judd's blog

Chinese workers at a Foxconn-associated factory in Jiangxi providence recently raised some hell after lunch break over poor workplace conditions and low wages, just a few months after a New York-based labor rights organization praised the company for making progress on its treatment of labor in China. Oh the irony!

Oxfam International -- long a supporter of free trade to boost the economic fortunes of the world's poor as long as rules are fair for everyone -- is less than thrilled about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, especially its intellectual property (IP) rules and how they would apply to pharmaceuticals. 

Conventional wisdom from our elected officials and economic know-it-alls over the past 20 years would have you believe that free trade is the greatest thing since sliced bread. For whom? Usually not U.S. workers. Take the case of more liberalized trade with China, for example. Now, some free trade proponents are beginning to change their tune.

The Apple contractor is finding that it's not so easy to replicate the formula it used in China to do business. In Brazil, Foxconn has run into a new challenge it hasn't really come up against before -- organized labor. Call it a case of karma coming back to haunt?

In spite of brewing federal debt ceiling drama and Washington's decision to kick the fiscal-cliff issue down the road, U.S. small business owners resolve to trudge ahead, working to keep the momentum for American manufacturing going.  Sometimes, you just got to turn off the C-SPAN and get things done yourself. 

Forget about the holiday shopping season. President Barack Obama's reelection did wonders for the bottom line of New York-based Buck Knives in the form of greater sales to Americans worried for their Second Amendment rights during the next four years. Whatever makes them happy.

Out with the old and in with the new? After a few years of soaring trade deficits with China, some economists are banking on a U.S. manufacturing revival fueled by a domestic energy boom to carry the nation's trade balance into the black. 

The recent expulsion of a New York Times correspondent from China has media observers wondering whether the move is part of a backlash against Western journalists daring to investigate the backgrounds of the communist nation's leaders. Mao forbid they do their jobs.

Contrary to Washington wonk belief, the return of Japan's Liberal Democrat Party, is unlikely to be oh so triumphant for the United States, potentially dredging up memories of the contentious 1980s when trade conflicts between the two nations abounded. A case of some things never changing?

Superstar Chinese artist Ai Weiwei just can't seem to be controlled, frustrating the communist nation's rulers to no end. He has been bribed, honored, jailed fined and physically abused by the government -- all to no avail. Here's to Ai Weiwei.