thepoliticalnotebook:

Morning Reading. Human Rights Watch has released its annual World Report. Check out the essays, which cover the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, the Soviet bloc twenty years on, human rights and tolerance in Europe, and rights for the disabled, among others. Also check out the individual country chapters.

"The professional carwash industry is a $23 billion enterprise, one which more and more Americans make use of every year. If you visited a carwash lately – which judging by the latest industry report you probably have or will in the near future – you may have noticed the fast and arduous labor of carwash workers. You have seen that even in the most extreme heat or cold weather, carwash workers are hard at it – focusing on every nook and cranny of your vehicle. What you probably missed – as is the case in many carwashes across the country – is that this work is accompanied by obscene labor abuses, health hazardous conditions, employer exploitation and intimidation. Carwash workers are the face of the new American sweatshop."

Carwashes: Meet the New American Sweatshop | Civil Liberties | AlterNet (via alternet-working)