Labor unions

Russian President Vladimir Putin 's reliance on oligarchs could prevent him from reviving the Soviet Union, experts said. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, some raised concerns that Putin could be seeking to revive the Soviet Union. But a return to Soviet-style economics could threaten the wealth of his allies in Russia's oligarchical class, so it's unlikely he would seize their assets, Bryon Moraski, a professor of Russian politics at the University of Florida explained to Newsweek . Putin relies on both popular and elite support for legitimacy, Moraski explained. This means that any efforts to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs could cause him to lose the support of his closest allies, potentially leaving him in a difficult position as the president. "There wouldn't be an ideological reason for Putin to go through some kind of process for the redistribution of property," Moraski said. Brian Taylor, a professor of Russian politics at Syracuse University, offered … [Read more...] about Putin allies’ wealth will keep him from reviving USSR

An IHOP customer's temper tantrum about service that he deemed too slow was captured on camera Saturday night. The confrontation was filmed by onlooker Thomas Biddle, whose TikTok video has racked up 6.5 million views as of Monday afternoon. Another patron who witnessed the incident said on Facebook that it took place at one of the breakfast chain's locations in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Biddle's clip showed the furious customer berating a waitress for the time it took to serve his food, claiming that the restaurant should not be busy because he saw other tables open. "Busy would be every single table," he shouted while waving his arm in the air. "There are three servers on, sir," the waitress replied. "We can only do so much. If you don't like it, you can go somewhere else. Who else is open?" "Nobody else," the customer answered. IHOP is known for keeping many of its locations open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "Then deal with it," said the increasingly agitated … [Read more...] about IHOP customer smashes glass after “slow service” in wild video

India has a dismal ratio of doctors and hospital beds, and the fragility of our healthcare infrastructure was amplified in 2020, when a global pandemic threatened to overwhelm our hospitals and medical centres. Covid-19, the gravest health threat in recent memory, has now pushed the country’s apex business chambers to also emphasise the need for hiking government health spend in the upcoming Union Budget for 2021-22. Typically, business chambers and India Inc send a wish list to the government for Budget each year, which includes some sectoral demands, suggestions on lowering the incidence of taxation on companies and individuals and for boosting infrastructure spending. Healthcare rarely finds a mention in such a wish list. But this year, things are different. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) have both sought a significant increase in the Centre’s budgetary allocation for healthcare, among other … [Read more...] about India Inc’s Budget Wish List Takes a Lesson From Covid-19 With Rare Health Spending Demand

David Cameron's memoir will finally be released in September - a month before the deadline for Britain to leave the EU. Publishers Harper Collins have confirmed the book's title will be "For the Record", and it will be released on September 19. And for those who dream about having the former Prime Minister's words whispered directly into their ears, an audiobook version of the tome will be released on the same day. Mr Cameron, who promised the EU referendum as part of the Tory manifesto in 2015, is understood to have privately promised Theresa May he would not publish the memoir until after Britain had left the European Union so as "not to rock the boat". In a tweet, Harper Collins said: "We are pleased to announce that William Collins – an imprint of HarperCollins UK – will publish former Prime Minister David Cameron’s autobiography this autumn. "FOR THE RECORD will be released on Thursday 19th September, in hardback, ebook and audio." Preview manuscripts have been … [Read more...] about David Cameron book release date confirmed – and it’s before the Brexit deadline

If Ukraine had joined NATO as Russian President Vladimir Putin once feared, it would have added an extra 210,000 troops and 2,550 tanks to the alliance's military strength, bringing the total up to at least 3.7 million personnel, including troops, personnel and civilian fighters. Putin has always justified his invasion of Ukraine as a means to stop the eastward expansion of the 30-strong Western military alliance but Finland and Sweden have both dramatically increased military spending since the war began on February 24. The two countries have announced their intention to join NATO, signaling that Putin's war aims to prevent the alliance from getting stronger are backfiring. Moscow has been quick to warn that the two countries' move to join the alliance will be met by "retaliatory steps," including deployment of nuclear weapons. However, Sweden's ruling party approved the country's bid to join NATO on Sunday, as well as Finnish politicians calling for their country to … [Read more...] about Putin’s NATO Backfire? How Finnish, Swedish Forces Compare With Ukraine’s

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning Finland and Sweden about joining NATO , saying an expansion in membership could bring a heightened response from his own Russia-led military alliance. On Monday, Putin spoke alongside leaders from Russia's allies in Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at a Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Moscow. He called on the countries to streamline their operations and ensure that various law enforcement agencies and security services are working in coordination, adding that his administration will equip forces with the latest weaponry. "I'm positive that these measures will help to improve the level of coordination, combat readiness of our forces, and generally speaking, the peacekeeping potential of forces," Putin said, according to a translation from Russian state media RT. His remarks come after Finland confirmed last week that it will apply to join NATO after decades of military nonalignment. Sweden's … [Read more...] about Putin’s trying to ramp up allies’ military capabilities to counter NATO

A bizarre new article from North Korean state media bragged about leader Kim Jong Un 's personal assistance in creating the nation's baby formula recipe, in what appeared to be a dig at U.S. formula shortages. A translation of a Voice of Korea article published Tuesday local time said that Kim oversaw the production of baby formula by taste-testing batches and offering advice on how the product could become better. The article was translated into English by KCNA Watch, a South Korea-based outlet that monitors and translates media from the North. The article stated that Kim placed a call to a senior official of the Pyongyang Municipal Committee around 4 a.m. on September 15, 2021, to discuss the production of formula. "Kim Jong Un said he had just tasted the diluted dry milk produced in Pyongyang City for trial and pointed out the shortcomings one by one," it said. "He told the senior official that it is necessary for the officials of the relevant sector to study such … [Read more...] about North Korea brags about baby formula in apparent dig at U.S. shortage

Amber Heard's spokesperson has said that "truth is not on [Johnny] Depp's side," ahead of the former couple returning to court for their defamation trial . All eyes have been on the Hollywood stars amid their trial, after Depp, 58, sued Heard, 36, for $50 million after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 stating that she was a survivor of domestic abuse. Depp was never mentioned by name, but his legal team argue that the insinuation has caused a sullied reputation and a huge loss of earnings for the actor. Heard has made a counterclaim against Depp for $100 million. In the hours leading up to their return to Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court on Monday, a spokesperson for Heard told Newsweek they're anticipating Depp's team will put on a courtroom display that's "equal parts shameful and desperate." "There's an old saying by trial lawyers: when the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts are not on your side, pound away on the podium," … [Read more...] about Amber Heard’s rep says truth “not on Johnny Depp’s side” as trial resumes

A Florida couple with five-month-old twins said they spent nearly six hours searching for baby formula and were only able to purchase four cans. This, as a U.S. shortage of the product sends concerned parents scrambling to feed their infants. Erik and Kelly Schmidt, both 35, told MarketWatch that their local Central Florida Target store was empty-shelved when they went to buy their usual baby formula this week. The couple then embarked on a full day's journey to find formula, resulting in hours of driving to different Targets, Walmarts, and grocery stores nearby. However, with each store they visited, the pair were forced to leave empty-handed. "It's pure panic, " Kelly Schmidt told the news outlet, while Erik added that they were finding "absolutely nothing." Eventually, the Schmidts found that the grocery store chain Aldi carried a baby formula similar to their usual brand. Erik Schmidt then traveled to three different Aldi stores before he found one with the right … [Read more...] about Florida parents spend 6 hours searching for baby formula, find 4 cans

I’ve thought about Jim Obergefell often since we first spoke nine years ago, after his historic marriage to his husband on an airport tarmac outside Baltimore. He’s come to mind mostly during big moments in my own life as a gay man in America. I thought of Jim and his late husband, John Arthur, when I first considered proposing to my husband, Aaron, and the promises — in sickness and in health, till death do us part — that I’d be making. I thought of Jim and John again when Aaron and I exchanged vows in San Francisco City Hall in 2018, with our families around us and the bust of Harvey Milk nearby . We chose City Hall for its beauty and ease, but could have been anywhere in the country — a right Jim and John won us by overcoming a mountain of obstacles just to reach that tarmac. Advertisement I thought of Jim again last week, around the time I was emailing our lawyers about the next set of paperwork to file in our pursuit of U.S. citizenship for Aaron, who is … [Read more...] about Hearing threat to Roe vs. Wade, I thought of my gay marriage — and Jim Obergefell’s fight