economics

Chile: Starbucks Employees on Hunger Strike

In Chile, a cup of coffee at Starbucks costs more than the baristas' wages for one hour of work. This is what the 3 union leaders [es] on hunger strike in Chile state through a handwritten sign in this video [es].

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El Salvador: Problems After Change in Propane Gas Subsidy

El Salvador from the Inside explains the controversy over a change in the propane gas subsidy which was meant to help the poor. The subsidy is now “tied to your electric bill [and] given only to those who use less than a specific number of Kilowatts […] In theory, it sounds like the perfect plan. In practice, it turned into a disaster for many people.”

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Southeast Asia: Review of 2010

Respecting the linking economy and information aggregators - part 1 of 3 online rights battles that need fighting this decade

"Rainbow" shared by Jakrome under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Intuitively, if you use the Internet even sparingly as a means of connecting you to the broader world, you'll recognize that much of the activity that takes place on the internet involves humans (and automated search engines and other services) filtering and aggregating basic facts and information.  This is so fundamental to our daily Internet use it largely goes unnoticed.  A link from search engine, a tweet, or a status update from a social media service are just a few examples.  There is huge value in helping citizens sift through the wonderful oversaturation of information the Internet offers.

There are, however, real threats to our ability to find content and navigate in our vast information ocean.  This very cornerstone of the Internet is threatened by fear, misunderstanding, and overreaching from some traditional content owners.