WEEK 6

2/8/2016

CorpWatch

The information below is from the Corp Watch website (www.corpwatch.org)
Mission
CorpWatch: Non-profit investigative research and journalism to expose corporate malfeasance and to advocate for multinational corporate accountability and transparency. We work to foster global justice, independent media activism and democratic control over corporations.

We seek to expose multinational corporations that profit from war, fraud, environmental, human rights and other abuses, and to provide critical information to foster a more informed public and an effective democracy.

Review the CorpWatch website. Follow the prompts below to guide your research.

Choose and Industry
Choose an article from the list provided
Write 5 questions that will guide your classmates through the issues you're writing about. (Each question should start with either Who, What, When, Why, Where)
Your blog post will be the 5 questions you create and at least 2-3 sentence responses to each question.

Chemicals
From toxic waste to the unpronounceables on your food labels, chemicals are all around and within us. Here you will find CorpWatch coverage of the range of issues involving chemicals, including pesiticides, the widespread use of petrochemicals, health and environmental impacts, and the role of chemicals in bio-engineered agriculture.

Construction
Building (or rebuilding) things is a lucrative business to be in, especially in an era when lots of things are being blown up. Construction is a mega-industry with players raking in money for huge projects, from Bechtel's Big Dig to Kellogg Brown & Root's military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are the small, mob-connected firms building at ground zero in New York, and even the bin Laden family, who largely built modern Saudia Arabia and Dubai. The companies who build dams, roads, schools, hospitals and military installations are a major economic and political force.

Energy
Those who own, extract, process, and sell the fossil fuels on which modern culture is (often regrettably) based make up perhaps the single most powerful industry in the world. While energy policy in the United States is made behind closed doors with oil barons, wars are fought in the Middle East over oil & gas, and geopolitics in South America is revolutionized on the power of vast oil reserves.

Food and Agriculture
The industrial food chain is complex - and highly profitable for those who control it. In India, ancient traditional grains have been patented by multinationals, while drought- and pest-resistant strains of food crops are engineered in laboratories and planted in massive monocultures worldwide. Harsh pesticides and herbicides have become the rule instead of the exception. GMO soybeans are crowding out the Amazon rain forests; meanwhile, massively subsidized, nutritionally-challenged corn finds its way into almost every aspect of the American diet, especially fast food. The corporations (Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, McDonald's, etc) behind what we eat exert power in their best interest, rather than in ours. What's good for their bottom line is not necessarily good for our waistlines, our coastlines, our treelines.

Manufacturing
Perhaps the most outsourced industry in the world, manufacturing covers everything from textiles to automobiles to construction to electronics and everything in between. Since international trade is largely centered on the exchange of manufactured goods, issues of globalization swirl around these corporations. Here you'll find coverage of labor and sweatshops, the environment, trade agreements, and the overarching impacts of "offshoring" the manufacture of the goods the developed world consumes.

Media & Entertainment
A very few corporations control most of the messages we receive each day, from billboards to newspapers, to radio, film and television. CorpWatch covers not only the effect of media consolidation, but also the wizards behind the curtains in advertising, public relations, and the mainstream news media.

Natural Resources
It is a mark of modern civilization that we now buy and sell what nature provides for free. Trees, water, minerals, open land - these are profit opportunities for those who can turn them into timber, dams, bottled water, diamond rings, or condominium complexes. For issues directly relating to oil, gas, and coal, see also Energy.

Pharmaceuticals
The cost of prescription drugs has never been higher, and pharmaceutical companies have never spent more persuading consumers that they need drugs they've never heard of for illnesses they didn't know they had. Drug companies are also spending millions defending patents and persuading the FDA to approve new drugs ever faster. Meanwhile, developing countries go without desperately needed drugs because pharmaceutical companies fear that lowering prices for the neediest is a slippery slope. Big Pharma says high prices fund research and innovation.

Retail & Mega-Stores
Big-box stores like Wal-Mart, Asda and Home Depot have squeezed out small businesses all around the world, driving down wages and quality of life where they do business, all in the name of low prices. They are the largest, slowest-moving easy targets, smaller (and yet still massive) retail chains like Starbucks, Forever 21, Abercrombie & Fitch, the Gap and others have also drawn fire for sweatshop abuses, labor violations, and other questionable corporate behavior.

Technology & Telecommunications
Technology has seeped into nearly every aspect of modern life, from the food we eat to the ways we communicate. Consequently, telecommunications and technology corporations have gained huge power over the past two decades. Cable companies bicker with telephone monopolies over the internet; customer support for ubiquitous laptop computers is off shored from Silicon Valley to Bangalore; obsolete electronics pile up in developing world landfills, exposing children to toxic metals; and multinationals tinker with the technology of nature to make a tomato that doesn't spoil on a grocery shelf. Ubiquity, especially when it melds into the background of daily life, is perhaps the most powerful tool of corporate power.

Tobacco
The executives of Big Tobacco have stopped insisting that tobacco is not addictive, but have not stopped making a killing from the deadly addictive quality of their product. The steady demand, particularly in the developing world where regulation doesn't reach, breeds a booming business in smuggling, as well as aggressive marketing schemes targeting the poor, minorities, and children. International treaties and successful lawsuits have helped to slow the malignant spread of tobacco in the United States and other developed nations, but the industry remains one of the largest and most influential in national and international politics.

Tourism & Real Estate
Tourism fuels some of the biggest development worldwide. Cruise ship operators are under fire for dumping waste in the oceans and exhaust into the skies; ski resorts an golf courses scar the land and pollute waterways. Tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry that frequently puts luxury ahead of the environment, respect for indigenous cultures, and sensitivity to land use issues. Real estate, some of it fueled by tourism, but also by the expansion of business, runs up against many of the other issues we cover - water use, land use, and the use of political influence to muscle into desirable locations, often with tax-breaks as a bonus. With real-estate the latest boom (or perhaps more appropriately "bubble") industry, issues associated with development - such as suburban sprawl - have become more immediate.

Transportation
Planes, trains, and automobiles ... almost every industry we cover requires a means of getting its goods from point A to point B. It could be your wintertime Granny Smith apple, shipped from Chile; or your iPod, made of parts flown in from China and assembled in California until it is trucked to your city, or flown back to your country. The gasoline in your car (which perhaps came from Detroit, Japan, Korea, or Germany) may be from Venezuela or Iraq. Almost everything you buy is better traveled than you could ever hope to be. And that translates into major profit for the corporations that own the means of transport.

War & Disaster Profiteering
CorpWatch looks at the intertwined relationship between private industry, the US Armed Forces and federal policy makers. We look at the domestic and foreign impacts of this dangerous complex.

Requirements for BLOG POSTS

You must write 250 words each post (due Thursday @ Midnight), Responses to two other students 50 words each (due Sunday @ midnight)
Students must post during the week the blog is assigned or it will not be graded.

73 Comments

Melissa Nevarez

2/10/2016 09:31:32 am

I chose the article about the fight against tobacco, which involves domestic battles and global implications. There are a lot of questions we all want to know about fighting tobacco, how important it is, and how much it has affected all of us. First, what organizations and administrations is the international tobacco controlled by? Well, it all opens in Geneva and is not a priority for the Bush administration. They'll have to decide if they want to continue the federal lawsuit seeking reimbursement for healthcare costs from the tobacco companies and/or alleging a conspiracy to defraud the government. They all intended to force the administration to take a stand on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA). Because of their regulation of tobacco. Second, where was the most recent experience of Central Point located? It was located in the Southwest corner of Oregon. There, the City Council voted in January 2000 to stop tobacco from affecting the local. Third, when did the tobacco money split? It split in 1990. Split 53%-47% in favor of the Republicans. Also in 2000 the money favored the Republicans by 83-17 margin. Fourth, who exactly was helping the fight against tobacco? The U.S anti-tobacco advocates. they did litigation, publication of internal industry documents, exposes of industry malfeasance, and effective anti-smoking programs instates like Massachusetts and Florida. Finally, why do they want to fight against tobacco? More deaths were caused because of tobacco. If this helps decrease it, then the death rates will decrease and people will start getting healthier and live longer.

Antonio Vila

2/15/2016 07:46:55 pm

Tobacco is one of the most subtly advertised products legally sold around the world with heavily negative impacts that accompany addiction. Marketing brings it all. So there are so many less ads promoting it in between our favorite tv shows or entertainment events, but they make their way into movies and the actual tv shows. The anti-tobacco ads aren't any better because they get us tobacco in our heads regardless of the consequence it still is a promotion. The less we see it in our entertainment, the better the nation of consumers will be.

Elena Saldivar

2/10/2016 11:30:51 am

My report will be on how big box stores and companies are pushing small business out of business and they truth behind there success as a company. Why can these companies sell their products at such “fair” prices? Mostly due to that a lot of these companies have make the product out of the country in rural areas. This what pushes small business out of business. Where are most of these factories are? They can be found in countries like India, china, South American mostly third world countries. Due to that companies want to make the product as cheap as they can they mostly do business in countries like these. From these factories been overseas who is gaining and who is losing? The people who are gaining are the people at the head of the company who benefit from the sales they get form people buying their product. The people who are not benefiting from this are the workers themselves. If this is the case what are the conditions like for the workers in the factories? They are not pleasant, some have to work in 100 degree, work with dangers chemicals and be at risk of affecting there pay if they half to take sick days off of work. They don’t even get paid that much for there work either. When did the works decide enough was enough? The employees always knew so the works got together and protest for better conditions in the factories, also better pay and hours.

Matthew Mullen

2/14/2016 12:02:22 am

Sometimes I take for granted that the workers making a lot of the products I buy and use on a daily basis work in such terrible conditions. I know about the low pay, but I didn't know that a lot of workers work in 100 degree factories for almost no money or benefits. This is truly terrible.

Kevin Manago

2/14/2016 03:18:20 pm

We all take these kind of mass produced products for granted. We all know that they come from sweat shops. Employees need to work for their family and they barely make any. We know these but we choose to ignore it. We all live privileged and ignore these facts.

Lawrence Erispe

2/14/2016 09:46:14 pm

I saw this documentary on how H&M, Zara, and other companies that sell clothes really cheap and pay the workers at sweatshops a lot less. The people are working in terrible conditions for very low pay. While factories in America are shutting down, more factories open in third world countrys where the factory owner and business owners make a profit while the workers are working to barely survive.

Morgan Brum

2/14/2016 11:57:25 pm

I completely agree with your statements. It's a mor of these bigger companies hat are competing with smaller ones which make it harder for people who don't have bigger corporations to thrive. For example I was in San Jose a couple weeks ago and it was a nightmare trying to find parking. There was a difference between a giant parking garage that cost 10 dollars. And then there was a really small parking garage ether next to it that cost 15. It seemed like the big garage was a bigger corporation so they could lower some of their rates since they had more spots making it more competitive. It's this that puts out small business's.

Eskarletl Ruiz

2/15/2016 12:53:34 pm

I never really thought of why the prices are so low. The video Story of Stuff also really opened my eyes. I didn't know just how bad the resources were being destroyed and the price of whatever object can not cover even half of the work that went into it. Factory workers don't get the pay they deserve, and they don't even get good working conditions.

Adriana Serna

2/10/2016 01:41:40 pm

The industry I chose is on retail and mega-stores, more specifically how private company Forever 21 is being sued for sweatshop conditions in the United States. It is shocking to think U.S. companies are not just allowing sweatshop conditions happen abroad but also letting them happen right here in our country, in the state of California, when we are supposed to be a "country of opportunities."
The first question to ask is when did it become a problem in the United States that its’ private and public companies treat employee's unfairly? I think it has always been a problem here but there is never any publicity on the matter. Most American's would love to think we are a "land of opportunities" and that working people always get fair treatment, whether for fair wages or working conditions, unlike most other "third world countries." But businesses in the U.S. care only about how big a bonus they can get and fail to give a very livable, not just minimum, wage. Forever 21 has already been sued by its retail workers which they allege “that they were denied meal breaks and kept late after their shifts while being searched for stolen merchandise” (Corp Watch Blog). They were also denied payment for their time being kept late. Most of these retail workers are minors who have no idea their rights are being violated. Now, Forever 21 is being sued for ignoring a subpoena by the United States Department of Labor requesting information showing how much the company’s suppliers pays the workers who make its clothes. In Los Angeles a factory worker said she is paid 12 cents per vest she makes. She would have to sew 60 vest in an hour to meet minimum wage, which is not livable to begin with. That is one entire vest a minute. Company’s do not seem to mind treating their workers like sweatshops as long as they make a profit.
Second, where is the problem of employee mistreatment most prevalent? It clearly shows the problem lies in the extreme underpay of the company’s employees. Factory workers are not even being paid the unlivable minimum wage and it’s retail workers, mostly minors, are not being paid for the time they are kept past their shifts. That is where the major problem lies but there is also the problem of poor work conditions in the factory as well. In a Los Angeles Lincoln Heights factory, many Forever 21 employees were taken to the hospital to be treated after they got sick with nausea, vomiting and headaches after they smelled a strange odor in the factory.
The third question is who should be held responsible for the mistreatment of workers, both in the company’s factory and retail setting? There are many different views to this question. We can hold the owners of the company, in this case the owners of Forever 21 Do Won Chang and Jin Sook for not complying with the subpoena and for allowing their company to partake in sweatshop like conditions, not allowing workers the livable wage for this day and age. But if, for some crazy reason, they have no idea what conditions are like for the employees, do we hold the managers of theses factory and retail departments responsible since they are the ones managing these places and are very aware of what they pay their employees, or should I say what they don’t pay them? The United States in general holds a strong value on business practice and money that are many times shady and we are not a country known to play fair, i.e. Wall Street. It is a hard question to answer but it seems to me if you are aware and allowing mistreatment to continue then you should be held responsible.
Fourth, what should be done to ensure fair treatment of Forever 21’s employee’s, or any company’s employees, regarding aspects of salary and other related employee rights? There should be an annual obligation for both private and public companies to share employee wages and practices to the United States Department of Labor and should have unexpected visits from the Department of Labor. There could be many more affective ways to hopefully end mistreatment of workers but these are the only ones I can think of. This leads in to my fifth question, why should private and public companies be obligated to share employee wages and practices to the United States Department of Labor and why should there be unexpected visits from the Department of Labor as well? This will hopefully lessen, if not stop, sweatshop conditions because the company’s will have to send out how much they are paying their employees. And if there are unexpected visits by the Department of Labor then the company will have no chance of hiding mistreatment. I am no business expert and there may be ways to get around unfair worker treatment but it is something I would hope will work to cease sweatshop like conditions in the United States.

Justine Calso

2/14/2016 09:26:25 pm

I learned that employees of F21 don't get paid even for their overtime at work. That sucks! Managers should stand up and protect their employees. As a retail worker myself, I feel for the employees. One question I have is where are these sweatshop located in California?

2/21/2016 01:29:22 am

Many our located in the LA area.

Antonio Villa

2/10/2016 10:51:57 pm

I found interest in doing my report on food and agriculture. The initiation of most modifications to food have been to preserve it longer, make more of it, make bugs stay away from it and to minimize all costs of production. It is in the best interest of the producers to get the biggest bang for their buck than to care about our health. Hmm. What could cause a chocolate thriving company like Nestle to have a recall of 400 million packets of instant noodles in India? I'll give y'all a hint, it's in the water supply of the city of Flint. Yup, it's LEAD. A hazardous amount to keep it conveniently understated, but Vijay Bahadur is more blunt in stating how it is "life-threatening." Who are the primary consumers of cups of instant noodles? Well it's a quick meal that's quite the hunger, simple to make and only prices at $0.20! Yes, it is the go to product for the hardworking population that with rougher wages. I know many students who live off this stuff and the brand Maggi was India's top seller with about 80% of the instant noodle market. The biggest consumers in India consist of tired mothers and soldiers in remote Himalayan outposts. What happened when the food inspectors of the State of Uttar Pradesh found the levels of lead dangerous and asked the company to recall the packets of noodles? The company did not comply. The food inspectors had to appeal the case to the national authorities to file a criminal complaint. The complaint lead to a drop in sales for the product and brought more attention to the case, even from Wall Street. How did the CEO of Nestle respond to the case? Paul Bulcke claimed that they [the company] hold the same standards of quality for all their products everywhere. Makes you question the smile that hot chocolate really brings you. He then recalled 27,420 tons of noodles and laid off 1,500 workers. When and who will be held accountable for the lack of effort in providing safe products of consumption? The corporations hold great influence and vast resources, yet profit is a larger concern than health. While it remains in corporate control and interests, the populations' health is not a priority.

2/13/2016 12:48:24 am

Being conscious of what we eat everyday isn't something we are good at. We live lives where its go-go-go, we are too busy to pay attention. We buy what is cheap and easy to make. And let's face it, it taste good. But honestly we are slowly killing ourselves with these foods that are processed and contains chemicals we shouldn't be ingesting. Correction, these big name companies and producers are killing us slowly and you are right, they don't care about our health because they just want us to keep on buying. They are counting on the lifestyle that most of us live, busy and mostly low on money. What upsets me is that they won't take responsibility for their crime and we don't to anything as a consumer to say we don't like the health risk you are putting us in with deadly chemicals etc. Most are giving silent consent because we keep on buying and we don't even know it because we are too busy to pay attention. It needs to change, we need to become aware, it needs to be in the consumers interest, our interest.

Rohit Mathew

2/14/2016 10:33:44 pm

With respect to Maggi being sold in India, I heard of it finally getting banned. But this ban didn't hold up too long as the vast majority of the Indian public remained unaware to the problem at hand, and in the process Maggi was welcomed back into everyone of those grateful households who love a 2 min meal.

2/11/2016 12:01:09 am

This article talk about how the country of India banned Coca-Cola from manufacturing their drink there, for exploiting their water source, when they already had a scarce amount of water. Why did coca-cola take water knowing that it was a violation their operating license? I believe they did this because big corporate companies like this are so used to abusing and exploiting other lands resources. It's like some kind of shared mandatory rule to destroy the land you are using as a resource, if you're a corporate company. They usually get away with it too, so they didn't expect to get caught in India. Who gets affected by the actions coca-cola has taken? Everyone in India basically gets harmed because they don't have enough water, and with the industry tapping into their private water just to make one lousy liter of soda, the civilians get robbed of their right to their water. Also the company itself gets a bad reputation because of the publicity of the scandal. Who, most likely started the proposition to get Coca-Cola out of their land? The farmers depend on water the most because they grow the lands agriculture. They are the ones that are the most driven to take action. What happened to make Coca-Cola's finally leave India? Many petitions were made to stop the distribution of the drink by many village residents and farmers. I would of liked to say that Coca-cola would have left before they left India in a critical point of water deprivation, but sadly that is not the case. When was Coca-Cola planning on stopping to exploit India's water supply? My guess is never. They would have kept going for as long as they could if they never got caught. They lowered India's water level drastically and when confronted abut it denied everything.

josue monroy

2/11/2016 08:36:24 pm

It’s a shame that all these big corporations don't care about anything but making a profit. They will do what ever it takes to brings more profit at a less cost without caring about any negative affects they might bring to our planet or its people. They’re so wealthy they believe that the law doesn't apply to them. I am pretty sure that coca cola isn’t the only company taking advantage of other countries.

2/12/2016 12:11:53 pm

Even though it dose not surprise me one bit, it is still a problem that many consumers like us do now about and aren’t aware of. It is a shame that even though these companies are giving work to people in these third world countries, it dose not help entirely.

2/14/2016 03:21:47 pm

I would take a huge bet that getting Coca-Cola out of India required a huge amount of petitioners. Large scale companies like Coca-Cola can usually get away with a lot of things unless it is very well publicized.

Ha Mac

2/14/2016 07:59:39 pm

Coca Cola is a big corporation and they should be aware of keeping their good reputaion other than just making money. Even though they are big, I don’t think they coule keep making profit if they are blamed too much by people. Many other big corporations face the same issues, which make me so confused when using their products

George Boxberger

2/11/2016 04:20:20 pm

My industry is the financial services, insurance, and banking industries.

Why have top banking executives not had any sort of jail time?

This is due to it being much easier to imprison someone one the streets, rather than imprisoning people for white-collar crime. In modern day America, someone smoking pot is far more likely to jail or receive a criminal record than a corrupt Wall Street executive. It does not take a genius to realize that this indicates that the system is corrupt, and a revolution is necessary.

Will giving corporations worth trillions of dollars several billion dollars in fines enough to prevent them from committing wrongdoing once again?

I do not believe this is enough, as if the penalties inflicted upon these corporations sums up to be less than their yearly revenue (which it clearly does) it follows that financial firms, whose main motive is profit, will continue to commit criminal and financial wrongdoing in order to benefit themselves at the cost of the American people and the middle class.

Who was responsible for the 2008 financial crisis?

It is widely agreed upon and apparent that normal, everyday Americans were not responsible for the financial crisis. The top financial institutions willingness to hand out bad loans in order to profit ended up bringing the American economy to its knees. The citizens of America must express more outrage over what occurred, as many Americans suffered financially during the Great Recession. We must hold those responsible accountable.

What regulations should be applied to financial firms that currently are not?

We must focus on breaking up the six ‘Big Banks’ on Wall Street. These six banks consist of Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. These banks were bailed out by taxpayer money in the 2008 crisis. We cannot allow banks whose failure would cause the economy to crash to continue to exist. The power that these banks have over the economy and Congress are simply unacceptable.

What factors prevent banks and financial industries to receive soft penalties for their wrongdoing?

The massive amount of influence Wall Street has over legislators in Congress is appalling, and leads to Wall Street not receiving the penalties they deserve. If politicians receiving their donations would be willing to go after Wall Street banks, they would lose their donations and risk getting voted out of office. The current corrupt campaign finance system currently in place causes Congress to respond to the needs of its wealthy donors, rather than the needs of the American people. Those who are wealthy enough do not believe the laws apply to them, and we must show them that laws apply to all people equally, poor and rich.

2/11/2016 08:22:21 pm

Its sucks but its true! And sadly we do live in a corrupt society. The higher class, the rich folks will always have the system working in their favor. Wall street and all those multi-millionaire industries play a major role and have a huge impact in our political system.

2/11/2016 05:42:18 pm

My report will be about the United States air force hiring private companies to fly drones over war zones, on the war and disaster profiteering industry.
When did this started happening?
According to the Los Angeles times in 2015 two privates companies singed contracts with the U.S air force. The first company was awarded their contract in august 24, 2015 and the other company was awarded with their contract on April 15, 2015.
Where are these private companies flying drones?
These private companies are flying drone aircraft over war zones in Countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
What is the name of these private companies hired by the U.S air force?
The name of the fist company is aviation unmanned. A small, veteran owned company based out of Dallas Texas.
The second one is called general atomics. A much larger company based out of San Diego California.
Why is the air force hiring private companies to do their work?
The demand by the Obama administration on the drone war increased while the pentagon was facing a critical shortage of pilots.
Us air force pilots overwhelmed by the complexity of the work and the grueling schedule began to quit. They waited for their contract to be over and retire.
The Air Force was forced to reduce the number of combat air patrols from 65 to 60 in order to keep its remaining pilots. Nonetheless the air force still needs to keep the drone program running at current capacity. That’s the main reason why the Air Force was forced to hire private companies to join the fight, and keep up the high demand on drone aircraft flying.
Over all I disagree with this military program. I don’t believe that private companies operated by civilian should intervene and have the access and power of control over targeting and weapon release decisions.

Chrissy Bishop

2/11/2016 07:17:03 pm

The topic I choose to talk about involves fast food workers holding a huge strike throughout the U.S.. Tons of fast food workers that were paid low wages went held strikes and protests in about 100 cities around the U.S. on September 4th. The reason for the protests were because the workers were demanding for 15$ an hour from companies like Burger King, KFC, McDonald's and Wendy's. Why did everyone just start protesting now? Since 2012 the “Low Pay Is Not OK” campaign has been in effect when the New Yorkers went on strike for the same thing. They were getting paid a lousy $8.45 an hour that is avraged too about $17,500 a year. One cannot support themselves on that, especially in New York. What is it that keep these workers wanting to stay? They need the money and this is the only job they can get. In the article it speaks about a man named McConnell who quit his job as teacher so he could work at McDonald's to provide for his mentally ill sister. When was it that the fast food industry becomes too much to handle? During the protest he walked off his fast food job in May. To protest the terrible working condtions he and his coworkers had to go through. He said its for his coworkers who have fainted working in 95-100 degrees condtions near the stoves. Along with the ones who have gotten hours docked and wages stolen. What has McDonald's done about this issue? Nothing. McDonald's stated that it does not set salarys for workers since the fast food outlets are small business owned franchises who purchase supplies and the brand name from the parent company. Because of this activists filed 181 cases against the company in late 2012 for harrissing workers who were orginzing higher wages. What about the protests? Over 436 people were arrested around the country at picket protests and sit ins as well as marches. On top of all that trade organizations are fighting back at the protests. Saying that the activities have been proven to be PR stunts and the majority of activist were paid. Which may or may not be the case.

2/12/2016 07:51:16 pm

I personally agree when the workers want to get paid more than lousy $8 or $9 an hour. Honestly I've had friends that have worked in fast food places and some that still do. They've told me it's really worse then people think, but you got to work anyways. So I believe it and think that protesting is a good idea.

Noel Alejandre

2/14/2016 07:32:08 pm

It sucks for people that are getting paid minimum wage on big cities where rent is too high. Everything is very expensive and people have to really look where they spend their money on or they won't have anything to eat. They have to be wise on what they do with their money. I know some people have to work two jobs in order to survive, because minimum wage is not enough to support a family.

2/14/2016 08:04:02 pm

I think people should be paid more even if they are working in fastfood store. I agree with you that things are getting expensive here in the USA and if their wages are still the same, they would not have enough money to live. They find it hard to leave the job and look for a new one with higher salary, so they keep working hard.

2/14/2016 10:52:56 pm

With minimum wages remaining stagnant for large periods of time, I understand why protests are in need. We don't expect multinational companies to dilute their wealth amongst the lower end of the corporate ladder willfully, and the government would gladly allow the minimum wages to remain stagnant as it keeps their rich friends happy. The only option left is to voice out one's opinion, and for that people are shone to prison. We strive for equality but it seems uncertain in a political system that is fabricated to make the rich, even more rich and vice versa for the poor.

2/11/2016 08:23:15 pm

My report is about DaVita Dialysis and how they had to pay a certain amount of money for kidney treatment fraud claims.
What did DaVita do with the amount of milligrams of a vial for their treatment plans?
What they did was they had to administer 100 milligrams of the vial, and Medicare would pay for the 100 milligrams. What they did though, was administer 50 milligrams, throw the residual, open up another one and administer the same amount. What this would do is they would open another bill and charge Medicare for two vials of 100 milligrams.
Why was this allowed to go on for so long?
It was allowed to go on for so long because in their line of business, DaVita is the top in renal care. They're a superpower that cannot be touched and no matter what kind of shady stuff they do they are basically untouchable.
Even though DaVita paid a large amount of money for the False Claim act that was put on them, why do they still deny any claims to fraud?
I believe that they do this because they are such in high power in their line of business. They don't want to tarnish their name as a top renal caring agency.
Why did these lawsuits now stop?
It stopped because Barbetta who was one of the whistleblowers against DaVita was happy with what DaVita was now doing. They were focusing on patient care rather than trying to save money.
Why was it justified to close down the investigation?
It was justified because now people are happy that money was paid for the fraud that was happening. Now that no one else is asking anymore questions, the high power renal care business could go back to their business without anymore rising suspicions.

2/12/2016 12:20:54 pm

That is very interesting to know about this. I would have never know what lengths super medical companies would go to stay on top. Yes even though it is the number one treatment if your kidney’s failed but that dose not mean you still cant take care or your patients.

2/14/2016 09:51:37 pm

I agree with you, I never knew that medical companies would do this to their patients and abuse insurance companies just to be number 1. It's such a waste to only use half a vial, throw it away and then open a brand new one. Just imagine all the patients who could get treatment, but don't because vials are being wasted. It makes me wonder if any of my doctors have ever done this to me or family members.

Landon Tang

2/14/2016 07:19:27 pm

When big corporations do these kind of things they expect a monetary settlement will just make all the wrongdoings go away and more often then not they do. The media is constantly rehashing issues of lower importance and allowing the main issues to be forgotten. Maybe they are getting paid to ignore such a big issue like this? Regardless we need more oversight to keep these mega corporations in line and transparent.

Kaysie Nassman

2/11/2016 08:58:25 pm

Media & Entertainment
Facebook Changes Names Policy n Partial Victory for Privacy Activists.

Who wanted this policy to change?
- Created by Olivia LaGarce and 37,000 others. Laggard forced this petition , and forced Facebook to change its policy to benefit many. 37,000 agreed with LaGarce and signed the petition. Although a few say, the still have to identify their real name, but can now profile their name is they wish publicly.

Who was this petition made for?
- This petition was made for those of abuse, trans gender, and queer people who were not safely "out". Many people would be affected if they were to use their real name and it didn't match their profile picture would be open to harassment, abuse, and possible violence.

Why was this policy forced to change?
- LaGarce and MANY people, believe that by using their real names they are subject to harassment. She claims that it gives the community a sense of safety. " ... it will allow them to express themselves with less fear and more fabulousness,”

How did Facebook respond?
- Facebooks chief product officer, sent out an apology to the community.“The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life. For Sister Roma, that’s Sister Roma. For Lil Miss Hot Mess, that’s Lil Miss Hot Mess." as Coprwatch.org states.

What else happened in the same week?
- Facebook apologized for a 2012 Experiment on Emotion Contagion through social networks. The issue was there was no way for anyone to opt out of it. From that experiment they collected date to form a "better" Facebook say Mike Schroepfer, Facebook chief of technology officer.

Andrew Luft

2/11/2016 09:06:07 pm

The industry of tobacco is always under fire (no pun intended) for the health risks and damages caused by their products.
1. What was this article about?
The article I researched covers how three of the biggest Canadian tobacco companies were recently mandated to pay over one million people in Quebec a total of $12.5 billion dollars. This settlement is the result of a 17 year-long court hearing in regards to the health risks now associated with smoking. More specifically, how these companies knowingly withheld information from the public in regards to these health risks.

2. How did this case come about?
In 1998 two individual smokers initially brought up the case on the grounds that when they began smoking the health risks of smoking were unknown. The cases then began being heard by courts in 2012 when one of the 2 smokers died of lung cancer after many failed attempts at quitting smoking. With so many people developing health complications and dying as result of smoking the allegation arose that these big tobacco companies were aware of the health risks and opted not to inform the public.

3. Why would the big tobacco companies not inform the public about possible health risks associated with smoking?
The simple and most obvious answer is to maximize profits. If the public was aware of the health risks of said product, it would be safe to assume that an overwhelming majority of the populace would not partake in the purchase and consumption of said product. According to “Bob Bexon, who is a former marketing director of Imperial Tobacco, ‘The only remaining ‘benefit’ of cigarette smoking is the psychological assist it provides in terms of stress reduction…If our product was not addictive we would not sell a single cigarette next week in spite of these positive psychological attributes.’”(Richard Smallteacher, CorpWatch Blog)

4. What are the repercussions of this court case?
Like has already been stated above, three big tobacco companies in Canada have been mandated to pay $12.5 billion to over 1 million people in the province of Quebec. However, during the lengthy court process of hearings and appeals, many of the victims have died from the very health complications imposed by the tobacco. The companies have refused to give in and continue to appeal the lower court’s decisions feeling as though they have the legal grounds to overturn the court’s decision. However, other provinces in Canada have since filed very large lawsuits against them claiming that it is about justice, not the money.

5. What can be learned from this article?
The citizens of the United States could view the claims and tactics used by these big tobacco companies in order to prevent the same situation from occurring to them. What I mean by this is that it is blatantly obvious that these corporations are purely interested in profit and not the well-being of its consumers; with enough support and momentum actions can be taken to cripple and ideally regulate the actions of these corporations. In other words, the people do have power, but they need to use it collectively and ideally before many of them are dying from inaction.

2/12/2016 08:01:56 pm

I have a lot of friends who smoke cigarettes and some who are now addicted. I've asked them how their lives have been affected by cigarettes and they noticed their breathing has changed. They breathe harder than they use to. So I believe cigarettes can cause your breathing to change and can cause possibly death depending how often you smoke.

2/11/2016 09:09:06 pm

Media and entertainment is what cross my mind when looking for an industry to write about. This industry has become an essential part of our daily life. People use cellphones and computers all the time.

So is it safe to share our confidential information through phones and laptops?
The answer is no. One example is that Verizon and even Google spy on reporters and send their information to the government. Verizon turned over records on 20 people from the AP who were working on a story on Yemen, and Google spied on email records of a Korean federal contractor.

What mobile hone companies in the US is not reliable according to the EFF?
Verizon, and it is still selling user’s information.

What does the government do if people try to contact the press?
It could put pressure on officials and monitors them to follow its order. Even the officials are afraid of the government’s power.

Who should be aware of Verizon?
- Not just reporters. Everyone could be targeted.

So how can people protect their online privacy?
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse suggests that people could control their information by the following solutions:
- Order Your Free Annual Credit Reports
- Consider Restricting Access to Your Credit Report
- Opt Out of Pre-approved Unsolicited Credit Card Offers
- Reduce Unwanted Telemarketing Phone Calls
- Protect the Personal Information on Your Smartphone and Other Mobile Devices
- Secure Your Computer and Devices
- Understand How Your Personal Information is Revealed Online
- Be Aware of Data Brokers
- Stay Safe When Using Social Networking
- Don't Use a Debit or Check Card
- Reduce Your Junk Mail
- Safeguard Your Social Security Number (SSN)
- Protect Your Financial Privacy
- Understand Your Right to Access Your Medical Records
- Be Aware of CLUE and Other Specialty Consumer Reports
- Handle Your Personal Information Carefully to Avoid Identity Theft

Payton Palazzolo

2/11/2016 09:15:01 pm

The article that I'm going to be writing my questions on is part of the Media and Entertainment and it's titled, "Verizon (and Google) Helped U.S. government to spy on reporters." I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into when reading this article, but when I found out about how the government uses technology corporations to obtain personal information was shocking.
-My first question is how is the government able to obtain personal information from us without our consent? Under the Espionage Act, the United States government has the authority to gather both private and personal information from you and your company if they believe the information could pose a threat to others of the country as a whole.
-Second, I would ask who should be held responsible if the government's suspicion is wrong? If the government decides to hack your personal information without your permission who becomes liable if you decide to take it to court? Is the government responsible or Verizon/Google?
-Third, who should you trust knowing that you're being watched? If you know that there's a possibility that you're being monitored through your phone or social media, which carrier should you trust. Do you think that your carrier would support your privacy or turn over your information to the government without question.

Brandon L

2/11/2016 10:14:43 pm

That is an interesting thought of who takes responsibility and which carries to trust. But i wonder also if the government already has arrangements with all carries put in a business like that to either forcibly or be bought out so that all information gets transferred through the governments eyes.

2/14/2016 09:53:10 pm

This relates to the End Of America video that we watched in class on how the government may use information against you even if you did not do anything wrong. It is like the spies they had during The Cold War in the Soviet Union. It is like America is turning into these countries that they tried to prevent from being in power.

Van Truong

2/11/2016 09:22:45 pm

Why KPMG as an accounting firm not report the suspicious money being deposited into the swiss bank accounts?
Some members that work for the kpmg may also be accepting bribes to overlook the money transfers, that are coming from unknown sources.
Why is there not a committee that runs the FiFa organization properly and with an unbiased mentality?
The Fifa organization should be ran by certain delegates from specific countries and this rotation should come every few years so that members of the FiFa committee are not guaranteed life on the board thus preventing bribery and fraud.
What should be the punishments for these FiFa officials who partake in bribery?
The Current punishment is fines and bans from any associated sporting events that deal with FiFa, but the punishment should be a bit more severe because since the world cup is an International event and millions of people tune in the sport should be played with all fairness, and the location of the world cup should also be chosen without bribery.
How do private investors or corporations launder money into these private swiss accounts?
Money is sent into offshore accounts near the abroad accounts that are not charged taxes, no matter the amount of money put into these private accounts, that way investors and people who are looking for a place to stash their money on any shady deals, can use these business accounts without having to file paperwork for the IRS or any other government firm to tax them.
Why does the Brazilian Representative play a crucial role in this laundering?
Brazil was home of the last world cup and this summer plays host to the Summer Olympics and any sort of fraud towards sporting events could result in bad light for the Brazilian sports committee into their future bid to host other games.

2/11/2016 09:25:56 pm

I chose the Energy Industry, specifically the resultant situation from my article; BP being sued by Mexico

Who is BP?
BP is also known by British Petroleum and is a supermajor oil in gas company in the world today. They have the fifth largest revenue of ANY company in the world today with postings of over 1.5 billion dollars.

What did BP do?
In 2010 BP was drilling using the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the waters in the Gulf of Mexico. An explosion occured and caused a fire which resulted in the rig sinking and the oil well untapped and uncontrollable; approx 4.9 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico

When is BP being sued by Mexico?
3 States in Mexico in 2010 have filed against BP for an amount approximating 1.25 billion dollars for damages against the coastline and agricultural disruption caused by the oil spill. The states are currently embroiled in a legal battle with BP's legal time for settlement.

Where did this occur?
This is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico more specifically the Gulf States of Mexico. The legal battle itself is occurring within the U.S court system where Mexican fisherman have filed their suit.

Why has Mexico filed a suit against BP?
Local oceanic agriculture being disrupted by the oil spill, migratory patterns of certain species being interrupted, and most importantly the local populace of Mexican coastal states have yet too see any compensation from BP for the oil spill.

2/11/2016 10:14:52 pm

I'm curious as to the legal battle, and what has come of it. Also curious upon the damages said to be 1.25 billion like, what can be done for all the damage that has been done.

2/14/2016 01:04:39 pm

I remember when the BP oil crisis happened and was all over the news. It is crazy to think that a catastrophe of such extreme proportion like that still hasn’t been dealt with. It just goes to show now only how powerful these giant corporations are, but how impactful they truly are upon our ecosystems.

2/14/2016 07:20:46 pm

It is very sad that the most affected by this are the animals that live on those waters. Human mistakes really affect the environment. we have to do something to try to prevent this from happening again in the future. I wonder what those three states are going to be doing with the cash that they are trying to get. If there is anyone that deserves the money, it is the fisherman that cannot go fish in those waters any more. they are the ones that need the help.

2/15/2016 08:02:34 pm

How difficult must it be to explain to adults to clean up after themselves? For a company to profit so much off of exploiting the earth of it's resources, you might assume they would have the common sense to keep their equipment in a good functioning condition to keep the money coming, but disregarding their lack of maintenance of their assets; they have a responsibility to invest in the repairs and cleaning of the mess they cause. They have the funds to do it and they can get positive PR and develop more relationships through such a move, maybe even sell more stock. It is an unsettling feeling to watch our world slowly destroyed by wealthy greedy men who believe in nothing.

Trevor Davies

2/11/2016 09:53:18 pm

Who: The fast food workers hold biggest ever strike for wages in U.S. The low wages at fast food companies are not adequate to survive on.
What: The issues that are happening all around the United States is that fast food workers are not earning enough to support a family or barely themselves. To help support high wages they when on strike demanding that this be changed. During the strike hundreds were arrested fighting for what they believed in.
When: This is happening all the time but this particular incident occurred back in September 2014.
Why: Today, the cost of living has drastically increased so the minimum wage is not enough to live on. Also they wanted better wages to make the workers happier and having the workers more satisfied will produce better quality of work and less turn over.
Where: This sort of thing happens all over the United States.

Brandon Lingerfelt

2/11/2016 10:00:23 pm

My article I chose was called Greenwashing Walmart by Pratap Chatterjee, in April 2012. What caught my eye for this article and why I choose it was the intro being “Is Walmart going green?”, and starting off with who, it is Walmart, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and ILSR ( Institute for Local Self-Reliance with Food & Water Watch. In order that I listed them what is happening in this article appears to be Walmart being partnered with the Environment Defense Fund to have a more fond public image, and ILSR with Food & Water Watch on the opposite spectrum being unconvinced with a report in ways Walmart fails on sustainability. When all this happened I am sure is still happening to this day, even though this article was posted in 2012, critical exposure dates back to a film in 2005, so I could assume that Walmart has yet to completely change its ways of production. Why, this is important because it’s our environment and just like the video we watched earlier in the quarter about “Stuff” Walmart supplies a lot of the “Stuff” you’re probably using to this day. Whether you shop at Walmart or not it is a high possibility that you’ve encountered some form of “stuff” in your daily life. And important because Walmart is trying to gain a favored public image when in reality it doesn’t even have much sustainability and is using it’s wanted image as a marketing tool, as told from Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher from ILSR. Where this is happening? Everywhere...It’s Walmart, 1,100 new stores opened since 2005- 2012(article date) “sometimes paving over land with endangered species.” So it truly is happening globally.

2/11/2016 10:30:28 pm

Who were the companies that employed these miners?
Of thirty companies mentioned, Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold were named. Some companies provided health health services for their employees while they were employed but not after their employees retired.

What were the working conditions of miners?
Sometimes there would be blasts in mines and the workers would’ve even be out of the cave yet. One worker described tasting white dust following these explosions, which eventually led to chest pains and coughs.

What kinds of lung diseases can be contracted?
The diseases that can be contracted are silicosis and tuberculosis. Silicosis is when one breathes in particles of silica, which scars lung tissue. Tuberculosis can be treated while silicosis can not. Tuberculosis in the area where these miners worked and lived is among the highest population in the world.

Where did the workers come from?
Miners migrated from Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique. They received low wages for their hard labor, and were let go once they got sick.

Would suing these companies benefit current and former employees if they get sick and die before they see the results?
Though some retired and current miners die before their lawsuit is settled, it is an important to bring up. Companies didn’t let their employees know that if they got sick, they could be paid damage fees. These companies exploited their workers and simply let them go once they could no longer offer their services.

2/11/2016 10:32:46 pm

I chose the natural industries industry, which turns natural resources into products we use. My specific article was South African Gold Miners Sue Over Deadly Lung Disease.

2/14/2016 01:15:51 pm

It is crazy to think about how much these massively powerful corporations lack compassion and simple decency for human life and well-being. It’s hard for me to imagine how when they have so much money they will do all they can to avoid spending any on the people who are doing all of the footwork for them. It’s really quite sad how extremely power tends to corrupt so much to the point that we would so willingly and sparingly throw away our humanity for another dollar.

Keyan Mehrabi link

2/11/2016 10:50:23 pm

Food and Agriculture "Fast Food Workers Hold Biggest Ever Strike For Wages in U.S."
1) Workers wanted $15/hr. Do you think $15/Hr is an actual livable wage?
-In my opinion, for the most part, no it is not a livable wage. Unless you are living in an extremely low cost area, you won't be able to even find a decent place to live. On top of food, expenses, insurance, it would be extremely hard and saving would be nearly impossible.
2)Why does cost of living go up when minimum wage rises?
-Well, this is what i think. Let's use a family owned restaurant for example. If this restaurant has to pay higher wages, then they will charge more for their food to cover the costs. Remember, it is all a business so every one will try their best to nickle and dime you. Landlords will know you are making more and will higher the rent. The people that suffer from this are the salary people who weren't complaining before but won't get a raise when minimum wage goes up even though cost of living goes up too.
3) How do we resolve this issue with minimum wage?
-Well i am all for people making more money as long as it doesn't affect the prices of everything skyrocketing. Just last year my meal at Wingstop was $10 and now the same meal is almost $12. A couple years before that it was $8. How long until we are paying $20 for some wings?
4) Do you know of anyone that actually lives on their own with minimum wage?
-I know of people who do, but they are barely making it and sharing rooms/apartments with others. They arent saving anything so its really unfortunate to seem them working towards nothing but hard work always pays off. On the other hand, i know many people who work for tips such as servers and they live a decent life. Not extravagant but happy.
5) Why aren't the protests being heard?
-You know, i think the protests have been heard and their are a lot of people fighting for this but i feel like its out of our hands. Its something a majority has been asking for and the US knows that but they are lagging on making it a priority. Hopefully a new president resolves this ongoing issue.

Charbel Mawad

2/11/2016 11:19:55 pm

In the Bay Area, I believe I heard somewhere that the “livable wage” is in the high $30’s per hour. The minimum wage is intended for high schoolers, not adults with families. So, the best bet is to get an education, followed by a degree, and find a career that pays well. Unless you’re from Kentucky, South Dakota, or any other state where the cost of living is very low, $15 an hour just won’t cut it.

2/11/2016 11:28:55 pm

Yes that is true but unfortunately many folks who who to America for better opportunities or low income folks, don't have the kind of time or money to attend college. If someone has to work minimum wage to live, they would probably have to work over 60-70 hours a week and it would be difficult to attend college. I guess it depends on everyones situations.

2/11/2016 11:14:33 pm

I chose to write about the media and entertainment industry. To be precise, I wanted to explore the “World Cup Scandal” article. Fifa, football's world governing body, has had claims of widespread corruption since summer 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is also continuing. Fifa's president Sepp Blatter has always denied any wrongdoing - but in September, he too was made the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation, launched alongside the US inquiry.The scandal erupted in May, with a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich and the arrest of seven Fifa executives - conducted at the behest of the US authorities. So, why does this matter? The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world, larger even than the Olympics. It generates billions of dollars in revenue from corporate sponsors, broadcasting rights and merchandising. These arrests and investigations cast doubt over the transparency and honesty for the process of allocating World Cup tournaments, electing its president, and the administration of funds, including those earmarked for improving football facilities in some of Fifa's poorer members. What were they accused of? They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) "disloyal payment" made to Platini in 2011. The Fifa ethics committee said that pair had demonstrated an "abusive execution" of their positions.
They have both maintained that the payment was for work by Mr Platini as the president's advisor in 2002. Mr Blatter has maintained that Fifa did not have enough money to pay Mr Platini at the time, so they agreed to delay payment. 3) Why were the officials accused? The FBI has been investigating Fifa for the past three years. The investigation was initially sparked by the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups, but was widened to look back at Fifa's dealings over the past 20 years. The Department of Justice's indictment says that the corruption was planned in the US, even if it was then carried out elsewhere. The use of US banks to transfer money appears to be key to the investigation. How is this the end for Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini? Unless they win the appeals they intend to lodge against the charges, they are done with. Mr Blatter had already said he would step down as Fifa president in February but the eight-year ban will make this immediate. He will also have to step down as the head of the European football association (UEFA). The bans would also likely mean that the two men would fail Fifa ethics standards if they ever tried to return.What is next? Fifa is already holding a presidential election in February to replace Mr Blatter so this will continue as planned. Uefa will also have to hold elections to decide on a new head, but they may well wait until after Fifa has picked a new president.

2/11/2016 11:17:42 pm

1) Question:
Who is removing who from their lands to build what?
Answer:
The employees of the Union Development Group (which is a Chinese company) removed villagers from Koh Kong, Cambodia inside a 45,000 hetre-land concession within Botum Sakor National Park to build a large casino.
2) Question:
What other country(ies) have been affected by invasive people destroying their homes, land, and/or crops?
Answer:
For many years, Israel troops have been occupying a wide majority of Palestine the Israel troops have been captured on film burning olive trees which the Palestine people make their living farming, just like how the employees of the Union Development group have been burning their houses and destroying their rice fields
3)Question:
When did the plans for the casino get made and by what year did the compensation for the villagers’ land decreased to a $300 per hectre?
Answer: The plans for the casino were made in 2008 and then the revisions to plans that revoked the original generous offer on the villagers’’ land was made in 2012. This deal subverted the rule of law by allowing the Chinese company to build upon protected reserved land.
4)Question:
Why didn’t the Cambodian government provide justice for the villagers?
Answer: The environment minister did not visit the territory affected by the bulldozing. He went to visit the company’s areas. This shows the corruption in Cambodia.
5) Question
Where are the villagers of Koh Kong, Cambodia living now?
Answer:
The area was not specified as far as a name but one villager described it as a place with no opportunity for education, farming, or religious practice where people are getting malaria. These villagers were offered as little as $300 a hectare for the forceful relocation off of their rightful land.

2/11/2016 11:36:35 pm

What other country(ies) have been affected by invasive people destroying their homes and land? Well, the first country that comes to mind is Syria, which is being destroyed by the current civil war that’s happening. ISIS is invading most of the towns and destroying homes, churches, and killing innocent people. It’s beyond horrific what is happening to those people, and I have family in parts of Syria that are trying to avoid the terrorists.

Nancy Park

2/11/2016 11:21:24 pm

"U.S. Government Buys Surveillance Technology To Track Drivers in Real Time"
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=16011

The article I have chosen was about our government implementing technologies to infringe on our privacy while we are simply driving, without us knowing. The government has paired up with technological businesses in order to keep track of regular citizens for no apparent reason.

What exactly do these technologies do?
It is basically a program of surveillance where a vehicle's license plate (front/rear) is taken a photo of. Some programs are capable of taking up to 10 photos in total and up to 4 of occupants.

What purposes were these programs serving for the government originally?
The original purpose for these programs were to catch drug traffickers. However, the Department of Justice is now allowing local officers to keep a database on local citizens.

Why would the government allow these surveillance programs to keep track of regular, innocent citizens?
Allowing the law enforcement to keep a database on these citizens allow them more access to information. It makes their jobs easier to keep an eye out for everyone and anyone committing crimes. It cuts out a bunch of their time because they could catch those people even on major highways.

Who is one of the biggest vendors of the automatic license plate recognition technology and why would this be an issue for people like you and me?
Vigilant Solutions is one of the biggest vendors and holds almost 2 billion records, adding 100 million every month. This is an issue for us, especially in the bay area, because Vigilant Solutions is located in Livermore, California. We never know if any one of us is included in their databases!

Why would this be a violation of privacy laws?
This is just one of the ways for America becoming a closed nation. As an American, we are allowed to know what the government is up to. However, the government shouldn't invade privacy of law abiding citizens unless they are in accusation of a crime.

Keyan MEhrabi link

2/11/2016 11:25:21 pm

It is no lie that America is a closed nation already. They say we have freedom, but anything you do can and will be monitored. It is sad when we are told all of our rights but as soon as someone challenges their rights, they can get in trouble for it. So many young folks have had their lives ruined for what? Because America is a closed nation and it is getting worse.

Yunlin Xie

2/12/2016 12:12:37 am

Firstly, If America is a closed country, there is no open country in the world. If in a closed country, we cannot even say something bad to the government or president, we should be very careful when talk about politics. In a closed country, all the history textbooks are "ameliorated" already. In a closed country, the political textbooks are all about how good the country and government is. In a closed country, mass media is controlled by the government. In a closed country, there is no facebook, no youtube, no way to connect to a foreign website. Secondly, I have to say America is not as "open" as before.

Nimsy Velasquez

2/11/2016 11:45:23 pm

Retail & Mega- Stores “Ikea France Accused of Spying on Employees”
Who was doing the spying?
Ikea has hired a private detective agency, Sûreté International. And they were getting some their information from the STIC which is known for its inaccuracy.
Why did Ikea have the need to spy on their employees?
Some of their employees were activists from the union Force Ouvrière and even disgruntled customers.
What happened to those employees?
-A dozen of the Ikea employees have been arrested and even fired from their jobs. And it mentioned that one lady sued Ikea because they were going against their policies.
When did the news break out of Ikea spying on their employees?
It first broke out the year 2012, when an investigative website named Rue89 and a French satirical magazine, La Canard Enchainé, published emails between the CEO of the private detective agency and the director of Ikea France’s risk management division, discussing about how much the spying would cost.

Nadia Villanueva

2/14/2016 09:38:37 pm

It pisses me off how big companies and industries have the power to attent against the rights of their workers like privacy. Nowadays peole don't even have the right to think what they want or be what they want because their jobs and careers will depend of it and it shouldn't. I liked the article that you choosed so I read it all

The article I chose to talk about was the BP vs the Mexican fishing companies. This article talks about how BP, an oil company had a well that blew up, caught fire, and killed eleven people. The well was still burning for three months. A result of there was a massive spill of oil, 4.9 million barrels of oil. The location of this event was between the U.S and Mexico. Both countries were affected, but only the Americans were compensated whereas the Mexicans weren’t.

Why is BP not compensating the Mexican fishing companies?
I think that BP is not compensating the Mexican fishing companies because they would rather not pay if they don't have to. These small time companies do not have enough money for the best legal representation whereas the American companies do. Plus, BP would not ruin their relationship with America whereas with Mexico they could care less.

Is it because BP is racist?
I do not think racism plays a role in BP’s decision not to compensate the Mexican fishing companies. It all comes down to business relationships and legal representation. Obviously America is a huge consumer of oil and BP would not want to tarnish that relationship.

Is what the Mexican fishing companies asking for fair?
I do not think it is fair for what they are asking for, but it is not as much as what the American businesses received in compensation. I feel that if they are able to pay those businesses nearly 2 billion dollars, they should be able to compensate those fishing companies who are asking for only thousands in compensation.

Will any life ever be worth any amount of money?
I do not think any life will be worth any amount of money. I do believe that it will help those families of the victims in many ways.

Should BP be tried in court for this since many people died?
I feel that BP should be tried for this because it has happened so many times in the past. But with the best legal representation and their relationship with countries that heavily rely on oil such as America, they have a bit of room for error. I feel that the government is not prosecuting them because they make money of each other and they would not do anything to jeopardize the money.

2/11/2016 11:47:10 pm

The industry I choose is “Tourism and Real Estate”, and the article I choose is “Cambodian Villagers Land Bulldozed for UDG Casino Complex”.

1.What does this article talk about?
A Chinese company, UDG, wanted to building a resort complex in Koh Kong, Cambodia. They forced native villagers to move without paying them the promised amount of money. They even used violent measures to make people to move out from their house in order to get their land. However, native governors and central government did not do any thing to stop this.

2.Why the UDG chose Koh Kong as its target?
Koh Kong is a province with a lot of undeveloped coastline, we can easily tell it is not a wealthy place. However, Cambodian is a traveling country, let alone Koh Kong, which is a village locates in the coastline. For UDG, it is potential money. Besides, it is undeveloped and poor place, so all the coming issues could be easily solved by money. One beneficial factor for the UDG is the Cambodian government, UDG made full use of this point.

3.Why the UDG, a foreign company, can be so savage to native residents without being stopped or punished from local government?
As what we can deduce, it is the corruption and the incompetent government. When facing a group of violent and savage foreigners, the government did not anything to help. They are so evil. They received money from those invaders, and even help them to harm their own citizens and destroy their own motherland. Without something behind, some hidden power, how could be those foreigners so arrogant.

4.What are the basic procedures to carry out this evil plan?
Even if I did not experience too much, I already heard enough similar cases. First, they need to prepare a huge number of money for the people who are in power (governors). Only through this way they can get the support and consent for doing bad things. And they can get some documents, which are necessary for beginning their project legally, completed as soon as possible. Second, they will sign “useless” contacts with residents, in the contacts they will usually promise a good price, or sometimes just a very low price (which means they do not even want to pretend). Third, after getting the land, they just give some money to residents without respecting the contacts. Fourth, if some residents are not willing to move away, they will destroy your houses forcibly.

5.What can we do to avoid this issue?
First, we should have a common consent. We cannot sacrifice our environment for development or money. Second, citizens or residents should have their civil rights. Third, the responsibility of government should be serving its citizens instead of making self rich.

2/12/2016 12:00:46 am

A lot of similar cases happened in China, it is shameful that they even take this "inhumanity" to other countries. I do know how many people died in this kind of issues. The Chinese government is always pretending "a good person" and even blame those real-estate businessmen for their violence and inhumanity. It is the government, who gets the money, who do not need to anything damaging its image, and who can even find a scapegoat to blame. Many Chinese people are still surrounded by a lot of illusions created by government.

2/12/2016 12:19:31 am

i wan to say "i do NOT know how many people died because of the issues". Money and power are usually connected. People who are poor as well as without power, we can only wait to be trampled.

2/14/2016 07:24:32 pm

I believe that China is emulating what past powerful states have done. America used force against the Native Americans, England used force when they colonized India would be prime examples of "use of force" to achieve the nations goals. It's a vicious cycle but this pattern will be repeated time and time again.

2/11/2016 11:50:51 pm

I would like to comment on the manufacturing industry. It is here that raw materials are transformed into finished goods, on a large scale. Which brings me to my first question, how do they achieve this? It could be capital or labor intensive. Capital intensive production allows them firm to use heavy machinery in order to meet the large demand of a particular finished product, whereas labor intensive would rely on man power to do the same. What is capital intensive labor usually associated with? It is usually associated with higher externality rates in terms of mass emission rate of toxic gasses. Many firms seek to maximize profits and thus implement ways to reduce their costs. Some of these methods may indulge firms into not installing essential equipment in order to reduce or filter the toxic emissions. By doing this, they are able to maintain a relatively lower product cost, which means higher product competitiveness in the market. Do manufacturing industries that employ a labor intensive method, have similar issues?
well, while there will be similar negative externalities, major emphasis falls on the working conditions for these workers. They usually work 16 hours a day, with minimal or no equipment suited to protect them from the environment that their working in... thus leading to various health problems. More over, they get paid minimum wage or less, depending on which country they are in. China, India and Indonesia, three countries that have relied heavily on their massive workforce have cannot deny to exploiting them. Why is their less job security in the manufacturing industry? Quite simply, manufacutrers produce goods that are in demand, as they demand shifts, so will their resources. They will liquidate their assets and shift to another line. This usually renders the employees inable to work as they are not qualified to work due to their incompatible skill-set. Many of these employees are regarded as disposable as employers find it easier to look for new employees with suitable skill sets, rather than train the old employees. Why are manufacturing companies allowed to thrive? These firms set the basic foundations of the co-operate world. We can notice how the U.S had their trade deficit increase as their manufacturing levels decreased. It is so vital for the balance of trade, and many laws are passed to safeguard these firms.

2/11/2016 11:52:30 pm

Turism & Real Estate
Dark Side of the Tourist Boom: Cruise Ship Controversies Cross Borders
What is the reason that many activists in the Mexican Pacific resort of Zihuatanejo recently celebrated?
In 2008, after many complaints from people who live and protest in defense of the Bay in Mexico, the plan for a new cruise terminal was canceled. The local community protested against the new terminal because of the thousands of new visitors each year that fill the little town stressing the habitants but also the cruises harm the environment.
2. What were the consequences that impacted Zihuatanejo after the 9/11attack?
After the incidents in November 11, the government sent Mexican marines to guard the cruise lines. They also privatized the public waterways for secret operations, preventing that
other boats come near because of the fear to terrorists. These secret cruise ships damaged the local resources provoking that the bays are dredged, and local water supplies was tapped and the garbage unloaded.
3. How much increased the number of ship passengers that visited the Mexican waters in Zihuatanejo?
The number of passengers has been doubled between the years 2000 and 2007, from3.2 million to 6.4 million. Even though this business will collapse the town with the construction of more marine terminals, host cruise ships and federal officials plan to make the cruise business even bigger.
4. Why the Mexican government justifies these actions?
The government said that these cruises help the economy of the city, while there are more tourists, there will be more money. They take this situations as an investment and also the money will increase the jobs. Thanks to the money that cruise ships contributed, there are approximately 16,000 more jobs in Mexico. For that reason they approve promoting the cruise business.
5. Which are the measures taken by the militarism in relation with the cruises?
The Mexican navy increased the strategies for control and protection against terrorism in cruises. These days they are trying to control immigration, heavy drinking, illegal drug consumption, and gambling. But also there has been many mysterious deaths and persons missing from cruise ships, therefore U.S. authorities have limited jurisdiction.

Lorena G

2/12/2016 12:04:26 am

"Fast Food Workers file lawsuit against McDonalds for alleged wage theft"

1. Do franchisees companies really care if the employees go on strike ?
No, because owners know that there are people out there looking for a job. At any time they and know they can easily replace the employees. McDonalds is a big corporation that anyone who is desperate for a job would not mind working there even if they where getting payed less then minimum wage. Like I said before they can easily replace employees.

Do i think it's fair these people are not making it through with minimum wage?

Hell no! I know the struggle these people are going through. Luckily I am still living at home with my parents and the minimum wage that I get payed I would not be able to make it on my own. These people who are independent with families have a reason to be striking. They will not make it unless they have a second or even 3rd job.

3. Is system stealing wage okay to let it slide?
It is not okay to have anyone work while they are not getting payed. Time is money. I would demand to be back payed for that time I am doing, especially if I am being forced to do so.

4. What is really going on here?
The company only cares about the costumers because they will always come back. The employees are the ones who have it bad. Workers have rights and I feel like McDonalds is not the only place this is happening in. Everyone all over the state is fighting for their wage rights, unfortunately no one is doing anything at this moment, not even those who are working full time are making a financial living for their loved ones.
5. What can we do to prevent Wage theft ?
I think unfortunately there is only so much us employees can do about it besides asking for back pay, but also we can do research or hire a public lawyer to help out on this issue.
Until then we will still have to adjust with minimum wage until Obama or the next president fixes the issue.

2/13/2016 01:11:49 am

To be working at a place like McDonald's is looked down upon by most people, an old teacher of mine used to insult us by saying we were all going to be working at McDonald's one day if we didn't start getting the answers correct. But honestly, the hardest working people work in that fast-food chain. They deal with terrible pay, terrible hours, rude costumers and most people with "decent jobs" probably couldn't do the job they do. We see the job description and think "easy job for slackers" but even slackers would be overwhelmed because behind that job description is so much more. It deserves more than what workers are being paid. All people deserve a livable wage not just a minimum wage and big companies like McDonald's don't understand that.

2/13/2016 03:36:05 am

I have gone through a similar situation. I used to work at Abercrombie Kids and we did not get paid for our breaks, and were regularly pushed to purchase their clothes. My managers would often threaten to give me a "mark" on my record if I didn't comply with the dress code (which I never did because I hated the clothes). Good thing though I live with my parents like you or else it would be much more serious like the workers at McDonalds.

2/15/2016 12:57:59 pm

It really pains me that this area of work gets treated as less than. Every form of work is good, and people shouldn't be judged by their job. Fast-food workers do get it pretty bad because no one respects them and people who don't work there, but eat there think they have the right to walk all over them. It's ashame.

2/12/2016 01:12:46 am

Sometimes in construction a lot of laws can be broken. Employees can be over worked and have their right violated. So, what is the problem with this? The problem when this happens, is that workers complain and sue the companies. Companies try to find some one else to blame for the problem and counter sue who ever is causing them the problems. Who is involve in this? Vinci, a french construction company with over 2.3 billions in contracts to build stadiums for the world cup soccer tournament in the next 7 years. They have over 9,00 employees and 15 already file a complain of being over worked and in bad conditions. Where is this happening? This is happening in Qatar and migrants from south and south east Asia go Qatar to work as Janitor, in food services and management level jobs to send money back home to support their families.In Qatar 94 percent of the employees are migrants. Why is this happening? Qatar economy is growing fast and with a lot of job openings, it attracts people from other countries to go work there. With all this work that needs to be done in a seven year time, workers are being over worked and are filling lawsuits against the companies because their rights are being violated. What can they do to prevent this from happening? Vinci already took the first step to preventing from happening by inviting Unions, Reporters, Journalist and people from outside to come work, inspect, and see that they are following the laws. I think that when workers have unions, they have more work secure and companies do not take advantage of the employees.

2/14/2016 11:59:31 pm

It is really sad what big companies do that to workers specially to the ones without papers or that are afraid to being fired. It's not only in this country but in many other parts of the world. Also in Brasil happened the same case about workers constructing the stadiums for the World Cup. You're right, when workers have unions they have more work secure.

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