Saturday, November 29, 2014

Slow Saturday Special: The Black Friday Protests

Let me get a cup of coffee and we will get right out there:

"Shoppers flocked to stores across Massachusetts in search of deals on Black Friday. These are a few of their stories."

That will get you on the front lines with a speedy check-out, even though I saw no protests there.

"Crowds seeking deals flock to stores on Black Friday" by Taryn LunaGlobe Correspondent  November 28, 2014

There were two types of shoppers out in force at malls and stores on Black Friday: diehard deal-hunters and families eager to preserve an American pastime.

On Black Friday, shoppers didn’t necessarily have to venture out on the big day for the best bargains. But many still did.

They braved the cold on Thursday to wait for openings after midnight. They flocked to malls later in the morning and filled parking lots by midday.

Despite the protests it is “so far, so good.”

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"Ferguson protesters bring activity in large mall to a halt" by Jim Salter, Associated Press  November 29, 2014

FERGUSON, Mo. — Demonstrators temporarily shut down a large mall in suburban St. Louis on one of the busiest shopping days of the year Friday during one of several organized rallies to protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

Several stores lowered their security doors or locked entrances as at least 200 protesters sprawled onto the floor while chanting, ‘‘Stop shopping and join the movement’’ at the Galleria mall in Richmond Heights, about 10 miles south of Ferguson.

The protest prompted authorities to close the mall for about an hour Friday afternoon for a security sweep. It didn’t appear that any arrests were made.

The protest was among the largest on Black Friday, which also saw a large rally in Chicago and smaller ones Northern California and other cities. Demonstrations also continued in Ferguson, where officer Darren Wilson fatally shot the unarmed 18-year-old Brown August.

‘‘We want to really let the world know that it is no longer business as usual,’’ Chenjerai Kumanyika, an assistant professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, said at a rally at a Walmart in Ferguson.

Monday night’s announcement that Wilson, who is white, would not be indicted for fatally shooting Brown, who was black, prompted violent protests that resulted in about a dozen buildings and some cars being burned.

Dozens of people were arrested.

The rallies have been ongoing but have become more peaceful as protesters turn their attention to disrupting commerce.

Mindy Elledge, who runs a watch kiosk at the Galleria, said it is working.

‘‘I think people are afraid to come here,’’ Elledge said. ‘‘With the protests going on, you never know when or where they’re going to happen.’’

OMG!

The Black Friday protests extended beyond Missouri.

In Chicago, about 200 people gathered near the city’s popular Magnificent Mile shopping district, where Kristiana Colon, 28, called Friday ‘‘a day of awareness and engagement.’’ She is a member of the Let Us Breathe Collective, which has been taking supplies such as gas masks to protesters in Ferguson.

‘‘We want them to think twice before spending that dollar today,’’ she said of shoppers. ‘‘As long as black lives are put second to materialism, there will be no peace.’’ 

I'm feeling threatened.

Malcolm London, a leader in the Black Youth Project 100, which has been organizing Chicago protests, said the group was also trying to rally support for other issues, such as more transparency from Chicago police.

‘‘We are not indicting a man. We are indicting a system,’’ London told the crowd.

Better be careful. Lot of ve$ted intere$ts in it.

In New York, about 100 people protested in Times Square. The demonstrators chanted ‘‘Hands up, don’t shop’’ and carried signs that read: ‘‘End Racism’’ and ‘‘Black Lives Matter.’’

Other planned events around the country seemed relatively brief and thinly attended in contrast to the large demonstrations earlier this week.

It means the attempt to engender racial division as an excuse for martial law failed.

At a shopping center in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, a dozen people gathered and chanted ‘‘Black lives matter.’’ Security was heightened at the Walmart in Ferguson on Friday morning, with military Humvees, police cars, and security guards on patrol. The store was busy, but there were few protesters.

In California, more than two dozen protesters chained themselves to trains running from Oakland to San Francisco.

About 25 protesters started Friday morning by holding train doors open to protest Brown’s death. No one was hurt.

The office of Missouri’s governor on Friday disclosed a plan to offer no- and low-interest loans, and other programs, for businesses damaged during the protests.

In the neighboring town of Dellwood, the mayor called on state and federal officials Friday to help rebuild the town after an outbreak of violent protests.

Mayor Reggie Jones said that while much attention has focused on Ferguson, most of the businesses that were looted and burned were in his town.

Jones also called on state leaders to explain why the National Guard wasn’t deployed to help protect Dellwood, as was done in Ferguson.

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The amount of coverage raises suspicions as well when so many other protest are ignored or disparaged.

And while a black man is choked to death in New York City, leaders and lawmakers are more interested in hero worship and their own racism.

"Protesters take to Copley Square on Black Friday" by Kay Lazar, Globe Staff  November 29, 2014

More than 100 protesters wound through Copley Square shopping district on Black Friday, urging consumers to care more about justice and less about gifts.

The midday march proceeded along Boylston and Newbury streets on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Protesters hoisted signs reading, “Black Lives Matter,” and “No Justice, No Peace.”

The marchers said events this week in Ferguson, Mo., inspired them to organize the demonstration. On Monday, a grand jury decided not to indict a white Ferguson police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen in August.

Friday’s rally was one of a number of such protests across the country, fueled by social media and the rallying cry #BlackoutBlackFriday.

Sarah Simpson, a 16-year-old high school student from Jamaica Plain, said she organized the Boston protest because she was stunned by the events in Missouri. After following the case since August, she said, she cried when the grand jury’s verdict was announced Monday.

“People are supporting injustice by buying things on Black Friday,” Simpson said, after the group boarded Green Line trolleys and headed for the CambridgeSide Galleria. “You are saying black lives don’t matter.”

I resent that complete non sequitur!!! She is saying if you go shopping you are for the killing of Mike Brown. That's offensive!

Nothing loses a person an argument more than a jump-the-shark-to-push-your-point mentality.

The protesters, their ranks somewhat diminished, regrouped in the Galleria, as shoppers, many laden with gifts, looked bewildered by the chanting and signs.

It's the last place I would want to be confronted by protesters so I won't be going to any malls this year.

“What do we want?” a group leader yelled through a bullhorn. “Justice!” the protesters shouted, as many shoppers pulled out their phones and snapped pictures.

Among those taking pictures was Paul Mallebranche, a 35-year-old Cambridge father, who said he was heartened by the protests, though he was uncertain how to explain them to his 4-year-old daughter, who was with him.

“It’s good that people are speaking their minds,” Mallebranche said. He was lugging a bag with gifts, and said he was not aware the protesters had urged people to boycott shopping on Black Friday.

Briana Mason, a 23-year-old Dorchester resident, said she joined the protest because she was upset so many people seemed unaware of how deeply racism runs in the United States.

“People seem to value Christmas shopping and presents over other people’s lives in this country,” Mason said.

I work against the wars the other 364 days of the year, 'kay?!!!!

A bevy of Cambridge police and mall security guards stood nearby as the protesters marched through three floors of the mall, but officers did not block the marchers’ access. 

Ready for any trouble.

The rally landed in the first-floor food court, where protesters chanted and then silently stood and ringed the area. Some held signs while others thrust their hands up as if surrendering, an action that has come to symbolize the case of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who, supporters say, was trying to surrender to Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson when Wilson shot him.

Some shoppers in the food court stopped what they were doing and quietly raised their hands in support, including Paulo Fonseca, and his wife, Isabella Lamas, who moved from Brazil to Cambridge.

“We strongly support this movement,” Fonseca said quietly. “We are touched to be here now.”"

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Yeah, we are all a bunch of racists now (speak for yourself):

"Black Friday protests come to Mass. Walmarts" by Deirdre Fernandes, Globe Staff  November 29, 2014

Community activists and Walmart workers across Massachusetts used one of the busiest shopping days of the year to protest the chain’s treatment of employees, part of a national campaign to pressure the retailer to raise wages to $15 an hour and allow more part-timers to get full-time positions.

Protesters gathered outside many of the state’s nearly 50 Walmart stores, including the ones in Quincy and Westfield. Worker advocates consider $15 an hour the “living wage,” or enough to cover basic costs of living such as rent, food, and clothing.

“Workers can’t live on the wages [Walmart is] paying them,” said Russ Davis, executive director of Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, a coalition of religious, student, and labor activists who helped organize protests in Massachusetts. This is the third year the coalition has organized these protests.

Black Friday protests also took place at Walmart stores in Los Angeles, Washington, and Denver. Walmart is the world’s largest retailer.

Such strikes and protests have become increasingly common this year as the economic recovery has seemed to disproportionately benefit the wealthy, heightening concerns about income inequality. Labor unions and other groups have focused on the conditions of low-wage workers at fast-food restaurants, hotels, universities, airports, and retailers.

Seemed to?

Bill Wertz, a regional spokesman for Walmart, said the demonstrations didn’t interfere with business at the stores. He said most of the company’s workers didn’t participate.

“Protests around Black Friday are really just part of the background,” he said. “The protests are not an event that seems to make much difference to customers or associates.” 

I agree; they are scenery, controlled, staged and scripted.

Wertz added that Walmart pays better than most retailers and that the company’s average hourly wage nationwide is nearly $13 per hour. In Massachusetts, it’s $13.79 an hour.

“When you look at the whole package,” Wertz said, “Walmart compares very favorably with any retailer and is probably at the top of the pack.”

Still, about half of its more than 1 million retail store workers earned less than $25,000 a year, according to the company’s data. Part-time employees also have complained that Walmart doesn’t offer enough opportunities to move into full-time jobs with reliable hours.

“Think about living in Massachusetts on $20,000,” said Davis, the coalition executive. “That’s nothing to brag about.”

Phillip Bekech, a 42-year-old produce sales associate at the Walmart in Westfield, was among the protesters Friday. Some of his co-workers live in homeless shelters and sometimes struggle to bring more than a bag of chips or package of ramen noodles for lunch, he said.

At least they are getting health care.

“If we can make Walmart a better place to work, we can make all retail a better place to work,” Bekech said.

Why i$n't it in AmeriKa?

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The career path for a lot of black men:

"Maine prison shops get in on Black Friday sale action" by Patrick Whittle, Associated Press  November 29, 2014

THOMASTON, Maine — Ken and Judy Carreras got up before sunrise and drove an hour to find their Black Friday treasure — an acorn-shaped birdfeeder crafted by an inmate at Maine State Prison.

‘‘For me, I would much rather spend the money on something that is locally crafted,’’ Judy Carreras, of Stockton Springs, said as the couple and other patrons huddled in their cars in subfreezing temperatures, waiting for the prison’s craft showroom to open.

Friday’s sale at the Thomaston showroom, located 4 miles from Maine State Prison in Warren, resembled a traditional Black Friday sale in many ways. The store opened an hour early, at 8 a.m., and reduced prices by 40 percent. A similar sale took place at the Maine Prison Industries outlet store in Windham, which cut prices 30 percent.

The Thomaston showroom attracted dozens of cars full of patrons in its first hour as buyers ogled ornamental wooden ball-and-chain sets and priced out porch furniture. Bookshelves, children’s toys, paintings, cutting boards, rocking horses, and even a model of the USS Constitution — all crafted as part of an inmate work program — were also on sale to the public.

Maine Prison Industries manager Ken Lindsey said sales from the work program total more than $1 million per year. Prisoners are paid $1 to $3 per hour, which must first go toward court restitution and child support payments, but more importantly, the program teaches inmates job skills and people skills that they can use upon release, Lindsey said.

‘‘We have, possibly, a murderer working next to child molester,’’ Lindsey said. ‘‘You have to get along, learn people skills. When you get out, on the streets, you might have someone you don’t like, but you have to work for them.’’

Tell it to Congre$$ and Wa$hington D.C.

The showroom doesn’t advertise which inmates made specific handicrafts, but most of the prisoners who have been at the prison for ‘‘any amount of time have probably had an opportunity’’ to work in the program, he said.

Maine prisoners have made handicrafts for sale since the early 1800s, starting with sleighs and hearses, Lindsey said. Today, some 130 inmates a year participate in the program at the Maine State Prison, a medium- and maximum-security facility that houses 900 offenders. The Thomaston showroom has sold millions of items in the 60 years it has been operating.

Some of the showroom’s items cost as little as a dollar, while others are as much as $2,000. Even most of the wood used in the items is the product of prison labor; the state’s Charleston Correction Facility maintains a wood harvesting program that supplies raw materials.

The inmates who participate in the program must be working toward high-school equivalency diplomas and enroll in anger management or substance abuse counseling, Lindsey said. Then, they can apply for the job — for which, just like a job on the outside, they must first be hired, he said.

‘‘When they get out, are they all going to become woodworkers? Probably not. But they’ll build skills,’’ Lindsey said. ‘‘As long as you’re willing to learn.’’

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RelatedMaine paper mill closings take their toll

Learn anything?

And did you notice what was not much of a concern?

"NYC man gets prison for role in cybercrime ring" AP  November 22, 2014

TRENTON, N.J. — A New York City man was sentenced Friday to more than three years in prison for his role in an international cybercrime ring that prosecutors say hacked into the computers of more than a dozen financial institutions and the US military’s payroll service.

Richard Gundersen, 48, received a 41-month prison term and was ordered to pay $88 million in restitution. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud, and identity theft. He admitted opening bank accounts in the names of identity theft victims.

Prosecutors say the scheme was led by Oleksiy Sharapka, of Kiev, who served an 8½-year sentence in federal prison in Massachusetts for a similar scheme. Prosecutors say the current scheme began around the time Sharapka was deported in 2012. He remains at large.

He's from where?

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I'm not feeling so good:

"Beth Israel to pay $100,000 fine over data breach" by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Globe Staff  November 22, 2014

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and improve the security of patient information after a 2012 data breach left thousands of patients’ details vulnerable.

The breach happened when an “unauthorized person” stole an unencrypted laptop from a doctor’s office. The computer contained health or personal information, such as names and Social Security numbers, of nearly 4,000 patients and employees.

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office said doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess failed to follow policies to protect patient information. The hospital also failed to notify patients about the breach, as required by law, for several months, Coakley said.

Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess, said the hospital has since improved its security procedures.

“After this incident, we worked closely with the federal and state governments, as well as security industry experts, to ensure that [the hospital] adopts state-of-the-art security policies and technologies,” Halamka said in a statement. “Every device we purchase is encrypted before it is used, and every employee must attest on an annual basis that his or her personal devices are also encrypted.”

Encryption is a process of scrambling information so it can’t be read by unauthorized people.

Coakley reached settlements over similar data privacy violations with South Shore Hospital in Weymouth in 2012 and Women and Infants Hospital in Providence earlier this year. South Shore was fined $750,000, and Women and Infants had to pay $150,000.

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RelatedBlack Friday to Begin With a Bang

Not in the way I thought, but the whole thing is so damn obvious now and I'm not biting.

Now why isn't this PlayStation I just bought not working?