do you know where your make-up ingredients come from?

you could be buying 'all natural' and non animal tested and on and on. but did you know there is a giant possiblitiy part of that makeup was mined by CHILDREN? i didn't. i do now

Child labour used in cosmetics industry
Nicola Smith

Deep in the jungle of Jharkhand state in eastern India, at the end of a rutted track passable only by motorbike, a six-year-old girl named Sonia sat in the scorching midday sun, sifting jagged stones in an open-cast mine in the hope of earning enough money for a meal.

Sonia was halfway through her working day and she was already exhausted and dishevelled. Her hair was matted and her pretty flower-patterned dress spoilt by dust.

She barely had enough energy to glance at her eight-year-old cousin Guri, toiling intently beside her as they searched the stones for pieces of mica, a shiny material whose many uses include putting the sparkle into make-up.

If the girls spotted enough mica, they might earn 63p each for a 12-hour day. If they found none, they would probably go hungry.

The contrast between this ugly scene of exploitation, hidden from view in a forest teeming with Maoist guerrillas where few westerners dare to venture, and the glamour of the cosmetics industry could hardly be more glaring.

India’s exports of mica are used to make paints and electronic goods as well as glossy lipstick and eyeshadow..................

...........Some of the mica goes on to Merck KGaA, the German-based pharmaceuticals and chemicals giant, whose products are used to create gold, bronze and pearl effects in make-up.

Merck confirmed it was aware that children were collecting mica in Jharkhand. In a statement, the company said its suppliers were “contractually required” not to employ children.

It added, however: “Unfortunately, it is very difficult to monitor further along the supply chain, ie with regard to the collection of mica in remote areas, especially since these areas are considered not safe.”

A spokeswoman said a study completed last year by the Indo-German Export Promotion Foundation had found that “children are indeed involved in the collection of mica — however exclusively within the scope of family groups. It is an important result for us that no cases of permanent work, bonded or slave labour were found”.

She said Merck had been “informally” funding one local school and would follow the study’s recommendations to set up another school for a maximum of 200 pupils............

pic:

(Nicci Smith)

Sonia digs for mica, a key ingredient of cosmetics

wow, interesting

AND frightening. read on at the link to see WHY the missile failed (NOT good)

Mystery of an Indian Missile Test Flop

by: J. Sri Raman, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
On January 20, 2009, a cruise missile test, which India's security establishment had billed as crucial, failed. It did so in a curious manner, though the cause of the failure is yet to be officially announced.

The questions raised by the failure may appear to be only technical at first glance. They, however, can serve to highlight a military trade war between far-off powers fueling a missile race in South Asia.

The $2.7 million BrahMos missile had been tested several times before, but the last month's exercise was supposed to be a considerable leap forward. It tested a nuclear-capable version of the missile performing an advanced mission - hitting a predetermined, hidden target. The flight was a success, but the missile missed the target...........

oh shite

THIS is NOT boding well at all

well it's not like the bush administration had anything to do with this...........(hmmmmmmmm oh wait, aren't they pouring BILLIONS o' bucks into one if not both of these countries and helping the other country develop their nuclear weapons capabilities??????? hmmmmmmm)

Pakistani Jets Scramble As India Hardens Tone
All Options Open, Minister Says in New Delhi
By Rama Lakshmi
Washington Post Foreign Service
NEW DELHI, Dec. 22 -- In signs of growing regional tension since the Mumbai attacks last month, Pakistan scrambled fighter jets over several of its larger cities Monday, and India's foreign minister told a gathering of Indian diplomats in New Delhi that the country is keeping all its options open to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. "We have so far acted with utmost restraint," Pranab Mukherjee told the more than 120 envoys from posts around the world. But he added, "We will take all measures necessary as we deem fit to deal with the situation." ........

i am almost certain

government to continue to deny the terrorists were FROM the madmen who wreaked terror and rained blood upon the city of mumbai were from pakistan. i am not certain if the government had anything to do with it or not. however, for the pakistanipakistan is not only an insult it is ALSO insane.

you might as well believe turkey when it denies the armenian genocide

Terror Attacks Traced to Two From Pakistan
By JANE PERLEZ and ROBERT F. WORTH
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Fresh evidence unearthed Thursday by investigators in India indicated that the Mumbai attacks were stage-managed from at least two Pakistani cities by top leaders of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Indian and American intelligence officials have already identified a Lashkar operative, who goes by the name Yusuf Muzammil, as a mastermind of the attacks. On Thursday, Indian investigators named one of the most well-known senior figures in Lashkar, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

The names of both men came from the interrogations of the one surviving attacker, Muhammad Ajmal Kasab, 21, according to police officials in Mumbai.

While Mr. Muzammil appears to have served as a control officer in Lahore, Pakistan, Mr. Lakhvi, his boss and the operational commander of Lashkar, worked from Karachi, a southern Pakistani port city, said investigators in Mumbai. .......

pink saris

and cool women

(although i cannot and do not advocate ax wielding)

sticking up for truth, justice and the indian way! you go grrrls!

India's 'pink' vigilante women

By Soutik Biswas

They wear pink saris, the traditional Indian dress for women, go after corrupt officials and boorish men, and brandish sticks and axes when the push comes to shove.
The several hundred vigilante women of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state's Banda area proudly call themselves the "gulabi gang" (pink gang) striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials.
The pink women of Banda shun political parties and NGOs because, in the words of their feisty leader, Sampat Pal Devi, "they are always looking for kickbacks when they offer to fund us".
Two years after they gave themselves a name and an attire, the pink women have thrashed men who have abandoned or beaten their wives and unearthed corruption in the distribution of food grains for the poor.
They have also stormed a police station and thrashed a policeman after they took in an untouchable man and refused to register a case. .............

...........The women in the "gulabi gang" echo the same sentiment - but Sampat Devi has a separate agenda for women. "Village society in India is loaded against women. It refuses to educate them, marries them off too early, barters them for money. Village women need to study and become independent to sort it out themselves," she says. .............

hey king george

musharaf doesn't give two flying yoo hoos about DEMOCRACY (just like you!!!). all he cares about (just like you!!!) is the all mighty DOLLAR (well, in his case rupee)
a bit of wednesday humor:

Bush More Emphatic In Backing Musharraf
He Says Leader 'Believes in Democracy'

By Michael Abramowitz and Robin Wright Washington Post Staff Writers
President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."
Bush spoke nearly three weeks after Musharraf declared emergency rule, sacked members of the Supreme Court and began a roundup of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Musharraf's government yesterday released about 3,000 political prisoners, although 2,000 remain in custody, according to the Interior Ministry. ..............

what would YOU do if your employer asked the date of your last menstrual cycle?

i know what i'd do.
UN EFFING BELIEVABLE
women: second class citizens, yet ANOTHER example

Outrage at India menstrual form

By Monica Chadha BBC News, Mumbai

Women civil servants in India have expressed shock at new appraisal rules which require them to reveal details of their menstrual cycles.
Under the new nationwide requirements, female officials also have to say when they last sought maternity leave.
Women civil servants say the questions are a gross invasion of privacy. One told the BBC she was "gobsmacked".
Annual appraisals and health checks are mandatory in India's civil service. The ministry was unavailable for comment.
But one of its most senior bureaucrats was quoted in the press as saying the new questions had been based on advice from health officials.
'No words'
The questions at the root of the controversy are on page 58 of the new appraisal forms for the current year issued by the federal Ministry for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Women officers must write down their "detailed menstrual history and history of LMP [last menstrual period] including date of last confinement [maternity leave]," the form says. ...........