I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Crucifixes marketed in the United States by a Christian retail group are made in a Chinese sweatshop with working conditions that are appalling even by Chinese legal standards, according to a report by a U.S. human rights organization.
The conditions include 100-hour, seven-day work weeks, mandatory overtime and wages as low as nine cents an hour, according to the report, issued by the National Labor Committee (NLC). The report is titled Today Workers Bear the Cross: Crucifixes Made Under Horrific Sweatshop Conditions in China.
The crosses are marketed in the United States by the Association for Christian Retail (ACR, founded as the Christian Booksellers Association). ACR supplies nearly all of the nation’s Christian specialty stores with a wide range of items, including Bibles, Christian books, apparel, music, videos, gifts and greeting cards.
Perhaps its largest client is Family Christian Stores, a Grand Rapids-based company that is the biggest Christian retailer in the nation with more than 300 stores. ACR did $4.63 billion in business in 2006, at least a portion of it from the crosses made by workers at the Junxingye Factory in Dongguan, China.
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ACR issued this statement:
“While we occasionally hear this issue raised, and believe there are factories in China where human rights are violated, we believe claims that products sold through CBA (Christian Book Association) member stores are made in these shops are irresponsible and unfounded.”
On Tuesday, ACR’s media relations person, Nancy Guthrie, issued another statement citing “inaccuracies” in the NLC’s report, but gave no specifics. The statement also said ACR had “assurances” from their suppliers in China that the allegations were false.
The facts in the report are stunning even by Chinese standards. It says:
“Crucifixes are being made at the Junxingye Factory in Dongguan, China, by mostly young women
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