Cuba and China

From a Yahoo News story: “PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The head of the Organization of American States said Friday that he will ask its members to readmit Cuba 47 years after they ousted the communist nation. And in another step toward improving relations, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Cuban President Raul Castro's latest comments a "very welcome gesture." After a series of overtures by U.S. President Barack Obama, Castro said Thursday that he is ready to talk with the U.S. and put "everything" on the table, even questions of human rights and political prisoners. That prompted a warm response from Clinton: "We welcome his comments, the overture they represent and we are taking a very serious look at how we intend to respond."

I knew this had to happen sooner or later. The U.S. cannot remain estranged forever from such a close neighbor. When China has been afforded recognition for so long now, why not little Cuba? It will benefit everyone I’m sure. What do I know? Nothing.

Another Wal-Mart

From a Yahoo! News story: “FRANKFURT (AFP) – Sales women paid five Euros (6.6 dollars) an hour, Asian subcontractors with dubious practices, and counters in the shape of swastikas -- in Germany the success of textile discounter Kik has kicked up a storm. In all, 3,500 Kik workers in Germany, of a total 15,000 worldwide, are paid five Euros per hour and receive the strict minimum in state health and pension benefits according to the services trade union Verdi. "Our workers might have to do more than others, but in exchange they have a secure job," the co-founder of Kik, Stefan Heinig, told German media. In nearly 15 years of activity, Kik, which is majority owned by the German distributor Tengelmann, has steadily gained market share and posted sales of 1.4 billion Euros last year. In Germany or in Eastern Europe, where the company is expanding, the group targets families with kids, "thrifty people and socially weak people," according to its Internet site. According to testimony provided by Verdi member Henrike Greven, staff are watched closely, their bags and even their cars are regularly inspected. At suppliers, such as in Bangladesh, clothing sewers must sometimes work seven days a week at jobs that do not pay a living wage and that have been slammed by the "Campaign for clean clothes." Some are said to employ children. Heinig has acknowledged that could not be ruled out. Kik rejects charges by antifascist Internet sites which call it "a Nazi store." In 2007, clients were shocked to find counters were shaped like swastikas, a symbol used by Nazis and which could be seen in Frankfurt. "It is a completely normal presentation in retail," a spokeswoman said. She said the chain has never been condemned by a court and stressed Kik's commitment "against racism."
Well, well – like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I had never heard of this Kik thing until today. People, as usual, will always have their priorities in this order: Commerce, Country, and finally, Church. Who cares if the products are sewn by little children? They are cheap and – to the customer - that’s all that matters. Like Clinton said, we’re not about to let a matter like human rights get in the way of our trade negotiations with the Chinese.

Saving Money

From a Yahoo! News story: “BEIJING – China's central bank said Saturday that its foreign exchange reserves rose 16 percent year-on-year to $1.9537 trillion by the end of March. China's reserves, already the world's largest, increased by $7.7 billion in the first quarter. In March, the reserves increased by $41.7 billion, it said, $6.7 billion more than the same period last year. Analysts believe China holds up to 70 percent of its foreign reserves in U.S. dollar-denominated assets, including Treasury securities. Beijing has taken steps to hold down the price of exports by cutting taxes on exporters and stopping the rise of China's tightly controlled currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar. Economists say both steps could strain relations with trading partners if China is seen to be competing unfairly.” It’s always easy to say that your competitor is unfair when he’s way ahead of you. The Chinese are good savers and prudent spenders. If they wanted to, they could ruin the U.S. by simply cashing in their poker chips.

Fairness and Kindness

From a Yahoo! News story: “STAR CITY, Russia – Russian and American astronauts on Friday downplayed suggestions of disputes on the international space station over access to food and equipment. On Friday, Fincke, Lonchakov and Simonyi said that if there were disputes, they were only on the ground, not in space — and not among the space travelers. "Please don't make a mistake. This is the best partnership that human beings have ever had. We're building the best space station that's ever been built. We're going to the stars together," Fincke told reporters at Russia's cosmonaut training center outside of Moscow. "So let's not let these little small things stop us from realizing this partnership we have together." "It's called an international space station because people from different nationalities work there," Lonchakov added. "In space there are no politics," he said. "What's decided on Earth is decided on Earth. What we are working in space is completely different, we work things out differently." Sure, of course. Humans behave well in space, no matter how they act down here. Sure. How dumb can anybody be? And, these guys are scientists. What a farce. If you wait long enough, someone will be the first victim of murder (or at least the first bloody nose) in space – probably over a low supply of oxygen. Who knows?

AN IDEA

From a Yahoo! News story: “WASHINGTON – Tinkering with Earth's climate to chill runaway global warming — a radical idea once dismissed out of hand — is being discussed by the White House as a potential emergency option, the president's new science adviser said Wednesday. That's because global warming is happening so rapidly, John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month. The concept of using technology to purposely cool the climate is called geoengineering. One option raised by Holdren and proposed by a Nobel Prize-winning scientist includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays.” Why not just use mirrors to shoot some rays back at the sun? Let me see, I’m sure we can come up with many other ways of cooling the climate down. How about manufacturing a giant refrigerated air unit and pointing it straight at the bad guy – the sun? Put the thing in Siberia where everything is colder. How about shooting ice cubes at the sun? How about wearing more layers of clothing so that your body heat stays with you and is not let off into the atmosphere? Is that feasible? Sure. How about capturing heat in small boxes during the day and closing the lids? Could someone invent a heat trap – like a mouse trap except for heat? Has anyone asked why it is we are trying to save the Earth anyway? Is it worth all the trouble? PLEASE.

Language

There was some NPR show which reported that language had an impact on how a culture thinks and perceives things. They were comparing Spanish to German expressions. The focus of the report was on masculine versus feminine forms of nouns. It was discussed as though it were some major discovery. I could have told them that - in fact, I have. There is no way one can understand a culture well without speaking its language. That's not an NPR announcer on the left - that's my grandpa. He was a farmer - he understood animals. Animals don't speak. Animals don't even think.

Global what?

From a Yahoo! News story: “PARIS – A massive ice shelf anchored to the Antarctic coast by a narrow and quickly deteriorating ice bridge could break away soon, the European Space Agency warned Friday. The Paris-based agency said satellite images show the bridge that connects the Wilkins Ice Shelf to Charcot and Latady Islands "looks set to collapse." "The beginning of what appears to be the demise of the ice bridge began this week when new rifts" appeared and a large block of ice broke away, it said.” I don’t worry about these things at all – I prefer tropical weather and I think the entire world should be tropical. The sooner the ice melts the better.