On Nov 24, 8:18 pm, Jim Richardson <warl...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:50:25 +0000,
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > ____/ p5000011 on Saturday 24 November 2007 13:58 : \____
>
> >> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:19:15 +0000, [H]omer wrote:
>
> >>> Verily I say unto thee, that Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
> >>>> ____/ Kier on Friday 23 November 2007 22:54 : \____
> >>>>> On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 10:22:26 -0800, Jim Richardson wrote:
>
> >>>>>> yeah! those folks don't need jobs after all. Let 'em starve.
> >>> Slavery is not a "job", as you put it.
Very true, but for street urchins, orphans, and kids whose parents
have died of AIDS, been killed in wars, or just begging in the
streets, slavery is often a lifestyle upgrade. Most people don't
starve their slaves to death. Normally, if a slave is a good worker,
you want to make sure that he is healthy, and safe.
The big problem with slavery is that some slaves rebel, and this often
results in a cycle of abuse and rebellion. In some cases, the
rebellion and abuse get so terrible that even death is preferable.
> >>>>>> One thing I *never* see in these "burn the sweatshops" whines is
> >>>>>> anyone asking the workers what *they* think.
It depends. Remember that only about 10% of the slaves in the south
would try to escape north. For most, the work was hard, but the food
was good. The hours were long, but the clothes were provided. The
domestics even considered themselves to be lucky.
When slaves tried to run, they were often recaptured and traded or
sold to plantations that specialised in hard to manage slaves. Often,
escaped slaves who had been recaptured were worked and punished in
these harsh camps, and brought to work on their original plantation
during harvest season, so that he could be a warning to other freedom-
minded slaves of the possible consequences of running.
Even after the Civil War, supposedly "free" workers were forced to
work in coal mines, often in deadly conditions, and had to spend
nearly all of their available income to live in shanty shacks and buy
rotten food from the "company store". It was slavery thinly disguised
as freedom and wages.
> >>> You mean you need to /ask/ if a child wants to be sold into slavery?
Often, the children being sold into slavery know exactly what they are
doing, and volunteer for the duty. Often, they think that if theiy
are "sold" to some rich man, especially a rich American, that they
will end up with a much better lifestyle than they would if they were
just begging in the streets. They also know that if their price is
high enough, only rich people could afford them. In addition, a high
price can feed the family for several years.
Many people come up from Mexico thinking that they are coming
legally. They get passports, paperwork, visas, and other documents
that make them think that they will be legal immigrants. It's only
when they cross the US border and are deep into the rural regions of
Texas that someone, often with a machine gun, collects their forged
passports, and tells them that they will be harvesting vegetables for
the next few months. They get paid, but they have to pay for their
room, board, and bottled water. Often, they are kept in Quanset huts,
very hot in the daytime, very cold in the nights of the low humidity.
Even then, they are only needed during the harvest season, usually
September, October, and November. Then they are loaded into a big
truck, given several bottles of moon-shine, taquila, or other
alcoholic beverages, and driven for several hours in the enclosed
truck that can reach temperatures over 100 degrees. In a few hours,
often late in the night, they open the truck and turn the now drunken
workers loose in a back ally. No papers, no documentation, no job,
and no prospects. The truck drives away, and never comes back. To
survive, the workers try to find any work they can. Many turn
themselves into immagration, only to find out that Mexico has no
record of their passports and work Visas. Often, they are just
dropped off in the middle of the deserts of Chihuahua, where they
could die of thirst or starvation. Sending them back to their home-
towns would expose the racket.
> >>>http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=19gUiVcE49E
>
> >>> And this travesty is not restricted to just children. You demand
> >>> testimonies as proof?:http://uk.youtube.com/user/nlcnet
I think it was Ben Franklin who pointed out that the North had slaves
too, but they just RENTED them. The problem of living in the cold
climates of the north is that those who don't work and haven't learned
how to "play the system" can easily freeze to death. Even if they
don't die immediately, pneumonia, influenza, and and frost-bite can
kill someone within a few weeks or months. Until the mid 1930s, it
wasn't that uncommon to see dead bodies of starving frozen sick people
lying in the streets after a cold snap.
> >>> Translations available here:http://www.nlcnet.org
>
> >>> So far you demonstrated that you're a Global Warming denialist, and
> >>> now a Slave Labour denialist.
The big question these days isn't so much about whether Global warming
exists, but rather how long we have to correct the problem, and how
best to stop or reverse the warming trend. The idealists want to use
solar and wind power exclusively. The right-wingers think they can
find ways to capture or filter and process the exhaust from
traditional fuels. The moderates and pragmitists realize that global
warming reversal requires a multi-faceted approach.
Low waste nuclear power such as sodium cooled "breeder" reactors,
placed very close to waste storage facilities that are far away from
dense populations is practical, possible, but threatens the tax and
revenue streams of big government and big corporations.
Finding ways to ionize liquid fuel into vapors to improve engine
efficiency is also unpopular in both the auto makers as well as the
oil companies. Finding ways to improve air circulation and reduce
engine size, such as supercharging smaller engines, as small as 1
litre, are also unpopular.
Having major coastal cities use desalinated sea water so that water
stored in diversion projects and dams can be used to increase
agricaltural output, especially in recoverable desert regions is
expensive, and cities are unwilling to deal with the taxes and expense
to do it.
Having huge amounts of land irrigated to produce non-productive
forests, such as rain-forests, and other "desert friendly" vegetation
that has absolutely no economic value is just expensive. Politicians
are unwilling to impose substantial taxes on development of land that
is useless for camping, recreation, or any other revenue generating
functions.
The question is whether these extreme measures will be taken in time
to effectively reverse the warming trend. Some believe that if the
saline levels go to low from polar ice melt, that it will trigger self-
correcting hurricanes that will freeze the polar ice caps again.
If a politician or political party started imposing almost $1 trillion
in additional taxes, would you be willing to pay another 10-20% of
your gross income?
The problem is that we know what could be done, even what should be
done, but we don't have an effective way to pay for all of it.
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