China to Set Up Wal-Mart Union Branches

China's Communist Party-controlled union is ready to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. set up union branches at its Chinese outlets 'as soon as possible,' reports and union officials said Thursday.

The 123 million-member All-China Federation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with its demand that foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart set up trade unions, its officials say.

The officials applauded an announcement Tuesday by Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart that it will allow the federation to set up branches in its stores on the mainland.

'We have not obtained any union-related statements from Wal-Mart itself. But we learned from media reports that they have changed their attitude on the issue and we welcome that decision,' said Li Jianming, division chief at the union's international liaison department in Beijing.

'After all, it is the right of the workers to establish workers' unions, and no company or employer has the right to deprive them of that,' Li said."

What gives? Wal-Mart has fought unionization in the US ferociously, but allows unionization of their Chinese stores. Are American workers less worthy of the protections unions provide? And will this announcement spur greater unionization here in the US?

Internet Archive: Wayback Machine

when you really should be doing something else, take a trip down memory lane to simpler times, when the internet was all about "under construction" signs and such, before there was CSS and RSS &c.

you could find my dumb home page from college, for example, if you knew where to look. or my proto-blogging on the KWUR hip-hop page......

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev

With their websites and stickers, their pranks and slogans aimed at banishing widespread fear of a corrupt regime, the democracy guerrillas of the Ukrainian Pora youth movement have already notched up a famous victory - whatever the outcome of the dangerous stand-off in Kiev.

Ukraine, traditionally passive in its politics, has been mobilised by the young democracy activists and will never be the same again.

But while the gains of the orange-bedecked "chestnut revolution" are Ukraine's, the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes.

whoa. and they're doing it with "street teams" like a mid-90s rap record label:

"Stickers, spray paint and websites are the young activists' weapons. Irony and street comedy mocking the regime have been hugely successful in puncturing public fear and enraging the powerful."

BBC NEWS | UK | Ukraine state TV in revolt

Journalists on Ukraine's state-owned channel - which had previously given unswerving support to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych - have joined the opposition, saying they have had enough of "telling the government's lies".

Journalists on another strongly pro-government TV station have also promised an end to the bias in their reporting. The turnaround in news coverage, after years of toeing the government line, is a big setback for Mr Yanukovych.

Bull Moose

gobble gobble

punk rock case law

from Ross v. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 152 Cal. App. 3d 971 (1984):

We accept as true the following facts, as alleged in the complaint...Appellant and respondent entered into a contract whereby Kristie's funeral and burial would be handled by respondent, a corporation engaged in business as a cemetery. At the time the arrangements were being made appellant advised respondent that she wanted the funeral and burial services to be private. Only family members and invited guests were to be permitted to attend. In particular, [**2] appellant requested that no "punk rockers" be allowed at the services. Kristie had been a punk rocker. Appellant was fearful that her daughter's former associates would disrupt the private services, and so advised respondent. Respondent agreed to use all reasonable efforts and means to comply with appellant's request.

Many punk rockers attended both the funeral services in the chapel and the grave-site burial services. Neither their appearance nor comportment was in accord with traditional, solemn funeral ceremonies. Some were in white face makeup and black lipstick. Hair colors ranged from blues and greens to pinks and oranges. Some were dressed in leather and chains and twirled baton-like weapons, while yet another wore a dress decorated with live rats. The uninvited guests were drinking and using cocaine, and were physically and verbally abusive to family members and their guests. A disturbance ensued and grew to the point that police had to be called to restore order.
***
Appellant's allegation is not deficient for failing to show a causal connection between respondent's failure to timely perform certain acts and the punk rockers' failure to refrain from certain actions.

Opinion Backs Davis's Effort To Grant D.C. Vote in House

A former senior Justice Department official in the Bush administration has concluded that a constitutional amendment is not needed to grant the District voting representation in the House.

The 25-page opinion by Viet D. Dinh, a former assistant U.S. attorney general, was commissioned by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) as part of his effort to grant the District a vote in the House.

Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, called Dinh's conclusion a key development.

via election law

Gawker Stalker: Bungalow 8, NYC's Best Crack Den

"Freemans, tuesday night the 16th of nov. the bush twins , along with 2 massive secret service men, tried to have dinner. they were told by the maitre'd that they were full and would be for the next 4 years. upon hearing, the entire restaurant cheered and did a round of shots... it was amazing!!! [Ed: We're hearing that this is actually true.]"

Who Let The Blogs Out? :: Main Page

All I have to say is "It's Judgment Night, fools....."

jeah

I like Journey

you like this band? I like journey....

you can run, and have your fun

Cheers to the Walkmen for their stunning set last night at the Bait Shop on Fox's The OC.

My favorite parts:

Whatever the criminal grandfather/father/creepy guy said right before the 2nd Walkmen song. It was something about someone becoming a lawyer but he has a voice that sounds like it should be introducing a song from a rap album, like "you'd better be down with the family, Shiney, or you know we'll come after you...."

There was also something great about the canned, non-Walkmen music that, inside the club, overpowered the band when the loser kissed his ex. He was thinking that pushing a mop for a week for Walkmen tickets would win her back, but his dreams died and cruel reality set in.

Q: So, do you like this band?
A: I like Journey.....

and some other Walkmen odds and ends:

The Christmas Party is their new single. The spoken interludes ensure that it will soon become a Xmas classic.

And they're also going to do a cover of "There Goes My Baby" for a video game about zombies from the retrofuturistic late 50's. via Max.

gobble

dubya -- the movie

genius......

Japanese business man spend valuable time ????????????

I get tired, sure, but don't spend time like japanese businessman.

Keith Olberman on election fraud

As I suggested, this is the first time one of the Fix stories has moved fully into the mainstream media. In so saying, I’m not dismissing the blogosphere. Hell, I’m in the blogosphere now, and there have been nights when I’ve gotten far more web hits than television viewers (thank you, Debate Scorecard readers). Even the overt partisanship of blogs don’t bother me - Tom Paine was a pretty partisan guy, and ultimately that served truth a lot better than a ship full of neutral reporters would have. I was just reading last night of the struggles Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer had during their early reporting from Europe in ’38 and ’39, because CBS thought them too anti-Nazi.

with all that's coming out about this, it's shocking that this is the only coverage in the mainstream media, but cheers to Keith.

Bummed out about politics? Click here.....

get your cheer-up on with Tommy Seebach.......click above

Dan Ratherisms - Election Night Dan Rather Quotes - Danisms

'We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.'

'No one is saying that George Bush is not going to win the election, and if you had to bet the double-wide, you'd have to bet that he'd win.'

'In southern states they beat him like a rented mule.'

awesome

Return of the Original: Radio Free St. Louis

So some of you might know me from college. Those who do know I used to do a radio show at the college station.

Well, I'm back on campus, and my radio show is back.

And here's an mp3 of my first show of the semester. Click on the link above to listen. More shows will follow.

And cheers and congratulations to Pete "Papa" Bauer....

Dollar expected to fall amid China's rumoured selling

The first rumblings of the second great depression? I only took intro to Macroeconomics, so I don't know all the ins and outs of world financial markets, but a tumbling dollar isn't the greatest thing to look forward to. On the other hand, we can all sneak across the Mexican border, work as nannys and cleaners, then wire the money back to the US to pay off the defecit.....

"However, the market has been rife with rumours that the latest wave of selling has been led by foreign governments seeking to cut their exposure to US assets.

India and Russia have reportedly been selling US assets, as well as petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern investors.

China, which has $515bn of reserves, was also said to be selling dollars and buying Asian currencies in readiness to switch the renminbi's dollar peg to a basket arrangement, something Chinese officials have increasingly hinted at. Any re-allocation could push the dollar sharply lower and Treasury yields markedly higher."

Black Box Voting

"BREAKING -- SUNDAY Nov. 7 2004: Freedom of Information requests at http://www.blackboxvoting.org have unearthed two Ciber certification reports indicating that security and tamperability was NOT TESTED and that several state elections directors, a secretary of state, and computer consultant Dr. Britain Williams signed off on the report anyway, certifying it."

We will return to regularly scheduled blogging soon enough. Until then, enjoy the election fraud and new leather background.

Singer Sues Rapper Jay-Z Over 'Sabotaged' Tour:

"'It's punitive-damages bling,' said Mr. Kelly's lawyer, Edward Hayes, referring to the astronomical size of the claim."

from the modern age, who's back, by the way.

Authentic GOP

Nothing like creepy comodification to heal the divide in our country, right?

OOPS! Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes...

No...no....don't get me wrong. I think you're mishearing me. Kerry already conceded. That's done. I've moved on. My entire apartment is clean as a whistle. I ate my bacon and eggs off my kitchen floor this morning, it's so clean. I've moved on. Promise.

But......why not.....as, say, proof of concept, for example.....why not, since we're not doing anything right now, just count all the votes. We'll make sure that we got this one right.

that way, next time that it's really close, we'll have confidence. And, say, if there was massive e-voting fraud this time around, we'd find it before the electoral votes are counted and avoid a massive constitutional crisis. So it's really win-win, right?

The best part about this election is that now I don't have to root against the Redskins four years from now.

HST owl farm party tuesday

"Their army is how much bigger than mine? Three percent? Well shucks, Bubba. Now is the time to establish a network and an attitude," he said. "You make friends in moments of defeat. People in defeat tend to bond because they need each other. We can't take the attitude that it's over and we give up. We're still here."

Black Box Voting - Bev Harris - one of the leading groups doing voting machine investigations. A nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer protection group for elections.:

kerry's already conceded. that's done. but let's make sure we count this right. just to make sure it can be done.

"THURSDAY Nov. 4 2004: If you are concerned about what happened Tuesday, Nov. 2, you have found a home with our organization. Help America Audit.

Black Box Voting has taken the position that fraud took place in the 2004 election through electronic voting machines. We base this on hard evidence, documents obtained in public records requests, inside information, and other data indicative of manipulation of electronic voting systems. What we do not know is the specific scope of the fraud. We are working now to compile the proof, based not on soft evidence -- red flags, exit polls -- but core documents obtained by Black Box Voting in the most massive Freedom of Information action in history.

We need: Lawyers to enforce public records laws. Some counties have already notified us that they plan to stonewall by delaying delivery of the records. We need citizen volunteers for a number of specific actions. We need computer security professionals willing to GO PUBLIC with formal opinions on the evidence we provide, whether or not it involves DMCA complications. We need funds to pay for copies of the evidence."

The Living Room Candidate

Campaign ads from Bush/Gore 2000. Certainly an interesting watch today.

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

fight for federalism. let blue states be blue......

Daily Kos :: Phony flyers in Franklin County Ohio

vote