How does the World view America these days?

[cwmbrancity]

 

[Walter Ostanek]

How widespread is this child labour shit I keep hearing about? Fucking nuts

Albeit not vastly different to what Canada does with Indian international students. Exploitation under the guise of feelgood pseudo-philanthropy?

[ignatius]

7 hours ago, chenGOD said:

I gotta say though, that the new investment into downtown Detroit has made that area remarkably livable. I visit my friend there a couple of times a year, and there's lots of walkability around Greektown and the MGM. It needs better public transportation, but the idea is right. Condos with grocery stores on the bottom floor, local shops and markets etc. I know it's only a small section of the city, but you gotta start somewhere. The sprawl though....

yeah. i saw a few things about detroit recently that were pretty inspiring. that piece was written years ago and republished  for reasons i guess. it has some lessons in it and detroit does too.

there's a lot happening there w/local gardens to combat food deserts and genuine community happening in different pockets of the city. there's big group bike rides and stuff too. someone i know moved there from portland last year and she talks to a friend of mine. she said something _jokingly_ like "don't tell portland about detroit. it's awesome and they'll all move here".  not sure i could handle the winters but the people iv'e met from detroit were all pretty cool down to earth type people.

1 hour ago, cwmbrancity said:

 

i hate this genre. the political current affairs raps by white people. 

[chenGOD]

5 minutes ago, ignatius said:

yeah. i saw a few things about detroit recently that were pretty inspiring. that piece was written years ago and republished  for reasons i guess. it has some lessons in it and detroit does too.

 

6 minutes ago, ignatius said:

there's a lot happening there w/local gardens to combat food deserts and genuine community happening in different pockets of the city. there's big group bike rides and stuff too

Yeah there's a lot going on, but long way to go. BUt if it can happen in Detroit, it can happen anywhere in the US. I think the ability to different types of work remotely now will help with the sprawl and "automobile disease", and creating walkable, 15 minute cities. Although many corps are fighting remote work for a number of reasons, it just feels like an inevitability. 

[chenGOD]

1 hour ago, Walter Ostanek said:

How widespread is this child labour shit I keep hearing about? Fucking nuts

Albeit not vastly different to what Canada does with Indian international students. Exploitation under the guise of feelgood pseudo-philanthropy?

Lol that article talks about using actual children (like 13 year olds) to clean slaughterhouses. You're talking about paying Indian university students less than they might earn as research leads? (Or what are you talking about?) These two things are vastly different.

[Nebraska]

doug burgham was probably my favorite republican last night as any question he was asked the answer was "we did (or already doing) that already in north dakota". this even included how he will deal with the fentanyl crisis

[Rubin Farr]

Always hide fentanyl in your ass, they’ll never look there

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/sleepy-drug-dealer-caught-with-fentanyl-stash-in-unusual-place-deputies-say-the-cops-will-still-find-them.amp

[ignatius]

3 hours ago, Rubin Farr said:

Always hide fentanyl in your ass, they’ll never look there

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/sleepy-drug-dealer-caught-with-fentanyl-stash-in-unusual-place-deputies-say-the-cops-will-still-find-them.amp

in portland, a couple days ago, a baby had to be revived for ingesting some fentanyl.. and something like 4 kids have died or OD'd and been revived due to accidentally ingesting fentanyl. 

[Walter Ostanek]

22 hours ago, chenGOD said:

Lol that article talks about using actual children (like 13 year olds) to clean slaughterhouses. You're talking about paying Indian university students less than they might earn as research leads? (Or what are you talking about?) These two things are vastly different.

They're used as Tim Hortons slaves, shelf-stackers and the like, but yeah that was a dumb take tbh, morally they're incomparable

[Rubin Farr]

23 hours ago, ignatius said:

yeah. i saw a few things about detroit recently that were pretty inspiring. that piece was written years ago and republished  for reasons i guess. it has some lessons in it and detroit does too.

there's a lot happening there w/local gardens to combat food deserts and genuine community happening in different pockets of the city. there's big group bike rides and stuff too. someone i know moved there from portland last year and she talks to a friend of mine. she said something _jokingly_ like "don't tell portland about detroit. it's awesome and they'll all move here".  not sure i could handle the winters but the people iv'e met from detroit were all pretty cool down to earth type people.

i hate this genre. the political current affairs raps by white people. 

 

[Nebraska]

 

[Rubin Farr]

 

[auxien]

35 minutes ago, Rubin Farr said:

 

fuck it let's elect her for president

[cwmbrancity]

 

[auxien]

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ufc-fighter-wins-bout-bible-cage-company-gives-me-freedom-be-who-i-want-to-be

crypto.com the scam that Jesus himself would endorse

[ignatius]

 

[ignatius]

1 hour ago, auxien said:

fuck it let's elect her for president

whole video on youtube. she's good. and prepared well for this. righteous indignation is a good thing some times. 

 

[cern]

 

[drillkicker]

Does anyone know what this government shutdown thing is about?  All the news sites want me to pay so idk how working class people like me are supposed to find out about it 

[exitonly]

9 minutes ago, drillkicker said:

Does anyone know what this government shutdown thing is about?  All the news sites want me to pay so idk how working class people like me are supposed to find out about it 

you’ll know when the streets run with the blood of a thousand furloughed beurocrats

[ignatius]

33 minutes ago, drillkicker said:

Does anyone know what this government shutdown thing is about?  All the news sites want me to pay so idk how working class people like me are supposed to find out about it 

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202474725/2023-government-shutdown-update

NPR and PBS always free. 

POLITICS

What closes and what keeps running in a federal government shutdown 

September 29, 20235:00 AM ET

By 

Ximena Bustillo

, 

Tom Bowman

, 

Selena Simmons-Duffin

 

 

Government funding runs out at the end of the day on Sept. 30, meaning many federal government services will halt until funding resumes.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers are inching closer to a government shutdown when government funding runs out at the end of the day on Sept. 30. With a deal nowhere in sight, federal agencies are bracing to place hundreds of thousands of workers on unpaid furlough until funding is restored.

The federal government hasn't faced this dilemma since 2018 when the federal government shut down for 35 days, stretching into the new year in 2019. As in shutdowns past, people across the country will see a pause in federal services, programming and pay. 

 

 

POLITICS 

The White House chief of staff says it's on House Republicans to avert a shutdown

Washington, D.C., residents and visitors could feel the impact quickly. Smithsonian facilities will remain open until money runs out. Then they will close, which could dampen the celebrations to say goodbye to the giant pandas in the National Zoo. Wildlife lovers outside of D.C. could see the National Park Service's highly anticipated "Fat Bear Week" interrupted as well.

Elsewhere, the impacts of a shutdown are likely to snowball as employees go without pay and programs run out of funding to operate.

Still — many services will still be available. The Food and Drug Administration will continue "All vital FDA activities related to imminent threats to the safety of human life," Social Security checks will still be issued, Veterans Affairs facilities will remain open. Air traffic and airport personnel will still be on the job, even if without pay, unless employees begin to call in sick to work as they did during the last shutdown.

Another institution still running when the money runs out? Congress. They'll keep working without pay, including many of the staffers that keep the Capitol running.

Although most major federal agencies have not announced their plans for what would stay open and closed during a potential shutdown, here's what we see could be affected and what could continue.

 

Federal employees could be furloughed or asked to work without pay

The National Federation for Federal Employees, one of the unions that represents federal workers, estimates that 2.1 million civilian federal workers could see delayed paychecks and roughly 4 million federal contract workers could receive no paycheck.

A representative for the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington told NPR the organization is making preparations for as many as 100,000 federal workers who could need food assistance if the government shuts down.

Nutrition and food assistance programs could be paused

The Agriculture Department, which runs the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women Infants and Children (WIC) programs, is preparing for the nearly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children who rely on WIC to lose access during a shutdown.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is likely to run out of funding to support normal WIC operations just a few days into a shutdown, according to USDA. The impact on WIC would likely be staggered because some states may have carryover funds or can use their own funds to continue program operations for different amounts of time.

 

POLITICS 

Millions of Americans will lose food assistance if the government shuts down

Still, Kate Franken, board chair for the National WIC Association, urges families to still seek benefits they think they might qualify for.

"I do think it gets to be really confusing for the public when they see information about a federal government shutdown and wonder what that means for various programs and services that they receive," Franken said. "There's a risk, and we've experienced this before during shutdowns, where families just sort of assumed that they can't use their benefits or that they shouldn't go to their appointment because services may be closed."

Households that receive SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will receive October nutrition assistance as usual regardless of a potential shutdown. It is unknown how November benefits may be impacted should a shutdown persist.

 

Social services for food and education come to a halt

Head Start, which supports education for 3- and 4-year-olds across the country, and Meals on Wheels, which brings food to elderly people, could also get interrupted.

National Parks are expected to close

Visitor centers, campgrounds, research facilities and museums could be closed for the duration of a shutdown. This would affect events and attractions scheduled for these sites. Depending on how long the shutdown persists, this could create interruptions during the Indigenous People's/Columbus Day three-day weekend for many.

 

POLITICS 

Thousands of federal firefighters face a looming pay cut. How much is up to Congress

Last week, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland asking the department to use the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to keep national parks and public lands open during a shutdown. Funds from the law were used in 2018 to keep most parks open.

Health care is likely to go uninterrupted, but research could pause

People who get health care or health insurance from the federal government, whether that's through Medicare or the Indian Health Service, should not experience any interruption in their care. They would still still go to the doctor and still make appointments.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has enough money to keep paying states for Medicaid and CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, for at least for three months. That's good news for around 90 million low-income people who rely on those health insurance programs

However, community health centers that get their funding from federal grants could see their funding interrupted by a shutdown. Some clinics are warning they may need to cut back services or staff depending on the timing of the possible shutdown and how long it lasts.

Other disruptions could occur at federal health agencies. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services says 42% of agency staff would be furloughed. The National Institutes of Health would furlough nearly 80% of its staff — the only work that would continue is caring for patients at NIH's research hospital. 

 

Service members would also work without pay

A shutdown would likely affect some 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers who would continue to work but would not get a paycheck. Of the estimated 800,000 Pentagon civilians, some 200,000 would be required to work without pay, because they are "excepted" and roles considered "necessary to protect life and property." 

 

POLITICS 

What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military — and national security

Another 439,000 of those would stay home without pay, the remainder are paid outside annual appropriations and wouldn't be affected. The White House says all this would be disruptive to national security. The servicemembers are paid twice a month, and the next payday is Friday, Sept. 29.

Military commissaries in the U.S. and abroad — which are basically neighborhood grocery stores — will stay open for approximately 60 days into the new fiscal year without appropriations, according to the Defense Department. After the funds run out, only overseas and remote locations will stay open, they warn. 

The shutdown would also affect those servicemembers scheduled to move to a new assignment. That travel would be halted during a shutdown.

Federal law enforcement efforts could slow

Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, said a lack of funding also means that there are no resources for federal agencies to continue participating in federal-state-local task forces. He said this includes those working on human trafficking investigations, to disrupt terrorist operations, and crack down on drug violations.

Edited September 30, 2023 by ignatius

[drillkicker]

11 minutes ago, ignatius said:

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202474725/2023-government-shutdown-update

NPR and PBS always free. 

POLITICS

What closes and what keeps running in a federal government shutdown 

September 29, 20235:00 AM ET

By 

Ximena Bustillo

, 

Tom Bowman

, 

Selena Simmons-Duffin

 

 

Government funding runs out at the end of the day on Sept. 30, meaning many federal government services will halt until funding resumes.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers are inching closer to a government shutdown when government funding runs out at the end of the day on Sept. 30. With a deal nowhere in sight, federal agencies are bracing to place hundreds of thousands of workers on unpaid furlough until funding is restored.

The federal government hasn't faced this dilemma since 2018 when the federal government shut down for 35 days, stretching into the new year in 2019. As in shutdowns past, people across the country will see a pause in federal services, programming and pay. 

 

 

POLITICS 

The White House chief of staff says it's on House Republicans to avert a shutdown

Washington, D.C., residents and visitors could feel the impact quickly. Smithsonian facilities will remain open until money runs out. Then they will close, which could dampen the celebrations to say goodbye to the giant pandas in the National Zoo. Wildlife lovers outside of D.C. could see the National Park Service's highly anticipated "Fat Bear Week" interrupted as well.

Elsewhere, the impacts of a shutdown are likely to snowball as employees go without pay and programs run out of funding to operate.

Still — many services will still be available. The Food and Drug Administration will continue "All vital FDA activities related to imminent threats to the safety of human life," Social Security checks will still be issued, Veterans Affairs facilities will remain open. Air traffic and airport personnel will still be on the job, even if without pay, unless employees begin to call in sick to work as they did during the last shutdown.

Another institution still running when the money runs out? Congress. They'll keep working without pay, including many of the staffers that keep the Capitol running.

Although most major federal agencies have not announced their plans for what would stay open and closed during a potential shutdown, here's what we see could be affected and what could continue.

 

Federal employees could be furloughed or asked to work without pay

The National Federation for Federal Employees, one of the unions that represents federal workers, estimates that 2.1 million civilian federal workers could see delayed paychecks and roughly 4 million federal contract workers could receive no paycheck.

A representative for the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington told NPR the organization is making preparations for as many as 100,000 federal workers who could need food assistance if the government shuts down.

Nutrition and food assistance programs could be paused

The Agriculture Department, which runs the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women Infants and Children (WIC) programs, is preparing for the nearly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children who rely on WIC to lose access during a shutdown.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is likely to run out of funding to support normal WIC operations just a few days into a shutdown, according to USDA. The impact on WIC would likely be staggered because some states may have carryover funds or can use their own funds to continue program operations for different amounts of time.

 

POLITICS 

Millions of Americans will lose food assistance if the government shuts down

Still, Kate Franken, board chair for the National WIC Association, urges families to still seek benefits they think they might qualify for.

"I do think it gets to be really confusing for the public when they see information about a federal government shutdown and wonder what that means for various programs and services that they receive," Franken said. "There's a risk, and we've experienced this before during shutdowns, where families just sort of assumed that they can't use their benefits or that they shouldn't go to their appointment because services may be closed."

Households that receive SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will receive October nutrition assistance as usual regardless of a potential shutdown. It is unknown how November benefits may be impacted should a shutdown persist.

 

Social services for food and education come to a halt

Head Start, which supports education for 3- and 4-year-olds across the country, and Meals on Wheels, which brings food to elderly people, could also get interrupted.

National Parks are expected to close

Visitor centers, campgrounds, research facilities and museums could be closed for the duration of a shutdown. This would affect events and attractions scheduled for these sites. Depending on how long the shutdown persists, this could create interruptions during the Indigenous People's/Columbus Day three-day weekend for many.

 

POLITICS 

Thousands of federal firefighters face a looming pay cut. How much is up to Congress

Last week, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland asking the department to use the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to keep national parks and public lands open during a shutdown. Funds from the law were used in 2018 to keep most parks open.

Health care is likely to go uninterrupted, but research could pause

People who get health care or health insurance from the federal government, whether that's through Medicare or the Indian Health Service, should not experience any interruption in their care. They would still still go to the doctor and still make appointments.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has enough money to keep paying states for Medicaid and CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, for at least for three months. That's good news for around 90 million low-income people who rely on those health insurance programs

However, community health centers that get their funding from federal grants could see their funding interrupted by a shutdown. Some clinics are warning they may need to cut back services or staff depending on the timing of the possible shutdown and how long it lasts.

Other disruptions could occur at federal health agencies. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services says 42% of agency staff would be furloughed. The National Institutes of Health would furlough nearly 80% of its staff — the only work that would continue is caring for patients at NIH's research hospital. 

 

Service members would also work without pay

A shutdown would likely affect some 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers who would continue to work but would not get a paycheck. Of the estimated 800,000 Pentagon civilians, some 200,000 would be required to work without pay, because they are "excepted" and roles considered "necessary to protect life and property." 

 

POLITICS 

What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military — and national security

Another 439,000 of those would stay home without pay, the remainder are paid outside annual appropriations and wouldn't be affected. The White House says all this would be disruptive to national security. The servicemembers are paid twice a month, and the next payday is Friday, Sept. 29.

Military commissaries in the U.S. and abroad — which are basically neighborhood grocery stores — will stay open for approximately 60 days into the new fiscal year without appropriations, according to the Defense Department. After the funds run out, only overseas and remote locations will stay open, they warn. 

The shutdown would also affect those servicemembers scheduled to move to a new assignment. That travel would be halted during a shutdown.

Federal law enforcement efforts could slow

Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, said a lack of funding also means that there are no resources for federal agencies to continue participating in federal-state-local task forces. He said this includes those working on human trafficking investigations, to disrupt terrorist operations, and crack down on drug violations.

But why

[ignatius]

12 minutes ago, drillkicker said:

But why

funding bill has to be renewed every year. the budget. when congress cannot agree then they don't pass a budget.. things close. this didn't used to be a thing but congress can't do basic shit anymore.  a bunch far right turds are holding out because they want to add funding to build a wall or cut spending by 20% or something ridiculous. 

but.. if you look on NPR/PBS you'll find a lot of details about the current situation and previous ones. 

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202667062/government-shutdown

Edited September 30, 2023 by ignatius

[luke viia]

1 hour ago, drillkicker said:

Does anyone know what this government shutdown thing is about?  All the news sites want me to pay so idk how working class people like me are supposed to find out about it 

my hot take: if you are a working class person, when the government shuts down absolutely nothing in your life will change. they're usually bluffing until the last minute anyways. if they shut down, it's federal workers (some anyway) and those who rely on their services that suffer. the Average Man feels nothing.

[ignatius]

27 minutes ago, luke viia said:

my hot take: if you are a working class person, when the government shuts down absolutely nothing in your life will change. they're usually bluffing until the last minute anyways. if they shut down, it's federal workers (some anyway) and those who rely on their services that suffer. the Average Man feels nothing.

during trump admin the longest shutdown ever took place. there's various kinds of government support/welfare that get interrupted if a shutdown happens. 

a bunch of federal workers will work w/o pay. armed services, TSA etc.. if you're waiting on a passport renewal or something.. that might be effected. lot's of shit falls through the cracks. but yeah.. unless you work for the IRS.. or similar you won't notice much.