#this has been: canadian healthcare

[dragonzair]

My 63-year old aunt, Merlina (Dina) Bayongan, is currently recovering at home from a broken hip, and the costs for surgery and medical treatment have become more than our family can afford on our own. Currently, the hospital has informed us that the bill is $20,000 CAD and likely to increase. My family and I are incredibly grateful for your assistance in paying for the costs of treatment so we can ensure her quality of life.

My aunt is a resident of the Philippines, who has been visiting my family for the last few weeks here in Canada. She broke her hip on November 28, after falling during a dizzy spell most likely due to a fever she had at the time. Being a tourist with no insurance, medical care is not covered under Canadian insurance policies. We ended up calling for an ambulance to take her to the hospital after we also realised she had developed an infection on her foot during her fever. This turned out to be a necessary call - during the ambulance ride, the paramedics became increasingly worried about the state of her hip, and X-Rays at the hospital confirmed that she had broken it in the fall.

My aunt stayed overnight at the hospital, where they informed us that her stay would cost $3000 per night out of pocket for the duration of her stay, and told us she needed to go into surgery the next day. Thankfully, the surgery has gone without any hitches, and she is recovering well, a fact that my family and I are eternally grateful for. They kept her a few days longer before she was able to come home. Despite everything, we are relieved that her injury occurred here in Canada, rather than back home in the Philippines, because the healthcare options for her are much better than what's available back home.

She is currently recovering at home, and has been improving in strength. We've been taking her for daily walks outside the apartment hallways, with the help of a walker lent by the hospital. We have a few other equipment on loan including a pushchair, and things to make our bathroom a bit more accessible, but we'll have to start covering the rental fees once the month ends.

She came to visit Canada after retiring back home in the Philippines as she wanted to experience snow for the first time, so we are really hoping she recovers well enough that we can at least take her outside to experience Canadian snow, and hopefully return home to her family and grandchildren back in the Philippines. The holidays will be rough for my family and hopefully with your help, we can make all this trouble worth it by getting our aunt back on her feet.

[girlactionfigure]

“I feel I no longer belong in 🇨🇦 and may need to flee.”

A new survey from the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario reveals a devastating rise in antisemitism targeting Jewish doctors and healthcare workers. The data is shocking, and the consequences could be catastrophic.

🧵:

2/ Since October 7, antisemitism in healthcare settings has skyrocketed:

•29% of Jewish medical professionals report it in their communities.

•39% in hospitals.

•43% in academic settings.

Before October 7, only 1% reported severe antisemitism. 

3/ The survey found 31% of Jewish doctors in Ontario are considering leaving the country.

Doctors are being forced out by a hostile environment where their Jewish identity makes them targets.

This isn’t just a Jewish issue—it’s a healthcare crisis. 

4/ The survey of over 1,000 Jewish healthcare professionals across Canada reveals staggering numbers:

•73% of Jewish doctors in Ontario report antisemitism in academic spaces.

•60% in hospitals.

•Over 80% face antisemitism at work overall. 

5/ The most common sources of antisemitism?

•Organizational policies (57%)

•Organizational communications (55%)

•Colleagues (53%)

This isn’t random—it’s systemic, embedded in the very institutions meant to support them. 

6/ Doctors shared heartbreaking stories:

“I fear my colleagues’ reaction to my name and identity. I feel I can no longer admit who I am.”

Another said:

“I feel I no longer belong in Canada.”

This is the daily reality for Jewish healthcare professionals. 

7/ Dr. Ayelet Kuper, Chair of the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario, warned:

“This is a crisis for all people in Ontario, not just Jewish doctors. If we don’t address this, we risk losing a generation of physicians, educators, and researchers.” 

8/ Even unions are failing Jewish healthcare workers. One occupational therapist said:

“Union members attend protests condoning terrorism, chanting dangerous slogans, and making my workplace unsafe.”

The environment for Jewish professionals is hostile and dangerous. 

9/ As Dr. Sam Silver said:

“I work with students navigating a hostile environment where their identity as Jews makes them targets of hate. This cannot continue.”

Antisemitism is pushing doctors out of Ontario, and the healthcare system will pay the price. 

10/ The survey is clear: antisemitism in healthcare impacts patient care, erodes workplace integrity, and threatens the entire system.

Jewish doctors are being targeted, but the consequences will affect every Canadian.

11/ This is a crisis that cannot be ignored. We must demand accountability from institutions, protect Jewish healthcare workers, and fight antisemitism at every level.

Antisemitism has no place in Canada—or anywhere. 

Full story:

Jewish doctors consider fleeing Canada amid rising rates of antisemitism in their profession

'Union members have been attending protests that condone terrorism, and I’ve witnessed colleagues showing up to these protests with union flags, chanting dangerous slogans'

LINK

Antisemitism in Canadian med schools, hospitals skyrocketed after Oct. 7 attacks: JMAO

In a survey conducted by the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario, 80% of Jewish physicians said they face antisemitism at work

LINK

@Joe_Roberts01

[darkmaga-returns]

Recorded November 6th: An Insightful Conversation with Dr. Roger Hodkinson

Dec 17, 2024

In this interview, Dr. Roger Hodkinson provides an in-depth look into some of the harsh realities we’ve faced as medical professionals navigating through the COVID era. Dr. Hodkinson, a pathologist and renowned figure in Canadian medicine, has been outspoken in his critiques of pandemic responses that lacked scientific rigor and ignored patient rights. It was both sobering and inspiring to hear his experiences and his unwavering commitment to medical ethics and truth.

A Voice for Reason in a Chaotic World

I remember the first time I heard Dr. Hodkinson speak out. His voice carried a clarity and conviction that was desperately needed. One of his most memorable statements, made during a meeting with the Edmonton City Council, was that politicians were "playing medicine," which he rightly pointed out is "a very dangerous thing." This bold declaration, particularly during a time when so many were silent or complicit, cemented his place among the few who were willing to put their reputations on the line for truth.

Exposing the Truth: "Vaccines," PCR Tests, and Medical Malpractice

In our interview, Dr. Hodkinson and I examined the widespread use of PCR tests to “diagnose” COVID-19, which led to an overwhelming number of false positives. Dr. Hodkinson explained how the high cycle thresholds used in these tests created "cases" that fueled public fear and unjustified mandates. Both of us agreed that these tests should never have been used to diagnose COVID in asymptomatic individuals or to justify prolonged lockdowns and restrictions. The misuse of PCR testing, compounded by mandates around COVID "vaccines," has led to unnecessary suffering.

Our conversation also touched on the "vaccines" themselves. Dr. Hodkinson was forthright about the lack of safety and efficacy studies for these products, an issue which defies standard medical protocols. He underscored that the experimental injections were forced upon the public without adequate testing. For patients who were coerced into receiving these "vaccines," many are now experiencing adverse effects ranging from myocarditis to turbo cancers.

[ceasarslegion]

Okay here's the. Here's the thing about canadian stereotypes. We aren't overly polite, but I've been to the states a few times and we use the word "sorry" a lot differently than Americans use it. "Sorry" in canadian colloquialisms has a very wide definition that is used for many things, only one of which is to apologize to someone. And we have a stricter social script and a general social culture of "ill kick the shit out of you today for saying something moronic but then we'll get beers on the weekend as if it never happened." Like Americans are very gruff, blunt, and in-your-face where we aren't. You're very much expected to be adhere to the social niceties in public here unless someone else instigates you first. So i do see how the overly polite over-apologetic stereotype of us came to be.

The stereotype of us being some kind of socialist utopia where we figured everything out is not true, I don't know where the hell that came from. We have just as much socio-political BS as the states has, it's just that our social script mentioned above also extends to politicians, so you don't hear canadian conservatives outright saying slurs or being generally mean. They'll shake your hand and smile and say they respect you as a person but not your "lifestyle choices" and present trans rights as "being concerned about our children's development during a very explorative time in their lives that they should be free to experiment with." If you know how the social script works here, you can see how that translates to "i want to ban all trans healthcare after classifying trans adults as mentally ill with the cognitive abilities of a child." But if you're coming from the American culture of being gruff and blunt and not masking anything behind a social script, I can absolutely see how you'd see our politicians and think we were just genuinely nicer up here.

But the "winter lasts 6 months and is a horrifying hellscape where the sun sets at 4pm and everyone goes a bit crazy" stereotype is true. That one is just 100% true. I forgot to buy vitamin D before the cold snap and noticed a sharp increase in intrusive thoughts until I picked some up.

[tarysande]

Hi! I’m considering becoming an editor but I’m not sure if it’s the right fit for me. If you don’t mind answering, what was your path like for becoming an editor, and what does the job mostly consist of for you?

Additionally, while I really do like helping other people’s work become better, I get too in my head to release a lot of my own work. Does editing require you to also be a writer most of the time, or could I get by mostly just editing?

Thanks!

Hi, anonymous friend!

These are really good questions for a potential editor to ask.

To (sort-of) answer your question, the amount of writing involved depends on the type of editing, honestly. So, first you have to decide what kind of editor you want to be.

Roughly, editing breaks down into three-to-four types: developmental/substantive, line/stylistic, copy editing, and proofreading. These terms are mixed up and interchanged ... often. Increasingly, line editing includes or incorporates copy editing, which is why I say "three-to-four."

Developmental is the big picture stuff, including manuscript critiques. Books of all kinds usually undergo some kind of developmental editing--by editorial agents, acquisitions editors, freelance developmental editors, etc. In my experience, this is also the kind of editing that requires the most writing and/or the most author/editor interaction.

Stylistic/line editing tends to be editing at the sentence level, looking at diction, structure, clarity, consistency, etc. Copy editing, on the other hand, is what many people think of when they think of editing--it's the mechanics of writing, like spelling, grammar, punctuation.

Proofreading is the rather specialized skill of editing proofs. They're the final eyes on a pre-published piece; they're looking for typos and errors rather than anything that will involve significant authorial changes because a proof page has already been "set" (as it were).

All of these kinds of editing can be applied to many different areas of communication, and the editors who perform them can be self-employed (like me) or work for an employer (i.e., as a more traditional employee). Employee editors might work in-house at a publisher (of books, magazines, academic journals, etc.), or they might have any number of editing-focused roles in business, government, education, etc. Self-employed editors may also end up working as contractors for other companies; this is pretty normal.

Many book publishers, including the Big Five, farm out a lot of their editing these days, by the way. Especially the copy editing and proofreading. So, those particular jobs are dwindling as in-house options. Publishers can pay freelancers less ... and avoid paying benefits. (#capitalism)

I will also say that, especially in jobs with anything to do with marketing or advertising, there's a lot of annoying scope creep where "copy editor" is often expected to be a copy writer, too. Again, it's a symptom of employers wanting to pay fewer people to do more jobs (and it's really annoying).

My path has mostly involved trying as many things as possible and slowly weeding out the ones I don't like. I've pretty much always been self-employed because the personal benefits (setting my own schedule, rates, deadlines) works better for me. That said, I'm Canadian (so I don't have to worry about employer-covered healthcare), and I have a partner whose salary is regular and whose benefits cover me, so I don't have some of the worries a freelancer in the US or a single-income household might have. I'm increasingly working on the development side of things because big-picture storytelling, including writing and editor/author interaction, is my jam. But I have also done a ton of line/copy editing on fiction, non-fiction, academic work, etc.

Without knowing what kind of editing you're looking to get into, it's harder for me to offer suggestions for next steps, but generally, I'd say it's important to get SOME training--whether through a school, a certificate program, or the various workshops and professional development offered by editing associations (Editors Canada, the CIEP, ACES, the EFA, ...there's an Australian one whose acronym has slipped my mind). Researching the flavor of editing you're interested in will probably offer up avenues for study, too. For example, most US publishers/authors use iterations of the Chicago Manual of Style. Most UK publishers/authors use Hart's Rules/Oxford. Academic journals/schools/students have different style guides (APA, AMA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver). Law uses the Blue Book. It's good to have working knowledge of a few style guides--and then you have to keep up with the changes (Chicago's 18th edition is coming out this year, and I hear some significant changes are afoot--such as fully embracing the singular they!).

The tl;dr here is that yes, there are a lot of writer-editors. But there are also a lot of editors who aren't writers at all, or who have no interest in becoming writers, or who don't want their writing and editing to overlap, or who edit because they like helping people and they value clarity. At the end of the day, editing and writing are two very different hats, and you don't necessarily need to wear both.

...this is already a bit long, but if you have other questions or want me to get more specific about something, please ask!

[disgruntled-detectives]

I’ve been gaining a lot of followers lately, so here are a few things about me and what I believe in before you hit that follow button.

1: The Jewish community is my first priority here. They are my people. My community. Therefore, antisemitism of any kind is not welcome here. Am Yisrael Chai, motherfuckers.

And because far too many non-Jews have decided to be dog whistling, This includes the term “anti-Zionism.” If you are not Jewish, or someone I know personally, or I see your comments and see that you are actually educated on what Zionism actually is and what it means, any anti-Zionism comments will get you blocked.

1A: this obviously doesn’t mean you cannot criticize or speak out against the actions of the israeli government. Israel is being monstrous in its treatment of the people of Gaza. It is reprehensible, and I personally want and yearn for a two state solution. I believe that both Jews and Palestinians have a right to safety and self determination in that land. Both groups are indigenous to the land, and both have a right to be there. We can agree or disagree on how this is achieved. I am for civil, productive conversations surrounding this. However, if you are not Jewish, Palestinian, or have family or community ties to either group, then I am giving you a lot of side eye.

1B: However, this does not give you carte blanch to go after random Israeli citizens. Do you go after random Chinese citizens for what the Chinese government is doing to the Uyghurs? Do you go after random US or Canadian citizens for their government’s treatments of their Indigenous population? No. Because that’s asinine. Same goes for Israelis. People are not their government.

1C: Hamas is a terrorist organization. They are not freedom fighters. They are monstrous as well. What they did on October 7th 2023 was the single biggest Jewish massacre since the Holocaust. They need to answer for that. They need to release the hostages. Simple as that. That being said, racism or Islamophobia of any sort will get you blocked.

Okay. That out of the way…

2: Sex work is real, valid, work and it needs to be legalized, regulated and sex workers need and deserve protection and workers rights like any other worker.

3: UBI is one of the best things we can do for people.

4: People need to be creative. And not everything has to be a side hustle. People wouldn’t need a side hustle if they could survive on their wages.

5: We don’t invest nearly enough in the arts and humanities. STEM is necessary too, but humans need art. We’ve been creating since before we had language.

6: best way to end homelessness? Give them homes. The data shows again and again and again that just giving someone a home goes an enormous way to helping them get back on their feet. It helps the economy, it helps the job force and most of all, it helps them.

7: Healthcare should be free for all.

8: Abortion rights are human rights. Abortion is healthcare. Abortion access is vital and necessary.

9: while I think that children are obviously humans and deserve and need more spaces where they are welcomed and catered to, adults need adult only spaces too. Kids do not belong at wineries, bars, concerts (that aren’t geared for kids of course) and breweries.

10: you are not a temporarily embarrassed billionaire. Wealth inequality especially in America is disgusting. The rich only got that way by exploiting the poor and the working class. Your anger shouldn’t be directed at the dentist who makes 200k a year. Your anger should be directed at the billionaire who hoards so much wealth, they or their descendants could never even hope to spend it all. They could snap their fingers and end homelessness, world hunger, etc. Eat them.

11: ANYTHING anti-trans will get you insta blocked. TERFS; go eat a knife.

12: our puritanical views towards sex and sexuality does us all a huge disservice. Everyone involved is a consenting adult? Go for it. Your kink may not be my kink, but sexual freedom and liberation are everyone’s benefit.

13: Everything bagels are the best bagels.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive! (<-follow this link to access more than 1,000 news and opinion articles about covid and more!)

By Dr. Merrilee Fullerton

The U.K. COVID Inquiry is creating a much-needed push to update Infection Prevention & Control (IPAC) guidelines with respect to the predominant mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

COVID has finally begun to be acknowledged as an airborne disease, but policy hasn't kept up on the issue of aerosol spread, including how to deploy HEPA, UVC, masking protocols and other measures. Successful mitigation hinges on accurately identifying the mode of transmission as early as possible and clearly communicating appropriate guidance.

It’s not that washing hands is bad or should be stopped. It’s just that it shouldn’t be the main message or relied upon to address the transmission of COVID in a meaningful way.

Thorough updating of Public Health and IPAC guidelines with new scientific knowledge surrounding airborne spread is required along with more room for critical thinking and speed during responses to outbreaks of infectious disease such as COVID.

Accurately identifying the mode of transmission is not just an academic exercise. It is key to mitigating death, disease, and disability related to COVID as well as avoiding the massive toll on productivity and the economy that this disease has taken.

There are pivotal lessons to be learned through the U.K. COVID Inquiry which has been ongoing for a couple years, but it has only recently reached Module 3: The Impact of the COVID Pandemic on Healthcare Systems of the U.K. Included in this are issues surrounding transmission mechanisms and Long COVID.

Much can be learned from the U.K. Inquiry. Our Canadian experiences responding to COVID had many parallels to those of the U.K. Countries around the world were similarly impacted since most were following the advice and guidance produced by the World Health Organization which consistently repeated — erroneously — that COVID was not airborne.

The U.K. has proven to be transparent about peeling back the layers of Public Health measures and delving into scientific misunderstandings with respect to the spread and potential mitigation of SARS-CoV-2. The U.K. COVID Inquiry is being chaired by retired judge Baroness Heather Hallett who promised the inquiry would be thorough and fair. Lady Hallett has already provided the first report of the inquiry indicating “fatal strategic flaws” and calling for an overhaul of the national civil emergencies system with ten recommendations, including “a radical simplification of civil emergency preparedness and resilience systems.”

She also recommended external teams should regularly challenge groupthink on the principles, evidence and advice on emergency plans. An important point in the Executive Summary is as follows:

"Advisers and advisory groups did not have sufficient freedom and autonomy to express dissenting views and suffered from a lack of significant external oversight and challenge. The advice was often undermined by ‘groupthink’.”

This is a relatable point as I refer to Chapter 4 in my book, notably pages 74 to 83, where I describe the challenges I experienced in conveying my concerns about SARS-CoV-2 early in the pandemic, including the risk and likelihood of COVID being an airborne disease.

A major independent report by expert witness Professor Clive Beggs was provided to the Inquiry for Module 3. Beggs’ report is essential reading for anyone interested in the COVID pandemic response and future pandemic planning. See below for a series of excerpts highlighting the most significant findings.

Meanwhile, in Canada, instead of calling for a national inquiry into our own COVID response, the federal government has created another agency. On Sept. 24, 2024, federal Ministers of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Health announced the launch of Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC).

The official announcement outlined key features of HERC once it is operational:

Integrated decision making to build life sciences capacity

Strengthened partnerships with industry, academia and international counterparts

The development and maintenance of a Canadian industrial game plan to mobilize research and industry in the event of a health emergency

World-leading innovation to advance next-generation technology platforms

Sounds nice, but how about accurate and timely identification of the main mechanism of transmission and being open to hearing from highly qualified people who disagree rather than engaging in groupthink?

Critical thinking and swiftness are not often features of expanding bureaucracies and, too often, people within large bureaucratic structures must go along to get along to move up the hierarchy. Different perspectives may be seen as a nuisance, or even adversarial to the bureaucracy's stated aims. The ability to be agile in response to rapidly changing circumstances is critical, even foundational, but it's wholly unaddressed by grafting yet another agency onto our suite of existing agencies.

Recall that in 2004 a previous federal health agency was created with a mission to promote and protect the health of Canadians in response to the 2003 SARS crisis: PHAC.

The Public Health Agency of Canada was created to provide “clear federal leadership on issues concerning public health and improved collaboration within and between jurisdictions.” SARS-CoV-2 and the massive multi-year COVID pandemic, which is still ongoing, puts much doubt on PHAC’s ability to do what it was designed to do.

How about another agency then? And no information regarding costing or the additional staff.

HERC is intended to “bridge the gap between research and commercialization, meaning Canadians could get faster access to most relevant and effective vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other products, including when they need them the most."

Faster access is certainly important, but will another layer of bureaucracy really speed up access and do what Health Canada and PHAC could not?

Health Canada was relatively slow in approving much-needed rapid antigen tests for COVID early on, when other countries had already done so. It’s hard to believe that slow bureaucratic processes will become faster with even more bureaucratic processes.

---

Dr. Merrilee Fullerton is the former Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care. Her book chronicling her time in politics, including the events surrounding Ontario's early pandemic response, can be read here.

---

I leave you with a series of excerpts from the UK COVID-19 Inquiry Module 3 concerning significant points from Professor Beggs' report. I expect Baroness Hallett will have recommendations pertaining to the airborne nature of COVID-19 and the failure of Public Health and IPAC to appropriately address the virus' mode of transmission.

Page 24, paragraph 54 and 55:

“While primarily focused on SARS-CoV-2, the discussion here is equally applicable to other respiratory viruses, such as influenza, as well as to TB. Historically, this subject has been largely neglected by the mainstream IPC community, with the result many misconceptions and erroneous ‘facts’ have crept into scientific literature, (culminating) in the WHO and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) denying in 2020 that SARS-CoV-2 could be transmitted by the airborne route. Therefore, in order to learn lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to understand how infectious respiratory particles behave once they have been exhaled into room air."

"... this affords the opportunity for NPIs, such as improved room ventilation and air cleaning, to reduce the viral load and thus mitigate the risk of transmission.”

Page 36, Fomite and contact transmission of respiratory viruses, “Key findings:"

-It was assumed ... that contact transmission was a major contributor to transmission, but there was little evidence of this from studies of other respiratory viruses.

-Evidence for the effectiveness of handwashing in Covid-19, influenza and other respiratory viruses is mixed, showing only modest benefits.

-Transmission through the air is likely more important than contact routes, though occasional contact transmission is also possible.

-The assumption that contact routes are a major contributor to transmission was flawed, and led to many IPC policy-makers, practitioners and researchers requiring a higher standard of causal evidence to accept that airborne transmission was occurring than they required for contact transmission.

Page 41, paragraph 105:

“... evidence largely does not support the historical assumption that the contact and fomite routes make a major contribution to the transmission of respiratory viral infections. Indeed, the authors of the two 2011 PIP reports on influenza both concede this ... stating: "Since the role of hands in the transmission of influenza has actually never been demonstrated, one may hesitate to attribute a great proportion to this pathway.'"

"... it is surprising that at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the default assumption amongst the IPC and public health professionals was that the fomite and contact routes made a major contribution to SARS-CoV-2 transmission ... the first confirmed epidemiological association between surface contamination and the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 did not emerge until 2023 ...”

Page 46 and 47, paragraph 115 and 118:

"Many medical and IPC professionals have misconceptions regarding the nature and behaviour of infectious respiratory aerosols. These misconceptions are historical, widely accepted and often repeated in medical textbooks and in scientific papers, despite being factually incorrect."

"While the historical controversy surrounding droplets and aerosols might appear rather academic, in reality, the misconceptions held by the medical community on this subject had a far-reaching impact on the preparedness of the UK and the world for the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as on the IPC measures adopted and the PPE used."

"... IPC advice issued in the UK (and overseas) during 2020 and much of 2021 focused on prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via the droplet, contact and fomites routes, rather than through aerosols."

Page 112, selected Recommendations:

- "i. A more multidisciplinary approach should be taken to future pandemic preparedness by the UK Government, including but not limited to hospital IPC. This should specifically include scientific advice from experts in the physical sciences ..."

-"iv. ... In particular, the duration of time that someone is exposed is of critical importance and should be acknowledged in guidance."

-"vi. There is a need for further multidisciplinary research to better understand how air and infectious aerosols move around hospital wards, so that appropriate strategies and standards can be developed for hospital ventilation systems to mitigate the transmission of infection."

"vii. There is a need for robust evidence and guidelines on the deployment of portable supplementary air cleaning devices (both HEPA and UVC devices) in hospitals, before and during the next pandemic. The evidence base in support of portable HEPA devices, in particular is reasonably strong."

"ix. ... guidelines need to consider the risks posed by patients and HCWs with regard to Covid-19 and influenza on general wards and in non-clinical areas such as waiting and staff rooms, so that prescribed ventilation regimes fulfil their role in the hierarchy of IPC controls to ensure that viral loads in the room air are maintained at safe levels.

"They also need to consider the role that CO2 monitoring might play in ensuring that day-to day ventilation rates in clinical and non-clinical spaces are maintained at appropriate levels."

[whompthatsucker1981]

Help Siraj and his family be safe and rebuild their home

Hey, I'm writing this post in behalf of @siraj2024, who has reached out to me this month for help. Ever since the genocidal campaign on Gaza broke out in October, Siraj, his wife, and 3 children have been forced to relocate 6 times so far, their reality like many other Gazans, of being confined to a cramped tent subject to weather, without access to running water and are food insecure. There is no school for the children to attend, having to tend to daily tasks like fetching water instead of playing, and the precarious conditions and dismantled healthcare have them at risk for illness and disease.

Their family home was destroyed in the airstrikes, and their ultimate goal with this fundraiser is to eventually rebuild the home and repair the damage. The target of the campaign is to reach 82 000 Canadian Dollars, but as of now they have an initial goal of 10 000 CAD to relocate his family to safety as quickly as possible, the current amount in his fundraiser as of now on the 21st of July is 8039 CAD.

His campaign has been verified as legitimate by multiple Palestinian bloggers here such as @nabulsi , and to help you can continue sharing posts of his campaign, and donate if you are able to. There are other ways to help too, as Siraj has reached out to several people willing to help raise funds: there is an art commission raffle organized by @sheplaysbassdotmp3 , and a book raffle organized by @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness .

Please help share and donate/take part in the raffles if you can. Keep his campaign circulating.

@90-ghost @northgazaupdates @sayruq @fairuzfan @fallahifag @sar-soor

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Source options for data about COVID-19 in Canada

COVID-19 Hazard Index

Communicates about COVID-19 risk, addresses misinformation

Publishes the Canadian COVID Forecast approximately every two weeks

The Hazard Index is calculated from 3 equally weighted categories: 1) Current infections and spread; 2) Healthcare system impact; 3) Mortality.

If you’d rather not check the website, Tara Moriarty (@MoriartyLab on twitter) regularly shares data visualizations outlining risk and what you can do to take precautions.

Canadian COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance Dashboard

The wastewater dashboard shows the concentration of COVID-19 in wastewater samples from different sites.

Provides links to regional and local wastewater surveillance dashboards as well

Provincial and Territorial COVID-19 Data (update and reporting schedules vary)

British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Yukon  *note: the data dashboard has been decommissioned

Northwest Territories wastewater monitoring

Nunavut *has not updated since April 2022

[sparksinthenight]

Have a Heart Day 2024

This is a letter I wrote to the Canadian Government for Have a Heart Day 2024. I am asking the government to stop discriminating against First Nations children, to stop giving them inadequate services, education, and support, to stop treating them unequally compared to non-Indigenous children, and to stop taking them away from their loving families. I really hope that you read my letter and that you either copy paste it or write your own, and email the Canadian government yourself.

Hello. Our names are ____ and we are people from various parts of so-called Canada. We are writing to you to ask that you ensure the government stops discriminating against First Nations children, by signing a Final Settlement Agreement on Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle on Reform, and by following the Spirit Bear Plan and enshrining it into law. 

First Nations children and families on reserves are being discriminated against in many ways. Most communities do not receive the same amount of and access to social services that non-Indigenous people receive. Most communities do not receive as good quality social services as non-Indigenous people. While there has been progress, Jordan's Principle, which is about meeting children's needs, is still not being properly applied. Most children don't have access to an equal quality of education as children off reserves, and many children receive very inadequate education services. And, very horrifyingly, children are being separated from families who love them and want to take care of them. This all needs to stop. We need to make, follow, and enforce laws that stop this discrimination. 

First of all, let's talk about the fact that social services are inadequate on most reserves. As you know, the federal government funds services on reserves that the provincial or municipal governments fund elsewhere. The government generally funds services on reserves far less than services are funded off reserves. These include education, water infrastructure, housing, financial assistance, transportation, basic infrastructure, utilities, healthcare, mental healthcare, addiction support, job training, childcare, youth programs, cultural programs, recreation programs, libraries, child welfare, and more. These services are human rights and should be well-funded for everyone. It's not fair that non-Indigenous people have better services to better meet more of their fundamental human rights and basic needs while people on reserves don't. 

The fact that people don't have access to the services they need is part of why there are high levels of poverty on reserves. Ongoing and historical racism, trauma, and discrimination have caused a lot of people on reserves to be poor. And this lack of services is part of that discrimination that is causing people to be poor. If people had the healthcare, education, housing, childcare, mental healthcare, addiction support, cultural support, job training, basic food and water, disability support, and other things they needed, they would be able to have the peace of mind, mental strength, knowledge, support, and resources necessary to pull themselves and their communities out of poverty. Also, since there is so much poverty on reserves, these communities need even more services to help meet their basic needs and human rights. 

Services delivered need to be good and effective for the communities they are delivered in. This means that services need to meet each community's different needs. Because each community has different needs due to different connectivity to the outside world, poverty levels, local prices, etc. Service providers need to first see what services people need and how to best deliver them, then work out how much money is needed. Money should be the last thing considered. What each person, family, and community needs should be the first thing considered. And of course, services must all be culturally sensitive and relevant. 

And part of why services are so low quality, as well as part of why so much discrimination and cruelty happens, is because Indigenous Services Canada has biases in its systems and people, and must be reformed. Indigenous Services Canada doesn't listen to experts about what communities need and how things should be done. They don't try to do their actual job, which is ensuring good services are provided to Indigenous people. They need to be reformed and communities need to lead their own service provision. 

The Spirit Bear plan must be properly implemented and properly followed. It must be enshrined in law and the law must be completely enforced. The Spirit Bear Plan is the following:

"Spirit Bear calls on:

CANADA to immediately comply with all rulings by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordering it to immediately cease its discriminatory funding of First Nations child and family services. The order further requires Canada to fully and properly implement Jordan's Principle (www.jordansprinciple.ca).

PARLIAMENT to ask the Parliamentary Budget Officer to publicly cost out the shortfalls in all federally funded public services provided to First Nations children, youth and families (education, health, water, child welfare, etc.) and propose solutions to fix it.

GOVERNMENT to consult with First Nations to co-create a holistic Spirit Bear Plan to end all of the inequalities (with dates and confirmed investments) in a short period of time sensitive to children's best interests, development and distinct community needs.

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS providing services to First Nations children and families to undergo a thorough and independent 360° evaluation to identify any ongoing discriminatory ideologies, policies or practices and address them. These evaluation must be publicly available.

ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS including those at a senior level, to receive mandatory training to identify and address government ideology, policies and practices that fetter the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action." This information is from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society. 

Another huge factor contributing to the inequality faced by many First Nations children is the fact that Jordan's Principle isn't being properly implemented. 

The federal government, not the provincial government, typically pays for the services on reserves. But many times disputes arise about who should pay for a service, and the children don't get the services non-Indigenous children would get as a matter of course. Jordan's Principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a young disabled boy from Norway House Cree Nation who passed away in the hospital after the provincial government and the federal government couldn't decide which one should pay the costs of his healthcare. The Principle states that if a First Nations child needs something for their well-being, they need to be given that service first and payment disputes should get addressed later. This includes medical, psychological, educational, cultural, disability, and basic needs support. Non-Indigenous children get these supports without having to ask because they have access to many more and better services. These supports are human rights that everyone deserves, especially children going through generational and contemporary trauma. 

Jordan's Principle is not being properly implemented, and this is hurting kids. Though there has been much progress, Jordan's Principle requests, which are for things children need, are often denied, which goes against children's rights. Indigenous Services Canada, which runs the Jordan's Principle approval process, doesn't have an adequate complaints mechanism to hold to account its provision of the Principle. The government isn't making data available on whether they're meeting children's needs. Many children have delays in getting help, including time-sensitive medical, psychological, educational, and development help. 

The application process, though easier than before, is still difficult and many families don't have adequate help and guidance through it. As well, most doctors don't know which children are eligible for Jordan's Principle supports, 40% don't know which services are covered, and ⅓ don't know how to access funding through it.

Long term reform is needed. An Agreement in Principle on long term reform has been drafted by the government and First Nations advocates, and it looks promising. It talks about increasing funding for Jordan's Principle services and trying to root out prejudice in the system. But the Agreement in Principle is not legally binding. It's not something the government has to follow, or is following, but rather what they claim they might do eventually. Negotiations for the creation of a Final Settlement Agreement based on the Agreement in Principle were underway but have been on standstill for months. A Final Settlement Agreement would be legally binding and would if done right increase the chances of achieving change. 

The school system is also horribly unfair. Many First Nations schools on reserves get less funding than schools off reserve, with an average of 30% less funding per school. They don't have adequate funding for computers, software, technology, sports equipment, field trips, labs, lab equipment, extracurriculars, cultural learning, job training, and the list goes on. They don't even have enough money to have adequate heating, good quality infrastructure, adequate and safe ventilation, enough textbooks, and reasonable class sizes. Many schools don't have a safe and appropriate learning environment. All children, including First Nations children, deserve good education. 

There is no clear plan to eliminate education and employment gaps.

The government claims it's negotiating with Indigenous groups but there's no evidence that they're actually doing anything to lower inequality. They also claim that they're funding education on reserves equally but all the evidence says they're not. You need to actually, genuinely fund education on reserves adequately and equitably, and make sure that children on reserves are actually receiving a good and equal and equitable quality of education. 

A lot of communities don't have self-determination over their own education systems, meaning they can't teach about the history of their people and other important cultural knowledge. First Nations children need and deserve to learn about their culture, about the ecosystems their people are connected to and how to interact with those ecosystems, their history, their language, their traditions. And if communities have self-determination over their own education systems, and they have adequate resources and funding from the government, they'll be able to teach these things so that children grow up proud of who they are. 

And what is perhaps the most horrible thing is that so many children are being separated from families who love them. This is the most traumatic thing that can happen to a child, and all children deserve and need to be with the families who love them. 

At the height of residential schools, many children were separated from their families. Currently, 3 times as many children are in foster care, away from their families. One tenth of First Nations children have been in foster care. Children in foster care experience higher rates of physical and sexual abuse and do not get as much cultural immersion. Not to mention, even in the best circumstances, they're away from their families. 

Most Indigenous children in foster care have loving families that try their best to take care of them, who they want and need deeply. But their families are poor or mentally ill or disabled, or have other factors that make it hard for them to meet their children's needs. Preventative support like financial, housing, health, and mental health aid could keep many families together. If child and family service agencies have the resources and the empathy to help families with what they need so that families stay together, that would be a great relief. Child and family service agencies need adequate money, infrastructure, and personnel to give families real help instead of taking children away. Most agencies do not have these. Programs that help the wider community such as healthcare, financial aid, housing services, mental healthcare, parenting classes, food support, community programs, youth programs, cultural programs, pregnancy support, and others would greatly decrease the number of children taken from their homes. Most communities do not have adequate levels of these programs. 

Child and family service agencies need to be completely reformed, and should be led by First Nations communities themselves. Most child and family service agencies are not. This is especially important since there is bias against First Nations people in many agencies. Some communities are getting the opportunities to start their own child and family service agencies, but most communities do not have this opportunity. Canada needs binding laws to ensure child and family service agencies are led by First Nations communities and are based in the unique culture of each community, which they often aren't. Each community has unique needs depending on local prices, remoteness, poverty levels, and other factors. The way child and family services should be funded is by first seeing what services the children truly need, then seeing how to best deliver them, then determining how much money will be needed. 

There is a promising Agreement in Principle on Reform, created by the government and First Nations advocates. It discusses increasing funding for child welfare services and trying to root out prejudice in the system. However this is not a legally binding agreement that the government has to follow. It's just something that they claim they'll maybe do in the future. A Final Settlement Agreement based on the Agreement in Principle would be legally binding. It would, if done right, enact more funding and reform. But negotiations for this have been on pause for months. Canada needs to implement evidence-based solutions to keep kids with their families. This means creating a legally binding and well-enforced Final Settlement Agreement on Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle on Reform. 

Some communities are trying a new funding model for child and family services that may give more funding, allowing them to do more preventative services instead of taking children away. However, the results of this new funding model are not clear yet, and most communities do not have the opportunity to be funded by it. And there is no guarantee that the new funding model will be applied to all communities if it indeed does work. There is no guarantee that enough funding for prevention services will be given to all communities, whether or not the new funding model works. 

The government often promises to create reform or adequately fund things, but they don't follow through on those promises. If the government does make progress, safeguards need to be in place to stop them from backsliding. 

So here are our asks for you: 

-Implement the Spirit Bear plan and adequately fund all social services on reserves. 

-Make sure all services are available de facto just like they are off reserve. 

-Fund cultural services and make sure all services are culturally-rooted. 

-Eliminate all discrimination and bias in service providers. 

-Listen to experts such as doctors and teachers, the community, and community-led service providers. 

-Allow and help First Nations communities to lead their own social services rooted in their own cultural values. 

-Keep funding flexible and adaptable to changing needs. 

-Have adequate accountability measures for all service providers. 

-Make a binding law to adequately fund all social services and have communities lead social service provision. 

-Create a binding law to ensure that once you start adequately funding social services you don't stop. 

-In a reasonable timeframe, reach a Final Settlement Agreement on Long-Term Reform that meets and goes beyond the Agreement in Principle. 

-Make sure all Jordan's Principle requests in the best interests of children are accepted. 

-Give presumptive approval for Jordan's Principle requests under $250.

-Support organizations and communities already providing Jordan's Principle services. 

-Accept urgent requests within 12 hours and non urgent requests within 48 hours. 

-Don't require more than one document from a professional or elder for making requests. 

-Make data available on Jordan's Principle provision effectiveness. 

-Make sure all supports are given in a timely manner without delays. 

-Make it easy and convenient for families and professionals to make Jordan's Principle requests. 

-Fund schools on reserves as much as schools off reserve. This includes funding for computers, libraries, software, teacher training, special education, education research, language programs, cultural programs, mental health support, support for kids with special needs, extracurriculars, ventilation, heating, mold removal, vocation training for students, and more. 

-Make sure all schools have the resources, funding, and support necessary to teach culture. 

-Make a clear joint strategy to eliminate the education and employment gap.

-Make sure all school staff are non-discriminatory. 

-Make sure communities have self-determination to create culturally rooted education. 

-Adequately fund child and family services on reserves, and make sure they can hire enough people and have good infrastructure.

-Stop discrimination within child and family service agencies. 

-Allow and help all First Nations communities to lead and run their own child and family service agencies that are based on their cultural values. 

-Enact evidence based solutions to keep families together. 

-Don't take children from families that love them. 

-Have and fund adequate preventative services so families can take care of their children and no child is taken away.

-Keep funding for child and family services flexible and responsive to each community's needs, and listen to communities to learn what their needs are.

-Have adequate accountability in child and family services so that any underfunding, discrimination, or failure is stopped and remedied. 

-Family support needs to start at or even before pregnancy.

-Fund culturally-based healing of people who have been harmed and are being harmed by the government's discrimination. 

———

Find your MP here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/en/members

justin.trudeau(at)parl.gc.ca- Prime Minister Trudeau

chrystia.freeland(at)parl.gc.ca- Deputy Prime Minister Freeland

patty.hajdu(at)parl.gc.ca- Minister of Indigenous Services 

gary.anand(at)parl.gc.ca - Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

[philsmeatylegss]

Fundraisers for people/families trying to escape genocide

Have come across so many Palestinian people and family struggling to find funds to escape (which is ridiculous itself). Wanted to compile a list of as many as I can find with a small summary for those interested.

A plea for Humanity to help my family escape gaza

Summary: Thaer Aburaida is a student completing residency in Germany. However, her family of 15 are stuck in Gaza. The youngest being triplet babies with little access to formula. There are also a 2, 3, and 4 year old. Funds will be used to help them escape as well as healthcare as they are currently sick.

Emergency: help me evacuate my family from Gaza

Summary: Rawan AbuMahady, a 30-year-old Palestinian-currently residing in Canada, is a social worker and researcher who grew up on Gaza. She is recovering from PTSD due to what she has witnessed. Her younger sisters and parents still remain in Palestine, however. Her younger sisters, Hadeel (24)and Ayah(22 years old), has been expereincing severe panic attacks and have no access to food or clean water. Her mom has Type 2 Diabetes and was scheduled for eye surgery. However, she has had no access to insulin or any medical care for the past 3 months. Despite Rawan’s relentless efforts to reach the Canadian embassy and multiple international NGO’s through various channels, she has not received any help. However, her family has found a way to escape to Egypt for $7,000 each. While Rawan is financially independent and proud of the life she has made, she cannot afford a fee this high. As her family needs more than just fleeing to Egypt. Funds will first go to passes to get to Egypt, and any extra funds will go to transportation costs between Al-Nusierat camp to Rafah City, costs for any more travel, and possibly helping with food and shelter.

Gaza: Help my family afford emergency surgeries

Summary: Nouran is an artist whose family has suffered injuries during the bombings. The injuries are brutal. Her brother lost his right eye and ear, and suffered a skull fracture. Shrapnel has destroyed his right ear canal, and he’s completely deaf on that side. Nouran also lost her right eye. She also suffered major soft tissue trauma to my forehead and scalp. Her dad has completely lost his right calf muscle and can no longer walk without support. He can’t get surgery right now because there are no doctors here that know how to give epidural anaesthesia. Her mom has an untreated broken jaw and can no longer eat solid food. In the time since she was injured, she has lost over 14kg. All donations will go to treating their wounds. Medicines like antibiotics, anaesthesia, and pain relief are extremely expensive and difficult to get because of supply issues. They are also low on food with savings going fast. She has family in Ireland who can help with travel after they can escape, but they need help immediately with their health.

help a family have a chance in life

Summary: Dr. Haya Ahmed Hegazy is a 28 years old Obstetrician and Gynecologist. Despite her and her family themselves having to flee, she has been doing everything she can to provide free healthcare to fellow refugees, including helping woman give birth safely. She needs money to escape with her family where she hopes to complete her studies and return to help with more knowledge

Help Abdallah Zaqout and Family of 10 Evacuate

Summary: Abdallah Zaqout, a young man who has recently watched his friends be martyred, and his family of 10 need help escaping Gaza. His family includes multiple young children, sleeping in leaking tents and suffering intense anxiety. You can find Abdallah @/abdallah_zaqout on Instagram and the creator of the fundraiser is taking questions on their Instagram, @/tigerlily4448

Help me and my family to escape from Gaza war!

Summary: Thaer Inshasi, is a radiologist living in the Gaza Strip. He has five siblings, one with a two year old child. All ten family members are currently living in a 3*3 room with no electricity, gas, or human toilet as well as no access to clean water or food. He is trying to find asylum for him and his family in Belgium. He needs $40,000 to get to Egypt and $40,000 to get him and his family to Belgium.

Help Moaiad escape Gaza to become a Doctor

Summary: Moaiad Aljamal, 21, lives in Gaza and is a 3rd year medical student trying to immigrate to Egypt to complete his degree. When attending school in Palestine, he was in the top 2 percentile of his classes. He plans to be a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. He has a family of nine all still stuck in Gaza, living in a refugee camp close to the border. The $8,000 will be used to help Moaiad cross into Egypt where he plans to finish education and hopefully make enough money to help the rest of his family leave.

Help my family evacuate Gaza

Summary: Rana Muneer is currently stuck with his family of five in the Gaza Strip, including her husband and three children. Her husband is supervisor in the ministry of heritage and she is a teacher. She has been forced to flee several times and is very low on supplies, including supplies for their two year old who still needs diapers and milk. They also have little access to medicine, food, and water. All funds will be used to buy supplies immediately for survival and to help flee.

Help Evacuate My Family from Gaza

Summary: Mahmoud Zaqout is attempting to raise money to help him and his family flee to Egypt. His sister is living in inhumane conditions in a refugee camp after recently giving birth. Her, her husband, and three other children are all sick, starving, and traumatized.

Help me rebuild my life & rebuild my family's home

Summary: Ali from Gaza is raising money to pay off debt from his bombed clothing store. His home has also been bombed. He and his family, including young children, are desperate to escape and, though he’s already done so much to work tirelessly for his family, is willing to do it again to resettle his family. He is looking to escape and have a safe net of money to recover as he starts over.

Help my Arabic teacher and his family flee Gaza

Summary: Mumen and his wife, Aya, and their 5-year-old daughter, Zaina, lived in Gaza City until the extreme bombardment started in October, along with his two parents, Ghazi and Zainab, and 10 siblings. Mumen, Aya and Zaina fled by foot, walking south, with nothing but whatever money they had on them. Along the way they were shot at "mockingly" (shooting at the ground just by their feet) by Israeli soldiers - one of many traumatic experiences they have endured. They have received the news their home has been destroyed. They have come to selling Aya’s jewelry to get by. They have almost raised enough money to cover the cost for him and his eight family members to escape to Egypt, but they still need basic necessities. In the event they cannot escape, all funds will be used for necessities

Help me REUNITE with my family.

Summary: Ola Masoud, her husband, and her children were very fortunate to escape to Egypt from Palestine before it was too late. However, her brother, Mostafa Masoud, and his family remain stuck in Gaza. They are relying on wood to make fires. They are a family of nine, two children studying medicine, all with dreams. Each member of the family needs at least $6,000 CAD for each family member to leave Gaza. All money will be to pay for permits for them to do so.

Help my family to escape GAZA

Summary: Sondos Maher, 27, is a mother of three. Her and her husband have studied hard to achieve their dream life. However, she has been forced to leave her husband behind and flee with their children. She is hoping for raised $7,000 for the Rafah Crossing permit, $500 for the fees of travel and transportation from Gaza to Egypt, and $20,000 will go towards shelter/house rental in Egypt, resettling, buying clothes, urgent healthcare, and other humanitarian needs for a few months up to 1 year.

Sondos ran a YouTube channel showcasing their family. Please check it out.

Help My Family Escape Gaza: A Journey to Safety

Summary: Mohmad Abumery is raising money to help his family of six escape Gaza, including 11 year old Farah, medical graduate, Faiza, and his grandma. His family has started showing symptoms of mental illness, specifically PTSD. Both his father and grandma suffer from hypertension and are facing constant low stockage of the their medication. His mother is a humanitarian who raised $2 million for humanitarian projects in Gaza. However, she currently resides in the Netherlands and is in great suffering wondering if her family will live. Funds will cover airplane tickets, egyptian border security clearance, living expenses in Egypt, and moving expenses to the Netherlands to reunite with their mother.

Help Somaia Escape War

Summary: Somaia Adunada, 29, resident of Palestine, was preparing to travel to the USA to pursue her master's degree in English literature when October 7 happened. An air strike killed her sister and injured her and her family. Basic necessities have been a struggle from the start. The only way for Somaia to travel now is to pay "coordination" fees for travel permits, which have risen from $300 to $9,000, an amount she cannot afford. The funds raised will cover the coordination fees, the cost of her flight to the USA, and any other associated expenses.

Help My Friends' beloved Family Escape Gaza

Summary: Run by a friend, this fundraiser is for Mahmoud Shakshak. He is a student currently living in Türkiye, however, he is originally from Gaza where his family is still trapped. Funds will be used to help his family cross the Egyptian border to find refuge. This family consists of retired Sadi, 65, and his wife, Amna, 57, Mohammed, 33, his wife, Hanan, 33, and their children, Sadi Jr., 6, Ahmed, 5, and Mohammed Jr., only 101 days, Walaa, 35, Muhannad, 36, Bashar, 8, Raed, 27, and Zeena, 15. They are project managers, computer engineers, social workers, and beloved family. Funds will be used for travel fees, housing, and medical treatment, specifically for the months old child.

Help my family and I to evacuate from Gaza

Summary: 17 year old Shaymaa Abudalu is stuck in Gaza with her family, including her parents, her siblings Sarah, 12, and Lana, and Layan, 9. They need $50,000 CAD, mostly to help escape to Egypt, but also for visas, and basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, and shelter

Help my mother and sisters escape war in Gaza

Summary: Hasan Abuolba is a licensed realtor in Buffalo NY and a permanent resident in the US, however she has been separate from her family since 2014. Her five sisters, mother, aunt, uncle, and their children are all still stuck in Gaza. Her mom is a single mom of five children. They have had to walk everywhere with only a backpack of supplies. Three weeks ago, their refugee camp was bombed. She is trying to raise money to help her increasingly traumatized family escape, starting with her sisters, the youngest 12 and 13. Any additional funds will be used to help her aunt, uncle, and their minor children.

HELP REEM & HER FAMILY ESCAPE GAZA

Summary: Reem lives in Rafah with her husband, four children, and mother in law, 80. Funds will be used to escape with her 9 family members. Specifically, passport fees, Evacuation Fee/Egyptian Coordination, visa application fees, transportation to get to the border, Flight from Cairo to destination, and other living costs. Make sure to not give any percentage at checkout to Gofundme. She is allocating over $3,000 in assumption to go to Gofundme.

Help me get out of Gaza To save my life

Summary: Ola Louz has been a resident of Palestine her whole life. She has been displaced four times and has dealt with a lifetime of trauma. Ola has received a scholarship at the Asian University in Bangladesh. The scholarship would help her complete her university studies, which she can not continue in Gaza. All donations would be used to helped her escape to Egypt and then to Bangladesh.

Help our family evacuate Gaza and find safety

Summary: Ramzi Saud and Sarah Tahhan are attempting to help their family flee to safety. They are now living in Khan Younis in a house of 60 people with scarce food, no potable water, and no electricity still with constant bombs. Funds will go to Rafah border crossing for 9 people, Passport fees for 9, and money for rent and living expenses for two months. They have currently raised enough money to start setting up their escape, but still need more.

Help Salma escape agression on Gaza,secure insulin

Summary: Hayam Abu-Shaaban, 37, is residing with his family on the Gaza Strip. She is a mother of five, the older 15 and the youngest 4. One child, Salma, has suffered with diabetes since age 2. There is a constant low stock of insulin and the price continues to rise. Funds will be used to relocate to Egypt, purchase Salma’s insulin, and to get settled with necessities.

Help me to evacuate from Gaza

Summary: Khaleel Al-Najar, 29, is a husband and father to his baby daughter, Ghazal. He needs 30 thousand dollars actually to be able to leave Gaza and to reach Egypt with his wife and daughter, and another 10 thousand dollars to live in Egypt for a year until finding any suitable job there would be greatly helpful.

Help Shahd's Family Escape Gaza!

Summary: Arabic teacher, Shahd Safi, 22, and her family are trying to leave Gaza for Egypt. Egyptian officials require $5,000 to $10,000 USD for every family member, a number frequently fluctuating. Shahd’s family consists of herself, two brothers, one sister, and her mother. Once in Egypt, her mother will no longer be able to receive her salary. Funds will be used to help escape and resettle while the family finds a new source of income.

Help Ula escape Gaza

Summary: Ula ElHindi is a Palestinian feminist activist who has dedicated her life to fighting for peace and women's rights in the Gaza Strip. She needs $7,000 USD to escape to Egypt and leftover funds will be used for relocation and necessities.

Help us evacuate our family out of Gaza

Summary: Awesta and a few of her family members escaped to Egypt as the genocide began, but her brother, his wife, and his children, Hamdi (11), Hala (9), and Amir (3), have been stuck, along with her parents, her father which has a heart condition and is running low on medication. In total, Awesta needs money to help six people escape to her. Hamdi, Hala, Amir, their mother, father, and grandfather out of Gaza. She plans to show receipts of where the money is spent as it comes in.

Emergency: Help Sukar’s family get out of Gaza

Summary: Fundraiser on behalf of a family in Gaza trying to cross into Egypt. They are a family of 7 and are comprised of 2 elderly parents, two young men, a young girl, and a set of twin boys under the age of 18. For them to get through the border, it will cost around $7,500-8,000 USD (10,000-11,000 CAD) per person. Currently, they are waiting for a registry list to open so they can sign up to leave. It’s a little difficult because there are people who are scamming Gazans out of their money.

Help Yousef escape Gaza and treat his cancer

Summary: Youseff Abu Saeed is a photojournalist from Gaza. He has cancer and only began chemo briefly before the genocide. His cancer has a recovery rate of 95%, but with a bombed home and spotty access to chemo for over 100 days, he is suffering. Funds will go to him and his family escaping Gaza and to fund his treatment.

Rescue the Tanani family from the Gaza War

Summary: Ali Tanani is trying to save the rest of his family from Gaza. Though he has the ability to leave, his wife, who is nine months pregnant, and their children are not. Him and his friends have broken down costs to the following: Legal Fees from immigration attorney, Administrative and consulting fees, US Customs and USCIS filing and priorty fees, Petition to Michigan Congress and other outreach efforts, Transportation out of Gaza and into safe zone, Medical care, Temporary lodging, shelter and food supplies, and income loss results in them needing $52,980 USD

Safe Passage for Nadin

Summary: Nadin is a young girl who, from age 10, she was 10, has fought for Palestinian rights and she got a special title from the International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR). All funds will go to helping her and her family of 8, including her father who was brutalized by occupiers, finding refuge in Egypt and money to help them start anew.

Follow Nadin @/nadinabdullatif on Insta

Supporting Mohammed

Summary: Mohammed, affectionately called Mo, left his home in Australia last year to spend time with his family in Palestine. His plan was to stay a few years, get a job on an NGO and give back to his community. However, his plans were stopped on October 7. Mo is the current caregiver to his elderly parents, who he thankfully able to help evacuate to Australia. However, much of his family, including his siblings, remain stuck. He and his families are still in shock and are overwhelmed. All money will go to helping his family escape.

URGENT EVACUATE: GazaWar Destroyed My Family Again

Summary: Hasan Alaloul is currently trying to raise money for him and his family in Gaza escape. They have been suffering since 2021, where they were previously attacked by Israeli forces. His father, Dr Mooein Al-Aloul الله يرحمه , and his mother and little sister were also seriously injured. Their house was finished being rebuilt only six months before October 7, 2023. The funds will be used for travel through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt and essential needs such as temporary housing, food, medical care and basic necessities for his family until they can establish a more stable situation where we can begin the process of rebuilding their shattered lives again.

URGENT: Evacuate My Diabetic Kid Out of GAZA WAR

Summary: Mariam is a wife and mother of three children, one of whom is a 7-year diabetic kid. Her twin children are also two years old are also deprived of diapers, milk, and medical check-ups, drugs, and clean water and food. Kenan, the diabetic child, dreams of being a scientist, but is currently beyond suffering. Funds will be used to help Mariam, her husband, and her children cross the Rafah/Egypt border, which she needs $8,000 USD each, visas, passport fees, airplane flights, and basic living costs for six months, including Kenan’s insulin.

URGENT: HELP US ESCAPE GAZA & STAY ALIVE!

Summary: Dr. Nusaiba fawzi Abu Mustafa is a 24 year old on an internship MD from Gaza. However, she had to stop her studies due to the genocide. Her and her family, including 4 girls, two children, and a 92 year old grandmother, are currently very near the Egyptian border. $5,000 are needed for them to cross. All funds will go to that.

Urgent: Help My Family Escape War in Gaza

Summary: Bahaa Alsawalhi is a Gazan and a current master's student in Medical Systems Engineering in Germany. He needs help with funds to help his family of 15 escape to him. His family has been separated to different refugee camps and are desperate to reunite. Their homes are bombed. They are married with children and pets they deeply love. $80,000 is needed for all of them to obtain a Rafah Crossing permit

This is his Instagram

[radioactivedotcom]

i get what you mean but some of us actual enjoy the game and genuinely don't have the same issues as you with bugs. Yeah there are issues. But it's still a fun game. Pissing on the people who enjoy it and are happy to pay for it isn't going to make the game better. Especially since the last few packs have been really good? Like...

EA has never cared about customer enjoyment. If the majority of people pirate the game, they aren't going to change anything about it, they'll just shelve it.

I don't wanna start a whole debate on this, so I'll answer this one ask and that's it.

First, yes, I fully understand that there are a ton of people who very much enjoy playing the game. But I want you to consider this... If someone has bought all the expansions, all the packs, all the kits... they've spent over 1 200,00$.... The sims is a great game, but it is not a game worth that much money. Or at the very least... it shouldn't be. This should be an unacceptable price tag. If the basegame came out with all the available content that exists for the sims 4, but at that price... who the fuck would buy that.

Being scared that the game will be shelved, that they won't ever make another game ever again... You're just saying, eh, this kinda sucks but I'm absolutely powerless to do anything about this, so I don't care, I'll keep participating in this vicious cycle.

It's not true though. You aren't powerless. Because EA knows they can make money out of the sims franchise for a loooong time still. And they've invested a shit ton into it. They won't give up on it that easily. If people stop buying while saying: I'm not buying because you're charging too much. Or, I'm not buying because this content isn't polished enough, or whatever else people have as valid complaints... Then yes, if enough people did that, I believe it would change EA's business strategy. They would try to make a thing so good people can't resist buying it, instead of just making trailers that seem great, but with a product that ends up not nearly as polished and well-thought-out as advertised. I don't know if you've watched people reviewing the latest expansions, but even on a technical level, no one's been impressed. Yet people still buy, so of course EA won't change their strategy.

Big companies like EA want to make you believe that there's nothing you can do even though YOU'RE THE CUSTOMER, it's YOUR money, and you DESERVE a product worth that hard-earned money. Same way companies never want their employees to unionize, and the government wants you to think it's normal not to have free healthcare. (though i'm canadian so it's, you know, a different problem here concerning healthcare)

Anyway, I'm rambling and my socialism is showing lmao. But tbh, this is a very moot point, because me making this post is never ever in a million years gonna make a DENT in EA's pocket. You are majorly overestimating my influence.

If you wanna keep giving your money to EA, just do it man. I certainly can't stop you.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

‘Divide and conquer’ – Belo Sun’s tactics cause consternation along Xingu river in Brazil

The Canadian gold mining company is accused of stirring up communal strife and other irregularities in an area already impacted by Belo Monte

The office at number 1989 on Rua Madre Teresa de Calcutá, in the central region of Altamira, welcomes Ribeirinhos and Indigenous people with smiles and handshakes. Help with “public policies” and “support” for community projects are also on offer. Yet there is a catch. This is the Brazilian headquarters of Belo Sun Mining Corp, a Canadian company that intends, over the next 18 years, to churn through 620 million metric tons of ancestral land in Pará’s Amazon – more than the weight of Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain – to bring in over US$ 10 billion in revenue from gold that now sits an area inhabited by forest and traditional populations. It isn’t the first time these peoples’ territories and ways of life have been threatened. Now, because of the communities’ abandonment, vulnerability, and fatigue, the company is looking to advance its project – amidst a war of unequal forces.

In Altamira, there has been resistance to mega-projects that have jeopardized the lives of humans, more-than-humans, and the planet for at least 35 years. In February 1989 – at the same address where Belo Sun’s headquarters are located – the city hosted the first Meeting of Xingu Peoples to discuss the impact of a huge federal government project to build hydroelectric plants in the region. This event spawned the famed image of the warrior Tuire Kayapó, who died in August 2024, holding a machete to the cheek of Eletronorte’s director at the time, José Antonio Muniz Lopes, a man with connections to oligarch José Sarney, then the president of Brazil. Eletronorte was the government-run company responsible for the project.

Three decades later, the Belo Monte Dam, one of the hydroelectric plants to come out of the project, was built at a cost of more than R$ 40 billion after nearly ten years of construction. Today, it is directly responsible for sequestering 70% of the water in the Volta Grande region of the Xingu River, 130 kilometers containing vast biodiversity that is home to Indigenous peoples like the Arara and the Yudjá/Juruna, as well as to traditional Ribeirinho communities and smallholders. After the dam was built, making a living from fishing became impossible in some regions, and Ribeirinhos are dealing with this scarcity and depression after being forced to move far from the river. During droughts, the Xingu River, which before was the “road” running through these communities, is also no longer so easily navigable. Nor is there basic sanitation, schooling and adequate healthcare. Many of the promises that “life would improve,” made by the government and Norte Energia, the plant’s concessionaire, were submerged as if they were part of the forest. Local Yudjá/Juruna indigenous people often say Belo Monte ushered in the end of the world.

Continue reading.

[vaingod]

so doug ford wants privatization of public hospitals now and is giving private hospitals special privileges to perform more types of surgeries and its going to majorly screw over every single canadian relying on public healthcare but also the decline to far right idiocracy in this country is happening at the speed of light, literally nobody remembers how the Conservatives bought out every public newspaper and media outlet when the piece of vile shit doug got voted in like Canada has always been the usa with rose tinted glasses and extra propaganda about how its Such A Nice Country

[mariacallous]

Every year has its own mix of digital security debacles, from the absurd to the sinister, but 2024 was particularly marked by hacking sprees in which cybercriminals and state-backed espionage groups repeatedly exploited the same weakness or type of target to fuel their frenzy. For attackers, the approach is ruthlessly efficient, but for compromised institutions—and the individuals they serve—the malicious rampages had very real consequences for people's privacy, safety, and security.

As political turmoil and social unrest intensify around the world, 2025 will be a complicated—and potentially explosive—year in cyberspace. But first, here's WIRED's look back on this year's worst breaches, leaks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, ransomware attacks, and digital extortion cases. Stay alert, and stay safe out there.

China's Salt Typhoon Telecom Breaches

Espionage operations are a fact of life, and relentless Chinese campaigns have been a constant in cyberspace for years now. But the China-linked espionage group Salt Typhoon carried out a particularly noteworthy operation this year, infiltrating a slew of US telecoms including Verizon and AT&T (plus others around the world) for months. And US officials told reporters earlier this month that many victim companies are still actively attempting to remove the hackers from their networks.

The attackers surveilled a small group of people—less than 150 by current count—but they include individuals who were already subject to US wiretap orders as well as state department officials and members of both the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns. Additionally, texts and calls from other people who interacted with the Salt Typhoon targets were inherently also caught up in the espionage scheme.

Snowflake Customer Breaches

Throughout the summer, attackers were on a tear, breaching prominent companies and organizations that were all customers of the cloud data storage company Snowflake. The spree barely qualifies as hacking, since cybercriminals were simply using stolen passwords to log in to Snowflake accounts that didn't have two-factor authentication turned on. The end result, though, was an extraordinary amount of data stolen from victims including Ticketmaster, Santander Bank, and Neiman Marcus. Another prominent victim, the telecom giant AT&T, said in July that “nearly all” records relating to its customers' calls and texts from a seven-month stretch in 2022 were stolen in a Snowflake-related intrusion. The security firm Mandiant, which is owned by Google, said in June that the rampage impacted roughly 165 victims.

In July, Snowflake added a feature so account administrators could make two-factor authentication mandatory for all of their users. In November, suspect Alexander “Connor” Moucka was arrested by Canadian law enforcement for allegedly leading the hacking spree. He was indicted by the US Department of Justice for the Snowflake tear and faces extradition to the US. John Erin Binns, who was arrested in Turkey for an indictment related to a 2021 breach of the telecom T-Mobile, was also indicted on charges related to the Snowflake customer breaches.

Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack

At the end of February, the medical billing and insurance processing company Change Healthcare was hit with a ransomware attack that caused disruptions at hospitals, doctor's offices, pharmacies, and other health care facilities around the US. The attack is one of the all-time largest breaches of medical data, impacting more than 100 million people. The company, which is owned by UnitedHealth, is a dominant medical billing processor in the US. It said days after the attack started that it believed ALPHV/BlackCat, a notorious Russian-speaking ransomware gang, was behind the assault.

Personal data stolen in the attack included patient phone numbers, addresses, banking and other financial information, and health records including diagnoses, prescriptions, and treatment details. The company paid a $22 million ransom to ALPHV/BlackCat at the beginning of March in an attempt to contain the situation. The payment seemingly emboldened attackers to hit health care targets at an even greater rate than usual. With ongoing, rolling notifications to more than 100 million victims—with more still being discovered—lawsuits and other blowback has been mounting. This month, for example, the state of Nebraska sued Change Healthcare, alleging that “failures to implement basic security protections” made the attack much worse than it should have been.

Russia's Midnight Blizzard Hit Microsoft

Microsoft said in January that it had been breached by Russia's “Midnight Blizzard” hackers in an incident that compromised company executives' email accounts. The group is tied to the Kremlin's SVR foreign intelligence agency and is specifically linked to SVR's APT 29, also known as Cozy Bear. After an initial intrusion in November 2023, the attackers targeted and compromised historic Microsoft system test accounts that then allowed them to access what the company said were “a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including members of our senior leadership team and employees in our cybersecurity, legal, and other functions.” From there, the group exfiltrated “some emails and attached documents.” Microsoft said that the attackers seemed to be looking for information about what the company knew about them—in other words, Midnight Blizzard doing reconnaissance on Microsoft's research into the group. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) also said in January that it had suffered a corporate email breach attributed to Midnight Blizzard.

National Public Data

The background check company National Public Data suffered a breach in December 2023, and data from the incident started showing up for sale on cybercriminal forums in April 2024. Different configurations of the data cropped up again and again over the summer, culminating in public confirmation of the breach by the company in August. The stolen data included names, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of birth. Since National Public Data didn't confirm the breach until August, speculation about the situation grew for months and included theories that the data included tens or even hundreds of millions of Social Security numbers. Though the breach was significant, the true number of impacted individuals seems to be, mercifully, much lower. The company reported in a filing to officials in Maine that the breach affected 1.3 million people. In October, National Public Data's parent company, Jerico Pictures, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in the Southern District of Florida, citing state and federal investigations into the breach as well as a number of lawsuits that the company is facing over the incident.

Honorable Mention: North Korean Cryptocurrency Theft

A lot of people steal a lot of cryptocurrency every year, including North Korean cybercriminals who have a mandate to help fund the hermit kingdom. A report from the cryptocurrency tracing firm Chainalysis released this month, though, underscores just how aggressive Pyongyang-backed hackers have become. The researchers found that in 2023, hackers affiliated with North Korea stole more than $660 million across 20 attacks. This year, they stole roughly $1.34 billion across 47 incidents. The 2024 figures represent 20 percent of total incidents Chainalysis tracked for the year and a whopping 61 percent of the total funds stolen by all actors.

The sheer domination is impressive, but the researchers emphasize the seriousness of the crimes. “US and international officials have assessed that Pyongyang uses the crypto it steals to finance its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles programs, endangering international security,” Chainalysis wrote.

[osmanthusoolong]

The absolute funniest thing about talking about Current Health Situation with anyone who works in health except for my family doctor is that, regardless of what exactly they do, is that they’re always kind of horrified by how it’s going. Like specifically how the family doctor is handling it.

Last week, I mentioned Situation to the specialist and nurse doing my treatment, because Situation can effect things. And then got to enjoy them having about the same reaction as being told that she’s treating it with radium and toadstone. “That’s really dangerous and worrying, I’d have ordered *test* immediately first off! And this has been going on a full year?” Yeah :) And I get to wait another five months to see if I’ll even get *test* any time soon:) (at a guess, *test* won’t be available for another few months after that). Like this isn’t a Canadian healthcare thing, seeing as everyone from other specialists, other family physicians, pharmacists, nurses etc have all been horrified and said that it should be something like immediate due to the seriousness.

It’s extremely validating! I’m not being impatient or unreasonable or just a hypochondriac! Other people who know the stuff are all in agreement that I’m in genuine danger! However, that doesn’t actually change anything beyond my feeling validated and her reputation taking some dents hopefully