Opinion: Visibility for queer people is more important than ever

2021 was a good year for shining a spotlight on queer people in Germany. However, it needs to go beyond displaying social media profile pictures in rainbow colors, says Kristina Reymann-Schneider.

The queer community needs continuous support from mainstream society

In February, 185 actors and actresses came out in the magazine of daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. They wanted to draw attention to the fact that many lesbian, gay, queer, nonbinary, bi-, trans- and intersex people work in the film industry.

But instead of dealing with this openly, some of them had hidden their sexual identity because they feared professional repercussions. Under the hashtag #actout, they encouraged a debate about the visibility of queer lifestyles and diversity in film and TV.

Over the summer, the first season of the reality show "Princess Charming" aired, in which lesbian women vied to be "Princess." It was the first TV show of its kind in the world and, notwithstanding prejudices commonly linked to such reality formats, it was far from trashy. On the contrary, the show dispelled stereotypes; the contestants saw themselves as educators and wanted to encourage others to stand up for themselves, their sexuality and their bodies.

EU and corporations get behind LGBT community

In July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised eyebrows when she said: "Europe will never allow parts of its society to be stigmatized: because of who they love, because of their age, because of their political opinions, or because of their religious beliefs."

DW editor Kristina Reymann-Schneider

Her remarks were aimed primarily at the policies of Hungary and Poland, where education about sexual diversity is severely restricted, not least due to the introduction of so-called LGBT-free zones.

A few months later, the EU froze coronavirus-linked aid to Poland after the country failed to back down from its anti-LGBT policies. In November, the new German government announced in its coalition agreement that it would strengthen the rights of queer people by abolishing the Transsexual Act, which bars people from choosing their first name and gender registration without prior evaluation.

But the absurd debate about German football captain Manuel Neuer's armband and the illumination of Munich's Allianz Arena in rainbow colors during the Euro 2020 championship showed the limits of the commitment against discrimination.

While companies such as BMW and even FIFA used Pride Month in June to show their openness and tolerance by displaying company logos on their social media channels in rainbow colors, it failed to take off elsewhere. The logos in the Arab world and the Middle East remained unchanged. Given that homosexuality is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia that is understandable. Still, it weakens the credibility of the corporations about how open and tolerant they really are.

A strong message, but it musn't stop there

Discrimination and hate crime

These days, there is broad social acceptance for queer people in Germany, but terms like "gay" or "faggot" are still frequently bandied about. According to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research, one third of non-heterosexual people keep their sexual identity a secret at work for fear of discrimination and reprisals.

This fear is not entirely unfounded. Indeed, 30% of respondents said they experienced discrimination at work. Social workers, educators, doctors or geriatric nurses whose institutions belong to the Protestant or Catholic church are subject to church labor law. This allows employers to dismiss employees on the basis of their sexual identity. The General Equal Treatment Act does not apply here.

Right-wing as well as religiously motivated groups continue to publicly agitate against homosexuals. Hate crime against people from the community has been on the rise for years, according to figures provided by Germany's Interior Ministry.

In 2020, authorities registered 782 hate crime offenses against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people — and those are only the incidents that were reported to police.

Education and role models remain important

That is why education in schools is so crucial. There needs to be more awareness about children's and adolescents' books, series and movies that relate different life realities; that there are people in all walks of life who are open about their sexual identity and can become role models; that governments can ensure equality and abolish discriminatory laws; that CSD events are important and that there are shelters for homosexual people; and that people show civil courage when transsexuals are discriminated against, ridiculed or beaten up.

Only then can we call ourselves a society that truly stands up for diversity. And anyone who dips their social media profile picture in rainbow colors in June is of course welcome to do so.

Just remember that queer people are still there after Pride Month and need the continuous support of mainstream society.

This article was originally written in German.

DW

Save the Children workers missing after 30 villagers massacred by Myanmar troops

Two members of international humanitarian group missing after killings in Kayah state

Burned-out vehicles near Hpruso township on Christmas Eve. Photograph: AP

The Associated Press
Sun 26 Dec 2021 03.29 GMT

Two members of the international humanitarian group Save the Children are missing after Myanmar government troops rounded up villagers, some believed to be women and children, fatally shot more than 30 and burned the bodies, according to a witness and other reports.

Purported photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve massacre in Moso, a village in the country’s east, just outside Hpruso township in Kayah state where refugees were sheltering from an army offensive, have spread on social media in the country, fuelling outrage against the military that took power in February.

The accounts could not be independently verified. The photos showed the charred bodies of more than 30 people in three burned-out vehicles.

Myanmar’s top general Min Aung Hlaing is strangling a democracy. What will the west do about it?

A villager who said he went to the scene told the Associated Press that the victims had fled the fighting between armed resistance groups and Myanmar’s army near Koi Ngan village, which is just beside Moso, on Friday. He said they were killed after they were arrested by troops while heading to refugee camps in the western part of the township.

Save the Children said that two of its staff who were traveling home for the holidays after conducting humanitarian response work in a nearby community were “caught up in the incident and remain missing”.

“We have confirmation that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out,” the group added in a statement. “The military reportedly forced people from their cars, arrested some, killed others and burned their bodies.”

The government has not commented on the allegations, but a report in the state-run Myanma Alinn daily newspaper on Saturday said that the fighting near Moso broke out on Friday when members of ethnic guerrilla forces, known as the Karenni National Progressive Party, and those opposed to the military drove in “suspicious” vehicles and attacked security forces after refusing to stop.

The newspaper report said that the seven vehicles they were traveling in were destroyed in a fire. It gave no further details about the killings.

The witness who spoke to the AP said the remains were burned beyond recognition, and children’s and women’s clothes were found together with medical supplies and food.

“The bodies were tied with ropes before being set on fire,” said the witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety.

He did not see the moment they were killed, but said he believed some of them were Moso villagers who were reportedly arrested by troops on Friday. He denied that those captured were members of locally organised militia groups.

Myanmar’s independent media reported on Friday that 10 Moso villagers, including children, were arrested by the army. Four members of a local paramilitary group who went to negotiate for their release were reportedly tied up and shot in the head by the military.

The witness said the villagers and anti-government militia groups left as military troops arrived near Moso while the bodies were being prepared for cremation. The fighting was still intense near the village.

“It’s a heinous crime and the worst incident during Christmas. We strongly condemn that massacre as a crime against humanity,” said Banyar Khun Aung, director of the Karen Human Rights Group.

Earlier this month, government troops were also accused of rounding up villagers, some believed to be children, tying them up and slaughtering them. An opposition leader, Dr Sasa, who uses only one name, said the civilians were burned alive.

A video of the aftermath of the 7 December assault – apparently retaliation for an attack on a military convoy – showed the charred bodies of 11 people lying in a circle amid what appeared to be the remains of a hut.


Eleven villagers shot and burned alive by Myanmar soldiers, reports say

Fighting resumed on Saturday in a neighbouring state that borders Thailand, where thousands of people have fled to seek shelter. Local officials said Myanmar’s military had unleashed airstrikes and heavy artillery on Lay Kay Kaw, a small town controlled by ethnic Karen guerrillas, since Friday.

The military’s action prompted multiple western governments, including the US embassy, to issue a joint statement condemning “serious human rights violations committed by the military regime across the country”.

“We call on the regime to immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country, and to ensure the safety of all civilians in line with international law,” the joint statement said.

Vale Weighs Bid for a Stake in Anglo’s Brazil Iron Mine



Mariana Durao, Cristiane Lucchesi and Mark Burton
Thu, December 23, 2021

(Bloomberg) -- Vale SA, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, is considering acquiring a stake in Anglo American Plc’s huge Minas-Rio project in Brazil, according to people familiar to the matter.

Preliminary talks that started last year so far haven’t advanced enough to be presented to the companies’ boards and may not result in a deal, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks are private. Vale is considering buying a 30% to 40% stake in the project, or even a controlling interest, one of the people said.

Anglo American and Vale declined to comment.

A deal would help Vale fulfill its goal of increasing annual production capacity to 400 million tons, enabling it to dilute costs and recover the title of world’s No. 1 iron-ore producer that it lost to Rio Tinto Group in the wake of the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company also wants to position itself as a top supplier of premium iron ore, a key ingredient for steelmakers to reduce their carbon footprint. Anglo’s Minas-Rio has a high-grade ore of about 67% iron content, higher than Vale’s average.

Minas-Rio is a fully integrated iron ore operation, with a mine in Minas Gerais State, a processing plant, a slurry pipeline, and a port in Rio de Janeiro. The project is expected to produce 26.5 million tons a year. Acquired from MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA in 2008, Minas-Rio cost Anglo American about $14 billion to buy and build.

Thanks to a surge in metals prices in recent years, Minas-Rio has gone from a liability to a cash cow for Anglo American, leading the company to scrap plans to sell the mine.

Even with prices of its core product down from record highs in recent months, Vale continues to generate plenty of cash. Focused on capital discipline and returning value to shareholders, the miner has been divesting non-core assets to sharpen its efforts on iron ore and base metal deposits.

EDMONTON

Local Indigenous artist lights up Churchill Square for winter solstice

"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)

Kerry McAthey
CTV News Edmonton
Follow | Contact
Updated Dec. 20, 2021 4:34 p.m. MST

Three 16-foot fall figures lit up in Churchill Square form “Winter Solstice,” a celebration of the longest, darkest night of the year by local Indigenous artist Jason Carter.

“It’s really this moment to kind of sit and reflect about where you are, and what you’ve accomplished, and where you’re heading,” Carter said. “Kind of that moment where Mother Earth and Grandfather Sun and Grandmother Moon come together at this perfect zenith.”

Carter worked with the Downtown Business Association to develop the installation. He’s lived in Edmonton since early childhood, and is excited to be able to light up Churchill Square this solstice.

“For me to be able to have the work displayed and represented there for all Edmontonians to see, it’s humbling,” he said. “And what an honour to be able to share with my fellow Edmontonians in such a storied place – the centre of downtown.”

The Winter Solstice sculpture isn’t the only big project Carter has in the works. He has also designed and hand-painted 150 hockey sticks for the World Junior Hockey Championship.

At the end of each game, one player will be named “Player of the Game” and gifted a stick. Carter used the image of the grizzly bear to invoke the strength, power, fortitude and protectiveness he says is inherent in the hockey players.

“It means a lot because it’s these elite athletes that have pursued excellence for their entire lives,” Carter said. “And they’ve reached this…height of their sport, this point of their passion. To be able to have one of my sticks represent that pinnacle for them is truly humbling.”

The Winter Solstice art installation will be up at Churchill Square for a week after Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice.



"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)


"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)


"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)


"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)


"Winter Solstice" sculptures in Churchill Square (Ryan Parker Photography)

What's inside time capsule under statue of Robert E. Lee? Artifacts, and a mystery

Steve McMillan
Thu, December 23, 2021

A rust-colored 1875 almanac, a cloth envelope and a silver coin were found Wednesday in a time capsule that lay hidden beneath a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Virginia for more than 130 years.

As intriguing as the water-damaged items were, they're not what many were expecting to see after state conservators spent five hours gingerly prying the time capsule open. Even the mortar-encrusted lead box was a bit of a surprise.

Historical records led many to believe the capsule held dozens of objects related to the Confederacy as well as a picture of deceased President Abraham Lincoln. But in just a few minutes, its contents were revealed and the items were few.


There were three books total. Besides the almanac, there was a tattered book with a pink cover that appeared to be an edition of “The Huguenot Lovers: A Tale of the Old Dominion” by Collinson Pierrepont Edwards Burgwyn. He was a city of Richmond civil engineer who worked on the plans for Monument Avenue, where the Lee statue had stood.

A book that was removed from a time capsule that was removed from the pedestal that once held the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Ave. on Wednesday Dec. 22, 2021, in Richmond, Va. Three books and an envelope with a photo and a coin were inside the box.

There also appeared to be a pamphlet of some kind that made reference to water power facilities for the city of Manchester, a community south of Richmond.

Devon Henry, the contractor who took down the Lee statue and is continuing to work on the removal of the pedestal in Richmond, said there could be a second time capsule that's yet to be found.

“I’m as intrigued as everyone,” he said, as conservators worked to open the capsule. “It was a huge relief to find it. Secondly, we need to see if it’s what we are looking for.”
Is there a second capsule?

The day after the Lee statue was removed in September, work crews spent more than 12 hours searching for the time capsule in the base of the 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) pedestal but were unable to locate it.

More: Virginia begins opening time capsule from beneath Robert E. Lee statue

A time capsule was eventually found on Friday, embedded 20 feet high in the pedestal.

Henry said his work crew is still being extra careful given that the container opened Wednesday doesn’t match the description of the time capsule they were expecting.

A newspaper article from 1887 — the year a time capsule was embedded in the pedestal — suggested that the capsule contains Civil War memorabilia and a “picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin.” Records from the Library of Virginia also suggested that 37 Richmond residents, organizations and businesses contributed about 60 objects to the capsule, many of which are believed to be related to the Confederacy.

That time capsule was believed to be a copper box measuring 14-by-14-by-8 inches, larger than the lead box pulled from the pedestal last week. Besides there being far fewer objects, the capsule removed Friday measured 4-by-8-by-11.5 inches and was made of lead.

Conservator for Special Collections from the University of Virginia Sue Donovan removes paper from a photograph that was removed from a time capsule that was removed from the pedestal that once held the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Ave. on Wednesday Dec. 22, 2021, in Richmond, Va.

“We were really surprised to find something lead,” said Julie Langan, the director of the state’s Department of Historic Resources.

The team at the state Department of Historical Resources will catalog the artifacts and expects to have more details on their makeup and their possible origins in a few days. The books will be put in a freezer to avoid mold and the silver coin, which started to tarnish when the box was open, will be kept in a dry place to limit deterioration.

Before the work began to open the capsule on Wednesday, Gov. Northam said Virginia doesn’t need monuments that glorify the Confederacy.

“We are a Commonwealth that embraces diversity,” he said. “We are inclusive.”

The Lee statue was erected in 1890 and was long seen as a symbol of racial injustice in the former capital of the Confederacy. Its removal in September came more than a year after Northam ordered it in the wake of protests that erupted after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The Lee statue was one of five Confederate tributes along Richmond’s Monument Avenue and the only one that belonged to the state. The four city-owned statues were taken down in 2020, but the Lee statue removal was blocked by two lawsuits until a ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia in September cleared the way for it to be dismantled.

Three books and a coin and envelope were removed from a time capsule that was removed from the pedestal that once held the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Ave.on Wednesday Dec. 22, 2021, in Richmond, Va.

Northam, a Democrat, announced earlier this month that the enormous pedestal would be removed, a reversal from September, when the governor said the pedestal would stay in place so its future could be determined by a community-driven effort to reimagine Monument Avenue.

After Floyd’s killing in 2020, the Lee statue became a focal point of the racial justice movement in Richmond. Since then, the pedestal has been covered in graffiti, some of it profane and much of it denouncing the police. Some activists wanted to see it remain in place as a work of protest art.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Robert E. Lee statue time capsule: What's inside?

Search to resume for 1887 time capsule under Lee monument





Lee Statue-Time Capsule

Virignia Gov. Ralph Northam, center, watches as lead conservator for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Kate Ridgway, left, and Sue Donovon, conservator for Special Collections for the University of Virginia, right, remove the contents of a time capsule that was removed from the pedestal that once held the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Ave. Wednesday Dec. 22, 2021, in Richmond, Va. Three books and an envelope with a photo were inside the box.

 (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

BEN FINLEY and STEVE HELBER
Thu, December 23, 2021

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The spot in Virginia where a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee once stood over Richmond's tree-lined Monument Avenue is now just a pile of boulders, rubble and sand.

But for the next few weeks, workers will continue their search for a famed 1887 time capsule that was said to be buried under the massive monument, long viewed as a symbol of racial injustice.

“We know what to be on the lookout for,” said Devon Henry, the contractor who took down the statue and its pedestal. “It will be a very decorative piece of granite that will look nothing like what’s already there.”

Henry spoke the day after one of the more anti-climactic moments in historic preservation: State conservators spent five hours gingerly prying open a corroded lead box that some believed — or at least hoped — was the 1887 time capsule.

But they didn't find the expected trove of objects related to the Confederacy, including a picture of a deceased President Abraham Lincoln. Instead, conservators pulled out a few waterlogged books, a silver coin and an envelope with some papers.

The prevailing theory among some Thursday was that the lead box was left by a person — or persons — who oversaw the monument's construction.

“They decided to have a little vanity project,” said Dale Brumfield, a local historian who focuses on the Richmond area. “It was not so much a time capsule as it was a self-commemoration capsule. And who was going to stop them?”

The box contained a novel written by Collinson Pierrepont Edwards Burgwyn, a city of Richmond civil engineer who worked on the plans for Monument Avenue.

The envelope contained an image of a man, with the words “James Netherwood master stone mason” written on the back. Netherwood supervised construction of the pedestal on which the large equestrian statue of Lee had stood.

“While Netherwood was still alive, he had a sculptor create a granite, life-size statue of himself,” Brumfield said. “Burgwyn probably had an ego about the same size.”

Julie Langan, the director of the state’s Department of Historic Resources, agreed that the box could be the work of people involved in the monument's construction, although she stressed that was still yet to be proven.

“If you go into historic buildings, you’ll sometimes find places where craftsmen have carved their initials to sort of leave a lasting imprint of their involvement,” she said. “And I see this as a similar sort of gesture.”

Langan said the box that was opened Wednesday was “more interesting than exciting.”

“What I found exciting is how excited the public has gotten around this story,” she said. “It shows me that the public can really get excited about history.”

The Lee statue was erected in 1890 in the former capital of the Confederacy. Its removal in September came more than a year after Gov. Ralph Northam ordered it in the wake of protests that erupted after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The statue was one of five Confederate tributes along Monument Avenue, and the only one that belonged to the state. The four city-owned statues were taken down in 2020, but the Lee statue's removal was blocked by two lawsuits until a ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia in September cleared the way for it to be dismantled.

Henry, the contractor who took down the statue, said all of the decorative granite has been removed from the site. The work on the pile of rubble that's left — and the search for the 1887 time capsule — will resume Monday.

If all goes well, they'll find a much bigger box. It will be made of copper instead of lead. And there will be some 60 items, including a picture of President Lincoln lying in his coffin.

“We'll continue to do what we're doing in a very meticulous and professional and safe way,” Henry said. “And we’ll see what happens in a few weeks.”

Manchin takes aim at Build Back Better, but his real focus is on West Virginia

Samuel Workman, Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University
Thu, December 23, 2021

Putting his sights on Build Back Better?

  Manchin for West Virginia/YouTube

Joe Manchin isn’t averse to taking a shotgun to policy he dislikes.

In 2018, the senator starred in a political ad in which he explains how a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act – something his opponent, state attorney general Patrick Morrisey, was at the time trying to do – would strip health care from numerous West Virginians. Manchin then takes out a shotgun and unloads on the Morrissey lawsuit.

The ad, titled “Dead Wrong,” simultaneously displays Manchin’s support for a popular program while signaling a pro-gun stance.

It is also instructive for understanding the political challenge that Manchin faces over the Biden administration’s Build Back Better bill – legislation that Manchin has seemingly torpedoed.

As a scholar and native of the state who has long followed West Virginian politics, I know that Manchin is typically deft in balancing support for government programs that will benefit people in the state with the social conservatism that many adhere to. It is what he did in the “Dead Wrong” ad, and it is what he is trying to do now by delivering tangible benefits on some dimensions, while “standing up” to the president and Democratic leadership on others.

What say the lodestar?

There are reasons to suppose that West Virginians would be in favor of many elements contained in Build Back Better, Biden’s package of legislation that aims to fix problems ranging from child care costs to climate change.

The legislation contains not only the child tax credit, which would send monthly payments of up to $300 per child to families across the U.S., but also improvements to the Affordable Care Act, upgraded infrastructure for health care, and better access to housing. Its largest portion is $555 billion dedicated to climate change – representing the first major legislative action on climate in the U.S.

In a state where poverty is high, rural health care is sparse and climate change threatens to bring frequent, intense flooding, it seems unimaginable that the senator would fail to support the legislation.

Yet on Dec. 19, 2021, Manchin announced on Fox News that he would not. That Manchin did this on Fox News speaks to the general public sentiment in West Virginia.

It sparked a very public “battle of the Joes” in which Biden maintained that Manchin dealt in bad faith after months of personal cajoling and negotiations by the president. Manchin, for his part, reportedly offered Biden everything in Build Back Better except for the Child Tax Credit.

The fight threatens consequences for man and party. The viability of the razor-thin Democratic majority’s ability to govern headed into the 2022 midterms is at stake. But the conflict also poses a major problem for Manchin himself, with Biden using Manchin’s opposition to the child tax credit as a political pressure point – publicly shaming the West Virginian for failing to support a measure that would deliver support to many families in his own state.
Reconciliation masks broad agreement

To understand what Manchin opposes, it’s useful to understand what reconciliation does to a multidimensional bill.

Normally, major legislative initiatives would each have their own bill. But each would need to pass the Senate with 60 votes in order to avoid a filibuster that could end up killing the bill. To get past that hurdle, Democrats have piled all of Biden’s initiatives into what’s called a budget reconciliation bill, which only requires a majority of votes to pass – a much lower threshold and one that a united Democratic Party could meet in the Senate.

Yet because legislators must cast a single vote for what is a diverse package, disagreement on one dimension can sink the whole reconciliation bill – even if there is broad agreement on the other proposals. In this case, Manchin wants to jettison the child tax credit, but made an offer that reportedly includes the improvements to the ACA, health care infrastructure, as well as the climate change provisions – remarkable for a senator from a state so dependent on fossil fuels for economic growth and stability.

It is likely Manchin will return to the bargaining table over the next few weeks, absent, or in spite of, the public shaming over the child tax credit from the president.
The typical Manchin pivot

West Virginians tend toward conservative views on typical culture war issues like guns, abortions and race.

The purported support for Build Back Better in West Virginia is likely overstated among the electorate – polling is sparse and generally done by supportive organizations – though West Virginians typically are in favor of government programs that benefit them. Winning elections in West Virginia historically entails candidates pledging to bring home benefits to the state. And this is exactly the approach Manchin typically adopts, delivering policy that has majority support, while signaling his fidelity to culture war issues.

Manchin has continually referred to his constituents as his lodestar – “If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.”

Normally, Manchin gets pressure on social issues from the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party. This criticism from the wider party is fuel for his positioning and policy goals within the state. On such issues, the more criticism he receives from the Left, the better. He is deft at pivoting on this pressure to make policy that has general support in the state, such as displayed in the “Dead Wrong” ad.

The public pressure on child tax credits is not the norm and does not offer the same pivot for Manchin. West Virginians value programs like the child tax credit.

Furthermore, support in the state for child tax credits means Manchin is left exposed politically in a way that damages his ability to maintain the fragile coalition that he normally relies on. And, despite progressive outcry for a primary challenger, make no mistake about it, no other Democrat could hold that West Virginian seat.

[Understand key political developments, each week. Subscribe to The Conversation’s politics newsletter.]

Manchin’s seeming obstinance can be understood in two ways. He’s either a conservative Democrat failing to get behind the president’s legislative agenda, or he simply wants to prioritize programs within that agenda that keeps to a general spending target.

Manchin’s opposition to the child tax credit reflects his concern about how the monthly benefit will affect the budget. Simultaneously, colleagues say he is concerned over how lower-income citizens will spend the money, reportedly worrying about it being spent on drugs.

This second concern echoes a common conservative trope. But if a comment like that might hurt a politician in a liberal state, it is understandable in the context of the West Virginia electorate’s social conservatism.

Despite Manchin’s comments sparking predictions that his position doomed Build Back Better, it may not be as clear cut as that.

The senator’s willingness to accept all the other major provisions in the bill leaves plenty of room for bargaining. If Manchin can find a way to do his customary pivot – supporting the Democratic proposals while satisfying his constituents that he’s being socially conservative and standing up to the Left – he may well get on board and put away the shotgun.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Samuel Workman, West Virginia University.

Read more:

Don’t care about the Build Back Better Act? Hearing people’s personal stories might change that

Manchin killed Build Back Better over inflation concerns – an economist explains why the $2 trillion bill would be unlikely to drive up prices

Norway Wealth Fund CEO Sees Market Weakness, Inflation Threat

Iain Rogers
Sat, December 25, 2021



(Bloomberg) -- The head of Norway’s $1.4 trillion wealth fund said he expects a lengthy period of weakness in financial markets and warned that inflation could be the most significant challenge ahead.

Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that after achieving an average rate of return of 6% for a quarter century, the fund is now preparing for “a decade of lower returns.”

“It might even turn negative,” the paper quoted him as saying in an interview. “We just have to accept that. The future will be less attractive for us than the past.”

Tangen said the “biggest potential problem” for the fund -- the world’s biggest owner of publicly traded stocks -- is inflation and predicted surging prices could have “far more serious consequences than is currently generally assumed.”

“I see inflation everywhere: in freight rates, in the prices of metals and food, in construction costs, and gradually in wages,” he told the FAZ.

“As a long-term investor, we don’t have that many options,” he added. “We have nowhere to hide from inflation.”

Built from North Sea oil and gas riches, Norway’s wealth fund has a portfolio of about 9,000 stocks. It has exited hundreds of companies over the past decade to avoid the environmental, social and governance risk it says they represented.

U.S. Consumer Spending Buffeted by Fastest Inflation in Decades

Reade Pickert
Thu, December 23, 2021,


(Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumers took a breather in November a month after an early holiday spending surge, but that pause risks becoming more lasting if Americans pull back when faced with both the fastest inflation in decades and the omicron variant.

Purchases of goods and services, after adjusting for higher prices, were little changed following a solid 0.7% gain in October. The government’s figures were the marquee of a pre-holiday burst of economic reports Thursday that showed stronger orders for durable goods, increased new-home sales and firmer consumer sentiment.

Underlying the spending figures are a series of crosscurrents. Buffeted by headlines about snarled supply chains, many Americans started their holiday shopping earlier than usual this year, helping to explain the strong advance in the prior month.

But consumers are also facing the fastest inflation in decades. With every trip to the grocery store and gas pump eating away a little more of their paychecks, people have less left over for discretionary purchases. And the new omicron variant of Covid-19 threatens to curb the incipient rebound in outlays for services.

The report showed Americans are spending more on essentials amid the pickup in prices. Money spent on housing and utilities increased last month, as did outlays on gasoline and food. The data showed inflation-adjusted spending on services rose 0.5%, the most in three months, while goods outlays dropped 0.8%, the first decline since July.

The personal consumption expenditures price gauge, which the Federal Reserve uses for its 2% inflation target, increased 0.6% from a month earlier and 5.7% from November 2020, the highest reading since 1982.

The data come on the heels of a hawkish pivot by Fed officials, who have been under pressure to take action against overheating prices. Last week the central bank announced it would accelerate the end of its asset-buying program, and new interest-rate projections indicated policy makers favor raising borrowing costs by three-quarters of a percentage point next year.

Consumers are saving less amid the rapid price increases. Adjusted for inflation, disposable personal income, or after-tax income, fell 0.2%, the fourth straight decline. The savings rate -- personal saving as a share of disposable income -- declined to 6.9%, the lowest since December 2017.

What Bloomberg Economists Say...

“A flat reading on real consumer spending in November -- even before omicron hit -- suggests inflation may be starting to weigh on consumer resilience into year-end... The increase in services was widespread, a positive sign of rotation out of goods spending going into next year.”
-- Yelena Shulyatyeva and Anna Wong, economists

Though federal stimulus has waned, a host of companies have hiked pay this year to attract and retain talent amid widespread hiring struggles. In November, wages and salaries rose 0.5%, following a 0.8% gain in October, the report showed.

The core price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.5% from the prior month and 4.7% from a year earlier, the fastest gain since 1983.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said he’s scaling back his forecast for the gain in fourth-quarter consumer spending on the grounds that “the omicron Covid wave appears to be hitting spending at restaurants.” The firm now sees outlays rising at a 5.5% annualized rate in the period, down from the prior 6% forecast, according to a note Thursday.

Meanwhile, the outlook for both manufacturing and residential construction appears solid after a pair of Thursday reports showed stronger bookings for durable goods and the firmest pace of new-home sales in seven months.

Orders for goods meant to last several years increased 2.5% from the prior months, spurred by more bookings for commercial aircraft, motor vehicles, metals and communications equipment. While core capital goods orders softened, the figures follow steady increases in prior months that illustrate a robust pattern of business investment.

Housing demand is also flexing some muscle and keeping builder backlogs elevated. Purchases of new single-family homes increased 12.4% to a 744,000 annualized pace, although the prior was revised down sharply.

Of the homes sold in last month, construction on 221,000 had yet to be started, the most since May, suggesting backlogs are growing.

Separate data from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment picked up this month as households grew more upbeat about the economy and outlook for their finances.

And the Labor Department said new applications for state jobless benefits totaled 205,000 in the week ended Dec. 18, unchanged from the prior period and underscoring a subdued level of job losses.

Apple shareholders seek civil-rights audit following employee controversies

"They're spending money on racial and mostly philanthropic initiatives and don't really address the company's own policies"

STEPHEN WARWICK

22 Dec 2021

Source: Apple

What you need to know

Shareholders want Apple to conduct a civil rights audit.

That's because of recent employee controversies and a lack of diversity.

Agroup of Apple shareholders wants the company to hold a civil rights audit over a lack of diversity at the company and a string of recent employee controversies.

As reported by MarketWatch:

Apple Inc. has declared its commitment to racial and gender equity, but it is now facing a shareholder call for a civil-rights audit amid employee controversies and slow progress in diversifying its workforce.

The first-of-its-kind proposal for Apple AAPL, +1.91% comes on the heels of recent news that the tech giant is being investigated by the U.S. Labor Department for alleged harassment of and retaliation against an employee who raised concerns about workplace safety, as well as other formal complaints from former employees. It is one of several governance- and sustainability-related proposals the company's investors are expected to face at its annual general meeting in 2022.

The proposals reportedly reference claims Apple shut down internal employee-run pay surveys and the controversial hiring of Antonio García Martínez. The report continues:

SOC Investment Group teamed up with the Service Employees International Union and Trillium Asset Management on the proposal; the group filed their proposal in the fall but only recently found out it will actually be on the proxy. The SEIU's pension fund's holdings include Apple, while SOC owns 21.9 million shares of the company and Trillium said it owned more than 1 million shares of Apple as of the end of the third quarter.

The news comes on the same day it emerged that the SEC has blocked Apple's bid to stop a shareholder vote on a proposal that would see the company report on its use of non-disclosure agreements and concealment clauses, which shareholders say stop employees speaking out on issues like harassment and discrimination.

TikTok moderator sues over mental trauma caused by graphic videos

Steve Dent
Fri, December 24, 2021



A TikTok moderator has sued the social media platform and its parent ByteDance over trauma caused by graphic videos, Bloomberg has reported. In a proposed class-action lawsuit, moderator Candie Frazier said that she has screened videos showing violence, school shootings, fatal falls and even cannibalism. "Plaintiff has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares," the lawsuit states.

Compounding the problem, TikTok allegedly requires moderators to work 12-hour shifts with only a one-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks. "Due to the sheer volume of content, content moderators are permitted no more than 25 seconds per video, and simultaneously view three to ten videos at the same time," according to the complaint.

Plaintiff has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares.

Along with other social media companies including Facebook and YouTube, TikTok developed guidelines to help moderators cope with child abuse and other traumatic images. Among the suggestions is that companies limit moderator shifts to four hours and provide psychological support. However, TikTok allegedly failed to implement those guidelines, according to the lawsuit.

Content moderators take the brunt of graphic and traumatic images that appear on social media, making sure that users don't have to experience them. One company that provides content moderators for large tech firms even acknowledged in a consent form that the job can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, social media companies have been criticized by their mods and others for not paying enough given the psychological hazards, and not providing enough mental health support. A similar lawsuit was filed against Facebook in 2018.

Frazier is hoping to represent other Tiktok screeners in a class-action suit, and is asking for compensation for psychological injuries and a court order for a medical fund for moderators.

TikTok Sued by Content Moderator Disturbed by Graphic Videos

Robert Burnson
Fri, December 24, 2021


(Bloomberg) -- TikTok’s 10,000 content moderators are exposed to a regular diet of child pornography, rapes, beheadings and animal mutilation, according to a lawsuit filed against the video-sharing platform and its parent, ByteDance Inc.

It gets worse. Content moderator Candie Frazier says in her proposed class-action lawsuit that she has screened videos involving freakish cannibalism, crushed heads, school shootings, suicides, and even a fatal fall from a building, complete with audio.

And there’s no escaping it, Frazier claims. TikTok requires moderators to work at a frantic pace, watching hundreds of videos per 12-hour shift with only an hour off for lunch and two 15-minute breaks, according to Thursday’s complaint in federal court in Los Angeles.

“Due to the sheer volume of content, content moderators are permitted no more than 25 seconds per video, and simultaneously view three to ten videos at the same time,” her lawyers said in the complaint.

TikTok said it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation, but strives “to promote a caring working environment for our employees and contractors.”

“Our safety team partners with third party firms on the critical work of helping to protect the TikTok platform and community, and we continue to expand on a range of wellness services so that moderators feel supported mentally and emotionally,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok was a member of a group of social media companies including Facebook and YouTube that developed guidelines for helping moderators cope with the images of child abuse that their jobs required them to view, according to the complaint.

But TikTok failed to implement the guidelines, which include providing psychological support and limiting shifts to four hours, according to the suit.

Frazier, who lives in Las Vegas, said she suffers from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of all the disturbing videos she has had to watch.

“Plaintiff has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares,” according to the complaint.

Frazier, who seeks to represent other TikTok content screeners, is asking for compensation for psychological injuries and a court order requiring the company to set up a medical fund for moderators.