THREAD: Questions to Keir Starmer's spokesperson this afternoon 🧵

Does Keir want an elected head of state? "No." Is he a proud patriot? "Yes." His past support for abolishing monarchy? "We all reflect on what we said when we were in our 20s... Keir has been proud of what the monarchy has done to help the country through the pandemic."

On use of Union Jack by Labour: "The union flag represents the country that Labour wants to govern and that Keir wants to be the PM of. It’s a symbol of the country we want to lead. You can call that patriotism, you can call it whatever you want, but that’s what we stand for."

Added: "Keir believes in our union of the United Kingdom… The flag represents that union, but also it’s the wider point of how we are better together."

On leaked Labour strategy document: "It's not right to say it was presented as our strategy. That’s not what it was, and to claim otherwise is wrong. It was an external review shared with the party… but we will write our own strategy."

Just jumped into listening to the Tipton status hearing in the Texas case and the Texas AG just said something wildly incorrect, that all 14,000 people held in ICE detention would be released—but that's just completely wrong. It only applies to those with final orders!

Tipton, admitting his lack of knowledge on immigration law, asks a series of questions about detention that suggests he completely buys into Texas's argument that anyone with a criminal record is per se dangerous. But they served their time! If they were a citizen they'd be out.

Kirschner pushing back on Tipton and the AG's focus on detention, making clear that the case is about "removal," not detention. He asks Tipton to lay out his questions fully so they can answer them.

Texas's AG office completely botches Zadvydas, claiming that if removable is not foreseeable the government has no authority to detain them.

That is simply false (DHS can always continue to detain on public safety grounds), and @CodyWofsy jumps in to correct that issue.

Pushing back, @CodyWofsy makes clear that "as a practical matter, people who have final removal orders are often detained for years," including in circumstances where there are practical issues with their removal (diplomatic issues, e.g.) and Texas's claim was just wrong.

Today, let's talk about microtest TDD's Judgment Premise: "We are absolutely and permanently reliant on individual humans using their individual judgment in TDD."

Folks, in these times, I gain respite in thinking & writing about geekery, and I hope you do, too. But there are more important stories, and this is just a break.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay angry. Stay kind.

Black lives matter.

Voting rights do, too.

The judgment premise emphasizes the human in test-driven development. There are no known non-humans practicing TDD, so it may seem a odd that we have to talk about this, and yet, we do.

As software geeks, we work with the most rigid deterministic systems conceivable, and we do much of that work in abstract mental space. To say that our target systems are machine-like is to say too little, really: they're more machine-like than any real-world machine.

The uber-mechanical material of our job can lead us to seeing *every* aspect of the job as if it were the same as that material, a phenomenon the French call "deformation professionelle". Put simply: working with uber-machines all day, we imagine uber-machines everywhere.

1/
This car pulled up to a 4 way stop just after me the other morning. On my left. As I pulled out, they did, too.

We nearly collided.

After a brief pause, I continued. Moments later, the driver swooped alongside me, extended an arm over the passenger seat, & flipped me off.

2/
Then, they sped off. But got stuck at the red light just ahead.

2 lanes. An empty street. On an early morning.

And this person in a car now beside me who, after not having the right of way, decided to greet me with a middle finger.

Mmm hmmm.

3/
Did I mention that this was on December 26? And that I'd worked not only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--but 12 consecutive days before?

And where I come from? Flipping folks off is not compatible with life.

Or at least compatible with not having it threatened.

4/
Anywho.

I stop at the light and allow my eyes to drift to my bird-shooting comrade. And then, after a few moments, they looked over toward me.

Mmm hmmm.

I felt my lips curling. My eyes narrowing. My hand reaching for the window button.

And then I stopped.

5/
I thought about this instance where someone made me very mad when I was an intern. A really intimidating person who was tasked with performing a complicated straight cath on my unstably housed patient who had urinary retention.

Yup.

Here's how it went down:

The reason there is the "Only for use in Africa" label on some vaccines. Please bring every #African here:

The fundamental reason is essentially one of supply management so that #Africans also get a sizeable share of the vaccine within a reasonable time frame. In other words, it is a way to reserve a portion of the vaccine for #Africa.

It is meant to secure the vaccines for #Africa - it is the manufacturers, being aware of the scarcity of the vaccine, proactively managing supply so that there is some for #Africa.

COVID19 is a worldwide pandemic and some parts of the world are more affected than others and every nation and region is working frantically to secure some vaccine for its population.

The problem is that supply is limited, there are roughly less than a dozen vaccines that have been approved by WHO for distribution.

BREAKING: Big @TheJusticeDept move against #ProudBoys. 5 new conspiracy arrests for actions at #Capitol.

Mention of the use of fluorescent orange recognition tape, movement as a group. Developing story.

h/t @FPWellman
Story via @davidgshortell @CNN. https://t.co/lvCBe1QqOR

While we wait on docs, I recommend revisiting this excellent @WSJ visual investigation of the #ProudBoys coordinated role in the #Capitol

@Zuasibel @MouthFactory @Lawrenc04048984 Mathis here belongs to a sliver of Jews in our tormented history who succumbed to the millennial war of attrition waged upon Jews and decided that resistance is futile and better join the persecuters and maligners than be their targets. /1

@MouthFactory @Lawrenc04048984 It's not enough that they were "liberated" from their Jewish shackles but they have to prove, convert-style, that whatever the antisemites do or say, they will out-do and out-slander Jews and thus gain some love for their wretched person. Examples: /2

@MouthFactory @Lawrenc04048984 Pablo Christiani, a converted rabbi from 12th century Spain, who took his children from his wife after he converted, tried to ban the Talmud, and, with the Pope's dispensation, compelled Jews to listen to his speeches and answer his questions in their synagogues. /3

@MouthFactory @Lawrenc04048984 A more recent example is Irene Nemirovsky, a talented author whose novels contained vicious portraits of Jews. She and her husband would die in Auschwitz, despite their pleading to Vichy for leniency on account of her sharing their distaste for Jews./3

@MouthFactory @Lawrenc04048984 I can find it in my heart to somewhat forgive Nemirovsky who lived in viciously unforgiving times. Maimonedes wd have mitigated for her sin of not loving Israel (Jewish people) in such circumstances, had he been her contemporary, I speculate. /4

Postcard From Luxembourg: normality is restored prior to vaccination.
I’ve repeatedly said that “test, test, test” is madness, if the tests are unregulated. Why?
‘Because pandemic’, NO PCR mass testing has a declared operational false positive rate.

So we don’t know the oFPR of PCR mass testing in U.K. This is conducted in a small number of private labs, set up at pace in summer, anticipating a ‘2nd wave’ (itself a dubious prediction from the Imperial team who’ve been wrong every time before). You’d assume these “Lighthouse

...Labs are surely regulated, inspected, accredited etc. They’re doing the most impactful medical diagnostic testing which has ever happened in history. But no. None of these are true. ‘Because pandemic’. Now, I don’t know the oFPR either. But we’re paying for it. It is NOT ZERO.

However, the authorities take every positive result as a “confirmed case” (though there’s nothing confirmed). There is no open protocol you can examine & debate. None of the results are available for understanding, thinking & interpretation. Wouldn’t it be important to learn...

...how the distribution of cycle threshold for positives varies through a run of tens of thousands of samples? Or through time? Or across geography? There is no routine evaluation of the characteristics of the test, even though we know the oFPR of complex systems is subject to...

The 11th January edition of BBC Scotland's flagship morning news programme, Good Morning Scotland, was so extreme in terms of anti-SNP propaganda that we decided to analyse key segments to highlight just how bad things were.

This thread deals with untruths.

On January 11th there were several untruths. The clip below is Good Morning Scotland presenter Laura Maxwell as she introduces an interview with Scottish Tory MSP Dean

Maxwell says: "The Deputy First Minister has rejected suggestions that the recovery from the coronavirus crisis should be a greater priority than an independence referendum."

But did John Swinney *really* reject such a

Swinney said: "An independence referendum is an essential priority for Scotland because it gives us the opportunity to choose how we decide to rebuild as a country from Covid."

Swinney's words have been contorted. The interpretation is closer to tabloid caricature than truth.

But there were more untruths and misleading statements to come.

In the interview that followed Laura Maxwell's caricature intro, Scottish Tory MSP Dean Lockhart provided two in a single

"In Wake of Black Lives Matter Protests, New York Attorney General Wants Federal Monitor to Oversee NYPD for Civil Rights Abuses"

@NewYorkStateAG is holding a press conference soon, and I will update this developing story. https://t.co/XuH44IdqjJ via @lawcrimenews

NYAG's federal complaint is embedded in the story.

NYAG James's press conference is ongoing.

Live stream

NYAG speaks of her investigation into civil rights abuse:

"What we found was an egregious abuse of police power, rampant excessive use of force and leadership unable and unwilling to stop it."

NYAG James:

"This lawsuit seeks broad injunctive relief, including systemic reforms to the NYPD and a monitor to oversee the NYPD's compliance with the law."

NYAG:

"Since the end of May 2020, my office has received more than 1,300 complaints and pieces of evidence about the NYPD misconduct. We have also received 300 submissions of written evidence."

This is a memo to white folks who have gotten activated to fight for social justice over the last four years, as part of resisting the agenda of the current administration:

The work isn't over. We're glad you're here, and we need you to keep showing up.

1/x Thread.

Imagine a world in which every shooting by police of an unarmed Black person was met with the energy and urgency of the 2017 Women's March or the airport protests after the Muslim Ban was announced.

Imagine people mobilizing every time a state wanted to pass draconian abortion restrictions the way they did when the Affordable Care Act was up for a repeal in 2018.

Imagine the canvassing, the text banking, the GOTV work that has happened in 2018 and 2020 happening every single time, for every single election. Imagine what might be possible.

Imagine the outcry and passion for immigrant rights, for just immigration laws that has happened over the last few years continuing to happen, in an ongoing way, until every last person yearning to breathe free is safe.

Awareness is the key metric to bring the change in society. As a law student, I see many educated women in society, don’t aware about their basic rights. So, this thread will help you to know your basic rights.

Legal Rights of Indian women

A Thread 🧵👇

1/ Women have the right to equal pay - Acc. to the provision listed under the Equal Remuneration Act, one cannot be discriminated on the basis of sex when it comes to salary, pay or wages. Working women have the right to draw an equal salary as compared to men. Ask for equal pay.

2/ Women have the right to dignity and decency - In an event that the accused (a person who has been arrested) is a woman, any medical examination procedure on her must be performed in the presence of another woman.

3/ Women have the right against workplace harassment - The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, gives a female the right to file a complaint against any kind of sexual harassment at her place of work.

4/ Under this act, she can submit a written complaint to an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at a branch office within a period of 3 months.

the realities of sheffield hallam uni, a thread

tw / sexual assault, suicide

#uniteagainstunite #university #nostaynopay #unistrike

“As a student struggling with severe clinical depression, my suicidal tendencies have been through the roof. After reaching out to Sheffield Hallam, minimal support was offered to me”

“Failure to complete maintenance requests, having to move flags due to leaking pipes, mice infestation, not being there for 6 weeks over Christmas, locked in with no mental health services”

“Quality of my flat is disgusting for what I’m paying -mouse infestation, silverfish infestation, leak so no water in our flat currently and no form of compensation”

- “Had no hot water since Sep,nothing has been done”

⁃"I’ve had multiple issues with my apartment such as broken toilet, mould growing by the door, no heating and no electricity”

⁃"There are rats running round the accommodation and staff are always losing my parcels”

'Stay at home' for #LekkiMassacre protest is not a sign of weakness. The likes of Odanz -or is it Odense? - have called attention to this and they are not pacifists. They are strategist-realists.
Activism is the art of war. Pounce when the enemy is at its weakest [Thread]

As a young activist in 1991 and NANS President, I knew activism was and still the art of war; and also knew that in war you pounce when your enemy is at its weakest.

What I didn't realize is the strength of the "pouncer"

NANS Senate - the highest organ of NANS- met in Ilorin in March 1991 and issued 13 points 30-day ultimatum to IBB, chief of which was to scrap the political transition programme, resign and handover to the Government of National Unity.

As NANS Chief I was saddled with the duty of moving around Nigeria mobilizing for a showdown with the junta beginning from 1 May 1991. Negotiations between NANS and FGN led by Prof Babs Fafunwa and Alex Akinyele broke down before the expiration of ultimatum on 30 April 1991

At the joint press conference addressed by Fafunwa and Akinyele on 27 April 1991, Akinyele threatened that "students leaders will be picked like snails" and asked parents to advise their wards. Traditional rulers joined in the blackmail.

Thanks to @StoatlyL for making me look at this document. An organisation on children’s media which is instrumental in an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children’s Media. Provides more information on the CBBC programme on a “transgender child” called Leo.

Searching for heroes they alighted on the topic of gender. The BBC seems to be obsessed with fulfilling its diversity objectives by obsessive rumination on “gender”. Sneaking propaganda onto children’s TV is the low point.

In this document the maker of the programme, Cat Lewis, talks about the editorial decisions and the programme advisors

Pushing boundaries by promoting a bodily disassociative condition to impressionable children.

Emotive narratives are key to normalising ideas about children being born in the wrong body. That thing that nobody says....oh wait.

AVOID NIGHT TRIPS,THEY ARE NOT ONLY UNSAFE, BUT UTTERLY DANGEROUS- OYEYEMI.

Arising from the dangers, the risks and the rising cases of fatalities occasioned by road traffic crashes recorded at night, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has advised fleet operators, other commercial drivers & patronisers of night trips,

including private vehicle owners to desist henceforth from it, emphasising that night trip which is often characterised by poor visibility, fatigue, sleeping on wheels, excessive speed among others is not only unsafe, but utterly dangerous.

According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer, Oyeyemi gave the warning while reacting to some reports of fatal crashes recorded at night at the beginning of the year, which led to the death of several road users and left others with different degrees of injuries.

The Corps Marshal while speaking extensively on why night trips should be avoided, lamented that on January 5, 2021 alone, an avoidable fatal crash occurred in Kabba, Kogi State where 2 vehicles were caught up in a head-on collision

The focal S:N501 build has been updated with data from 15 Jan, & includes 164 non-UK, non-South African sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7 #b117) & 501Y.V2.

The S:E484 build has also been updated. Includes 501Y.V3 & 20B/S.484K (predominantly in Brazil).

1/16

https://t.co/3bdttjKVl4

There are 161 new, non-UK sequences in 501Y.V1 (B.1.1.7) from the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Spain, Norway, Germany, the USA, & Switzerland, and from Turkey and Ecuador for the first time.

2/16

Turkey has 19 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time. These indicate many independent introductions, though a few clusters may indicate local transmission, and pairs with common exposure.

3/16

Ecuador has 4 sequences in 501Y.V1 for the first time, which represent 2 separate introductions (pic 2). 3 are identical, and may represent exposure to a common source (pic 3). The connection to the Spanish sequence may be a common source, or onward transmission.

4/16

Denmark has 66 new sequences (orange). A few are independent introductions, though many link with older sequences, showing continuing local transmission.

5/16