Author: MichaelPellegrini

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Bank of America Screws Its Small Customers

All your money are belong to us...

You think Bank America really cares about its customers?

In mid-August, B of A notified me that there’d been a breech of data with some retailer I do business with, and because of that, they were issuing me a new debit card.  A couple days later, I got a similar notice for my Visa account with them.

The one thing the notices didn’t contain was the name of the retailer who’d been hacked.

Because the breeches involved both my Visa and debit cards, I was able to narrow it down to only three companies that have both cards: pelicanparts.com, newegg.com and amazon.com.

I contacted B of A to find out the name of the company.  I figured that’s a pretty basic thing to know, so I could protect myself in the future.  Because any company that was stupid enough to let itself be hacked once could easily let it happen again.

Continue reading “Bank of America Screws Its Small Customers”

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Big Brother Is Watching You!

It’s 1984 in 2013 – Welcome to Oceania!

“…Americans have learned that the National Security Agency has been spying on Americans without judicial approval. We learned about this not from the Administration, but from the New York Times and USA Today. Every time a revelation came out, President Bush refused to answer questions from Congress…

Americans fought a Revolution in part over the right to be free from unreasonable searches – to ensure that our government couldn’t come knocking in the middle of the night for no reason. We need to find a way forward to make sure that we can stop terrorists while protecting the privacy, and liberty, of innocent Americans.”

Senator Barack Obama, May 26, 2006, speaking about the Bush domestic spying program, at the confirmation hearing of General Michael Hayden as CIA Director.

There seems to be a really wide gulf between candidate Obama and President Obama.

It would be an understatement to say I’m extremely disappointed in President Obama. The type of change I was looking for when I voted for him was most definitely not having the US changed into a police state. I have to admit right now, I’m sorry I voted for him.

The disappointments pile up. And sadly, they started early on. Continue reading “Big Brother Is Watching You!”

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Click! Network Moves to Put Independant ISP’s Out of Business

Click NetworksAfter years of operating in blissful ignorance of the markets they allegedly compete in, Click! has come to the conclusion that they’re in trouble and have to do something, and do it quick!

The fact that they haven’t upgraded their system to DOCSIS 3.0 – like Comcast did three years ago isn’t to blame. The fact that people are ditching traditional cable TV in droves – “cutting the cord” – in favor of streaming media over the internet (like Netflix and Hulu) isn’t to blame.

Nope.

According to a presentation at the Tacoma Utilities Board meeting last week, and based on a consultant’s study that is over two years old, Click! Networks has finally come to the startling conclusion that their cable TV customer base has stagnated and revenues are down — mainly due to Comcast offering bundled services. But wait, there’s more – they have a remedy:

“Click needs to offer retail ISP services directly to customers, which means competing side by side with the three existing ISP’s. The wholesale model where customers have to buy data somewhere other than Click is the primary reason for the total stagnation of sales that has occurred since Comcast added the bundle…”

What is the connection here? “The wholesale model where customers have to buy data somewhere other than Click is the primary reason for the total stagnation of sales that has occurred since Comcast added the bundle…”

I challenge Click to prove that.

The whole thing is asinine. The wholesale internet-service business model doesn’t have anything at all to do with stagnation of TV sales. Has anyone at Click! even heard of Netflix? Do they read the news? Have they heard of TV antennas? Continue reading “Click! Network Moves to Put Independant ISP’s Out of Business”

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SOPA – Creating New Union Jobs? Naw…

I was surprised when I saw that the AFL-CIO was backing SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act sponsored by the RIAA and MPAA.  I was able to find out the name of the AFL-CIO official, Paul Almeida,  testifying for the bill, and I sent him and email.  Below follows that exchange.

To: Paul Almeida
From: Michael Pellegrini
Subject: Sorry to see an AFL-CIO officer shilling for likes of the RIAA…

Sir:

I am an ILWU member. I’ve been involved in the union movement for over 30 years, working as an International Organizer, as a Business Rep, and have held elective positions.

I am appalled to find the AFL-CIO in bed with organizations like the RIAA and supporting SOPA. Continue reading “SOPA – Creating New Union Jobs? Naw…”

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Union Busting In Wisconsin

Protesters in Madison earlier this week.
There are some things you just never expect to see. Shrimp ice cream. World peace. An openly gay republican president.
Or, workers in the United States facing the loss of their collective bargaining rights.

“The right to bargain collectively is at the bottom of social justice for the worker, as well as the sensible conduct of business affairs. The denial or observance of this right means the difference between despotism and democracy.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in an address to the Senate, May 8, 1937.

These rights have been a mainstay of US labor law for nearly 80 years, first coming into being as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 – later codified as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Public employees gained bargaining rights somewhat later – in the case of Wisconsin, about 60 years ago.
Now the government didn’t just grant employees the right to organize out of benevolence; no, these rights were hard won with the blood of workers.
The 50 years leading up to Roosevelt’s New Deal were filled with costly and often exceptionally violent strikes. Many workers and not a few scabs died. Employers lost millions in productivity.

Continue reading “Union Busting In Wisconsin”

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Labor’s Bloody History

Strikers get clubbed by police

The period in American history leading up from the Civil War to World War II was particularly violent and bloody for labor. It was through that struggle that many of the very most basic rights we enjoy today came about. These include:

  • Abolition of child labor
  • The eight hour day
  • Unemployment insuance
  • Social security
  • The right to form and join unions, and bargain collectively

To give a glimpse of the background that led up to these changes, here’s a list of the major strikes that took place in the United States from after the Civil War on (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1850-1899

Continue reading “Labor’s Bloody History”

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Conservatives Declare War On Unions – Public Employee Unions to Be Outlawed in Wisconsin

State workers protest in Madison
This week in Wisconsin, conservatives are making perhaps the single biggest assault on collective bargaining that’s taken place in the last 60-80 years.
The republican-controlled Wisconsin state legislature is trying to take away the collective bargaining rights of state, county and municipal workers.
These takeaways include:

  • Automatic yearly elections where 51+% of all employees in a bargaining unit would have to vote in favor of union representation or the union would be decertified;
  • No more union shops where membership or an equivalency fee are required as a condition of employment;
  • Would limit wage increases to a small percetage based on the increase in the cost of living;
  • Would force employees to pay nearly 13% of their healthcare costs;
  • Reduces employers pension contributions.

And those are just the highlights. Basically, it would do away with public employee unions in Wisconsin.

Continue reading “Conservatives Declare War On Unions – Public Employee Unions to Be Outlawed in Wisconsin”

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Yes on Initiative 1082 – Let’s help the BIAW and the insurance companies get rich!

Dino Rossi, the Italian Stallion, with his head up his ass as usual

One of the most asinine initiatives in Washington state this election has got to be 1082 – the initiative to privatize the state worker’s compensation system. The primary sponsor is the Building Industry Association of Washington – Dino Rossi’s erstwhile masters – and the large insurance companies. (Rossi is pictured at the right, with his head up his ass, as usual).

So far, the BIAW has spent a reported $500, 000 on its Yes-1082 campaign – a staggering sum of money. But it’s nothing compared to what they potentially can make if 1082 passes. Here’s a detailed look.

It’s all about offering better “case management” than Labor and Industries. Which translated, means screwing legitimate claimants – denying or delaying valid claims – just to save the insurance companies a buck.

Here’s a story about my experience with Safeco Insurances claims management practices.

But wait, there’s more: one of the main insurance companies that would take care of Worker’s Comp in Washington state if this passes is AIG.

That’s right, AIG – the company whose top notch management is so great that the US taxpayers had to come up with $85 billion to bail them out rather than have the company go bankrupt. The same AIG that, right after receiving the $85 billion bailout, sent their executives on a week-long retreat at the St Regis Resort in Monarch Beach California at the cost of $433,000 – of taxpayer money.

So let me get this straight – the BIAW wants to privatize the state Worker’s Comp system – to save us all money – and to carry out this task, they’re going to use AIG, the company that managed itself into bankruptcy, and sends its executives to $433,000 retreats at public expense?

Sure that sounds reasonable.

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Run Dino, Run….

Dino Rossi, the Italian Stallion, with his head up his ass as usual
Spokane, WA (AP) – Perennial candidate for big business, Dino Rossi (R – Spokane), seen at right with his head up his ass, as usual, is off and running again, this time for the US Senate.

Foiled in his two recent attempts to claim the governorship of Washington state, Rossi decided to attempt to capture Patty Murray’s (D – Seattle) Senate seat this time.

“That bitch is going down!” Rossi was heard to have said last week, following a press conference. “All those homo liberals in Seattle are gonna eat their words. They stole the last governor’s election, now we’re gonna make ’em pay!”

Always popular with big business and conservative republicans, Rossi was the number one homeboy for the Building Industry Association of Washington in the last governor’s election. This time for his Senate campaign, he’s branched out and broadened his support to include right-wing religious nuts, greedy millionaires and other fringe lunatics.

Asked what his platform was going to be, if elected, Rossi said, “We’re gonna take the country back for the real Americans – the rich, white, Christian people like me. All those liberal homo assholes are gonna have to move back to California, or something. Yee-ha!”

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Go Sarah, GO!


Des Moines, IA (AP) – In a bold, audacious move, the Republican party today announced their dream ticket for the 2012 presidential elections – Sarah Palin and Christine O’Donnell.

Governor Palin, the failed vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 elections was elated. “I can see the capitol from my house,” she was heard saying.

In a joint press conference early today, Governor Palin and Ms O’Donnell announced the main points of their platform:

· Christianity will be made the state religion for the United States
· Abortion for any reason will be outlawed
· Corporate taxes will be reduced to 1% or $10, whichever is lesss
· And a whole lot of other important stuff

Continue reading “Go Sarah, GO!”