Thursday digest
- Anna Nicole Smith has died. Tragic, but in the media frenzy that is going to ensue, let's remember that it's not like this woman did anything of particular note in her life besides appearing in skin mags and commercials for blue jeans in addition to setting a new standard when it comes to blatant gold-digging. What's the over/under on the made-for-TV movie to air? I give it 8 months, tops.
- I have to admit that my dedication and enthusiasm for blogging has been waning over the past couple of weeks. Partly, it's because I've got other things on the go, and also, because it seems that what's going on in the world these days mostly involves around topics that I've already discussed at length or don't really interest me that much, like Obama and Clinton, radical Islamism, global warming, Iraq and Iran. I apologize if quality has been a little wanting as of late, but fear not, loyal reader, as I have faith that it will be only a matter of time before I get my mojo back.
- Chrysler is cutting two thousand jobs in Canada, while more successful companies in the same industry like Toyota are expanding production here. Wouldn't it be nice - if just for once - union leaders like Buzz Hargrove would acknowledge that maybe - just maybe - their own militancy had a little something to do with their members losing their jobs?
- Although he's a more grounded in reality than most celebs with their pet causes, this article demonstrates that anti-poverty crusader Bono of U2 fame is very shrewd when it comes to ensuring that he doesn't get caught in the government's web of income redistribution.
- Speaking of activist Hollywood types, Charlize Theron has equated life under the communist dictator Fidel Castro to the climate in the United States today. Anyone who sat through her exaggerated morality tale "North Country", where every character with a penis was portrayed as having a major shortage of either backbone or decency, will not be surprised by Theron's latest flight of hyperbolic fancy.
posted by Road Hammer @ 1:20 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
You would think that a South African like Theron would know not to trivialize oppression and thank God each and every day that she gets to live in America.
Management at North American auto manufacturers deserve as much blame as the unions. Incompetent management signed off on the CBA's. Don't get me wrong I'm as anti-union as anybody but it really was taking candy from a baby. They now teach GM management CBA skills as a "how not to" in most professional HR programs.
Theron's South African background should make her a bit more aware of political strife but with regards to her view on men, which you can't equate to a role she played, is affected by the fact that her Dad used to beat the shit out of her and her mother and her mother ended up shooting him dead.
Re: Smith. "Mom says death may be drug related." There's a revelation.
Re: Dearth of thing to blog about. There doesn't seem to be anything new to say; Obama/Clinton, too easy. Radical Islamism, what's left to say? Global warming; No one's budging in their beliefs anyway. Iraq/Iran; Good news gets oppressed, bad news gets relentless airplay and "It's Bush's Fault" -- that's about it at the moment.
Re: Chrysler et al. I'm against unions whose only purpose is to grab as much money as possible (they still have a somewhat lessoned role as protectors of employees' rights -- some companies will screw you over royally), but when will U.S. companies get it through their heads that they should go ahead and spend that extra thousand or so per car to make them more desireable? Yeah, some people are attracted to a lower price, but Toyota et al have shown a higher quality product will sell too.
Re: Bono. No comment.
Re: Theron. I don't know what it is about Hollywood that makes stars hate America while maintaining a state of denial about it. Also, thanks for saying what I felt about "North Country," aka "All Men Are Evil."
I don't like unions. That said, it's easy to forget that Japanese transplants have only been around a short time and they don't carry the pension and health care obligations that North American manufacturers do. Eventually, they would face the same HR-related costs as the Big 3. That they are non-union gives them more operational flexibility and a better handle on quality, but that aspect of their competitive advantage is being eroded.
I'm eminently underqualified to argue the size of the impact of the auto workers' unions on the bottom line of the domestic auto industry, but it would be nice if Big Labour demonstrated a little intellectual honesty for once and acknowledged that they at the very least, *might* have played a role somewhere along the way.
Based on my collective bargaining experience I can safely say that honesty and trade unions are mutually exclusive.
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