From EFF:
The U.S. Senate has paved the way for the passage of Fast Track legislation, to give the White House and the U.S. Trade Representative almost unilateral power to negotiate and finalize secret anti-user trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Yesterday a "cloture" vote was held—this was a vote to end debate on Fast Track and break any possibility for a filibuster, and it passed by the minimum votes needed—60 to 37. Today, the Senate voted to pass the legislation itself. TPP proponents only needed 51 votes, a simple majority, to actually pass the bill, and they got it in a 60 to 38 vote. Following months and months of campaigning, Congress has ultimately caved to corporate demands to hand away its own constitutional mandate over trade, and the President is expected to the sign the bill into law as early as tonight or later this week.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday June 24 2015, @10:12PM
Pan-lateral universal industrial action ... Imagine if the whole world (little people like me) didn't work for a day or two
..
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Interesting) by tftp on Wednesday June 24 2015, @10:23PM
Imagine if the whole world (little people like me) didn't work for a day or two
The whole world generally already doesn't work for a couple days per week. Besides, who such a strike would be aimed at? Who would fear it? Why would they fear it? The government (Congress) is entirely detached from interests of the people. The people, in turn, do not pay attention to "boring politics." Many are intellectually incapable of comprehension. Simplistic and irrelevant wedge issues are created and tirelessly debated to create an impression of political struggle, while serious decisions are made with no discussion.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday June 24 2015, @10:28PM
But PRODUCTIVITY and GROWTH! I mean an extra day off taken by everyone. Maybe it will remind big people where the return on their investment comes from...
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tftp on Thursday June 25 2015, @05:52AM
Maybe it will remind big people where the return on their investment comes from...
Big people like Soros or BG do not care about such details. A common investor, like some grandmother, might - but how would she know what tiny piece of her mutual fund represents a certain company that on a certain day of the year experienced a strike? How would she match that strike to the quarterly performance? What if the company was low on orders and had actually benefited from the strike, at least because they could keep the light and A/C off on that day? What if they didn't pay the striking workers for that day? Then the results would be better!
A common investor would simply have neither the ability to find that out, nor the need to do so. Investors cannot micromanage companies at least because they know only what the company publishes. If the strike is truly global, then all companies, all markets will be identically impacted. If fewer products are made, they will command a higher price. In the end it all balances out. An investor has no reason to worry about global things - just as he does not worry too much about all other strikes, wars, riots, and political upheavals that do happen from time to time.
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheRaven on Thursday June 25 2015, @09:05AM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @12:40AM
omni-lateral. Pan is Greek, lateral Latin.