In Darwins shadow, a socialist pioneer of evolution
The man was writhing in the grips of Malaria. A torrent of tropical rain beat on the roof of his Indonesian hut. In the calm interludes between the sweats and chills, he wrote about ideas — big ones. It was 1856, and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was writing about how species evolve.
Single-payer would save lives
At Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, a 60-year-old woman has been hospitalized for weeks suffering from heart failure. The woman should not have been in the hospital in the first place, but she is because with no insurance, she didn’t have money to buy enough medicine to prevent or slow the heart disease.
Brainstorming on Kentucky River decision
WASHINGTON — Starting what promises to be a complex, tough campaign of education, mass mobilizing and lobbying, a group of unionists met Feb. 7 to brainstorm on how to combat and overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s “workers are supervisors” decision.
THIS WEEK IN LABOR
Nurses demand adequate staffing Get mass transit rolling Charter school goes union Union vote electrifies TXU Kentuckians against union-busting Massachusetts nurses call Romney plan bad medicine N.Y. CLC safety seminar UFCW blasts Wal-Mart health care hypocrisy Korean, U.S. unionists march together
WORLD NOTES
China: President Hu Jintao visits Africa Egypt: Gov’t jails student for blog Palestine: Union leaders face deadly attacks Czech Republic: No free ride for U.S. bases Bolivia: Women prepare for local politics
Anti-NATO protests rock Spanish city
Antiwar demonstrators filled the streets of Seville, Spain, last weekend to protest plans by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to escalate the number of its troops in Afghanistan and Kosovo, the former province of Yugoslavia.
N. Korea nuclear deal reached
North Korea agreed on Feb. 13 to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program just four months after it tested a nuclear bomb.
Hamas, Fatah sign pact
A power-sharing pact between rival Palestinian factions aimed at ending months of infighting was met with cautious optimism on last week after Hamas vowed to “respect” past peace deals with Israel.
Ecuador: dignity, sovereignty on the rise
Rafael Correa, upon his inauguration as Ecuador’s president on Jan. 15, immediately called for Congress to approve a referendum for a constitutional assembly which he sees as crucial for “a profound transformation” of the country.
