Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Arizona, Immigration, Immigration Reform, Racial profiling, SB 1070 on April 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Speak out against this assault on your human rights.
Here is what you can do:
- Join the campaign to boycott Arizona at http://presente.org/campaigns/shame
- Add your name to the following petitions to veto SB 1070 and put an end to racial profiling at http://www.change.org/petitions/view/legalize_arizona and http://www.altoarizona.com/
FUCK ARIZONA! O baguettes
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Climate Change, EPA, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator John Kerry, Senator Lindsey Graham, tea baggers on April 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Whispers in the environmental community indicate that the Senate “Climate Change Legislation” bill set to be released by Senators Kerry (D), Lieberman (I) and Graham (R) is a disgusting perversion filled with goodies and givebacks to big coal and other polluters.
Possibly the most despicable piece of this bill is that it will shift the power to regulate and enforce greenhouse gas emissions as well as renewable energy standards to Congress and away from the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)! Take a moment to reread the last sentence and let it sink in. How many people in Congress do you think have any sophisticated knowledge of our climate, other than what they see on their local weather channel? Do you think they sound have the responsibility for determining what is best for our planet? Half of these Senators and Congressmembers refute scientific facts and point to the “I was cold this winter, so our climate can’t be changing” defense. Let’s leave things to the professionals on this one.
When this bill is release on Monday, take a few minutes to skim the “Clean Air Act”, which was produced by the EPA and then compare the standards and restrictions set in this policy to what Kerry, Lieberman and Graham bring to the table.
Here are just a few things I am hearing:
- As of now the EPA sets a goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 40% over the next 10 yeas, the Senate bill with set a goal of 3%. Fucking pathetic.
- Huge tax cuts and other incentives will be provided for the development of more coal plants. Wait, didn’t we just experience a huge tragedy in West Virginia after a coal mine exploded??? Yeah, we probably should provide incentives for more of these operations.
- Previously environmentally protected coastal areas will be opened up for off shore drilling locations. This is what I like to refer to as the “Sarah Palin” position that President Obama has taken. It is a sad day in America when a Sarah Palin campaign slogan is being brought to life by President Obama.
- The ability for states to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy standards of companies that do business in their state will now be turned over to the Congress. So progressive states outside the bible belt who take an interest in our planet and have implemented stringent emissions laws and high renewable energy standards will be severely scaled back.
This is only a few of the travesties that will be found in the “Climate Change Bill”
There are only two reasons why a bill like this would be presented:
1. The Democrats are desperate for a little love from their much ignored progressive base and want to show they are making an effort to take on climate change issues. Even if it is a feeble, half hearted effort that will not pass the smell test for any self respecting Democrat and will be blocked by virtually all Republicans. ”We proposed real reform but those darn Republicans just won’t let us move it forward.” Please do not try this strategy as no one will believe you.
2. The Democrats are actually interested in comprehensive climate change legislation but are so enslaved to the big polluters who keep their flush with funds that they are terrified to stand up to them. It is as simple as this, “Keep filling my pockets and you can write the bill.” Sadly, this is how it works and I’m sure it does not come as a surprise to anyone reading this.
As a side note, keep an eye on Lindsey Graham (R-SC). This traveling dictionary salesman has his hands in the climate bill as well as the immigration reform bill. He is up to something and that something is watering down important pieces of legislation while appealing to the non tea bagger faction of the Republican party, which is admittedly a small number of people these days. But nevertheless, it is my opinion that he is positioning himself as an endangered moderate Republican that can be elected in 2012 while torpedoing any real progressive initiatives on climate change and immigrations reform. I’ll be watching this guy closely and so should you.
It is tough to rate all parties involved without the full bill present but at this stage, all involved with this bill receive 0 baguettes, pending further review. Stay tuned for an updated rating….
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Fair Wages, Labor, SEIU, SEIU 32 BJ, Strike, Union on April 19, 2010 | 1 Comment »
We are 24 hours away from the first SEIU 32 BJ strike in almost 20 years. SEIU 32 BJ is made up of security officers, doormen, porters, maintenance workers, bus drivers, window cleaners and food service workers. NOW is the time to voice your support for the men and women that work their fucking asses off to keep your building safe, clean and running smoothly.
Denying already underpaid and under-appreciated workers the right to a fair wage and the opportunity to live in the borough that they work in is unconscionable. That means you, Realty Advisory Board.
Take action NOW! Write your property manager or landlord an e-mail or letter, call your management company or just look your building staff in the eyes, shake their hands and let them know you support their right to organize, strike and demand a fair wage.
For more information and other ways to support SEIU 32 BJ members across the city, visit:
http://www.standwithbuildingworkers.org/
For not backing down and fighting for the respect and work conditions they deserve, every member of SEIU 32 BJ and the organization as a whole receives 5 baguettes
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Bar, Check in, Foursquare, Restaurant, Shout, Social network, Tips on April 17, 2010 | 2 Comments »
***Foursquare celebrated its 1st birthday last night in New York City and across the world. The Monsieur Baguette team members are proud users and would like to wish foursquare a happy birthday and many more.***
A new craze is sweeping the nation…..or maybe just the hipster community in New York City. Only time will tell.
Nevertheless, for everything foursquare has done right there is one major flaw. The flaw is that there is no law of the land. May I be so bold as to be your shepherd leading the foursquare community through the vast, uncharted territory that is the rules for foursquare.
Let me first describe the application. foursquare allows you to “check in” to locations across the world such as restaurants, parks, bars, clubs, telephone booths, your office, etc. By checking in you are alerting the world that you have arrived, and when I say the world I mean the friends that you have carefully selected from your address book, gmail contacts, twitter page and facebook account to be privileged enough to track your whereabouts. Once checked in to a location, you can give a quick thought about where you are that can be viewed by your friends. Also, you can leave a “tip”, which is meant to be a brief recommendation, or utter crushing of the venue that you just checked in to. As a side note, my issue with the check in message is that you do not have the ability to edit or change your comment without re checking in (which you will find in the don’ts section of this post). Tips may be viewed by the whole foursquare community and are quite useful for items to avoid or to order on a menu and for crowds you may want to avoid. Sometimes you feel like Pauly D and sometimes you don’t.
Another interesting feature is the ability to see which locations are trending in your area. Unfortunately this feature has recently disappeared from the program and we must mobilize to get it back, this will definitely affect their rating. Foursquare uses the gps built into your iphone or blackberry (for the purposes of keeping this a short post I will assume everyone reading this has either an iphone or a blackberry) to inform you as to which locations have been checked into the most.
Perhaps the most enticing reason to download foursquare is the chance to be the Mayor of your favorite spots in your neighborhood or around the city where you live. For instance, if you are the type of unabashed alcoholic who starts their weekday mornings with a red-eye at Milano’s Bar on Houston between Mulberry and Mott then you my friend have the opportunity to be a Mayor (stay tuned for a more extensive post elaborating on the types of Mayorships you want and the kind you are better off not having).
Now, let’s get to the veggie faux meat of this post
The Dos:
Do check into restaurants, bars, clubs, parks, rooftops, shops, bodegas, ice cream parlors, salons, barber shops, late night Asian massage parlors, supermarkets, green markets, black markets, etc….
Do leave a first impression comment when you check into a venue. It does not have to be witty, clever, sophisticated, thought-provoking or in english. It just has to be a thought you had, that is what makes things interesting.
Do leave a tip for venues that you check in to. This is what the application was meant for. People want to know what you think, don’t forget that. Any and all comments are welcome.
Do create new venues if they do not already exist.
Do judge people based on where they check in and their Mayorships. By checking in you open yourself up to public ridicule. But fuck what people say, keep going to that 1½ star, Yelp rated Thai restaurant on your block. The owners are good people and you think they make a killer pad seeyu.
Do recommend foursquare to friends.
The Don’ts
Don’t check in to places where you are not present.
Don’t check in to the same place multiple times in a shallow attempt to win a Mayorship. Your do not have to force it, let it come to you.
Don’t order delivery and check in to that restaurant. For my loyal elementary school followers, this is the definition of cheating.
Don’t order take out and check in when you pick it up. There is one exception to this rule and it is – if you eat or drink something while you wait for your order to be ready, you may check in. Otherwise, if it is just a wham bam thank you ma’am pick up, you are in violation of the rules if you check in.
Don’t show up uninvited to where a friend of yours may be checked it. Foursquare does not override proper social etiquette. If you are not invited, do not show up.
Don’t create duplicate venus in order to feed your ego by winning an undesreved Mayorship. Not cool.
Don’t check in to places where you were the previous night, week, month, year or life. You have until you pass out from a night out to check in to venues you may have forgotten to check in to. Unlike life, foursquare must account for people being lazy stoners and blackout alcoholics.
This is an ever-expanding list of Dos and Don’ts, please comment on this post to add to the list.
Foursquare as an application receives 3 and 1 half-eaten baguettes out of 5. Great start but there are improvements to be made. Start with bringing back the trending feature.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Bobby Flay, Fair Wages, Food Network, Wage and hour on April 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A little known fact about our thrown down having, bland southwestern cooking, ex-executive chef turned chain restaurant owner Bobby Flay:
He is a CRIMINAL!
Next time you are starring at a sloppy, played out, basil oil splattered, over priced plate at Mesa Grill think about the bus boy who just replaced the fork you carelessly dropped. Why should I think about that? You may ask. Here is why, Bobby Flay’s holding company, Bold Foods LLC, that is the proud owner of his generally uninteresting restaurants such as Mesa Grill and Bar Americain, just settled a class action lawsuit filed by his employees for wage and hour violations at a variety of his restaurants. The grand total – $800,000. But of course, settling the suit was not an admission of guilt.
Kudos to the Flay PR team for maintaining his all american, burger flipping, fun loving image all over the food network in the midst of an all too common predatory abuse of low-wage and immigrant workers.
You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t even know what wage and hour violations are, is it a bar? I think I went there last night.”
It would be my pleasure to explain what types of violations Grill it with Bobby Flay admitted to by settling this suit:
PLUS in a classic show of the man strong arming a helpless employee, the management of Bar Americain suspended one of the plaintiffs as punishment for raising concerns about about the restaurant’s tip practices. I can hear it now, “This matter does not concern you.” “We need to talk, can you step into my office……….”
**Source: http://www.outtengolden.com/firm/practice/class-actions/#256**
Isn’t it refreshing when a supposedly squeaky clean, celebrity sweetheart’s true colors are exposed.
This is not surprising and it is an all too often over looked issue at restaurants. Owners/employers take advantage of surprise surprise the disadvantaged and weak. These low-wage workers are the engines that keep restaurants running and without them there would be no-one clearing the half eaten, dissatisfying cuisine served on the tables of Bold Foods LLC restaurants.
Bobby Flay (as a human being) receives 0 out of 5 baguettes
Bobby Flay (as a business owner/employer) receives 0 out of 5 baguettes
Bobby Flay (as a chef) received 0 out of 5 baguettes
Bobby Flay (as a tv personality) receives 3 out of 5 baguettes. He is mildly entertaining
