World Notes
Côte d’Ivoire: Peace pact signed; Iraq: War doubles child malnutrition; Mexico: U.S., Mexican unionists rally; Nepal: Hundreds still detained
Famed attorney blasts U.S. Cuba policy
HOUSTON — Noted civil rights lawyer Leonard Weinglass blasted U.S. policy on Cuba at Texas Southern University here April 5, charging that the government has been “overtly or covertly attacking” the socialist island since 1960. Over the past 40 years, he said, more than 3,000 Cubans have been killed as a result of bombings and other attacks by right-wing Cuban exiles.
Latin America and the Caribbean move left
In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson, expressing his customary arrogance toward the peoples of Latin America, promised to “teach South American republics to elect good men.” The Bush administration’s attitude toward the newly elected left-leaning governments in South America, toward Haiti’s ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and toward socialist Cuba continues this chauvinistic tradition.
Survivors of Hiroshima to join no-nuke rally
NEW YORK—Sixty years after U.S. atomic bombs destroyed two Japanese cities, incinerating hundreds of thousands of civilians, mayors from around the world — led by the mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima — as well as survivors of the 1945 atomic destruction will join a massive rally in New York City’s Central Park to demand the worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons.
Devastating school closings hit Detroit
DETROIT — After the Board of Education announced that 34 public schools would close here by next fall parents, teachers and the community voiced their grave concern over the future of public education.
Labor & community rally for Social Security: Signing the pledge in California
Calling Social Security “the most profound and effective program in our history,” Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-Calif.) told an April 2 town hall meeting sponsored by the California Alliance of Retired Americans (CARA) that “with Social Security we weave together a safety net that guarantees our independence and economic security.” Watson pointed out that the investment firms pre-selected to participate in President Bush’s privatization scheme were his largest campaign contributors. “These Wall Street sharks will charge anywhere from 15 to 20 percent to ‘manage’ private accounts,” she warned, resulting in benefit cuts and loss of disability and survivors’ benefits.
Bush IOU stunt cynical and irresponsible
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush’s Social Security road show ran off the road last week and he can’t seem to get it back on track. The uproar was unleashed April 5, when he cast doubts on the creditworthiness of the federal government.
Celebrating women in peace, freedom struggles
PHILADELPHIA — In honor of Women’s History Month, the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware District of the Communist Party USA hosted “Celebrating the Contribution of Women in the Struggle for Peace, Freedom, Justice and Equality” forum here.
Newsmaker winners announced
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The People’s Weekly World Connecticut bureau announced this week the recipients of its annual Newsmaker Awards. Connecticut Working Families Party and Community Organized for Responsible Development (CORD) have been selected to receive this year’s awards for building the coalition against the Bush agenda with grassroots organizing to win democratic rights for working people.
SOARs George Edwards: Sparkplug for rank & file activism
George Edwards points out he’s the only unpaid worker at the Steelworkers’ Gateway Center headquarters in Pittsburgh. The 87-year-old veteran of the Lorain, Ohio, US Steel mill now wields a phone and a keyboard instead of a pair of calipers, but he’s working just as hard on the class struggle as he did throughout his 39 years in mill. He is putting his energy into building what he calls “probably the most activist organization in the Steelworkers” — the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees.
