marmar
marmar's JournalBritish Health Workers Feel the Pain
from truthdig:
British Health Workers Feel the Pain
Posted on Jul 18, 2012
Amid a $31-billion budget crisis, thousands of British doctors and nurses will lose their jobs unless they agree to accept lower salaries, longer working hours and other conditions, according to a leaked document obtained by The Sunday Times.
A Department of Health spokesman defended the moves, saying: “NHS providers have long had the power to employ staff on such terms that they consider appropriate, including under the foundation trust laws passed under the previous government. This means employers are free to negotiate any changes to national agreements directly with staff locally or their representatives. We would expect NHS employers and trade unions to work together to ensure the national Agenda for Change pay scheme remains fit for purpose.”
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly. Follow him on Twitter: @areedkelly.
Among proposals are the termination of all staff contracts and a reissue on different terms that could include pay cuts of up to 5%, an end to overtime for nights, weekends and bank holidays and reduced holiday leave, the paper said. Staff may also be forced to work longer shifts and sick pay rates could be cut, [the document] added.
Read more
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/austerity_pain_comes_to_british_health_workers_20120718/
Visiting the Economies of the Future
from YES! Magazine:
Visiting the Economies of the Future
Journalist David Brancaccio takes us to the most innovative local economy hot spots in his PBS documentary, "Fixing the Future."
by David Brancaccio
posted Jul 16, 2012
https://vimeo.com/42269352
As a journalist, I try to track down stories that open people’s eyes to new ways of thinking. I can measure how many people read, listen to, or watch a piece of reporting, but it is often tough to gauge what happens to my stories once they’re out there in the world.
That wasn’t the case with Fixing the Future, a documentary I hosted that follows people from all over America who are making economic change happen in their communities. These people are running local business alliances, engaging in service exchanges, investing their money in community banks, and running worker-owned cooperatives.
When the documentary first aired on PBS as a television special, our team soon heard from communities around the country, where viewers wanted to know how they could nurture their own local economies. Could, for instance, larger-scale cooperatives address social problems? Can we re-think community banking? What happens when businesses and residents band together to focus on improving livelihoods?
When viewers wanted to know more about Hour Exchange, the Portland, Maine-based time bank featured in the film, their interest compelled the founders of that group to embark on a cross-country pilgrimage of their own, sharing their experiences and spreading the idea of growing local economies. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/visiting-economies-of-the-future
Toronto retailers avoid Visa, Mastercard fees by going cash only
from the Toronto Star:
When Sam James introduced the option to pay with credit cards at his new coffee shop, he noticed something immediately.
He was losing money, and fast.
“It could cost me as much as 15 cents to take Visa for one coffee. That’s 20 per cent of my profit margin,” said James, who opened his third location in Toronto’s underground walkway PATH near St. Andrew subway station in June.
James says the high transaction fees were incurred by premium credit cards, such as an Air Miles MasterCard or Aerogold Infinite Visa. “I think it’s totally unfair that the merchant pays for the benefits the card companies offer,” he said, adding he has since switched to accepting only cash at his stores. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1228266--toronto-retailers-avoid-visa-mastercard-fees-by-going-cash-only
Chris Hedges to Appear on ‘Moyers & Company’ this weekend
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/hedges_to_appear_on_moyers_company_20120717/
from truthdig:
Hedges to Appear on ‘Moyers & Company’
Posted on Jul 17, 2012
Truthdig’s own Chris Hedges will be a guest on this weekend’s episode of “Moyers & Company.” During his interview with Bill Moyers, Hedges will discuss America’s “sacrifice zones,” pockets of the U.S. that are mired in poverty and trapped in endless cycles of helplessness and despair because of the capitalistic greed that plagues this country.
“It’s greed over human life. And it’s the willingness on the part of people who seek personal enrichment to destroy other human beings. That’s a common thread,” Hedges said. “In that biblical term, we forgot our neighbor. And because we forgot our neighbor in Pine Ridge, because we forgot our neighbor in Camden, in Southern West Virginia, in the produce fields, these forces have now turned on us. They went first, and we’re next.”
Here’s a preview:
http://vimeo.com/45913263
You can't board a commercial flight if you're on the no-fly list, but you can learn to fly a plane.
WASHINGTON — U.S. citizens who are on the government's list of people banned from flying because they're considered terror threats are not prevented from learning how to fly in schools around the country, according to government regulations.
Such a person may have to drive across the country to learn how to fly a plane because he or she would likely be stopped from boarding a commercial airliner. But the security checks put in place after the 9/11 attacks will not keep the person from receiving pilot training.
The security loophole was raised during a hearing Wednesday to examine the Homeland Security Department's programs to screen foreigners who want to attend flight schools in the U.S. Some of the 9/11 hijackers were able to learn to fly in the U.S. while living in the country illegally. The government put in several more layers of security after the attacks, and foreigners now receive criminal background checks and are screened against terror watch lists before they are allowed to begin training. U.S. citizens, however, are not subject to the same scrutiny.
"I was stunned. That just caught me completely off guard, and I'm pretty angry about it," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said after the hearing. "Everybody should be concerned." ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20120718/NEWS07/120718055/U-S-citizens-banned-from-flying-can-learn-how-to-fly?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
Angry fans post threatening comments over negative Dark Knight Rises reviews
If only people would get this worked up over LIBOR or Citizens United........
For the first time ever movie-review aggregating site RottenTomatoes.com has suspended user comments after fans erupted with anger after critics gave negative reviews of the film "The Dark Knight Rises."
"The job of policing the comments became more than my staff could handle for that film, so we stopped the comments altogether," the site's editor-in-chief Matt Atchity said in an open letter. "It just got to be too much hate-based on reactions to reviews of movies that people hadn't even seen."
Atchity said comments will be disabled on "The Dark Knight" for a few days.
The site disabled user comments on reviews Tuesday after Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Hollywood & Fine's Marshall Fine attracted negative and threatening comments. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/rottentomatoes-halts-dark-knight-comments-backlash-120225415--abc-news-movies.html
Gridlocked Metro Atlanta poised to defeat tax to improve mass transit
The transportation referendum known as TSPLOST is losing support among Republican voters and in areas inside I-285, according to a WSB-TV poll.
The poll, conducted July 11, found that only 33 percent of metro Atlantans overall support the referendum while 56 percent oppose the measure. Twelve percent remain undecided.
Voters in 10 metro counties, including Cobb, are being asked to approve a 1-percent sales tax that would collect more than $6 billion over the next 10 years for transportation and transit projects. Local governments would get an additional $1 billion for traffic improvements.
The WSB poll, based on 1,050 registered voters, showed that TSPLOST is losing support inside Fulton and DeKalb counties for the first time. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://kennesaw.patch.com/articles/most-in-metro-atlanta-oppose-tsplost-poll-says-a6d8428b
Gridlocked Metro Atlanta poised to defeat tax to improve mass transit
The transportation referendum known as TSPLOST is losing support among Republican voters and in areas inside I-285, according to a WSB-TV poll.
The poll, conducted July 11, found that only 33 percent of metro Atlantans overall support the referendum while 56 percent oppose the measure. Twelve percent remain undecided.
Voters in 10 metro counties, including Cobb, are being asked to approve a 1-percent sales tax that would collect more than $6 billion over the next 10 years for transportation and transit projects. Local governments would get an additional $1 billion for traffic improvements.
The WSB poll, based on 1,050 registered voters, showed that TSPLOST is losing support inside Fulton and DeKalb counties for the first time. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://kennesaw.patch.com/articles/most-in-metro-atlanta-oppose-tsplost-poll-says-a6d8428b
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