#Better start running

[eclec-tech]

It ATE the crew! "I have a plan."

[fyregrl]

Because Thrawn was actually WORRIED by Ahsoka because she was Anakin's padawan, everyone's agreed that he's gonna flip out when he finds out about Anakin's son. And that's really funny and true, but I think y'all are missing the real kicker:

Man's going to wish he stayed in the Unknown Regions when he finds out about Anakin's DAUGHTER.

[lethalcontracts]

--The Warden of Rend--

A collab between @zika-the-certified-idiot and myself of Clay as a dark souls inspired boss!

Zika did the body rendering, while i did the initial base sketch, base face and hood rendering and the weather/background!

[makuta-kotok]

A Pioneer, a Helldiver, and a Dwarf walk into a moon…

[roachmans]

Someone's matched my freak! They're not going to be living for long though.

[erranplayz]

To whoever bought the last joy plush on Amazon. I’m only 5 mins away

[ask-glitched-pomni]

Wait is dad(caine) really gone or is he still tourcring you guys with adventures yet? If he is tell him his daughter is coming home

The fool laughs bitterly. "He's really gone, as far as I can tell." She freezes as she registers your words.

"His...daughter...?"

She slowly grabs a nearby knife. "Would you just...stand right there and not move?"

[breadstickz1]

I don’t have a favorite

[wasabi-gumdrop]

Kabru has a secret admirer in the castle!

[lifemod17]

Me if you care

[reasonsforhope]

Federal regulators on Tuesday [April 23, 2024] enacted a nationwide ban on new noncompete agreements, which keep millions of Americans — from minimum-wage earners to CEOs — from switching jobs within their industries.

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-to-2 to approve the new rule, which will ban noncompetes for all workers when the regulations take effect in 120 days [So, the ban starts in early September, 2024!]. For senior executives, existing noncompetes can remain in force. For all other employees, existing noncompetes are not enforceable.

[That's right: if you're currently under a noncompete agreement, it's completely invalid as of September 2024! You're free!!]

The antitrust and consumer protection agency heard from thousands of people who said they had been harmed by noncompetes, illustrating how the agreements are "robbing people of their economic liberty," FTC Chair Lina Khan said. 

The FTC commissioners voted along party lines, with its two Republicans arguing the agency lacked the jurisdiction to enact the rule and that such moves should be made in Congress...

Why it matters

The new rule could impact tens of millions of workers, said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist and president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. 

"For nonunion workers, the only leverage they have is their ability to quit their job," Shierholz told CBS MoneyWatch. "Noncompetes don't just stop you from taking a job — they stop you from starting your own business."

Since proposing the new rule, the FTC has received more than 26,000 public comments on the regulations. The final rule adopted "would generally prevent most employers from using noncompete clauses," the FTC said in a statement.

The agency's action comes more than two years after President Biden directed the agency to "curtail the unfair use" of noncompetes, under which employees effectively sign away future work opportunities in their industry as a condition of keeping their current job. The president's executive order urged the FTC to target such labor restrictions and others that improperly constrain employees from seeking work.

"The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy," Khan said in a statement making the case for axing noncompetes. "Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand."

Real-life consequences

In laying out its rationale for banishing noncompetes from the labor landscape, the FTC offered real-life examples of how the agreements can hurt workers.

In one case, a single father earned about $11 an hour as a security guard for a Florida firm, but resigned a few weeks after taking the job when his child care fell through. Months later, he took a job as a security guard at a bank, making nearly $15 an hour. But the bank terminated his employment after receiving a letter from the man's prior employer stating he had signed a two-year noncompete.

In another example, a factory manager at a textile company saw his paycheck dry up after the 2008 financial crisis. A rival textile company offered him a better job and a big raise, but his noncompete blocked him from taking it, according to the FTC. A subsequent legal battle took three years, wiping out his savings. 

-via CBS Moneywatch, April 24, 2024

--

Note:

A lot of people think that noncompete agreements are only a white-collar issue, but they absolutely affect blue-collar workers too, as you can see from the security guard anecdote.

In fact, one in six food and service workers are bound by noncompete agreements. That's right - one in six food workers can't leave Burger King to work for Wendy's [hypothetical example], in the name of "trade secrets." (x, x, x)

Noncompete agreements also restrict workers in industries from tech and video games to neighborhood yoga studios. "The White House estimates that tens of millions of workers are subject to noncompete agreements, even in states like California where they're banned." (x, x, x)

The FTC estimates that the ban will lead to "the creation of 8,500 new businesses annually, an average annual pay increase of $524 for workers, lower health care costs, and as many as 29,000 more patents each year for the next decade." (x)

Clearer explanation of noncompete agreements below the cut.

Noncompete agreements can restrict workers from leaving for a better job or starting their own business.

Noncompetes often effectively coerce workers into staying in jobs they want to leave, and even force them to leave a profession or relocate.

Noncompetes can prevent workers from accepting higher-paying jobs, and even curtail the pay of workers not subject to them directly.

Of the more than 26,000 comments received by the FTC, more than 25,000 supported banning noncompetes. 

[michaelscorneroftheinternet]

*walks in*

Okay one last post for the night!

Stupid SMG34 doodle Go!

So...... How screwed is SMG4 in this match up?

Part 2??

[buttercupshands]

Sketch dump of month old sketches I forgot to post

[stars-obsession-pit]

Demon twins back in time

Danny flinched violently as the world suddenly lurched around him.

No, he realized, not just the world, but the whole timeline. He’d worked with Clockwork enough to feel the gears of Time snap out of place. Something big was happening.

His head spun. He stumbled, felt himself collapse. Everything around him dissolved. Thoughts turned to static.

And then suddenly he blinked, and the world was back. Solid, even as his mind still reeled. Slamming his eyes shut, he forced himself to breathe deeply and collect his thoughts.

He didn’t think he’d forgotten anything, but would he know if he had? His resolve hardening, he let out a breath. He couldn’t put the world off forever.

As soon as he opened his eyes, his heart plummeted. He recognized this place.

Nanda Parbat. The hell he’d grown up in. Died in. He’d never really escaped, had he?

A gasp startled him from his thoughts, and he whirled to see another boy staring back at him, eyes wide.

Damian al Ghul. The heir. His brother. His murderer.

He lunged, and Danny tried to drop into a fighting stance, but stumbled on too-short limbs. Oh ancients, he was going to be killed by him all over again. A failure even when sent back for a second try. And they weren’t next to a Lazarus pit he could drag himself into this time.

But instead of a debilitating strike, Danny felt wrapped him up in a crushing hug.

What?

“I never thought I’d get to see you again,” Damian sobbed into Danny’s shoulder. The sound felt wrong coming from him. His brother never cried.

Maybe that’s what changed. Not just thrown into the past, but a bizarro past where his brother cared.

Danny had never felt so lost. This all felt wrong. He wanted to go home—to his real home in Amity Park.

But they were an entire world away.

Maybe, hopefully, Clockwork could help him. But he’d have to get to his lair—and the Ghost Zone in general—first, neither of which would be easy.

At least this time he’ll know how to avoid the mistakes from his first escape from the League.

…Though he’ll have to be careful about this changed Damian. Even if he seems nicer than Danny is used to, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t ruin things anyway.

[crnl-chicken-tots]

Push and pull, yeah that's our arrangement