Nuclear weapons and humans cannot coexist: A Japanese survivor speaks out
In 1945 I was 16 years old. On the morning of Aug. 9 that year, I was riding my bicycle 1.8 km north of what was to become the hypercenter of the explosion of the atomic bomb.
Breaking the stranglehold of the insurance industry
Buying protection against the possibility of future risks is as old as time itself. In the corporate world, this system of protection is called insurance. Everyone faces the risk of fires and damage to a home or apartment. Damage to an automobile is another example. That is why fire, property and auto insurance is an accepted fact in everyone’s life. The issue that is raised is the level of profit that insurance carriers demand to guard against that risk.
Airline workers pensions crash and burn
The union representing United Airlines’ flight attendants warned of the demise of the nation’s defined-benefit pension system after a bankruptcy judge gave the airline the go-ahead to dump billions of dollars of pension obligations owed to members of four unions, the flight attendants, pilots, and ground crews May 10.
Iraq upgraded from quagmire to morass
Situation disastrous but not catastrophic, defense sec’y says
Perfect storm on pensions, health care
Quickly converging with the debate on Social Security is the worsening state of the U.S. private pension system.
Houston janitors fight for justice
HOUSTON — “It is misery,” said Ercilia Sandoval, who has worked as a janitor in Houston for seven years. In a fiery speech to 1,000 participants in the April 30 Justice for Janitors convention here, the El Salvador native said she is paid $5.25 an hour. On those wages, she “can’t pay for child care, can’t pay for food, can’t pay to ride the bus.”
World Notes
Congo: Militiamen disarm; Haiti: Call to free all political prisoners; Sweden: Unions demand tax hikes; Puerto Rico: Students win strike; Ceylon: Unions protest privatization
Workers of the world hit streets on May Day
Millions of workers staged May Day rallies worldwide, from a rally of 5,000 Bangladeshis seeking a minimum wage to the streets of Moscow where workers rallied against sweeping cuts in social programs. Workers, from as diverse a list as South Africa, Mozambique, India, Nepal, Palestine, Canada, Mexico, Japan, France and Sweden, gave voice to a wide range of demands on the traditional international labor holiday.
Cubas AIDS program shows results
Cuba’s progress in fighting HIV/AIDS was recently on display at a national conference in Havana titled “Assuming the Challenge.”
Dallas voters reject strong mayor proposal
DALLAS — African American and Latino voters, turning out in record numbers for the May 7 local elections, were credited with dealing a stunning defeat to a “strong mayor” proposal that would have transferred most municipal power away from the 14 city councilpersons and into the hands of the mayor.
