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Once again Walmart asks employees to donate goods, rather than paying staff a living wage

Travis Gettys
The Raw Story
Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:19 UTC
walmart
© unknown
Walmart is once again asking employees to donate canned goods to help their less-fortunate coworkers celebrate Thanksgiving.

An employee shared a photo Thursday afternoon of a donation bin set up at an Oklahoma store on the Making Change at Walmart Facebook page.

"Rather than agree to pay a decent wage or provide full-time hours, Walmart and its owners (the Waltons) continue to earn massive profits while too many of the workers who make the company a success go hungry," said the caption to the posted photo.

A worker at an Indiana store told Making Change at Walmart that managers at her location were organizing bake sales and encouraging employees to donate food to their co-workers.

"We are all in need, but we feel a sort of obligation to take care of our co-workers who are also struggling," said Tanya Roudebush, who works for Walmart in Frankfort, Indiana. "The cycle is crazy. It doesn't make any sense."

Comment: Walmart makes $16 billion a year in profits, by relentlessly squeezing every dollar it can from both suppliers and employees. It has repeatedly come under fire from both workers and labor watchdog groups for paying poverty wages, forcing workers into part-time positions, bullying workers over scheduling issues, retaliating against those who speak out, and even coaching employees to take advantage of government social programs in lieu of worker benefits.

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Stock Down

3 of the largest economies in the world have already fallen into recession - Is the U.S. next?

Michael Snyder
theeconomiccollapseblog.com
Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:54 UTC
Image
Are you waiting for the next major wave of the global economic collapse to strike? Well, you might want to start paying attention again. Three of the ten largest economies on the planet have already fallen into recession, and there are very serious warning signs coming from several other global economic powerhouses. Things are already so bad that British Prime Minister David Cameron is comparing the current state of affairs to the horrific financial crisis of 2008. In an article for the Guardian that was published on Monday, he delivered the following sobering warning: "Six years on from the financial crash that brought the world to its knees, red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy." For the leader of the nation with the 6th largest economy in the world to make such a statement is more than a little bit concerning.

Comment: More from Michael Snyder on economic truths: indications and warning

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Wolf

PETA caught on tape kidnapping dog and offers family a fruit basket after they've euthanized it

Joshua Krause
Activist Post
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 14:21 UTC
chihuaahua
For the longest time, PETA has been treated as nothing more than an annoyance for most people. Even among some animal activists, the organization is despised for its attention whoring antics. They're notorious for their shallow, gimmicky media stunts involving scantily clad women, and caged protesters, and they never miss an opportunity to make their presence known in the news. Almost everything they do is a carefully crafted attempt draw attention to their cause, and the don't even try to hide it.

But when it comes time to walk the walk, PETA has been accused of falling short of their lofty claims. Last year the organization found itself in hot water after it was discovered that one of their animal shelters was euthanizing many perfectly healthy animals. Despite adoption rates going up, and euthanization rates going down, it was found that PETA was killing 95 percent of the animals in their care; far more than neighboring shelters.
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Stormtrooper

Family of Dillon Taylor says 911 caller was intoxicated, prejudiced and lied to police

Moreh B.D.K.
Counter Current News
Fri, 21 Nov 2014 03:01 UTC
Dillon Taylor
© Unknown
The family of Dillon Taylor say that when the 20-year-old was shot and killed by Salt Lake City Police, officers were responding to what sounds like an intoxicated 911 caller.

The woman who called police on Taylor could not tell if he was black, white, Latino... only that he "looked suspicious" and she was sure that he was armed. Police took this obviously unreliable and confused caller very seriously when they confronted Taylor who had not broken any law whatsoever.

"They are obviously looking for trouble just the way they look," the caller can be heard on the 911 call saying.

"We're almost at 21st South," she continues as police head to the scene of the non-crime. "The guy in the red hat has a gun. The guy flashed his gun, the kid flashed a gun as he was walking by. They are looking for trouble that's all I see."
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Heart - Black

Kmart family values: 'If you do not come to work on Thanksgiving, you will automatically be fired'

Bryce Covert
ThinkProgress
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 15:54 UTC
Kmart employee fired
"Get your priorities straight, wage slaves."
Kmart will open its doors at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day this year and remain open for 42 hours, meaning that many employees will have to come to work to staff shifts. While the company says it tries to fill the slots with volunteers or seasonal hires, workers are reporting that the reality on the ground is very different.

Jillian Fisher, who started a petition on Coworker.org asking Kmart to give her mother and other employees the flexibility to take the holiday off, surveyed 56 self-identified employees from more than 13 states. Of those, just three said they had the option to ask to take the holiday off. In a press release from the petition organizer, one employee said human resources has told them, "if you do not come to work on Thanksgiving, you will automatically be fired... I made the request to work a split shift on Thanksgiving and was denied." Another said, "Our manager stated at a staff meeting: 'Everyone must work Thanksgiving and Black Friday. No time off.'" At one location, an employee says signs have been posted in the break room saying workers can't request time off on Thanksgiving or Black Friday and that everyone has to put in at least some time on both, while at another signs have been posted saying no one can request time off between November 15 and January 1."I am a lead at a Kmart and it is mandatory for me to work on Thanksgiving," another employee said. "If I were to call out I would be terminated, and requesting off is not allowed."

Comment: Ah, the blessings of unfettered capitalism. It's fulfilled the dreams of the .01%, bringing back the good old days of serfdom. We've become a feudal society, but hey, we peasants have cool smartphones, so we don't notice.

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Stormtrooper

137 shots by 13 cops plus two dead unarmed civilians equals taxpayers on the hook for $3 million

Jay Syrmopoulos
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 06:03 UTC
cleaveland police shooting
© Unknown
"The result was a protracted high-speed chase that put the public and officers in danger, the death of two unarmed people - one a totally innocent passenger - and a circular firing squad that nearly killed several of their own."

Cleveland, Ohio - Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams were driving near downtown Cleveland on November 29, 2012, when Russell's car backfired. Police in the area apparently mistook the sound for gunfire and gave chase.

What took place next was a stunning car chase that involved over 60 police cruisers and lasted almost a half hour.

It's unclear exactly why Russell didn't pull over, but what is clear is that when the chase ended, Russell and Williams were killed in a hail of gunfire after 13 officers unloaded 137 rounds into the vehicle in an elementary school parking lot.

Russell, the driver, was shot 23 times. Williams was shot 24 times while sitting in the front passenger seat. Neither one of the victims were armed, which was confirmed after no weapons were found in the bullet riddled vehicle.

Cleveland police officer Michael Brelo is charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter, he was released on a $10,000 dollar bond. Brelo is accused of firing 49 of the 137 shots. Randolph Daley, Michael Donegan, Patricia Coleman, Jason Edens and Paul Wilson were all charged with misdemeanor dereliction of duty.

Brelo unloaded 49 shots, the last 15 as he stood on the hood of Russell's car firing through the windshield well after the chase was over and the other officers on the scene had stopped firing. The actions of Brelo that day are nothing short of sociopathic.

Of course police union officials have attempted to denigrate the murder victims by calling them criminals and labeling the incident as a "good shoot."

While the majority of the officers involved only got a slap on the wrist, it's heartening to see that Bralo is being held accountable for his actions.
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Handcuffs

Becoming a thought criminal - a step-by-step guide

Justin King
The AntiMedia
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 20:01 UTC
Thought Criminal
© The Daily Sheeple
A question posed by a reader has kept my mind churning ever since it was asked. The question itself was genuine and expressed a desire to change the world for the better, but hinted that he was resigned to the fact that it would get worse before it gets better. This is probably the driest article I have ever written, but it may prove to be the most important. It started as a simple list, but grew as I realized the subject matter deserved better treatment than typical guerrilla journalism provides. What started as a simple hit and run piece developed into a guide for thought criminals.

Comment: The more knowledge you gather now, the more choices you'll have when confronting potentially catastrophic situations.
  • SOTT Talk Radio #66 - Lessons from collapse of USSR for USA: Interview with Dmitry Orlov
 We can a learn a lot from the Russian experience:

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Red Flag

Government and media propaganda about economic recovery is betrayed by surge in homeless children

Bruce A. Dixon
Black Agenda Report
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:41 UTC
Image
For the last three elections now, 2010, 2012 and 2015, corporate media and corporate politicians have ceaselessly assured us that "the economy" whatever that is, is "back on track", wherever that is.

Despite what corporate media and politicians tell us, the positive indicators of soaring stock market valuations, rising real estate prices and the rigged unemployment figures that don't count the jailed, the recently released from jails and prisons, and those who've given up on finding work or those working part time who desperately want full time hours real life for most real people hasn't got any better since 2008 or 2009.

Last week an extraordinary and shameful study emerged from the National Center on Family Homelessness confirmed it by demonstrating that almost 2.5 million children in the US were homeless at some point during 2013. That's one child in every thirty, in what we're accustomed to thinking of as the richest nation on earth. In the most recent months for which statistics exist, the rate of homelessness among children is spiking, increased 8% nationally from 2012 to 2013, and by 10% or more in 13 states and the District of Columbia. In 2006 one in 50 children were homeless. In 2010 it was one in 45. Now, in the age of Obama, the 2013 number is 1 in 30.

The causes of homelessness among children are not your comforting stereotypes of drug use and mental illness. These are "comforting" because they encourage us to blame the drug-addicted, and pity the mentally ill, and our comfort keeps us from questioning the capitalist system which declares that we must have poverty in the midst of plenty, or wondering why we ourselves are no more than a month or two from homelessness.
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Hotdog

More students say #ThanksMichelleObama for the 'mystery mush' lunches

Kyle Olson
Eagnews.com
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:27 UTC
Is that a student's lunch or a dog's vomit?

That's what parents might be wondering after they see student Hunter Whitney's recent "mystery mush" lunch.
Image
© Via twitter@huntwhitney4
Had a very #healthylunch today. The apple definitely made up for the "mystery mush" #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/RWCnQRCxJK
- Hunter Whitney (@huntwhitney4) November 13, 2014
When asked, the student theorized it was rice or an "artificially flavored rice substitute."

Whitney confirms the lunch was served at Richland Center High School in Wisconsin.

Marissa Garrett tweeted:
So disappointed in this modified Thanksgiving lunch.. @MichelleObama#ThanksMichelleObama
- Marissa Garrett (@marissajgarrett) November 18, 2014
She then provided this photo:
@EAGnewspic.twitter.com/CL2EYNMte6
- Marissa Garrett (@marissajgarrett) November 19, 2014
Jess Sency tweeted this ball of who-knows-what:
Yum school lunches #thanksmichelleobama
pic.twitter.com/eS27j75Oae
- Jess Sency (@Jess_Sency) November 18, 2014

Comment: What's next? More control, of course! Fascism is here, now. There are forces behind the scenes manipulating the education of children, along with the food they eat. Stupid, malnourished, hungry people are much easier for psychopaths to dominate.

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Light Saber

Public banking success story: Bank of North Dakota outperforms Wall Street

Ellen Brown
Web of Debt
Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:00 UTC
Bank of North Dakota
While 49 state treasuries were submerged in red ink after the 2008 financial crash, one state's bank outperformed all others and actually launched an economy-shifting new industry. So reports the Wall Street Journal this week, discussing the Bank of North Dakota (BND) and its striking success in the midst of a national financial collapse led by the major banks. Chester Dawson begins his November 16th article:
It is more profitable than Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has a better credit rating than J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and hasn't seen profit growth drop since 2003. Meet Bank of North Dakota, the U.S.'s lone state-owned bank, which has one branch, no automated teller machines and not a single investment banker.
He backs this up with comparative data on the BND's performance:
[I]ts total assets have more than doubled, to $6.9 billion last year from $2.8 billion in 2007. By contrast, assets of the much bigger Bank of America Corp. have grown much more slowly, to $2.1 trillion from $1.7 trillion in that period.

. . . Return on equity, a measure of profitability, is 18.56%, about 70% higher than those at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. . . .

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services last month reaffirmed its double-A-minus rating of the bank, whose deposits are guaranteed by the state of North Dakota. That is above the rating for both Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan and among U.S. financial institutions, second only to the Federal Home Loan Banks, rated double-A-plus.

Comment: Costa Rica also has a public banking system that works well. Unfortunately options such as this are unlikely to gain much traction here as the US government is in league with Wall Street's rapacious banksters. For more information on the corruption of the banking system, see the transcript of the SOTT Talk Radio: Interview with 'Web of Debt' author Ellen Brown - How the banking system controls the world.

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