The richest people are refusing to pay for labor, enslaving human beings instead - insanity.
Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
121–130 of 147 posts
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#122It pains me that the U.S. has absolutely no balls to stand up to the Middle Eastern sheikdoms. And American businessmen are slobbering like puppies trying to get a slice of that oil capital. It's all quite disgusting really.
So, do you want a replay of Iraq or a replay of Vietnam?
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#123It pains me that the U.S. has absolutely no balls to stand up to the Middle Eastern sheikdoms. And American businessmen are slobbering like puppies trying to get a slice of that oil capital. It's all quite disgusting really.
> It pains me that the U.S. has absolutely no balls to stand up to the Middle Eastern sheikdoms. It's not that they haven't the balls, it's that the USG doesn't care about middle eastern (or anywhere else) countries having a poor human rights record, so long as those countries support US foreign policy. So for example, the USG has been a lot more vocal about human rights abuses in Syria and Iran (enemies of USA) than…
Do you want the US to invade Qatar? Maybe establish a puppet government? Or just invade, leave, and see what happens?
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#124Qatar is right next to the UAE, both geographically and in terms of their treatment of foreign laborers. When somebody I know mentions they are considering working or vacationing in Dubai, I make a point of mentioning how those gleaming towers were built. Now I get to complain about Qatar whenever the world cup comes up in conversation. Gee, that ought to make me popular! The UAE and Qatar are both countries awash in…
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. What you say is a 100% true. After watching how a laborer was treated in Dubai, I refuse to fly Emirates, Qatar, Etihad or any middle eastern airline. And I hope I never have to set foot in these atrocious places for the rest of my life.
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#125Qatar is right next to the UAE, both geographically and in terms of their treatment of foreign laborers. When somebody I know mentions they are considering working or vacationing in Dubai, I make a point of mentioning how those gleaming towers were built. Now I get to complain about Qatar whenever the world cup comes up in conversation. Gee, that ought to make me popular! The UAE and Qatar are both countries awash in…
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. What you say is a 100% true. After watching how a laborer was treated in Dubai, I refuse to fly Emirates, Qatar, Etihad or any middle eastern airline. And I hope I never have to set foot in these atrocious places for the rest of my life.
People from the Emirates, Etihad, or Qatar, and those who have vacationed/worked there also visit this board, and are no doubt not happy about this being pointed out. Even just visiting a place makes you feel connected to it, and angry when something like this is pointed out. Like I said, I don't expect saying things like this to make me popular. Still, the more people are willing to be unpopular, the more chance there is for change.
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#126It pains me that the U.S. has absolutely no balls to stand up to the Middle Eastern sheikdoms. And American businessmen are slobbering like puppies trying to get a slice of that oil capital. It's all quite disgusting really.
So, do you want a replay of Iraq or a replay of Vietnam?
Iran. Crippling economic sanctions and concerted isolation.
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It pains me that the U.S. has absolutely no balls to stand up to the Middle Eastern sheikdoms. It's not that they haven't the balls, it's that the USG doesn't care about middle eastern (or anywhere else) countries having a poor human rights record, so long as those countries support US foreign policy. So for example, the USG has been a lot more vocal about human rights abuses in Syria and Iran (enemies of USA) than…
Do you want the US to invade Qatar? Maybe establish a puppet government? Or just invade, leave, and see what happens?
> Do you want the US to invade Qatar?
I don't want anyone to invade anywhere.
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#128From the article: • Evidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project. • Some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them running away. • Some workers on other sites say employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards, in effect reducing them to the status of illegal aliens. • Some labourers say they have…
I lived and worked in Qatar and none of this is new to me. These people are treated in horrible conditions and I don't think Qataris have a second thought about it. They genuinely believe they are superior people and are permitted to do this to those lower than them (I am generalizing, yes, there are some good people there, but this is the most pervasive mindset. Just look up horror stories of how Filipina maids are…
Is there a term for these types of countries that are not very developed, but have a lot of wealth (through oil, or other means)?
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#129Terrible. This reminds me of what was going on in Saipan 20 years ago. A paradise of conservative/libertarian economic governance that Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay worked so hard to protect from the horrors of organized labor and worker's rights. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-...
hold up. in no way is/was Saipan a paradise of libertarian economic governance. From your article: "If we complain, then our bosses would send us back to China and take away all of our money. Our families need the money." No libertarian I know, me included, would object to (rather, we would support) massive penalties for any entity that engaged in such behavior. Additionally, Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay are the exact…
And how do you imagine these "massive penalties" would be enforced? Perhaps by government regulation? Can't recall the last time I heard a Libertarian talk about a lack of that, or say anything favorable about labor unions. I think a lot of Libertarians think of Libertarianism as economic Conservatism, except it all works out magically because Free Markets and legal marijuana! Both sides tend to have an misplaced trust in the free markets to solve problems, and have a knee-jerk reaction against any increase in the size of Big Government, new regulations or labor union-strengthening measures.
I've been both a conservative and libertarian myself in the past, and I would agree that these outcomes are not considered desirable by adherents of those viewpoints, but unfortunately this sort of thing is very often the result of the policies and philosophy they thought would make everyone's lives better.
My two cents. Or if I'm more honest, Thomas Frank's two cents. http://www.amazon.com/The-Wrecking-Crew-Conservatives-Govern... Good read, that.
Re: Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'slaves'
#130Terrible. This reminds me of what was going on in Saipan 20 years ago. A paradise of conservative/libertarian economic governance that Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay worked so hard to protect from the horrors of organized labor and worker's rights. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/world/made-usa-hard-labor-...
hold up. in no way is/was Saipan a paradise of libertarian economic governance. From your article: "If we complain, then our bosses would send us back to China and take away all of our money. Our families need the money." No libertarian I know, me included, would object to (rather, we would support) massive penalties for any entity that engaged in such behavior. Additionally, Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay are the exact…
And how do you imagine these "massive penalties" would be enforced? Perhaps by government regulation? Can't recall the last time I heard a Libertarian talk about a lack of that, or say anything favorable about labor unions. I think a lot of Libertarians think of Libertarianism as economic Conservatism, except it all works out magically because Free Markets and legal marijuana! Both sides tend to have an misplaced trust in the free markets to solve problems, and have a knee-jerk reaction against any increase in the size of Big Government, new regulations or labor union-strengthening measures.
I've been both a conservative and libertarian myself in the past, and I would agree that these outcomes are not considered desirable by adherents of those viewpoints, but unfortunately this sort of thing is very often the result of the policies and philosophy they thought would make everyone's lives better.
My two cents. Or if I'm more honest, Thomas Frank's two cents. http://www.amazon.com/The-Wrecking-Crew-Conservatives-Govern... Good read, that.