Capitalism- only when I like it: Rules according to BOB

President Obama Vetoes ITC Ban On iPhone, iPads; Apple Happy, Samsung Not - Forbes: "President Obama and his administration today issued a veto on an International Trade Commission patent ruling that would have banned the import of some older models of the iPhone and iPad, dealing a blow to Samsung in its ongoing patent disputes with Apple.

The administration, which had 60 days to review the ITC’s June 4 “final determination,” announced its decision in a four-page letter by Ambassador Michael Froman, a U.S. trade representative, to Irving A. Williamson, chairman of the U.S. ITC. The ITC issued the ban on older Apple devices — the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G distributed with cellular service by AT&T — after agreeing with Samsung that Apple infringed one of Samsung’s standard-essential patents (SEP). The ban would have gone into effect Aug. 5."

'via Blog this'

When logic and ethics are foreign or unknown- the Big Lie

The Big Lie Goes After Obamacare - Bloomberg: "I called Brase to ask what she would advise for a 22-year-old who can't afford insurance outside of the exchanges. She started by arguing that getting coverage on the exchanges doesn't guarantee access to care, and so may not be any better than going without insurance.
That claim is absurd on its face: Even if you believe that exchange-purchased insurance will offer fewer care options than other types of coverage, some insurance is leagues better than none. Forget about the penalty for not carrying insurance; what if that 22-year-old needs medical care? He can pay his doctors directly, Brase responded, or seek charity care.
Having dismissed the entire concept of insurance, Brase then tried a different argument: Thanks to the law's guarantee that nobody can be denied coverage, anyone who gets sick can simply sign up for insurance. But it isn't that simple. While you can't be denied coverage because you're sick, you still need to buy that coverage during the annual open enrollment period, as with employer-sponsored insurance. That ends March 31, 2014."

'via Blog this'

This Is What Would Happen If Fast-Food Workers Got Raises - Businessweek

This Is What Would Happen If Fast-Food Workers Got Raises - Businessweek: "Food-service workers are among the lowest paid in the country. Here’s what Payscale.com data, based on about 3,000 employee surveys, show about how much workers are making at the country’s 10 biggest fast-food chains compared with workers in other fields. Not all the chains listed here are facing protests this week—they are instead being highlighted for the size of their workforces:

Consumed by Consumption? Clarify by Cleaning Out!

Clutter no more: packing in the habit of outrageous consumption - Life & Style | Trends, Tips, News & Advice | The Irish Times - Wed, Jul 31, 2013: "Stuff and nonsense
Again, this isn’t all that surprising: another study found that the average American child acquires 70 new toys a year.
None of the families in the UCLA study were hoarders: they were just ordinary people who had become overwhelmed with stuff. “Mothers were very aware of the mess and clutter and [had adopted] a laugh-it-off attitude that this was going to just keep recurring,” one of the researchers, anthropology professor Jeanne E Arnold told the Washington Post. “A few were almost bitter.”
Somehow, we have become caught on a treadmill that we can’t get off. We work harder to earn more (or at least in the hope that, in a recession, we won’t earn substantially less), so that we can keep spending. Acquiring and managing our mountains of stuff takes up so much time that we have fewer resources and less energy for the things that really matter. We end up living in cluttered houses, feeling overwhelmed and unproductive, and never, ever able to find our keys."

'via Blog this'