|
|
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Forget Manchin. Sanders says entire Democratic party must show ‘guts’ against corporate interests
The focus of the party, says the Vermont senator, must be “to restore faith with the American people that they actually stand for something.”
Stressing a need to pass the “enormously important” Build Back Better bill, Sen. Bernie Sanders said this week that failure to do so would indicate to Americans that Democrats “don’t have the guts to take on the powerful special interests.”
The Vermont Independent’s remarks on MSNBC‘s “Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday night came after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced on Fox News that he was a “no” on his party’s social spending and climate reconciliation package, delivering a potential death blow to the legislation his opposition had already weakened.
The announcement prompted ire from progressive groups as well as renewed demands from some Democrats that the Senate be brought back into session so that Manchin would have to go on record for voting against a bill that would provide much-needed benefits to his own constituents and beyond.
In an apparent reference to Manchin and another right-wing Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Sanders criticized “two senators” who’ve acted with regards to BBB negotiations that “it’s my way or the highway.”
Such a stance, said Sanders, is “an arrogance that I think is unacceptable.”
He also rebuked “people like Mr. Manchin,” who are “turning their backs on the working families of this country, allowing the big money interest once again to prevail and basically saying, ‘If I don’t get everything I want, I’m not going forward.’ That is not acceptable to me.”
What has to happen now, he said, is for leadership to bring the BBB bill to the Senate floor for a vote. Then, Manchin “will have to tell the people of West Virginia and this country why he is supporting all of the powerful special interests in this country—the drug companies, the insurance companies, the fossil fuel industry, the very wealthy who do not want to pay anything more in federal taxes.”
Another step is for Democrats to have better messaging around the bill, said Sanders. He gave as one example the monthly checks from the expanded Child Tax Credit families are poised to see cut off-—”despite the fact we’ve reduced childhood poverty through that by almost 40%.”
The focus right now, Sanders said, must not be solely on Manchin but instead fall more broadly.
“It is about the Democratic Party trying to restore faith with the American people that they actually stand for something,” said Sanders.
“Do we have the guts to take on the drug companies who are spending over $300 million in lobbying right now? Is that the Democratic Party?” he asked.
“Do they have the guts to take on the private insurance company who do not want us to expand Medicare and dental, hearing, and eyeglasses?” he added. “Do we have the courage to do what the scientists are telling us has to be done and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel?”
Talon Anvil, Task Force 9 and the terrible cost of the air offensive in Syria
Subsidizing militarism in search of monsters overseas seems more and more like the American way. With the new focus on near peer competitors like Russia and China, the dangers are only growing.
On December 12th, the New York Times published a story about the U.S. drone war in Syria that should have raised more eyebrows but barely registered with most of the American press. The piece by Dave Phillips, Eric Schmitt and Mark Mazzetti concerned a small unit controlled by Delta Force and 5thSpecial Forces members called Talon Anvil, which sounds more like a metal band created by way of a thesaurus than an operation that engaged in thousands of drone strikes across Syria from 2014 to 2019 at the height of the battle against the so-called Islamic State.
Why the story was important is that it revealed that many of Talon Anvil’s 1,000s of strikes killed civilians, so many that some of those operating the drones 24 hours a day in three 8 hour shifts refused orders to deploy them in heavily populated areas or against targets that didn’t appear armed. Despite this, each year the group operated, the numbers of civilian casualties in Syria went up.
As reported by the Times, even officials with the CIA complained to the Special Operations Command about the strikes. Nonetheless, the bloody drone war was a bipartisan affair that occured over two U.S. presidential administrations.
As Larry Lewis, who was among those who wrote a Defense Department report on civilian casualties in 2018, told the reporters, in terms of the sheer numbers of civilians wounded and killed, “It was much higher than I would have expected from a U.S. unit. The fact that it increased dramatically and steadily over a period of years shocked me.”
How were Talon Anvil able to get around rules of engagement that might have protected the many civilians said to have been wounded and killed in the strikes? By claiming “self-defense”. As of 2018, 80% of strikes in the chaotic Syrian conflict were characterized this way.
As two unnamed former task force members explained, the claim that almost every strike was carried out to protect U.S. or allied forces, even when they were far from the location where the bombs were dropped, allowed approvals at lightning speed.
The Delta Force and other special forces soldiers ordering the strikes were also accused by Air Force intelligence analysts tasked with reviewing the footage they produced of turning the drones’ cameras away from their targets before dropping their payloads so that there would be no evidence in the case of a ‘failed’ strike that resulted in civilian casualties.
This story might not have been told at all if not for an earlier one, also in the Times, about three piloted strikes in a Syrian town called Baghuz on March 18th, 2019, where some of the last IS holdouts were said to be sheltering.
After a drone above the town relayed images of a crowd of people, mostly women and children, next to a river bank, a U.S. F-15 dropped a 500 pound bomb on the group. As those that survived the first bomb searched for cover or wandered in shock, a second and then a third bomb, each weighing 2,000 pounds were dropped, obliterating them. Although we will never know the exact number, at least 70 civilians died as a result.
As also reported by other outlets, confused air operations personnel at a large base in Qatar looked on in disbelief at what was happening in Baghuz, with one officer asking in the secure chat, “Who dropped that?”
Even though an airforce lawyer flagged the incident as a possible war crime, the U.S. military tried to bury and then deny that it had happened at all. They even went so far as to have coalition forces “bulldoze” the blast site in a clear attempt to bury evidence of the crime.
The strike was ordered by the group that we now know also controlled Talon Anvil and ground operations in Syria called Task Force 9, a unit so secretive that those at the airbase in Qatar who first drew attention to the strike in Baghuz were unaware of its existence. Both groups are not officially recognized as ever existing by the American government.
The bizarre metric of success for Talon Anvil and Task Force 9 generally seemed to have been sheer numbers of bombs dropped rather than actual militants removed from the incredibly fraught battlefield. Not only the U.S. and its allies, especially Turkey, routinely massacred innocent people, but the Syrian government and its Russian ally showed callous disregard for the lives of civilians as well, especially in flattening East Aleppo, where they killed well over 400 people in the densely populated urban area.
The man at the top of Task Force 9 and other secretive special forces, General Stephen Townsend, faced no repercussions for the alleged war crimes but was instead promoted. He now heads the country’s Africa Command, where special forces and drones are deployed but where there are even fewer influential voices who might put a spotlight on the kinds of crimes that may be occuring in countries like Somalia and Niger, where hostilities haven’t been officially declared.
Norman Soloman recently wrote about how crimes like the one that occured in Baghuz and many other towns and cities in Syria go unpunished but those who reveal these kinds of atrocities on the part of the United States and its allies like Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Norman Hale, a former analyst with the U.S. Air Force, recently sentenced to 45 months in prison for revealing the impacts of U.S. drone warfare, are victimized by the state for their whistle-blowing.
It’s important to give mainstream outlets like the Times credit for using the resources at their disposal to make stories like that of Talon Anvil public, even when they are hidden behind paywalls and have to be searched out, but as several commentators including Soloman have noted, there is a tendency to portray the U.S. military and political leadership as meaning well and what amount to war crimes as simple mistakes. Such a position wouldn’t be taken in regards to a competitor like China or Russia.
It should also be noted that in almost every case from the torture that took place at Abu Ghraib to Talon Anvil’s bombing of civilians, every atrocity is placed squarely on the shoulders of the military’s lower ranks when they are made public. This ignores the very rigid hierarchies in place where superiors either order or imply that more and more drone strikes, for example, need to take place in order to create the illusion of some kind of success.
Another fault with the NYT’s story is it fails to credit Hale for his whistle-blowing and doesn’t appear to be using its influence to call attention to his imprisonment for revealing the truth of what was going on with the country’s drone war as early as 2015, revelations that were important to the Times’ stories.
Rather than passing the Build Back Better Act, which would have, among other things, provided pre-kindergarten child care to working people whose lives would be significantly improved by it, one deeply compromised Democratic senator stopped its passage. Arguments about out of control budgets didn’t stop the same body from awarding the Pentagon $25 billion more than the president asked for for their budget which was $768 billion after approval in the country’s Senate.
Subsidizing militarism in search of monsters overseas seems more and more like the American way. With the new focus on near peer competitors like Russia and China, the dangers are only growing.
SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PERMANENT+ARMS+ECONOMY
'Don't Cross the Picket Line': Apple Workers Organize Christmas Eve Walkout
"We are Apple. We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare."
An Apple Store employee helps customers at International Plaza in Tampa, Florida on November 26, 2021. (Photo: Octavio Jones/Getty Images
COMMONDREAMS
December 24, 2021
A group of Apple employees organized a Christmas Eve walkout, demanding better working conditions and calling on customers to not shop in the tech giant's retail or online stores.
"We are Apple," Apple Together, the group organizing the walkout, tweeted Thursday. "We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare."
The workers are also asking for protective measures against Covid-19, including N-95 masks, sanitizer stations, a ban on loitering in stores, and appointment-only shopping.
"Demand that Apple upholds its image with your wallet," the walkout organizers said. "Don't shop in stores, don't shop online."
Apple Together—a group of company employees that formerly used the #AppleToo hashtag to draw attention to sexual harassment, sexism, and other workplace issues at the tech giant—said that in addition to Apple Store employees, workers at corporate offices and AppleCare are participating in the action.
The group is best known for blowing the whistle on sexism at the California-based company. Last month, group member and former company product manager Janneke Parrish filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claiming she was fired for helping coworkers share their experiences of sexism and other discrimination at Apple.
Parrish followed Ashley Gjøvik—a former Apple product manager terminated after attempting to organize workers and sharing stories of sexual harassment—in filing an NLRB complaint against the company.
A group of Apple employees organized a Christmas Eve walkout, demanding better working conditions and calling on customers to not shop in the tech giant's retail or online stores.
"We are Apple," Apple Together, the group organizing the walkout, tweeted Thursday. "We deserve a respectful workplace. We deserve paid sick time. We deserve protection on the frontlines. We deserve proper mental healthcare."
The workers are also asking for protective measures against Covid-19, including N-95 masks, sanitizer stations, a ban on loitering in stores, and appointment-only shopping.
"Demand that Apple upholds its image with your wallet," the walkout organizers said. "Don't shop in stores, don't shop online."
Apple Together—a group of company employees that formerly used the #AppleToo hashtag to draw attention to sexual harassment, sexism, and other workplace issues at the tech giant—said that in addition to Apple Store employees, workers at corporate offices and AppleCare are participating in the action.
The group is best known for blowing the whistle on sexism at the California-based company. Last month, group member and former company product manager Janneke Parrish filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claiming she was fired for helping coworkers share their experiences of sexism and other discrimination at Apple.
Parrish followed Ashley Gjøvik—a former Apple product manager terminated after attempting to organize workers and sharing stories of sexual harassment—in filing an NLRB complaint against the company.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In Six Weeks Ahead of Christmas, Rich Nations Snagged More Vaccines Than Africa Got All Year
"Make no mistake: rich country governments are to blame for the uncertainty and fear that is once again clouding Christmas."
A nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 at the Centro Cultural Paz Flor in Luanda on December 16, 2021. (Photo: Osvaldo Silva/AFP via Getty Images)
JAKE JOHNSON
COMMONDREAMS
December 24, 2021
The United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union countries secured more coronavirus vaccine doses in a six-week period before Christmas than the entire continent of Africa received in all of 2021, striking inequity that campaigners say is protracting the deadly pandemic and creating conditions for more variants to emerge.
An analysis released Friday by the People's Vaccine Alliance showed that between November 11 and December 21, 2021, the E.U., U.K., and U.S. snagged 513 million vaccine doses as they accelerated their booster-shot campaigns in preparation for the holiday season.
"Extinguishing the threat of variants and ending this pandemic requires vaccinating the world."
African countries, meanwhile, got just 500 million vaccine doses throughout the entire year.
"Make no mistake: rich country governments are to blame for the uncertainty and fear that is once again clouding Christmas," Anna Marriott, health policy manager at Oxfam International, said in a statement. "By blocking the real solutions to vaccine access in poorer countries, they are prolonging the pandemic and all its suffering for every one of us."
The analysis comes as nations across the globe are grappling with the heavily mutated and highly contagious Omicron variant, which quickly emerged as the dominant coronavirus strain in several countries—including the U.S.—after it was first detected in southern Africa last month.
Marriott said that while "rich countries are banking on boosters to keep them safe from Omicron and future variants of Covid-19," booster shots "can never be more than a temporary and inadequate firewall."
"Extinguishing the threat of variants and ending this pandemic requires vaccinating the world," said Marriott. "And that means sharing vaccine recipes and letting developing countries manufacture jabs for themselves."
Maaza Seyoum of the African Alliance echoed that message, castigating the leaders of wealthy countries for prioritizing "the obscene profits of pharmaceutical companies over the lives of people in Africa."
"The Omicron variant shows that vaccine inequality is a threat to everyone, everywhere," Seyoum said. "Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz, and European leaders need to finally support an intellectual property waiver and let Africa and the global south unlock its capacity to manufacture and distribute vaccines. Otherwise, humanity will never beat the race against the next variant."
India and South Africa's proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily suspend patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics has been stalled for more than a year as Germany, Britain, Canada, and other rich nations have obstructed progress, leaving private pharmaceutical giants with near-total control over vaccine production.
Thus far, pharmaceutical companies have sold much of their supply to rich nations for hefty profits, leaving low-income countries with leftovers and inadequate donations from their rich counterparts. Rich countries are currently hoarding more vaccine doses than they need even for their booster campaigns.
Proponents of a patent waiver argue that a suspension of intellectual property rules would allow developing countries to produce generic coronavirus vaccines for their populations without fear of legal retribution.
While the U.S.-based corporations Pfizer and Moderna have claimed that a patent waiver wouldn't help boost global vaccine production because low-income countries lack the manufacturing capacity necessary to make mRNA shots, experts have identified more than 100 firms in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that are qualified and prepared to do so.
Related Content
Debunking Pharma Lies, Experts Identify 100+ Firms Ready to Make mRNA Vaccines
Jake Johnson
To date, just 8.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose. In his final press briefing of the year on Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization warned that just half of the WHO's member states have been able to reach the target of vaccinating at least 40% of their populations by the end of 2021.
If current distribution trends and artificial supply constraints continue, the WHO chief has said, the African continent might not reach 70% vaccination against Covid-19 until late 2024. At present, just 8.6% of Africa's population is fully vaccinated.
The People's Vaccine Alliance pointed out in its new analysis that in the face of Omicron, the U.K.—which has fully vaccinated 70% of its population—"has a target of administering one million booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines a day in response, equivalent to vaccinating 1.46% of the population every day."
"If every country was able to vaccinate at the same rate as the U.K. target," the alliance noted, "it would take just 68 days to deliver a first dose to everyone who needs one, leaving no one unvaccinated by the end of February 2022."
Nick Dearden, director of the U.K.-based advocacy group Global Justice Now, said Friday that "if we ever want to have a normal Christmas again, we need to vaccinate the world."
"But right now, the U.K. and E.U. are holding back international efforts to use and expand manufacturing and distribution capacity in low- and middle-income countries," Dearden continued. "It's reckless and risks trapping us in an endless cycle of variants, boosters, restrictions, and even lockdowns."
The United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union countries secured more coronavirus vaccine doses in a six-week period before Christmas than the entire continent of Africa received in all of 2021, striking inequity that campaigners say is protracting the deadly pandemic and creating conditions for more variants to emerge.
An analysis released Friday by the People's Vaccine Alliance showed that between November 11 and December 21, 2021, the E.U., U.K., and U.S. snagged 513 million vaccine doses as they accelerated their booster-shot campaigns in preparation for the holiday season.
"Extinguishing the threat of variants and ending this pandemic requires vaccinating the world."
African countries, meanwhile, got just 500 million vaccine doses throughout the entire year.
"Make no mistake: rich country governments are to blame for the uncertainty and fear that is once again clouding Christmas," Anna Marriott, health policy manager at Oxfam International, said in a statement. "By blocking the real solutions to vaccine access in poorer countries, they are prolonging the pandemic and all its suffering for every one of us."
The analysis comes as nations across the globe are grappling with the heavily mutated and highly contagious Omicron variant, which quickly emerged as the dominant coronavirus strain in several countries—including the U.S.—after it was first detected in southern Africa last month.
Marriott said that while "rich countries are banking on boosters to keep them safe from Omicron and future variants of Covid-19," booster shots "can never be more than a temporary and inadequate firewall."
"Extinguishing the threat of variants and ending this pandemic requires vaccinating the world," said Marriott. "And that means sharing vaccine recipes and letting developing countries manufacture jabs for themselves."
Maaza Seyoum of the African Alliance echoed that message, castigating the leaders of wealthy countries for prioritizing "the obscene profits of pharmaceutical companies over the lives of people in Africa."
"The Omicron variant shows that vaccine inequality is a threat to everyone, everywhere," Seyoum said. "Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz, and European leaders need to finally support an intellectual property waiver and let Africa and the global south unlock its capacity to manufacture and distribute vaccines. Otherwise, humanity will never beat the race against the next variant."
India and South Africa's proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily suspend patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics has been stalled for more than a year as Germany, Britain, Canada, and other rich nations have obstructed progress, leaving private pharmaceutical giants with near-total control over vaccine production.
Thus far, pharmaceutical companies have sold much of their supply to rich nations for hefty profits, leaving low-income countries with leftovers and inadequate donations from their rich counterparts. Rich countries are currently hoarding more vaccine doses than they need even for their booster campaigns.
Proponents of a patent waiver argue that a suspension of intellectual property rules would allow developing countries to produce generic coronavirus vaccines for their populations without fear of legal retribution.
While the U.S.-based corporations Pfizer and Moderna have claimed that a patent waiver wouldn't help boost global vaccine production because low-income countries lack the manufacturing capacity necessary to make mRNA shots, experts have identified more than 100 firms in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that are qualified and prepared to do so.
Related Content
Debunking Pharma Lies, Experts Identify 100+ Firms Ready to Make mRNA Vaccines
Jake Johnson
To date, just 8.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose. In his final press briefing of the year on Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization warned that just half of the WHO's member states have been able to reach the target of vaccinating at least 40% of their populations by the end of 2021.
If current distribution trends and artificial supply constraints continue, the WHO chief has said, the African continent might not reach 70% vaccination against Covid-19 until late 2024. At present, just 8.6% of Africa's population is fully vaccinated.
The People's Vaccine Alliance pointed out in its new analysis that in the face of Omicron, the U.K.—which has fully vaccinated 70% of its population—"has a target of administering one million booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines a day in response, equivalent to vaccinating 1.46% of the population every day."
"If every country was able to vaccinate at the same rate as the U.K. target," the alliance noted, "it would take just 68 days to deliver a first dose to everyone who needs one, leaving no one unvaccinated by the end of February 2022."
Nick Dearden, director of the U.K.-based advocacy group Global Justice Now, said Friday that "if we ever want to have a normal Christmas again, we need to vaccinate the world."
"But right now, the U.K. and E.U. are holding back international efforts to use and expand manufacturing and distribution capacity in low- and middle-income countries," Dearden continued. "It's reckless and risks trapping us in an endless cycle of variants, boosters, restrictions, and even lockdowns."
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Class, Culture and Conflict in Barcelona 1898–1937
This is a study of social protest and repression in one of the twentieth century’s most important revolutionary hotspots. It explains why Barcelona became the undisputed capital of the European anarchist movement and explores the sources of anarchist power in the city. It also places Barcelona at the centre of Spain’s economic, social, cultural and political life between 1898 and 1937.During this period, a range of social groups, movements and institutions competed with one another to impose their own political and urban projects on the city: the central authorities struggled to retain control of Spain’s most unruly city; nationalist groups hoped to create the capital of Catalonia; local industrialists attempted to erect a modern industrial city; the urban middle classes planned to democratise the city; and meanwhile, the anarchists sought to liberate the city’s workers from oppression and exploitation. This resulted in a myriad of frequently violent conflicts for control of the city, both before and during the civil war. This is a work of great importance in the field of contemporary Spanish history and fills a significant gap in the current literature.
Chris Ealham
is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, Lancaster University. He is co-editor of
The Splintering of Spain: Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Civil War. His work focuses on labour and social protest in Spain, and he is currently working on a history of urban conflict in 1930s Spain
This is a study of social protest and repression in one of the twentieth century’s most important revolutionary hotspots. It explains why Barcelona became the undisputed capital of the European anarchist movement and explores the sources of anarchist power in the city. It also places Barcelona at the centre of Spain’s economic, social, cultural and political life between 1898 and 1937.During this period, a range of social groups, movements and institutions competed with one another to impose their own political and urban projects on the city: the central authorities struggled to retain control of Spain’s most unruly city; nationalist groups hoped to create the capital of Catalonia; local industrialists attempted to erect a modern industrial city; the urban middle classes planned to democratise the city; and meanwhile, the anarchists sought to liberate the city’s workers from oppression and exploitation. This resulted in a myriad of frequently violent conflicts for control of the city, both before and during the civil war. This is a work of great importance in the field of contemporary Spanish history and fills a significant gap in the current literature.
Chris Ealham
is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, Lancaster University. He is co-editor of
The Splintering of Spain: Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Civil War. His work focuses on labour and social protest in Spain, and he is currently working on a history of urban conflict in 1930s Spain
Work for yourself? Canada has fewer and fewer people like you — and here's why
Self-employment dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade during the pandemic
Jacqueline Hansen · CBC News · Posted: Dec 24, 2021
Business on the brink
Michelle Palmer has been self-employed for eight years, but the owner of Pause Beauty Boutique in Toronto said the pandemic has made her question it.
"I've encountered the idea and the thought of closure so many times in the last two years, I can't even count," said Palmer.
She was forced to close her spa business for 10 months out of the past two years because of public health lockdowns. Despite applying for all the financial help she could, she reopened her doors deep in debt.
"Our debt load is in the six figures right now, and that's not going to go away overnight."
Falling through the cracks
Some self-employed Canadians fell through the cracks of government support programs, according to Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"I've talked to thousands of self-employed people who really got almost no support through the COVID emergency," said Kelly.
He says many of them didn't qualify for programs that their large or medium-sized counterparts did. For example, the Canada Emergency Business Account provided interest-free loans of $40,000, but initially, applicants had to show they had an annual payroll of at least $50,000 in 2019 to access it.
Self-employed workers were eligible to apply for the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) and its replacement, the Canada recovery benefit (CRB), but Kelly argues the income support was not enough to keep a business going.
Palmer says she was cut off from the personal support programs this year because her 2020 taxes showed she didn't make the required $5,000 to be eligible for CERB or CRB. That's because she is a sole proprietor, which means that her business and personal taxes are filed together, and because of the closures, Palmer's business operated at a loss.
Seeking out job security
In the professional, science and technical fields, the trend may be headed in the opposite direction: toward salaried positions, which increased by close to 22 per cent between November 2019 and November 2021. Statistics Canada suggests the rise is a sign a pandemic-related shift to more standard forms of employment may be underway.
Many of those newly hired employees likely want the stability of a salaried position, according to Scotiabank deputy chief economist Brett House.
"It's not a sign that Canadians are becoming less entrepreneurial. It is a sign that the labour market recovery is continuing and getting firmer," said House.
Self-employment dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade during the pandemic
Jacqueline Hansen · CBC News · Posted: Dec 24, 2021
Every day, Michelle Palmer has thoughts of closing her Toronto spa, Pause Beauty Boutique, after operating at a loss during the pandemic and struggling to get federal support as a self-employed sole proprietor. (Oliver Walters/CBC)
On the surface, Canada's labour market has made a complete comeback since losing nearly three million jobs at the start of the pandemic, but dig a little deeper, and you'll see that the recovery hasn't been for everyone, including self-employed Canadians.
Self-employment in Canada had been growing steadily for several years, but over the course of the pandemic, it fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. There were nearly 2.9 million self-employed Canadians in February 2020. Now, there are just over 2.6 million.
Some of the losses in self-employment have been made up by gains in paid employment in the same industries, according to Statistics Canada. Those include professional, scientific and technical services.
But in other industries, such as agriculture, construction and services, including personal care, declines in self-employment haven't been offset.
Richard Dias, founder and head of research at Acorn Macro Consulting in Halifax, blames the drop on government pandemic policies that weren't tailored to support the success of Canada's self-employed. These policies include blanket business closures and capacity restrictions, complicated applications for financial support and PPE requirements.
"It favoured giant corporates, who obviously are structured much, much better to navigate difficult situations … versus the humble shopkeeper," said Dias.
Statistics Canada breaks self-employment into several categories, including people who own an incorporated or unincorporated business, farm or professional practice, or those without a business, such as newspaper carriers or babysitters. Most self-employed Canadians are a business-of-one, but about one-third employ other people.
Dias is also worried about those self-employed Canadians who stretched themselves financially to survive the pandemic.
"After doing all the right things, they burned through their savings," he said. "There's no recognition, frankly, of that profound systemic error and the prolonged impacts that it's going to have on our economy."
On the surface, Canada's labour market has made a complete comeback since losing nearly three million jobs at the start of the pandemic, but dig a little deeper, and you'll see that the recovery hasn't been for everyone, including self-employed Canadians.
Self-employment in Canada had been growing steadily for several years, but over the course of the pandemic, it fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. There were nearly 2.9 million self-employed Canadians in February 2020. Now, there are just over 2.6 million.
Some of the losses in self-employment have been made up by gains in paid employment in the same industries, according to Statistics Canada. Those include professional, scientific and technical services.
But in other industries, such as agriculture, construction and services, including personal care, declines in self-employment haven't been offset.
Richard Dias, founder and head of research at Acorn Macro Consulting in Halifax, blames the drop on government pandemic policies that weren't tailored to support the success of Canada's self-employed. These policies include blanket business closures and capacity restrictions, complicated applications for financial support and PPE requirements.
"It favoured giant corporates, who obviously are structured much, much better to navigate difficult situations … versus the humble shopkeeper," said Dias.
Statistics Canada breaks self-employment into several categories, including people who own an incorporated or unincorporated business, farm or professional practice, or those without a business, such as newspaper carriers or babysitters. Most self-employed Canadians are a business-of-one, but about one-third employ other people.
Dias is also worried about those self-employed Canadians who stretched themselves financially to survive the pandemic.
"After doing all the right things, they burned through their savings," he said. "There's no recognition, frankly, of that profound systemic error and the prolonged impacts that it's going to have on our economy."
Business on the brink
Michelle Palmer has been self-employed for eight years, but the owner of Pause Beauty Boutique in Toronto said the pandemic has made her question it.
"I've encountered the idea and the thought of closure so many times in the last two years, I can't even count," said Palmer.
She was forced to close her spa business for 10 months out of the past two years because of public health lockdowns. Despite applying for all the financial help she could, she reopened her doors deep in debt.
"Our debt load is in the six figures right now, and that's not going to go away overnight."
Falling through the cracks
Some self-employed Canadians fell through the cracks of government support programs, according to Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"I've talked to thousands of self-employed people who really got almost no support through the COVID emergency," said Kelly.
He says many of them didn't qualify for programs that their large or medium-sized counterparts did. For example, the Canada Emergency Business Account provided interest-free loans of $40,000, but initially, applicants had to show they had an annual payroll of at least $50,000 in 2019 to access it.
Self-employed workers were eligible to apply for the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) and its replacement, the Canada recovery benefit (CRB), but Kelly argues the income support was not enough to keep a business going.
Palmer says she was cut off from the personal support programs this year because her 2020 taxes showed she didn't make the required $5,000 to be eligible for CERB or CRB. That's because she is a sole proprietor, which means that her business and personal taxes are filed together, and because of the closures, Palmer's business operated at a loss.
"The message that we've sent to entrepreneurs over the last two years has been a pretty negative one," said Kelly.
The CFIB expects a wave of business closures in 2022 as the federal pandemic support programs wind down.
"I think many business owners will not see a pathway back to profitability," said Kelly.
Potential new cohort of entrepreneurs
But a new wave of self-employment could be on the horizon. According to a recent survey, 30 per cent of "traditionally employed" Canadians expect to transition to self-employment in the next two years.
The online survey of 3,000 people who work full-time was conducted in August and September of 2021 by data company Dynata for cloud accounting firm Freshbooks. The survey results were balanced against Statistics Canada data on age, gender and industry.
Such a shift to self-employment would be welcome news to the CFIB's Kelly, who wants to see the group of self-employed Canadians grow — not shrink.
"They are the group that we're counting on to replace many of the businesses that are now boarded up," he said. "We're also counting on them to create jobs for other Canadians."
The CFIB expects a wave of business closures in 2022 as the federal pandemic support programs wind down.
"I think many business owners will not see a pathway back to profitability," said Kelly.
Potential new cohort of entrepreneurs
But a new wave of self-employment could be on the horizon. According to a recent survey, 30 per cent of "traditionally employed" Canadians expect to transition to self-employment in the next two years.
The online survey of 3,000 people who work full-time was conducted in August and September of 2021 by data company Dynata for cloud accounting firm Freshbooks. The survey results were balanced against Statistics Canada data on age, gender and industry.
Such a shift to self-employment would be welcome news to the CFIB's Kelly, who wants to see the group of self-employed Canadians grow — not shrink.
"They are the group that we're counting on to replace many of the businesses that are now boarded up," he said. "We're also counting on them to create jobs for other Canadians."
Seeking out job security
In the professional, science and technical fields, the trend may be headed in the opposite direction: toward salaried positions, which increased by close to 22 per cent between November 2019 and November 2021. Statistics Canada suggests the rise is a sign a pandemic-related shift to more standard forms of employment may be underway.
Many of those newly hired employees likely want the stability of a salaried position, according to Scotiabank deputy chief economist Brett House.
"It's not a sign that Canadians are becoming less entrepreneurial. It is a sign that the labour market recovery is continuing and getting firmer," said House.
Shannon Mulligan, with her two young children, has traded freelancing for a full-time role with a growing tech company. (Tina Mackenzie/CBC)
Copywriter Shannon Mulligan is among that crowd. While freelancing was a lifeline during the pandemic, a position with a tech start-up in Toronto recently won her over.
"Moving from freelance to full-time was not something I was really ready to do, but… it was just an overwhelmingly exciting opportunity," said Mulligan.
Her new job comes with the flexibility of working from home, something that was more common for freelancers than paid employees pre-pandemic.
"Being able to have that still helped seal the deal for me," said Mulligan.
Sticking with self-employment
But others aren't ready to give up their self-employment status just yet.
Despite having thoughts of walking away from Pause Beauty Boutique, Palmer says she hasn't followed through with it yet because she still loves it despite the stress and the financial cost.
"[Working for myself] is the most empowering thing I've ever done … and I am not willing to give that up lightly."
Copywriter Shannon Mulligan is among that crowd. While freelancing was a lifeline during the pandemic, a position with a tech start-up in Toronto recently won her over.
"Moving from freelance to full-time was not something I was really ready to do, but… it was just an overwhelmingly exciting opportunity," said Mulligan.
Her new job comes with the flexibility of working from home, something that was more common for freelancers than paid employees pre-pandemic.
"Being able to have that still helped seal the deal for me," said Mulligan.
Sticking with self-employment
But others aren't ready to give up their self-employment status just yet.
Despite having thoughts of walking away from Pause Beauty Boutique, Palmer says she hasn't followed through with it yet because she still loves it despite the stress and the financial cost.
"[Working for myself] is the most empowering thing I've ever done … and I am not willing to give that up lightly."
The Petit Bourgeoisie
Yeah, Marx wants the entire bourgeoisie overthrown—but for him, there's actually more than one kind of bourgeoisie, or at least there are different shades of bourgeoisie.
The petit—French for small—bourgeoisie is made up of small business owners. These people hire other workers, and hence benefit directly from the appropriation (or, in Marx's view, stealing) of the proletariat's wage-labor, but they generally do not own large-scale means of production. So, a grocery-store owner would be petit bourgeoisie, because he benefits from the value added by the labor of his workers but doesn't own an oilrig or a bunch of land.
An interesting example might be a small-fry, self-employed freelance journalist in what today is called the knowledge economy (as opposed to Marx's industrial age). The journalist owns a computer and office equipment, which are arguably means of production, even if small-scale. He or she might also "hire" unpaid interns—a kind of employment, sort of—whose labor he benefits from for free.
On the other hand, as a little-known journo, he or she is probably paid an average of only about $200 per article before self-withholding for taxes, which is certainly not what you expect a member of the bourgeoisie to be living off of or re-investing.
The question of classifying the petit-bourgeois points to the boundary problem Marx's class analysis raises: where do you draw line as to who belongs to which class? Marx seems obsessed with looking at the world in terms of economics—wage-labor versus capital, for instance. But what about a male journalist, for example, being able to win more article assignments from magazines than a female journalist, simply because of the over-representation of males in the media? The Manifesto says next to nothing about this factor in classification; see our "Women and Femininity" theme for more on that.
Don't Be So Petty
Another point Marx would raise about the petit bourgeoisie is that they're at risk of becoming proletarians due to the increasing power of the bourgeoisie, who centralize wealth and influence the government to pass laws in their favor, pushing everyone else downward economically.
In Marx's words, "The lower strata of the middle class—the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants—all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on, and is swamped in the competition with the large capitalists, partly because their specialised skill is rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population" (Section1.35).
Capitalist economists would argue otherwise: that if the rich get richer, the poor get richer, too, as in the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats.
Today, both the bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie can be contrasted against the labor aristocracy. The labor aristocracy is made up of workers who have managed to negotiate pay for themselves higher than the value they add by their labor. Although labor aristocrats don't benefit from the wage laborer directly—since labor aristocrats don't hire the wage laborer and then keep a portion of the value the laborer adds to the product—they do benefit indirectly by having the purchasing power to buy the goods the laborer makes but cannot afford.
They also benefit indirectly in the sense that the higher wages they're paid for their labor are only made possible, Marx would say, by the wages stolen from the value added by the wage-laborers on the bottom.
Marx, in fact, might say that many workers in the United States are labor aristocrats compared to workers in the third world such as child miners in Africa, since the former are able to maintain a lifestyle the latter can't and can do so only because of the great inequality between workers in the U.S. and the third-world workers they indirectly exploit.
THE ESTABLISHMENT IS EVEN PRO UBI
It’s time for Ottawa to seriously study how a guaranteed basic income could replace outdated layers of sclerotic support programs
The prospect of Canada adopting a guaranteed basic income deserves a more robust study.
A private member’s bill that advances a guaranteed basic income for Canadians has no hope of passage, but it does have a good idea should the Liberal government steal.
advertisement
Bill C-223, introduced in the House of Commons by NDP MP Leah Gajan last week, calls for the finance minister to “a national framework for the implementation of a guaranteed living basic income throughout Canada for anyone over the age of 17″. to develop.” Within a year of the passage of the bill, the minister would be required to submit to Parliament a framework for a basic income, and then regularly report on progress in implementing the framework.
“The fact that people in this country are poor is a political choice,” Ms. Gazan told me. “Let’s stop promoting corporations and invest in people.”
The interesting thing about a guaranteed basic income is that its aspects are attractive to conservatives as well as progressives, as it can eliminate the huge bureaucracy and complexities of the welfare state. A guaranteed basic income will not only reduce poverty, but it will also increase independence and responsibility.
A guaranteed basic income could be a stabilizing force for Canada
Most private members’ bills die on order paper, and C-223 as well. But the prospect of Canada’s adoption of guaranteed basic income deserves a more robust study.
This is not to say that research does not exist. There have been pilot programs and reports by both the government and think tanks.
Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer report good It shows that a guaranteed income of about $17,000 for an individual and $24,000 for a couple will “cut the poverty rate in almost half in 2022, although this will vary across provinces.” The PBO has set an annual cost of government at $93 billion by 2026.
Basic Income Canada Network, a non-profit organization Study three scenarios. The stripped-down version would offer a single adult a maximum of $22,000 and a couple just over $31,000 and would cost the federal and provincial governments $134-billion annually. This would be paid for in full by increasing federal income tax rates — the highest bracket would go from 33 percent to 37 percent — raising corporate taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent, taxing capital gains at the same level of income, and several existing welfare benefits. termination of programs.
Such huge increases in taxation can stifle investment and lead to high unemployment, resulting in more people relying on guaranteed basic income or other government aid, and producing sustained deficits.
And all this assumes that some kind of asymmetric agreement could be reached between Ottawa and the provinces, which would be commensurate with the regional realities and the financial capacity of each province.
And that’s where we can draw inspiration from, Ms. Gazan’s bill. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland may set up a task force on the costs and benefits of guaranteed basic income. The task force may be headed by an external authority or senior officers of the department. There must be much greater access for provincial and indigenous governments, and extensive modeling of economic impacts.
The result, if successful, would be Canada’s first gold-plated, fully cost-effective, impact-projecting framework for federally-provincial guaranteed basic income. I’ll give the department 18 months to pull this all together.
The framework can be so unrealistic and costly that it proves that guaranteed basic income will not work. More likely, it will be embraced by one ideological side and rejected by the other. Those on the left may drop the idea, once they see the full impact of removing billions of dollars of unemployment insurance, social assistance and other income support from those who would now be expected to make their way into the world, However support for people with disabilities, and possibly some housing support, will remain.
Those on the right may oppose forfeiture taxation, lack of competition and the inevitability of new social programs on top of guaranteed basic income.
But the current system, put together more than half a century ago, layer by layer, is so complex and cynical that meaningful improvement is probably impossible. Maybe it’s time to replace the whole thing with a simple, guaranteed income that just needs it. Let’s at least take a good, hard look.
DECEMBER 24, 2021
The prospect of Canada adopting a guaranteed basic income deserves a more robust study.
A private member’s bill that advances a guaranteed basic income for Canadians has no hope of passage, but it does have a good idea should the Liberal government steal.
advertisement
Bill C-223, introduced in the House of Commons by NDP MP Leah Gajan last week, calls for the finance minister to “a national framework for the implementation of a guaranteed living basic income throughout Canada for anyone over the age of 17″. to develop.” Within a year of the passage of the bill, the minister would be required to submit to Parliament a framework for a basic income, and then regularly report on progress in implementing the framework.
“The fact that people in this country are poor is a political choice,” Ms. Gazan told me. “Let’s stop promoting corporations and invest in people.”
The interesting thing about a guaranteed basic income is that its aspects are attractive to conservatives as well as progressives, as it can eliminate the huge bureaucracy and complexities of the welfare state. A guaranteed basic income will not only reduce poverty, but it will also increase independence and responsibility.
A guaranteed basic income could be a stabilizing force for Canada
Most private members’ bills die on order paper, and C-223 as well. But the prospect of Canada’s adoption of guaranteed basic income deserves a more robust study.
This is not to say that research does not exist. There have been pilot programs and reports by both the government and think tanks.
Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer report good It shows that a guaranteed income of about $17,000 for an individual and $24,000 for a couple will “cut the poverty rate in almost half in 2022, although this will vary across provinces.” The PBO has set an annual cost of government at $93 billion by 2026.
Basic Income Canada Network, a non-profit organization Study three scenarios. The stripped-down version would offer a single adult a maximum of $22,000 and a couple just over $31,000 and would cost the federal and provincial governments $134-billion annually. This would be paid for in full by increasing federal income tax rates — the highest bracket would go from 33 percent to 37 percent — raising corporate taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent, taxing capital gains at the same level of income, and several existing welfare benefits. termination of programs.
Such huge increases in taxation can stifle investment and lead to high unemployment, resulting in more people relying on guaranteed basic income or other government aid, and producing sustained deficits.
And all this assumes that some kind of asymmetric agreement could be reached between Ottawa and the provinces, which would be commensurate with the regional realities and the financial capacity of each province.
And that’s where we can draw inspiration from, Ms. Gazan’s bill. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland may set up a task force on the costs and benefits of guaranteed basic income. The task force may be headed by an external authority or senior officers of the department. There must be much greater access for provincial and indigenous governments, and extensive modeling of economic impacts.
The result, if successful, would be Canada’s first gold-plated, fully cost-effective, impact-projecting framework for federally-provincial guaranteed basic income. I’ll give the department 18 months to pull this all together.
The framework can be so unrealistic and costly that it proves that guaranteed basic income will not work. More likely, it will be embraced by one ideological side and rejected by the other. Those on the left may drop the idea, once they see the full impact of removing billions of dollars of unemployment insurance, social assistance and other income support from those who would now be expected to make their way into the world, However support for people with disabilities, and possibly some housing support, will remain.
Those on the right may oppose forfeiture taxation, lack of competition and the inevitability of new social programs on top of guaranteed basic income.
But the current system, put together more than half a century ago, layer by layer, is so complex and cynical that meaningful improvement is probably impossible. Maybe it’s time to replace the whole thing with a simple, guaranteed income that just needs it. Let’s at least take a good, hard look.
The Revolutionary War transformed by piles of snow, armies buried
Nathan Howes
Thu, December 23, 2021
The Revolutionary War transformed by piles of snow, armies buried
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
The Snow Campaign was one of the first major military operations of the American Revolutionary War in the southern colonies. In December of 1775, the Patriot army attempted to surprise the enemy by attacking Tory camps, despite the presence of chilly, snowy weather.
Beginning on Dec. 23, 1775, and continuing for a week, the Revolutionary War Snow Campaign in the Carolinas and Georgia was marked by a 24-inch snowfall (60.96 cm) at the American camp at Reedy River, N.C. The name of the campaign came about after the Patriots were impeded by a very heavy snowfall.
An army of up to 3,000 Patriot militia under Col. Richard Richardson marched against Loyalist recruiting centres in South Carolina, flushing them out and frustrating attempts by the opposition to organize.
They disbanded the Tories relatively easily, just prior to a 30-hour snowstorm. Richardson reported on Christmas Day 1775 his men struggled in snow 15 inches (38.1 cm) deep.
After marching through this for eight days, a thaw set in, along with sleet and rain, melting the snow and creating chilling floods in nearby creeks. Many in the expedition suffered frostbite before this so-called Snow Campaign ended.
On today's podcast, Chris Mei discusses the conditions that led to the Snow Campaign, the snow that occurred during and how it changed the outcome of some the key battles during this timeline of the American Revolutionary War.
Nathan Howes
Thu, December 23, 2021
The Revolutionary War transformed by piles of snow, armies buried
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
The Snow Campaign was one of the first major military operations of the American Revolutionary War in the southern colonies. In December of 1775, the Patriot army attempted to surprise the enemy by attacking Tory camps, despite the presence of chilly, snowy weather.
Beginning on Dec. 23, 1775, and continuing for a week, the Revolutionary War Snow Campaign in the Carolinas and Georgia was marked by a 24-inch snowfall (60.96 cm) at the American camp at Reedy River, N.C. The name of the campaign came about after the Patriots were impeded by a very heavy snowfall.
An army of up to 3,000 Patriot militia under Col. Richard Richardson marched against Loyalist recruiting centres in South Carolina, flushing them out and frustrating attempts by the opposition to organize.
They disbanded the Tories relatively easily, just prior to a 30-hour snowstorm. Richardson reported on Christmas Day 1775 his men struggled in snow 15 inches (38.1 cm) deep.
After marching through this for eight days, a thaw set in, along with sleet and rain, melting the snow and creating chilling floods in nearby creeks. Many in the expedition suffered frostbite before this so-called Snow Campaign ended.
On today's podcast, Chris Mei discusses the conditions that led to the Snow Campaign, the snow that occurred during and how it changed the outcome of some the key battles during this timeline of the American Revolutionary War.
Philippine typhoon survivors wish for roofs and food at Christmas
![]()
Philippine typhoon survivors wish for roofs and food at ChristmasFather Ricardo Virtudazo walks among downed banana trees felled by Super Typhoon Rai (AFP/Ferdinandh CABRERA)
Ron LOPEZ
Fri, December 24, 2021, 8:55 PM·3 min read
Father Ricardo Virtudazo stands in a pool of water in his typhoon-hit church in the southern Philippines delivering Christmas Day mass to dozens of devotees whose wishes this year were for new roofs, food and fine weather.
More than a week after Typhoon Rai cut a swathe through the archipelago, killing nearly 400 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, survivors clung to family and faith after their homes -- and planned festivities -- were wiped out.
"What's important is all of us are safe," said Joy Parera, 31, attending Christmas mass with her husband at San Isidro Labrador Parish church in the town of Alegria, on the northern tip of Mindanao island.
A light rain soaked the pews and white tiled floor of the damaged church, which has been left with a gaping hole in the roof after Rai ravaged the area.
Devotees wore masks as they gathered inside the church festooned with Christmas decorations and prayed for a better year.
"We still have hope," Virtudazo told AFP.
"In spite of the calamities they experience, they still have faith in God."
Christmas is one of the most important events in the Christian calendar and in the Catholic-majority Philippines, families typically gather to share a meal.
But the widespread destruction caused by Rai in the southern and central regions of the country has dampened celebrations as many survivors plead for drinking water and food.
Mindanao, Siargao, Dinagat and Bohol islands are among the most devastated by the storm, which knocked out electricity, tore off roofs, shredded wooden buildings, felled concrete power poles and uprooted trees.
The scale of the damage, lack of mobile phone signal or internet in many areas, and depleted government coffers after the Covid-19 response were hampering efforts to distribute aid.
- 'We'll make do with spaghetti' -
Nardel Vicente said his Christmas wish was for someone to help him buy a new roof for his house in Alegria after it was wrecked by Rai, which hit the country on December 16 as a super typhoon.
Jobless and with little money to spare, Vicente said his family would not be able to prepare a festive meal this year.
"In previous years we had spaghetti, pork, chicken -- whatever we could afford between us," the 38-year-old said.
But he added: "That's ok -- we're alive. It's better than welcoming Christmas with a dead loved one."
Marites Sotis usually serves up meat, spring rolls and salad for her family.
"We won't have those this year because they cost a lot of money," Sotis, 53, told AFP in the coastal municipality of Placer where the storm felled most of her family's coconut trees.
"We'll make do with spaghetti."
Some survivors in nearby Surigao City have been standing on roads for days begging for money and food from passing motorists after failing to receive a scrap of government assistance.
Inaga Edulzura, 41, said she hoped to get a packet of spaghetti to cook for her family. Otherwise, they would "make do with sliced bread".
"Our only request is that there's fine weather on Christmas Day to give us some cheer," she told AFP.
"That and some food."
rbl/cgm-amj/jah
Red Cross Launches Philippines Typhoon Rai (Odette) Appeal
Canadian Red Cross / Croix-Rouge canadienne
Tue., December 21, 2021
OTTAWA, Dec. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Red Cross has launched the Philippines Typhoon Rai (Odette) Appeal to help people impacted by the devastating storm that made landfall in the region on December 16, 2021. Locally known as Odette, Typhoon Rai has caused severe flooding and landslides and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Donations to the Canadian Red Cross will be used for immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency, and preparedness for future events in the Philippines and in and around impacted regions, including surrounding countries. These activities and the impacted areas may evolve based on emerging needs and subsequent disasters.
Canadians wishing to make a donation to the Philippines Typhoon Rai (Odette) Appeal can do so online at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111.
Additional Resources
Red Cross donor inquiries: WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111
About the Canadian Red Cross
Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 192 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies – the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting them in strengthening their resilience.
Philippine typhoon survivors wish for roofs and food at ChristmasFather Ricardo Virtudazo walks among downed banana trees felled by Super Typhoon Rai (AFP/Ferdinandh CABRERA)
Ron LOPEZ
Fri, December 24, 2021, 8:55 PM·3 min read
Father Ricardo Virtudazo stands in a pool of water in his typhoon-hit church in the southern Philippines delivering Christmas Day mass to dozens of devotees whose wishes this year were for new roofs, food and fine weather.
More than a week after Typhoon Rai cut a swathe through the archipelago, killing nearly 400 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, survivors clung to family and faith after their homes -- and planned festivities -- were wiped out.
"What's important is all of us are safe," said Joy Parera, 31, attending Christmas mass with her husband at San Isidro Labrador Parish church in the town of Alegria, on the northern tip of Mindanao island.
A light rain soaked the pews and white tiled floor of the damaged church, which has been left with a gaping hole in the roof after Rai ravaged the area.
Devotees wore masks as they gathered inside the church festooned with Christmas decorations and prayed for a better year.
"We still have hope," Virtudazo told AFP.
"In spite of the calamities they experience, they still have faith in God."
Christmas is one of the most important events in the Christian calendar and in the Catholic-majority Philippines, families typically gather to share a meal.
But the widespread destruction caused by Rai in the southern and central regions of the country has dampened celebrations as many survivors plead for drinking water and food.
Mindanao, Siargao, Dinagat and Bohol islands are among the most devastated by the storm, which knocked out electricity, tore off roofs, shredded wooden buildings, felled concrete power poles and uprooted trees.
The scale of the damage, lack of mobile phone signal or internet in many areas, and depleted government coffers after the Covid-19 response were hampering efforts to distribute aid.
- 'We'll make do with spaghetti' -
Nardel Vicente said his Christmas wish was for someone to help him buy a new roof for his house in Alegria after it was wrecked by Rai, which hit the country on December 16 as a super typhoon.
Jobless and with little money to spare, Vicente said his family would not be able to prepare a festive meal this year.
"In previous years we had spaghetti, pork, chicken -- whatever we could afford between us," the 38-year-old said.
But he added: "That's ok -- we're alive. It's better than welcoming Christmas with a dead loved one."
Marites Sotis usually serves up meat, spring rolls and salad for her family.
"We won't have those this year because they cost a lot of money," Sotis, 53, told AFP in the coastal municipality of Placer where the storm felled most of her family's coconut trees.
"We'll make do with spaghetti."
Some survivors in nearby Surigao City have been standing on roads for days begging for money and food from passing motorists after failing to receive a scrap of government assistance.
Inaga Edulzura, 41, said she hoped to get a packet of spaghetti to cook for her family. Otherwise, they would "make do with sliced bread".
"Our only request is that there's fine weather on Christmas Day to give us some cheer," she told AFP.
"That and some food."
rbl/cgm-amj/jah
Canadian Red Cross / Croix-Rouge canadienne
Tue., December 21, 2021
OTTAWA, Dec. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Red Cross has launched the Philippines Typhoon Rai (Odette) Appeal to help people impacted by the devastating storm that made landfall in the region on December 16, 2021. Locally known as Odette, Typhoon Rai has caused severe flooding and landslides and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Donations to the Canadian Red Cross will be used for immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency, and preparedness for future events in the Philippines and in and around impacted regions, including surrounding countries. These activities and the impacted areas may evolve based on emerging needs and subsequent disasters.
Canadians wishing to make a donation to the Philippines Typhoon Rai (Odette) Appeal can do so online at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111.
Additional Resources
Red Cross donor inquiries: WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111
About the Canadian Red Cross
Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 192 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies – the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting them in strengthening their resilience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)