[Rictor]

http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,71138-0.html?tw=wn_index_3

Steve Jobs' Think Different campaign celebrated labor leaders like Gandhi, who used strikes as a form of civil protest, and Ceasar Chavez, who organized poor, migrant farm workers. But a British newspaper at the weekend published a rather shocking report about the factories in China that make his company's iPods.

A report in the middlebrow Mail on Sunday entitled "iPod City" features photos and first-hand accounts from inside factories operated by Foxconn, a company contracted by Apple to assemble millions of iPods by hand.

According to the report (paraphrased here by Macworld UK), Foxconn's giant Longhua plant employs 200,000 workers, who work 15-hour days but are paid just $50 a month -- miserable even by China's standards. It claims they work and live in the plant, in dormitories housing 100 people, and outside visitors are forbidden.

Oh look. Everyone's favourite yuppie computer company, good old Apple, is paying Chinese teenagers pennies to assemble its four hundred dollar iPods. They sure are great: rich snobby art fags who rip off not only their consumers, but their workers as well.

[BlackDove]

Is this really that much of a surprise? The man got into/created the industry by stealing.

[Kosh]

The problem is with China is that there are 25 million people looking for jobs, but there are only something like 14 million jobs created every year. If you aren't willing to work hard with ****ty pay, there is always someone else who will.

[GodisanAtheist]

^AKA America in about 25 years.

[Colonol Dekker]

Revel in the truth my fellow pundits...........

[Mefustae]

It's called a thumbnail, mate. I don't want to have my page-loading constantly slowed to s*** when you could have used a link or thumbnail.

[Colonol Dekker]

VG cats has no thumbnails, anyway, itns not my fault the page loads slow for you. fork out some cash on broadband.............

[Nuke]

everything is made by children in swetshops theese days. im not really supprised by this. this is the way civilization has worked for a few millinea. if we cant increase the number of jobs, then we should start reducing the number of people.

[Ford Prefect]

Yeah, I sort of assumed iPods were made in sweatshops, just like everything else I own.

[NGTM-1R]

everything is made my children in swetshops

Your children?

[Kosh]

everything is made my children in swetshops theese days. im not really supprised by this. this is the way civilization has worked for a few millinea. if we cant increase the number of jobs, then we should start reducing the number of people.

China's develpment at this point is mostly like that of the US in the 19th century. I say mostly because at the same time it is moving toward an IT based economy. This country actually does have a large enough labor pool of skilled and unskilled workers to be able to move in 2 different directions at the same time.

[Kazan]

*smacks rictor for using "fag" as a derogatory*

[Colonol Dekker]

*smacks rictor for using "fag" as a derogatory*

Well you can hardly use it as a compliment,....

[Mars]

Considering that every major company does this, this doesn't suprise me. It's why democracy and "free markets" suck. Unless there's some sort of international labor law, or global market restriction, the rich countries are going to be unemployed, the poor countries are going to be slaves, and the evil souless corperations will rule the world.

[SadisticSid]

Considering that every major company does this, this doesn't suprise me. It's why democracy and "free markets" suck. Unless there's some sort of international labor law, or global market restriction, the rich countries are going to be unemployed, the poor countries are going to be slaves, and the evil souless corperations will rule the world.

It's funny that you blame the market for this situation before the Chinese government's (which is guilty of far greater oppression against its citizens than just using them as cheap labour) lack of protection for its citizens. But go on, take a swipe at capitalism, you know it makes you feel good.

[Mars]

I'm not saying capitalism couldn't work, or hasn't worked in the past, it's just that under it, companies will always search for cheap labor and new markets. To do this they go around, corrupt governments (or use pre-corrupted governments) and get rid of labor laws.

Granted, the governments wouldn't corrupt if there wasn't already a potential, but doesn't every government have the potential to be a slaving mother****er?

[Ford Prefect]

Well you can hardly use it as a compliment,....

You can in my social circle.

[ZylonBane]

We should all be smacking Colonol [sic] Dekker for posting a VG Cats comic.

/sucks even more than Penny Arcade

[Deepblue]

*smacks rictor for using "fag" as a derogatory*

Free speech.

Besides, you use fundy and neocon as derogatory words.

[Unknown Target]

I swear every time I come on here it's like the general IQ has dropped at least five points.