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Read this article how Primark and M&S factories in India pay 13p an hour (approx. 30 cents CDN). Two major British high street retailers have launched inquiries into allegations that workers producing clothes for their stores are being exploited. Exploiting children…Primark and Matalan should be punished for not doing enough to improve the rights of factory workers. Also, please note, these are children who have fled Sri Lanka’s civil war into India. These children deserve a better life. I know we all buy clothing made from 3rd world countries, but we should all realize who are actually making our clothes. Example, Eddie Bauer sells dress shirts for almost $60 CDN (made in Sri Lanka)….when the children who are making these shirts are barely paid anything to make a living. These low-cost clothes come at a high price for young children toiling in the store’s Indian sweatshops.

I was watching a documentary by a BBC team who carried out a six month undercover investigation at one of Primark’s major suppliers, Fab and Fabric. They discovered the Indian company were sub-contracting middlemen who employed children at Bhavanisagar refugee camp. A Primark spokesman said: “Primark is an ethical organization and takes its responsibilities seriously. ABSOLUTE…BULLSHIT!!!

>UPDATE: June 19, 2008
TIRUPUR: With the U.K.-based retail chain Primark cancelling its orders to three knitwear export firms here following an alert by the BBC that children were engaged by these units, a joint inspection by the labour, revenue and police departments was conducted in the refugee camp at Bhavanisagar in Erode district on Wednesday.

The man who served as inspiration for the 2005 Nicolas Cage’s 2005 flick “Lord of War,” arms trafficer Victor Bout, has been arrested in Thailand.

Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war.

Elmo doll says “Kill!”… Supposedly the doll can be programmed with new names and certain phrases via PC. 

Castro’s Revolution has given the Cuban people what no U.S.-supported regime in Latin America has. Universal health care… universal public education and probably the highest literacy in Latin America. And Cubans have a life expectancy as high as the U.S. A mind-boggling feat for a “poor” Third World country. But the government also inflicted deprivation and poverty on the people. Some consider him an icon, while others consider him a ruthless dictator, but I will always admire him because he stood up and faced the powerful nation of U.S.A.  

Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia

One more day and all the presidental candidates from both parties campaigned before more than 20 states vote in Tuesday’s virtual national primary. What is Super Duper Tuesday?? Super Duper Tuesday is the date on which the largest number of primaries are held. 24 States are scheduled to hold caucuses or primary elections on Super Tuesday, 2008. There are 3 Democratic-only caucuses, 2 Republican-only contests and the remaining represents states holding elections for both parties. Some say that Super Tuesday will predict the next U.S. presidential candidates for each party. Who will win for the Democratic party? -Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton and Republican party? -John McCain or Mitt Romney

A year ago, Microsoft approached Yahoo but Yahoo backed off. With Yahoo stock taking a big hit, Microsoft is trying their 2nd attempt to takeover Yahoo for $44.6 billion. Their goal is to challenge the dominant player in the online search engine market, Google. Microsoft goal: the most dominant brand on the web. I just hope they leave Flickr alone. Should be interesting to see what direction Yahoo is going in??!!

Iraq ratifies Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Too bad President Bush did not include the news in his State of the Union address last night. 

Quoted by President GEORGE W. BUSH in his final State of the Union speech yesterday. Nobody has time to hear some moron talk about his “legacy.” It’s a waste of perfectly good TV time. The George Bush Presidency is a complete failure as I have known it would be in 2000.

A British researcher reports that the male ego is often larger than his actual IQ. But you might be surprised by what women think of men’s intellect.