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And where unions lift people up the most is the service work - if you work at the university and you sweep floors or make sandwiches, you don't make $8/hour on contingent schedules, you're full time and you make $15. Our union is, in its small way, building immigrant and low-income community wealth, and that means breathing space and political power.

Many people think that unions are full of old white men who make $70,000 a year... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Frowner at 10:42 AM on September 2, 2016

One thing Gabriel Winant leaves out in mentioning one of the Red Scares, Eugene Debs, etc., is the fact that these efforts systematically attempted to purge any hints of progressivism from the labor movement. So of course you're left with the less desirable elements taking over the movement (racism, bigotry, anti-environmentalism, etc.).

The wealth of the nation decided it was better to be dead than red. So they killed the unions, and are killing the country itself.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anarch at 10:36 AM on September 2, 2016

I love preppers. I have many observations, but one that IME is almost universal among this subset is the ignorance of the degree to which 20th century science has made our lives mostly pain-free. If you dig into the medical side of things in a conversation with them, you'll eventually hit the point where 'industrial disease' comes into it: gout, hypo- or hyper-thyroidism, congential heart disease, hell, even glasses and fallen arches, they're all 'industrial disease'. You see, we won't have... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eclectist at 4:57 PM on September 1, 2016

This is the sort of thing that makes "trade" deals an awful idea.

Trade is great. Trade is wonderful. Getting rid of tariffs can be seen as beneficial.

But modern "trade" deals aren't about trade, they're about empowering corporations, undermining hard won worker and environmental protections and preventing any future protections from being enacted, and generally enshrining the wealthy as above such petty things as mere laws.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sotonohito at 10:25 AM on August 31, 2016

and banal?
re: entrepreneurial lawyers and financiers (neo)rentiers...
Indeed, one such deal came to light only when WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of US diplomatic cables. One of those cables described how Blue Ridge Investments LLC, a Bank of America subsidiary, bought an almost $180 million ISDS award that an American gas company originally had won against Argentina. Blue Ridge, the cable said, was rumored to have paid roughly 30% of the award’s value.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 9:45 AM on August 31, 2016

Part Three: To Bankers, It's Not Just A Court System, It's A Gold Mine - "Even some ISDS lawyers and arbitrators think that using the system for this purpose is going too far. 'I see it as a new form of investing, which is, let's make them poorer, and we'll get rich', said Mark Cymrot, an attorney at BakerHostetler... entrepreneurial lawyers and financiers are now devising even more ways to profit from the system."

All it does is ratchet in place,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 8:42 AM on August 31, 2016

All it does is ratchet in place, beyond democratic scrutiny, the primacy of neo-liberal policy.

That's what I see too. It appears to be a concerted effort over a drearily long period to create an extra-national set of rules that can't be modified by democratic action, entirely for the benefit of large corporate entities.
posted to MetaFilter by sneebler at 7:26 AM on August 31, 2016

Power makes rules to help itself of course.

How do we make that less attractive to the powerful? Or difficult?

A separation of powers is a good start. A democratic mandate helps as well. ISDS undermines both. It barely safeguards the independence of arbitrators and the claims process is about as resistant to public scrutiny as it could be. The Buzzfeed piece notes that it makes sense as a kind of collectivized insurance policy... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dmh at 7:03 AM on August 31, 2016

The curtain has been pulled back for decades. People have been pointing at that rapacious monster for decades and warning that it is indifferent to the death and despair it creates and needs to be controlled somehow. It's just that no-one cares because ugh, hippies, and someone at the same protest smashed a Starbucks window which is just, I mean, I know some people intentionally poison villages for profit, but some things are beyond the pale.
posted to MetaFilter by No-sword at 5:31 AM on August 31, 2016

Under the ISDS framework, as Common Dreams has reported, multinationals are granted a parallel legal system through which they can sue governments, and therefore taxpayers, for loss of "expected future profit," with the power to overrule national laws and judicial systems. [emphasis mine]

What the everloving shit.
posted to MetaFilter by CheesesOfBrazil at 4:24 AM on August 31, 2016

Says DJ Shadow: "We wanted to make a positive, life-affirming video that captures politicians at their election-year best. We got this instead.”
posted to MetaFilter by zinc saucier at 9:18 PM on August 28, 2016

"Hirelings" is almost certainly mercenaries, especially Hessians, and I think a little more study is required to determine what "slave" refers to in that verse. It could indeed be ex-American slaves, but English-speaking people in this time period were always hysterically contrasting their "freedom" to the "slavery" of other countries, especially Eastern ones (which didn't even have any slavery resembling the U.S. constitution), so, again, foreign... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by praemunire at 9:05 AM on August 29, 2016

One of things I find most dis-quieting about the reaction to this is that sports media somehow is painting it as "an attack on the troops."

Yes. This is one of the things with which I take the most exception. I mean, I get it that military personnel are indoctrinated with an extreme reverence for these things and certain expected modes of behavior. But the national anthem and flag do not belong to the military, nor do they represent the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by slkinsey at 8:29 AM on August 29, 2016

The Star Spangled Banner lyrics "the hireling " refers to the British use of Mercenaries (German Hessians) in the American War of Independence
The Star Spangled Banner lyrics "...and slave" is a direct reference to the British practice of Impressment (kidnapping American seamen and forcing them into service on British man-of war ships). This was a Important cause of the War of 1812

Checked this out, seems unlikely.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Potomac Avenue at 7:54 AM on August 29, 2016

if the 3rd verse is racist, then what of this: 12 of our presidents owned slaves and eight of them owned slaves while serving as president.

They were also Racist. HTH
posted to MetaFilter by Potomac Avenue at 7:55 AM on August 29, 2016

Is the 3rd verse clearly racist--is there any room for other interpretations? Are we better off eliding it, and re-contextualizing the one verse we sing, or tossing out the whole thing and trying to replace it? I'm sad and confused this morning.

FWIW this article was posted on another message board I cheat on MeFi with read.

The Star Spangled Banner lyrics "the hireling " refers to the British use of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by bowmaniac at 7:35 AM on August 29, 2016

I feel like the best hope for a revival of Marxism in America is for someone to write a 1000-word blog post in hideous Internet Enthusiast dialect called "Bougie or Prole? These two categories will explain your ENTIRE LIFE." ("Does your ownership of the means of production enable you to extract surplus value from the productive process? SO bougie. Do you make a living by selling your labor power as a commodity on the market? Prole af. Taylor Swift = bougie, Ke$ha = prole. DO... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by DaDaDaDave at 11:41 AM on August 26, 2016

I have billions of small points that from a distance look rather round.
posted to MetaFilter by ian1977 at 11:12 AM on August 26, 2016

I have no idea what this means and it's halfway to being another language. Perhaps one spoken entirely in assumed shared references?

Myers-Briggs, when the walls fell!
posted to MetaFilter by Halloween Jack at 11:05 AM on August 26, 2016

Look, everyone on MeFi is a pointy.

EVERY
LAST
ONE
OF
US
posted to MetaFilter by overeducated_alligator at 10:15 AM on August 26, 2016

I mean, I like art pranks as much as the next guy - maybe a bit more than the next guy - but I'm not entirely sure that "I threw bugs on you and you freaked out because you are biased against mentally ill people" is what I draw from this. "You can panic people by unexpectedly throwing bugs on them", maybe.

I have mixed feelings about the whole idea that people are terrible if the don't "try to help" someone who has a chronic mental... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Frowner at 5:11 PM on August 26, 2016

Seems like this "artist" has a few problems herself.

She might have mental health issues. If so, I'm not too comfortable gawking over this stuff or ripping into her. I hope she gets the help she needs.
posted to MetaFilter by naju at 4:25 PM on August 26, 2016

The deliberate blandness of the food reminded me of the home inspections Ford factory workers endured to make sure they where becoming 'real Americans ' garlic in the house got the same black mark as having alcohol or sending money back home .
posted to MetaFilter by The Whelk at 12:19 PM on August 27, 2016

In my experience, kids, especially young kids, prefer bland foods.

I don't know what you mean by young, but when it comes to kids 6 and older I can assure you that this is not true globally. Indian kids particularly like sweet-sour flavors (think tamarind, raw mango, etc) and savory streetside food. Chaat vendors would go broke without kids.

PS: I realize that this has nothing to do... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by splitpeasoup at 12:07 PM on August 27, 2016

One easy fix that will take no time at all to implement: common approvals for drugs in the OECD.

The FDA (and EMA and MHLW and HC and TGA etc...) function as a protectionist barrier: yea or nay?
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 2:54 PM on August 24, 2016

Here in Australia, they are $37.50 with a prescription, thanks to our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. America should give socialised medicine a try.
posted to MetaFilter by robcorr at 2:53 PM on August 24, 2016

Kid C: So, it's pretty well known that the US consumer subsidizes the R&D cost for most other nations.

LOL.

The idea that the rest of the world is somehow sponging off the US public & failing to pay our way is the kind of bullshit PR meme that some pharma exec has been rubbing their hands with glee over for what, decades now? Yet it’s transparently, obviously bullshit. One look at the R+D budgets of EU-based pharma... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by pharm at 2:03 PM on August 24, 2016

Remember how Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale begins? The coup starts on a Friday just after work, when American women find that their ATM cards aren't working. Of course most of them have enough cash to get them through the weekend, so long as nothing bad comes up, and the bank'll be open on Monday morning to straighten it out. Over the weekend, something very bad comes up.

There's an Asimov short story about a guy who has committed some crime,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:31 AM on August 24, 2016

There is nothing inherently immoral about negative interest rates.

well said: "If negative rates are a robbery of savers, then positive rates are a robbery of borrowers."

also btw...
-There are two types of negative interest rates
-Negative yields, the euthanasia of the rentier & political economy
-The Politics of Negative Interest Rates

and fwiw,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 7:34 PM on August 23, 2016

So, it's pretty well known that the US consumer subsidizes the R&D cost for most other nations.

LOL

The Atlantic notes that this issue may be unique to the US health system.

I really wish for the old days of journalists who spoke foreign languages and did a minimum amount of research for stuff like this.

The EpiPen in France costs 75 euros (I rounded from... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by fraula at 11:46 AM on August 24, 2016

The lobbying efforts are weird and disgusting, but don't appear to be related to the current crisis.

Epipen has always been the market leader. Their competitors have stumbled, buy they have always been in the driver seat. The price increases have not been sudden, in response to the just the failure of Adrenaclick and Twinject. They've been steady and obviously planned. While I don't think they had planned on specific failures, I think it would be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 11:38 AM on August 24, 2016

I can't even read this article the headline makes me so fucking livid.

Single Payer/Medicaid price negotiations/regulate this bullshit extortion industry now.
posted to MetaFilter by latkes at 11:30 AM on August 24, 2016

Companies are always trying to cut costs elsewhere - why such incredibly exorbitant salaries?

Because those are the point of cutting costs elsewhere.
posted to MetaFilter by flabdablet at 11:30 AM on August 24, 2016

The problem is that this keeps happening. We need proactive solutions.

This doesn't happen as much or as often in other countries. Allow the big public insurers to negotiate on prices. Allow quotas and approved lists. Allow for more easy licensing by generics and use that as a threat to keep markets open. All of these have been used in Canada to control drug prices.
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 11:27 AM on August 24, 2016

Some of this is about monopolies and the difficulties of bringing a new, competing medical device to market. Some of it's about executive compensation. But it's also about unfair advantages gained by companies who spend money lobbying the government.

From NBC News:
After Mylan acquired EpiPen the company also amped up its lobbying efforts. In 2008, its reported spending on lobbying went from $270,000 to $1.2 million, according to opensecrets.org.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by vytae at 11:22 AM on August 24, 2016

>> From our perspective, executive compensation is an inefficiency. From their perspective, executive compensation is the point.

> It is fairly perverse to consider.

Nevertheless, it's the terrain we're operating on. pretending that it's otherwise or talking about how it should be otherwise won't fix anything.
posted to MetaFilter by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:13 AM on August 24, 2016

End-stage triangulation of healthcare.
posted to MetaFilter by a lungful of dragon at 11:04 AM on August 24, 2016

> Seems like the textbook case for more competition = good.

Says the guy who clearly hasn't cornered any markets lately!
posted to MetaFilter by You Can't Tip a Buick at 11:03 AM on August 24, 2016

But why has the price of EpiPens skyrocketed?

Because the ruling class feels invulnerable.
posted to MetaFilter by Beholder at 10:38 AM on August 24, 2016

Out of curiosity, OP, do you see yourself as doing any emotional labor in this relationship? Do you know what that is?

I think that to someone who isn't aware of or skilled at emotional labor (which may be true for someone who was poorly socialized as a child/teen and has zero relationship experience), the notion of "noticing and responding appropriately to your partner's emotional state" might come across like "read your partner's mind".... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Sublimity at 5:24 PM on August 21, 2016 marked best answer

You are not over-reacting. Give him written notice to vacate because his behaviour has made you unsafe in your own home. Sending drunk men you don't know to your house without your permission is definitely not okay. I'm also concerned about the way he dismissed your views on the whole thing--he's speaking to you as though you are something other than his landlord (and it still wouldn't be acceptable even if that were the case).

This kind of behaviour only gets worse... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by rpfields at 3:58 PM on August 20, 2016 marked best answer

bswinburn: * is the opposite, but you really should probably be upset, though maybe not crying. Peter Thiel's set a dangerous precedent. What if the next billionaire with a grudge decides to take out a publication you like? Mother Jones was almost destroyed in the same way after publishing the Mitt Romney "47%" video.
posted to MetaFilter by SansPoint at 7:57 PM on August 22, 2016

Fuck you, Peter Thiel!

.
posted to MetaFilter by jonp72 at 7:56 PM on August 22, 2016

The US will have shanty towns like much of the rest of the world if the policies that concentrate wealth and capital (and thus opportunity) into fewer and fewer hands continue unabated. It sure is interesting to live in an un-developing country.
posted to MetaFilter by nikoniko at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2016

I mean, the thing is that people have to live somewhere or else die. That's the hard fact. And some people are going to do fool things - non-homeless people do fool things, and people who are at the end of their rope are far more likely to do fool things. (Picture that it's been months since you got a night of really deep sleep, maybe years since you were able to have your teeth cleaned or see a doctor so you've got all kinds of minor nagging health crap, years since you had clean clothes... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Frowner at 11:27 AM on August 22, 2016

If only the "millions of adventurers and campers" who could afford to spend their vacations adventuring and camping could imagine and support some other way to address the needs of the poor and desperate.

If we're going to assign blame, assign it to the town police departments that harass the homeless into moving on to places like the national forests, something that starts nowhere near the forests themselves.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ocschwar at 11:18 AM on August 22, 2016

I thought about that too, but from a position similar to that of the author. It runs in the family: if you grow up in an abusive family, that is what you recognize as family, as love. You fall in love with someone who speaks into the reality you know, even if you hate that reality. It sucks. I'm happy for the author that she is out of it now.
posted to MetaFilter by mumimor at 3:57 AM on August 21, 2016

I hear the "infrastructure spending!" thing a lot, but I wonder whether that wouldn't just be another huge accounting shitshow with construction contractors swapped for military contractors. I mean yeah, fix what's broken, but huge new outlays? Better hope there's better accountability than what we've got now.

Who cares? At least we'd have some bridges and tunnels and sewer systems to show for it, along with the jobs that are required to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by T.D. Strange at 10:51 AM on August 22, 2016

Or better yet, we could have a single payer health care system. Let's throw some of that money at our citizens who have repeatedly deferred needed medical care for their entire lives.
posted to MetaFilter by T.D. Strange at 10:55 AM on August 22, 2016

Billions Over Baghdad

Between April 2003 and June 2004, $12 billion in U.S. currency—much of it belonging to the Iraqi people—was shipped from the Federal Reserve to Baghdad, where it was dispensed by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Some of the cash went to pay for projects and keep ministries afloat, but, incredibly, at least $9 billion has gone missing, unaccounted for, in a frenzy of mismanagement and greed. Following a trail that leads from a safe in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by a lungful of dragon at 10:42 AM on August 22, 2016