VICTORY FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY THREATENED

Stratford won the OMB decision. Official Plan Amendment 10 is official. OMB forced Stratford to pay legal fees incurred protecting our Official Plan. Walmart is Again Disrespecting the spirit and intent of our Official Plan by taking advantage of zoning loophole and building in East area of Strtaford.

READ AND CONTRIBUTE TO 'If You Love Stratford' FOR INFORMATION, NEWS, VIEWS AND IDEAS

*PROTECTING OUR SPECIAL DOWN TOWN AND HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY*

*LOCAL ECONOMY VERSUS CORPORATE LOOTING*

*SHINING A LIGHT ON WHAT MAKES STRATFORD SPECIAL*

*CONTROLLING SPRAWL*

*QUALITY OF LIFE*


Monday, August 2, 2010

IF YOU LOVE STRATFORD: Two Cents Worth

sign the petition to increase garment workers salary at
http://wakeupwalmart.com

Two Cents Worth



Please join Wake Up Walmart and the National Labor Committee in calling on Walmart to support a 35 cent per hour minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh.

Last week we posted on our blog about how Walmart's $8 pairs of jeans were made by Bengali garment workers, mostly young women, who are paid the equivalent of 11.5 cents an hour. This week these workers took to the streets in protest over wages, where at least 25 workers were injured by authorities.

Please join us in calling on Rajan Kamalanathan, Walmart's Vice President of "Ethical" Sourcing, to support protesting workers in Bangladesh in calling for a garment worker minimum wage of 35 cents an hour.

Walmart’s claim that it sources its products in an ethical manner is completely undermined when workers are forced to take to the streets in protest over wages so low they have been called “not only insufficient, but also inhumane” by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

The rumor about Walmart Watching.... is true!



Walmart Will Use Electronic “Smart” Tags to Track Clothing

If you thought there wasn’t already enough to get riled up over when it came to Walmart, here comes news that this big-box retailer will soon be employing “smart” tags to manage their inventory. While this move may simply seem like an obvious technological trade-up, don’t be fooled, these electronic tags are doing a lot more than telling the store what’s on the shelves. Retailers have long employed radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags to track pallets of merchandise as they move from storage to store, but Walmart will be the first implement this technology where consumers roam. While they are removable, RFID tags cannot be turned off, meaning they’ll follow you wherever you go. So what does this technology mean for your privacy? Read ahead to see why this little tag has watchdog groups crying foul.

Walmart, Luxury Labels to Track Clothing With Electronic “Smart” Tags
by Jasmin Malik Chua, 07/26/10

Privacy advocates, prepare to have a field day. Walmart has just announced plans to embed individual garments with scannable electronic ID tags, the first step in a real-time tracking system for controlling inventory and preventing theft, according to the Wall Street Journal. Starting August 1, the big-box retailer will be placing removable radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags on its jeans and underwear, a move that will allow its employees to find out which sizes are missing from the shelves—and what additional items remain in the storeroom—with a wave of a handheld scanner.

YOU’RE BEING WATCHED

Retailers have long employed RFID tags, which act like long-range barcodes that can be scanned from a distance, to track pallets of merchandise moving through their supply chains. Walmart is the first to implement the tags in-store, rather than behind the scenes, but its broad adoption of the costly technology may result in enough of a price drop for other retailers to follow suit.

Although you can rip the radio tags off your new pair of 501s, you can’t turn them off.

Although you can rip the radio tags off your new pair of 501s, you can’t turn them off, a fact that has watchdog groups crying foul—or rather, “Big Brother.” Underhanded marketers or crooks driving by could scan your garbage to identify recent purchases, for one.

Another concern that has privacy experts ruffled up: Sneaky retailers could scan customers who carry RFID-enhanced ID cards (such as drivers’ licenses, which states like Washington and New York have begun issuing) as they browse the store’s wares. Combined with their credit card information, the data could allow retailers to put a number to person and identify them the next time they step into their premises.

Thanks Glenn E. for the reference.