November 27, 2002
November 26, 2002
November 25, 2002
November 22, 2002
too hype to wipe to
too hype to wipe
to hype to wipe
come true come when
dilly lady wiper mine
come inside lycide & me
November 21, 2002
Does See's Candies Support Slavers?
I worked for See's for many years through high school and college. I am the third generation of my family to work for the company. When my wife abducted my daughter and I ended up homeless I was able finally to collect my See's retirement account so I could put a roof over my head. If I hadn't had that money I don't know how I would have gotten back on my feet.
K tonight announced that her class was writing a letter to the president of Mars in order to try and stop the slave trade in children to pick cocoa. Interestingly enough Mars built heat resistant M&M;'s to supply that chocolatey goodness to US soldiers in the Gulf War. No doubt in the Gulf War II they will also have heat resistant Snicker's bars as well. Just add sugar! You too can be a slaver and do your patriotic duty in supporting the troops at the war front! Of course I have no idea if Mars is involved in this or not but certainly transparency in chocolate supplies is warranted if child slave labor is involved in the bedrock of your business.
So K is supposed to bring in some candy that she can return to Mars along with her classes letters. I love that they are writing letters. I suspect this initiative is coming through this program at Global Exchange. K says one of her girlfriend's mothers brought the project to school. I think buying candy to return is stupid. If the money is going in Mars' accounts then they are that less inclined to respond to such an initiative. I said no I am not going to put my money into such a thing. We don't buy candy to begin with. And I'm not going to start in order to make a point. No matter how reasonable the point.
K decided to go through her Halloween Candy and to return all the Mars products with her letter. She saw my point immediately and suggested an excellent compromise. We'll see what happens on that front.
(I smell fresh donuts in the night air.)
I knew nothing of this slave trade not having been in the chocolate business for many years. It appears, if all these stories are to be believed, that See's may be involved somehow with the slave trade. If this slavery is still going on I wonder, has the pact failed? I know the president of the company, a Mr. Huggins. I'm going to give him a call and see what he has to say about this situation.
Here's an excerpt about See's from the Global Exchange.
"Recent investigations have uncovered a reemergence of child slavery and oppressive labor conditions in the cocoa fields of the Ivory Coast, the origin of 43 percent of the world's cocoa. In recent years approximately 15,000 children aged 9 to 12 have been sold into forced labor on cotton, coffee and cocoa plantations in the north of the country.
"Cocoa prices are currently in a slump, a casualty of global overproduction. In order to maintain their profits, plantation owners in developing countries have turned to child slavery and paying adult workers poverty wages in order to keep the price of labor down.
"We are asking US chocolate companies like See's Candies, Inc. to help end child slavery and unfair labor practices by buying at least five percent of their chocolate as Fair Trade Certified. Because of the low prices they pay for cocoa and their immense profits from the chocolate they sell, these corporations are benefiting from child slavery and unjust labor conditions. If the corporations really wanted to abolish child slavery and worker exploitation, they have the power to do so," adds Deborah James.
I think Ms. James is being melodramatic when she says "immense profits" when speaking of See's. The company makes a consistant profit but immense, nah I don't think so.
Oh this is very disturbing.
Reproductive Rights & Responsibilities
Wendy
McElroy attempts to paraphrase Martha Burk: "The reproductive
rights and responsibilities of women and men are in direct conflict."
They are Wendy. They are also in league.
You go on and quote Burk: "if all babies were planned ... women
wouldn't seek abortions."
I think it's safe to say this is nonsense. Unplanned pregnancies are
but one of many reasons why abortions take place.
Wendy, Wendy: "According to PC feminism, the woman alone has the right
of choice in carrying a pregnancy to term while the man bears legal
responsibility for child support. Yet, in paying child support, he has
no guarantee of joint custody or even visitation rights."
I don't know what PC feminism means to you Wendy as you use it as a
sort of shorthand or riposte which I'm not privy to. It seems pretty
clear you are confusing two things. Single fathers turn your formula
on its head and renders it sheer nonsense. The laws that govern
support are not the laws that govern abortion.
Wise is getting
screwed. His kids are being screwed worse. And the court is supposed
to be looking out for the child's interest. Wise shouldn't be allowed
out of child support. But he also shouldn't be blocked from contact
with the child. This is not in the best interests of the kids. It's
obscene that a court would prohibit a family from discussing such a
huge issue. It seems reasonable that Wise should have had his support
burden lessoned to accomodate this new development and the fathers of
the other three should have been forced to pick up the slack.
Ms. McElroy, you are correct about discrimination against fathers as a
href="http://www.ifeminists.com/introduction/editorials/2002/
0604.html">class. Having some amount of experience in that realm
though I can assure you tying abortion into this equation is just silly
and really beneath you.
November 20, 2002
THE YOUNG AND WAR:. I've
THE YOUNG AND WAR:. I've been impressed by George W. Bush's support among the young. Maybe it's not as anomalous as I thought. Here's a study by blogger Jim Miller that shows how the young were consistently more supportive of the Vietnam War than their elders - throughout the conflict. - Andrew Sullivan
These would be the same youth who grew up to see the futility of it all now and so stand against this current war.
November 19, 2002
Instapundit.com:. Dude, it's cuz he's
Instapundit.com:. Dude, it's cuz he's a tyrant! Duh! What you want, should I cry? Is this surprising somehow to you?
Should I give it all back?
Apparently Morgan is miffed (is that the correct word?) that Susannah is asking for donations for an operation on her reverse cowgirl. So now there is an underground of complaints against this practice.
You'll notice that I don't have any PayPal or Amazon pay-me link in place here. Yet I still make money at this. Strange huh?! I wonder if I should give it back? Har har...not likely me thinks.
Of course I am thinking of putting up an oral sex beggin bowl. I've suggested it to Susannah. Hope she takes that up cuz surely I'd donate to that!
Gulf Wars - Coming Soon!
This movie poster is likely not going to be around long as I am sure it will prove way too popular for memepool to support. But check it out while you can.
It gets better, too. "The
It gets better, too. "The appeal hearing was not public, and only the Justice Department's top appellate lawyer, Theodore Olson, presented arguments." Umm... your secret court had a secret trial and secretly heard arguments from one side?! Can we send in some troops to D.C.? 'Cause I have the feeling we're gonna be needing some liberation. [anil dash]
Peruvian Stance on N-9
This just in... Condoms lubricated with a N-9 enhanced lubricant are no longer legal in Peru.
November 15, 2002
Spermicide Links
- Call for removal of nonoxynol-9 from condoms and sexual lubricants; The Global Campaign for Microbicides, 1 October 2002
- Docs: 'Nonoxynol-9 Doesn't Work' ; Wired News, 08:55 AM May. 13, 2002
- Nonoxynol-9 ineffective in preventing HIV infection; Press Release WHO/55 28 June 2002
- Safety of Nonoxynol-9 when used for contraception: Report from WHO/CONRAD Technical Consultation, October 2001
- Dear Colleague, Nonoxynol-9; August 4, 2000 (CDC)
- Nonoxynol-9 Spermicide Contraception Use; United States, 1999 (MMWR)
- Nonoxynol-9: No Good for HIV Prevention; April 97 (CDC)
- Disappointing Nonoxynol-9 Trial, Washington Memo, No 3, April 21, 1997
- Nonoxynol-9: Better Safe Than Sorry?; Bohdan Zachary, Out Magazine, Feb/March 1994.
November 14, 2002
November 12, 2002
November 11, 2002
November 10, 2002
I'm an open google.
I'm an open
href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr;=&ie;=ISO-8859-
1&q;=%22chris+filkins%22">google.