Wealth makes you Attractive
Super sexy Lee Raymond who presided over Exxon when the Valdez wiped out the Alaskan coast was rewarded in April with a 400 million dollar retirement package, while oil went to 75 bucks a barrel and you're paying record prices at the pump. Raymond enjoys long walks on oily beaches, tongue-kissing and noisy $ex.
Dissenting Opinion from Peter the German guy I work with: "Can't he buy himself a neck?"
Seriously how much money would it take to put yourself anywhere in the vicinity of Quasimodo's lips?
The Compact
A group of San Francisco area folks have pledged to not buy anything in 2006 except food, medicine and underwear.
SF Gate article
While this is going to an extreme to make what is an admirable point, imagine if the general populace made this sort of pledge for just a month out of the year? A week? Could you do it? Do you think it would make a difference?
My first thought was just think how much fatter everyone would get because now you'd have all this extra money and all you can buy is food. Or drugs! Yay! Perscription drug habits for everyone!
Bail-Mart
Morally bankrupt big-box chain Wal-Mart donated funds to Tom Delay two days after he was indicted.
Still think those housewares are cheap?
Hmmm, imagine that. Pay someone a livable wage, treat them with respect and the cost of running your business goes down.
There's lots of business-y stats and numbers in this article, but this one in particular jumped out at me. Wal-Mart's employee turnover rate is 50%. That is totally messed up. What's even crazier is the industry average is 65%. Costco's is 21%.
Other Costco goodness? They don't advertise, and their execs don't take home "fuck you, lowly employee" salaries. The fact that Wal-Mart has a morning "Corporate Cheer" pretty much locks them into the Evil column.
(via kottke)
Judge Jackass
Following last weeks constitution-shaking supreme court ruling that private developers have the right to take your house to build more profitable developments, a petition has been submitted to the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire "to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road, Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter's home. link
Fair Credit Reporting Act
Just a reminder that residents of the Northern flyover states are now eligible for a free credit report, thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 2003. Southern and East Coast states have to wait until June and September.
Your life on a piece of paper.
Made from real Human Blood
I don't know if you've seen the tasteless commericals for commemorative Sept. 11 coins "minted from silver recovered at ground zero." (!!!)
This really pissed me off. American business has sunk to a new low.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday obtained a court order to suspend sales as a fraud, and he's investigating the claim the silver came from the ruins. "It is a shameless attempt to profit from a national tragedy."
I completely endorse a severe kick in the balls for the company officials who came up with this.
Taser: Judge, jury... executioner
Tasers are becoming the new weapon of choice for bullying cops, regardless of how little sense they make compared to older technologies. Despite the fact that they ARE killing people and the damn things haven't even been safety tested. Rest assured someone with a shitty understanding of your civil rights and the social vision of a thug will be using them in your neighborhood soon.
Non-lethal my ass!
All the illegal actions taken by the C.I.A. over the last 80 years were just research & practice for keeping U.S. citizens under the thumb of the new robber barons.
Poetic Justice
Disney bailed on distributing Fahrenheit 911 to avoid offending the Bushes. The movie is now a financial blockbuster and after years of limp returns, Disneys shareholders are pissed!
This amuses me.
(wipes amused tear away from eye)
Your internal bleeding is too costly
The Supreme Court (maj. opinion: Clarence Thomas) bravely stood on the side of Big Medicine today, saying that HMOs don't have to do what's medically best for you. You can't sue your HMO no matter how negligent.
A glimpse into the evil soul of late capitalism
Costco is often held up as a retailer with a conscience, paying well and offering generous benefits. "From the perspective of investors, Costco's benefits are overly generous," says Bill Dreher, retailing analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. "Public companies need to care for shareholders first. Costco runs its business like it is a private company."
Costco appears to pay a penalty for its largesse to workers. The company's shares trade at about 20 times projected per-share earnings for 2004, compared with about 24 for Wal-Mart who treats their workers like shit. Costcos unusually high wages and benefits contribute to investor concerns that profit margins at Costco aren't as high as they should be.
Boo-fucking hoo! It's called "sharing your toys," you greedy assholes!
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calls Bush an asshole.
Hugo Chavez warned the U.S. government Sunday that if it tried to invade Venezuela or impose a trade blockade against his country, he would shut off Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. In his speech, Chavez also called Bush an "asshole" for, he said, supporting a short-lived coup in 2002 that briefly toppled him.
Although the context Chavez gave was hypothetical, it was the first time the outspoken Venezuelan leader had publicly mentioned the possibility of cutting off oil supplies to the United States. Venezuela is among the four top suppliers of crude and oil products to the U.S. market.
"Mr. Bush must know that if he gets the mad idea of trying to blockade Venezuela, or, even worse, of invading Venezuela, if that happened, the people of the United States should know that not a drop of oil would reach them from Venezuela, not a drop more," Chavez told tens of thousands of cheering supporters.
Chavez said U.S. oil magnates were manipulating Bush "like a puppet" and added the United States wanted to "get its hands on PDVSA."
