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To: steve harris who wrote (303656)1/19/2011 12:01:46 PM
From: joseffyRead Replies (1) | Respond to of 306849
 
Anti-WalMart Thugs Target Developer: Plan Protest Outside of Private Residence

1/19/2011
biggovernment.com

Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" in action.

Last May, a frightened teenager was trapped inside his home when a mob of SEIU astro-turfing thugs (estimated at 500 strong) trespassed on his front lawn to protest to intimidate his father, the deputy general counsel of the Bank of America. While the protesters caught the family by surprise (allegedly aided and abetted by the police), unbeknownst to them, Fortune’s Nina Easton was a neighbor to the victim and exposed the injustice for what it was.

Now, though, another gang of astro-turfing thugs has targeted (yes, targeted) the private home of a real estate developer for the audacity of building a WalMart that will employ up to 1200 DC-area residents.

With unemployment in Washington, DC at 10.2%, it is hard to imagine anyone not wanting to see jobs added. That is, unless that someone is a union that doesn’t like the fact that WalMart operates its U.S. stores union-free.

A group of of so-called “activists” has launched an anti-WalMart site called WalMart-Free DC in an attempt to keep WalMart out of Washington, DC. While the group claims no affiliation, its tactics are reminiscent of the thug-like tactics of the SEIU and UFCW. In fact, while the links on the site link to SEIU and UFCW funded groups like WalMartWatch, the WalMart-Free DC has decided they are entirely opposed to all-things WalMart:

Wal-Mart Free DC is a group of DC Residents who have come together to say NO to Wal-Mart.

We are not interested in negotiating the terms of Wal-Mart’s arrival. We know the harmful impact that Wal-Mart always has, from thousands of case studies around the country, and around the world. We believe in our hearts, and in our minds, that DC must continue to be Wal-Mart Free.

Apparently happy with a closed-down Chevrolet dealership standing on the site where the proposed WalMart would be built, the vehemence of their hatred has led the astroturf group to believe it has the right to target and tread on another person’s property.

As the Leftist group clearly has its sight set on targeting Mr. Knapp’s home on Saturday, it will be curious to see whether or not the police will be doing their jobs by protecting his property, or being the paid escorts for the protesters.

We’ll also see if the Left becomes as outraged about the target on the anti-WalMart group’s poster as they are about other targets.

Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" in action.

SEIU poster detailing plan to harass businessman

img513.imageshack.us



To: steve harris who wrote (303656)1/19/2011 12:23:14 PM
From: joseffyRead Replies (1) | Respond to of 306849
 
MSFT, GOLDMAN SACHS CEOs to Meet Obama, Hu at White House

Ballmer, Blankfein Invited by Obama to Hu Discussion on Business in China

By Nicholas Johnston and Michael Forsythe - Jan 19, 2011
bloomberg.com

Chief executive officers from Microsoft Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will be among the corporate leaders the Obama administration is bringing together today for a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao aimed at expanding U.S. business interests in China.
CEOs Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman will be joined by General Electric Co.’s Jeffrey Immelt, Jim McNerney of Boeing Co. and 10 other U.S. business leaders for the meeting, the administration announced.
The CEO summit on the White House grounds, coming between a formal welcoming ceremony and a dinner in Hu’s honor, is part of the economic focus President Barack Obama is putting on the first formal state visit by a Chinese leader in more 13 years.
Also invited to the meeting were Westinghouse Electric Corp. CEO Aris Candris; former Sybase Inc. chief executive John Chen; Coca-Cola Co. chief executive Muhtar Kent; DuPont Co. CEO Ellen J. Kullman; Greg Page, CEO of Cargill Inc.; John Thornton, chairman of HSBC Holdings Plc’s North American division; David Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of Carlyle Group; Paul Otellini, Intel Corp. CEO; and Dow Chemical Co. CEO Andrew Liveris.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the session will highlight the “important economic relationship” between the two countries and the role U.S. exporters play in creating jobs.
“You’ll see important commercial relationships that our CEOs have and want to expand in China that the president believes is important to make a forceful case in front of both the CEOs from China as well as President Hu,” Gibbs told reporters yesterday.
Chinese Executives
The Chinese executives are Lu Guanqiu, chairman of Hangzhou-based Wanxiang Group Along; Lenovo Group Ltd. chairman Liu Chuanzhi; Lou Jiwei, chairman of the China Investment Corp.; and Haier Group Corp. chief executive Zhang Ruimin.
“People in the U.S. welcome us,” Lu said in an interview. “We’re solving their employment problems.”
The itinerary for Hu’s U.S. visit reflects the importance both countries place on their economic ties. It also meshes with Obama’s goal of boosting exports to spur job growth. Still, the relationship, marked by more than $400 billion in annual trade, is complicated by disagreements on issues as varied as human rights, China’s enforcement of intellectual property rights and what U.S. officials say is the artificially low value of China’s currency.
All of those topics will be addressed in the meetings between Obama and Hu, according to Gibbs.
Joint Briefing
Hu arrived in Washington late yesterday before today’s official arrival ceremony on the South Lawn. The two leaders also will also hold a joint press conference. In the evening, Obama will host a state dinner in Hu’s honor. The Chinese leader also plans to meet with members of Congress while in Washington.
Hu will travel later in the week to Chicago, where U.S. and Chinese companies will announce about 40 agreements, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs said. Chinese and U.S. companies signed six agreements worth about $600 million in Texas during the visit of a delegation headed by Wang Chao, the deputy minister of commerce, Xinhua news agency reported.
GE and American Electric Power Inc. were among the companies that signed agreements in Washington yesterday to expand cooperation between China and the U.S. on alternative energy projects.
GE’s deal with China’s Huadian Corp. should result in the sale of 50 aero-derivative turbine generator sets to the Chinese company, generating $350 million in U.S. exports over a decade. While Hu is in the U.S., the company plans to announce rail, aviation and energy projects yielding at least $2.1 billion.
Clean Energy
Columbus, Ohio-based AEP signed an agreement with China Huaneng Group, China’s biggest power producer, to work together to develop and evaluate carbon-capture technology.
AEP operates a plant in West Virginia using Alstom SA technology, which captures carbon generated by a coal-fired power plant and injects it in rock layers miles underground.
The Chinese companies “are moving forward in a very rapid pace with new technology,” Michael Morris, CEO of AEP, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Other companies signing agreements yesterday included Duke Energy Corp., which will work with China’s ENN Group to develop technologies that will support clean energy for U.S. and Chinese cities. New York-based Ener1 Inc. rose the most in almost five years after it announced a joint venture with a unit of China’s largest auto-parts maker Wanxiang Group Co. Ltd. to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
‘Very Large’ Market
Increasing cooperation with China on clean energy “will dramatically expand high quality jobs, living standards, and our economy in the United States,” said Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to China. “So as long as we continue to produce cutting-edge technology and maintain our competitive advantage in management, services and education, the China market will loom very large.”
China had a $252 billion trade surplus with the U.S. in the first 11 months of 2010, according to Commerce Department data. The U.S. exported $100 billion worth of goods and services to China last year. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last week that with the current rate of growth in U.S. exports there, China will become the biggest American trading partner in about a decade.