LaborGlobal: Union organizing: 90 murders of union activists in 2010 alone

----------------------------------------
Business and Human R+ts (June15,2k11)


'Repression of union r+ts 
and economic freedoms
across the globe'

The International Trade Union Confederation's report for the year 2010 has just been released, informing us today of the deaths of 90 activists seeking to establish organizations for workers' representation, also 70 recorded death threats, at least 2500 arrests, and at least 5,000 firings of union agents in retaliation for their union work.

It seems Latin America sees the worst represssion and the most deaths of trade unionists -- the global figure doesn't prepare you for the factoid that more than half the 90 this past year have occurred in one South American country -- Colombia.

Colombia and the Americas maintain the lead in a grim record of murder and repression of workers involved in trade union activities in the latest world Annual Survey of violation of trade union rights released by the ITUC at the 100th ILO Conference. 


The Annual Survey, conducted across 143 countries, paints a picture of people fighting for greater economic rights and freedom to organise, with many governments and businesses responding with repression, sackings, violence, death threats and murder. Covering the year 2010, the Annual Survey reveals...90 murders of trade union activists (49 in Colombia alone)…75 recorded death threats and at least 2,500 arrests…at least 5,000 sackings of unionists because of union activities.

But the futility of any attempt to scapegoat any one region of the globe as an anomaly, is obvious.  Indeed, for instance, Asia has its own sad story to tell in regard to labor relations:

The 2011 annual survey of violations of trade union rights in the world has shown anti-union repression increases in Asia-Pacific. Thailand was also mentioned in the survey that "Employers display an openly anti-union attitude…"...[and] "the legal framework is not conducive to trade union activities. Union members suffered discrimination..."…More than 1,000 Asian trade unionists were injured and almost as many were arrested…The ITUC Annual Survey also denounced employers and authorities use of thugs to attack trade union leaders or activists. In addition to Bangladesh and China, this was notably the case in India and the Philippines. [refers to Michelin, Tycoons, Hicom Automotive Plastics]

Between the ITUC and the Business and Human R+ts Resource Center, one still hopes for a bettering of the situation for all workers globally.  There's room in the ITUC for Christian labor unions -- like CNV (Netherlands), CLAC (Canada), and CLA-USA.

-- EconoMix

TortureBrazil: World Council of Churches: records of 2 decades of brutal torture and represssion, returned to Brazil

--------------------------------
ENI news (June14,2k11)

World Council of Churches will 
return torture documents to Brazil 

Geneva (ENInews)--On 14 June, three boxes containing records of brutal torture and repression suffered under two decades of Brazilian military rule will be returned to the South American country from peaceful Switzerland, where the material has resided at the World Council of Churches (WCC) archives. Religious and political leaders, including WCC general secretary the Rev. Olav Fyske Tveit and Brazilian Senator Pedro Taques, will hand over the documents in a ceremony in Sao Paulo at the Public Prosecution Office. The information was collected by dissident lawyers and church leaders from 1979 to 1985, surreptitiously copied and sent to the WCC. Brazil was under a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. [ENInews©562 words, ENI-11-0304]


-- ENI material re-posted by Owlb

Juridics: USA Labor Law: Can states or feds contain 'freedom of religion' clause -- First Amendment

"Be Distinctive or Risk Losing Religious Freedom" -- Dr Stanley Carlson-Thies (June 14,2k11)
IRFA - Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance - eNews for Faith-Based Organizations (this email newsletter is edited by Dr Carlson for IRFA).  The version of the text, as presented below, is a semiotic enrichment of digital text without altering a single word of the original as published.

Another Attempt to Tinker with the Federal RFRA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Believe it or not, in the guise of promoting the national defense an effort is currently underway in the Senate to weaken the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  Tucked away in S. 981, the Senate's bill to authorize the Defense Department's budget, is a proposal to remove from RFRA's oversight the military's regulations concerning "wearing of items of religious apparel with the uniform."  Two efforts were made in the last Congress to restrict the scope of RFRA's coverage--once in a bill dealing with fraudulent funeral home practices and once in a bill that would have added new restrictions to religious hiring by faith-based groups that receive federal drug treatment funds.  Neither bill went anywhere. RFRA was signed into law in 1993 by President Clinton, after being adopted nearly unanimously by Congress.  It is Congress' response to the US Supreme Court's 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith, in which the justices held that government rules can restrict religious exercise if the government is legislating neutrally rather than targeting religion.  RFRA restores the previous standard.  It exempts religious institutions and people from complying with a generally applicable law that would "substantially burden" their exercise of religion, unless the government can show that it has a "compelling interest" in requiring their compliance and that it has chosen the "least restrictive means" of furthering that vital interest.  Note that there is no automatic exemption, no general free pass for religion.  And note that if there really is a vital governmental interest at stake, and the government has done its best to accommodate religious exercise, then it can impose even a "substantial" burden on religious people and organizations. Of course, it is easier for the government not to have to accommodate religion more than it finds convenient, and it is more pleasing to government officials (just like all of us) not to be held to account for difficult decisions.  But freedom of religious exercise is a high value--a constitutional value.  And RFRA is our premier protection for religious exercise.  It is vital to keep RFRA intact, because support for the principle of religious freedom is waning (in part as a consequence of growing support for sexual freedoms).  One successful effort to restrict the scope of RFRA will just encourage a flood of additional proposals, removing this religious freedom protection where it is most needed.  Hat tip to Steve McFarland, World Vision. [Stan Carlson's text, again ... ]

Catholic Charities Agencies Take Illinois Government to Court ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On behalf of the Catholic Charities agencies in three dioceses (Springfield, Peoria, and Joliet), the Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit last week, seeking to stop the state of Illinois from requiring them to violate the Catholic Church's convictions about families and sexuality as a condition of contracting with the state to provide adoption and foster care services.  In late May, in order to avoid a conflict with the government, Catholic Charities in Rockford [Illinois] announced that it would not renew its contracts with the state.  Some other faith-based agencies are awaiting the new contracts, due before the end of the month, to see what the specific requirements will be. The difficulties for the faith-based agencies started in March, after the governor signed into law a civil unions bill that requires partners in a civil union to be treated the same as married spouses.  Government officials, newspaper reporters, and activists started quizzing faith-based agencies about whether they would accept gay individuals or couples as suitable families for placing children.  Multiple other agencies already serve the gay community.  In a March 8 letter, the Illinois Attorney General demanded that Catholic Charities of Springfield prove that it does not engage in illegal discrimination when it recruits families and places children. The lawsuit says that the Illinois Human Rights Act specifically excludes "sectarian" adoption agencies from its requirement that no "public accommodation" can discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status.  It also points to statements by the sponsors of the new civil unions law that, despite some ambiguity in the law's text, the law is not intended to "interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body."  And the lawsuit claims protection for the faith-based practices of the Catholic Charities agencies under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  Like the federal RFRA, the state RFRA is designed to restore the strong protection for religious freedom that existed before the US Supreme Court's decision in Employment Division v. Smith (see story above).  The Illinois RFRA requires the government to choose the "least restrictive means" of furthering its "compelling interests" when it adopts rules that limit the free exercise of religion. However, as the lawsuit points out, forcing faith-based agencies to participate in gay adoptions and foster-care placements can hardly be the state's "least restrictive means" of ensuring that gay persons can adopt or take care of foster children given the many other agencies in the state that serve just such persons.  The Illinois faith-based agencies that seek to recruit and work with married couples and with single people who adhere to biblical sexual standards are hoping that, this fall, the legislature will put into the law and regulations that apply to their services explicit language protecting their faith-based policies (efforts earlier this year failed).  The lawsuit is an effort to forestall any adverse action by the state before the legislature can fashion an appropriate remedy.

CultureAfrica: Guine-Bissau: Trailer to film directed by Ricaro Reis and Alfonso Flores

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Tempo Digital + (May15,2k11)

83 Tempo Digital vids produced by Vimeo -- a full catalogue of these videos can be accessed here.
The company is Brazilian, the country of the film's scenario is a small West African nation ....

-- Vimeo Tempo Digital trailer "Guine Bissau Final"(posted a month ago in Vimeo catalogue) and logo, both re-posted here by Politicarp

Juridics: American Bar Association: Role in accrediting law schools

Volokh Conspiracy, Jonathan H. Adler (June14,2k11)

Could the ABA Satisfy Its Own Standards?

Jonathan H. Adler • June 12, 2011 9:31 am

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity — the entitity which reviews and approves accreditation agencies — has serious concerns about the American Bar Association, even as it re-approved the ABA’s role in accrediting law schools.

                

"several members of the committee expressed reservations about approving that status for the ABA, which was found to be out of compliance with 17 regulations, including the need to consider student-loan default rates in assessing programs; to solicit and consider public comments; and to set a standard for job placement by its member institutions.    

"Arthur E. Keiser, chancellor of the Keiser Collegiate System, said that an accrediting agency would not accredit an institution with 17 outstanding issues. “There is a real concern that this agency doesn’t get it,” he said. Anne D. Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, was one of three committee members who opposed the motion to continue the bar association’s recognition, saying that she had no confidence it would be in compliance within a year.  

"Representatives of the association assured the committee that the changes recommended by the department were already in the process of being carried out and would be completed in time. . . . In the end, a majority on the federal advisory committee voted to continue the bar association’s recognition, but expressed frustration that they could not take stronger actions or at least state their concerns with stronger language."

Hat tip: Paul Caron (who has more here).

-- VC / Adler materials re-posted by Lawt

PoliticsLibya: German Foreign Minister: Declares rebels to be legit govt of Libya

------------------------------------------
LosAngelesTimes (June14,2k11)

by Patrick J. McDonnell

The battlefronts 


of the Libyan Civil War



Editorial comment:  The lead news regarding Libya in past 24-hours has been the announcement by Germany's Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, reportedly said during a visit that the opposition government based in Benghazi was the "legitimate representative of the Libyan people."  This move is possibly a case of tacit recognition, not formal recognition by the German state with an exchange of ambassadors.   I foresee more defactos, and more formal recognitions coming in due season.  I also note that other moves include a campaign to isolate Libya from its networks and supporters in Africa, both Arab and Black Africa.

-- Politicarp

Reporting from Tripoli, Libya — Clashes near the Libyan city of Port Brega left two dozen antigovernment fighters dead Monday in some of the fiercest battles in weeks along the front dividing rebels in the east and Moammar Kadafi's forces in the west.

The fighting also left 28 rebels wounded, said Dr. Suleiman Refadi, a surgeon at the general hospital in opposition-held Ajdabiya.



The front line between rebel and regime forces lies about halfway between Ajdabiya and Port Brega, the latter an important oil port where thousands of pro-Kadafi troops are said to be dug in.
The opposition has won territory in several pockets in the west, notably the port city of Misurata, just 120 miles east ofTripoli, the capital. But rebels trying to move on from Misurata have also suffered heavy losses in recent days. Some news agency reports Monday suggested Misurata-based rebels were advancing on the government-controlled town of Zlitan, the next objective on the road to Tripoli. 


Read more ... click the t+mstamp just below ...

refWriteBackpage: A trill of consecutive and consequent blog-entries, featuring (How) To archive messages, video with instructional materials

Take me to the refwrite Backpage ...

1.) Technics: YouTube digital technology: 

More technics from Techknowlb: 

at the moment the pool is cool 

is the Golden Rule

-- materials posted by Owlb

+ 


2.) Technics: 
More technics from Techknowlb:

Future of the Internet: 

Common Pool

+ 


3.) Technics: 
Digital and Personal Computer:
IPv6 -- Internet Protocol version 6 presently leading
the rapid transition away from
IPv4.

-- recent posts on refWrite page 4, by Owlb, general editor
-- and thanks everybody!

HistoryUSA: Paul Revere: Sarah Paline wins in the pundits sweepstake on her reading of American history

------------------------------
YouTubeServices, channel yUT2ube,  partner with refWrite for vid collecting and accessiblity to reformational viewers / readers, and friends.


YouTube - Palin doubles down on Paul Revere history lesson: 
'I Didn't Mess Up'

A charming claim to accuracy amidst punditry's presumptuous putdowns.

-- Politicarp

PoliticsEnglandUK: Lib Dems: Leader, Nick Clegg, recovers voice and soldiers the party onward

----------------------------------------------
Press Association UK (May11,2011)


England's Liberal Democrats, coalition partner with the Conservatives in running the British govt, said its leader Nick Clegg (date line is May11,2k11, a month ago), are "still formidible."  He continues: "... despite their humiliation in last week's elections".

The Deputy Prime Minister dismissed predictions that his party faces being marginalised as a result of its participation in coalition government, insisting that it will go into the 2015 general election with a "unique" offer of social fairness and economic credibility which will appeal to millions of voters.

Read more ... click the t+mstamp just below ...

Consumers' Hub - restoring the game, seeking the fame, sharing the flame 8-)

This coud be classified as an unsolicited free advertizement for the product at hand.  refWrite's Consumers' Hub occasional column can accept no liabilities for bringing these products to your notice. Caveat emptor!  Let the buyer beware.  -- Consumer2,JustLikeYou!

The review, excerpted below, is exemplary as a late-capitalist (uptodate) advertizing-driven car manufacturers and sales lots prime exhibit #1, even consumer-justice minded consumer-cawz devoted cusomers like yourself.   8-)

Text (design is superb):

2011 Mitubishi Outlander GT S-AWC webpage (June7,2k11)

• REVIEW
  
• SPECIFICATIONS
• SHOP

2011
Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC

• Share
• Add to my list
• Print
• E-mail

• Want it

PHOTOS

•   

See all Mitsubishi Motors products

CNET EDITORS' RATING

3.5 stars

VERY GOOD

MY RATING

0

stars

WRITE REVIEW

QUICK SPECS

• Body style:
  SUV
• Available Engine:
  Gas

See all specifications

WHERE TO BUY

SHOP NOW

STARTING AT: $27,795.00 FROM 1 STORE

• $27,795.00
  Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price From Edmunds.com
  SEE IT

SEE PRICE FROM 1 STORE

EDITORS' REVIEW

• Reviewed by:
• Antuan Goodwin
• Reviewed on: 06/06/2011

• CNET EDITORS' RATINGARS
  
  
• COMFORT:
  7.0
  7.0/10
  
• PERFORMANCE:
  8.0
  8.0/10
  
• DESIGN:
  6.0
  6.0/10
  
• Editors' rating explained
• 
  

The good: The 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT's S-AWC system does a fantastic job of keeping the crossover's handling in line, even in wet conditions. If you like bass-heavy music, the 710-watt Rockford Fosgate premium audio rig will not disappoint. The Mitsubishi Fuse feature adds voice command to iPod music selection and hands-free calling.

The bad: The engine and transmission combo feels a bit underpowered and lacks sportiness. The interface of the Mitsubishi navigation system is haphazardly organized and takes effort to learn.

The bottom line: While likely the best-handling crossover in its class, with cabin tech that doesn't disappoint, the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT has much room for improvement--particularly in the engine bay.

2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC     Photo gallery:

Most brands have a halo car: a no-holds-barred ubercar that it can later claim shares technology with the lesser models in the lineup. For Mitsubishi, that car is the Lancer Evolution X, a sport sedan often cited as one of the best-handling cars on the road and as giving the best performance for its price. The Evolution X's claim to fame is its S-AWC all-wheel-drive system. To review the Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC, we need to keep the Evo in mind.

Sharp-eyed readers will see that the Outlander shares the S-AWC nomenclature with its upscale stablemate. And, yes, the larger crossover vehicle shares the Evo's all-wheel-drive technology and some of its handling prowess. However, there's one key difference between the Outlander's Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) system and the Evolution X's that creates a critical difference in their driving dynamics.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/suv/2011-mitsubishi-outlander-gt/4505-10868_7-34806541.html#ixzz1OcO8VeVQ

-- CNET / Antuan Goodwin materials posted by Consumer2,JustLikeYou!

PoliticsNewZealand: Reconstruction: After Christchurch Earthquake, shoud the city be 'copenhagenized' ?

--------------------------------------

Southerly blog, by David Haywood
public address -- a community of blogs (May31,2k11)

One hundred and thirty-one million 

reasons to 'copenhagenize' after

Christchurch, New Zealand

earthquake

Perhaps the most common theme on the shareanidea.org.nz website (a council-run service for collecting ideas on the rebuilding of central Christchurch) is the suggestion to dramatically improve the city’s cycling infrastructure. Although only one submission actually mentions the word ’Copenhagenize’, this would be the verb that many engineers would employ to describe the overall process of designing a cycle-friendly city.

If you haven’t come across it before, ‘Copenhagenize’ arises from an urban planning philosophy that was implemented in Copenhagen in order to promote the use of bicycles (and also walking) as a form of urban transportation. The success of this planning philosophy in    C  o p e n h a g e n    has been astounding – with 36 per cent of its population now making their daily commute by bicycle.

The shareanidea.org.nz website only permits a maximum of 140 characters for each submission, which doesn’t allow a lot of room to explain why Copenhagenization might be a good idea. So I thought it might be worth giving a quick overview of the research on this topic.

----------------------
Hat Tip to Steve Bishop, The reformational Daily; and to David Haywood, Southerly. 

-- Southerly / David Haywood intro materials posted by,
    and semiotiocally-enhanced by Politicarp and EconoMix

PoliticsGreece: Mass Demonstrations: 'Thousands protest' ruling party's austerity policy

--------------------------------
Financial Times email newsletter (June6,2k11)

Thousands protest against Greek austerity

Thousands of Greeks protested outside parliament against a fresh austerity package agreed in return for the country’s second  bail-out in 13 months by the European Union and International Monetary Fund http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/M9E4G9/A2VTN/PRIXGV/26BO62/6C/h?a1=2011&a2=6&a3=6 -- FT materials posted by Politicarp

PoliticsPortugal: Socialists thrown out -- Social Democrats in, forming new centre-r+t coalition

Financial Times email newsletter (June6,2k11)

Socialists ousted      in Portugal election

Portugal’s opposition Social Democrats won a conclusive victory in a general election, paving the way for a new centre-right coalition to implement the country’s €78bn bail-out programme

http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/5COU83/48GNQ/S39YC4/NSE9XK/D5/h?a1=2011&a2=6&a3=5

The USA's bail-out cost  nearly a trillion (that's expressed in Arabic
numerals 1,000,000,000, I guess), while the total sovereign debt is
14 trillion.   The concept of a trillion dollars is not quite real in my
mind, it's more a calculation than an idea as such ... of course,
calculations depend on ideas too.  At least a concept, a calculation,
perhaps an idea of  presentday-economic first order, too.

--TF stuff posted by Politicarp

EconomicsUSA: Outsourcing loses luster to American companies -- costs too much!

Analysis: 

Will Costs Drive Firms Home?

By JOHN BUSSEY

For years, the U.S. manufacturing sector seems to have been sliding into the Slough of Despond.

Companies have been eagerly outsourcing to lower-cost venues such as China, India and Mexico. And with the production go jobs. Occasionally a company might bring some manufacturing back to the U.S. But it's a trickle, and the exceptions seem to prove the rule.General Electric, Caterpillar, a handful of others—the list is short.

Now, that may be about to change.

A combination of forces—rapidly rising labor rates abroad, loftier materials and shipping costs, deep-discount tax incentives from U.S. states—are changing some of the calculations by which companies decide to move production abroad, or even keep what's there now.
Read more ... click on the time-stamp just below ...

JuridicsMexico: Constitution: 2 important admendments reforming human r+ts law passes

--------------------------------------------------------
ComparativeConstitutions.org (June3,2k11)

A Forthcoming Rights Revolution in Mexico?

Posted: 03 Jun 2011 10:45 AM PDT

Two important constitutional reforms have been just approved in Mexico. The first reform transforms the human rights regime in the country. Among other things, it recognizes as rights not only those explicitly included in the constitution but also all rights present in international treaties ratified by the country. The reform also gives new powers to the Ombudsman office. The second one is a reform to the amparo suit, the individual instrument of constitutional complaints that is the main tool for rights protection. This reform expands the accessibility, scope, and effectiveness of the amparo. Contrary to the old amparo that was accessible only for someone with a “juridical interest” in a case (someone directly affected by a public authority), the new amparo will be accessible for anyone with a “legitimate interest”. Contrary to the old amparo that was useful for challenging only governmental acts that allegedly violate one of the “constitutional guarantees” present in the first twenty nine articles of the constitution, the new amparo will be useful for challenging government acts that violate any human right recognized by the constitution or by international treaties. Last but not least, contrary to the old amparo that produced only inter partes effects, decisions in new amparo cases will be able to produce general or erga omnes effects.

It is commendable that Mexican authorities finally recognized that the amparo, once a novelty in the judicial landscape of the region, had fallen behind instruments in other countries that were initially created to emulate it but were also more successfully adapted to changing circumstances. It is also important that human rights become the constitutionally guiding principle of all activity of the Mexican government. However, whether these reforms actually produce a rights revolution in the country remains to be seen. It is true that at least in theoretical terms the reforms have this potential: Studies on Costa Rica and Colombia (e.g. Wilson and Rodríguez Cordero, 2006) argue that expanding access produces a rights revolution even in countries lacking a strong “support structure” (Epp 1998). It will thus be interesting to see how creatively and extensively litigants use the new amparo and how expansively judges interpret the “legitimate interest” standing in these suits. Of course, it will also be interesting to see how the government reacts to potential judicial decisions expanding rights.

-- posted by Julio Rios-Figuero, reposted here by Lawt

EconomicsSouthAfrica: Economic Growth: Picks up more than expected

-------------------------------------------

Wall Street Journal (May31,1k22)

South Africa's Economy Accelerates

Economic growth in South Africa picked up 

more than expected in the first quarter, 

rising to 4.8%, compared with a revised 

quarterly figure of 4.5% in the fourth quarter 

of 2010.