U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap
By Robert Johnson at Business Insider.

A Wikileaks post published on “The Nation” shows that the Obama Administration fought to keep Haitian wages at 31 cents an hour. This article was taken down by The Nation due to an embargo, but it was excerpted at Columbia Journalism Review.

It started when Haiti passed a law two years ago raising its minimum wage to 61 cents an hour. According to an embassy cable: “This infuriated American corporations Read the rest of the story…

I know with what I’m about to write I will piss-off many religious people, some amongst my family, my close friends and colleagues, but to not write it, would be repressing myself, and I’ve had enough of that. When you censor yourself every day, you become another person and I despise that with vengeance.

Poverty in simple language is: Deprivation of essential chattels that others take for granted. The more I traveled, the more I became aware of these “others”. These “others” were the Read the rest of the story…

When I was just a handful of years old, my uncle had an old Canon SLR camera which he babied throughout his life. He wasn’t a professional photographer, nor did he have a clue when it came to capturing stills. Nine out of ten photos were out of focus and badly framed, but no one knew any better. His camera was pretty much the only camera in the family, so my entire childhood turned out blurry and out of frame. Oh and if we ever touched that old dinosaur. Our only chance to examine the fine equipment was when he went to work. Read the rest of the story…

When they tie-up my hands, I use my words. My philosophy is fairness in a complete essence. And I try to live my life by it. So when I feel that it’s fair to point fingers at the problem, I don’t shy away, and I have no mercy. Most people advice me not to piss off powerful and connected people, but I don’t take pleasure in pissing off the weak. That being said, I have no illusion of reputation or legacy for myself. You could have a picture of me wearing nipple-piercing making sweet love to Captain Kangaroo on the balcony of the congress, and I could give less than a vertical shit. After all, ‘ those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.’ Read the rest of the story…

I have written many words in the past two years. I have made my life a public pastime for your boredom, and in fact I have shared many personal moments in my life with you people; my relationships, my hardships, my laughter and my triumphs. So if you found it all so amusing, and awaited more of it, here’s a bit more. The problem is that most of you will not give a damn. Read the rest of the story…

Some people can’t travel alone. They have to have at least one other person with them so they can even begin to consider making any plans. Well, that’s not me. Ray Charles played piano, Hannibal Lector ate people, my gig is meeting people. Traveling with another person or group has its advantages (unknown to me), but in reality it kills a good trip. When you travel with others, you automatically have a company, so you’re less likely to initiate any interaction with others. Traveling alone doesn’t mean being alone. Read the rest of the story…