uVisa, Coca-Cola Respond To Human Rights Concerns About Qatar World Cup; Not Pulling Out As Sponsorsr

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  (Rendering of World Cup venue in Qatar; via FIFA)

  Since the mysterious cabal that is FIFA announced that the 2022 soccer World Cup would be played in Qatar, there have been rumors of graft, concerns about the exceedingly high temperatures, and most importantly multiple reports of human rights abuses at worksites for the new stadiums and other facilities being erected around the country. As more people call on the event’s largest sponsors to pull their support, some are responding, though none are giving any indication that they won’t slap their name on the wildly popular tournament.

  In a statement released today, Visa expressed some concerns about the conditions of migrant workers, primarily from Nepal and India in Qatar.

  “We continue to be troubled by the reports coming out of Qatar related to the World Cup and migrant worker conditions,” reads the statement. “We have expressed our grave concern to FIFA and urge them to take all necessary actions to work with the appropriate authorities and organizations to remedy this situation and ensure the health and safety of all involved.”

  A separate statement from Coca-Cola, perhaps the most high-profile of the event’s sponsors, voices no concern for Qatar-specific issues. Similar to the Visa response, the beverage giant is putting the responsibility for compliance on FIFA.

  “The Coca-Cola Company does not condone human rights abuses anywhere in the world,” writes Coca-Cola. “We know FIFA is working with Qatari authorities to address questions regarding specific labor and human rights issues. We expect FIFA to continue taking these matters seriously and to work toward further progress.”

  The company says it welcomes “constructive dialogue on human rights issues, and we will continue to work with many individuals, human rights organizations, sports groups, government officials and others to develop solutions and foster greater respect for human rights in sports and elsewhere.”

  Human rights concerns are nothing new in Qatar, especially with regard to the treatment of women and migrant laborers. But it wasn’t until recently that many outside the human rights advocacy community took notice.

  In 2013, a report in the Guardian thrust the nation into the spotlight with claims that 44 Nepalese migrant workers had died in just a two-month span. Meanwhile, other workers said they were not being paid for months at a time, and some said their identification was being confiscated by their employers.

  Later that year, research from Amnesty International [PDF] backed up the news reports, with many of the more than 1 million migrant workers in Qatar experiencing multiple human rights violations: “not being paid for six or nine months; not being able to get out of the country; not having enough – or any – food; and being housed in very poor accommodation with poor sanitation, or no electricity.”

  After being kicked into the spotlight, Qatar’s government suddenly took an interest in the conditions of the migrant workforce. Even FIFA President Sepp Blatter publicly condemned the working conditions.

  In Feb. 2014, the Qatari government’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy released new Workers Welfare Standards intended to hold contractors responsible “for ensuring that the highest standards of health and safety are upheld on [Supreme Committee] construction sites and in worker accommodation.”

  However, follow-up reports still call into question the country’s actual dedication to the treatment of migrant workers.

  Amnesty International’s Nov. 2014 report [PDF] on Qatar calls into question the Qatari response to claims of worker abuse, pointing out that the changes the government had promised were not the reality. Additionally, while some contractors were indeed improving living conditions for their workers, there were still claims of passports being confiscated, though the government said this was just for “safekeeping.”

  A Dec. 2014 Guardian article figured that Nepalese migrant workers building World Cup infrastructure had been dying at a rate of one every other day. This doesn’t include all the workers in the country who had come from India, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh for jobs.

  While Qatar recently claimed that there have been no reported deaths yet involving the construction of any of the actual World Cup stadia, the group Play Fair Qatar calculates that, by the time things are done, 62 migrant workers may have died for each game played in the 2022 tournament.

  Qatar also appears to be trying to exert control over reporters who travel there. Human Rights Watch notes that a German TV journalist and his crew were recently arrested for allegedly lacking filming permits, and then blocked from leaving the country for five days.

  “FIFA operates under the Olympic Charter, which mandates media freedom,” writes HRW’s Minky Worden. “If it fails to defend the right of journalists to report on human rights abuses tied to the World Cup, FIFA is dropping the ball. And FIFA’s silence on this case again raises the question as to what exactly President Sepp Blatter means when he calls football a ‘force for good’ around the world.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uLawmaker Urges Congress To Vote On Bill That Would Put A Woman On The $20 Billr

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  (Rep. Gutierrez on YouTube)

  You don’t have to look in your wallet to know that no U.S. currency features the face of an American woman, but one lawmaker wants that to change sometime soon: Rep. Luis Gutierrez urged Congress today to vote on a bill he introduced last month that would change the face of money as we know it, literally, by putting a woman on the $20 bill.

  Rep. Gutierrez introduced the Put a Woman on the Twenty Act of 2015 (H.R. 910) on April 21, which seeks “To require the Secretary of the Treasury to convene a panel to solicit recommendations for and select a portrait of a woman to be used in a redesign of the $20 Federal Reserve note.”

  Last week, an online campaign called Women on 20s spearheading the effort to get a woman on the $20 bill announced that voters had chosen Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman as the preferred candidate, though Rep. Gutierrez noted during a speech today on the House floor that his bill wouldn’t designate which female should have that honor, just get the Treasury to move forward with plans to replace President Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill.

  Using Harriet Tubman as an example of a candidate for the honor, Gutierrez called her an “ideal American” who was “an agitator” and a “subversive.”

  “She used the tools of democracy to improve America. She fought for the little guy against the strong guy. And she was willing to put herself at great risk to ensure the justice for others. And she was a woman and she was black,” he said in pushing Congress to vote on the bill.

  “In a few years, maybe in a few months, when the idea of putting a woman on our money is considered a quaint, old-fashioned debate, and similarly when the idea of putting a person of color on our money no longer seems like such a remarkable step, we will wonder why it took so long,” Rep. Gutierrez added.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uCFPB Launches Financial Coaching Program For Transitioning Servicemembers, Financially Underservedr

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  (Steven Depolo)

  The first step in living a fiscally responsible life is to understand what financial products are available and how they fit into your goals. Or at least that’s the idea behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently launched Financial Coaching Initiative that aims to assist certain groups of consumers become financially independent and knowledgeable.

  The new program, which targets recently transitioned veterans and economically vulnerable consumers, will place 60 certified financial coaches at Dept. of Labor American Job Centers around the country to provide individualized financial education services.

  The initiative was created to provide the millions of economically vulnerable consumers and transitioning servicemembers the needed resources to reach their financial goals.

  More than 100 million consumers are considered underserved financially or living below the poverty line, according to the CFPB.  By making coaching services readily available, the Bureau believes these consumers may be able to more easily obtain traditional services they currently lack, such as affordable and appropriate financial products.

  As for the nearly 250,000 servicemembers who leave active duty each year, the Bureau hopes to make the often challenging transition easier.

  While the Department of Defense offers a Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for military personnel leaving active duty, the CFPB says many of those servicemembers still lack experience in money management and find they may need help revising plans made while in TAP.

  “At this point a trusted source of financial information and advice could make the difference in a successful transition to a financially stable post-military life,” the Bureau says.

  And that’s exactly what the Financial Coaching Initiative has set out to do.

  Coaches for the program, which will be located at an array of nonprofit organizations and Department of Labor American Job Centers around the U.S., are trained in financial coaching techniques, and will be accredited by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education.

  “Having a trusted, well-informed financial coach can increase your odds of financial success,” Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB says in a statement. “Our project aims to provide financial coaching services at critical points in consumers’ lives, especially as they transition from military service or from being unemployed.”

  CFPB Launches Financial Coaching Initiative [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

u7 Best Moments From Helpful Smoke Shop Clerk’s Play-By-Play Of Robbery Videor

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  It’s one thing to remain calm under pressure, but it’s another to have the wherewithal to take your sweet time double-bagging cigarettes during an armed robbery. A Salt Lake City smoke shop clerk has become an unwitting star this week, after her sister posted a video of her narrating the surveillance video from a robbery at her store over the weekend hit the Internet.

  The clerk told local media she shot the video “That one time I was held at gunpoint” just to share with her sister, but since her sibling posted it to Reddit on Tuesday, it’s already gotten over 250K views. And for good reason — not only does she keep her cool as seen on the video even while the emergency police button is out of order (unbeknownst to her), but she displays excellent customer service in assisting the robber. All of this makes the narration pretty darn enjoyable.

  Below, our favorite moments from one cool customer. And we don’t mean the robber.

  1. Making light of the fact that her life was in danger at 0:35: “I just gave him the change drawer, he’s like, ‘Thanks! I’m gonna point my gun at you again, brrrrr!’ [makes growly noise]”

  2. Going that extra big when ordered to load merchandise into a bag at 1:09: “Let me get you a couple grocery bags. Oh, want me to double bag that for ya? Here! I will put this bag inside that one. And he’s like, ‘Yeah! Double bag it. Double bag it, that’s the way to do it! Double bag it!’ ”

  3. Engaging in pleasant small talk on the job at 2:10: “Here I am, talking to him, telling him a little bit about my business, what’s going on.”

  4. Being totally over the whole thing at 3:10: “You can see at this point I’m kinda bored.”

  5. Getting the customer’s order right at 3:47: “I’m like, ‘Here you go, here’s one pack of Camel’ — yeah, one pack of Camel, he’s veeeery specific, he wants the Menthol No. 9s.”

  6. Ensuring customer doesn’t forget his ah, purchases at 4:09: “I hand him one more bag — ‘Here you go, you forgot this one, sir!'”

  7. Reassuring viewers she’s not dead at 5:51: “And I’m still not back yet… Maybe I’m getting murdered? Nope. Here I am.”

  She was able to get the suspect’s license plate, leading to his arrest and an alleged getaway car driver once the police arrived on the scene. And now she’s Internet famous.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uTakata Is Not The Biggest Product Recall In U.S. Historyr

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• The recall of Takata airbags used cars made by multiple manufacturers is massive: currently at 34 million vehicles in the United States alone and the list will apparently grow longer. Many news outlets are referring to this as the largest product recall in United States history, but it isn’t.

  Close your eyes and think back to 2004, before Consumerist was even born. Pieces of incredibly cheap jewelry sold in vending machines for 25¢ to 75¢ were recalled for excessive levels of lead. It was one of the American public’s first rides on what we later came to call the Chinese Poison Train. 150 million pieces of jewelry total were recalled, about half of which contained lead. The problem was that the manufacturer didn’t know which half, so all of them were recalled. Even 75 million pieces would still beat Takata in this competition that no manufacturer ever wants to win.

  Thanks to Scott Wolfson from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, who called our attention to this fact earlier today.

  Some calling the air bag recall the largest #recall in US history. Not quite. Check out this recall: http://t.co/tcenicOsQl

  — Scott Wolfson (@Scott_Wolfson) May 20, 2015

  The Takata recall may be the most expensive ever, the biggest automobile recall, and the largest recall in the last decade, but it isn’t the biggest in history.

  CPSC Announces Recall of Metal Toy Jewelry Sold in Vending Machines Firms agree to stop importation until hazard is eliminated [CPSC]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uIRS Investigating How Woman’s Tax Call Ended Up On Howard Stern Showr

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• A woman in Cape Cod thought she was just talking to an IRS representative over the phone, but what she — and apparently the agent — didn’t realize was that their call, including her personal info, was being broadcast to listeners of Howard Stern’s radio show.

  The woman tells WBZ-TV that she simply called the IRS to discuss a personal tax issue. Meanwhile, the IRS rep she was speaking to was on hold while trying to call into Stern’s program. At some point, Stern took the IRS rep’s call off hold, but the man didn’t realize that he was now on the air and he continued to discuss matters with the taxpayer.

  In the WBZ footage above, you can hear Stern trying to get the man’s attention by shouting his name, while co-host Robin Quivers tells Howard, “If he’s working we can’t interrupt him.”

  “I said, ‘Are you talking to Howard Stern?'” recalls the woman. “And he says something to the effect of ‘I was’ or ‘I was on hold’ or something like that.”

  Enough of the woman’s info, including her personal phone number, got out during the call that she says she’s been the subject of prank calls and that she’s now considering her legal options.

  “My phone number is out there,” she explains, “my personal conversation and I just feel terribly violated and I feel like I’m in jeopardy that my credit information might be out there and I’m just totally devastated.”

  The IRS tells WBZ that it knows about the incident, presumably because they were all listening to the show when it happened, and that it’s looking into the situation.

  “The IRS takes the confidentiality of taxpayer information very seriously, and we have high standards that we expect and require employees to follow,” reads the statement.

  The woman says she was told that the agent on the inadvertently broadcast call “was sent home on administrative leave and that the case was under investigation.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uMan Sues Blue Bell Claiming He Contracted Listeria-Induced Meningitis After Eating Contaminated Ice Creamr

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  (Jess)

  Investigator are still working to determine what caused the current Blue Bell Creameries listeria outbreak that has been linked to three deaths and at least 10 illness in four states dating back at least five years. But that hasn’t stopped a former Texas man from filing a lawsuit against the company alleging that he contracted listeria-related meningitis after eating the company’s products two years ago.

  The Dallas Morning News reports that the 32-year-old man filed what is considered the first lawsuit to stem from Blue Bell’s listeria contamination and massive recall in federal court in Austin, TX, on Tuesday.

  According to the lawsuit, the man says that while working at a retirement community in October 2013 he ate several Blue Bell ice cream products that were produced at the company’s Broken Arrow, OK, facility that has since tested positive for traces of listeria bacteria.

  The man claims that after eating the products he developed a severe headache and sought medical attention.

  Emergency room personnel diagnosed him with a migraine and sent him home where he later lost consciousness, the Austin Statesman reports.

  When coworkers couldn’t reach the man by phone they went to his home and found him unresponsive with a fever around 107 degrees.

  The man then spent six days unconscious in a local hospital, where tests found listeria in his brain and spinal fluid, leading to a diagnosis of listeria meningitis with encephalitis.

  The lawsuit claims that after consuming the Blue Bell products that allegedly contained listeria, the bacteria infected the man’s blood and “migrated to his brain where it caused extensive damage.”

  When the man regained consciousness he was unable to walk, talk or swallow. Despite receiving neurological treatment and rehabilitation, the suit claims the man’s “injuries and losses are permanent in nature and will continue for the rest of his life.”

  While the lawsuit doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount, the Dallas Morning News reports that past medical costs have already exceeded $400,000 and future bills are expected to continue for the rest of the man’s life.

  A food safety attorney representing the case says that although the man’s illness hasn’t yet been included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of Blue Bell-linked illnesses, “all of these problems are without a question a result of the listeriosis.”

  So far, the CDC has used genetic markings of the bacteria found in three hospital patients to match strains identified in Blue Bell products. It’s unclear what happened to the tests and samples taken during the man’s hospital stay.

  Still, the lawyer says that there is “virtually no chance” the bacteria that infected the man came from another product.

  Blue Bell recalled all of its products last month after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found listeria bacteria in several frozen treat items produced in Blue Bell’s plants.

  Since then documents from Food & Drug Administration investigators have surfaced showing that the Texas-based ice cream maker knew of bacteria problems at its plants nearly two years ago, but failed to do anything about it.

  According to the FDA, the testing, which included five samples in 2013, 10 in 2014 and two in 2015, found traces of listeria on floors, pallets used to store and carry ingredients and other non-food-contact surfaces at the plant.

  Last week, the company entered into an agreement with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry requiring the company to inform state health officials at least two weeks before starting production of ice cream to be sold in the marketplace so the agencies can assess progress and test results.

  Additionally, Blue Bell will provide trial production runs of its products for separate listeria testing by the two states.

  Blue Bell recall lawsuit alleges ice cream caused man’s severe illness [Dallas Morning News]
  Former Houston resident sues Blue Bell over listeria infection [Austin Statesman]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist