North Korea 'backs Scottish independence'

Vote Yes because England suck

(Telegraph) - North Korea is quietly backing the Yes vote in Scotland and would be keen to increase trade with a newly independent Edinburgh, according to officials of the Pyongyang regime.

"I think that independence would be a very positive thing for Scotland," Choe Kwan-il, managing editor of the Choson Sinbo newspaper, told The Telegraph.

Supported by Pyongyang, the Tokyo-based publication provides news to an estimated 200,000 Koreans who live in Japan but swear allegiance – and send vast amounts of financial support – to North Korea.

"We have not reported on the vote in Scotland yet, but we will after it has happened," Choe said.

"I believe that every person has the right to be a member of an independent nation, to have sovereignty, to live in peace and to enjoy equality," he said. "And I believe that a majority of Scots feel the same and will vote for independence." Full

Sh*t just got real: Fast Food Customers Protest Workers

Illegal immigration is the greatest threat facing America.

MIAMI, Florida (WNB) - Thousands of fast food customers across the nation took to the streets Monday to protest fast food employees.

"These people are demanding $15 an hour, but they can't remember my fries or a freaking napkin?" asked one protester marching with a group of approximately 200 outside a Miami McDonald's. "How 'bout this, you get a quarter an hour raise when you've learned how to say 'thank you' instead of 'no problem.'"

A spokesperson for a group of customers protesting outside of a Tucson Burger King summed up the feelings of many: "If I wanted to pay an illiterate, surly underachiever for bad service, I'd eat lunch at the DMV."

What Would Happen if We Got Rid of the Minimum Wage?

(Slate) - Most voters love the idea of raising the minimum wage. But Republican politicians, with a handful of notable exceptions, do not, because they’re convinced that even a small boost will kill jobs. And as my colleague Jamelle Bouie points out this week, a few are honest enough to take their opposition to its logical conclusion and advocate abolishing the minimum wage entirely.

So what would happen if they got their way? What if we bid the minimum wage goodbye for good?

The Econ 101 answer is that it would create more jobs for low-skill workers, such as teenagers and high school dropouts, as wages drifted down to their market rate. When the cost of labour falls, the argument goes, employers should demand more of it. It may not be profitable for your local Five Guys to hire an extra burger cook at $7.25 an hour, but at $5 or $4 an hour, the math might change. The Cato Institute’s James Dorn and the Hoover Institution’s Russell Roberts made this point at length during an Intelligence Squared debate last year in which they advocated doing away with minimum wages. “Right now there are people within a few blocks of where we are sitting who cannot find work simply because their skills are not worth $7.25 an hour,” Russell told the audience. “Why would you condemn those men and women to a wage of zero?”

It’s easy to think up reasons why nixing the minimum wage might not lead to a flood of new career opportunities for the unskilled. Because we have minimum wages today, businesses are required to work at a certain level of efficiency. Unless a business is understaffed, adding a new worker, even a cheaper one, might not be particularly profitable. Or take technology. Minimum-wage skeptics often point out that when employing a real live human being becomes too expensive, companies start buying computers and machinery instead. In a post-minimum-wage world, it seems unlikely that businesses would suddenly throw their profitable business models into reverse, and start scooping up cheap workers to handle tasks they had already purchased fancy new equipment to accomplish. Your local McDonald’s, for instance, wouldn’t suddenly return the fancy new soda machine that lets customers fill their own cups with umpteen variations on Diet Coke, just so that it could hire another person to work behind the counter for $4 an hour.

Of course, there’s another big question to answer: If we ripped up the wage floor, would pay for low-skill workers actually fall all that much? It’s hard to say. First, many low-wage businesses still offer their workers more than the absolute minimum. Second, wages tend to be “sticky,” meaning that once they go up, they tend not to come down. The reason why is still a bit of a mystery, but it likely has a lot to do with the fact that making your employees take a pay cut is a) emotionally unpleasant for both parties and b) a good way to sap their motivation on the job. Continue Reading

Related: Should the Minimum Wage Be Abolished (i.e. Reduced to $0.00)?

Saudi anti-Christian sweep prompts calls for US involvement

(FoxNews.com) - Dozens of Christians arrested at a prayer meeting in Saudi Arabia need America's help, according to a key lawmaker who is pressing the State Department on their behalf.

Some 28 people were rounded up Friday by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the home of an Indian national in the eastern Saudi city of Khafji, and their current situation is unknown, according to human rights advocates.

"Saudi Arabia is continuing the religious cleansing that has always been its official policy," Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told FoxNews.com. "It is the only nation state in the world with the official policy of banning all churches. This is enforced even though there are over 2 million Christian foreign workers in that country. Those victimized are typically poor, from Asian and African countries with weak governments."

In Friday's crackdown, several Bibles were confiscated, according to reports from the Kingdom.

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On this day: Macedonia marks 23 years of independence from Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia formally dissolved in 2006.

Skopje. On Monday, September 8 Macedonia marks its Independence Day, Radio Free Europe reported.

23 years ago on this date the country held a referendum at which the citizens voted for country’s independence from Yugoslavia. 

The question asked at the referendum was: “Do you support independent Macedonia with the right to join future union of sovereign countries of Yugoslavia?”

“Democracy, stability, known name at the international political scene – this is what Macedonia represents two decades after the historical referendum on its independence and this is something to be proud of.”

This is what Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on the occasion of Macedonia’s Independence Day, Macedonian Sitel TV commented.

According to him, Macedonian nation showed responsibility in the management of its own fate when making important decision.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, on the other hand, said that Macedonia was a country of brave people, who are persistent in the realisation of century-old ideals.

On September 8, 1991 Macedonia organised a referendum at which the citizens supported country’s independence, backed by 95% of the voters. 

Bulgaria was the first to recognize Macedonia’s independence.

Some 23 years ago Macedonia’s independence inspired respect, while 23 years later it is a motive to revise the mistakes made, the missed chances and the big reforms that will help it pull up from the stagnation, Deutsche Welle radio comments in its programme for Macedonia. 

According to the media, almost a quarter of a century is enough for a country to pave its way of development and secure itself a respectful place on the map.

Nowadays, when the independence is a relative notion in a world dependent on the cooperation, integration and looming globalisation, what can Macedonia really be proud of, Deutsche Welle asks.

Gawker: Brave Teen Refuses to Attend Middle School, Chooses Jail Instead

Tax payer dollars in action.

- Middle school is a nightmare, and any impulse to avoid it is totally understandable. A Florida teenager who had the courage to fight back, however, was rewarded for his bravery this week with a pair of handcuffs and a trip to the St. Johns County jail.

According to an arrest report obtained by The Smoking Gun, the 14-year-old boy, whose name was redacted, repeatedly refused to go to school after moving from New York to Florida, resisting even after his mother took away his cell phone and laptop and disconnected their home’s internet. This week—two weeks after the district’s August 18 start date—the mother called the police, who reported to the house and told the teen he could either go to school or go to jail. His stoic reply, delivered from bed: “Do what you gotta do. I’m not going to school.”

The martyr for teens everywhere was arrested for misdemeanor resisting without violence/obstruction of justice, cuffed, and taken in, before eventually being released into his mother’s custody. Is this how America treats its heroes?

* * * *

Calling this boy "Brave" is a little excessive seeing as he is not a homosexual.

Ukraine: Russia Has Invaded

That was quick..

(thetrumpet) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Thursday that Russian troops have invaded Ukraine. He is calling on the international community for help.

“Russia has sent a number of armoured personnel vehicles, tanks and troops. We can confirm that Russian military boots are on Ukrainian ground.”

The prime minister called for emergency meetings of the United Nations Security Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the European Union. He also called for more sanctions.

“We urge the EU and the United States to frozen [sic] all Russian assets until Russia pulls back its forces, its military, and stops the supply of Russian-led guerrillas.”

Earlier on Thursday, President Petro Poroshenko called an emergency meeting of Ukraine’s national security council. Concerns continue to grow about the opening of a new front in the conflict with Russia. Poroshenko summoned the council after the strategic southeastern Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk appeared to be taken over by Russia-backed separatists.

Russia holds veto power in the UN security council, so it is unlikely the UN will be able to pass any measures. The United States and the EU also have proven unwilling to use their power to control Russia.