Kids, leave those indoctrinators alone!
"2 students accused of poisoning teacher" New York Times May 22, 2014
NEW YORK — Two Brooklyn elementary school students have been arrested on suspicion of putting rat poison in a teacher’s water bottle, police said Wednesday.
The children, who are 9 and 12 and attend Public School 315, were charged with reckless endangerment and assault.
The teacher, who drank from the poisoned water bottle, is recovering, officials said.
The incident occurred Monday and was brought to light by a parent whose child had reported witnessing other students putting something in the teacher’s drink, according to police.
After being alerted, the teacher took the water bottle to the principal’s office and went to see a private doctor, reporting mild nausea.
Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said a “small amount” of rat poison had been placed into the water bottle by the children.
“My understanding is the 9-year-old wanted to see what the reaction would be,” Bratton said. “God knows where kids get these ideas.”
Yeah, only God knows!
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That reminds me: time for lunch.
"Protesters arrested outside McDonald’s building" Associated Press May 22, 2014
OAK BROOK, Ill. — About 100 protesters were arrested after refusing to leave corporate property outside McDonald’s headquarters on Wednesday as hundreds demonstrated to call attention to the low pay earned by fast-food workers.
Related: Fast Food Workers Co$ting Taxpayers
And now the $hit food is more expensive, too!
I'd rather go to BurgerFuel.
The actions come ahead of the company’s annual shareholders meeting Thursday, where company officials also expected to be confronted on issues including its executive pay packages and marketing to children.
Early Wednesday, organizers changed the location of their demonstration after learning McDonald’s closed the building where they had planned their actions and told employees there to work from home. The corporate headquarters in Oak Brook has several buildings on campus.
Down the street from Hamburger University, dozens of police officers in riot gear warned protesters to disperse.
You $ee who the cops are working for, right?
Isn't McDonald's a PRIVATE CORPORATION?
Better not order any drive-thru, officers. You might be receiving extra special sauce of one sort or another.
People dressed in McDonald’s uniforms essentially volunteered to be arrested by peacefully crossing a barricade or remaining on the property after being asked to leave.
Among those arrested was Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, who said in a statement she wanted McDonald’s workers to know her union members stood with them.
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I guess I will have to skip lunch then.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"McDonald’s CEO defends workers’ pay" by Candice Choi and Tammy Webber | Associated Press May 23, 2014
OAK BROOK, Ill. — McDonald’s chief executive Don Thompson sought to address a growing chorus of critics on issues including worker pay and marketing to children at its annual meeting Thursday.
As hundreds of protesters chanted for higher wages outside, Thompson told the audience in the building that the company has a heritage of providing job opportunities that lead to ‘‘real careers.’’
‘‘We believe we pay fair and competitive wages,’’ Thompson said.
A day earlier, McDonald’s Corp. closed one of its buildings in suburban Chicago, where protesters had planned to demonstrate over the low wages paid to its workers.
Organizers then targeted another site on the company’s headquarters, and police say 138 were arrested after they peacefully refused to leave the property.
As in years past, McDonald’s marketing to tactics to children was also brought up by speakers affiliated with Corporate Accountability International. One mother from Lexington, Ky., Casey Hinds, said Ronald McDonald was ‘‘the Joe Camel of fast food.’’
Thompson said McDonald’s was not predatory and that Ronald McDonald was about letting kids have fun.
He noted that his children ate the chain’s food and turned out ‘‘quite healthy,’’ with his daughter even becoming a track star.
‘‘We are people. We do have values at McDonald’s. We are parents,’’ he said.
Although many fast-food chains engage in similar practices, McDonald’s Corp. is a frequent target for critics because of its high profile.
The criticism is becoming a more pressing issue for the world’s biggest hamburger chain at a time when it is fighting to boost weak sales amid heightened competition.
If this economy really were in recovery McDonald's wouldn't be having weak sales.
Part of the problem is that people are shifting toward foods they feel are fresher or healthier, which has prompted McDonald’s executives in recent months to underscore the quality of the chain’s ingredients.
Thompson struck on those notes again Thursday, saying the company cracks eggs and uses fresh vegetables to make its food.
Still, the issue of worker pay in particular has put McDonald’s in an uncomfortable spotlight since late 2012, when protests for a $15 an hour wage began in New York City. Demonstrators were out again before the meeting, chanting, ‘‘I want, I want, I want my $15.’’
They deserve the raise, but that kind of thing sounds like a banker or member of the wealthy elite. I want, I want, I want!!!
Shawn Dalton, who traveled from Pittsburgh, said her daughter is a recent high school graduate who cannot afford to go to college right away, so she’ll probably wind up earning Pennsylvania’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.
‘‘That won’t get her an apartment, that won’t buy a bus pass, that won’t buy food,’’ Dalton said. ‘‘She’ll either have to depend on welfare or depend on me.’’
Welcome to early 21st-century AmeriKa.
Shareholder meetings offer a rare opportunity for average investors to face top executives at publicly traded companies. Public pension funds and activist groups often show up in hopes of influencing a change in corporate practices.
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