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July 13, 2008
Using the Knitting Machine
to Make Headway on Helmets
One-hundred-and-fourteen-days until Election Day! I have started to machine-knit to expedite Stitch for Senate helmets. A good many people have volunteered and we're on track to make it to 100. Right now we have 51% of the helmets, the newer ones being the Class II Senators (whose term is up, many seeking re-election) ...the posts have links to a few voting positions on Iraq and Veteran policies. I prefer the special uniqueness of the handknit but what can I say it's faster (2 hours vs. 3 days) and Election Day is closing in on us! IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO PARTICIPATE!! I would love your help. Final deadline is August 16, 2008 (In the mail not postmarked.)
Continue reading "Using the Knitting Machine
to Make Headway on Helmets"
Posted by cat at 07:36 PM
July 11, 2008
The Front Lines Of Fashion In Sierra Leone
Adama Kargbo was born and raised in Sierra Leone, but moved to New York when she was 12. After graduating from the famous fashion design program at Parsons, she returned to her home country, ravaged by a desperate and brutal civil war, to launch her high-end line. By Andrew Price Photos by Henry Jacobson
Read whole article on Good Magazine.
Posted by cat at 01:39 PM
Robot 250
Robot 250, a city-wide program designed to celebrate the art and technology of robotics, developed in conjunction with Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. Meet the visionaries behind the groundbreaking program that has enabled Pittsburghers of all ages to build their own customized robots. Meet representatives of the Robot 250 community, including students, professional artists, teachers, project directors, sponsors and funders of this unique event. Get a sneak preview of the Robot 250 Festival, featuring 11 gigantic robot installations that will be on display at major cultural locations around the city from July 11 - 27.
Posted by cat at 08:38 AM
Copyediting Outsourced to India
In a squat, gray building in Noida, a leading outsourcing destination 15 miles from New Delhi, is the headquarters of Mindworks Global Media. Here, 90 young men and women peer into their computers, editing copy, designing and laying out pages, and even reporting over the phone. Mindworks isn't a new publication. It's a company to which media groups in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. -- including the Miami Herald and South China Morning Post -- outsource work that journalists and copyeditors usually do. The Mindworks staff works two to three shifts a day, seven days a week. Tony Joseph, 46, an editor-turned-entrepreneur, is Mindworks' founder and chief executive. He sometimes drops by at 6 a.m. to see his employees, just when U.S. clients are putting their papers to bed.
Posted by cat at 08:34 AM
July 01, 2008
Tax Dollars Fund Sweatshops, New Study Says
State and local governments pledge to end practice as momentum builds for 'sweatfree' purchasing
U.S. states, cities, and counties are inadvertently using millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase goods from companies engaged in serious human rights and labor violations, according to a first-of-its-kind report released today by SweatFree Communities. The study, Subsidizing Sweatshops: How Our Tax Dollars Fund the Race to the Bottom, and What Cities and States Can Do, includes in-depth case studies of 12 factories in nine countries that produce public employee uniforms for nine major uniform brands.
Elected officials, religious leaders, human rights groups, students and labor unions today participated in at least eight rallies, press conferences or other events around the country. "We are calling on public entities to join the Sweatfree Consortium, a collaborative effort of states, local governments, labor rights experts, and human rights advocates to end tax dollar support for sweatshops," said Bjorn Claeson, Executive Director of SweatFree Communities and an author of the report. "We can use our collective purchasing power to improve working conditions instead of furthering the race to the bottom."
Continue reading "Tax Dollars Fund Sweatshops, New Study Says"
Posted by cat at 06:09 PM