Asia Floor Wage You Tube Channel
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
.
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