MetaFilter posts tagged with wal-mart

Everything you think you know about inequality is wrong.

Cool Papa Bell — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:18:11 -0800

Everything you think you know about inequality is wrong. This guy disagrees. But it's not that bad, honest. And free trade with China is a good thing for poor Americans. But are these guys the next Yugo?

Maybe she likes Wittgenstein...

clockwork — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:14:33 -0800

The Most Wanted Song - Finally, thanks to Ubuweb, Komar & Melamid's Most Wanted and Most Unwanted Songs (recorded in 1997) are now available online! Komar & Melamid have been featured on Metafilter before for The Most and Least Wanted Paintings. Thanks WMFU!

Yet more Bullshit

hoverboards don't work on water — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:22:49 -0800

There's been plenty of Bullshit! on MetaFilter before, and now there's more: Boy Scouts [1, 2, 3] ("Duty to God ahead of country, others, and self, is the credo of suicide bombers."); Wal-Mart Hatred ("Wal-Mart is one of the great anti-poverty programmes in the country."); Circumcision ("By the end of this programme, one of these three will drop their pants and show us the restored foreskin on their penis."); and The Best ("Stupid? How many of you are searching for it on the web right now?").

Dark Wal-Mart

Adamchik — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:25:39 -0800

That Wal-Mart is evil (or even just filthy) has been discussed numerous times on MeFi. How about a "Dark Wal-Mart"? This is the industry term given to a Wal-Mart that has been vacated (pdf deep link), often in favor a Supercenter nearby. Wal-Mart still has a few years left on the lease, so there is an income stream for the landlord for a while. Industry observers note, however, that "having a dark Wal-Mart does not help you valuewise."

Patron Saint of WalMart

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:21:26 -0800

Angelina Jolie as Madonna of Consumption. Artist Kate Kretz is displaying her painting at Art Miami 2007.

Does the Smiling Yellow Orb See the Light?

mrbula — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:19:27 -0800

Wal-Mart and the Light Bulb [NY Times link] - Wal-Mart officials admit their push to sell 100 million compact fluorescent lights per year is at least partially a marketing ploy, but if successful, it would increase the number of the energy-efficient bulbs in use by 50% while "saving Americans $3 billion in electricity costs and avoiding the need to build additional power plants for the equivalent of 450,000 new homes." Wal-Mart's environmental record is less than perfect, of course, but if they managed to pull this off it would be hard to see it as a bad thing.

Wal-Mart Sells T-Shirt with Nazi SS Logo

paulinsanjuan — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:04:28 -0800

Blogger goes to Wal-Mart and finds t-shirt with Nazi SS logo. Wal-Mart apologizes and promises to pull the shirts. But have they been doing a good job? [via] the consumerist

Most of my heroes don't appear on no food stamps

Mayor Curley — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 06:48:24 -0800

Fight the Powah! Small-town Maine teens set off bombs at their local Wal-Mart. Maybe they were hopped up on Skowhegan Martinis. Perhaps they wouldn't have been so angry if The Revolution had happened.

Life In The Fast Lane

gfrobe — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:51:47 -0800

Wal-Mart workers walk out. "It's the first time that Wal-Mart has faced a worker-led revolt of such scale, according to both employees and the company". Apparently the working conditions of Wal-Mart employees is not much of a concern to The Eagles though. Time to start greasing the wheels for the new album.

Wal-Mart isn't completely evil after all?

SeizeTheDay — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 05:05:40 -0800

Perhaps Wal-Mart isn't completely evil? In a move that I'm sure will stun environmentalists, Wal-Mart wants to introduce E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) to its gas stations (which could potentially more than double the national locations that offer E85 from 800 to almost 2150).

WalMart Tries to Be MySpace, Badly

fenriq — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:37:16 -0800

Pending Approval, WalMart Horns in on MySpace, Badly
WalMart wants in on MySpace's lock on teen minds. So they've launched schoolyourway to give kids a place to "express their individuality" so long as the WalMart censors approve of it.

NIMBY! San Francisco suburb to use eminent domain to keep out Wal-Mart

analogue — Wed, 24 May 2006 14:15:23 -0800

Hercules uses eminent domain to keep out Wal-Mart (previously). Fueling the eminent domain fire, now WalMart finds itself on both sides of the debate.

Asian invasion?

gen — Wed, 24 May 2006 02:17:35 -0800

Wal-Mart fails in South Korea. As a student of business and a resident of Asia, I am fascinated by the examples of "foreign" businesses who either succeed or fail in Asian markets. Recently, Vodafone failed in Japan but in a strange twist has signed a J-V with Softbank to keep their presence in Japan. eBay failed in Japan as did Memoirs of a Geisha. I'd love to have a discussion on the successes AND failures of non-Asian businesses in Asian markets and what, if any, lessons can be taken away for those of us who are in Asian markets or wish to enter Asian markets. (Yes, I realize that "Asia" is too broad of a region but I don't want to limit the discussion to just one nation.)

WalMart, a Christian company

skwm — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:07:44 -0800

WalMart Manager: We feel that as a Christian Company it was inappropriate to carry things associated with morally corrupt themes.

Cash, Credit, or Fingerprints?

youarenothere — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 17:31:33 -0800

Cash, credit, or fingerprint? Biometrics are hot. Since we've already tired of our RFID credit cards, Wal-Mart and Costco are exploring fingerprint scanners as a means of payment in their stores. Pay by Touch, which has already installed its technology in various Cub Foods, bigg's, Piggly Wiggly, and Farm Fresh stores, is proud to change the way we all say "I am me". But didn't we already decide that sometimes fingerprints say "I am someone else"? [via]

Wal-Mart

Protocols of the Elders of Awesome — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:11:44 -0800

Wal-Mart sells dildos

You say potato, I say potato; you say tomato, I say tomato.

ericb — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 19:31:07 -0800

This year “some people wanted the word ‘brainstorming’ replaced by ‘thought shower’ so as not to offend people with brain disorders, and they also wanted ‘deferred success’ to replace ‘failure’ so as not to embarrass those who don’t succeed.” These words and phrases are just a couple cited by Global Language Monitor as the year’s most politically correct words and phrases.

The phrase that topped this year’s list was ‘misguided criminals,’ one of several terms the British Broadcasting Corp. used so as not to use the word ‘terrorist’ in describing those who carried out train and bus bombings in London this summer.

Ninth on the top 10 list were words and phrases that de-Christianize the Christian holidays – such as “Seasons Greetings” replacing “Merry Christmas” – a practice that has upset some American Catholics, demanding that customers of Wal-Mart boycott the retail chain until they drop the phrase “Happy Holidays” and return to using “Merry Christmas.”

Documentary journalism? Activism?

graymouser — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 14:16:53 -0800

Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price, the latest film by Robert Greenwald, director/producer of last year's Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (mentioned here and here), is being screened across the country this week in a private activist-driven model used by Outfoxed. The campaign is driven by Wake Up Wal-Mart, a UFCW-driven campaign to change the retail giant's reputation and unionize its employees. The film's trailer has gotten a reaction from Wal-Mart's PR division. Is the political documentary a new form of journalism, or a form of disinformation?

from the unlikely-headline dept.

kliuless — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:02:21 -0800

Wal-Mart urges Congress to raise minimum wage and "unveiled a series of initiatives designed to present a kinder, gentler face for the world's biggest retailer... exploring ways to use the company's heft and resources to have a more positive impact on society." In its bid to turn over a new leaf, Wal-Mart also announced it's going green and lowering health care costs for its workers. Is this a new sign of rethinking the social responsibility of business where the kind of growth matters as much as the amount? Or is it right to be skeptical of it as a ploy to help open more stores like its critics charge?

Screw the staff, it's the customers we care about...

gwenzel — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 13:06:06 -0800

Wal-Mart Institutes "availability requirement" Imagine your boss (a guy named 'Knuckles') comes to you and tells you you need to be available to work anytime between 7:00am and 11:00pm, 7 days a week. Oh, and if you can't be available, you'll be fired. This should be expected in a slave labour camp, but couldn't exist in the pride of Corporate America, could it? Updated during preview: Whoops, perhaps the bad press caused a flip-flop.

Wal-mart: Sith Lord of unbridaled capitalism

spock — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 09:31:24 -0800

That "liberal bastion" PBS and that "wacky" Christian Right AGREEING on something? Does the "Sith Lord of unbridaled capitalism" really deserve to be hated? Does it bear watching? A new movie will take a look: (Registration -free link). Why are growing numbers "ready to join the ranks of all right-thinking people the world over in declaring Wal-Mart an outpost of hell on earth"??? The full 60 minute Frontline program video is available online.

Cleveland gets sold down the (burning) river

bitter-girl.com — Fri, 20 May 2005 08:28:34 -0800

Cleveland bloggers are organizing against a giant suburban-style shopping plaza called Steelyard Commons (to be built on the site of the city's historic steel factories), which will include an immense Wal-Mart at its core. After City Council passed legislation in February to prevent Wal-Mart from adding a grocery store (causing the Bensonville bullies to "pull out" and scuttle the project), the developer was aided and abetted behind closed doors by Cleveland's mayor, Queen Jane. Despite the mayor's proclamation of "no public money" or tax abatements for the project, there's plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Biting the hand that feeds it

trharlan — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 13:08:15 -0800

Kevin Brancato (of Truck and Barter fame) has been running Alwayslowprices.net, a site dedicated to discussing the social and economic impact of Wal-Mart, for about a year. Though he has generally been one of the web's biggest Wal-Mart supporters, the firm has nonetheless issued to him a Cease and Decist Order.

Consumers of the world, unite!

marxchivist — Fri, 04 Feb 2005 20:14:47 -0800

Boycott City. This interesting Askme thread and this informative post inspired me to post this. There are many of the usual suspects here, and boy, do these folks hate Jiffy-Lube. Also boycott news and personal essays. You can even oppose a boycott, thereby boycotting a boycott. requires registration, but it is free and fun

Walmart

OmieWise — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 10:59:59 -0800

"With 1.4 million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart's workforce is now larger than that of GM, Ford, GE, and IBM combined. At $258 billion in 2003, Wal-Mart's annual revenues are 2 percent of US GDP, and eight times the size of Microsoft's. In fact, when ranked by its revenues, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation." The real cost belongs to the taxpayer, as this report (PDF or HTML through Google), by the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, makes clear. A "total annual welfare bill of $2.5 billion for Wal-Mart's 1.2 million US employees."