video – Page 4 – Worthy Mouse Clicks

H2B hunger strike update

I have been unable to follow the progress of the H2B workers from India. However, updates can be found at these sites:

http://www.neworleansworkerjustice.org/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nolaworkerscenter/

Very good video clip at:
http://newsproject.org/node/52

I believe the Indian H2B workers are on day 21 of their hunger strike.

So far, on Regulations.gov I see no comments yet
submitted on DOL’s recently published proposal to amend and streamline the H2B process which can be found here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-11214.pdf.
The period for public comment will close July 7..

H-2B Workers Launch Hunger Strike

Workers allege they were lured to the U.S. under false pretenses.

From ImmigrationProf Blog

May 12, 2008

[Indian Guest Workers, Survivors of Labor Trafficking Launching
Hunger Strike in Front of White House to Demand Protection Under the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act]

On Wednesday, May 14th, a group of Indian guest workers
who broke an 18-month US-Indian labor trafficking chain earlier this
year launched a hunger strike to demand that the US government grant
them Continued Presence in the United States under the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act to participate in an ongoing Department of
Justice investigation into alleged labor trafficking by Northrop
Grumman subcontractor Signal International and US and Indian recruiters.

************

More details at

http://www.mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=77948

A group of five Indian workers have launched a hunger strike in
front of the White House demanding a US Congressional investigation
into their “exploitation” by American companies.

The five workers who began the “water only” protest at Lafayette
Park opposite the US presidential mansion Wednesday were among more
than 500 Indian welders and pipe fitters who allegedly paid up to
$20,000 apiece for false promises of green cards and work-based
permanent residency in the US.

Seeking “justice from their former employer Signal International and
Indian and US recruiters”, the workers union claimed the support of the
American Federation of Labourers-Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO).

“The AFL-CIO and its 10 million members are proud to support the
hunger strike by these Signal workers, and their campaign to shed light
on the abuses of the US Government’s H2B guest worker programme,” Jon
Hiatt, general counsel for the AFL-CIO, was quoted as saying.

“We know the US is a powerful country, and we know that Signal is a
powerful company. That is why we are asking the Indian government to
support us as we stand here with our lives shattered,” said hunger
striker Muruganantham Kandhasami.

The protesters will move to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of
the Indian Embassy here Saturday. On May 21, 15 more hunger strikers
will join the fast, followed by another 15 on May 28, the organisers
said.

“If we, the workers of India, can have the courage to talk to US
Congressmen and US federal authorities, then surely the Indian
government can do the same so that no other Indian worker suffers as we
did,” the workers’ statement said.

“The Indian government needs to show the kind of courage with the US
that it showed in labour talks with Malaysia and Bahrain,” said Sony
Sulekha, who is on hunger strike. “If we could sit down and talk with
the US Congressmen, we believe our leaders can too.”

“This hunger strike is a last resort,” said Saket Soni, a worker’s
advocate who directs the New Orleans Workers’ Centre for Racial Justice.

The workers are demanding that Indian parliamentarians press their
US counterparts for a Congressional investigation into abuses in the US
guest worker visa programme.

They also want the ministries of foreign affairs and overseas Indian
affairs to press the US State Department to secure the workers’ right
to participate in a human trafficking investigation into Signal
International and its American and Indian recruiters.

“Indian envoy to the US Ronen Sen offered the workers only symbolic
reassurances and apologies for protocol. Now they are risking their
lives in the hope that the Indian government will find the courage to
pressure the US government to grant them dignity, and protect future
workers,” Soni said referring to a meeting with the envoy in March.

They had among other things demanded a Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) probe into their case. Sen gave the workers a
patient hearing and promised to take up their grievances but only
though appropriate and established channels.

Coming to Washington, after a nine-day satyagraha, or “journey for
justice” from New Orleans, the workers had in March taken their protest
to the White House where they raised slogans and tore up photocopies of
their H-2B visas in a symbolic rejection of the guest worker programme.

IANS

A Tale of Two Jobseekers (video)

For wider screen video playback (without obstruction) click here!

Video (dramatization) response to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) policy and rule changes. More information below: In a nutshell DOL is mandating that the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) not refer farmworkers to jobs without doing employment eligibility verification screening. SWAs are revolting against this requirement, because it requires them to single out predominantly Hispanic customers for added scrutiny. Other job seekers are not treated this way and SWAs do not have the resources or the desire to do this. DOL is threatening to withhold appropriations due to the SWAs if they do not cooperate.

Disclaimer: I created this work on my own time in my individual capacity and it does not represent the opinion of anyone other than myself.

The E-Verify tentative non-confirmation in the dramatization should not have caused a delay in the referral, but such delays will probably occur if there is not adequate training (so I inserted a practical lesson regarding what not to do), but in reality there are so many steps in the process that could cause substantial delay and inconvenience to farmworkers that I decided not to re-shoot that part and left it as a teachable moment. I should have made the two week delay occur when the job seeker was sent away the first time. Perhaps he could have come back with a receipt for a replacement SS card and/or LPR card, and Mr. Smith could have told him that SWAs can not accept
receipts and that he needed to come back when he received a replacement SS card or LPR card. Then if the new regulations were in effect (and the 50% rule was no more), the farmer would have been able to refuse the referral as occurring after the start date.

This dramatization highlights only a few of the many changes that DOL is proposing to the H-2A regulations that will have a negative impact on MSFWs. Click Here for more detailed comments I submitted to DOL in opposition to the proposed rule.

Comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule changes on the H-2A program are due by April 14, 2008.

Add your own comments & See comments already submitted:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=ETA-2008-0001

http://www.fwjustice.org/Immigration_Labor/h2anews.htm#F

Remarkable Lecture and film by Wade Davis

With stunning photos and stories, National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis celebrates the diversity of the world’s indigenous cultures, now disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate. He argues passionately that we should be concerned not only for preserving the biosphere, but also the “ethnosphere” — “the sum total of all thoughts and dreams, myths, ideas, inspirations, intuitions brought into being by the human imagination.”

According to Wade: “3,000 out of a total of 6,000 living languages are no longer being taught to children,” which he characterizes as “ethnocide.”

Video:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/69

PERU: SACRED GEOGRAPHY (USA, 2006, 47 min.)

At a time when indigenous traditions throughout the world are being lost, the pan-Andean culture found in South America continues to thrive. In Peru: Sacred Geography, part of the ‘Light at the Edge of the World’ series, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis accompanies villagers from the town of Chinchero, Peru, as they make the trek to the annual Qoyllur Riti festival, which attracts more than 25,000 people a year across the Andes Mountains. A rich illustration of beautiful rituals, this festival showcases the cultural fusion of pan-Andean culture. The customs date as far back as the ancient Incas and Spanish Conquistadors, and are an eclectic mix of Inca and Catholic tradition. Contributing historical perspective, Davis and other experts provide insight into the development of this vibrant culture, which emphasizes the vital relationship between humans and the earth.

Tags: anthropology

Get My Vote: NPR’s User-Generated Political Commentary Initiative

From Andy Carvin’s Waste of Bandwidth by acarvin on 3/12/08

Eighteen months ago this week, I [Andy] started working at NPR as senior
product manager for online communities. [Andy] spent a lot of that time
working with shows on social media experiments and educating NPR staff
about the role Web 2.0 can play in journalism. But [Andy] also spent much
of the last year working on a big project – one that would have NPR
dive head-first into user-generated content. The project is called Get My Vote, an [they have] just launched a public beta of the website.

As the name suggests, the project is based around a basic premise:
what will it take for political candidates to get my vote? Every person
has their own reasons for selecting a particular candidate, their own
litmus tests, and we’re asking the public to articulate this in the
form of open letters to the candidates. Using Get My Vote, you can
upload your own commentary – audio, video or text – and talk about what
issues or concerns will drive you to the ballot box. NPR is then
planning to incorporate these commentaries into our shows throughout
the rest of the election cycle.

[They have] also designed the project in such a way that local stations –
both NPR and PBS stations – can create their own Get My Vote
initiatives on their websites by embedding Get My Vote widgets. That
way, a station can localize the project. A station in Arizona, for
example, might create a local version of Get My Vote focusing on
immigration perspectives, while a station in Massachusetts might
challenge users talk about what it would take for local mayoral
candidates to get their vote. So while most users might end up talking
about the presidential candidates, I’m hoping it’s used for state and
local races as well.

On the Get My Vote homepage,
you’ll see that we’re using a tag cloud prominently. These tags are
submitted by users when they upload their commentaries. For example, a
commentary from an Iraq war vet about healthcare for vets might include
tags like “Iraq,” “healthcare” and “Walter Reed.” The more often a
particular tag is used by commentators, the larger it appears in the
tag cloud. That way, you can get a sense of what topics and ideas are
being referenced most often by commentators. Clicking any tag also will
show you all commentaries associated with that word or phrase.

The site is now in public beta. This means that anyone can now
access the site, upload their own commentaries and explore the site in
general, but we’re still working out a few bugs and other minor fixes.
[They’re] hoping that if you have any problems with the site you’ll alert
[them] through the contact form.
Over the next few weeks [they’ll] continue to tweak the site, and soon
after that, we expect some of our shows to begin using it on air.

So when you get a chance, please visit npr.org/getmyvote, upload your own commentary and please let [them] know what you think. [Their] team is really eager to hear what you have to say. -andy

The cost of Iraq

Monetary:

Humanitarian:

http://web.mit.edu/humancostiraq/

Personal:

My cousin: http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=6214

metacritic.com

Metacritic helps you make an informed decision about how to spend your money on entertainment.

It provide access to and summarize a vast amount of entertainment criticism available online is a good resources for critical information about film, video, music, games, books and television.

Games for Social Change: How games and video are playing well together

That was the title of a panel I attended tonight at A.U. It questioned how online games are mobilizing audiences around social issues? The panel explored how video games can double as tools for conflict resolution, and maybe even save the environment!

Here are a few examples:

PeaceMaker

challenges you to succeed as a leader where others have failed. Experience the joy of bringing peace to the Middle East or the agony of plunging the region into disaster. PeaceMaker will test your skills, assumptions and prior knowledge. Play it and you will never read the news the same way again.

http://www.peacemakergame.com/

In February they are launching a closed beta of its new online product: “Play the News”, imagine if you will Fantasy Sports meets the Evening News. As a player you can choose your role and participate in a variety of real events: domestic, global, serious news as well as softer issues and entertainment. You can gain a deeper understanding of the day’s headlines while voicing your opinion. You will be measured vs. reality as well as against the performance of other community members.

FOOD FORCE

This PDF provides a summary of the Food Force project and outlines the game’s six missions.
Download food-force-flier-front.pdf (96k)
Download food-force-flier-back.pdf (75k)

ICED
Breakthrough’s video game, (COMING SOON) puts you in the shoes of an immigrant to illustrate how unfair immigration laws deny due process and violate human rights. These laws affect all immigrants: legal residents, those fleeing persecution, students and undocumented people. Learn about the issue here.

Columbine

http://www.columbinegame.com/
A new documentary about opposition to Columbine Game:
http://www.playingcolumbine.com/
http://www.playingcolumbine.com/promo/PC30sec.mp4