Category Archives: Fail!

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Left Out of Chilean Boom – Inter Press Service | Inter Press Service

Tens of thousands of women employed as seasonal workers in rural areas of Chile suffer high levels of poverty and poor working conditions, even though their labour generates huge profits for agricultural exporters.

In 2013, Chile’s agro-exports amounted to nearly 11.6 billion dollars. But most seasonal workers earned less than the minimum monthly wage of 380 dollars a month.

Chile is ranked by international consultants as one of the world’s 25 fastest-growing countries and the second-fastest in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which it joined in 2010 to become the only Latin American member along with Mexico.

And according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), it is the country with the lowest proportion of informal labour in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Nevertheless, there are still casual and seasonal workers employed in precarious conditions, without basic labour rights.

“In Chile there is a large number of workers, and women in particular, suffering precarious working conditions characterised by low wages, a lack of job stability and a lack of legal protections because they are subcontracted or outsourced, etc,” the minister of the National Women’s Service (SERNAM) Claudia Pascual acknowledged.

And the situation is especially bad for women from poor urban neighbourhoods or rural areas, the minister told IPS.

“It’s not the same thing to be a poor woman, a Mapuche, Aymara or Quechua [indigenous] woman, a rural woman, as it is to be a professional,” Pascual added.

The amount of work done by seasonal workers skyrocketed in the 1980s when fruit plantations and exports grew exponentially in Chile.

via Seasonal Agricultural Workers Left Out of Chilean Boom – Inter Press Service | Inter Press Service.

The White Death, Revived – In The Fray

Paul Nunn, the WHO’s TB coordinator, says that these deadly strains have cropped up in certain European countries, too, though the reports have yet to be published. “If the health system of the world fails, the highly resistant strains will replace the old,” he adds. “We’ll see a worsening of the situation if nothing is done.” On the other hand, it may be only when the resistant strains become a major problem in rich countries that the profit-seeking pharmaceutical industry will take notice and pour real money into the development of potent new treatments.

Without effective drugs to combat the most resistant strains, doctors may have to revert to remedies from an earlier era. Udwadia recalls his first patient with untreatable TB. Twenty-six years old, she had spent the last five years trying a variety of anti-TB drugs, all of which had failed. As a last resort, she underwent a pneumonectomy, a high-risk medical procedure to remove a lung. The woman later died of complications from the surgery. The procedure had not been used on tuberculosis patients since the introduction of antibiotic treatments six decades ago.

via The White Death, Revived – In The Fray.

Beersheba church defaced in new anti-Christian ‘price-tag’ attack | Maan News Agency

A church in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba was defaced with anti-Christian graffiti attacking Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on Friday in the latest in a string of attacks by suspected Jewish extremists targeting Palestinian Christian sites.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the graffiti on the church in the old city of Beersheba read: “Jesus = Son of a whore.”

Spokesman for the Israeli police Luba Samari confirmed the incident, and said police have opened an investigation into it.

The attack comes only two days before the Pope is due to visit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, amid a wave of attacks against Christian holy sites and property that have occurred inside Israel in the last few months.

via Beersheba church defaced in new anti-Christian ‘price-tag’ attack | Maan News Agency.

GOP Support for Vet? Not so much! Off the Charts Blog | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | For Veterans, More Bad News Than Good in Housing Funding Bill

Unfortunately, the House bill doesn’t include enough money to renew the more than 60,000 existing VASH vouchers unless state and local housing agencies scale back their other voucher programs, by helping fewer families or shifting the burden of rent and utility increases to voucher holders.  The bill also risks locking in the loss of more than 70,000 Housing Choice Vouchers cut in 2013 due to sequestration.

As a result, voucher holders — including many veterans — would face higher housing costs, and people on waiting lists for vouchers would face longer waits.

The House bill would also deepen the funding shortfall in public housing, which over time will cause living conditions for more low-income residents — again, including many veterans — to deteriorate.

As policymakers negotiate the final HUD budget, they should reflect on veterans’ service to the country and the progress that’s been made in helping them afford housing.  They shouldn’t cut the programs that help them keep a roof over their heads.

via Off the Charts Blog | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | For Veterans, More Bad News Than Good in Housing Funding Bill.

Mahienour El-Massry, often dubbed as a voice of the revolution and a champion of women’s rights, has spent her first few nights behind grey walls at Damanhour prison after being sentenced to two years in jail for protesting.

The 28-year-old and eight others were sentenced by one of Alexandria’s crumbling courthouses for organizing an ‘unauthorized protest’ and violating the protest law.

The young activist, who also happens to be a lawyer, had participated in a protest on December 3rd 2013 to call for justice and retribution for Khaled Saeed, the man who was tortured to death in late 2010.

Instead of retribution, her solidarity protest was broken up with tear gas and force. Mahienour and eight others were branded criminals and detractors by security officials.

via .

Double Blind | Sects and Violence in the Ancient World

When I read Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics as a child, I assumed that I’d not live to worry about them in real life. What we don’t know can indeed hurt us. Time magazine frightens me sometimes. This week’s offerings include a small blurb about drones. When I was a kid, a drone was a bee—dangerous in its own right—or it was a verb used to describe an uninspired teacher or preacher’s monotoned wisdom. Now drones are robotic planes that can operate themselves without human input. Time reveals that technology has been developed that would allow drones to kill without human input. Asimov’s laws have become truly science fiction. Proponents argue that “collateral damage” might be minimized if we allow robots to kill with precision, and some have argued that the research should be prohibited. The fact that it has been developed, however, means the line in the sand has been crossed. If it has been done once, it will be done again.

via Double Blind | Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

Footage of Palestinian boys being shot is genuine, says Israeli rights group | World news | theguardian.com

Michaeli said: “The footage is continuous, as you can see from the time stamps.

“It starts just before midday and finishes around three. Taken together it shows that there is a light demonstration with some stoning. Soldiers fire rubber bullets and teargas until the fatal shootings. Then you see the youths get shot and fall.”

Footage shot by CNN of the killings appears to confirm this picture, showing Nadim Nawara throwing stones at one stage close to the building where he was shot and killed, but still at some distance from where witnesses have placed the closest Israeli soldiers.

Whether violence took place earlier or not, Israeli open fire regulations are unequivocal in stating that it is only permissible to use live rounds – or lethal force – against stone-throwers when there is an immediate risk to life.

Neither of the youths was throwing stones when they were killed, and one was walking away from the Israeli position, with his back to soldiers, when he was shot.

The wounds to the two boys and the other who survived appear consistent with small-calibre, high-velocity live rounds, including the described entry and exit wounds and the way the bullets travelled in the body.

Commenting on efforts to cast doubt on accounts of the affair in +972 online magazine, Dahlia Scheindlin, a public opinion analyst in Tel Aviv, attempted to explain recent comments: “Public figures are well aware that the postmodern mindset makes it hard to pin down facts. Throwing out theories, no matter how wild, raises doubts even if far-fetched. Using words inaccurately, or not admitting to one’s actions is another form. Accusing the other side of full-out conspiracy and elaborate fabrications is another.”

via Footage of Palestinian boys being shot is genuine, says Israeli rights group | World news | theguardian.com.

Libya government calls on militias to leave capital | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Libya government calls on militias to leave capital | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

The Libyan government Thursday urged all militias to withdraw from Tripoli and stay out of politics, after the parliament speaker had called for ex-rebels from Misrata to “protect the capital.”

The cabinet of outgoing Prime Minister Abdallah al-Theni “issued an appeal to the chiefs of all armed brigades in Greater Tripoli” to leave the city and steer clear of politics, Culture Minister Habib Lamine said.

On Sunday, fighters from the powerful Zintan brigades, which supports a renegade general who has launched a campaign against jihadists, attacked the premises of the Islamist-dominated General National Congress, or interim parliament, and set part of it on fire.

In response, GNC speaker Nuri Abou Sahmein called for help from equally powerful ex-rebels from the city of Misrata, who have declared themselves supporters of parliament, to “protect the capital and the institutions of state.”

Earlier Thursday, some elements from the Misrata militias entered a southern district of the capital, giving rise to fears of possible clashes with their Zintani rivals.

The government statement said Abu Sahmein’s decision to call in the Misrata fighters “threatens the security of the city and its inhabitants”.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/May-22/257444-libya-government-calls-on-militias-to-leave-capital.ashx#ixzz32Sq9dmF1
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb

A Republican World – ‘Waiting lists at the Veteran’s Administration is a moral outrage; which is why Republicans are willing to block the opening of 27 new clinics until they get new sanctions against Iran’* | The Last Of The Millenniums

A Republican World – ‘Waiting lists at the Veteran’s Administration is a moral outrage; which is why Republicans are willing to block the opening of 27 new clinics until they get new sanctions against Iran’*

via A Republican World – ‘Waiting lists at the Veteran’s Administration is a moral outrage; which is why Republicans are willing to block the opening of 27 new clinics until they get new sanctions against Iran’* | The Last Of The Millenniums.

Military Goes Full Coup d’Etat In Thailand – The Wire

Going to Guinness World record for number of coups! Thaksin Shinawatra, the brother of the now-deposed prime minister, had been removed from office in a previous coup that took place eight years ago. But the family has maintained power, and protests started up late last year when Yingluck Shinawatra, prime minister at the time, dismantled the lower house of parliament. She was ordered removed from office by a Thai court earlier this month for allegedly abusing power, the BBC reports.

This is the country’s 12th coup since 1932.

via Military Goes Full Coup d’Etat In Thailand – The Wire.