I am sure that today has been hectic for most . . . family, children running about, Christmas dinner or other festivities. I had Christmas dinner Thursday night with friends, and I contributed yams baked in olive oil and honey with generous amounts of ginger and a bit of garlic but absolutely no salt. Today, I had a slow start but then in the afternoon headed out to see my mother. Staff were having a potluck dinner and I was invited to share the bounty. It was good to share a delicious meal with the people that look after my mother so well. I hope your day was equally enjoyable.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
Alternet — Outsourcing to these 1099 workers has become the preferred method for America’s business leaders to cut costs and maximize profits. This is only the beginning; we have yet to see how these trends will affect the labor force over the next decade or so. But already we can see that the so-called “new” economy looks an awful lot like the old, pre-New Deal economy. “Jobs” amount to a series of low-paid piece work – they’re called micro-gigs today—offering little empowerment for average workers, families or communities. We’re losing decades of progress, apparently for no other reason than because these on-demand companies conduct their business over the Internet and apps, somehow that makes them “special.” Technology has been granted a privileged and indulged place where the usual rules, laws and policies often are not applied.
The work requirements were changing at the end of my career, and not necessarily for the better, moving towards this new idea. Will this "sharing" economy continue? I don't know but I do think it will kill the idea of the American dream which of course Republicans will continue to tout as achievable if one works hard. The new way almost sounds like indentured servitude.
Mother Jones — Climate change will have some pretty terrifying consequences. Experts have predicted everything from deadly heat waves and devastating floods to falling crop production and even increased political instability and violence. But according to some of the world's biggest companies, these future disasters could also present lucrative business opportunities.
In a remarkable series of documents submitted to a London-based nonprofit called CDP, big-name corporations describe global warming as a chance to sell more weapons systems to the military, more air conditioners to sweltering civilians, and more medications to people afflicted by tropical diseases. CDP, which stands for "Carbon Disclosure Project," asks companies all over the world to disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions and how the changing climate will impact their operations. Each year, thousands of companies send in responses. Below, we've compiled a list of some of the most striking—and, in some cases, disturbing—scenarios laid out by those businesses.
In my mind, climate change and global warming are huge challenges to the world as we know it. The human need for survival is paramount. If that survival is in doubt anywhere, people will rise up. With economies the way they are, who will be able to afford these "fixes"? Click through for the rest of the details.
Think Progress — A National Rifle Association lawsuit seeking to immunize gun dealers from a recently enacted tax was rejected by a state trial court on Tuesday. If Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is ultimately upheld on appeal, the tax will fund gun safety research as well as programs seeking to prevent gun violence.
Last August, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) signed an ordinance providing for a $25 tax on each gun and a 2 to 5 cent tax on each round of ammunition sold within the city. The NRA, along with several other pro-gun groups and individuals, sued, claiming that the law violates a Washington State law preventing municipal governments from enacting any “regulation” of guns. As Judge Robinson explains in his opinion, however, the power to tax is separate from the power to regulate. Among other things, he notes, the ordinance does not “place any burden or restriction” on gun dealers beyond the obligation to pay the tax.
Personally, I hope that Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is upheld. It is a start.
My Universe —
5 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 25/12/2015”
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thanks for you par normal excellent post, enjoyed it all
Isn't it a blessing that staff consider you their family, as well as your mom's. You earned that.
3:05 – I'll start doing the puzzles again.
Isn't it ironic that cutting us out of our share is called "sharing"?
See today's Open Thread. US arms sales are UP.
I agree!
…goodwill toward cats!
TP: I do not know much about Judge Palmer Robinson, actually, nothing beyond what is posted, but maybe he ought to be the next nominee for SCOTUS!
MJ: No surprise here: "Oh, I know, let's make obscene amounts of money screwing up the atmosphere, and then still more selling shit to the suckers, to help them deal with our beautiful damage!
Alternet: Pre-New Deal economy? EXACTLY the agenda of the conservatives, even the ones roosevelt was able to brow-beat into cooperating with him!
You had a quiet but enjoyable Christmas by the sound of it, Lynn, as did I.
Alternet: Over time there have been several new economies and industrial revolutions that all had the potential to make life easier for the workers while everyone still earned enough to enjoy life a little. But that idea never lasted very long, any positive change was soon diverted to work in one direction only and that is towards the bosses. Every "new" economy soon turns out to be the old economy with a different label stuck on it. The only thing new about it that profits are even higher for the bosses while they give even less in return and for the workers nothing much changes. People should wake up and realize that the American Dream has NEVER been for every one, nor will it ever be.
MoJo: Well, doesn't this warm the cockles of your heart, all these companies ready and prepared to make more money out of the devastating effects of Climate Change. The death of one is the bread of another, as the Dutch say and nothing could be more true for these companies. Not for one minute the thought enters their thick skulls that they bear responsibility for the development of Climate Change as well as for doing everything they possibly can to limit the effects. There's nothing in these CDPs that even hints at sustainability, at decreasing the CO2 footprint, of developing new technology to keep the effects of Global Warming to a minimum. Instead everything these companies suggest will do one thing only and that is maximize their profit and worsen the problem. Utterly disgusting.
Think Progress: If this tax regulation is not upheld on appeal this may have terrible consequences for most taxes I would think, as many are used directly or indirectly to regulate something. Let's hope the tax is upheld and Washington State's next step is to tax weapons out of existence. It'll never work, but the idea appeals to me ;-))
My Universe: Indeed, peace on earth for all.
4:38 (4:55 when I did it, which was about noon Monday, but since only one second difference…) It's the fat white man in the funny red suit whose facial expressions suggests he might be stuck in the smoke hole of somebody's tipi.
I am playing catchup so I won't rant too much. I'll just mention Canada selling bottled air in China and state my hope the Seattle gun tax not only survives, but starts a trend.