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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 7 months ago

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New Rule: Whoa, Canada | Real Time with Bill Maher

And finally, New Rule. If we want to save our country, we should follow the advice good liberals have given for decades and learn from other countries.

Especially those beacons of progressivism like Canada, England, and Scandinavia, and I agree we should, as long as we're honest about the lessons we're learning. And as long as we're up to date on the current data. Such as, the unemployment rate in the US is 3.8 percent. And in Canada, it's 6.1. And of the 15 North American cities with the worst air pollution, 14 are in Canada.

I'm not citing these stats because I have it out for Canada. I love Canada, and its people, and always have, but I hate zombie lies. Zombie lies. That's when things change but what people say about them doesn't. Yes, for decades, places like Vancouver, and Amsterdam, and Stockholm seemed idyllic, because everything was free and all the energy we needed was produced by riding a bike to your job at the windmill. Canada was where all the treasured goals of liberalism worked perfectly. It was like NPR come to life but with poutine.

Canada was the Statue of Liberty with a low-maintenance haircut and cross-country skis. A giant idealized blue state with single-payer health care, gun control, and abortion on polite demand. Canada was where every woke White college kid, wearing pajama pants outdoors who'd had it up to here with America's racist patriarchy, dreamt of living someday. I mean, besides Gaza.

There's only one problem with thinking everything's better in Canada. It's not. Not anymore anyway. Last year, Canada added 1.3 million people, which is a lot in one year. The equivalent of the US adding 11 million migrants in one year. And now, they are experiencing a housing crisis even worse than ours. And we're sleeping in tents. The median price of a home here is 346 grand, in Canada, converted to US dollars, it's 487. If Barbie moved to Winnipeg, she wouldn't be able to afford her dream house and Ken would be working at Tim Hortons. And because of mortgage debt, Canada has the highest debt to GDP ratio of any G7 nation. I don't know what that means, but it sounds bad.

So does their vaunted health care system, which ranks dead last among high income countries in access to primary health care and ability to see a doctor in a day or two. And it's not for lack of spending. Of the 30 countries with universal coverage, Canada spends over 13 percent of its economy on it, which is a lot of money for free health care.

Look, I'm not saying Canada still isn't a great country. It is, but those aren't paradise numbers. If Canada was an apartment, the lead feature might be "America adjacent." And if America was a rental car, Canada would be "America or similar."

And again, honestly, Canada, I'm not saying any of this 'cause I enjoy it. I don't, 'cause I've always enjoyed you. But I need to cite you as a cautionary tale to help my country. And the moral of that tale is, "Yes, you can move too far left." And when you do, you wind up pushing the people in the middle to the right. At its worst, Canada is what American voters think happens when there's no one putting a check on extreme wokeness.

Like the saga of Canadian shop teacher, Kayla Lemieux, whose pronouns are she/her and those. Kayla is now back to being a guy named Kerry, but two years ago when "they" showed up to teach children, the progressive high school "they" taught at said that they-- They, the school, not the person. Really? You couldn't have found another word? We were using that one. Anyway, okay. They were committed to a safe environment for gender expression. Safe for who? What about the children? What about the equipment in that shop class?

You know, there was once a weirdo D-list movie producer in the '60s named Russ Meyer who made low-budget B movies like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! And Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Always featuring women who look like this. His movies played in porn houses and were featured in Hustler and Playboy. Okay, fine, but who says, "No, when it comes to huge, ridiculous tits, let's save that for the kids."

And this is why people vote for Trump. They say in politics, liberals are the gas pedal and conservatives are the brakes, and I'm generally with the gas pedal, but not if we're driving off a cliff.

On the trans issue, America is no ands, ifs, or buts about it, absolutely alone in the world now. An outlier country. Last month, England's National Health Service announced that there's "not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness" of puberty blockers for third graders, and that they were going to stop fumbling around with children's privates, because that's Prince Andrew's job.

So too with all the other good place countries in direct opposition to America's choice to affirm children's wishes on switching gender, no matter the age or psychiatric history. The Far Left, which always like to use, "Well, Europe does it." Yeah, no, that doesn't work on this one anymore.

Or on immigration. Sweden opened its borders to over a million and a half immigrants since 2010. And now 20 percent of its citizens are foreign-born and its education system is tanking, and it has Europe's highest rate of gangland killings. And one result is that the far-right parties are in the government now there for the first time.

To which liberals say, "Blaming immigrants for the rising crime rate is racist." Yeah, but is it true? Of course, it's true. It's not a coincidence. The quality of life went down after the Somali gangs started a drug turf war using hand grenades.

Calling it "racist" doesn't solve the problem. It hands future elections to someone who will solve the problem, and who, I promise, you're not going to like.

For the record, I've said literally all of this, including making the comparison of flying off a cliff if you rely entirely on the gas pedal. Just saying.

When Trump takes office again, and he will, people will act stunned and ask, "how could this have ever happened?"

#Bill Maher #Real Time with Bill Maher #immigration #gender ideology #medical scandal #Canada #Sweden #Somali gangs #medical corruption #religion is a mental illness

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39472034658449305249465224devils · 20 days ago

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one of my least favorite 'things older generations say" is "your generation is going to fix this" like to make me hopeful. the type of statements about how my generation will just fix it, make it better, be the better one. the generation who is so fucking hopeless and abused. yeah, sit back pops! we'll do all of it! youre in your 40s to 50s- not fucking 90, why are you acting like there's just nothing you can do? sit back and absolve the guilt? yeah you couldnt do anything is that it? convince yourself it was our responsibility? im so tired of hearing it. my entire life ive felt like the me who was put in special education and 'slow classes' before essentially force-dropped from school all together was just simply one of the smartest minds at my school. i did not fall for security in the institution or the american dream or trust in law and i never for a fucking second had faith in my peers. and i still dont. all the same assholes, molesters and rapists, couldnt-even-name-racism-as-a-theme-of-To-Kill-A-Mockingbird peers of mine are in collage and i dont even have a GED. they're the generation who will fit it? fix it all? the economy, the housing crisis, the cost of living, queerphobia, racism, ableism, im supposed to trust these people as a GENERATION to fit it? i dont even fucking trust other queer people, i dont trust other people of color, i dont trust jack shit anymore. dont trash the place and then pat my back, "you'll clean it up, youre so helpful" dont make me cleaning up your mess something i should be proud of, something to be hopeful for. my generation will fix it. yeah fucking right

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acti-veg · 2 years ago

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my mum says the coronation brings people together and a lot of joy to people (ordinary people, who aren't rich) and the royal family gives people a sense of continuity - politicians come and go but everyone knows the royal family. i can't help thinking she has a point - there is something comforting about the familiarity of them and they do do some charitable works and appear to be more accepting of different faiths etc.

(2) i say to her that it's not right that they're so rich and that they have colonialist roots and i hate their hunting. and i don't think the taxpayer should be paying for the coronation (though some people will say the coronation is good for the economy) but i find it hard to see it as as black and white as 'the royal family are evil' - they must be so heavily influenced by their upbringings and there must be a lot of pressure on them to uphold tradition.

(3) i feel like i'm being a killjoy to everyone and i'm wondering is the coronation actually making things harder for people struggling financially? or would they be struggling just as much without the coronation, but people just don't like the royal family to be rich whilst they're struggling and see it as unfair? because if it's the latter, and the royal family actually benefits the economy, then i don't see it as such a bad thing

(4) and does the fact that it has colonialist roots have a tangible negative impact *now*?

Firstly; in terms of them bringing people joy, you’d have to weigh that against them bringing many other people misery or anger. Very few people sitting in their council houses that they can’t afford to heat with their families they can’t afford to feed derives any joy from the existence of a monarch whose excessive wealth is derived from the public purse.

The Royal Stipend this year is 86.3m, on top of their cash and assets estimated between 20 and 24 billion. That’s not even counting Charles’ personal fortune, estimated at 1.9 billion. The Royals are inexplicably completely exempt from inheritance tax, so he didn’t give back a single penny he inherited from his rich mum. Can you imagine how much joy we could give people if that money went towards subsidised electricity, food, housing, schools, the NHS?

Instead, Charles will show up at a school or hospital every now and again to thank the workers for their service, a visit we will also pay for because the cost of security (or really anything actually useful) is paid by the taxpayer instead of being taken out of the Royal Stipend.

Even as individuals, everything we ever find out that we weren’t supposed to know paints them in a very bad light. The racism, the adultery, the alleged sexual assault, the animal cruelty, the unreasonable working conditions for their staff, the fact that they specifically don’t have to abide by diversity hiring laws (I wonder why), all the awful and insensitive comments recorded by people who have met them over the years. Charles currently giving out free portraits of himself to hang in all public buildings. He spent 8m of our money on a vanity project in the middle of the worst economic recession since WWII.

But it’s really not about who they are as people or how they live their lives as individuals, if Charles were a noble and just king the monarchy would still be fundamentally wrong. They represent and benefit from an institution derived from colonialism, built on wealth inherited from slavery and funded for by us. It is perfectly possible to leave the royal family, Harry has at least partially doing it, so having been born into it doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of making other choices about your own life. So long as they continue to spend that money and live that life with our money then it’s more than fair to judge them for it.

Even using the coronation as a single example shows how they are prioritised. This took place in the midst of an unprecedented cost of living crisis, with every bit of government help fought tooth and nail. But suddenly there was no question about whether or not we could afford it, no mention of the evils of handouts or the importance fiscal responsibility, because it was a party for the King.

Conservative-run Bromley council refused to fund "warm banks" during winter but were more than happy to spend £50m on events to mark the coronation. It was the same story for the Royal Weddings, both princes spent about £30m each, while homeless people were cleared off the street so they wouldn’t spoil the photos. Charles’ first wedding (to the woman he cheated on for years) cost 87m in today’s money, and was three days of lavish feasts and parties paid for by us. His second, ‘modest registry’ wedding to the new queen (who cheated on her husband with Charles) cost 5m.

Oh and just as an added kick in the teeth, we also paid about 12m in hush money to the victim of Charles’ brother Andrew. That’s just an estimate though, since the royals didn’t think we deserved to actually know the full cost or any of the details in the agreement, despite it coming out of our pocket. Imagine what all of that money could have done for people who actually need it, on top of the 2 billion in assets and 86m, assuming it doesn’t increase (again) next year.

There is an obvious link between that kind of money being spent and poor people in Britain not being given the support they need. The state has a choice where they wanted that money to go, and actively made the decision that it should benefit the rich instead of the poor. Charles could have refused, he could have recognised the state of the UK and decided the coronation should be quiet, dignified and inexpensive. But he didn’t - he went lavish, over the top and expensive, air conditioned custom gold carriage and all. He and the government didn’t even bother to tell us how much it was expected to cost - an apparent blank cheque we are supposed to be happy to pay.

As for the benefits, there is no convincing evidence that royal events or the royals themselves bring in more money than they cost. Everyone cites visitors to Buckingham Palace etc. but The Louvre and Versailles are two of the most visited tourist destinations on earth and the French beheaded their monarchs 250 years ago.

How much people appreciate continuity is of course subjective, but continuity in the form of a reigning monarch that can't be recalled by election is inherently anti-democratic. When the public vote out a government they're deeply dissatisfied with the way the country is being run, the fact that everyone will be replaced except the Head of State is absurd. Continuity of what? Parasitivism? Besides, how does everyone really 'know' the royal family? We know their names, we know bits of information from fallouts, but they take great pains to make sure that pretty much everything else about their lives, and particularly their finances, are well hidden from the public.

The British Monarchy are an outdated relic of our shameful imperial history and an egregious example of the class divide in modern Britain. The existence of these self-aggrandising scroungers is an insult to anyone in the UK who has ever struggled or ever had to work for their survival. Any benefits are far outweighed by the cost the public and to our supposedly ‘democratic’ process.

#ask #long post #monarchy

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chronicas · 5 months ago

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Y’all just keep acting like Biden is some kind of Patron Saint of all oppressed USamericans.

Anyways.

Biden allowed the defunding of ACP and EBT. In congress there has been no progress on any of the bills to reform SSI and SSDI. Disabled USamericans still are forced to live in poverty and now we can’t afford internet and we can’t afford food. Our food banks are suffering from the economy so we hardly even get food there. The housing crisis continues, the prices of rent are skyrocketing.

Again I will say I do not give a fuck how you vote, whatever you think you need to do I don’t care.

BUT DO NOT LIE ABOUT A SITUATION YOU HAVE NOT LIVED IN!! MY LIFE WILL CONTINUE TO GET WORSE REGARDLESS UNLESS THE SYSTEM IS DECONSTRUCTED.

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times-eclipse · 1 year ago

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This fucking sucks man.

It's not like I didn't think they'd get in. I just expected things to be closer. It's fucking shameful that we'd lean so hard right just because the "vibes" were off or people got tired of the pandemic or whatever other stupid excuse centrists have.

It's incredibly disappointing how much people are willing to forget historically regressive social policies, the complete disregard for the pandemic, and that the housing market was caused by them in the first place. National will not fix the cost of living crisis - their cost of living is on a different planet to everyone else's.

I want leftists to yell it from the rooftops - I don't want us to forget anything they'll try this term. Centrists have the memories of goldfish and will forget all social policy rollback by next election just because they'll believe National's lies again.

These people do not care for me. They will make my life actively worse if it's economically advantageous to them. (And only them! Like, the party itself.) Even if Labour, unfortunately, wouldn't really ever do anything to help me*, they at least wouldn't ever make things worse.

*I personally agree more with the Greens' policies! But it's more strategic to side with Labour to fight against Fascism Lite.

I feel expendable by half this country.

I want National voters to look directly in the eyes of renters, disabled people, queer people, Maori, and struggling single-parents and tell them that they didn't disregard them when they chose to vote Right.

"But Aether, did you think about farmers when you voted Left?" Fuck farmers, they are a predominantly National/ACT voter bloc that only care about the fake thing we call the "economy". They got mad when they were told not to pollute waterways. Labour would never actively harm them, anyway.

Politics is not a game of equal sides.

#nzpol #vent

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mightdeletelater · 8 months ago

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The current discourse surrounding the cost of living crisis seems somewhat incomplete to me. When it comes up in the media or in discussions around me, it is consistently framed in terms of individuals' financial constraints, addressing what people can or cannot afford. I am not disputing that at all; that perspective is undeniably valid. In fact, I would argue that livable wages, affordable housing and rental control, neighbourhood resources, adequate public transit, high-quality education and efficient and productive health services are all very prevalent issues that fall under public safety.

But aside from all of that, when thinking about the cost of living crisis, I find myself asking: Why must we pay for everything in the first place? Today, I read this article highlighting local repair shops evolving into community hubs for free assistance in fixing gadgets and clothing. It prompted reflections on a bygone era when reciprocity thrived in communities, emphasising mutual aid rather than profit.

The individuals interviewed in the article are far from being revolutionary figures. Their actions echo sentiments reminiscent of historical resistors of industrialisation, like the Luddites (a word I learned from an English professor I hated) from the 19th century. Their resistance took various forms, some violent, but it takes one Google Scholar search to show that many chose to assert the mentality of: 'I do not need your money as desperately as you think, for I have systems of kinship outside this monetised economy.' The viewpoint of acknowledging that while currency is nice to have and it provides things, it really does not meet the majority of my needs right now is one that I am newly trying to adopt every single day. For me it's about starting small. I constantly think about that one viral Tumblr post about the commodification of friendship. It says:

the commodification of friendship is the most annoying thing to come out of the internet in ages. like actually i love to break this to you but you’re supposed to help your friends move even if it’s hard work. or stay up with them when they’re sad even if you’re gonna lose sleep. you’re supposed to listen to their fears and sorrows even if it means your own mind takes on a little bit of that weight. that’s how you know that you care. they will drive you to the airport and then you will make them soup when they’re sick. you’re supposed to make small sacrifices for them and they are supposed to do that for you. and there’s actually gonna be rough patches for both of you where the balance will be uneven and you will still be friends and it will not be unhealthy and they will not be abusive. life is not meant to be an endless prioritization of our own comfort if it was we would literally never get anywhere ever. jesus.

No, it isn't talking about the cost of living crisis, per se, but I like that the writer has specified how important community is and how yes, it may be unbalanced at times, and you won't gain from it monetarily, but that's OK. I'm constantly trying to remind myself that the human experience should be about giving. And I try. With my family. My friends. And in my community.

And so back to the main point: Does a significant portion of the cost of living crisis lies not just in our inability to afford things but in the imperative to afford everything. The issue transcends high prices; it's about the pervasive commodification of all aspects of life. It's about everything having a cost to begin with: whether that is physical items (like the things people were working on in repair shops) or emotional support (commodification of friendship). Capitalist logic has infiltrated to such an extent that almost everything is now part of a monetised economy. That's just so lame to me and not a trap I want to fall into.

#cost of living #cost of living crisis #commodification #commodification of friendship #community #capitalism #anti capatilism #i hate doing tags

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spongythedollyteapartyfan-blog · 2 years ago

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lol as a colonial australian i was writing this in reflection to the new economy, see, back in 1950, 1960, 1970, King Charles was a student in australia,

the benefit was that king charles could go to school here in Australia where there was no crack, no one was elite, all schools were the same in 1950 post war era,

we were yet ot get crack in australia, when the economy tanks politiicans wory and need crack, each time an economy tanks, or the econmy is in recession , it is a 1980, 1990 thing, we were never in a recession til crack took over the economy in australia 1980

crack, and mafia con men and abductions skyrocketed after crack entered our political and law court sphere, or its defaltion stagnation, the top always demonize the poor smoking cigarretes, even putting warnings on cigareetes as the gateway drug to poverty, , “warning cigarretes” “you may wantto look coos liek your bos on crakc, but you will look like a loser when the cigaretres are $50 a packet “

am i mising something here, , just like the missed journey of being too poor for school, , having never smoked, or drank,

i also missed the connection from kindergarden to primary school, early learning before school, as my family wanted me to experience real life, not watch crack heads give orders,, i even missed out on 100 days of school cos my parents wanted me to have a better life, than hear the prinipal speek thier evil mind speak, i wasnt even alowed to even talk to a school pricipal who was on crack,

while in a financial crisis 1980, we miss the cues of people always talking about money and finance,of a ponzi, so workplaces create a ponzi scheme, cos they lost their crack and supply, so the boss’s funnel their poor and broke ;s workers pay & money the boss stole into the supply chain without them even knowing they are part of the crack and drug situation,

some people thought their kids would be ridiculed if they didint know their ABC,s, and signed up to the crack supervisor at work to learn about maths calculating and hiding numbers for the crack industry

now this creates an inferiority complex in some children as they only identify with adults who have that smell of crack,

as authority always smells like crack, and the students dont take orders from other students who smell like flower candy and honey, , and so have a backward look at the classroom environment,

now for me having gone to work with my parents at age 2,3,4,5 before school class 1, grade 1, form 1, and smelt what real work smelt like,

what a fraud this lot of crack heads were, the most things sold during a recession is cover up chemicals “cover up crack smells” cover up crack smells, like more crack, so if you smell crack in a workplace you know its a ponzi scheme place

how to spot a workplace not on crack,

1. i worked out what was needed to say hello,

2, knew what each day was about, one ponzi place i was at has ritual abduction days and intern humilation days, to learn the days on the clock as ritual days is important,, count times when workers and collegues disappear,, say time 5 different ways to confuse the crack head boss,

one itme i spoke the way to tell time 5 different ways just to puzzle my crack head bosses mind, , lol, it was the best, mind trick of all, to find someone was on crack, to say, : 10:15, am, ten fifteeen, , or 1, 0, 1,5, one zero, one, five, ha ha you can turn a crack head into a raging boss soon enough,

quarter past 10, , ( from sesame street, diez, quince, diez y cuarto) as my parents were like in house workers, i would meet the people in my neighbourhood, after a while of student detective work it was easy to know who was on crack, and who would be the trouble makers,

3, the alphabet, and maths system to go to the library and know , how to know a book was out of place,

4. the familiarity with college life, is that my suburb was surrounded by college campus life, , it was impostible to escape it, ans also to know who the crack dealers were to avoid them,

5, to go to university as a poor student and live online for 50 years, well that is not the only option, there was a learning curve i missed out on as being poor, that i missed as aperson who never worked for no crakc head boss, that being in a 1000 person chat room for 40 years taught me things about group dynamics, role play, future goals, that i had learnt ot detect a crack head, sometimes, , my fandom now is made up of crack heads who understood how to detect other crakc heads in the way i used ot do my mind tricks,

jedi mind tricks,

lol, i missed out on the idealism of havign a job, as everyone who wanted to be manager in my town ws into crack,

being poor is a classic example of what blogging is about today

each time a work place introduced a new system, we would write a book about how to do each task and perform the task , so the next person woudl know the system,

so, it was like, being poor is the best way to experience culture, to experience diversity, as i was at college all the time, , no one picked me for a job because i knew ho w to escape a ponzi scheme, the job network was part of a higher ponzi, economic poverty scheme to keep us out of the know, to keep us busy learning a new computer system, to learn a new format,

, poverty and being “Broke” meaning someone suggested to a poor person to finance thier lifestyle, well i never financed anyones rich lifestyle, , if a company director was smoking crack, , well, i ant got time for that, ,

when in the work place, the rule is, we bring in a holistic life, not even coffee,

to see people high on coffee, even in a work plac,e brings down the level of respect in a work place,

so management defraud the poor workers with health care and social security systm as a ponzi scheme to keep us from knowing we are on a social exclusion plan,

it is wrong and , we never signed up for peopel to fraud our identity,, well actually for 50 years, australian social security was a ponzi scheme til someone realised, it was built to make poeple look for work even when they had their ideal job for 50 years,

, the idea of a job for life is an illusion, to be on social security requires that we contact over 3 peopel a day, even in our real job, giving random people our details, name adress, and account details, even detailing our poverty situation, what did we even learn as being poor, some crack head is gunna use that ot an advantage and keep us poor,

personally, i went to college longer than needed as i broke the system, i went to a college, 50 miles away form my home town, to get out of the ponzi situation,, but then, all ponzi schemes track down the peopel who they want to defraud in the end, all governments do is to defraud, under australian law, the government can chose as a colonial requirement to defraud its sitizens,to make the stock market and GDP look good, even when the population suffers the words deflation in 20 years, the ponzi scheme always wins but it only effects the peopel in the ponzi scheme, as the peopel in poverty, real povery never have to adjust to the financial loss, as we have a level playing field, playing with crack head bosses minds, , that is actually a game that most twitch streamers play, didi you know australia banned all online games, that have the boss on crack, and we are the detectives ot solve a puzzle to free society,, lol couls you imagine, if australian govermement freed up all these games that americans play that devolge the identity of their local crack dealer, as head of the company, lol, we in australia never had the freedom to call our politicians crak heads as it is against the law to expose a crack head,, and is 50 years in jail for effecting the ponzi scheme , the economy is dependenat on the crack, windfall, the crack economy was even profitteered during australain lockdown, a politicians even flew a plane of crakc into australai to keep the dying crack economy alive, cos our instutions of law, and court houses cant work without crack, , who in their right mind would dentence a person to 50 years in jail for drititng fanficiton about their crack ponzi australian scheme, itw would explse thier crack ponzi scheme if they had to do a cout case, where the same lawyers on crack have to defend their right ot crack on the stand in front of the King of England, you know i just realised now the money has king charles and the law courts are for King Charles,

lol, could you imagine the crack crackdown when king charles is in charge,

king charles doesnt take no shit

i wish all affluent people who are in college and make nonstop jokes about being poor a very understand that poverty is not a temporary condition

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newstfionline · 7 months ago

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Saturday, May 11, 2024

The U.S. is now Germany’s biggest trading partner—taking over from China (CNBC) After years of China being Germany’s main trading partner, the U.S. looks like it’s quietly taking that top spot as the year progresses. Combined exports and imports between Germany and the U.S. totaled 63 billion euros ($68 billion) between January and March on 2024. Meanwhile, trade between Germany and China came to just below 60 billion euros, according to CNBC calculations. China has been Germany’s biggest trading partner for years, but the gap between China and the U.S. narrowed in recent years. The U.S. has also long been a bigger market for German exports than China, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, told CNBC. While the U.S. share of German exports had been growing in recent years, China’s has been decreasing, he noted. “The Chinese economy is stuttering and German companies are facing stiffer competition from subsidised Chinese firms,” Schmieding said.

How 360,000 Haitians Wound Up Living in Empty Lots and Crowded Schools (NYT) Hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti are on the run from rampant gang violence and have abandoned their homes, a worsening humanitarian crisis that the United Nations describes as “cataclysmic.” Masses of homeless families dodging gang members who burned down their houses and killed their neighbors have taken over dozens of schools, churches and even government buildings. Many places have no running water, flushing toilets or garbage pickup. The lucky ones are sleeping on a friend’s sofa. “There are kids at my camp who have no parents,” said Agenithe Jean, 39, who left her home in the Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in August for an improvised camp in an empty lot about six miles away. “We need latrines. We need somewhere to go.” At least 360,000 people—more than half of them in the capital or surrounding neighborhoods—have fled their homes in Haiti over the past year.

Brazilian horse stranded on a roof by floods is rescued after stirring the nation (ABC News) A Brazilian horse nicknamed Caramelo by social media users garnered national attention after a television news helicopter filmed him stranded on a rooftop in southern Brazil, where massive floods have killed more than 100 people. About 24 hours after he was first spotted and with people clamoring for his rescue, a team in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state on Thursday successfully removed Caramelo, providing a dose of hope to a beleaguered region. The brown horse had been balancing on two narrow strips of slippery asbestos for days in Canoas, a city in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area that is one of the hardest-hit areas in the state, much of which has been isolated by floodwaters.

Argentina labor unions’ 24-hour strike against President Milei paralyzes daily life (AP) Argentina’s biggest trade unions mounted one of their fiercest challenges to the libertarian government of President Javier Milei, staging a mass general strike on Thursday that led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and halted key bus, rail and subway lines. Main avenues and streets, as well as major transportation terminals were left eerily empty. Most teachers couldn’t make it to school and parents kept their children at home. Trash collectors walked off the job—as did health workers, except for those in emergency rooms. The 24-hour strike against Milei’s painful austerity measures and contentious deregulation push threatened to bring the nation of 46 million to a standstill as banks, businesses and state agencies also closed in protest. Thursday’s action marked the second nationwide union strike since Milei came to power last December, slashing spending, laying off government workers, and freezing all public works projects in a bid to rescue Argentina from its worst financial crisis in two decades.

British economy rebounds in first quarter of the year (AP) The British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a “technical recession”, official figures showed Friday. The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period. It comes after two quarters of modest declines, which in the U.K. is defined as a recession. Despite the quarterly increase, the British economy has barely grown over the past year. It has been hobbled by interest rates at 16-year highs of 5.25%.

What Happens When a Happening Place Becomes Too Hot (NYT) Packed bars with carousing revelers spilling onto clogged streets. Takeaway booze swigged by drunken tourists and students. Earsplitting volumes in once quiet residential neighborhoods long after midnight. When Milan’s authorities embarked years ago on plans to promote the city as a buzzy destination by building on its reputation as Italy’s hip fashion and design capital, the resulting noise and rowdy overcrowding were perhaps not quite what they had in mind. Now, after years of complaints and a series of lawsuits, the city has passed an ordinance to strictly limit the sale of takeaway food and beverages after midnight—and not much later on weekends—in “movida” areas, a Spanish term that Italians have adopted to describe outdoor nightlife. It will go into effect next week and be in force until Nov. 11. Outdoor seating for restaurants and bars will also end at 12:30 a.m. on weekdays, and an hour later on weekends, so that people who want to party longer will have to do so indoors.

Ukraine orders electricity rationing after Russian airstrikes (Washington Post) On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said the country would begin electricity-rationing measures in response to a series of Russian airstrikes that hit Ukrainian power infrastructure. State energy provider Ukrenergo said that brownouts “are possible throughout Ukraine” overnight due to a “shortage of electricity in the power system.” “Restrictions will be evenly distributed across all regions,” said the power provider. According to DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, the shelling marked “the fifth massive shelling of the company’s energy facilities in the last one and a half months.”

Civilian casualties rise in Myanmar’s civil war as resistance forces tighten noose around military (AP) Six months into an offensive against Myanmar ‘s military government, opposition forces have made massive gains, but civilian casualties are rising sharply as regime troops increasingly turn toward scorched-earth tactics in the Southeast Asian country’s bitter civil war. There is pressure on all fronts from powerful militias drawn from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups and newer resistance forces. Troops are retaliating with air, naval and artillery strikes on hospitals and other facilities where the opposition could be sheltered or aided. “When the mass of people rise up against them, I think it terrifies them,” said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid organization that has provided assistance to both combatants and civilians in Myanmar since the 1990s. “They know that hospitals, churches, schools and monasteries are important places for human care, and gathering, and symbols—and they hammer them,” said Eubank. “That’s new.” Thet Swe, a spokesman for the military government, denied that troops were targeting buildings and areas where civilians were sheltering, blaming their destruction instead on the opposition forces, without citing evidence.

U.N. General Assembly Adopts Resolution Supporting Palestinian Statehood (NYT/WSJ) The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full-member status at the United Nations, a highly symbolic move that reflects growing global solidarity with Palestinians and is a rebuke to Israel and the United States. The resolution was approved by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 nations abstaining. The Assembly broke into a big applause after the vote. The United States voted no, saying that recognition of Palestinian statehood should be achieved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Anger and frustration at the United States has been brewing for months among many senior U.N. officials and diplomats, including allies such as France, because Washington has repeatedly blocked cease-fire resolutions at the Security Council and has staunchly supported Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, even as humanitarian suffering has mounted. Israel stated that the resolution’s passage “will not change anything on the ground” in Gaza. On Friday, Israeli forces captured the main road dividing eastern and western Rafah, effectively encircling the eastern part of the city. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that nearly 110,000 people have fled Rafah since Monday, many of them escaping to Khan Younis, only to face another city that has been devastated by war and is still coming under Israeli bombardment. On Thursday and overnight Friday, the Israeli military carried out deadly airstrikes in Khan Younis as well as in the northern areas of Gaza City and the Jabalya camp.

Netanyahu on US threat to withhold arms: Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails’ if needed (AP) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a U.S. threat to withhold some arms would not prevent Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza, indicating it might proceed with an invasion of the packed city of Rafah against the wishes of its closest ally. President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to go ahead with such an operation over fears it would exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian enclave. On Wednesday, he said the United States would not provide offensive weapons for a Rafah offensive, raising pressure on Netanyahu. But in a statement released Thursday, Netanyahu said “if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails.” Israel’s top military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, also appeared to downplay the practical impact of any arms holdup. “The army has munitions for the missions it plans, and for the missions in Rafah, too—we have what we need,” he said in response to a question at a news conference.

Another enemy of Israel: Debt (Bloomberg) Though in a stare-down with its biggest ally and arms supplier over the looming invasion of Rafah, Israel has another problem when it comes to the ongoing war with Hamas: debt. Israel has racked up a $16 billion bill after seven months of war, leaving its budget deficit on a path to calamity absent government action. As the war’s financial toll grows, Israel is on track to run one of its widest budget deficits this century. Expenditure surged almost 36% in the first four months of 2024 from the same period a year earlier, of which roughly two-thirds went toward defense outlays.

Brain complexity (nature.com, lichtmanlabs.fas.harvard.edu) Researchers have mapped a tiny piece of the human brain in astonishing detail. The resulting cell atlas, which was described today in Science and is available online, reveals new patterns of connections between brain cells called neurons. The 3D map covers a volume of about one cubic millimeter, one-millionth of a whole brain, and contains roughly 57,000 cells and 150 million synapses—the connections between neurons. It incorporates a colossal 1.4 petabytes of data. “It’s a little bit humbling,” says Viren Jain, a neuroscientist at Google in Mountain View, California, and a co-author of the paper. “How are we ever going to really come to terms with all this complexity?” Jain’s team built artificial-intelligence models that were able to stitch the microscope images together to reconstruct the whole sample in 3D. “I remember this moment, going into the map and looking at one individual synapse from this woman’s brain, and then zooming out into these other millions of pixels,” says Jain. “It felt sort of spiritual.”

#headlines #news

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blackownersseekingsuccess · 8 months ago

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From Capitalism to Revolution: Understanding Haiti's Economic Struggles with the Film 'Madan Sara'

by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.

The documentary from Etant Dupain, Madan Sara (2021), foregrounds the hard-working women at the heart of Haiti’s economy. I had the chance to see the documentary when it screened at Medgar Evers College on February 5, 2024, followed by a Q&A with the film’s co-executive producer, Lulaine Childs. The issues raised by the film resonated deeply at this moment, as Haiti faces a new crisis and the hard-won stability of the Madan Sara is threatened. The film is entirely in Haitian Creole and features one-on-one interviews, archival footage from Haitian revolts, and television news footage from the uprisings that have taken place in Haiti in recent years that have negatively impacted the country.

I was deeply impressed with the documentary and I felt empathy for the Madam Sara community. Because of the similarities in the African Diasporic experience, I connect to their experience in Haiti as if it were my own in the United States, although we were divided geographically through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. I hope that everyone has a chance to view this film and that it sparks discourse around the Madan Sara and the ongoing struggle for national autonomy in Haiti. It’s a conversation that is centuries in the making and needs, more than ever, to be had. To learn more about the film and the “Madan Sara,” I caught up with the film’s co-executive producer, Lulaine Childs.

Levi Wise-Catoe: Hi Lulaine! Could you please explain what the film Madan Sara is about and who the “Madan Sara” are?

Lulaine Childs: The women known as Madan Sara in Haiti work tirelessly to buy, distribute, and sell food and other essentials in markets throughout the country. Despite the obstacles faced by the women working in a sector that lacks investment, infrastructure, and state assistance, the Madan Sara continues to be one of the most critical parts of the Haitian economy and of who we are as a country. The Madan Sara documentary tells the stories of these indefatigable women who work at the margins to make Haiti’s economy run. Despite facing intense hardship and social stigma, the hard work of the Madan Sara puts their children through school, houses their families, and helps to ensure a better life for generations to come. This film amplifies the calls of the Madan Sara as they speak directly to society to share their dreams for a more just Haiti.

LWC: I loved the movie. What was your filmmaking process like? Was it an easy process or was it difficult? And if it was easy or difficult, how?

LC: Independent filmmaking is always a difficult process because funds are limited and time is of the essence. For this film, it wasn’t a particularly hard process because Etant, Tina, Natalie, Wesly, and the rest of the team really did the heavy lifting. I think having a good team in place is key to making the process easier because doing this alone would be very difficult even for the most seasoned filmmaker.

LWC: In the film, Haiti is depicted as a community held together by strong Black women and by Black women’s entrepreneurship. Do you feel that is something that connects to the Black community in the US as well, where the Black community is often held together by strong Black women?

LC: I think it’s a common thread among the African diaspora. The strong Black woman has been and continues to be the “poto-mitan” of the society [note: the “poto-mitan” is a pillar that is found as the central architectural feature of Haitian vodou temples]. Nothing moves without their participation. A lot of times the leadership of men is talked about and heralded. Oftentimes, Black women still have a hard time getting heard, although it has gotten better over the years. You find them being the head of a lot of households, they are the ones who are doing the organizing, and sometimes they are the faces of certain movements. Without the women being as strong as they are, Black communities all over the world would be in a state of chaos.

LWC: What is the message that you would like for people to walk away with after viewing your film?

LC: The Madan Sara, like all women who do their work in the global south, deserve to be praised and the issues that affect them need to be handled so the countries can move forward. Despite all the odds, the Madan Sara have been able to feed their families, put their kids through school, and maintain their lifestyle. However, in these modern times, Haiti as well as other countries where women do this work should find a way to help lighten the burden they carry doing the work. Things like health insurance, property insurance for their merchandise, safe streets, access to credit, clean workspaces, and adequate bathroom facilities at the market, are just some of the things that should be in place for them.

LWC: As a Haitian-American, do you feel more Haitian or American? Which culture defines your character, being Haitian or being a U.S.-American from Brooklyn?

LC: I’m definitely more American from Brooklyn, but the more I learn about Haiti it gives me a better sense of self, if that makes sense. I have come to integrate certain aspects of the culture to my lifestyle.

LWC: How does the strife in Haiti affect you?

LC: Personally, it doesn’t really affect me. My ties to Haiti are limited. However, I do have some colleagues and contemporaries from Haiti I work with, and through them and the news I get an understanding of how bad it is. People have basically had their lives upended because certain people in the country want to keep it on its knees. Anywhere black people are suffering whether it be Congo or Haiti, it’s a terrible situation. Even the situation in Palestine specifically with what’s happening in Gaza and what happened in Israel on October 7th, human suffering is a terrible burden to deal with.

LWC: How do you think your film may change the negative perception that people may have regarding Haiti? Haitians?

LC: I think after seeing the film people will learn something new about Haiti. I also think the film humanizes the Haitian woman who is working as a Madan Sara. When people read or watch the news, they may see a woman selling food in the public market and think nothing of it. I think after watching this film and really getting an idea of what this woman has to do to feed her family, it will give them a different idea of the country and its people.

LWC: In your own words, could you tell the audience of Musings blog why they should all go watch your film Madan Sara?

LC: I think the audience should see Madan Sara because they may learn something new about Haiti. Madan Sara is a different story from the usual stories of disaster and chaos that tend to circulate about the country. While most of those stories are about current events, stories about people like the Madan Sara exist and deserve to be told.

LWC: How do Haiti’s problems and social disorder affect the whole African Diaspora? Are we all impacted by the political rebellion taking place in Haiti? And how difficult was it for you to include gang warfare in your film?

LC: Haiti is arguably the greatest symbol of Black power in the world. Once the country declared its independence by defeating the French and keeping the other world powers at bay, it was a signal to the entire world—especially black people—that freedom and independence were attainable. However, since that time Haiti has suffered for it. Part of it could be a conspiracy by world powers to make Haiti look bad, as some would suggest. I think there are a lot of things happening at the same time. Corruption, bad and weak governance, the lack of true relationships with other countries, the inability to grow the economy, and the unfettered presence of NGOS, in my opinion, have all worked to put Haiti in its current state. I also think part of the disorder is due to the long-lasting impact of slavery and colonialism throughout the African diaspora. I think there are still things we are learning about how slavery was and the mental impact it had on our people. In addition, I think the very real emotional, mental, and physical trauma still rears its ugly head even in the ways we act and how the outside world views the African diaspora. That is the reason unity and economic independence are always talked about, but never really materialize.

LWC: How do you feel regarding current news about the Haitian gangs’ war against law enforcement and the freeing of Haitian prisoners? And how does this affect Black people in the U.S. who are also dealing with our own mass incarceration?

LC: The situation in Haiti continues to get worse because of the insecurity in the country due to the elected officials and others in their positions not doing their work. A situation like a prison break isn’t new in Haiti, but obviously, it is a terrible occurrence on top of the recent events taking place in the country. It just adds to the narrative of the country being chaotic, but it took years to get to this state. A lot of people abdicated their responsibility while in power or were just corrupt officials using their positions and their resources to cause damage to the country. As far as Black people in the U.S. it just gives those who already have negative ideas about us somewhere they can point their finger, making it seem like there is a simple answer. Those same people will ignore everything that came before and the effect it had which may lead to a situation like what’s taking place in Haiti. Corruption, the institutionalization of bad ideas, and the abdication of responsibility by those in power, all play huge roles in the mass incarceration of Black people.

LWC: What film are you working on now?

LC: We are working on a comedy film called Mainland. We are also working on a documentary about the 1974 Haitian World Cup team. We are also helping other filmmakers promote and distribute their projects. One of them is a short film called N’AP Boule by Alexandrine Benjamin, a filmmaker from Haiti.

LWC: Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies, and best of luck in everything that you are working on. I look forward to your further success. Finally, as a filmmaker myself, I am interested if you are also utilizing the film competition route, which helps to build exposure and accolades.

LC: Yes, with this specific film, we entered different film festivals and won some awards. However, we didn't want to stay in that loop. For documentaries, a lot of the time the different distribution companies that work in the space tend to have a formulaic way of marketing the film, and the ones that approached us about distribution I felt weren't going to do a good job. So we decided to keep it ourselves and work on the film on our own. We have had a lot of success so far, we are just going to keep going with it.

LWC: Is there anything further that you would like to pass on as far as how someone may be able to find any additional information regarding your film?

LC: Not a problem, we have a website; feel free to use any additional information regarding the story: https://www.madansarafilm.com/

The media plays a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the Black narrative that affects the way Black people are viewed around the world – and this time, journalists must get it right. BOSS is committed to doing so, but we can only do it with reader support.

Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.

Editor, BOSS

#haiti crisis #black literature #black entrepreneurship #black history #free haiti #haitian #world news #news

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strapskinkstories · 8 months ago

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Mar 29 2024 - Where’s the content? WHERES THE FUNDING! WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF FUNDING!

theres been no new content because there’s a funding crisis. Provisional talks are in progress with an angel funder who might save strappyskinks from going belly up due to lack of funding.

That all said. One angel investor can’t float me forever.

See this? You can actually donate towards my clothing food electric internet phone and other things eligible to be paid from my disability trust account.

Before you ask: can gear come from the trust account?

Answer:YES! - Gear is classified either as clothing not otherwise specified or sensory therapy equipment not otherwise specified.

Ultimate dream is for this trust account to explode one day. How is it findoms can get a damn Lamborghini and have people constantly fill its tank and get them sushi and Starbucks when I can’t even complete one of my basic life goals Pay off the house so me and my caregiver can live in peace without worrying about busting ourselves or ending up out of runway to run the business. StrappysKinks is very much technically a business. Even though the product is free. I create content, written video and photographic as well as AI generated entertainment art.

All that content has *intrinsic value* that intrinsic value so you are all aware. Per video. The intrinsic value of an approximately 50 minute bondage video of Amateur/ProAm (I consider myself ProAm at the actual gear stuff. Still kinda amateur on the camera work cut me some slack, I’m working on zero funding right now! Read: out of pocket funding from my already paltry social security) costs pay per view $20.99 YOU PEOPLE HAVE OVER 50 OF SUCH VIDEOS FREE! That’s over $2,500 OF VIDEO CONTENT PER PERSON THAT IS FREE! 100 views would usually = $2,099 if I were running hard core PAY PER VIEW.

I don’t. Because I think paysites suck. And I also think JFF onlyfans all that sucks.

But let me continue. Then there’s my thousands of stories and now my anesthesia stories. Per document a story typically is about $1-$5 let’s just assume I’ve written 5000 stories and documents to keep shit simple. That is again $5000 of content PER PERSON THAT IS FREELY AVAILABLE. AS FREE AS GATDAMN LINUX! Now let’s talk about my image library. It’s on Flickr and spans 14,000 images. Typically a photo set in a paysite is like $10.99 so a little division aaaand the math comes out to… 466 image sets or a value of $4,660 PER PERSON FREELY ACCESSIBLE. It’s late. I can’t math right now. I’m too upset but when I just smash those numbers together and total them up you get. As a single viewer. If you access all of my social medias and my Flickr and use my XHamster. $15,000 of content FOR FREE!!!

I cannot continue as the American economy shoots disabled people in the foot and also screws over low income LGBTQ folks to produce content for free. Something has to change.

Either I have to shut down production. Whoa. Holy fuck.

I didn’t expect the outcry to be so intense. It wasn’t even outcry on Twitter.

The telegram group members went into total open outcry status.

Ok. So. Shutting down production is not an option.

Sustaining production at current funding levels is impossible. Especially considering I just lost $120 per month of government funds thanks to reckless cuts on food stamps and the affordable connectivity program being recklessly ended by a Congress that I can only politely describe as a pile of diarrhea dung from a deathly ill cow with mad cow disease.

So. This is not a tribute me. This isn’t a fucking pay up call.

This is a do me a favor.

Look at yourself in the mirror.

Think about how many times you’ve probably jacked off looking at my videos or photos. Then think about how much time money and gear it takes to make that entertainment material go from here to your screen. I want my 3000 something followers (as I am carbon copying this onto Twitter Etc as well) Do the following

1. Self reflect on your consumption of my media. You owe it to chip a dollar or two in if you’ve done so much as listened to a minute or two of my video. An average street musician gets a hundred dollars a day if they are in a good area. If you’ve watched my videos and you’ve done nothing not even liked them retweeted them or thought about donating them. Are you really being a sustainable consumer? Sustainable consumers support the creators who provide them content. If they can’t give financial support at the least hit the goddamned retweet button. It is not hard! One tap or click ffs!

2. ITS TAX DEDUCTIBLE! (Not sure if you can deduct for 2023 still. But you can deduct it on your 2024 taxes.) So instead of sending money to the fat cats at some national charity where the executives take multimillion dollar paychecks IM LOOKING AT YOU YA MOTHERFUCKERS AUTISM SPEAKS. WE DONT WANT A CURE RESEARCHED AND WE DONT NEED YOUR DAMN BIG HONKY TONK GALAS ON TV EITHER.

3. Realize that if funding doesn’t change in the next 20 days. Immediate cutbacks will begin and by 2026 StrapsKinks will entirely stop filming, photographing, producing AI art, and writing stories as all funding will be exhausted and instead of engaging in kink I’ll have to start selling off gear and computer equipment as we do last ditch efforts to make ends meet before ending up in a shitty apartment rental again or worse homeless. So yeah. Thanks everyone. Thanks for almost a decade of consume consume consume. All without giving back a damn dime. Hopefully this makes things start changing and before the first April 21 cutoff. If funding doesn’t increase by April 21 Twitter stories will permanently cease and the StrappysKinks website will be slated for destruction. If funding doesn’t increase by June gear purchases from Bronco and other planned vendors will be postponed and or canceled If by December funding does not increase there will likely be no further new gear acquisitions and if equipment breaks it won’t be replaced. If by January 2025 nothing changes. All Twitter accounts and the Tumblr will be deleted. The Flickr account will be deleted. The website will be erased in preparation for the October 2025 termination of the StrappysKinks services. At that time anyone who has my contact details will know me and those left in the community simply won’t. At that point I’ll just disappear off of social media and take all my stuff down.

Because guess what.

I’m not leaving $15,000 of content available for free if I go bankrupt. So sit down. Think about what you people are doing to small creators especially those with disabilities and think. Do you want to see StrapsKinks go bankrupt.

The fate rests in your hands folks. This is a publicly funded venture technically. Public funding from the federal and private……. Yeah that’s the problem. Nobody done fuckin stepped up to actually do the funding. Let’s hope this funder that is on the lines actually comes through because if he does his single round could set us back onto at least able to sustain current production even if it does mean slowing down gear purchases. That said. If new funding lines are not received by January 2025 *STRAPPYSKINKS WILL GO BANKRUPT*

#Sfw blog #funding crisis

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outspirk · 4 months ago

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Hey let me level with you for a second!! if your first instinct upon reading a post such as these in which people in the tags are discussing not having things like a washing machine or air conditioner is saying "but the united states isn't really rich!!" it may be advisable to touch grass and reflect for a minute.

Let me be truly completely honest about my situation, something I'd normally strongly advise against doing on the internet. What can I say about Argentina. It's a nice place to be in, even if the economy has been constantly crumbling since before I was born. I like it here. I like my life. I'm 23 with a degree on visual arts working full time at a marketing agency. I'm not even legally employed, which is estimated to be the case of 60% of our working population. so technically speaking I have no rights. 60% of our workers have no rights. This is completely normalized. I make the equivalent to $360 us dollars a month. This is more than double the minimum wage. It's lower than I'd like and less than I deserve to make, recognized by my employer himself. I'm managing just fine though! I live in a spacious house with my 4 people family. I'm really lucky to do so. Most people my age live with their parents, some with their parents' parents. It's normal! It's a cultural thing!! My friends who don't live with their parents have roommates as well. having roommates is not seen as being poor in the current state of affairs (housing crisis!!), living on your own would be rich shit.

Sure, there are rich people here, as there are everywhere! one percenters, five percenters, people who lucked out... but the economic recession is not a thing that is only happening in the united states. Just because you're looking at Europe and go "well they seem to be doing fine so it must be a USA thing" doesn't make it so. And I would hardly peg argentina as one of the worst cases, inflation and all. People in countries like Sudan are still enslaved working in mines for scraps.

The fucking. broken down dishwasher is just a metaphor for wealth disparity between regions. And as certain people pointed out this also happens within the US's states and towns, as within argentinian provinces and cities. I'm not pointing fingers and saying usamericans are rich but when you look at the numbers I think the imbalance is pretty clear

I don't think you guys realize but as a latinoamerican I have never met a person with a dishwasher who wasn't rich so every time you talk about the dishwasher I'm like holy shit my mutual is fucking loaded

#just to clarify I'm not saying this to inspire pity on me I'm literally cool with the place i am in atm. but like stop saying innocent shit #goddamn please. it's only 2pm

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thxnews · 1 year ago

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Mansion House speech

My Lord Mayor, Governor, Ladies and Gentlemen – it is an honour to be with you at the Mansion House tonight. While some may be distracted by events in Windsor, we all know that Walbrook is the place to be this evening. Thank you to the City of London Corporation for hosting us so generously. It is a privilege to follow the Lord Mayor’s excellent address and to give my first Mansion House speech as Chancellor. Tonight, I want to talk about long-term reforms to our competitiveness, but let me start with the immediate challenge of tackling inflation. Following the pandemic and energy shock, like other countries, the UK faces difficult challenges. It has shown itself more resilient than many predicted, but that resilience is itself one of the reasons for higher inflation. In a cost-of-living crisis, that leads to great concern for many families who see the cost of their weekly food shop or the price of petrol go up. But with the levers of fiscal and monetary policy, wholesale food and energy prices falling and a government that has made the battle against inflation its number one priority, there is nothing insurmountable in the current situation. Let me be clear again tonight. Working with the Bank, we will do what is necessary for as long as necessary to tackle inflation persistence and bring it back to the 2% target. Delivering sound money is our number one focus. That means taking responsible decisions on public finances, including public sector pay because more borrowing is itself inflationary. It means recognising that bringing down inflation puts more money into people’s pockets than any tax cut. And it means recognising that there can be no sustainable growth without eliminating the inflation that deters investment and erodes consumer confidence. Tackling inflation, therefore, unlocks the Prime Minister’s two other economic priorities – growing our economy and reducing debt – but because it is a prerequisite for both, it must come first. As we tackle inflation, we must always remember our responsibilities to those struggling the most, so I am therefore grateful to our banks and mortgage lenders for their help in developing last month’s Mortgage Charter. I agree with the Governor that margin recovery benefits no one if it feeds inflation. And I will continue to work with regulators to make sure the needs of families are prioritised in a tough period. This evening, though, I want to look further ahead. I want to lay out our plans to enable our financial services sector to increase returns for pensioners, improve outcomes for investors and unlock capital for our growth businesses. We start from a position of strength. The financial and related professional services industry employs over 2.5 million people. Although two-thirds of them are outside the South-East, it has made London the world’s second-largest financial centre and one of the most dynamic cities on the planet. It generates more than £100 billion in tax revenue, paying for half the cost of running the NHS. A strong City needs a successful economy, and a strong economy needs a successful City. Recent challenges have led to some losing hope and even peddling a declinist narrative. They are profoundly wrong. I am proud that since 2010, we have one million more businesses and one million fewer unemployed. And we’ve grown faster than France, Italy, Japan or Germany. In the last decade we have become Europe’s largest life science sector, Europe’s largest technology sector, its biggest film and TV sector and its second-largest clean energy sector. But as we emerge from our current challenges, the Prime Minister and I have big ambitions for the British economy. We want to be the world’s next Silicon Valley and a science superpower, embracing new technologies like AI in a way that brings together the skills of our financiers, entrepreneurs and scientists to make our country a force for good in the world. That means making sure our financial services sector, traditionally so nimble and agile, has the right architecture to provide the best possible security for investors as well as capital for businesses, and the best talent right here in the UK to make that happen. The structures put in place after the financial crisis have served us well and financial stability will always be our top priority. But we can further improve the functioning of capital markets, so this evening I set out the government’s Mansion House reforms. They build on the Edinburgh Reforms I announced in December and the vision for financial services which the now Prime Minister spoke about here in 2021 of an open, sustainable, innovative and globally competitive sector. Firstly, I am announcing a series of measures to boost returns and improve outcomes for pension fund holders whilst increasing funding liquidity for high-growth companies. Second, I will set out ways to incentivise companies to start and grow in the UK by strengthening our position as a listings destination. And finally, we will reform and simplify our financial services rulebook to ensure we have the most growth-friendly regulation possible without compromising our commitment to stability.

Pensions

I begin with pensions. The UK has the largest pension market in Europe, worth over £2.5 trillion. It plays a critical role in providing safe retirement income as part of the social contract between generations. Government policy, such as autoenrollment, has strengthened it but so too has confidence in the expertise of our financial institutions to manage investments wisely. However, currently, we have a perverse situation in which UK institutional investors are not investing as much in UK high-growth companies as their international counterparts. At the same time on their current trajectory, some defined contribution schemes may not provide the returns their pension fund holders expect or need. Whilst many defined benefit funds are in surplus, their returns are lower than some international peers and some are still underfunded. So alongside our outstanding Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith and brilliant Pensions Minister Laura Trott, I have engaged with some of our largest pension schemes, insurers, asset managers and experts to put together tonight’s Mansion House reforms. I am also immensely grateful to Sir Jon Symonds and Sir Steve Webb for their advice on how to construct this package. And I’m also very grateful to Gwyneth Nurse and her brilliant team in the Treasury. Gwyneth is of course the real Chancellor as we Official Chancellors come and go. Tonight I lay out the direction of travel. Sometimes consultations will be necessary, but all final decisions will be made ahead of the Autumn Statement later this year. And as we make those decisions, I will be guided by three golden rules. Firstly everything we do we will seek to secure the best possible outcomes for pension savers, with any changes to investment structures putting their needs first and foremost. Secondly, we will always prioritise a strong and diversified gilt market. It will be an evolutionary not revolutionary change to our pensions market. Those who invest in our gilts are helping to fund vital public services and any changes must recognise the important role they play. The third golden rule is that the decisions we take must always strengthen the UK’s competitive position as a leading financial centre able to fund, through the wealth it creates, our precious public services. I start with Defined Contribution pension schemes, which in the UK now invest under 1% in unlisted equity, compared to between 5 and 6% in Australia. Today I am pleased to announce that the Lord Mayor and I joined the CEOs of many of our largest DC pension schemes – namely Aviva, Scottish Widows, L&G, Aegon, Phoenix, Nest, Smart Pension, M&G & Mercer – for the formal signing of the “Mansion House Compact”. The Compact – which is a great personal triumph for the Lord Mayor - commits these DC funds, which represent around two-thirds of the UK’s entire DC workplace market, to the objective of allocating at least 5% of their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030. If the rest of the UK’s DC market follows suit, this could unlock up to £50 billion of investment into high-growth companies by that time. Secondly, we know funds can only optimise returns from a balanced portfolio if they have the scale to do so. We will therefore facilitate a programme of DC consolidation, to ensure that funds are able to maintain a diverse portfolio of bonds, equity and unlisted assets and deliver the best possible returns for savers. Tomorrow, the Department for Work and Pensions will publish its joint consultation response with the Pensions Regulator and the FCA on the Value For Money framework, clarifying that investment decisions should be made on the basis of long-term returns and not simply cost. Pension schemes which are not achieving the best possible outcome for their members will face being wound up by the Pensions Regulator. We will also set out a roadmap to encourage Collective DC funds, a new type of pension fund which we believe holds great promise for the future. Third, we need to ensure that all schemes have access to a wide range of investment vehicles that enable them to invest quickly and effectively in unlisted high-growth companies. We have launched the LIFTS competition and will consider closely the bids that have already started to come in for up to £250 million of government support. Alongside that, we will explore the case for government to play a greater role in establishing investment vehicles, building on the skills and expertise of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm which has helped to mobilise £15bn of capital into over 20,000 companies. Ahead of Autumn Statement, we will test options to open those investment opportunities in high-growth companies to pension funds as a way of crowding in more investment. I now move on to Defined Benefit schemes which number over 5000 and operate under a different regulatory regime. Their landscape is also too fragmented. I recognise the important role played by insurers offering buy-out schemes, which will continue to be an essential part of the way we improve security for pension members in this market. But in addition, we will set out our plans on introducing a permanent superfund regulatory regime to provide sponsoring employers and trustees with a new scaled-up way of managing DB liabilities. Having engaged closely with a range of experts, we will launch a call for evidence tomorrow on the role of the PPF and the part DB schemes play in productive investment - whilst always being mindful of the second golden rule to protect the sound functioning and effectiveness of the gilt market. Fifth, we will look at the culture of investment decisions and improve the understanding of pension trustees’ fiduciary duty across both DB and DC schemes. DWP and HMT will jointly launch a call for evidence to explore how we can overcome barriers and ensure a focus on good saver outcomes. And finally, the government must lead by example, so we will consult on accelerating the consolidation of Local Government Pension Scheme assets, with a deadline of March 2025 for all LGPS funds to transfer their assets into local government pension pools and ensure greater transparency on investments. To make sure we are delivering the maximum benefits of scale, we will invite views on barriers to achieving better investment returns across the LGPS as well as setting a direction that each asset pool should exceed £50 billion of assets. We will also consult on an ambition to double the existing local government pension scheme allocations in private equity to 10%, which could unlock a further £25 billion by 2030. Today’s announcements could have a real and significant impact on people across the country. For an average earner who starts saving at 18, these measures could increase the size of their pension pot by 12% over their career - that’s worth over £1,000 more a year in retirement. At the same time, this package has the potential to unlock an additional £75 billion of financing for growth by 2030, finally addressing the shortage of scale-up capital holding back so many of our most promising companies. Increasing borrowing through £28 billion a year of unfunded spending commitments, as some are suggesting, would entrench inflation and push up interest rates. These reforms, conversely, unlock capital from the private sector delivering growth not by subsidy, but by increasing support for entrepreneurs and investors who take risks to create long-term value.

Listings

I now move on to listings. The UK has the largest stock market in Europe and in 2021 attracted the most global IPOs of any stock market outside the US. But between 1997 and 2019, there was a 44% decline in the number of domestic listed companies in the UK, part of a wider trend across Western markets, with the US and France seeing even steeper falls. I want the world’s fastest-growing companies to grow and list right here, making LSE not just Europe’s NASDAQ but much more. As David Schwimmer and Julia Hoggett say, we want it to be the global capital for capital. So today we are publishing draft legislation on prospectus reforms, delivering another milestone of Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review. This will create a more effective regime than its EU predecessor, giving companies the flexibility to raise larger sums from investors more quickly. The government welcomes Rachel Kent’s excellent Investment Research Review published today and has accepted all recommendations made to it. We, therefore, welcome the FCA’s commitment to start immediate engagement with the market to inform any rule changes on removing the requirement to unbundle research costs by the first half of next year. This will ensure we are better able to fund quality research into the new Silicon Valley sectors. Last week, we abolished protectionist rules inherited from our time in the EU such as the Share Trading Obligation and Double Volume Cap so UK businesses can now access the best and most liquid markets anywhere in the world. And, in a highly innovative step which represents a global first, we will establish a pioneering new “intermittent trading venue” that will improve private companies' access to capital markets before they publicly list. This will be up and running before the end of 2024 and put the UK at the forefront of capital market innovation.

Smart regulation

Finally, behind all those plans must sit a financial services sector ready to innovate faster with regulators willing to support them as they do. We have one of the most robust regulatory regimes and some of the best regulators in the world. Brexit gives us the autonomy to put their skills to even better use as we seek to become leaders in the industries of the future. So I am delighted that we have just last month passed into law the landmark Financial Services and Markets Act, which will ensure our regulators have an appropriate focus on growth and competitiveness alongside their wider responsibilities. The Act also unlocks wholesale reform of our approach to regulation and today I can announce that we are commencing repeal of almost 100 pieces of unnecessary retained EU law, further simplifying our rulebook whilst retaining our high regulatory standards. Alongside this, last month I was delighted to sign the new UK-EU financial services Memorandum of Understanding as we build a new relationship with our European partners. We are working closely with the Bank of England to reflect on lessons from recent events to ensure the UK has the best possible arrangements in place to improve continuity of access to deposits when a bank fails even if it is not a systemically important one. And I want to make sure we remain at the forefront of payments technology. So I am launching an independent review into the future of payments - led by Joe Garner - to help deliver the next generation of world-class retail payments, including looking at mobile payments. We are laying new legislation to give regulators the powers they need to reform rules on innovative payments and fintech services, and, together with the Bank of England, we are exploring potential designs for the digital pound should we decide to introduce it.

Conclusion

My Lord Mayor, Governor, Ladies and Gentlemen. Pension industry and listings reforms, backed by smart regulation, to unlock better returns for savers and more growth capital for businesses. That is what today’s Mansion House reforms deliver. British growth driven by British financial firepower, providing higher living standards and better-funded public services. With cooperation between government, regulators and business closer than ever… … we will deliver not just more competitive financial services but a more innovative economy. More money for savers. More funding for our high-growth companies. And more investment to grow our economy. That is the vision I have set out today – let’s deliver it together. Thank you. Sources: THX News, HM Treasury & The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. Read the full article

#Capitalmarkets #Cost-of-livingcrisis #Definedcontributionschemes #Financialservicessector #Listingsandstockmarket #Long-termreformscompetitiveness #Pensionfundholders #Soundmoney #Sustainablegrowth #Tacklinginflation

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college-girl199328 · 2 years ago

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Lisa MacLeod is speaking out about her struggles with mental health and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder after taking a step back from politics last summer.

The Progressive Conservative MPP for Nepean spoke on TVO's The Agenda with host Steve Paikin about the years she dealt with the problems while soldiering on.

CBC News made multiple attempts to reach MacLeod but was unsuccessful. "I think it was probably during the minority parliament between 2011 and 2014, and the only reason I say that now is I recognize I was losing my hair and I was probably in a state of mania," she said.

"But I definitely knew between 2014 and 2016 I was dealing with depression." She said things came to a head in the first year after she became a cabinet minister, in June 2018.

"It took taking on a number of complex files that were very controversial," she recounted. She ended up being referred to The Ottawa Hospital and speaking with a psychiatrist, "dealing with a whole host of issues, which I'm still dealing with now."

About two weeks after being re-elected in June for the sixth time in her career — and on the same day she lost her cabinet post — MacLeod announced she was taking some time off to address her mental and physical health.

During the campaign, the Ontario NDP revealed MacLeod had received more than $44,000 in the form of an allowance from her Ottawa-area riding association over three years, including money to help pay for her housing.

Although it was legal, PC Leader Doug Ford said he was "frustrated" by it and would work with other party leaders to prevent the use of riding association funds for MPP allowances.

"After a couple of years, and in particular dealing with a very serious crisis during the election, it was really high time that I understood exactly what I had," she said.

"I knew it couldn't just be attributed to some of the trauma from around-the-clock police protection. My mood wasn't stable and I had some very serious thoughts of self-harm."

Trying to deal with her mental health during an election campaign was "the most terrible nightmare for a politician." I enjoyed my time in the cabinet, I enjoyed my time on the front bench in opposition.

"You're actually in the middle of an election campaign with your psychiatrist taking layers of you away and trying to depoliticize you as a politician." She said as minister of some of the hardest hit sectors of the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, coupled with the pressure of being an Ottawa politician during the Freedom Convoy protests, she wasn't sure if she had it in her to continue in her position.

"I wrote myself a letter on Feb. 23 and said I wouldn't run [in the 2022 election]," she wrote. But, she said, time just kept ticking by and she ended up running again.

"It was a very tough one — it was the toughest of my six," she said. "None of this was on my bingo card. It wasn't like, 'Oh yeah, let's spend our whole life, our family, sacrificing weekends and holidays just so in the middle of it all it'll blow up.'"

MacLeod said the help she received came from a team of people including family, doctors and specialists. However, even through that she said she had kept her sense of humour.

"I'm bipolar, or as Frank Sinatra would say, 18-karat manic depressive." She said she thought the diagnosis would be her "magic pill" but realized there was still work to do.

"Whatever they're planning to give me, in my case, lithium is just going to cure me. And then that doesn't work either, because, you know … it really is a cocktail that works for you and only you," she said.

"So over the last several months, it's been trying to find that right prescription or cocktail or medicine and quantity that will stabilize me and put me on the path to success."

She said the diagnosis has been tough on her family, especially her husband. "Joe is very involved in my electoral campaigns. He was actually the one who told my psychiatrist that I'd been living with this disorder, and he had seen it for many years and so it's been very difficult for him."

MacLeod said when she told her daughter about her diagnosis, she already knew. "She knew before I did, apparently," she said.

Though she was angry finding out she needed help with her mental health, MacLeod said she wants to focus on making sure people who need help get it. She said they shouldn't be held back by societal stigma.

"Someone who you think is strong and can do anything and is capable could be sick. … So maybe let's not judge people," she said. "It's OK not to be OK. Mental health is health."

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