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So much food for thought here: exploitation of indigenous people; polluting where Tesla buyers can't see the pollution; Tesla's efforts to make nickel extraction cleaner; China's moves to control the mineral resources of the future; the rare minerals that currently are needed to make batteries (cobalt and nickel). . .

I hope my annotations saved

Great use of Diigo annotation tool, Anay!

Maybe more of an ethics topic, but I'd say it affects U.S.-Guatemala relations, too...

I am very proud of Clinton for issuing an appology for the actions of the US government. I am glad that there was a public statement made in order to admit to our crimes as a nation. I find it hard to believe that the US would do these horrible things, and it serves as a reminder that the US was not always a free and accepting nation. We have a deep history of racism. I don't think that appologies are enough to repent for the horrors we caused, but I think they are a step in the right direction. Articles like this are a great way to prompt discussion aobut our racist past as well as remember what has happened in order to make sure these crimes will never be repeated.

I have to admit that when I first heard about this, I thought that it was some sort of twisted joke. I found it particularly appalling that these studies were conducted on prison inmates and mental patients, people who were completely at the mercy of the government system and had little or no other independence (and therefore no way to get out of this). The fact that the United States could do something so completely hypocritical, especially while leading the Nuremberg trials (as Harrison pointed out) is shocking. I am glad that Secretary of State Clinton and the US government seem to be ready to apologize for this heinous program without attempting to justify or conditionalize it and that they openly apologized to the Guatemalan government. I hope that they will continue to be as transparent during the Guatemalan investigation.

I think its interesting that piracy is increasing throughout the world. Personally, I feel that its good that other countries are working to counter this threat.

I found it interesting that American-made American flags are lower quality than those made in China. It struck me as very similar to the situation faced by the speaker who came to talk to us about her bag business: how she had to outsource because she couldn't find a quality producer in the U.S. Something that bothered me is that many of the flags are synthetic; if the government is going to hand our hundreds of free flags that might just get thrown away, it seems as though it would be better to at least make them out of renewable materials like wood and cotton. However, I suppose that may be more expensive... Also, I visited the Jinteng factory website because I was curious if they specialized in a certain type of flag or not. It turns out that they make all different types of flags depending on the order, just as the jeans we saw in China Blue varied order by order. I suspect that although some workers feel frustrated making other countries' flags, their catalog indicates that they make flags for many countries, not just one, so any anger would perhaps be less likely to be directed toward a specific country due to constantly producing their flag.

I thought that it is sad (and ironic) that, as Matthew said, our symbols of freedom and patriotism are being paid for with people's rights (in China). I had never considered how 9/11 would have caused a drastic increase in demand for American flags, and though it shouldn't have, it surprised me that the low price of American flags from retailers such as Wal-Mart does not cover the production costs of the flags. Like Larkin, I found the juxtaposition of the symbols of the flag and where it is actually made notable. I also had the same question as Alison about whether any flags are actually made in the United States. I thought that Matthew did a nice job pointing out the odd juxtaposition and talking about the production cycle of the flag.

I think this the case of China limiting video game time for children is an interesting example of striking a balance of freedom, and not equality in this case, but the general good. If this is no control, companies will just exploit kids for profit, but with total control there may be decreased enjoyment.

Super interesting and starts a good convo on state's control

It feels kind of creepy for a government to restrict the amount of time a kid can game, but it also makes sense in China's context, where addictive things are strictly forbidden due to historical reasons. I am curious about the actual impact of this policy.

Qatar, which is non-democratic and run by monarchs, has been widely criticized for its many human rights violations and its exploitation of workers. However, this is being ignored by other governments in the world who seek to become allied with Qatar. Geopolitical goals are prioritized over human rights.

It's not really surprise considering Qatar's history surrounding human rights issues. I know that right now I believe the kafala system is still in place, which in principle deceives workers and gives a great amount of control to people over these workers. Basically increases cheap labor for migrants. Furthermore, though I the ILO keeping stressing that the workers welfare is being taken care of, it is clear that this is untrue seeing that there are plenty of injuries. Frankly, I don't think the ILO ever thought they could stop anything.

I'd love to know more about the "kafala system." What's "the ILO," Nicole? International Labor Organization? What is that? A UN body?

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a major political which he is expected to address his increasingly tense relations with Washington and Seoul over the expansion of his nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has ramped up missile testing to a record pace this year, exploiting a divide in the United Nations Security Council by Russia's war on Ukraine. But Kim has also been struggling to improve a dysfunctional and heavily sanctioned economy made worse by pandemic border closures in recent years, an issue he may also address during the meeting at the years end.

"improve a dysfunctional and heavily sanctioned economy. . . "? we know so little about what goes on inside North Korea, but it seems pretty functionally totalitarian. See this article from 2018: https://www.npr.org/2018/10/01/652037944/photos-inside-a-north-korea-that-is-changing-but-at-its-own-pace