1/. This afternoon, #Denmark came a step closer to finally recognising the simple fact that sex without consent is rape

Incredibly, only 9 countries in Europe recognise this!

Amnesty are campaigning to change this & Denmark shows us how it can be done!
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
2/. “This change didn't happen by chance. The demand was led by survivors who told their stories & lobbied to try & ensure no other woman would have to endure what they had suffered" @Helle_Jac @amnestydk

See rape survivor & activist, Kirstine, in 2019👇
3/. To support survivors, @amnesty undertook research & published reports which identified barriers to justice for women

“Changing these dangerous rape laws is a major step towards ending widespread harmful myths, stereotypes, stigma & endemic impunity for this crime” @AnnaMBlus
4/. Last year, @amnesty’s report on Denmark’s outdated & dangerous rape laws dominated headlines in Denmark & made news around the world

At the launch, survivors took to the podium to talk about their experience of rape.

The Minister was in the audience.
5/. But Amnesty had also been working behind the scenes.

Amnesty Denmark's @Helle_Jac had engaged in months of "advocacy" - conversations & meetings with govt representatives

Min of Justice @SorenPape rprtly changed his position after meeting survivors
6/. The #LetsTalkAboutYes campaign also enabled @amnesty to work with grassroots organisations & survivors groups & properly amplify their demands

In March 2019, the govt agreed to back consent-based rape legislation

But changing a law takes time...
7/. The campaign is from over

Govts sometimes agree to something only to draft an new law that falls far short of what was agreed, so @amnesty had to be vigilant

Also, changing laws are only a first step

A vital first step, but a first step nonetheless.
8/. As well as changing the law, cultural change is needed

Since legislation carries culture, amending the law = the first target

Changing a culture that pervades society - from playground to locker room, police station to witness stand - is a bigger job amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
9/. The #LetsTalkAboutYES campaign is active in many countries that still only defines rape as rape if it includes physical violence or threats

The Netherlands & Spain are currently in a 3-way race with Denmark to see which country will be next to pass consent-based legislation

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More from @StefSimanowitz

22 Nov
1/. This diagram shows how the US & UK govts appear to have a joint/parallel #COVID19 strategy, giving military-backed data-mining company, #Palantir, access to heath data on a mass scale

Palantir, founded by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, has links with #CambridgeAnalytica Image
2/. According to #CambridgeAnalytica whistleblower, @chrisinsilico, in 2015 he was tasked by Steve Bannon to build a psychological warfare tool designed to use big data & social media to drive open cracks in societies & hollow out democracies.

It worked!
3/. Thiel not only backed Trump in 2016, but Palantir employees reportedly worked with #CambridgeAnalytica, harvesting Facebook data ahead of the elections

At the start of 2017, Trump appointed three Palantir employees, to key roles in his administration.
Read 5 tweets
20 Nov
Priti Patel is one of the co-authors of the 2012 book, Britannia Unchained, alongside Dominic Raab, Elizabeth Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng & Chris Skidmore

They write that “the British are among the worst idlers in the world”. Their plan: to get the UK out the EU & embrace science/tech
I find it hard to imagine @trussliz, @DominicRaab & @pritipatel being the intellectual heavyweights behind this scary libertarian manifesto

@KwasiKwarteng no doubt helped it but the main author - a man very much involved in this govt - i believe is Skidmore. #GreenwichSpeech
No wonder @pritipatel is smirking!

The vision set out in #BritanniaUnchained is coming into being, #PritiPatel #Prittster
Read 4 tweets
19 Nov
In March, I asked why the director of a UK company making PPE were exporting all over the world but hadn’t had orders from the UK

NHS frontline staff were dying

Were million pound contracts being held back to give to govt-linked companies that had no PPE procurement background?
“There were no gowns, visors, swabs or body bags in the govt’s pandemic stockpile when #Covid19 hit UK.”

“The govt ignored warnings from advisers about shortages.”

“NHS staff are being put at risk because of the shortage of PPE.”

Report by @BBCPanorama.
In April, @Channel4News has seen the inventory of the UK govt’s pandemic PPE stockpile. Almost 80% of respirators were out of date when #coronavirus hit.

The UK had had a three month head start to prepare for #COVID19

Covid wasn’t an “invisible mugger”
Read 6 tweets
17 Nov
Last week, I started this👇 thread on how #Trump appears to be gearing-up for military action against Iran

Today, @nytimes revealed "Trump asked senior advisers in a meeting on Thursday whether he had options to take action against #Iran’s main nuclear site in the coming weeks.”
Any military orders by #Trump are transmitted through the secretary of defense

By replacing Esner with Miller & giving top Pentagon & Intelligence jobs his allies, Trump appears to have created a chain-of-command that would support military action in Iran
Trump is also increasing sanctions on #Iran pledging “a steady stream of sanctions through the end of the administration”

Sanctions are not dangerous in themselves, but the enforcement of sanctions - checking cargo etc - will undoubtedly ramp-up tensions.
Read 10 tweets
16 Nov
“The revelations from C4 #Dispatches...are breath-taking. It amounts to criminal negligence. Pure & simple.” @globalhlthtwit on #LockdownChaos

To understanding how the #ContractScandal fits into a much bigger & more sinister plan👇#Palantir #DidoHarding #SERCO #HerdImmunity
This diagram👆shows how the US & UK govts appear to have a joint/parallel #COVID19 strategy allowing the military-backed data-mining company, #Palantir, to control heath data

Parler, the SM platform is funded by the Mercers who funded #CambridgeAnalytica who worked with Palantir
“It’s very hard not to be speechless about this.”

Dr Tom Lewis on viewing #Dispatches footage taken by an undercover journalist exposing unsafe practices & “VIP processing” for paying customers, in the Randox testing labs. #LockdownChaos #COVID19 #coronavirus #Palantir #COVID
Read 6 tweets
16 Nov
#MustWatch 👀

MARR: How was money was allocated to your constituency?
JENRICK: That was decided by another minister
AM: Who?
RJ: @JakeBerry
AM: Who also got money for his constituency
RJ: That was a decision made by another minister
AM: You?
RJ: Er...yes
“There have been some changes in govt over the last few days & the decision has been made to be back on your show” @RobertJenrick implies that the government's 201 day boycott of @GMB was Cummings’ fault

He will is the faux scapegoat for all govt failures
Cummings may have left the building but he hasn’t left govt

He’s in position til Dec working on #COVID19 strategy & it is likely to continue to work on this, away from public scrutiny

#Palantir & #FacultyAI are running UK’s COVID data store & #GenomeUK was launched in September Image
Read 4 tweets

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