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Laurie Penny @PennyRed
, 4 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
I was honoured to be invited by @theeconomist to speak as part of their prestigious #openfuture convention - but I cannot in good conscience appear at an event which chooses to dignify a neo-nationalist like Steve Bannon. Unless this decision is reversed, I will not be attending.
@TheEconomist It looks like an otherwise wonderful event, and everyone needs to make their own decision, but I strongly encourage other attendees and speakers to consider doing the same. Freedom of speech does not require us to dignify bigots with the honour of a keynote. #OpenFuture
@TheEconomist I apologise to the hard-working team at @TheEconomist -I know how carefully you’ve put the panels together and it gives me no pleasure to make extra work for you like this. I hope you can understand why I felt it was necessary.
@TheEconomist (To clear up any confusion, I will also definitely not be appearing at the
@newyorker
festival. It was easy to take a firm, principled stand on this, as I was not invited to the
@newyorker
festival and will be in a totally different country when it happens)
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The far-right is exploiting the values of the liberal establishment by offering them an impossible choice: betray their stated principles (free, open debate) or dignify fascism and white supremacy. This weaponises liberal principles of tolerance to legitimise intolerance.
If we deny racists a platform, they feed off the appearance of censorship- but if we give them a platform, they’ve also won, by being invited, respectfully, into the mainstream. Either way, what matters to them is not debate, but airtime and attention. There is no perfect choice.
But there is a choice. I believe refusing to tolerate intolerance, refusing to play their game on their terms, is the better one.
Read 3 tweets
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How to write a book, by Laurie Penny aged 31 3/4:
1. Write a plan and some chapters on an enormous urgent topic that you care about a whole lot.
2. Persuade publishers to buy this book.
3. Build a small fort of other people’s books. Retreat inside for 3 months. >
4.At the critical research stage, have eye surgery that leaves you confused and functionally blind for six weeks.
5. Write 3000 words of theory per week alongside your other job. Lose the ability to relate to humans whilst writing about human relationships.
6. Submit 60,000 words that made sense in your head.
7. Realise it makes no sense outside your head. Take manuscript, turn it into soup, restructure whole thing from the beginning.
8. Lose your research notes when your laptop is stolen. Start new research file.
9. Remember sleep?
Read 7 tweets
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Rejection is emotionally terrifying, and part of building a better, freer, more joyful sexual culture post-#metoo is going to involve everyone learning how to handle rejection better- and how to make approaches in a non-intimidating way.
I’ve learned everything I know about this from queer and poly and kink culture. The key, as far as I’m concerned, is to make it as easy as possible for the other person to say no - which is of course the opposite of what Pickup theory teaches you.
I’m a dork, but I find that text message/IM is the best for asking people out in a way that makes it easy for them to say no, as is asking clearly and directly. Lots of people find that part so so hard. Especially if they were raised female. Or, you know, British.
Read 14 tweets

Related threads

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#Godzilla: #FinalWars is a little too polished for my tastes. #TooMuchBlood #NeedsMoreKaiju less #FakeAssMagnumPI

"You have the power to master the entire universe...and yet you side with cows" #dialog #Magic #kaigu @Elreynetwork #Durham #GreenvilleSC
Godzilla: Haw!
#MechaGhidorah might come in handy at some point. #kaiju #Godzilla
Read 23 tweets
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#NEO gave an update to the decentralization process today. The long awaited process of making NEO politically decentralized (it is geographically decentralized already) will finally speed up in the next months.
If you missed the blog post, here is the link
neo.org/blog/details/4…
But what does that mean for #NEO?
First, NEO isn't the average PoW- or PoS-blockchain, NEO utilizes dBFT consensus which comes with several advantages but also some downsides. You can read about it here:

docs.neo.org/en-us/basic/co…
One significant downside to this model is that you have to trust most (66%) of the consensus nodes to not be bad players (its nearly the same for PoW and PoS, isn't it?)
Consensus nodes aren't competing for consensus, they're cooperating. This leads to one significant advantage:
Read 10 tweets
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As @TheEconomist gives Bannon a platform this morning at #OpenFuture for fascist thought, it’s important to have listened to @chrisinsilico tell them why he left Cambridge Analytica. And yes, it has something to do with “race realism.”
Also read Justin’s thread on why he is leaving his seat empty this morning at #OpenFuture
Things Bannon never gets asked about:
—Cambridge Analytica testing Trump’s slogans, Putin, “race realism” before working on campaign
—Gowdy’s assertion than an email from Cambridge Analytica partly justifies Mueller probe
—Incorrect visas for CA embeds during Project Alamo
—Dugin
Read 6 tweets
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1/ As a former employee of @TheEconomist- I worked there on the publishing side for ~12 years- I bought a ticket to its #OpenFuture event, but am leaving my seat empty to join the @riseandresistny protest outside against Steve Bannon's role in the event.
2/ You can read @zannymb's statement on why the newspaper chose to host Bannon at this event. I know this statement was the product of a great deal of discussion and debate in the editorial department, and included perspectives from outside it. economist.com/open-future/20…
3/ But here is the reality- while The Economist is an important voice in world affairs- and for liberalism- it is tragically confused on this issue. Part of the reason is that almost no one there has anything personally at stake. Look at the masthead: mediadirectory.economist.com
Read 8 tweets
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This is an absolutely unacceptable doubling-down by the Economist, who are either foolishly getting exploited by providing a platform without any accountability, or are complicit in an awful agenda.
As I've stated before, the Economist needs to make clear its editorial policy on what attacks it will give a platform to.
I'm on the agenda, and given their doubling-down, I'm staying on the agenda, but not for the listed topic. I'll be addressing the consistent, immoral attacks Bannon has directed against the South Asian American community, from the Economist's stage. events.economist.com/events-confere…
Read 10 tweets
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A universal basic income, or UBI, is a regular, unconditional cash payment to every citizen instead of benefits provided only to some. This thread explores the arguments for and against #OpenFuture 1/15
As a benefit paid to all, a UBI removes the stigma of “being on benefits” and that can only be good for society, writes @NicolaSturgeon 2/15
A basic income would enhance freedom—people must be able to say no to oppressive and exploitative relationships, argues Guy Standing, an economist 3/15
Read 15 tweets

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