Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has plenty of opposition, from union groups to employees to media watchdogs. When issues of employee benefits, pay and overseas sourcing some into the media limelight, many Wal-Mart critics trumpet a multitude of opinions. But, you can only beat a dead hose so many thousands of times. Newsflash: Wal-Mart is not the only company that has these issues, but since it is the largest target, it takes the brunt of abuse.

Now that the holiday shopping season is in full swing, the efforts by some union-backed critics of the retailer have gone into red-hot mode. This time around, the focus is on something relatively new this year -- product safety.

This is something I dedicated an entire column to a few weeks back. Product safety has been in the spotlight this year as recalls involving toothpaste, toys, food items and more have been in the news.. Most of these recalls stem from poor product quality control and Chinese exporters who are apparently cutting safety corners.

Consumers, though, connect product quality to retailers -- not manufacturers. Are there still many dangerous products sitting on Wal-Mart shelves at this very instant? That's the fear campaign WakeUpWalMart.com is pushing this holiday season, and radio ads will be running this month with TV ads in December. Spokeswoman Sharon Weber rebutted by stating "Our commitment to low prices is never at the cost of safety. Product safety has always been and will continue to be a top priority."

My fellow bloggers have weighed in on Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) "Threat Research" operation, calling it "paranoid" and questioning whether it made any "sense." Let me add a third word to describe this Keystone Cops operation: wasteful.

Wal-Mart has the right to defend itself against criticism. It has the right to make sure that employees aren't violating company policies. But does the world's largest retailer need its own mini-FBI? No.

The company seems to be worrying more about silencing critics and punishing misbehaving employees than about selling goods that people want to buy. What's funny is that the company's obsessesion with controlling its image and penchant for secrecy seems to continually backfire.

The Wall Street Journal story about the "Bat Cave" make Wal-Mart look petty and cheap at a time when it's trying to win back customers that have deserted its stores for Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and other competitors. Investors have backed Target as well, sending its shares up about 18 percent over the past year compared with 4 percent for Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has got to ask itself whether the information it gains from its "threat research" is worth the bad feelings it creates with customers, shareholders and employees. If Wal-Mart wants to repair its reputation, it needs to be more forthcoming about why it does what it does.

Maybe then it won't need a secret 20-person department to investigate threats both real and imagined.

Stung by criticism that the benefits it gives employees are chintzy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is striking back with a PR offiensive.

The top private employer released data today showing that 47.4 percent of its 1.3 million workers are covered by its health plans, up 8 percent. Another 43 percent get insurance from another source, according to Reuters. This is all part of the company's newest PR offensive.

Wal-Mart is trying hard to counter claims by its critics, that its benefits are so poor that workers are forced to rely on government assistance for their health care. This reputation turns off shoppers, particularly those in the middle class that the company wants to attract, and encourages states to try to enact mandatory coverage laws the company opposes.

Over the years, Wal-Mart's critics have claimed that the low prices it crows about come on the backs of its workers. This reputation has hurt the company's image, particularly among middle class shoppers who are finding Target Stores Corp. (NYSE:TGT) and other rivals more to their liking. Wal-Mart has tried PR campaigs to bolster its reputation before and will no doubt try them again.

Like everything else connected with Wal-Mart, there are two sides to the story. The union-funded Wake-Up Wal-Mart group has a much different take on the company's health care benefits. It claims that the retailer's health insurance is too expensive for most workers.

"Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage," the group says on its Web site. "The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles."