It was nice to see these two Blogging Tories being non-partisan enough to publish their condolences about the passing of Lucille Broadbent.
My condolences to Ed Broadbent
A Sad Day for the NDP
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Sunday, November 19, 2006
Sweatshop Secrets of Success
You know its serious when its reported in Business Week. And while this is about American companies in China lets not forget that we have our own sweatshop companies here in Canada investing in Nicaragua and Haiti. Like Gilden Active Wear. They too use third party codes of conduct.
For more than a decade, major American retailers and name brands have answered accusations that they exploit "sweatshop" labor with elaborate codes of conduct and on-site monitoring. But in China many factories have just gotten better at concealing abuses. Internal industry documents reviewed by BusinessWeek reveal that numerous Chinese factories keep double sets of books to fool auditors and distribute scripts for employees to recite if they are questioned. And a new breed of Chinese consultant has sprung up to assist companies like Beifa in evading audits. "Tutoring and helping factories deal with audits has become an industry in China," says Tang, 34, who recently left Beifa of his own volition to start a Web site for workers.
Some American companies now concede that the cheating is far more pervasive than they had imagined. "We've come to realize that, while monitoring is crucial to measuring the performance of our suppliers, it doesn't per se lead to sustainable improvements," says Hannah Jones, Nike Inc.'s (NKE ) vice-president for corporate responsibility. "We still have the same core problems."
This raises disturbing questions. Guarantees by multi-nationals that offshore suppliers are meeting widely accepted codes of conduct have been important to maintaining political support in the U.S. for growing trade ties with China, especially in the wake of protests by unions and antiglobalization activists. "For many retailers, audits are a way of covering themselves," says Auret van Heerden, chief executive of the Fair Labor Assn., a coalition of 20 apparel and sporting goods makers and retailers, including Nike, Adidas Group, Eddie Bauer, and Nordstrom (JWN ). But can corporations successfully impose Western labor standards on a nation that lacks real unions and a meaningful rule of law?
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GIL, Gilden, GildenActiveWear, shirts,
For more than a decade, major American retailers and name brands have answered accusations that they exploit "sweatshop" labor with elaborate codes of conduct and on-site monitoring. But in China many factories have just gotten better at concealing abuses. Internal industry documents reviewed by BusinessWeek reveal that numerous Chinese factories keep double sets of books to fool auditors and distribute scripts for employees to recite if they are questioned. And a new breed of Chinese consultant has sprung up to assist companies like Beifa in evading audits. "Tutoring and helping factories deal with audits has become an industry in China," says Tang, 34, who recently left Beifa of his own volition to start a Web site for workers.
Some American companies now concede that the cheating is far more pervasive than they had imagined. "We've come to realize that, while monitoring is crucial to measuring the performance of our suppliers, it doesn't per se lead to sustainable improvements," says Hannah Jones, Nike Inc.'s (NKE ) vice-president for corporate responsibility. "We still have the same core problems."
This raises disturbing questions. Guarantees by multi-nationals that offshore suppliers are meeting widely accepted codes of conduct have been important to maintaining political support in the U.S. for growing trade ties with China, especially in the wake of protests by unions and antiglobalization activists. "For many retailers, audits are a way of covering themselves," says Auret van Heerden, chief executive of the Fair Labor Assn., a coalition of 20 apparel and sporting goods makers and retailers, including Nike, Adidas Group, Eddie Bauer, and Nordstrom (JWN ). But can corporations successfully impose Western labor standards on a nation that lacks real unions and a meaningful rule of law?
See:
China Needs Free Unions
Independent Unions In China
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Hitchens on Religion
One of Christopher Hitchens redeeming values is that, despite his support for Imperialism, he remains an outspoken atheist.
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He described his forthcoming book, God Is Not Great, as "a general case against religion." He says religions promote hatred, while demanding protection from hatred for themselves, usually in the form of censorship, to which he is intensely opposed in all its forms.
"Religion is now in the position of being an optional belief, which is quite new for it. You can say, if you like, that God is behind all this, and people say, 'Well maybe that's a point of view.' But it can no longer be said that God would explain what is otherwise mysterious to us. That's out, it's gone, and I think people haven't fully appreciated how important it is for religion to be one opinion among many on such an important question," he said.
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The Alberta Disadvantage
As the province rolls about in surplus cash, we still face a crisis in our medical and long term care facilities. Health Care Reform begins with replacing the cuts in beds and staffing that have occured in this province since the bad old days of 1995. And this is not just a provincial problem but another Federal Conservative broken promise; wait times.
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Patients who face longer wait times in emergency rooms, and lack privacy and beds for treatment are taking out their frustrations on nurses more than ever, health-care workers say.
Documented cases in which nurses have reported unsafe working conditions have jumped significantly over the last year at Foothills, Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview and Alberta Children's Hospital.
"Nurse abuse is huge. It's huge in the emergency room, it's huge in the psych units, it's rising all over the hospital," says Tanice Olson, a day surgery nurse at the Peter Lougheed and second vice-president for UNA Local 1.
"Patients are attacking nurses. They're hitting them, they're scratching them, they're throwing phones at them.
"Everything is backed up. We're short of beds. People are waiting longer for care. And the longer they wait, the more anxious and frustrated they become."
Statistics from the Professional Responsibility Committee, a health-care group that includes union and management representatives, show incidents in which nurses reported unsafe working conditions are clearly on the rise.
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Harper Supports Morton
In the race for leader to replace Ralph Klein, extreme republican right winger Ted Morton is geting support from his pals in Ottawa. Morton's team has reportedly benefited from lists of supporters from federal Conservatives Stockwell Day and Prime Minister Stephen Harper
As I said this leadership race is important for the whole nation. one Calgary blogger wrote. "If the **** hits the fan with the Liberals and the Quebec thing, I'm a Morton man."
Its not only the Blogging Tories that are going gaa-gaa over Morton. His campaign is a grassroots social conservative mobilization. The Candian Taxpayers Federation, Jason Kenneys old employer, has ranked Morton #1 in their books.
Be afraid Canada. Be very afraid. Morton Tory leadership campaign showing surprising strength
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