Tag: ek humor

The Conundrum of Corporation and Nation

Robert Reich

Sunday, March 8, 2015

The U.S. economy is picking up steam but most Americans aren’t feeling it. By contrast, most European economies are still in bad shape, but most Europeans are doing relatively well.

What’s behind this? Two big facts.

First, American corporations exert far more political influence in the United States than their counterparts exert in their own countries.

In fact, most Americans have no influence at all.

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The second fact is most big American corporations have no particular allegiance to America. They don’t want Americans to have better wages. Their only allegiance and responsibility to their shareholders – which often requires lower wages  to fuel larger profits and higher share prices.

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(B)ecause of these two basic facts – their dominance on American politics, and their interest in share prices instead of the wellbeing of Americans – it’s folly to count on them to create good American jobs or improve American competitiveness, or represent the interests of the United States in global commerce.

By contrast, big corporations headquartered in other rich nations are more responsible for the wellbeing of the people who live in those nations.

That’s because labor unions there are typically stronger than they are here – able to exert pressure both at the company level and nationally.

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Governments in other rich nations often devise laws through tri-partite bargains involving big corporations and organized labor. This process further binds their corporations to their nations.

Meanwhile, American corporations distribute a smaller share of their earnings to their workers than do European or Canadian-based corporations.

And top U.S. corporate executives make far more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.

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And because of the overwhelming clout of American firms on U.S. politics, Americans don’t get nearly as good a deal from their governments as do Canadians and Europeans.

Governments there impose higher taxes on the wealthy and redistribute more of it to middle and lower income households. Most of their citizens receive essentially free health care and more generous unemployment benefits than do Americans.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing better, most Americans are not.

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(W)hen at global negotiating tables – such as the secretive process devising the “Trans Pacific Partnership” trade deal – American corporations don’t represent the interests of Americans. They represent the interests of their executives and shareholders, who are not only wealthier than most Americans but also reside all over the world.  

Which is why the pending Partnership protects the intellectual property of American corporations – but not American workers’ health, safety, or wages, and not the environment.

The Obama administration is casting the Partnership as way to contain Chinese influence in the Pacific region. The agents of America’s interests in the area are assumed to be American corporations.

But that assumption is incorrect. American corporations aren’t set up to represent America’s interests in the Pacific region or anywhere else.

I only do Cartnoons.

4 Years After BP Disaster, Ousted Drilling Chief Warns U.S. at Risk of Another Oil Spill

Democracy Now

Monday, April 21, 2014

Sunday marked the fourth anniversary of what’s been called the worst man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history. It was April 20th, 2010, when an explosion and fire on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform killed 11 workers and caused more than 200 million gallons of oil to spew into the Gulf of Mexico. Today, oil continues to wash up on some of the beaches of Louisiana.

Investigation Uncovers How BP Uses Bribes To Do Business

Real News Network

April 22, 14

Well, I was looking for the evidence, because no one knew, when the Deepwater Horizon went down, that there was an identical blowout halfway around the world on a BP Transocean platform in the Caspian Sea.

And, by the way, both rigs, both rigs blew out for the same exact reason. BP uses something called quick-dry cement, because–you know the old phrase–watching cement dry is the slowest process out. But you can make cement dry quicker by actually shooting it with nitrogen gas, like, literally laughing gas. It turns the cement into, like, a milkshake consistency and it speeds up the drying. Well, that’s fine, except in high-pressure areas, when you use milkshake cement, quick-dry cement, which is just to save money, you’re going to blow out. That’s what happened in the Caspian Sea. And they covered it up. BP had never ever admitted that there was a blowout in the Caspian Sea.

Experts Warn: US ‘on Course to Repeat’ BP Gulf Disaster

Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams

Friday, April 18, 2014

Birnbaum and Savitz write that the Obama administration has yet to act on recommendations which could make offshore drilling safer.

“We would never have imagined so little action would be taken to prevent something like this from happening again. But, four years later, the Obama administration still has not taken key steps recommended by its experts and experts it commissioned to increase drilling safety. As a result, we are on a course to repeat our mistakes,” they write.

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Rather than scale back drilling, oceans face another assault with the administration’s proposal to allow the use of seismic air guns for oil exploration along the Atlantic coast, which Oceana has warned could amount to “death sentence” for marine mammals.

“We have seen this pattern before. The expansion of drilling into deeper water and farther from shore was not coupled with advances in spill prevention and response,” Birnbaum and Savitz write in their op-ed.

Compensation battle rages four years after BP’s U.S. oil spill

By Jemima Kelly, Reuters

Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:37am EDT

Some claimants are satisfied, but others are irate that BP is now challenging aspects of the settlement. Its portrayal of the aftermath of the well blowout and explosion of its drilling rig has also caused anger.

“They got an advert on TV saying they fixed the Gulf but I’ve never been fixed,” said Melancon, who was compensated by BP, but deems the sum inadequate.

The oil company has spent over $26 billion on cleaning up, fines and compensation for the disaster, which killed 11 people on the rig and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days after the blast on April 20, 2010.

That is more than a third of BP’s total revenues for 2013, and the company has allowed for the bill to almost double, while fighting to overturn and delay payments of claims it says have no validity, made after it relinquished control over who got paid in a settlement with plaintiff lawyers in March 2012.

WYFP? is our community’s Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won’t you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?

My number one problem?  I never beg for recommends.

The older I get the less I care what people think of me therefore the older I get the more I enjoy life.

My number 2 beef?

Since I got out of the show running business this place has gone to crap.

How much for the little girl?

Mostly I habit here out of sentiment and it gets my dander up when I see sockpuppet trolls take over long standing franchises because of the ennui engendered by the failure of what passes for Administration on this site.

Since the solution is always more free speech here is some more free speech by someone who is not a sockpuppet troll.

Recommend or not I’ll keep this up until people come to their senses.  Your opinion of me matters… not at all.

The patient shows a response to the traumatizing event involved fear, horror or a sense of helplessness). In both scenarios, Holden was unable to step in and help both of the young victims. Holden had no control over his brother’s disease and could not have done anything to stop James Castle’s suicide. His inability to interfere has evoked feelings of helplessness. His desire to assist people similar to the victims is expressed through his desire to be the “catcher int he rye”. Holden confesses to his sister, Phoebe, “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around -nobody big, I mean - except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do,I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them…”. Holden feels that if he is “the catcher” he can save people from the victimization diseases and bullies put on weaker individuals. It frustrates Holden to know that he cannot defend others. Specifically, he wants to protect the young and innocent, which is who he was before the traumatic events occurred in his life.

…

The patient’s thought content revealed evidence of delusions, paranoia, and suicidal/homicidal ideation. There was no evidence of perceptual disorder. His level of personal insight appeared unreliable. Social judgment appeared harsh, as evidenced by polite yet bitter interactions with staff and a struggle to form a relationship with other patients and by uncooperative efforts to achieve treatment goals required for discharge.The patient was admitted due to symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).The purpose of the current evaluation is to screen for signs of PSTD and clarify the nature of underlying stress disorder. After speaking with the patient and observing his verbal, behavioral,and symbolic actions, several symptoms have made this diagnosis possible. Caulfield is experiencing flashbacks, poor relationships,self-destructive behavior, hopelessness about the future, trouble sleeping, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and efforts to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event. He appears emotionally numb, irritable, angry, shameful,guilty, easily startled or frightened, and dissatisfied with activities he once enjoyed. A thorough analysis has taken place that has proven that Holden Caulfield meets the criteria to be diagnosed with this condition.

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Holden confesses to his sister, Phoebe, “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do,I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them…”. Holden feels that if he is “the catcher” he can save people from the victimization diseases and bullies put on weaker individuals. It frustrates Holden to know that he cannot defend others. Specifically, he wants to protect the young and innocent, which is who he was before the traumatic events occurred in his life. Holden tells the readers, “I hate fist fights. I don’t mind getting hit so much- although I’m not crazy about it, naturally-but what scares me the most in a fist fight is the guy’s face. I can’t stand looking at the other guy’s face, is my trouble”. The “yellowness” Holden refers to is his fear to fight back against the people he feels are responsible for harming weaker individuals. He wants to stand up against the bullies and defend others, and it  upsets him that he is afraid to.

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People with similar profiles tend to “try to avoid situations or things that remind them of the traumatic event or feel a sense of emotional numbness”. In fact, when Mr. Spencer questions Holden’s reasons for leaving Elkton Hills, Holden responds by saying, “‘Why? Oh, well it’s a long story, dire. I mean its pretty complicated.’ I didn’t feel like going in to the whole thing with him. He wouldn’t have understood it anyway. It wasn’t up his alley at all”. After speculating the patient itis evident that the reason he is avoiding the conversation is because he does not want to speak about James Castle’s death. He admits to trying to clear his mind from death during a time that he is exhibiting depression too. Holden says, “Then what I did, I went down near the lagoon and I sort of skipped the quarters and nickel across it, where it wasn’t frozen. I don’t know why I did it, but I did it. I guess I thought it’d take my mind off getting pneumonia and dying. It didn’t though”. The patient it currently low on money and at a very high stress level. Therefore, the illness is returning and he is thinking of the tragic deaths. In order to relieve his mind of the painful memories, he copes unhealthily by furthering his money problem, drinking alcohol, and remaining at a cold desolate pond. Holden’s struggle to sleep and concentrate are more signals of a mental disease. After a long day, and feelings of restlessness all night, Holden says, “I stayed in the bathroom for about an hour taking a bath and all. Then I got back in bed. It took me quite a while to get to sleep- I wasn’t even tired-but I finally I did… I didn’t sleep too long”. In addition, when lying in bed, Holden states,”Anyway, when I was in bed, I couldn’t pray worth a damn. Every time I got started, I kept picturing old Sunny calling me a crumb-bum”. During the period of life Holden has spoken about during his analyzable sessions, his stories have missing peaces and change pace a lot due to his lack of focus.

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For over a month, the symptoms are causing significant amounts of distress in the patient’s life and are interfering with his ability to go about his normal daily tasks. Thus, treatment is necessary. The patients actions confirm that he is currently dealing with a mental illness called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I will prescribe the patient an antidepressant to relieve symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety. The medication will also improve sleep problems and concentration. In addition I am recommending exposure therapy to assist the patient in gaining control of his emotions when reminded of the damaging situation. In addition, individual therapy will help the patient understand his feelings and learn how to think more positively. The medication and psychotherapy will allow the patient to learn proper ways to cope and regain control of his life.

You may suppose I don’t care about your problems, but I really do.  I have achieved all my goals and am above mojo whoring.

What’s your beef?

Don’t even ask.

Have some movie instead.

(h/t John Aravosis @ Americablog)

I have to be forgiven for having the Sox as my sentimental favorite, I live in the heart of Sox country.

That said I’m not a Yankee hating Sox fan.  First the Junior League plays a game more similar to rounders than to cricket and second, I flat out admire the Yankee commitment to winning.

Boston is clearly superior to the Rays in every respect and I suspect this will be a lopsided affair.

The Sox will be sacrificing Jon Lester (15 – 8, 3.75 ERA L).  Lester went all wobbly in the middle of the year but seems to have settled in now.  He’s won 7 of his last 9.

The Rays will counter with Matt Moore (17 – 4 3.29 ERA L) who has a walking problem.

And then there are the Red Sox bats.

The Great God Citgo says Sox in 3.