Computex Protesters: Steve Jobs is a Bloodsucker!

I'm not a fan of Steve Jobs, but I can't help but feel that he is being unfairly singled out here. There are MANY more companies that utilize these sweatshops.

Looks like it's going to be a lot easier to start tallying who still likes Steve Jobs rather than who hates Steve Jobs since it'll be a much shorter list.

Apple = walletsucker!

I hate protesters.

That's all well and good, but I guess Steve sleeps quite well at night... on a pile of iPad cash!

This is going to get down-rated like heck, but don't these people have anything better to do? Like go to their jobs? If you're that determined to stop people from doing what they want to do (however they do it), then why don't you do the fallen Foxconn employees justice and go join them?
I'm with you, cottonball, I hate protesters. Worthless hypocrites. Go disturb the peace somewhere else...

Last time I checked, Taiwan is a democracy. So you rather they be under totalitarian rule?

BTW, Tom's, you misspelled Taiwan. Taiwan is in pretty much every spelling dictionary... except the iPad one...

True of 90% of corporate American business.

Well Steve Jobs has caused more problem than the other because he is a control freak. Just have to think of the guy that had an Iphone that he was not suppose to show and suicide himself because of the immense pressure he had on his shoulder. Sure there is other company that are not really better but Steve Jobs is the king an somehow a target of choice for them.

While I do hate certain protesters I think this people have a point here... Who would like to live building Icraps, (sorry, ipads) or whatever gadgets for less than $1 a day while the companies sell this goods at hundreds of $$$ ??? Is not that I promote this acts, but in China this is one of many things that really suck!

He's being singled out because he's in the limelight. The success of the ipad and iphone have made him into symbol of the success seen gained on the backs of workers unfairly. It may not be fair to single him out, but it is an effort to draw attention to the situation.

Apple is a bottomless pit that every one throws their money into while for the poor souls who slave away for pennies an hour is a terrible master. No need for whips and chains when all there is needed is a swipe card and the prospect of homelessness and starvation for those who disobey. Managers = slave drivers

The protesters should be blaming companies like Foxconn and others from Taiwan that have moved their manufacturing plants to main land China and are basically undercutting and exploiting these poor workers. They should also blame their government for not putting rules in place that protect their citizens from these kinds of practices.

Steve Jobs is a Bloodsucker!

And this is newsworthy because... ?

You do realize that the freefoms that some countries enjoy today came about because there were people willing to protest? The war for the independence of the United States of America was one massive protest. The barons forcing Magna Carta on King John was a major protest. The elimination of segregation came about because of protest.

That doesn't mean you have to agree with someone else's protest, but do respect that positive social change comes about because of protest. Yes, some protests cause short lived inconveniences or problems, but if the cause is able to capture the popular will of people, it will live on and it will produce change.

It will take protests to eliminate sweatshops, just as protests produced safer working conditions at mines or factories in the developed countries. While it may not be particularly fair to single out Steve Jobs and Apple, they have substantial influence in the computer world and could be motivated to bring about change. I believe Jobs, like most people, wants to be seen as a good person - probably more so when one makes that much money, as they are already painted as being bad guys.

Just my simplistic thoughts on protests.

Oh, and America has strong trades unions, does it? It's those of you who want cheaper PC commodities in general who force these working practices. Don't single out individuals, look to your own consciences and the products you buy at Best Buy or Wall Mart or these other trashy outlets American enterprise has spoiled you with. You've lost a large part of your industrial base to overseas manufacturers because shareholders want higher dividends and you don't want to pay the true price for the products and services you consume.

If you haven't already heard, Jobs sold his soul for the cure to cancer

However Lennon Ying-Dah Wong, general secretary of the First Commercial Bank Industrial Union, offered his opinion before moving on.

“They are at the peak of this industry," he said, referring to the companies residing within the convention center. "They have earned a tremendous amount of money, but they don’t care about the social responsibility, they don’t care about the working condition of the workers. In many of their plants it’s a sweatshop, and we are very sad to see modern sweatshops."

Since he is head of a LABOR UNION, why doesn't he just organize the workers?

Oh, that's right, they are happy to have those jobs because it is better than squatting in a farm field every day for barely enough to eat! They would refuse those unions because they are smarter than their American counterparts... they realize that FoxConn would just relocate and take the jobs with them.

100 year ago, unions were effective because travel and shipping and global communication/coordination was much harder. You HAD to use localized labor. What a difference 100 years has made...

Steve Jobs sucks more than blood.

I don't think this is true. A century ago America imported extremely cheap European and Chinese labour whilst Britain was happy to draw on its colonies. Now capitalists simply install their factories where labour is cheapest. We westerners have our civil rights only because others are denied theirs. The US depends on South Americans for cheap, non-unionised, casual labour and Britain relies on non-unionised Eastern Europeans. As Reagan and Thatcher demonstrated whilst callously dismantling trades unions, predacious capitalists don't change their spots, just their hunting ground.

Indeed. The labor was brought in, hence local. As far as the colonies go, we were agrarian for the most part, NOT industrial. By the time we really hit our industrial age, we were on our own.

The Apple parasite needs to be exposed for what it is.

How is Apple being blamed for things that are happening in Chinese companies? It seems to me it is a popular thing in China to blame American business for all their problems. It seems that it is time to start moving your factories elsewhere to India, Thailand, Philippines or even back to the USA!

Ive been in IT industry for more then 20 years. During all those years, there is no one coming close to the innovation, creativity and presenting IT product in a manner that makes "desire" are define. Apple has since brought jobs to many part of the world, many even in my country goes unnoticed . If a country let its people to work in such a deplorable situation, do u blame Apple.

Well if you consider that a third ($1Bil) of Apple's profit this past year is enough to give each of the 420000 foxconn employees in china a $2380 raise then it is quite clear that somebody along the line in that industry is really beefing up the margins. Whether it be apple of foxconn itself we don't really know. In stead Apple is maybe considering paying out 1-2% of their profit. It's his business and he is totally within his rights to do as he likes, but if I was Steve I would not be able to sleep knowing i'm getting rich from these poor people. And it's not just Apple. Foxconn is like the worlds biggest manufacturer of computer parts. They must surely make more profit than Apple. It's just plain disgusting. I have no respect for such dishonorable business practices. I'm glad I don't have an iPhone anyway. I would not be able to look at it.

All those tech gimmicks are a frikkin waste of resources anyway...i blame spoiled people for this "slavery" form, also for tremendous toxic pollution in some areas due to thrown away hardware.

It slavery plain and simple. It would take the people making the ipad three months work to afford an ipad. Thats not saving up for three months, thats their total wages.

Give the man a break, he just had liver cancer.

Companies exist to make profit, NOT to hand out paychecks. I can't understand why everyone doesn't know this already...

[QUOTE]Companies exist to make profit, NOT to hand out paychecks. I can't understand why everyone doesn't know this already...[/QUOTE]

One cannot deny that a company does have a certain social responsibility as well. After all, it's people who buy the products they make. Companies produce wealth in an economy and that wealth should partly be shared with the people that work for the company. It would only have a positive influence, because if people are happy and are a strong buying force, than that in turn means more profit.

The workers are so screwed. For years the unions in the USA have been complaining about outsourcing jobs and that the countries like China did not have laws in place to protect workers or the environment.
Most companies will do whatever they can get away with for the almighty dollar, including, breaking whatever law stands in their way. Like covering up evidence from an accidental death to making workers stand for 16 hours a day with only one 20 minute lunch break. This happens every day in the USA with Laws and unions, I can just imagine how much fun the ruthless companies can have in a place like China.
I just feel like saying “I told someone so”.