NateLaffan.com » Uncategorized

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:39:55 +0000

A great summary of just how far behind the bleeding edge of modern industrial production America has fallen. Could you wake up 8,000 American workers in the middle of the night to begin an unannounced 12 hour shift? No. Is that a good thing? Well …

The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. Over a quarter of Foxconn’s work force lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day. When one Apple executive arrived during a shift change, his car was stuck in a river of employees streaming past. “The scale is unimaginable,” he said.

Why Mitt Romney’s Entitlement-Privatization Plan Is Crazy

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:26:27 +0000

Taibbi doing what he does best.

Actually, it makes sense. If we don’t cut health care and retirement benefits for old people, how can we pay for the carried-interest tax break that allows private equity guys like, well, Mitt Romney to keep paying 15 percent tax rates?

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:23:24 +0000

In June of last year, Stephen Colbert start his own Super PAC equipped with a 501 (c)(4) (which lets him gather as much money as people are willing to give him) and he has been using it to expose just what aspects of the American political system can be bought and sold by private interests. Will the South Carolina primary be re-branded the The Stephen Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Primary? Well that depends on whether republicans (or democrats) take him up on his offer for $500,000 of “assistance”. In other words : probably.

The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:15:35 +0000

This one might make you a little sick to your stomach. In just a few brief paragraphs, Marcia Angell distills the message of three recent books that take on America’s obsession with self-medication to reveal that things – specficailly long held practices of diagnosis and prescription – are not at all what they seem. Has there actually been a recent (mind-blowingly large) spike in the number of psychologically unstable five year olds? Or has an industry grown so powerful (through such corrupt methods) that it now has the means to fabricate the need for its products? A great, great read.

Why SOPA And Protect IP Are Bad, Bad Ideas

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:06:43 +0000

A brief list; a peek in to just how tight government control over the internet is about to become. Read it while you can.