The Forest Stewardship Council -- a widely recognized third-party labeling system to identify "green" wood and paper products -- has acknowledged that some companies using its label are destroying pristine forests and says it plans to overhaul its rules.

Prominent Democrats in Congress reacted angrily today to disclosures that State Department investigators made apparently unauthorized offers of immunity to Blackwater security guards in the case of last month’s deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians.

New mining codes in Columbia draw criticism from worker's unions who claim that they undermine environmental regulations, diminish labor rights and exploit the land.

A congressional hearing on the use of carbon monoxide to keep meat looking fresh promises to be an odious affair.

Energy Dept. Audit Finds Overcharges On Contracts Alleged 'Padding' By KBR Affiliate

The Bush administration appears to have annexed a major Canadian landmark as part of a slick new campaign to promote U.S. tourism and welcome foreign visitors to America.

The notion that making a company environmentally friendly can be not just cost-effective but profitable is questioned.

A Labour peer has admitted taking money to introduce an arms company lobbyist to the government minister in charge of weapons purchases.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conceded on Thursday that there was a “hole” in United States law that had allowed Blackwater USA employees and other armed contractors in Iraq to escape legal jeopardy for crimes possibly committed there.

Oil giant BP has been fined a total of $373m (£182m) by the US Department of Justice for environmental crimes and committing fraud.

Tata, India's largest conglomerate, wants to take 10,000 acres of land to mine ilmenite in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plan has sparked protests by local villagers who say the project will destroy their traditional way of life and the environment.

Toy manufacturer RC2 recalls toys due to lead content, replacing them with new lead-contaminated toys.

The British energy company BP, tarnished by a string of costly legal problems, is preparing to settle accusations that it was criminally indifferent to worker safety and that it manipulated energy prices.

Proposed sanctions introduced in the US House of Representatives would pressure US energy giant Chevron to pull its investment from Myanmar, which rights activists say is helping prop up the ruling military junta.

Vous êtes sur le site officiel des Travailleurs Industriels du Monde. Ici vous trouverez à peu près tout ce dont vous avez besoin pour rejoindre l'IWW et commencer à organiser vos lieux de travail et construire un grand syndicat au sein de votre communauté. La plupart des informations contenues ici traitent des Etats-unis et du Canada, mais nous avons aussi des liens vers d.autres sites IWW gérés ailleurs.

L'IWW est une organisation syndicale pour tous les travailleurs, un syndicat dédié à l'organisation des travailleurs sur leur lieu de travail, dans leurs industries et leurs communautés. Les membres des IWW organisent les travailleurs pour obtenir de meilleures conditions aujourd.hui et construisent pour demain un monde économique démocratique. Nous voulons que nos entreprises fonctionnent au profit des ouvriers et des communautés plutôt que pour une poignée de patrons et leur exécutif.

Nous sommes les Travailleurs Industriels du Monde parce que nous nous organisons industriellement. Ceci signifie que nous organisons tous les travailleurs produisant les mêmes biens ou fournissant les mêmes services dans un syndicat, plutôt que de les diviser par secteurs d.activité, ainsi nous pouvons mettre en commun notre force et faire triompher nos revendications ensemble. Depuis que l'IWW a été fondé en 1905, nous avons apporté des contributions significatives aux combats des travailleurs à travers le monde et nous sommes fiers de notre tradition visant à nous organiser indépendamment de critères sexuels, ethniques et raciaux bien avant que de telles méthodes soient courantes.

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Cnaan Liphshiz | Ha’aretz

12 March 2010

The state this week agreed to reinvestigate the 2009 near-fatal wounding of American pro-Palestinian protester Tristan Anderson in the West Bank, after his lawyer complained that the discontinued probe of the case was “negligent.”

“We will reexamine the decision to close the case of Tristan Anderson,” Justice Ministry spokesman Ron Roman told Anglo File. He said this after receiving an appeal from the lawyer of the 38-year-old American, who remains in critical condition at the Sheba Medical Center after police seriously injured him in the head exactly one year ago during a demonstration.

The ministry decided in December to close its investigation into Anderson’s injury after its probe produced “a lack of criminal culpability.” Anderson, a Californian, was hit in the forehead on March 13, 2009 by a tear gas canister fired by a border policeman in the village of Na’alin during a demonstration against Israel’s contested separation fence.

“The investigation conducted was characterized by severe omissions,” attorney Michael Sfard wrote on Tuesday to the central district attorney’s office, in an appeal against the decision to close the case. The appeal by Sfard, an international human rights lawyer representing the family, was based on his own shadow investigation of the incident.

In deciding to close the case, the Justice Ministry’s investigation team “failed altogether to visit the scene of the incident or even view it from a nearby location in order to familiarize itself with it,” Sfard said. “Border Police officers responsible for Tristan’s injury were not questioned at all,” he added.

The ministry would not comment on this assertion, citing the ongoing investigation. The Border Police also declined to comment.

According to both the ministry’s probe and Sfard’s own investigation, Anderson was hit at around 4 P.M. near a mosque, at the same time as Border Police officers were dispersing stone throwers in the village with tear gas. But Sfard’s probe showed that although there were several Border Police squads in the area, the ministry’s team only questioned one squad, which was busy dispersing the demonstrators from its position near a cellular antenna. Sfard says that the soldiers of this squad could not have fired the canister that hit Anderson because the officers did not have a line-of-sight to Anderson.

“This constitutes severe negligence in the work of the investigation team, which went astray following the mistaken assumption that Tristan was injured by shots fired by the squad positioned on ‘Antenna Hill’, not even bothering to question the other squads, despite clear indications that [one of the other squads] fired the shot,” Sfard’s appeal reads.

The shadow investigation by Sfard traces the “mistaken assumption” to the fact that the squad questioned admitted to injuring a protester who was evacuated from the scene. However, this was not Anderson, according to Sfard. The investigators could have “discovered that there was another injured person at that same incident – and that this person was injured from the fire of a different squad than that which hit Tristan,” Sfard went on to write in the appeal.

A Swedish member of the International Solidarity Movement told Anglo File that the shooting was unprovoked. “The policeman approached from behind a building when everything was quiet,” said the activist while still in Israel a few months ago, who identified himself only as John because he works for the Swedish government. John, 30, added he was 30 meters away from Anderson at the time. The policeman who fired the canister was 60 meters away, he said.

Avi Biton, the spokesperson for the border police’s Judea and Samaria district, declined to comment on this, citing the investigation in progress. “This occurrence could have easily been avoided had demonstrators showed more respect for Israeli law regarding protests, Israel’s troops’ safety and Israeli taxpayers’ property,” Biton said.

The impact of the projectile that hit Anderson caused condensed fractures to his forehead and right eye socket. Part of his right frontal lobe had to be removed, and a brain fluid leakage was sealed using a tendon from his thigh.

The case, according to Ron Roman from the Justice Ministry, has been transferred to a ministry appeal committee in Jerusalem, which “will look into the facts in an earnest manner and may reverse the decision to close the case if it finds the evidence compelling.”

Protesters gathered at 53rd and Lexington
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

NEW YORK — On March 9, 2010, there was a $1,000 a plate fundraising dinner at New York’s Waldorf Astoria for the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) – the same folks that rained death and destruction on Gaza a little over a year ago. The dinner was sponsored by Friends of the IDF. Declaring that they would not remain silent, a substantial group of organizations (which included Adalah-NY, American Jews for a Just Peace, Brooklyn for Peace, Center for Immigrant Families, Codepink, Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism, Gaza Freedom March, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews Say No!, Judson Church, Middle East Crisis Response, National Lawyers Guild-New York Chapter, NYC Anti-War Coalition, Progressive Democrats of America, Wespac, Women in Black Union Square, Woodstock Veterans for Peace and others) were determined to make the Friends of the IDF, as well as the citizens of New York, aware of their objections to what Israel had done and was doing to the Palestinian people. Many of the Jewish groups felt a particular sense of responsibility because the crimes were being committed in their name since Israel purports to speak for all Jews.

Banging the drum for peace — and justice
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Along with signs that said ‘War Crimes’ and ‘No US Military Aid to Israel’ there were hundreds of signs that listed some of the war crimes discussed in the Goldstone Report and by human rights organizations that have documented violations of international law:

• Israeli soldiers shot at handcuffed civilians and women and children carrying white flags.
• Israeli forces bombed a home, killing one family of 22.
• Israeli forces bombed a playground, 3 Gaza hospitals, and a U.N. school.
• Israeli forces destroyed more than 3,000 homes, the Gaza water plant, flour mill, egg farms, and the cement factory.

Many of the signs gave the names and ages of people killed, including babies and the very elderly.

Protesters marched past the Waldorf
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Between 500 and 600 people of all ages and backgrounds, most dressed in black, silently and militantly circled the block that the Waldorf is situated on. They did that for 2 hours as very well dressed attendees entered the hotel. Most seemed angry, many were abusive but, per instructions from the organizers, nobody (actually, almost nobody) responded. There were also a few Zionist supporters who infiltrated the demonstration by getting between the marchers and trying to provoke arguments as they walked. They were not responded to either. People who volunteered to be marshals kept the demonstrators moving at an even pace and kept reminding them to avoid confrontations. They did an excellent job keeping everything running smoothly. There were also many National Lawyers Guild legal observers with their bright green caps – always a comforting sight. However, there were no problems with the NYPD.

National Lawyers Guild legal observers with the familiar green hats
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Across Park Avenue another group of about 150 demonstrators organized by Al-Awda were also protesting against the IDF and their General Gabi Ashkenazi, often referred to as the “Butcher of Gaza,” who was at the dinner also. Their demonstration was very different. There were Palestinian flags, a sound system, and very vigorous chanting, “When people are occupied, resistance is justified”, “Free, free Palestine”, “Gaza, Gaza don’t you see – Palestine will be free”, and “Gaza, Gaza don’t you cry – Palestine will never die”. Some of the people who had walked silently joined the Al-Awda demonstration when the walk ended.

Al-Awda
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Although the styles of the 2 demonstrations were very different the message was exactly the same. Over 700 New Yorkers came out into the streets to say that they strongly objected to Israel’s destructive policies and to the US military aid being given to Israel, a gift from American tax payers. They will not buy products made in Israel or in Israeli settlements and they will continue to speak out forcefully for justice for the Palestinian people.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — NLN readers are familiar with the case of Fahad Hashmi, the young Muslim man accused of giving material aid to Al Qaeda, who, while waiting for a trial, has now spent 1371 days (almost 4 years) incarcerated, 871 (almost 2 1/2 years) of them in extreme solitary confinement under the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs). This is an update. His trial is now scheduled for April 28th and his supporters are urging people to come to the Federal Courthouse at 500 Pearl St to observe the trial. The want the court to see that there are many people who not only believe in his innocence, but, more importantly, think that he has been treated unjustly. In Hashmi’s case US law and the Bill of Rights have been disregarded. For example, he has already been punished before ever being convicted of anything, he certainly has not received a speedy trial, and his writings, all constitutionally protected free speech, will be used against him at the trial.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

On March 8th there was another vigil for Fahad outside the Metropolitan Correction Center at 150 Park Row where he is being held. These vigils, organized by THAW (Theaters Against War) have been taking place regularly since October. Anywhere from 30 (a freezing and snowy night) to 300 (MLK Day) people attend. On March 8th representatives from Care-NY and the Catholic Worker were there to protest Hashmi being tortured at the MCC – prolonged solitary confinement is a recognized worm of torture which causes people to lose their minds. Care-NY led those assembled in loud chants, hoping that Hashmi would hear them up on the 13th floor, while the others stood in silence with anti-torture signs.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Many people read letters they wrote to Fahad Hashmi, including his former professor, Jeanne Theoharis and the actor, Bill Irwin. Some of the letters will be published in Samar, a magazine serving the South Asian community. The letters had been returned to the senders because, under the SAMs, he is not allowed to get mail. They all began the same way, Dear Fahad, You don’t know me but…. The writers introduced themselves and their families, and told him that they had come to feel that he was part of their family, and they expressed the hope that they would meet him when he was free. They expressed heartfelt empathy with him and his family, they said his treatment was unfair and unconstitutional, and said that they hoped to meet him when justice triumphed and he was finally set free. Many also said that they would pray for him.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The next vigil will be on Monday, March 22nd, 6-7 PM, in front of 150 Park Row. Members of the clergy will be there. On Tuesday, March 23rd there will be a program by the Culture Project at Judson Memorial Church (Washington Sq. South & Thompson St. in Greenwich Village) and on Thursday, March 25th at NYU, 40 Washington Sq. South, Room 220, at 7 PM there will be a panel discussion on the subject of Preemptive Prosecution. Both of these presentations will include details about the Fahad Hashmi case. All are urged to attend and become more informed. In standing up for his civil and human rights, we are standing up for our own.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

(Photo: Alice Embree / Rag Blog)

[This article originally appeared in the Rag Blog]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — International Women’s Day, celebrated the world over on March 8th, has its origins in the struggle of women garment workers in the United States. But, like May Day that also commemorates a U.S. labor struggle, International Women’s Day is often ignored in this country.

It’s not ignored in San Antonio, Texas. Continuing a 20-year tradition, a coalition of San Antonio groups celebrated the power of women organizing with a march and rally that drew an estimated crowd of 2,200 on Saturday, March 6. Beginning at the doorstep of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the rally featured Iola Scott, Hyatt employee and member of Unite Here, a union organizing hotel workers in the tourist-intensive district.

Leaving the Hyatt to the beat of indigenous dancers, the march snaked down Market to Milam Park, chanting

"Hyatt, Escucha! Estamos en la lucha." "Money for homes, not for prisons. Money for healthcare, not for war." "Se Oye! Se Siente! La Mujer Esta Presente!"

With an inspiring mix of African American, Mexican-American, Latinas, and Anglos, the march commemorated organizers past and present. Images of San Antonio 1930-era labor organizers like Emma Tenayuca of the Pecan Shellers Union danced above the crowd. Crosses commemorated the women dead in Juarez. One sign read: “End NAFTA, Stop the Femicide in Juarez.”

A somber procession honored the dead from violence against transgender people. Life-size black plywood figures stood on small altars with wheels, carrying the stories of the victims. Photos of their faces stood out in color against the black wood.

More than 20 organizations co-sponsored the march, including academic women’s studies centers, Planned Parenthood, gay and lesbian alliances, and several labor organizations. Providing 20 years of organizational stability to this kind of coalition building is the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. www.esperanzacenter.org

At Plaza del Zacate, speakers and entertainers included Betita Martinez — Chicana social justice activist, writer and educator — Suzy Bravo, Amanda Flores, Kiawitl Xochitl, and many more.

I guess it takes 70 miles down an interstate to experience the kind of coalition work that Austin doesn’t dare to dream of. I marched with a contingent of Austin CodePink. It was invigorating to be part of an effort that transcended the divides of race, class, and sexual preference. An excerpt of the coalition’s vision statement states:

We, like women and girls all over the world, are the voices of conscience, the roots of change, and the leaders of local and global movements. We seek healthcare, housing, education, environmental justice, and fair wages not just for women, but also as people of color, as youth and elders, as immigrants and indigenous people, as lesbian, bisexual, intersex, two-spirit, transgender, and queer women, and as poor, and working class people.

We oppose all forms of violence. We advocate for reproductive choice. We call for an end to war, genocide, and occupation. We claim our own voices and come together to share them in public spaces. We march in solidarity with women and social justice movements around the world.