Keith Olberman: Terrorists are a tool for John McCain to exploit the American public

Trumka video on Obama shooting up YouTube's all time chart->

<- I'm As Mad As Hell #1 - "The Part That Big Media Left Out !!!"

This is poignant, from 9/11/08



It's amazing that the keyword of terrorism has been used even more in the weeks that have followed.

25,000 job losses and there are no suspects

In truth, no lessons are learned unless those responsible are held accountable

At last nights Central Labor Council meeting in New York, the delegate of the Operating Engineers Local 94, the men and women who maintain the technological and environmental machinery in our superstructures, was explaining how badly he felt while running around the city trying to find positions for his displaced workers in the Lehman Brothers building. This one firm going out of business is like stabbing a knife in the hearts of over 25,000 working families in New York.

Likewise, restructuring of the insurance giant AIG, who is the sole insurer on the construction project I am currently on, could potentially grind many construction sites to a dead halt. It's not very good news for anyone who relies on New York City for employment. So, who's to blame? I know I'm angry, and you should be too, just consider how much of our tax money is being spent to bail out all of these firms who have, through their predatory lending to anyone who could flip a burger, have wound up creating a new form of socialism, one where the hard working tax paying citizens are now sharing, sharing but with an exception, the only ones who are benefiting from our new socialization, are the ultra-rich, so here's my favorite article of the day. A day which I felt so bad for all the displaced workers in my city

From the New York Daily News,

Another major crisis, and as usual, there are no suspects

Thursday, September 18th 2008, 1:23 AM

Honda/Getty - Guard at AIG watches for trouble from firm's new owners - you and me.

The big shots are never to blame.

We fail to prevent the attacks on 9/11, but nobody is held responsible.

We charge into Iraq, heedless of the consequences, and nobody is made to answer for it.

Now, Wall Street implodes and nobody is held accountable.

The people who precipitated the worst financial crisis in memory walk away megarich while the taxpayers are left to cover billions of bad debts.

Once again, the big shots skate and the decent, honest, working people suffer.

The top guys at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and AIG knew they were dealing shaky mortgages.

They also should have known that some of the brokers were hustlers with a predatory eye for those made vulnerable by bad credit, old age or infirmity.

The fact that these mortgages were so chancy was what made them so profitable - and the executives were thinking only of the short-term profit that generates the annual bonus.

So, the same way drug kingpins launder the proceeds of street sales, the Wall Street firms bought up subprime mortgages and turned them into supposedly primo securities.

They then overvalued these laundered mortgages and used them as collateral to leverage their firms beyond all reason.

The immediate result was that top executives such as Lehman CEO Richard Fuld became as wealthy as in their wildest dreams and moved about as the titans they imagined themselves to be.

Never mind that the fabulous profits originated in hustling decent souls such as 86-year-old Simeon Ferguson, a retired chef from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, who fell prey to a robbery disguised as a loan while suffering from dementia.

Ferguson ended up with payments that exceeded his income, as did millions of other hustled homeowners.

The individual result was the homeowner faced foreclosure.

The cumulative effect was the laundered debt was deemed "toxic," which was what it had been all along.

The firms became as hard-pressed as all those hustled homeowners. The government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then propped up Bear Stearns long enough for it to be sold.

The feds seemed to draw a line and let Lehman go bankrupt. Then came word the government had decided to rescue AIG with $85 billion of our hard-earned money.

In exchange, we get 79.9% of the firm, so I figured a taxpayer would be welcome at the AIG tower on Pine St.

But, when I arrived at the gleaming lobby Wednesday and asked to visit the observation deck, a security guard had a one-word reply.

"No."

I have been told the deck accords a dramatic view of Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 innocents were murdered. I now remembered a line from the 9/11 commission report.

"Our aim has not been to assign individual blame," the preface said. "Our aim has been to provide the fullest possible account ... and to identify lessons learned."

In truth, no lessons are learned unless those responsible are held accountable, be it 9/11 or Iraq or the Wall Street implosion that seems far from over.

Where is the outrage? Please remember, they want us to put one of the only social programs which does benefit the people, social security into the clutches of such scum bags as those who orchestrated the current crisis we are in. Remember that when you get out to the polls, remember that when you think of how we did as Bush told us after 9/11, as Giuliani told us, we spent money buying stuff to heal our country, we did as they asked. How many of us wish we had some of the thousands we tossed away for shit we didn't need, while they took our young to invade a country in a preemptive strike against a nation who had no ties to the terrorist who attacked my homeland. Remember that as the $550 Billion of our unborn grandchildren's tax money is spent, remember as our young people come back with an arm or a leg or both blown off. Remember that as we wonder why we gave the airline industries billions in bail outs, while they outsourced our jobs to far away lands, remember how they created more Government, that was supposed to protect us from invaders, while simultaniously encouraging more illegal immigration, remember that as we all have less health coverage, if any at all, as our safety net has shrunken as they took our money to subsidize the biofeul industry which is using our cheap corn poroduct and making the price skyrocket. Remember the poison animal feed that killed our cats and dogs, the Chinese made Heperin that caused our countrymens deaths, the poison toys that have taken over the shelves in the stores, the total and unequivocal removal of our Habeas corpus rights, how they allowed the mega corporations to destroy our way of life. How they gave tax incentives for companies to leave, how they created loopholes for the highest bidders.

Yes they have socialized our country, we pay for all their misdeeds, we pay for those who do not on both sides of the spectrum.

Remember all that as they continually divide us through their flickering box that has only 6 corporate owners , as does their periodicals, they don't want distention against their plans, they want dissension amongst ourselves. While we worry about words and lipstick, they have terrorized us all. The real terrorists use economics, fear and deception to divide and conquer us all.

We have a chance to change the path we are heading in, even if it's only 1%, anything is better than more of the same. Get out and vote, show them you give a crap, or settle with the fact that you didn't do the littlest of your American rights, the rights that our forefathers fought and died for.

Piss on your rules Nurse Ratchet, I ain't no little kid, I ain't no little kid. I want something done. I want something done, I want something done!!!!! - Cheswick, after Nurse Ratchet tells him about the rationing of cigarettes, he then gets carried away by a group of orderlies

Workman's Compensation News: Big win for a NY cabbie who lost his eye being a good samaritan, 911 workers and volunteers claim deadline extended

God how I love the internet, I come home last night to find out there's more labor news this past week than I have time to even read about, and find out that there so much more that isn't even written about in the labor blogs that I have a ton of work on my hands. So while fumbling through the newest news via my Google RSS on the site I noticed a big win for a NYC Taxi driver who, while in a parking lot eating lunch decided to help out a person with a dead battery. Unfortunately the battery exploded blinding the man when he attached the wires. This is a really good article by a compensation attorney in Illinois and Iowa, Nick Avgerinos called "Something to Chew Over: Are You “On-the-Job” During Your Lunch Break?", here's a few key snips:

With personal injury claims, on the other hand, specifics are very important. Were you in any way at fault? How much were your medical bills? Can you continue to work? How does the injury affect your personal life? You’re the victim and yet you’re left to prove that you deserve compensation. Doesn’t seem fair, but it’s the way the system works. The best thing you can do is be upfront and honest. It’s up to you to report your injury early and seek legal advice regarding how to proceed.

He then continues explaining the differences, and then with the case at hand, our cab driver:

So, what about lunch breaks? As with most questions, the legal answer is “it depends.” A recent New York workers’ compensation case provides an interesting example. Like Illinois , New York Workers’ Compensation law requires that the injury arise both out of and in the course of employment. In this case, a cab driver was parked in a parking lot, eating his lunch, when approached by another motorist for assistance in jumping his car. The cab driver graciously agreed, but the battery exploded as he was securing the jumper cables, resulting in the cab driver losing his left eye. He filed for workers’ compensation….but he was on his lunch break when the injury occurred.

The case ended up in the New York Court of Appeals , which agreed with the employer that meal breaks are generally not compensable. They ruled, however, that this case was an exception. Testimony showed that drivers routinely took 15-20 minute breaks with the express permission of the employer at a location convenient for the employer. Reasoning that the general rule doesn't apply when the nature of the job dictates the time and place of the meal and the employee is still “on-the-job” at the time the break occurs. Thus, the court determined that the cab driver was injured in the course of employment.

But did his injury really arise out of employment? The New York Court of Appeals determined that if an employee is injured while involved in an activity that benefits the employer, while in the course of employment, then that employee has a workers’ compensation claim. But the cab driver here was just being a Good Samaritan , right? Wrong. The court ruled that, because the cab was clearly marked with the employer's name, the assistance created a good-will benefit to the employer. In other words, the cab driver was providing free advertisement for the employer.

That information is very helpful for all of us, I'm glad I got to read it, another thing I noticed is an article by Chrissie Cole that points out the extensions to register for Workman's Compensation for all 911 workers and volunteers, the new filing date is August 13th. 2008:

Those who helped assist in the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts of the World Trade Center destruction - have an extended deadline of August 13, 2008 to register with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.

The law has been changed to allow for claims by those that have 9/11 related illnesses.

The change applies to workers and volunteers that may not be sick now, but how become sick in the future due to toxic exposure following 9/11.

To ensure eligibility, all workers and volunteers must register before August 13, 2008 to preserve your right to file a claim in the future.

Workers and volunteers who assisted in cleanup work, recovery and rescue should register as soon as possible, to avoid the deadline. Those who were exposed to psychological trauma and/or toxic dust should protect their rights by filing a claim. If you are not sure if you qualify to make a claim, registering is suggested.

Detailed information can be found by visiting the NYCOSH website at www.nycosh.org or by calling 1-866-WTC-2556 24-hours a day.

Check out Injury Board for a lot more info about Workman's Compensation, nice site indeed. They even have a ton of articles for Construction Safety Month

American Airlines, from 911 bailouts, customer rights law overturn, outsourcing, lax FAA enforcement, the Allied Pilots Association and the Teamsters

"Today, on the news, they said the cancellations may get worse. Worse? How can they get worse? What are they going to do? Take your luggage and then punch you in the face, too?" --Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, April 10th.

The airline industry which the tax paying people of the US bailed out in 2001, is screwing us all over again, our lives hang in the balance in this ever greedy corporate world, where the entire idea of putting profits over people, the lawful duty of a corporation, is destroying our world.

Since the 911 bailout, the airline industry has successfully sent highly skilled and FAA certified American jobs to other parts of the world where they don't even need FAA certification.

Unions, who some claim have overstayed their welcome, still are fighting the good fight to equalize the playing field for the common man.

Without union involvement and the help of whistle blowers acting out against the social injustices of corporations, the world would be much worse off.

Image from www.TellYourAAStory.com

Un-fuck-ing-be-liev-ab-le

In New York just 3 weeks ago, on 3/25/08, a Federal appeals court struck down the New York state law requiring airlines to give food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers stuck in delayed planes, saying the measure was well-intentioned but stepped on federal authority.

The very next day, 3/26/08, American Airlines grounded it's fleet of Boeing MD-80's

The nation's largest carrier canceled more than 340 flights — or about 14 percent of its scheduled service — according to the latest results from FlightStats.com.

The need for the new inspections became known during an audit of American by a joint team of inspectors from the FAA and the Fort Worth-based airline.

It's now 2 weeks later, and heres a clip from ConsumerAffairs.com (4/10/08) :

The mandatory inspections of its fleet of MD-80 aircraft forced American Airlines to cancel 500 flights on Monday and nearly 1,000 on Wednesday, creating long lines of frustrated passengers in the nation's airports. The chaos is likely to continue today, with as many as 900 more flights scratched.

At Denver International Airport Tuesday, 19 of American's 22 scheduled departures were canceled, along with the same number of arrivals, according to the Denver Post. The newspaper reported lines to American's sixth-floor ticket counter snaked to the mezzanine area overlooking the terminal's north security checkpoint.

It was the same story in Orlando, where 22 flights were canceled Wednesday.

"Folks, if you think this is going to get better, hang on. It's going to get a lot worse." Rep. John Mica (R-FL) told WDBO Radio.

And it has only been getting worse, according to AeroNews.net (4/12/08) :

"We anticipate returning to a full schedule on Monday." That statement Friday from American Airlines no doubt comes as little reassurance to hundreds of thousands passengers inconvenienced in the past three days, due to the cancellation of nearly 3,000 flights for emergency inspections of its fleet of MD-80 airliners. In an email message to previous American Airlines customers, Marketing VP Dan Garton said the airline is really, really sorry for the trouble.

Recent FAA emphasis in the wake of heavy criticism

According to ConsumerAffairs.com (4/10/08- same article as above) :

American is just the latest airline to react to the FAA's new emphasis on inspections, in the wake of heavy criticism of the agency's monitoring and enforcement of inspection mandates. Southwest Airlines faces a possible $10 million fine after it few a number of its Boeing 737 jets that had not been inspected for cracks in their fuselage, as ordered.

The unions have responded in both cases, most recently in the American Airlines situation

Allied Pilots Association on American Airline's

From Airline Biz (4/10/08) :

The Allied Pilots Association, 19 months into non-moving contract talks with American Airlines, has taken out a big ad in USA Today to attack the airline's management.

Under photo of a disgruntled-looking man sitting on a cot with his roll-on bag by his side, the ad's headline asks the question: "Why is American Airlines failing its customers?"

The message includes a reference to the union's new Web site that allows employees and customers to complain about American, www.TellYourAAStory.com.

The ad sums up many of the complaints the APA has lodged against American management: poor maintenance, poor customer service, penny-pinching, etc. As an interesting note, it doesn't mention the union's beef about executive stock awards.

The ad doesn't say so, but we presume the timing is tied to American's decision to ground some 2,500 flights Tuesday-Thursday to go back and re-inspect its fleet of MD-80s that it had grounded two weeks earlier for the same reason.

On Tuesday, the union plans meetings at all its bases to turn up the heat over the executive stock plan, which will distribute stock to top executives and other key employees the next day.

The Teamster's on Southwest Airlines and airline outsourcing

Same article from above- Consumeraffairs.com (4/10/08) :

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that Southwest, which faces a potential $10 million fine over the inspection violations, has cancelled plans to outsource aircraft maintenance to a company in El Salvador.

"We've been trying for years to get the FAA to pay attention to how dangerous it is to outsource maintenance overseas," said Teamsters Union President Jim Hoffa, whose members perform maintenance work in the U.S. "Our mechanics keep telling us how they often have to re-do work that was done wrong by airlines' outside vendors."

"Airline mechanics have to meet much higher standards in America than they do overseas," Hoffa said. "Mechanics in foreign shops don't even have to be FAA-certificated."

Hoffa said that between 1997 and 2006, U.S. airlines increased their outsourced maintenance expenses from 37 percent to 64 percent," Hoffa said.

In advance of Oberstar's Capitol Hill hearings on the subject, FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell said the agency would institute a two-year ban on former FAA inspectors going to work for airlines in important maintenance jobs.

FAA whistle blowers have increasingly complained that FAA inspectors failed to act on repeated warnings about Southwest's inspection lapses, allowing the airline to "voluntarily" report missed deadlines, thus avoiding penalties.

Is that what the airlines did with the 9/11 bailout money?

BusinessWeek, from way back in (11/26/01) :

Airlines used the attacks as justification for large federal subsidies, and Congress responded. A board of federal officials, headed by Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich, has been authorized to dole out $10 billion in government-backed loans. Some $5 billion more is available in outright grants, and half of this amount has already been distributed to many airlines.

This assistance, with perhaps more to follow, is unwise because stockholders, creditors, employees, and suppliers should have to bear most of the costs of the economic slump and the aftermath of the hijackings.

From ConsumerAffairs (1/22/05)

JetBlue, Southwest, America West, Northwest and United are among the carriers who outsource major maintenance of their aircraft to contractors in other countries, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

• As JetBlue's new A320 Airbus fleet ages, aircraft are sent to a repair hub in El Salvador;
• America West also sends its jets to El Salvador;
• Southwest has always outsourced its major maintenance;
• US Airways mechanics agreed Friday to pay cuts and the outsourcing of 2,000 mechanics jobs;
• Northwest sends its wide-body jets to Singapore and Hong Kong;
• Bankrupt United Airlines recently won union approval to begin using outside contractors for heavy maintenance.

It wasn't long ago that major airlines employed their own highly-skilled mechanics, each with his or her own Federal Aviation Administration license. The mechanics, who often studied for two years before taking the test, could make $60 or more per hour.

Mechanics working for outsourcers don't have to be licensed. Only supervisors are required to hold FAA licenses and are responsible for oversight of the mechanics, who in countries like El Salvador may make $10 to $20 per hour.

Like squeezing the juice from a lemon, once again the tax paying American public has reinvested against it's own interests.

CEO's should be repaying into the tax system, not reaping great benefits. We got screwed without even a kiss.

Censorship, Atheists, Labor, Toxic Toys, Romney, Giuliani, Willie Nelson, 911 conspiracys and other stuff you may have missed

Random thoughts from around the net

Starting with censoring Atheists from Rupert Murdoch's MySpace:

• Banned: MySpace deletes world's largest atheist group

Social networking site MySpace, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, has sparked controversy by deleting the world's largest online atheist group following complaints from people who find atheism "offensive".

"Atheist and Agnostic Group" boasted 35,000 members until it was deleted on 1 January for the third time in as many years. It was founded in 2004 by Bryan Pesta, an assistant professor at Cleveland University who established it as a social network "specifically for godless people."

The group was closed down for the first time two years ago after an organised campaign by Christians persuaded MySpace to delete it. It was eventually restored and MySpace promised to protect it. This time, despite a petition from 500 users and repeated emails to customer services, MySpace seems reluctant to reverse its actions.

• MySpace deletes Largest Atheist Group in the World
• MySpace Atheist and Agnostic Group Restored (sort of)
  

What is the real bad side effect of losing your social networking account? Eric Lee creator of Labourstart could see this happening to organized labor and expressed a very strong argument to not outsource your campaign to their networks (back in Nov.)

• Bandwagons and Buzzwords: Facebook and the Unions

What you're doing by outsourcing your campaigning to Facebook is growing their company, giving them direct access to your supporters and members. What's the alternative? Do-it-yourself online campaigns where you retain the information on who has sent off protest messages.

LabourStart has campaigned this way for years. Every time we do a campaign, we collect the emails, names and unions of participants. If they've given us permission, we've added them to our mailing list and they receive our weekly email newsletter. Our list has grown from 3,000 names five years ago to 51,000 names today due to these campaigns.

Imagine if Facebook had existed five years ago and if we had tried to campaign using it. We wouldn't have a mailing list today and we certainly wouldn't be able to send out more than 50,000 emails a week.

Which eventually we have seen come to pass, when a Union Organizer and Labourstart correspondent, whose goes by the nickname Blackadder, had his account removed from Facebook, it took John Wood, a dedicated unionist from the United Kingdom who created a site urging people to E-Mail Facebooks customer service and a Labourstart campaign sending E-Mails direct, to get him reinstated.

• AFL-CIO Weblog | Banned Union Organizer Back on Facebook

This isn't the first time a Big Media outlet has banned a less than conservative opinion, in Sept. 2007 Verizon took the step of banning text messages from the Pro-Choice group NARAL

• Verizon Blocks Messages of Abortion Rights Group

The dispute over the Naral messages is a skirmish in the larger battle over the question of “net neutrality” — whether carriers or Internet service providers should have a voice in the content they provide to customers.

Which leads me to the impotence of the agency that is supposed to protect us from unsafe products, the CPSC, better known as the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This is a clusterfuck by all standards

• The CPSC's quorum to expire—again

Over the weekend, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will lose its quorum—just like it did for eight months in 2007 before Congress gave it a temporary reprieve to continue to operate with full authority.

Why should you care? Because without a quorum (in the CPSC’s case a quorum means having three commissioners), the agency’s activities are limited. It cannot vote on new safety standards, issue mandatory recalls, or take further action on civil penalties above $50,000 against firms that have failed to report defective or hazardous products.

An online friend, John, who has been following the toxic toys mess in this country E-Mailed his Senator with an article which explained that Japan has a very extensively researched product safety standard and a giant list of unsafe imported products, he has a great point in just asking for the list and giving it to the CPSC, I'd go one further, remove the CPSC and outsource their jobs to Japan.

You would think the Govt. wants sick and retarded citizens, could be theres an awful lot of Big Pharma money getting stuffed in politico's pockets, look at how they get whatever they want, look at how your asking your doctor for Viagra and all the other shit they want you to jam down your gullet, that hasn't been tested properly yet and makes you sicker so you can get more shit that makes you sicker so you can buy more shit. Heres his E-Mail:

Dear Senator Lisa Murkowski,

The enclosed news articles show the persistent problem of importing unsafe and toxic goods from China to America. The CPSC has been unable to get on top of this problem, because they say they don’t have the resources to do the job. I recently heard a news broad cast pointing out that America will have this problem for years to come.

The news story said that Japan does not have this problem and will never have it. Japan sends over inspectors to see to it that unsafe and toxic products are not shipped to Japan in the first place. Japan has a list of products that have passed inspection and a list of products that have not pass inspection.

What the US of A should do is get a copy of the list of products that Japan has screened and follow it as they do. Then the problem of shipping in unsafe and toxic products will come to a halt. As Japan does not have this import problem of products from any country, nether will the US of A.

I am sure that Japan would be willing to give a copy of their safe product list to the US of A for free. I hope you get a copy of this safe product list and give it to the CPSC for them to use in their screening of products that are shipped to America.

I'm all for it John, unfortunately in its impotent state the CPSC cannot do a thing. Speaking of ineffective, did you catch Mitt Romney, who after blowing $40 Million of his own cash bashing unions on the way out the door.

• On His Way Out the Door, Romney Attacks America’s Workers

It’s high time to lower taxes, including corporate taxes, to take a weed-whacker to government regulations, to reform entitlements, and to stand up to the increasingly voracious appetite of the unions in our government!

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, the only thing better than him leaving the race is when Giuliani dropped out, but has Mr.911 really dropped out. He has thrown his support into Mr.War McCain, who the conservatives allege is a Liberal, hoping all us closet Racists and Misogynists will storm onto his bandwagon. Well as this article will explain, Giuliani would be the perfect choice to make sure that the Fascist police state we are heading towards is enforced

• Does The Brownshirt Party Have Aces Up Its Sleeve?

In a McCain Regime, Cheney will be back in office with another stint as Secretary of War. Norman “Bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran” Podhoretz will be Undersecretary for Nuclear War with General John “Nuke them” Shalikashvili as his deputy. Rudy Giuliani will be the Minister of Interior in charge of Halliburton’s detention centers into which will be herded all critics of war and the police state. billy kristol will be chief White House spokesliar.

The first year Mr.Giuliani was in office I got arrested while trying to convince my friend to give the police his ID, who tried to remain in office during our time of mourning the devestation, which has become a popular thought as Mr.Bush has effectively created the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive.

• Bush To Be Dictator In A Catastrophic Emergency

The directive defines a “Catastrophic Emergency” as the following.

"Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;

So what does this mean? This is entirely subjective and doesn’t provide any real concrete definition of what such an emergency would entail. Assuming that it means a disaster on the scale of the 9/11 attacks or Katrina, there is no question that the United States at some point in time will experience an emergency on par with either of those events. When one of those events takes place, the President will be a dictator in charge of ensuring a working constitutional government.

Mr.Giuliani, as my friend George at work informed me, had part ownership of SkyWatch, who in collaboration with Raytheon(God how I love that companies name), a large military contractor was developing technology to build a virtual Border fence. Although he had dropped his assets in the company Mr.Giuliani was promoting his "fence" for quite some time, as recently as Feb.5th., the day he filed his papers to become a Presidential candidate

• Giuliani Owned Stake in Border Fence Venture

(Feb.5th.2007 he stated)"I support security at the borders," Mr. Giuliani said. "I do think that with the fence, the fence honestly has to be a technological fence."

He forgot to mention 9-11 and Terrorism in that statement, must have been an off day. Which brings me to conspiracy theories, lets see, big politicos who have big military ties, big corporations who swing right on the issues, terrorism, terrorism, terrorism. America's favorite pot smoking country singer Willie Nelson has come forward stating that 9-11 was an inside job.

• (AOL-News:)Willie Has 9/11 Conspiracies on His Mind

This comes less than a year after another beloved, well known and respected member of the entertainment industry Charlie Sheen came forward expressing his disbelief, I don't remember seeing this on the news or in the paper, do you? God I got to see Britneys ragged snatch shot thousands of times and her new drug of choice is plastered all over everything, but when a legitimate member of the entertainment industry comes forward with such shocking words its buried. Oops, I stand corrected, Showbiz Tonight did a story on it.

Nothing in this world could make someone wonder more than Zeitgeist Movie. When first viewed it gave me the shivers, now I stick to the Serenity Prayer. The best comment I have read so far about it is from RustyLime.com

Well, in saying all of that, remember that conspiracy is just another form of propoganda. While movies like these, the Dawkins ones, the Loose change series, Al Gore's movie etc are principally informative, all information is greatly slanted towards the makers' own bias, prejudice, translation and interpretation.

The only source for information that is trustworth is you. You do your own research and make up your own opinions (if you feel it necessary). Otherwise, you are left with mindless cretons, sheep if you will.

Warning: View At Your Own Risk

Enough with the conspiracies, read a few articles about construction safety here in New York

• Trying to make it safer to do a dangerous job

Construction of low-rise buildings – 14 stories and under – is up 31 percent over last year, and "construction incidents" on such buildings are up 2 percent, from 288 in 2006 to 294 in 2007, she said.

But "the regulation framework within New York City is geared toward high-rise construction,” maintains Coletti of the building trades association. He also thinks DOB is not proactive enough. “DOB has always been reactive,” he said, voicing a sentiment echoed repeatedly by those interviewed. Until recently, “it was the Wild West show out there. They need more resources.”

I wholeheartedly agree, get more people and funding. Start investigating even the smallest sites, construction companies do not go into business to get smaller, expecting the growing companies to concern themselves with safety when they do get the larger projects, is like taking the driving test after you already have bad habits.

I'm starting to think that all pedestrians walking in the City Of New York should wear a hard hat, they would be a hell of a lot easier to sweep up if they were crushed, and at least it would make those guys digging 2 feet into the street have a real reason to wear a hardhat.

Which makes me wonder why the city is so lax on illegal aliens entering the state and working in construction, wouldn't it really suck if say a terrorists were to get underground at Grand central Station or the UN. Doesn't take a genius to figure a way to make a steam main explode, sometimes it happens on it's own. Hell if the workers are getting shit on for $8 an hour for 100+ hours a week any Al Quaeda operative, who could figure the correct language to speak to one, could surely get him to plant a bomb for a pittance. Probably just for some medical insurance.

• Steam Pipe Explosion Jolts Midtown; One Person Is Confirmed Dead

Meanwhile, Republican Senators have made sure via a threat of filibuster that the better version of the Economical Stimulus Plan were not made available to the public, unfortunately a plan which did not include extension of unemployment benefits and heating assistance for those who need it most has been adopted and voted in. John McCain didn't bother to vote, some Liberal he is.

• Improved Stimulus Package Fails in Senate By Single Vote; Chamber Passes GOP Alternative Instead

In the 110th Congress, out of 450 votes, McCain missed 56.7% of them. The only one who missed more was a senator who had a brain hemorrhage.

Senate, they don't have to worry, they get to collect their salary even after they have left office.

• Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments.

For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $00.00. Nada. Zilch. This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan.

Speaking of Liberals, a new friend and contributer here, Mike from Springfield, MA Union News had a great story which he posted on his site.

• Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican

(excerpted) Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Liberal, socialism all that gets me confused, but I know that Starbucks definitely fears union organizers, the Wall Street Journal explains that there were E-Mails floating company wide to management, expressing concern that they had union sympathizers in their ranks.

• Starbucks Emails Describe Efforts to Stop Unionization

According to several emails, in early 2006, Starbucks managers discovered that two pro-union employees in New York were graduates of a Cornell University labor program. According to an email, managers took the names of graduates from an online Cornell discussion group and the school's Web site and cross-checked them with employee lists nationwide. They found that three employees in California, Michigan and Illinois were graduates of the program and recommended that local managers be informed.

The Gunite workers sure could have used unemployment extension in the Stimulous package if the are out too long.

• ‘Getting tougher all the time’ for Gunite pickets

Workers say they’re still united to get a better contract but admit that two months on picket lines collecting unemployment is a strain on their families. While the unemployment benefit is about two-thirds of a worker’s pay, it’s based on a 40-hour workweek. Gunite’s 136 union workers average 66 hours a week, according to the UAW.

“It’s getting tougher all the time,” millwright Mark LeFevre said. “It gets a little frustrating. For one thing, they stretched the talks out.”

In the meantime, security guards hired by the company keep a constant eye on the pickets. Replacement workers and salaried employees are operating the plant.

All leading to the newest book I have asked for a review copy of

• Union Free America: Workers and the Antiunion Culture

"An outstanding contribution to our understanding of the lives of working people, past and present. Lawrence Richards's careful examination of workers' resistance to union appeals breaks new ground, while his case studies of failed organizing campaigns illuminate workers' ambivalent and often hostile views of organized labor. This account of men and women who are usually neglected by celebrants of unionism enriches the historical narrative and reminds us of the cultural and ideological obstacles that labor activists have faced and continue to confront."--Robert H. Zieger, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Florida