Senate panel approves Solis as labor secretary
(AFL-CIO Blog) One week after postponing a confirmation vote on Hilda Soli as secretary of labor, the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today approved on a voice vote President’s Obama’s choice to lead the Labor Department and sent the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. That vote could come tomorrow.
US Senate oks Obama plan
Washington, (Prensa Latina) The US Senate voted 61 to 37 to approve a federal anti-crisis rescue plan Tuesday, proposed by President Barack Obama valued at $838 million.
Declassified U.S. documents recall Cuba contacts
George Washington University’s National Security Archives has released classified government documents shedding light on U.S. relations with Cuba. On the National Archives website (gwu.edu), Senior Analyst Peter Kornbluh notes, “This rich declassified record of the past provides a road map for the new administration to follow in the future.”
UnionBook: A social network for labor
Original source: Union activists are, well, active. Sometimes that’s a problem on social network sites like FaceBook, MySpace and others that tend to limit an individual’s activity if it exceeds their arbitrary limits.
Israel navy captures Gaza Strip aid vessel
Reposted from Morning Star ISRAEL'S navy attacked and seized international aid ship the Tali that was heading for the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday. Al-Jadeed and al-Jazeera journalists who were aboard the Tali said that the Israelis had fired at the ship before boarding it and beating those on board.
LETTERS February 14, 2009
Print edition needed No compromise on war crimes Off mark No to sacrifice, yes to solutions
Posada, Cuban Five: Now in Obamas court
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez last month asked the Obama administration to extradite Luis Posada to Venezuela, in accordance with treaty obligations. Venezuela wants him to finish judicial proceedings there, cut short in 1985 when he escaped from jail. Posada, a citizen of Cuba and Venezuela, had been jailed because of his central role in organizing the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed all 73 people aboard. The Bush administration refused to extradite Posada after his illegal arrival in Florida in 2005.
Star Tribune bankruptcy imperils 1,400 Minnesota jobs
Reposted from Workday Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS - The Star Tribune's move to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy puts 1,400 local workers' jobs in limbo. About two-thirds of the workers at the state's largest newspaper are union members. The eight unions at the Star Tribune face the likely prospect that the newspaper will use bankruptcy proceedings, filed on Jan. 15, to persuade a judge to impose concessionary contracts, union leaders fear.
Iraqs Communists run lively campaign
On the final day of campaigning for Iraq’s provincial elections, a Communist Party motorcade waving banners and with loudspeakers blaring drove through Baghdad’s impoverished Sadr City district, known to many Iraqis as Thawra (revolution) City, Jan 29.
