Can ya hear me now

imported
#21

I’m not trying to throw a flame in here or anything, but have made an observation from several comments about Wal-mart. Casey points out to avoid Wal-mart because they’ve pressured employess not to take breaks and they hurt other small businesses. These were isolated incidents and make for great media attention. I saw it just like everyone else when NBC covered Wal-mart and their issues. Again, it seems everyone points out new companies to ‘hate’ once the media exposes a few isolated incidents. Wal-mart employees 1,700,000 people. So a few on NBC about not taking a break isn’t really a huge deal (to me) when you’re talking about overall percentages.

There are plenty of jobs where employees don’t take a break. Hospitals are one of them. Many nurses don’t have time to stop where they’re doing and take 30 minutes or an hour to leave the facility and relax. This is very common and you will not see this blasted all over the next ‘Dateline’.

I’m not sure where people draw the line with companies they wont support. If Wal-mart is bad then how about K-mart or Target? What makes them different? Is Target okay because the store is nicer and there’s more a cooler crowd shopping there? It’s still a huge corporation who pays their employees $6/hour. Also, they’ve outsourced many jobs to other countries.

Then there are the companies who outsource jobs all over the world. These are jobs that otherwise would be had here in the States by us, the middleclass. Do we boycott these too? No, infact all of us support them everyday in some form or another.

Again, I’m not trying to start some sort of argument here. It’s merely an observation, and I hope it is taken as such.

guru

#22

Just a word of caution about phones that are both analog and digital.
I have found that my phone uses battery power very quickly when in the analog mode.

Steady

#23

The few pay phones left out there eat the minutes on calling cards. I carried my cell phone from VA to ME. (Verizon) It was usually only on in town or when I needed to make a call. Reception was much better than I expected!! Carry a phone card as a back up (or just write down the numbers on a much lighter piece of paper). The phone and the charger wasn’t that heavy. I wish I had just carried it from the beginning.

Bubble Toe

#24

Support the Chinese economy: shop at Wal-mart.
I try not to.
Note the passing of the U.S. auto makers and all those jobs that are being lost. Buy American products and keep Americans working, because the job you save may be your own. Globalization is gutting the American middle class and keeping the woring class from ever becoming middle class, thanks to this slave-labor friendly adminstration. No flames here, I’m just sayin’. The facts speak for themselves.

no to wally world

#25

I’m a lurker here(mostly), but I have to reply to the wal-mart issue. God forbid someone starts a company, does it really well, and squashes their competition. Also, about how the employees are treated. No one makes them work there.
They applied and accepted the conditions of their employment.
And the anti-globalization thing. We all live on the same planet. You aren’t entitled to anything, and there are “PLENTY” of opportunities to make money in the "most free market economy on the “PLANET”, the U.S.

Steve.

Steve

#26

Wal-Mart is pushing the use of spychips in products. Last year it sent a directive to its top suppliers, ordering them to put RFID chips in all products. These things are sewn even into chothing. Pass a reader anywhere in the world, and it will read the chip.

Spychips : How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID

http://tinyurl.com/drx8b

Mug