Lesbian candidate struggles to win women?s vote in New York mayor?s race

By Reuters
Saturday, August 3, 2013 19:54 EDT

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By Francesca Trianni

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? At Cubbyhole, a popular New York lesbian bar, for every two revelers who praised City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, in her race to become the city?s first woman and first openly gay mayor, one complained about her style and political policies.

?Just because she?s a lesbian, it doesn?t mean I?ll vote for her,? said Veronica Gonzales, 32, who works for a non-profit organization. ?She is not socially liberal enough, and she has this air about her like she is above it all ? like she is above us.?

While fellow candidate Anthony Weiner?s extramarital sexual transgressions have dominated the headlines, a perplexing reality of the race for mayor of the nation?s largest city is Quinn?s failure to lock up the votes of women and gays, even though she herself is both.

Quinn is the only woman in the race, and the only openly gay candidate, yet she scored only 30 percent support from women in a survey by Quinnipiac University published on July 29. Polls do not break down voting preferences by sexual orientation.

The presumed front-runner of the six candidates vying to succeed Michael Bloomberg has failed to crack the 40 percent level of overall support, the percentage needed to win the Democratic primary on September 10 and avoid a runoff between the top two finishers.

In a runoff with black candidate William Thompson, Quinn would lose 50 percent to 40 percent, the Quinnipiac poll found.

Despite its progressive reputation, New York City has elected few women to citywide office. The best known was Elizabeth Holtzman, who held the top financial post of comptroller from 1990 to 1993. The most recent was Betsy Gotbaum, public advocate until 2009, although Quinn as speaker of the city council is considered the most powerful official after the mayor.

VOTERS AMBIVALENT

In New York?s Greenwich Village, with its significant gay and lesbian population, support for Quinn was mixed.

Gonzales plans to vote for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who she said is ?more straightforward about his agenda.?

The ambivalence has contributed to a sense that Quinn is unable to close out the race, and one of the other candidates could overtake her, even as support wanes for Weiner.

?Right now, all signs point to a runoff, and with voters not connecting with anyone in particular, it?s going to be a fluid race,? said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll. ?It is very important for Quinn to sharpen her message so that she starts to get into a better shape to do better down the road.?

Voters critical of Quinn most often mention her style, which some view as brash and calculating. Quinn?s backing of a temporary change in the city?s term-limits law, which allowed Bloomberg and other lawmakers to run for a third term, has also been used against her.

De Blasio has positioned himself as a liberal alternative to Quinn on issues such as funding for universal pre-kindergarten programs and preventing hospital closings.

?She needs to do better in the long run with women voters,? Miringoff said. ?If she is going to be successful she needs to create a greater appeal among women voters. And to do that, she needs to put her campaign in an historical context.?

In recent weeks, Quinn, long an outspoken proponent of gay marriage, has sought to portray her candidacy as an historic opportunity for New York women.

This week, the Quinn campaign rolled out endorsements from the National Organization of Women and feminist political activist Gloria Steinem.

At the annual Gay Pride parade in Greenwich Village, Quinn marched alongside Edie Windsor, the New Yorker whose U.S. Supreme Court case paved the way for gay couples to receive federal benefits this year, leading more than 1,000 backers.

Quinn?s campaign said it planned targeted advertisements on Facebook asking women to ?Make history with Chris Quinn,? and targeting women voters through house parties and phone banks.

Mike Morey, Quinn?s spokesman, noted that she had fought to save education jobs, keep firehouses open and expand access to pre-kindergarten during difficult fiscal times.

?She will continue making the case through Election Day that she is the only candidate who has a real record of results delivering for the middle class,? Morey said.

Back at the Cubbyhole, as a performer clad in black leather shorts and a red wig danced in the background, Jaimie Ho, 35, a structural engineer, said she was not sold on Quinn.

Ho remembered seeing Quinn at the pride parade: ?She didn?t seem accessible. She had a ton of body guards around her.?

?I like her background. I like the work she has done in the City Council,? continued Ho. ?But I ask myself: Is it fair to vote for her simply because she is gay? There needs to be more substance.?

(Reporting by Francesca Trianni; Editing by Greg McCune and Gunna Dickson)

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/03/lesbian-candidate-struggles-to-win-womens-vote-in-new-york-mayors-race/

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Russia's Massive Android Malware Industry Revealed

Mobile security company Lookout released a report today at DefCon that reveals the amazing size, scope, and complexity of Android malware operations in Russia. The report found the bulk of this Russian malware wasn't coming from lone individuals in basements, but well-oiled malware producing machines.

Speaking to SecurityWatch, senior researcher and response engineer Ryan Smith explained that Lookout's interest was piqued when they noticed that SMS fraud malware from Russia made up a full 30 percent of all the malware the company was detecting. Over the course of six months, the company uncovered a cottage industry that had grown up around producing and distributing Android malware.

The Scam
Lookout discovered that 10 organizations are responsible for about 60 percent of the Russian SMS malware out there. These were centered around "Malware HQs" which actually produces the malicious apps. Once downloaded, these apps make use of SMS shortcodes that bill victims via their wireless carrier. In the U.S., we often see these attached to charitable organizations like the Red Cross.

Here's how the scam works: The Malware HQ creates malicious applications that can be configured to look like just about anything. They also register and maintain the shortcodes with wireless carriers. Affiliates, or people working on the Malware HQ's behalf, customize the malware in and market it through their websites and social media.

Victims find the affiliates website or social media spam and download the malicious applications. Once on the victim's Android device, the malware sends out one or more premium SMS messages?usually costing the victim between $3 and $20 USD.

Because the Malware HQ owns the shortcodes, they get the money from the victim's carrier. They take a cut, and give the rest to the affiliates, who are apparently paid like normal employees based off their performance. Smith says Lookout observed some affiliates making $12,000 USD a month for over five months, suggesting that this is a lucrative and stable "business."

Huge in Scale and Complexity
It's a pretty straightforward scam, and probably the most direct way to make money with Android malware. What makes Lookout's discovery notable is the size and weirdly corporate nature of the operations.

The Malware HQ, for instance, has made it astonishingly easy to affiliates to customize the malware. Smith said that the Malware HQ produced several themes to make it easy for affiliates to customize the malware. ?"They can make it look like Skype, Google Play, anything to entice a user into downloading it and believing that it's real," said Smith.

Smith said that the malware HQ organizations were also pushing out updates and new code every one to two weeks "like any other agile startup." Many of these updates were designed specifically to evade security companies, even going so far as to "encrypt portions of the program that are decrypted before they're used."

On the other side of the operation, affiliates are highly engaged in their work but also fickle. There are, Smith said, forums and websites where affiliates compare the operation of different Malware HQs. Though regularity of payment was a major concern, customer service?basically, affiliate tech support?was critical. If the affiliates are unhappy with a particular Malware HQ, they'll migrate to a different one.

The Malware HQs go out of their way to make their affiliates successful, too. Smith says the ring leaders would motivate the affiliates with cash prizes for high performance?some as large as $300,000 USD. They even created advertising platforms for affiliates to provide better information about which scams were performing better in which regions.

The Silver Lining
While it's terrifying to see crime carried out on such a large scale, and with all the trappings of normalcy, there is some good news here. Readers in the U.S. can rest easy, since most of these scams use specific short codes that won't work outside Russia and the surrounding countries.

More importantly, Smith explained that by unraveling the full extent of this scam, they can provide better protection. "We are now able to tie back to their distribution," Smith said. The company can now apparently block more than just the code?which is frequently altered?but screen out servers, IP addresses, and other markers as well.

This won't stop the scammers outright. After all, if they're smart enough to modify their code then they're smart enough to know that the security companies are on to them. Yet Smith says that this could be a victory in the long run: "In order to make the changes they need to make, it will be costly to them."

And we know that going after the wallet is a great way to fight malware.

Click to see the full image

Source: http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/mobile-security/314386-russia-s-massive-android-malware-industry-revealed

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NFL competition for young people being held in Morrow

MORROW, OH (FOX19) - The Village of Morrow Parks & Recreation Board is hosting a NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition on Saturday, August 3.

This is the first year for the event where young football fans ages 6 - 15 will have the opportunity to exhibit their skills.

A number of NFL players have completed in NFL Punt, Pass & Kick, including top former and current NFL quarterbacks such as Dan Marino and Brett Favre.

The top finishers from each of ten age groups at the local competition will advance to a sectional competition. The winners at the sectional competition will have their scores compared with other sectional champions. The top four scorers from the pool of sectional champions advance to the Cincinnati Bengals Team Championship, to be held at one of their games in November of December of 2013.

The top four finishers in the boys? and girls? divisions within each age bracket from the pool of all Team Champions will qualify for the National Finals at an NFL playoff game in January.

Entry forms for the competition can be found online at www.NFLPPK.com or at the Morrow Municipal Building onn East Pike Street.

This event is free and will happen at Thornton Park from 9am - noon.

Source: http://warrencounty.fox19.com/news/sports-recreation/160471-nfl-competition-young-people-being-held-morrow

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New wave of devices get official CyanogenMod support

No builds posted yet, but most devices are ready for CyanogenMod 10.2 work to begin

Even those who have never rooted or ROM'd their phones have probably heard of CyanogenMod, the most widely used custom ROM for Android devices. The CyanogenMod software is so popular, that many times builds get ported to phones and tablets that are not officially supported by the CM developers.

If an Android device has enough of a following, and there are developer(s) willing to commit (no pun intended) to maintaining the device in the official CyanogenMod source tree, this device becomes officially supported -- and receives official builds of the CyanogenMod ROM. Official support not only gives owners a warm fuzzy feeling inside, but also less headaches as official builds are usually more stable and have fewer bugs.

Source: +CyanogenMod

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/dfuETe2Qh0E/story01.htm

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England World Cup 2014 News HD for Android

The England football team are going to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil! (Yes, we have complete confidence in our footballers...)

In this stunning LIVE wallpaper app we feature emblems, fans, symbols and scenes from England's proud football history. From Wembley 1966 to the present day, celebrate all that's great with English football (or soccer, as they insist on calling it over the pond!)

But that's just the start. Keep totally up-to-date with everything that's happening in the England camp with our INSTANT NEWS FEATURE, which delivers Three Lions World Cup headlines to your phone as they happen. Team selections, injuries (can we just ONCE have a fit centre-half?) and of course, goals, goals, goals! If you want to know more about a headline, double-tap for the whole story.

Why go looking for the latest football news, World Cup features and interviews with players, when it can all come to you?

Follow qualifying and the entire World Cup in Rio and around Brazil with this simple, yet attractive news and wallpaper app.

Source: http://www.appszoom.com/android_applications/news_and_weather/england-world-cup-2014-news-hd_hierb.html?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Free++Applications+for+Android

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New drugs to find the right target to fight Alzheimer's disease

Public release date: 2-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Patrick Fraering
patrick.fraering@epfl.ch
41-795-938-785
Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne

Next-generation drugs designed to fight Alzheimer's disease look very promising. Scientists have unveiled the mechanisms behind two classes of compound currently being tested in clinical trials

The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. EPFL scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects. At the same time, the scientists offer a molecular explanation for early-onset hereditary forms of Alzheimer's, which can strike as early as thirty years of age. The conclusions of their research, which has been published in the journal Nature Communications, are very encouraging regarding the future of therapeutic means that could keep Alzheimer's disease in check.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by an aggregation of small biological molecules known as amyloid peptides. We all produce these molecules; they play an essential antioxidant role. But in people with Alzheimer's disease, these peptides aggregate in the brain into toxic plaques called "amyloid plaques" that destroy the surrounding neurons.

The process starts with a long protein, "APP", which is located across the neuron's membrane. This protein is cut into several pieces by an enzyme, much like a ribbon is cut by scissors. The initial cut generates a smaller intracellular protein that plays a useful role in the neuron. Another cut releases the rest of APP outside the cell this part is the amyloid peptide.

For reasons not yet well understood, APP protein can be cut in several different places, producing amyloid peptides that are of varying lengths. Only the longer forms of the amyloid peptide carry the risk of aggregating into plaques, and people with Alzheimer's disease produce an abnormally high number of these.

A favorite Alzheimer's target: gamma secretase

The two next-generation classes of compound that are currently in clinical trials target an enzyme that cuts APP, known as gamma secretase. Until now, our understanding of the mechanism involved has been lacking. But with this work, the EPFL researchers were able to shed some more light on it by determining how the drug compounds affect gamma secretase and its cutting activity.

In most forms of Alzheimer's, abnormally large quantities of the long amyloid peptide 42 named like that because it contains 42 amino acids are formed. The drug compounds change the location where gamma secretase cuts the APP protein, thus producing amyloid peptide 38 instead of 42, which is shorter and does not aggregate into neurotoxic plaques.

Compared to previous therapeutic efforts, this is considerable progress. In 2010, Phase III clinical trials had to be abandoned, because the compound being tested inhibited gamma-secretase's function across the board, meaning that the enzyme was also deactivated in essential cellular differentiation processes, resulting to side-effects like in gastrointestinal bleeding and skin cancer.

"Scientists have been trying to target gamma secretase to treat Alzheimer's for over a decade," explains Patrick Fraering, senior author on the study and Merck Serono Chair of Neurosciences at EPFL. "Our work suggests that next-generation molecules, by modulating rather than inhibiting the enzyme, could have few, if any, side-effects. It is tremendously encouraging."

New insights into hereditary forms of the disease

During their investigation, the scientists also identified possible causes behind some hereditary forms of Alzheimer's disease. Early-onset Alzheimer's can appear as early as thirty years of age, with a life expectancy of only a few years. In vitro experiments and numerical simulations show that in early-onset patients, mutations in the APP protein gene modify the way by which APP is cut by the gamma-secretase enzyme. This results in overproduction of amyloid peptide 42, which then aggregates into amyloid plaques.

This research illuminates much that is unknown about Alzheimer's disease. "We have obtained extraordinary knowledge about how gamma secretase can be modulated," explains co-author Dirk Beher, scientific director of Asceneuron, a spin-off of Merck Serono, the pharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "This knowledge will be invaluable for developing even better targeted drugs to fight the disease."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 2-Aug-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Patrick Fraering
patrick.fraering@epfl.ch
41-795-938-785
Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne

Next-generation drugs designed to fight Alzheimer's disease look very promising. Scientists have unveiled the mechanisms behind two classes of compound currently being tested in clinical trials

The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. EPFL scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects. At the same time, the scientists offer a molecular explanation for early-onset hereditary forms of Alzheimer's, which can strike as early as thirty years of age. The conclusions of their research, which has been published in the journal Nature Communications, are very encouraging regarding the future of therapeutic means that could keep Alzheimer's disease in check.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by an aggregation of small biological molecules known as amyloid peptides. We all produce these molecules; they play an essential antioxidant role. But in people with Alzheimer's disease, these peptides aggregate in the brain into toxic plaques called "amyloid plaques" that destroy the surrounding neurons.

The process starts with a long protein, "APP", which is located across the neuron's membrane. This protein is cut into several pieces by an enzyme, much like a ribbon is cut by scissors. The initial cut generates a smaller intracellular protein that plays a useful role in the neuron. Another cut releases the rest of APP outside the cell this part is the amyloid peptide.

For reasons not yet well understood, APP protein can be cut in several different places, producing amyloid peptides that are of varying lengths. Only the longer forms of the amyloid peptide carry the risk of aggregating into plaques, and people with Alzheimer's disease produce an abnormally high number of these.

A favorite Alzheimer's target: gamma secretase

The two next-generation classes of compound that are currently in clinical trials target an enzyme that cuts APP, known as gamma secretase. Until now, our understanding of the mechanism involved has been lacking. But with this work, the EPFL researchers were able to shed some more light on it by determining how the drug compounds affect gamma secretase and its cutting activity.

In most forms of Alzheimer's, abnormally large quantities of the long amyloid peptide 42 named like that because it contains 42 amino acids are formed. The drug compounds change the location where gamma secretase cuts the APP protein, thus producing amyloid peptide 38 instead of 42, which is shorter and does not aggregate into neurotoxic plaques.

Compared to previous therapeutic efforts, this is considerable progress. In 2010, Phase III clinical trials had to be abandoned, because the compound being tested inhibited gamma-secretase's function across the board, meaning that the enzyme was also deactivated in essential cellular differentiation processes, resulting to side-effects like in gastrointestinal bleeding and skin cancer.

"Scientists have been trying to target gamma secretase to treat Alzheimer's for over a decade," explains Patrick Fraering, senior author on the study and Merck Serono Chair of Neurosciences at EPFL. "Our work suggests that next-generation molecules, by modulating rather than inhibiting the enzyme, could have few, if any, side-effects. It is tremendously encouraging."

New insights into hereditary forms of the disease

During their investigation, the scientists also identified possible causes behind some hereditary forms of Alzheimer's disease. Early-onset Alzheimer's can appear as early as thirty years of age, with a life expectancy of only a few years. In vitro experiments and numerical simulations show that in early-onset patients, mutations in the APP protein gene modify the way by which APP is cut by the gamma-secretase enzyme. This results in overproduction of amyloid peptide 42, which then aggregates into amyloid plaques.

This research illuminates much that is unknown about Alzheimer's disease. "We have obtained extraordinary knowledge about how gamma secretase can be modulated," explains co-author Dirk Beher, scientific director of Asceneuron, a spin-off of Merck Serono, the pharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "This knowledge will be invaluable for developing even better targeted drugs to fight the disease."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-08/epfd-ndt073113.php

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France to cut military staff by 12 percent in six-year budget

By Patrick Vignal and Alexandria Sage

PARIS (Reuters) - France will cut nearly 34,000 military personnel under a proposed six-year defence budget to be unveiled on Friday, as government belt-tightening and a desire for more nimble forces alters the makeup of Europe's second-largest army.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will present the 190 billion euro ($251 billion) budget in a cabinet meeting.

The defence ministry warned in April that its budget would remain largely static in coming years when it outlined its 2014-19 priorities in a strategic blueprint that anticipated the 12 percent cut in staff.

The government wants to cut state spending by 60 billion euros over its five-year term to meet deficit targets but steered clear of drastic cuts to military spending after armed forces officials and lawmakers said that would hamper France's ability to react to global security threats.

Still, the military job cuts will bite at a time of rising unemployment and dissatisfaction over Socialist President Francois Hollande's inability to revive the sputtering economy.

Under the draft budget, the military will also slow the pace at which it takes delivery of Rafale jets ordered from Dassault Aviation, only taking 26 of the planes over the six years, down from a normal pace of some 11 planes a year.

The move will delay promised payments of the planes, worth roughly $120 million a piece, easing pressure on state coffers.

The government hopes foreign orders from India and elsewhere will snap up some of the planes being rolled out by partly state-owned Dassault, which has yet to sell a single of its flagship Rafales abroad but says it has to produce at least 11 a year to operate efficiently.

The proposed budget is slightly above the 179 billion euro figure the April blueprint had indicated, after being boosted by real estate sales and other one-off benefits.

It will be debated in the months ahead in parliament, where the ruling Socialists have a slim majority, and is largely expected to be voted into law by year-end.

The military, which has sustained repeated budget cuts in recent years, is focused on overhauling the armed forces to create a more mobile army still capable of operating in two or three different theatres at the same time.

France's engagement in Mali this year, which drove back Islamist rebels, has underscored the need for robust intelligence resources and special forces.

For the next three years, the annual budget will be frozen at 31.4 billion euros, the same level as 2013, with the expectation that it will rise in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The six-year draft budget calls for the elimination of 23,500 posts, 16,000 of which are administrative positions. The other 10,000 staff cuts were mandated under the previous budget.

France's military employs some 228,000 personnel today. A further 165,000 individuals are employed by the defence industry, not including sub-contractors. ($1 = 0.7557 euros)

(Additional reporting by Cyril Altymeyer; Writing by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Catherine Bremer and Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-cut-military-staff-12-percent-six-budget-020510101.html

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Chapter 2: Character Dynamics

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A fallen king places a realm on the brink of chaos. Like vultures to prey, outside forces circle the crown. With an heir ready to ascend, and as many enemies as friends, Calisma struggles for balance as it teeters on the edge...

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Calisma?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

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Here we can discuss personal relationships between characters.

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Koch brothers keep beating anti-'Obamacare' drum

A conservative advocacy group that spent millions on issue ads during the 2012 election cycle plans to continue a seven-figure campaign that aims to convince people to think twice before signing up for health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

Americans for Prosperity, a group partially funded by donors David and Charles Koch, plans to release a? television ad Wednesday to raise questions about the law. Instead of focusing on the law?s repeal, AFP's newest effort will argue that health insurance premiums will rise for those who sign up for the exchanges. The group also is making plans to dispatch activists to sporting events, festivals and town fairs in multiple states for the next several months to warn people that they could have fewer medical choices under the law.

?This is more about going to folks where they are and talking to them,? AFP President Tim Phillips told Yahoo News. ?We?re saying, make sure you understand the impact this law will have on you if you sign up.?

The federal government will begin to implement key parts of the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance overhaul commonly called Obamacare that passed along partisan lines and was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010, as early as 2014. In order for the law to function as planned, millions of Americans must pro-actively sign up for health insurance plans enacted by the legislation. The Obama administration is urging people to enroll. An independent group, Enroll America, has launched a nationwide campaign to provide information about how to take part in the exchanges.

But a coalition of conservative groups is urging people not to sign up at all, which, if effective, would make it difficult for many parts of the law to function. The AFP campaign, which began with an initial $700,000 investment for an ad in July, won?t explicitly advise people not to sign up, but the insinuation is strong.

?The reason we?re doing this now is that this is the final run-up to final implementation,? Phillips told Yahoo News. ?As a lot of Americans decide what to do when the Enroll America paid community organizer shows up at an event in their community, we want them to consider exactly what this law means for them personally. So we want to run these ads now before they make that decision.?

Enrollment for the exchanges is set to begin in October.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conservative-groups-continues-effort-to-warn-against-enrolling-in-health-care-law-124543669.html

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We're holding a Twitter chat on SEO strategy today at 4pm (GMT) - come join us #...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/BlueGlassInc/posts/689499141078105

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New variants at gene linked to kidney disease, sleeping sickness resistance

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new study involves a classic case of evolution's fickle nature: a genetic mutation that protects against a potentially fatal infectious disease also appears to increase the risk of developing a chronic, debilitating condition.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/UbF3qhQIBds/130731133915.htm

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Fast-Food Strikers Demand A 'Living Wage' : Bay Area Bites - KQED

People gathered outside a Wendy?s restaurant in New York City on Monday as part of a one-day strike calling for higher wages for fast-food workers. Photo: Justin Lane/EPA/Landov

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Post by Joel Rose, The Salt at NPR Food (7/30/13)

At a Wendy?s restaurant in Lower Manhattan on Monday, protesters urged the lunchtime crowd to skip the Value Menu for one day. They blocked the sidewalk and half of the street.

Shanell Young held a red strike sign over her head. Young earns the minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, at another Wendy?s in New York. She says that?s not enough to support her and her 5-year-old son.

?It?s horrible,? says Young. ?Everything goes up. It?s unfair. You can?t find an apartment. You can?t pay for children?s school uniforms. Everything is unfair. We can?t live off this.?

Fast-food workers are walking picket lines across the country this week. They?re staging a series of one-day strikes in seven cities, including New York, Chicago and St. Louis. The campaign is aimed at pressuring McDonald?s, Wendy?s and other fast-food chains to pay a so-called living wage of $15 an hour.

The walkout at the Wendy?s in Lower Manhattan did not force the restaurant to close, although it did seem to persuade a few potential diners to go somewhere else.

Wendy?s would not give an interview for this story. Nor would any of the other fast-food chains targeted in the strike. But the National Restaurant Association did. Spokesman Scott DeFife says profit margins in the restaurant business are typically tight ? and labor costs are among the industry?s biggest expenses.

?There would be a severe impact on the ability to create jobs if the minimum wage was doubling to $15,? says DeFife.

The restaurant industry?s allies also rallied to its defense. The Employment Policies Institute, a pro-business group in Washington, D.C., bought a full-page ad in Monday?s USA Today.

Michael Saltsman, research director at the EPI, says a higher minimum wage could push fast-food companies to invest more heavily in automation instead of hourly workers.

?There are a number of chains here in the U.S. who are experimenting with electronic menus where you can order on an iPad-type device; you can pay on that device,? says Saltsman. ?These are changes that happen in direct response to higher labor costs.?

Critics of raising the minimum wage say it might also affect the kind of people who can get hired. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a former chief economist at the Department of Labor, says many of the people making the minimum wage are teenagers or other part-time, entry-level workers.

?So the people who would be the losers would be the unskilled workers,? she says. ?The people who, like my teenager, want a summer job. No one?s going to pay my teenager $15 an hour. But my teenager can get $7.25 an hour.?

But these arguments haven?t convinced the protesters in New York. And they haven?t persuaded Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who stopped by to encourage the picketers outside the Wendy?s in his district.

?The history is every time that there?s been a debate over raising the minimum wage, people have said this?ll cost jobs,? says Nadler. ?It has never happened. If they pay a higher wage, they?ll make a slightly smaller profit margin. They?re making huge profits now.?

The fast-food protests continue this week with walkouts scheduled in Chicago, Milwaukee, Flint, Mich., and Detroit.

Copyright 2013 NPR.

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Tags: fast food, fast food workers, living wage, mcdonald's, minimum wage, strike, walk-out, Wendy's

Category: economy and food costs, NPR food, politics, activism, food safety, radio, restaurants, bars, cafes, street food and fast food

Source: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/07/30/fast-food-strikers-demand-a-living-wage/

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