by Gerry Foley – Feburary , 2005 The elections to the Iraqi transitional national assembly on Jan. 30 marked the first major political setback for the resistance to the U.S.-led occupation. None of the problems and political pitfalls that the United States faced before the elections have been solved, and in the long run … Continue reading Iraq resistance set back by U.S. ‘democracy’ con game
Month: February 2005
Bush launches assault on Social Security
by Michael Schreiber – February, 2005 Since the inauguration of his second term, President Bush has redoubled his efforts to convince Congress and citizens to support his plans to “fix” Social Security by means of benefit cuts and the privatization of individual accounts. The administration’s impending Social Security reform is part of a … Continue reading Bush launches assault on Social Security
Court Overturns Conviction of Death Row Inmate Kevin Richey
by Rebecca Doran – February, 2005 On Jan. 25, Ohio prisoner Kenny Richey—internationally known as the Innocent Scot on Death Row—was granted a victory by the federal courts. This ruling in favor of Richey, which overturned his disputed 1987 conviction and sentence of death, was handed down by the Sixth Circuit Court of … Continue reading Court Overturns Conviction of Death Row Inmate Kevin Richey
New Evidence in the Case of Kevin Cooper
by Rebecca Doran – February, 2005 On the evening of Jan. 18, the gates of San Quentin State Prison in northern California once again became the scene of protest as officials prepared the death chamber for its next victim. Over 400 anti-death-penalty activists rallied outside, braving hours of bitter cold temperatures in the … Continue reading New Evidence in the Case of Kevin Cooper
Class Confrontation Sharpens in Venezuela
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 Since the defeat of the third pro-imperialist campaign to oust the government of Hugo Chavez in the last two years, with the Chavista victory in the August 2004 recall referendum, the confrontation within Venezuela and between the Venezuelan government and U.S. imperialism has been sharpening. On Dec. … Continue reading Class Confrontation Sharpens in Venezuela
Bolivia Re-Ignites Beacon for Latin American Struggle
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 The mass mobilizations that forced neoliberal President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to flee to the United States in Oct. 2003 left an open volcano of revolutionary aspirations and organization. It erupted again on Jan. 10 with general strikes in Santa Cruz, the commercial center of the country, and … Continue reading Bolivia Re-Ignites Beacon for Latin American Struggle
Protests Force Putin to Halt Some Cutbacks to Benefits
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 Large and militant demonstrations by pensioners and their supporters over the weekend of Jan. 15-16 forced Russia’s authoritarian ruler, Vladimir Putin, to retreat from his attempt to eliminate free services, primarily free transportation, for the country’s elderly and public workers. The protests were the largest since the … Continue reading Protests Force Putin to Halt Some Cutbacks to Benefits
alestinian Voting Points to More Resistance & Debate
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 As expected, the new president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), moved immediately after his election on Jan. 9 against the militants while making overtures to Israel. He had attempted to do this before, during his brief sojourn in the premiership of the PA, but … Continue reading alestinian Voting Points to More Resistance & Debate
PSAC Job Action Interupted
by Barry Weisleder – February, 2005 Last month we reported on the struggle of members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, who had embarked on a brave battle last summer against harmful government cuts to public services and jobs. The militant walk outs were cut short and a huge strike mandate was betrayed … Continue reading PSAC Job Action Interupted
Update on the Struggle at Toronto’s Metropolitan Hotel
by Barry Weisleder – February, 2005 In late January, hotel worker and union activist Emily Tang was fired by the Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto. Emily had been suspended for three months for violating a policy that bans workers from making public statements about the hotel deemed negative by management. She was targeted as a … Continue reading Update on the Struggle at Toronto’s Metropolitan Hotel
Right Wing Mobilizes Against Women’s Rights
by Rebecca Doran – February, 2005 Jan. 22 marked the 32nd anniversary of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which made the right to abortion legal in all states. Anti-choice advocates took advantage of this date to spread their right-wing agenda of so-called family values. Bearing religious icons, American flags, and signs … Continue reading Right Wing Mobilizes Against Women’s Rights
Lockheed, King of Warfare
by Jeff Mackler – February, 2005 Remember the term “military-industrial complex?” It used to conjure up images of an array of U.S. corporations that produced weapons of war for superprofits. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against these military contractors exercising undue influence over government. In the 1970s the Lockheed Corporation was one of … Continue reading Lockheed, King of Warfare
Loaded Language in the Media
by Joe Auciello – February, 2005 Last August Arundhati Roy began a speech to the American Sociological Association by referring to a problem with language. Words, she said, have been “butchered and bled of meaning.” (Her talk, “Public Power in the Age of Empire,” has been published by Seven Stories Press). This is … Continue reading Loaded Language in the Media
Dust Bowl Blues
by Michael G. Livingston – February, 2005 I’ve seen the dust so black that I couldn’t see a thing, I’ve seen the dust so black that I couldn’t see a thing. And the wind so cold, boy, it nearly cut your water off. I seen the wind so high that it blowed my fences … Continue reading Dust Bowl Blues
Review of William Kunstler’s “The Emerging Police State”
by Joe Auciello – February, 2005 The countless number of jokes about lawyers reveals a fear and animosity towards members of this profession, which, to the average citizen, appears powerful and mysterious. Only in fiction—and the self-serving autobiographies that read like fiction—does the lawyer emerge as the admirable figure, the hero. Think of Perry … Continue reading Review of William Kunstler’s “The Emerging Police State”
Sonoma High Schoolers Hold Anti-War Walk Out
by Mark Ostapiak– February, 2005 SANTA ROSA, Calif.—History shows that youth often provide the spark for social and political awakening. They have been in the forefront of this country’s greatest past struggles for civil rights, women’s rights, independent Black and Chicano political parties, and an end to global capitalism. Many of today’s youth … Continue reading Sonoma High Schoolers Hold Anti-War Walk Out
Review of “Hotel Rwanda”
by Gaetana Caldwell-Smith & Michael Schreiber– February, 2005 “Hotel Rwanda.” Starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, and Nick Nolte; directed by Terry George. “Hotel Rwanda” is a heartrending exposé of the consequences of the policies of the major Western powers toward the neo-colonial world. The European and U.S. imperialists orchestrated the conditions for the … Continue reading Review of “Hotel Rwanda”
Aceh: Hit by Tsunami & Indonesian Military
by Gerry Foley – February, 2005 The majority of those killed by the Dec. 26 tsunami, at least 160,000 people, were in the small nation of Aceh on the tip of Sumatra. It is a staggering loss out a total population of only about 4 million. Furthermore, this blow to the Acehnese people … Continue reading Aceh: Hit by Tsunami & Indonesian Military
Bush’s ‘State of the Union’ Rings Alarm Bells Around the World
Bush’s State of the Union address was largely a pep-rally speech for his chauvinistic lower-middle-class electoral base. (Some commentators were impressed by Bush’s lack of "bashfulness.") But its triumphalism alarmed international public opinion and apparently even the Bush regime’s closest international ally, the British government, which has good reason to fear being dragged by its … Continue reading Bush’s ‘State of the Union’ Rings Alarm Bells Around the World