I would definitely fight for my right. For example, I was in WalMart and Vitamin water was on sale for a dollar so I decided to buy some, but when I got to the cashier it registered for about $1.50. So I told the cashier that the sign said that it was on sale for a dollar, they called the floor supervisor to double check and was told that the drink was a dollar. I was buying five at the time which meant that I would have paid for 2.5 extra Vitamin waters. That is quite a bit over in my opinion.
I think that the video exposes a bigger problem than people not willing to fight for their rights. Quite a few customers thought that they got a really good deal and did not even realize that they paid way more than the $10, because they were not paying attention. One person said that they were embarrassed to argue about the price. No one should be embarrassed to fight for their right because if you don’t have your best interest at heart then who will. Rather you should be proud to stand up for yourself. You have to love and respect yourself before anyone else can.
I always pay attention because we are all humans and we make mistakes and see no reason why anyone should pay more than the price. I think that this is what is wrong with society and the reason for the economic crisis right now. We tend to act like mindless sheep, just following and paying no attention to what’s going on around us or what’s ahead. This attitude permeates society, not only do people not pay attention to how much they should pay, like some of the customers in the video, they also don’t pay attention to when their credit card payment is due or if they can really afford the monthly payments of the mortgage they just got. I think that this should be a warning to us, with so many graduating next week and entering the “real world.”
Can you think of a reason why people don’t pay attention, like those in the video and do you think that someone should be embarrassed about fighting for their right?
I was listening to “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me,” this morning and was surprised when I heard that iPads and iPhones were recording their location and the data was stored in an unprotected file. Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden wrote the story “Got an iPhone or 3G iPad? Apple is recording your moves.” The article said that the recordings were not only the devices geographic location but also the time. According to Apple, the reason the data was collected to was provide and improve the company’s service, which is understandable. The company was also forthright about collecting the data a year ago in a detailed letter according to an article on Wired.com.
But what is troubling is that the company has a year’s worth of data and the question is to what end. Once the necessary information is sent to Apple and that information is used to improve the company’s service there seems to be no reason why the data is stored on the device. Having that information stored creates unnecessary risks for Apple’s customers. For example, if the device is stolen or is hacked into, or someone has access to the device, then the data stored on the iPad or iPhone provides information about the owner’s movements.
Do you think that the Apple should store such data and do you think that it creates unnecessary security risks or invades one’s privacy?
I must admit that I am one of those people who buy a lot of bottle water. We buy big one that sits on the counter and we always have a case for me to grab one as I leave in the morning. I am very particular about the taste of my water and have to agree that some bottled water taste a tad funny and it may just be the case that all the minerals that replenish what we have lost have been filtered out.
I remembered watching a show on T.V about bottled water; where people in a restaurant were given “bottle water” from exotic places and asked what they thought of it. Practically everyone said how refreshing, crisp and clean it tasted, not knowing that the water came from a hose at the back of the restaurant. I thought that it was very funny when they were told exactly where the water came from how surprised they looked.
There are some very valid points made in Ashley’s post about the cost of the water; from manufacturing the bottle to transporting it. We also have to contend with the fact that plastic is man-made and therefore not biodegradable. One of the ways that companies have tried to lessen the burden on the environment is through recycling and practically all water bottles now ask consumers to recycle.
Another thing that people don’t think about is the leaching of chemicals from the plastic bottle into the water, which have been proven to have a negative impact especially on women. People are cautioned not to leave their plastic bottles in areas that get hot because the heat increases the amount of chemicals leached into the water.
Marketing has played a big role in the bottle water fad and have even made drinking water – something that sustains life, a sign of prestige. People can now indicate by the brand on their bottle water their status. Very pretentious yes it’s water for goodness sake but I have to admit that some of the cheaper brands don’t taste as good.
Do you think that the more expensive the bottle water is the better it tastes and is the environmental price worth it?
I watched this documentary sometime early last year and again on Wednesday but was still shocked by what I saw. Only a handful of companies controls the US food supply and animals are designed to grow fatter faster. Cattle are fed food (corn) that their bodies were not designed to digest, which resulted in the new strains of E.coli. The animals live in such horrendous conditions, for example, cattle are kept in pens where they have very little room to move and spend the entire time knee deep in their own waste. This is another reason why our food is contaminated. When the animals are transported to the slaughter house with their hides caked with feces and it becomes very difficult to keep everything sanitized.One company’s solution to the problem was to rinse their ground meat with ammonium. I could not believe that this was their answer. How about giving those poor animals more space and cleaning those pens?
The slaughter house workers are exploited by the companies they work for. For example, the workers in plants such as Smithfield’s meat processing plant are treated as machines. They work in such horrible conditions that some get infections, lose fingernails, and suffer other bodily harm. Moreover, the company’s factory is in a poverty stricken area in the south and knowingly hires illegal immigrants from Mexico and then reveals their immigration status to US immigration. The only people how suffer are the immigrants while Smithfield escapes scotch free. Companies like Smithfield pay and treat their workers badly because they no longer look at them as human beings. They know that the workers are easily replaced because of the poverty in the area.
Something that had me wondering what on earth was going on was the chicken industry. The giant companies are forcing the farmers into so much debt that the farmers have no other recourse but to do as the companies dictate. For example, chicken farmer spend $500,000 following the companies rule but only make $18,000 a year. How on earth are those farmers ever going to pay back all they have borrowed?It now takes a chicken half the time it took to grow and they now have bigger breast than ever before. They grow so rapidly that their bones are under developed and they cannot carry the weight of the newly designed bodies.
Another thing that was shocking was the fact that the government allowed a private company to patent a food source. The Monsanto Company, developed soya bean that is resistant to pesticides and soya bean farmers how had been saving the seeds for generations were told they could no longer do so. If a farmer beans had the patent gene regardless of nature playing its part thru wind pollination they would sue that farmer. Even after farmers bought the Monsanto’s seeds they could not save them from their crops to replant; they had to buy new ones every year. This law was passed by a Judge who was Monsanto’s attorney before he became a judge. (Conflict of interest anybody)
I was amazed by the amount of people in charge governing bodies like the FDA among other who worked for the giants of food industry. These are the same people are reluctant to enforce the necessary rule to protect the American people; rather they protect the food industry. So many preach about exploitation in foreign countries, but turn a blind eye to what’s happening right here in the US. Working against labeling that would inform people about the products they are buying, whether it is – where the product comes from or that the meat they are buying is the product of a cloned animal.
The company Tyson was praised for they charitable donations, how about extending that charity to their chicken farmers so they can provide an environment that produces healthy food. I guess those companies have never heard of the phrase “charity begins at home.”
I strongly recommend that you watch Food Inc because at the end of the day what we eat affects our health. They are pumping some many antibiotics into those animals due to the conditions that they live and we are the ones paying the price when viruses and diseases become resistant.
We as consumers have power to make the necessary changes for our children’s future. Every time buy or refuse to buy we are utilizing and making of preference known.
My question to you: Do you think that working for those companies created a bias and affected the decisions the Judge or members of the FDA made? What’s your take on the conflict of interest aspect?
