BREAKING NEWS

Fifty years of tax cuts for rich did not trickle down – study concludes
The research comes at a crucial time as policy makers weigh up how pay for the coronavirus pandemic.

 by Jack Peat
December 16, 2020
in Business & Economics, Economics


A study of fiscal policies in 18 countries over 50 years has concluded that tax cuts for the rich do not trickle down and only really benefit individuals who are directly affected.

The paper, by David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King’s College London, found that slashing rates on high earners tends to breed inequality rather than address the route causes by stimulating business investment.

It is the latest research to discredit economic theories popularised by Ronald Reagan which have became widely adopted among Conservative and Republican parties.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of supporting the “most extreme” version of trickle-down economics with his tax plan, calling it “trumped-up trickle-down” as a pun on his name.

During the 2011 general election the UK’s Labour Party also used a video of New Zealand politician Damien O’Connor which described the fiscal policy as “the rich pissing on the poor”.

Commenting on the findings, Hope gave reassurances to Chancellor Rishi Sunak who may need to consider taxing the more well off in order to pay for the coronavirus crisis.

“Policy makers shouldn’t worry that raising taxes on the rich to fund the financial costs of the pandemic will harm their economies,” he said in an interview.

It would suggest the economy could weather a one-off 5 per cent tax on wealth suggested for Britain last week by the Wealth Tax Commission, which would affect about 8 million residents.

Ghost ship containing $80 million worth of cocaine washes up on Marshall Islands

Investigations found the 18ft. fiberglass vessel carrying what turns out to be the Pacific nation's largest-ever haul of cocaine

By Nina Siena December 17, 2020 09:06 GMT

A ghost ship containing 1,430 pounds of cocaine worth about $80 million ( £ 58.9 million ) washed up on a beach in the remote atoll of Ailuk in the Marshall Islands last week. A local resident noticed the abandoned ship drifting along the shoreline. Other islanders stepped in to try and guide the boat to shore. They were unsuccessful in doing so due to its weight.

Attorney General Richard Hickson said investigations found the 18ft. fibreglass vessel carrying what turns out to be the Pacific nation's largest-ever haul of cocaine. The ship is believed to have been drifting on the high seas for possibly about two years, riding currents across the Pacific from Central or South America.

Police investigators found 649 sealed bricks of cocaine hidden in a compartment beneath the deck, each weighing 1 kilo. The drug packages which were marked with the letters "KW", were incinerated on Tuesday. Authorities kept two packs from the load, which will then be handed over to the US Drug Enforcement Agency for analysis.

This is not the first instance where drugs have been found along the Marshall Islands shoreline. Ailuk has a total population of 400 and over the past two decades, numerous drug stashes have washed up on these shores but this most recent one was by far the largest haul. The area is reputed to be a major international drug trafficking route, CNN reported.

Law enforcement officials have drawn up quite a variety of theories about the origins of these mysterious drug hauls. They strongly relate these to smugglers who have abandoned their loot after facing imminent danger of being caught or lost in heavy storms.

Sometime in January 2014, a fisherman named Jose Alvarenga had washed up on the shores of the Marshall Islands after spending more than 13 months out at sea. He had set off on a journey with a companion starting from Mexico's west coast. However, his companion died during the voyage

Most often, debris from the Americas would wash up on the Marshalls years after it has been floating out at sea and tossed about by the Pacific Ocean currents.

After Alvarenga showed up on the shore, researches from the University of Hawaii conducted 16 computer simulations on the drift patterns from the coast of Mexico. The team's study revealed that nearly all drifters eventually end up in the Marshall Islands.

Couscous receives UNESCO heritage status

Couscous is prepared from wheat or barley, and sometimes from maize, millet or sorghum, which is ground into semolina; it is served with meat or fish, spicy stews, chickpeas and vegetables in a mouth-watering variety of dishes

.

This picture taken on December 16, 2020, shows a dish of lamb and orange couscous at a restaurant in the Medina (old town) of Tunisia's capital Tunis. (AFP)

Couscous, the Berber dish beloved across northern Africa's Maghreb region and beyond, has joined the UN list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

The countries that submitted the listing to UNESCO – Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania – may have their differences, but their common love of the grain staple runs deep.

"Couscous, present at every social or cultural event, is at once ordinary and special," their joint presentation argued.

"Ordinary because of the frequency of its use in a family setting, and special because of the unifying and propitiatory role it plays at convivial community occasions at which food is shared."

Bland by itself, couscous is served with meat or fish, spicey stews, chickpeas and vegetables in a mouth-watering variety of dishes.

Moroccan restaurant owner Hicham Hazzoum was among the couscous connoisseurs who applauded UNESCO's honour.

"I think we are the only Arab countries to have a high regard for this dish," he said. "It is impossible not to eat it every Friday.

"Moroccans are crazy about couscous and even children love it. It shows that the couscous flame will never go out."

Across the region, couscous – also known as Seksu, Kusksi and Kseksu – is as elementary as rice or noodles are to Asian cuisine, the staple without which no meal is complete.

Arabic dictionaries have documented "Kuskusi" since the 19th century, though it is known to be far older.

The regional pride in couscous found full expression in the countries' joint nomination for the "knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous".

"Women and men, young and old, sedentary and nomadic, from rural or urban communities or from immigrant backgrounds all identify with this element," it gushed.

"The ethos of couscous is the expression of community life."

Trump administration looks to rush through mini trade deal slashing Scotch whisky tariffs

"I’m hopeful we can get some kind of an agreement out you know, we don’t have a lot of time left," the US trade representative said.

 by Jack Peat
December 17, 2020
in Politics



Donald Trump’s trade chief has said that the outgoing US administration is negotiating with the UK to secure a mini-deal reducing trade tariffs.

Trade representative Robert Lighthizer suggested tariffs on Scotch whisky could be reduced if a post-Brexit pact is successful.

The Government hopes to broker a full free trade agreement with Mr Trump’s successor as president, Joe Biden, but a mini-deal could ease trade before then.

Talks on an interim deal emerged on Thursday after the UK dropped tariffs against the States over subsidies for aerospace firms.

Mr Lighthizer told the BBC: “I’m talking to (International Trade Secretary) Liz Truss, about trying to work out some kind of a deal … I’m hopeful we can get some kind of an agreement out you know, we don’t have a lot of time left.

“We have the advantage in that both the US and the UK – particularly the current government of the UK – are not big subsidisers, where some other countries are more inclined to subsidise. So it would be helpful if we could come to some kind of agreement.”

Scotch whisky was badly affected when Mr Trump’s White House hit the EU with tariffs on £5.6 billion worth of goods in retaliation for state support given to Airbus.

The EU responded with tariffs on £3 billion of US goods over subsidies given to Boeing but the UK will suspend those measures from January 1 after the post-Brexit transition period ends.

Ministers hope the move will help bring the US towards a reasonable settlement over the Airbus-Boeing row and show the UK is serious about reaching a negotiated outcome.

New Zealand sex worker gets six figure settlement in sexual harassment case

New Zealand Prostitutes Collective Dame Catherine Healy calls the case a milestone as she warned brothel operators to uphold labour rights.

By Nina Siena December 14, 2020 09:20 GMT

A sex worker in New Zealand will receive a six-figure payout as a settlement after filing a sexual harassment case against a business owner. The sex worker had initially filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission but the case was unresolved. She turned to the Office of the Human Rights Proceedings which took the case to the Human Rights Tribunal before the case was heard and had finally come to a settlement on Monday.

In a statement from Human rights director Michael Timmins, the agreed settlement was substantial and hopefully would serve as a benchmark for future cases.

"With the #MeToo era, more and more complaints of sexual harassment are being brought forward. It's good that people are coming forward with these complaints but it's also a stain that this is acceptable conduct in businesses up and down the country", Timmins said.

He added that the settlement is a reminder to businesses across the country that under the Human Rights Act, all workers, regardless of the type of work they do, have a right to do their job without having to worry about sexual harassment in their workplace. Anyone who feels they have been sexually harassed should consider raising a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

The current ceiling for sexual harassment settlement is about $25,000 for damages. However, Timmins said they settled for a six-figure sum to show the seriousness of the matter as the case paved an avenue to force change in a way that reflected the true cost of harassment.

Although, most sexual harassment cases have non-disclosure agreements, the office wanted to make sure there was some form of public transparency as with agreed statements. The identities of those involved in the case as well as other information remain confidential.

In an article from the BBC, sex rights and national coordinator of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, Dame Catherine Healy calls the case a milestone as she warned brothel operators to uphold labour rights. NOT A MADAME BUT A DAME; ARISTOCRACY.

In 2003, New Zealand passed a law decriminalising sex work. Healy was at the forefront of a long campaign to put this into legislation arguing that doing so would make the profession safer for both workers and clients.

The collective was crucial help in drafting the landmark Prostitution Reform Act which allowed brothels to operate as a legitimate business while granting sex workers full employment rights.

There are approximately one million sex workers in the United States, many of whom are more vulnerable than ever due to the coronavirus pandemic Photo: AFP / Emily Kask

Pakistan president approves new anti-rape law

Pakistan is a deeply conservative and patriarchal nation where victims of sexual abuse often are too afraid to speak out.

By AFP News

December 16, 2020

Pakistan's president on Tuesday approved a new anti-rape law which will speed up convictions and launch the country's first national sex offenders registry.

The law, which goes into effect immediately but must be ratified by parliament within three months, was prompted by the gang rape of a mother in front of her children on the side of a motorway in September.

The case caused outrage and led to nationwide protests, with activists demanding the government do more to stop violence against women.

Sex crimes such as rape carry social stigma in conservative Pakistan, where victims find it hard to get justice.

"The ordinance will help expedite cases of sexual abuse against women and children," a statement from President Arif Alvi's office said Tuesday.

The new law -- first put forward by Prime Minister Imran Khan -- orders the establishment of special courts to try cases of rape and sexual abuse against women and children which must be completed within four months.

The ordinance prohibits the identification of rape victims and creates a nationwide registry of rape offenders.

It also establishes anti-rape cells across the country for conducting initial investigations, and medical examinations within six hours of filing a police complaint.

A demonstrator holds a placard next to others during a protest against an alleged gang rape of a woman, in Karachi, Pakistan on September 18, 2020 Photo: AFP / Asif HASSAN

The law will also abolish an invasive medical examination known as the two-finger virginity test for rape victims. The test involves a medical officer inserting two fingers into a rape victim's vagina to assess her sexual history.

According to data provided by the government this year, 11 rape cases are reported every day in Pakistan, while authorities admit the true figure is much higher.

Pakistan is a deeply conservative and patriarchal nation where victims of sexual abuse often are too afraid to speak out, or where criminal complaints are frequently not investigated seriously.

Following the motorway rape, a police official seemed to blame the victim because she was driving at night without a male companion.

The prime minister later called for the chemical castration of rapists, which involves using drugs to reduce a person's libido.

kf/ecl/dw

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

China Has A Theory About Its New COVID-19 Cases. Many Scientists Are Skeptical

CHINA AGREES WITH TRUMP 

COVID CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE

Taking swab samples from agricultural products at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing.
ZHANG CHENLIN / XINHUA NEWS AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

Originally published on December 16, 2020

China now reports few to none domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases — only 12 cases were reported on Dec. 15.

But a flurry of recent cases has Chinese public health officials worried. They claim that the cases stemmed from workers who had contact with imported food and packages.

Beijing has now banned nearly 100 suppliers from 20 countries and at one point recommended travel restrictions in at least two cities where frozen food handlers contracted the coronavirus.

There's a problem with this theory. The cases directly contradict international health guidance, which says such transmission is highly unlikely. Emanuel Goldman, a microbiologist at Rutgers University's New Jersey Medical School, wrote in the Lancet this summer that "the chance of transmission through inanimate surfaces is very small," adding that objects not "in contact with an infected carrier for many hours do not pose a measurable risk of transmission in non-hospital settings." Since then, Goldman told NPR that more research has come out to corroborate his claim.

What is going on? Here's what we know about the subject of transmission via fomites — objects contaminated with viral particles.

Is it possible to contract COVID-19 from touching food packaging?

"There is a theoretical possibility of catching the virus that way," says Professor Goldman of Rutgers. "It's not impossible."

But, he emphasizes, "It's unlikely."

"I think most scientists would agree with that," he says.

Why so unlikely? First, you'd have to touch a freshly contaminated surface, Goldman explains. Like a doorknob. Or food packaging.

Then, "you have to touch your face" without having washed your hands. And specifically, the mouth, nostrils or eyes — the entry points for the virus.

The World Health Organization uses the phrase "highly unlikely" to describe the chances of contamination from food packaging — but with an abundance of caution urges that the food industry "reinforce personal hygiene measures" for employees.

China concurs.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said there is a "very low risk" of infection from frozen foods.

But it doesn't agree 100%. China's CDC claims that it has identified one case in which live viruses were carried into China via the cold surfaces of imported items and later infected workers. The organization warned workers handling foods stored in refrigerated conditions that they are at "a relatively high risk" of getting the coronavirus and should increase their efforts to protect themselves.

What's the science behind China's claim that people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 by touching contaminated objects?

China has reported at least four clusters of cases since this summer that it attributes to virus-contaminated objects that have traveled from virus-stricken countries and regions.

In November, Shanghai health authorities stated that seven cases were linked to the city's Pudong International Airport. They claim that the source is a shipping container from North America, which two of the seven patients entered to clean without masks. The other five infected individuals include those who also worked in the airport freight section as well as their spouses.

The port city of Tianjin also identified two new COVID-19 patients earlier that same month. A Tianjin CDC official, Zhang Ying, said both individuals, a warehouse loader and a truck driver, had been in physical contact with a shipment of hog heads from North America. According to CCTV footage, officials said the truck driver, not wearing any personal protective equipment, picked up a hog head when it fell out of the warehouse.

The frozen meat and its package have yet to be tested to this day, but Zhang said samples taken from the spot where the pig head fell on the ground came back positive for the coronavirus. There was also a genetic match to the samples taken from the two patients.

The biggest cluster of cases that Chinese researchers are linking to fomite transmission came in June. More than 300 people connected to the Xinfadi Agricultural Wholesale Market, a sprawling facility that supplies 90% of all fruits and vegetables in Beijing, became ill.

Investigators took 1,900 samples from various places in the market. They reported that about 40 came back positive for the coronavirus, including a sample from a cutting board used to chop salmon. Overnight, salmon of all sorts was dumped from supermarkets and restaurants out of fear that consuming salmon may lead to infection — despite expert guidance that salmon cannot be infected and then pass the virus on to humans who eat its meat.

The exact origin of the Xinfadi cluster is still unclear. But a team of Chinese researchers from Tsinghua University, the Beijing CDC, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences jointly published a study in October positing that based on genome sequencing results, this particular strain of the virus has European origins. They concluded that the source of the Xinfadi cases was likely "imported food via cold-chain logistics." And while the same researchers concede that it is not clear whether the amount of virus found in the sample from the salmon cutting board was enough to infect a person, "the risk from food and environment contamination exists."

Goldman isn't convinced. He points out that the Xinfadi study found only viral RNA, or genetic remnants of the virus. That would only indicate that the coronavirus was present on the surface some time prior to testing. A test for live viruses, on the other hand, would strengthen the case for fomite transmission.

"The virus is fragile. It does not survive very well outside the human body," Goldman explains. "Without a test for infectious virus, it doesn't really tell you anything."

But in one instance, the Chinese CDC claimed to have done precisely that. A small cluster of COVID-19 cases was discovered in the port city of Qingdao in early October. Health officials traced the source to two dock workers being treated at a local hospital for the virus after unloading frozen imported codfish in September. Subsequent testing in October by the Chinese CDC found live coronavirus samples on the packaging. "Being able to isolate live viruses [from samples] this time means there must exist living viruses that spread and infect," said Gao Fu, director of the Chinese CDC, during an Oct. 17 press conference.

The following month, a team of researchers, including Gao, published its findings in Biosafety and Health, a peer-review journal managed by the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention and the Chinese CDC. When 421 surface samples were taken for codfish packages, 50 tested positive for viral RNA, and only one later proved to be infectious.

"I don't think this changes anything for ordinary folks in the real world, who will not be dealing with imported frozen packaging directly upon receipt of shipment. All the other tests the Chinese have done further downstream after receipt of imported packages have been negative for live virus," Goldman told NPR after reviewing the article. "This paper is kind of like a proof of principle. Yes, [fomite transmission] could happen, but it's still very rare."

What has China done to prevent fomite transmission?

The State Council has already suspended imports from nearly 100 suppliers in 20 countries where outbreaks were reported among factory workers. It also issued nationwide regulations stipulating that all imported foods that require cold storage, as well as their storage facilities, be thoroughly disinfected before the products are unloaded and handled by movers. All goods must also be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival at the port of entry.

So far, among the 873,475 samples customs officials have swabbed from imported products, 13 have tested positive for viral RNA.

The measures have created private furor among diplomats and importers, who dispute that their food products are spreading the coronavirus.

Reuters reported that behind a closed-door WTO meeting in November, China's major trade partners such as Canada pushed China to stop its stringent testing regiment, at least not without demonstrating a science-based explanation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it also prodded China on two occasions to match its trade restrictions with an accurate assessment of risk, adding that Beijing's most recent COVID-19 trade regulations "are not based on science and threaten to disrupt trade."

So far, China has remained steadfast in upholding its policies, which it argues are rooted in science and designed to "protect people's lives to the maximum extent."

Amy Cheng contributed research from Beijing.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org

US visa policy: Visitors from developing nations to pay thousands in bonds
The bonds will not affect students or travelers from fellow developed countries who are exempt from visas to enter the United States.

By AFP News  November 26, 2020 

The United States will temporarily require visitors from Iran, Myanmar and a number of African nations to pay up to $15,000 in visa bonds in a new hardline immigration measure enacted late in Donald Trump's presidency.

The rule takes effect December 24 for a duration of six months, although it remains to be seen if it will be maintained by President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on January 20 and has promised to be more welcoming to the rest of the world.

The pilot program is designed to make up the costs to the US government of deporting foreigners who overstay their visas, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register by Carl Risch, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.

Visitors on "B" visas, which are issued for short-term business and tourism, will be asked to pay up to $15,000, which will be forfeited to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency if they do not prove that they have left on time.

The rule will apply to citizens of 23 countries that, according to the declaration, have overstay rates of more than 10 percent.

Most of the countries are in Africa, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Protesters gather at the Los Angeles International Airport in January 2017 after US President Donald Trump restricts visits by citizens of several Muslim-majority nations 

Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JUSTIN SULLIVAN

Other nations on the list include Iran, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Bhutan. Trump has already sharply curtailed travel from Iran -- part of his "Muslim ban" promised during his 2016 campaign, which Biden plans to rescind

The bonds will not affect students or travelers from fellow developed countries who are exempt from visas to enter the United States.

Contrary to the general practice for changes to immigration rules, the Trump administration launched the bonds abruptly without a period for public comment and review.

The State Department official defended the streamlined timeframe by saying that the issue was a matter of conducting foreign relations and hence not subject to the usual process.

"The Pilot Program is being studied as a potential diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure that their nationals timely depart the United States after making temporary visits," Risch's filing said.

The justification is at odds with the summary in the same filing which said the program was meant to reduce the burden to the US government and "does not aim to assess whether issuing visa bonds will be effective in reducing the number of aliens who overstay."

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

THIRD WORLD USA

Millions of Americans face eviction amid COVID-19: 'I have no idea what to do.'

Emerging COVID-19 relief package must include accessible emergency rental assistance and a uniform, enforceable eviction ban.
Suzette Hackney
USA TODAY

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, single mother Alora Manny was working third shift at an Amazon fulfillment center in Phoenix. Though she had a two-hour commute by bus, she was able to support her three children and pay the $1,248 in monthly rent for her one-bedroom apartment near downtown.

Manny, 31, loved her job and earned $1,200 to $1,500 per week, often picking up extra hours. But when Phoenix implemented passenger limits on public transportation to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Manny's two-hour commute turned into a four-hour journey some days. She would wait at the bus stop, only to watch the shuttles drive past her because they were at capacity. After arriving late to work a fifth time, Manny lost her job.

She fell behind on bills and was unable to pay rent in August. Desperate for help, Manny reached out to social services organizations that told her not to panic because a nationwide moratorium on evictions would serve as a lifeline. She submitted a sworn affidavit stating she had lost her income and presented it to her landlord. A few weeks later in September, deputies were at her door. They said: "You have to go."

"I kept getting eviction notices on my door," Manny told me. "I filled out all of my paperwork. I did what I was told to do. To end up homeless is so devastating; I've never been in this situation before. I really wasn't even given a chance."

Manny and her children, Amelia, 13, Audrina, 12, and Robert Jr., 3, are now bouncing around from cheap motels to friends' couches because emergency shelters are overflowing with others in need. They are trying to survive on her unemployment benefits: $218 per week.

Millions of Americans like Manny are falling through the cracks during this pandemic-induced financial and housing crisis. And we haven't seen the worst of it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's eviction moratorium, which went in effect in September, protects renters who have been unable to meet their monthly payments from being tossed on the street. It is set to expire Dec. 31.

An estimated 12.4 million adult renters say they are behind on payments, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau survey. And nearly 83 million adults report they are finding it somewhat difficult or very difficult to cover their household expenses such as food, rent or mortgages and car payments.

All told, an estimated 30 to 40 million Americans could be at risk of residential eviction in January because they are unable to pay their rent, according to an analysis by the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy think tank. America is failing the backbone of this nation: its people

.

Eviction moratoriums are not enough, though Congress must push to extend the CDC's beyond the end of the year. The wealth gap is quickly becoming a chasm as Americans continue to die by the thousands even as the stock market reaches new heights. Any new coronavirus rescue package must include accessible emergency rental assistance and a uniform, enforceable eviction ban that will remain in effect until a high percentage of the population is vaccinated and the transmission of the virus slows.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through this," Manny said. "I have no idea what to do."
Struggling to make ends meet

Americans with the lowest-income households — low-wage and essential workers — also tend to be people of color. They have already been ravaged by COVID-19, experiencing higher infection and death rates. Women and communities of color also are disproportionately more likely to owe back rent, according to Census data, including about 29% of Black families and 17% of Latino tenants.

The numbers are as astonishing as they are unmanageable for many Americans, those who were struggling to make ends meet prior to the pandemic. In an August report, Moody’s Analytics estimated that 12.8 million Americans would be behind an average of $5,400 in rent, and that debt could balloon to nearly $70 billion by the end of the year. Rent moratoriums do not forgive or reduce payments. When the system works, the immediate threat of eviction is simply delayed.  

But many landlords are suffering, too. We often envision monolith corporations charging thousands of dollars for efficiency apartments around the country as the enemy. In reality, more than half of all rental properties are single-family homes, often owned by mom-and-pop landlords. Mortgages and property taxes still need to be paid, as does maintenance and sometimes utilities. As Congress continues its down-to-the-wire negotiations, landlord financial assistance should also be on the table.

Monica Delancy, a renters' rights advocate who helps residents in Georgia's Cobb County, said many families she works with are ineligible for local assistance because they must be able to prove that they will be able to pay rent in arrears — people whose work hours have already been reduced and serve as the primary caregiver to children who are learning virtually at home due to COVID-19. She's working with dozens of families to try to help them negotiate payment plans with their landlords.

"You cannot pay $1,000 a month in rent plus what you already owe on $10 or less an hour," Delancy, founder and executive director of We Thrive in Riverside Renters Association. "Right now, we know that on Jan. 1 the landlord can go to the court and ask for the eviction writs to be served, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Forced evictions are traumatic. We're at the point now where we're just asking for the tenants to have some notice so they can start packing. We want to avoid someone having a padlock put on their door or their stuff put out on the curb. Give them 48 hours before the sheriff comes to gather their personal belongs and get it in storage. We want these people to be able to move with decency."

Some states and legal aid providers, including Texas and New York, have launched online portals to help residents understand the eviction process and inform them of their rights. Other organizations have turned to social media to reach as many people as possible during this housing crisis.

Hannah Adams, a staff attorney for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, which represents tenants during evictions in 22 parishes across the New Orleans area, held a virtual session on Facebook for those seeking information. As I watched, I couldn't help but cry. Is this really where we are as a country?

“People are really, really struggling right now," Adams said during the live broadcast. "A lot of people are not back to work. A lot of people are relying on the expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government that ended at the end of July. I know many, many people who are getting 100 bucks a week from unemployment right now and that’s it. So obviously that is not enough to live on, let alone pay rent, and unfortunately it doesn’t appear that this pandemic is ending anytime soon."

Few people could have anticipated the tremendous financial fallout spurred by COVID-19. But as it continues to cripple tens of millions of Americans, Congress must step up. In our lifetimes, we have never experienced an economic and public health crisis like this one. A wave of homelessness like we've never seen is imminent.

America is failing its people. It doesn't have to be this way.

National columnist Suzette Hackney is a member of USA TODAY’S Editorial Board. Contact her at shackney@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @suzyscribe

Religious leaders call for global ban on 

so-called gay conversion therapies

By Jack Guy, CNN Wed December 16, 2020


The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend Paul Bayes, appeared in a video accompanying the declaration.


London (CNN)Hundreds of religious leaders have joined forces to push for a global ban on gay conversion therapies, treatments that claim to be able to change a person's sexual orientation or identity.

More than 370 figures from the world's main religions have signed the declaration, which also calls for an end to violence against and the criminalization of LGBT+ people, according to a press release published Wednesday.

The declaration marks the launch of the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives, backed by key figures from 35 countries, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland David Rosen and former Irish President Mary McAleese.

So-called conversion therapies, also known as reparative treatments, rely on the assumption that sexual orientation can be changed or "cured" -- an idea discredited by major medical associations in the UK, the United States and elsewhere.



However they remain legal in many countries, including the UK, despite the country's current government committing to end the practice.

In July 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would fast-track these plans, and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funded an online conference marking the launch of the commission Wednesday.

Jayne Ozanne, director of the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives, said the declaration is a landmark.

"We've never had such a powerful, clear and supportive statement from so many leaders," Ozanne told CNN.

She called on politicians to act to ban conversion therapy.

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth was a keynote speaker at Wednesday's event.

"I do not think that any government can be deaf to the cries of survivors," she said, adding that people are still being traumatized while politicians dally.

"We need to act with some urgency," Ozanne said.

Campaigners also released a video of the declaration, featuring senior religious leaders such as the Right Reverend Paul Bayes, the Bishop of Liverpool.

"For too long, religious teachings have been misused -- and are still being misused -- to cause deep pain and offence to those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex," said Bayes in the press release.

Germany bans gay conversion therapy for minors

The commission "aims to provide a strong and authoritative voice amongst those who wish to affirm the sanctity of life and the dignity of all," he added.

The commission "aims to provide a strong and authoritative voice amongst those who wish to affirm the sanctity of life and the dignity of all," he added.

The declaration asks for forgiveness for the harm that some religious teachings have caused LGBT+ people and calls for everyone to "celebrate inclusivity and the extraordinary gift of our diversity."

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, was one of the speakers at Wednesday's conference.

"There are many LGBT+ people who suffer emotional hurt and physical violence to the point of death in countries across the world," she said in the press release.

 "For this reason, we are joining forces as faith leaders to say that we are all beloved children of God."

'A legal form of abuse': Conversion therapy is lurking in the shadows

Malta -- a tiny island nation in the Mediterranean with a population of just over 400,000 -- made history by implementing a nationwide ban on conversion therapy in 2016.

And in May, Germany's parliament approved a ban on conversion therapies for minors, and for adults who have been forced, threatened or deceived to undergo the controversial treatment.

However, in April the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) said conversion therapies are still used in more than 69 countries.

The organizations called for a global ban on the practice, which they classify as a form of torture.

In June, the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, also called for a global ban on the practice.

CNN's Rob Picheta contributed to this report.