In 2008, for example, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting warning politicians that a global financial meltdown could occur within a few days, giving them enough time to get their money out of the market ahead of the general public. Congressman Spencer Bachus, for one, shorted General Electric four times in early September 2008. Between July 2008 and November 2008, he made 40 options trades on GE, in one case nearly doubling his money in two days.
In other news, CBS has also recently discovered that presidents lie, that the U.S. has been borrowing money for 40 years, and that Elvis is actually dead.
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I've had a hard time finding some new topics. The news is dominated by Europe, the GOP nomination, and Penn St. I finally think I've found a few new things.
Wal-Mart reported earnings that were below the analyst estimates. However, their sales are finally turning around. I think that is good news for a lot of businesses. I just hope people are using the money they earn, not credit, for their purchases.
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More violence at McDonald's. This woman freaks out because they switched to the breakfast menu.
When Shanaya Edgell arrived early yesterday morning at a McDonald’s in Janesville, Wisconsin, she was expecting to order from the fast food joint’s regular menu--Big Macs, french fries, Chicken McNuggets, and the like. Except it was around 3 AM and the restaurant had already switched over to its breakfast menu--hash browns, Egg McMuffins, hotcakes, and the like.
This enraged Edgell, according to Janesville Police Department officers, since she wanted a cheeseburger.
The 22-year-old--for some unexplained reason--turned on her boyfriend, biting him on the arm and tearing off his shirt. Darrell Page, 40, explained to a cop that Edgell “wanted a burger from McDonald’s,” so they drove to the restaurant--only to discover at the drive-thru window that the eatery “had stopped serving hamburgers and was now only serving breakfast.” Edgell, he added, “got upset because she did not want breakfast and only wanted a cheeseburger.”
After driving away, Edgell apparently changed her mind, and directed Page to “return to McDonald’s so that she could get breakfast,” according to a misdemeanor criminal complaint filed in Circuit Court. At this point, Edgell allegedly began striking Page in the face and biting his right arm. Page also told police that when he pulled his car over during the assault, Edgell got out of the vehicle and climbed atop the hood to keep him from leaving.
During police questioning, Edgell confirmed that she became “upset” after discovering that McDonald’s had “switched over to the breakfast menu and…she wanted to order food off the regular menu.” She reported “freaking out over this,” adding that Page was trying to calm her down over the matter of the unavailable cheeseburgers.
When a cop asked why he had spotted her on the car’s roof, Edgell answered, “because I was acting crazy.” After dismounting from the vehicle, Edgell was collared for disorderly conduct.
Pictured in the above mug shot, Edgell is being held in the Rock County jail in lieu of $150 bond. She is scheduled for a court appearance later this afternoon.
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Target Employees Want Store Closed on Thanksgiving
As more retailers try to turn Thanksgiving Thursday into Black Friday — some employees are fighting back.
More than 40,000 people signed an online petition on change.org asking retail giant Target to reverse its decision to open its doors on Thanksgiving Day — and allow workers to spend the holiday with family and friends.
There are hundreds of comments on the petition supporting retail workers’ rights to Thanksgiving Day off, including this one from Caroline Hemenway: “This is absurd! Corporations are treating their workforce like serfs and fomenting a toxic consumer culture. Pure, unadulterated greed.”
The campaign was launched by Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee from Omaha, Nebraska, following news that the company’s management had moved the standard Black Friday opening time from 5 a.m. on Friday to midnight on Thanksgiving. The new opening time will require employees to arrive at work by 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“All Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones on Thanksgiving,” said Hardwick, who works as a part-time parking attendant at a Target store in Omaha. “With the midnight opening, employees like myself will have to leave for work right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner. We don’t mind hard work, but cutting into our holidays is a step too far.”
“If Target doesn’t reverse its decision and allow associates to spend Thanksgiving holidays with their family, they might suffer from a fast-growing consumer backlash,” Hardwick added.
Will they? After Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s announced plan to open at midnight on Thanksgiving – the biggest fish of them all — Walmart — decided to go even further and open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Mich., will open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving and Tanger Outlets in Howell and West Branch, Mich., will open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve,” explained Steve Schuknecht, general manager of the Tanger Outlet Center in Howell. “We’ll offer a free premium $10 gift card to the first 250 people in line when we open. We do try to drive traffic that way and create a buzz.”
That may be a bonanza for avid shoppers, but how about all those hard-working retailers who have to leave their families to man the registers? Schuknecht takes it in stride.
“I don’t like the fact I have to come in on Thanskgiving, but when you work in retail it’s the nature of the beast,” Schuknecht said. “I understand the value of it. Our traffic has been tremendous.”
Other major retailers are choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, citing their employees’ right to a holiday.
“We wanted to give our associates Thanksgiving Day to spend with their families,” said Bill Gentner, senior vice president for marketing at J.C. Penney, in an interview with the New York Times.
Locally, when news first broke about retailers turning Thanksgiving Thursday into Black Friday, Jennifer Hamilton Boisvenue posted on CBS Detroit’s Facebook wall, “No ‘thing’ is worth more than my time whether it’s time relaxing at home or spent with friends for the holiday. Pure insanity all in the name of consumerism.”
Facebook fan Chris Stearns wrote, “And I thought 4 a.m. was too early to get up and go shopping.”
This enraged Edgell, according to Janesville Police Department officers, since she wanted a cheeseburger.
The 22-year-old--for some unexplained reason--turned on her boyfriend, biting him on the arm and tearing off his shirt. Darrell Page, 40, explained to a cop that Edgell “wanted a burger from McDonald’s,” so they drove to the restaurant--only to discover at the drive-thru window that the eatery “had stopped serving hamburgers and was now only serving breakfast.” Edgell, he added, “got upset because she did not want breakfast and only wanted a cheeseburger.”
After driving away, Edgell apparently changed her mind, and directed Page to “return to McDonald’s so that she could get breakfast,” according to a misdemeanor criminal complaint filed in Circuit Court. At this point, Edgell allegedly began striking Page in the face and biting his right arm. Page also told police that when he pulled his car over during the assault, Edgell got out of the vehicle and climbed atop the hood to keep him from leaving.
During police questioning, Edgell confirmed that she became “upset” after discovering that McDonald’s had “switched over to the breakfast menu and…she wanted to order food off the regular menu.” She reported “freaking out over this,” adding that Page was trying to calm her down over the matter of the unavailable cheeseburgers.
When a cop asked why he had spotted her on the car’s roof, Edgell answered, “because I was acting crazy.” After dismounting from the vehicle, Edgell was collared for disorderly conduct.
Pictured in the above mug shot, Edgell is being held in the Rock County jail in lieu of $150 bond. She is scheduled for a court appearance later this afternoon.
*****************************************************************************
Target Employees Want Store Closed on Thanksgiving
As more retailers try to turn Thanksgiving Thursday into Black Friday — some employees are fighting back.
More than 40,000 people signed an online petition on change.org asking retail giant Target to reverse its decision to open its doors on Thanksgiving Day — and allow workers to spend the holiday with family and friends.
There are hundreds of comments on the petition supporting retail workers’ rights to Thanksgiving Day off, including this one from Caroline Hemenway: “This is absurd! Corporations are treating their workforce like serfs and fomenting a toxic consumer culture. Pure, unadulterated greed.”
The campaign was launched by Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee from Omaha, Nebraska, following news that the company’s management had moved the standard Black Friday opening time from 5 a.m. on Friday to midnight on Thanksgiving. The new opening time will require employees to arrive at work by 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“All Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones on Thanksgiving,” said Hardwick, who works as a part-time parking attendant at a Target store in Omaha. “With the midnight opening, employees like myself will have to leave for work right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner. We don’t mind hard work, but cutting into our holidays is a step too far.”
“If Target doesn’t reverse its decision and allow associates to spend Thanksgiving holidays with their family, they might suffer from a fast-growing consumer backlash,” Hardwick added.
Will they? After Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s announced plan to open at midnight on Thanksgiving – the biggest fish of them all — Walmart — decided to go even further and open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve,” explained Steve Schuknecht, general manager of the Tanger Outlet Center in Howell. “We’ll offer a free premium $10 gift card to the first 250 people in line when we open. We do try to drive traffic that way and create a buzz.”
That may be a bonanza for avid shoppers, but how about all those hard-working retailers who have to leave their families to man the registers? Schuknecht takes it in stride.
“I don’t like the fact I have to come in on Thanskgiving, but when you work in retail it’s the nature of the beast,” Schuknecht said. “I understand the value of it. Our traffic has been tremendous.”
Other major retailers are choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, citing their employees’ right to a holiday.
“We wanted to give our associates Thanksgiving Day to spend with their families,” said Bill Gentner, senior vice president for marketing at J.C. Penney, in an interview with the New York Times.
Locally, when news first broke about retailers turning Thanksgiving Thursday into Black Friday, Jennifer Hamilton Boisvenue posted on CBS Detroit’s Facebook wall, “No ‘thing’ is worth more than my time whether it’s time relaxing at home or spent with friends for the holiday. Pure insanity all in the name of consumerism.”
Facebook fan Chris Stearns wrote, “And I thought 4 a.m. was too early to get up and go shopping.”
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Did anyone see Obama slamming China for the way they are handling their currency? He told them to act like a "Grown up" economy. I'm not sure it's a good idea to piss off your largest debt holder. Here is China's response
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