How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

Sunday, June 04, 2017
The Guardian
Backers of Honduran Dam Opposed by Murdered Activist Withdraw Funding
Dam was one of hundreds of projects sanctioned after 2009 military coup
Nina Lakhani, The Guardian

Hondurans demand justice for Berta Cáceres on 17 August 2016 in Tegucigalpa. Her murder last year triggered international outrage and piled pressure on the international backers to pull out of the Agua Zarca dam project amid a campaign of intimidation against communities opposed to it. (Photo: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images)

The international funders behind the hydroelectric dam opposed by murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres are withdrawing from the project, the Guardian can reveal.

Three financial institutions had pledged loans worth $44m for the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque river, which is considered sacred by the Lenca people and which Caceres campaigned against before her death.

Her murder last year triggered international outrage and piled pressure on the international backers to pull out of the project amid a campaign of intimidation against communities opposed to the dam.

The Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh) - the campaign group Caceres co-founded – has long demanded that investors withdraw and make reparations for the human rights violations linked to the project.

Read the full article at The Guardian.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...am-opposed-murdered-activist-withdraw-funding


Absolutely wonderful to see economic projects based on greed fail. Berta Caceres is one the few who ended up in the media. There are many more. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to carry out such projects, just like in the case of DAPL.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Americans Are Taking More Time Off Work

by Tyler Durden
Jun 6, 2017 2:45 AM

The United States, unlike many other industrialized countries, has no statuary agreement on taking paid vacation. Meaning: There is no law telling employers the minimum number of days they need to give their employees off work - that are also paid for.

However, as Statista's Dyfed Loesche notes, Project:Time Off, which is sponsored by the U.S. Travel Association, has good news: After two decades of almost steady decline the average days of vacation have risen by 0.6 days year-over-year to 16.8 days in 2016.



You will find more statistics at Statista

"Despite this encouraging sign, taking time off continues to be a challenge in America’s always-on work culture," the authors of the latest report conclude. Still, in 2016, 662 million vacation days were left unused, four million days more than 2015.

Taking time off doesn't just profit the individual workers who is said to become more productive after being able to recharge their batteries. According to the project's estimates, "the jump in vacation usage from 16.2 to 16.8 days delivered a $37 billion impact to the U.S. economy."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-05/americans-are-taking-more-time-work


More time for and .

 

[Skarekrow]

Americans Are Taking More Time Off Work

by Tyler Durden
Jun 6, 2017 2:45 AM

The United States, unlike many other industrialized countries, has no statuary agreement on taking paid vacation. Meaning: There is no law telling employers the minimum number of days they need to give their employees off work - that are also paid for.

However, as Statista's Dyfed Loesche notes, Project:Time Off, which is sponsored by the U.S. Travel Association, has good news: After two decades of almost steady decline the average days of vacation have risen by 0.6 days year-over-year to 16.8 days in 2016.



You will find more statistics at Statista

"Despite this encouraging sign, taking time off continues to be a challenge in America’s always-on work culture," the authors of the latest report conclude. Still, in 2016, 662 million vacation days were left unused, four million days more than 2015.

Taking time off doesn't just profit the individual workers who is said to become more productive after being able to recharge their batteries. According to the project's estimates, "the jump in vacation usage from 16.2 to 16.8 days delivered a $37 billion impact to the U.S. economy."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-05/americans-are-taking-more-time-work


More time for and .

Yeah...ooh...16.8 days a year...what to do with all the spare time we get here in the US.
And most of it is not paid vacation...either that, or it comes from the same time accrued for sick leave also...so you use one, you lose both.
It’s really sad how many people here work so incredibly hard, and such long hours for a pile of jack shit.
The very least an employer can do is give you paid vacation time off...paid sick time off...paid family leave.
(all of which I might mention were protected from employer abuse and misuse by unions...unions that the giant conglomerates have done all they can to destroy)
Those days that the article says were left unused, was not because that person didn’t want to take a vacation, it’s because even with the time accrued they can’t afford to take the time off, or afford to go anywhere if they do if many are living paycheck to paycheck or less...or their employer did not approve their vacation - something that happened at the hospital constantly.
If you needed a day off for something you had to turn in a request at least 3 months in advance, and then you had to call the nonexistent group of extra people the hospital fired to try and find someone competent enough to cover your shift. So most people just end up calling in sick since it was always such a hassle to get approved.
Or they would approve half of your 8 days you requested off to go or fly somewhere, but now you can’t book the trip because a 4 days trip would be a waste and isn’t what you needed.
People should take a serious look at how workers are treating in the “civilized” world...granted we aren’t in sweatshops making Ivanka Trump products, but we are about as low as a first world country can get and still call themselves such a thing.
Europe, Canada, Japan, many S. American countries have us beat by a long shot.
Even Russia gives their people more paid time off.

 

[the]

Did we figure out how to take it back yet?

 

[Skarekrow]

Did we figure out how to take it back yet?

No, without you here to give direction...we just sat around and played video games the whole time.

 

[Littlelissa]

16.8 days a year

most of it is not paid vacation

Unbe-f*cking-believable!!

That is.

 

[Skarekrow]

Unbe-f*cking-believable!!

That is.

If you are lucky you get that much time, let’s just say that.
I’ve known many women who return to work two weeks after giving birth...not acceptable or healthy for Mom or Baby.
Yeah...paid vacation is a farce here...because like I said...most employers tie it to your sick time...so if you are sick for 4 days and need the money, you take 4 days from your vacation time accrued....saves the employer a shit load!
We used to have more benefits and things like retirement funds, pensions...no more...if you are lucky your employer will match up to a certain amount....but you are saving for retirement yourself basically.
Which is fine, but most 401-K’s and crap are tied to Wall St. so when it crashed a few years back...some people lost half or more of their retirement they had worked 40+ years to save.

 

[Littlelissa]

That is so terrible. I got 6 weeks a year in my last two jobs. It was working in Social Care in demanding work so I felt I needed it...but hell, everyone needs decent holidays.

I could also work extra hours to accrue more holiday, which I did, especially if there were courses or particular stuff I wanted to do. How is anyone suppost to have a balanced life, or even live beyond 50 with that kind of work life balance?

I think countries like Spain have a high happiness and well-being rating because they are family orientated and they have a more balanced life style, it's not all about work plus of course good diet and quality of living etc. (The sun helps too of course!)

That kind of ratio is living to work, not working to live. I suppose people must be forced to take unpaid leave a lot of the time they are off.

 

[Skarekrow]

That is so terrible. I got 6 weeks a year in my last two jobs. It was working in Social Care in demanding work so I felt I needed it...but hell, everyone needs decent holidays.

I could also work extra hours to accrue more holiday, which I did, especially if there were courses or particular stuff I wanted to do. How is anyone suppost to have a balanced life, or even live beyond 50 with that kind of work life balance?

I think countries like Spain have a high happiness and well-being rating because they are family orientated and they have a more balanced life style, it's not all about work plus of course good diet and quality of living etc. (The sun helps too of course!)

That kind of ratio is living to work, not working to live. I suppose people must be forced to take unpaid leave a lot of the time they are off.

I don’t think they want us to live much beyond 50 tbh.

 

[Littlelissa]

I don’t think they want us to live much beyond 50 tbh.

Oh shit! Makes sense though, don't worry it'll be like that here soon I should imagine. Best not to rely on the state for anything apart from daylight robbery.

 

[Skarekrow]

Oh shit! Makes sense though, don't worry it'll be like that here soon I should imagine. Best not to rely on the state for anything apart from daylight robbery.

Yeah...with the current anti-social/anti-progressive state of affairs, I predict there will be a huge, possibly much bigger than people might think...push back in the other direction.
In other words...people who were once not effected by such things, will begin to be.
People will get more and more upset and angry about the partisanship amongst our Congress and government in general.
There are very few in Congress imho, who truly represent the interests of the people who elected them.
There is only so much that people will stand for.
Unless wages go up...unless we somehow find a way to affordable healthcare for all without also giving huge tax breaks to billionaires at the expense of 24 million + losing coverage.
The people should already be asking - “Where are my taxes going?”
The biggest chunk goes to military spending...we pay more than the next 12 largest militaries combined...and Trump wants to bump that up by 30%.
Fucking insane.
That isn’t “America First”.
America first would be just that...taking care of those who live and work and pay taxes here.
But we can’t even guarantee healthcare for all.
We could raise the minimum wage to a working wage - which would in turn give them more money to spend in our economy and also make them ineligible for Food Stamps since they would be making enough to feed themselves.
It’s ridiculous...I wouldn’t recommend anyone move to this country.
The most incarcerated population in the world.
And Jeff Sessions wants to increase the mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenders.
Only makes sense if you have stock in the private prison industry...which he does.
*sigh*

 

[dang]

Did we figure out how to take it back yet?

You mean from Russia?

 

[the]

You mean from Russia?

From your belly button lint

 

[infinite dreams]

I think countries like Spain have a high happiness and well-being rating because they are family orientated and they have a more balanced life style, it's not all about work plus of course good diet and quality of living etc. (The sun helps too of course!)

And yet, to hear business execs here in the US tell it, life is so terrible in places like Spain because the economy isn't blowing the doors off. Literally all they think about is money, as if money is the engine of a happy life (news flash: it isn't).

The priorities of this country are bizarrely out of balance. I don't think that capitalism is a bad thing. I do think it's been taken to an unnatural extreme here.

ETA: finished thought.

 

[dang]

From your belly button lint

My belly button lint is currently green. Guess what color my shirt is? If you said green, you are correct.

 

[the]

My belly button lint is currently green. Guess what color my shirt is? If you said green, you are correct.

My shirt was pink today.

 

[dang]

My shirt was pink today.

How metrosexual of you.

 

[Sandie33]

Which is fine, but most 401-K’s and crap are tied to Wall St. so when it crashed a few years back...some people lost half or more of their retirement they had worked 40+ years to save.

Witnessed this first hand. Fella retired with investment retirement at $53 a share, 2008 happened and fund dropped to $19 a share. Even after bailout, the fund never rose from $19 a share, even at 9 years later. Fella had 47 years in the company. If he hadn't diversified by plunking half his retirement in solid government bonds he'd have flopped by now losing much.

With the government headed in the direction it is, 'street money' will become prime investment. I believe these younger folks who are forced to survive paycheck-to-paycheck and do not have the opportunity to invest in their future are going to be the hardest hit. We unfortunately may have a generation of Senior citizens living with conditions no greater than 3rd-world tent city accomodations.

 

[Skarekrow]

Witnessed this first hand. Fella retired with investment retirement at $53 a share, 2008 happened and fund dropped to $19 a share. Even after bailout, the fund never rose from $19 a share, even at 9 years later. Fella had 47 years in the company. If he hadn't diversified by plunking half his retirement in solid government bonds he'd have flopped by now losing much.

With the government headed in the direction it is, 'street money' will become prime investment. I believe these younger folks who are forced to survive paycheck-to-paycheck and do not have the opportunity to invest in their future are going to be the hardest hit. We unfortunately may have a generation of Senior citizens living with conditions no greater than 3rd-world tent city accomodations.

I know personally my Mom lost a good chunk of the retirement money my Dad worked so hard for in oilfields for 40 years.
It really is amazing...and we are headed for another crash...and the people are still tied and responsible to bail them out.
I don’t think that would fly though...not a second time in so many years.
It’s funny how Boomers say how lazy my generation and on down to the Millennials are...when they could afford to buy a home at age 21 working a single-income job they didn’t need any college for.
We’ll see what happens I guess.
Sad.

 

[Skarekrow]

BTW

Went to the grocery store to pick up a prescription yesterday and there were two guys out front with clipboards petitioning something.
As I approached one of them asked if I would like to sign...so he began to explain what it was - “It’s so Men who look like Women, and Women who look like Men, have to use the bathroom of their born sex.
So I said - “So it’s a petition to discriminate against transgender people?”
Guys stares blankly at me...”it’s so Men, who look like Women...”
“I see, so the military service I did to protect the freedoms of everyone, was just for those who you think are acceptable to receive it?
I rolled my eyes and waved him off as I walked past him and his pal.

Don’t people have better things to do with their time than to try and make the lives of those who already have an extra difficult time - even more difficult and marginalized.
Fuck that.
The guy mumbled something about protecting our women and children.
Yeah...a perv is going to go into whatever bathroom he wants to if he wants to be a perv and being transgender doesn’t make you a perv.
Yet this groups them very unfairly in with the pervs.
Not okay with me.
All their bill would do, would give their bigotry and hate some kind of justification to discriminate - judgements that a good “Christian” would and should leave to a higher power according to their own doctrine.
We have children living in cars here in the US.
We have children who go to bed hungry.
Elderly that go to bed hungry and unable to afford their medications.
We have crumbling infrastructure.
65,000+ bridges in the US are deemed “unsafe”.
On an average day, 93 people are killed by guns in the US.
We have people without healthcare who are dying unnecessarily.
But somehow, according to these assclowns, trans people in bathrooms supersedes all those other issues that need addressing obviously.
Treat others how you wish to be treated.
How much hate do you have in your heart to have to go out and actually petition something like this?
Very sad...karma will come back to them.