Journals
Sunday,Jan 15 2006, 09:52:08 AMDo YOU buy CHEAP clothes & toys? ~ The price paid!
Clothes and toys on sale in BRITAIN'S HIGH STREETS are made by Chinese workers forced to endure illegal, exhausting and dangerous conditions, according to a new study. The study found an army of poweless rural migrants toiling up to 14 hours a day, almost EVERY day. Many are allowed one day off a MONTH! and are paid less than £50 a MONTH for shifts that breach Chinese law and International Labour Organisation rules.
Cheap clothes, toys and electronic goods are made in these sweatshops are on sale in Britain often with household names including a few with ethical buying policies.
These sweatshops are "cooking" their books.
The workers are often working machinery without safety guards, and spray paint without proper face masks. The workers often die of accidents or overwork. Work place deaths are 12 times those of Britain.
13 factory workers EVERY DAY loose a finger or an arm in the "boom" town of Shenzhen. A 30 year old woman died after working 24 hours non stop at a handicraft factory.
You can do something about this.
1) talk to your shops and tell them what you think of this Cheap chineze stuff
2) Buy "Fair Trade" stuff when ever possible (YES IT DOES cost us more... but surely we should not encourage the type of things going on in China, and not just China)
3) TOTALLY AVOID the Arcadia Group (Topshop; Etam; Burton; & Dorothy Perkins) That group is owned by Philip Green who has NOT joined the Ethical Trade Inititives. Philip Green paid himself £1,200,000,000 last October! He lives in Monaco, and avoids Income taxes too!
Peace to all
& fair wages for all
Sunday,Jan 15 2006, 08:57:18 AMA fwd that a friend sent me. LOL
Today's Stock Market Report is as follows:
Helium was up, feathers were down.
Paper was stationary.
Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading.
Knives were up sharply.
Cows steered into a bull market.
Pencils lost a few points.
Hiking equipment was trailing.
Elevators rose, while escalators continued their slow decline.
Weights were up in heavy trading.
Light switches were off.
Mining equipment hit rock bottom.
Diapers remain unchanged.
Shipping lines stayed at an even keel.
The market for raisins dried up.
Soda Pop fizzled.
Caterpillar stock inched up a bit.
Sun peaked at midday.
Balloon prices were inflated.
Scott Tissue touched a new bottom.
Passed on to me by my friend Mellissa
*SMILES*
(PS I hope you all take stock of this; Board meetings not allowed, be quiet!)
A few latest ones
+ Stamps were stuck at the bottom
+ Pipes sounded good
+ Glass made a SPECTACULar rise
+ Drinks were down
+ Oranges were squeezed
+ Computers ~ the flood GATES were opened
+ Watches ~ ticked on as time went by
+ Gassoline had an explosive rise
+ Mining reached a new low
+ Cat food made a paw recovery
Anyone think of any more?
Chris
Saturday,Jan 14 2006, 02:27:27 PMOne of my greatest achievements
This was orinally posted in one of the threads, and I thought it would be nice to post it here too.
Well, I am not sure. But one thing that I did as a child is one of the things that I probably think of as my greatest achievements. So much so that my personal website use to be mainly about it. AND i am intending writing a book about it.
When I was 13 years old some boys from my street asked me to start a stamp club for them in our street. The club after a year of faultering steps began to take off, and membership at one time was over 50 boys & girls, mainly in the streets near the one I lived in, but also from around the whole town, and a few else where, ie London, Paris, Dublin, Grimsby and villages near the town. The club celebrated it's 10th anniversary in 1963 with an exhibtion in the famous Pantiles, and officially open by the Mayor of Tunbridge wells. It had got a name for itself in world wide stamp magazines, had questions asked for it in the House Of commons (UK Parliament). It was never run by anyone over 21. I had to leave when I reached that age! It held stalls at the Tunbridge Wells Hobbies Exhibitions, ran a First Day Cover Service, and had famous Stamp collectors coming to give them talks.
The website you will find some of this on is www.philatelic.org.uk But at present it needs re loading as the pictures are down. It will be up and running again soon I hope.
Sadly it only lasted another 4 years. But an achievement never reached by any other all junior society, as far as I know.
So yes that must be my greatest achievement!
*SMILES*
Tuesday,Jan 10 2006, 04:25:07 PMSMILES
Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu.
When. someone smiled at me today I started smiling, too,
I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin,
When he smiled I realised I'd passed it on to him .
I thought about the smile and then I recognised its worth;
A single smile like mine could travel round the earth.
So if you feel a smile begin don't leave it undetected,
Start an epidemic quick and get the world infected !
( I am not sure of the origin of this, but it needs passing on)