The human cost of an iPad

Last Wednesday's New York Times carried an article about the inhumane working conditions at Apple’s Chinese manufacturers. But of course there's nothing new in this. I'm sure there's no difference between the working conditions in Apple manufacturing in China and any other sort of manufacturing over there. The whole point of globalization economics is that the contracts go to the lowest bidder...and that inevitably means the least regard to quality of working conditions and zero worker's rights. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work that out!

Many of my own ancestors toiled in the coal mines and cotton mills of Northern England in the 19th Century....and I would bet there isn't much difference between those working conditions and present day factory conditions in China...including the incidence of child labor and lack of health and safety. But, sadly, we in the West turn a blind eye so long as we are getting our cheap clothing, electronics, and other products from China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?pagewanted=all

It makes me think of an old Lancashire Cotton Mill (Grove Mill) which now houses a big antique market called Bygone Times. My grandmother (Annie) was a weaver at the mill up to the age of 24/25 when she married my grandfather. My great aunt (Tannie) worked there as secretary to the mill owner.  They say the place is haunted and certain parts of it do have a very creepy feel, especially the basement.  Many children worked there in the 1800s and some of them died in the mill after getting tangled - and then mangled - in the looms.  http://bygonetimes.co.uk/videos/bygone/index.php

Aerial view of Grove Mill, Lancashire (above)

Child Labor is common in much of the developing world. In the United States, the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1904 and incorporated by an Act of Congress in 1907 with the mission of promoting the rights, dignity, well-being and education of children and youth as they relate to work and working. I very much doubt it has an equivalent in China. In some respects it feels like we are moving backwards in time; history is repeating and we (the human race) never learn from past mistakes.

Brian McGuffey - Seattle Artist

I met this Seattle artist at last year's Hyde Park Art Fair and love his work:
http://www.squareroom.us/brian.htm

Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights

Michael Dinneen/AP

 

The photo on the right was taken on Monday. The skies near Talkeetna, Alaska are lit up by a display of the northern lights, or aurora borealis. An aurora appears when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth's magnetic field, exciting electrons of oxygen and nitrogen.

 

I'm reminded of the band, Renaissance, who had a hit with "Northern Lights" in the 70s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_%28band%29 

Death Shroud

Photo: Sarah Rice/Getty Images

 A group of performers, huddled underneath stretched black material, made its way among the Occupy Wall Street West protests in the financial district in San Franscico, California, on January 20, 2012. Protestors rallied at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and delivered a proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution to the court that would outlaw “corporate personhood”.

Suffering for beauty - high heels vs foot binding

The Journal of Applied Physiology has revealed that women who habitually wear high heels are at risk for permanent physiological damage to their knees, hips, back, and tendons.  In fact there doesn't seem to be that much difference between the habitual wearing of high heels and the old Asian practice of foot binding....i.e. women crippling themselves in the name of beauty and high fashion. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/high-heels-are-dangerous-study_n_1232278.html

http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2007/07/11/suffering-for-beauty-graphic-photos-of-chinese-footbinding/

This video shows a supermodel in very high heels falling twice during a fashion show:

Tabbouleh Salad - recipe

My friend Margaret J. made this Tabbouleh Salad from a Betty Crocker recipe book the other night, and it was FANTASTIC. Definitely a keeper!

Tabbouleh salad: Betty Crocker recipe and photo

Servings: 4

Prep time: 15 mins. (plus one hour to stand and blend flavors)

1/2 cup uncooked couscous (or cracked bulgur wheat)

1 small cucumber, chopped (1 cup)

Spring Onions, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

  3 small tomatoes, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 Prepare couscous or cracked bulgur wheat per instructions on box.
• 2 Mix couscous/bulgur wheat and remaining ingredients in large glass or plastic bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

UK Ghost Towns

Daily Mail photo: Victoria Street, Wolverhampton

I was drawn to an article in the most recent edition of The Economist, about the demise of the town center in the UK.  I've noticed a lot of empty shop fronts in recent years in northern towns. Younger Britons seem to prefer to shop online or at out-of-town shopping malls, but some of us still want our town centers...and it seems there is a ray of hope for us old fogies:

According to the Economist: "Leigh Park, a suburb of Havant in Hampshire, has shown what a difference lower costs can make. Many landlords of shops in this poor area were fed up with paying business rates on empty units, so they dumped their property at auction. Encouraged by council grants, a developer bought the buildings cheaply, redeveloped the flats above the shops and offered the commercial space for about half of the going rate. A handful of small shops have started to trade in these longtime empty units, including an undertaker, a flower shop and a pet shop. They employ one or two people and manage to get by thanks to the reduced rent. The flats above the shops are let out at normal market rates.  Centuries ago high streets looked a little like that, with a jumble of workshops, artisans and merchants living above. The notion that they should be purely for commerce is fairly recent. Eventually, high streets may revert to a mixture of uses, and survive. But many unsightly years lie ahead. There is only so much that can be done, even with a combination of local-government action and business savvy, to coax Britons back to the town centres they have abandoned."

http://www.economist.com/node/21543155

Here are The Specials and their 1981 hit "Ghost Town":