An internal memo sent to Wal-Mart's board of directors proposes numerous ways to hold down spending on health care and other benefits while seeking to minimize damage to the retailer's reputation. Among the recommendations are hiring more part-time workers and discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart.
In the memorandum, M. Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart's
executive vice president for benefits, also recommends reducing 401(k)
contributions and wooing younger, and presumably healthier, workers by offering
education benefits. The memo voices concern that workers with seven years'
seniority earn more than workers with one year's seniority, but are no more
productive
Wal-Mart Watch ¶ 11:56 PM 0 comments
THIS IS PROBABLY THE LOWEST MINIMUM PRESSURE EVER OBSERVED IN THE ATLANTIC
BASIN AND IS FOLLOWED BY THE 888 MB MINIMUM PRESSURE ASSOCIATED
WITH HURRICANE GILBERT IN 1988.
Q: Have you won any awards? A: I've won seven Emmy Awards.
Q: What were they for? A: Best futon. No, I don't know, for weather, hosting, feature story. They are regional Emmys—they have a rectangular bottom instead of a circular bottom, but you can trade in six regional for one national. No, I'm just
kidding.
What I remember Geoff most for was his tantalizing predictions of school cancellations during snowstorms. Glad he's still at it. ¶ 10:27 PM 0 comments
"Hotline On Call has a list of all those who have either testified or been interviewed by Patrick Fitzgerald."
"The AP notes Rove "canceled plans to attend two Republican fund-raisers" today "as he waits to hear whether he or anyone else will be indicted in the leak of a CIA officer's identity.""
"Sparked by stories that suggest Vice President Dick Cheney's office "is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice," according to U.S. News and World Report."
Cheney going down? That would be something else.
¶ 10:05 PM 0 comments
Wilma is the 21st named storm of the season. The only other time that many
storms have formed since record keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933.
By the way, the graphic in that post below automatically updates with every new advisory from the National Hurricane Center. This hurricane is definitely worth keeping an eye on. The models are in pretty good agreement that this will cross over south or central Florida.
¶ 9:48 PM 0 comments
ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THERE COULD BE A DANGEROUS HURRICANE IN
THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA IN THE NEXT 3 TO 5 DAYS.
HOWEVER...BOTH GENESIS AND INTENSIFICATION ARE HIGHLY UNCERTAIN.
ALL INTERESTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SHOULD MONITOR THE
PROGRESS OF THE DEVELOPING CYCLONE.
¶ 7:16 PM 0 comments
Increasingly, officials say, Syria is to the Iraq war what Cambodia was in the Vietnam War: a sanctuary for fighters, money and supplies to flow over the border and, ultimately, a place for a shadow struggle.
But other officials, who say they got their information in the field or by talking to Special Operations commanders, say that as American efforts to cut off the flow of fighters have intensified, the operations have spilled over the border - sometimes by accident, sometimes by design.Some current and former officials add that the United States military is considering plans to conduct special operations inside Syria, using small covert teams for cross-border intelligence gathering.
American officials say Mr. Bush has not yet signed off on a specific strategy and has no current plan to try to oust Mr. Assad, partly for fear of who might take over.
What does he mean by "take over"? I thought there would be spontaneous elections throughout the Middle East by now...wasn't that Version 4.3 of the "Rationale for Invading Iraq"?
This month we find Brooklyn public school teacher Kevo considering his identity as a union man. If you live in NYC, you have heard a whole lot about this on the news. Read on.
I’ve now been a UFT member for about a year. This is my first experience as a member of a union (other than my brief stint as a “deli-boy” at my hometown SuperFresh). As one of the more powerful unions in NYC, the United Federation of Teachers recently wrangled an agreement from Mayor Bloomberg and the city. The teachers have been without contract for a full two years, which in my pre-teacher mind would have been unthinkable. Then I became familiar with the ways the Department of Education, the city, and actually, the union, tend to work (but I’ll get into the union a little later). So, to repeat, the teachers have been without a contract with the city for over two years. This means that teacher salaries along with all kinds of other agreements regarding the way New York Public schools are meant to run were two years old. And this is the way things usually go. I asked my aunt, a 32-year veteran teacher in the NYC school system about the state of the contract this summer. She replied in a calm tone that the situation was pretty normal. She assured me that we’d have a contract by the election, and indeed we do- wait, we almost have a contract. As of right now, we have a memorandum of agreement that is awaiting ratification by union members.
Teachers vote a simple “yes” or “no” on this agreement. After finding out two weeks ago that the city accepted the recommendations of an independent fact finding panel for modifications to the expired contract, effectively ending a long fight between the two sides, I figured most teachers would definitely vote “yes.” A month ago, the teacher’s lounge was full of talk about a possible strike, and all the troubles associated with one. Teachers would be docked for pay and all were unsure about what the final outcome of such an action would be. Now an agreement has been reached. It’s far from perfect, but it includes a 15% pay increase and a number of other improvements. This way, the union stays intact and lives to fight another day. If the members vote “no,” the only foreseeable option for the union would be an all-out strike – the result of which is unknown and pretty scary when looking at it as a teacher. This is why I was surprised with the events of our UFT chapter meeting in school this past Wednesday. I left amid a shouting match between one school’s chapter leader and the UFT regional representative. The chapter leader is passionately opposed to the agreement, while the regional representative was pushing the union’s position. The union hopes members will vote “yes.” They believe this is the only way the union can survive. During the chapter leader’s tirade about the unfair treatment teachers are receiving with this contract, I couldn’t help thinking about the lack of power teachers have in this discussion. We have to be smart, precisely because we have little power in these conservative and reckless times. The union is the power we have, and we must keep it strong through smart, creative negotiations. In a lot of ways, we’ve won with this agreement and I want to help the union stick around so that it can negotiate for me and the rest of the city’s schoolteachers for the two years after the this contract expires. I thought about this, started to get a headache from all the screaming, then walked out the door…
The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.
When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.
Family members speculate that perhaps Special Forces soldiers are less likely to seek counseling because of the whole therapy-is-not-macho thing. Perhaps. Tragic, no matter what. ¶ 7:03 PM 1 commentsDENVER (AP) - Chief Warrant Officer William Howell was a 15-year Army Special Forces veteran who had seen combat duty all over the world. Sgt. 1st Class Andre McDaniel was a military accountant. Spc. Jeremy Wilson repaired electronics.
They had little in common, other than having served in Iraq with the 10th Special Forces Group based at Fort Carson, Colo. They did not know each other, and they had vastly different duties.
Each, however, committed suicide shortly after returning home, all within about a 17-month period.
Yeah, this is real.
(via atrios)
¶ 6:48 PM 0 comments
For those who aren't into following hurricanes, this is not normal. In fact, this is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen in the Atlantic. Almost as weird as the "hurricane" that hit Brazil in 2004.THE LONG AND STRANGE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON CONTINUES AS
TROPICAL STORM VINCE BEARS DOWN ON THE SOUTHERN IBERIAN PENINSULA
AND NORTHWESTERN MOROCCO...THE
OFFICIAL FORECAST CALLS FOR VINCE TO CONTINUE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST
TO NORTHEASTWARD UNTIL LANDFALL OCCURS ALONG THE COASTS OF SOUTHERN
PORTUGAL AND EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN BETWEEN 06-12Z.
Want to learn more about hurricanes? Nothing beats the National Hurricane Center.
¶ 11:28 PM 0 comments
Guatemalan Village Overwhelmed by Task of Digging Out Hundreds of Dead From Mud (ny times)
More Guatemalans Evacuated as Reality of Loss Sets In (washington post)Panabaj llora a sus muertos en medio de olores de azufre y muerte (terra españa)
I realize that, as disasters in the news go, this is being overshadowed by the 30,000+ deaths in India and Pakistan...not to mention continued Katrina coverage. Is it just me, or is the planet trying to tell us something? ¶ 7:33 PM 0 comments
I spent about a week travelling around the lake last summer. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I have ever been:
There are certain towns along the lake that are very touristy (by Guatemalan standards). The closer to the water you go, the more expensive it gets, though by American standards it is very cheap. Tourists there are of two types: domestic and international. Domestic tourists come mainly from Guatemala City for the week/end. Internationals tend to be backpackers from the US or Europe, with a few South Americans mixed in.
Something that stuck with me was how, the further you got from the shore, two things happened: the elevation increased, and the standard of living decreased. The lake is itself volcanic and is surrounded by volcanoes. One day, we walked up the hillside in what was probably the least touristed area we saw. The incline was very steep, and though occassionally the road/path was concrete, more often it was just dirt. Not an ideal place to have your house, especially during times of heavy rains. We got plenty of smiles from the locals, though I don't think they were too accustomed to a great tourist presence.
As we continued on, we descended a bit, and happened upon a soccer game being played by some teenage boys, surrounded by a group of women (moms, sisters, etc). My friend Howard and I asked to join in the game, and were permitted to do so, much to the amusement of the kids. Howie and I play on a soccer team together here in NYC, and we're not terrible, so it wasn't the worst idea in the world. We played pretty well, and I thought I would be cool and try to make some soccer talk, since I speak Spanish. Some of the kids spoke back a little bit, but not much, and I couldn't figure out why. It didn't hit me until they were speaking amongst themselves: their primary language was a Mayan dialect, and their understanding of Spanish was probably not much better than your average US highschooler's.
Anyway, we had a great time playing soccer with them that afternoon (though I sprained an ankle), and afterwards we went to the local one-room mini store and spent about $2 to buy drinks and snacks for about 15 people. We passed a little time hanging out with the group afterwards, speaking the shared 2nd language, them checking out the digital camera and us taking in the setting. Great people, for sure. And I'm sure they've had a grueling week, and that's all I can think about right now.
¶ 8:27 PM 0 comments
What format do pretty much all players play? MP3, of course. A solid, Chevy truck of a format, your CDs can be ripped into MP3 by both iTunes and Windows Media -- only you have to change the settings. And that is where most people fail.
By the way, I'm about to actually purchase a 60 gig iPod. I know, many people thought that day would never come. But, I'm taking a new job and gonna be on the road a lot, and I want my music to come with me (my current Samsung YP-7 is brilliant, but only 1 gig). The iPod 60 gig seems to be the best option right now. ¶ 10:42 AM 1 comments
