I personally have worked at Wal-Mart, and I did indeed stock shelves...and jesus...I can't believe how much you people carry on about those poor people like myself. Stocking shelves in wal-mart is not a bad job, and Wal-Mart treats their employees just fine. In fact, they were incredibly fair about it; they train you that if you work, you WILL be paid for it, and that any work you do, you are required to report so that it will be tallied and included in your hours and be paid for it. Thus, if you happened to clock out, then realize that you forgot one last bit, they are actually rather anal about you reporting those last 2 minutes of work that you did. That much more fair than most other per-hour jobs, in my experience (and I've had quite a few).

Further, I have no idea what thinker247 is going on about. As you've figured out, Wal-Mart does indeed train their employees via a series of instructional videos with quizzes at the end. Included in the instructional videos is information about the employee break schedule; every employee is officially allowed 15 minutes of break every couple hours, where they can take off their jersey and do whatever they want. They can take their break at their convenience, choose not to take it, or whatever.

Finally, the intended purpose of the union is to negotiate fair terms between the employer and the employee. Whether the union holds up to that is a different story, but truth be told...as a part-time employee, I cannot possibly think of one upset that I could find with my job. I did my work at whatever pace I felt (so long as I got my work done)...took breaks to eat donuts and drink soda, read magazines, etc...it was totally fine.

For those of you going on about how horrible it is of wal-mart to keep their salaried staff working for more than 40 hours per week...welcome to the world. Ask any american engineer, programmer, or scientist how many hours per week that they work, and I guarantee that nearly all of them will tell you that 40 hours per week goes out the window first thing. It's more like 50 hours per week MINIMUM if you're working your job as a career.

If you find economics to be cruel (which it is...economics is a cold ice pop in your cornhole), then it is understandable that, despite its inevitability, you despise wal-mart for how it drives mom & pop shops out of business. But, if you're trying to disgrace wal-mart now for how it treats its employees, either you're scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find ways to pick at wal-mart, or you've been coddled by your mom for waaaay too long...

I can never, ever remember the best ones when quizzed like this. Same goes for best movies etc.

Ones I have liked of late are (in no order):
The Dark Tower series: Stephen King
The Book Thief: Marcus Zusak
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Dave Eggers (Currently reading another of his books actually)
The Mars Trilogy: Kim Stanley Robinson
LOTR: Tolkien
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams
Many Discworld novels: Terry Pratchett
Dune: Frank Herbert
The Dressmaker: Rosalie Ham (An Australian gothic novel, just brilliant, I'd love to see this made into a film)
2010: Arthur C Clarke (Yeah, I like it better than 2001, sue me)


But inevitably someone will mention some book and I'll go 'AAAH, yeah, LOVED that one'!... so yeah, there are many others that I'm sure should be here, and probably in place of others here... (I just scrolled up and added some that others had put, because I'd forgotten them)...

Catch 22 : I just wanted to say that for all the praise that this book gets, I couldn't get through it. He made his points, set up his things, and then seemed to repeat the same damn jokes/observations over and over and over again to the point where I just stopped reading it... sorry, but it bored me. Good start, lost me soon after.

It's just a convention of their media. Pretty much all "variety shows" use it. (Variety shows are shows that have Japanese entertainers or athletes compete in contests or quizzes, or take part in panel discussions.) I guess the Japanese really like to see the unfiltered reactions of celebrities when unexpected things happen.

Where was the epic fail? She didn't make any obvious mistakes, just answering with generalities, which is better than Obama, who doesn't answer anything at all when quizzed.

Q: Obama, what is your foreign experience?
A: "You know, did I ever mention the cynicism and pessimism that defines the debate between our side and their side? But I don't believe in taking sides. There's no right and wrong. Only hope, and those who are against hope. Good night."

I also want to point out the defining characteristics, in my mind, of those Democratic candidates we've left behind:

8. Gravel -- angry about something (they never really let him talk about what)

7. Kucinich -- Fought against corporate corruption in Cleveland, Ohio. Promised to repeal NAFTA, to instigate a carbon tax, and bring our troops home as quickly as possible. According to several online political quizzes, closest match to my own views. (Oh, and a hot european wife, something I also strongly support)

6. Biden -- Passionate, and by far the most experienced with foreign policy. Not really terribly resistant to business influences, though.

5. Dodd -- Passionate, well spoken constitutionalist. Wants to kill FISA by any means. Wants to ensure Bush & co. are brought to justice for their crimes. Father was one of the prosecutors at the trials at Nuremberg. I'd love to see him as Senate Majority leader.

4. Richardson -- Good foreign policy experience. Hispanic. Didn't seem to have much in the way of policy differences between himself and the top three.

3. Edwards -- Son of a millworker. One-time senator of North Carolina. Spoke passionately about the economic division in America (the two Americas). Had a voting record that didn't back up hardly any of his rhetoric. The early favorite of the kossacks.

2. Clinton -- Wife of someone famous, not sure who. Apparently has already served two terms as President, not sure how she's not in violation of the 22nd amendment. Sat on the board of directors at Wal-Mart. Led a failed initiative for Health care reform in 1993. Has been planning Presidential run since before being elected to the US Senate in 2000 (since she was 12, some say). Currently proclaims to be a freedom fighter for the disenfranchised in Florida. Was oddly silent on the issue in 2000, and even as recently as February, 2008.

1. Obama -- Inspirational speaker. Limited experience, but has shown good judgement. Has passed legislation in favor of transparency in government in his short time in the Senate. Opposed the Iraq war from the start (like Kucinich and Gravel). Has run a fantastic campaign.

My preference in July, 2007 was "anyone but Hillary". Obama wasn't my first choice. Kucinich was, but I knew he'd never make it. I followed the kossacks in supporting Edwards, until it became clear in South Carolina that he was done for.

I praise Obama highly, but he's my 3rd choice. The media buried all the rest.

If the media could, they'd bury him too. They sure have done a good job of keeping Hillary propped up.

I quizzed my father (who is a psychologist) about this procedure . His comments mainly said that doctors didnt really know why it works, and that all it "simply" does is re-set the mind, kind of like pressing the button on your mobile phone.
Much of the negative reports are allegedly due to early experiments (as mentioned in the talk) and just the inability to understand how shocking someone can be therapeutic.
Fantastic vid guys!