i have to head to the grocery store for my fortnightly supplies run in a minute here and i'm trying to formulate a plan for if that pack of anti-mask goons shows up who have been roaming the state livestreaming themselves pestering people in grocery stores

i'm sure the store itself would try to keep them out but what if i'm the unlucky shopper wiping down my cart in the lobby right as they show up and start causing a scene before the cops come

i'm not even remotely scared of them but i don't really want an assault charge so is there a way i can ruin just their video? can i play copyrighted disney music on my phone really loud or something

it's just a group of horrible old conspiracy theorist ladies and one or two gigantic nazi biker thugs and they're not going to hit a white woman on camera, i won't be in danger from anything but the germs

if they are in fact streaming live is there anything i could verbally communicate to their audience directly that would encourage them to turn off the stream and not donate to the streamers? "these people are scam artists and you are being scammed by them" that sort of thing

The ever-incredible @SWACEO from @scotwomensaid is about to give evidence to the Australian federal government’s inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence on criminalising coercive control. I’m going to try and live-tweet.

Link to watch live: https://t.co/KpszEWL8C2

Chair Andrew Wallace is opening this evening’s proceedings and inviting Dr Scott to give evidence via teleconference.

Very awkward comment that the Chair wants Dr Scott to speak slowly because of her Scottish accent.

The Chair says in 3 months he hasn’t opened a newspaper with an article in it on criminalising coercive control. It’s a “hot button topic”.

While the Commonwealth won’t legislate in this area it could try and help find consistency in the legislation that is developed.

@realDonaldTrump @kilmeade @foxandfriends There was a failed businessman
Who sported an orange spray-tan
He could only get votes
From some old guys in boats
And the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

@kilmeade @foxandfriends As Donny continued his lootin'
There really could be no disputin'
That year after year
It became ever more clear
He was working for Vladimir Putin

More 👇

@kilmeade @foxandfriends Trump had the brains of a llama
And accomplished nothing but drama
But despite the fake pride
He knew deep inside
He could never live up to Obama

More 👇

@kilmeade @foxandfriends He needed a wife so he bought her
But he wished she could be even hotter
It was such a concern
That he told Howard Stern
"I'd rather be fucking my daughter"

More 👇

@kilmeade @foxandfriends Old Donny was quite prone to fibbin'
And he lost every chance he was given
So when finally at last
We tossed him out on his ass
He had to find a new place to go live in

More 👇

Highlighting real history is not a culture war.
Being critical of your own country's past is not left, its not woke, its humane.
Pretending that what happened in the past didn't happen, is far worse.
It suggests an unwillingness to learn from the past to improve in the future.

The Sunday Telegraph is trying to frame what we are/we're as a nation.
Yes we were racist.
Yes we kept slaves and profited from it.
Yes we slaughtered millions in the name of empire.
"So what? "
In reality, only a small handful of people are responsible for these crimes.
Govt.

I don't see this country in the same way as those with a guilty conscious.
But those who bear the guilt project it onto the rest of us.

A member of my family has gone down the far right rabbit hole along with a few other members of my family (not immediate family) and part of this conspiracy is a hatred of Jews.

The one thing that stood out for me, when I tried to reason with them about why they are wrong, is the way they framed all Jewish people.
In any country, can you really smear its people on the basis of what it's govt does?
Does the govt in this country represent me and my views?

My dear law students, I know that the events in Brisbane are at the top of your minds, so I will jump on the bandwagon and talk about one aspect of this wonderful test series that appealed to me. Right through the series, we have seen the role of fortune in a player’s success.

Rishabh Pant escaped a stumping before he went on to win the game for India in Brisbane. In Melbourne, Ajinkya Rahane was dropped before he went on to make a hundred. But is it not the case that we give these players credit for their achievements despite their fortune?

We also hold these players responsible even if what happened was their misfortune. India’s 36 in Adelaide was a collective failure no doubt but it was also a perfect cocktail of bad luck-pitch, conditions, and all the Australian bowlers managing to get their line & length right.

That’s test cricket, but we might say that’s life in general. Luck, good and bad, plays an important role in how the world judges us. We might go further and say that the law reflects life in this respect.

When I look at the way the law apportions responsibility, I am amazed that there is widespread acceptance of the system. Take the law of negligence that all of you study in the first year. The law of negligence establishes an objective standard of care.

(1/35) A thread about growing up as a gay kid in a Christian fundamentalist right-wing homeschooling family in the 1990s, and how I interpret today's political culture in light of those experiences.

Not all tweets are numbered but this is where it's going.
Tweets 3-9 "biblical law" and stoning gay people
Tweets 10-17 coming out in the evangelical church
Tweets 18-29 white-washing confederate history
Tweets 30-35 Scopes in modern politics & education

I grew up with R. J. Rushdoony on the bookshelf, an influential proponent of homeschooling who sought to instill Christian dominion in America. Reading @JulieIngersoll's excellent book last weekend inspired me to share how his ideology impacted my life. @C_Stroop @RLStollar

Ingersoll wrote in her 2015 book about how Rushdoony "advocated the death penalty for gays and incorrigible teens" (xiii). I made the same point in 2009, junior year of college, when I wrote an essay called "Education, the State, and the Fight to Take Back America."

In that 2009 essay, I wrote how Rushdoony promoted a "return to Biblical law, which he said should govern all nations, especially America" and how that law "would even apply the death penalty to homosexuals or rebellious children" (18). I wrote that line based on 2 sources:

2020 has brought many challenges and with them - a large volume of #disinformation. Here’s our recap! (THREAD 1/20)

In late JANUARY we collected the first examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation spinning conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID-19. (2/20)

In FEBRUARY disinfo outlets kept amplifying conspiracy theories about COVID-19, no matter how ridiculous. The @WHO warned that the pandemic was accompanied by “infodemic”: an unprecedented flood of false or inaccurate information about coronavirus. (3/20)

In MARCH Josep Borrell, the head of the European External Action Service, warned: “disinformation can kill”.

In APRIL global activist network @Avaaz found that harmful misinformation on coronavirus was shared over 1.7 million times on Facebook and viewed an estimated 117 million times. (5/20)

My husband’s family history is complicated (on both side), to say the least.

Recently, he grew curious and wanted to learn more about his maternal grandfather—which was quite a force of nature.

Here’s a pretty long thread ⬇️

His maternal great grandfather was from a samurai family, so wealthy enough at the time to study at Todai and to become a judge. He got married, had 2 sons and then found nothing better to do than abandoned wife & kids to ran with a mistress and go do business in Manchuria.

Suffering from financial hardship, his ex-wife (from a merchant family) had to sell one of her son to another family.

She kept my husband’s grandfather with her, and remarried.

His grandfather received some good education, luckily, and studied at Meiji university.

The grandfather dreamt of becoming a prosecutor. But when he graduated, all the exams got cancelled—Japan was at war and the administration had no time to overview tests. He missed his one chance, and had to settle with becoming a public servant.

He married another descendant of a samurai family—my husband’s grandmother, an admirable lady and a nurse who had come from Gifu to Tokyo at 18.

They both were hardworking folks, who came from wealthy families who lost all their wealth in a fast changing world.

@spencermorgan93 I'm going to open up a can of worms here, I dont know if you will read this or if even what the next step would be but its a web of connections that needs a real journalist to investigate

So let's start with the latest debacle
School meal boxes as highlighted by Marcus Rushford

The company that supplies them is Chartwells foods
Chartwells food is owned by a parent company called The compass group
Compass group supplies the jockey club there events catering

On the board of directors at the jockey club are
Baroness Dido Harding, of failed T&T fame

Also on this jockey club board was the late Rose Patterson
The husband of Owen Patterson
The mp for North Shropshire and the former secretary of state for Environment and rural affairs

Owen Patterson is also a consultant of a company called Randox

Let's dig deeper shall we

Let's look at another consultant of randox

John Penrose
The Mp for weston and the government's anti corruption champion is also a paid consultant for the company called RANDOX

Lets look at RANDOX for a moment

Randox are a laboratory company who surprisingly won the multi million £ contract to process PCR tests which just happen to have 2 influential advisors

But how does this link into the jokey club and in turn Matt Hancock?

A thread on election fraud, political grandstanding, and incitement—expanding on my tweets last week about Hawley and Carlson.
Let us begin by stipulating the following. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and the first rule of rhetoric is knowing one’s audience.

2. Consider three convictions (1) Widespread election fraud occurred, on such a scale that Biden “stole” the election. (2) You doubt that, but you think it’s at least possible. (3) You’re pretty sure that, despite irregularities here and there, they did not alter the outcome.

3. It is clear that President Trump, beginning election night and insistently thereafter, made claim (1). Polls and personal experience show that a large portion of the GOP public, for their own reasons or because Trump said so, also embraced claim (1).

4. However, when it comes to conservative intellectual and political leadership, I have not encountered anyone personally who holds claim (1). Some seem to hold claim (2), most, however, are in camp (3). They believe Biden won fair and square. So, apparently, do the courts.

5. Now, consider if you are in camp (2). You think there might’ve been serious fraud. You think it’s worth investigating. But you also recognize that’s a massive claim. A claim that could destabilize the entire political system for years to come.

We are expecting snow in the local mountains later this week. We want to remind all the visitors and residents of a few things when traveling. So listen up! Tips are in the thread!

Do not ask us if you should bring chains. BRING THEM. It’s winter, and weather can be a little difficult. If we must issue chain control, you will be prepared since you have them. If you don’t have chains, and chain control is in effect, you’ll have to change your day plans.

Turn on your headlights when driving in the mountains. It helps other drivers see you and you see other drivers. Also, if you see more than 5 cars behind you, pull over into the nearest turnout to let people pass.

Slow. Down. We want you to get to your destination safely. Leave early, allow enough time and drive slow. Icy road conditions can occur, so its best to take your time while driving. Speeding will put you and other drivers at risk, simply because you are in a hurry.

Do not trespass onto private property. CHP is in close contact with property owners who have been advised to contact Law Enforcement immediately of trespassers. The CHP and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department will respond in haste to cite or possibly arrest trespassers.

New from me.

Alberta is exploring the idea of establishing a provincial police force. What are the motivations behind this move, how much is it going to cost, and do Albertans even want it?

#yeg #ableg

Alberta currently pays $262.4 million for its RCMP service, with the feds paying $112.4 million annually in a 70-30 split. This is the prime concern for Alberta’s small towns and cities.

“We could be saddled with some immense costs going forward without federal contributions.”

Dr. Laura Huey, a criminologist at the University of Western Ontario, estimates the cost is likely to be in the billions.

"I’m not convinced necessarily that people understand and appreciate how enormous those costs are, and that those costs are ongoing and forever.”

In the end, it all comes down to cost versus control, Dr. Huey argues. But with increased control comes the risk of politicization, an issue that concerns NDP Justice critic Irfan Sabir.

“I think the province shouldn’t be controlling directly how these police forces operate."

So why is Alberta pursuing this? Autonomy from Ottawa seems to be the largest driving factor.

Derek Fildebrandt, former MLA for Strathmore-Brooks and publisher of the Western Standard, suggests the UCP are in search of a “legacy project” to hang its hat on. #ableg

The @ONS have decided that it's no longer possible to ask people simply what their sex is, even though this has been asked in every census since forever. Women have used the resulting data to prove that we face ongoing and widespread discrimination, at large and small scales 1/10

The people making decisions about the census, however, have been persuaded that some (unknown number of) people won't respond to the census at all if they have to answer this very basic factual question. 2/10

They have therefore changed the guidance so that an unknown number of people are advised to answer it according to their 'official documents' - which may contradict each other. Since it's easily possible to change the sex marker on a passport or driving licence 3/10

just by asking for it to be changed, this guidance effectively means that (an unknown number of) people unhappy about their biological sex are advised to answer the sex question however they choose. 4/10

The most immediately damaging impact of this decision will be on trans people. It means the opportunity to gather robust data from the new gender identity question in the same census is lost. We will not be able to tell how many trans people are male or female. 5/10

A little thread about language and #HumanRights...

Recently I shared an NHS letter (not mine) that started with the line 'The vast majority of babies are normal.' It meant 'normal' as opposed to babies born with particular conditions, including #DownsSyndrome

Regularly hearing negative language about your child is emotionally wearing. And surprisingly hard to challenge in the moment (for me anyway... which is possibly why I choose to try and challenge it by writing about it).

A fortnight before Rosa was born, a consultant explained the problem they'd spotted with her digestive system, and then went on to say "...and now I have to say something to you that's not very nice... this condition is often associated with Down's syndrome."

In hospital, nearly three weeks after Rosa was born a nurse repeatedly told me what my baby wouldn't do compared to a "normal baby".

In my first conversation with the Health Visitor her opening question was "Did you know she was going to be Downs?"

I quit my job today and started a Twitter account for my cat (@KCPuppyCat). Why is going to take some time to explain. At least on the first count, anyway. Puppy deserves his own Twitter. But the job is about #a11y(accessibility) & a company with zero respect for their employees.

No, I'm not going to name the company. Suffice it to say they are in healthcare and provide customer service and other things related to benefits offered by other companies. They're kind of a middle man, controlled quite a few government regulations. There's lots of those around.

If you read the reviews of a company and there are a few disgruntled former employees saying horrible things, it's normal. If you look and nearly every review talks about how badly employees are treated, that's something else. I should have known. I thought I was prepared.

There were complaints about how "you only get 15 minute breaks and they count points against you if you're a minute late." But that's normal. There was talk of favoritism...that's pretty common too. Even the talk of mandatory overtime didn't ring any alarm bells at first.

What didn't concern me at first that should have was talk of how incomplete training was, how employees were expected to do 2 weeks of training and be on the phones right away. I've had a job where that was the norm, but training was actually decent and we were actually prepared.

Ok, time to talk about my psychiatrist experience.
For the course of approx 12 months from mid 2018 to mid 2019, I was abused and mistreated by a psychiatrist who is considered to be one of the main 'experts' in Adult ADHD in Melbourne.

I shrugged off my concerns initially because I was so happy to finally be treated and medicated for my ADHD. In my first appointment, he pressured me to let me Mum join the appointment even though she was only there because she gave me a lift.

he directed almost of the questions in that first appointment. I barely got a word in. Within 45 minutes, after a series of very leading questions asked to my Mum (not to me), he had diagnosed me with two serious mental illnesses and written me several scripts.

every appointment after that, I walked out with at least two new scripts. I didn't fill most of them because I was uncomfortable with the pace at which he was changing my meds and adding new ones.

He never actually listened to my concerns about my meds, and he was very blunt and unhelpful with his general advice. He talked down to me like I was a child, cut me off while I was speaking, and after a few appointments he took to directly insulting my intelligence.