Corrention-
Annie writes with some force that I have completely misinterpeted her post. Obviously I did not read carefully and posted in haste. My apologies.

Via the indispensable Avedon Carol:
It is what it is - It’s Slavery

How insightful then, to find deeply buried in the local Long Island page of the New York Times, at least one admission that this is how nursing is endured, and that employers and many in the “justice” (snort) system practiced outright slavery.

Cross-posted from The Global Sociology Blog.

Things that suck

Another session, another !@#$ baby.

The universe turning against you:

• Being delayed at Logan Airport long enough to see O-Force One (Change you can believe in!!) for the big birthday bash, apparently.
• Sitting on the plane next to a woman (with young child!) wearing a pink "Obama Mama" shirt (that'll teach me to upgrade to Economy +)
• Driving home in the biggest !@#$ thunderstorm with lighting that makes you think you're in a rave party.

The Thing that Really Sucked

Kevin Bales did not show up for the session on human trafficking and slavery. Damn, I really wanted to see him, he's my hero!

Putting a session on such an important topic as human trafficking (which definitely fits with the general topic of labor) on the last day, where most people have already gone home.

Things that don't suck

The session on human trafficking and slavery, which had two very interesting contributions.

  Read more…

Via Jack and Jill politics, the following timeline:

• 1793 Upper Canada, by Act Against Slavery
• 1799 New York State introduces gradual emancipation

Christ, don't let Xenophon see this one. Really, this is the sort of thing that makes me want to scream. The best part? It's been going on for two years, and they are just now realizing it's "insensitive." Racism is institutional, fo shizzle:

Over 100 sixth graders at Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell spent several days last week taking part in an assignment where they used terms like "build a plantation" while completing their "Lap of Luxury" social studies project.

The project instructed students to create an advertisement defending the use of slave labor to run a newly built plantation in South Carolina. Students are told to come up with a '"catchy" name for the plantation and give three reasons why slave labor is the "best idea" and to add illustrations.

One student, who is not being identified because of his age, read to CBS what he wrote for the assignment: "Slave labor is the way to go because slaves aren't paid, so all money is profit."

There's an old saying in business: "You want it cheaper, faster, and better quality? Pick two, and call me back."

Image of music and lyrics from the electronic edition of http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/allen/allen.html">Slave Songs of the United States.

+++

Hate the players and the game

She speaks Cebuano, Tagalog, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and English – never finished the sixth grade – and gives head like a dream. This is what she tells me as I bum a square. A Marlboro light that smokes like a filter-less camel – we’ll talk about that later.

She left the province to come to Manila to find work because there was no money at home. At sixteen she and her childhood sweetheart had their twins. By the time they were four he was married with a child on the way and she answered an ad for a massage parlor.

You've probably never heard of the people in this post. But you should read it anyway. Shockingly, one needn't go to Cambridge or speak Latin to argue about matters religious and philosophical with the best of them. A sample (Baker is the white guy):

It goes on. Nor is it merely an isolated incident. I have no snark for such stories, even as I think it's important to keep them at the fore, while our fine, fact free media ignores them for the most part. Oh, here- this should scare some piss out of you as well.