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Nov 15

There are now roughly 8 billion people in the world, per the UN, with 1 billion added in just the past 12 years.

The climate crisis and global conflicts are:
▪️ forcing up to 828M into hunger
▪️ displacing 100M+

A 🧵on how #population explosion affects the most vulnerable:

About 47% of the world’s population lives in water-scarce areas.

In the Horn of Africa alone, 37M face starvation. The climate crisis has caused the region’s worst drought in 40 years.

Nearly 60% of the world is set to live in water-scarce areas by 2050, says the UN.

The world's population could spike another billion by 2037.

About 828M already suffered from hunger in 2021, mostly in Asia and Africa.

Around 660M people could still suffer from hunger by 2030, warns the UN, partly due to the effects of COVID-19.

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@ajplus

Nov 15

Israel says it won't cooperate in a reported U.S. investigation on the killing of Palestinian-American journalist #ShireenAbuAkleh. The U.S. has not yet confirmed the probe.

Israeli soldiers shot Shireen in May as she wore a press vest. Israel refused a criminal investigation.

Israeli forces have killed at least 45 journalists since 2000, say Palestinians.

0 Israeli soldiers were charged for killing them.

140+ journalists have been badly wounded by Israeli live fire and other weapons since 2018, some injuries resulting in amputation and blindness.

Family of #ShireenAbuAkleh welcomed news of a possible U.S. investigation into her killing:

"It is what the United States should do when a U.S. citizen is killed abroad... by a foreign military."

The U.S. has delayed a formal investigation for 6 months.

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@ajplus

Oct 24

In the United Kingdom, the last few prime ministers were initially chosen by just 0.3% of voters (or less).

Here's why: 🧵

The UK PM is not chosen by all voters — usually only by members of the ruling political party or its MPs.

Currently, that is 150,000+ Conservative Party members (0.3% of all voters), who are overwhelmingly older, richer and more often male and white than the average voter.

The last 4 UK prime ministers all initially came to power without most voters getting any say:

▪️ Theresa May, after David Cameron resigned
▪️ Boris Johnson, after May resigned
▪️ Liz Truss, after Johnson resigned
▪️ Rishi Sunak, after Truss resigned

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@ajplus

Oct 21

The British royals have an est. $34.3B in assets, with #KingCharles set to receive ~$500M without paying inheritance tax.

At its peak, the British empire colonized parts of every continent but Antarctica and subjugated 1 out of 5 people on Earth.

A 🧵on its destructive impact:

One major source of Britain’s wealth was the slave trade — it enslaved 6M West Africans in a little over 100 years.

It compensated slave owners with around $21B after it outlawed slavery in 1834.

Descendants of enslaved people were not paid reparations.

Britain forced large amounts of opium on China in exchange for goods during the 19th century.

About 10% of Chinese people became regular users of the drug.

In the resulting Opium Wars:
▪️Britain defeated China, forced the signing of “unequal" treaties
▪️took over Hong Kong

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@ajplus

Oct 19

Texas schools are sending children home with DNA kits so parents can identify them "in case of an emergency."

After the Uvalde shooting, parents had to provide such samples to identify victims. Texas' GOP rejected calls for reform and expanded the right to carry guns in public.

The Uvalde gunman used an AR-15 he legally bought at age 18 to kill 19 children and 2 adults.

Victims' families called on Texas to raise the min. age to buy guns, but Gov. Abbott instead pushed to relax gun laws and claimed banning sales to people under 21 is "unconstitutional."

The Texas GOP and Gov. Abbott have consistently relaxed gun laws after mass shootings.

After the 2019 El Paso shooting, they backed laws that:
▪️ allow carrying handguns in places of worship
▪️ allow storing guns in school parking lots
▪️ block landlords from banning firearms

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@ajplus

Oct 19

The U.S. called for international forces to be deployed in Haiti as the country faces protests over inflation, a cholera outbreak and a political crisis.

The U.S. has invaded Haiti before. 100+ years ago, it massacred thousands and stole its wealth to secure U.S. interests. 🧵

Haiti took its independence in 1804 by rebelling against slave owners, becoming the world's first Black republic.

In retaliation:
▪️ France forced it to pay slave owners compensation, plunging it into debt
▪️ The U.S. isolated it, fearing similar revolts by enslaved people

The U.S. invaded Haiti in 1915 — claiming it wanted to stabilize the country after the then-president's assassination.

U.S. forces:
▪️ massacred civilians
▪️ took over its finances
▪️ installed a pro-U.S. president
▪️ reversed post-slavery laws that banned foreigners buying land

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