New research on the history of legal #prostitution in Germany focussing on the murders of women in the sex trade by @manuelaschon and Anna Hoheide. I am proud to have helped with translating this work that shines a light into the darkest corners.

Key findings on the murders of women in German legal #prostitution: The daily fear of violence, potentially lethal, remains real for women, despite less fear of arrest by police. The primary perpetrators are sex buyers. The state does not care to collect official statistics.

Critics will claim the German law is a form of legalization (tight regulation forcing some women into illegal status) while one should support New Zealand's decriminalization (minimizing laws specific to prostitution). False distinction: German law on the left, NZ on the right...

Back to the study into murders of women in German #prostitution: The authors contacted the Federal Office for Criminal Investigations who said that they do not collect statistics on these murders because they don't want to contribute to stigma. Read that again!

The study has to rely on cases reported by police (searching for witnesses) or by the media (sometimes tactfully reporting, sometimes sensationalizing lethal violence against women in the sex trade). Of course, this data is incomplete. But that's a conscious choice by German gov!

I live in Michigan. Our ward still limits in-person sacrament meetings to under 50, socially distances, wears masks, has no singing or musical numbers, wipes down the pulpit between speakers, and Zooms in the remainder of the ward. I applaud the leaders for doing what they can...

It should be noted that not every ward in my area is as restrictive. Our bishop has a health condition that puts him at higher risk of illness. Also secular views that support greater caution, and (lest we forget) the keys & spiritual intuition for our specific ward’s needs.

I don’t doubt there are ppl sitting in my ward building today feeling despair about what they’re witnessing, maybe singing quietly behind their masks, looking for who to blame, trying to focus on the Lord’s hand in it instead of their own misgivings. It’s very hard to endure.

I’m also sure the bishopric is tired of wearing masks, tired of wiping down the pulpit, tired of listening to recorded hymns while they sit silent, & that they too fight not to blame. Some are inclined to blame those who create mandates, & some blame those who don’t comply.

We’ve had our year to feel reactionary. We’ve learned a lot abt ourselves & others by watching reactions under pressure. Some surprised us with their resilience, others with how quickly they came undone. It’s a new year now. Time to stop reacting & start responding with intent.

QAnon adherent and admitted Capitol Hill insurrectionist Kenneth Grayson has a hearing today. He allegedly sent the following DM to a friend: "I left one unconscious so I did my little part and got the fuck out before I got arrested.” Grayson was later arrested. This is a thread.

D.C. Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather is presiding. Currently hashing things out with the D.C. U.S. Attorney's office over scheduling concerns for today and the rest of the month. Defense counsel currently conferring privately. Grayson just got on the line and ID'd himself.

Stanley Greenfield is local counsel appearing for the defense. He just asked if the government would be willing to forego making Grayson pay for his own electronic monitoring. (Yes, the attorneys have skipped ahead of things a bit. The hearing has not officially started yet.)

AUSA Soo C. Song was on this case as attorney of record via the Western District of Pennsylvania. But AUSA Judy Smith is on the line and taking the lead for now. But D.C. AUSA Mary Dohrmann will be the actual prosecutor for the government. Lots of lawyers. Hope not too confusing.

Grayson just said he was outfitted with an electronic monitor by pre-trial services today. The hearing is focused on "courtesy supervision" (release provided to defendants referred by other jurisdictions) provisions of Grayson's bail. The conditions are being determined today.

Most pasmanda who are not familiar with the caste equations in muslim society often try and emulate Ashraf when they achieve social status through professional achievements.
(Thread)

I wish to narrate the story of my maternal Grand Father, who came from modest household of a cloth seller. Being prodigious in studies, he rose to become HoD Urdu and Persian Dept, Langat Singh College (Bihar University).

This brought him in close proximity with Ashraf intellectual class and they made every effort to discover his caste but since his name was caste neutral, it helped him conceal his identity.
When he was a fresh appointee, he once travelled to Gorakhpur with senior professors

and entire journey they kept cursing Ansaris. He did not utter a word.
When he finally became Professor and HoD, he was very vocally against Ashraf dominance and didnt cut them any slack. He gave them better than he got in his struggling years.

This earned him great many enemies. It became common parlance that if one sees my Granfather's face in morning that Ashraf wont get two meals a day. (Basically call him manhus) This is something advocated commonly against Pasmanda.

Indian muslims have faced injustice in 2020 as we have been facing since the Independence. It was not only the year of pandemic but also year of injustice and fascism for IMs

I have made a thread with picture of few Imp events:

Thread🧶🧵👇

#NeverForget

#InshaAllahInquilab

Secular India enacted a citizenship law which guarantees citizenship for everyone except Muslims

Muslim took part in Anti CAA protest

23 muslims k!lled for merely protesting against CAA in Uttar Pradesh

Muslim student leaders like Sharjeel Imam,Sharjeel Usmani,Umar Khalid were arrested under draconian UAPA for demanding justice and equal rights while the real Terr*rist are sent to the parliament

Students like Safoora Zargar, Gulfisha Fatima,Ishrath Jahan were arrested under draconian laws for protesting against injustice while criminals like Komal Sharma and Ragini Tiwari are still roaming free

For everyone saying the current democrat party will improve systemic racism and racial unity I need to point this out.

Historically democrats have always been racist and even misogynist and this isn’t even ancient history it’s modern history too. Let me give you the list that I can pull from memory.

1. Democrats voted unanimously against ending slavery.

2. Democrats created the KKK.

3. Democrats were against the civil rights act of 1964.

4. Democrats voted against women’s suffrage.

5. Democrats instituted and enforced Jim Crow laws.

6. Democrats historically discouraged integration policies and encouraged segregationists.

7. 46 authored and sponsored the 1994 crime bill which was signed by then democratic president Clinton. This bill has been attributed to systemic racism in America.

8a. Margaret Sanger, the founder of PP and also democrat, instituted PP to cull the African American community. While it may have a mildly nobler purpose today, under the guise of women’s health it was intended as a racially eugenic operation.

LASG HAS ANNOUNCED ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENT TO THE CURRENT TRAFFIC FLOW ARRANGEMENTS ON THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE.

#ForAGreaterLagos
#3MB
#ThirdMainlandBridge
#tmbrehab

@jidesanwoolu @tundefashola

In order to accomplish the planned reopening of the 3rd Mainland Bridge on February 22nd, 2021 due to the on-going rehabilitation/maintenance works, ..

... the Lagos State Government hereby announce the shifting of the current diversion point on the bridge to a closer position for traffic coming from Iyana Oworosoki going to Adekunle or Lagos Island.

This adjustment is to allow the removal, replacement and casting of joint No. 23 in addition to the two other joints (16 and 17) that are presently being worked on by the Federal Ministry of Works contractor.

The planned two (2) weeks temporary traffic flow changes shall be from 12 midnight 15th January, 2021 to 12 midnight 29th January, 2021. The current traffic status shall then resume at 00.01 hrs 30th January, 2021.

The Environment Agency has documented 243 violations of the “farming rules for water” since they came into effect in April 2018 - but there have been no prosecutions or fines issued to polluters.

My latest exclusive for The

The region with the most breaches recorded was Devon and Cornwall, with 75, followed by Wessex with 52 .

The breaches the Environment Agency has recorded are a fraction of the actual number, according to conservation organisations.

said: “This legislation is being violated on a regular basis across the country by farms and virtually nothing is being done to monitor it or enforce it.”

“Even when the Environment Agency identifies breaches, they don’t have the resources to follow up. All of the effort put into crafting the rules and consulting on this issue has proven to be a complete waste of time.”

The legislation, which was first announced in November 2017, gives the Environment Agency the power to prosecute or fine individuals and companies found to be polluting waterways with contaminated runoff water, or acting in a way that creates a high risk of pollution.

Ok, time for a big thread on a general theory of history and society.

Every human society has to navigate the relative importance of the individual versus the group. You can think of every society as being placed somewhere on a spectrum between "Everything is about the individual" and "Everything is about the group."

Human society--tribal society--starts out at the extreme "group" end of the spectrum, because the overall imperative is survival. The individual needs to defer to the group because that's how the group survives. Natural selection means we're all descended from such a society.

Then over time society generates some surplus and there's more scope for the individual. And I do believe that the particular genius of the West is that it decided, earlier and more firmly than the rest, to shift the cursor further to the side of the individual.

First with the Greeks, then with Christianity, then with Modernity, we collectively pushed that cursor further away from the "group" end and towards the "individual" end. And lo and behold, each time we did, amazing things happened!

A lot of the conversation revolves around Nazis & yes, let’s hate Nazis. But that’s easy. More people need to focus on loving, supporting, & standing up for Jewish people. Antisemitic people aren’t only out-in-the-open white supremacists. Antisemitism is everywhere. 1/10

Punching Nazis, again, great-they’re trash that deserve a good throat punch -but it does nothing to solve the problem of antisemitism. Start by looking at yourself and understand the ways in which you, yes you, perpetuate antisemitic stereotypes. 2/10

Stand up for us when you hear other people perpetuating those stereotypes. Do more than just say “oh, sad” every time a synagogue or Jewish cemetery is vandalized (which is often). 3/10

Educate yourself. Regurgitating that 6m Jews were murdered during the Holocaust isn’t enough. How did it get to that point? They didn’t just start killing Jews. Years of propaganda & scapegoating- by the time Jews were dragged from their homes, their neighbors didn’t care. 4/10

Do you know anything else about the history of the Jewish people? That the Black Plague was blamed on Jews? A conspiracy that Jews were poisoning the wells? They burnt Jews alive. Jews always required to live in their own areas (Jewish Ghettos) throughout European history. 5/10

THREAD
1/15
I'm struck by how there's been no response to the #motherandbabyhomesreport from 3 of the largest national groups involved in survivors lives to date - the @clann_project, @adoptionrights & @maglaundries have not officially tweeted since the report was released.

2/15
This tells me one thing & one thing only - they have nothing to say yet. I find it so interesting that so many others have leapt to speak on behalf of survivors when some of the key survivor interest groups have not yet commented.
#motherandbabyhomes

3/15
The report is MASSIVE, approximately 3000 pages, the information contained in it very detailed in parts, I've been immersed in this story my whole adult life & even I can't yet grasp the detail in the one chapter that is about the #MotherandBabyHome I was born in.

4/15
I appreciate that much of the report is shocking to those for whom this has not been their life story, for those of us who are survivors we have, for the most part, been only too intimately familiar with the details of the #motherandbabyhomesreport, & much more besides.

5/15
My experience, & the experience of every other survivor I know, is that we have been talked about & talked over our entire lives. Gaslit by agencies, adoptive parents, birth parents, the state, churches, society & much more, with others deciding for us what is best for us.