- Hmm,
how could a plan this brilliant have backfired so spectacularly? Authorities in southwestern China clearly thought their
Cultural Revolution-style public sentencing of eight workers who took to the
streets demanding back wages would throw down the gauntlet and deter would-be
rabble-rousers seeking fair wages in similar fashion. In a time of a slowing
economy and rising worker unrest, sending a clear message is important. So parading
three women and five men through streets with their heads bowed and a guard on
each arm is a great plan, right? Or not. Instead, the incident has drawn
widespread criticism and spurred sympathy for the accused, along with calls for
their deadbeat bosses to be publicly humiliated. This whole charade took place
in city of Langzhong in Sichuan province and for critics of the government, it
highlights he system's inability to protect worker rights against politically
connected employers and a regime obsessed with social stability and terrified
of stoking the fires of dissent. Many of those critics have decried to
indignity of it all and said the trial and punishment degraded workers merely
seeking their rights but pardoned those who should have been meted out justice.
Unpaid wages are a big problem in China, especially for migrants working on
casual terms in the construction industry. Workers are supposed to be paid
before they travel home the month before the Lunar New Year holiday, but
contractors often stiff them on their wages despite Beijing's routine demands
that workers be paid in full and on time. Corruption at the local level
disrupts that process and the result is the unrest that played out in
Langzhong………
- One
of the chief cries of concern in lifting the embargo between the United States
and Cuba has been the possibility of a mass infusion of American culture
ruining its Cuban counterpart. If pouring in massive amounts of Americana in
the name of exploiting a new market for capitalist purposes is inevitable,
though, then who better to serve as the soundtrack for that revolution than the
Rolling Stones? The Stones have been one of the biggest commercial sellout acts
in rock and roll for a long time, evolving from a blues-tinged rock band
responsible for classics such as “Salt of the Earth,” “Street Fighting Man” and
“Paint It Black” to an arena rock band that soundtracks car commercials with
bland garbage barely distinguishable from the mountains of other mainstream
rock filling the airwaves these days. It makes total sense that they played a historic gig in Havana, Cuba after rock and pop
music had been banned in the country for decades. Cuba’s communist government dropped a blanker ban on music
it saw as diverse and subversive until the early 2000s, but the recent changes
in various economic matters and the thawing of relations with the U.S. have
sparked societal changes and with a visit from President Barack Obama a few
days ago, bringing in the Stones made sense. "Time changes everything. So
we're very pleased to be here,” frontman Mick Jagger said. “It would have been
surprising for this to happen 10 years ago." He and his bandmates
performed for a massive crowd, thankfully mixing in some old-school hits so the
show wasn’t a total waste………
- The
hookers and luxury hotel rooms will do you in every time. U.S. Navy Capt.
Daniel Dusek cashed in while he could, but in the end, he’s headed to prison
for nearly for years for a conviction of giving classified information to a
foreign defense contractor. At least when he’s in a federal prison, he will
have gotten to enjoy prostitutes, luxury travel and a sh*t-load of other
freebies, including premium alcohol. "Captain Dusek's betrayal is the most
distressing because the Navy placed so much trust, power and authority in his
hands," said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. "This is a fitting sentence
for a man who was so valuable that his conspirators labeled him their 'Golden
Asset.'" It’s a fun nickname, but it also nets you 46 months in prison as the highest-ranking official charged in a
massive Navy bribery scandal. The irony is that Dusek pleaded guilty to just a
single count of conspiracy to commit bribery, but he made that one count count.
For his crimes, Dusek must pay $100,000 in a fine and restitution and needless
to say, he is no longer deputy director of operations for the Seventh Fleet. Amazingly,
despite his duplicitous ways, he later served as executive officer of the USS
Essex and commanding officer of the USS Bonhomme Richard. With all of that
naval clout, he boosted the bottom line of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA),
which for years provided port services to U.S. Navy ships. Dusek steered those
ships to GDMA and yet, the contractor probably won't be paying him any visits
behind bars the next four years………
- Despite
seeing city after city host the Olympics and run itself into a massive
financial hole that creates logistical and infrastructure headaches before,
during and even after the Games leave town, municipalities around the globe
continue to bid for future Olympics. Some of them even come back for a second
try after hosting once and that makes even less sense, even for a small town
like Lake Placid, which is almost solely known for being the site of the Winter
Games in 1932 and 1980. The good memories from being part of the Miracle on Ice
in 1980 clearly still have Lake Placid riding high and therefore, the town is
fired up to be part of Quebec City's exploration of a possible bid for the 2026
Winter Olympics. Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall said Quebec City Mayor Regis
Labeaume reached out to ask is his hamlet to be included in the consideration process. "I
was flattered that Mayor Labeaume reached out to Lake Placid and I told him to
please keep Lake Placid included in his investigation for possible venue use in
an Olympic bid," Randall said in a statement. Labeaume is scheduled to
meet with International Olympic Committee officials in Switzerland next month
and seems to be playing to the IOC’s suggestion that future Olympic bid cities
re-use existing facilities in an effort to minimize cost, i.e. not piss off
citizens by asking them to chip off tens of millions of dollars for facilities
no one will want or need once the Games end. Lake Placid has an internationally certified
sliding track for bobsled, skeleton and luge, so that’s a plus, but will it be
enough to boost the bid past those of several other cities in North America and
Europe believed to be considering bidding on the 2026 Games? For the sake of
the citizens of Quebec City and Lake Placid, here’s hoping not………
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