Boing Boing, on the conditions of employment in a Chinese keyboard factory:
“Employees should actively monitor each other.” (Meitai factory’s Factory Regulations and Discipline, Chapter VII)
* “Infractions” punished with the loss of over two hours’ wages (fine of 10 RMB–$1.44), including for—
–“Being 1 to 5 minutes late to start a shift…”
–“Not periodically [...]
Archive for the ‘world affairs’ Category
Communist sweatshop
Posted in world affairs, tagged China on 9 February, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Spy Quiz
Posted in world affairs, tagged CIA on 8 February, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A good quiz on Spy Blog:
• Is MI5 the Security Service lobbying for more money and resources i.e.”British jobs for British Spies”
Yes, of course. They never have enough money. To this we owe such freedoms as we have.
• Why has the CIA been allowed to spy on British citizens, directly here in the United Kingdom, [...]
NBGH
Posted in world affairs, tagged Sweden on 30 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Mr. Eugenides found this on Ananova:
A Swedish motorist has been banned from using the letters ADHD on her personalised number plate – over fears it would offend attention deficit suffers.
Had I any Swedish, I would suggest to the lady in question that she might instead use the earlier acronym for the same thing. ADHD (er, [...]
Mutual aid
Posted in world affairs, tagged Switzerland on 22 January, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Encouraging piece in the Grauniad, spotted by David Davis (Libertarian Alliance).
If anything, the RNLI and the Mürren fire brigade are exemplars not of greedy capitalism or some crazed Ayn Rand war-of-all-with-all, but of anarchism, and Kropotkin’s “Mutual Aid”.
Quite right. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Swiss, and I’m a Governor of the RNLI. [...]
I don’t know what he does to the enemy
Posted in world affairs, tagged India on 21 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It seems that I was a bit behind the times with the business about Miliband and his Indian foot-in-mouth incident, and perhaps inclined to interpret Indian politeness optimistically. It says in the Telegraph that in fact they weren’t amused at all.
It is known some allies of Mr Brown were also surprised at the tone of [...]
Quote of the day
Posted in world affairs, tagged Iceland on 21 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Ian Parker-Joseph on Icelandic affairs. There is a fine example of the sort of photo that our own government are trying to stop being taken (of a photographer being squirted with pepper spray) and a delighful quote:
The people at the house of the parliament were still hitting the drums and pots and everything else possible [...]
Damnably embarrasing
Posted in world affairs, tagged India on 20 January, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Despite one of the older rules in the Underclass Book of Etiquette & Protocol (‘Never eat anywhere where you don’t understand the menu’) I have always been very fond of Indian people. Apart perhaps from the fellow I shared a study with at school, whom I hardly miss; he was simply too much of a [...]
“Votes for children! Votes for babies! Votes for monkeys!”
Posted in world affairs, tagged animal rights, usa on 20 January, 2009 | 1 Comment »
[Bernard Shaw]
It says in The Register that St. Obama’s second job after picking up the keys of what I believe will continue for the time being to be called the White House (his first being to repeal the 22nd Amendment to ensure that he has enough time to save America, the World, the Solar System, [...]
‘Told you so’
Posted in world affairs, tagged euro on 19 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A most educational piece from Musings on Liberty (noticed by several people; why is my RSS feed not working? Oh, I see. Fixed now) about the impending collapse of the Euro:
The Euro is in meltdown and will most likely fail, as many multi-national monetary unions have before it. Thank God we in Britain are not [...]
Too cold for Rioting
Posted in world affairs, tagged gas on 14 January, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Analysis by Ian Parker-Joseph of the Russian gas thingie (simply can’t think of a suitable word; it can’t be a ‘racket’ if nobody’s making anything out of it; it can hardly be a ’scandal’ without someone doing something properly scandalous, sensu Lady Chatterley; it can’t even be a ‘ripoff’ because apparently the Russians don’t actually [...]
