I have a theory about 2020.

Bear with me...I’ve done the math and it checks out, but I have no way to prove it, so it’s purely theoretical.

At this time.

1/

Here’s the thing...it wasn’t supposed to be this bad.

There are safeguards, you see? Many times when things were going dark, heroes, mostly reluctant heroes, would appear from elsewhere to save us. To set things right.

But this year, they didn’t...why?

2/
When things go bad., it’s because someone messed with the timeline, and someone else has to set it right.

A thousand alternate timelines have been stopped before they could happen, because these chronsl plumbers showed up to fix the leak before it floods the house.
3/
The general public never knows what they have fixed because the alternate timeline has disappeared, vanished, into a limbo none of us ever touch.

But this year, something happened.

4/
You can’t break the laws of reality forever.

Eventually, the gatekeepers find you.

And their revenge is terrible.

5/
They arrive in broad daylight at the moment of meddling with the time stream.

It took them a long time to find our guardians.

And they arrive, eyeless, with glittering, silver teeth and the sound of cereal being chewed by a gaping, all-consuming maw.

6/
The Langoliers.

It took ages.

But they found our guardians.

And they followed them.

7/
And their rage at seeing their sole purpose tampered with is unspeakable, horrendous.

One by one they chased our rescuers down.

There is nowhere to hide, no WHEN to hide.

They came for each one, ravenous and implacable.

Eternity was not big enough.

8/
One by one, they chased them down.

A police call box. A phone booth. A DeLorean.

Nothing was fast enough. Nothing went far enough.

Teeth that tear through steel found our guardians and showed no mercy.

9/
We already have come to believe they never really existed, that they were merely stories to amuse us.

Soon, we won’t even remember their names. This thread will fade and vanish, the toys and books will disappear. The streaming services will be diminished.

10/
Sam Beckett.
Ted “Theodore” Logan.
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
H.G. Wells.
Marty McFly
Doc Brown

There were more, many more.

But their names are already lost to us.

Eventually, the Langoliers took down the Doctor, bits of multi-colored scarf in their glittering teeth.

11/
Don’t ask me how I remember what it was like before, when they set things right, again and again. I can’t explain it.

And I don’t know how long this knowledge will stay in memory.

I only know that there was a better time, where kindness and knowledge were valued...and...

12/
...I’m sorry, what was I talking about again?

And what is that godawful SOUND?

?/

More from For later read

The common understanding of propaganda is that it is intended to brainwash the masses. Supposedly, people get exposed to the same message repeatedly and over time come to believe in whatever nonsense authoritarians want them to believe /1

And yet authoritarians often broadcast silly, unpersuasive propaganda.

Political scientist Haifeng Huang writes that the purpose of propaganda is not to brainwash people, but to instill fear in them /2


When people are bombarded with propaganda everywhere they look, they are reminded of the strength of the regime.

The vast amount of resources authoritarians spend to display their message in every corner of the public square is a costly demonstration of their power /3

In fact, the overt silliness of authoritarian propaganda is part of the point. Propaganda is designed to be silly so that people can instantly recognize it when they see it


Propaganda is intended to instill fear in people, not brainwash them.

The message is: You might not believe in pro-regime values or attitudes. But we will make sure you are too frightened to do anything about it.
This response to my tweet is a common objection to targeted advertising.

@KevinCoates correct me if I'm wrong, but basic point seems to be that banning targeted ads will lower platform profits, but will mostly be beneficial for consumers.

Some counterpoints 👇


1) This assumes that consumers prefer contextual ads to targeted ones.

This does not seem self-evident to me


Research also finds that firms choose between ad. targeting vs. obtrusiveness 👇

If true, the right question is not whether consumers prefer contextual ads to targeted ones. But whether they prefer *more* contextual ads vs *fewer* targeted

2) True, many inframarginal platforms might simply shift to contextual ads.

But some might already be almost indifferent between direct & indirect monetization.

Hard to imagine that *none* of them will respond to reduced ad revenue with actual fees.

3) Policy debate seems to be moving from:

"Consumers are insufficiently informed to decide how they share their data."

To

"No one in their right mind would agree to highly targeted ads (e.g., those that mix data from multiple sources)."

IMO the latter statement is incorrect.

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IMPORTANCE, ADVANTAGES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF BHAGWAT PURAN

It was Ved Vyas who edited the eighteen thousand shlokas of Bhagwat. This book destroys all your sins. It has twelve parts which are like kalpvraksh.

In the first skandh, the importance of Vedvyas


and characters of Pandavas are described by the dialogues between Suutji and Shaunakji. Then there is the story of Parikshit.
Next there is a Brahm Narad dialogue describing the avtaar of Bhagwan. Then the characteristics of Puraan are mentioned.

It also discusses the evolution of universe.(
https://t.co/2aK1AZSC79 )

Next is the portrayal of Vidur and his dialogue with Maitreyji. Then there is a mention of Creation of universe by Brahma and the preachings of Sankhya by Kapil Muni.


In the next section we find the portrayal of Sati, Dhruv, Pruthu, and the story of ancient King, Bahirshi.
In the next section we find the character of King Priyavrat and his sons, different types of loks in this universe, and description of Narak. ( https://t.co/gmDTkLktKS )


In the sixth part we find the portrayal of Ajaamil ( https://t.co/LdVSSNspa2 ), Daksh and the birth of Marudgans( https://t.co/tecNidVckj )

In the seventh section we find the story of Prahlad and the description of Varnashram dharma. This section is based on karma vaasna.