#we need an early general election at this stage

[themcfucked]

RIP LIZ TRUSS THE PAST 44 DAYS WERE UNBEARABLE THANKS BABES GOOD RIDDANCE HERES TO THE FUTURE OF MORE FUCKING DISASTROUS DAYS WITH WHATEVER CONSERVATIVE COPY WE GET NEXT

[waitmyturtles]

(Source)

The Lower House (House of Representatives) will be hearing Thailand’s marriage equality bill at 9:30 am Bangkok time (10:30 pm Eastern for those of us in the States). The bill, if passed, would still have to be approved in Thailand’s Senate.

(Source and source)

Below the fold is Bloomberg.com's report on the happenings (source):

Bill to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand Heads to Parliament

Bill is supported by most major parties, needs king approval

Thailand would be first in region to codify marriage equality

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat, March 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM PDT

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage could face a vote in Thailand’s parliament as early as Wednesday. If it passes, the country will be the first in Southeast Asia to establish marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.

The House of Representatives will take up the legislation, technically an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code, for second and third readings when it meets at 9 a.m. Lawmakers may vote later in the day.

The bill would legalize marriage for same-sex partners aged 18 and above, along with rights to inheritance, tax allowances and child adoption, among others. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration has made it a signature issue, and advocates say it would also burnish Thailand’s reputation as an LGBTQ-friendly tourist destination.

Taiwan and Nepal are the only places in Asia that currently recognize same-sex marriage, and recent efforts elsewhere in the region have had mixed results. Hong Kong has yet to comply with a 2023 court order to establish laws recognizing same-sex partnerships, and India’s Supreme Court refused to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it’s an issue for parliament to consider.

The Thai bill would change the composition of a marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals,” and change the official legal status from “husband and wife” to “married couple.”

Thai laws have protected LGBTQ people from most kinds of discrimination since 2015, but attempts to formalize marriage rights have stalled. In 2021, the Constitutional Court upheld the law recognizing marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. Last year, a bill to recognize same-sex civil partnerships failed to clear parliament ahead of elections.

Rights advocates have higher hopes for the bill pending now, noting that it has broad support from most of the major parties. If it passes, it will need to be approved by the Senate and endorsed by the King. Then it would be published in the Royal Gazette and take effect 120 days later.

Srettha’s government has also promised to work on a bill to recognize gender identity, and the health ministry has also proposed legalizing commercial surrogacy to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children. Thailand is seeking to host the WorldPride events in Bangkok in 2028.

Legalizing same-sex marriage could have positive effects on tourism, which contributes about 12% to the nation’s $500 billion economy. In 2019, before the pandemic froze international tourism, LGBTQ travel and tourism to Thailand generated about $6.5 billion, or 1.2% of gross domestic product, according to industry consultant LGBT Capital.

Formal recognition could boost the reputation of a place already considered one of Asia’s best for LGBTQ visitors, said Wittaya Luangsasipong, managing director of Siam Pride, an LGBTQ-friendly travel agency in Bangkok.

“It will become a selling point for Thailand and raise our strength in the global stage,” Wittaya said. “It will create a relaxed and safe atmosphere for tourism and help attract more and more LGBTQ visitors. We could also see more weddings by LGBTQ couples, which could generate income across industries and local communities.”

[bakugo-dee]

WTF

Bakugo x Kirishima x Reader (female)

Warning: Some cursing

“What do you mean I am being benched?” you yelled at the Commissioner as you paced around the room. “I am the top Hero here, Tsukauchi! Why the heck would you do this to me? Besides, you know you need me for the next mission!?” “We received intel on current situations that threaten your safety. It seems that you are being targeted by the League of Villains (LV) and your recent run-in with Dabi has all agencies on high alert.” Tsukauchi sat behind his desk rubbing his temples as if trying to relieve a headache. “OH?! (you exclaimed, stopping in your tracks) All agencies huh?” “Yes. All agencies.” You crossed your arms and gave him a side glance “So…which one gave you the intel?” “Dynamight’s.” “Dynamight?!” you slammed your hands on his desk “Y…yes.” You knew better than to be taking your frustration out on the man in front of you. This turn of events wasn’t his doing after all. He was just following protocol. You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration and softly sighed “I see.” You turned to exit the Commissioner’s office “(Y/H/N)…wh…where are you going? This is only temporary. At least until we can figure out why the League is after you.” “You already know why. And don’t worry,  I’ll be back. Right after I set HIS ass on FIRE!!!!” With a confused look on his face, Tsukauchi watched as you let the door slam behind you “His ass? She doesn’t mean Dynamight’s…does she?” 

No one at Hero Public Safety Commision (HPSC) knew of your current relationship with the #2 Hero Dynamight and the #8 Hero Red Riot. Due to your line of work, it was safer this way. Heck, other than Naomasa Tsukauchi, who had recently been elected President of the HPSC, no one even knew your true identity. The saddest part out of all this secrecy was that not even your own boyfriends knew just how powerful you were. 

Your telekinesis quirk had manifested at an early age and it quickly caught the attention of the HPSC. Your quirk not only allowed you to move objects, but you could also manipulate matter at will. Your limitation was your own imagination. The HPSC approached your family with an offer to have you trained as a member of an elite group of heroes but you would need to keep your abilities a secret. You were allowed to attend UA as part of the General Studies course and that’s where you met the boys.    

“UGH! DAMN YOU KATSUKI! Why the heck aren’t you answering your phone?” You threw your cell phone over to the passenger seat of your SUV. All your calls kept going to voicemail and he wasn’t reading any of your text messages. The staff at his agency wouldn’t tell you where he was, only that he wasn’t available. This of course was standard procedure. They don’t know your Dynamight’s girlfriend and as far as they’re concerned you could be a villain plotting to attack the #2 Hero. 

Your heart was racing with anger as you pulled up to the front gate and saw thier cars parked in the driveway. Trying to keep your calm, you think back to the day on the lake when the three of you confessed your feelings for each other. How the heck do 3 best friends fall in love with one another. The thought still baffled you but the past year had been so amazing and now here you were sharing a home with them. Even though you had some reservation at first. Things had been going great up until 2 weeks ago when you were approached by the notorious villain, Dabi. 

Your undercover job at the Hero Commission was working in the PR Department. You were at a mall signing with some sidekicks and that’s where Dabi saw you. He was scoping the scene to gain intel for the LV and took a liking to you. He had no clue who you were, much less that you were a Secret Agent for the HPSC or in a relationship with the #2 and #8 Heroes. He managed to corner you behind the stage and struck up a conversation. Before you knew it he was trying to recruit you into the League of Villains and then tried kidnapping you when you refused. After a brief scuffle which led to a fight between him and the present Heroes, he escaped and you managed to walk away with only a few minor burns. However, the whole ordeal freaked out your overprotective boyfriends and for the past few weeks they have been pushing you to quit your job and stay home where they could keep you safe. Their lack of faith in your abilities has made you bitter towards them but then how could you blame them, they don’t know what you’re capable of.  

You rush into the house and are quickly greeted by Kirishima hugging you. “Hey baby! You’re home early. Wha…what are you wearing?” In your rush to get home to confront Katsuki you forgot to change out of your hero costume. “Ummm…Nevermind that…where is HE?!?!” “Bakugo?” “YES! Bakugo! Where the HELL is he?!” “Baby are you ok? You seem a little agitated.” “OH! I seem a little agitated. I am way passed agitated! Where the FUCK is he RED?!” “Ummm…baby??” You push a stunned Kirishima aside and head to the outdoor training facility. He chased after you, but to his surprise you were so much faster than him. At this point you are so angry that you are no longer in control of your quirk and flames start to spread all over your body.     

You smash the doors to the training facility “BAKUGO KATSUKI!!!!” You have now unleashed the full power of your quirk and are flying high engulfed in flames. Bakugo is staring at you in horror and disbelief. “Princess??? You…you…can fly? What the CRAP!?” You start shooting flames and hurling nearby objects at him simultaneously. “Baby Girl? What the…? Stop…you idiot.” He tries to dodge your attacks but one after another you land them all. You manage to pin him under a boulder, knocking him unconscious. “(Y/N)!!!!” Kirishima finally runs in “STOP!!!! What are you doing? You’re going to kill him!” and with those words you look down to where Katsuki is lying. The shock of what you have just done over takes you and you collapse to the ground in tears. “Katsuki? I…I…I’m sorry.” You lift the boulder off of him as Kirishima rushes to his side. 

“Is…is he ok?” “He’s unconscious. We need to get him to the hospital. He might have head trauma.” “What?” “Com’on.” Kirishima lifts him up in one swoop and the two of you rush to the car. You climb in the back seat of the truck and Kiri places Bakugo in your lab. “Katsuki…babe…I am so sorry. Please be ok. I didn’t mean to…” You say softly as your tears fall onto his face. “Baby…please…I am sorry. Please…I was just so angry.” “(Y/N), what the hell is going on? What was that? I’ve never seen you display that type of power before. Where did that come from?” “This is my power.” you reply with a heavy sigh and tears streaming down your face. “What?” “Kiri…please just get us to the hospital. I’ll explain everything later.” “Ok baby but…um…I am not going to lie…uh…I am pretty terrified of you right now.” “I’m pretty terrified of myself too. (you look down at Katsuki) Baby…can you hear me?” He opens his eyes slightly “Princess…you dumbass…what the heck was that?” “OH BABY! Shhhhh…don’t talk. We are taking you to the hospital. I am sooooo sorry.”

Once at the hospital, Bakugo is quickly taken in to see a healer. You and Kirishima are sitting across from each other in the waiting room. Normally he would be all over you in situations like this but after what he just witnessed, he’s been keeping his distance and you don’t blame him. Your phone rings “Hey. I am at the hospital. Can you come meet me here? Great. Thanks.” “Who was that?” “The Commissioner.” “What? Why is he calling you?” You don’t respond to Kirishima’s questions. The nurse walks in “He has been asking for you both. You can go in and see him now.” You walk in silence to his room. Kirishima walks in first. “Katsuki! Are you ok babe?” “Yeah…shity hair…I am fine. Where is (y/n)?” You step out from behind Kirishima. “Hey.” “Hey? Is that all you have to say to me?” He is angry but not as angry as you expect. “What the FUCK was that? Since when do you have that kind of power?” “I was angry at you. You had me benched.” “What? What do you mean I had you benched?” “Your agency. They called the HPSC and had me benched.” “Princess…you’re going to need to do some more explaining than that because I don’t have a fucking clue as to what you're talking about Dumbass and what the HECK are you wearing!” Just then, Naomasa Tsukauchi walks in. “(Y/H/N)?” “It’s ok, Tsukauchi. You can call me by my real name here.” Bakugo and Kirishima are both staring at you in confusion. “Um (y/n)…why is the Commissioner here and why did he just call you (Y/H/N)?” “Because that’s my Hero name.” Bakugo and Kirishima are both staring at you with a look of confusion “WHAT THE FUCK?!!!”

[thepro-lifemovement]

I would be interested in where you got your 95% of biologists agree from...

There is no definition of life, by the general checklist, fire is alive.

And if you mean by single cell organisms as life again this is disputed by the fact that many don't consider viruses to be alive. By the same logic cancer cells is also alive, as are many veg we eat, I assume you wouldn't embrace that?

I would also question where your pro life stance extends to all life or just unborn human life.

It's your choice to be anti abortion, that is your choice, but don't peddle inaccuracies. Abortions save lives. And please don't pretend you are prolife unless you care for all life, bugs, spiders... humans are the largest cause of extinction, I would assume you are anti human?

I dont mean to come off aggressive, I know how it will read, but this stance causes harm beyond your own experience, I'm sure of that else your view would be more sympathetic, and you language would be better aligned to your message.

You have the right to choose to not have an abortion, don't push for the loss of choice of others please, because that's ultimately all we have here on Earth, choice.

Don't try to take away choice, because what goes around comes around. Obviously you can choose to ignore me. But please consider it.

I would be happy to talk more if you wish.

Alex

Hello there.

I got the data from here:

And there is a definition on life. There are criteria that must be met for something to be considered "alive" for living organisms.

All living organisms share several key characteristics or functions: order, sensitivity or response to the environment, reproduction, growth and development, regulation, homeostasis, and energy processing.

If you would like an in-depth explanation for why an unborn child is considered a living human organism as early as the zygote stage, it is explained very well here:

My pro-life stand extends to all human life. I view all human life as valuable and believe no one, not even the government, has the right to take your life away from you. Abortion does not save lives. Women do not need abortion. Whenever you look into the reasons women die during pregnancy, those problems are not treated with abortion. They're usually resolved with early delivery of the baby. I am against elective abortion. Meaning I am against procedures that intend to end the life of the unborn child.

You do not understand what it means to be "pro-life." I do care about the ecosystem, but I value human beings more than plants or animals. That does not mean that I don't value plants or animals.

I think the pro-life view is more sympathetic than the pro-abortion or pro-choice one because we actually care about mothers and their families. We care about what happens to women and their children. We have organizations and facilities that support women through their pregnancy and motherhood. We advocate for mothers and their children. That's something I feel is lacking in the pro-choice movement because all I see them really caring about is access to abortion, even when it allows women to continue being sex trafficked and allows abortion facilities to get away with failing to report it. Women deserve better health care. We deserve so much better than abortion. As a women, I have already experienced discrimination with OBGYNs and doctors when it comes to my reproductive health. My family have experienced discrimination from doctors this year when it came to their pregnancy complications. Doctors do not take our concerns seriously and that is a huge issue we need to address and fix.

Choices are generally good, until it becomes someone else's duty to die. Your choice to abuse or harm someone is not good and I am allowed to fight against that. I would hope you would agree with that. We cannot just allow people to get away with intentionally harming or killing people because "it's their choice, it's their life." Every human being has the right to life, and that is the most important right that we have. It trumps all other rights. Without this right, we have nothing. And no one has the right to intentionally take the life of another human being.

-Sarah

[its-elvie-innit]

oh we're putting dsmp on stage? sweet my stage craft knowledge finally comes in handy for a fan project <33 (<- i do costumes mostly and a little bit of lights + set/props) (i haven't interacted with this fandom in months)

so first things first. storytelling through costumes is fucking imperative here. also rip to the actors in advance they're gonna have so many layers

early dsmp we need pristine clothing. armour is perfectly shiny with minimal to no scratches. any form of white clothing is white. wrinkles do not exist. hair is styled to perfection. etc etc. any make-up should be very subtle; this is the very beginning of... everything. there hasn't been any time for people to make pretty much any sort of mark on this world. (or it back) hand in hand with this, set pieces should be minimal. there should be a general idea of wide open space, without (m)any buildings just yet. lighting should be simple but bright, cheerful.

when l'manberg is created, things have settled in a bit more. set should still be minimal (stage split somewhere for van? rotating set piece?), lighting still bright. i would keep costumes pristine too, but things like 'dirt smudges' or small rips should/can be incorporated. (excluding dream. he needs to stay as unaffected as possible for as long as possible.)

l'manberg war this all goes out the window. rips, tears, hasty patches, fake injuries, the white spots on the uniforms should be still recognisable but like... not really white anymore. (again, not on the dream team really.) when we enter the control room, i want no set. the lighting here can really be used to emphasise how claustrophobic the whole thing is. honestly, the whole war should have stark, dramatic lighting. the duel especially.

post-war, we have this shift. costumes should be... slightly to the left of what they were before. whites are off-whites, patches are trying their hardest not to be there but aren't quite fitting in, shoes are caked with dirt. there's a sense of... fakeness about how neat everything is trying to appear. this should be the most obvious on wilbur. make-up-wise, we're looking at slightly more accentuated eyebags, cheekbones. everyone looks just a little more tired. sets are minimal.

until. (except.) the election. (schlatt.)

the election podium should be tall. imposing. larger than life. a single spotlight hovers on wilbur when he's up there. when schlatt is elected, it's backlit. casting his shadow across the stage. (when tubbo is up there, the lights are almost blinding. and then the lights goes dark. and on stage there is an explosion of colour.)

pogtopia still minimal set, but lighting and positioning of props and what set there is are what should convey scale. tommy and wilbur's costumes should be rough. techno should look Out Of Place, glittering and shiny and still new. tubbo even more so for very different reasons.

manberg should be suffocating in the complete opposite sense. set pieces should be large and swallow up the characters.

when wilbur gives monologues the stage around him (lights) should shrink more and more each time until his world is just him. and the button. (when philza arrives, he should bring light with him. not a lot. but more. the lights widen to reveal the signs on the walls. when wilbur hits the button, the lights should blast open to the whole stage. this part with the set is all about the levels. no one should be standing on equal ground when/after the explosions go off.)

and i'm leaving this ask here because it's stupidly long and also the 16th should be the end of act 1 peace and love <33

OH my gosh, progressing from a simple set with no marks, the bright lighting, I never thought about the space on the stage. Like, yeah, duh, nothings been done yet. It's all green pastures and sunsets of course there's open air. I love dream being unaffected because yeah. And the immediacy of everything breaking down!!!!! All of a sudden they become torn and shallow, still people, still coiffed to perfection, but like, a little bit less so. And The Injuries hshhshhsh.

Schlatts podium..I absolutely agree, tall and imposing, I also think it should have a cartoon-ish curve to it though so there's forced perspective. At the very tippy top there should be that yellow concrete box, I feel like the shadows would be very imposing. I adore the lights-away thing for tubbo- and I feel like to keep in with techno killing so many people there should be little bursts of light accompanied with screams of everyone he killed. Tommy and wilbur could be on short buildings to the side, hiding! Then he winds the enderpearl back and the lights go out during technos shoot. That's suuuuch a good idea it's so perfect...

You've done so much with the set I have no comments...mwah mwah so perfect..tubbo w the bandages seeing techno in his pristine costume..owy

But the wilbur light thing!!! Yes!!!!!!! I don't think you understand how much I love this, murmuring about the presidency fading out above him, the circular spotlight in a pitch black theater, slowing, growing smaller and closed in around wilbur where hes hunkered over, nearly hitting the button against his wrist until BAM! A circle around phil!!!!! Wilbur is awestruck, and the circles start to merge when they talk, wilburs fluctuating back and forth, back and forth, smaller-bigger-smaller-bigger and then BAM. MY UNFINISHED SYMPJONY PHIL! You hear a scream, SCREAMS, Phil's light goes off with wilburs, his world is gone, you hear a sudden fizz of Redstone right before, a gunshot (ITS CHEKOVS) then the curtain shoots open in the pitch black where we had done the button scene opens and the lights go back on to reveal the destroyed lmanburg, tnt explosion sounds still reigning over the scene, niki and tommy across the gaping chasm, wilbur kneeling before it with a boisterous smile on his face, wild eyes, he grabs the hilt of his dads sword (kill me phil!!!!! Kill me!) And we get a front row seat to the lights turning red as soon as it hits him, blurring into that same world-owning circle. The last scene before you see the stage go dark is philza kneeling to gather up his son in his arms, burying his face into wilburs bloody jacket.

So valid and real with the 16th ending act one.imagine intermission that shit is gonna be CRANKED

[mariacallous]

So here we are, eight months before any votes are cast in the race for the Republican nomination and by most standards—polling, name recognition—Donald Trump is set to win it again.

So why are so many Republicans lining up to challenge the former president? Some of them are longshots with money to burn, but others are well-known elected officials with experience, money, and a reasonable story for why they should be president. Last week, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) joined the race and soon we expect former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to join along with former Vice President Mike Pence.

A few months ago, I helped create the now conventional wisdom which says that a large field of challengers will help Trump because the Republican winner-take-all or winner-take-most delegate selection rules are tailor made for a candidate who holds a solid base among primary voters and who can wrack up a series of plurality wins.

But the conventional wisdom overlooks an important caveat—for Trump to win, he has to win early, and the field of candidates has to be large and stay large after Super Tuesday 2024.

Here’s why.

The race for a presidential nomination takes place in three stages. We’re in stage one right now: the so-called “invisible primary.” This stage lasts from the spring of 2023 until the first votes are cast. During the invisible primary, a lot of important things happen. Candidates raise money, they build campaign staffs, they hone their appeals to the party faithful. And a lot of early conclusions are drawn–often incorrectly. Frequently, the candidate with widespread name identification is the “winner” of these early polls and goes on to win the nomination.[1] By most measures, Trump is winning the invisible primary, which is good news for him.

However, he is not home free. Trump is not your ordinary front runner. He has been indicted and may face more indictments before the Republican convention next summer. He has doggedly stuck to cultivating his base, which, while intense and loyal, is not likely to carry him in a general election. While he is loved, he is also hated, meaning that he will certainly have problems in the general election.

So, onto stage two of the process—the early primaries. This stage runs from late January or early February 2024 to March 4, 2024, or whenever the day before the Super Tuesday is. In 2024, the early primary stage will (on the Republican side) consist of four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. These four small states have very few delegates. In fact, out of the approximately 1,234 delegates, someone will need to win the Republican nomination. These states in total account for 138 delegates or only 11% of the total needed to win.[2]

During this short period of time, perhaps only five or six weeks, Trump will be most at risk. In these weeks someone needs to take the nomination away from him. This could happen if he performs below expectations. Many a frontrunner has stumbled in these states. As far back as 1968, President Lyndon Johnson won the New Hampshire primary with 48% of the vote but Sen. Gene McCarthy (D-MN) won a sizeable enough percentage of the vote (42%) that a few weeks later, Johnson decided not to run again. More recently, Hillary Clinton’s supposed juggernaut to the nomination was upset by a young African American senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, whose surprising win in the nearly all-white Iowa Caucuses of 2008 turned the nomination into a long race which Clinton ultimately lost. In these early contests, someone can catch fire, and when they do, they acquire that most valuable of presidential primary assets: momentum. But if Trump wins in the early contests, a few candidates may stick around to split up the anti-Trump vote, as happened in 2016, and that will help him win.

That brings us to stage three of the nominating process. What makes stage three so critical is that it is a three-month race for delegates and one in which candidates have to be able to compete in 46 states with different types of systems. Momentum is worth more than money as billionaires Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg discovered in 2020. Stage three begins in the first week of March and continues on until the first or second week of June. During this period, candidates will trade the retail campaigning of the early states to participate in a mad dash around the country from TV studios and radio stations. If someone other than Trump catches fire, they will amass large sums of money thanks to internet fundraising and the kind of free press—momentum—that is manna from heaven for a campaign. If stage three features a one-on-one race between Trump and some new fresh face, Trump could very well lose the delegate race.

This requires, however, that the candidates that falter in the early states get out of the race. In 2016, that didn’t happen. The current conventional wisdom that says a large field helps Trump is based on a scenario where all candidates stay in the race, thus allowing Trump to be a plurality winner. However, some Republicans are harkening back not to 2016 but to the 2020 Democratic race where, in a fast-paced weekend between the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday, most of Biden’s opponents dropped out of the race, allowing him a one-on-one contest with Bernie Sanders, which he won handily.

If Trump falters in stage two and finds himself facing one strong opponent, he could be defeated in stage three. In spite of his strong showings in polls of Republican voters, a recent CNN poll found that “…wide swaths of Republican-aligned voters are willing to consider either of the two, [Trump or DeSantis] as well as several other candidates.” A recent Washington Post poll found that Republican voters were not very focused on electability, which would seem to favor Trump. However, “electability” matters in primary elections and many a voter has voted their head over their heart in order to beat the other party. It was the electability issue which catapulted Biden from “dead man walking” to Democratic nominee in just 72 hours in March of 2023.

So, while the safe bet right now is on Trump—what happens in the early primaries will determine whether his path to the nomination will be straightforward or not. In June of 2015, the Republican frontrunner was Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and look what happened to him—he did poorly in the first three contests and never even made it to Super Tuesday.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

‘It’s F**king Over!’ Lula da Silva’s Victory In Brazil Injects Hope Into Global Climate Fight

As this year's U.N. climate summit gathers, South America's largest economy is preparing to move on from its outgoing climate-denier president.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in Brazil’s presidential election last Sunday has energized world leaders, climate activists and environmentalists ahead of this year’s United Nations climate change summit, which kicks off Sunday in Egypt.

In an election many saw as crucial to the future of the Amazon rainforest and staving off catastrophic planetary warming, the leftist da Silva, known affectionately as “Lula,” narrowly ousted far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a staunch climate change denier who has presided over skyrocketing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest that turned him into a global pariah.

Da Silva, who oversaw drastic reductions in deforestation rates and carbon emissions during his presidency from 2003 to 2010, seized on climate issues during the race to paint Bolsonaro as a global outlier who had isolated Brazil on the world stage. In his first speech as president-elect, he pledged to “fight for zero deforestation” and combat the illegal logging, mining and ranching that has ballooned under Bolsonaro’s watch.

“Brazil and the planet need the Amazon alive,” da Silva, who will travel to Egypt next week as an early sign of his intention to reassume a leading role in the climate fight, said Sunday night. “We will prove once again that it is possible to generate wealth without destroying the environment.”

Brazil controls the vast majority of the Amazon rainforest and is also home to other sensitive environmental regions that scientists see as crucial to the global battle against climate change. There and abroad, climate advocates did not mince words when the election results were clear.

“It’s fucking over!” the Brazilian Climate Observatory, a São Paulo-based think tank, said in a release Sunday night. “The nightmare is due to end at last.”

Continue reading.

[draculasstrawhat]

I don’t really know how to communicate how scary everything is in the UK right now. Just… that we are running on 12 years of austerity politicise, the knowledge that we don’t have a free, independent press, that given our broken FPTP system and the way constituency boundaries have been redrawn, we’ve probably *had* our last free and fair - and that it’s only going to get worse - that our NHS is on its knees, and that in 2019 a leader running on a truly progressive platform garnered mass support and a vast number of votes, but *lost* seats, and the way that this absolutely *terrified* our commentariat, so that he was persistently smeared in our allegedly unbiased and independent press until public opinion turned against him, and that meanwhile just under 50% of the population are convinced that what we actually need is something more adjacent to fascism.

The fact that during the pandemic, the government has lied, broken the law, laughed at the mass death, handed public money to their mates, sold off public assets and handed the money to their mates and that all of this is just the continuing trend of this 12 year government of liars and frauds. Some of these mates, incidentally, have alarmingly close ties with organisations like Kiwi Farms who have *absolutely* been interfering in our elections and national discourse generally.

Meanwhile, we’re having a cost-of-living crisis, wages are stagnated, and people are having to decide between feeding their families and paying their rent and heating their homes. People are literally dying of hunger after being penalised by our broken welfare system in ways that are declared unlawful which I’m sure was a *great* comfort to their grieving families. Meanwhile, we are deporting and imprisoning people fleeing international violence, and homophobic hate crimes are skyrocketing, and racial violence is only increasing. Meanwhile protest has been more or less criminalised and we are entering the early stages of ethnic cleansing against our traveller population. Meanwhile a tiny, but *very* well funded and connected little cabal of bigots have decided that trans people are to blame of all of this.

Meanwhile, let’s drape everything in the fucking flag and spend a couple of billion on the fucking jubilee. Never mind that around half the population don’t want ANY of this, but that we’re stuck here, our votes meaningless, our healthcare precarious, the very basics of our lives becoming unaffordable… All our industrial safety, food safety, environmental safety legislation is looking to be stripped - and has already taken a battering. Our unions have been rendered nearly powerless. We are looking at throwing away the Good Friday Agreement. Politicians have been touting the idea of forcing the unemployed, elderly and disabled to work in the fields. We’ve lost any real social safety net this country ever had. There is spreading popular support (presumably among the aforementioned pro-fascism contingent) for bringing back the death penalty.

And before anyone goes “lol, Britain” on this post, believe me, the people who are going to die from this will not be the white, cis, het conservatives you’re thinking of. It will be people of colour, immigrants, our Jewish and Romany communities, it will be poor people, disabled people, queer people. It will be our passionate, left wing organisers, and our political dissidents. It will be Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland, and the former ‘red wall’ of the North who suffer. Even in England… if you can get it round your heads that there are good people in the Deep South of America, who are disenfranchised and afraid - then can you please understand there are good people here, too? People who are scared and don’t have the resources available to them to leave, whose votes will never count for anything because of our broken electoral system. People who should not have to leave their families and homes because of this.

Anyway, I’m fucking terrified. I don’t know that we can turn this around. I just pray every single day that I’m wrong and try to help build resilient communities of care where I can.

[mightyflamethrower]

The last time the Republican and Democrat candidates for president did not directly debate was in 1972. Richard Nixon and George McGovern did not choose to debate. 

Richard Nixon was elected to a second term, defeating Democrat George McGovern in one of the largest landslides in U.S. history. President Biden, the incumbent, is refusing to say whether or not he will debate Donald Trump this year. He arrogantly says that he will wait and see how Trump behaves.

Joe Biden doesn't want to debate Donald Trump. Biden's handlers don't want him to debate Donald Trump. Trump can stand for an hour or 90 minutes and articulate his positions on issues, whether Democrats want to hear those positions or not. Joe Biden quickly begins to fade after about thirty minutes. Joe Biden needs a teleprompter and his notecards to speak, and even then he makes mistakes. Trump can stand and speak off the cuff for as long as time allows. Biden mumbles and slurs his words. Trump does not.

At this stage in his political career, the contrast between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is clear.

The broadcast networks and cable channels have come together to nudge Biden and Trump to "publicly commit" to debates. The problem isn't Trump, though. He has been clear that he wants to debate Biden. Trump began needling Biden before Trump was officially the presumed nominee during the GOP primary. Trump isn't chicken, it's Biden.

The media outlets have not sent a letter encouraging a debate yet but it's written. The letter has been leaked to the press to float the idea. 

“We, the undersigned national news organizations, urge the presumptive presidential nominees to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election,” states an as-yet-unsent letter that Deadline has seen from NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News, and CNN to the Trump and Biden campaigns. “If there is one thing Americans can agree on, during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the correspondence also says, noting that in every election since 1976 “tens of millions have tuned in” to Presidential debates. “There is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of the nation.”

It has been leaked to The New York Times, for example, in hopes of getting the paper to sign on to the letter, too. The networks want to get support from publications, too. 

One Democrat said, “No reason to commit this early, not taking debates off the table either."  What happened to normal? Remember that Biden ran on a return to normal in 2020. Normal has failed to appear during Biden's time in the White House and it looks like the Biden campaign is looking for an excuse to take a pass on a debate. Biden has a history of always being on defense. Biden leads from behind and is always playing catch-up. 

tics point to the fact that Trump didn't participate in the RNC debates during the primary. Trump pulled out of a second debate with Biden in 2020 when the organizers switched to a virtual format, allegedly because of COVID-19 concerns. 

Will Team Biden allow the president to get outside of his safe media cocoon? His handlers rely on reporters submitting questions in advance and then they put answers on notecards for the president. He only goes to friendly outlets for the few interviews he has agreed to do. He's a weak incumbent. It will be interesting to see what is decided. 

[xtruss]

Pakistan’s Corrupt To Their Cores Army Generals Look Increasingly Desperate! A Heavily Fraudulent Election May Not Keep Imran Khan’s Fans At Bay

— March 14th 2024 | The Economist

Illustration of a Ballot Being Shredded. Image Credit: lan Truong

Thief, Looter, Traitor, International Money Launderer Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Party (PML-N) is Back in Power with the Help of Heavily Rigged Elections by the Pakistan’s Corrupt To Their Cores Army Generals, ISI, Politicians and Judges. Following elections last month, the thrice former prime minister’s younger brother, Shehbaz, has been installed in the ruling post. His Daughter, Lowlife, Looter, Thief, Corrupt Maryam Safdar, is the New Chief Minister of Populous Punjab in result of Stolen Mandate of Imran Khan’s Party PTI. So why is Mr Sharif so glum? The 74-year-old “Lion of Punjab 😂😂😂” has said little publicly since the vote. Bunkered down in his mansion outside Lahore, he is said to be depressed.

He has reason to be. The PML-N’s success is much less than Mr Sharif was promised when he returned home last year. He had spent four years in exile in London because Pakistan’s Generals—Stage Managers of its Democracy—were against him. They rigged an election in 2018 in favour of his main rival, Imran Khan. But then they fell out with Mr Khan and reverted to the lion. A former cricketing god, Mr Khan is Now in Jail on Graft Charges. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been dismantled. PML-N was therefore expected to sweep the election and Mr Sharif to become prime minister for a fourth time. Instead, something unprecedented happened.

Despite the Army’s Myriad Ploys to prevent Pakistanis voting for Mr Khan, it seems most did so. Standing as independents, candidates linked to his party swept the country. Early counting put them on track for Two-Thirds of Punjab’s seats and an overall majority. At which point the Army Intervened to a degree that might make a Tin-Pot Tyrant Blush.

Army agents were allegedly sent into counting stations with alternative tallies. Salman Akram Raja, a Supreme Court Lawyer running as a De Facto PTI Candidate in Lahore, had been informed that he had won by 95,000 votes. And then—whoops—that he had lost to the PML-N Candidate by 13,500. Mr Sharif’s Party would otherwise have faced oblivion. As it is, it won only 75 of 264 seats. It cobbled together a majority by striking a deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party, which is run by another Fading Dynasty, the Bhuttos.

This might seem like Pakistani business as usual. The country has been ruled by the army, directly or at varying degrees of remove, throughout its history. In a cycle that Mr Sharif has been through several times, the Corrupt Generals put a Biddable Civilian in Power then, after he or she dares to act independently, switch to a different proxy or Army Rule. Thereby Pakistan has had Four Army Dictators and None of its 20 Civilian Prime Ministers has completed a Five-Year term. This helps explain why it is so badly governed. Having little prospect of a full term, Pakistan’s civilian regimes abjure long-term decision-making in favour of populist giveaways and graft. As recently as 2006, Pakistanis were better-off than Indians; now the average income in India is 60% higher than that in Pakistan.

A big question arising from this latest turn of the wheel is whether the army can maintain control. There are two reasons to think it could struggle. The first is Mr Khan. Perhaps unwittingly, given his erstwhile compliance with the army, he has channelled Pakistanis’ long-standing despond into anger at the military establishment. This has put Pakistani Politics on New Terrain. Had the Boak Bollocks Corrupt Army Chief, General Asim Munir, responded to the vote count by calling a state of emergency, as his predecessors might have, he would have risked an uprising. “There is This Sense That the Gravy Train Needs to Stop,” says Mr Raja, an Old Acquaintance of Banyan. “We Can’t Be Forever Governed by Two Families in Cahoots with the Powers That Be.”

The second factor endangering the status quo is a protracted economic crisis. The inflationary shocks experienced in many countries have in Pakistan combined with the effects of long-standing malgovernance to deliver chronic inflation, joblessness and balance-of-payment problems. Mr Khan’s ousting in 2022 now appears well timed for him. Mr Sharif’s decision to let Shehbaz (Both Brothers Certified Corrupt to Their Cores) lead an 16-month-long replacement government instead of calling early elections looks like a major blunder. It has hung the crisis around his party’s neck. With Pakistan’s 24th IMF Bail-Out set to expire this month, and a bigger loan urgently required, the new government will need to take measures that will make it even more unpopular than it is. Its prospects—and Mr Sharif’s hopes of rebuilding his party—appear dire.

The same could be true for the army-run establishment that Mr Sharif has unhappily rejoined. It may have got away with its latest election heist. But in the process Mr Khan’s supporters have made the Corrupt Army, ISI, Politicians and Judges Look Desperate and Vulnerable. ■

[generalsurgeonblog]

Mastering the Craft: Unveiling the Versatility of a General Surgeon

In the intricate tapestry of modern medicine, certain individuals stand out as the backbone of surgical care—the γενικός χειρούργος. Often described as the "jack-of-all-trades" in surgery, these skilled practitioners possess a diverse skill set and a profound understanding of the human body. Let's delve into the realm of general surgery, exploring the versatility, expertise, and crucial role these professionals play in healthcare.

General surgeons are the cornerstone of surgical care, equipped with the expertise to diagnose, treat, and manage a broad spectrum of surgical conditions. From routine procedures to complex surgeries, their proficiency spans across various anatomical systems, including the abdomen, digestive tract, skin, and soft tissues. Whether it's performing appendectomies, hernia repairs, or gallbladder removals, general surgeons are adept at addressing a multitude of surgical needs with precision and finesse.

One of the distinguishing features of a general surgeon is their ability to adapt and excel in diverse surgical scenarios. Unlike specialists who focus on a particular organ or region, general surgeons possess a comprehensive understanding of multiple disciplines within surgery. This versatility allows them to navigate through a wide array of surgical challenges, making quick and informed decisions in critical situations. Whether they're conducting emergency trauma surgeries or elective procedures, general surgeons exhibit a remarkable blend of knowledge, skill, and adaptability.

Beyond their technical prowess, general surgeons are renowned for their holistic approach to patient care. They serve as primary caregivers, guiding patients through every stage of the surgical journey—from initial consultation to post-operative recovery. With a compassionate bedside manner and clear communication, they alleviate anxieties, address concerns, and empower patients to make informed decisions about their health. Moreover, general surgeons collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, ensuring seamless coordination of care and optimal treatment outcomes.

In today's rapidly evolving medical landscape, general surgeons are at the forefront of innovation and advancements in surgical techniques. They embrace new technologies, such as minimally invasive surgery and robotic-assisted procedures, to enhance surgical precision, minimize incisions, and accelerate recovery times. By staying abreast of the latest research and developments, general surgeons continually refine their skills and adopt best practices to deliver state-of-the-art surgical care to their patients.

Moreover, general surgeons play a vital role in addressing public health challenges and promoting preventive care initiatives. Beyond treating surgical conditions, they educate patients about healthy lifestyle choices, screening protocols, and disease prevention strategies. Through community outreach programs and advocacy efforts, they strive to improve access to surgical care, especially in underserved populations, and raise awareness about the importance of early intervention and regular screenings.

The journey to becoming a general surgeon is rigorous and demanding, requiring years of extensive training, dedication, and unwavering commitment to excellence. After completing medical school, aspiring surgeons undergo a comprehensive residency program, where they acquire hands-on experience in various surgical specialties. Subsequently, they may pursue fellowship training to further specialize in areas such as trauma surgery, colorectal surgery, or surgical oncology.

In conclusion, the role of a general surgeon is indispensable in the realm of modern medicine. With their versatile skill set, unwavering dedication, and compassionate approach to patient care, they continue to shape the landscape of surgical practice and make invaluable contributions to healthcare worldwide. As we navigate through the complexities of healthcare, let us acknowledge and celebrate the profound impact of these masterful practitioners who tirelessly serve on the frontlines of surgical excellence.

[my-snowbaz-shit-idk]

A New Mage A New Age

The Watford Gazette

~ News for Mages of all ages and stages ~

(A/N: this is part two little mini project I did of turning the events of Carry On into newspaper articles)

Today 10th February 2003 a new Mage was elected by the coven. None other than the self-proclaimed radical David Cadwallader is now the leader of the British Magickal Community and the headmaster of Watford Academy of Magicks. 

This decision has sparked strong feelings across Magickal England. Some believe that Mr. Cadwallader is just the change we need while others are worried about the drastic changes he has stated that he plans to implement in Watford's curriculum. 

While his supporters claim that these negative reactions are just the overreaction of those desperate to hold onto power the worry may not all be in vain. The newly minted Mage says he plans to remove many Magickal classics from Watford's library in favour of Normal books. He claims this is to "reintroduce Normal culture into the Magickal Community via the new generation of Mages." saying that "If we can start early enough we still have a hope of saving ourselves from losing our humanity entirely.".

Concerns about the removal of Magickal literature from the school library are only the beginning of the radical new policies. And people worry that the new curriculum will lose sight of important Magickal history and culture.

Despite his many critics his hard stance on the Dark Creature Problem is one of the main things that gained him popularity in the first place. His plans include a serious increase in security at Watford. This he says would mean " A new outer gate, solid iron, and wards all around campus." While he may not be teaching our children the right things it sounds like they will definitely be safe. But, many parents question, what does it matter if our children are safe if they are cooped up learning nothing about their history, about themselves? This man is attempting to erase our history and culture, we must stop him before it's too late!"

A schism is beginning in the English Magickal Community, and with both sides rearing what will the future hold for the new generations? Who do they need more protection from, dark creatures or us?

[starfriday]

TiEcon Mumbai 2023, brilliantly showcased revolutionary ideas & impactful solutions to build an Anti-Fragile and Sustainable India

Mumbai, 09 June 2023: The 16th Edition of TiEcon Mumbai, organised by TiE Mumbai at Jio Convention Centre, BKC culminated on an enthusiastic note with a call to build an Anti-Fragile and Sustainable India. It kick-started with marquee speakers focusing on ways to accelerate growth, drive more intelligent engagement, make conscious choices and methods to empower sustainable business building ideas.

Speaking at the summit, Ranu Vohra, President- TiE Mumbai said, “It was great to see the energy of the startup eco system at work at TiECon 2023. There were lively debates on Mumbai’s roadmap to becoming the startup hub, Gen AI and its role in India and the opportunities, thus created. The session on funding availability held out promise that as the startups become “anti-fragile” and focus on unit economics and profitability we should see a renewed increase in funding possibilities. The highly anticipated BCG report on the ecosystem was very well received and spoke about the inherent changes including cultural changes required to bring about sustainability in the startup ecosystem. We are overwhelmed by the positive feedback from entrepreneurs (there were 3000+ attendees) and on behalf of the Board and Past TiE Mumbai Presidents want to thank the community which participated wholeheartedly.”

Apoorva Sharma, President Elect, TiE Mumbai said, “India is a land of opportunity and hope, a place where dreams can come true. But as the country rapidly urbanizes, it is also becoming a place of transition. Successful Entrepreneurship is a marathon and not a sprint. Startups need to have a customer centric approach, must learn to think differently and leverage Tech – Data & AI for a competitive edge. VCs are looking to invest in founders who are passionate and have a differentiated product/ service with expertise.”

India is at a focal point of innovation. The country is all set to reach a $ 5 Trillion economy by 2027. India is rising as the knowledge and talent capital of the world having the 3rd largest ecosystem of climate Tech Organizations. Start Ups are a key driver of this Digital Transformation of India. Generation AI is slated to deliver breakthrough productivity gains and is a paradigm shift in computing creating massive disruption in Digital businesses.

A comprehensive report “Era of resilient Growth?” was also launched by BCG at the summit. Some highlights of the report are stated below –

Global and Indian macroeconomic and funding environment:

While overall funding has decreased in past few years, there is some level of recency bias, as funding levels still comparable to 2019/20. 

Importantly funding still at brisk levels in seed/early stages, this coupled with record levels of dry powder imply money available for new startups.

Specifically, India comparatively doing well, with higher share of APAC investments. 

Importantly, very clear trend towards investors favouring either profitable companies or with clearer path to profitability. 

On India opportunity: With an expected $ 7 Tn economy by 2030, multiple sectors will open up for startups with very sizeable TAM. Identified > 20 segments across B2B and B2C where large opportunities exist for new crop of startups to emerge. Specifically, in B2B with increased focus of enterprises on digitisation of supply chains and distribution, multiple potential opportunities are likely to open up across different models like marketplaces, SaaS, product or IOT companies. 

 

How to think about building resilient startups in the current environment- 4 ways to think about resilient companies:

Right strategy to win (Right markets and agility, high degree of customer obsession, M&A as a strategic tool)

Rhythmic engine (Focus on efficiencies, margins and supply chain)

Agile Organization and intentional culture

Managing and raising capital; as also stakeholder management 

Some key macro trends important for Indian startups- specific highlights on Gen AI and Climate and Sustainability

Gen AI: Significant potential for transformative changes across large parts of value chains of many sectors. Many consumer segments like gaming, video, edtech etc will fundamentally change beyond what we are seeing today. Also, many opportunities will open up on B2B side where there will be competition between incumbents and potentially newer players.

Climate and Sustainability- remains another opportunity for startups. 

India has taken a net zero target by 2070.

More than 190 Bn+ of VC funding across the globe with more than 85 unicorns

While multiple challenges, Indian ecosystem has been developing. India now the 3rd largest ecosystem of Climate Tech Orgs. Major focus across Electric mobility, clean energy transitions, carbon tech and Waste to value.

The conference brought together leaders from business, academia, and civil society to discuss how to build an anti-fragile India. The speakers discussed a range of topics, including ways to build a more resilient economy that can withstand shocks and stresses, means to create a more inclusive society that gives everyone a chance to succeed, how to promote innovation and entrepreneurship and ways protect the environment.

Some key takeaways from the conference were that India has the potential to be an anti-fragile nation. Each one of us has a role to play in building an anti-fragile India. The key to building an anti-fragile India is to focus on resilience, inclusivity, innovation, and environmental protection. The conference had meaningful dialogues around ESG, net zero, green hydrogen etc leading the pathway to tech related startups. It was impressed that by working together, we can build a more resilient, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable India.

TiECon'23 also comprised of 140+ specifically curated startups expo which showcased their products to demonstrate innovation in India. There were power packed panel discussions, insightful workshops, masterclasses on building high and growth products. The Summit provided an important platform for collaboration and engagement. The summit had diverse set of experts, speakers and high level of participation. It was rich in content and valuable in creating the better understanding.

Follow the link to hear Ranu Vohra, speak on TiE Mumbai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwnsghuNQDQ

[eduminatti]

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE FREE SCHOOLS

The establishment of free schools has been one of the most contentious education changes of the last decade in a competitive field. The Education Policy Institute presented its latest assessment of the program's success Thursday, eight years after the first free schools opened their doors. 

Free schools, which are state-funded but not controlled by local governments, were established during Michael Gove's stint as education secretary in the early days of the Coalition government and now number over 500. 

As per research conducted by schools in Pune they are held to the same standards as any other state-funded school, albeit many have yet to be inspected by Ofsted. One in every six of them is also a religious school.

Free schools were created to introduce new ideas into the educational system, albeit their goals have grown somewhat diluted over time. Nonetheless, under Boris Johnson's leadership, there has been a revival in recent months.

 The launch of a fresh wave of free schools was led by the Prime Minister himself. In other news, four free school leaders joined schools minister Nick Gibb on stage at the Conservative Party conference to tell their tales, while Gavin Williamson, the secretary of state, used the chance to warn his audience of Labour's vow to abolish the programme.

If we do have a general election in the coming months, it's safe to say that one of the fundamental dividing lines in education policy will be free schools. Another survey done by schools in Mumbai however, given the program's many and changing goals, it's not always clear what success looks like. 

Some free schools arose as a result of a desire to innovate and provide something unique. Others were founded in response to parental demand for new schools, particularly in areas where current schools were of poor quality.

 In many situations, new free schools were merely a response to an increase in the number of students and the need for additional classrooms.

In summary, the term "free school" has become a catch-all term for practically all new institutions. Irrespective of their backgrounds, they have all entered an English school system where family background is still a significant predictor of student achievement.

 By the time they take their GCSEs, students from low-income families are on average a year and a half behind their peers. 

One of the goals of free schools was to help close the achievement gap, and we do see that free schools have been established in economically disadvantaged regions, and that, at least among secondary free schools, they are educating a fair number of students from low-income homes.

However, there is one essential caveat. When we looked closer and compared our findings to statistics from the Office for National Statistics, we discovered that free schools, particularly the highest-performing free schools, are actually attracting students from areas where students normally perform well in school. 

In fact, students in top-performing free schools are nearly twice as likely to come from these high-performing neighbourhoods than other students.

Furthermore, despite these areas tend to have a large number of children from low-income households, these children perform far better academically than poorer children elsewhere. 

In these areas, economically disadvantaged students perform nearly as well as non-disadvantaged students elsewhere.

It's tough to pinpoint why there are such disparities. 

These communities often feature higher numbers of particular ethnic and immigrant groups, and while the relationship between ethnicity, income, and school achievement is complicated, on average, these groups outperform children in mostly white, low-income neighbourhoods.

The development of free schools has benefited those communities that have been "left behind," where underperformance at school is entrenched. 

When seen as a whole, it appears that the development of extra places has not been directed towards areas in need of more high-quality schools when free schools are established in locations where there are already adequate school places.

All of this is significant not only in terms of evaluating free schools, but also in terms of the lessons we can learn from the most successful ones in terms of alternative teaching, curriculum, and behaviour. 

Because ministers are typically close to some of the best-performing schools, they are eager to congratulate them on their achievements and encourage other schools to benefit from their classroom approaches.

Ministers must, however, recognise that other schools may be functioning in quite different circumstances. 

What appears to work in one school may not be transferable to another, or the method may not be the driving force behind the results at all. In the end, the schools that students attend account for only a small percentage of the difference in educational attainment.

None of this is meant to minimise the success of particular autonomous schools. Even after controlling for their school admissions, some of the greatest performers attain scores that are significantly better than expected. 

However, policymakers and commentators should take a step back and consider what truly improves school achievement, particularly for the most disadvantaged students. 

And, if ministers are serious about expanding the free education programme, they must make it work for the children who live in impoverished communities.

[mariacallous]

Turkey's not the only T country having an important election, THAILAND! had its election the vote count is underway we'll see if there will be another Shinawatra Prime Minster, if the Military will allow it, etc

BANGKOK, May 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's political opposition looked on course for a huge win in Sunday's election, as voters turned out in force behind two parties promising big changes and an end to a decade of conservative government led or backed by the military.

The Pheu Thai Party and the liberal Move Forward party surged ahead with more than 90% of the votes counted, but are far from certain to lead the next government, with parliamentary rules written by the military after its 2014 coup skewed in its favour.

To rule, the opposition parties will need to strike deals, including with members of a junta-appointed Senate that sided with military parties and gets to vote on who becomes prime minister and form a government.

Sunday's election was the latest bout in a long-running battle for power between Pheu Thai, the populist juggernaut of the billionaire Shinawatra family, and a nexus of old money, conservatives and military with influence over key institutions at the heart of two decades of turmoil.

But the stunning performance by Move Forward as it rides a wave of support from young voters will test the resolve of Thailand's establishment and ruling parties, after it came close to a clean sweep of the capital Bangkok, campaigning on a platform of reform of institutions and a dismantling of business monopolies.

Its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, a 43-year-old former executive of a ride-hailing app, described the outcome as "sensational" and vowed to stay true to his party's values when forming a government.

"It will be anti-dictator-backed, military-backed parties, for sure," he told reporters. "I think it's safe to assume that minority government is no longer possible here in Thailand."

He said he remained open to an alliance with Pheu Thai, but has set his sights set on the premiership.

"If Move Forward comes in first, we will form a government and I will be prime minister," Pita added.

MAJOR BLOW

The preliminary results will be a crushing blow for the military and its allies, with the Palang Pracharat, the political vehicle of the former junta, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's United Thai Nation, seemingly headed for a big defeat.

Prayuth, a retired general who led the last coup, had campaigned on continuity after nine years in charge, warning of instability from a change in government.

On Sunday, Prayuth slipped away quietly from his party headquarters, where there were few supporters to be seen.

A handful of staff sat beside plates of uneaten food and a giant television screen was showing a live speech by Move Forward's leader.

"I hope the country will be peaceful and prosper," he told reporters. "I respect democracy and the election. Thank you."

The early results were expected for Pheu Thai, which together with previous incarnations dissolved by courts has dominated Thailand elections, winning most votes in every ballot since 2001, including two landslide victories.

Founded by the polarising self-exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, Pheu Thai remains hugely popular among the working classes and was banking on being swept back to power by nostalgia from a raft of populist policies, like cheap healthcare, micro-loans and generous farming subsidies.

Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn, 36, has been tipped to follow in her father's footsteps and become prime minister.

She said she was happy for Move Forward, but it was too soon to discuss alliances.

"The voice of the people is most important," she said.

Move Forward saw a late-stage rally in opinion polls and was betting on 3.3 million first-time voters getting behind its liberal agenda, including plans to weaken the military's political role and amend a strict law on royal insults that critics say is used to stifle dissent.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said Move Forward's surge demonstrated a major shift in Thai politics.

"Pheu Thai fought the wrong war. Pheu Thai fought the populism war that it already won," he said.

"Move Forward takes the game to the next level with institutional reform. That's the new battleground in Thai politics. ..And the votes today are a testament to Move Forward's forward-looking programme for Thailand."

[thesheel]

We believe many of you are very interested to know who will be Joe Biden pick as his VP. We have discussed here to guess who is the person. Overview of Joe Biden Pick as His VP Unlike most VP picks, Joe Biden's choice of this election cycle matters. Usually, the name of the game is to pick someone from a swing state that will not be detrimental to the campaign in any way. However, due to Joe's age and mental state and his admission that he will serve as a "transitional president," Biden's vice president will be very influential in a Biden White House. That influence will give the Trump campaign license to paint Biden's vice president as the ideological leader behind the campaign. While Biden needs to make sure he does not go too far to the left in choosing a VP, he needs to choose someone that can excite the Democratic base. Polls show that Democrats are not enthusiastic about voting for Joe Biden. Indeed, Democrats are chomping at the bit to vote against Donald Trump, but not for Joe Biden. Biden needs to a couple that extreme anti-Trump sentiment with enthusiasm for a Biden administration to put him over the top and gain support once he takes the Oval Office. Earlier this week on MSNBC, Biden once again affirmed his previous statements that he would be picking a woman of color for the VP spot, telling Joy Reid his campaign had narrowed it down to "four Black women. "While it is not certain who those four Black women could be, I am going to take a stab at figuring out who they are and what each of them could do to help—or hurt —the Biden campaign. California Senator Kamala Harris Kamala Harris one of the predicted Biden pick as his VP Early in the presidential primary season for the presidential election, many political pundits believed that Sen. Harris had what it took to go all the way and capture the nomination. She even had a couple of significant spars with Joe Biden on the debate stage on the topics of race. She said it was "hurtful" that Biden had worked with two segregationist lawmakers during his time in Congress, and attacked his voting record on busing. "There was a little girl in California, who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me," Harris said at one of the primary debates held in June of 2019. Despite their past, Kamala Harris has consistently been one of the top bets for Biden's VP pick. Although some might say that is due to high name recognition. The young and telegenic Harris is viewed by many as a moderate. She has had much government experience at both the state and federal level, having served as California's attorney general before being elected to the U.S. Senate. Unlike some of the other names being floated around, Sen. Harris has real experience and would undoubtedly be ready to take over the White House in case of an emergency. There are certainly cons to picking Harris, and many have to do, ironically, with her experience —namely, her time as California Attorney General. While she was attorney general, Harris took a hard line on crime and policing. Law professor Lara Bazelon said Harris "weaponized technicalities" as attorney general to uphold lengthy sentences. There are reports she also blocked evidence that could have saved a man from being executed. "She's a cop," was the sentiment from a Democrat voter. Moreover, in this day and age, that is not a good thing if you are a Democrat running for office. Florida Representative Val Demings Val Demings one of the predicted Biden pick as his VP The good thing about Val Demings: she was Orlando's first Black police chief.The bad thing about Val Demings: she was Orlando's first Black police chief. Setting her history as a police chief aside for a moment, Rep. Demings could help Biden sway voters in the ever-important state of Florida.

In 2016, President DonaldTrump was able to pull out a victory in Florida, beating Hillary Clinton by 1.2 percent. Could the presence of a Florida native flip the twenty-nine Electoral College votes in Biden's favor? Despite the prospect of Demings flipping Florida, there is a significant risk in picking her. Because she was once Orlando's police chief, many on the left would immediately label her as a creature of the "systemically racist" system. Lawanna Gelzer, an Orlando-based community activist, said she "never saw any changes in policies when Demings was police chief]. I never found anything to bridge the strain between policing in the community. I saw the over-policing. The same patterns continued during [her] administration that we're still dealing with in Orlando today." As with Sen. Harris, her background in the criminal justice system discredits her in many radical leftist eyes. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Keisha Lance Bottoms one of the predicted Biden pick as his VP Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms burst onto the political scene following the protests and riots that rocked her city after George Floyd's death. "You are disgracing our city. You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country," she said at an impassioned news conference. "You have defaced the CNN building. They are telling our stories, and you are disgracing their building." Many described her leadership as "forceful-yet-sympathetic" throughout the riots that rocked Atlanta. Joe Biden himself heaped high praise on Mayor Bottoms, saying, "You have been incredible. I've watched you like millions, and millions of Americans have on television as of late. Your passion, your composure, your balance has been incredible." She has also had her moments on cable news playing the attack dog and going after President Trump. "He should just stop talking. This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks, and he makes things worse." Mayor Bottoms seems to be free of much of the baggage weighing down Sen. Harris and Rep. Demings. But, some people would question her amount of experience and whether or not she can take on the job of president in the case of an emergency. All around, however, Mayor Bottoms seems like a solid pick with excellent upside and little downside. Former Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams Stacey Abrams one of the predicted Biden pick as his VP "There is a big buzz at the Loudermilk Conference Center in downtown Atlanta as a gathering called Paradigm Shift 2.0: Black Women Confronting HIV, Health, and Social Justice get underway. The hype has been building exponentially for lunchtime guest speaker Stacey Abrams. When she is finally introduced the women shout and leap to their feet. Young women stand on chairs, camera phones flash. Abrams, who appears both amused and slightly disturbed by the fuss over her, takes control of the chaotic scene. Pandemonium ensues as she walks to the far left of the stage, like a runway supermodel, stops on a dime, poses, tilts her head slightly and smiles. Camera flashes explode. She next pivots and walks slowly to the center of the stage, freezes there, and repeats the pose. Again, the flashes explode. Abrams is summoning her inner actress, and she is both enjoying the moment and getting through it to get to the conversation. She then pivots and walks to the far right of the stage, same." That was the way the Washington Post described an event at which Stacey Abrams spoke. It's flattering, almost poetic. It certainly appears Stacey Abrams has the endorsement of the WaPo for VP, but what does she bring to Biden's ticket? Stacey Abrams rose to prominence during Georgia's race for governor in 2018, in which she ultimately lost to Brian Kemp. She didn't take the defeat lying down amid claims of voter fraud and has to this day never conceded defeat.

Following the election, she founded Fair Fight 2020, an organization to assist Democrats in pushing for voter protection. Abrams became the first African-American woman to be nominated as the gubernatorial candidate from a major party and the first non-office-holding person to deliver the SOTU response in 2019. She is seen by many as the brightest rising star in the Democratic Party. Choosing her would be fodder for the Trump campaign, however, given her sometimes far-left tendencies. She is also woefully inexperienced and would be unprepared to take office in case of an emergency. Her only political experience is in the Georgia General Assembly. While Stacey Abrams might excite Bernie Sanders-type voters, practically she is not the best choice. ————— The Biden campaign might also be considering: California Rep. Karen Bass, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth.