Another Example Of Corporate Ethics

This news item today from KTLA via the wonderful Fark.com. Yet another example of corporate ethics:
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ANAHEIM -- Disneyland management has fired the four actors who played pirate Jack Sparrow because officials were worried about young female park-goers flashing the swashbuckling actors late at night, according to one former cast member.

"They lost control when they saw Jack Sparrow," said former pirate Brandon Pinto, who left the role after a dispute with management a year ago. "This is a sexy, rock-star pirate."

The pirate actors said they were told they were no longer needed for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at about the same time that additional fairies were added to the park's cast, presumably to promote Disney's new movie "Tinkerbell."

Disneyland recently opened "Pixie Hollow" to capitalize on the new movie.

Disney denies that they pirates were replaced by Tinker Bell fairies.

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OF COURSE! Why admit that you replaced the "Rock Star" flashible pirate with four scantily clad "fairies". That would only make you look like money grubbing hypocrites! OOPS Too Late!

The above picture of Sparrow was lifted right from the KTLA page, while the illustration of Tinkerbell was Googled and reported to be the artwork gracing a kiddie blanket. Both are copyright (c) 2008 The Disney Corporation who are solely responsible for their content. Personally I like cheesecake and some soft porn, I just don't think I'd want my daughter sleeping underneath it (good thing Tink's slipper was where it is...)

WAKE UP!

WTF: Another Week, Another Bitch or Five

What can I tell ya? Some stupidity just makes you "Hulk Out". Here's a short list of bitches that have me a little fired up lately...

The ECONOMY.

As you saw in my last post The Economy has me bitching, but I'm still doing a little research on that so you lucky readers here won't be subjected to that little slice of heaven just yet. Still mad, but still prepping. Onward...

GM AND SATURN.

Because of their money troubles, GM is making plans to dump or sell off the Saturn brand name. Who the boneheaded idiot up in the big silver tower in Detroit came up with that wonderful idea ought to be either fired for being an asshole idiot, or at best have their year end bonus (corporate bonuses will from now on be refer ed to as "boned-us")taken away and given to the Saturn marketing department. wait, actually, honestly both that idiot AND the Saturn marketing department deserve to go, and go quickly.
Saturn is one of the few bright spots out there in the GM stable, it's just that SO few folks realize this (apparently even their corporate heads refuse to realize this as well). Saturn, though they have had their defective design problems, and sad auto lines, was able to do one or two things totally right: 1) they stayed making the same car (the SL-1) for many, many years until they refined it and made it a quality product, and 2) Since they stupidly stopped making the SL-1 they have designed as good, or better products at a lower than average price structure, especially for a GM product.

Ask anyone who owned, or still owns an SL-1, you still see them on the road, they are quality cars, and frankly my little SL-1 is a TANK. I don't know of anyone who's owned one within the last three years of it's manufacture that does not love their car. A good portion of those people have actually gone on to purchase another Saturn based solely upon their love of the SL-1, and they will probably be faithful to the brand for a few more years to come. My second car is an Ion, and it is NOT designed nearly as well as the SL-1, I have had to pour a grand into it's upkeep within the last six months and need to take it into the shop again in fact, but I am already looking at buying an Astra as soon as a few more of my debts are gone.

Saturn's problem is that they stopped making the SL-1, PLUS they have yet to successfully market ANY of their cars to the public. Their marketing STINKS. I honestly cannot remember a single TV ad for Saturn that I liked- NONE. I bought my first SL-1 because a friend of mine swore by them. I bought it and have ran it into the found over a period of seven years now and have yet to do any kind of serious maintenance on it. It was a showroom sampler when I bought it, and loaded with options, easily affordable, and I think the only major thing that ever went wrong on the sucker so far is the electronic window switch went bad (but that was from me playing with it too much I'm sure). My Ion, on the other hand has had front wheel structural problems, a plastic window clip bust and have to be replaced, a circuit switch in the steering column replaced, my windshield wiper assembly totally replaced, and one or two other things done to it, all with about half the actual millage that my SL-1 has had. Still, it's been almost 5 years owned and I has not spoiled my taste for the Saturn brand a wit.

So, if you ask me, DON'T sell off the brand, REDEFINE it with the rep it;s earned from it's drivers who LOVE it. It fits a market (low end, practical users and first time buyers) and needs to be catered to it. There are SO many other makes and models you can trim before shitcanning the entire company. Oh, and you can stop making the Vue if you have to, either that or make it look a hell of a lot cooler. that MIGHT get me to buy one if it looked cooler. i would have bought the Astra by now if it looked a little sleeker. The wife likes it at least.

McSCREWED.

That double cheeseburger DID get jacked up around here, it only took them a couple of days to do it. McD's entire menu has been jacked up, all this AFTER the price of transporting their products has dropped, AND the fact that they've received a sales jump due to the economy and folks wanting to eat out and not spend- well, if they hit the McD's they'll be spending a little more than they did last week. Now all the other fast food chains are expected to follow, AGAIN after the cost of moving their products have hit a new low. For once i kind of agree with the sad Wal-Mart philosophy of keeping the price structure manageable- pound the supplier to pound their supplier to give them a cheaper price. McD's is officially the LAST place I'm buying fast food from now on. They join Wal-Mart and Circuit City for places I'd rather be dead than to walk into. McScew 'em!

COMICS.

There's an entire blog's weight in problems from this shoe sized industry that I just don't want to approach right now, but eventually will. There hasn't been any good reading out there in months, but on the plus side I have found a few books well worth my time. I'll tell you all about those as soon as possible.



MY BITCHY BLOG

Hey, sorry if you think I should 'lighten up" here in my blog. I speak my opinionated mind and TRY to have my opinions backed up by a little fact every once in awhile. I KNOW some of you would rather I speak about comics 24/7, and for that I have to admit that I write about what I give a shit about, and more and more lately it just doesn't include today's funny books. I stopped buying most of that crap, even though I love the art form, there's only so much shit you can put in the barn before you drive out the animals. I'm still trying to get up the energy to tell you about the Heroes I Miss, but I'll TRY to get more comic commentary here asap.

This whole political thing has had me in a tizzy, followed by our bungled economy and the fact that we as Middle Class Americans have been the primary ones screwed out of all this just pisses me off a lot, and as more and more of the Obama administration is revealed as the old Clinton administration my thought about my country and my livelihood are dimming in their cheeriness.

I hope Obama at least tries to live up to his promise of "change" without screwing us any more. After looking around this area I honestly don't know how much more we can take.

On the plus side my interest rates on my credit card(s) and the evil equity loan has dropped considerably, allowing me to keep paying the same and yet pay off more of the principle. I want to say it helps me see the light at the end of the debt tunnel a little clearer, but I'm a cynical monkey and know that that exit has a tendency to move farther away at times. Enough bitching I have work to do. More here when I can- till then...

WAKE UP!

RE Think: Disney World now Wal*Mart Smart?

This from the Daily Mail website via Fark.com: Employees at Disney World are having to protest in order to try to KEEP health care benefits that Disney wants to take away from them. The employees' contract ran out in February, and the employees of the park and its other establishments on site have been working on in good faith. A recent offer from the Disney Corp was SO off the mark and offensive to the employees they staged a costumed protest for all to see and know of their plight.

Disney's response was to call the cops on the protesters, so a large number of guests and fans had the opportunity to watch their favorite cartoon characters arrested, handcuffed, humiliated, and hauled in.

This because they are fighting for their jobs and quality of life. These folks were not making outrageous demands they seem to have only been fighting for descent health care from one of the richest corporations of the world.

Folks, this is a frighteningly strong trend springing up from a number of the larger corporations. they are intent on reducing their overhead at the expense of the workers' current quality of life. We all know that if the health care for their employees were to cost them more than it does now, they would only double, or triple that expense and pass it right on to the consumer. Forget about generating some sort of additional income to subsidize it, they're union busting on the highest level and figuring that their employees can get by off the state's Medicaid funding. Wal*Mart really set the standard for this, and watch as over the next few years if that decision doesn't come back to bite them on the ass. That is one of many reasons why I don't shop at a Wal*Fart.

Some states have even gone so far as to penalize and bill Wal*Mart for the coverage they've had to take on as their employees file for state aid in order to get by. I'm also sure that some states have played with making laws to force corporations to provide adequate health care to their full time employees, but big corps like Walk*Fart find ways of weaseling out from their restrictions (like not giving their employees more than 28 hours a week- thus avoiding the 32 hour a week health care enforcement.

Believe me when I tell you that I totally believe in a free economy, but there comes a time when large corporations wedge their way into a small town type area and literally begin running it like a dictatorship.

Corporations have no emotions, let alone a sense of decency or ethics anymore. Disney and Wal*Mart should both be ashamed of their treatment of folks trying to earn a living and a descent way of life in service to the parent company. These are only 2 examples of an ever growing problem. How much is enough? All cutting their bottom line like this does is make the CEO's bonus higher as THEIR performance looks better, at the cost of their employees, and the surrounding populace who now have to pay higher taxes in order to afford the strain on Medicare, welfare, and other public programs.

To read the above mentioned article just click on my posting headline above, or cut and paste this address into your browser:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1045159/Cinderella-Snow-White-Mickey-Mouse-arrested-police-clash-staff-Disneyland.html

WAKE-UP and remember Mickey Mouse could be sick at any moment, and we ALL might end up paying for it, but the CEO's are certainly not cutting their bonuses, their health coverage, or their salaries to help the bottom line.