Sometimes What Falls on the Ground is the Most Precious

Petals on the Pavement, Copyright 2013

      Walking this morning I came upon these fallen blossoms.  Like grains of sand individually they may be attractive, intriguing and such as individuals. Collectively laying there they form a pattern of interwoven beauty. 
      However, it is often what you can not see which is most revealing. The petals together created a wafting sweet spring like aroma on the wet pavement.  An interesting juxtaposition of the natural and the man-made.
      Spring brings to the forefront senses which lay dormant in the winter as growing things burst onto the scene.  This moment is an unlikely example of design cultivation.  Do you have ones to share?


   

Is the Bangladesh Building Collapse Economic Terrorism of the Haves Upon the Have Nots in Disguise?

So now with more than 1,000 dead from the Bangladesh factory collapse we think it's time we consumers wake up from our collective ignorance of where our products come from, whether they're made within a socially responsible and transparent framework and expect better from ourselves in our buying habits.  While the companies themselves may shoulder a great deal of the burden we consumers and the system we willingly participate in are to blame as well.

Retailers are Pressed on Safety in Factories by the New York Times offers an update as the death toll climbs over 1,000 and an overview of what's been happening this week in response to the disaster.  There's also an online petition you can sign from Avaaz here.

Is this essentially quiet behind the scenes pervasive economic terrorism by the haves inflicted upon the have nots?  I don't like using the word terrorism but I can't think of an adequate alternative.  It makes me very uneasy using it but doing so wakes me up in a way I can not ignore. (Are there other words more apt, let me know.)

Here's one of the major reasons the companies are in this country....From this article

"Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China, has the lowest minimum wage in the world — $37 US a month — which has helped it attract billions of dollars in orders from the West."
(After checking a variety of sources, this claim appears not true enough.  Cuba is $5 US a month, a number of former Soviet republics a little higher, Tajikistan $17 US,  India is $47 US, Vietnam $95 US, Mexico $102, China $137 US)

Here's the major kick and challenge to we 'haves' identified at the end of the article.