[ekim68]

'Free Tibet' flags made in China

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.

But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7370903.stm

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

'Free Tibet' flags made in China

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.

But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7370903.stm

[ekim68]

Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector

Presidential candidates are calling for tougher labor standards in trade agreements. But can such standards be enforced? Here's what I learned from my old job.
By T. A. Frank

I remember one particularly bad factory in China. It produced outdoor tables, parasols, and gazebos, and the place was a mess. Work floors were so crowded with production materials that I could barely make my way from one end to the other. In one area, where metals were being chemically treated, workers squatted at the edge of steaming pools as if contemplating a sudden, final swim. The dormitories were filthy: the hallways were strewn with garbage—orange peels, tea leaves—and the only way for anyone to bathe was to fill a bucket with cold water. In a country where workers normally suppress their complaints for fear of getting fired, employees at this factory couldn't resist telling us the truth. "We work so hard for so little pay," said one middle-aged woman with undisguised anger. We could only guess how hard—the place kept no time cards. Painted in large characters on the factory walls was a slogan: "If you don't work hard today, look hard for work tomorrow." Inspirational, in a way.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/fea...804.frank.html

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector

Presidential candidates are calling for tougher labor standards in trade agreements. But can such standards be enforced? Here's what I learned from my old job.
By T. A. Frank

I remember one particularly bad factory in China. It produced outdoor tables, parasols, and gazebos, and the place was a mess. Work floors were so crowded with production materials that I could barely make my way from one end to the other. In one area, where metals were being chemically treated, workers squatted at the edge of steaming pools as if contemplating a sudden, final swim. The dormitories were filthy: the hallways were strewn with garbage—orange peels, tea leaves—and the only way for anyone to bathe was to fill a bucket with cold water. In a country where workers normally suppress their complaints for fear of getting fired, employees at this factory couldn't resist telling us the truth. "We work so hard for so little pay," said one middle-aged woman with undisguised anger. We could only guess how hard—the place kept no time cards. Painted in large characters on the factory walls was a slogan: "If you don't work hard today, look hard for work tomorrow." Inspirational, in a way.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/fea...804.frank.html

[ekim68]

Election Day in Florida May Look Familiar

MIAMI — The League of Women Voters in Florida and its 27 local groups have helped thousands of residents register to vote over the years.

But just over a week ago, the organization’s leaders said they would have to stop their current drive because the state’s top election official planned to enforce strict deadlines and fines of up to $1,000 for groups that lose voter registration forms or turn them in late.

“We’re an all-volunteer organization,” said Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti, president of the League of Women Voters in Florida, which plans to sue. “It’s a matter of being able to protect the leagues from liability.”

Eight years after the debacle of “hanging chads,” Florida once again seems to be courting electoral trouble. A handful of laws have been passed since the 2000 presidential recount, with state officials saying they bring order to a chaotic system.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us...=1&oref=slogin

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Election Day in Florida May Look Familiar

MIAMI — The League of Women Voters in Florida and its 27 local groups have helped thousands of residents register to vote over the years.

But just over a week ago, the organization’s leaders said they would have to stop their current drive because the state’s top election official planned to enforce strict deadlines and fines of up to $1,000 for groups that lose voter registration forms or turn them in late.

“We’re an all-volunteer organization,” said Dianne Wheatley-Giliotti, president of the League of Women Voters in Florida, which plans to sue. “It’s a matter of being able to protect the leagues from liability.”

Eight years after the debacle of “hanging chads,” Florida once again seems to be courting electoral trouble. A handful of laws have been passed since the 2000 presidential recount, with state officials saying they bring order to a chaotic system.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us...=1&oref=slogin

I thought after Jeb was gone, just maybe..., but no!

[ekim68]

Well, afterall, it's a vast right-wing conspiracy....

[ekim68]

US Department of Justice banned from Wikipedia

Wikipedia has temporarily blocked edits from the US Department of Justice after someone inside the government agency tried to erase references to a particularly-controversial Wiki-scandal.

Early last week, the Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) was accused of organizing a secret campaign to influence certain articles on the "free encyclopedia anyone can edit". Just days later, the DoJ's IP range was used to edit the site's entry on the Pro-Israel "media-monitoring group," lifting a new section that detailed the controversy.

The DoJ did not respond to our requests for comment. But odds are, the edits were made by a single individual acting independently. Wikipedia's ban on the department's IP is due to be lifted today.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...locked_doj_ip/

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

US Department of Justice banned from Wikipedia

Wikipedia has temporarily blocked edits from the US Department of Justice after someone inside the government agency tried to erase references to a particularly-controversial Wiki-scandal.

Early last week, the Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) was accused of organizing a secret campaign to influence certain articles on the "free encyclopedia anyone can edit". Just days later, the DoJ's IP range was used to edit the site's entry on the Pro-Israel "media-monitoring group," lifting a new section that detailed the controversy.

The DoJ did not respond to our requests for comment. But odds are, the edits were made by a single individual acting independently. Wikipedia's ban on the department's IP is due to be lifted today.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...locked_doj_ip/

Now that's interesting!

[poochee]

Interesting study

Bad conduct gets Army recruits promoted faster, study shows
updated 3:21 a.m. EDT, Wed April 30, 2008
The Associated Press

Story Highlights
Army study: Taking chance on an applicant with a criminal record usually pays off
The Army and the Marines have brought in more recruits with blemished records
The last time the active-duty Army missed its recruiting goal was 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Soldiers who need special waivers to get into the Army because of bad behavior go AWOL more often and face more courts-martial. But they also get promoted faster and re-enlist at a higher rate, according to an internal military study obtained by The Associated Press.

Soldiers with waivers appear more committed to their service once they get in, according to a military study.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/30/mil....ap/index.html

[ekim68]

Golf courses, developers nibble at Asia's rice paddies

TANAH LOT, Indonesia (Reuters) - The tourists who tee off at this golf course on Bali's west coast are probably unaware that the ground beneath their feet is connected to a global panic over rice supplies.

Once this golf course was a patchwork of rice fields. Now just a few remain, and villagers work as caddies or waiters at Le Meridien Nirwana resort and its Greg Norman-designed greens.

From Bali to Vietnam, rice paddies are being replaced by golf courses, hotels, villas and industrial parks as Asian economies surge ahead, the standard of living rises and locals opt for higher-paying, less labor-intensive work away from farming.

This shift has cut into rice production, a staple food throughout much of the region.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...25774320080501

[ekim68]

'Mission Accomplished': How the Media Covered the Bush Pronouncement 5 Years Ago -- and its Aftermath

NEW YORK On May 1, 2003, Richard Perle advised, in a USA Today op-ed, “Relax, Celebrate Victory.” The same day, exactly five years ago, President Bush, dressed in a flight suit, landed on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major military operations in Iraq—with the now-infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner arrayed behind him in the war’s greatest photo op.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a “hero” and boomed, “He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics.” PBS’s Gwen Ifill said Bush was “part Tom Cruise, part Ronald Reagan.” On NBC, Brian Williams gushed, "The pictures were beautiful. It was quite something to see the first-ever American president on a -- on a carrier landing. This must be very meaningful to the United States military."

When Bush’s jet landed on an aircraft carrier, American casualties stood at 139 killed and 542 wounded.

The following looks at how one newspaper -- it happens to be The New York Times -- covered the Bush declaration and its immediate aftermath. One snippet: “The Bush administration is planning to withdraw most United States combat forces from Iraq over the next several months and wants to shrink the American military presence to less than two divisions by the fall, senior allied officials said today.”

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._id=1003797005

[ekim68]

So long, Canada

Strict new border policies are turning Canada into a foreign country. Is this any way to treat our neighbors?

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...nadian_border/

[Bush Lady]

Heard on the radio morning show, this morning that there really isn't a shortage of rice in the world.
This comes from someone that new about this because he has a business that depends on the import of rice. He said that he heard from a reliable source that the countries producing the rice are stock piling it. A lot of places are stockpiling their rice and not giving any to anyone. There is a warehouse were his person always got his rice from, and the place is empty. There is not even one bag of rice there.

A good way to create a shortage and bring the price up.

[ekim68]

Just as there's a healthy stockpile of oil, but the price goes up...