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Letter from Chinese Laborer Pleading for Help Found in Halloween Decorations
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| This letter was found in Halloween decorations purchased from Kmart |
Julie Keith was unpacking some of last year's Halloween decorations when she stumbled upon an upsetting letter wedged into the packaging.
Tucked in between two novelty headstones that she had purchased at Kmart, she found what appeared to be a letter from the Chinese laborer, who had made the decoration, pleading for help.
Samsung in hot seat over abusing Chinese workers
The letter reads: "Sir, if you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever."
"I was so frustrated that this letter had been sitting in storage for over a year, that this person had written this plea for help and nothing had come of it." Julie Keith told Yahoo! Shine. "Then I was shocked. This person had probably risked their life to get this letter in this package."
The letter describes the conditions at the factory: "People who work here have to work 15 hours a day without Saturday, Sunday break and any holidays. Otherwise, they will suffer torturement, beat and rude remark. Nearly no payment (10 yuan/1 month)." That translates to about $1.61 a month.
Tucked in between two novelty headstones that she had purchased at Kmart, she found what appeared to be a letter from the Chinese laborer, who had made the decoration, pleading for help.
Samsung in hot seat over abusing Chinese workers
The letter reads: "Sir, if you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever."
"I was so frustrated that this letter had been sitting in storage for over a year, that this person had written this plea for help and nothing had come of it." Julie Keith told Yahoo! Shine. "Then I was shocked. This person had probably risked their life to get this letter in this package."
The letter describes the conditions at the factory: "People who work here have to work 15 hours a day without Saturday, Sunday break and any holidays. Otherwise, they will suffer torturement, beat and rude remark. Nearly no payment (10 yuan/1 month)." That translates to about $1.61 a month.
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| The letter was found inside this packaging |
Keith,
a mom who works at the Goodwill in Portland, Oregon, did some research
into the letter. "I looked up this labor camp on the internet. Some
horrific images popped up, and there were also testimonials about people
who had lived through this camp. It was just awful."
Horrified, Keith took to Facebook. She posted an image of the letter to ask friends for advice. One responded with a contact at Amnesty International. Keith made several attempts to alert them about the letter, but the organization never responded.
Horrified, Keith took to Facebook. She posted an image of the letter to ask friends for advice. One responded with a contact at Amnesty International. Keith made several attempts to alert them about the letter, but the organization never responded.
With no response from various human rights organizations, Keith took her story to The Oregonian. "The reporter, Rachel Stark, got through to Human Rights Watch, but I had no luck."
This is not the first time a letter like this has turned up. Just this week, another plea was found written in Chinese on a toilet seat and posted on Reddit. Commenters on the website have questioned the letters' authenticity.
Though the letter lists the address of the specific camp, officials at Human Rights Watch were unable to verify the authenticity of the letter. However, Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, told The Oregonian that the description was consistent with their research. "I think it is fair to say the conditions described in the letter certainly conform to what we know about conditions in re-education through labor camps."
The concern over the conditions laborers must endure in China and other countries first came to the public eye in the 1980s with the use of sweatshops to make Nike sneakers. Since then, according to an article recently published in The New York Times, Nike "has convened public meetings of labor, human rights, environmental and business leaders to discuss how to improve overseas factories."
Tech companies, like Apple and Hewlett Packard, are being made to be accountable for their labor practices. After receiving a great deal of criticism, Apple is now making public statements that they are aware of the harsh conditions in China and are taking steps to improve them.
As for Julie Keith, she had a general idea about the conditions in Chinese labor camps, but this letter has been a dramatic eye-opener into the stark reality of the issue. "I was aware of labor camps. I knew they had factories but I had no idea of the gravity of the situation. I didn't realize how bad it could be for people."
Finding the letter has made Keith more aware of the origin of many products sold in the United States. "As I was doing my Christmas shopping this year, I checked every label. It's virtually impossible to avoid purchasing things made in China as over 90 percent of our goods are made there. But if I saw 'made in China,' this year I asked myself, 'do I really need this?'"
Related links:
Apple labor fixes in China said ahead of schedule
Xbox workers threaten suicide in China labor tiff
Apple supplier halts China factory after violence
C4L: Major Battle Tonight
According to the latest reports, the Senate is expected to vote as early as tonight to reauthorize the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) for 5 years.
The statists hide behind this legislation to supposedly "justify" warrantless wiretapping of American citizens communicating with those overseas, among other things.
Despite the best efforts of liberty-minded activists and even some members of Congress, no one outside of a select few know for sure how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated or which of their overseas communications are being monitored (it could be all) due to the FAA's sweeping permissions.
And as is usually the case with these kinds of bills, instead of holding an honest debate on the legislation's effects - as is promised when these bills are first passed - the politicians do their best to ram through the reauthorization votes without any challenge.
But a few senators, including Rand Paul, are refusing to let the FAA pass without a fight.
Senator Paul has introduced an amendment that is also set to be voted on tonight.
His amendment would make it clear that Americans' communications are protected from all unwarranted searches and seizures - no matter who wants the information.
You and I must give these statists exactly what they fear the most - a bruising fight in defense of our fundamental rights.
It is up to us to drag their unconstitutional schemes into the light of day and mobilize more opposition against their plans.
So please, take just a moment today to fight for your liberties by contacting your senators and urging them to take the following actions:
1. Publicly stand in defense of the Constitution by voting for the Rand Paul amendment to the FAA.
2. Make another statement for liberty by voting against final passage of the FAA and halting this statist scheme entirely.
3. Go even further by doing everything in their power to find out how many innocent Americans have been affected by the kind of security state power grabs protected by the FISA Amendments Act.
If you're not sure of your senators' contact information, you can find it here.
Time is running out, so please take action right away.
In Liberty,
John Tate
President
P.S. The Senate is expected to vote as early as tonight to reauthorize the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) for 5 years.
No one outside of a select few know how many innocent Americans have had their privacy invaded by this legislation or which of their overseas communications are being monitored due to its sweeping authority.
Please, take action in defense of your fundamental freedoms right away by contacting your senators and urging them to support the Rand Paul amendment to the FAA.
Also urge them to make a clear statement in support of the Constitution by voting against final passage of the FAA.
If you're not sure of your senators' contact information, you can find it here.
And if you're able to give at this time, a donation of even $10 or $20 will go a long way toward helping C4L stay at the frontlines of the fight for freedom.
Because of Campaign For Liberty's tax-exempt status under IRC Sec. 501(C)(4) and its state and federal legislative activities, contributions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions (IRC § 170) or as business deductions (IRC § 162(e)(1)).
www.CampaignForLiberty.org
Sign the Petition to Bypass Roe v. Wade
For 39 years, nine unelected men and women on the Supreme Court have played God with innocent human life.
They have invented laws that condemned to painful deaths without trial more than 56 million babies for the crime of being "inconvenient."
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling forced abortion-on-demand down our nation's throat.
In the past, many in the pro-life movement have felt limited to protecting a life here and there -- passing some limited law to slightly control abortion in the more outrageous cases.
But some pro-lifers always seem to tiptoe around the Supreme Court, hoping they won't be offended.
Now the time to grovel before the Supreme Court is over.
Working from what the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, pro-life lawmakers can pass a Life at Conception Act and end abortion using the Constitution instead of amending it.
That is why it's so urgent you sign the petition to your Senators and Congressman that I will link to in a moment.
You see, despite what the pro-abortion media is parroting from the abortion lobby, the untold story is that pro-lifers actually picked up pledged support in Congress for the Life at Conception Act to overturn Roe v. Wade .
So it is vital every Member of Congress be put on record.
And your petition will help do just that.
Signing the Life at Conception Act petition will help break through the opposition clinging to abortion-on-demand and get a vote on this life-saving bill to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A Life at Conception Act declares unborn children "persons" as defined by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, entitled to legal protection.
This is the one thing the Supreme Court admitted in Roe v. Wade that would cause the case for legal abortion to "collapse."
When the Supreme Court handed down its now-infamous Roe v. Wade decision, it did so based on a new, previously undefined "right of privacy" which it "discovered" in so-called "emanations" of "penumbrae" of the Constitution.
Of course, as constitutional law it was a disaster.
But never once did the Supreme Court declare abortion itself to be a constitutional right.
Instead the Supreme Court said:
"We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins . . . the judiciary at this point in the development of man's knowledge is not in a position to speculate as to the answer."
Then the High Court made a key admission:
"If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case [i.e., "Roe" who sought an abortion], of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."
The fact is, the 14th Amendment couldn't be clearer:
". . . nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law."
Furthermore, the 14th Amendment says:
"Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
That's exactly what a Life at Conception Act would do.
But this simple, logical and obviously right legislation will not become law without a fight.
And that's where your help is critical.
You see, it will be a tough fight, but I believe with your signed petition it is one we can win.
Please click here to sign your petition right away.
By turning up the heat through a massive, national, grass-roots campaign in this session of Congress, one of two things will happen.
If you and other pro-life activists pour on enough pressure, pro-lifers can force politicians from both parties who were elected on pro-life platforms to make good on their promises and ultimately win passage of this bill.
But even if a Life at Conception Act doesn't pass immediately, the public attention will send another crew of radical abortionists down to defeat in the next election.
Either way, the unborn win . . . unless you do nothing.
That's why the National Pro-Life Alliance is contacting hundreds of thousands of Americans just like you to mobilize a grass-roots army to pass a Life at Conception Act.
The first thing you must do is sign your petition by clicking here.
They are the key ingredient in the National Pro-Life Alliance's plan to pass a Life at Conception Act. They'll also organize:
... Hard-hitting TV, radio and newspaper ads to be run just before each vote, detailing the horrors of abortion and mobilizing the American people.
... Extensive personal lobbying of key members of Congress by rank and file National Pro-Life Alliance members and staff.
... A series of newspaper columns to be distributed free to all 1,437 daily newspapers now published in the United States.
... An extensive email, direct mail and telephone campaign to generate at least one million petitions to Congress like the one linked to in this letter.
Of course, to do all this will take a lot of money.
Just to email and mail the letters necessary to produce one million petitions will cost at least $460,000.
Newspaper, TV and radio are even more expensive.
But I'm sure you'll agree pro-lifers cannot just sit by watching the slaughter continue.
The National Pro-Life Alliance's goal is to deliver one million petitions to the House and Senate in support of a Life at Conception Act.
When the bill comes up for a vote in Congress, it is crucial to have the full weight of an informed public backing the pro-life position.
I feel confident that the folks at National Pro-Life Alliance can gather those one million petitions.
But even though many Americans who receive this email will sign the petition, many won't be able to contribute. That's why it's vital you give $10, $25, $50, $100, or even more if you can.
Without your help the National Pro-Life Alliance will be unable to gather the one million petitions and mount the full-scale national campaign necessary to pass a Life at Conception Act.
A sacrificial gift of $35 or even $100 or $500 now could spare literally millions of innocent babies in years to come. But if that's too much, please consider chipping in with a donation of $10.
You should also know that a National Pro-Life Alliance supporter wants to make your decision to give easier by agreeing to match your donation, no matter the size, increasing its value by 50%!
So please respond right away with your signed petition.
And please help with a contribution of at least $25 or $35. Some people have already given as much as $500. Others have given $50 and $100.
But no matter how much you give, whether it's chipping in with $10 or a larger contribution of $150, I guarantee your contribution is urgently needed and will be deeply appreciated.
That's why I hope and pray that you will not delay a moment to make a contribution of $1000, $500, $100, $50, $25, or even $10 if you can.
Your contribution to the National Pro-Life Alliance and your signed petition will be the first steps toward reversing Roe v. Wade and waking up the politicians about where our barbarous pro-abortion policy is taking us.
Sincerely,
Roger Wicker,
United States Senator
P.S. The Supreme Court itself admitted -- if Congress declares unborn children "persons" under the law, the constitutional case for abortion-on-demand "collapses."
That's why it's so critical to work to get a vote on the Life at Conception Act, legislation that would reverse Roe v. Wade.
Please help make that happen. Sign your petition today to the National Pro-Life Alliance to reverse Roe v. Wade.
Your petition is the critical first step in fighting to end abortion.
Along with your signed petition, please consider making a sacrificial contribution of $100, $50, $25. If that's too much, please consider chipping in with a donation of $10.
You should also know a generous donor has agreed to match all contributions, no matter the size, increasing your gift to the National Pro-Life Alliance by 50%!
CIVIL WAR: SENATE TO GO FOR HANDGUNS
From the Office of Senator Dianne FeinsteinStopping the spread of deadly assault weapons
Stay informed Press releases
In January, Senator Feinstein will introduce a bill to stop the sale,
transfer, importation and manufacturing of military-style assault
weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
Stay informed
SPECIAL: “Do NOT let the government take our guns!’ Protect Your Gun Rights!
To receive updates on this legislation, click here.
Stay informed
SPECIAL: “Do NOT let the government take our guns!’ Protect Your Gun Rights!
To receive updates on this legislation, click here.
Press releases
- Feinstein to Introduce Updated Assault Weapons Bill in New Congress, December 17, 2012
- Feinstein Statement on Connecticut School Shooting, December 14, 2012
Summary of 2013 legislation
Following is a summary of the 2013 legislation:- Bans the sale, transfer, importation, or manufacturing of:
- 120 specifically-named firearms
- Certain other semiautomatic rifles, handguns, shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and have one military characteristic
- Semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds
- Strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and various state bans by:
- Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test
- Eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test
- Banning firearms with “thumbhole stocks” and “bullet buttons” to address attempts to “work around” prior bans
- Bans large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.
- Protects legitimate hunters and the rights of existing gun owners by:
- Grandfathering weapons legally possessed on the date of enactment
- Exempting over 900 specifically-named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes and
- Exempting antique, manually-operated, and permanently disabled weapons
- Requires that grandfathered weapons be registered under the National Firearms Act, to include:
- Background check of owner and any transferee;
- Type and serial number of the firearm;
- Positive identification, including photograph and fingerprint;
- Certification from local law enforcement of identity and that possession would not violate State or local law; and
- Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration
Effectiveness of 1994-2004 Assault Weapons Ban
- In a Department of Justice study (pdf),
Jeffrey Roth and Christopher Koper find that the 1994 Assault Weapons
Ban was responsible for a 6.7 percent decrease in total gun murders,
holding all other factors equal. They write: “Assault weapons are
disproportionately involved in murders with multiple victims, multiple
wounds per victim, and police officers as victims.”
- Original source (page 2): Jeffrey A. Roth & Christopher S. Koper, “Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994,” The Urban Institute (March 1997).
- In a University of Pennsylvania study
(pdf), Christopher Koper reports that the use of assault weapons in
crime declined by more than two-thirds by about nine years after 1994
Assault Weapons Ban took effect.
- Original source (page 46): Christopher S. Koper, “An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003” (June 2004).
- In a Washington Post story,
reporters David Fallis and James Grimaldi write that the percentage of
firearms seized by police in Virginia with high-capacity magazines
dropped significantly during the Assault Weapons Ban. That figure has
doubled since the ban expired.
- Original source: In Virginia, high-yield clip seizures rise. By David S. Fallis and James V. Grimaldi, Washington Post.
- In a letter to the editor in the American Journal of Public Health
(pdf), Douglas Weil and Rebecca Knox explain that when Maryland imposed
a more stringent ban on assault pistols and high-capacity magazines in
1994, it led to a 55 percent drop in assault pistols recovered by the
Baltimore Police Department.
- Original source (pages 297-298): Douglas S. Weil & Rebecca C. Knox, “Letter to the Editor, The Maryland Ban on the Sale of Assault Pistols and High-Capacity Magazines: Estimating the Impact in Baltimore,” 87 American Journal of Public Health 2, Feb. 1997, at 297-98.
- A recent study by the Violence Policy Center
finds that between 2005 and 2007, one in four law enforcement officers
slain in the line of duty was killed with an assault weapon.
- Original source (pages 6-7): Violence Policy Center, “Target: Law Enforcement—Assault Weapons in the News,” (Feb. 2010).
- A report by the Police Executive Research Forum
finds that 37 percent of police departments reported seeing a
noticeable increase in criminals’ use of assault weapons since the
Assault Weapons Ban expired.
- Original source (page 2): Police Executive Research Forum, “Guns and Crime: Breaking New Ground by Focusing on the Local Impact,” (May 2010).
Freedom Outpost
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Patriot Update
Michael Moore: ‘Calm Down, White People, and Put Away Your Guns’ -
Barack Obama Is Too Arrogent To Lead In Times Of Tragedy
- Blogger Creates Interactive Map of Employees of Paper Which Published Names and Addresses of Pistol Permit Holders
- Is Eric Holder Being Groomed For President in 2016?
- Geithner Warns U.S. May Hit Debt Ceiling Monday
- Justice Sotomayor Upholds Free ‘Morning-After’ Pills under Obamacare
- Feinstein Bill Requires ‘Grandfathered Weapons be Registered’; Calls for Owners to be Fingerprinted
- Aetna CEO: Obamacare Could Double Insurance Premiums
- Obama looks to retain upper hand as ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations resume
- Poll: Most back tighter gun laws but oppose assault weapons ban
- MIA: Where’s Hillary?
- Kwanzaa: Holiday Brought to You by The FBI
- Barack Obama Is Too Arrogent To Lead In Times Of Tragedy
- Newtown Tragedy: Blame Courts and Government Schools
- Coming to a Plate Near You, It’s Frankenfish
- Note to Gun-Control Liberals: You Can’t Handle the Truth
- Santa Superman
- Atheist Humbugs
- Republican Civil War?
- This Christmas Stand up to the Artificial Outrage of Atheist Scrooges
- An Open Letter to Wayne LaPierre
- The War on Christmas
- PatriotUpdate.com is dedicated to the ideals of a free press, featuring headlines submitted by our readers as well as daily commentary provided by our editors and guest writers. Of particular note are the regular syndicated columns of well-known thinkers, including Michelle Malkin, Thomas Sowell, Chuck Norris, Dick Morris, Floyd Brown, and Michael Reagan.
TODAY'S CARTOON
Facebook Purges Pro-Gun Accounts
Massive act of censorship sees alternative media pages disappeared
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
In September 2011, Infowars reporter Darrin McBreen was told by Facebook staff not to voice his political opinion on the social networking website.
Responding to comments McBreen had made about off-grid preppers being treated as criminals, the “Facebook Team” wrote, “Be careful making about making political statements on facebook,” adding, “Facebook is about building relationships not a platform for your political viewpoint. Don’t antagonize your base. Be careful and congnizat (sic) of what you are preaching.”
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Facebook is purging accounts that carry pro-second
amendment and pro-liberty information in a censorship purge that has
accelerated over the past few hours, with innumerable pages being
disappeared merely for posting legitimate political content.
NaturalNews.com’s Mike Adams contacted us to alert us to
the fact that “Facebook banned our account for posting this,” with an
attached image of a Gandhi quote about how the British disarmed the
citizenry during their rule in India.
The following is a list of Facebook accounts operated by
individuals in the alternative media that have been shut down by
Facebook staff over the past 24 hours. Infowars writer Aaron Dykes and
political dissident Brandon J. Raub have also had their accounts
deleted. Raub was snatched by police and forcibly imprisoned in a psychiatric ward earlier this year for posting political content on Facebook. Infowars editor Kurt Nimmo also had his account suspended this morning.
Kurt Nimmo (account suspended)
Aaron Dykes (account inactive)
Amber Lyon (account suspended)
Brandon J. Raub (account inactive)
Michael F Rivero (account inactive)
Anthony J Hilder (account inactive)
William Lewis (account inactive)
Richard Gage (account inactive)
William Rodriguez (account inactive)
Infowar Artist (account inactive)
We are Change (account inactive)
Wacboston At Twitter (account inactive)
Michael Murphy Tmp (account inactive)
Robert M Bowman (account inactive)
Peter Dale Scott (account inactive)
Jason Infowars (account inactive)
Mike Skuthan (account inactive)
Packy Savvenas (account inactive)
Sean Wright (account inactive)
Katherine Albrect (account inactive)
Aaron Dykes (account inactive)
Amber Lyon (account suspended)
Brandon J. Raub (account inactive)
Michael F Rivero (account inactive)
Anthony J Hilder (account inactive)
William Lewis (account inactive)
Richard Gage (account inactive)
William Rodriguez (account inactive)
Infowar Artist (account inactive)
We are Change (account inactive)
Wacboston At Twitter (account inactive)
Michael Murphy Tmp (account inactive)
Robert M Bowman (account inactive)
Peter Dale Scott (account inactive)
Jason Infowars (account inactive)
Mike Skuthan (account inactive)
Packy Savvenas (account inactive)
Sean Wright (account inactive)
Katherine Albrect (account inactive)
It is important to stress that most of these accounts
have not simply been temporarily suspended, they have been shut down
completely. Some are now being reinstated after complaints. Accounts
that have been suspended can still be seen but posting rights have been
revoked.
A 24 hour suspension was also placed on the Alex Jones
Facebook account due to an image that another user had posted in which
Alex Jones was tagged.
One of the messages being received by users having their
accounts suspended is displayed below. In most cases, users are not
even being informed of why their page was suspended or deleted, with
Facebook merely referring them to the company’s guidelines.
Last week, we reported on how Facebook was suspending user accounts that questioned the official narrative behind the Sandy Hook school massacre.
As we have previously highlighted,
Facebook occasionally deletes images and posts that it claims violate
“Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,” yet constitute
little more than political conjecture or a healthy skepticism of
official narratives on current events.
Responding to comments McBreen had made about off-grid preppers being treated as criminals, the “Facebook Team” wrote, “Be careful making about making political statements on facebook,” adding, “Facebook is about building relationships not a platform for your political viewpoint. Don’t antagonize your base. Be careful and congnizat (sic) of what you are preaching.”
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
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