@DitchettsDevon In 2010 it was about returning a Labour government. I voted Lib Dem. Hmmm. I wouldn't want to be naive again, and Jo Swinson is so, so much more trustworthy!
@DitchettsDevon Also, stop shouting and calling me names or I will call you names back. Mine will be better.
Alok Sharma choking up at #Cop26 is peak hypocrisy.
These are just some of the times he voted against measures to prevent climate catastrophe when he was Tory Business Secretary. 1/20 #CopOut26 theyworkforyou.com/mp/24902/alok_…
On 12 Oct 2020:
Alok Sharma voted not to require ministers to have due regard to the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 when taking actions including setting up agricultural subsidy schemes. 2/20
On 29 Sep 2020:
Alok Sharma voted not to require a "climate and nature emergency impact statement" as part of any proposal for financial assistance under a United Kingdom Internal Market Act. 3/20
The Guardian's #PandoraPapers 'revelations' aren't revelations at all, they're part of how tax avoidance is enabled, i.e. creating an appearance of outrage to assuage genuine outrage, & tacitly suggest there'll be consequences. See thread for periodic airing of the same story...
Let’s focus on a fraction of the last 10 years of ‘reporting’ in The Guardian alone, which peppers its latest coverage of this long-known practice with adjectives like ‘exposes’ & ‘secret’ & ‘revelation’ – its none of that. They’ve known all along this is happening, as do we…
2011 – We’ll begin with a useful explanation of what a tax ‘haven’ actually is (the clue is in the word ‘haven’): theguardian.com/business/2011/…
We are a police state, with poverty as deliberate policy, we defend apartheid & arm genocidal regimes, we ignore international law, we break treaties, we host global corruption, our covid-19 response failed, we promote racist hostility: we are a failed state. #ToryBritain
The reason the world is in such a mess is because morally bereft states like Britain conspire with others to accumulate all the wealth & power. The brazen confidence of this evil empire means we don't even try to hide mechanisms like permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
All attempts to break this hegemony, to live outside this international model, are destroyed in infancy by armed conflict, economic armageddon & illegal coups, with alternative philosophies demonised so effectively they are despised by the very people they seek to emancipate.
So much of our culture is predatory. Boys & girls are bombarded daily by thousands of advertising images objectifying women's bodies on buses, bus stops, walls & newspapers. Online, porn depicts men (literally & routinely) foot pinning a woman's face, fetishising force & pain.
I teach at secondary school level & frequently overhear & deal with young boys (even the 'nice' ones) making rape jokes, disrespecting female peers, sexually pressurising & shaming their classmates. It's rife. It's also hardly surprising. They reflect cultural values around them.
Have a look at popular newspapers online editions today & you will see the way women are depicted smothering every page. Not just the images, look at the words...
Yesterday, I did just that with the UK's 2nd most popular newspaper, The Daily Mail (online edition).
Walking in the woods near London last weekend, I discovered two more homeless camps hidden within the trees. That night, temperatures dropped to -6°C, today there's 3 inches of snow on the ground.
This is the reality of life for many vulnerable people in Britain today. 1/46
Over the last 18 months, I've discovered 8 similar camps in woods near my home, within 25 miles of London. Many of these makeshift camps (including these two), though well-hidden, are situated within 200m of a row of massive mansions, many of which lie empty. 2/46
The average price of a mansion on this one road is more than £2 million. Their huge gardens back onto the extensive woods & commons in which these desperate people have chosen to build their shelters because they offer thick tree cover & the best chance of going undetected. 3/46