used in Yemen is a false one. The wrong is equal. The principle is the same & quite simple: the US should not aid abet support abusive, tyrannical government leaders
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Norman Breuer
Norman Breuer
@Norman_EBM
A new international report places Paraguay as one of the countries in last place using the "Green Future Index" based on its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean energy and innovations in the green field. If MIT researchers would bother to set foot in

our country they would realize that Paraguay emits only 0.07% of current GHGs and almost zero historical GHGs, and would see our green countryside. We have committed ourselves in the Paris agreement to a 20% reduction of GHGs within the country's sustainable development

framework by 2030. The report says that there is no commitment to sustainable development. Perhaps they do not know that the Chaco was developed with a unique plan in the world for the conservation of 40% of forests on each property, respecting watercourses and protecting

biological corridors between blocks of pastures. Our application of modern livestock management techniques is highly efficient and allows the absorption of organic carbon in the soil, and by taking the absorptions from all wetlands and grasslands and pastures, minus emissions

from livestock, we have a close to positive balance, working to full to reach that goal. There are multiple sustainable and climate-friendly beef production initiatives, such as Natural meat from Solidaridad-ARP, Low-carbon meat from Solidaridad-CREA, Sustainable meat from the
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Dumfounded \U0001f92f #TrumpConcedeNowMF
Dumfounded 🤯 #TrumpCon...
@j2dumfounded
Time for a little thread on SolarWinds $SWI which has been hacked by Russia’s FSB, APT P29, commonly known as Cozy Bear.

The hackers embedded code that allows access to databases of the many clients SolarWinds sells to, including USG & 425 of the Fortune 500.

🧸

Sunday, Arapaho was kind enough to tag me in on the breaking development.
I’ll share her great thread, then dive into some breaking news, then wrap with a bit of info from investor analysts.


Long story short, this is a 🚨 DISASTER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS 🚨.

General McCaffrey is not a word mincer.
He’s directly calling out Trump here. 🆘


Over at AP News, Frank Bajak is not mincing words, either.


Went to check in on my fave datasec guy and it turns out Chris Vickery is on Zev’s show tonight. It’s an hour long so I’ll post it now and screen it later if I can stay awake that long. 🥱
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Ewan Birney
Ewan Birney
@ewanbirney
It is somewhat hard to know which strand on England's November lockdown to pick apart - a large number of people in the press (and twitter) are commenting ("hot takes" in the US parlance) - most heat and not so much light.

Yesterday, before the announcement, I tweeted on this here:


I'd also recommend @AdamJKucharski's tweet thread on this https://t.co/UN7tTt95dQ and @JeremyFarrar's here


I can feel quite a few people processing this, and those people in media positions, via their public personas. It's unsurprising there is concern, angst and questions, even though if you had been following the numbers, SAGE and other debates it was well sign posted

So - in this tweet thread I want to remind people why this is different to March - it *really* is, and then I will do a second thread on things that people bring up which I think are not good arguments
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Nomas21
Nomas21
@Ghost_411
Turkey vs Israel, France and Greece: forked tongue, conflicting messages? - JP columnist

Thread

Turkey’s diplomatic efforts to set aside its differences with Israel, France and Greece over various disputes should not be taken at face value nor trusted, Middle East analyst Neville Teller said in an opinion piece published on Saturday. 1/

In the wake of Joe Biden’s electoral victory to become the next U.S. president in November, Turkey has changed its tone with numerous countries it had fallen out with in recent years. 2/

This posturing “must be viewed as part of a broader strategy designed to strengthen Turkey’s standing with the upcoming U.S. President Joe Biden,” Teller wrote in the Jerusalem Post. 3/

Erdoğan’s “normalisation overtures may be part of his new strategy, but in the light of his past actions and present posturings on the world stage, he cannot be surprised if his motives are viewed by the world at large with suspicion, if not downright disbelief,” he said. 4/
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