Fair Trade Truth

Quoting Economist:
http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/515&fsrc=nwl

"When it comes to ethical trade the big guns of the free trade movement are firing at all the wrong targets. Ethical trade brands that give a better deal to small farmers growing tea or coffee? A brazen attempt to distort markets and—even worse—mislead consumers. Shunning toys or garments produced by child labourers? Just another case of thinly veiled protectionism.

This is the sort of thing that gets free trade a bad name. Whether we like it or not, trade is a human connection. It ties consumers in rich countries to some of the world's poorest people. Consumers should care about how their purchasing power affects the lives of others and they should be demanding information and making informed choices. The market for ethically traded goods is growing not because most consumers do not listen to eminent free trade economists. It is growing because people care about social justice."

Hi-Tech Sweat Shop report!

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china-taiwan/091103/silicon-sweatshops-disposable-workforce

SLAVERY!

Slave

Pronunciation: \ˈslāv\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slavic; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the early Middle Ages

Date: 14th century

1 : a person held in servitude as the chattel of another
2 : one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence
3 : a device (as the printer of a computer) that is directly responsive to another
4 : drudge, toiler

     Now think about working person. 

     In the modern society, one HAS to earn money to make a living. If one does not have an outstanding/unique ability to make money (say writing, singing, composing, starting and succeeding at entrepreneuring), he or she has to make money through jobs. Jobs that are perceived secure and pay good money. Preferably jobs from big companies that do not risk closing down any time soon.

   Once one takes the perceived good job, one usually conforms to the company policy or culture. One feels the pressure to do so to keep his/her job. So if the company asks the person to sacrifice more and do more work, one has to obey, in the fear of disobeying will cost him/her the job, thus the money that feeds one.

   So, the money along with the company forms the DOMINATING INFLUENCE that one have to be a subservient to. One stops being an employee, and becomes a SLAVE.

   Just think of the sweatshops. How did the sweatshops come to being?

   First of all, local people need jobs to advance their living condition. A paying job at the sweatshop usually rewards higher than a local job, although comparatively low compared to other places. Such job is usually repetitive and does not need much sophisticated skills.

Once a person is on the job, due to the money this job pays, he has to keep the job, therefore no matter how tiring the job is or bad the working condition is, he/she just have to work through them. If they attempt to do otherwise, they will be let go, and the next local person who has this low-end skill will take the job, probably for the same amount of money, or lower.

    Condiser the condition for slaves back in the pre-Civil War era in North America. Slaves were bought off by their owners with MONEY on a slave market (as oppose to the job market). Then they were forced to work. They have to work hard, or physical punishment will ensue (the modern term is fired or no pay raise). They have to obey their owners, and if they run away, they probably would have a chance to escape such a miserable life, but if they get caught, harsher physical punishment will ensue too (quit your job, and it might be harder to find a better job).

    Owners do not care much about their slaves’ well-beings (neither do the companies, or no sweatshop will come to being. One may wonder why employees from Foxxcom commit suicide. This is why: Foxxcom do not care about its employees’ well being). Owners want as much labour they can get from a slave as possible (Companies want to generate as much profit as possible, be it to rip their employees off, then be it.). Slaves were driven to death by laboring too much (How often do you hear people get over-fatigued and died on a job these days?). If a slave gets sick, most owners would not give a damn than to buy a new slave. If an employee is sick, he or she either get an unpaid leave, or just leave. 

So, you see how the current monetary-based, corporate-dominated society has forced us into a modified version of SLAVERY and trap us in it?

Last Day at work, 五味雜成

Today is my last day at work. In half a month I will be celebrating my first anniversary at this company. And I did not stay that extra two weeks.

I have been blessed to work in this company. The job is repetitive and relatively boring, yet not so busy and stressful that I still get my time and space to reach out to learn and touch other stuff that is not related to work on my off-work time.


I also realized that in this past few weeks that I have met some very nice people who values me a lot. I feel loved. This feeling has not befall on me for awhile.

So I guess I feel grateful. I feel alive. And I hope that my calling will take me to somewhere my heart yearns to be. Be it the woman I have been thinking, the places in the world I wish to be, or the huge challenge we are facing as humanity.

Peace Out!

I will miss you all!

P.Diddy.

外公

我媽媽是外省小孩
他在逃難到台灣途中出生的
能到台灣是因為我外公是軍人

我沒有看過我外公

我1984年，我媽35歲時出生時，我外公已經過世十年了

時年54歲


沒看過他

從小倒是常聽到我媽講他們家裡故事
到加拿大也會聽我阿姨說一些

據說

他是個嚴肅的人
心情常常不好
小朋友都很怕他

可是他是個孝順的人
他的媽媽沒有來台灣
可是我外婆的媽媽有
他對她是畢恭畢敬
事她至孝

他五十四歲時死於糖尿病
生前時常心情不好
會喝酒
會哭
所以可以說是憂鬱而死

在看大江大海之前
我對於他的人生就僅止於這些媽媽和阿姨的口頭傳述

看了之後
才知道
他其實也是裡面的主角之一
十幾歲就去打仗
來台灣的時候來不及回家接媽媽
沒想到一生的後面三十幾年，
就沒有再見過家園
也沒有再見過媽媽

他說不定也有一雙草鞋
或是想對母親說的話

也許他就是這樣才會對我太婆婆至孝

他們的時代，出生在大陸。
能夠有這樣的際遇可能算是好命

可是，在大時代的驅使下
他可以選擇嗎?

在加拿大的時候
我其實不太確定我是誰
加拿大人?
台灣人?
中國人?
可能覺得自己很優越
因為喝過洋墨水

其實到頭來
我就是一個中國人，一個華人
有四分之一的血是這個被時代折磨的男人傳下來的

他們的人生進展到我們的人生
感覺毫不相關
卻又連著血管裡血液密密結合

我更了解我是誰了
感謝龍應台

我也慶幸我現在有機會選擇我的人生

希望這些時代的悲劇永遠不再發生

可是，
這些悲劇在世界各地還是不斷發生

我們能做什麼??





 For my 外公 , whom I have never met.                                                   Mar 16/10

±2℃/正負2度C

各位鄉親父老兄弟姊妹
我們不能再漠視地球暖化這個問題了
傷害地球環境這麼多年
最後傷害的只是我們自己

http://mepopedia.com/?page=394

看看這些短片
想像一下我們未來可能要面對的困境
再冷漠下去
等我四十歲的時候
可能就要當氣候難民了 (小弟今年二十有六單身!!!)

到時候
住在台北的人，就跟住在小林村的人一樣
或者更慘 (因為水不會退)

可是我覺得身旁的人沒有很關心這件大事
叫大家一起跟我去報名志工也不踴躍

http://正負2度c.tw (加入志工!!)

氣候變遷已經是一件無比重要的大事，
如果海平面繼續上升，台灣是全世界最早受影響的國家之一
我們不只需要關注
更要開始行動
不只是從個人
更要將這個議題提升到國家層級

因為除了個人可以做的事之外
我們需要更嚴厲的法則來限制產業排放溫室氣體
需要用法律提供各行各業各層級轉型綠色企業更多的誘因

身為個人我們不只要將行動訴諸政府
也要以行動反映我們的需求給大企業

再不行動....我可能在討到老婆前就成為氣候難民了...而大家以後也看不到台北市了...



PS: 另一個值得參加的活動 www.civictaipei.org/activity/meat/183.html
由龍應台文化基金會舉辦

I LOVE YOU Philip Morris

Watched this crazy movie yesterday.

Donno what to say.

Not to sure how to categorize this movie.

Romance? Comedy? Suspense? Drama?

It is them all, yet not quite so.

The movie has a lot of dicks, many referrings to sucking the dicks, calling people faggots a lot.

I love the humour in it. And I am made uncomfortable by the performance of affection shown in the movie.


It is just TOOO GAY!

With Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey, it is tooooo GAY.


I like it when Jim Carrey says "I am gonna live my life! I am a faggot! I am gonna be a fucking faggot!"

I like how candor this movie goes sexually.

It is just way tooo funny and way toooo gay.