Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

[cybrguy]

I would add that during the Obama administration, the auto industry was in crisis and without the Obama admins support probably would have collapsed. At that time, the industry itself needed the support, more so even than the workers. The unions gave up a huge piece of their benefits and agreements to help keep the industry afloat. That is no longer necessary, and the industry is now making money hand over fist. It's time for those benefits to come back to the workers. Plus a little extra for their willingness to accommodate for the sake of the country.

 

[Cheebsy]

Anti-gay discrimination not qualification for asylum, says Suella Braverman

The home secretary says fearing discrimination for being gay or a woman is not enough to qualify for refugee protection.

www.bbc.co.uk

What a fucking piece of shit this woman is! She can't stop being a complete bitch to get extreme right support. Does she really believe that there aren't any places on this earth that persecute homosexualities or women? Arrrgh she makes me so fucking angry, such a fucking headline seaking wanker just out to promote her position in case her party boots Richie out after he loses the election next year.

 

[florduh]

I would add that during the Obama administration, the auto industry was in crisis and without the Obama admins support probably would have collapsed. At that time, the industry itself needed the support, more so even than the workers. The unions gave up a huge piece of their benefits and agreements to help keep the industry afloat. That is no longer necessary, and the industry is now making money hand over fist. It's time for those benefits to come back to the workers. Plus a little extra for their willingness to accommodate for the sake of the country.

I have no problem with the Obama bailout of the auto industry. But he surrounded himself with scumbags like Steven Rattner, Larry Summers, and Jamie Dimon. And yes, they convinced him that in the wake of the financial crash, regular working people needed to be sacrificed for the good of the country. Not the rich.

When the banking industry drove the global economy into a wall at 100mph, they got bailed out. Obama went so far as to ensure the very criminal executives responsible for the crisis got to keep their 7 figure bonuses.

Meanwhile, individual homeowners who were sold scam mortgages, or saw their retirement disappear.... well he left those people to drown. You can draw a straight line from that, to the Host of The Celebrity Apprentice becoming President.

Luckily, the Biden Administration seems to be learning from some of those mistakes.

 

[Grass Yes]

UAW strike: Biden, Trump seek blue-collar votes in swing state Michigan

Michigan voters helped both Biden and Trump in winning the White House during the past two presidential elections, in 2020 and 2016, respectively.

www.cnbc.com

Joe Brandon visited the UAW picket line with President Sean Fein.

Meanwhile, the most indicted man in America is doing a rally at a non-union parts supplier.



Edit: Yet another reminder of why the O'Bungler Administration sucked so fucking bad. It was full of absolute demons like this:

Uhhhhhhhh..... let me be clear. The President "putting his thumb on the scale" to benefit working people over the rich is good, actually.

Yep. I absolutely thought Obama would be a great progressive president. And he just wasn't. And people like Steven Rattner are 100% the reason. I hope he gets to live to see his legacy destroyed when we build a sustainable and just society.

 

[florduh]

Yep. I absolutely thought Obama would be a great progressive president. And he just wasn't. And people like Steven Rattner are 100% the reason. I hope he gets to live to see his legacy destroyed when we build a sustainable and just society.

This is the second time Rattner has mouthed off in the last week. It’s very clear he doesn’t believe the UAW should get to collect on the promises that were made in ‘09.

 

[Canna Chameleon]

Awww.

Mike Lindell pleads for help as MyPillow 'crippled' by American Express

Lindell claimed there is an "all out attack on MyPillow" in response to his backing of discredited claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

www.newsweek.com

 

[florduh]

I know Conservatives are gonna say this is the Deep State at work. But if 20 years ago, back when Trump was a registered Democrat, you told me that his entire business is built on criminal fraud and bullshit...I would've said, "yeah... that sounds right".

Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers while building real estate empire

A judge has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.

apnews.com

Important to note: the only reason anybody ever thought this fraud was a great businessman was because of NBC producers and writers. The Apprentice was a fictional show. Every business Trump personally ran has failed. The only time he's seen success is when he licensed out the Trump name to competent businesses.

 

[Cheebsy]

This must belong in the fake news thread surely?

Two French supermarkets to sell fuel at cost price - BBC News

Carrefour and E.Leclerc are holding down the price of petrol and diesel to help people cope with inflation.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[florduh]

Update on the Canadian Nazi story

Canada's House speaker resigns over inviting a man who fought for a Nazi unit to Parliament

Anthony Rota, the speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, is resigning for inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president.

apnews.com

Imagine the week this 98 year old Nazi had. He went from getting a standing ovation from Canadian Parliament, to possibly getting executed for crimes against humanity he committed during the war.

Poland wants to extradite Canadian-Ukrainian man who served in Nazi SS unit

Poland's eduction minister wants to extradite Canadian-Ukrainian man who served in Nazi SS Galicia unit

ottawacitizen.com

The worst part about this fiasco is Putin was handed a massive propaganda win. His bullshit justification for his illegal invasion was the "Denazification of Ukraine". I'm sure images of Zelinsky and the entire Canadian Parliament cheering for a literal Nazi war criminal are playing 24/7 in Russia.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

This must belong in the fake news thread surely?

Two French supermarkets to sell fuel at cost price - BBC News

Carrefour and E.Leclerc are holding down the price of petrol and diesel to help people cope with inflation.

www.bbc.co.uk

It is real. But I'm not sure it's a good thing.

 

[cybrguy]

OK, here is some truly scary shit. It's long, but Read it, and keep an extra pair of underwear nearby...

EXCLUSIVE: Special Agent Buma's FIRST Memo to Congress About the FBI Protecting Giuliani

A new, earlier memo from Special Agent Johnathan Buma to Congress has emerged. A number of bureaucrats in the FBI protected Giuliani and Trump more than we knew.

ericgarland.substack.com

 

[Canna Chameleon]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-unanimously-passes-formal-dress-231456281.html

Next do the budget!

 

[bhasma]

It has been thought that Alzheimer's Disease is caused by amyloid plaques in the brain, but new research (just released in Molecular Neurodegeneration) has shown that dendritic spine plasticity is regulated by RNA editing and that dysregulation of this process leads to dendritic spine loss, neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease. And by eliminating unedited glutamate receptor expression they prevented dendritic spine loss and hippocampal neurodegeneration and improved memory. They used a mouse model, but the results are promising for developing an effective cure for Alzheimer's Disease.

 

[florduh]

The Chairman of the People's Republic of Commiefornia, Gruesome Gavin Newsom, strikes again!

New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, among nation's highest

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour. The raise takes effect April 1, 2024.

apnews.com

The new $20 minimum wage is just a starting point. The law creates a Fast Food Council that has the power to increase that wage each year through 2029 by 3.5% or the change in averages for the U.S. Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, whichever is lower.

This new council will also include frontline workers. Which I guess technically makes it a (small s) soviet.

Anyone who thinks businesses can't afford to pay living wages....

Pizza Workers Made $78 An Hour When Boss Gave Them Day’s Profits Instead Of Keeping Them For Himself

A pizza shop in Ohio demonstrated inadvertently just how much profit workers produce – and how little they are paid hourly. Fox 8 in Cleveland, Ohio reports: “The owner of a pizza shop in Findlay…

labor411.org

And that was in Ohio.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

Pizza Workers Made $78 An Hour When Boss Gave Them Day’s Profits Instead Of Keeping Them For Himself

A pizza shop in Ohio demonstrated inadvertently just how much profit workers produce – and how little they are paid hourly. Fox 8 in Cleveland, Ohio reports: “The owner of a pizza shop in Findlay…

labor411.org

And that was in Ohio.

Here we have a dispositive called profit-sharing that CEOs are free to apply (or not to apply) in their companies.

My boss says it should be mandatory to do profit-sharing for each and every company.

Where I work, profit-sharing takes the form of a bonus that worth roughly 3 months of salary, depending on previous year benefits.
Plus any employee have the possibility to buy shares of the company so we can bank dividendes as well.

Very few companies adopts profit-sharing and even less allows their workforce to be shareholders.

This Californian Soviet is a lot more radical since they can simply impose to the companies to share their profits with their workforce. It's not on the boss anymore...

 

[Canna Chameleon]

Ladies and Gentleman I now present our Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

A. Blinken

Ablinken

 

[florduh]

Very few companies adopts profit-sharing and even less allows their workforce to be shareholders.

Bernie Sanders had a proposal that would require publicly traded companies to sell 1% of their stock to regular workers. Enough to give employees a representative Board seat. So that when the Board is discussing stuff like...doing mass layoffs to temporarily juice the share price, there would be at least one person standing up for the people doing the real work.

I think that, more than his universal healthcare plan, is why his campaign was marked for destruction by the elites in this country.

This Californian Soviet is a lot more radical since they can simply impose to the companies to share their profits with their workforce. It's not on the boss anymore...

I was half joking with the whole "soviet" thing. There will be workers on this council but I imagine there will also be reps from the business community. And new minimum wage increases will be tied to increases in cost of living indices. I'm not sure why that isn't the law everywhere, tbh.

Starbucks illegally kept wages, benefits from union workers

Starbucks broke federal labor law when it boosted wages and benefits only for workers in non-unionized stores across the U.S. last year, a National Labor Relations Board judge held.

www.seattletimes.com

Every time a corporation is caught stealing from workers or customers, all they have to do is pay back a percentage of what they stole. Other than that, no harm/no foul.

If you're a corporation...why would you not do crimes? You're literally gambling with house money every time.

 

[Canna Chameleon]

…after extensive testing of more than 40 anti-Trump television ads, “all attempts to undermine his conservative credentials on specific issues were ineffective.”

“Even when you show video to Republican primary voters — with complete context — of President Trump saying something otherwise objectionable to primary voters, they find a way to rationalize and dismiss it,”

Republican Group Running Anti-Trump Ads Finds Little Is Working

A well-funded group of anti-Trump conservatives has sent its donors a remarkably candid memo that reveals how resilient former President Donald Trump has been against millions of dollars of negative ads the group deployed against him in two early-voting states. The political action committee...

www.yahoo.com

 

[florduh]

…after extensive testing of more than 40 anti-Trump television ads, “all attempts to undermine his conservative credentials on specific issues were ineffective.”

“Even when you show video to Republican primary voters — with complete context — of President Trump saying something otherwise objectionable to primary voters, they find a way to rationalize and dismiss it,”

Republican Group Running Anti-Trump Ads Finds Little Is Working

A well-funded group of anti-Trump conservatives has sent its donors a remarkably candid memo that reveals how resilient former President Donald Trump has been against millions of dollars of negative ads the group deployed against him in two early-voting states. The political action committee...

www.yahoo.com

LMAO. This why I don't get why Brandon and other Libs say "MAGA Republicans". Just drop the qualifier. There are about 5 or 6 non-MAGA Republicans and they all work for the New York Times or Washington Post.

 

[getsoutalive]

I am probably going to regret this but.......

You guys realize that NONE of the "establishment" Republicans are MAGA. yes?

And from this libertarian's perspective, the NYT is one of the most "establishment" rags around.

I wonder your thoughts on RFK Jr?

I see this entire system as very broken, and Trump and RFK as "anti-establishment". I see this as one big party that is actively working against us and am willing to at least listen to anything but the "establishment" narrative.

My motto lately is : "If they have a microphone in front of them, they are lying."

 

[Canna Chameleon]

LMAO. This why I don't get why Brandon and other Libs say "MAGA Republicans". Just drop the qualifier. There are about 5 or 6 non-MAGA Republicans and they all work for the New York Times or Washington Post.

1. (noun) A relatively small group that excessively controls its members, whom share set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, and are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader.
2. (noun) A individual, group, or object with a relatively small, but devoted fan-base and supporters.

cult definition | Open Education Sociology Dictionary

1. (noun) A relatively small group that excessively controls its members, whom share set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, and are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader; 2. (noun) A individual...

sociologydictionary.org

You guys realize that NONE of the "establishment" Republicans are MAGA. yes?

Chris Christie, McConnell, Joe Manchin…sure. Not MAGA but sympathetic and certainly co conspirators from 2016 - 2021

I wonder your thoughts on RFK Jr?

Theres anti establishment…then there’s full on nutter.

If they have a way to profit from you in front of them, they are lying

FIFY

 

[getsoutalive]

1. (noun) A relatively small group that excessively controls its members, whom share set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, and are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader.
2. (noun) A individual, group, or object with a relatively small, but devoted fan-base and supporters.

cult definition | Open Education Sociology Dictionary

1. (noun) A relatively small group that excessively controls its members, whom share set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, and are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader; 2. (noun) A individual...

sociologydictionary.org

Chris Christie, McConnell, Joe Manchin…sure. Not MAGA but sympathetic and certainly co conspirators from 2016 - 2021



Theres anti establishment…then there’s full on nutter.



FIFY

Uh, co-conspirators? to what exactly?
Joe Manchin being a D is a curious call out.

RFK is far from nuts. And if there is anyone in this country that has a reason to hate the "Deep State", it is this man.

As a libertarian, I have to take issue with your "fix" of my quote. First profit is NOT a dirty word and second there are all manner of ways to take advantage of someone other than to EARN a profit.

 

[florduh]

RFK is far from nuts. And if there is anyone in this country that has a reason to hate the "Deep State", it is this man.

Honestly, if RFK was just running on "I want to disband the CIA because they killed by dad and uncle" he'd be pretty cool.

But he literally has the same politics as like...Chris Coons or any other Corporate Democrat. He just hates vaccines. I'm not sure who his campaign is for. It's a complete loser.

If he wants to run third party, he's welcome to. It will take more votes from Trump than Brandon though.

As a libertarian, I have to take issue with your "fix" of my quote. First profit is NOT a dirty word and second there are all manner of ways to take advantage of someone other than to EARN a profit.

Profit=unpaid wages. Which I wouldn't even have a problem with if every full time worker in the country could afford rent or a mortgage within a reasonable distance from their place of work. But we're not in that situation. It was a problem pre-COVID too.

 

[Canna Chameleon]

Uh, co-conspirators? to what exactly?
Joe Manchin being a D is a curious call out.

RFK is far from nuts. And if there is anyone in this country that has a reason to hate the "Deep State", it is this man.

As a libertarian, I have to take issue with your "fix" of my quote. First profit is NOT a dirty word and second there are all manner of ways to take advantage of someone other than to EARN a profit.

There is no deep state. There is no cabal of child trafficking aliens.

There is a persistent greed in the world. Whether their drug is money or power. And while I agree there is far too much reliance on historical perspective and religious values in our current government…

The MAGA crowd is anti establishment because they are mad at being left behind in this economy and Information Age. They are gullible. They are angry and want someone to blame. And they believed Fox News, Newsmax, and their pastor when they decided who was at fault.

Behind it all is either greed, religious intolerance, racism, or ignorance.

And RFKjr is nuts.

 

[getsoutalive]

There most certainly is a deeply embedded set of government employees that have been and continue to grow their power over us. Child trafficking is difficult to discuss with a straight face as we KNOW that is exactly what was happening with Epstein. But the details are secret.

Aliens.....not yet, but I bet you see them try to sell us crazy alien BS soon enough.

You are correct, there is a persistent greed in the world. Always has been. Where we differ is in believing that a govt, any govt, should, or is actually even capable of altering that.

I suggest that it is NOT POSSIBLE for any govt to pull the strings just right to manage an economy in any manner that approaches the efficiency of free markets. And that starts at its base with money. Nixon and FDR before him did us all a grave disservice by severing the link with gold.

This is why wages have failed to keep up.