California legislators prepare for war
LOS ANGELES — “I spent a week listening to the governor’s proposals,” said Judy Chu. “This governor has declared war.”
Vigil marks Roe v. Wade anniversary
WASHINGTON — The city was under snow emergency, but a crowd of men and women came out to a vigil to defend women’s reproductive rights on Jan. 22, the 32nd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court, which legalized abortion.
Vermonters ignite effort to bring troops home
MONTPELIER, Vt. — About half of Vermont’s Army National Guard is over in Iraq. Now, there’s a grassroots campaign to bring them home. Organizers of the Iraq Resolution Campaign say at least 47 Vermont communities will vote on a resolution regarding the war in Iraq on Town Meeting Day in March.
Progressive Democrats map strategy
WASHINGTON — Despite a raging blizzard and the shadow of the Bush inauguration, more than 500 activists turned out for a summit to help craft a strategy of taking back the country from the ultraright. Organized by the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), the meeting also had a goal of reinvigorating the progressive movement both inside and outside the Democratic Party.
Bay Area grocery workers reach tentative contract
SAN JOSE, Calif. — After five months of arduous contract negotiations with grocery giants Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger, the Bay Area Coalition of eight United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) locals announced a tentative settlement Jan. 24.
Californians vow fight vs. pension privatization
Labor, retiree and community organizations in California are kicking off a campaign to uphold Social Security against the drive of President Bush and Wall Street to privatize the 70-year-old program serving retirees, the disabled, and families of deceased workers. At the same time, they are gearing up to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign to privatize the pensions of California state employees.
Banquet honors struggle for peace, equality
CHICAGO — More than 130 people came to celebrate the People’s Weekly World’s “80 years of struggle” and to hear Military Families Speak Out co-founder Fernando Suarez del Solar on Jan. 16 here.
World forum seeks solutions to war, poverty
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — Even before the fifth World Social Forum officially opened here, Jan. 26, the city was teeming with peace and justice activists, trade unionists, community organizers, and youth and students from five continents.
Thousands assail Bush hypocrisy: Freedom for who?
Obscene spending at inaugural while millions go without WASHINGTON – In his inaugural address Jan. 20, President George W. Bush vowed to spread “liberty” and “freedom,” brushing aside his administration’s record of torture and mass detention of detainees and its support of authoritarian regimes around the world.
32 years later, Roe v. Wade still safeguards womens rights
Every minute a woman dies in childbirth or pregnancy. Access to basic family planning could save up to 25 percent of these women’s lives. But thanks to Bush’s Global Gag Rule, many family planning clinics in some of the world’s poorest countries have been forced to reduce staff and services or close their doors altogether.
