• A Socialist Action Contribution to Discussion in the Antiwar Movement • by Jeff Mackler / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action The May 18 decision of the National Steering Committee of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), currently the broadest antiwar coalition in the United States, to set Saturday, Sept. 24, for … Continue reading Strategy & Tactics in the Fight Against the Iraq War
Month: June 2005
The United Pension Default: Saving ‘Our Airline” or Saving Labor?
by Andrew Pollack / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action On May 10 Judge Eugene Wedoff gave bankrupt United Airlines the right to terminate its pension plans. This is the biggest pension default in U.S. history, and the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation now assumes responsibility for these plans—which means a bailout for the … Continue reading The United Pension Default: Saving ‘Our Airline” or Saving Labor?
Iraqi Resistance Strives to Heal Sectarian Divisions
by Gerry Foley/ June 2005 issue of Socialist Action The U.S. military’s response to the multiplication of deadly bombings and assassinations by the Iraqi resistance has had the by now familiar effect of inflaming hatred of the imperialist occupation among the masses of Iraqis. An Associated Press dispatch of May 12 reported … Continue reading Iraqi Resistance Strives to Heal Sectarian Divisions
Posada Carriles Affair Unmasks U.S. ‘War on Terrorism’
by Marc Rome / June 2005 President Bush’s famous Aug. 26, 2003, statement, “if you harbor a terrorist … you’re just as guilty as the terrorists,” now has a hypocritical ring to it in light of Washington’s handling of the Luis Posada Carriles case. Posada, a Cuban-born exile with a long track record … Continue reading Posada Carriles Affair Unmasks U.S. ‘War on Terrorism’
Social Radicalization Deepens in Venezuela
by Gerry Foley / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Since President Hugo Chavez’s victory in the August 2004 referendum forced by the opposition in an attempt to unseat him, the third major assault against his government in less than three years, a radicalization has been accelerating in Venezuela. The radicalization reached … Continue reading Social Radicalization Deepens in Venezuela
French Voters Reject EU Constitution
by Gerry Foley / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Although the French rulers pulled out all the stops to get a victory for the draft European constitution in the May 29 referendum, they suffered a stunning rebuff at the polls. With a turnout of over 70 percent, 55 percent of voters voted … Continue reading French Voters Reject EU Constitution
Rally Protests Terror Against Haitians in Dominican Republic
by Marty Goodman / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action NEW YORK—On May 23 some 100 rallied outside the Dominican Republic consulate here in an emergency protest against ongoing racist terror against Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. Since May 9, five or more Haitians have been murdered, at least three of … Continue reading Rally Protests Terror Against Haitians in Dominican Republic
NYC Forum Reports on ‘Haiti After Aristide’
by Marty Goodman / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action NEW YORK—On May 21, the Grassroots Haiti Solidarity Committee (GHSC) sponsored a forum on the crisis in Haiti, co-sponsored by the Batay Ouvriye Solidarity Network, the Haitian Information Center, the Nicaragua Solidarity Network, N.Y. CISPES, Socialist Action, and the Brooklyn Greens. The … Continue reading NYC Forum Reports on ‘Haiti After Aristide’
Rebellion Shakes Post-Stalinist Order in Central Asia
by Gerry Foley / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Throughout the history of the Stalinized Soviet Union, the so-called Central Asian Republics were darkest corners of the bureaucratic dictatorship. It was here that the national oppression imposed on the small nations of the former Russian empire by the Great Russian chauvinist … Continue reading Rebellion Shakes Post-Stalinist Order in Central Asia
A Top Banana Split in AFL-CIO?
by Bill Onash / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action “Is Labor Headed for Splitsville?” was the title of a Business Week article about the Las Vegas gathering of a dissident faction in the AFL-CIO last month. The top dogs in the SEIU, Teamsters, UFCW, UNITE-HERE, and the Laborers had hoped they would … Continue reading A Top Banana Split in AFL-CIO?
Should Women Be Assigned to Combat Duty?
by Rebecca Doran / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action In May, The House Armed Services Committee, in a 61-1 vote, approved a bill that would set Defense Department policy and spending plans for the upcoming budget year. The bill envisions creating a $50 billion fund for conflicts in the upcoming year; however, … Continue reading Should Women Be Assigned to Combat Duty?
San Francisco Bay Area Welcomes Lynne Stewart
by Jeff Mackler / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action SAN FRANCISCO—Progressive attorney Lynne Stewart, recently convicted on false “terrorism” charges, completed a successful April 21-28 speaking tour in the Bay Area to publicize and raise money for her defense. As part of the tour, she was the featured speaker at a mass … Continue reading San Francisco Bay Area Welcomes Lynne Stewart
Northern Lights: News & Views From SA/Canada
by Barry Weisleder / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action 1. Federal Liberals rebound There will be no Canadian federal election—not for a few months any way. Prime Minister Paul Martin and his Liberal government narrowly escaped defeat in Parliament on May 19, with the help of millionaire Conservative Party defector … Continue reading Northern Lights: News & Views From SA/Canada
Mass Mobilizations Convulse Bolivia
by Gerry Foley / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Resurgence of the mass movement against allowing transnational companies to exploit the country’s natural resources has brought Bolivia to the boiling point. The Bolivian radical news website Econoticias reported May 19 that the unionized tin miners had taken the leadership of the … Continue reading Mass Mobilizations Convulse Bolivia
Review of Trotsky’s “Literature and Revolution”
by Joe Auciello / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action Leon Trotsky, "Literature and Revolution" (1923), ed. William Keach, (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2005), paper, 300 pages, $16. Leon Trotsky’s study of literary movements within the young Soviet Republic, and his argument for a partisan but broad-minded government policy towards those trends, is … Continue reading Review of Trotsky’s “Literature and Revolution”
‘Raise the Rates!’
by John Clarke / June 2005 issue of Socialist Action TORONTO—On May 12, a crowd of over 400 poor people and supporters took the fight for decent income right to the doorstep of the Ontario Liberal politician most responsible for imposing hunger on our communities, Minister of Social Services Sandra Pupatello. The … Continue reading ‘Raise the Rates!’