Italian teachers and students have once again hit the streets of Rome, just 10 days after protests about the latest cuts to the education budget turned violent. See VIDEO
Despite spending less than almost all wealthy countries on education – according to the most recent OECD figures – the Italian government has repeatedly cut spending in the sector in recent years.
‘‘We are protesting against the cuts to the education budget that
were carried out by both the Berlusconi and Monti governments,” said one
demonstrator.
Sunday 25 November 2012
India's clothing workers: 'They slap us and call us dogs and monkeys'
Human rights tribunal hears allegations of abuse and low pay against clothing companies that supply high street stores
Workers making clothes that end up in the stores of the biggest names on the British high street have testified to a shocking regime of abuse, threats and poverty pay. Many workers in Indian factories earn so little that an entire month's wages would not buy a single item they produce.
Physical and verbal abuse is rife, while female workers who fail to meet impossible targets say they are berated, called "dogs and donkeys", and told to "go and die". Many workers who toil long hours in an attempt to support their families on poverty wages claim they are cheated out of their dues by their employers.
The allegations, which will be of concern to household names including Gap, H&M, Next and Walmart, were made at a human rights tribunal in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. The "national people's tribunal for living wages and decent working conditions for garment workers" was convened to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the garment industry.
Workers making clothes that end up in the stores of the biggest names on the British high street have testified to a shocking regime of abuse, threats and poverty pay. Many workers in Indian factories earn so little that an entire month's wages would not buy a single item they produce.
Physical and verbal abuse is rife, while female workers who fail to meet impossible targets say they are berated, called "dogs and donkeys", and told to "go and die". Many workers who toil long hours in an attempt to support their families on poverty wages claim they are cheated out of their dues by their employers.
The allegations, which will be of concern to household names including Gap, H&M, Next and Walmart, were made at a human rights tribunal in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. The "national people's tribunal for living wages and decent working conditions for garment workers" was convened to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the garment industry.
Saturday 24 November 2012
Friday 23 November 2012
Comment is free Lord Freud on welfare: making the poor pay for the risk-taking of the rich
The welfare reform minister's lament about the risk-averse poor is simply a rationalisation for a policy of deep cuts
Every once in a while, politicians take the time to remind us of the duties of the poor. The latest to take the pulpit is the Tory peer Lord Freud, a former city banker who has since advised both New Labour and the Tories on "welfare reform".
This time, the poor are told they must take more risks, abandoning the "lifestyle" of welfare for the adventure of enterprise.
Before assessing this claim, it is worth asking who it is that is taking risks with the livelihoods of the poor. Freud began his work on welfare reform knowing, by his own admission, nothing about welfare. In fact, it seems fairly safe to say that he continued in this vein, as he continued to make utterly ignorant claims about the system in order to justify government cuts.
Foolish they may be; Freud's views have not been inconsequential. As an adviser to the New Labour government, Freud played a critical role in arguing for single mothers to be forced into work, and in persuading the government to turn over aspects of welfare provision to the private sector.
This advice helped open doors for Atos, the private sector bureaucracy which has been hired to tur people off disability benefits.
It also provided a rationale for handing money to A4e, which has been the subject of repeated fraud allegations.
The poor, in effect, are now bearing the costs of systemic risk without having enjoyed any of the rewards. And it is no more than predictable that one of those who did reap the rewards in abundance is now charged with ensuring that the costs of crisis are borne by those who were least to blame and last to benefit.
Every once in a while, politicians take the time to remind us of the duties of the poor. The latest to take the pulpit is the Tory peer Lord Freud, a former city banker who has since advised both New Labour and the Tories on "welfare reform".
This time, the poor are told they must take more risks, abandoning the "lifestyle" of welfare for the adventure of enterprise.
Before assessing this claim, it is worth asking who it is that is taking risks with the livelihoods of the poor. Freud began his work on welfare reform knowing, by his own admission, nothing about welfare. In fact, it seems fairly safe to say that he continued in this vein, as he continued to make utterly ignorant claims about the system in order to justify government cuts.
Foolish they may be; Freud's views have not been inconsequential. As an adviser to the New Labour government, Freud played a critical role in arguing for single mothers to be forced into work, and in persuading the government to turn over aspects of welfare provision to the private sector.
This advice helped open doors for Atos, the private sector bureaucracy which has been hired to tur people off disability benefits.
It also provided a rationale for handing money to A4e, which has been the subject of repeated fraud allegations.
The poor, in effect, are now bearing the costs of systemic risk without having enjoyed any of the rewards. And it is no more than predictable that one of those who did reap the rewards in abundance is now charged with ensuring that the costs of crisis are borne by those who were least to blame and last to benefit.
29 Signs That The Elite Are Transforming Society Into A Total Domination Control Grid
The elite want to tightly control almost everything that we do, say and think.
When most people think of “tyranny”, they think of thugs with guns and little dictators running around barking orders at everyone.
But that is not how the elite are accomplishing their goals these days. They want us to actually believe that we have freedom and that we are choosing our own leaders, but in the background they are exerting “soft power” in a way that is absolutely ruthless.
They fund the political campaigns of our politicians, they own nearly all of the large corporations and financial institutions, they exert very tight control over the media and their agenda is being promoted through the education systems of virtually every nation on the planet.
What the elite are doing is not illegal. In fact, they use the government and they use the law to accomplish their purposes. That is one reason why the elite love big government.
When most people think of “tyranny”, they think of thugs with guns and little dictators running around barking orders at everyone.
But that is not how the elite are accomplishing their goals these days. They want us to actually believe that we have freedom and that we are choosing our own leaders, but in the background they are exerting “soft power” in a way that is absolutely ruthless.
They fund the political campaigns of our politicians, they own nearly all of the large corporations and financial institutions, they exert very tight control over the media and their agenda is being promoted through the education systems of virtually every nation on the planet.
What the elite are doing is not illegal. In fact, they use the government and they use the law to accomplish their purposes. That is one reason why the elite love big government.
Cop cars to be replaced with drones by 2025
Law enforcement agencies across the US are lining up to be among the first to use drones to serve and protect, but unmanned vehicles are likely to replace the traditional cop cruiser in just a few short years.
In places like California, Texas and Washington State, police officers in recent weeks have intensified their demands for surveillance drones, a necessary addition they say to their arsenal of tools to help thwart crime. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to finalize plans to put drones in US airspace, but by the end of the decade as many as 30,000 UAVs are expected to be soaring through the sky.
By 2025, those drones are predicted to take the place of the police patrol car as unmanned vehicles operated by cops are being considered a likely inclusion on our roads of tomorrow.
In places like California, Texas and Washington State, police officers in recent weeks have intensified their demands for surveillance drones, a necessary addition they say to their arsenal of tools to help thwart crime. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to finalize plans to put drones in US airspace, but by the end of the decade as many as 30,000 UAVs are expected to be soaring through the sky.
By 2025, those drones are predicted to take the place of the police patrol car as unmanned vehicles operated by cops are being considered a likely inclusion on our roads of tomorrow.
Freud's comparison of corpses & people on benefits disgusting - Byrne
Liam Byrne MP, Labour's Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said in response to Tory Welfare Minister Lord Freud's comparison of people on benefits with corpses in an interview with The House magazine:
"The nasty party is well and truly back.
"Before the summer his boss Iain Duncan Smith had the temerity to call Remploy workers idlers who did nothing better than sit around drinking coffee. He sacked over 1,000 of them and only 35 have managed to find work again.
"He is quite clearly a man in total denial about the pain his policies are about to cause. Shelter have begged the government to consider the ‘terrifying reality’ of the damage they are doing. Scope talk of disabled people facing a tipping point, risking poverty, debt and isolation.
"This government is next year about to take out billions from disability help and housing. All to pay for their catastrophic failure to get Britain back to work, and a 3 billion tax giveaway to Britain's richest citizens.
"This government's so-called welfare revolution is collapsing around its ears. The work programme isn't working. Universal Credit has become universal chaos. Yet Lord Freud's response is to kick people when they are down and not even pretend to offer a helping hand.
"Lord Freud should be ashamed of himself, and his government should too."
"The nasty party is well and truly back.
"Before the summer his boss Iain Duncan Smith had the temerity to call Remploy workers idlers who did nothing better than sit around drinking coffee. He sacked over 1,000 of them and only 35 have managed to find work again.
"He is quite clearly a man in total denial about the pain his policies are about to cause. Shelter have begged the government to consider the ‘terrifying reality’ of the damage they are doing. Scope talk of disabled people facing a tipping point, risking poverty, debt and isolation.
"This government is next year about to take out billions from disability help and housing. All to pay for their catastrophic failure to get Britain back to work, and a 3 billion tax giveaway to Britain's richest citizens.
"This government's so-called welfare revolution is collapsing around its ears. The work programme isn't working. Universal Credit has become universal chaos. Yet Lord Freud's response is to kick people when they are down and not even pretend to offer a helping hand.
"Lord Freud should be ashamed of himself, and his government should too."
Why Iain Duncan Smith should look at himself before complaining about people living off the state
There is nothing worse than people who live off the state for decades and give nothing back.
Help out the unfortunate when they need it, by all means - but give them hundreds of thousands of pounds because they won't get off their arse and do a proper job? Shocking.
So let's start by talking about someone who lives off the state and has little experience of the world of work you and I know.
He is 58 years old and has suckled upon the publicly-funded teat for most of his life.
He's signed on the dole. He's had four children and received child benefit for all of them. He has put them each through private school, too.
His wife hasn't worked since they married, except for 15 months in which he got her a job paid by the taxpayer.
In 2001 he helped his unemployed wife to have a suckle, arranging for you to pay her £15,000 to be his diary secretary.
These days he is given the grand total of £134,565 a year from the taxpayer.
He lives for free in a £2million Tudor farmhouse on his father-in-law's ancestral estate in Buckinghamshire.
He has three acres of land, a tennis court, swimming pool and some orchards, which is not bad for a life in the pay of the state.
'Who is this scumbag?' you might cry. 'Tell us his name, let the authorities know his address, let's get this guzzler out of the cushy life and show him what life is like for the rest of us,earning £7 an hour with a rise once every eight years and a pension consisting entirely of penny sweets if you're lucky.'
His name is Iain Duncan Smith, and his address is the Palace of Westminster, LondonSW1A 0AA.
Help out the unfortunate when they need it, by all means - but give them hundreds of thousands of pounds because they won't get off their arse and do a proper job? Shocking.
So let's start by talking about someone who lives off the state and has little experience of the world of work you and I know.
He is 58 years old and has suckled upon the publicly-funded teat for most of his life.
He's signed on the dole. He's had four children and received child benefit for all of them. He has put them each through private school, too.
His wife hasn't worked since they married, except for 15 months in which he got her a job paid by the taxpayer.
In 2001 he helped his unemployed wife to have a suckle, arranging for you to pay her £15,000 to be his diary secretary.
These days he is given the grand total of £134,565 a year from the taxpayer.
He lives for free in a £2million Tudor farmhouse on his father-in-law's ancestral estate in Buckinghamshire.
He has three acres of land, a tennis court, swimming pool and some orchards, which is not bad for a life in the pay of the state.
'Who is this scumbag?' you might cry. 'Tell us his name, let the authorities know his address, let's get this guzzler out of the cushy life and show him what life is like for the rest of us,earning £7 an hour with a rise once every eight years and a pension consisting entirely of penny sweets if you're lucky.'
His name is Iain Duncan Smith, and his address is the Palace of Westminster, LondonSW1A 0AA.
All expenses paid: the full scale of MPs' lavish globetrotting revealed
Special Investigation: Hundreds of politicians have each accepted thousands of pounds worth of trips to exotic locations. So what do their hosts want in return?
Backbench MPs have gone on more than £1.5m of trips with all expenses paid by foreign governments, pressure groups and companies in little over two years, The Independent can reveal. Several MPs have spent months out of the country on foreign trips, sometimes while Parliament is sitting, while many of those funding the visits have a vested interest in lobbying MPs.
The findings show that:
* One in five Conservative backbench MPs had been taken on trips to Israel and Palestine since 2010 – the majority paid for by pro-Israeli lobbying groups. In total 79 MPs have been funded to visit the region at an approximate cost to their hosts of more than £130,000.
* Saudi Arabia paid £36,000 to take 12 MPs on a four-day trip to Riyadh. MPs have also accepted £41,000 worth of trips to Azerbaijan.
* MPs have been on 36 visits to China and Hong Kong, 23 visits to India and 34 visits to the US since the general election, but only one MP has accepted a trip to Afghanistan and only two MPs have visited Belgium. Six MPs have been on trips to Australia, five to Brazil and three to the Cayman Islands.
Backbench MPs have gone on more than £1.5m of trips with all expenses paid by foreign governments, pressure groups and companies in little over two years, The Independent can reveal. Several MPs have spent months out of the country on foreign trips, sometimes while Parliament is sitting, while many of those funding the visits have a vested interest in lobbying MPs.
The findings show that:
* One in five Conservative backbench MPs had been taken on trips to Israel and Palestine since 2010 – the majority paid for by pro-Israeli lobbying groups. In total 79 MPs have been funded to visit the region at an approximate cost to their hosts of more than £130,000.
* Saudi Arabia paid £36,000 to take 12 MPs on a four-day trip to Riyadh. MPs have also accepted £41,000 worth of trips to Azerbaijan.
* MPs have been on 36 visits to China and Hong Kong, 23 visits to India and 34 visits to the US since the general election, but only one MP has accepted a trip to Afghanistan and only two MPs have visited Belgium. Six MPs have been on trips to Australia, five to Brazil and three to the Cayman Islands.
Thursday 22 November 2012
Starbucks wakes up and smells the stench of tax avoidance controversy
Cafe chain executive to face questions from MPs, while protesters plan to turn branches into creches and refuges
On an average day its outlets are a hive of social activity, hosting everything from business meetings to reading groups looking for that all-important appointment with a morning caffeine rush, approvingly overlooked by a branded community bulletin board. But Starbucks should be careful what it wishes for.
The direct action group UK Uncut plans to turn dozens of the coffee empire's UK branches into creches, refuges and homeless shelters to highlight the chain's tax avoidance tactics.
The announcement of the action comes on the day a Starbucks executive faces questions from the House of Commons public accounts committee over why the company paid no corporation tax in the UK during the past three years, despite senior US management trumpeting the company's profitable operations in Britain.
MPs will also question management representatives from Google and Amazon, both of which have faced criticism for basing their European operations in countries that have lower tax rates such as Ireland and Luxembourg.
Several international organisations have faced criticism over their UK accounts, with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google and Ikea all paying little or no corporation tax despite large British operations.
However, according to pollsters at YouGov's BrandIndex, Starbucks has suffered the deepest damage to its image.
The organisation, which records the strength of companies' brand identities, revealed Starbucks' cachet plummeted following the tax revelations and continues to languish at near-record lows.
It's working, we just have to keep going!
On an average day its outlets are a hive of social activity, hosting everything from business meetings to reading groups looking for that all-important appointment with a morning caffeine rush, approvingly overlooked by a branded community bulletin board. But Starbucks should be careful what it wishes for.
The direct action group UK Uncut plans to turn dozens of the coffee empire's UK branches into creches, refuges and homeless shelters to highlight the chain's tax avoidance tactics.
The announcement of the action comes on the day a Starbucks executive faces questions from the House of Commons public accounts committee over why the company paid no corporation tax in the UK during the past three years, despite senior US management trumpeting the company's profitable operations in Britain.
MPs will also question management representatives from Google and Amazon, both of which have faced criticism for basing their European operations in countries that have lower tax rates such as Ireland and Luxembourg.
Several international organisations have faced criticism over their UK accounts, with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google and Ikea all paying little or no corporation tax despite large British operations.
However, according to pollsters at YouGov's BrandIndex, Starbucks has suffered the deepest damage to its image.
The organisation, which records the strength of companies' brand identities, revealed Starbucks' cachet plummeted following the tax revelations and continues to languish at near-record lows.
It's working, we just have to keep going!
11/23 #GlobalNoise! Walmart, Tar Sands & Strike Debt
When: Black Friday 11/23 @4pm
Where: The Walmart Super Center (Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard)
What: We are #GlobalNoise!
All around the world we march in solidarity with others who care about the issues bearing down on our global society. Here in beautiful Denver Colorado we are burdened with the knowledge of a growing global inequality.
The calls of the Walmart strikers, the Tar Sands Blockade, and ceaseless chanting of the Debt Strikers of the world will be amplified. We will be that voice.
Where: The Walmart Super Center (Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard)
What: We are #GlobalNoise!
All around the world we march in solidarity with others who care about the issues bearing down on our global society. Here in beautiful Denver Colorado we are burdened with the knowledge of a growing global inequality.
The calls of the Walmart strikers, the Tar Sands Blockade, and ceaseless chanting of the Debt Strikers of the world will be amplified. We will be that voice.
‘Dump Trump’ Movement Gains Steam As Protesters Cut Their Store Credit Cards Outside Macy’s Flagship
Organizer Angelo Carusone turned his now 660,000 signatures-strong petition asking Macy’s to ‘dump Trump’ into an actual protest outside the retailer’s 34th St. flagship store yesterday.
Carusone created the petition a few weeks ago to urge Macy’s to cut business ties with the “unpleasant, nasty and despicable[y] behavior[ed]” Donald Trump, who has menswear and homeware lines carried by the retailer.
Last week Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren responded, saying in a statement, “Many of the individuals associated with products sold at Macy’s…express personal opinions that are not related to the merchandise we sell or to the philosophies of our company.”
Dump the Trump Petition
Carusone created the petition a few weeks ago to urge Macy’s to cut business ties with the “unpleasant, nasty and despicable[y] behavior[ed]” Donald Trump, who has menswear and homeware lines carried by the retailer.
Last week Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren responded, saying in a statement, “Many of the individuals associated with products sold at Macy’s…express personal opinions that are not related to the merchandise we sell or to the philosophies of our company.”
Dump the Trump Petition
Stand with Walmart Strikers on Black Friday
Nationwide employee protests ahead of Black Friday continue as international union asks ship operators to raise concerns
Walmart employees and supporters rally in support of striking workers in front of a store in Pico Rivera, California, on Tuesday. Photograph: Bret Hartman/Reuters
An international trade union has asked ship operators handling goods in Walmart's global supply chain to raise concerns with the company about how it treats its US workforce.
Walmart has been affected by a series of walkouts and protests by several union-supported groups seeking to highlight what they say are low pay, poor benefits and retaliatory measures against those employees who speak out.
A series of high-profile protests are now planned to highlight "Black Friday" this week, which is the busiest single shopping day in the US calendar.
Organisers behind the OUR Walmart and Making Change at Walmart groups say up to 1,000 actions are planned and several walkouts have already happened.
Now the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has written to shipping owners and ship captains who carry Walmart goods and asked them to contact the gigantic global company and express support for the protesting workers.
"Walmart workers taking industrial action know that their jobs are at risk. The least we can do to help is use our expertise at sea and relations with the shipping industry to back them in any way we can."
Walmart employees and supporters rally in support of striking workers in front of a store in Pico Rivera, California, on Tuesday. Photograph: Bret Hartman/Reuters
An international trade union has asked ship operators handling goods in Walmart's global supply chain to raise concerns with the company about how it treats its US workforce.
Walmart has been affected by a series of walkouts and protests by several union-supported groups seeking to highlight what they say are low pay, poor benefits and retaliatory measures against those employees who speak out.
A series of high-profile protests are now planned to highlight "Black Friday" this week, which is the busiest single shopping day in the US calendar.
Organisers behind the OUR Walmart and Making Change at Walmart groups say up to 1,000 actions are planned and several walkouts have already happened.
Now the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has written to shipping owners and ship captains who carry Walmart goods and asked them to contact the gigantic global company and express support for the protesting workers.
"Walmart workers taking industrial action know that their jobs are at risk. The least we can do to help is use our expertise at sea and relations with the shipping industry to back them in any way we can."
10,000 London Students Back in Streets to Mark Anniversary of Protests
From Common Dreams
Two years after a massive UK student movement broke out in protest of austerity cuts and the rising costs of education, young protesters have once again taken to the streets to remind the world that their problems have not disappeared.
Roughly 10,000 students marched through London Wednesday, organized by the National Union of Students (NUS), in the first national student protest since parliament voted to allow drastic tuition and fee increases for students, in the name of austerity, two years ago.
The protests of November 2010 drew 50,000 students in London and resulted in the student occupation of Conservative Party offices in Millbank, London, along with widely documented police brutality.
"Education should open doors, but the government is slamming them shut," said the NUS leader, Liam Burns.
Two years after a massive UK student movement broke out in protest of austerity cuts and the rising costs of education, young protesters have once again taken to the streets to remind the world that their problems have not disappeared.
Roughly 10,000 students marched through London Wednesday, organized by the National Union of Students (NUS), in the first national student protest since parliament voted to allow drastic tuition and fee increases for students, in the name of austerity, two years ago.
The protests of November 2010 drew 50,000 students in London and resulted in the student occupation of Conservative Party offices in Millbank, London, along with widely documented police brutality.
"Education should open doors, but the government is slamming them shut," said the NUS leader, Liam Burns.
The Head of Goldman Sachs Wants to Raise Your Retirement Age
From The Atlantic
Lloyd Blankfein, the 57-year-old CEO of Goldman Sachs, who was paid more than $16 million dollars last year, appeared on CBS last night to talk about the Fiscal Cliff and lay some truth on the American people: You all need to work longer.
As Ezra Klein and others before me have noted, it is very easy for people like Blankfein who are paid outrageous sums of money to sit in offices, think, and talk to tell Americans they should delay retirement. After all, they probably aren't pining for for the day they get to stop working. Same goes for senators who would prefer to croak while prattling on during a floor speech and for national journalists who intend to keep writing until they finally go blind from staring at a monitor. They like their jobs. They don't want to leave them.
However, it might not be so easy for your average American, particularly one with a numbingly repetitive or physically taxing occupation, to work those extra years.
It turns out that raising the retirement age is also one of the more regressive ways to cut benefits. That's because the more Americans make, the longer they live. The less they make, the shorter they live. Over the past thirty years, almost all of the gains in life expectancy among men at age 65 have gone to the top half of earners. (as shown in this graph courtesy of the incidental economist).
Lloyd Blankfein, the 57-year-old CEO of Goldman Sachs, who was paid more than $16 million dollars last year, appeared on CBS last night to talk about the Fiscal Cliff and lay some truth on the American people: You all need to work longer.
As Ezra Klein and others before me have noted, it is very easy for people like Blankfein who are paid outrageous sums of money to sit in offices, think, and talk to tell Americans they should delay retirement. After all, they probably aren't pining for for the day they get to stop working. Same goes for senators who would prefer to croak while prattling on during a floor speech and for national journalists who intend to keep writing until they finally go blind from staring at a monitor. They like their jobs. They don't want to leave them.
However, it might not be so easy for your average American, particularly one with a numbingly repetitive or physically taxing occupation, to work those extra years.
It turns out that raising the retirement age is also one of the more regressive ways to cut benefits. That's because the more Americans make, the longer they live. The less they make, the shorter they live. Over the past thirty years, almost all of the gains in life expectancy among men at age 65 have gone to the top half of earners. (as shown in this graph courtesy of the incidental economist).
Greece Anger in Athens at further delay in emergency aid for Greece
European finance ministers fail to agree on unlocking long-delayed emergency aid for Greece
The failure of European finance ministers to agree on unlocking long-delayed emergency aid for Greece, after unprecedented efforts to satisfy international conditions for the rescue funds, was met on Wednesday with anger and dismay in Athens.
With the near-bankrupt country living on borrowed time, the inability of officials to sign off on the financial lifetime or agree on how to make Greece's debt mountain more sustainable exacerbated an explosive political atmosphere.
The failure of European finance ministers to agree on unlocking long-delayed emergency aid for Greece, after unprecedented efforts to satisfy international conditions for the rescue funds, was met on Wednesday with anger and dismay in Athens.
With the near-bankrupt country living on borrowed time, the inability of officials to sign off on the financial lifetime or agree on how to make Greece's debt mountain more sustainable exacerbated an explosive political atmosphere.
The Occupy Sandy Relief NYC distribution hub at Jacobi Church in Brooklyn needs to find a new space by November 30th.
The Occupy Sandy Relief NYC distribution hub at Jacobi Church in Brooklyn needs to find a new space by November 30th.
If anybody out there has a space to offer, please call them at (347) 470-4192 or e-mail them at OccupySandy@interoccupy.net. Ideally, they're looking for something in Brooklyn because it's a good central location for the areas that they're sending supplies to, but please send any ideas you have their way.
Also, for more information on how you can get involved in the hurricane Sandy relief efforts, visit their website: Occupy Sandy Recovery
If anybody out there has a space to offer, please call them at (347) 470-4192 or e-mail them at OccupySandy@interoccupy.net. Ideally, they're looking for something in Brooklyn because it's a good central location for the areas that they're sending supplies to, but please send any ideas you have their way.
Also, for more information on how you can get involved in the hurricane Sandy relief efforts, visit their website: Occupy Sandy Recovery
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Indian Garment industry to receive human rights trial
Local trade unionists condemn GAP for refusing to attend.
Garment workers' unions and human rights groups will hold a tribunal in Bangalore this week to hear evidence of systematic human rights abuses in the Indian garment industry. Supplier factory owners, government and industry representatives, multinational brands including H&M, and over 100 factory workers will give evidence in front of a panel of judges from 3 continents on the topic poverty pay and poor working conditions.
Wages below poverty levels are a ongoing problem in the Indian garment industry, which exports €7284 million of clothing for European consumers each year. The monthly minimum wage for garment workers in Bangalore is Rs 4472, (around €64), which is said to be only 43% of a living wage enough to support a family.
Multinational fashion retailer GAP, who are one of the biggest buyers in the Indian export market, have refused to attend the tribunal or present evidence on their role, despite the fact that a number of human rights abuse cases are due to be brought to the tribunal by workers from its factories.
Garment workers' unions and human rights groups will hold a tribunal in Bangalore this week to hear evidence of systematic human rights abuses in the Indian garment industry. Supplier factory owners, government and industry representatives, multinational brands including H&M, and over 100 factory workers will give evidence in front of a panel of judges from 3 continents on the topic poverty pay and poor working conditions.
Wages below poverty levels are a ongoing problem in the Indian garment industry, which exports €7284 million of clothing for European consumers each year. The monthly minimum wage for garment workers in Bangalore is Rs 4472, (around €64), which is said to be only 43% of a living wage enough to support a family.
Multinational fashion retailer GAP, who are one of the biggest buyers in the Indian export market, have refused to attend the tribunal or present evidence on their role, despite the fact that a number of human rights abuse cases are due to be brought to the tribunal by workers from its factories.
Wal-Mart: Always Low Wages
Employees of the super company are planning a walkout on one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and that's only the beginning.
In the last few months, an unprecedented wave of labor unrest has shaken the retail giant Wal-Mart and its far-reaching supply chain. While the number of employees taking part in walkouts has been limited to the low hundreds, workers and labor activists are mounting pressure and threatening to stage a company-wide strike on Black Friday—the busiest shopping day of the year.
The Black Friday walkout is being organized by the Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Walmart), a group of Wal-Mart employees formed last year that works closely with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, or UFCW. OUR Walmart, which organized walkouts in October, is pushing for better working conditions, benefits, and an end to alleged retaliation by management.
The Black Friday strike would add yet another chapter to a wave of worker protests across Wal-Mart’s supply chain. It all began in June when a group of immigrant guest workers at a Wal-Mart seafood supplier in Louisiana walked off their jobs. In September, workers at company warehouses in California and Illinois went on strike. The workers in Illinois eventually won back pay. California workers weren’t so lucky—they started striking again last Wednesday. Shortly after those warehouse strikes began, retail workers backed by OUR Walmart started walking out of stores in 12 states.
In the last few months, an unprecedented wave of labor unrest has shaken the retail giant Wal-Mart and its far-reaching supply chain. While the number of employees taking part in walkouts has been limited to the low hundreds, workers and labor activists are mounting pressure and threatening to stage a company-wide strike on Black Friday—the busiest shopping day of the year.
The Black Friday walkout is being organized by the Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Walmart), a group of Wal-Mart employees formed last year that works closely with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, or UFCW. OUR Walmart, which organized walkouts in October, is pushing for better working conditions, benefits, and an end to alleged retaliation by management.
The Black Friday strike would add yet another chapter to a wave of worker protests across Wal-Mart’s supply chain. It all began in June when a group of immigrant guest workers at a Wal-Mart seafood supplier in Louisiana walked off their jobs. In September, workers at company warehouses in California and Illinois went on strike. The workers in Illinois eventually won back pay. California workers weren’t so lucky—they started striking again last Wednesday. Shortly after those warehouse strikes began, retail workers backed by OUR Walmart started walking out of stores in 12 states.
UK Agency Investigates Personalized Pricing Based on Online Behavioral Monitoring
On November 15, 2012, the UK Office of Fair Trading (the “OFT”) launched a call for information to investigate whether offering “personalized pricing” based on data companies collect about consumers’ online behavior violates consumer protection legislation in the UK.
The OFT will look at how companies gather data related to “consumers’ browsing history, purchases, demographic, hardware, operating system, etc and use this to personalise products and prices.” In particular, as indicated on the OFT’s website, the OFT will analyze:
evidence from media investigations and reports which have alleged that companies use data to modify prices offered to consumers based on their browsing history or other observed data; and
whether consumers have enough control over what data gets passed or sold on to third parties, in particular, whether companies offer clear information to consumers about what data they need in order to provide the product or services, or whether companies are acquiring data simply to sell on to others.
The OFT will look at how companies gather data related to “consumers’ browsing history, purchases, demographic, hardware, operating system, etc and use this to personalise products and prices.” In particular, as indicated on the OFT’s website, the OFT will analyze:
evidence from media investigations and reports which have alleged that companies use data to modify prices offered to consumers based on their browsing history or other observed data; and
whether consumers have enough control over what data gets passed or sold on to third parties, in particular, whether companies offer clear information to consumers about what data they need in order to provide the product or services, or whether companies are acquiring data simply to sell on to others.
Did Anonymous stop Karl Rove from Stealing Ohio again?
Thom Hartmann discusses an article
that says the hacker group, Anonymous may have been involved in stopping
GOP mastermind Karl Rove from stealing the election in Ohio this year.
Solidarity Action in NYC – Stop Spectra Pipeline Coalition
Today there was an action at the International Earth Eviction Defense outside JP Morgan Chase to prevent the 1% from foreclosing on the planet.
Our friends in New York with the Stop Spectra Pipeline Coalition, Occupy Sandy Relief NYC and Occupy the Pipeline have seen what climate change looks like: police guarding gas stations as fuel grows thin, furniture upside down along rubble strewn streets, eighty-year-olds trapped in the cold, dark, twentieth floor of housing projects.
Sadly, much of the world is already familiar with these scenarios; the products of savage inequality and a reckless abhorrence of nature.
Check out the other 40 solidarity actions happening worldwide.
Our friends in New York with the Stop Spectra Pipeline Coalition, Occupy Sandy Relief NYC and Occupy the Pipeline have seen what climate change looks like: police guarding gas stations as fuel grows thin, furniture upside down along rubble strewn streets, eighty-year-olds trapped in the cold, dark, twentieth floor of housing projects.
Sadly, much of the world is already familiar with these scenarios; the products of savage inequality and a reckless abhorrence of nature.
Check out the other 40 solidarity actions happening worldwide.
Monday 19 November 2012
One Year After the Occupation November 15, 2012
On November 15, 2011, Occupy Wall Street protesters were forced out of Zuccotti Park by the New York City police.
For a few days, it seemed as if the movement might be coming to an end — but it wasn’t. It’s been a year now, and Occupy initiatives have continued in cities and towns across the country. Click through our slideshow to find out what the occupiers accomplished after the occupation ended.
For a few days, it seemed as if the movement might be coming to an end — but it wasn’t. It’s been a year now, and Occupy initiatives have continued in cities and towns across the country. Click through our slideshow to find out what the occupiers accomplished after the occupation ended.
Anonymous leaks personal information of 5,000 Israeli officials
Internet hacktivist group Anonymous has declared cyberwar on Israel, posting personal data of five thousand Israeli officials online.
The group used their Anonpaste.me site to address a message to the Israeli government before linking to the page with names, ID numbers and personal emails of 5,000 officials.
The message said: "It has come to our attention that the Israeli government has ignored repeated warnings about the abuse of human rights, shutting down the internet in Israel and mistreating its own citizens and those of its neighboring countries."
Earlier, the group hacked over 700 hundred Israeli websites, including the Bank of Jerusalem, the Israeli Defence Ministry, the IDF blog, the President's official website and many others.
Most of the sites remain down.
The country’s finance minister has acknowledged the recent wave of attacks, saying the government is now waging a war on a “second front.”
Over the past four days, Israel has “deflected 44 million cyber-attacks on government websites,” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told AP.
Factory-Fed Fish: Monsanto and Cargill's Plan for the Ocean
Industrial food model and soy-based aquaculture a disaster for fish, environment
Agribusiness behemoths including Monsanto and Cargill are set to cash in big from industrial fish farming or “aquaculture” as the soy industry spreads its reign to the seas, a new report from environmental and consumer watchdogs shows.
The new report, “Factory-Fed Fish: How the Soy Industry is Expanding Into the Sea” from Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe, shows how the use of soy as feed in aquaculture -- branded as "sustainable" -- is an environmental disaster, harming fish both wild and farmed as it pollutes the oceans and brings unknown effects to consumers eating the soy-fed fish.
“Soy is being promoted as a better alternative to feed made from wild fish, but this model will not help the environment, and it will transfer massive industrial farming models into our oceans and further exacerbate the havoc wreaked by the soy industry on land—including massive amounts of dangerous herbicide use and massive deforestation,” stated Hauter.
Agribusiness behemoths including Monsanto and Cargill are set to cash in big from industrial fish farming or “aquaculture” as the soy industry spreads its reign to the seas, a new report from environmental and consumer watchdogs shows.
The new report, “Factory-Fed Fish: How the Soy Industry is Expanding Into the Sea” from Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe, shows how the use of soy as feed in aquaculture -- branded as "sustainable" -- is an environmental disaster, harming fish both wild and farmed as it pollutes the oceans and brings unknown effects to consumers eating the soy-fed fish.
“Soy is being promoted as a better alternative to feed made from wild fish, but this model will not help the environment, and it will transfer massive industrial farming models into our oceans and further exacerbate the havoc wreaked by the soy industry on land—including massive amounts of dangerous herbicide use and massive deforestation,” stated Hauter.
Sunday 18 November 2012
Exclusive: Private landlords evading at least £550 million tax on rental incomes
Buy-to-let and other private landlords are evading over half a billion pounds in tax due on their rental income, new figures reveal.
Estimates by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and seen by the investigative website Exaro, reveal that that every year landlords are evading at least £550 million in tax.
This compares with £1.8 billion of tax collected on rental income – meaning more than 23 per cent of tax is being evaded.
Estimates by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and seen by the investigative website Exaro, reveal that that every year landlords are evading at least £550 million in tax.
This compares with £1.8 billion of tax collected on rental income – meaning more than 23 per cent of tax is being evaded.
Gaza Live Blog
Breaking news: Second Israeli strike on building in Al Saraya, housing international media in Gaza, including Reuters news agency, according to journalist Mohammed Omer, speaking to Al Jazeera from Rafah.
The building also houses al-Arabiya and Abu Dhabi TV and al-Aqsa, the official Hamas-run channel.
Omer said that journalists are protesting that it's not safe for them to stay in the hospitals.
From Aljazeera
The building also houses al-Arabiya and Abu Dhabi TV and al-Aqsa, the official Hamas-run channel.
Omer said that journalists are protesting that it's not safe for them to stay in the hospitals.
From Aljazeera
RT Live Israel Footage
RT is a 24/7 English-language news channel.
We are set to show you how any story can be another story altogether. Broadcasting over six continents and 100 countries, our coverage focuses on international headlines, giving an innovative angle set to challenge viewers worldwide.
The channel is government-funded but shapes its editorial policy free from political and commercial influence. Our dedicated team of news professionals unites young talent and household names in the world of broadcast journalism.
We're here to bring you another story.
We are set to show you how any story can be another story altogether. Broadcasting over six continents and 100 countries, our coverage focuses on international headlines, giving an innovative angle set to challenge viewers worldwide.
The channel is government-funded but shapes its editorial policy free from political and commercial influence. Our dedicated team of news professionals unites young talent and household names in the world of broadcast journalism.
We're here to bring you another story.
We Are Legion (Official Trailer)
In recent years, the radical online community known as Anonymous has been associated with attacks or "raids" on hundreds of targets.
Angered by issues as diverse as copyright abuse and police brutality, they've taken on child pornographers, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and even forced a standoff with Mexican drug cartels.
They are a legion of loud but largely masked geeks, hackers, pranksters and outraged citizens who have unwittingly redefined civil disobedience for the digital age, and found themselves in the middle of one of the most important battles of our time.
Angered by issues as diverse as copyright abuse and police brutality, they've taken on child pornographers, the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and even forced a standoff with Mexican drug cartels.
They are a legion of loud but largely masked geeks, hackers, pranksters and outraged citizens who have unwittingly redefined civil disobedience for the digital age, and found themselves in the middle of one of the most important battles of our time.
Occupy: The Movie - Completion Funding
On September 17 2011, a worldwide social movement was born in New York City. This film documents who they are and what they protest.
The Occupy movement took America by storm in the fall of 2011, and has since faced police violence, eviction, and failure.
Misunderstood by the media and now without a park to occupy, it is gut check time for the most daring American social movement since the Civil Rights movement.
Featuring interviews with key organizers and intellectuals of the movement, we discover the biggest threat to occupy, is in fact, occupy.
Can they self-overcome and change the most powerful political-economic structure in human history?
Featuring interviews with Noam Chomsky, Kalle Lasn, Chris Hedges, Cornel West, Andy Bichlbaum, Sandy Nurse, Liz Evans, Jesse LaGreca, George Machado, Tim Pool, Vlad Teichberg, Makh Aten, Priscilla Grim, Justin Wedes, Aaron Black, Bishop George Packard, Pete Dutro, Michael Premo, Jen Waller, Gideon Oliver, George Martinez, and more key figures from the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The Occupy movement took America by storm in the fall of 2011, and has since faced police violence, eviction, and failure.
Misunderstood by the media and now without a park to occupy, it is gut check time for the most daring American social movement since the Civil Rights movement.
Featuring interviews with key organizers and intellectuals of the movement, we discover the biggest threat to occupy, is in fact, occupy.
Can they self-overcome and change the most powerful political-economic structure in human history?
Featuring interviews with Noam Chomsky, Kalle Lasn, Chris Hedges, Cornel West, Andy Bichlbaum, Sandy Nurse, Liz Evans, Jesse LaGreca, George Machado, Tim Pool, Vlad Teichberg, Makh Aten, Priscilla Grim, Justin Wedes, Aaron Black, Bishop George Packard, Pete Dutro, Michael Premo, Jen Waller, Gideon Oliver, George Martinez, and more key figures from the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Anonymous delete Israeli Foreign Ministry database in support of Gaza
Hacker group Anonymous has launched a massive attack named #OpIsrael on almost 700 Israeli websites, protesting against Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. Israeli media confirmed the group’s move.
The hackers reportedly took down websites ranging from high-profile governmental structures such as the Foreign Ministry to local tourism companies’ pages.
The biggest attack as of now has been the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s international development program, titled Mashav. Anonymous announced on Twitter they’ve hacked into the program’s database, with the website remaining inaccessible at the moment.
“There is [sic] so many defaced Israeli websites right now, that we just made a list of them,” Anonymous tweeted.
The Jerusalem Post has confirmed the group’s assault, including the attack on the Foreign Ministry’s website, as well as those of Kadima party, Bank of Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv Municipality.
The hackers reportedly took down websites ranging from high-profile governmental structures such as the Foreign Ministry to local tourism companies’ pages.
The biggest attack as of now has been the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s international development program, titled Mashav. Anonymous announced on Twitter they’ve hacked into the program’s database, with the website remaining inaccessible at the moment.
“There is [sic] so many defaced Israeli websites right now, that we just made a list of them,” Anonymous tweeted.
The Jerusalem Post has confirmed the group’s assault, including the attack on the Foreign Ministry’s website, as well as those of Kadima party, Bank of Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv Municipality.
HuffPo: Denny’s Franchisee To Cut Worker’s Hours, Impose Obamacare Surcharge on Customer Bills
“If I leave the prices the same, but say on the menu that there is a 5 percent surcharge for Obamacare, customers have two choices.
They can either pay it and tip 15 or 20 percent, or if they really feel so inclined, they can reduce the amount of tip they give to the server, who is the primary beneficiary of Obamacare. Although it may sound terrible that I’m doing this, it’s the only alternative. I’ve got to pass the cost on to the consumer.” ~John Metz, Denny’s Franchisee and Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner
Every time the Change.org petition HERE is signed – the CEO at Denny’s will receive an email about your unhappiness about this franchisee.
The Huffington Post is reporting on yet another employer who has said he will be cutting hours for his employees and imposing an Obama surcharge for all customers to pay on their bill.
This time – it’s business owner John Metz. He owns 40 Denny’s franchise locations, owns Hurricane Grill & Wings with 5 corporate stores and 43 franchisee stores, and he also owns several Dairy Queen locations.
According to the Huffington Post – Metz has decided to place a 5% surcharge at all of his restaurants. As Metz sees it – a customer can choose to tip their servers less if they disagree with the surcharge because that is “who is the primary beneficiary of Obamacare”. Classy
.
They can either pay it and tip 15 or 20 percent, or if they really feel so inclined, they can reduce the amount of tip they give to the server, who is the primary beneficiary of Obamacare. Although it may sound terrible that I’m doing this, it’s the only alternative. I’ve got to pass the cost on to the consumer.” ~John Metz, Denny’s Franchisee and Hurricane Grill & Wings Owner
Every time the Change.org petition HERE is signed – the CEO at Denny’s will receive an email about your unhappiness about this franchisee.
The Huffington Post is reporting on yet another employer who has said he will be cutting hours for his employees and imposing an Obama surcharge for all customers to pay on their bill.
This time – it’s business owner John Metz. He owns 40 Denny’s franchise locations, owns Hurricane Grill & Wings with 5 corporate stores and 43 franchisee stores, and he also owns several Dairy Queen locations.
According to the Huffington Post – Metz has decided to place a 5% surcharge at all of his restaurants. As Metz sees it – a customer can choose to tip their servers less if they disagree with the surcharge because that is “who is the primary beneficiary of Obamacare”. Classy
.
Outrage as AA's owner Acromas pays just 2.7% in corporation tax on profits
After Google, Starbucks and Amazon, Acromas is the latest big company to come under attack.
Private equity firms looking to make millions of pounds from selling the AA breakdown service have come under attack for the tiny amount of corporation tax its holding company has paid.
Unions and MPs have rounded on the owners of the AA's holding company, Acromas, which also houses Saga financial products, for paying tax of 2.7% on profits since its creation in 2007.
The revelation will spark further outrage about the extent of UK tax avoidance by corporations, which last week saw representatives of Google, Starbucks and Amazon grilled by the public accounts select committee.
UK corporation tax is set at 24% but is expected to fall to 23% next year.
Last week business secretary Vince Cable called on the chancellor to use his autumn statement to "get to grips" with companies that are "systematically abusing" the UK tax system.
Private equity firms looking to make millions of pounds from selling the AA breakdown service have come under attack for the tiny amount of corporation tax its holding company has paid.
Unions and MPs have rounded on the owners of the AA's holding company, Acromas, which also houses Saga financial products, for paying tax of 2.7% on profits since its creation in 2007.
The revelation will spark further outrage about the extent of UK tax avoidance by corporations, which last week saw representatives of Google, Starbucks and Amazon grilled by the public accounts select committee.
UK corporation tax is set at 24% but is expected to fall to 23% next year.
Last week business secretary Vince Cable called on the chancellor to use his autumn statement to "get to grips" with companies that are "systematically abusing" the UK tax system.
NHS manager in line for £1 million pay out
A senior NHS executive is in line to receive a £1 million lump sum when his job disappears as part of reforms to the health service.
The NHS has now paid out almost £1bn in redundancy packages under the
Coalition's restructuring of the health service, new figures show.
The payments so far include six figure sums for more than 1,300 senior
managers, with 173 officials receiving at least £200,000 after their
positions were axed.
Many of the biggest payouts have yet to come.
Health authority chief executives are in line to walk away with payments of as much as £1 million within months, if they do not take a job in the new structures, the Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Many of the biggest payouts have yet to come.
Health authority chief executives are in line to walk away with payments of as much as £1 million within months, if they do not take a job in the new structures, the Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
Butterball Accused Of Abusing Turkeys: Hidden Camera Video Exposed
With Thanksgiving right around the corner and turkey as the main event at most dinner tables, an animal rights group is alleging that Butterball workers at five North Carolina farms in Lenoir, Duplin, Onslow and Sampson Counties have been engaged in a pattern of abuse and neglect.
In December of 2011, animal welfare advocacy group Mercy for Animals released a gruesome undercover video of turkey abuse at a plant that raises poultry for Butterball.
That footage led to a raid of the plant being videotaped, as well as several arrests and criminal charges for employees who were involved.
But it seems Butterball — which raises a full 20 percent of the total turkey sold in the country every year, and 30 percent of the turkey eaten on Thanksgiving — hasn’t learned its lesson.
A hidden-camera video released on Wednesday by Mercy For Animals shows workers in October 2012, apparently kicking and stomping turkeys, dragging them by their wings and necks, and slamming them onto the ground, on top of other birds or on transport crates. The group said on its website that the birds suffered from
In December of 2011, animal welfare advocacy group Mercy for Animals released a gruesome undercover video of turkey abuse at a plant that raises poultry for Butterball.
That footage led to a raid of the plant being videotaped, as well as several arrests and criminal charges for employees who were involved.
But it seems Butterball — which raises a full 20 percent of the total turkey sold in the country every year, and 30 percent of the turkey eaten on Thanksgiving — hasn’t learned its lesson.
A hidden-camera video released on Wednesday by Mercy For Animals shows workers in October 2012, apparently kicking and stomping turkeys, dragging them by their wings and necks, and slamming them onto the ground, on top of other birds or on transport crates. The group said on its website that the birds suffered from
serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, and broken bones.
Occupy Movement’s Offshoot Set to Cancel Millions In Debt
The Occupy Movement’s latest offshoot, Strike Debt, is working to cancel millions of dollars in debt.
Strike Debt emerged from a series of Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Theory open assemblies that began in May 2012 in NYC.
According to their Facebook page, they are”spreading the word that debt is a global system of domination and exploitation of the 99% by the 1%. Strike Debt links diverse individuals and communities to resist the debt system”.
Strike Debt emerged from a series of Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Theory open assemblies that began in May 2012 in NYC.
According to their Facebook page, they are”spreading the word that debt is a global system of domination and exploitation of the 99% by the 1%. Strike Debt links diverse individuals and communities to resist the debt system”.
“Our initiatives include publishing The
Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual, hosting teach-ins and debt
assemblies, supporting the Occupy Student Debt Campaign‘s pledge of
student debt refusal, and launching the Rolling Jubilee, a mutual aid
project in which donors buy debt at steeply discounted prices and then
abolish it. We are also planning creative direct actions across the
country, ranging from symbolic debt burnings to targeted shutdowns of
predatory lenders of all kinds.”
What they do is purchase debt for pennies on the dollar, but
instead of attempting to collect that debt, they abolish it. As per
their website,
“We cannot buy specific individuals’ debt—instead, we help liberate
debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and
collective refusal. We kicked off this effort on November 15 with The People’s Bailout, a variety show and telethon in NYC. All proceeds will go directly to buying people’s debt and cancelling it.”
Women score a huge victory with the ouster of Rep. Joe Walsh
Women turned out to be big winners during the election with the defeat of misogynist candidates such as Todd Akin, Richard Mourdoch, Roger Rivard, John Koster and Joe Walsh.
All pro-life and anti-woman, these candidates made bizarre controversial remarks about women and rape at one point during their campaigns.
Earlier this year we ran a collection of 5 videos with one of the most insane of the Tea Party freshmen class of 2010 – Representative William Joseph “Joe” Walsh, the Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois’ northwest suburban 8th congressional district.
Click here to see.
All pro-life and anti-woman, these candidates made bizarre controversial remarks about women and rape at one point during their campaigns.
Earlier this year we ran a collection of 5 videos with one of the most insane of the Tea Party freshmen class of 2010 – Representative William Joseph “Joe” Walsh, the Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois’ northwest suburban 8th congressional district.
Click here to see.
Friday 16 November 2012
Stranded: Scores of Brooklyn and Queens seniors still without power in cold, dark apartments
"I won’t survive,” says one elderly Brighton Beach woman
The Red Cross .. they don't do that!!
America says, if you're not rich, we don't care what happens to you.
What Is a Gift? - Hurricane Sandy
On Monday, NYCHA chairman John Rhea visited a public housing complex that had been without power, water, or heat since Hurricane Sandy.
He told the residents they would be required to pay full rent despite having no services, but that they'd get a rent credit in January, calling it "a nice little Christmas present."
It seems that Rhea needs a lesson in what constitutes a present and what doesn't.
First, what a gift isn't.
If you give someone something you stole from them, it's not a gift. If you give someone money you owe them, it's not a gift. If you wrongfully collect rent, knowing your tenants can legally refuse to pay because you're not providing basic services, and then you give part of that rent back two months later -- that's certainly not a gift.
He told the residents they would be required to pay full rent despite having no services, but that they'd get a rent credit in January, calling it "a nice little Christmas present."
It seems that Rhea needs a lesson in what constitutes a present and what doesn't.
First, what a gift isn't.
If you give someone something you stole from them, it's not a gift. If you give someone money you owe them, it's not a gift. If you wrongfully collect rent, knowing your tenants can legally refuse to pay because you're not providing basic services, and then you give part of that rent back two months later -- that's certainly not a gift.
Making Change at Walmart
Making Change at Walmart is a campaign challenging Walmart to act responsibly and help rebuild our economy.
Anchored by the United Food and Commercial Workers, we are a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, women's advocacy groups, multi-ethnic coalitions, elected officials, and ordinary citizens who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country.
Anchored by the United Food and Commercial Workers, we are a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, women's advocacy groups, multi-ethnic coalitions, elected officials, and ordinary citizens who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country.
Support Walmart Black Friday Strikers!
It's time to take a stand and support the workers who are standing up to live better through an unfair labor practice strike.
What the workers are demanding and ways you can help, click here.
What the workers are demanding and ways you can help, click here.
CEO of Trade Association Defends Decision to Not Donate to Occupy Sandy
A CEO for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Gary Shapiro, has published an editorial, which defends his decision to not donate support the relief effort being undertaken by Occupy Sandy in the aftermath of the superstorm.
The op-ed is remarkable because it indicates just how much respect the relief effort has garnered.
In conclusion, the reason why Shapiro’s op-ed is notable and worth writing about is not that it makes the case for the Red Cross but rather that it lays bear the reality that a radical group of organizers have been tremendously successful.
There are reporters, residents and colleagues of Shapiro that find what they have done is exemplary.
Corporations and businesses have considered donating, even though they may have had a distaste for Occupy Wall Street. But, in the end, for people like Shapiro, their business or capitalist ideology is impossible to ignore and Shapiro recognizes the popularity and respect is so high that he must justify a rational business decision to not support Occupy Sandy.
The op-ed is remarkable because it indicates just how much respect the relief effort has garnered.
In conclusion, the reason why Shapiro’s op-ed is notable and worth writing about is not that it makes the case for the Red Cross but rather that it lays bear the reality that a radical group of organizers have been tremendously successful.
There are reporters, residents and colleagues of Shapiro that find what they have done is exemplary.
Corporations and businesses have considered donating, even though they may have had a distaste for Occupy Wall Street. But, in the end, for people like Shapiro, their business or capitalist ideology is impossible to ignore and Shapiro recognizes the popularity and respect is so high that he must justify a rational business decision to not support Occupy Sandy.
Occupy Sandy
This is why we say thank you to Occupy Sandy Relief NYC everyday.
"Noreen Ellis begged the American Red Cross for help a few days after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast.
A 90-year-old bedbound woman living on Ellis’s block needed to be moved from the Rockaways, an eight-mile long, narrow spit of land in New York City, to a shelter with heat and electricity.
“I said, ‘This woman needs to be transported. Can you help?’ And the Red Cross said, ‘We don’t do that,’” Ellis said.
She shot back: 'What does the Red Cross do?'"
"Noreen Ellis begged the American Red Cross for help a few days after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast.
A 90-year-old bedbound woman living on Ellis’s block needed to be moved from the Rockaways, an eight-mile long, narrow spit of land in New York City, to a shelter with heat and electricity.
“I said, ‘This woman needs to be transported. Can you help?’ And the Red Cross said, ‘We don’t do that,’” Ellis said.
She shot back: 'What does the Red Cross do?'"
UNIONS BEGIN SUPPORT OF OCCUPY SANDY NJ RELIEF EFFORT
Philadelphia – Occupy Sandy NJ has been deploying mutual aid and solidarity to communities across New Jersey.
Volunteers and donations have been pouring in from across the country. Now, the Transport Workers Union in Philadelphia has opened their warehouse space for long-term storage and dispatch needs.
People seeking to give or receive mutual aid in the form of volunteers or supplies can register online at Occupy Sandy Recovery. Residents seeking help; be sure to fill out the "Community Needs Register & Individual Request Form."
Volunteers and donations have been pouring in from across the country. Now, the Transport Workers Union in Philadelphia has opened their warehouse space for long-term storage and dispatch needs.
People seeking to give or receive mutual aid in the form of volunteers or supplies can register online at Occupy Sandy Recovery. Residents seeking help; be sure to fill out the "Community Needs Register & Individual Request Form."
Sandy's Secret Survivors: Old, Disabled and Invisible in the Rockaways
Two weeks after Hurricane Sandy, aid to the shut-in elderly and disabled in New York's Rockaways remains haphazard and inadequate.
I'm a volunteer with Occupy Sandy - a collective of volunteers, activists and citizens using the former networks of Occupy Wall Street to coordinate donations and on-the-ground hurricane relief in New York City's hardest hit areas.
Many of the residents are elderly or disabled - without working elevators, it is physically impossible for them to leave their apartments. Several of them haven't left their apartment since the storm. According to many of them, our crew of five volunteers was the first relief effort they had seen - meaning that until now, they had been subsisting on solely what they had stocked in their apartments before the storm.
Without power, residents can't turn on the lights or the heat. Inside, residents burn candles and light the dark stairwells with tiny, precious battery-operated flashlights. Going up and down the almost pitch-black stairwell simply to get out of their apartments, many could easily fall and become seriously injured. Outside, it's starting to regularly hit freezing and below temperatures, compounded by icy sea breezes. Inside, residents either risk carbon monoxide poisoning by heating their homes with gas stoves and ovens, or bundle up with blankets, winter coats and - if they have access - hot water bottles simply to be able to fall asleep.
Without running water, residents can't flush their toilets or bathe. Many haven't flushed their toilet in more than a week. Even if one can leave, it is no use because the only operational local convenience store ran out of bottled water days ago.
A few floors down, I meet Elizabeth Gerritsen—she is 94 years old, and though able-bodied, is frail, her bones shrunken with age. Like many of her neighbors, she had stayed at 711 Seagirt Boulevard through the storm, and once it had passed realized that without functional elevators, she was trapped with only the supplies that were left in her apartment.
When I knocked on her door, she was physically exhausted; she had just climbed back up 20 flights of stairs in an unfulfilling search for bottled water. I handed her my last bottle of Poland Springs.
"Oh this is wonderful," she said, beaming. "Now I can take a shower."
Only a certain, narrow demographic takes advantage of the distribution centers. They are relatively young and able-bodied enough to leave their apartments, walk to the distribution enters and carry supplies home. Many of them are parents of young children, and most of them are black. There are very few elderly people - black or white - and almost no disabled people.
It becomes apparent just how easily the needs - and presence - of those constricted by old age and disability can be rendered completely invisible.
FEMA finally arrived in the Rockaways the Thursday after the storm ...
Last week when a Nor'easter storm hit - threatening the Rockaways with freezing temperatures and another storm surge - the local FEMA offices closed, "due to the weather."
They (photos of the storm damage) don't show what it is like to be almost completely immobile, and dependent only on those who knock on your door by pure chance.
They don't show what it is like to be rendered invisible.
I'm a volunteer with Occupy Sandy - a collective of volunteers, activists and citizens using the former networks of Occupy Wall Street to coordinate donations and on-the-ground hurricane relief in New York City's hardest hit areas.
Many of the residents are elderly or disabled - without working elevators, it is physically impossible for them to leave their apartments. Several of them haven't left their apartment since the storm. According to many of them, our crew of five volunteers was the first relief effort they had seen - meaning that until now, they had been subsisting on solely what they had stocked in their apartments before the storm.
Without power, residents can't turn on the lights or the heat. Inside, residents burn candles and light the dark stairwells with tiny, precious battery-operated flashlights. Going up and down the almost pitch-black stairwell simply to get out of their apartments, many could easily fall and become seriously injured. Outside, it's starting to regularly hit freezing and below temperatures, compounded by icy sea breezes. Inside, residents either risk carbon monoxide poisoning by heating their homes with gas stoves and ovens, or bundle up with blankets, winter coats and - if they have access - hot water bottles simply to be able to fall asleep.
Without running water, residents can't flush their toilets or bathe. Many haven't flushed their toilet in more than a week. Even if one can leave, it is no use because the only operational local convenience store ran out of bottled water days ago.
A few floors down, I meet Elizabeth Gerritsen—she is 94 years old, and though able-bodied, is frail, her bones shrunken with age. Like many of her neighbors, she had stayed at 711 Seagirt Boulevard through the storm, and once it had passed realized that without functional elevators, she was trapped with only the supplies that were left in her apartment.
When I knocked on her door, she was physically exhausted; she had just climbed back up 20 flights of stairs in an unfulfilling search for bottled water. I handed her my last bottle of Poland Springs.
"Oh this is wonderful," she said, beaming. "Now I can take a shower."
Only a certain, narrow demographic takes advantage of the distribution centers. They are relatively young and able-bodied enough to leave their apartments, walk to the distribution enters and carry supplies home. Many of them are parents of young children, and most of them are black. There are very few elderly people - black or white - and almost no disabled people.
It becomes apparent just how easily the needs - and presence - of those constricted by old age and disability can be rendered completely invisible.
FEMA finally arrived in the Rockaways the Thursday after the storm ...
Last week when a Nor'easter storm hit - threatening the Rockaways with freezing temperatures and another storm surge - the local FEMA offices closed, "due to the weather."
They (photos of the storm damage) don't show what it is like to be almost completely immobile, and dependent only on those who knock on your door by pure chance.
They don't show what it is like to be rendered invisible.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Support Walmart Black Friday Strikers!
Support Walmart Black Friday Strikers!
It's time to take a stand and support the workers who are standing up to live better through an unfair labor practice strike.
Walmart workers decided to strike on Black Friday after they were targeted for retaliation for speaking out about substandard work conditions and treatment last month in the first ever walk out in the history of the company.
We ask you to help us feed the workers who will walk out on the company next week on the biggest shopping day of the year.
From Occupy Wall Street
It's time to take a stand and support the workers who are standing up to live better through an unfair labor practice strike.
Walmart workers decided to strike on Black Friday after they were targeted for retaliation for speaking out about substandard work conditions and treatment last month in the first ever walk out in the history of the company.
We ask you to help us feed the workers who will walk out on the company next week on the biggest shopping day of the year.
From Occupy Wall Street
Attention Walmart Shoppers
This Black Friday, chose family over frenzy.
Visit Buy Nothing, Do Something to take the pledge to stay home this Black Friday.
Why Occupy's Plan To Cancel Consumer Debts Is Brilliant
From Business Insider
A new initiative is re-energising the Occupy movement. Called the Rolling Jubilee, it is a plan to use money from donations to buy distressed consumer debt from lenders at a marked down price, just as debt collection agencies normally would. But instead of hounding debtors for payments, it will simply cancel the debts.
The hope is that the liberated debtors will themselves contribute to the fund, "rolling" the jubilee forward.
The Rolling Jubilee is a genius move for several reasons.
First, debt relief is a transpartisan message that eludes conventional political categorisation. As such, it returns Occupy to its origins as an advocate for the wellbeing of ordinary people, neither leftwing nor rightwing. The Rolling Jubilee says, non-threateningly, "We just want to help people in this unfair system."
A new initiative is re-energising the Occupy movement. Called the Rolling Jubilee, it is a plan to use money from donations to buy distressed consumer debt from lenders at a marked down price, just as debt collection agencies normally would. But instead of hounding debtors for payments, it will simply cancel the debts.
The hope is that the liberated debtors will themselves contribute to the fund, "rolling" the jubilee forward.
The Rolling Jubilee is a genius move for several reasons.
First, debt relief is a transpartisan message that eludes conventional political categorisation. As such, it returns Occupy to its origins as an advocate for the wellbeing of ordinary people, neither leftwing nor rightwing. The Rolling Jubilee says, non-threateningly, "We just want to help people in this unfair system."
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