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Celerity's Journal
December 9, 2022
https://www.thelocal.se/20221208/goatwatch-heres-how-you-can-livestream-swedens-christmas-goat/
The goat, called Gävlebocken, is famed around the world for the annual battle between anonymous arsonists who try to burn it down and the city authorities, who try to keep it intact until after Christmas.
Over its 56-year-history, the arsonists have the advantage, with the goat burning down slightly more often than it has stayed intact.
After 2016, when it was burned down within hours of being inaugurated, however it remained intact until 2020, coming close to beating its four-year survival record. It burned down again just before Christmas last year, however, with a man with soot on his hands arrested near the scene of the crime.
The Local’s journalist Becky Waterton asked on Twitter whether you thought the goat would survive this year, with 61.3 percent thinking it would perish before Christmas Eve.
https://twitter.com/BeckyWaterton/status/1598322699155251202
You can keep an eye on the goat’s fate via Visit Gävle’s website here, or via YouTube below.
GOATWATCH: Here's how you can livestream Sweden's Christmas goat
The Gävlebocken goat in the Swedish city of Gävle has become a worldwide symbol of the Christmas season for many who eagerly follow news of the straw goat to see if it survives until Christmas day. Here's where you can watch it online.https://www.thelocal.se/20221208/goatwatch-heres-how-you-can-livestream-swedens-christmas-goat/
The goat, called Gävlebocken, is famed around the world for the annual battle between anonymous arsonists who try to burn it down and the city authorities, who try to keep it intact until after Christmas.
Over its 56-year-history, the arsonists have the advantage, with the goat burning down slightly more often than it has stayed intact.
After 2016, when it was burned down within hours of being inaugurated, however it remained intact until 2020, coming close to beating its four-year survival record. It burned down again just before Christmas last year, however, with a man with soot on his hands arrested near the scene of the crime.
The Local’s journalist Becky Waterton asked on Twitter whether you thought the goat would survive this year, with 61.3 percent thinking it would perish before Christmas Eve.
https://twitter.com/BeckyWaterton/status/1598322699155251202
You can keep an eye on the goat’s fate via Visit Gävle’s website here, or via YouTube below.
December 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1601195310872637440
Sinema interview, she really takes a shit on us, ffs, bothersiderism on full blast
Sinema tells CNN why she's leaving the Democratic partyhttps://twitter.com/costareports/status/1601195310872637440
December 9, 2022
I can't qwhite figure out why?🤔
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1600896160691998721
Republicans completely ignored it when Trump released 5,000 Taliban terrorists into Afghanistan--but
are now outraged that Biden helped return Brittney Griner to the United States.I can't qwhite figure out why?🤔
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1600896160691998721
December 9, 2022
Pandemics, wars and recessions do not exempt states from human-rights commitments. They must tax multinationals and the richest more to protect the most vulnerable.
https://socialeurope.eu/taxing-super-profits-to-beat-inflation-defend-rights
For many, it began with cancelling a doctor’s appointment, not buying clothes for their children, giving up on visiting relatives because of the cost of transport and paying only the most urgent bill. Quickly, they were forced to cut back on food, by reducing first quality and then quantity, then even skipping meals. Even though they are working and receiving a salary, today they find themselves lining up at food banks to feed their children and themselves.
Everywhere, households are losing the inflation battle. Once their coping mechanisms are exhausted and nothing more can be dispensed, what remains are feelings of anguish and lack of control. No longer having a say in decisions affecting their lives, they are forced to depend on others, resulting in a loss of dignity. This is, in fact, a violation of their human rights.
Primary victims
At the forefront of the victims of the cost-of-living crisis are, as always, the most vulnerable: children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, minorities and migrants. In the United Kindgom, for example, 2.2 million more people have been forced this year to forgo expenditures essential to their wellbeing. The UK’s New Economics Foundation calculates that soaring costs weigh nine times more on the poorest than on the richest 5 per cent, in proportion to their income. In the United States, while 38 per cent of white households say they are facing serious financial problems, among Latino families the proportion rises to 48 per cent, hits 55 per cent for their black counterparts and peaks at 63 per cent among native Americans.
Worldwide, women, especially when also single parents, are the primary victims of the price spike, which the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in the US calls ‘she-flation’. And the impact on children is devastating: a recent report by the United Nations children’s charity, UNICEF, and the World Bank calculates that, worldwide, three-quarters of households with children have experienced a drop in income since the beginning of the pandemic. In one in four households, adults have gone without food for days at a time to try to feed their children.
snip
Taxing super-profits to beat inflation, defend rights
Pandemics, wars and recessions do not exempt states from human-rights commitments. They must tax multinationals and the richest more to protect the most vulnerable.
https://socialeurope.eu/taxing-super-profits-to-beat-inflation-defend-rights
For many, it began with cancelling a doctor’s appointment, not buying clothes for their children, giving up on visiting relatives because of the cost of transport and paying only the most urgent bill. Quickly, they were forced to cut back on food, by reducing first quality and then quantity, then even skipping meals. Even though they are working and receiving a salary, today they find themselves lining up at food banks to feed their children and themselves.
Everywhere, households are losing the inflation battle. Once their coping mechanisms are exhausted and nothing more can be dispensed, what remains are feelings of anguish and lack of control. No longer having a say in decisions affecting their lives, they are forced to depend on others, resulting in a loss of dignity. This is, in fact, a violation of their human rights.
Primary victims
At the forefront of the victims of the cost-of-living crisis are, as always, the most vulnerable: children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, minorities and migrants. In the United Kindgom, for example, 2.2 million more people have been forced this year to forgo expenditures essential to their wellbeing. The UK’s New Economics Foundation calculates that soaring costs weigh nine times more on the poorest than on the richest 5 per cent, in proportion to their income. In the United States, while 38 per cent of white households say they are facing serious financial problems, among Latino families the proportion rises to 48 per cent, hits 55 per cent for their black counterparts and peaks at 63 per cent among native Americans.
Worldwide, women, especially when also single parents, are the primary victims of the price spike, which the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in the US calls ‘she-flation’. And the impact on children is devastating: a recent report by the United Nations children’s charity, UNICEF, and the World Bank calculates that, worldwide, three-quarters of households with children have experienced a drop in income since the beginning of the pandemic. In one in four households, adults have gone without food for days at a time to try to feed their children.
snip
December 9, 2022
Workers from across Europe descend on Brussels today to demand adequate investment in health and social care.
https://socialeurope.eu/health-and-care-workers-have-had-enough
As governments and employers bring back talk of tight budgets and spending cuts, health and care workers are taking to the streets. Across Europe, they have had enough—enough of being undervalued, enough of being underpaid and enough of not being able to provide quality care. To highlight the crisis, the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has organised a protest today in Brussels, coinciding with a meeting of Europe’s health ministers. Europe’s health and social-care workers are calling on ministers to recognise the essential roles they play. They are demanding adequate and sustainable public financing and needs-based staffing, and denouncing the commercialisation of health and care systems.
Strike wave
This year has seen a huge wave of strikes in health and social services across Europe, with grievances shared across the continent. Two years ago, millions of Europeans were applauding the ‘heroes’ working in hospitals, care homes and clinics. Today, these workers seem to have been forgotten. Despite promises of pay rises in the early stages of Covid-19, health and care workers have experienced real pay cuts through rampant inflation. With many workers leaving the sector due to exhaustion and burnout after over two years on the pandemic frontline, those remaining are even more overburdened. One of the most challenging aspects of the job is now being unable to provide the level of care recipients deserve. This places an even greater emotional burden on the workers, which increases the psychosocial risks they face.
In October, health workers in Italy demonstrated with many of the same concerns. Antonino Trino, a nurse in Messina and member of the public-services section of the CGIL confederation, said: ‘I am here today to ask ministers for more attention to the nursing profession, a vital profession for the national health service. Nurses are forgotten, underpaid and vilified heroes.’
snip
https://www.epsu.org/sites/default/files/article/files/EN_update%2030.11.22.pdf
Strike wave: European health and care workers have had enough
Workers from across Europe descend on Brussels today to demand adequate investment in health and social care.
https://socialeurope.eu/health-and-care-workers-have-had-enough
As governments and employers bring back talk of tight budgets and spending cuts, health and care workers are taking to the streets. Across Europe, they have had enough—enough of being undervalued, enough of being underpaid and enough of not being able to provide quality care. To highlight the crisis, the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has organised a protest today in Brussels, coinciding with a meeting of Europe’s health ministers. Europe’s health and social-care workers are calling on ministers to recognise the essential roles they play. They are demanding adequate and sustainable public financing and needs-based staffing, and denouncing the commercialisation of health and care systems.
Strike wave
This year has seen a huge wave of strikes in health and social services across Europe, with grievances shared across the continent. Two years ago, millions of Europeans were applauding the ‘heroes’ working in hospitals, care homes and clinics. Today, these workers seem to have been forgotten. Despite promises of pay rises in the early stages of Covid-19, health and care workers have experienced real pay cuts through rampant inflation. With many workers leaving the sector due to exhaustion and burnout after over two years on the pandemic frontline, those remaining are even more overburdened. One of the most challenging aspects of the job is now being unable to provide the level of care recipients deserve. This places an even greater emotional burden on the workers, which increases the psychosocial risks they face.
In October, health workers in Italy demonstrated with many of the same concerns. Antonino Trino, a nurse in Messina and member of the public-services section of the CGIL confederation, said: ‘I am here today to ask ministers for more attention to the nursing profession, a vital profession for the national health service. Nurses are forgotten, underpaid and vilified heroes.’
snip
https://www.epsu.org/sites/default/files/article/files/EN_update%2030.11.22.pdf
December 9, 2022
Michael Kendrick Architects has completed a woodland retreat and holiday let in East Sussex, England, featuring timber-clad facades and large windows that allow views right through the building. Looking Glass Lodge is situated within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and was developed for a client whose parents established a nature reserve there in the 1960s.
The client and his wife wanted to be able to share the location with guests and commissioned architect Michael Kendrick to design a low-impact and sustainable lodge that would allow visitors to feel immersed in the forest. The building is set on a sloping site in the grounds of the client's family home. It was constructed without felling any existing trees in a natural clearing that is hidden deep in the woodland.
"For us, the sloping topography of the site offered an exciting opportunity to create an immersive holiday let," Kendrick told Dezeen. "As the lodge sits over a natural embankment, we were able to create a design that offers guests a real sense of elevated living, high amongst the trees."
The project brief stated that the lodge should respect the existing fauna and ecology, so the architects proposed a modestly sized structure that is clad in timber to echo the surrounding trees. "Though our design for the lodge is subtle and simple in many ways, the uniqueness of its architecture is most evident in its respect for its setting," Kendrick pointed out.
snip
Looking Glass Lodge in East Sussex features glass facades that reflect the surrounding woodland
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/12/02/looking-glass-lodge-glass-facades-reflect-surrounding-woodland/Michael Kendrick Architects has completed a woodland retreat and holiday let in East Sussex, England, featuring timber-clad facades and large windows that allow views right through the building. Looking Glass Lodge is situated within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and was developed for a client whose parents established a nature reserve there in the 1960s.
The client and his wife wanted to be able to share the location with guests and commissioned architect Michael Kendrick to design a low-impact and sustainable lodge that would allow visitors to feel immersed in the forest. The building is set on a sloping site in the grounds of the client's family home. It was constructed without felling any existing trees in a natural clearing that is hidden deep in the woodland.
"For us, the sloping topography of the site offered an exciting opportunity to create an immersive holiday let," Kendrick told Dezeen. "As the lodge sits over a natural embankment, we were able to create a design that offers guests a real sense of elevated living, high amongst the trees."
The project brief stated that the lodge should respect the existing fauna and ecology, so the architects proposed a modestly sized structure that is clad in timber to echo the surrounding trees. "Though our design for the lodge is subtle and simple in many ways, the uniqueness of its architecture is most evident in its respect for its setting," Kendrick pointed out.
snip
December 9, 2022
Architecture studio Polysmiths used cork panels to clad internal and external surfaces at Cork House in east London, which was built using materials available during the Covid-19 lockdown. Polysmiths director Charles Wu adopted the roles of architect, client and developer for the Cork House project, which he designed as a home for himself and his partner.
Wu purchased a rectangular brownfield plot in Forest Gate in 2020 and set about producing plans for a three-bedroom house that was to be built using conventional blockwork and timber frame construction. Lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic led to a shortage of materials such as concrete, plasterboard and plywood, which became too expensive to use in the project. This prompted Wu to look for more affordable and less commonly used alternatives.
"We decided to research and opt for materials that didn't have supply chain issues and could actually enhance the building's sustainability credentials," Wu told Dezeen. The house is built using locally sourced timber and lime plaster, with cork panelling applied to the internal and external walls. This material palette gives the interior an earthy and cocooning feel.
The cork was sourced from Portuguese firm Amorim through a Welsh supplier called Mike Wye. Harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree, the material is highly insulating and was treated to meet fire-proofing regulations. "I had used cork previously as cavity insulation but I hadn't really used it as a wall finish before," said Wu, adding that the material has a multi-sensory quality that brought a further dimension to the project.
snip
Polysmiths designs "beautifully sustainable" London house featuring cork-lined living spaces
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/12/04/polysmith-london-house-cork-living-spaces-residential-architecture/Architecture studio Polysmiths used cork panels to clad internal and external surfaces at Cork House in east London, which was built using materials available during the Covid-19 lockdown. Polysmiths director Charles Wu adopted the roles of architect, client and developer for the Cork House project, which he designed as a home for himself and his partner.
Wu purchased a rectangular brownfield plot in Forest Gate in 2020 and set about producing plans for a three-bedroom house that was to be built using conventional blockwork and timber frame construction. Lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic led to a shortage of materials such as concrete, plasterboard and plywood, which became too expensive to use in the project. This prompted Wu to look for more affordable and less commonly used alternatives.
"We decided to research and opt for materials that didn't have supply chain issues and could actually enhance the building's sustainability credentials," Wu told Dezeen. The house is built using locally sourced timber and lime plaster, with cork panelling applied to the internal and external walls. This material palette gives the interior an earthy and cocooning feel.
The cork was sourced from Portuguese firm Amorim through a Welsh supplier called Mike Wye. Harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree, the material is highly insulating and was treated to meet fire-proofing regulations. "I had used cork previously as cavity insulation but I hadn't really used it as a wall finish before," said Wu, adding that the material has a multi-sensory quality that brought a further dimension to the project.
snip
December 8, 2022
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/ftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters told the panel’s Democrats she doesn’t plan to subpoena former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at a Dec. 13 hearing about the crypto exchange’s rapid demise, according to people with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Waters informed committee members of her decision at a private meeting Tuesday with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on Capitol Hill, these people said, declining to be named in order to speak freely about the private discussion.
Waters said she wants committee staff to try to persuade Bankman-Fried to voluntarily testify, those with knowledge of the meeting said. As of late Wednesday, Bankman-Fried has yet to agree to testify before the House committee, two of the people said.
Waters, who will lose the chairmanship when Republicans take control of the House on Jan. 3, could end up deferring to Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the panel’s top Republican and likely next chair, to decide whether to subpoena Bankman-Fried in the next congressional session if the FTX founder declines to voluntarily testify under oath.
snip
House Financial Services Chair Waters doesn't plan to subpoena Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at
hearing on FTX collapsehttps://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/ftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters told the panel’s Democrats she doesn’t plan to subpoena former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at a Dec. 13 hearing about the crypto exchange’s rapid demise, according to people with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Waters informed committee members of her decision at a private meeting Tuesday with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on Capitol Hill, these people said, declining to be named in order to speak freely about the private discussion.
Waters said she wants committee staff to try to persuade Bankman-Fried to voluntarily testify, those with knowledge of the meeting said. As of late Wednesday, Bankman-Fried has yet to agree to testify before the House committee, two of the people said.
Waters, who will lose the chairmanship when Republicans take control of the House on Jan. 3, could end up deferring to Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the panel’s top Republican and likely next chair, to decide whether to subpoena Bankman-Fried in the next congressional session if the FTX founder declines to voluntarily testify under oath.
snip
December 8, 2022
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/president-biden-releasing-36-billion-to-aid-pensions-of-union-workers.html
President Joe Biden on Thursday is announcing the infusion of nearly $36 billion to shore up a financially troubled union pension plan, preventing severe cuts to the retirement incomes of more than 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the United States.
The money for the Central States Pension Fund is the largest amount of federal aid provided for a pension plan, the Biden administration said, and comes from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that he signed into law in 2021.
Many union retirement plans have been under financial pressure because of underfunding and other issues. Without the federal assistance, Teamster members could have seen their benefits reduced by an average of 60% starting within a couple of years.
“Union workers and their families are finally able to breathe a huge sigh of relief, knowing that their hard-earned retirement savings have been rescued from steep cuts,” said Lisa Gomez, assistant labor secretary for employee benefits security.
snip
Biden releasing nearly $36 billion to aid pensions of union workers
KEY POINTS
President Joe Biden on Thursday is announcing the infusion of nearly $36 billion to prevent severe cuts to the retirement incomes of more than 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the United States.
The money for the Central States Pension Fund is the largest amount of federal aid provided for a pension plan.
The funds come from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law in 2021.
President Joe Biden on Thursday is announcing the infusion of nearly $36 billion to prevent severe cuts to the retirement incomes of more than 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the United States.
The money for the Central States Pension Fund is the largest amount of federal aid provided for a pension plan.
The funds come from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law in 2021.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/president-biden-releasing-36-billion-to-aid-pensions-of-union-workers.html
President Joe Biden on Thursday is announcing the infusion of nearly $36 billion to shore up a financially troubled union pension plan, preventing severe cuts to the retirement incomes of more than 350,000 Teamster workers and retirees across the United States.
The money for the Central States Pension Fund is the largest amount of federal aid provided for a pension plan, the Biden administration said, and comes from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that he signed into law in 2021.
Many union retirement plans have been under financial pressure because of underfunding and other issues. Without the federal assistance, Teamster members could have seen their benefits reduced by an average of 60% starting within a couple of years.
“Union workers and their families are finally able to breathe a huge sigh of relief, knowing that their hard-earned retirement savings have been rescued from steep cuts,” said Lisa Gomez, assistant labor secretary for employee benefits security.
snip
December 8, 2022
At least five electricity substation attacks in Washington and Oregon in November were reported to the FBI, according to local media.
Utility companies Puget Sound Energy, the Cowlitz County Public Utility District, and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) told the Seattle Times they were cooperating with a federal investigation, though the FBI declined to confirm it was investigating the attacks.
It’s not clear if any power outages resulted from the assaults. One operation described as a “deliberate physical attack” took place at a Clackamas, Oregon, substation over the Thanksgiving holiday, BPA spokesman Douglas Johnson said.
News of the attacks in the Pacific Northwest comes after damage from a substation shooting in North Carolina on Saturday plunged tens of thousands of people into darkness.
Read it at The Seattle Times
Five Electricity Substations Attacked in Pacific Northwest in November: Report
https://www.thedailybeast.com/five-pacific-northwest-electricity-substations-attacked-in-november-reportAt least five electricity substation attacks in Washington and Oregon in November were reported to the FBI, according to local media.
Utility companies Puget Sound Energy, the Cowlitz County Public Utility District, and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) told the Seattle Times they were cooperating with a federal investigation, though the FBI declined to confirm it was investigating the attacks.
It’s not clear if any power outages resulted from the assaults. One operation described as a “deliberate physical attack” took place at a Clackamas, Oregon, substation over the Thanksgiving holiday, BPA spokesman Douglas Johnson said.
News of the attacks in the Pacific Northwest comes after damage from a substation shooting in North Carolina on Saturday plunged tens of thousands of people into darkness.
Read it at The Seattle Times
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