By DAWN ROSE “Your body is a wrapped lollipop. When you have sex with a man, he unwraps your lollipop and sucks on it. It may feel great at the time, but, unfortunately, when he’s done with you, all you have left for your next partner is a poorly wrapped, saliva-fouled sucker.” –Darren Washington, abstinence … Continue reading ‘Purity’ myth hurts young women
Month: January 2013
Popular movements organize in Honduras
By ANN MONTAGUE At 3 a.m. on June 28, 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and his wife Xiomara were kidnapped from their home at gunpoint by 10 hooded Honduran soldiers and put on a plane that flew directly to the U.S. military base on Honduran soil called Palmerola. From there they were eventually flown to … Continue reading Popular movements organize in Honduras
Two unions join against Kaiser
By MARIE MARTIN On Jan. 3, the CNA (California Nurses Association) issued a press release to announce their fightback campaign against California’s large hospital chains such as Kaiser and Sutter Health. They were also announcing an affiliation agreement with NUHW (National Union Of Healthcare Workers). This is not a new relationship, as the two unions … Continue reading Two unions join against Kaiser
No to French intervention in Mali!
Statement by National Secretariat of the PST (Socialist Workers Party, Algerian section of the Fourth International), Jan. 17 — After the Ivorian episode in 2010, the French military intervention in Mali, with its colonialist overtones, is above all an expression of France’s determination to regain its “African garden”, which is being gnawed away at by … Continue reading No to French intervention in Mali!
A musical for rebellion
By TYLER MACKINNON With Oscar night right around the corner, this iconic book-turned-play-turned-film is taking theatres by storm—and for good reason. “Les Miserables” combines superb drama, action, romance and tragedy. Written by French literary giant Victor Hugo over a century and a half ago, it is remarkable, if not a bit depressing, to see how … Continue reading A musical for rebellion
Fracking destroys our health, climate
By CARL SACK Several protests took place in 2012 against hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process that extracts natural gas from shale bedrock by injecting highly toxic chemicals thousands of feet underground. The fracking boom has killed livestock and contaminated drinking water supplies in several states. The movement to ban fracking continues to gain steam … Continue reading Fracking destroys our health, climate
Obama and the Black community
By GLENN FORD Presentation given on Dec. 14 in New York City by Glenn Ford, executive editor of Black Agenda Report (www.Blackagendareport.com). Ford’s speech was at a forum, “Post-presidential Election Analysis: Domestic & Global Impact — Will Things Fall Apart?” Transcription and slight editing by Marty Goodman. Usually when people talk about post-election assessments they want an … Continue reading Obama and the Black community
Protests in Egypt
By ANDREW POLLACK Following mass protests in November against President Mohammed Morsi’s decree granting himself new dictatorial powers, millions returned to the streets to protest his announcement of a snap referendum to be held in mid-December for a draft constitution hastily written by an assembly dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood after most secular and liberal … Continue reading Protests in Egypt
Cuba’s new economic reforms
By JEFF MACKLER Following is an edited version of the resolution on Cuba’s new economic reforms, adopted by the 2012 National Convention of Socialist Action (U.S.). The original draft was prepared by the author. The Dec. 1, 2010, announcement by the Cuban Federation of Labor that the jobs of some 500,000 workers would be terminated … Continue reading Cuba’s new economic reforms
Expansión del S-Comm
Por LISA LUINENBURG El 12 de diciembre el Director del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en ingles), John Morton, cuya agencia opera bajo el control del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (Department of Homeland Security, DHS, por sus siglas en inglés), anunció que el controversial programa 287(g) llegará a su … Continue reading Expansión del S-Comm
Cuaderno de España: el Cuidado de la Salud
Por CHRISTOPHER HUTCH MADRID- “¡La sanidad no se vende, se defiende!” exigió la pancarta principal detrás de que miles de trabajadores de la salud marcharon el 7 de enero del 2013. Estos trabajadores de la salud se conocen como la “Marea Blanca,” debido a los blancos de laboratorio que se llevan muchos durante las protestas. Ellos son la voz de … Continue reading Cuaderno de España: el Cuidado de la Salud
Lincoln: Images of History
By DAVID RIEHLE “Remembrance for a great man is this. The newsies are pitching pennies. And on the copper disk is the man’s face. Dead lover of boys, what do you ask for now?” (“In a Back Alley,” Carl Sandburg, ca 1910-12) What was Sandburg getting at here? The “copper disk,” the ubiquitous Lincoln penny, … Continue reading Lincoln: Images of History
Notebook from Spain: Health care
By CHRIS HUTCH This is the first in a series of on-the-scene reports about the workers’ movement in Spain. Socialist Action will feature these articles throughout the coming months. MADRID—“Health care is not to be sold, it is to be defended!” demanded the lead banner that thousands of health-care workers marched behind on Jan. 7. … Continue reading Notebook from Spain: Health care
Congress: Smaller paychecks for workers
By USMAN KHAN YUSUFZAI New Year’s Day has come and gone; the impending “fiscal cliff” disaster that so occupied the fears of politicos and businessmen throughout the country has, at the 11th hour, been averted by heroic deal-making by Republican and Democratic legislators. They made some “tough decisions” in the face of the (manufactured) crisis … Continue reading Congress: Smaller paychecks for workers
Obama plan: no real immigrant ‘reforms’
By LISA LUINENBURG The Los Angeles Times recently reported that President Obama is planning a major push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in early 2013. Early reports state that the proposed bill would likely include provisions for increased border militarization, more employer sanctions (which could include increased use of programs like E-verify), and special work visas … Continue reading Obama plan: no real immigrant ‘reforms’
Syria rebels gain: U.S. threatens intervention
By ANDREW POLLACK In the last month, all the factors fueling the Syrian civil war have taken on added weight and consequence. These include, on the one hand, massacres by the regime, positioning of imperialist powers for post-Assad influence, and financing by Gulf states of Islamist fighters from abroad; and impressive rebel military successes and … Continue reading Syria rebels gain: U.S. threatens intervention
Films: Abandoned Detroit / Chasing Ice
By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “Detropia,” a documentary film, written and directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. “Detropia,” created by noted documentarians (“Jesus Camp”) Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, is a powerful film about the demise of Detroit, one of America’s largest cities, home of Motown and General Motors, whose economy had been based on the … Continue reading Films: Abandoned Detroit / Chasing Ice