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Defense contractor ITT Exelis has decided to move forward with the controversial outsourcing of American EMT and Fire Fighter jobs on U.S. military bases in Kuwait. The rescuers, many of whom are American military veterans and some of whom served as rescuers at Ground Zero on 9/11 and in the gulf south states during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, will be replaced with what many believe are under-trained and inexperienced EMTs and Fire Fighters from the Philippines.
ITT Exelis won the $1.4 billion Kuwait Base Operations and Security Support Services contract in late 2010 to "provide the full spectrum of logistics, security, transportation, life support and facilities services at Camp Arifjan, Camp Buehring, Camp Virginia and a number of other critical military installations in the Kuwait area of responsibility," according to an October 6, 2010 press release by the company.
Arguably one of the larger players in the defense contracting world, ITT is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the multinational corporation was fined $100 million for criminal violations of the Arms Export Control Act for sending classified material to Britain, Singapore and China. The company also has connections to the 1964 coup in Brazil, the 1973 Pinochet coup in Chile and the Nazi Party in World War II, where the company owned 25% of the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf and is believed to have made payments to SS leader Heinrich Himmler, through a subsidiary.
As the new Filippno EMTs and Fire Fighters begin to replace the American emergency workers, a growning concern for quality of medical care and safety has been voiced. Many of the Filippino EMTs and Fire Fighters have never driven emergency vehicles before arriving in Kuwait.
The roadways of Kuwait rank high among the deadliest in the world according to the World Health Organization and other agencies. Because the EMTs and Fire Fighters working under the KBOSSS contract routinely respond to emergency calls and transport patients on Kuwait's roadways, many on the ground in Kuwait fear that the inexperience of the Filipino workers will ultimately lead to the death of American military service members.
Emails to ITT Exelis for comment were not returned.Defense contractor ITT Exelis has decided to move forward with the controversial... more
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by Amaterasu Solar
Let Us presume a world where free energy is available to all. Also, Let’s add robots doing all the necessary work no One wants to do - or taking up the slack where not enough People are doing necessary work.
In this scenario, there would not be any need for money - in any form: barter, trade, work exchange, cash, checks, electronic funds. You may doubt this, but Let’s examine a single case to illustrate the whole.
Let Us now suppose that You have a hot dog cart - You like to hang around it from time to time and chat with People, say; You are a gregarious sort. And You like to see people happy eating food. The energy to run this cart is free, and You have a robot tending it, taking orders, fixing the dogs, and so on. You, Yourself, may choose to fix a dog or two for People You particularly like, but You don’t HAVE to do any of the work.
Your robot is run on free energy, so it doesn’t cost You anything.
Now Let’s say Your hot dogs come from pigs, and the farm - where the pigs are allowed to roam a few acres - is run by robots. There may be someone who LOVES to raise pigs there, but most likely, the pigs are cared for, organically, by the robots (which are run on free energy). The cost of the pigs themselves is nothing.
The fields that grow the food for the pigs are farmed by robots, running on free energy, and perhaps a Human or three who LOVE to farm the land. The tilling, planting, weeding, debugging (maybe by small robots patrolling the plants), and harvesting is all handled organically by these robots and so there is no cost to grow the pig food.
Robots transport the pig feed for free (and any Humans who LOVE to transport things, should there be any).
Robots would handle the slaughter, cleanly (We would ensure this), quickly and honorably. They would also process the meat into the dogs, and upon a standing order, or Your request over the web, would deliver the dogs to Your cart - for free.
From the fields, free-range chicken coops and dairies (handled by robots), would come the ingredients for the buns and condiments, delivered to bakeries and processing plants for free - baked by robots (and Those whose bliss it is to bake large batches of buns) and processed by robots, with no energy cost anywhere. These things too would be delivered upon request, for free.
So… How much would You charge for these hot dogs? You paid nothing for the energy in the production line, nor for the labor in the production line - Those who chose to add Their Human energy did so not because They HAD to in order to survive, but because They LOVE to do what They were doing. Things being free, They simply chose to spend Their time in Their bliss. The seeds that were farmed are freely given by nature...so are the pigs, for that matter. The planet sits under Us freely for seeds to go into and pigs to live on.
You paid nothing for these hot dogs; it costs You zero to run the stand. (And We could go into the stand itself, as well as the robot, costing nothing, too, through robot workers for mining the metals, smelting, shaping, etc...). So why would You need to charge for the hot dogs?
Now, Let's say one day You befriend someone and She just LOVES to make specialty hot dogs - Her own "secret recipe" of spices. She can get Her meat free, Her spices free, Her cooking heat free, Her pots and pans and whatever else for free. And, because She doesn't HAVE to spend 8 or more hours pursuing Her slave's compensation for Her Human energy, She has time and energy of Her own to devote to making Her signature hot dogs.
One day She invites You over - You, who don't have to "mind the store," since Your robot can handle it easily - and so You decide to hang out with Her while She is in Her bliss, making Her dogs.
You say, "Hey. Those smell damn good. Better than what I have at the hot dog stand! If You have any extra, can I distribute them at My cart?"
She smiles in delight. "Of course. I always have a lot and You can have what You want! Thank You for the compliment!"
Thus begins a happy relationship. You have a robot pack up Her dogs and take them to the cart. You also have a sign made up saying, "NOW! Dogs by Delilah!" And soon, Delilah is blissfully making Her dogs, and Your cart is gaining the reputation of being the best on the block - or in town…or in the world. You develop a reputation. Your cart is written up in a number of blogs, and demand for the dogs - HUMAN made - grows. Soon, reservations are required to get the dogs, because Delilah does not want to make THAT many dogs. All this is handled via net and computer.
In the end, You gain reputation for having a popular hot dog cart, Delilah has reputation for making dogs, and neither of You have traded, bartered, exchanged work, exchanged coin, bills, checks or electronic funds (money).
But You are both very rich in social standing.
This all seems idyllic, so wonderful to consider. Every Human Being freed from wage-slavery and poverty to follow Her/His bliss, with richness in character and betterment contributions defining wealth. But can We get there? The answer is, YES!, but We need a plan.
The Plan is to:
1) Raise awareness that electrogravitics technology (which provides gravity control (“antigravity”) and overunity (“free energy”)) exists so that We can -
2) Call for the release of the overunity technology to -
3) Remove the cost of energy in manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, homes, & misc. so -
4) The cost of building robots to do the necessary jobs no One wants to do becomes affordable so -
5) We can relieve Ourselves of undesired toil, being supported easily at this point on social services since -
6) Money will become unnecessary when the effort to collect the penny for the week's groceries (the room full of furniture, the house, the [fill in the blank]) is more than the penny is worth
By abundantly replacing the money with what it represents (meaningful energy expended), the need for money dissipates and there is no motive to promote consumerism. There is no motive to create cheap, breakable goods to ensure future sales. There is no motive to solve issues the cheapest or most profitable way. There is no motive to steal - if One wants it, another can be had for the asking on the web. There is no motive to defraud. There is no motive to silence discoveries. There is no motive to hide cures. There is no motive to do what does not give One bliss.
But surely there are plenty Whose bliss is solving problems. Plenty Whose bliss is creating robots. Plenty Whose bliss is programming. Plenty Whose bliss is researching. Plenty Whose bliss is helping Others. Plenty Whose bliss is building. Plenty Whose bliss is creating art. Plenty Whose bliss is teaching. Plenty Whose bliss is any endeavor robots can't handle.
There WILL be motive to better the world - Those who contribute will earn appreciation, thanks, gratitude, name recognition and Self satisfaction. Instill a Betterment Ethic in place of the work "ethic" (a slave's ethic - enrich others with One's Human energy).
"From Each according to BLISS; to Each according to DESIRE."
So if One wants to be a couch potato... Heh. No problem!
Clearly We must spread this information. Widely. Below is a link to a petition, but if You choose to sign it, don’t stop there. Share it. Email it to friends and family, tweet it often on Twitter, post it to the Hotel Califacebook and on forums You visit. Become proactive and maintain the proactivity. If We all do this, We can make this planet a far better place than it is now.
To sign a petition for the release of electrogravitics technology:
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-military-release-the-technology-of-electrogravitics
More detail on the simple chaos seed for a society with free energy: http://bit.ly/I5TriH
Twitter: @AmaterasuSolarby Amaterasu Solar
Let Us presume a world where free energy is available to all.... more
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By Andrew Jones
Saturday, April 14, 2012 17:30 EDT
If someone is looking for sympathy for their high student loans, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) would not be among those providing any support.
According to audio obtained by Think Progress, the congresswoman appeared on G. Gordon Libby show Friday afternoon, saying she “never borrowed a dime of money” during her time in college before lashing out at those burdened with heavy loans.
“I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there’s no reason for that,” Foxx said. “We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that.”
Despite her disgust for high student loans, Foxx is somehow content with high mortgage notes. Think Progress reported that Foxx owed two individual notes up to $250,000.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/14/gop-rep-i-have-little-tolerance-for-those-with-high-student-loans/
Listen: Audio from Think Progress, which was from April 13, 2012.
"I wonder what College Tuition was back in her day, or should I say 5 or 6 decades ago???" =)By Andrew Jones
Saturday, April 14, 2012 17:30 EDT
If someone is looking for... more
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KB723
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America Does Not Need the Mittens Economic Treatment...just look what he did for Massachusetts...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=36295America Does Not Need the Mittens Economic Treatment...just look what he did for... more
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Oops! Another Mittens Mishap.
It looks like this 2007 study of Mitt's time as Governor shows he's ANYTHING but qualified to deal with the US economy, jobs, and other critical issues...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=36225Oops! Another Mittens Mishap.
It looks like this 2007 study of Mitt's time as... more
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Nice overview of the employment landscape that recent grads are wandering into. While there's a heavy emphasis on explaining why the system is fucked, it's written from the perspective of informing and arming the new job-seeker so that they'll be better able to navigate the terrain and make better decisions. Very much worth the read.Nice overview of the employment landscape that recent grads are wandering into. While... more
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Karl Rove's latest attack ad deserves an Oscar...for Best BullS#@t of the Year!
The ad features a mom who is disillusioned over failed promises by President Obama. To drive the point home, the woman’s children have moved back home after college, are unemployed, and evidently only have time to play endless games of basketball in the driveway.
http://veracitystew.com/?p=36046Karl Rove's latest attack ad deserves an Oscar...for Best BullS#@t of the Year!... more
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Internships are also a way for some employers to exploit young and nowadays twenty and thirty-something talent and be too cheap pay for it. Where employers would get nailed with state wage and hour law violations, if a student is earning credit or if there is an educational benefit and they are not doing a job a paid employee would otherwise be doing, then it arguably becomes legally permissible to exploit them. And that is wrong.
Interns are starting to muster the backbone to object: Hearst Publications, Fox Searchlight and PBS’s The Charlie Rose Show are all facing lawsuits filed in the last year against them by unpaid interns.Internships are also a way for some employers to exploit young and nowadays twenty and... more
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So, who does Keystone XL benefit? TransCanada, and US investors. As the Cornell study shows, for you and me, it’s all a huge pipe dream. Or nightmare; you decide...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=35857So, who does Keystone XL benefit? TransCanada, and US investors. As the Cornell study... more
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WATCH Mittens make a fool of himself. -- While he continues to deliver his "Obama has not created jobs" stump speech in several states -- states that have actually added jobs or may have a surplus of open jobs -- Mittens is constantly upstaged by Republican governors who are desperate to advertise they have jobs!
http://veracitystew.com/?p=35850WATCH Mittens make a fool of himself. -- While he continues to deliver his "Obama... more
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Billionaire has spilled the beans on the 1%'s dirty little secret.
The rich are not job creators,
I AM A JOB CREATOR!
I once wrote a brief summary on how my family helped create jobs, for an on-line petition. I can't remember the petition but I've located the word doc that I created with my 2 cents worth:
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“Congress keeps mum on how jobs can be created; they seem to be telling us with their silence that, THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO CREATE JOBS. How strange is that, when my family has created jobs by repairing our infrastructure… i.e. NEW ROOF (the old one was shot and leaked) NEW SEPTIC TANK (the old one cracked and became a health hazard) NEW WATER PUMP (the old one quit working and we were without water) not to mention, washing machine, air-conditioner, hot water tank, and ALL AROUND HANDYMAN repairs. Congress can’t create jobs, but my "low income" household can, WHAT GIVES?”
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It goes without saying how we, the 99 % buy gasoline that keep BIG OIL filthy rich with profits; Purchasing food and umpteen other needs that make those who payout dues to ALEC, wealthy beyond their dreams. {{{American Legislative Exchange Council}}} (www.justice.org/alec)
And, I can't begin to express how much of our hard earned LOW WAGES goes out to Big Pharma, Big Medicine and Big Insurance... Oh, and let us not forget the $$$, we shell over to Big Education making DEBT the real lifelong college career.)
Yes indeed, we are the JOB CREATORS and each and every one of us should thank one another for keeping this country running. (Yet The Corporate Personhood will step on our face every chance they get, TELLING US, IT'S OUR OWN DAMN FAULT BECAUSE WE ARE THE CAUSE OF THE PAIN WE FEEL.)
It's enough to make us SCREAM a collective “UNCLE”!
UPDATE: The above statements are all true and we the 99% have been clamoring the inequities from THE TOP OF MOUNTAINS and until now, our Uproars have fallen on deaf ears.
The 1% corporate personhood have made this country's income inequities a business where only the VERY WEALTHY reap any rewards. Not only that, they have convinced many of the populous, that only they, know what's best for we hoi polloi.
They call themselves JOB CREATORES and it doesn't matter who proves them wrong because Fox Fake News comes to the rescue and convinces their loyal viewers it's all a LIBERAL PLOT to take down our country.
Please sit back and listen to ONE OF THEM, one of the ONE PERCENTERS TELL IT LIKE IT REALLY IS.
Mr. Nick Hanauer, please tell me sweetheart, WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG???
thinkingblue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fftuT2Di_4A
The liberal ideal is that everyone should have fair access and fair opportunity. This is not equality of result. It's equality of opportunity. There's a fundamental difference. ~~Robert Reich~~Billionaire has spilled the beans on the 1%'s dirty little secret.
The rich are... more
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For a long time now I have called for government to crack down on illegal trade practices overseas, in which US 1% Vulture Capitalists, have colluded with foreign governments to ship US workers’ jobs overseas to increase their profit margins. Wal-Fart is notorious for this. Republicans may talk tough on trade, but they never do anything, because they represent the 1%, not you and me.For a long time now I have called for government to crack down on illegal trade... more
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When it comes to our economic recovery, it is conservatism that needs to get out of the way. Apart from these two trouble spots – home foreclosures and government layoffs – the US economy is better than the GOP and network news would have us believe.
http://veracitystew.com/?p=35279When it comes to our economic recovery, it is conservatism that needs to get out of... more
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AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today said our national security depends on reviving the nation’s manufacturing and industrial base. He called for adding 4 million manufacturing jobs and eliminating the trade deficit within five years.
In a wide-ranging speech at the Center for National Policy (CNP), Trumka said economic strength is crucial to America’s national security and economic standing, and manufacturing is central to economic strength. That’s a connection that most people understand, he said.
For the first time in a long time, pundits and economists have begun to talk about the revival of good jobs—of making things in America—as a measure of our national economy instead of simply pointing to whatever’s happening in the financial markets.
Watch the full discussion here.
Trumka credited President Obama for being “a genuine leader on manufacturing and national security.”
He has made the pivot to focus on Asia as a cornerstone of his foreign policy, while at the same time being willing to make the hard decisions necessary to revive U.S. manufacturing.
Yet more needs to be done, Trumka said. The biggest obstacles have been misguided budget cuts in the name of government austerity and unwillingness by some politicians to talk sensibly about taxes. America and the world face a choice between government austerity and economic growth, Trumka said. Leaders “need to shed the notion that government austerity is virtuous—when austerity means starving our economy of public investment.”
A manufacturing revival depends on massive public and private investments in energy and transportation infrastructure and in our system of public education and lifelong skill development.
Trumka drew approval from the gathering when he said bluntly that “American leaders need to drop this unreasonable fear of taxation. It’s become ridiculous.…Fair taxation should not be unspeakable. It’s smart and necessary.”
About the rights of workers on the job, Trumka spoke plainly.
America’s leaders need to question and discard the prejudicial idea that workers are a problem in the economy—a source of costs—and that the best worker is a silenced worker. Workers are not a burden, but the backbone of America. Workers are assets to be invested in, not costs to be cut.
Doing what’s needed to revive manufacturing is “easier and more natural than many people realize,” Trumka said.
America has the resources. We have millions of highly skilled workers, as well as millions of workers who want to learn and want to work. We have manufacturing centers that still produce tremendous value, and some that simply await the crews of construction workers to revamp and retool.
Click here for the full speech. (http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Speeches/Remarks-by-AFL-CIO-President-Richard-L.-Trumka-Center-for-National-Policy-Washington-D.C)
The CNP is an independent think tank dedicated to advancing the economic and national security of the United States. It brings together thought leaders and decision makers who are focused on the revitalization of our economy for the benefit of all Americans and the strengthening of the values of human rights and democracy at home and across the globe. Click here to learn more. (http://cnponline.org/)
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/Trumka-Manufacturing-Revival-Vital-to-Strong-National-SecurityAFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today said our national security depends on reviving... more
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Dave Johnson, at the Campaign for America's Future, sends us this.
Is this guy a presidential candidate from a major party, or a fringe nut? He sounds like Rush Limbaugh. HuffPo: Mitt Romney: Obama 'Takes Marching Orders From Union Bosses,'
Speaking to a crowd at a campaign stop in Lansing, Mich., on Tuesday, presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney took a swipe at both President Barack Obama and organized labor, saying the president "takes his marching orders" from unions that cost American jobs.
"Liberalism once taught that unions would ensure lasting prosperity for workers," Romney said at Lansing Community College. "Instead, they too often contributed to disappearing companies, disappearing industries and disappearing jobs. But like many politicians of the past, President Obama takes his marching orders from union bosses, rails against right-to-work states, fights to win union elections by eliminating the vote by secret ballot, and even denies an American company the right to build a factory in the American state of its choice."
When People Have A Say
People who follow Romney's line of reasoning think that we need to be more "business friendly" with low wages, low benefits, low environmental protections and low taxes on the rich so we can compete with countries like China. Here's the thing, in countries like China the people don't have a say. When people have a say they say that they want higher wages, benefits, good schools, environmental protections and the rest of the prosperity that democracy brings to all the people, instead of huge amounts accumulating in the hands of just a few people.
Unions Drove Wages And Benefits Up
Romney's argument that unions "contributed to disappearing companies, disappearing industries and disappearing jobs" is based on the idea that unions drove wages and benefits up. He believes that good wages and benefits—namely US—are a "cost" instead of the reason that We, the People decided to develop the body of laws that allow corporations to exist, to use our infrastructure and educated people and laws and courts and police and all the other "public structures" as a foundation for doing business. We, the People did that so that we—all of us—could benefit. All of us, not just a few of us.
In that respect Romney is correct, unions and democracy brought us higher pay, benefits, "the weekend," vacations, 40-hour workweeks and things like that. Before unions came along to enforce the idea of democracy we didn't, after unions we did. Before unions we had 12-hours a day workdays, seven days a week. Before unions we had low pay. Before unions we had no benefits. Before unions we didn't get vacations. Before unions we could be fired for no reason. Unions are why we have had a middle class.
Unions enforce the concept of democracy. Yes, We, the People were supposed to be in charge. Yes, the economy was supposed to be for our benefit. Why else would We, the People allow corporations to exist in the first place? But it was unions that gave people the power to enforce that idea.
Laying People Off, Cutting Wages, Pocketing That Money For Himself
Romney made his fortune buying up companies (not, by the way, using his own money, but using the companies' own assets as collateral for the loans to buy them with). Then Romney fired many of the workers, making the rest do the extra work. He cut wages and benefits for the rest and then pocketed that money for himself. This is the guy who says that good wages and benefits is what puts companies out of business. In other words, Romney is saying that the problem with our economy is that we have a middle class. Romney wants America to be more "business-friendly."
Romney hates unions. They get in the way of doing business they way business was done "When Mitt Romney Came To Town:
According to the Christian Science Monitor, this is the story of what happened to the workers in one company when the Romney/Bain machine "came to town":
The new owner, American Pad & Paper, owned in turn by [Mitt Romney's] Bain Capital, told all 258 union workers they were fired, in a cost-cutting move. Security guards hustled them out of the building. They would be able to reapply for their jobs, at lesser wages and benefits, but not all would be rehired.
Outsourcing jobs to places where people don't have a say so they can't demand good wages, firing people and making them reapply for their jobs but at half the pay, gutting people's benefits, stripping companies, treating employees like throwaway Kleenex, closing factories, stealing pensions, borrowing and pocketing... Locust capitalism. Chop shops. That's Mitt Romney's view of how to make money. Unions are in the way.
What Is Business-Friendly?
Some quick thoughts about what "business-friendly" really means: (add your own thoughts in the comments)
Business-friendly =
Low wages
Longer hours
No health benefits
No pensions
No vacations
No sick pay
Low taxes on the wealthy and their corporations
"Smaller government," -- which means less "We, the People" in charge of things:
No safety rules
No privacy rules
No food inspections
No environmental protections
No consumer protections
No citizen access to courts
Arbitration
Tort "reform" which means restricted access to courts
So what are your thoughts on this argument that we need to be more "business-friendly?" What does the phrase even mean? And what happens to the idea that We, the People have an economy for our own benefit?
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Romney-says-Obama-Takes-His-Marching-Orders-From-UnionsDave Johnson, at the Campaign for America's Future, sends us this.
Is this guy... more
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Other sources besides the CBO have been reporting signs of strong and sustained economic growth. Unfortunately, these reports have been drowned out by the strident voices of the Republican candidates with their relentless anti-Obama rhetoric. While one may argue that it’s their job to bash the economy, it is our civic duty to bring the hard facts to light.
http://veracitystew.com/?p=35170Other sources besides the CBO have been reporting signs of strong and sustained... more
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In these uncertain days, when we embrace risk and realize there is no such thing as security (such as working in a seemingly stable job), we are, in fact, more secure. If we aren’t seduced into thinking that we’re ever safe, we’ll be better equipped to survive. Accepting the fact that job security is a myth translates into the need for us to continually evolve, to adapt, and to continually form ourselves into well-rounded Renaissance thinkers and doers. Yeah, yeah … the Barcalounger beckons, I know. We want to rest. I get it, believe me … but rest isn’t the point, or at least it shouldn’t be.In these uncertain days, when we embrace risk and realize there is no such thing as... more
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Here’s a simple chart that shows how awfully Mr. Romney’s current rhetoric contradicts his record...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=35022Here’s a simple chart that shows how awfully Mr. Romney’s current rhetoric... more
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Hat tip to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for spotting this:
The Republican National Committee (RNC) used a call center based in the Philippines to hold a media conference attacking President Obama's economic record, the Chicago Sun-Times reported today.The RNC didn't help its image by pointing out that the call was run by Verizon.
Companies like Verizon that have shipped call center operations overseas have contributed to the devastation of the U.S. based call center industry. While the industry still comprises approximately 3 percent of the overall U.S. workforce, the industry lost more than 500,000 jobs between 2006 and 2010, largely because of the off-shoring trend. This continued trend depresses our economic recovery.
Noting that working families today are protesting Verizon's greed at its shareholders' meeting in Alabama, CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins, who began his career in a Maryland-based Verizon call center, summed up RNC's move this way:
It’s hard to imagine anything more hypocritical than the RNC making calls about U.S. unemployment from a Verizon foreign call center.
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Economy/Republican-National-Committee-Attacks-Obama-on-Jobs-from-Overseas-Call-CenterHat tip to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for spotting this:
The... more
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Members of the 99% Power coalition disrupted Verizon's annual shareholder meeting in Huntsville, Ala., six separate times today. In each instance, a group of protesters interrupted the proceedings using “Mic Check” tactics, followed by chants such as “Shame on you!” “Verigreedy!” and “People over profit!” After each occurrence, the chanting group was led out by security people, with many in the audience applauding them. There were no arrests.
The Verizon shareholder meeting comes as the corporation is in negotiations with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Electrical Workers (IBEW). The corporation—which made $100 billion in profits last year—is asking its workers for givebacks amounting to as much as $20,000 per worker, while tripling the compensation of its CEO, Lowell McAdam, from $7.2 million to $23.1 million. Verizon is the 16th largest corporation in America and made $22.5 billion in profits over the past four years, while paying its top five executives $283 million during that period, giving the company the nickname “Verigreedy." As Patrick Welsh, a Verizon retiree, said today, Verizon has broken the promises made that if you work hard, follow the rules and pay your taxes, then you’ll have a good retirement.
At a rally before the shareholder meeting, Alabama AFL-CIO President Al Henley demanded that Verizon be a better corporate citizen.
Verizon is on the run from their own workers, and thought that by taking the meeting to Alabama, a “right-to-work” state, but they misjudged our sense of solidarity here in the South.
Speaking to the thousands rallying outside the Verizon shareholder meeting, Ron Collins, CWA chief of staff, said, "Enough of the attacks on middle-class jobs while paying executives obscene salaries and dodging taxes.”
Also at the rally, Scott Douglas, executive director of the Greater Birmingham Ministries, said, “We may be down South, but we are not offshore."
Today we say with new meaning the Alabama state motto, we dare defend our rights.…Now more than ever, it is important for people of conscience to join together to recognize our common struggle against injustice and to fight back united.
The issue is one of fairness, said Sarita Gupta of Jobs with Justice, noting that with $23 million per year in compensation, Verizon's CEO makes "600 times more than an average frontline worker makes."
People arrived at the rally in 12 buses and several vans from Florida, New Orleans, Mississippi, Birmingham, Knoxville, Atlanta, Nashville, Columbia, Chattanooga and other cities throughout the region. They represent many unions and allied groups, including Jobs with Justice, Occupy Huntsville, Occupy Birmingham and the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP).Students from Orlando and Tallahassee took a 14-hour bus trip and slept in the local Plumbers and Pipe Fitters union hall.
Rallies supporting Verizon workers took place in 15 cities, including Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, Portland, Miami and Orlando.
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Workers-and-Allies-Barnstorm-Verizon-Shareholder-MeetingMembers of the 99% Power coalition disrupted Verizon's annual... more
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