

Foxconn Shuts Plant as Workers Injured, Arrested in Brawl - jhony_d
http://www.pcgerms.com/foxconn-taiyuan-plant-shuts-down-after-2000-employee-clash-starts-40-injured-and-several-arrested/

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motters
I'm aware of the problems which have gone on at Foxconn and personally I do
not wish to purchase products manufactured in that manner. The main problem is
that as a consumer it's hard to distinguish between products constructed
within reasonable working practices and other products made under conditions
analogous to slavery in prison-like dormitories. So I think there needs to be
something similar to "fair trade", but for computing gadgets.

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jaspero
There's a Ted talk on fair trade cell phone.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/bandi_mbubi_demand_a_fair_trade_cel...](http://www.ted.com/talks/bandi_mbubi_demand_a_fair_trade_cell_phone.html)

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cantankerous
"the fight had started between the rival worker groups in Foxconn dorms"

Perhaps they mean _gangs_? I find myself bummed out about the lack of
assurance that I can obtain a mainstream mobile product (or, heck, _computer-
like product_ ) produced in such a way that doesn't, at some point, involve
workers in prison-like conditions.

Now I can't say with any certainty that I know for a fact that conditions are
_actually like this_ , but the rumors and stories you hear from China
certainly don't make things sound good. What is one to do?

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dlokshin
Foxconn employes 1.2Million people. Their largest factory has 300,000+ people
[1]. What city of 300,000 do you know that hasn't had a bar fight / civil
squabble / etc? It'd probably be more reason for concern if these things
_weren't_ happening.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn>

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flurie
When was the last time you heard of a "bar fight / civil squabble" that
involved a reported 2000 people?

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DavidAdams
The word for a "civil squabble" involving 2000 people is "riot." I'd be
interested to know what sparked it.

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hologramr
\+ Pro Publica's coverage on this: [http://www.propublica.org/article/by-the-
numbers-life-and-de...](http://www.propublica.org/article/by-the-numbers-life-
and-death-at-foxconn)

\+ Yes Lab "anti-iPhone" game taken down fr the Apple store moves to Android:
<http://phonestory.org>

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jonknee
Wonder what this will do to iPhone 5 shipments... Probably a lot less than the
perceived damage since this will start up another round of working condition
articles in Western press.

The end result will likely be a shortened timeline for Foxconn's robotics
plan. Robots rarely stage protests.

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zybler
If they do, it will be called 'skynet' and it will likely signal the end of
man kind as we know it.

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uvTwitch
You know, I think discussions about robotics have their own version of
Godwin's law; sooner or later, there's always a comparison to hitler//skynet.

