Sunday, December 28, 2008

Dove Promises More Than Chocolate

So during finals week I was very partial to chocolate. My roommate and I decided to go to Walgreens and buy some.

As I looked through the aisles of dots, kit-kats, and starbursts I rested on these Dove chocolates. On the shelf I had a choice. I could get the ones that are in the regular packaging or I could purchase the one's that say promises of hope that are packaged in support of breast cancer awareness.

I chose the ones that were in support of breast cancer awareness. Why did I do that? Why do I think it's better to eat those chocolates? I believed I would be a better person for purchasing that bag verses the regular packaging. I believed that I would be doing some sort of altruistic gesture by giving proceeds to breast cancer awareness.

How much does marketing play a role in what we believe?

I also watch the Freecreditreport.com commercials quite frequently on Fox News. I used to see them multiple times a day when I did my internship. I started to fear on a daily basis that someone would steal my identity. Could I really stop it by purchasing this product?

I feel that the best way to deal with commercial persuasion is to really think it out in your mind. Say I don't buy those chocolates...how much money is actually lost? Could I be helping more by directly donating to the foundation rather than buying the candy?

Onto the commerical, are there ways of stopping identity theft without using this website? What are some other ways of finding my credit report? How much does it actually cost per month? What if my identity is never stolen, wouldn't it cost more in the long run to have this monthly payment to freecreditreport.com?

So I did buy the chocolates, and at one point I also purchased freecreditreport.com. However, I got rid of my credit report subscription and realized that proper thinking can really prevent over priced commercial purchases.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

I Will Never Shop At Walmart Again

I recently watched an eye opening documentary about true dirty socialism...Walmart.

If you're looking for a company to take over and run down small communities...SAY HELLO TO WALMART

If you enjoy employees in China living in dirty confined spaces so that they can work for less than $3.00 an hour...LOOK TO WALMART

If you also enjoy other helpless people in India working 14 hour days for less than 20 cents an hour...SHOP AT WALMART

If you like a corporation to descrimination against women...CHECK OUT WALMART

If you want your Black neighbor down the street to be called racial slurs on his lunch hour...GO TO WALMART

If you want to see your family owned business default on the mortgage...FIND A WALMART

If you want your taxpayer dollars to go to subsidies for cheap Walmart property...SEEK A WALMART

If you would like to see a multi-billion dollar company ignore charity and the environment...DRIVE TO WALMART

If you don't believe what I'm saying then please visit the links below. If you're also passionate about these corporations taking over human decency then you will add a comment to this note declaring that YOU TOO WON'T SHOP AT WALMART. Also feel free to copy and paste this not in forwards, emails, links, your own note, blogs, etc...


Here is the link to the website of the documentary I viewed. You can order it via Netflix or watch it instantly with Netflix.

http://www.walmartmovie.com/

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Walmarts Labor Record [As Documented by the Congressman George Miller and the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives]

http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/2004/Wal-Mart-Labor-Record16feb04.htm

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Walmart Employees Speak Out Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWkWn9O75jk

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Funny Promo for the Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JEEuU0luvM

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"It's Not Easy Being Green: The Truth About Walmart's Environmental Makeover"

http://walmartwatch.com/img/blog/enviro_white_paper.pdf

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Article Below from the Pasadena-Star News

"Wal-Mart settles wage claims

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart said on Tuesday it would pay at least $352 million to settle claims from across the country that it forced employees to work off the clock.

The company reportedly agreed to settle 63 cases pending in federal and state courts in 42 states. The workers and their lawyers will receive at least $352 million, and the payments could reach $640 million, depending on how many claims affected workers submit.

Each of the settlements is subject to approval by the trial court, and the total amount to be paid will depend on the amount of claims that are

submitted by class members.
Also, as part of the settlements, Wal-Mart has agreed to continue to use various electronic systems and other measures designed to maintain compliance with its wage and hour policies and applicable law."

-From Staff and Wire Reports