On the weekend of March 18-20, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in over 1000 cities throughout the world to demand an end to the U.S.-led war and occupation in Iraq. The events marked the end of the Iraq war’s second year. One of the largest rallies was in London, where organizers estimated … Continue reading Worldwide Protests Against War
Month: April 2005
No End to the Carnage in Iraq
by Gerry Foley / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action Spectacular reports of suicide bombings by relatively small Islamist groups in Iraq have overshadowed revelations about U.S. atrocities during the November 2004 siege of Falluja—which, however, will have a much wider and longer-lasting impact on public opinion in Iraq and the Arab East. … Continue reading No End to the Carnage in Iraq
A New Civil War in Lebanon?
by Gerry Foley / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action At this writing, the anti-Syrian bloc appears to have taken the lead in the referendum of the streets on the question of the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon. The March 14 demonstration called by the anti-Syrian opposition was credited by the … Continue reading A New Civil War in Lebanon?
Dim Prospects for Lasting Compromise in Palestine
by Gerry Foley / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action The impression given by the capitalist press and politicians both in the Middle East and in the imperialist countries is that the Israeli rulers and Palestinian leaders are headed toward compromise. That’s hardly surprising. This operation has been very well prepared over a long … Continue reading Dim Prospects for Lasting Compromise in Palestine
Bolivia: Social Polarization Deepens
by Gerry Foley / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action The precariously balanced bourgeois president of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, squeaked through another crisis on March 8 when he won a vote of confidence in the parliament after threatening to resign. Mesa had argued that the street and road blockades organized in protest of the … Continue reading Bolivia: Social Polarization Deepens
Sweatshop Workers Force Agreement in Haiti
by Marty Goodman / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action An unprecedented agreement has sweatshop organizers and workers in Haiti cautiously optimistic that a milestone has been reached. The deal was struck with the owners of two factories operated by the Grupo M (GM) company in Haiti’s notorious “Free Trade Zone” (FTZ), which employs … Continue reading Sweatshop Workers Force Agreement in Haiti
Cuba: A Revolution in Motion
by Derrel Meyers / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action Book Review “CUBA—A Revolution in Motion,” by Isaac Saney. Fernwood Press and Zed Press, 240 pages, $20. On a visit to Cuba in 1996 I was asked by Segundo Piñan, a representative of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the People (ICAP), … Continue reading Cuba: A Revolution in Motion
Celia Hart Reports from Caracas on the World Congress of Intellectuals: Socialism – The Only “Better World”
We publish below an article from December 2004 by Cuban journalist Celia Hart. This English-language version is based on the translation by W.T. Whitney Jr. published in Labor Standard (www.laborstandard.org/ ) We have revised and reworked it to some extent. Another version can be found on the following site: http://www.walterlippmann.com/ch-12-12-2004.html. We have retained some of … Continue reading Celia Hart Reports from Caracas on the World Congress of Intellectuals: Socialism – The Only “Better World”
AFL-CIO Tops Stand Pat at Las Vegas Meeting
by David Jones / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action The much-anticipated meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council in Las Vegas, Nev., in early March declined by a nearly two-to-one margin (a vote of 14 to 8) to adopt changes in structure and financing urgently pressed by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew … Continue reading AFL-CIO Tops Stand Pat at Las Vegas Meeting
Which Way Forward for the GLBT Rights Movement?
by Donny Lessard / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action In 1947 the state of California made a historic move and struck down that state’s ban on interracial marriages. At the time, 48 states had bans on interracial marriage. According to some polls from the time, approximately nine out of 10 Americans said that … Continue reading Which Way Forward for the GLBT Rights Movement?
Quebec Students on Strike!
by Aaron Donny-Clark / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action MONTREAL, March 19—Over 170,000 college and university students in Quebec are on strike. Over 111,000 of them, at the time of writing, are engaged in unlimited general strikes. The strikes involve not only those represented by the militant students’ associations, those affiliated with … Continue reading Quebec Students on Strike!
The Death of (Liberal) Environmentalism
by Michael G. Livingston / April 2005 issue of Socialist Action It is rare for someone in the capitalist media to report on a debate within the environmental movement, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the Saturday, March 12, New York Times to find an op/ed piece by Nicholas Kristof on“The … Continue reading The Death of (Liberal) Environmentalism