The politics of saying sorry

Political Apologies and Reparations is a web-based archive of 350 (wait for it) political apologies and reparations, funded by WLU's Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, Canada Research Chair in Global Studies and Political Science.

In April I posted a link to a the Japanese PM's "heartfelt apology" for the Second World War atrocities of his Imperial predecessors. To get a sense of the archive's robustness, check out the entry associated with Koizumi's speech, along with other Japan-related apologies, WWII-related apologies, and articles pertaining to the Asian-African summit at which the apology took place.

If you're interested, try browsing the other Canada Research Chairs in Political Science (33), those at Wilfrid Laurier University (6) and York University (31), in Ontario (567), or Canada-wide (1505).

From The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization? [LaborResearch.org via Kottke] :

Though only about 18% of Costco’s total workforce is unionized, union representation creates a ripple effect and helps determine labor standards in all stores. The Teamsters represent about 15,000 workers at 56 Costco stores in California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Workers are covered by West coast and East coast contracts, negotiated in February and April of last year.

“The agreements lock in wage and benefits packages that are the highest in the grocery and [discount] retail industries,” said Rome Aloise, chief IBT negotiator for Costco and Secretary-Treasurer of Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif.

Costco passes on similar compensation packages to its non-union workers; the contracts act as templates for other stores’ employee handbooks.

“The union contracts raise the bar and set the standard for all employees,” explained Aloise. “Still, while the company extends wage and pay raises to non-union employees, only union members enjoy benefits like seniority-based promotions, a grievance procedure and minimum hours for part-time workers,” he added.

When you can't think of anything intelligent to say, try finding someone to say it (or who's already said it) for you: Why Pragmatism Works for Me.

Hey, I bought antihistamines at that Shopper's Drug Mart!

Read everything (or maybe just this pdf)

Social Justice and the Varieties of Capitalism: Individuality, Flexibility, and Social Well-Being, by Margarita Estévez-Abe and Glyn Morgan (Department of Government, Harvard University).

Discovered via the wonderful Political Theory Daily Review.

Speaking of Map Hacks on Crack, how long will it take for someone to overlay the TTC Subway stops (if not the whole transit system) on Google Maps? There aren't that many, and API hacking is always a barrel of laughs... Reagan, I'm looking in your general direction...