#compensation Taiwan case

[rightnewshindi]

ताइवान में अनुष्ठान बना काल: गर्भवती नर्स के साथ पटाखों की क्रूरता, कोर्ट ने दिया मुआवजे का आदेश #News #HindiNews #IndiaNews #RightNewsIndia

[bopinion]

2024 / 16

Aperçu of the Week

"You can't knock on opportunity's door and not be ready."

(Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars and my sons favorite soundtrack while he's cooking)

Bad News of the Week

Sport actually has nothing to do with politics. Because the competition is carried out by individuals who (can) stand outside of systems. Nevertheless, sport is often instrumentalized by politics by stylizing successful athletes as symbolic figures for the strength of a system. I can still remember the Olympic Games in the 70s and 80s very well, in which the athletes of the USA and the Soviet Union competed against each other in many ways as a priority. And Rocky IV, of course.

It is fitting that sports organizations have always been suspected of being corrupt - often rightly so, see FIFA. It is therefore clear that it is almost always not the athletes who are the problem, but the officials. Do you need proof? How about China and doping? Because there was a big boom this week, as a journalistic investigative team from ARD (the BBC of Germany) found out.

At a national swimming competition in China at the beginning of 2021, 23 swimmers tested positive in the mandatory doping tests - which means negative in this context. This was then covered up. With the knowledge of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). The agency did not consider it worth investigating the banned substance trimetazidine, for which the Russian figure skating prodigy Kamila Valiyeva was banned for four years in the same year. The Chinese swimmers, however, were not. In the following Summer Olympics in Tokyo, three of them won gold and two silver.

We can see that China today is what the Soviet Union (and to some extent the GDR) used to be - a regime that abuses even its top performers to score points at international level. The staff looking after athletes (including doctors who have long since thrown the Hippocratic Oath overboard) still have more say than the athletes themselves. An institution that was set up to prevent malpractice can also be corrupt. At the major sporting events this summer, first the European Men's Football Championships and then the Olympic Games in Paris, spectators will not know whether they are cheering on a fake. And the athletes themselves won't know whether the competition was fair at all.

Good News of the Week

At last, US weapons are back in Ukraine. For months, the Republican “Freedom caucus” in the House of Representatives had been standing on the brakes. And Ukraine lost. Because, as is generally the case in the NATO context, all other members cannot compensate for the loss of by far the most capable partner country. It is therefore a great relief that the rationalists in the USA have regained the upper hand. And are now giving the badly shaken Ukraine hope again.

The following still applies: if Putin can subjugate Ukraine or impose a dictated peace on it, he will not sit back contentedly in his armchair in the Kremlin and enjoy the day of victory. He will continue in his quest to bring the Soviet Union back from the dead. Even if the Baltic states are members of NATO, they would be his next victims (not to mention Moldova, for example). Because apparently he could simply allow himself to do this without being stopped. The democracy of the whole of Europe is being defended in Ukraine, that must not be forgotten. So my heartfelt thanks to the US Congress.

A positive side effect of all this is that the same financial package, which Joe Biden will undoubtedly sign as soon as possible, contains even more. Namely 26 billion US dollars for the suffering population in Gaza - in your face, Benjamin Netanyahu! And 8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region - in your face, Xi Jinping! The USA are back on the world stage where they belong. I would not have thought it, but I must now pay tribute to a member of the Republican establishment. So thank you, Speaker of the House James Michael “Mike” Johnson. Hopefully I'll get over it...

Personal happy moment of the week

My son was in trouble with a teacher. A misunderstanding - that had developed into a solid crisis due to a certain stubbornness on both sides - was now threatening to cost him his participation in a project that is important to him. I took his side and was called in for a “clarifying discussion”. This was then canceled because the teacher (probably looking for reinforcement and arguments) consulted with other teachers. And “received very positive feedback on his behavior”. Disciplinary measures were not taken “because he is so committed and keeps the group together.” So a serious accusation suddenly turned into high praise.

I couldn't care less...

...that a Belgian court acquitted a driver who was driving with a blood alcohol level of 2.1. Because he suffers from the extremely rare “home-brew syndrome”: the body produces alcohol itself, which leads to the usual symptoms such as reduced responsiveness etc. Anyone who is a danger to themselves and, above all, to others on the road should not be allowed to drive - for whatever reason. After all, the disability of no blind person is their own fault. But no court in the world would allow him to drive.

It's fine with me...

...that for the first time in the history of the USA a criminal trial is taking place against a (former) president. I don't care whether or not you can plead guilty to election interference by falsifying business records because of hush money payments to a porn star. I just wish that a proven notorious liar and cheat, who is also a sexist, racist, homophobe and incidentally “unfit for office”, would finally have to take responsibility for his actions in court.

As I write this...

...April lives up to its name: first you can go swimming and two days later it's snowing. Candles are set up in the vineyards to warm the tender buds. And the hedgehog that has been hibernating on the terrace under our barbecue probably thinks it has woken up too early. Allergy sufferers are happy about the abrupt end of the pollen season. But everyone misses spring.

Post Scriptum

Everyone gets their life from their mother. She is the primary caregiver that all humans have in their first perceptions. That's why I've never understood why so many men simply devalue this in the course of their lives - and grant women fewer rights than themselves. Poverty, discrimination and a lack of equal rights cost lives, according to the latest UN World Population Report.

Not only is there no progress towards equality, there is actually a decline. The rights of “women, girls and gender-diverse people are being pushed back more and more,” says Dr. Natalia Kanem (head of the United Nations Population Fund). Lack of representation and limited self-determination force one in four women under a male-dominated yoke. And sexual violence is a problem in almost every country in the world. No man can want that. Not for his mother, not for his sister, not for his daughter. And not for his wife either. Shame on you!

[semicon101]

One of the most popular topics on the SemiWiki forum is Intel, which I understand. Many of us grew up with Intel, some of us have worked there, and I can say that the vast majority of us want Intel to succeed. The latest Intel PR debacle is the abrupt departure of CEO Pat Gelsinger. To me this confirms the answer to the question, “What is wrong with Intel?”. But first let’s look at the big picture.

Hopefully we can all agree that AI will change the world over the next decade. It has already started, AI has made it down from the cloud into our cars, homes, laptops and phones. AI is also being weaponized and is a critical technology powering conflicts around the world. Clearly the leaders of the AI race will also be the leaders of the new AI infused world.

We should also be able to agree as to the importance of semiconductor technology and the importance of controlling the semiconductor supply chain. The pandemic fueled semiconductor shortages should still be fresh in our minds and if you think it could not happen again you are wrong.

When speaking about semiconductors you can separate them into two categories: logic and memory. Currently the majority of the leading-edge logic chips come from Taiwan (TSMC) with Intel and Samsung a distant second and third. The majority of the memory chips come from South Korea (Samsung and SK Hynix) with a distant third being U.S. based Micron and relatively new memory chip makers in China. To be clear, without memory logic is useless and without logic memory is useless.

My personal mantra has always been to plan for the worst and hope for the best so you will not be disappointed. Best case is that Taiwan and South Korea continue as they have for the last 50+ years. Worst case is that they won’t and the semiconductor supply chain is fractured and life as we know it is over. We may not go back to prehistoric days but to the younger generations it will seem like it.

There are two companies that are critical to semiconductor manufacturing in the United States: Intel (logic) and Micron (memory). Both are semiconductor legends, and both are critical to the survival of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.

We can discuss Micron another time but a recent podcast with Intel’s Dr. Tahir Ghani (Mr. Transistor) reminded me of how important Intel is to the semiconductor industry. This week I am at IEDM, the premier semiconductor conference that showcases semiconductor innovation, and Intel is again front and center. This is a much longer technology discussion so I will simply say that Intel is critical to the semiconductor industry and the United States of America. If you think otherwise post it in the SemiWiki forum and thousands of working semiconductor professionals will explain it to you in painful detail.

This brings us back to the question: What is wrong with Intel? In my opinion Intel has had the worst board of directors in the history of the semiconductor industry. The hiring/firing of the three previous CEOs is a clear example. Seriously, we are talking about 20 years of bad decisions that have destroyed a semiconductor legend.

I posted a blog about The Legend of Intel CEOs in 2014 and updated it after Pat Gelsinger was hired and I will have to update it yet again. To me the bad board decisions started when they hired Paul Otellini (finance/sales/marketing) and then made an even worse pick with Brian Krzanich (manufacturing). The firing of Krzanich was even worse. How could the board have not properly vetted a man whose entire career was at Intel? The stated reason for the firing was absolute nonsense. Krzanich was the worst Intel CEO of all time and that is why he was fired. I would liken it to Pat Gelsinger’s “refirement” announcement. Why are board of directors allowed to reimagine CEO firings? They are heavily compensated employees of a publicly traded company. Intel pays these people millions of dollars in salary and stock options to safeguard the company. Where are the activist investors now?!?!

I also questioned the hiring of Robert Swan (finance) as Intel CEO. As it turns out Swan signed the megadeal with TSMC that saved the company from the Intel 10nm debacle and he was later fired for it. I do believe that if Swan stayed as CEO Intel would be fabless which is a very bad idea for the reasons stated above.

In regards to Pat Gelsinger, I was a big fan at the beginning but I told my contacts at Intel that the strategy should be to “speak softly and carry a big stick”. Intel’s culture has been based on being a virtual monopoly for so many years it really got the best of them. Making overly optimistic statements is a very risky proposition. At some point in time those statements will come back to haunt you unless you have the revenue to back them up. Intel did not, so Pat was out, just my opinion.

Let’s be clear, Intel is an IDM foundry like Samsung. TSMC is a pure-play foundry with hundreds of customers and partners collaborating on R&D and business strategy. No one company is going to compete with that. If you compare Intel Foundry to Samsung Foundry you get a very favorable result. The challenging TSMC head-to-head strategy has been tried before (Samsung and Globalfoundries) and billions of dollars were wasted. How did a seasoned board of directors allow this to happen?

As for the rumors of Intel being acquired, in my opinion Broadcom is the only company that qualifies. I’m confident Hock Tan could turn Intel around. I do not know how the finances would work but Hock’s management style would get Intel back into the green without a doubt.

Selling off the manufacturing part of Intel is ridiculous. Do you really think Intel Design can compete with Nvidia or even AMD without intimate ties to manufacturing? I was really excited when Intel signed the agreement with TSMC because it was a head-to-head design shootout with AMD, Nvidia, and Intel on the same process technology for the very first time. You tell me how that turned out. Are the new Intel products disruptive? The entire leading edge semiconductor industry is using TSMC N3. Will Intel really be relevant without manufacturing?

The quick fix for Intel is to be acquired by Broadcom. Bringing back Pat 2.0 and replacing the board of directors is another option. A third option is for the U.S. Government to step in and make semiconductor manufacturing a priority. Maybe Elon Musk can help Intel sort things out (kidding/not kidding).

Bottom line: Some very difficult decisions have to be made by some very qualified people. Take a look at the current Intel Board of Directors and convince me that they are the right ones to do it. You have an open invitation to be a guest on our podcast or post a written response to this blog.

I started SemiWiki 14 years ago to give semiconductor professionals a voice, a platform to participate in conversations for the greater good of the semiconductor industry. Let’s use it to help Intel become an industry leader again.

[plethoraworldatlas]

Communities around the world impacted by the plastics giant Formosa are launching a global hunger strike on October 31.

Fishers, organizers, and concerned citizens in Texas, Vietnam, and Louisiana — areas that are home to existing or proposed Formosa plants — have supported each other’s efforts to mobilize against the Taiwan-based firm, forming the organization International Monitor Formosa Alliance (IMFA). Now the alliance is launching a hunger strike to demand that the victims of a 2016 environmental disaster in central Vietnam caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a subsidiary of the Formosa Plastics Group, be compensated for their losses, that the polluted area be restored, and that those who have been jailed for protesting be released.

In April 2016, a steel factory in the Ha Tinh province owned by the corporation leaked a toxic mixture of chemicals — including cyanide — into the coastal waters of central Vietnam, killing fish and poisoning residents in four provinces. Formosa denied it had discharged the toxic waste for months, but later acknowledged it had caused the spill. The company issued a public apology and paid $500 million to the Vietnamese government. But thousands of victims never received compensation, said Nancy Bui, founder of Justice for Formosa Victims and co-founder of IMFA. Those who have attended protests and written about the disaster have been beaten by police and imprisoned in Vietnam. Twenty-four people remain in prison.

...

In 2019, nearly 8,000 victims of the spill filed a lawsuit in Taiwan against Formosa Plastics Group. A Taipei District Court dismissed the lawsuit that same year, but Taiwan’s Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision in 2020, allowing the case to proceed. Like the nearby residents, the waters where the spill occurred haven’t fully recovered. “The fish came back but not enough for fishermen to make a living,” Bui said. In 2022, Vietnam’s seafood exports were valued at 11 billion USD.

Diane Wilson, a Goldman Prize recipient and co-founder of IMFA, who will be participating in the hunger strike, started off as a shrimper and has fought to stop a Formosa facility in her community in south Texas from draining its wastewater into the local bays. She has warned that pollutants in the wastewater, such as copper and chloroform, can harm human health and the health of the ecosystem. Environmental pressures have made it difficult for fishers in the area to continue to make a living in the trade.

[eveninsight-com]

Zoned AI Review: Legit or Another Scam?

A new company named Zoned AI has entered the market with its claims of giving unrealistic returns on buying and stalking its cryptocurrency tokens. As the name suggests, its compensation plan depends on artificial intelligence. In this post, we will review Zoned.AI and suggest whether you should invest in it or not.

What is Zoned?

Zoned is a Text-to-image AI image generator platform where you can generate AI drawings, random art, and NFTs. There is no information available about its founders and headquarters. It is specifically built to generate adult images of women.

According to WHOIS, its domain Zoned.ai was registered on April 2023. It has monthly traffic of around 70k and most visitors are from the USA (32%), China (20%) and Taiwan (10%). Zoned AI also offers an affiliate program and cryptocurrency purchasing feature apart from its AI text-to-image generator. Read: CoinMarketBull Collapses Zoned Review We identified several dubious elements and warning signs Regarding the business model and cryptocurrency trade of this company. Let’s take a look at it: 1. Founders are Hiding The largest cautionary sign in this company is the founders' or operators' anonymity because it is crucial to know where people are investing their money. It generates far too much mistrust among its consumers. This, in our opinion, only points to one thing: that the founders are attempting to defraud a sizable audience without disclosing their identity. It is now easier to defraud individuals without appearing in public. 2. No Physical Presence Regarding its headquarters or the location where it conducts this activity, Zoned AI has not made any disclosures. It becomes weird when an AI company refuses to disclose its location. It's primarily operated from China and wants to expand globally. Users should be aware that any business seeking investments from the general public must register and become subject to regulation by the relevant authorities in each nation. 3. Bogus Platform To deceive users and give the impression that they are a trustworthy and respectable firm, they have placed various crucial links and navigation on their website but ironically those links don't work. At present, most of the AI tools are free to use and popular once charge a minimal amount to gather the largest audience base. But this is not the case with Zoned.Ai. They didn't even provide a free trial (3 pics only) and users have to connect their crypto wallet before registering with them. AI-generated images by this platform are not accurate as per the description and provide random pictures from its library. They haven't updated their website since it started operation. Read: EAconomy Review 4. Deceptive Management Avatars On their website, they have listed their senior executives as avatars rather than as actual bios. They are attempting to keep the names of their senior executives a secret in this situation.

Furthermore, for a corporation that calls itself a tech company to engage in such behavior is both exceedingly unethical and unprofessional. Because the people listed in their fancy avatars don't exist, they are merely attempting to deceive you with them. 5. Money Circulation Fraud Zoned provides AI image generator services alongside an affiliate program. To join the affiliate program, you must purchase ZONED cryptocurrency tokens using USDT. The investment packages and their maturity period are: PackagesCostTokens ReceivedTimeStandard Package10 USDT10 ZONED30 DaysIntermediate Package100 USDT105 ZONED90 DaysPremium Package200 USDT210 ZONED180 Days After buying tokens, Zoned AI pays a referral commission down to two levels of recruitment. - Level 1 – 5% - Level 2 – 3% Here, it is very evident that their primary business is not the AI image generation platform, but rather their affiliate program and the sale of cryptocurrency tokens. Additionally, we conclude that this is an AI-based Ponzi scheme. When these kinds of Ponzi schemes collapse, the majority of their participants lose their money, while the operators make off with a sizeable sum of money. Should I Invest in the ZONED token? No, you should refrain from investing in these kinds of fraudulent schemes and invest your precious money in some legitimate and proven schemes. Zoned.Ai has the main focus on affiliate program only and promote their token. They are not legitimate AI company as it is not good enough and much better AI platform are already present for free. It's very common for scammers to integrate new technology with fraud schemes to manipulate users and earn profit. Earlier this was limited to cryptocurrency only, but now "AI" is also used to loot innocent. We highly recommend staying from it. Read: Swiss Valorem Bank Review Read the full article

[prettyjammy]

Moving through life is hard

I’ve been spending the last few weeks doing house work like it’s a full-time job. There’s still so much to be improved and I am nowhere near what I have envisioned for this house to feel warm and cozy. I don’t have big plans for 2021 except to earn so I can finally move into a place of my own by next year. But as the eldest of three with parental responsibilities, I want to leave this house with tenderness and balance. 

I became a (pseudo) homemaker by circumstance. My mornings stretch to mid-afternoons on most days doing what mothers have done for us when we were little: cleaning the living room spotless, refilling the pitchers, putting the dishes back in their respective drawers, taking out the trash, and feeding the dog before rewarding myself with coffee (or tea). 

It’s not exactly what I pictured 2020 to be; the original plan was to go on three week-long overseas trips solo:

☑ Taipei, Taiwan (January)

☐ Beijing, China (June or July)

☐ Seoul, South Korea (October)

I really miss traveling. I’m sharing photos from my first and last trip of the year. Yehliu Park was a dream, that only solidifies my desire to live in a home surrounded by nature.

My life is good–even better now–but I still can’t shake this sleeplessness off of my system. I become far more restless at the thought that I have to go to bed every night for a peaceful sleep that I no longer remember what it feels like. The pointless quest of the rat race truly turned me into something I didn’t want to be, a chaser of the urban working life, settler of stability, a sellout, what have you, all of this boils down to me becoming an automated feature. Reaching a tipping point, I needed to step back after a good five years of running on empty.

Last April, at the dawn of a sobering generation and opening doors embracing the ordinariness of living inside, I never imagined that I would be included in a company’s retrenchment program that effectively let go a sea of hardworking people in batches for the next few months. Loose ends were written all over this sudden move as I keep my eyes peeled for my well-performing colleagues local and overseas face the same fate: their farewell, gratitude-laden messages in hopes of immediately landing a new, shiny opportunity occupy my feed.

While knowing that I’m not alone in this uncertainty surely soothes the pain of my unrealized ambitions, I can’t help but feel I’m back to square one again, only with a stronger backbone and a more controlled direction that I wish I knew many years ago. I also wish I didn’t put all my efforts and prospects in one place to compensate for my lack of structure in life.

But we live and let live. In my case, I learned the hard way that we should not glorify the pain behind long hours striving for excellence and actually begin doing things differently. 

[catdotjpeg]

On Aug. 6 & 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki. The Korean A-Bomb Victims' Association estimates 100,000 of the 700,000 killed or injured by the bombs were Korean. Korean A-bomb survivors are still fighting for justice. This is their story.

In WWII, 5 - 7 million Koreans were conscripted as forced laborers throughout Japan's empire. 670,000 Koreans were sent to Japan to work in shipyards, arms factories, mines, farms, or as "comfort women."

In 1945, 80,000 Koreans lived in Hiroshima and at least 30,000 in Nagasaki. Most Hiroshima Koreans worked in war-related industries or farmed small plots after having lost their own land in Korea.

As colonial subjects, Koreans experienced widespread social discrimination, poverty, and lived in segregated neighborhoods. These factors contributed to their high rates of radiation exposure and death.

50,000 Koreans died in the atomic bombings or shortly after. Most of the 43,000 survivors returned to Korea. The Korea Atomic Bomb Casualty Association estimates 60% of survivor-returnees died of radiation-related illness or in the Korean War.

Survivors have faced many challenges in S. Korea. The ROK govt ignored survivors for decades. Many survivors & their children were disabled & unable to work or afford medical care. 20% of 2nd & 3rd-gen descendants of survivors have congenital deficiencies & hereditary diseases.

In 1957 Japan began to offer medical benefits to atomic bomb survivors, but excluded Koreans. Korean A-bomb survivors "illegally" crossed borders, filed lawsuits, and fought for decades to receive legal and medical rights in Japan. Some are still fighting to be recognized.

After WWII, the US refused responsibility for A-bomb survivors, but continued to test and station nuclear weapons throughout the Pacific. Korea is just one link in a long chain of US nuclear destruction, from mines in the Belgian Congo and Diné/Navajo lands to the Pacific.

Although most Korean A-bomb survivors left Japan for what became South Korea, about 3,000 went to North Korea. Japan has never compensated any A-bomb survivors in North Korea. Like all DPRK citizens, these survivors receive free medical care.

The decades-long struggle for Korean A-bomb survivors' rights is not over. To this day the Korean A-bomb Victims’ Association continues to [make demands.] Justice for Korean A-bomb survivors means more than reparations and recognition; it means an end to the US nuclear arsenal and the system of imperialism these weapons of mass destruction protect.

-- Nodutdol | 노둣돌, Aug 6 2021 

[IMAGE ID: 1. Photos of the mushroom clouds resulting from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan. 

2. Photo of conscripted Korean workers at Hiroshima's Mitsubishi Shipyard in 1944.

3. An infographic which reads “As colonial subjects, Koreans had high rates of death and radiation exposure due to housing and medical discrimination. Koreans were crowded into downtown areas, closer to the blast sites. Koreans stayed in the cities after the bombings, while many Japanese took refuge with relatives in the country. Japanese hospitals turned away Korean victims who sought help.” 

4. Hapcheon memorial shrine, dedicated to the Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 

5. A screencap from a news report, showing a woman with a white ribbon tied around her head. The caption identifies her as “Yi Maeng-hee, a Korean A-bomb victim” and quotes her, saying “My children are in the same condition. One of them has been in the hospital for 6 years. There’s no one supporting us.��

6. An infographic which reads, “In 1957 Japan began to offer medical benefits to atomic bomb survivors, but excluded Koreans. Survivor Son Jin-doo illegally entered Japan to file a discrimination lawsuit and demand his benefits. He won his case in 1978. In order to receive benefits, survivors needed two witnesses, and at least one had to be a Japanese national. After 1952, all Koreans in Japan were stripped of Japanese citizenship. Most survivors living in South Korea couldn’t get visas to visit Japan. Not a single Korean received medical benefits from Japan until the 1970s.” A photo of Son Jin-doo is included. 

7. An infographic which reads, “After WWII, the US refused responsibility for A-bomb survivors, but continued to test and station nuclear weapons throughout the Pacific.” There is a photo of a mushroom cloud, captioned, “US nuclear test in the Marshall Islands. Marshallese people are still living with the effects [of] radiation in their homeland.” The infographic continues: “Until 1958 the US conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. As many as 950 nuclear missiles were stationed in South Korea from 1958-1991. The US also stationed nukes in the Philippines, Okinawa, Taiwan, Guahan, and Hawai’i.” 

8. An infographic outlining the demands of Korean A-bomb survivors: “1. Japan pay reparations and give medical treatment to Korean survivors and their descendants. 2. The US apologize, pay reparations, sign the treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and denuclearize. 3. South Korea, Japan and the US recognize the impact of hereditary conditions on 2nd and 3rd generation survivors.” 

9. A photo of Sim Jintae, President of the Korean A-bomb Victims’ Association from 2015, and a quote reading: “I must hear the US apologize before I die, and I want to make sure my children can live without the threat of US nukes.”] 

[kaylacharles1]

FIELDWORK

1.) What is the history of the item?

As we all know, the Apple world is big. From iPods to iPhones, from MacBooks to iPads, and from apple watches to AirPods. Apple has made the technology world so big and powerful with its products it's astonishing. Especially with the iPhone, the phone that everybody either wants or has. The first model of the iPhone was released in 2007, and the newest one was released in late 2020. There has been a total of 12 versions and 29 different models throughout the years. Now there are about 101 million iPhone users, and the iPhone has sold over 1 billion phones. How cool is that? Did you know the iPhone was top-secret, and the first person to have it was Greg Packer? He bought it for $500 compared to what we get it, for now nearly $1,000!

2.) Where was your item made or manufactured?

The iPhone manufacturing process is bizarre. It takes at least 400 steps to assemble, and in the factory, they produce 500,000 iPhones a day which is about 350 phones a minute! The people and machines work hard for sure. The iPhone is mainly manufactured in China, but other countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan also help contribute to the manufacturing of the iPhone. Despite that, all the engineering and designs are made in the U.S., making it an American product. Here to say, I've always thought it was a Chinese product.

3.) What impact does the item have on your life?

The iPhone has changed and better my life in numerous ways. Like what was life before, people had phones and computers? I can't imagine it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I can live without a phone, but still imagine how that would be. The iPhone has made it possible for me to stay connected with family and friends far away. It has allowed me to hand in and finish schoolwork quickly. It has also allowed me to engage and meet new people from all over the world through social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Tictok. A phone, in general, has improved communication and ideas among people, making it an example of a time-spaced compression!

4.)Who are the people directly involved with making or manufacturing this item? What is life like for them?

People directly involved in manufacturing the iPhone are called factory workers, and most of them are Chinese. When it comes down to how life is for those people, it may get confusing. Some sources say different things because they have different viewpoints on the situation. For example, a source from BBC News states that "all workers are being compensated appropriately, including any overtime wages and bonuses, all overtime work was voluntary, and there was no evidence of forced labor." This statement from Apple is notifying people that their workers are treated fairly and correctly. Although, another source from USA Today states that workers from "Apple's factory are underpaying workers and forcing them to work in harsh conditions. One of the most glaring laws broken involved temporary employees or "dispatch workers." As you can see, there are two different views to this case. I think you can find out the truth by asking apple workers around the world. Maybe the ones in China get treated poorly while the ones in America don't.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-30532463

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/09/09/iphone-11-apple-still-breaking-labor-laws-china/2261874001/

[covid19updater]

COVID19 Updates: 05/23/2021

India:  Black fungus: India reports nearly 9,000 cases of rare infection LINK

Haiti:  PAHO: #Haiti authorizes use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as deaths, infections rise LINK

Op/Ed (UK):  It’s sickening to watch UK’s CDC equivalent (Public Health England) now being an outlet of Boris Johnson administration’s propaganda. Yesterday, Johnson’s office censored PHE from publishing #B16172 outbreak data in schools—and then hails 33-60% 1&2 dose efficacy as a win for AZ.

India:  In this rural Karnataka belt, Covid cases are rising but tests have dipped to just 10 a day LINK

Thailand:  Thailand to tighten border controls after detecting South African COVID-19 variant LINK

Russia:  Russia reports 8,951 new COVID-19 cases, lifting total above 5 miliion LINK

World:  Wuhan's House of Cards: the outbreak of COVID-19, in contextIn order to see the big picture, we need more than a microscope - we need a telescope. LINK

Belgium:  Another very worrying rise in #Belgium and yet still the country's journalists are asleep on the job. It's the job of reporters to hold people to account, ensuring quicker reaction from authorities such as lockdowns. 2,516 new #Covid19 cases today, up 28%

France: NEW: UK tourists may face stricter rules in France due to Indian variant �� minister #World @BreakingNewsAI

UK:  PAY ATTENTION to rising #B16172 crisis in UK—crucial because India variant affects us all. It is now ~50% of all cases in England, surging fast, especially in kids. Hospital #COVID19 ward in Bolton filling up. “It’s too late to contain” LINK

Nepal:  COVID-19: Hospitals run out of beds, soldiers take over as undertakers - Nepal battles second wave of pandemic LINK

World:  Some teenagers and young adults who received Covid-19 vaccines have experienced heart inflammation, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group said, recommending further study of the condition. LINK

Taiwan:  Taiwan is in the grip of its first major COVID-19 surge. Total cases, which had been below 1,300 through the entire pandemic, have surged to more than 3,100 in the span of a week LINK

India:  Covid-19 patient commits suicide in VIMSA 45-year-old Covid-19 positive patient V Sudhakar committed suicide at Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) here on Saturday. LINK

India:  Indian villagers turn to unlicensed clinics as COVID spreads to the countryside LINK

UK:  Family doctors in UK forced out of jobs after developing long covid, prompting demands for gov’t to compensate NHS staff w/debilitating conditions who can’t work. GPs struggling w/long covid said they felt “shocked & betrayed” when removed them from their posts b/c of long sick leave

UK:  Dominic Cummings claims ministers backed herd immunity against CovidPM’s ex-adviser says if ‘competent’ people had been in charge at least two lockdowns could have been avoided LINK

World:  Reinfections with #B16172 is also approximately ~4x more with B16172 versus #B117 if we compare the rates of reinfections / variant cases found. 4x…. Is a lot.

World:  European database shows 405,250+ covid vaccine injuries, 10,570+ deaths (so far) LINK

World:  NEW - Dr. Fauci now says he is "not convinced" COVID-19 developed naturally, and called for an open investigation into the origin of the virus. However, he once again "categorically" denied that the NIH or NIAID has funded any gain of function research in Wuhan (Fox News)

US:  Pentagon Tracking 14 Cases of Heart Inflammation in Troops After COVID-19 Shots LINK

California: LOS ANGELES, CA — Six months into the vaccination effort, Los Angeles County has recorded nearly 1,000 "breakthrough" cases in which fully vaccinated people went on to test positive for the coronavirus. Of those breakthrough cases, 71 were hospitalized and 12 died. LINK

China:  Three Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a U.S. intelligence report that could add to calls for a fuller probe of whether the Covid-19 virus may have escaped from the lab LINK

[moran698]

6 Reasons Why Only A Fool Thinks Market America Is A Pyramid

People either prefer to be engaged or empowered, so I ask you, which do you like? Concerning me, I slant toward 100% to be an empowered finance manager, make my norms for the duration of regular daily existence, and in the long run control my destiny Market America .

Being an UnFranchise® insider, I am progressively more entranced in how being an UnFranchise® owner, positions us in having the financial solidarity to that of the pyramids in Egypt.

We are truly striking from numerous perspectives, and the web promoting and never-ending web retailing powerhouse of an association that we keep up our associations anyway in MA, outfits us with the most "enduring" of an establishment to help our undertakings and has prepared us to revelation and defeat the web retailing implantation in the billions of nuclear families wherever on the world.

Notwithstanding the way that I for one totally never get asked with regards to whether Market America is a pyramid any more, If I was to be asked, I would turn the truth finding measure back over to the person who asked me. By what means can an association that uses 600 people far and wide, is as of now enrolling, and is being looked after and found by progressively more news sources to reveal normal could be seen as a pyramid?

Undoubtedly, even in this "centered and hamstrung" economy, our corporate administrative group has been set up and coordinating for very nearly 20 years. Concerning this year, MA will broaden its inside and out set up undertakings in 5 countries in 2011, which will add to it's presently 100 and creating number of new delegates to help maintain the advancement in what should be one more 4 fourth of improvement in 2011.

The year 2012 will check the 20th remembrance and as you continue investigating whether there is a Market America pyramid going on here. Spotlight your existence finding tries on these 2 factors:

Their Financial Track Record - Generating practically $500 million in total arrangements in the money related year 2009.

Covertly held associations customarily need nothing to do with checking out the assessing cycle, anyway as JR Ridinger, creator and CEO says, "We're not being explored any more and we don't have anything to stow away".

Market America's Business Practices - Over the latest 3 years; Google, Microsoft, and a few other corporate mixes have attempted to acquire our web advancing machine...

"NOT FOR SALE", JR Ridinger says! As I might want to figure, I don't generally acknowledge that any of these association's real workplaces would have moved out of stage one of their courses of action in case they considered Market America a stunt, pyramid, plan, or who knows whatever else.

Market America could accumulate $1 billion in arrangements by year-end 2012, and I'd want to list two or three the reasons why I feel this dream could show into Market America's reality:

Their Motives by Loren Ridinger decorating specialists line outflanked $12 million in complete arrangements 2009, (up from $4 Million of each 2008).

There is in excess of 2,500 prosperity specialists who have participated their practices with nutraMetrix, (the fastest creating region in MA).

Market America at present has exercises in North America, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, and bound to be a more broad detectable quality all through Europe and more then likely Mexico next.

They have in excess of 300 free UnFranchise® owners who have secured in bounty of $1 Million as outside insight, and numerous thousand of others who like a constant six figure remaining income source.

They have molded "prospering" relationship with many "web enabled" retailers, who need to utilize Market America's PRIME online land and their "Wild BUYER and RAVING FAN" customer base.

The parent association's website is correct now situated #54 on the Internet Retailers Top 100 poll...up from #66 in the past overview. We've changed spots with a for the most part mystery association called Disney.

I feel the greatest crediting reason with respect to why Market America isn't a pyramid is because as of now, as in starting today, you could continue to transform into the #1 compensation laborer in less than 3 years if you expected to!

In corporate America, that system is set up to pay you subject to your title and residency, have you held detainee by working under an if you show up - you get paid structure, and your advancement is limited to open positions, and the all-encompassing improvement of someone else's association!

Accept accountability for your financial future... in light of everything, you are the one that requirements to spend the rest of your life there.

[southeastasianists]

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other high-ranking ministers of the Singapore government have repeatedly expressed gratitude to migrant construction workers for their role in building the gleaming city-state. These low-paid workers, mostly from India, Bangladesh and China, number in the hundreds of thousands within an overall population of roughly six million. Living in questionable conditions within industrial-sized dormitories – sometimes with twelve to a room – the construction workers have been the unfortunate victims of the coronavirus, with tens of thousands infected. The fact that these numbers have been exponentially higher than amongst Singapore citizens, permanent residents, and well-to-do expats is telling. A national debate has taken place on both working conditions and the role of migrant labour in country and, unsurprisingly, the government led by the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has attempted to set the tone, including through the aforementioned expressions of gratitude. The PAP government should certainly be commended for publicly recognizing the oft-ignored contributions of migrant labour to the country and should also be given credit for attempting to battle some of the ugly xenophobia that has reared its head during the crisis. It must be argued, however, that the PAP ought to be expressing their gratitude to the migrant workers for another reason. Indeed, the mass reliance on foreign labour is one factor that has allowed the PAP to remain in power for the last thirty years.

In the niche industry of explaining Singapore’s electoral authoritarian longevity, in recent years, the role of the working class has hardly featured. Although the co-optation of a once radical labour movement is understood as having been central to the development of PAP hegemony, the lack of subsequent democratization in Singapore has usually been pinned on the country’s middle class. This focus has not been unjustified. Modernization theory has long predicted that the development of a sizeable well-educated middle class is a factor highly conducive to democratization. In East Asia, gradual regime changes in South Korea and Taiwan spanning the 1980s and early 1990s, spawned by middle class insistence on a greater voice, appeared to have validated this theory. With the growth in size and sophistication of the middle class since the 1980s, Singapore has not been immune to similar pressures. Yet, unlike the aforementioned cases, the electoral authoritarian regime has remained firmly in place. As a result of this curiosity, analysts of Singapore politics have paid much attention to the ways in which the PAP party-state has managed to keep the middle class onside. The leveraging of state-controlled economic resources, the propagation of non-liberal ideology, and the use of non-democratic avenues for increased participation have all been employed by the PAP with increased intensity since the 1980s (Chua, 2017; Rodan, 2018; Thompson, 2019).

As accurate as such analyses have been, however, they have tended to gloss over the fact that another pressure point upon the regime has been effectively managed through the policies of the ruling party. This has been the alleviation of political pressure emanating from the Singapore-based working class. Alongside the emergence of the middle class, another key development of the 1980s was a restructuring of Singapore’s economy. As the government attempted to move the country up the ladder of the global supply chain in a new era of bourgeoning globalization, a segment of Singaporean manual labourers were left disgruntled with the restructuring. The return of opposition members of parliament in 1981 and in subsequent elections is often primarily attributed to the rise of middle class issues, including exhaustion with PAP paternalism and the desire for greater consultation. Nevertheless, the swing of some working class voters away from the PAP as a result of their globalization-oriented economic policies ought to be understood as an equally important factor. This pattern has continued into the 21st century, with the Workers’ Party capturing the predominantly blue-collared districts of Aljunied and Hougang.

Yet, despite these impactful shifts, they have been insufficient to engender a working-class-driven push for an opening up of the political system. This is despite the fact that inequality on the island has grown tremendously over the last several decades. One of the key reasons for this is the fact that much of the Singaporean working class has been replaced by foreign labour, in effect limiting the amount of pressure that Singaporean blue-collar workers have been able to place upon the state. Beginning in the late 1980s, the PAP government initiated a gradual increase in the number of low-wage temporary labourers, including construction workers but also domestic helpers. While in the early 1980s such workers numbered in the tens of thousands, by 2019 there were a total of 600,000. (Ministry of Manpower, 2020). Meanwhile, as a result of highly effective education policy and skills upgrading programs, many Singaporeans have been able to leap into the middle and upper classes, with 57% of locals now professionals, managers, executives or technicians (Mahmud, 2020). With the migrant labourers from China, India, and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries having had little choice but to accept working-poor wages and restrictions on their ability to permanently settle, the PAP government has not had to worry that their economic policy would bring about calls for either economic or political reform from their guests. This has allowed for the PAP to avoid the political turbulence that would surely have come had it pursued the same low-wage, high-growth economic policies with a predominantly local working class. For certain, had there been such an effort to employ Singaporeans in these industries at similar rates of compensation, it is likely that the PAP’s mechanisms for co-opting much of the local population would have been seriously challenged. It can thus be said that the migrant workers have been exploited both economically and politically.

While this steady stream of low-wage labour has been beneficial for Singapore’s economic growth over the last few decades, the PAP now faces a problem. After the Covid-19 crisis subsides, calls for a solution to the poor conditions faced by migrant workers will louden. However, potential solutions – better conditions for the workers or reincorporating Singaporeans into the affected industries – could result in both lower growth and greater costs passed on to the rest of the population. For a government that has relied on the improvement of local livelihoods for much of its legitimacy, such a shift would constitute a clear political risk. In an ironic twist of fate, the PAP has become dependent on the low-wage migrant workers. Those expecting substantial reforms from the ruling party shouldn’t hold their breath.

David Matijasevich David Matijasevich is an instructor in the Political Science Department, Capilano University, Canada

References

Chua, B.H. (2017). Liberalism disavowed: Communitarianism and state-capitalism in      Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.

Mahmud, A. H. (2020, April 18). COVID-19: Forum letter on foreign worker dormitory cases reveals ‘underlying racism’, says Shanmugam. Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-letter-zaobao-foreign-worker-dormitory-racism-shanmugam-12654924

Ministry of Manpower. (2020, April 29). Foreign workforce numbers. https://www.mom.gov.sg/documents-and-publications/foreign-workforce-numbers

Rodan, G. (2018). Participation without democracy: Containing conflict in Southeast Asia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Thompson, M.R. (2019). Authoritarian modernism in East Asia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

[hrvistas2020]

Trapped!

Trapped!

Foxconn is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer with its headquarters in Tucheng, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Today, it is the world's largest provider of electronics manufacturing services and the third-largest technology company by revenue. The company is the largest private employer in Taiwan and one of the largest employers worldwide. Its founder and chairman is Terry Gou. Foxconn’s partnership with Apple provided a major turning point in the company’s fortunes. More than just a subcontracted manufacturer, Foxconn originally landed an order to produce Apple’s iMacs in 2000 which presented the opportunity to enhance its technological prowess. This was put to the test with the launch of the era-defining first iPhone in 2007. Its subsequent manufacture seamlessly combined aluminum parts with frictional heat, using a pioneering technique known as iodization. The forthcoming iteration of Apple's best-seller is sure to provide another boost to Foxconn's fortunes.

Case In Hand:

There have been several allegations on Foxconn with respect to its working conditions. Several workers have also threatened to commit suicide if their working conditions aren’t improved but, Apple seems to have overlooked all these allegations and has focused towards increasing production despite the challenges. News have emerged that in order to meet production deadlines, the CHRO of Apple has instructed FoxConn to hire child labour to meet production deadlines. Last night, there was a blast at its manufacturing headquarters in Taiwan which caused about 220 fatalities. Out of the 500 casualties suffered, 120 of them were kids. This incident has not gone down well among the fair labor association and other

Task at Hand:

You are the CHRO of Apple Inc. and are responsible for the following:

 Justifying why you employed child labor in the first place

 Compensation to the families of the dead and injured workers

 Measures to improve the working conditions

 Disaster management measures to prevent such accidents in the future.

Submission Guidelines: 

Email your presentations to: hr.vistas2020@gmail.com

Deadline: 3:25 PM, 7th November 2020

Please note that delays in submission will lead to heavy deduction in marks, therefore please stick to the deadline!

[sneller654-blog]

Is Market America The Right Business For You?

I was looking for an unassumingly figured out business and an amigo of mine brilliant me with Market America. I think I take after by far most so I started looking on the web for gives bits of information about this comprehension. I don't have the foggiest thought in case you have seen this yet when you are glancing through affiliations you everything considered run into reports that state something like "Market America Scam" in the title. So what do you do when you see this? Does this leave you confused or do you achieve more unquestionable examination Market America .

I don't consider you yet I get curious about stuff as necessities be. Is someone beating this relationship since it didn't work for them or is there some reality to it. So I did some more research. Market America has it's essential headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina and was set up by JR Ridinger and his life aide Loren Ashley. They started the relationship in 1992. Like a goliath store of subtly planned affiliations this is a MLM affiliation or an affiliation showing collusion. They do their publicizing over the web and have an online store. By far a colossal part of their things are in the achievement and criticalness field. They are a monster intrigue and have gone worldwide by filling in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

"Market America Scam" Not True

Preferably you have skiped on and Market America Inc isn't a stunt. If you genuinely concentrate a scramble of the articles or degrees of progress that are on the web and state Market America Scam the wonders or exhibiting specialists are truly attempting to get you to tap on the business or go read the article. I genuinely observe by a wide edge by a wide edge a monster part of these should be named more like Market America Review. On a very fundamental level watching this assessment you can see Marketing America isn't a stunt. So truly when you are looking and run into "Exhibiting America Scam" it is in each critical sense, sure a "Publicizing America Review" and the investigators of articles and levels of progress are endeavoring to get you to isolate the alliance or the business opportunity they are pitching. So they are believing you will exist close by them in whatever business they are in.

If you have ever been in a connection progressing or a MLM affiliation I'm sure you have seen there are people who are getting money and thusly there are people who are not ensuring about money. So when I read articles about the market America stunt and they are genuinely taking a gander at a stunt, my check is that this individual didn't get any money. So what do you see are these people going to charge themselves or state they got ripped off by the alliance? Market America has paid a titanic store of money out to people, actually in excess of two billion dollars. My hypothesis is that these wholesalers called "Unfranchise Business Owners" don't think this is a stunt. Also, really there are in excess of 180,000 traders in this alliance.

Is Market America Inc Good For You?

Nobody at any rate you can tell if Market America Inc is a fair open passage for you and your family. I see by the yielded consequences of my assessment and I figure you will agree that this is really an authentic business. They have shocking things, they are the world over, and they have an amazing compensation plan. Again you are the one unequivocally who can tell if the business is a strong partner for you.

In case this is your first association publicizing try or whether you have endeavored a couple other MLM affiliations, you have to grasp building one of these things requires epic undertaking. Resulting to all that Rome didn't have the foggiest idea with respect to a day. You have to evident about this. If you are clear in giving this business to others all through an overall time period you get an ability to make a goliath pile of money.

Here is what you need to do. You need to gather a system. Certainly when you get into a MLM or an affiliation showing association you should know or know somebody who will uncover to you the best way to deal with oversee direct move your coalition, how to push your alliance, and how to control individuals to your site. You will from the most punctual beginning stage be drawn closer to offer this to your friends and family and some time later help other people accomplish something all things considered badly characterized from. In any case, what happens after you experience your friends and family. You need a strategy on what you will do after you disperse your warm market. There is some different option from what's relied upon absolutely to knowing whether the "Market America Scam" is huge or not. You need to guarantee you have a way to deal with oversee manage control produce such an affiliation progressing or MLM business.

[anniekoh]

elsewhere on the internet: coronavirus, part 1

Reading a ton these days about the coronavirus, from all sorts of angles: humorous memes, local governance, border politics and xenophobia, Chinese social media, journalistic freedom/censorship, Taiwan, open science, the indie music scene etc etc.

Wuhan: a tale of immune system failure and social strength (TJMa, Feb 4, 2020)

In the confusions of the seal-off, three Wuhan Weibo users posted descriptions of what their aunt had experienced. The suspected coronavirus patient was turned away by overcrowded hospitals. Her conditions worsened rapidly at home, was finally admitted into an Intensive Care Unit, and died two days later. She never had the chance to be formally diagnosed. When her nieces posted about her death, they understandably expressed dismay. One of them described gruesome scenes at hospitals, some of which she heard about from interactions with an ambulance driver. This became her sin. As influential Weibo accounts picked up the story, they were displeased and irritated by the distraught posts... Quickly, a narrative of “bad elements” trying to sow mistrust about government disease response began to develop around the three cousins. Discrepancies of their accounts were highlighted. Suspicious wordings were scrutinized. The most eye-catching theory was that they were internet agents hired by the Taiwanese regime to stir up discontent on the mainland, based on their occasional language usage. Piqued by such storylines, thousands of Weibo users descended on the cousins’ Weibo space to insult them. “Disgusting bitches!” they cursed. When Weibo belatedly verified the identity of the three women, a few accusers made public apologies. Weibo later suspended some leading accounts in this episode.

The cousins were not alone. All over Weibo, desperate help seekers from the epicenter of the contagious disaster were being chased and attacked by “truth guards” for spreading rumors and misinformation. The bullying was so widespread that a user came up with a satirical guideline advising Wuhaners asking for help on Weibo to self-humiliate and apologize preemptively to the truth guards for their forgiveness.

By Jan 26, 3 days after the official seal-off, the spectacle had grown into a national concern, prompting bloggers to openly call for a calm-down of the frenzy: “Wuhan people are not our enemies.” More concretely, a plea went out to stop leaking the personal information of people from Hubei. Apparently, vigilantes in the system who had access to information such as hotel check-in registries were passing it on so that others could avoid, report, or drive away those associated with Hubei province.

As ordinary people were being chased, isolated, bullied, silenced and pushed around, the other line of questioning, after those responsible for the fiasco, was struggling to keep its focus. In a bombardment of outbreak-related information, public anger acted like the small ball in a roulette game. At any given moment it may land on top of the Wuhan Municipal Government, Hubei Provincial Government, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States CDC, or the World Health Organization (WHO), depending on which media story or blog post was trending at that time. The outbreak and the Spring Festival holiday together created an unprecedented online time-space where hundreds of millions of Chinese, all off work, had nothing else to do but watching one of the country’s worst public health crises unfolding on their mobile phone screens. Every actor’s every action was scrutinized and commented upon by millions online. At one point, 10 million people were watching the live stream of the construction site of an emergency hospital, assigning nicknames to bulldozers and excavators.

....

The sealed-off megacity was also kept afloat by an advanced network of internet-based service providers and mobile-organized support groups that were both non-existent 17 years ago. It was Alibaba’s online shopping platform, Didi’s mobile taxi hailing, SF’s courier services and Meituan’s food delivery system that kept the basic life-supporting functions of Wuhan operating when all its public services were either stopped or severely stretched.

The Digital Radicals of Wuhan Guobin Yang (February 3, 2020)

After Wuhan was closed down, a genre of writing called “diaries in a lockdown city” began to spread on Chinese social media.

....

Internet censorship and control did not start now, but they look particularly cruel at this point. Many people are stuck at home after the city is locked down. They depend on the internet for information and to keep in touch with families and friends. We become isolated islands without the internet.

As a social worker and activist, Guo Jing tries to rediscover her place in an isolated city, to paraphrase the title of one of her essays. She explores the streets and the food marts in her neighborhood to see how the lockdown and the illness have affected the city. She talked to the street cleaning workers to find out about their lives. In her diary on January 28, she wrote:

I interviewed eight street cleaning workers, six women, two men. They work for about seven or eight hours a day. Their salary is about two thousand and three or four hundred Yuan, which is less than two thousand after tax.... Every day they could receive “84 Disinfectant” and reusable gloves. They had no disposable gloves and were all short of masks. The lucky ones among them may receive 20 masks at a time and can go back for more after using up. One poor guy received only two masks since the city was locked down.They are all very kind people. Some don’t have disposable medical masks, so they would use their scarves to cover their mouths. I had three disposable medical masks with me in case I might need them outside. I gave the masks to them …. I asked them whether they are worried. One big sister said of course. She was already living separately from her son and daughter-in-law. They don’t go out, and she would buy things for them and deliver them to their door.

See also the Jan 29 story by Zhong and Palmer: Wuhan's virus and quarantine will hit the poor hardest

I’ve been riveted to the coverage of the coronavirus, and very very aware of how much the U.S. media (and non Chinese-language media) generally misses in terms of the context and the nuance. There are major exceptions to this, such as Li Yuan at the New York Times (Feb 4, 2020)

So many officials have denied responsibility that some online users joke that they are watching a passing-the-buck competition. (It’s “tossing the wok” in Chinese.) The Chinese people are getting a rare glimpse of how China’s giant, opaque bureaucratic system works — or, rather, how it fails to work. Too many of its officials have become political apparatchiks, fearful of making decisions that anger their superiors and too removed and haughty when dealing with the public to admit mistakes and learn from them. “The most important issue this outbreak exposed is the local government’s lack of action and fear of action,” said Xu Kaizhen, a best-selling author who is famous for his novels that explore the intricate workings of China’s bureaucratic politics.

Those officials could often be corrupt, but even the party’s fiercest critics sometimes acknowledged that they got things done. Liu Zhijun, the former railway minister, is serving a lifetime sentence for taking bribes and abusing power. He also oversaw the creation of China’s high-speed rail system, which vastly improved life in the country.

Journalist William Yang has been giving updates on the coronavirus 

Chinese infectious disease expert Tseng Guang said in an interview that China’s disease control system only has the authority to collect and analyze data, and it is not a decision-making institution. He said that the disease control agencies play a weak role

Qingqing Chen has also been a key media conduit

Eight Wuhan residents praised for "whistle-blowing" virus outbreak Global Times (via Qingqing_Chen, Jan 30, 2020)

In an exclusive interview with Global Times' Editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the CCDC, said those eight residents should be highly regarded as they turned out to be correct about the viral outbreak, even though the information they spread "lacked scientific evidence".

The eight residents were briefly detained by Wuhan police after they circulated online "rumors" that cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the viral respiratory illness that battered China in the spring of 2003, were detected in some of Wuhan's hospitals.

The residents were released shortly but news about the arrests angered many in the country as the novel coronavirus continued to spread in the country. Many termed that detaining the eight whistle-blowers as evidence of local authorities' incompetence to tackle a contagious and deadly virus.

Questions about a health care system that immediately was overloaded.

In Sickness and in Health Yangyang Chen, (Jan 29, 2020, SUPchina)

Despite a population of 1.4 billion, there are only a few million medical practitioners in China, most of whom have a bachelor’s degree or less. The problem of extreme shortage in qualified staff is compounded by the country’s size and uneven distribution of resources. Outside of first-tier cities and provincial capitals, well-trained doctors and modern medical facilities are few and far between.

Despite the overwhelming demand and staggering medical costs, the basic income for most doctors in China is relatively meager. Overworked and underpaid, many accept bribes to complement their salaries. With weak regulations and insufficient compensation for its workers, the Chinese government has incentivized the prevalence of “gray income” in the medical industry, a major source of public resentment.

Moreover, without adequate access to care or relevant education, the general public has a poor understanding of medicine, and can develop unrealistic expectations for its efficacy. A string of highly publicized scandals damaged the reputation of the medical profession, further sowing distrust between caregivers and their recipients.

Chinese Storytellers chinesestorytellers.com has also been a huge resource, sharing “stories about hospitals being understaffed and patients being turned away have prompted people to start online volunteer networks to help patients who have no choice but to quarantine themselves at home.”

And of course about the legitimacy crisis in Chinese politics

How Much Could a New Virus Damage Beijing’s Legitimacy? Taisu Zhang, January 29, 2020, Chinafile

THE TRUTH ABOUT “DRAMATIC ACTION” Da Shiji (达史纪) | Jan 27, 2020, China Media Project

But is it fair to regard this case of large-scale quarantine also as a “Chinese miracle” in public health?

...

Everyone must understand, first of all, that this epidemic was allowed to spread for a period of more than forty days before any of the abovementioned cities were closed off, or any decisive action taken. In fact, if we look at the main efforts undertaken by the leadership, and by provincial and city governments in particular, these were focused mostly not on the containment of the epidemic itself, but on the containment and suppression of information about the disease.

 Comic relief: Quarantine makes life better, MessyCow.com

[Quarantine makes life better, MessyCow.com

[shirts76-blog]

Review of Bangladesh Garment Industry

Farming, as the case in India, has been the foundation of economy and boss wellspring of salary for the individuals of Bangladesh, the nation made of towns. Government needs to diminish neediness by getting most elevated profitability from farming and accomplish independence in food creation. Aside from horticulture, the nation is greatly worried about the development of fare division. Bangladesh have quickened and changed her fares significantly now and again. After Bangladesh appeared, jute and tea were the most fare arranged businesses. In any case, with the consistent dangers of flood, bombing jute fiber costs and an extensive decrease in world interest, the part of the jute area to the nation's economy has weakened (Spinanger, 1986). From that point onward, center has been moved to the capacity of creation part, particularly in piece of clothing industry.

The piece of clothing industry of Bangladesh has been the key fare division and a principle wellspring of unfamiliar trade throughout the previous 25 years. At present, the nation creates about $5 billion worth of items every year by trading piece of clothing. The business gives work to around 3 million specialists of whom 90% are ladies. Two non-market components have played out an essential capacity in affirming the piece of clothing industry's constant achievement; these components are (a) shares under Multi-Fiber Arrangement1 (MFA) in the North American market and (b) uncommon market section to European business sectors. The entire methodology is unequivocally related with the pattern of migration of creation.

Relocation of Production in the Garment Industry

The worldwide economy is currently constrained by the exchange of creation where firms of created nations swing their consideration regarding creating nations. The new portrayal is focused on a center outskirts arrangement of creation, with a nearly little focal point of perpetual representatives managing account, innovative work, mechanical foundation and modernisation and a fringe containing subordinate components of creation method. Decreasing expenses and expanding yield are the primary driver for this demeanor. They have found that the most straightforward approach to undercharge is to move creation to a nation where work charge and creation costs are lower. Since creating countries give zones that don't force costs like ecological degeneration, this training secures the created nations against the issues of condition and law. The exchange of creation to Third World has helped the extension of economy of these countries and furthermore accelerate the economy of the created countries.

Article of clothing industry is constrained by the exchange of creation. The globalization of piece of clothing creation began before and has extended more than that of some other industrial facility. The organizations have moved their hands on creation exercises from high-wage regions to minimal effort producing districts in industrializing nations. The improvement of correspondence framework and systems administration has assumed a key part in this turn of events. Fare situated assembling has carried some great re-visitations of the industrializing countries of Asia and Latin America since the 1960s. The primary migration of article of clothing fabricating occurred from North America and Western Europe to Japan during the 1950s and the mid 1960s. In any case, during 1965 and 1983,shirts manufacturer in Bangladesh Japan changed its regard for more rewarding items like vehicles, sound systems and PCs and accordingly, 400,000 laborers were excused by Japanese material and dress industry. In sway, the subsequent stock exchange of article of clothing producing was from Japan to the Asian Tigers - South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in 1970s. However, the propensity of move of assembling didn't stay there. The ascent in labor charge and animation of worker's guilds were in relation to the improvement in economies of the Asian Tigers. The business saw a third exchange of assembling from 1980s to 1990s; from the Asian Tigers to other creating nations - Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China specifically. The 1990s have been driven by the last gathering of exporters including Bangladesh, Srilanka, Pakistan and Vietnam. In any case, China was pioneer in the current of the migration as in under ten years (after 1980s) China rose up out of no place to turn into the world's significant producer and exporter of garments.

Bangladesh Garment Sector and Global Chain

The reason for this exchange can be explained by the compensation structure in the article of clothing industry, everywhere on over the world. Clothing work charge every hour (wages and incidental advantages, US$) in USA is 10.12 yet it is just 0.30 in Bangladesh. This distinction quickened the world clothing trades from $3 billion out of 1965, with creating countries making up only 14 percent of the aggregate, to $119 billion of every 1991, with creating countries contributing 59 percent. In 1991 the quantity of laborers in the instant article of clothing industry of Bangladesh was 582,000 and it grew up to 1,404,000 of every 1998. In USA, be that as it may, 1991-figure demonstrated 1,106.0 thousand laborers in the attire part and in 1998 it went down to 765. 8 thousand.

The introduced data uncovers that the inclination of low work charges is the key explanation behind the exchange of article of clothing fabricating in Bangladesh. The training started in late 1970s when the Asian Tiger countries were in mission of strategies to dodge the fare portions of Western nations. The article of clothing units of Bangladesh are fundamentally depending on the 'tiger' countries for crude materials. Arbiters in Asian Tiger countries construct a mediator between the material units in their nations of origin, where the turning and weaving go on, and the Bangladeshi units where the fabric is cut, sewn, pressed and stuffed into containers for send out. Similar agents of tiger countries find the market for Bangladesh in a few countries of the North. Huge retail exchanging organizations put in the United States and Western Europe provide most requests for Bangladeshi piece of clothing items. Organizations like Marks and Spencers (UK) and C&A (the Netherlands) control capital assets, with respect to which the capital of Bangladeshi proprietors is tolerance. Shirts made in Bangladesh are sold in created countries for five to multiple times their imported cost.

Joint effort of a local private piece of clothing industry, Desh Company, with a Korean organization, Daewoo is a significant occurrence of worldwide article of clothing chain that fills in as one of the grounds of the extension of piece of clothing industry in Bangladesh. Daewoo Corporation of South Korea, as a feature of its worldwide arrangements, looked into Bangladesh when the Chairman, Kim Woo-Choong, offered a hopeful joint dare to the Government of Bangladesh, which incorporated the development and cycle of tire, cowhide products, and concrete and piece of clothing processing plants. The Desh-Daewoo union was conclusive regarding getting into the worldwide attire markets at noteworthy point, when import improving was going on in this market following the marking of MFA in 1974. Daewoo, a South Korean driving exporter of pieces of clothing, was looking for circumstances in countries, which had scarcely utilized their standards. Because of the share limitation for Korea after MFA, the fare of Daewoo got restricted. Bangladesh as a LDC found the opportunity to trade with no imperative and for this reason Daewoo was worried about the utilization of Bangladesh for their market. The reason behind this need was that Bangladesh would depend on Daewoo for bringing in crude materials and simultaneously Daewoo would get the market in Bangladesh. At the point when the Chairman of Daewoo showed enthusiasm for Bangladesh, the nation's President put him in contact with director of Desh Company, an ex-government employee who was looking for more enterprising interests.

To satisfy this desire, Daewoo marked a cooperation contract with Desh Garment for a long time. The agreement likewise joined the fields of specialized preparing, acquisition of apparatus and texture, plant foundation and advertising as an end-result of a particular showcasing commission on all fares by Desh during the agreement stage. Daewoo additionally granted a comprehensive useful preparing of Desh representatives in the working environment of a worldwide organization. Daewoo acutely helped Desh in purchasing hardware and textures. A few experts of Daewoo showed up Bangladesh to set up the plant for Desh. The final product of the relationship of Desh-Daewoo was significant. In the initial six years of its business, for example 1980/81-86/87, Desh send out worth expanded at a yearly normal pace of 90%, arriving at more than $5 million out of 1986/87.

It is asserted that the Desh-Daewoo collusion is a critical component for the development and accomplishment of Bangladesh's whole piece of clothing trade industry. In the wake of getting connected with Daewoo's image names and showcasing network, abroad purchasers went on with purchasing articles of clothing from the enterprise remiss of their root. Out of the initial students most left Desh Company at a few times to raise their own contending article of clothing organizations, filled in as a method of moving information all through the entire article of clothing part.

It is fundamental to distinguish the results of the way toward moving creation from significant compensation to low compensation countries for both creating and created countries. Most of the Third World countries are currently headed to industrialisation. In this method, laborers are working under troublesome workplace - negligible wages, undesirable work environment, absence of security, no activity ensure, constrained work and so on.

[littlepurinsesu]

NA Players, Please Stop Complaining...

Ideally, I’d like to post this on Reddit, which is the main source that sparked this post, but since I don’t use that, I’ll just have to post it here. (Feel free to link or re-post to other places or whatever, though I doubt anyone would really care enough to wanna do that anyway haha xD)

Okay so. I’ve been super excited ever since the NA Server for Magia Record launched, because I’ve been waiting for so long for more of the English PMMM fandom to finally get into this game and get to know these new characters! ^0^

But lately I’ve been seeing so many people complaining non-stop about “#NAtempo” and looking for chances to get “apologems” as compensation. And I just kinda wanna give you guys a bit of perspective here...?

I’m not sure how many of you are aware that there was a Traditional Chinese server released for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau last December (probably not many, since I’ve seen people call the NA server “the first time the game’s been released outside of Japan” lmao). Anyway, I live in one of those three countries so I’ve been playing on this server since its launch last year, and I just wanna say: please, NA players, stop complaining. You guys have it A LOT better than us.

1. “#NAtempo”

We, too, have been getting events one after another with no break in between. One event ends at 2pm and two hours later at 4pm the next event starts. Lately, we’ve gotten to the point where we’re having two events running at the same time. That’s right, two. They won’t even fit on the menu at the bottom of the screen, and we have to access one of the events through the rotating banner on the homepage. This is all in conjunction with new Main Story chapter updates, too, so that’s technically three things going on at once. And no, we don’t get any free daily AP potions like you guys. The speed isn’t exclusive to the NA server, which is why I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes a bit every time I see someone complain about “#NAtempo.” “#LocalizationTempo” would probably be more accurate, and if the NA server doesn’t evolve into having 2-3 events running concurrently, then I guess “#NAtempo” probably isn’t anywhere as bad as “#TWtempo" lol. It’s not just you guys suffering; it’s exactly the same over here, if not worse. Being meguca is suffering, after all, and we are all meguca xD

2. Translation errors

I’ve seen a lot of people complaining every time a typo or minor grammatical error pops up, and even people attempting to collect a list to send to the devs and ask for apologems. Guys, the translation team on our server sucks so bad that we don’t even bat an eye at the typos and minor grammatical errors anymore. We have sentences translated so terribly that it’s completely distorted or changed the meaning, and also instances where characters address each other by completely wrong names, e.g. Manaka is talking to Sana and calls her “Rena” instead. I wish I were kidding, but I’m not >.>

3. Lack of time to earn gems

It’s exactly the same case over here, and I don’t see anyone whining and calculating the exact number of gems we’re missing out on because of “#NAtempo.” And also, the TW server didn’t get free pulls for the Tsukuyo Fate Weave, nor did we get any free pulls for Iroha’s birthday. Madoka’s birthday is coming up, and according to the in-game and Facebook Page announcements, we’re not getting free pulls for her birthday, either. The TW server hasn’t gotten a single free pull since its launch last December, and NA players are still complaining that they have it hard.

And then there was that one infamous incident when the devs screwed up so badly that no one was able to even get into the game for a solid 5-ish days. We missed out on all our dailies, had days’ worth of AP and BP wasted, and other Mirrors coins/gem-farming opportunities lost. And when they finally fixed the issues, they gave us a measly 100 apologems and didn’t even extend the event going on at the time. That’s how bad it is for us here.

Don’t get me wrong: you guys’ complaints and concerns are perfectly valid. One event after another is, indeed, tiring, the translation errors are annoying and unprofessional, and the loss of gems due to the faster pace is unfair. But you guys aren’t the only ones. It’s the same on this other server that no know seems to even know about lol, yet the NA players are the only ones complaining and whining about it all the time.

Guys, you have no idea how much the players on the TW server envy the NA players. A lot of people (including me) are even thinking of jumping over to the NA server because of all the good stuff you guys are getting. We have all the problems you guys are facing and none of the bonuses. We’d love to be on a server that gives us free pulls and extra tickets/potions, yet the people who get these benefits never seem to be satisfied and are always complaining? :(

This turned out way longer than intended, and I doubt anyone’s still reading. And the really “entitled” players won’t change their mind just from seeing this post anyway (if anything, they’re probably wondering why the heck any of this concerns them lol). Sorry for this rare bout of “public negativity,” and I’m sorry if I sound rude or like I’m attacking anyone, because that really isn’t my intention >_< This is easily the most “confrontational” post I’ve ever made, but I’m not doing this to start drama or make anyone unhappy. I just really wanna put this out there so that NA players are aware of the advantages that you guys have over some other players in other parts of the world, and how much worse it could actually be. Your complaints are valid, but it’s the same if not worse for others, so let’s just chill out and enjoy the game and the good stuff we do get ^^

Anyway, it’s probably a bit out of place to say now (not to mention an abrupt shift of tone lol), but I’m happy to talk more about localization shenanigans for the TW server so you guys can get an idea of what to expect for future NA events, e.g. changes in event order, seasonal stuff, anniversaries etc. :) Or just MagiReco and PMMM stuff in general, being the huge magical girl nerd I am haha ^^