You Won't Believe These Suez Canal Conspiracies
3 years ago
Monday, December 31, 2012
U1TV - Deadline for Action - - 1946
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once upon a time in America, labor was not so cozy with government or big business
alas, some of the media was worried about justice and not so much ad revenue.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Bush Era Warrantless Wiretapping is Totally Legal
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this did pass minus admendments. late hour news friday
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Take the official Rorschach Ink Blot test to see if you are crazy
I see country going off cliff.
am I nuts?
Can't Take No More--osha movie almost missing from history
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Occupational Health and Safety Administration
Department of Labor
United States Government
Can't Take No More (1980)
A quick paced history of occupational health and safety in the U.S. from the Industrial Revolution to the 1970s. Produced and distributed by OSHA in 1980. Then in 1981, the incoming head of OSHA Thorne Auchter recalled and destroyed most copies. A few copies were kept alive by renegade union officials who refused to return their copies. The penalty for being discovered in possession of one of these films was loosing all OSHA funding for their safety and health programs.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Dealers in Death 1934 part 1 and 2---re posting
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imagine an investigation of our dealers in death during iraq or afghanistan
or other wars?
Bad deal: The White House’s last-ditch plan stinks
Bad deal: The White House’s last-ditch plan stinks
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This afternoon, President Obama is meeting with congressional leaders in a last-ditch attempt to avoid going over the so-called fiscal cliff. Most people in Washington think the effort is futile. That’s probably good thing, as going over the cliff is better than enacting the deal the White House is reportedly putting on the table at the summit.
While the details are sketchy and reports conflicting, according to the New York Times, the proposal would extend the Bush tax cuts up to $400,000 (instead of the $250,000 most Democrats want), and it would extend some important tax credits, but it would leave the estate tax as is, do nothing about the sequester (the automatic spending cuts that will go into effect January 1) and do nothing about the debt ceiling.
If you’re a progressive, those items are, respectively, mediocre, somewhat positive, bad, mixed and terrible. While the $400,000 threshold is tolerable in a larger deal, it’s no good in a bad deal. Changing the estate tax is a must, as current rates exclusively help the heirs of wealthy people to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Some of the tax credits are vital, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, but these should be passed automatically, not as something Democrats need to bargain for. The sequester is mixed because half the cuts come from the military, which are valuable and generally politically unachievable, but the other half come from the rest of the government, including programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
Other reports paint a more positive picture of the deal Obama will offer, but they seem less realistic, as the contours outlined by the Times fit with the deal Obama previously offered, which liberals rejected out of hand.
Fiscal Cliff Air Wars
Fiscal Cliff Air Wars
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The presidential election ended last month, but the partisan air wars continue with competing fiscal cliff ads from the conservative Crossroads GPS and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Most of what is in the ads falls into the realm of opinion, but we found a couple points to quibble with in each.
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The presidential election ended last month, but the partisan air wars continue with competing fiscal cliff ads from the conservative Crossroads GPS and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Most of what is in the ads falls into the realm of opinion, but we found a couple points to quibble with in each.
- The DCCC ad claims “tea party House Republicans are holding the middle class hostage to get more tax cuts for millionaires,” but nearly six out of seven who would face tax increases under President Obama’s plan do not earn $1 million a year.
- The Crossroads GPS ad, meanwhile, claims that Obama’s plan adds “even more debt.” It’s correct that annual deficits would increase under the president’s plan, but the growth would be “significantly smaller” than it would if Congress acts as it has in the past, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Paul Krugman: When the doomsday prophesy fails - Post Bulletin
Paul Krugman: When the doomsday prophesy fails - Post Bulletin:
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In the 1950s, three social psychologists joined a cult that was predicting the imminent end of the world. Their purpose was to observe the cultists' response when the world did not, in fact, end on schedule. What they discovered and described in their classic book, "When Prophecy Fails," is the irrefutable failure of a prophecy does not cause true believers — people who have committed themselves to a belief both emotionally and by their life choices — to reconsider. On the contrary, they become even more fervent and proselytize even harder.
This insight seems highly relevant as 2012 draws to a close. After all, a lot of people came to believe we were on the brink of catastrophe — and these views were given extraordinary reach by the mass media. As it turned out, of course, the predicted catastrophe failed to materialize. But we can be sure the cultists won't admit to having been wrong. No, the people who told us a fiscal crisis was imminent will just keep at it, more convinced than ever.
Oh, wait a second — did you think I was talking about the Mayan calendar thing?
Seriously, at every stage of our ongoing economic crisis — and in particular, every time anyone has suggested actually trying to do something about mass unemployment — a chorus of voices has warned that, unless we bring down budget deficits now, now, now, financial markets will turn on America, driving interest rates sky-high. And these prophecies of doom have had a powerful effect on our economic discourse.
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In the 1950s, three social psychologists joined a cult that was predicting the imminent end of the world. Their purpose was to observe the cultists' response when the world did not, in fact, end on schedule. What they discovered and described in their classic book, "When Prophecy Fails," is the irrefutable failure of a prophecy does not cause true believers — people who have committed themselves to a belief both emotionally and by their life choices — to reconsider. On the contrary, they become even more fervent and proselytize even harder.
This insight seems highly relevant as 2012 draws to a close. After all, a lot of people came to believe we were on the brink of catastrophe — and these views were given extraordinary reach by the mass media. As it turned out, of course, the predicted catastrophe failed to materialize. But we can be sure the cultists won't admit to having been wrong. No, the people who told us a fiscal crisis was imminent will just keep at it, more convinced than ever.
Oh, wait a second — did you think I was talking about the Mayan calendar thing?
Seriously, at every stage of our ongoing economic crisis — and in particular, every time anyone has suggested actually trying to do something about mass unemployment — a chorus of voices has warned that, unless we bring down budget deficits now, now, now, financial markets will turn on America, driving interest rates sky-high. And these prophecies of doom have had a powerful effect on our economic discourse.
Paul Krugman: Here's The Dirty Secret About Economic Growth
Paul Krugman: Here's The Dirty Secret About Economic Growth:
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The great bulk of the economic commentary you read in the papers is focused on the short run: the effects of the "fiscal cliff" on U.S. recovery, the stresses on the euro, Japan's latest attempt to break out of deflation. This focus is understandable, since one global depression can ruin your whole day. But our current travails will eventually end. What do we know about the prospects for long-run prosperity?
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then link to ny times
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The great bulk of the economic commentary you read in the papers is focused on the short run: the effects of the "fiscal cliff" on U.S. recovery, the stresses on the euro, Japan's latest attempt to break out of deflation. This focus is understandable, since one global depression can ruin your whole day. But our current travails will eventually end. What do we know about the prospects for long-run prosperity?
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then link to ny times
Thursday, December 27, 2012
USW Blog--gop delivers uncertainty---happy holidays
USW Blog
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Happy Holidays: GOP Delivers Uncertainty to Middle Class
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Happy Holidays: GOP Delivers Uncertainty to Middle Class
Apparently, uncertainty is a fate worse than death for a CEO. Billionaires bellyache about it constantly on TV, contending they must know, right now, whether next year’s tax rates will rise. Republicans bewail uncertainty, insisting CEOs must know, right now, whether they’ll get a tax holiday for overseas profits.
Their deep, abiding concern about the ill effects of uncertainty doesn’t extend, however, to the middle class. To Republicans and far too many billionaires and CEOs, weighing down workers with uncertainty about wages, health insurance and retirement is a fate well deserved.
In fact, Republicans in the past two years have gone hog-wild heightening middle class fear and uncertainty. In addition to demanding cuts to programs crucial to middle class certainty like Medicare and Social Security, Republican lawmakers in GOP-controlled states across the country have passed laws prohibiting union security clauses in collective bargaining agreements. This results in weaker unions and lower benefits and wages, not just for union workers but for everyone in union insecurity states. That creates financial insecurity, the worst kind of uncertainty.
Union security clauses give labor organizations some financial certainty. They require any worker who benefits from a collective bargaining agreement to either join and pay dues or to decline membership and pay a smaller fee covering the cost of union services like negotiation and grievance resolution.
Their deep, abiding concern about the ill effects of uncertainty doesn’t extend, however, to the middle class. To Republicans and far too many billionaires and CEOs, weighing down workers with uncertainty about wages, health insurance and retirement is a fate well deserved.
In fact, Republicans in the past two years have gone hog-wild heightening middle class fear and uncertainty. In addition to demanding cuts to programs crucial to middle class certainty like Medicare and Social Security, Republican lawmakers in GOP-controlled states across the country have passed laws prohibiting union security clauses in collective bargaining agreements. This results in weaker unions and lower benefits and wages, not just for union workers but for everyone in union insecurity states. That creates financial insecurity, the worst kind of uncertainty.
Union security clauses give labor organizations some financial certainty. They require any worker who benefits from a collective bargaining agreement to either join and pay dues or to decline membership and pay a smaller fee covering the cost of union services like negotiation and grievance resolution.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Only an uprising can save us from Social Security Cuts | MyFDL
Only an uprising can save us from Social Security Cuts | MyFDL:
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This COLA cut is called Chained CPI. It would do real damage by changing the formula used to calculate the COLA.
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This COLA cut is called Chained CPI. It would do real damage by changing the formula used to calculate the COLA.
It’s a real and harmful cut to the Social Security benefits you have earned.
The Chained CPI COLA cuts benefits more every year. After 10 years, your benefits would be cut by about $500 a year for the average retiree. After 20 years, your benefits would be cut by about $1,000 a year.
Switching to the Chained CPIwould hurt both current and future beneficiaries.
Social Security should not be part of any such deal anyway. By law, it can’t contribute to the budget deficit. It’s only permitted to spend money from the Social Security trust fund, as affirmed by Clinton’s Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
Speaker Boehner and President Obama are tussling over a deal that would save around $1 trillion over 10 years. Yet Bill Clinton has admitted that the U. S.could save that amount, $1 trillion,–in one year and each and every year, not 10 years–by adopting the health care system of any other advanced nation.
Astounding, but true. To end the deficit and bring care to all, Congress could simply pass Congressman John Conyers’ bill, HR 676, national single payer health care. No cuts, no agonizing, no problem.
In the meantime, only an uprising can persuade President Obama and Congress that we will not stand for these social security cuts—nor any other cuts to Medicare or Medicaid—the programs won through generations of struggles for a better life.
Tell President Obama that the Chained CPI is unacceptable.
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Call the White House (202) 456-1111.
Call your Senators and representative with the same message: 202-224-3121.
You can put in your zip code and find them here.
“I’m telling you this so that everyone is very clear: if you want to save Social Security from serious benefit cuts that will cause seniors to go hungry and have their utilities shut off, you have to act. You have to rise up and raise hell, because otherwise this train is going down the tracks — it won’t be stopped unless a lot of people get in the way NOW,” said Mike Lux, author of “The Progressive revolution: How the Best in America Came to be.”
He asks everyone to make the calls, then adds:
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Black Fury (1934) Muni.--labor movie
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Published on Nov 25, 2012
Black Fury (1934) Muni
An immigrant coal miner finds himself in the middle of a bitter labor dispute between the workers and the mine owners.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Abem Finkel (screenplay), Carl Erickson (screenplay)
Stars: Paul Muni, Karen Morley and William Gargan
http://archive.org/details/BlackFury1934
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026121/
This film was ripped from a VIDEO_TS file.
Fault Lines - The Decline of Labor Unions in the US
from 2011 and things not changed too much for better this year.
Monday, December 24, 2012
John Boehner’s Christmas gift to you is a guarantee that the Republican House will destroy the economy
John Boehner’s Christmas gift to you is a guarantee that the Republican House will destroy the economy
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Last week, we learned that Speaker of the House John Boehner has no control over his majority. We’ve seen Boehner have trouble with his caucus before, of course — a significant portion of these people are crazy — but the failure of “Plan B” was different. In the past Boehner has had trouble whipping votes to support things that were destined to become law. Boehner couldn’t get his caucus to support TARP because TARP was awful and was also definitely going to happen. Boehner couldn’t get the votes for the 2011 debt deal because conservatives thought they’d eventually force an even better deal. But this was a totally symbolic gesture that never had any shot at passing the Senate or getting signed by the president. Boehner’s “Plan B” was a stupid pointless empty gesture, and that is why its failure is actually slightly scary, in addition to being hilarious.
The point of “Plan B” was to give Republicans a means of blaming Democrats when everyone’s taxes go up next year, while also giving them an opportunity to claim that they supported raising taxes on rich people. The problem was, Republicans really don’t support raising taxes on rich people, and they feel so strongly about this that they didn’t want to pretend to support a tax increase.
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Last week, we learned that Speaker of the House John Boehner has no control over his majority. We’ve seen Boehner have trouble with his caucus before, of course — a significant portion of these people are crazy — but the failure of “Plan B” was different. In the past Boehner has had trouble whipping votes to support things that were destined to become law. Boehner couldn’t get his caucus to support TARP because TARP was awful and was also definitely going to happen. Boehner couldn’t get the votes for the 2011 debt deal because conservatives thought they’d eventually force an even better deal. But this was a totally symbolic gesture that never had any shot at passing the Senate or getting signed by the president. Boehner’s “Plan B” was a stupid pointless empty gesture, and that is why its failure is actually slightly scary, in addition to being hilarious.
The point of “Plan B” was to give Republicans a means of blaming Democrats when everyone’s taxes go up next year, while also giving them an opportunity to claim that they supported raising taxes on rich people. The problem was, Republicans really don’t support raising taxes on rich people, and they feel so strongly about this that they didn’t want to pretend to support a tax increase.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Idaho Sen. Crapo Arrested in Va., Charged With DUI - ABC News
Idaho Sen. Crapo Arrested in Va., Charged With DUI - ABC News:
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In Congress, Crapo has built a reputation as a staunch social and fiscal conservative. It was expected he would take over the top Republican spot next year on the Senate Banking Committee. He also serves on the Senate's budget and finance panels. Crapo was a member of the so-called "Gang of Six" senators that worked in 2011 toward a deficit-reduction deal that was never adopted by Congress.
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In Congress, Crapo has built a reputation as a staunch social and fiscal conservative. It was expected he would take over the top Republican spot next year on the Senate Banking Committee. He also serves on the Senate's budget and finance panels. Crapo was a member of the so-called "Gang of Six" senators that worked in 2011 toward a deficit-reduction deal that was never adopted by Congress.
A Mormon who grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Crapo was named a bishop in the church at age 31. He is an attorney who graduated from Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School. He has five children with his wife, Susan, and three grandchildren.
The Mormon church prohibits the use of alcohol, as well as coffee, tea and other substances. About one-quarter of Idaho residents are Mormon.
Crapo has told the Associated Press in past interviews that he abstains from drinking alcohol.
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Ballot Botch 'Israeli elections messed up,' voters vexed
smaller parties can and do block stuff. look at congress in us and other nations.
standard.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Watch The Full Program Online | The Warning | FRONTLINE | PBS
Watch The Full Program Online | The Warning | FRONTLINE | PBS:
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Greenspan is neoliberal in his economics. so is many, many in power today.
links on page go to other segments of this program. well worth watching if you missed
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Watch The Warning on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
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Greenspan is neoliberal in his economics. so is many, many in power today.
links on page go to other segments of this program. well worth watching if you missed
Friday, December 21, 2012
ArcelorMittal and Vale write off $8.5bn - FT.com
ArcelorMittal and Vale write off $8.5bn - FT.com:
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High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38cf37d6-4b47-11e2-88b5-00144feab49a.html#ixzz2FgxWNgBE
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High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38cf37d6-4b47-11e2-88b5-00144feab49a.html#ixzz2FgxWNgBE
Steel demand in Europe had fallen 8 per cent this year, it said, bringing the cumulative decline since 2007 to 29 per cent. Europe accounted for almost half of ArcelorMittal’s total steel output last year.
“This weaker demand environment, and expectations that it will persist over the near and medium term, led to a downward revision of cash flow expectations underlying the valuation of the European businesses,” said ArcelorMittal.
In the first nine months of this year, ArcelorMittal’s main European plants accounted for a cumulative operating loss of $823m
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american steel if we go off the cliff, will see same I believe
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Liberals reject Obama’s Social Security offer--and so does soar 11-3
Liberals reject Obama’s Social Security offer
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The CPI, or cost of living index, is used to make sure benefits keep pace with inflation, but there are lots of different ways to calculate it. The current measure, called the CPI-W, is generally accepted to overestimate inflation, but the liberals say the proposed alternative, the chained CPI, is too stingy. The chained CPI assumes seniors will adjust their buying habits in response to price shifts (e.g., if the price of oranges goes up, they’ll buy more apples), so they should be able to afford to take a haircut on benefit checks. But liberals say that seniors often barely make ends meet with current benefit levels, so cutting them more would be devastating.
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The CPI, or cost of living index, is used to make sure benefits keep pace with inflation, but there are lots of different ways to calculate it. The current measure, called the CPI-W, is generally accepted to overestimate inflation, but the liberals say the proposed alternative, the chained CPI, is too stingy. The chained CPI assumes seniors will adjust their buying habits in response to price shifts (e.g., if the price of oranges goes up, they’ll buy more apples), so they should be able to afford to take a haircut on benefit checks. But liberals say that seniors often barely make ends meet with current benefit levels, so cutting them more would be devastating.
Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, noted that 102 House Democrats have already said that Social Security changes should be kept off the table in these negotiations. “Everyone has a grandparent, a friend or a neighbor who relies on the Social Security benefits they earned to pay for medical care, food and housing. A move towards chained CPI would be a long-term benefit cut for every single person who receives a Social Security check,” he said in a statement.
Liz Fowler the Destroyer of the Public Option----redo
Liz continues to make tons of loot in private insurance industry.
Obama surrendering to Boehner?
Obama surrendering to Boehner?
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showdown of 2011, the president has the upper hand in the current negotiations. Plus, he has the trump card of last month’s election results. He can argue – and has been arguing – that the voters have blessed his vision of a “balanced” deal.
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showdown of 2011, the president has the upper hand in the current negotiations. Plus, he has the trump card of last month’s election results. He can argue – and has been arguing – that the voters have blessed his vision of a “balanced” deal.
The question for progressives, then, is whether Obama is giving too much ground relative to his bargaining position. From this standpoint, there are five obvious red flags in the framework that’s been reported so far:
The Morning Plum: Should progressives accept emerging fiscal cliff deal?
The Morning Plum: Should progressives accept emerging fiscal cliff deal?:
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On the spending cut side: $800 billion, including defense cuts. No rise in the Medicare eligibility age, but there would be “chained CPI” on Social Security, i.e., a change in the measurement of inflation that amounts to a benefit cut. While the hard line on Medicare is good, in essence, the emerging framework keeps taxes low on income between $250,000 and $400,000, while raising taxes on the middle class (the payroll tax cut would expire) and cutting Social Security.
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On the spending cut side: $800 billion, including defense cuts. No rise in the Medicare eligibility age, but there would be “chained CPI” on Social Security, i.e., a change in the measurement of inflation that amounts to a benefit cut. While the hard line on Medicare is good, in essence, the emerging framework keeps taxes low on income between $250,000 and $400,000, while raising taxes on the middle class (the payroll tax cut would expire) and cutting Social Security.
However, according to an official familiar with the talks, the White House continues to insist on various ways of softening the blow of “chained CPI” that are supported by progressive economists, though the details are still unclear. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is willing to support “chained CPI” if it is offset with a small increase in Social Security benefits for longtime beneficiaries and an exemption of of Supplemental Security Income, which is geared towards the poor and disabled. And so, a lot will depend on what the final agreement on Social Security looks like.
The left looks to be mobilizing to pressure Harry Reid not to accept any Social Security cuts, because he previously said Social Security should not be part of any deal. A senior Senate Dem aide tells me that Reid is not prepared to accept the emerging deal yet; he wants to talk to his caucus about it first.
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only losers or morons would accept cuts to social security. if anything, they should add to benefits instead of giving the loot for corporate welfare and billionaires
Huckabee: Taking God out of Schools Caused Newtown Mass Murder
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cenk has some strong opinions and language
huck is moron and I share Cenk's disgust
Monday, December 17, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Workers rescued after China tunnel collapse
rare happy ending. cavein of tunnel or mine is not unknown in any land and true in america; especially if safety is not concern for workers
ask any miner
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Naomi Klein: Wall St. Crisis Should Be for Neoliberalism What Fall of Berlin Wall Was for Communism
Naomi Klein: Wall St. Crisis Should Be for Neoliberalism What Fall of Berlin Wall Was for Communism
click link
this is from 2008 and economic policy little changed
click link
this is from 2008 and economic policy little changed
Neoliberalism in the Workplace: The Political economy of Bullshit - Jim ...
note: some rough language
note some common topics between american workers and european. neoliberalism is the trendy economic outlook. Bill clinton is neo guy and so is many, many of our fearless leaders. yes, speaker is socialist
hallmarks of this economic school: free trade deals, transfer wealth and power from public to private, tax cut to job creators--- more and more.
time permitting, topic for next soar meeting
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
1953 Lavender Scare: Government Fires Homosexuals | Video - ABC News
1953 Lavender Scare: Government Fires Homosexuals | Video - ABC News:
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more than reds were targeted during cold war
Watch More News Videos at ABC
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2012 Presidential Election
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Entertainment & Celebrity News
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more than reds were targeted during cold war
Watch More News Videos at ABC
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2012 Presidential Election
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Entertainment & Celebrity News
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
History House: A Popular Vote
History House: A Popular Vote:
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The Electoral College was hated by Jefferson, loved by Hamilton, used poorly by Burr, and exploited by Harrison.
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The Electoral College was hated by Jefferson, loved by Hamilton, used poorly by Burr, and exploited by Harrison.
Michigan spurns unions, and the middle class will feel it - baltimoresun.com
Michigan spurns unions, and the middle class will feel it - baltimoresun.com:
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It's one thing to pick a fight with public employee unions in Wisconsin and quite another for MichiganRepublicans to take on all of organized labor, as happened with the "right-to-work" legislation that Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law Tuesday evening. Few states have a stronger union tradition, and the blow to the labor movement there could have ramifications far beyond Michigan's borders.
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It's one thing to pick a fight with public employee unions in Wisconsin and quite another for MichiganRepublicans to take on all of organized labor, as happened with the "right-to-work" legislation that Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law Tuesday evening. Few states have a stronger union tradition, and the blow to the labor movement there could have ramifications far beyond Michigan's borders.
Whatever one may think of unions — and they've made their share of mistakes as surely as corporate executives have — the decision is certain to depress wages in Michigan. In states where unions can't require non-union members to pay dues (even as they represent them in contract negotiations or provide other benefits), workers tend to be paid less. They are also less likely to have a pension or employer-provided health care insurance.
It's not hard to understand why "right to work" is really "right to be paid less." It's the same reason nations don't make taxes optional to their citizenry and businesses don't typically let customers decide whether to pay for their goods or services. A dues-optional approach cripples the ability of a union to raise money and to look out for the interests of workers.
That is, of course, the point. Over the cries of thousands of angry protesters in Lansing, the GOP-controlled Michigan legislature meeting in lame-duck session rushed through the legislation, at least in part because legislators recognized that it cuts off a major source of Democratic campaign fundraising. The United Auto Workers alone gave more than $12 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama last month. Small wonder the bill was a high priority for Americans For Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group supported by David and Charles Koch.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
scams and conservatives---rachel maddows
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Canadian jobs and Chinese recruiters - The National - CBC Player
Canadian jobs and Chinese recruiters - The National - CBC Player:
click link
some of this in us as well
click link
some of this in us as well
Bernard Whitman Discusses the "Right-To-Work" Bill in Michigan
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this is one instance of gop idea of bipartisan action. this is how gop folks rule
really think if gop won senate or oval office they would not do this on national level. walk across the isle or jump in the river, they do not care
Monday, December 10, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Walmart Relentless as Thousands Set to Lose Out in New Health Care Policy | Common Dreams
Walmart Relentless as Thousands Set to Lose Out in New Health Care Policy | Common Dreams
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"For Walmart employees, the new system raises the risk that they could lose their health coverage in large part because they have little control over their schedules. Walmart uses an advanced scheduling system to constantly alter workers’ shifts according to store traffic and sales figures," the Huffington Post reports.
The discovery comes shortly after thousands of Walmart workers across the country walked off the job over the course of the week leading up to the national shopping day Black Friday. Workers continue to organize and speak out against the company's attempts to silence employees' complaints regarding the "company’s manipulation of hours and benefits, efforts to try to keep people from working full-time and their discrimination against women and people of color."
In other Walmart labor news, Walmart warehouse workers in Southern California filed a petition in court this week in a bid to sue Walmart in a federal wage-theft lawsuit.
Walmart's warehouses in California and Illinois have accused their employer of labor violations in the past; however, Friday's filing was the first time Walmart has been directly implicated in the claims of abuse, rather than the company's warehouse subcontractors, the Huffington Post reports.
"Walmart's name does not appear on any of these workers paychecks, and the Walmart logo does not appear on the t-shirts they're required to wear," Michael Rubin, the workers' lawyer, said on Friday. "But it has become increasingly clear that the ultimate liability for these workplace violations rests squarely on the shoulders of Walmart."
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"For Walmart employees, the new system raises the risk that they could lose their health coverage in large part because they have little control over their schedules. Walmart uses an advanced scheduling system to constantly alter workers’ shifts according to store traffic and sales figures," the Huffington Post reports.
The discovery comes shortly after thousands of Walmart workers across the country walked off the job over the course of the week leading up to the national shopping day Black Friday. Workers continue to organize and speak out against the company's attempts to silence employees' complaints regarding the "company’s manipulation of hours and benefits, efforts to try to keep people from working full-time and their discrimination against women and people of color."
In other Walmart labor news, Walmart warehouse workers in Southern California filed a petition in court this week in a bid to sue Walmart in a federal wage-theft lawsuit.
Walmart's warehouses in California and Illinois have accused their employer of labor violations in the past; however, Friday's filing was the first time Walmart has been directly implicated in the claims of abuse, rather than the company's warehouse subcontractors, the Huffington Post reports.
"Walmart's name does not appear on any of these workers paychecks, and the Walmart logo does not appear on the t-shirts they're required to wear," Michael Rubin, the workers' lawyer, said on Friday. "But it has become increasingly clear that the ultimate liability for these workplace violations rests squarely on the shoulders of Walmart."
Five Facts About America's Pathological Wealth Distribution | Common Dreams
Five Facts About America's Pathological Wealth Distribution | Common Dreams
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4. "We should all cheer for the stock market" is a big scam.
The mainstream media would have us believe that the whole country depends on a rising stock market. But the lowest-earning three-fifths of Americans -- 60% of the population -- own just .2% (one-fifth of one percent) of all wealth outside the home.
The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute claim that wealth inequality has remained steady over the past century, even in the last 30 years. Both organizations cite a paper by Kopczuk and Saez, which shows that the share of wealth owned by the top 1% has decreased from the early 1900s to the early 2000s, possibly because the "democratization of stock ownership...now spreads stock market gains and losses much more widely than in the past."
While it's true that the percentages of net worth and financial wealth for the top 1% barely budged from 1983 to 2007, the percentages for the rest of the richest 5% increased by almost 20%. And the percentages for the poorest 80% of the population DECREASED by almost 20%.
In other words, the share of wealth owned by the top 1% leveled off because the "democratization of stock ownership" spread the wealth among just 5% of the population, those earning an average of $500,000 per year. A few people -- 5 out of 100 -- got very rich, but everyone else lost ground.
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4. "We should all cheer for the stock market" is a big scam.
The mainstream media would have us believe that the whole country depends on a rising stock market. But the lowest-earning three-fifths of Americans -- 60% of the population -- own just .2% (one-fifth of one percent) of all wealth outside the home.
The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute claim that wealth inequality has remained steady over the past century, even in the last 30 years. Both organizations cite a paper by Kopczuk and Saez, which shows that the share of wealth owned by the top 1% has decreased from the early 1900s to the early 2000s, possibly because the "democratization of stock ownership...now spreads stock market gains and losses much more widely than in the past."
While it's true that the percentages of net worth and financial wealth for the top 1% barely budged from 1983 to 2007, the percentages for the rest of the richest 5% increased by almost 20%. And the percentages for the poorest 80% of the population DECREASED by almost 20%.
In other words, the share of wealth owned by the top 1% leveled off because the "democratization of stock ownership" spread the wealth among just 5% of the population, those earning an average of $500,000 per year. A few people -- 5 out of 100 -- got very rich, but everyone else lost ground.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Text of S.2252 as Introduced in Senate: Rebuild America Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress
Text of S.2252 as Introduced in Senate: Rebuild America Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:
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note: this looks like a good policy proposal
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(1) set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, and
(2) treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest. Pension Guaranty Improvement Act of 2012 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to:
(1) revise requirements for the composition and duties of members of the board of directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC),
(2) appoint a Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, and
(3) provide for an increase in multiemployer plan benefit guarantee and annual premium rates. Pension and Participant Protect Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to expand protections for existing defined benefit pension plans. Fair Playing Field Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations and other guidance on workers' employment tax status (i.e., as an employee or as an independent contractor). Establishes in the Treasury the Rebuild America Trust Fund to provide funding for projects to rebuild infrastructure under this Act.
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note: this looks like a good policy proposal
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(1) set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, and
(2) treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest. Pension Guaranty Improvement Act of 2012 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to:
(1) revise requirements for the composition and duties of members of the board of directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC),
(2) appoint a Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, and
(3) provide for an increase in multiemployer plan benefit guarantee and annual premium rates. Pension and Participant Protect Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to expand protections for existing defined benefit pension plans. Fair Playing Field Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations and other guidance on workers' employment tax status (i.e., as an employee or as an independent contractor). Establishes in the Treasury the Rebuild America Trust Fund to provide funding for projects to rebuild infrastructure under this Act.
Barack Obama, Mitt Romney both topped $1 billion in 2012 - Kenneth P. Vogel and Dave Levinthal and Tarini Parti - POLITICO.com
Barack Obama, Mitt Romney both topped $1 billion in 2012 - Kenneth P. Vogel and Dave Levinthal and Tarini Parti - POLITICO.com
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Hedge funder Jim Simons in mid-October donated $1.5 million to Priorities (bringing his tally to $5 million) and $500,000 to House Majority PAC ($1.5 million total). And Houston attorney Steve Mostyn gave $1 million to Priorities, bringing the total given by him and his wife to more than $4 million.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/barack-obama-mitt-romney-both-topped-1-billion-in-2012-84737_Page2.html#ixzz2EOEnHC00
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Hedge funder Jim Simons in mid-October donated $1.5 million to Priorities (bringing his tally to $5 million) and $500,000 to House Majority PAC ($1.5 million total). And Houston attorney Steve Mostyn gave $1 million to Priorities, bringing the total given by him and his wife to more than $4 million.
The Democratic super PACs also got major support from labor unions.
While Priorities was outspent on ads $65 million to $144 million by Restore Our Future, the pro-Obama group has boasted of using its cash more effectively by airing early ads that sought to brand Romney as a heartless corporate raider – a strategy that mirrored the Obama campaign’s.
Obama’s campaign had urged its small donors to dig deep by issuing dire – and inaccurate, it turns out – predictions that it would be outspent by both super PACs and Romney’s campaign, and wouldn’t reach the $1 billion threshold. The idea that the campaign would raise that much was “bulls**t,” campaign manager Jim Messina asserted in a video message asking supporters for “contributions of three dollars or five dollars or whatever you can do to help us expand the map, to put more people on the ground, to build a real grass-roots campaign that is going to be the difference between winning and losing.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/barack-obama-mitt-romney-both-topped-1-billion-in-2012-84737_Page2.html#ixzz2EOEnHC00
Republicans Tout Bush Tax Cuts, But Extending Unemployment Benefits Would Support 400,000 Jobs | NationofChange
Republicans Tout Bush Tax Cuts, But Extending Unemployment Benefits Would Support 400,000 Jobs | NationofChange:
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The sticking point of the negotiations over the so-called “fiscal cliff” has been the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which Republicans insist must be extended and President Obama and the Democrats insist must end. (Both sides agree on maintaining tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.)
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The sticking point of the negotiations over the so-called “fiscal cliff” has been the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which Republicans insist must be extended and President Obama and the Democrats insist must end. (Both sides agree on maintaining tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.)
Wal-Mart wouldn’t pay for Bangladeshi factory safety improvements
Wal-Mart wouldn’t pay for Bangladeshi factory safety improvements
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At a meeting in April 2011, more than a dozen retailers including Wal-Mart, Gap, Target and JC Penney met in Dhaka to discuss safety at their supplier Bangladeshi garment factories. Bloomberg News revealed minutes from this meeting Wednesday, which show that Wal-Mart nixed a plan that would require retailers to pay their suppliers enough to cover safety improvements.
Last month, a fire in a factory used by Wal-Mart killed 112 workers. There were no fire exits. Despite the fact that more than 700 Bangladeshi garment workers have died since 2005, Wal-Mart and Gap refused last year to pay higher costs for safety. Bloomberg cited comments from a document produced by Wal-mart’s director of ethical sourcing and a Gap official for the Dhaka meeting. It stated:
“Specifically to the issue of any corrections on electrical and fire safety, we are talking about 4,500 factories, and in most cases very extensive and costly modifications would need to be undertaken to some factories. It is not financially feasible for the brands to make such investments.”
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Grand old grifters rebuked--revenge?
Grand old grifters rebuked
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Dick Armey’s story is particularly mixed up. Politico’s account at first makes Armey seem like a whistleblower, a man of conscience standing up to Matt Kibbe, who he alleges bilked the group to get a book deal. But if Kibbe is to be believed – and I admit that’s a crap shoot — he only got paid $50,000 personally for a book it’s clear other FreedomWorks staff helped with; for objecting to Kibbe’s deal, Armey walks away with an $8 million golden parachute. Talk about wingnut welfare. Who’s bilking who?
(Armey also demanded that FreedomWorks remove his name, image, or signature “from all its letters, print media, postings, web sites, videos, testimonials, endorsements, fund raising materials, and social media, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter”; and deliver his official congressional portrait to his home in Texas. What a regular guy.)
Rove’s situation at Fox is more genuinely humiliating, but chances are it’s a showy temporary ritual to protect Roger Ailes. Rove raised at least $300 million in the last election cycle, from which he paid himself handsomely. And he still has enough money around that Crossroads GPS can run ads attacking Obama’s tough stance in facing the so-called “fiscal cliff,” distorting the president’s position. The ads close with “Call President Obama and tell him it’s time to show us a balanced plan, because every day wasted is another $4 billion we’re deeper in debt.” Fox’s move smacks of a marketing maneuver to cover Ailes’s ass than a genuine parting of the ways
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one wonders how much the very sore losing billionaires had to do with this?
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Dick Armey’s story is particularly mixed up. Politico’s account at first makes Armey seem like a whistleblower, a man of conscience standing up to Matt Kibbe, who he alleges bilked the group to get a book deal. But if Kibbe is to be believed – and I admit that’s a crap shoot — he only got paid $50,000 personally for a book it’s clear other FreedomWorks staff helped with; for objecting to Kibbe’s deal, Armey walks away with an $8 million golden parachute. Talk about wingnut welfare. Who’s bilking who?
(Armey also demanded that FreedomWorks remove his name, image, or signature “from all its letters, print media, postings, web sites, videos, testimonials, endorsements, fund raising materials, and social media, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter”; and deliver his official congressional portrait to his home in Texas. What a regular guy.)
Rove’s situation at Fox is more genuinely humiliating, but chances are it’s a showy temporary ritual to protect Roger Ailes. Rove raised at least $300 million in the last election cycle, from which he paid himself handsomely. And he still has enough money around that Crossroads GPS can run ads attacking Obama’s tough stance in facing the so-called “fiscal cliff,” distorting the president’s position. The ads close with “Call President Obama and tell him it’s time to show us a balanced plan, because every day wasted is another $4 billion we’re deeper in debt.” Fox’s move smacks of a marketing maneuver to cover Ailes’s ass than a genuine parting of the ways
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one wonders how much the very sore losing billionaires had to do with this?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Ralph Nader: The Gift of a Sustainable Economy
Ralph Nader: The Gift of a Sustainable Economy:
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The local economy, once the bread and butter of the United States, has been traded away in favor of the national economy -- namely, an economy driven by unpatriotic multinational corporations. The idea of a thriving Main Street has largely became a quaint relic of the past -- drive along any major roadway in the United States today and you'll see the big, bright signs of Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, one right after another. These stores and online retailers such as Amazon are the thriving businesses of today. But how does their success help most of the country?
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The local economy, once the bread and butter of the United States, has been traded away in favor of the national economy -- namely, an economy driven by unpatriotic multinational corporations. The idea of a thriving Main Street has largely became a quaint relic of the past -- drive along any major roadway in the United States today and you'll see the big, bright signs of Walmart, Target, and Best Buy, one right after another. These stores and online retailers such as Amazon are the thriving businesses of today. But how does their success help most of the country?
Because so many big multinational companies ship jobs and industries abroad, the lack of well-paying jobs has become a serious issue for American workers. Millions of blue-collar jobs moved to countries that won't cut into a company's profit margin with requirements such as basic worker's rights and a minimum wage. (Consider the recent factory fire in Bangladesh, where 112 workers died due to lax safety standards. The factory produced clothes for Walmart, Sears and Disney, among other American companies.) Many white-collar jobs have also gone overseas -- how often do you call a customer support hotline only to reach someone in India or the Philippines? The evidence of this great job migration is all around, depressed small towns with empty factories, fewer and fewer family-owned small retail businesses, big banks over community banks, supermarkets over grocery stores. While American workers enjoy more rights and privileges than their overseas equivalents, there is still much work to be done. For instance, the federal minimum wage is three dollars less then what it was, adjusted for inflation, back in 1968. Hundreds of American Walmart workers walked off the job on Black Friday to protest low wages and poor working conditions. Poverty is increasing.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Leo W. Gerard: It's the Simpson-Bowles Personal Profit Tour: Making Money Off the U.S. Debt
Leo W. Gerard: It's the Simpson-Bowles Personal Profit Tour: Making Money Off the U.S. Debt:
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"a milk cow with 310 million tits."
Easy for Simpson to say. For his 18 years in the Senate, U.S. taxpayers are giving him a pension ofbetween $41,000 and $55,000 a year, which is two to three times more generous than a middle class person would get in the private sector, if the worker were lucky enough to receive that now-rare benefit.
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"a milk cow with 310 million tits."
Easy for Simpson to say. For his 18 years in the Senate, U.S. taxpayers are giving him a pension ofbetween $41,000 and $55,000 a year, which is two to three times more generous than a middle class person would get in the private sector, if the worker were lucky enough to receive that now-rare benefit.
The CEOs Simpson and Bowles lined up to front their bogus Campaign to Fix the Debt exhibit the same behavior. An examination by the Institute for Policy Studies found that the 71 CEOs of public companies endorsing the campaign have set aside for themselves an average of $9 million in retirement funds from their corporations. That would pay each $110,000 a month for life after age 65.
These CEOs are careless, however, about their workers' retirements. Forty-one promise pensions to workers, but only two corporations have sufficient assets to meet those obligations. The remaining 39 carry a combined pension deficit of $103 billion.
These CEOs, the very ones who've accumulated those massive deficits, are telling the federal government how to solve its budget problems. Right.
These CEOs take care of their own retirements, shortchange their workers' pensions, then demand that the federal government cut Social Security and Medicare, the only other retirement programs for the middle class. These earned benefit programs are lifesavers to the 27 percent of Americans who have no pension and no retirement savings at all.
Paul Krugman: Class wars of 2012 | Ames Tribune
Paul Krugman: Class wars of 2012 | Ames Tribune:
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Consider, as a prime example, the push to raise the retirement age, the age of eligibility for Medicare, or both. This is only reasonable, we’re told — after all, life expectancy has risen, so shouldn’t we all retire later? In reality, however, it would be a hugely regressive policy change, imposing severe burdens on lower- and middle-income Americans while barely affecting the wealthy.
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Consider, as a prime example, the push to raise the retirement age, the age of eligibility for Medicare, or both. This is only reasonable, we’re told — after all, life expectancy has risen, so shouldn’t we all retire later? In reality, however, it would be a hugely regressive policy change, imposing severe burdens on lower- and middle-income Americans while barely affecting the wealthy.
Why? First of all, the increase in life expectancy is concentrated among the affluent; why should janitors have to retire later because lawyers are living longer? Second, both Social Security and Medicare are much more important, relative to income, to less-affluent Americans, so delaying their availability would be a far more severe hit to ordinary families than to the top 1 percent.
Or take a subtler example, the insistence that any revenue increases should come from limiting deductions rather than from higher tax rates. The key thing to realize here is that the math just doesn’t work; there is, in fact, no way limits on deductions can raise as much revenue from the wealthy as you can get simply by letting the relevant parts of the Bush-era tax cuts expire.
So any proposal to avoid a rate increase is, whatever its proponents may say, a proposal that we let the 1 percent off the hook and shift the burden, one way or another, to the middle class or the poor.
The point is that the class war is still on, this time with an added dose of deception. And this, in turn, means that you need to look very closely at any proposals coming from the usual suspects, even — or rather especially — if the proposal is being represented as a bipartisan, common-sense solution. In particular, whenever some deficit-scold group talks about “shared sacrifice,” you need to ask, sacrifice relative to what?
So keep your eyes open as the fiscal game of chicken continues. It’s an uncomfortable but real truth that we are not all in this together.
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