TOP 100 NEWS SITES
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| An Ex-U.S. Soldier Visits Iraq's Old Battlefields Continuing his tour of Iraq, a former American soldier visits the area around Ramadi to see how a kind of normal life is taking hold after years of violence feedproxy.google.com |
Call to define rules of cyber war Nations need to define under what circumstances they can fight back against acts of cyber terror. bbc.co.uk |
Lessons of Lou Dobbs's 'illegals' | Isabel Macdonald The revelation that anti-immigration former CNN anchor hired undocumented workers highlights the sorry state of labour rightsFormer CNN host Lou Dobbs, who has frequently warned Americans about an "invasion of illegal aliens" imperilling their jobs and wages, turns out to have relied on undocumented labour for years to maintain his show horses and multimillion dollar homes. I interviewed five such workers who laboured on his properties for my recent exposé published in the Nation. While my findings certainly revealed Dobbs's hypocrisy, the more important lesson is that the get-tough approach to immigration reform – favoured by Dobbs and his allies – is dangerous for immigrant and American workers alike.    The experiences these workers related to me demonstrate powerfully how a punitive approach to the immigration crisis threatens the very concept of labour rights in America. Working in an underground economy meant they were constantly living in fear of apprehension by the immigration enforcement system. The prospect of being stopped by the police and incarcerated because they lacked legal immigration status was so terrifying that the workers who cared for Dobbs's showjumping horses did not even dare to drive a car, even though the stable where they worked was in rural Vermont. Many of the workers who cared for these horses, and for the grounds of Dobbs's estate, were also extremely apprehensive about travelling back home to visit the loved ones they supported with their hard-earned wages. One Mexican stable worker, who had come to the US when he was only 18 years old, told me he had not seen his mother or siblings at all since he came to the US to find work six years ago. Living in the shadows like this makes it extremely difficult for undocumented workers to speak up for the rights to which all workers are legally entitled in America, or to protest unfair wages or working conditions. The undocumented workers who cared for Dobbs's horses in Florida put in days that were typically 12 hours long, but they were not paid overtime, as required under Florida labour laws. Nor were the workers who cared for the grounds of the former CNN host's estate paid overtime, although they often worked far more than the 40 hours per week at which overtime pay is legally supposed to kick in, under federal labour law. Yet, these workers were so afraid of possible job loss or deportation that they asked me not to use the names of their employers, the contractors Dobbs hired for the upkeep of his properties. In fact, the workers I interviewed didn't even want their own names to be used in my article detailing their pay and working conditions. Although some of these workers complained that "the pay was bad", they felt stuck because they lacked legal status. As one worker put it, if he had papers, he would "find better work"; but at present, his "situation with immigration is bad", so he had no other options. The shadow of fear that America's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants are forced to work under imposes a terrible toll, not just on their own wages and working conditions, but those of all workers in America, particularly in the low-wage sectors like landscaping, housekeeping and farming, where the undocumented are prevalent. If undocumented workers could leave bad jobs, and protest terrible working conditions, employers might be forced to offer higher wages, and improve working conditions. For this reason, a path to legalisation for America's millions of undocumented workers would have benefits for all workers in those sectors, according to a recent Centre for American Progress report, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. As Fordham Law School professor Jennifer Gordon has compellingly argued, an even more long-term strategy for protecting workers' rights, which anticipates the influx of future migrant workers, is also required. At the heart of any immigration reform package truly grounded in the concept of labour rights, there must be incentives for migrant workers who speak out on labour violations, Gordon argues. Ultimately, such immigration reforms to protect workers' rights might mean that Lou Dobbs would have to pay a bit more for the care of his show horses and the grounds of his estate. But having made a lucrative career sowing fear and confusion about the relationship between immigration and workers' rights, the multimillionaire former TV host can well afford it.• Isabel Macdonald's reporting on Lou Dobbs was supported by the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.US immigrationUnited StatesUS politicsCNNEmployment lawIsabel Macdonaldguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Iraq war logs: Obama must investigate torture claims, says UN envoy Manfred Nowak says US is obliged to examine claims that military handed over Iraqi detainees knowing they might be killedThe UN's chief investigator on torture says that if leaked US files on the Iraq conflict point to clear violations of the UN convention against torture, Barack Obama's administration has a clear obligation to investigate them.The 400,000 documents, released by the website WikiLeaks in the biggest leak in US military history, paint a disturbing picture of the relationship between US and Iraqi forces. They have fostered suspicions that US forces handed over detainees to their Iraqi counterparts knowing there was a risk they were going to be tortured or killed.Manfred Nowak, the UN special rapporteur, said under the conventions on human rights there is an obligation for states to criminalise every form of torture, whether directly or indirectly, and to investigate any allegations of abuse.Speaking on the BBC's Today programme, Nowak, who has spent years investigating allegations of US participation in extraordinary rendition and the abuse of detainees held by coalition forces, said: "President Obama came to power with a moral agenda, saying: 'We don't want to be seen to be a nation responsible for major human rights violations'."A failure to investigate credible claims of US forces' complicity in torture, Nowak suggested, would be a failure of the Obama government to recognise US obligations under international law. He said that the principle of "non-refoulement" prohibited states from transferring detainees to other countries that could pose a risk to their personal safety.The documents, which cover the period in Iraq from 2004 onwards, have prompted claims that this principle has not been observed, according to those who have studied them.Nowak said the US had an obligation "whenever they expel, extradite or hand over any detainees to the authorities of another state to assess whether or not these individuals are under specific risk of torture. If this assessment is not done, or authorities hand over detainees knowing there is a serious risk of them being subjected to torture, they violate article 3 of the UN convention that precludes torture."Nowak said it would be up to the Obama administration to launch an "independent and objective" investigation with a view not only to "bring the perpetrators to justice but also to provide the victims with adequate remedy and reparation".He admitted possible sanctions to ensure "powerful states like the United States of America" fulfilled their obligations were "extremely weak". Neither the US nor Iraq had ratified the international criminal convention that would see officials from either country brought before the international courts for war crimes.Nowak said it was not enough for Obama's administration to suggest the alleged crimes took place before it came to power. "There is an obligation to investigate whenever there are credible allegations," Nowak said, pointing to the administration's decision to end rendition flights as proof it had recognised the need to recognise its obligations under international law and draw a line under the actions of its predecessor.But he suggested it would ultimately be up to the US courts to determine whether US officials or soldiers had breached human rights laws. "If it is established that a particular individual is responsible for torture directly or by complicity, this person should be brought to justice in the domestic courts," Nowak said.In Washington there is fury at the latest revelations, following an earlier massive leak of classified documents relating to Afghanistan. The Pentagon has claimed the information published by WikiLeaks will serve only to strengthen America's enemies, but is also arguing that the documents reveal nothing that is not already known.Iraq: The war logsUnited NationsTortureBarack ObamaIraqUnited StatesMiddle EastJamie Dowardguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Art Stolen by the Nazis Now Cataloged Online in Database During World War II, the Nazis pulled off the biggest art heist in history, looting thousands of paintings worth untold millions. Now, thanks to a newly available online database, some of them can be returned feedproxy.google.com |