2011 archive
Them What Has, Keeps 0
After pointing out that “speedup” refers to practices designed to wring more work for less money from employees (think Lucy in the candy factory), Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery point out that calling it “productivity increases” doesn’t make it any less insidious. Employees give the productivity and employers keep the increases.
A snippet:
Sure, but we all have to do more with less — employers struggling to survive the downturn are just tightening their belts, right? That’s true for some. But in the big picture, the data show a more insidious pattern. After a sharp dip in 2008 and ’09, U.S. economic output quickly recovered to near pre-recession levels. The United States did better than most of its fellow G-7 economies. But U.S. workers didn’t see the benefit: During the recession, far more people here lost their jobs than anywhere else, and far fewer were hired back once the recovery began. And who knows what will happen now that the economy has made another downward turn?
RIP Michael Hart 0
Creator of Project Gutenberg and inventer of the e-book.
I have about a dozen Project Gutenberg publications in my Android as I type this and am actively reading four of them, hopping back and forth depending on my mood.
There are more scattered about on various computers.
Mr. Hart has left quite a legacy.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Everything is just fine, thank you.
Nearly 1 of every 3 homes sold in August – 29 percent – were in foreclosure or sold for less than what the homeowner owed last month, reported Real Estate Information Network Inc. That’s up from 25 percent a year ago.
Also I missed one dustbiting bank that got blanked last night:
No doubt it didn’t diversify its portfolio with enough foreclosures.
Light Bloggery 0
I’ve volunteered for a little computer project for a candidate I support, though I’m not in her district. It will occupy me for most of the weekend.
I expect to get off a few drive-by posts along the way, if only for break-time.
For Your Listening Pleasure 0
I am currently listening to a reading of H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines.
I credit KPO for introducing me to the site.
The Untold Katrina Story 0
Tom Papantonio interviews Harry Shearer about what actually caused the devastation of New Orleans.
If you haven’t been following this story, watching this 11 minutes will change your beliefs about the Army Corps of Engineers.
Facebook Frolics 0
The family that put the fun in dysfunctional, all out there on Facebook so we can watch.
The (Job) Creationism Myth 0
Job creators at work:
The number of job cuts are not final and could change. The restructuring aims to reduce the bank’s workforce of 280,000 over a period of years, the Journal said.
Stray Question 2
Why hassn’t Michelle Bachmann wondered whether the Texas wildfires are a sign from God to Rick Perry?
Droning On 0
Robot killing machines, the new engine of economic growth:
More than 200 commercial communication satellites will be launched by 2020 as a surging number of television stations boosts demand for broadcasting services, Euroconsult estimates. The increase in capacity will accelerate to 7 percent annually in the next three years, from 3 percent in the five years through 2010, said Chief Executive Officer Pacome Revillon.
News You Won’t Notice 0
Another terrorist gets locked up, but you won’t here much about this one, because he’s the white, right, homegrown kind:
Why Vote Republican? 0
Art Buck explains. A snippet:
I will overlook the fact that this law was passed in 2007 by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bush. It is clearly a Commie plot devised by Democrats. Can you spell “1984”?
The Voter Fraud Fraud (Updated) 0
They aren’t even trying to hide their motives any more:
But in Wisconsin, which recently passed one of the nation’s most restrictive voter ID laws, another roadblock exists: ignorance.
A leaked memo written by a high-ranking Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation official stipulates that DMV workers are not to offer the voter ID, leaving it to the patron to explicitly ask for the free ID, then fill out the proper paperwork.
Addendum, the Next Day:
I was wrong. They are trying to hide it:
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Clearly more firefighters must be laid off to correct this.