You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘IWW’ category.
Or rather Cookie Jill, who rounds up today’s environmental news stories
violence hits brazil tribes in scramble for land.- the expansion of huge cattle ranches and industrial-scale farms in remote regions of brazil has produced a land scramble that is leaving the ancestors of brazil’s original inhabitants desperate to recover tribal terrains, in some cases squatting on contested properties – nytimes
strawberry farms suck spain dry. - for decades, local fruit farmers around doñana have used wells, legal or not, on the perimeter of the vast wetland on spain’s south-western coast. “If the doñana park were a patient, it would be on the point of entering the intensive care unit,” said eva hernandez of the world wildlife fund – the independent
fire retardants in food. - fire retardant chemicals are commonly found in household items like furniture and electronics. But a new study found them in a place you probably wouldn’t expect: food – living on earth
record heat marches on: texas and contiguous US had warmest spring on record. - much of texas has been getting something of a break from the history-making, headline-grabbing drought of 2011 in recent months, but the state’s excessive heat marches on. In 2012, texas had its warmest spring on record and its third warmest january-through-may period. – texas climate news
north texas water needs could cost billions in coming years. - meeting the water needs of north texas 50 years from now will require significant conservation, at least several new reservoirs, an unbending political will and a whole lot of money – dallas morning news
water war reignites as l.a. resists fixing some owens lake dust. -los angeles and the owens valley are at war over water again, with the city trying to rework a historic agreement aimed at stopping massive dust storms that have besieged the eastern sierra nevada since l.a. opened an aqueduct 99 years ago that drained owens lake. – latte times
the deadly legacy of america’s fields of gold. - richard nixon is remembered for his infamous part in the watergate scandal, but his lasting legacy may be a burgeoning army of people in the west who are too fat- the independent
virginia lawmakers avoid climate buzzwords. - state lawmakers discovered that they could not use the phrases “sea level rise” or “climate change” in requesting a study because of objections from republican colleagues. so they did away with all mention of sea level rise, substituting a more politically neutral phrase: “recurrent flooding.” – hampton roads virginian-pilot
groups fight back after conservatives try to dilute environmental laws. - discord between the tories and environmentalists began when the federal natural resources minister maligned environmental groups as radicals. it escalated with the introduction of a package of new laws, some directly targeting charities and environmental protections. – vancouver sun
longtime Hinkley residents haven’t looked back from community plagued with contaminated water. - now living near apple valley, california, the kearney family left behind their dream house in hinkley, which had turned into a nightmare due to a plume of carcinogenic chromium 6. Since then, they haven’t looked back. – san bernardino county sun
potomac named most endangered river. A conservation group says the potomac river is the most endangered river this year in the united states – that pollution in the potomac is decreasing water quality, threatening marine life and will become worse if congress rolls back national clean-water protections – voice of america
shell oil injunction forces greenpeace to get creative. - with a judge ordering greenpeace’s boats to stay away from shell’s arctic rigs, the anti-drilling organization turns to social media and other means of getting its message out – latimes
oil’s dirty price in north dakota. -oil and gas fracking operators in north dakota have dumped at least 1.7 million gallons of brine and 716,000 gallons of oil on the western plains between 2009 and 2011. and that’s just what they’ve reported – minneapolis star tribune
state allows industrial-scale exploration without hearings. - for the last 24 years, mining companies have been exploring for copper and gold on state lands in the headwaters of bristol bay.and they’ve done all that – with the state’s permission – without public notice, without inviting public comment, and without public hearings – anchorage daily news
house committee adopts bill banning epa, corps from issuing water act guidance. - the house transportation committee adopts bill to prohibit epa and army corps from finalizing guidance clarifying clean water act jurisdiction and from using that document to issue rules or decisions – bloomberg bna
nebraska cattlemen, politicians protest ‘weird’ epa flyovers. - epa’s use of aerial surveillance to nab clean water act violators on great plains farms isn’t sitting well with Nebraska farmers and lawmakers. the state’s congressional delegation criticized the practice in a letter last week to epa administrator lisa jackson. – greenwire
new wyoming supercomputer expected to boost atmospheric science. - this month, on a barren wyoming landscape dotted with gopher holes and hay bales, the federal government is assembling a supercomputer 10 years in the making, one of the fastest computers ever built and the largest ever devoted to the study of atmospheric science. – latte times
new orleans barge gate crack is likely to delay lake borgne project. - contractors have discovered a 15-foot-long, horseshoe-shaped crack in the bottom of a concrete barge gate designed to block hurricane storm surge from moving from the gulf Intracoastal waterway into the Industrial canal – new orleans times picayune (remember…this is the paper that is on the verge of extinction…imagine this important news not being told.
assessing consumer concerns about the meat industry. - tom philpott, who covers food and the agricultural industry for mother jones, raises concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy – mad cow disease – infiltrating the food chain. – npr
In No State is a 40-Hour, Minimum Wage Work Week Enough to Afford a 2-Bdr Apartment & Occupy America
Via “The We Party,” Minimum wage is not enough for a person to live on in this country, let alone a single-parent or a married couple with only one spouse working. (graphic) Oregon is seventy-one (71) hours a week, though that’s mitigated somewhat by our state $9.50 minimum wage.
Much of what we take for granted in the workplace is the result of ferocious labor vs. management battles from about 1880 to 1940. This includes the 40 hour work week, safety regulations, health plans for employees, and laws against child labor. None of this existed before labor fought for it. Labor conflicts back than were not placid affairs with strikers carrying signs walking around a building. Rather they tended to be pitched battles. Company owners sent in goons with baseball bats and guns to break strikes. Strikers were killed, sometimes by our own government.
Front and center in these battles was the International Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies.
So put down the Ambien, Prozac, Viagra and crotch-shots on Fox Kool-Aid, rube, because an advance analysis of the Social Security Trustees Report for 2012 on the financial status of the program to be released tomorrow, posted on NiemanWatchdog, argues that “last year’s report projected that at the end of 2011, Social Security would have an accumulated surplus of around $2.7 trillion, which it now has. This year’s report will show that it will be even higher at the end of 2012.”
That’s right, the current $2.7 trillion surplus of Social Security funds is expected to rise by the end of this year.
According to the commentary by Nancy Altman and Eric Kingson, “without any Congressional action, Social Security will continue to pay benefits to America’s eligible working families for decades; and that with modest legislated increases in revenue, it will continue to pay those benefits for the next century and beyond.”
Top Republican Strategist Admits He’s ‘Scared to Death’ Of Occupy Wall Street
The Revolution is here. You’re either with us, or against us. Whose side are you on?
It wasn’t all that long ago I was dismissed as a crank to suggest that perhaps indeed there were a thousand, perhaps ten thousand, year world wide banking and corporate conspiracy to rule the world. Though it would be gratifying to think we “cranks” may had some influence in “waking folks up”, pragmatically, despite the concerted effort by the controlling classes and its corporate media to off-handedly dismiss the notion, we are left with the conviction that there are more of us out there than previously given credence. People aren’t just “waking up” to this.
We are not “their” people. We Are the 99%. You’re either with us, or against.
Whose side are you on?
Or against us. Whose side are you on?
OUR Wal-mart is fighting for workers rights at the country’s largest employer.
Taking a look at the state of today’s unions.
Labor leaders are calling for Hershey to stop abusing workers.
Fox bashes infrastructure spending as bailout for unions, ignoring the importance of infrastructure not only for workers, for the economy as a whole.
Conservative media continue to try to smear Jimmy Hoffa for calling on people to vote.
Unions are big supporters of the American Jobs Act, even if they don’t think it’s perfect.
Hyatt workers in four cities are on strike.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been extended for another short period.
Workers are growing more unhappy with their health benefits and promotions.
The AFL-CIO is calling on the National Labor Relations Board to protect undocumented workers from being cheated out of earned wages.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union protests in Washington state are the subject of some controversy.
The majority of working poor in the U.S. are now in poverty.
Conservatives media are attacking the blocking of the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, suggesting it is anti-jobs, which nearly everyone else says isn’t true.
Shades of the Everett Massacre of 1916?
At least 500 longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview, Wash. and broke out windows in the guard shack. As longshoremen wielding baseball bats and crowbars held six guards hostage, others cut brake lines on box cars and dumped grain.
Longshoremen said this was in response to being beaten and tear-gassed by police and said this was just the start.
