In Amenas Hostage Crisis an 'Inside Job'

OSLO (AFP) – Islamist commandos behind the spectacular hostage-taking at an Algerian gas field probably had help from someone inside the plant, Norway's foreign minister said in a newspaper interview published Thursday.

"We have reports that the terrorists had people on the inside who laid the groundwork over time," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told the Verdens Gang. "They had for example pre-positioned equipment at the site."

A foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed Eide's comments to AFP.

Citing other unidentified sources, VG said the Islamist militants had placed weapons inside the complex ahead of their Jan. 16 attack, when they took hundreds of people hostage until a raid by Algerian security forces brought a bloody end to the crisis Saturday.

At least 37 foreign hostages were killed, including Western and Asian nationals, according to a preliminary death toll, as well as one Algerian hostage. Several people are still missing and some bodies haven't yet been identified.

The newspaper also cited hostage witness accounts as saying that the attackers knew exactly where to find the expatriate workers inside the vast complex.

An Algerian security official told AFP Wednesday that one of the assailants had been employed as a chauffeur at the site up until last year.

Five Norwegians remain unaccounted for. They are employees of the Norwegian oil group Statoil, which jointly operates the site with BP and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach.

The Scandinavian country has sent a forensics team to try to find the Norwegians among the unidentified bodies.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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Firefighters find body inside burning home near Golden

Font ResizeLocal NewsBy Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/21/2012 08:24:23 AM MSTDecember 21, 2012 3:25 PM GMTUpdated: 12/21/2012 08:25:12 AM MST

Firefighters in Golden found a body inside a burning home Thursday night.

The fire started at about 10:48 p.m. at 1415 Isabell St., according to a Jefferson County Sheriff's Office media release.

Firefighters with Pleasant View and Golden fire departments went to the home after neighbors reported flames and smoke coming from the roof.

Firefighters found the 67-year-old victim inside the home.

The cause of the fire in under investigation. Foul play is not suspected in the incident.

The man's name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office will release the cause of death after an autopsy is performed.

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson

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Inside Walmart’s Manager Training

Inside Walmart’s Manager Training -Truthdig .column > div, .eartotheground > div, .uncovered > div, .report > div, .interview > div, .arts_culture > div, .avbooth > div, .dig > div, .cartoon > div, .podcast > div, .margin {padding: 10px 10px 20px 10px;margin: 0 0 0 0px;border-bottom: 1px dashed #999999;}/*\*//*/ @import "http://www.truthdig.com/?css=home/site_styles_mac.v.1314771156";/**/body div#share_footer {margin-bottom: 30px;}body div#instory_newsletter_signup {margin-top: 30px;}.nav {font-size:90%;} December 14, 2012
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  Inside Walmart’s Manager Training Email    Print    Share

Tweet Posted on Dec 14, 2012 Walmart Corporate (CC BY 2.0)

An assistant store manager for Walmart tells in mid-2011 how during an eight-week training course “managers were trained to put ... fear into hourly workers’ heads” and spot employees the company deemed likely to organize.

“I thought we would get a crash course in Walmart history and then get into learning the computer systems, the policies, how to schedule people,” writes the author. “I was far off track. I was now in an eight-week indoctrination into how Walmart is the unsurpassed company to work for, and how to spot any employee who was having doubts. I was supposed to be happy at all times.”

The account offers insight into how language can become suspect in an institution intent on controlling its members. An entire day of training was devoted to “word phrasing.” The use of “unlawful Walmart language” such as “committee,” “organize,” “meeting,” “volunteer” and “group” made employees eligible for warnings or write-ups.

Managers in training were given 15 to 30 minutes a day to read Walmart founder Sam Walton’s book, “Sam Walton: Made in America,” and had to watch anti-union videos.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Labor Notes:

Nothing from that eight weeks of brainwashing was geared to help you do your job as an assistant manager. Essentially it was more of a police academy, training the managers to be police officers for Walmart. We were being trained to put fear into the hourly workers’ heads. Step out of line, and you lose your job.

After graduating (they held a makeshift ceremony), I had no clue what exactly my job was. I had to learn from the other assistant managers in my store how to operate the scanner, how to schedule my departments, and the other operational items that weren’t covered in the training. The only thing I learned was how to fake being happy around customers and my subordinates.

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