golf – The Burning Platform

Looks like Llpoh moved to a country with a bunch of free shitters. They like their shrimp on the barbie and golf, but work not so much. You get more of what you incentivize. It’s really that simple. The poor guy who can’t work on Sundays because of golf has enough trouble already.

Jobs wanted in Australia – but not if they clash with golf

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government is tired of unemployed people declining a job because it may interfere with their golf plans or dreams of becoming an actor.

The government plans to tighten its rules on who qualifies for unemployment benefits to encourage the jobless — including some with creative excuses to stay off the job — to go to work.

“Australia’s income support system is there as a safety net for people who genuinely cannot find a job — not as an option for those who simply refuse to work,” Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said in a statement.

The penalty for refusing a job offer without a good excuse is eight weeks without a welfare check, but three out of four unemployed Australians who refused jobs last year managed to keep their checks. Australia’s jobless rate is 6 percent.

The Employment Department on Tuesday released samples of reasons job hunters have given for remaining unemployed. They include:

— A 58-year-old man was not prepared to work for three hours on Sundays because that was when he played golf.

— A 19-year-old man turned down a job “to follow his dream of becoming an actor.”

— A 26-year-old man refused a job because “he doesn’t work with chickens.”

— A 50-year-old woman declined a receptionist position because of a “bad smell” in the office.

— A 33-year-old man rejected car washing as “too difficult.”

— A 23-year-old man refused to become a driver’s assistant because he wanted to drive.

The basic unemployment benefit in Australia is 261.70 Australian dollars (about $190) a week. It’s higher for those with dependent children and in need of rent assistance.

The government wants to close a loophole that allows the unemployed to refuse jobs while continuing to collect a welfare checks, but the Senate is resisting the changes.

The opposition argues that the government already has the discretion to withhold checks from people without reasonable excuses for refusing to work. It says the government’s proposal would remove any discretion in cases where withholding the benefit could leave a person homeless or suffering other harm.

OBAMA’S RADAR

Via Investors.com

Obama Defends The Failure Of His Syria Policy Before A Belligerent 60 Minutes

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2015 23:53 -0400

Yesterday, in a comprehensive takedown of Obama’s handling of the second Syrian proxy war in three years (which is not over yet), we summarized events as follows: “The Tragic Ending To Obama’s Bay Of Pigs: CIA Hands Over Syria To Russia.”

The facts, which are largely undisputed, confirm this: having achieved no progress “against ISIS”, the stated goal of US intervention in Syria, and no progress in kicking Assad out of office and starting the Qatar has pipeline to Europe, the real goal of US intervention in Syria, the top democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said that Obama “is debating the merits of taking further action or whether they are better off letting Putin hang himself.”

By “hanging himself”, the democrat meant handing Syria over to the Kremlin on a silver platter aafter just a few short weeks of Russian military intervention in Syria which has crushed US supply routes to ISIS and other CIA-sponsored rebel groups, and once again – just like in 2013 – put a premature end to US attempts to overthrow yet another head of state.

Fast forward to today when in what may have been the most awkward 60 Minutes interview for Obama before the US nation, Steve Kroft asked Obama about Trump, about Hillary, but it was Obama’s take on the US loss in (and of) Syria and the Russian gains there, and everywhere else, that demonstrated two things.

The first is just how marginalized the US has suddenly become in the global arena, with an impotent and insolvent Europe behind its back for moral if no other support, opposing a suddenly ascendant Russian axis in the middle-east, one which has China’s backing, especially in the aftermath of the quite demonstrative US implementation of the TPP which is meant first and foremost to offset China’s rising trade influence in the region.

The second is the extent of Obama’s delusion, or perhaps it was merely his spin relying on the naivete of the US public when it comes to foreign affairs, about the abovementioned snubbing of a superpower that until recently nobody dared to challenge unilaterally in the global arena.

The full exchange is presented below. We still can’t decide if Kroft’s at times near-aggressive belligerence toward the president was actually genuine, or as revealed previously especially in the case of the 2011 60 Minutes interview of Julian Assange, the host was directly instructed by the administration on how to approach the topics at hand, and to make Obama squirm on purpose, so as to make the loss more palatable to the people of America.

Continue reading “Obama Defends The Failure Of His Syria Policy Before A Belligerent 60 Minutes”

OBAMA’S ACHIEVEMENT

Fore!!!!!

Hat tip Boston Bob

Obama’s one achievement — outgolfing Tiger Woods

By Joseph Curl – – Wednesday, August 13, 2014

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

As Barack “Eldrick” Obama approaches his 200th round of golf since his election as president, here’s a fact to put that into perspective: Since January 2009, Tiger Woods has played 269 rounds of golf.

And Tiger, beleaguered by injury, is almost certainly done for the year. So that means the president, if he keeps up with his pace of play during his 15-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard (a round a day) and his normal weekly round, will pass Tiger sometime next spring.

Think about that for a minute. The president of the U.S., juggling the American economy and the entire world’s problems — Iraq is in full meltdown, the Middle East is a powder keg, Russia is moving on Ukraine — has played golf nearly as much as a guy whose day job is playing golf.

Of course, the job of president is a tough one. Just look at how old and craggy the once-youngish Mr. Obama looks today, just days after his 53rd birthday. But let’s be brutally honest here: No one made him take the job: In fact, he fought viciously for the post — twice — to win it.

More, in his campaigning for the position, he vowed “I will not rest until ” well, fixing everything — even the rising sea levels. He pledged to work “tirelessly” until “every American who wants a job can find one,” that he “will not rest until we have fully recovered from this recession.”

Does “not resting” mean no vacations? Uh, it does if you listen to Candidate Obama himself: “If you seek that office, then you have to be prepared to give your life to it. Essentially the bargain that I think any president strikes with the American people is — you give me this office, and in turn, my fears, doubts, insecurities, foibles, need for sleep, family life, vacations, leisure is gone!”

But that was then. Mr. Obama is today up in Martha’s Vineyard, hobnobbing with the richest of the rich on his 15th vacation since taking office. This time, he’s staying in an 8,100-square-foot, seven-bedroom, nine-bath, $12 million house with an infinity pool and private beach. He may complain about the “One Percent,” but he doesn’t mind being one of them — as long as the American taxpayer is footing the bill.

Don’t you worry, America, he’s downsized this year from the 30-acre spread he has chosen in the past (which reportedly rented for $50,000 a week). Yes, it’s an election year, so he’s making a mighty sacrifice for you Americans.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden, meanwhile, is off to The Hamptons for his third vacation of the month, although his official public schedule says he’s going to the much less posh “Long Island, New York.” The Bidens — and what looks like quite a few extended family members — just recently finished a five-day vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Meanwhile, Hillary “We’re Broke” Clinton will be in both The Hamptons AND The Vineyard this month. With hubby Bubba, she’s plunked down $100,000 for a three-week rental in Amagansett, New York, and will jet over to The Vineyard for a bit of hobnobbery herself.

Before you think it’s all cake and ice cream, there is hardship on The Vineyard. “The water is still a little cold,” the president said Tuesday.

Just 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Meanwhile, 54 percent disapprove. What’s more, a measly 36 percent of those polled approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing in the rest of the world. Six out of 10 Americans are unimpressed with his work on global affairs.

When Mr. Obama was running for office, he could foresee the effort necessary to fulfill the tasks — the presidency does take a 100 percent commitment, and he knew it. But now that he has a private 747, he’s off on vacation after vacation after vacation.

Pretty soon, though, he’ll be playing golf full time. The country — and the world — will be better off for it.

• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @josephcurl.

FORE HUNDRED LAYOFFS

Golf isn’t less popular. Golf is a discretionary expenditure for the former middle class. They are spending their dwindling salaries on gasoline, food, utilities, rent, healthcare, and tuition. Nothing left for golf. It really is that simple. Even a CNBC bimbo or hack should understand.

Dick’s cuts 400 jobs as golf now less popular

By Sara Germano

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. is cutting hundreds of jobs in its golf division as fewer Americans hit the links.

A spokeswoman for the PGA of America said more than 400 of its members who were employed as golf instructors at Dick’s were notified Tuesday that they would be laid off. The organization, which counts more than 28,000 members overall, said it would offer career counseling and employment services to its affected members.

Representatives for Dick’s didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to a Dick’s annual report, the company offered in-store private lessons with PGA and Ladies Professional Golf Association golf professionals across its Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy locations. There were 593 such employees as of Feb. 1, according to the filing. Dick’s employed about 34,300 full- and part-time workers overall as of that date.

News of the layoffs was earlier reported by ESPN.

Dick’s has been struggling with weak golf sales as players leave the sport. The retailer plans to take floor space away from golf merchandise in its Dick’s stores, and expand women’s and youth apparel instead. Dick’s Chief Executive Edward W. Stack said in May that there was more downside in the golf market, sales of which missed the company’s estimates for the quarter by $34 million.

An annual survey by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association earlier this year revealed the fifth consecutive drop in the number of U.S. individuals who reported playing golf on a course at least once, down 2.5% over the year before.

The downturn in the golf market has Dick’s rethinking its golf strategy. In 2007, Dick’s acquired specialty golf retailer Golf Galaxy for $226 million, according to a filing. Since then, it has expanded its store fleet to 79 as of May 3 from 65 stores at the time of acquisition.

Same-store sales for Golf Galaxy dropped 10.4% for the most recent quarter, and Dick’s executives said they would re-evaluate locations for potential closures, relocation, or remodeling as lease renewals come due in the next two years.

Write to Sara Germano at [email protected]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dicks-cuts-400-jobs-as-golf-now-less-popular-2014-07-22/print?guid=45D65FCE-368A-4CCC-812D-C6B0D9A91101