Maraya1969
Maraya1969's JournalDon't know if this has been posted. Great app that scans your merchandise before you buy and tells
you if you are going to support the Koch brothers or other people and companies who are hurting people, animals and the environment. The Android is coming soon but the Apple one is here.
http://www.buycott.com/
Have you ever wondered whether the money you spend ends up funding causes you oppose?
A buycott is the opposite of a boycott. Buycott helps you to organize your everyday consumer spending so that it reflects your principles.
Example: During the SOPA/PIPA debate in 2012, a number of companies pushed to pass legislation that reduced online freedom of expression, while other companies fought hard to oppose the legislation. With Buycott, a campaign can be quickly created around a cause, with the goal of targeting companies with a boycott unless they change their position, or buycotting a company to show your support.
When you use Buycott to scan a product, it will look up the product, determine what brand it belongs to, and figure out what company owns that brand (and who owns that company, ad infinitum). It will then cross-check the product owners against the companies and brands included in the campaigns you've joined, in order to tell you if the scanned product conflicts with one of your campaign commitments.
Walmart and Gap refuse to sign broad safety agreement in Bangledesh
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/15/2013441/walmart-gap-bangladesh/?mobile=ncAfter six major European retailers announced on Monday and Tuesday that they would sign onto a broad safety upgrade agreement in Bangladesh, American companies Walmart and Gap announced that they would not sign on. Gap has been the most outspoken about its opposition, reports the New York Times:
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Walmart cited “requirements, including governance and dispute resolution mechanisms” in the agreement as its reason not to sign on, saying they are “appropriately left to retailers, suppliers and government, and are unnecessary to achieve fire and safety goals.”
The company plans to instead use its own safety plan. It began its own factory inspections of 279 Bangladesh facilities this year after the fire in November that killed 110 and it will release the names and inspection information as well as provide fire safety training for every worker in the factories that produce its goods. The inspection results will be posted on June 1.
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The Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity has provided The New York Times with photos of several documents not disputed by Wal-Mart that were recovered in the building’s rubble, showing that a Wal-Mart contractor from Canada had produced jeans last year at the Ether Tex factory, which had been situated on the fifth floor of the collapsed Rana Plaza building.
And here is the criticism of Walmart's grand plan, I mean scheme.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/walmart-bangladesh-factory_n_3275756.html
Walmart's Bangladesh Factory Safety Plan Draws Skepticism From Worker Advocates
Walmart announced Tuesday that it plans to develop its own safety program to address dangerous working conditions in factories in Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment factory complex last month took the lives of more than 1,100 people.
But labor advocates reacted skeptically, noting that Walmart’s announcement came only after at least seven major retail brands agreed to join forces and sign a safety accord hailed by supporters as industry-changing. That plan is legally binding, with sanctions facing factories that fail to live up to its standards, but Walmart now appears unlikely to participate.
By contrast, what Walmart announced on Tuesday is a voluntary program that amounts to no more than an aspirational statement, labor advocates said. They portrayed the announcement as a crafty public relations device: Noting that the deadline to sign the stricter industry-wide accord lands on Wednesday, they took Walmart’s statement as a sign the company will not go along with that agreement, while still finding a way to take credit for bold action.
"It's not surprising, and the timing is fishy," said Brian Finnegan, global worker rights coordinator at the AFL-CIO, the labor federation. "The whole point of what we're doing is to make it binding and enforceable."
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The companies that did sign
After H&M, the largest purchaser of garments in Bangladesh, announced on Monday that it would sign a fire and safety upgrade plan in the country, four other retailers have similarly signed on: Spanish retailer Inditex, owner of Zara, Dutch retailer C&A, and British retailers Primark and Tesco. Europe accounts for 60 percent of the country’s clothing exports. American company PVH, which owns Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Izod, also signed onto the deal, a more expansive version of one it had already signed, and pledged to contribute $2.5 million to underwrite factory safety improvements.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/14/2006501/six-major-retailers-sign-factory-safety-upgrade-plan-in-bangladesh/
The Ghetto is Public Policy.
It is very hard to accept this -- the wealth gap is not a mistake. It is the logical outcome of policy and democratic will. From the streets of Cicero on up, the point was to imprison black people in the black belt and then exploit them. The goal was pursued through public policy, private action, and open terrorism. The goal was accomplished.
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I spent the last week interviewing men and women, and the children of men and women, who bought their homes on contract in Chicago during the 1950s. Contract buying sprang up in Chicago after the federal government effectively refused to insure mortgages for the vast majority of black homeowners, even as it was insuring the mortgages of white homeowners, and encouraged banks to redline black and integrated neighborhoods. The import of mid-20th century housing policy -- along with private actions (riots, block-busting, contract lending, covenants) -- has been devastating for African Americans.
Buying on contract meant that you made a down-payment to a speculator. The speculator kept the deed and only turned it over to you after you'd paid the full value of the house -- a value determined by the speculator. In the meantime, you were responsible for monthly payments, keeping the house up, and taking care of any problems springing from inspection. If you missed one payment, the speculator could move to evict you and keep all the payments you'd made. Building up equity was impossible, unless -- through some Herculean effort -- you managed to pay off the entire contract. Very few people did this. The system was set up to keep them from doing it, and allow speculators to get rich through a cycle of evicting and flipping.
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This just sickens me.
"I am a human being"
People are trying to locate this man. Please watch.
http://wishadoo.blogspot.com/2013/04/im-human-being.html Dena may have already posted this but if not I'm posting it.
Fixed.
Can anyone find the cache of these page from a post from 2005 about the Nation Right to Work
organization? It was posted by EC and the links and what the links say are:
" It was a "Rovian" organization started back in the 50's to break the Unions. It told employers how to "save money" by hiring part-time employees, no benefits or unions. ( http://www.nrtwc.org/home.php3 http://www.nrtwc.org/whoweare.php3 http://www.nrtwc.org/officers_board.php3 )"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1592899
I tried to access the 3 links but of course they were taken down. I then put the links into Google search and tried to find the cached versions but I couldn't find them.
Does anyone know how to find this information? It would be wonderful to share with all the people who are workers and think this organization is about choice.
Also does someone know how to find out who started this organization and who funds it, (and can you share how you found out. I want to learn how to sleuth these organizations. Thanks!)
Nancy Pelosi on how GOP is failing women
https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi/status/329301633349599233/photo/1
:large
Please read this and then sign this....
http://news.allergybegone.com/allergy-disease-news/new-study-shows-link-between-asthma-and-black-carbon/New study shows link between asthma and black carbon
A new study in this week's Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology has exposed another pitfall for children growing up in urban areas. Comparing conditions in the homes of 240 children in New York City, scientists found a strong correlation between high exposure to black carbon and the prevalence of asthma.
Black carbon forms from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and wood, and is prevalent in urban areas because of the density of commercial and industrial buildings using low-quality fossil fuels. Supporting a previous study published in the Journal, these findings also alluded to living near busy truck routes, as the vehicles produce high levels of exhaust fumes.
The substance is categorized as fine particulate matter, or very small particles that can easily get into the air, cause significant pollution and penetrate deeply into the respiratory system, the latter of which can lead to significant damage.
This study was the first to link the presence of black carbon in the home with heavy air pollution outside, though it has long been assumed by scientists that emissions from burning fossil fuels contribute to respiratory damage, the report acknowledged.
MORE at link.
And then this petition
Kids Don't Deserve Asthma: Take Action for Cleaner Tailpipes!
(ME - I had asthma as a child and still today but not as bad. It is a scary and horrible disease and too many of our children have it!)
Target: EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe
Sponsored by: Sierra Club
When a child walks to the bus stop, she should be worried about turning in her library book before the bell rings, or if she'll get a swing at recess -- not about whether she forgot her inhaler again. Unfortunately, too many of us have to live near major roads, and all that vehicle pollution can lead to asthma and other health problems.
There is a solution. The EPA has proposed cleaner tailpipe standards that would lower the sulfur content in gasoline, reduce air pollution, save lives, and create jobs through new technology. But Big Oil doesn't want to spend that extra penny per gallon, and is putting their private profit ahead of our public health.
Stand up for children and clean air -- and against Big Oil -- and submit your official comment for cleaner tailpipe standards today!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/980/480/918/?z00m=20544050
Please "like" this FB page to help stop animal control from killing this little dog.
Some people in the animal control or humane societies end up being sadists who like to put down animals. I know because I have volunteered and seen it. I also went to the Naples FL animal control several years ago and saw a sign on the cage of a tiny blind Yorkie that said, "danger, do not touch". Well of course I didn't listen and went in and she was the most docile little thing. I clipped her toenails and gave her a badly needed bath and told the manager that she was no danger to anyone. I even stuck my hand inside of her mouth which she just let me do. The manager was a complete ass and said, "that dog went flying all over the place when she was let out of her cage, (well fucking of course, her toenails were so long she couldn't balance herself on a tile floor). So I thought I made my point and because I was just visiting my Mom at the time I put an add in the paper for her and a couple days later a woman called wanting to adopt her. So I called the animal control and was told that she was already euthanized. I was sick over the whole thing.
So please read this.
Here is the story: http://beagledaily.com/family-reaching-through-facebook-to-save-their-rufus-beagle-from-death/
One year Old Rufus the beagle is under
quarantine. The beagle’s former owner is fighting to keep him, from being put to sleep.
On April 9th, Nicole West, was filling his
food dish. Her four year old son came up
behind the beagle and startled him. So the
dog bit the little boy on the lip.
The little boy was taken to the emergency room, where he received stitches. The incident had to be reported to animal control, from the hospital.
CF News13.com Reports
West says she was told the beagle would be “tested for aggression,” and if he was found not to be aggressive, Rufus would be put up for adoption. But last week, West learned that her former pet was scheduled to be euthanized because of the severity of the bite.
Orange County Animal Control, has a different statement about the incident. They state that the little boy needed surgery to reattach his lip, not stitches. Read their Report below. The beagle’s owner says that none of their report is true.
More at the link above and below is the FB page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Rufus/440540432699891?ref=nf
Profile Information
Member since: Tue Oct 12, 2004, 11:32 PMNumber of posts: 22,474
