Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

marble falls

marble falls's Journal
marble falls's Journal
August 11, 2013

Walmart's 'Worst Nightmare' Competition Has Cashiers And Produce Clerks With $1 Million Pensions

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/09/1229983/-Walmart-s-Worst-Nightmare-Competition-Has-Cashiers-And-Produce-Clerks-With-1-Million-Pensions?detail=email

by james321


WinCo -- a low-cost grocery store chain from Idaho -- is being described as Walmart's 'worst nightmare' in a recent Time Article:

<snip>

So about that eye-catching Walmart quote. Those are the words of Burt Flickinger III, a widely respected supermarket retailing industry expert who works for the Strategic Resource Group. Flickinger was quoted in a recent Idaho Statesman story about WinCo, a chain of roughly 100 supermarkets in the western U.S., based in Boise.

“WinCo arguably may be the best retailer in the Western U.S.,” Flickinger says while touring a WinCo store. “WinCo is really unstoppable at this point,” he goes on. “They’re Walmart’s worst nightmare.”

Flickinger isn’t the only industry insider discussing WinCo and Walmart in the same breath. “While many supermarkets strive to keep within a few percentage points of Walmart Stores’ prices, WinCo Foods often undersells the massive discount chain,” the industry publication Supermarket News explained last spring.

<snip>

Prices are kept low through a variety of strategies, the main one being that it often cuts out distributors and other middle men and buys many goods directly from farms and factories. WinCo also trims costs by not accepting credit cards and by asking customers to bag their own groceries. Similarly to warehouse membership stores like Sam’s Club and Costco, and also to successful discount grocers with small stores like Trader Joe’s and Aldi, WinCo stores are organized and minimalist, without many frills, and without the tremendous variety of merchandise that’s become standard at most supermarkets. “Everything is neat and clean, but basic,” Hauptman told Supermarket News. “Though the stores are very large, with a lot of categories, they lack depth or breadth of variety.”

The second part of Walmart's nightmare is that WinCo does all this, and treats its employees really, really well. In addition to decent health care benefits, some employees -- including cashiers and produce clerks -- have pensions worth over $1 Million. (What white collar workers in America today have $1 Million pensions? A declining percentage, but, here, we're talking grocery store employees!)

In sharp contrast to Walmart, which regularly comes under fire for practices like understaffing stores to keep costs down and hiring tons of temporary workers as a means to avoid paying full-time worker benefits, WinCo has a reputation for doing right by employees. It provides health benefits to all staffers who work at least 24 hours per week. The company also has a pension, with employees getting an amount equal to 20% of their annual salary put in a plan that’s paid for by WinCo; a company spokesperson told the Idaho Statesman that more than 400 nonexecutive workers (cashiers, produce clerks, and such) currently have pensions worth over $1 million apiece.

<snip>


Be afraid, Walmart, be afraid. Karma, you know, is, well...

August 11, 2013

Canada Warns Obama on Keystone XL Pipeline

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/08/01/Canada-Warns-Obama-on-Keystone-XL-Pipeline.aspx#page1

By JOHN DALY, OilPrice.com
August 1, 2013

On 6 July, a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train carrying 72 tank cars filled with oil exploded after its brakes apparently failed, sending it rolling into the small Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, where it derailed and then exploded. In the conflagration that followed, an estimated 47 people were killed.

Whether Canadians like it or not, the use of such trains has soared in recent years. The Railway Association of Canada reports that as recently as four years ago Canadian railways moved just 500 carloads of crude oil, but that number has now soared to about 140,000 carloads annually.

While currently only about three percent of Canadian crude is currently transported by rail, one industry predicts railway carriage of oil products rising to as high as 25 percent by 2035.

Now, in a breathtaking display of chutzpah, the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. is warning President Obama if he does not approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, then he can expect similar oil trains and even trucks to enter the U.S. Ambassador Gary Doer said, “His choice is to have it come down by a pipeline that he approves, or without his approval, it comes down on trains. That’s just the raw common sense of this thing, and we’ve been saying it for two years and we’ve been proven correct. At the end of the day, it’s trains or pipelines.”

Greenpeace Canada publicized a May 2012 Transport Canada memo that reported that the department had "identified no major safety concerns with the increased oil on rail capacity in Canada, nor with the safety of tank cars that are designed, maintained, qualified and used according to Canadian and U.S. standards and regulations. Indeed, Canada and the U.S. work collaboratively to ensure the harmonization of rail safety requirements." In the wake of the Lac-Megantic tragedy Greenpeace Canada recommended that the federal government implement an immediate ban on shipping oil in the older, type 111A tanker cars that that the Canadian Transportation Safety Board has identified as spill-prone, reinstate mandatory two-person minimum train crews; and begin a comprehensive, independent safety review of all means of hydrocarbon transportation, including public hearings.

Greenpeace Canada Climate and Energy Coordinator Keith Stewart observed, “Transporting oil is always risky, but both rail and pipelines can be a lot safer than they are today. Breaking our addiction to oil is the only real solution and something we must do to combat climate change, but as we make the transition to clean energy we must reduce the harm from transporting and using oil.”

<snip>

Such a deal.

This article originally appeared at Oilprice.com. Read more from Oilprice.com:

Will Quebec Tragedy Derail Heavy Oil Upswing?
TransCanada Might Rethink Potential Keystone Launch Date
$1 Billion of Natural Gas Wasted in North Dakota Through Flaring in 2012
July 11, 2013

Google to host fundraiser for Congress climate change denier

http://www.rtcc.org/google-to-host-fundraiser-for-congress-climate-change-denier/



Google is hosting a fundraiser for the most notorious climate change denier in Congress, Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe. Proceeds of the 11 July lunch, priced at $250 to $2,500, will go to the national Republican Senatorial Committee.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/09/google-climate-denier-jim-inhofe


Google, which prides itself on building a "better web that is better for the environment", is hosting a fundraiser for the most notorious climate change denier in Congress, it has emerged.

The lunch, at the company's Washington office, will benefit the Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, who has made a career of dismissing climate change as a "hoax" on the Senate floor.

Proceeds of the 11 July lunch, priced at $250 to $2,500, will also go to the national Republican Senatorial Committee.

It's the second show of support from Google for the anti-climate cause in recent weeks.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that the internet company had donated $50,000 for a fundraising dinner for the ultra-conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute – topping the contributions even of the Koch oil billionaires.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute has launched multiple law suits aimed at trying to discredit the science behind climate change – accusing scientists of fraud. None have so far succeeded.

The CEI also specialises in filing open records requests, demanding universities turn over email correspondence of climate scientists with journalists.

Facebook also contributed $25,000 to the CEI dinner last month.

Google's show of support for the leading climate contrarian in Congress was criticised by climate activists on Tuesday. "Google's motto is 'Don't Be Evil', but it is supporting one of the worst deniers of climate science in the world," said the Climate Progress website, which first reported on the story.

Inhofe has spent more than a decade challenging the science behind climate change, and trying to stop Congress from acting on climate change. He has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a "hoax" or "hysteria", and cited the benefits of global warming for the economy and the environment.

The campaign group Forecast the Facts launched a petition calling for Google's chief executive officer, Larry Page, to cancel the fundraiser.

Google has been a corporate leader in fighting climate change. The company claims on its Google Green website to be creating "a better web that is better for the environment"by investing $1bn in renewable energy and making considerable savings in electricity use at its data centres.

Google initially refused to comment on the record about its support for Inhofe.

However, a company spokesperson noted that Google maintained data centres in Oklahoma. The spokesperson then sent an email saying:
"We regularly host fundraisers for candidates, on both sides of the aisle, but that doesn't mean we endorse all of their positions. And while we disagree on climate change policy, we share an interest with Senator Inhofe in the employees and data center we have in Oklahoma."

Google's website notes the company has invested $700m in two data centres in Oklahoma. The state is a leading oil and gas producer - and Inhofe has been a strong promoter of the industry. However, Google has contracted to power its data centres through wind energy.

"They can probably rightfully claim that the facility is powered 100% by wind," said Gary Cook, technology campaigner for Greenpeace, which tracks greenhouse gas emissions from the IT sector. He added: "But even so, Jim Inhofe is the biggest obstacle to climate change action in the Senate so what are they doing raising money for him?"

July 4, 2013

Want to See Your NSA or FBI File? Here's How...

Have you ever Tweeted a politically subversive message, attended a protest, or signed an oppositional petition? If so, you may have a dedicated file on you kept by the FBI and/or the NSA.

With a simple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, any U.S. citizen can obtain one's NSA or FBI file, if such a file exists.

It simply takes a few minutes to fill out the requisite forms and mail them to the appropriate address. An independent site – www.getmyfbifile – will, free of charge, generate the necessary forms for you already filled out.

Of course, you can also do this directly through the NSA or FBI if you are worried about providing personal information to an independent site.

While an appropriate level of cynicism may be warranted concerning the level of transparency one should expect from such a request – should your file be substantial – it is the law that your complete file be provided to you upon request.

Demand that the law be followed, for it is your right as a citizen to know this information.

My request is going in the mail today.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/11/1215421/-Want-to-See-Your-NSA-or-FBI-File-Here-s-How?detail=email

My request is going out tomorrow.

July 4, 2013

Rush Limbaugh Admits StopRush is Kicking His Ass

&eature=player_detailpage#t=0s

On Tuesday's show, Rush Limbaugh acknowledged that the "sniveling jerks" of the StopRush movement have driven his advertising possibilities into the ground:

*

"When you look at a ... show that is by far number 1, and they're still running penile enhancement ads, what's happening is that mainstream media buyers are sending money elsewhere, trying to harm them. Well, penile, take your pick,the Ronco Veg-o-matic, you know--while McDonald's and Coke and Meineke are everywhere else.

These are things we had to overcome on this pro--we have to fight that battle every day here anyway. Cause these little sniveling jerks are out there trying to scare advertisers, still goes on."

As usual, Limbaugh has some of his facts confused. The "little sniveling jerks" he refers to would be the StopRush movement, groups like the Flush Rush Facebook community.

But these groups aren't "trying to scare advertisers," they're simply contacting advertisers and quoting Rush Limbaugh verbatim to be sure the sponsor is aware of what they're being associated with.

Many of them aren't aware, and they often choose to pull their ads off the show.

2638 have requested their ads not air on the Rush Limbaugh Show as of today.

But the reason these organizations pull their ads off the show isn't because of StopRush volunteers, it's because of the offensive content that comes out of Limbaugh's mouth--including regular homophobic rants, racial stereotypes, poor bashing, and even last week's incredibly insensitive jokes about exploding pressure cookers, just one day after 3 people were brutally murdered in Boston. Respectable organizations want nothing to do with that kind of thing.

Limbaugh alone is responsible for his advertiser exodus--nobody else.

As Limbaugh's large, well known advertisers have headed for the door, ad rates that Limbaugh used to call "confiscatory" have dropped to all time lows.

Advertisers like Sony, Hallmark, Cadillac, and Office Depot have been replaced by a ragtag bunch including a suspected pyramid scheme, shady identity protection software, and even a church led by a murdering pastor. Oh, and the "penile enhancements."
One of Limbaugh's faithful advertisers is the National Male Medical Clinic, one of quite a few similar businesses peddling cures to men with limp noodles.

A warning to anyone who clicks on the youtube link in the second tweet--it's a graphic video of "Mr. S" injecting erectile dysfunction medication directly into his penis--because that's how far El Rushbo has sunk. He's now plugging intrapenous drug use.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/24/1204320/-Rush-Limbaugh-Admits-StopRush-is-Kicking-His-Ass?detail=email
June 8, 2013

Mars, Nestle, Hershey accused of chocolate price-fixing conspiracy in Canada

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/07/18820597-mars-nestle-hershey-accused-of-chocolate-price-fixing-conspiracy-in-canada?lite

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

Nestle, Mars and Hershey companies in Canada have been charged with conspiring with others to fix the price of chocolate, authorities said.

Nestle Canada and Mars Canada both said they would “vigorously defend” themselves against the claims.

Canada’s Competition Bureau said in a statement that Hershey Canada was expected to plead guilty later this month “for its role in the conspiracy to fix the price of chocolate confectionery products in Canada.”

However, the bureau said that Hershey had “cooperated” with the investigation and it had recommended to prosecutors that it should receive “lenient treatment.”

SNIP

ITWAL Ltd., a national network of independent wholesale distributors, has also been charged along with Robert Leonidas, former president of Nestlé Canada; Sandra Martinez, former president of confectionery for Nestlé Canada; and David Glenn Stevens, president and chief executive of ITWAL.

The Competition Bureau said it became aware of the allegations under a program in which the first party to disclose an offense “may receive immunity” from prosecution.

“Subsequent cooperating parties may receive lenient treatment under the Bureau's Leniency Program,” it added. “These programs provide powerful incentives for business organizations and individuals to come forward and cooperate with the Bureau's investigations.”

The bureau said the accused “face the possibility of a fine of up to $10 million and/or imprisonment for a term of up to five years.”

SNIP

Hershey Canada said in a statement that it had "promptly reported the conduct to the Competition Bureau, cooperated fully with its investigation and did not implement the planned price increase that was the subject of the 2007 communications."

Profile Information

Name: had to remove
Gender: Do not display
Hometown: marble falls, tx
Member since: Thu Feb 23, 2012, 03:49 AM
Number of posts: 63,134

About marble falls

Hand dyer mainly to the quilters market, doll maker, oil painter and teacher, anti-fas, cat owner, anti nuke, ex navy, reasonably good cook, father of three happy successful kids and three happy grand kids. Life is good.
Latest Discussions»marble falls's Journal