_________!

What is the miners' wage? What wages are they demanding? How does this compare to the prevailing wage for similar jobs in S. Africa? Is the work dangerous (I assume it is)? How many workers are seriously injured--like, a rate? Is the mine making a profit or losing money already?

This article is completely void of any useful information. I've zero idea what to think about this strike, or the state of labor in South Africa.

Your point is well taken. There is no investigative journalism here, just sensationalism violence. Not one word about the reasons these people are striking.

relaxdontdoit, none of what you wrote matters. I don't care if the miners were in the top 1% of pay, you don't murder them for strilking.

You don't kill them for striking but you do when they hack people to death and charge you with machetes! Grossman leaving out important details change the story! Relaxdontdoit is right on target. Your imput is a bit strange to say the least.

It would be hard to find a worker anywhere on the planet that did not think he or she was worth more than they are being paid.. They seldom factor in the whole cost of running a business or the initial/ongoing risks that go along with it.. Sure there are people everywhere that are making big money off the sweat of others but there are better ways to solve compensation disputes than have been shown here.. The government,auto,teachers and many other unions have brought State and Federal economies to the brink of ruin with the gimme gimme attitude.. Sure raise the price of cars till nobody buys them and you are out of a job but that's managements fault.. Sure raise taxes on the people of the state till it ruins the economy just as long as I get mine.. State workers getting pensions and still working for the state till they can get 2 or 3 pensions.. Our poor farming community is paying over 3/4 of their property taxes to support the school system and they also added an income tax that goes to the schools as well.. Every year they try to get more, gimme gimme gimme..

Not true, I got a check from the govt and because I loved the job, it was reallly very little consideration. I have a moderate, modest life style and really have no aspirations for more. So you are completely wrong, there are many who do not have the gimme attitude. But, they also don't like being treated like indentured servants. If you are an adminstrator in govt, then they too should be taking a cut for they can learn to live a modest life. It's those at the top that need to be reigned in and that includes the CEO's of cooperations who get their bonuses if they can con you in even giving up your modest life style for the homeless shelter.

Coccodre

"Once again - the Africans are proving what the whole world already knew"

And just what is that coccodre? that it is impossible to feed your family on starvation wages? that the billionaires who own the mine are greedy scumbags who haven't done an honest days labor in their entire life? that the "Africans" were enslaved, their land was stolen and still to this day the white ruling class contiues to plunder the resources while keeping all the profit for themselves?

Please extrapolate on your comment so we can know exactly where you stand on the issue.

It would be hard to find a worker anywhere on the planet that did not think he or she was worth more than they are being paid..blah, blah, blah

Yep, that CEO making 500 times the lowly manager is worth every penny, right? Sorry, lowly manager, we have to cut your staff. Sorry lowly manager, that means you will have to work 75 hour per week to make your store run properly. Yes, I know that you are salaried, but we will give you a $200.00 per quarter bonus for devoting your life to the company. Your family needs you to work those hours, they don't need you at home...... I haven't work that crap in decades, but I have. I imagine it has only gotten worse.

In short answer, yes! workers are worth more than they are being paid.

OMG where I am going to get my Platinum now? (for the dim this is meant as sarcasm)

Those miners are making $2-$3 per hour. The mining companies of the world wish those were the wages everywhere. Gina Reinhart wants her Australian iron ore miners to work for that.

@ Roadrunnero, So you are saying that Wal-Mart is stupid in knowing that by paying their employees minimum wage, they aren't able to figure out that the rest of the taxpayers have to pick up the tabs for these people by supporting them with food stamps, public housing and so on? Now who is being stupid? Wal-mart, or the ones who support this type of system?

Based on the information in the article, none of us have enough information to say whether the strike is warranted or not. I suspect it is, but we really weren't given any useful information in the article.

As far as the greater class struggle--high vs. low wage earners, I don't have a good answer. Globalization is reality, and the wage chasm between MBAs and minimum wage workers is going to grow.

I think this is very unfortunate, and there are some real win/win things we can work on as Americans to help our citizens. We can improve job retraining and practical education programs for adults in industries that no longer support them. Provide realistic sex education and free access to birth control to prevent young ladies from getting caught up in a cycle of poverty before they ever become adults. We can promote education in trades (welding, vehicle repair, plumbing, etc) that pay well, but suit the non-academic, and many other things.

We must also impress on our own children the vitality of their own education, working hard in school, and seeking every learning and leadership opportunity possible, so they can go on to accomplish greater things than we did. Unless you're an entrepreneur, just "getting by" on a high school, or even college diploma is only going to get harder.

As far as the greater class struggle--high vs. low wage earners, I don't have a good answer. Globalization is reality, and the wage chasm between MBAs and minimum wage workers is going to grow.

It can't. The only reason it is growing right now is because of governments interventions. They are still taxing us for much more than they give us. If this continues like it is going, look for more black markets. Look for more bartering. It is already happening here. The middle class taxpayer in the U.S. is just slow to catch on. Once the middle class catches on, look for stricter regulations on what you can grow/raise in your backyard. Look for the government lackey coming to collect your gold and guns. It's not like the government hasn't collected our valuables in the past. How do you think Fort Knox came into being?

.

Hey DEPROGRAMMER, you might want to look up the word "extrapolate", you used it out of context.

And, oh yes, all mining owner are Billionaires...what an intellectually lazy generalization.

Why don't you open a mine? Since it's so easy to make money from one...

That this kind of problem did not exit before 'self rule'. They are 2000 years ahead of themselves.

I'm a fairly conservative white guy, but I'm also aware that the world these miners operate in was imposed on them against their ancestors' will. Opportunity and education were withheld from them during apartheid, so they're going to have some rough edges for a few generations. Given the nature of media, I think they'll get up to speed faster, but they're doing fine.

Your attitude toward free South Africans is terribly destructive. What an evil and pessimistic way to think about your fellow humans.

Or, like we did before, stop buying products made from South Africa Platinum. I hope your type of fighting back does not involve more people getting killed.

Get a job you Moron and get off the Guv-a-ment dole.

we should have a free market system. People should not be demanding salaries. In the free market, if you're worth it you'll get paid. If you don't like the wages, you can QUIT. but holding companies hostage with strikes is FLAT WRONG. Unions have done more to destroy jobs than any other entity in the world....particularly in the US. Look at all the unionized industries that are no longer in America...Steel, Textiles, and on and on. Free markets are our only answer. Anything else will fail with miserable results.

People don't have to work if they don't want to.

Yea, they can starve to death instead. That is not really a choice in my opinion.

A person can make money without a job . Are you a fool. I'm a senior in my city I can go in the streets and make money anyday I choose. You must be a country boy .

Pretty typical, let Republicans like you rule the United States and it unravels big time. Because the uneducated are leading the uneducated. Women's rights, education, corporate greed and you name it.

What would you know about Somalia or Uganda? Nothing.

You are a pathetic example of the thinking and politics that are ahead for us if EDUCATED Americans don't get out and vote.

Or is this based on your SA heritage?

4 years

Beth... that's pretty typical thinking for liberals. He doesn't need to know anything about Somalia or Uganda because there is nothing to know about those places. So in reality he does know everything about those places. Instead of being educated and enlightening all of us stupid Americans why don't share some of that light you seem to have and light the way for Somalia and Uganda? Oh that's right it just might be a little uncomfortable for you because you are a woman and to go to those places and argue for woman's rights will probably land you in jail. Hell, those places will also throw in a clicterectomy on top of everything else. Hows those that for a typical thinking and politics if UNEDUCATED Americans don't get out and vote?

Or is this based on your American heritage? Beth you need to stop regurgitating your man hating, everything is criminal about western culture, everything is rainbows and lollipops for everything that is not white. You are a typically indoctrinated stupid liberal female.

And you are regurgitating something you heard from Rush Limbaugh. Go back to 1850. You're not needed here.

And you Andrew are exactly what I expect from the uneducated.

I have been to Somalia and worled in Uganda 2 years. I have been shot, shot at and you name it. I was working in Mozambique during the war there.

You don't know your ''' from a hole in the ground.

You were probably born with a silver spoon in your mouth. But I have lived a real life.

And there's plenty to know about those places.

But it's a waste of time to argue with the brain dead.

Rest in Peace.

What's wrong with 1850? Or Rush Limbaugh? You people make me laugh....all Rush Limbaugh wants is smaller/ less government, lower taxes and more accountability.

Sounds good to me....

Have you checked real estate values lately? Some places have devalued as much as 80% in the past 6 years. I do agree, though, that real estate is the best investment one can make if they can actually afford the investment.

My father raised 7 children working for a large coporation. My mother stayed home and cared for us. Indeed, we were not financially rich but we were taken care of and we were loved. The company my father worked for was non-union. They got $1.50-$2 per hour less than the similar union competitor down the road. However, our benefits were so much better; our entire family loved the company.

Then, some workers started talking about the union workers getting the higher money, which, admittedly, was considerable ($60-$80 for a 40 hour week). They even got paid for holidays they didn't work. The company leaders did not want to go union but there was enough noise that they agreed to give them union wages.

However, there were some serious changes. This company said, "If you want to have what the union has, we will give it to you if you agree to not bring the union in. Beware though, that you are going to get exactly as the union gets." This thrilled the "unionista wannabes".

The following January 1st the changes came into effect. Everyone got their prevailing wages. There would be no more free turkey to each family at Thanksgiving. Gone was the free Christmas ham, the company picnic (They emloyed thousands of people nationwide so there were company picnics all over the place), the tuition reimbursement. Instead of 100% free medical, dental, optical and major medical, employees had to pay 35% of their insurance premiums if they wanted them with a 20% co-pay, as the company went with a new insurance plan. There was no optical option. The company paid for holidays. However, before, they were closed for all major holidays. Now their philosophy that they would rather pay holiday pay and make people work than give the day's pay for nothing. THe CHristmas bonus which equalled a day's pay for each year you worked for them was gone also; the union didn't pay Christmas bonuses.

The two unionized companies from the area went out of business in the 1980s; they could not afford to stay open with union contracts controlling them. The company my dad worked for was sold to another non-union competitor who revised the standards to current standards. They are still in business, although I would not venture to guess how much longer under the current regime.

It was no longer a famial feeling; now it was just where Daddy worked. Where do people get the notion that those who invest in, create and own a business must share equally with their employees? Where is the employee's capital investment? Where is his worries about appeasing government regulators, keeping customers happy, keeping workers happy and making a profit? He punches in, he does his job, he punches out and he goes home, leaving the responsibilities of the business to the owners/management.

As for minimum wage, do you think that it helps to raise the minimum wage? This is just an example, friend, not a statement about you in any way. If you work for someone and your mortgage or rent stays level but your elctric goes up, your water goes up, your care needs repairs, a child gets sick, etc., you go to them and ask for a raise. He gives you fifty cents per hour. He did this because he knew he could afford to do it, he valued you as a worker enough and you earned it through honest work. If he does not give you the raise for whatever reason, you have the right to look elsewhere for a job, either in the same field or any other that you may qualify for.

That's great. However, if the employer is working hard to keep all his employees employed and all of a sudden the government forces him to pay each employee an additional fifty cents per hour, then he has some decisions to make. He can raise his price like so many other business owners are going to have to do, which means potentially less income from less customer transactions, which means less workers needed. He can let some workers go, which means lost jobs, lost morale and possibly overburdened or stressed workers, possibly causing a loss of quality and possibly loss of customers or he can close the business and send all the workers home without a job.

Also, don't forget, the cost of everything is going to rise because some of those businesses are going to elect to raise their prices to stay at the same income level. That means whatever you purchase with your new raise is going to cost you more than it did before. In the long run you will probably spend more to purchase the same amount as before than you gained from the forced raise.

Retired sucking on a Government Package

#3 keeps becoming truer and truer for us.

.hopefully cleaning their weapons and preparing to take back their country and it's wealth once and for all from the white thieves who stole

leftrightcenter...Unfortunatly if they take back their wealth then what happens? Then theiving africans will steal it from africans. Look at what happened to what used to be called Rhodisia. that is definetly not an answer to the question.

it may not be the final answer but its a start.

Our republican governor promises 200,000 jobs, we've had a net loss since then.

A 140 year old company announced the economy had finally taken it's toll, and that it would have to lay off 100 plus skilled workers, instead the state offering it help, the republican governor offered over $100 million to a company from a terrorist nation with no wage or job guarantees.

Our republican governor watched an appliance manufacture move to Mexico and take 400 jobs without offering any help, and threw millions at a Korean company, again with no wahe or job number guarantees.

Why? Because those companies will help put money into the pockets of the wealthiest republican farmers in Iowa.

You are one seriously stupid person if you want to blame everything on Obama. Your butt has to be sore from all those corporate jizz pots you worship using it.

leftrightcenter you can disagree but there is no need to resort to childish name calling. You are just the type of person that Obama needs on his side

You first.

Let me get this straight. You do not support Obama but support govt. jobs? Interesting.

Gold about $1700 /oz

Platinum about $1600/oz

12000 miners bring out 15000/oz per wk about $22million

About $1800 per miner per week. @$2/hr. no benes. miners cut$120 Co. profit $1680per miner

or $36.9 mil/wk, I dont know what their overhead is ,but a profit margin of 10% still nets them $3.7mil

Ooooo look everybody. Another internet tough guy talking about his guns. Applaud the man.

I wish rory was the only guy who said wanted to shoot someone on this board. Is this the Friday no one's taking their meds?

Rory Weber 210, you re-regged again??! You promised to move to Costa Rico with Lush Limpballs!

It's way past time to sell your Glenn Beck "gold"!

Bon Voyage!

Tick tock, tick tock....;-)

You say don't buy anything from SA. Well, I hate to tell you this, but they supply 80% of all the worlds Platinum and Palladium, and you can't buy a car without it. It is in every catalytic converter in every car made. Palladium for gasoline engines and platinum for diesels. Good luck never going out of your house.

Sloppy 2nd's Shopper: Quit drinking that liberal left wing Kool-aid. You can do it...I will support you if you try, oh I probably already am ($$$). Get off the Kool-aid and the Guv-a-ment dole.

P.S. - we don't have a dog in this fight. Let it go dude. We are already supporting the sand people (10 plus years) with good American lives.

Just surf to another story.... or go play your X-Box you troll.

savvy, willard might have you shot ,but it is against HIS religion to carry a rifle.The yellow draft dodger went to France to avoid Nam. Much like sending his money to Switzerland to avoid taxman Sam

Yes gentlemen, everyone who doesn't support Romney is clearly on the government dole. Christ you guys are pathetic. I mean come on! Who wouldn't support a lying, tax-dodging, draft-dodging, sociopathic creepo like Mitt!

Bohick, I wouldn't let willard run for dog catcher. Which puts 99% of the dogs on my side,

Jake, you are taking the lords name in vain. You know where that will get you.

It doesn't get you anywhere. Words are not a feasable means of travel.

Chinese workers can be supplied if you sign contracts with their government. They'll probably send some disgruntled Tibetans.

Chicago might be a good fit. Just saying... :-)

it is not the way. we are trained from birth to obey and adhere to a conception of property rights that borders on lunacy. it is only "the way" because we let it. we are afraid to fight for our own liberation, thinking that it's only okay for the state or the bosses to use force.

the truth is that might makes right is a two way street. it's our turn to take our share.