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Apr 20 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
#THREAD

For the first time since 2000, in 2020 the official guidance on the contested & often challenging area of Relationships & Sex Education (RSE) in England changed to (correctly imho) ensure #RSE became mandatory in every secondary school.

inews.co.uk/news/education…
The UK Government is careful to neither encourage nor discourage sex education at primary school level, giving responsibility for decisions about the content & delivery of *age-appropriate* sex education to the schools themselves.

gov.uk/government/pub…
Education around the concept of consent is essential, helping reduce the sexual abuse of children. But given the febrile atmosphere around cultural issues (aka the 'culture war'), the issue of sex education needs handling with sensitivity, especially by MPs & news organisations.
Which brings me to the news of the cancelation of 'The Family Sex Show'.

To be clear: threats of violence are always wrong, & deciding what is *age-appropriate* sex education is challenging - yet essential - as a component of every child's education.

theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr…
Both the left AND right-leaning press & broadcast news almost always dismiss & demonise concerns expressed by supporters of one side of a complex debate, while valourising or treating as victims the other, losing all nuance & the possibility of intelligent debate in the process.
My main point is not about what constitutes age-appropriate RSE (we have professionals, experts & democratic forums & processes for deciding on complex matters), but more about the news media's role in eroding nuance, & in relentlessly fuelling a harmful & polarising culture war.
And as Albert Einstein made clear in 1949, in the magazine Monthly Review: private capital “tends to become concentrated in few hands”, making it almost impossible “for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions & to make intelligent use of his political rights.”

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More from @docrussjackson

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Apr 21
Information Disorder Report:

#Disinformation: false information deliberately created to cause harm.

#Misinformation: false information, but not created with the intention to mislead.

#Malinformation: information based on reality, but used to deceive.

rm.coe.int/information-di…
The Council of Europe report provided a conceptual framework for thinking about information disorder, arguing that only by beginning with a shared understanding can we start constructively discussing solutions, & set out proposals they hope will help bring nuance to the debate. Image
If we are serious about creating solutions, we need to consider the specific & shifting motivations of different types of agents, the characteristics of different types of messages, & the factors impacting how people interpret those messages.
Read 4 tweets
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Apr 20
#THREAD

The Sun has settled a solicitor’s libel claim with "a very substantial five figure sum" after accusing her of being an "activist lawyer" - the phrase used by Priti Patel to demonise lawyers - and wrongly alleging she touted a legal aid ‘asylum price list’ to migrants.
The story suggested that her firm were 'ACTIVIST LAWYERS' who were shamelessly touting an ‘asylum price list’ of legal aid fees for migrants arriving by small boat.

In resolution of the claim, The Sun removed all its readers' angry comments under the article on its website.
The Sun also agreed to take down the article altogether & not to republish it.

The claim has now finally settled with The Sun’s publication of a rather pathetic classic non-apology statement in the newspaper & its website:
Read 21 tweets
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Apr 19
Reminiscent of Joseph Goebbels, cruel, shameless, divisive propagandist liar Priti Patel is at the dispatch box defending the Government's illegal, immoral & barbaric Rwanda Plan, with its echoes of the Nazi's Madagascar Plan, while depraved braying Tory MPs make jokes & guffaw.
It's breathtaking. Priti Patel & other Tories are accusing MPs who criticise the barbaric Plan of being "xenophobic", & suggesting they hate Rwanda - decent people don't hate countries: they hate authoritarian regimes who despise human rights, like ours, & the one in Rwanda.
THIS is why all decent people across the world are concerned about #Rwanda in particular:
Read 5 tweets
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Apr 19
In an open letter, renowned economists at the @icrict urge #G20 countries to collectively tackle tax havens:

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, the world’s 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes, while a new billionaire has emerged every 26 hours."
icrict.com/press-release/…
"It is often impossible to know where much of this wealth is, as it is often hidden through elaborate structures either to avoid paying taxes or to hide money generated by corruption and illegal activities. The case of the Russian oligarchs speaks for itself."
"According to some estimates, they hold at least $1 TRILIION in wealth abroad, often concealed in offshore companies whose true ownership is hard to determine. On this wall of opacity, the efforts of the countries that want to sanction these are now stumbling."
Read 15 tweets
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Apr 19
#Thread

I've written elsewhere about the highly contested & important concepts of #nationalism & #patriotism, which in Britain & many other countries, have been successfully appropriated & mobilised by the Right, leaving the Left stumped, floundering, & backed into a corner.
Nationalism is generally associated with jingoism, xenophobia & distasteful sense of the superiority of one's own country over others. But this isn't strictly what it means to a sizeable proportion of voters, who interpret it more as 'putting one's own country's interests first'.
Similarly, patriotism - the feeling of pride in, devotion to, attachment to, or even love for one's country - is often dismissed by the Left as at best unseemly, & at worst, racist.

Most discussion of nationalism & patriotism on the Left is without nuance & electorally suicidal.
Read 36 tweets
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Apr 18
#Thread

Who profits from the war in Ukraine?

It's unquestionably the Ukrainian people who suffer most from Russia's invasion.

The UN estimates that more than 11 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since the war began.
More than 7 million have been displaced within Ukraine, & another 4.3 million have fled abroad, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

While the eyes of the world are focused on Ukraine, around one fifth of all children on earth are living in areas of active armed conflict.
The global arms trade claims it exists 'to protect freedom, peace & democracy'.

It is also highly profitable.

Global defence spending was at least $2 TRILLION in 2020, although some countries, including China, are not transparent about their arms imports, exports & expenditure.
Read 13 tweets

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