Thursday, June 25, 2020

‘I can make more money on CERB’: More concerns benefit may be a disincentive for workers

TIME TO MAKE CERB A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME UBI

Jon Azpiri and Catherine Urquhart
© Global News Anthony Walsh hopes to the open the Cervecería Astilleros, a Mexican-themed brewpub, in August.

Andrew Doyle and Anthony Walsh plan to open La Cervecería Astilleros, a Mexican-influenced micro-brewery, in August, but hiring staff hasn't been easy.

Walsh says they placed an ad on Craigslist and heard from people who said they'll pass on working for $15 to $20 an hour and collect the $500 a week from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) instead.
 
BETTER MAKE THAT $25 PER HR THE POST CERB WAGE 

"We got quite a few positive responses; we're gonna bring in about 10 people for interviews," Walsh said.

"There was a bit of backlash arguing, 'You know what, I can make more money on CERB.' That just came as a bit of a surprise to us."

Muriel Protzer, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says the CERB system needs to be more like employment insurance (EI) benefits.

"This will ensure that those who are collecting the benefit are people who desperately and genuinely need this," she said.

Read more: CERB may discourage people from returning to work, B.C. businesses say

The organization says the federal government is looking to introduce new guidelines, which would include an end to benefits if an employee is called back, and a requirement that people receiving funds be available and looking for work, as is the case with EI.

“Moving forward with our bill would give us further measures to encourage people and to make sure that people were taking work when it came up,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week.

“We’re still looking at ways of moving forward to encourage people to look for work and to make sure that they are taking jobs that become available.”

Despite the hiring challenges, Doyle and Walsh are hopeful they'll find staff in the coming weeks.

— With files from Nadia Stewart


WORKERS ARE DISCOURAGED FROM GOING TO WORK BECAUSE BOSSES PAY THE LEAST THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH.
MAKE THE BOSSES PAY MORE


Catering business brings back employees to help Lethbridge Food Bank feed 800 children
Taz Dhaliwal 
© Taz Dhaliwal/Global News As COVID-19 continues to impact many people's livelihoods, a Lethbridge catering company is doing what it can to help feed those in need.
L.A. Chefs Catering and the Lethbridge Food Bank have been teaming up to help feed more than 800 children with sandwiches for the month of June as part of the food bank's Mindful Munchies lunch program.

"Prior to COVID[-19], we had just launched a campaign called Feed our Kids and we were in discussions with the schools as to providing some meals to the children of the schools, and then COVID-19 hit," said Marci Stickel the owner of L.A. Chefs Catering.

With the closure of schools, that campaign came to a halt and the catering company reached out to the food bank to find out how they could still help provide food to families who need it the most.

"We've received a lot of response from our families. They've been grateful for the support," said Maral Kiani Tari, the executive director of the Lethbridge Food Bank.

Kiani Tari said the Mindful Munchies program initially was a collaboration between My City Care and the Lethbridge Food Bank that went through the school year, which involved them providing nutritious lunches to different schools in the city.

Read more: Lethbridge lunch program goes mobile after COVID-19 threat closes schools

When the schools closed due to COVID-19, that program temporarily stopped, but they wanted to continue providing those nutritious lunches.

The food bank, My City Care and the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division worked together to take the program to homes across the city to help supplement the nutritional and mental wellness of students.

"There have been various different situations that people have been going through, whether it's layoffs or loss of jobs, you know, childcare... elimination of child care," Kiani Tari said.

Read more: Lethbridge organizations try to help vulnerable people during COVID-19 pandemic

The catering company has been able to bring roughly half of its staff members back to work for this campaign.

"It's between 30 to 40 [people] that we've been able to bring back on the wage subsidy for a variety of purposes, and one of them is helping out with this sandwich program," Stickel said.

She added that the company will try to use the wage subsidy for as long as it needs to in order to keep staff.

Ever since the pandemic and the cancellation or postponement of several events, the company has lost much of its revenue.

However, as restrictions continue to ease up and gatherings on a much smaller scale take place, the company is trying to slowly regain its footing.

One staff member said working for a good cause such as this one makes them feel optimistic about the future.

"It is really nice, especially because I am a father of two kids. It is really special for me to know that we are not only back, but we are also helping the community... especially helping kids, because even the staff is very happy," said Roberto Cano, chef and banquet manager for L.A. Chefs Catering.

"It's such a great feeling knowing that we can help around the community, how ever way we can," said Makafui Nyavor, a banquet server and supervisor with L.A. Chefs Catering.

Nyavor went on to say she loves her job and is glad her employer is very proactive when it comes to assisting those less fortunate.

The company says it will continue to work with the food bank and plans to collaborate with Volunteer Lethbridge are also in the works.
Petition calls for CALGARY BOARD OF EDUCATION to establish school-focused racism task force
© Terri Trembath/CBC Thousands gathered in Calgary's Olympic Plaza earlier this month for a candlelight vigil in honour of victims of racism and police brutality.

A high school teacher and a not-for-profit focused on multiculturalism and race relations are behind a petition to have the Calgary Board of Education establish a task force to root out systemic racism in the school system.

The petition is asking the CBE to have a task force collect data based on race, gender, socio-economic status and other historic barriers to success in the classroom.

The data would then be used to identify and address any problematic policies and practices that have never been questioned or even noticed before and look at ways to revamp the system and improve equality.


It might involve training and education for staff, including a locally developed anti-racism course.

"It's not just about the CBE," said Courtney Walcott, a high school teacher in Calgary.

"If I was working for the Calgary Catholic School Board, the Palliser Regional Schools, Rocky View Schools or even the City of Calgary, every institution really needs to take a look at themselves and do this work," said Walcott.

Walcott says that after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the global Black Lives Matter protest movement that followed, it's now the perfect time to seek change. He says the school system has long perpetuated problematic ideologies from the past that have no place in today's society.

"I felt helpless and now I don't," said Walcott.

Walcott says everything from a Eurocentric curriculum to policy and unconscious bias needs to be looked at.

He says as well as overt racism there are long standing norms and traditions that now need closer inspection, as well as a focus on improving the representation of minorities in the school system, in both teaching and administration positions.

"I had no idea how to have my voice heard or who to speak to, so I built this proposal and started seeking out allies," said Walcott. "We're still hearing these stories of kids saying they're not represented."

"No matter what comes of this, the more names that show up on the petition, the more the people that have the power to change things can see people do want that. And sometimes silence is just a function of not knowing where to yell," he said.

"In Calgary you're starting to see these small pockets of protest pop up, and I'm just hoping whatever comes of this is concrete solutions," said Walcott.

The Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation, which is partnering with Walcott, says it's targeting school boards directly after being ignored by the provincial government. The petition already has nearly 4,000 signatures.

The foundation released a study in 2019 highlighting racism as a concern to Albertan teachers. It also gathered more than 72,000 signatures for a petition for the City of Calgary to create a similar task force.

"It was hoped our research results would raise awareness about the magnitude of the issues discussed," said Iman Bukhari, CEO of the foundation, speaking about the 2019 study.

"And that further steps would be taken in order to address racism among school-aged children, however, we see nothing was done provincially or locally," she said.

Bukhari says she hopes going straight to school boards and bypassing a province that she says simply doesn't care about the issue might be more successful.

The Change.org petition can be found on the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation website.


TRAGEDY IN BC

Only two of 17 baby great blue herons survive falling tree in Tsawwassen


Kevin Griffin


© Paul Steeves These two baby great blue herons survived a fall from their nests in the rookery on Tsawwassen First Nation land. They're being nursed back to health with feedings every 45 minutes from dawn to dusk at the Wildlife Rescue Association hospital in Burnaby.
WARNING: This story contains an image of dead birds that some readers may find distressing.

A “devastating” loss of 15 baby Pacific great blue herons could happen again in Tsawwassen, according to the Wildlife Rescue Association .

Janelle Stephenson , manager of the association’s wildlife hospital, said loss of habitat due to development in Metro Vancouver is causing the herons to move out of some areas and into others that aren’t safe — including on a major rookery on Tsawwassen First Nation land.

“Animals are being pushed into areas they wouldn’t normally be nesting in because of development. It’s really devastating. We want them to all be safe. There’s a big worry it can happen again.”

Stephenson said last Thursday night or Friday morning, a tree with three heron nests fell to the ground, bringing down nests in at least two other nearby trees.

A total of 17 baby herons, or nestlings, were affected: 11 were found dead and six were brought into the WRA hospital in Burnaby. Only two survived.

“We went in with volunteers and natural resource officers to find as many animals as we could find after the tee had fallen,” she said.
A falling tree on Tsawwassen First Nation land led to the deaths of 15 baby great blue herons when they fell from their nests.

Rescuers worked with Tsawwassen First Nation to rescue the baby herons, Stephenson said.

Pacific great blue herons are normally solitary but come together in rookeries to breed and nest.

They choose the site because there aren’t many humans or predators around. In the past, trees have fallen in the area but it wasn’t a problem until herons started expanding their rookery, Stephenson said.

The nestlings couldn’t escape because they were too young to fly

“They were all too young to be out of the nest,” she said. “When they dropped, it was like dropping a baby. They didn’t have any ability to hold themselves up.”
© Paul Steeves These two baby great blue herons survived a fall from their nests in the rookery on Tsawwassen First Nation land.

The two that survived have damage to their central nervous system as well as small wounds and scratches.

“Right now, they’re doing well,” Stephenson said. “We’re feeding them every 45 minutes from dawn to dusk.”

The rookery in Tsawwassen near the ferry spit is the largest in the region with 350 to 450 nests, which represent about 12 per cent of the country’s population of Pacific great blue herons.

In 2008, herons were described as a species of “special concern” in a status report. It estimated there were upwards of 5,000 nesting adults in the country.


A senior species at risk biologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an earlier story that Pacific great blue herons are an “indicator species.

“It’s one of these species that exists at the top of the food chain and is susceptible to pollutants and changes in food supply,” said Ross Vennesland . “It represents an indicator of ecosystem health.”

A panic over fireworks shows how quickly conspiracy theories can spread

Anthony L. Fisher

Illegal fireworks illuminate the sky over the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the Brooklyn, NY. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson



A lot of people are unnerved right now, and for good reason. Thunderous explosions throughout the night are not making life any easier. 

The substantial increase in illegal fireworks being lit in inner cities, weeks before the Fourth of July, has spawned fantastical conspiracy theories about a massive government psy-op operation. 

These evidence-free theories have been spread by people and organizations with massive platforms who should know better. 

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

Fireworks are making people lose their minds.

Unauthorized pyrotechnics going off in the days around the Fourth of July is common. But in cities across the country they are being lit far earlier than usual, for longer periods of time, and appear to be louder and brighter than is typical of amateur fireworks.

It's led to conspiracy theories alleging a coordinated psychological operation designed to destabilize communities and prepare citizens for a coming government assault on the populace.

That police could engage in coordinated harassment of communities is indeed plausible. And such harassment reasonably breeds mistrust in government authorities. But it still doesn't make a nationwide fireworks conspiracy plausible.


Relentless thunderous booms in the night — in an era of profound anxiety due to a pandemic and unprecedented social unrest — are reasonably unnerving. But going down evidence-free rabbit holes won't help the credibility of the cause.
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and chemtrails

Indulging conspiracy theories is as American as apple pie.

A 2016 study by Chapman University showed 54% of Americans believe the government is concealing what it knows about the 9/11 terror attacks. 61% percent of Americans in 2017 believed in some form of an untold conspiracy theory surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination, according to FiveThirtyEight. And while it's down from a high of 30% in 1970, 6% of Americans still believe the 1969 moon landing was faked, according to Voice of America.

One thing that 9/11, the JFK assassination, and the moon landing all have in common is that they were all global paradigm-shifting events.


In a politically charged moment such as the present, highly implausible conspiracy theories about far less consequential incidents are being floated by some of the most prominent people in the country — the president, in particular.

In recent months, some of these acts of mass misinformation led to calls for Trump to be banned from social media platforms because of the societal damage that could be caused.

But Trump isn't the only American with a prominent platform that's susceptible to flirting with an unvetted conspiracy theory.

Last weekend, recently-minted Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times Magazine national correspondent Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted "Read This" while sharing a viral thread by author Robert Jones Jr. which posited that large amounts of fireworks going off late at night in certain cities are "part of a coordinated attack on Black and Brown communities by government forces. Jones, Jr. added: "The government and the mainstream media are being coy or pretending to be clueless about it all, of course."


To her credit, Hannah-Jones apologized, demonstrating she has more integrity than Trump — who has pretty much never admitted he was wrong about anything. Hannah-Jones on Monday told the National Review that urging her followers to "Read This" appeared as if it were an endorsement, and that it "was an irresponsible use of my platform and beneath my own standards, which is why I deleted my Tweet."

In a moment when government and law enforcement are rightfully and belatedly being criticized for their lack of accountability and transparency, a journalist of Hannah-Jones' stature propagating such theories contributes to the discreditation of journalism at a time when the public has never been more sympathetic to the need for massive reform.

Had Hannah-Jones issued a correction on her own Twitter feed, where she shared the conspiracy theory, the mea culpa would have been more effective than an emailed apology published on a conservative magazine's website.

Regardless, there's something about this particular conspiracy theory: that there's a massive, nationwide, coordinated effort to flood inner cities with fireworks to, as Jones, Jr. put it, desensitize Black and brown people "to get us so used to the sounds of firecrackers and other fireworks that when they start using their real artillery on us we won't know the difference. It's meant to sound like a war zone because a war zone is what it's about to become."

This, if true, would be an act of war on the citizenry by agents of the state, with the seeming complicity of the news media, and would require the cooperation and silence of thousands of people.

Put simply, even if the government were as evil as this theory alleges, it would still be implausible that they could pull off such a complicated, fiendish psy-op without anyone finding out about it.
Grucci's Razor

"Boompilling" is apparently a thing, according to BuzzFeed News' Craig Silverman.

The term is a play on "red-pilling" — a "Matrix" reference and internet-speak for a political turn to the right. But in this case, it refers to people who are convinced that increased fireworks activity is the work of a master plan by a nefarious, all-reaching government.

"Occam's Razor" is the principle which holds in a situation with multiple possible explanations, the simplest answer is also the likeliest.

For the boompilled, I propose "Grucci's Razor" (named for the US' first family of pyrotechnics): when an abnormal amount of fireworks are going off two weeks before the Fourth of July, evidence-based conclusions are the likeliest.

First, fireworks laws have been liberalized throughout the country. The increased availability means a lot of people have graduated from bottle rockets and Roman candles to much larger and more vibrant explosives that appear to be professional-grade, but are actually just of the more-impressive amateur variety.

Second, much of this country has been cooped up with absolutely nothing to do for months. So it's not implausible to assume that what is normally just a few nights of unauthorized fireworks going off around July 4th is now spread over a few weeks.

Third, as one fireworks distributor told Business Insider's Juliana Kaplan: "I'll tell you where the money is coming from: the unemployment stimulus, the extra $600 they're getting a week, 100%, because I'm swiping those red cards all day."

We're unnerved. We've lost confidence in institutions and are suspicious of authority. And at a time when sincere efforts at national conciliation would still be tough to succeed, Donald Trump is president.

Add sustained and irregular sessions of concussive explosions to the mix and you've got a pretty good brew to make most people unhinged.

Still, we need to maintain our grip, particularly those with prominent platforms, like Pulitzer Prize winners at the most prestigious news outlets in the English language. Especially since after Hannah-Jones apologized and deleted her tweet, the theories persist.

Hannah Hart — a YouTube star with nearly a million Twitter followers — on Tuesday shared screengrabs of what she called a "friendly neighborhood chat" that included theories that "government agencies" were driving around Los Angeles in SUVs and selling fireworks to "teens."

Even CNN offered some credence to the theories in an article that read in part, "Why the fireworks are going off so frequently is anyone's guess" and "Conspiracies abound over who's responsible."

We know that when Trump indulges in evidence-free conspiracy theories — even using the disingenuous "I'm just asking questions" posture — it's dangerous and irresponsible.

Trump's steadfast opponents, particularly decorated journalists, need to be better than that.


Fireworks are booming before July 4, but why the ruckus?

© Provided by The Canadian Press

NEW YORK — They are a symbol of celebration, loudly lighting up the night sky and best known in the U.S. as the explosive exclamation point to Fourth of July festivities.

This year, fireworks aren't being saved for Independence Day.

They've become a nightly nuisance ringing out from Connecticut to California, angering sleep-deprived residents and alarming elected officials.

All of them want to know: Why the fascination with fireworks, and where is everybody getting the goods?

“I had that same question,” said Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.

Theories range from co-ordinated efforts to blame those protesting police brutality to bored people blowing off steam following coronavirus lockdowns. Most states allow at least some types of consumer fireworks, making them difficult to contain in cities like New York where they're banned because people can drive a couple of hours away to buy them legally.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio set up a multiagency task force in hopes of getting answers, after blasts from Brooklyn to the Bronx have people in the city that never sleeps desperate to actually get some.

Made up of police, firefighters and the Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the task force will conduct sting operations to try to stop the sales of explosives that are proving dangerous. A 3-year-old boy was injured Wednesday while watching fireworks from her apartment window.

“This is a real problem. It is not just a quality-of-life problem and a noise problem,” de Blasio said.

Many Fourth of July celebrations will be smaller or eliminated entirely because of coronavirus restrictions. Yet the business of fireworks is booming, with some retailers reporting 200% increases from the same time last year, Heckman said.

Her industry had high hopes for 2020, with July 4 falling on a Saturday. Then came the pandemic and its closures and cancellations, leaving fireworks retailers worried they wouldn’t be able to scratch out much of a sales season.

Those fears have gone up in smoke.

“Sales are off the hook right now. We’re seeing this anomaly in use,” Heckman said. “What’s concerning to us is this usage in cities where consumer fireworks are not legal to use.”

Officials have the same concern.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there are too many reports of fireworks being set off across the state, where they are mostly illegal.

“This is no way to blow off steam,” he told reporters Tuesday in Trenton, the capital.

New Jersey outlaws pyrotechnics except for sparklers and snakes, which produce smoke but don't explode, though residents have easy access to fireworks at shops in Pennsylvania.

In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, Trenton’s neighbour, a big shop sits at the foot of the bridge leading to New Jersey. On Tuesday, the parking lot was nearly full, with cars primarily from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but others from New York, North Carolina and even Texas.

Officials in Oakland, California, say they have received more complaints of illegal fireworks and reports of celebratory gunfire this year than is typical before the Fourth of July. At least five fires have been linked to fireworks since late May, officials said.

In Denver, authorities seized up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of illegal fireworks discovered during a traffic stop this week.

Theories abound for why fireworks have gotten so popular.

Some speculate on social media that police are either setting them off themselves or giving them to local teens in hopes people blame those protesting racist policing. Another claim says police are just harassing communities of colour.

“My neighbours and I believe that this is part of a co-ordinated attack on Black and Brown communities by government forces,” tweeted the writer Robert Jones Jr., whose recent posts on fireworks have been retweeted thousands of times.

A video captured in New York appears to show fire department staff setting off the explosives outside their station.

Pyrotechnics expert Mike Tockstein, who has directed hundreds of professional fireworks shows, thinks there’s an easier explanation: the upcoming holiday and a nation filled with young people fed up with quarantines.

“I’ve heard a lot of conspiracy theories, and none of them are based in logic or data or facts,” said Tockstein, owner of Pyrotechnic Innovations, a California-based company that trains fireworks professionals.

“Fireworks are used across the entire country for a full month leading up to the Fourth of July,” he said. “There is a slight uptick, but I don’t think it’s anything more than people are stuck at home and hey, look, fireworks are available.”

One theory that can probably be blown up: organizers of cancelled Fourth of July events passing surplus products to recreational users.

“Nothing could be further from the truth in that regard,” Heckman said, “because that would be a felony.”

Those who sell professional fireworks, which are much more dangerous for amateurs to fire, need licenses from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and goods are housed in secure facilities, often guarded.

“It’s like the Fort Knox of fireworks,” said Larry Farnsworth, a spokesman for the National Fireworks Association.

Retail use falls under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The fireworks Heckman is seeing aren’t professional. Retail aerial fireworks are capped at under 2 inches (5 centimetres) in diameter and burst at just under 200 feet (60 metres). Professional fireworks are wider and can explode hundreds of feet higher.

Still, they can be a bother at any height for young children, pets and veterans and others with post-traumatic stress disorder.

In Hartford, Connecticut, police say they have been responding to up to 200 complaints a day. Connecticut allows only fireworks that don’t explode or launch into the air, but they're legal a drive away in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia has some restrictions on fireworks and warned of their dangers this week after a number of complaints.

"We understand the absence of in-person festivals may cause some to crave the excitement of an enormous fireworks display over the river. But the simple fact is that these are extremely dangerous products, and the risks far outweigh the momentary excitement of the explosions,” city Managing Director Brian Abernathy said.

The light shows could last a while longer. Many pop-up seasonal stores only opened this week. Tockstein predicts more people will buy fireworks in the coming weeks as they realize traditional July 4 displays won’t happen.

“I think with all these public events being cancelled, more families will bring the celebration home for the Fourth of July,” Heckman said.

___

Klepper reported from Providence, Rhode Island. Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; and Cuneyt Dil in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the child injured in New York was a boy, not a girl, per new information from police.

Brian Mahoney And David Klepper, The Associated Press


Anonymous Twitter accounts in Brazil are pressuring advertisers to drop conservative media campaigns
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia Jun 18, 2020

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro. Reuters


Sleeping Giants is a Twitter account that has participated in news-making actions that have inspired many advertisers to pull funding from conservative media outlets, such as Fox News and Breitbart.

In 2020, a copycat account was made in Brazil, finding fast success in getting ads pulled from numerous right-wing sites.

In Brazil's regional media economy, numerous off-shoot accounts have sprung up to pressure local advertisers.


In 2016, Matt Rivitz created Sleeping Giants, a Twitter profile dedicated to reporting big brand advertisements on conservative websites. With a few clicks, Rivitz helped catalyze an international political movement.

After finding huge success in pushing for the withdrawal of millions in funds from right-wing websites and news organizations in the US, such as Breitbart and Fox News, his idea ended up spreading across the world and reached Brazil where, in less than a month, the profile Sleeping Giants Brasil has quickly managed to convince brands to withdraw ads from the Jornal da Cidade Online, considered one of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's largest mouthpieces and propagators of misinformation. It's also the target of a Congressional investigation.
Through Google's ad platform, websites like Jornal da Cidade Online earn money based on views and clicks on ads displayed from advertisers who buy advertising spaces with target audience data.

Sleeping Giants Brasil was created on May 18 and in just a few days it managed to dry up the ads-revenue of its first target — more than 130 brands have committed to remove ads from Jornal da Cidade Online, demonetizing the publication of about $70,000.

On June 5 Sleeping Giants Brasil set its sights on a second target, right-wing site Conexão Política. In less than 24 hours it removed its advertising tool.

The reaction was immediate in Bolsonaro's camp, with one of the sons of the Brazilian president revolting on Twitter and Bolsonaro's followers accusing the companies that removed ads of "censorship." Carlos Bolsonaro, a city councilman in Rio de Janeiro and son of the president, was appointed by the Federal Police as the leader of the so-called "Office of Hate," a term coined by government leader Joice Hasselmann to describe a group of advisors to the president who allegedly spread misinformation in support of the government as part of their job.

After being alerted by Sleeping Giants, Banco do Brasil (Brazil's largest state-owned bank) removed its advertisements from Jornal da Cidade Online. The reaction of the government and the "Office of Hate" was swift. Carlos Bolsonaro and the government's communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, complained about the decision and the bank's marketing department removed the advertising restriction on the website.
A conservative version of Sleeping Giants Brasil has been created in response to the movement

In response to Sleeping Giants Brasil, the conservative "Gigantes Não Dormem" (Giants Don't Sleep) was created, though it only has a fraction of the followers (about 28,000 followers compared to more than 360,000). Its target is the left-wing website Brasil 247 — accused of receiving money from lobbyist Milton Pascowitch at the request of then Workers' Party treasurer João Vaccari Neto. The payment was discovered during investigations of the Car Wash Operation, in 2015.


The success of the far-right venture, however, is so far doubtful.

According to the founder of Sleeping Giants Brasil, who remains anonymous for fear of political retribution, the idea of creating the profile came from reading an article in the Spanish newspaper El País about the movement created by Rivitz, noting that it's not restricted to far-right sites.
Regional off-shoot accounts are targeting different ad markets

Sleeping Giants Rio Grande do Sul told Insider that "the movement has no political party and no ideological tendency. It has a very simple objective: to fight fake news and hate speech that goes against democracy and science, with the intention of providing a service to companies that often do not know that they advertise on these sites."

They added that "there are people [within the movement] with different worldviews, but everyone respects the goal and knows how to separate [their own view with the work done]. We don't exclude left-wing websites from the analysis, but the daily use of lying from emerging ultra-right sites is remarkable. We don't perceive this same commitment in left-wing sites, for example, in how they deal with the issue of pandemic, quarantine, chloroquine, etc. We have truth, science and democracy among our principles. Any website that attacks [these principles] will have more weight in the choice."


Insider also talked to Sleeping Giants Curitiba's profile administrator. Curitiba is the capital of the southern state of Paraná. They said there were inspired "to look for ways to combat disinformation" and decided to "adapt to the Brazilian reality," in part by regionalizing their activity. "There are particularities in Brazil, for example the capillarity of regional initiatives, unprecedented until then."

"The purpose of regional accounts is simple," They said. "As programmatic advertising is geolocalized they serve to inform local advertisers. This work has proven to be the most complicated because they are generally not large companies, they are smaller companies without marketing departments that buy Google AdSense ads without knowing the tool itself. Many do not even seem to know how to do the filters there. It's more of an orientation job. We're developing tutorials to help."

The Sleeping Giants Rio Grande do Sul profile administrator also explained to Business Insider that they concluded "that it would be a good idea to create regional profiles, because Brazil is very large and the algorithms currently allow a well regionalized dissemination [of advertisements]. This way, many regional advertisers don't reach the [main] centers of the country, so they wouldn't be approached."

But, the profile administrator added, "these regional advertisers are many and they alone are enough to sustain a large network of hatred and lies," and this is why the first regional profile, the Sleeping Giants RS, was created, "which immediately got positive responses from several big local brands."


"There have been cases of ad agencies and giant companies that just didn't know who had bought the ads and how to block them," they added. "The campaign is to inform and charge for more enlightened advertising, we don't propose boycotts or coercion to companies. We have been particularly careful with small businesses."

The demonetization of their targets via Adsense has occurred faster than they expected and Rio Grande do Sul's creator said that "without the regional ones I imagine that the work of the national profile would take more time."

Their targets are chosen based on lists of the largest misinformation propagators given out by fact-checking agencies, such as A Pública. "We're in the midst of a very serious pandemic, [therefore] websites that spread many lies related to Covid-19 will have more weight in the choice. We work with one target at a time to increase the effectiveness of the action."

Sleeping Giants Brazil membership has grown exponentially, as has its success, which has caused serious problems for the Brazilian far-right.


"All we want is for society to stop being ruled by fake news propagators," said the administrator of Sleeping Giants Rio Grande do Sul.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights employees say sex harassment complaints dismissed by human resources
© Tyson Koschik/CBC The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is dealing with fallout from allegations of racism and its admission that it censored and sometimes hid LGBT content. Now women who work at the museum are going public for the first time with… 

Warning: Story contains graphic descriptions and images that may be disturbing to some users. Caution advised.
Five current and former female employees at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights allege they've been sexually harassed by the same male colleague and say their complaints to human resources were dismissed.

The women, who've come forward to CBC News, allege the man, who works with visitors at the national museum in Winnipeg, has grabbed and touched them, stared at their genital areas and made inappropriate comments about them and other women for years.

Gabriela Agüero, a former program developer and tour guide, said she's seen the man get close to women and objectify them. She said he would also repeatedly get close to her and ask her to go places, even when she told him no and asked him to stop inviting her.

She said he was allowed to keep working at the museum after an internal probe into his conduct. "It left us all traumatized because we all had to continue working with him, be in the elevators, in the lunchrooms, everywhere."
© Lyza Sale/CBC Gabriela Agüero, a former program developer and museum tour guide, says she was horrified after she went to HR with another woman about a male colleague, and instead of feeling listened to, she felt unprotected.
Agüero, who said she left the museum after being bullied by her manager, said she went to the museum's human resources department after the man allegedly clapped his hands and told a female employee much younger than him, "Oh you're so hot" in a meeting while looking her up and down.

Agüero and the woman, Madeleine McLeod, now 26, went to HR together in 2018 to report the incident.


"And then essentially [the HR director] asked me [whether I thought] he maybe meant 'I'm so hot because of the weather, like it was hot outside.' So when she said that comment, I just already knew it's not going to go anywhere," McLeod said in a phone interview from Vancouver, adding the museum is normally very cold.

"I just felt really belittled by her, just the whole interview was not very pleasant. I ended up being really emotional and I actually thought of quitting right away because I thought I don't want to work for the institution that promotes human rights, and they can't even deal with such a basic human right."
© Jeff Stapleton/CBC This current employee, who CBC News is not identifying, says she has been harassed by a male colleague and seen him harass new female staff and look at young visitors inappropriately.

McLeod, who started working at the CMHR in 2017 and left last July, said before going to HR she told her manager about the incident, and his response was, "'Oh not again,'" so I'm assuming that at that time, [the man] had previous warnings."

CBC News reached out to the man on Facebook but hadn't received a response as of publication.

A current museum employee said she has been harassed by the man, seen him harass new female staff and look at young visitors inappropriately.

"They have just been hired, looking at them in very inappropriate ways, touching them, feeling like he can do that," she said.

CBC News has agreed not to identify the woman because she fears reprisals for speaking out.

The employee said multiple complaints have been made to HR about the man, investigations have been launched and an external lawyer was brought in to review the allegations.

She said she was shocked when she first started experiencing the behaviour at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

"How come these people cannot understand that you're working in a place where you're promoting rights for everyone, human rights?"
Union wants anti-harassment training

The union representing employees at the museum said it is aware of incidents of sexual harassment.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said there have been some resolutions to complaints, but they are not always adequate for employees.

The union said it has approached management in the past before asking some members to file a grievance after not being satisfied with how HR handled complaints.

Three weeks ago, the union said, it made a proposal in contract talks with the museum to create mandatory anti-harassment training for all museum staff, including management, but those proposals were rejected.

"The union will continue to push for the anti-harassment training this week during contract negotiations, and we hope to see more openness from management on this proposal," said Marianne Hladun, PSAC's regional executive vice-president for the Prairies.
2 external reviews into harassment

Museum spokesperson Louise Waldman said while she was unable to comment on a particular case, the CMHR has twice hired an external lawyer to lead investigations into sexual harassment complaints.

"In both of those instances, we have accepted their findings and followed the recommendations provided."

Waldman said all complaints of sexual harassment are handled under guidelines outlined in the CMHR's Respectful Workplace Policy.

She said the museum requires all employees and managers to take mandatory respectful workplace training that it is reviewing and updating.

The allegations from the women come a week after CBC News revealed the museum would sometimes ask staff not to reveal content related to gay rights at the request of certain guests on tours, including religious school groups.

The employees said the practice was common for at least two years, and in one case a staff member from the LGBT community was asked to physically block a same-sex marriage display from a passing group.

After the story ran, the museum's CEO, John Young, said he wouldn't seek reappointment, and former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray resigned from the fundraising arm of the museum in protest. 
© Jaison Empson/CBC John Young, CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, is not seeking reappointment when his term ends. He acknowledges there are shortcomings when it comes to dealing with racism at the institution dedicated to the principle of human rights.
The CMHR then issued a public apology a day later for excluding, and even in some cases hiding, LGBT content.

Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a statement the government is committed to promoting healthy workplaces where harassment is not tolerated.

"We have zero tolerance for harassment, abuse or discrimination. Everybody deserves a healthy working environment. As mentioned before, we respect [CEO John] Young's decision not to pursue a new term ... and we hope the upcoming transition will be beneficial to both the museum's educational mission and the dedicated staff of the CMHR."

Last week, the CMHR announced the hiring of Winnipeg lawyer Laurelle Harris to investigate allegations of discrimination at the museum after former employees began posting stories earlier this month on social media about racism they say they experienced while working at the institution.

Agüero said she hopes that by speaking out, life will get better for women who still work there. "I'm always of the idea that there's a hope for change.... We can change things together," she said.

"Because of [the police killing of] George Floyd in the States and what happened, we have no right to leave things the way they were."

Kevin Bittman reflects on departure from CRC and Unifor 594

Arthur White-Crummey, Regina Leader-Post

© BRANDON HARDER REGINA, SASK : April 29, 2020 -- Unifor Local 594 President Kevin Bittman prepares to speak in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building 

The man who led more than 700 refinery workers though a gruelling dispute with the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) is leaving his position at the plant and with the union.

Kevin Bittman, president of Unifor Local 594, said he is done at the plant. In a text message exchange with the Leader-Post, he said there is already a replacement for his role as president of the local.

He expressed hope that his departure would make it easier for his colleagues as they head back to the job over the coming weeks.

“It is time for the workers to get back in the plant and that is all that matters,” he said Wednesday.
“The company made no secret what they thought of me when they came after me during the lockout,” Bittman added. “Now that it is over, it is time for building back the relationship and I am not sure (that) can be done with me in the picture.”

Bittman headed Unifor Local 594 for 13 years. He has worked at the CRC for more than 20 years, and was working as a master operator when the lockout began on Dec. 5 .

He was a regular fixture at the Unifor demonstrations and protest actions that followed over the nearly seven-month struggle that followed. It ended with a vote ratifying a seven-year deal with the company on Monday.

He even ended up facing contempt of court allegations due to his forceful speeches, though he was found not guilty by a court in February .

Bittman said he will simply take the summer off before deciding what’s coming next in his life. He said whatever he does next will be focused on “trying to better the environment for people that work in this province.”

He said he’s currently feeling well, despite the pressures of the long battle with the company.

“Life sometimes takes us in different directions,” he said. “You can dwell on the past or embrace life and look at the future.”
13 things you probably didn't know about the Black Panther Party

K. Thor Jensen Jun 16, 2020
Black Panther Party members protesting in New York City on April 11, 1969. David Fenton/Getty Images


The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.
It advocated for Black liberation and combated police brutality with armed patrols known as "copwatching."

There were violent encounters with cops and accusations of gang activity. J. Edgar Hoover said the BPP "represents the greatest threat to the internal security of the country."

The BPP also launched dozens of social programs including free breakfasts and medical clinics.

Learn more about the untold history of the Black Panther Party.

The Black Panther Party was one of the most influential grassroots political forces of the 20th century.

Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, the Panthers eschewed civil disobedience in favor of armed shows of force, particularly to confront police violence.

The Black Panthers march in protest of the 1968 trial of co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California. Bettemann
The BPP was controversial from the start: There were shootouts with police, murders, and accusations the Party was a front for drug-dealing, prostitution, and extortion.


Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver speaks to students at a rally at American University in Washington, DC, in October 1968. Bettmann

But the BPP's belief in Black self-determination fueled dozens of social programs benefiting tens of thousands, including free-breakfast programs and no-cost medical clinics.

Eventually, the Party opened "liberation schools," where children learned Black history and political science. They practiced penmanship by writing letters to incarcerated members.
A group of children give the Black Panther salute, on December 20, 1969. Bettemann

At its height, the BPP had thousands of members in nearly 70 cities. In-fighting, FBI infiltration, and other factors led to the group's decline, and the Panthers officially dissolved in 1982.
Black Panther Party buttons. Bettemann

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the call against police brutality has gone out again.

The Black Panther Party was formed in response to the killing of an unarmed Black teen by police.
Huey Newton (right) with Bobby Seale at Black Panther Party headquarters in San Francisco in 1967. Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Image

On September 27, 1966, a police officer shot Matthew Johnson, an unarmed 16-year-old, in the back in San Francisco's Hunters Point neighborhood, sparking violent unrest for several days.

Huey Newton decided the only way to address police brutality was to monitor the authorities. He read up on California's open-carry laws and, within weeks, had armed men patrolling the streets of Oakland.

If they saw an arrest, they would approach with their firearms visible and inform the suspects of their rights. The practice came to be known as "copwatching."


California repealed its open-carry law because of the Panthers.

Two members of the Black Panther Party are stopped by police on the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, on May 2. 1967. Bettmann

In the late 1960s, photographs of visibly armed Black men panicked conservatives.

In April 1967, California State Assemblyman Don Mulford introduced a ban on carrying loaded firearms in public. Weeks later, a group of armed Panthers barged into the State Assembly in Sacramento to protest.

The Mulford Act was soon passed by a large majority and signed into law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan.

"There is no reason why, on the street today, a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons," Reagan said at the time. "Guns are a ridiculous way to solve problems than have to be solved among people of good will."


They chose black leather jackets and berets as their uniform because they were easy to find.

A line of Black Panther Party members outside a New York City courthouse on April 11, 1969. David Fenton/Getty Images

According to Stanley Nelson, director of "The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution," Huey Newton and Bobby Seale chose the Panthers' look because "it was something that everybody had in their closet."

"They said, 'You know, every young black man has a black leather jacket or can get one or can borrow one if they can't buy one," he told Fresh Air's Terry Gross."Everybody could get a beret. Everybody could get some sunglasses and get the Panther look."

The uniform was also calculated to be distinct from the suit-and-tie look favored more traditional civil-rights activists.


They developed a free school-breakfast program that fed thousands of children every day.

Two boys in 1969 at a free breakfast for children program in New York City sponsored by the Black Panther Party. Bev Grant/Getty Images

In 1969, the Black Panther Party began serving free hot breakfasts to kids in Oakland, soliciting food from local grocers and consulting nutritionists on healthy and filling recipes.

The Free Breakfast for School Children Program eventually expanded to 45 cities and fed tens of thousands of kids, according to History.com.

Schools and parents praised it, but the police and FBI spread rumors the BPP was using the meals to indoctrinate or even poison kids.

In 1975, just as the BPP's breakfast programs were being shut down, the USDA permanently authorized the nationwide School Breakfast Program, which fed more than 14 million children in 2016 alone.

The Black Panthers opened free medical clinics and ambulance services.

A poster advertising the Bobby Seale People's Free Health Clinic. National Archives

After the success of its free-breakfast programs, the BPP addressed the imbalance in America's healthcare system by opening no-cost health clinics in 13 cities.

People's Free Medical Centers offered vaccinations, checkups, cancer screenings, and more in storefronts and trailers. They were staffed by doctors and trained volunteers.

When a Black teen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, died because an ambulance refused to take him to the hospital, the Panthers converted an old hearse into a free ambulance service.

They created the first nationwide testing and screening program for sickle cell anemia.

A young girl grimaces as she gets a blood test for sickle-cell anemia, in 1972. Dave Buresh/The Denver Post via Getty Images

First identified in 1910, sickle cell anemia attracted little scholarship or funding because it primarily affected people of African descent.

The Panthers established a national screening program, training volunteers to go door-to-door in predominantly Black neighborhoods and give free fingerstick tests. Followup care for anyone who tested positive was arranged with local hospitals.

The Panthers' high profile campaign put pressure on President Nixon to sign legislation that funded sickle cell research and clinics in 1972.


Huey Newton took a delegation to China, where he met Premier Zhou Enlai.
Huey Newton (right) at a press conference in San Francisco after returning from a meeting with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in China. Bettmann

Huey Newton was heavily influenced by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, and even sold copies of the Little Red Book to buy guns.

Mao's philosophy appealed to the BPP because, as Eveline Chao wrote in ChinaFile,, "it made Marxism, which otherwise seemed like something for the white New Left, applicable to people of color."

In 1971, Huey Newton and Elaine Brown flew to Beijing and met with Premier Zhou Enlai and Mao's wife, Jiang Qing.

They were met by throngs of cheering young people at the airport, waving copies of the Little Red Book and signs that read "We support the Black Panther Party, down with U.S. imperialism."


They helped migrant workers organize against Safeway.

A Black Panther rally against Safeway in Oakland, California, circa 1969. Harold Adler/Underwood Archives/Getty Images

In the early 1970s, Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers union boycotted Safeway in California for selling grapes picked by non-union workers.

Safeway, coincidentally, was one of the few markets to refuse to donate to the Panthers' free-breakfast program.

Seizing the opportunity, the BPP began ferrying shoppers to competing Lucky's supermarkets free of charge.

The boycott was successful enough that at least one Safeway in Oakland was forced to close.


The Black Panthers taught self-defense classes to senior citizens.

A woman sits on a bench outside the Black Panther offices in Harlem, circa 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Black Panthers launched Seniors Against A Fearful Environment (SAFE) after a group of older Oakland residents asked them to teach them self-defense to fend off muggers.

The seniors had originally approached the police for help but were told to just "walk close to the curb," according to the Atlanta Black Star.

The SAFE program also provided free transportation so older locals could deposit their social security and pension checks.


FBI director J. Edgar Hoover called the Black Panthers "the greatest internal threat to the security of the country."

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in 1970. The Life Images Collection/Getty Images

Hoover used a special counterintelligence program, COINTELPRO, to discredit party leaders.

Agents sent letters to members' wives accusing them of infidelity, according to Historian Thomas J. Reed, "to terrorize and divide the Black Panthers into warring factions."

Newton and others alleged the FBI arranged the assassination of BPP member Fred Hampton in December 1968.

Hoover terminated COINTELPRO in 1971 after its undercover activities were exposed by The Washington Post and other outlets.


Chaka Khan was once a member of the Black Panthers.

Chaka Khan, circa 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The singer, born Yvette Stevens, was recruited by the Panthers to sell newspapers in 1969, when she was just 14.

"I was totally against all the sock hops and shit my school had to offer to keep the natives quiet. We used to call them 'slave gatherings,'" she told The Guardian in 2019. "So, I had my combat boots on, my green khaki pants. I didn't feel in danger – it wasn't like that. We were doing the right thing."

She became disillusioned with the party, though, when she was given a gun.

"I'm telling you, every moment I had that gun it changed me," she said. "I felt physically sick." Khan said she didn't feel better until she threw the .38 in a pond.


There was a White Panthers Party.

A female member of the White Panthers at Woodstock in 1969. Ralph Ackerman/Getty Images

When reporters asked Huey Newton what white allies could do to support the Black Panthers, he said they could form their own party.

In 1968, former MC5 manager John Sinclair launched the White Panther Party as an anti-racist political collective.

That same year, Sinclair and Pun Plamondon were indicted for conspiracy to destroy a CIA branch office. The case brought to light the government's extensive wiretapping of Black Panther offices, according to the San Francisco Bay View.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that warrantless wiretapping was a violation of the Fourth Amendment.


A woman led the Black Panther Party for four years.

Elaine Brown (standing) at a Black Panther Party press conference on August 22, 1975. Bettmann/Getty Images

When Panther leader Huey Newton fled to Cuba after being charged with murder, he appointed Elaine Brown the party's new chair.

It was a revolutionary move, challenging the group's entrenched sexism.

A woman in charge "was the violation of some Black Power principle that was left undefined," Brown wrote in her 1992 memoir, "A Taste of Power." "I knew I would have to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party."

As leader, Brown focused on community service, education, and politics. She managed Lionel Wilson's successful bid to become Oakland's first Black mayor.

After Newton's return in 1977, Browns stepped down and soon broke ties with the Panthers. She alleged Newton authorized the beating of another female member.

The vicious attack, she wrote in her memoir, sent a signal "denoting an inferiority in the female half of us."
The UK's justice minister said the country will ban its 'rough sex gone wrong' legal defense that led to lesser charges for killing women  

James Pasley Jun 16, 2020

Crystal Cox/Business Insider


On Tuesday, Justice Minister Alex Chalk said an old legal defense in England and Wales known as the "rough sex gone wrong" defense will be banned later this year.
It's been used to get lower sentences since 1972 — acts of violence are framed around victim's supposed desire for things like BDSM.

Campaign group We Can't Consent To This compiled a list of all the times it had been used in the UK since 1972, and found 60 women's killers had used the defense.

Louise Perry, a co-leader of the group, told the Independent it was a similar defense to one known as the "nagging and shagging defense," which tries to justify violence based on a partner's actions, like having less sex or annoying the perpetrator.

Recently, it was used unsuccessfully by the man who killed 21-year-old British woman Grace Millane in New Zealand.
The United Kingdom's justice minister has made it clear that a legal defense in England and Wales known as the "rough sex going wrong" defense will be outlawed.

On Tuesday, Member of Parliament Alex Chalk made the declaration at a Public Bill Committee debate over the UK's new Domestic Abuse Bill.

"It is unconscionable for defendants to suggest that the death of a woman — it is almost invariably ​a woman — is justified, excusable or legally defensible simply because that woman consented in the violent and harmful sexual activity that resulted in her death," he said.

He said the government was committed to making the fact it was unconscionable "crystal clear."

He made the declaration after Jess Philips, the Labour Party's shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, spoke about a proposed amendment on the legal defense, according to the BBC.

Phillips said: The law should be clear to all: you cannot consent to serious injury or death, but the case law is not up to the task. When a woman is dead, she cannot speak for herself. Any man charged with killing a woman, or a current or former partner, should simply say, "She wanted it."

The amendment was withdrawn after Chalk's assurances.

The "rough sex defense" has been used to explain why violence occurred to get a lighter sentence for people who have committed crimes, including murder.
It was first used in 1972, when the man who killed a woman named Carole Califano — who was trying to leave him — had his charge dropped from murder to manslaughter.

More recently, it was used unsuccessfully by the man who strangled 21-year-old British woman Grace Millane in New Zealand to death. In a court in the UK, he argued she died accidentally in a "sex game gone wrong," according to The Independent.

The defense has become increasingly common, according to We Can't Consent To This, a campaign group created in 2018 to raise awareness about the defense.

Louise Perry, a co-leader of the group, told The Independent: "Killers are becoming increasingly aware of this defense. Lawyers aren't meant to propose it but people are aware of it, and its potential success."

"Men have always murdered women, this is just a new way of getting rid of them," she said.

She said it was a similar defense to another one known as the "nagging and shagging defense," which tries to justify violence based on a partner's actions, like having less sex or annoying the perpetrator.

She said that when people hear the term "rough sex" the harm is framed in a relatable way, but often the injuries are horrific.

Co-founder Fiona McKenzie compiled a list of all the times it had been used in the UK since 1972. She found 60 women's killers used the defense.

There have also been 114 women and one man who have been to court and listened to claims that they consented to violence — including things like beating, strangling, waterboarding, and asphyxiation.

The Domestic Abuse Bill is due to come into force later this year.