Tent Villages Spotlight Plight Of Japan's Unemployed

by Anthony Kuhn
National Public Radio
April 28, 2009

The current downturn is shaping up to be the worst since World War II for Japan, the world's second largest economy. Sony, Toyota, Canon and other major exporters have responded by cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs — mostly targeting temporary workers, who now make up one-third of Japan's workforce.

But in recent months, a grass-roots movement has emerged to help the temporary workers and focus public attention on their plight...

Spotlight on 'Placement Agents' Throws New Light on Fee Racket

The IUF's Private Equity Buyout Watch

New criminal indictments arising from the state of New York's widening investigation into bribes and kickbacks paid to investment funds in return for pension fund investments is throwing a spotlight on the use of "placement agents" to siphon employee pension fund money into private equity deals.

It's officially a crime

United Farm Workers

Involuntary manslaughter charges were filed today against three top officials of the defunct labor contractor company, Merced Farm Labor, in the case of 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez--who died of a heat stroke last May 16.

The UFW applauds the District Attorney's decision to prosecute this as the crime it was. It never should have happened. An innocent young girl never should have died due to grower indifference. (Click to read Maria’s story.)

However, violations occur every day and nothing is done. Last year five other farm workers died of heat-related causes after Maria's death. Complaints regarding lack of drinking water, shade and work breaks to make use of these simple but lifesaving measures are an everyday occurrence for farm workers. (Click to read farm worker stories.) Farm workers can’t afford to wait until such an audacious violation such as Maria’s finally causes the state to react.

That's why farm workers need this bill that will give then the means to protect themselves. It's why SB789 is so vital. SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg) will make it easier for farm workers to organize and help enforce the laws that California's government cannot enforce.

SB789 just passed the California state senate yesterday. It will next be heard in the state assembly and then go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Please e-mail Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or your Assemblymembers. Tell them to pass SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.

Please take action today. Help protect the men and women who are in the fields working under the sweltering sun working to put food on our tables.

The Ones Who Got It Right

Posted by nimda in In the Public Interest

Why is it that well regarded people working the fields of corporate power and performance who repeatedly predicted the Wall Street bubble and its bursting receive so little media and attention?

The Color of Money: 10 Visionaries Building The Market For Green Consumers

By Dan Shapley
Mon April 13, 2009
The Daily Green

Nominees for a 2009 Heart of Green Award.
Also see nominees in Food, Politics, Media, Parenting and Local Hero categories.

Mar's Chocolate Bars To Use Sustainable Cocoa

National Public Radio

Morning Edition, April 9, 2009 · Mars has announced a plan to buy chocolate that's grown more sustainably. That means making sure the cocoa that goes into its Snickers bars and other candy is grown in a way that doesn't deplete supplies, and allows cocoa farmers to earn a decent wage. Mars says the goal is for all its cocoa to be certified as coming from sustainable sources by the year 2020.

Apartheid cases can proceed - judge

iol news
By Christine Kearney

New York - A US judge ruled on Wednesday that lawsuits seeking monetary damages can continue against five large companies accused of aiding South Africa's former apartheid system of racial segregation.

But US District Judge Shira Scheindlin also dismissed claims against banks UBS AG and Barclays Bank Plc and electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd.

"Corporate defendants accused of merely doing business with the apartheid Government of South Africa have been dismissed," Scheindlin said in her ruling.

The judge allowed at least some claims made by tens of thousands of South African plaintiffs in two lawsuits in US federal court to proceed against automakers General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Daimler AG as well as International Business Machines and Rheinmetall AG.

Pizza Fusion: World’s First LEED Certified Pizzeria

...They’ve just received LEED certifications for two new Florida locations for cutting their water waste by 40% and electricity consumption by 20%. As if that wasn’t enough, the countertops are made from recycled glass bottles collected at other Pizza Fusion restaurants, bamboo floors, 30% reclaimed concrete, recycled blue jean insulation, low voltage lighting, and reclaimed wood furniture. All of their pizzas are delivered by hybrids, and all of the restaurants’ power usage is offset with wind energy credits. Plus they’re organic!...

Tesla Motors: The company we SHOULD give Billions to

If the US Government was serious about "going Green" and building a 21st century transportation infrastructure why not invest in a company which could be scaled UP right now, creating high paying manufacturing jobs and helping the environment in one fell swoop?