Tuesday, October 30, 2007

behavior modification sedation snacks

Here's an article lifted from Yahoo.--- Sleeping pills definitely not a good thing for the kiddies. Or even worse is prescribing Trazodone to catch some zzzz's and to cut the edge off of those nifty behavior modification sedation snacks that all the "problematic" yutes in school are prescribed.


Sleeping pills for kids top global list of bad products

Tue Oct 30, 1:42 AM ET

Sleeping pills advertised for children, dangerous toys and bottled water taken from local reservoirs are among the world's worst products, a global consumer group said Monday.

In announcing its bad products awards for 2007, Consumers International said the top prize went to the US subsidiary of Japanese firm Takeda Pharmaceuticals for promoting a sleeping drug for children.

The company ran a television advertisement in the United States which used images of children, chalk boards and a school bus to sell its drug Rozerem.

The "back-to-school" advertisements, which complied with US law, promoted the sleeping pills to parents without including health warnings for children, Consumers International said.

"This case demonstrates the lengths to which some drug companies will go to increase sales of their products, how direct to consumer advertising can promote irrational drug use, and how weak regulation can foster irresponsible corporate behaviour," the group said.

Another award went to drinks giant Coca-Cola for pushing marketing "into the realms of the ridiculous" in the United States and South America with its Dasani bottled water which is sourced from the same reservoirs as local tap water.

Kellogg's, best known for its cereals, was given a bad food award for the worldwide use of cartoon characters and marketing aimed at children despite the high levels of salt and sugar in some foods.

"Kellogg's are one of a number of international food companies that make money by selling products high in fat, sugar and/or salt," Consumers International said.

"Threatened with litigation in the US, Kellogg's have agreed to change some of their marketing practices, however we believe they are doing too little, too late."

Toymaker Mattel was also named over the global recall of more than 19 million products made in China because of high lead levels and small magnets.

Last month the US toymaker apologised to China, saying the vast majority of recalls were due to design flaws and had nothing to do with where the toys were manufactured.

"This is a classic case of avoiding accountability and shifting responsibility on a global scale," Consumers International said.

"Wherever the fault lies, the safety of consumers was compromised and this should be the full focus of Mattel's attention, not finger pointing and not blame dodging."

Consumers International, a global federation of consumer advocate organisations, said the awards aimed to highlight the abuse of consumer trust.

"These multi-billion dollar companies are global brands with a responsibility to be honest, accountable and responsible," the group's director general Richard Lloyd said.

"In highlighting their shortcomings, Consumers International and its 220 member organisations are holding corporations to account and demanding businesses take social responsibility seriously."

The awards, which were announced at Consumers International's World Congress in Sydney, were whittled down from submissions by consumer organisations around the world.

Criteria for final selection included the size of the company, the scale of sales and marketing, the impact on consumers, and the potential for change by the corporation.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

phony organics

So here I am eating organic pumpkin seeds from a company "based" in Dayville, Connecticut called Woodstock Farms. The companies mission statement states "Our farmers, their harvest and your well being are the heart and soul of our commitment to you and to our place on earth." Cool right? Wrong.
Further along the label reads: Product of China. -Made in a plant that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy wheat (gluten) and milk products. Oh boy.
Wtf? Not made from New England pumpkins. This is complete crap. Green organics flown in from a country that has the worst industrial regulations, non existent human rights laws. The lesson here is read those labels closely while you're in the stores. Buy local pumpkins and make your own seed concoctions.

Friday, October 12, 2007

The Starbury Revolution

The Revolution will be televised….sorta.
NY KNICKS Stephon Marbury launched a dirt cheap sneaker alternative with the chain Steve and Barry's known as Starbury. If you read up on the brand, the idea behind it is to provide quality sneakers without the Jordan price tag. Around 14 bux to be exact. The design of the shoe was put together by an agency that helped Nike and Reebok in the past. To cut costs pleather is substituted for leather.. In addition, I guess they are pumped out of the same low wage Chinese factories that the others are using.
The cheap alternative to Jordan's possess the high-end function. Cool... I wear Starbury 1's -- tight as fudge.. Starbury II's are considerably looser and nicer fitting. My problem with their revolutionary approach is well.. Steve and Barry's don't seem committed to their own campaign. I have been in store's in Massachusetts and New York.. And they suffer from the same less than ambitious staffing.
TAUNTON, MA -- at least had customer service that had a clue as to why they were hired. Greet customers, keep the shrink low and occasionally make the store look presentable. The sneaker dept. was a joke. 3 or 4 designs from the line on hand.. And boxes stacked behind one another with no rhyme or reason. 5 1/2s , 8's. 11s. In the sitting area, the visual resembled a bomb going off. Open boxes, tissue paper thrown everywhere. Not to mention… the place looked dirty.
I have worked retail for a decade and a half.. I know people are slobs and generally take their "the world owes me something", shit where you eat attitude everywhere they go. Unfortunately, the staff had the same attitude when I shopped at the Bellport, NY Sunshine Plaza location as well. We were passed a dozen times by staffs who were far busy doing nothing. All of who passed the circular shoe display that looked like it was freshly looted and from a visual standpoint looked revolting and unacceptable by the worst management standards. Apparently, this is okay by S&B platform guidelines.
This is a new store and it seemed like the place was more in going out of business week mind frame rather than getting ready for a successful Christmas season. The shoe selection equally miserable. Is this going to continue when the Chicago Bulls Ben Wallace line drops?
When is the revolution slated to begin? If you are going to offer an alternative to all the Finish Line, Foot Lockers out there… commit to it. Do not try some half-assed feeble attempt because this is where many revolutions past have failed. Sorry to inform you but there's tedious work involved. It is not just praise, celebrations and blaring loud In Store infomercial lip service. Now… are you ready to monkey wrench the Jordan machine?

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I RESIGN!!

Okay here's a slightly enhanced version for my non myspace galaxy cruisers.
Usually I end my employment situations in a blaze of glory. so it brings me much dismay to announce that this has been two in a row where i leave a job on good terms. I shake hands and say bye. There's no four mile paper trail of shredded bits in my wake. So, for all those of you who were concerned about my mental well being, spiritual growth over the past few years i guess the above speaks volumes

For those of you on long island who were going through Model Citizen withdrawal..fret not. you'll be sick of me by New Years b/c the ol' MC will be relocating to the scenic plains of wonderful Patchogue, NY. NO... you pessimistic bastards...Melissa did not give me the boot. She's with me step by step (and no i'm not doing 12 steps.. walking meditation...but that will be a whole other bulletin) and in it for the long haul (geesh someone get this girl a shrink already --yuk, yuk, yuk)So mark your calanders. make sure you have your caller iD working 'cuz ol GG will be back on pat med stomping grounds. And I guess now you can screen your calls and make your miserable selves busy again.

THE REVIVAL ---weekend bicycle races through patchogue's historic waterfront are currently in the works. THE BIRDLAND RUN...is also being drawn up. A lovely ride through Patchogue's Montauk Hwy. to the part of Bellport that Isabella Rossellini does not reside in.. and ends at the destined for landmark status Spicy's Birdland. We'll then indulge in some wings or fish 'n chips. Since I'm not trying to be a complete exclusionist .. i'll let some of you smoke rock with the locals. Though, you will be completely responsible in transporting yourself back to Patchogue, and/or posting your own bail. Maybe even checking yourself into detox on Monday. That's up to you. (They're usually packed up on weekends) So start training and get your cardio up to snuff. We have extra bikes so you wont be able to have the ol' it got stolen from outside the bodega excuse.

cheers,
Groovy