Blood, Sweat & Tears: Asia’s Poor Build U.S. Bases in Iraq

Originally posted by Souljah
I know whats a Gulag, no need for a History Lesson mister.

I just wonder if it's a-OK with you that Slavery is being used by AMERICAN Corporations in Iraq? They Hire these Workers to do the Dirty Work for them. If they were SO against it and thought its an evil slavery stalinistig gulag thing, then they would not hire them anyway. But for less then 2$ an hour - I guess they will do. Especially if they work in areas where NOBODY else wants to go.

Just Gotta love modern Capitalism.

Mister? It sounds like someone needs a nap.

You may know what a gulag is, but your reluctance to defend them speaks volumes about your philosophy. In other words, is it ok to enslave and murder when it is your Komrades doing it?

A key element of slavery is that it is forced. The US is not enslaving them, no matter what spin you put on it. These workers chose their path of their own free will. Free choice - another anathema to the Komrades, eh?

Though I am an avid capitalist, I can't agree with this practice; it's poor economics and does not construe an affective work force in the long run, instead, we see a less productive and irate labour force which will only depreciate as the years slip by under such slaved conditions. Nike and Addidas are an example of capitalists who are self-absorbed and not truely commiting to the creation of greater economies in the countries they build thier factories in; a worker making 2 dollars an hour can barely afford to feed himself, how do you expect him to make a positive contribution to the local economy? Easy, give him 6 dollars..trickle up.

Luxifero

Originally posted by jsobecky
You may know what a gulag is, but your reluctance to defend them speaks volumes about your philosophy. In other words, is it ok to enslave and murder when it is your Komrades doing it?

A key element of slavery is that it is forced. The US is not enslaving them, no matter what spin you put on it. These workers chose their path of their own free will. Free choice - another anathema to the Komrades, eh?

To Compare Gulags to the Exploatation caused by the Corporate Capitalistic Takeover of the World Market is not very Correct. I never said its OK to enlslave and murder - you put those words in my mouth. And these people ARE Forced - not by direct force, but by the color of Money and by the increasing Poverty that is sweeping across this world. For you it's easy to speak with your averege paycheck, a car, an apartment and no hungry mouths to feed. But for these People its not so easy, and they have to take whats given to them - and usually that means Slavery, working for the Western Corporations Factories. You want to talk about Slavery? You want me to open a Chapter from American History?

So, let me get this straight; they are not Shangaied, right? They seek out the jobs, and they are making more than what they do back home, right? Conditions are rough, right?
Sounds like the same thing some friends are saying. They've gone over there for the money, too. By the way, these guys are highly trained and skilled avionics techs and mechanics. They also hail from America, where it costs much more to survive.

Funny thing is that it is all about Halliburton and Bush to some of you. Your myopia seems to prevent you from seeing the big picture, and it is the big picture that's gonna clobber us.
Bush is going to go down in American history as an inept and incompetent president, and Halliburton is going to be a household word for years, but do you think they care? Of course not as nobody seems to be interested in the overall problem. As long as that happens, "they" will continue to win.

Can we stay on topic and stop the bickering.

Thanks.

I belive that the Topic here could also be:

Corporations and Human Rights

Large International Corporatios are becoming Stronger by the Day and their Power is Limitless. Their only Concern is PROFIT and how to Increase it. Everything else is of no Importance.

• Profits are the driving factor, not necessarily the way their workers are treated, or how society and the environment are affected.
  
• Corporations are often major violators of human rights.
  
• There is a deliberate lack of social clauses and regulations (to maximize profits)
  
• Large companies often use or lobby for conditions that result in manipulated international trade pacts and agreements, in order to maximize profits, via things such as cheap labor.
  
• This can also be seen in the form of sweat shops or child labor in the developing world to promote their products back in the West.
  
• Tax avoidance is thought to have enormous costs to the general public.
  
• Without the ability to form unions that would be able to give a voice to the workers, (which gives us a hint as to why major corporations and its mainstream media demonizes all unions so much) the future looks bleak. (As a Human Rights Watch report details, even the United States suffers from the denial of such rights.)
  
• Despite rhetoric of many corporations signing up to human rights related pacts and agreements, their lack of real commitment is still apparent

So, whats wrong with this Picture? Corporate Takeover of the Planet has started a long time ago and the entire Third World is the direct Effect of the Corporate awesome Power.

Lets check some stats to see this Power:

• Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations; only 49 are countries (based on a comparison of corporate sales and country GDPs).
  
• The Top 200 corporations' sales are growing at a faster rate than overall global economic activity. Between 1983 and 1999, their combined sales grew from the equivalent of 25.0 percent to 27.5 percent of World GDP.
  
• The Top 200 corporations' combined sales are bigger than the combined economies of all countries minus the biggest 10.
  
• The Top 200s' combined sales are 18 times the size of the combined annual income of the 1.2 billion people (24 percent of the total world population) living in "severe" poverty.
  
• While the sales of the Top 200 are the equivalent of 27.5 percent of world economic activity, they employ only 0.78 percent of the world's workforce.
  
• Between 1983 and 1999, the profits of the Top 200 firms grew 362.4 percent, while the number of people they employ grew by only 14.4 percent.
  
• A full 5 percent of the Top 200s' combined workforce is employed by Wal-Mart, a company notorious for union-busting and widespread use of part-time workers to avoid paying benefits. The discount retail giant is the top private employer in the world, with 1,140,000 workers, more than twice as many as No. 2, DaimlerChrysler, which employs 466,938.
  
• U.S. corporations dominate the Top 200, with 82 slots (41 percent of the total). Japanese firms are second, with only 41 slots.
  
• Of the U.S. corporations on the list, 44 did not pay the full standard 35 percent federal corporate tax rate during the period 1996-1998. Seven of the firms actually paid less than zero in federal income taxes in 1998 (because of rebates). These include: Texaco, Chevron, PepsiCo, Enron, Worldcom, McKesson and the world's biggest corporation - General Motors.
  
• Between 1983 and 1999, the share of total sales of the Top 200 made up by service sector corporations increased from 33.8 percent to 46.7 percent. Gains were particularly evident in financial services and telecommunications sectors, in which most countries have pursued deregulation.
  

Suggested Read and the Source of the Information mentioned above:

Corporations & Human Rights

Corporations & Workers Rights

Corporate Power Facts & Stats

Thats why there is Slavery in the World Today.

[edit on 8/10/05 by Souljah]

Originally posted by Luxifero
Though I am an avid capitalist, I can't agree with this practice; it's poor economics and does not construe an affective work force in the long run, instead, we see a less productive and irate labour force which will only depreciate as the years slip by under such slaved conditions.

I don't think that anybody is arguing that the practice is ideal. It's just a matter of a) the pot calling the kettle black, and b) a false application of the word slavery in this discussion.

That's all.