Hi everyone!
So the Arab League finally did it. Deciding that their observer mission to Syria was inadvertently doing more harm than good, it suspended the operation until further review. This means there are no observers on the ground and that the Assad government is now free to unleash its vengeance upon the opposition with impunity.
I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise. I mean let's face it, the observers were never given the freedom of movement required to really get an accurate view of the situation. When you are under strict escort by troops loyal to the Assad government--the source of the problem to begin with--how much could they actually have expected to see? Not a lot.
Even though the League voted last week to extend the mission for another month, observers were dropping out right and left, thereby further eroding the credibility of the entire endeavor. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the Arab League does have a peace proposal on the table with the United Nations Security Council. In fact, most of the world--with the exception of course of Syria, Russia, China, and Iran--welcome the League's proposal as being the most proactive approach yet to taking the first steps toward ending the violence. The plan calls for Bashar to step down, temporarily ceding power to a vice president while a new government was formed. Of course, Bashar has stated ad nauseum that he has no intention of doing any such thing. He knows he has the support, in particular, of Russia from whom Syria imports tens of millions of dollars of arms each year. Russian Vice President (and soon-to-be President) Vladimir Putin has publicly expressed support for Bashar and has joined him in condemning Western (read U.S.) influence in inciting the Syrian insurgency. This is a similar accusation to that which Putin has made about the recent protests in his own country.
Although I have always been a skeptic of the Arab League observer mission, now that the mission has been suspended--albeit temporarily but I'm not hopeful of a renewal--where does that leave things? In a very bad way indeed. For however long it takes the League to decide whether to continue the mission or not, Assad has a perfect window of opportunity to inflict maximum damage upon the opposition movement. You'd be a fool to believe otherwise.
What gets me is that no one outside the Arab World really seems to care all that much. The Obama administration repeatedly claims to be "closely monitoring" events in Syria but what does that really mean? I don't advocate sending American troops to Syria. This would give Iran an opportunity to further decry American hegemony in the region and who's to say that Iran wouldn't use this as a catalyst to move the Republican Guard into Syria under the guise of protecting its Syrian ally? We don't want another Iraq. It's unlikely this would happen anyway given the fact that Obama is in the process of initiating a "reset" in its relations with Russia and is unlikely to do anything that would provoke further Russian consternation. It seems where the U.S. is concerned, democracy is great as long as it falls in line with our own political sensibilities, otherwise democracy just gets in the way of promoting our master agenda...though I'm not sure anyone--including our leaders in Washington--really knows what that is anymore.
There has been mention in the U.N. Security Council of enacting a no-fly zone over parts of Syria. It was an effective tool in bringing down Qaddafi in Libya and to a lesser extent Saddam in Iraq. But there are enough dissenting opinions in the Security Council about this that it's unlikely a no-fly zone is realistically within the equation.
So what to do? We need to give full support to the Arab League peace proposal and perhaps offer a sort of amnesty to Bashar and his allies in the Syrian government as an incentive for stepping down, not unlike that which was offered to President Saleh of Yemen--who, incidentally, is now in New York for medical treatment. Beyond this, our hands are tied. The situation on the ground is dire but, in Syria, military intervention could truly ignite a much greater regional conflagration than we've seen to this point, a conflagration that might include Iranian missile strikes on Israel, the threatened closing of the Strait of Hormuz...and much much worse.
Not good. Not good at all.
Ciao.
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Apple: Rotten to the Core?
Hi everyone!
As an Apple user, I was saddened and more than a little enraged to read an article in today's New York Times that documented the sub-standard and even fatal working conditions frequently found in the factories that supply and/or manufacture Apple electronics. The majority of these factories, perhaps not surprisingly, are in China where Western-based companies tend to look (there and Southeast Asia) for cheap labor.
The front-page article "In China, the Human Costs That Are Built Into an iPad" by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza cites numerous examples--from both former and current Apple employers and their suppliers--of situations where Apple has knowingly overlooked dangerous, if not illegal, conditions in these factories because the time it would take to improve the facilities would risk delaying the release of new Apple products.
One particular example of Apple's apparent disregard for the safety of its outsourced employees took place in Chengdu, China last May at an iPad factory. A series of explosions caused by a dangerous build-up of aluminum dust (a problem at many of these factories) killed two workers on impact and injured more than a dozen others. A similar explosion at another iPad factory last year resulted in an equal number of deaths and injuries. Two years ago, the article states, 137 workers at another Apple supplier were sickened because they were asked to clean iPhone screens with a chemical known to be hazardous.
Not all of these conditions necessarily result in death, but are horrific nonetheless. In one factory, workers were forced to work 24-hour shifts without a break--and were then even asked to stay for an additional 24-hour shift to keep production flowing. Some of these workers suffered such severe swelling in their legs that they were unable to walk.
Depression is rife among these workers. One dormitory that houses employees of Foxconn, one of Apple's suppliers, had such a high rate of suicide attempts that its managers installed safety nets throughout the building to prevent workers from jumping.
According to the article, Apple does conduct audits of these factories and, since 2007, annually publishes the audit reports. These reports have shown widespread violations of Apple's code of conduct wherein more than half of the factories audited showed evidence that employees were working more than six days a week for less than minimum wage. In addition, audits have shown cases where suppliers have employed child laborers and then lied about their ages to avoid scrutiny. Other violations include employee record falsifications and mass exposure to dangerous chemicals that aren't properly disposed of.
Apple claims that it is doing all it can to minimize if not eliminate these problems. But many consultants who have worked with the company disagree. According to one, a consultant at BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) to whom Apple has twice turned to for counsel on labor issues: "We've spend years telling Apple there are serious problems and recommending changes. They don't want to pre-empt problems, they just want to avoid embarrassments."
A former Apple executive concurs: "If you see the same pattern of problems, year after year, that means the company's ignoring the issue rather than solving it. Non-compliance [at Apple] is tolerated, as long as the suppliers promise to try harder next time. If we meant business, core violations would disappear."
Because competition to land an Apple contract is fierce among these suppliers--and because Apple hires suppliers who charge the cheapest rates for their parts--there is demand to keep prices low. One supplier quoted in the article says that Apple frequently purchases its first order at one rate and then asks the supplier to further reduce their cost for all future orders. This results in a lowered bottom line for the suppliers which then reduces employee pay and, frankly, the ability to maintain safe working conditions at the factories. So what is the ultimate result?--more accidents like the one in Chengdu last May, more deaths.
The report is shocking but I'm not all that surprised by it. Sweatshops have always existed and will continue to exist as long as there is consumer demand, a cheap labor force, and corporate fat cats who care more about filling their pockets than human rights and basic decency. In the case of Apple, consumer demand is at an all-time high. They earned a record $46.2 billion in profits last year! Most people don't think about how or where their iPod, iPad, iPhone, or Macbook was manufactured. I certainly didn't, at least not until I read this article. But the really sad thing is, now that I know the chemical that was used to polish my iPod screen may have resulted in the premature death of some nameless Chinese worker, am I going to stop using it? Um...no. But it may make me think twice about whether or not to purchase an Apple product in the future.
I'll close with a quote from a current Apple employee that concludes the article: "...right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."
It's sad, but oh so true. This is how technology has changed us. I'm afraid we've forgotten our compassion.
Ciao.
As an Apple user, I was saddened and more than a little enraged to read an article in today's New York Times that documented the sub-standard and even fatal working conditions frequently found in the factories that supply and/or manufacture Apple electronics. The majority of these factories, perhaps not surprisingly, are in China where Western-based companies tend to look (there and Southeast Asia) for cheap labor.
The front-page article "In China, the Human Costs That Are Built Into an iPad" by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza cites numerous examples--from both former and current Apple employers and their suppliers--of situations where Apple has knowingly overlooked dangerous, if not illegal, conditions in these factories because the time it would take to improve the facilities would risk delaying the release of new Apple products.
One particular example of Apple's apparent disregard for the safety of its outsourced employees took place in Chengdu, China last May at an iPad factory. A series of explosions caused by a dangerous build-up of aluminum dust (a problem at many of these factories) killed two workers on impact and injured more than a dozen others. A similar explosion at another iPad factory last year resulted in an equal number of deaths and injuries. Two years ago, the article states, 137 workers at another Apple supplier were sickened because they were asked to clean iPhone screens with a chemical known to be hazardous.
Not all of these conditions necessarily result in death, but are horrific nonetheless. In one factory, workers were forced to work 24-hour shifts without a break--and were then even asked to stay for an additional 24-hour shift to keep production flowing. Some of these workers suffered such severe swelling in their legs that they were unable to walk.
Depression is rife among these workers. One dormitory that houses employees of Foxconn, one of Apple's suppliers, had such a high rate of suicide attempts that its managers installed safety nets throughout the building to prevent workers from jumping.
According to the article, Apple does conduct audits of these factories and, since 2007, annually publishes the audit reports. These reports have shown widespread violations of Apple's code of conduct wherein more than half of the factories audited showed evidence that employees were working more than six days a week for less than minimum wage. In addition, audits have shown cases where suppliers have employed child laborers and then lied about their ages to avoid scrutiny. Other violations include employee record falsifications and mass exposure to dangerous chemicals that aren't properly disposed of.
Apple claims that it is doing all it can to minimize if not eliminate these problems. But many consultants who have worked with the company disagree. According to one, a consultant at BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) to whom Apple has twice turned to for counsel on labor issues: "We've spend years telling Apple there are serious problems and recommending changes. They don't want to pre-empt problems, they just want to avoid embarrassments."
A former Apple executive concurs: "If you see the same pattern of problems, year after year, that means the company's ignoring the issue rather than solving it. Non-compliance [at Apple] is tolerated, as long as the suppliers promise to try harder next time. If we meant business, core violations would disappear."
Because competition to land an Apple contract is fierce among these suppliers--and because Apple hires suppliers who charge the cheapest rates for their parts--there is demand to keep prices low. One supplier quoted in the article says that Apple frequently purchases its first order at one rate and then asks the supplier to further reduce their cost for all future orders. This results in a lowered bottom line for the suppliers which then reduces employee pay and, frankly, the ability to maintain safe working conditions at the factories. So what is the ultimate result?--more accidents like the one in Chengdu last May, more deaths.
The report is shocking but I'm not all that surprised by it. Sweatshops have always existed and will continue to exist as long as there is consumer demand, a cheap labor force, and corporate fat cats who care more about filling their pockets than human rights and basic decency. In the case of Apple, consumer demand is at an all-time high. They earned a record $46.2 billion in profits last year! Most people don't think about how or where their iPod, iPad, iPhone, or Macbook was manufactured. I certainly didn't, at least not until I read this article. But the really sad thing is, now that I know the chemical that was used to polish my iPod screen may have resulted in the premature death of some nameless Chinese worker, am I going to stop using it? Um...no. But it may make me think twice about whether or not to purchase an Apple product in the future.
I'll close with a quote from a current Apple employee that concludes the article: "...right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."
It's sad, but oh so true. This is how technology has changed us. I'm afraid we've forgotten our compassion.
Ciao.
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