Martn Espada, singing truth in dark times
Raised in Brooklyn in a housing project in a community with strong ties to Puerto Rico and its histories of political resistance, Martín Espada is now recognized as a major poet of his generation.
Gus Hall remembered
Gus Hall former national chairman of the Communist Party, was interred at Forest Home Cemetery (formerly Waldheim Cemetery), near Chicago, Sept. 20. Gus and Elizabeth’s children, Barbara Conway and Arvo Hall, party leaders and friends attended the ceremony.
Ballots across the West promise Power to the people
Public ownership of electric power is an idea whose time has come – at least in San Francisco, Las Vegas and in the Big Sky state of Montana. Voters in these western locales have a chance to vote Nov. 5 for ballot questions that open the way for city or state takeover or buyout of private utility companies.
Reporters notebook: Occupation hurts both Palestinians, Israelis
The following is excerpted from a recent e-mail sent to friends and family from PWW/Mundo reporter and Communist Party Vice Chairwoman Judith Le Blanc. RAMALLAH – The meeting with President Arafat in the “compound” here, which had been under a 10-day seige by the Israeli army, dramatized what the Sharon regime’s goal was. They set out to ignite a conflict that would have caused an assassination of Arafat. The damage left the Palestinian National Authority headquarters destroyed.
Economic issues in the elections
With control of the House and Senate at stake in the Nov. 5 elections, the Republicans have launched a national campaign of lies and disinformation.
Azteca Foods workers struggle for justice
CHICAGO – About 30 Jobs with Justice activists, including a half dozen or more striking Azteca Foods workers, distributed informational leaflets at two large supermarkets, Dominick’s and Jewel, here, recently in support of the workers in their struggle to win a fair union contract. The action was part of a nationally coordinated, 10-city campaign to pressure Azteca Foods owner Arthur Velasquez to negotiate a fair contract with the union.
Calif. Bar Association says: Amend Patriot Act to uphold rights
In an outspoken affirmation of constitutional rights and due process, the California Bar Association’s Conference of Delegates last week called on the state’s members of Congress to support amending the USA Patriot Act to uphold fundamental constitutional rights.
Renew the struggle against anti-Semitism
The most myopic U.S. supporters of Ariel Sharon have launched a campaign to smear all who criticize Israeli and U.S. policy in the Middle East as anti-Semitic. They argue that Israel represents the crystallization of the aspirations of Jews as a people and that, therefore, questioning the idea of Israel as an exclusively Jewish state is intrinsically anti-Jewish.
Anti-war movement grows in labor ranks
Growing sections of organized labor are making the connection between U.S. military aggression abroad and cuts in social programs at home. Also, many in the labor movement are openly opposing the curtailment of civil liberties.
Vote for health care
Workers Correspondence The 2002 elections offer another opportunity to press for an agenda that meets the health, housing, education and safety needs of the people. Congress still has time to enact a prescription drug bill that will take care of all retirees age 55 years and older, including Medicare recipients.
