Apple predictably launches PR sham

[Dot Com]

Foxconn, Apple’s iPhone Supplier, To Undergo Random Audits By Labor Group | paidContent

The audits will cover Foxconn facilities in Chengdu and Shenzen, where the first audit was conducted Monday, Apple said in a press release. Foxconn has come under fire several times over the years as people started to learn more about the working conditions endured by those building gear for the entire consume electronics industry, but the pressure intensified in January following two articles published by The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) focusing on Apple and its willingness or unwillingness to use its financial might to change conditions on the ground.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/b...osts-for-workers-in-china.html?pagewanted=all

More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers’ disregard for workers’ health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning.

This relates to Apple outsourcing the production of their products to an authoritarian country. I was on to this last year: http://www.usmessageboard.com/computers/192248-why-im-reluctant-to-get-a-smart-phone.html

Looks like people are still not convinced that Apple, who claims to have a benevolent corpoprate vision, is living up to those ideals The President was right to ask why I-Phones aren't made here any more ESPECIALLY considering Apple's gag-inducing, quarterly profits:

Apple stock reached an all-time high of more than $500 a share this morning

Is Apple Facing the Music? - To the Point on KCRW

Of course it doesn't help that all the consumerist- sheeple line up @ the block to buy these products made by sweatshop-labor in an authoritarian country.

This guy explores the hypocrisy too: ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs’ — Review - NYTimes.com

The Foxconn campus is tightly controlled, its entrance secured by gun-wielding guards. A series of suicides at the plant several years ago made international headlines. When Mr. Daisey’s attempts to visit through official channels were rebuffed, he simply rented a car and a driver and translator, and showed up at the gates to interview workers as they emerged from their shifts.

He had to wait quite a while. As he notes, while the official Chinese workday is 8 hours, the norm at Foxconn is more like 12 and even longer when the introduction of a product is at hand. One worker died after a 34-hour shift. Some of the workers he meets are as young as 13, and because of the repetitive nature of the labor, their hands often become deformed and useless within a decade, rendering them unemployable.

They can afford to set a benchmark for work w/ dignity but choose to maximize profit instead. I won't buy any Apples any time soon.

 

[Ringel05]

Here ya go:

Made in America!!

 

[Dot Com]

Apple owner or simply don't care about the human condition? Noted

Anyway here is what is supposed to be their mission statement:
Apple Inc. - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apple's mission statement?
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Can a mission statement get anymore soulless than that

 

[Ringel05]

Apple owner or simply don't care about the human condition? Noted

Anyway here is what is supposed to be their mission statement:
Apple Inc. - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apple's mission statement?
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Can a mission statement get anymore soulless than that

Don't own anything apple, not even a pie......... which would be gone by now if I did. Guess again............

 

[Dot Com]

Americans, generally speaking, think its a birthright that they get everything at the lowest cost & will get subsidies if necessary to secure those rock-bottom prices . I got news for you people, the costs are merely shifted. Google "externality"

 

[Dot Com]

Technolog - Independent group to inspect Apple's troubled plants

In 2010, there was a rash of suicides at Foxconn's Shenzhen plant. Plant managers installed nets to prevent more people from committing suicide by jumping from the roof.A May explosion at the company's Chengdu, China, plant killed three people and injured 15.

guess no one on this board is an Apple consumer drone?

 

[California Girl]

I have never bought an Apple product because of the conditions of their factories. I buy BlackBerry because they operate ethically.

 

[California Girl]

Apple owner or simply don't care about the human condition? Noted

Anyway here is what is supposed to be their mission statement:
Apple Inc. - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apple's mission statement?
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Can a mission statement get anymore soulless than that

The hypocrisy of the left is noted. Since Apple is a 'darling' of the left wing.

 

[Dot Com]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/t...abor-association-apples-monitor.html?src=recg
The auditing organization:

At its founding, the idea was that the group, which had the enthusiastic backing and blessing of President Bill Clinton, would set a floor to what many said was an unpleasant race to the bottom in which many American companies rushed to find low-cost suppliers in China, Bangladesh and other countries.

max-profits= race to the bottom

 

[Trajan]

I was a late comer to the techy world of electric Crack......for years I put off having to wear a pager back in the day when they were the bomb, , then having to have a simple cell phone.....now? I have cell with text etc etc ....

first taste is free right? So, I took a hit or 2,

and now I have all the gadgets; ipod, iphone 4S, ipad (1 getting a 2 in a few months), a top of the line Macbook Pro 17", solid state drive, max memory, yada yada, and like an addict if my job doesn't upgrade me I do.....



I think I need an intervention

 

[uscitizen]

Ahh that fine upstanding US company Apple?

Actually it is pretty much the poster company of one of our major problems in the USA.

 

[Oddball]

I was a late comer to the techy world of electric Crack......for years I put off having to wear a pager back in the day when they were the bomb, , then having to have a simple cell phone.....now? I have cell with text etc etc ....

first taste is free right? So, I took a hit or 2,

and now I have all the gadgets; ipod, iphone 4S, ipad (1 getting a 2 in a few months), a top of the line Macbook Pro 17", solid state drive, max memory, yada yada, and like an addict if my job doesn't upgrade me I do.....



I think I need an intervention

Meh.

I waited until my travel schedule necessitated getting a cell phone...Refuse to get anything but the basic flip model...Don't text at all...Tell my friends not to text me unless their ass is on fire....Call or send an e-mail if it's not pressing.

Waited until Pentium 3 and Windoze 98 came out before getting a desktop...The only reason I'll be replacing my current very capable and useful 5-year old laptop is because of the videos I'm now shooting.

I own the stuff, the stuff doesn't own me....There's a reason I leave the house and go out into actual reality.

 

[Oddball]

Americans, generally speaking, think its a birthright that they get everything at the lowest cost & will get subsidies if necessary to secure those rock-bottom prices . I got news for you people, the costs are merely shifted. Google "externality"

Funny thing is that liberoidals never consider the externalities of their aggressive do-goodery....No, when all their overbearing taxes, fees, regulations, edicts and armies of meddling bureaucrats more or less force companies to find somewhere else to do business, it's always the fault of greedy selfish capitalist pig business operators and/or the stupid, short-sighted, doesn't-give-a-flying-fuck-about-anyone-but-himself consumer....Classic blame the victim.

True story.

 

[Dot Com]

I was a late comer to the techy world of electric Crack......for years I put off having to wear a pager back in the day when they were the bomb, , then having to have a simple cell phone.....now? I have cell with text etc etc ....

first taste is free right? So, I took a hit or 2,

and now I have all the gadgets; ipod, iphone 4S, ipad (1 getting a 2 in a few months), a top of the line Macbook Pro 17", solid state drive, max memory, yada yada, and like an addict if my job doesn't upgrade me I do.....



I think I need an intervention

Good points. If it is req'd for work then thats one thing. I'm referring to the sheeple who camp out overnight to get the latest trendy gadget even though its just an accessory as opposed to a necessity.

Americans, generally speaking, think its a birthright that they get everything at the lowest cost & will get subsidies if necessary to secure those rock-bottom prices . I got news for you people, the costs are merely shifted. Google "externality"

Funny thing is that liberoidals never consider the externalities of their aggressive do-goodery....No, when all their overbearing taxes, fees, regulations, edicts and armies of meddling bureaucrats more or less force companies to find somewhere else to do business, it's always the fault of greedy selfish capitalist pig business operators and/or the stupid, short-sighted, doesn't-give-a-flying-fuck-about-anyone-but-himself consumer....Classic blame the victim.

True story.

THAT strawman again
Study: Many corporations pay no income taxes - Nov. 3, 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The corporate tax rate is 35%. But an examination of 280 of the nation's largest corporations suggests that many aren't paying anything close to that.
The real tax rate paid by a slew of major corporations averages closer to 18.5%, according to a study released Thursday by two liberal tax research groups.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I don't use Macs, I run Linux...so don't call me an Apple boy" for saying this..
Why is everyone picking on Apple? You think Foxconn, the worlds largest employer...where one location alone employs 400,000 people - JUST MAKE APPLE PRODUCTS???
Whatever.
The truth is you would be faaar fetched to by any consumer device where parts do not come from Foxconn. Go ahead and even try to buy a major brand computer without them involved.
I am mystified why everyone is picking on Apple.....EVERY MAJOR COMPUTER MANUFACTURER USES FOXCONN.

 

[Dot Com]

I don't use Macs, I run Linux...so don't call me an Apple boy" for saying this..
Why is everyone picking on Apple? You think Foxconn, the worlds largest employer...where one location alone employs 400,000 people - JUST MAKE APPLE PRODUCTS???
Whatever.
The truth is you would be faaar fetched to by any consumer device where parts do not come from Foxconn. Go ahead and even try to buy a major brand computer that does not use Foxconn.
I am mystified why everyone is picking on Apple.....EVERY MAJOR COMPUTER MANUFACTURER USES FOXCONN.

Are they required to? Probably because contemporary American corps are in a "race to the bottom" inre: wages. Sad that. That is one reason the President asked an Apple Exec why they don't manufacture them here in this great nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.

Why can’t that work come home? Mr. Obama asked.

Mr. Jobs’s reply was unambiguous. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he said, according to another dinner guest.

You know why those jobs aren't coming back? So Apple can maximize profits to the detriment of its line-workers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

“If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.”

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I don't use Macs, I run Linux...so don't call me an Apple boy" for saying this..
Why is everyone picking on Apple? You think Foxconn, the worlds largest employer...where one location alone employs 400,000 people - JUST MAKE APPLE PRODUCTS???
Whatever.
The truth is you would be faaar fetched to by any consumer device where parts do not come from Foxconn. Go ahead and even try to buy a major brand computer that does not use Foxconn.
I am mystified why everyone is picking on Apple.....EVERY MAJOR COMPUTER MANUFACTURER USES FOXCONN.

Are they required to? Probably because contemporary American corps are in a "race to the bottom" inre: wages. Sad that. That is one reason the President asked an Apple Exec why they don't manufacture them here in this great nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.

Why can’t that work come home? Mr. Obama asked.

Mr. Jobs’s reply was unambiguous. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he said, according to another dinner guest.

You know why those jobs aren't coming back? So Apple can maximize profits to the detriment of its line-workers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

“If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.”

Again - why are you stuck on Apple?
Apple built their systems in America till the iMac...that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than any other manufacturer.

I challenge you to read up on Job's decision to go to Foxconn.
As an example the iMac - the price was going to be $800 more if they didn;t go to China.
That is the rock in a hard place Apple has been in for years. I bet you didn;t know that Apple nearly collapsed in 2003....they were literally weeks before bankruptcy - and part of that reason was keeping their systems made in America.
Americans are not interested in American made - they just want to say they are. Apple has been catching flack for yeeeeeaaars for having high-cost hardware - and now they catch flack for having made them cheaper.

 

[PeteEU]

I don't use Macs, I run Linux...so don't call me an Apple boy" for saying this..
Why is everyone picking on Apple? You think Foxconn, the worlds largest employer...where one location alone employs 400,000 people - JUST MAKE APPLE PRODUCTS???
Whatever.
The truth is you would be faaar fetched to by any consumer device where parts do not come from Foxconn. Go ahead and even try to buy a major brand computer that does not use Foxconn.
I am mystified why everyone is picking on Apple.....EVERY MAJOR COMPUTER MANUFACTURER USES FOXCONN.

Are they required to? Probably because contemporary American corps are in a "race to the bottom" inre: wages. Sad that. That is one reason the President asked an Apple Exec why they don't manufacture them here in this great nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all


You know why those jobs aren't coming back? So Apple can maximize profits to the detriment of its line-workers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

“If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.”

Again - why are you stuck on Apple?
Apple built their systems in America till the iMac...that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than any other manufacturer.

I challenge you to read up on Job's decision to go to Foxconn.
As an example the iMac - the price was going to be $800 more if they didn;t go to China.
That is the rock in a hard place Apple has been in for years. I bet you didn;t know that Apple nearly collapsed in 2003....they were literally weeks before bankruptcy - and part of that reason was keeping their systems made in America.
Americans are not interested in American made - they just want to say they are. Apple has been catching flack for yeeeeeaaars for having high-cost hardware - and now they catch flack for having made them cheaper.

To be fair... Apple could easily make their stuff in the US since they are taking a large premium on their stuff.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Are they required to? Probably because contemporary American corps are in a "race to the bottom" inre: wages. Sad that. That is one reason the President asked an Apple Exec why they don't manufacture them here in this great nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all


You know why those jobs aren't coming back? So Apple can maximize profits to the detriment of its line-workers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/b...d-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

Again - why are you stuck on Apple?
Apple built their systems in America till the iMac...that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than any other manufacturer.

I challenge you to read up on Job's decision to go to Foxconn.
As an example the iMac - the price was going to be $800 more if they didn;t go to China.
That is the rock in a hard place Apple has been in for years. I bet you didn;t know that Apple nearly collapsed in 2003....they were literally weeks before bankruptcy - and part of that reason was keeping their systems made in America.
Americans are not interested in American made - they just want to say they are. Apple has been catching flack for yeeeeeaaars for having high-cost hardware - and now they catch flack for having made them cheaper.

To be fair... Apple could easily make their stuff in the US since they are taking a large premium on their stuff.

Apple puts a a huuuuge amount of money in R&D.
Everyone knows of the success of the iPhone, how many know of the painfully expensive failures that preceded the iPhone? How many people know that the iPhone was not Apple's first venture into the cell business?
A company like Apple MUST make substantial profits during the good times in order to survive future failures. Apple is a dynamic, innovative company that accepts risk as a partner to success (correctly).

 

[Oddball]

Funny thing is that liberoidals never consider the externalities of their aggressive do-goodery....No, when all their overbearing taxes, fees, regulations, edicts and armies of meddling bureaucrats more or less force companies to find somewhere else to do business, it's always the fault of greedy selfish capitalist pig business operators and/or the stupid, short-sighted, doesn't-give-a-flying-fuck-about-anyone-but-himself consumer....Classic blame the victim.

True story.

THAT strawman again
Study: Many corporations pay no income taxes - Nov. 3, 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The corporate tax rate is 35%. But an examination of 280 of the nation's largest corporations suggests that many aren't paying anything close to that.
The real tax rate paid by a slew of major corporations averages closer to 18.5%, according to a study released Thursday by two liberal tax research groups.

Right...The externality of using the tax code as a tool for social engineering, paying off favored constituencies and punishing others.

And now you have the temerity to go around whining about it.