Ex-Fla. Gov. Crist tweets he's joining Democrats

 By GARY FINEOUT | Associated Press –

• Associated Press/Alan Diaz, File - FILE - In this April 5, 2007 file photo, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist talks to the media at the Miami airport, about the plan to restore voting and other civil rights to felons …more who have finished their sentences. Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has announced on Twitter that he's joining the Democratic Party, Friday, Dec. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File) less

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state's chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, announced on Twitter on Friday night that he's switching to the Democratic Party.

The announcement fanned speculation that Crist would seek to regain his old job from Republican Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.

Crist sent out a tweet that said, "Proud and honored to join the Democratic Party in the home of President (at)Barack Obama!"

The tweet included a photo of a smiling Crist and his wife Carole as he held up a Florida voter registration application. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Crist signed the papers changing his affiliation from independent to Democrat at a Christmas reception at the White House. President Barack Obama greeted the news with a fist bump.

"I've had friends for years tell me, 'You know Charlie, you're a Democrat and you don't know it,'" Crist told the newspaper Friday night.

He cited the Republican Party's shift to the right on a range of issues, including immigration, education and the environment.
Messages left for Crist by The Associated Press weren't immediately returned Friday night.
Crist was elected Florida governor in 2006 while in the GOP. As he moved to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, he faced a tough primary challenge from the right and bolted the GOP to run as an independent. He lost a three-way Senate contest in 2010 to Republican Marco Rubio.
Crist, 56, spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., that nominated Obama for a second term and campaigned for his re-election.

Crist's decision to switch to a Democrat will increase speculation that he intends to challenge Scott, a former hospital chain CEO who has struggled with low favorability ratings since taking office. Crist has already criticized Scott for refusing to extend early voting despite pleas from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and other Democrats.

But it is unlikely that Crist would get a clear path to the Democratic nomination. Former State Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, has already jumped into the race and former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink could run. Sink barely lost the 2010 governor's race to Scott. Some Democrats remain wary of Crist and even outgoing Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith has joked that just because someone joins the congregation, "you don't make them the preacher."

Steve Schale, a Democratic political consultant who worked on Obama's Florida campaign, called a Crist a "viable Democrat."

"He earned his stripes when he supported the president," Schale said.
But Schale predicted that if Crist runs for governor, he would likely get a challenge from Sink and other Democrats and would have to endure a hard-fought primary.
Republicans in recent weeks have already ramped up their criticism of Crist and have pointed out that in the past he was critical of Obama and once described himself as a Republican in the mold of President Ronald Reagan and Crist's predecessor as governor, Jeb Bush.

"Charlie Crist's first official act as a Democrat was to tell a lie about why he is now pretending to be one," the Florida GOP said in a statement early Saturday. "The truth is that this self-professed, Ronald-Reagan Republican only abandoned his pro-life, pro-gun, conservative principles in 2010 after he realized that Republicans didn't want to send him to Washington D.C. as a senator, especially after he proved he couldn't do the job as governor."

Rick Wilson, a Florida-based Republican consultant, predicted that Crist would have to spend the next 14 months explaining how his switch to Democrat was something beyond just his own political ambitions.

About 350 die in Philippine typhoon, 400 missing

By By BULLIT MARQUEZ | Associated Press –

As

sociated Press/Bullit Marquez - Residents cross a river with the body of a child after retrieving it from the flash flood-hit village of Andap, in New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines …more Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012, a day after the devastating Typhoon Bopha made landfall. Typhoon Bopha, one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines this year, barreled across the country's south on Tuesday, killing scores of people while triggering landslides, flooding and cutting off power in two entire provinces. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) less

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed almost 350 people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said Thursday.More bodies were retrieved from hardest-hit Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces and six others impacted by Tuesday's storm, the Office of Civil Defense reported.At least 200 of the victims died in Compostela Valley alone, including 78 villagers and soldiers who perished in a flash flood that swamped two emergency shelters and a military camp.

"Entire families may have been washed away," said Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who visited New Bataan on Wednesday. The farming town of 45,000 people was a muddy wasteland of collapsed houses and coconut and banana trees felled by ferocious winds.Bodies of victims were laid on the ground for viewing by people searching for missing relatives. Some were badly mangled after being dragged by raging floodwaters over rocks and other debris. A man sprayed insecticide on the remains to keep away swarms of flies.A father wept when he found the body of his child after lifting a plastic cover. A mother, meanwhile, went away in tears, unable to find her missing children. "I have three children," she said repeatedly, flashing three fingers before a TV cameraman

Two men carried the mud-caked body of an unidentified girl that was covered with coconut leaves on a makeshift stretcher made from a blanket and wooden poles.Dionisia Requinto, 43, felt lucky to have survived with her husband and their eight children after swirling flood waters surrounded their home. She said they escaped and made their way up a hill to safety, bracing themselves against boulders and fallen trees as they climbed."The water rose so fast," she told The Associated Press. "It was horrible. I thought it was going to be our end."

In nearby Davao Oriental, the coastal province first struck by Typhoon Bopha as it blew from the Pacific Ocean, at least 115 people perished, mostly in three towns so battered that it was hard to find any buildings with roofs remaining, provincial officer Freddie Bendulo and other officials said."We had a problem where to take the evacuees. All the evacuation centers have lost their roofs," Davao Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon said.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued an urgent appeal for $4.8 million to help people directly affected by the typhoon.

The sun shined brightly for most of the day Wednesday, prompting residents to lay their soaked clothes, books and other belongings out on roadsides to dry and revealing the extent of the damage to farmland. Thousands of banana trees in one Compostela Valley plantation were toppled by the wind, the young bananas still wrapped in blue plastic covers.But as night fell, however, rain started pouring again over New Bataan, triggering panic among some residents who feared a repeat of the previous day's flash floods. Some carried whatever belongings they could as they hurried to nearby towns or higher ground.

After slamming into Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, Bopha roared quickly across the southern Mindanao and central regions, knocking out power in two entire provinces, triggering landslides and leaving houses and plantations damaged. More than 170,000 fled to evacuation centers.On Thursday, the typhoon was over the South China Sea west of Palawan province. It was blowing northwestward and could be headed to Vietnam or southern China, according to government forecasters.The deaths came despite efforts by President Benigno Aquino III's government to force residents out of high-risk communities as the typhoon approached.

Some 20 typhoons and storms lash the northern and central Philippines each year, but they rarely hit the vast southern Mindanao region where sprawling export banana plantations have been planted over the decades because it seldom experiences strong winds that could blow down the trees.A rare storm in the south last December killed more than 1,200 people and left many more homeless.The United States extended its condolences and offered to help its Asian ally deal with the typhoon's devastation. It praised government efforts to minimize the deaths and damage.

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Tell Walmart: Ensure basic safety and human rights of workers

CREDO Action is a publication of Working Assets

credomobile.com

Recently at least 112 workers were killed in a devastating fire at a garment factory in Bangladesh - Tazreen Fashion Ltd. - which had been making clothes under a Walmart brand.

The stories coming from the surviving workers have been horrifying. They were trapped in the fire as there were no emergency exits and an exit door was locked. According to a report, "fire extinguishers didn't work and apparently were there just to impress inspectors, and that when the fire alarm went off, workers were told by their bosses to go back to their sewing machines." Shockingly, 12 people died at hospitals after jumping from the eight-story building.

Walmart initially tried to evade responsibility by claiming it was not aware of any connection to that factory. But the corporation was finally forced to admit the connection after photos were published that showed clothing with Walmart's exclusive "Faded Glory" label at that factory after the fire.

Tell Walmart to ensure basic safety for its workers by signing onto the fire safety inspection program that other international brands have already signed.
Bangladeshi factory workers have been protesting the abuses of Walmart in the streets. And they have been demanding that Walmart take responsibility for fire safety conditions in factories. Walmart must join the fire safety inspection program that brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein have endorsed to raise the standard for working conditions and prevent a tragedy like this from happening again to Bangladeshi workers.

Walmart claims that Tazreen Fashion Ltd., was subcontracted by one of its suppliers - the Tuba Group. But the fact is that Walmart's "elaborate system of contractors and subcontractors" is designed to allow the giant retailer to evade any real responsibility in tragedies like this while it continues to exploit cheap labor.
Walmart happens to be the largest buyer of garments from Bangladesh, which has a notorious record of ignoring the safety of workers and suppressing their attempts to improve their conditions. Yet Walmart appears not to have taken the necessary steps to enforce safe conditions of those workers, including making sure its contractors and subcontractors were complying with basic fire codes to protect workers.
Walmart did not end its relationship with the supplier that had subcontracted to Tazreen Fashion, even though "the safety risk posed by Tazreen's substandard equipments was understood well before Sunday's blaze." Walmart ended its relationship with the supplier after the deadly fire, when it was publicly forced to admit that its products were being made at the factory. This is not acceptable.

Tell Walmart to ensure basic safety for its workers signing onto the fire safety inspection program that other international brands have already signed.

Walmart, of course, has an appalling record that includes blatant disregard for the human rights of workers, discrimination against women, and infliction of damage on small businesses and the environment. As reported by the Nation's Josh Eidelson:

Walmart has come under repeated scrutiny for the labor conditions at its suppliers. In June, guest workers at C.J.'s Seafood went on strike over alleged forced labor conditions; after initially saying it had investigated and couldn't substantiate the accusations, Walmart eventually suspended the supplier. In September, Human Rights Watch released a report finding widespread debt bondage at the Phatthana shrimp company in Thailand, and accusing Walmart of offering shifting and contradictory explanations of its relationship to the company.

We cannot let Walmart get away with ignoring claims of basic safety violations and human rights abuses. Speaking up in large numbers will make a difference now, as the company is already experiencing increased scrutiny as a result of U.S. workers striking for a safe workplace and a decent standard of living.
Let's show solidarity with workers fighting for basic safety and human rights.

Let's show solidarity with workers fighting for basic safety and human rights. Click below to automatically sign the petition:
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6991706&p=walmart_bangladesh&id=51544-3612811-37pxtRx&t=10

Thank you for taking action.

Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets