tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post7806467083485478875..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: Okay. Brace Yourself. The Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-35167357238716665242017-10-12T17:09:44.601-07:002017-10-12T17:09:44.601-07:00Acknowledged
Acknowledged<br />UU4077https://www.blogger.com/profile/10350775839411436865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-48517018781739722942017-10-12T16:56:18.537-07:002017-10-12T16:56:18.537-07:00UU4077, I don't know that I have any particula...UU4077, I don't know that I have any particular animus for financial advisors. They're like realtors or lawyers, some are fine, others are scoundrels. That's life. The good ones tend to do better in the long run.<br /><br />I do believe in ethical investment and consumerism. There are companies I steer clear of although, in this era, some of the worst are performing the best - i.e. Lockheed and Raytheon.<br /><br />While I'm not remotely diligent in its use I do have an app on my smartphone, 'buycott,' that allows me to designate companies whose products I wish to avoid for environmental or labour or other considerations. You can use it to scan bar codes of specific products on store shelves to see if there are some you ought to reject. It's a gestural thing at best but sometimes those too are rewarding.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-50336316188227591592017-10-12T16:34:56.754-07:002017-10-12T16:34:56.754-07:00Commenters here reminded me that major hotel chain...Commenters here reminded me that major hotel chains were known to be using prisoners to man phones used by you and me to book reservations.<br />Don't know if this practice is still used, but you do have to provide a fair amount of information to whoever answers the phone when making a reservation. I've also read that private prison operators (something Harper wanted to embark on) have great latitude in how and where they use prisoners. And add to their profits, maybe?Lulymaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-10654304315775595212017-10-12T16:32:07.168-07:002017-10-12T16:32:07.168-07:00Time to get busy - seeking out companies that take...Time to get busy - seeking out companies that take advantage of this. As you likely remember, I work in the "investment industry" as a financial advisor. I know you do not care for us. However, there are some that have a conscience and are trustworthy.<br /><br />I support SRI and ESG (although the latter needs to be defined by those that claim to adhere to it). For example. does your fund (mutual fund or ETF) invest in companies that produce cluster munitions? I have found many in Canada that are, in my opinion, off-side on this issue. Interestingly, the Harper government signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Our current Liberal government, when pressed on the issue as to whether or not investing in companies was "aiding and abetting" an illegal activity, has declared that "it is up to the courts to decide". Really! Grow a pair for friggin' sake!UU4077https://www.blogger.com/profile/10350775839411436865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-32128582107777968272017-10-12T16:04:26.256-07:002017-10-12T16:04:26.256-07:00Thanks UU4077. I had to Google "prison indust...<br />Thanks UU4077. I had to Google "prison industries act" and I was flooded with links. Do you remember when we in the west used to castigate China for using forced inmate labour? It was something so immoral that only a totalitarian state could dare resort to it. Why do I feel that's still true?The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-30647708138998308302017-10-12T15:38:24.729-07:002017-10-12T15:38:24.729-07:00Trump blames Mexico for jobs lost to low labour co...Trump blames Mexico for jobs lost to low labour costs. Maybe he should look at the homegrown Prison Industries Act - sponsored by ALEC, of course.UU4077https://www.blogger.com/profile/10350775839411436865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-80917803371291624802017-10-12T15:32:54.716-07:002017-10-12T15:32:54.716-07:00Terrific links, Jay. Thanks. About four years ago ...Terrific links, Jay. Thanks. About four years ago I did a post about how Jim Crow laws were used to keep slavery going from the end of the Civil War right up to the start of WWII.<br /><br />http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.ca/2013/01/how-south-kept-slavery-alive-for.html<br /> The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-61723453235846147802017-10-12T15:09:06.288-07:002017-10-12T15:09:06.288-07:00"Penal labor in the United States, a form of ..."Penal labor in the United States, a form of slavery or involuntary servitude, is explicitly allowed by the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "<br /><br />Studies have shown it's well over a $9 billion dollar industry in the US, utilized by many Corporations. It has become a mean's for Corporations to avoid "offshoring" to low wage or piecework Nations and avoiding OSHA rules and regulations for "safe" workplaces.<br /><br />http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3152671/<br /><br />Like Debt Slavery, <br /><br />https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/462378/<br /><br />Or Highway Robbery,<br /><br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/?utm_term=.d63fe7c4ff03<br /><br />Welcome back to the New Guilded Age.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />Jay Farquharsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03335226520940843630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-11523083938967902282017-10-12T14:55:54.752-07:002017-10-12T14:55:54.752-07:00Yes, indeed. A year or two ago I read a magazine a...<br />Yes, indeed. A year or two ago I read a magazine article in, I think, Harper's magazine about incarceration in town jails in Louisiana. Apparently the state issues stipends to local sheriffs for each prisoner held. The amount was a fraction of what the state had to pay to incarcerate prisoners in state prisons. The sheriffs, however, could decide how that stipend was to be spent, or not, and were known to have a tendency to deprive prisoners of food, heat, etc. to create a surplus that they then pocketed themselves and considered just part of their compensation. The state, by offloading prisoners on local jails, saved money and the sheriffs pocketed money. Everyone, prisoners excepted, was happy with the deal. The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-2916419482530507112017-10-12T14:09:33.002-07:002017-10-12T14:09:33.002-07:00Sounds like this guy and Sheriff Joe in Arizona ha...Sounds like this guy and Sheriff Joe in Arizona had the same training manual!Lulymaynoreply@blogger.com