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#31

Off the Record / Re: The China Thread

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 05:50:40 AM

It does indeed with the whole vibe around it.
Though to be fair its perfectly imaginable a group of western school kids could have been trained to do some silly little performance for prominent visitors. In democratic-Asia even more so.

Yeah but the fact that we don't do it is sort of the point. The current bastards in power in Hungary do the light version of this, regularly using kindergarten-age children as passive props but that's just evidence of where they are leaning culturally.

And this particular performance is especially horrible.

"We" do it all the time.  Kids in our schools celebrate all sorts of things from diversity to significant monarch birthdays.

Have you watched the video? Are the Canadian kids made to jump up and down in sync and wave flowers for minutes?

Google a video of one of the Queen's visits to pretty much any Commonwealth country and you will see lots of staged celebrations involving children.

#32

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 05:47:19 AM

Amazing some of that union stuff is legal.

In happier stuff. There's a French kids comic called petit poilu. No words. Just pictures.
It seems they've made an animation of it.
It's a kids show so expect nothing but.... That theme tune is banging.

Not available in France.   

Or Italy


Which makes more sense than it not being available in France

#33

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Duque de Bragança - Today at 05:23:57 AM

Amazing some of that union stuff is legal.

In happier stuff. There's a French kids comic called petit poilu. No words. Just pictures.
It seems they've made an animation of it.
It's a kids show so expect nothing but.... That theme tune is banging.

Not available in France.   

#34

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Syt - Today at 04:58:38 AM

That's sweet. Reminds me of the old Czechoslovak mole cartoons we had when I was a kid.

Though there was one that scared the shit out of me as a kid in which modern technological society collapsed:

Cartoons for kids went a lot harder back then

#35

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Josquius - Today at 03:34:53 AM

Hopefully Ukraine will survive, get it's manpower trouble sorted, properly build up its ammo stocks, etc...
I do think they will.

But it's daft to refuse to recognise that this isn't a certainty and it will take active effort from them and the west to get to this.
It is very possible that Russia seizes more land and the conflict ends with Russia owning a chunk of Ukraine.

The American election in particular is a huge risk that will change everything. A trump win wouldn't be automatically damning for Ukraine, but it would mean Europe would have to a seriously kick on to a level that is hard to imagine at current.

#36

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Josquius - Today at 03:31:47 AM

Amazing some of that union stuff is legal.

In happier stuff. There's a French kids comic called petit poilu. No words. Just pictures.
It seems they've made an animation of it.
It's a kids show so expect nothing but.... That theme tune is banging.

#37

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 03:13:53 AM

What are reasons why workers vote against unionisation?

That's not really the question.  The better question is why do employees support union certification.  The answer to that in the academic literature is quite clear.  It is not wage related as you might expect.  Rather it is working conditions and more specifically being powerless when being managed by a jerk.

The lesson for employers who want to avoid unions then is to spend a lot of time on employee engagement. 

#38

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 03:09:35 AM

This is not going to end in either a russian victory or WW3. That is exactly the narrative the kremlin has been pushing for the past 10 years and it's sad to see it has convinced some of you.

To get down to the bone of the matter, we need the US to supply artillery ammunition until european production has finished ramping up. It will outpace russian production by the end of 2025. That's it. That's the heart of the matter.

And if that happens the Russians won't win.  If.

It's sad to see some of you think it is all a foregone conclusion and there is no need to talk about the fact it is not happening now.

#39

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by HVC - Today at 02:37:08 AM

What are reasons why workers vote against unionisation?

Usually reasons (real or imagined) are:
- cost of union fees
- lack of influence on union decision making and not "really" representing employee interests, but rather following their own agendas
- taking power from each worker to advocate for themselves directly with their employer and having to go through unions instead who may or may not do what you want
- employers might move to "friendlier" geographic location
- unions might drive up costs for producer, so they might cut jobs or move elsewhere

From the NPR article specifically:

[...]

For months, Mercedes started shifts by showing videos that warned about the failures of unions and the lack of say workers have in how their union dues are spent. Two weeks before the election, the company announced a CEO change in Alabama and urged workers to give the new leadership a chance.

As the election drew close, workers say they also got text messages on their phones and were pulled into small group meetings with lawyers from an outside consulting group.

"The entire message in those meetings is Vote no, vote no, vote no. We don't think you need to do this. This is not what you want," said David Johnston, who works at the Mercedes battery plant.

[...]

The state's Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair pointed to recent layoffs at the Big 3 automakers as proof that a lucrative union contract could backfire on Mercedes workers.

"Not only could there be layoffs, there could be investment made in other plants in other parts of the country or in other countries," McNair warned on Alabama Public Television's Capitol Journal.

[...]

I'm ok with the other stuff, but personal texts and being sent into rooms with lawyers seems a bit much. But I'm no expert on these sorts of things so I don't know what "illegal" and what's just off putting.

#40

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Syt - Today at 02:26:15 AM

Examples of how other employers react to unionization attempts:





















... I think the last one might not be from corporate.