Iraqis intent on ending occupation, rebuilding country
Violence in Iraq has escalated sharply since a new government was named in early May, with an average of 30 Iraqi civilians killed every day. Joblessness, power cuts and lack of sanitation and health care remain at crisis levels and in some areas have worsened, with cholera and tuberculosis on the rise.
Racist found guilty in 1964 Mississippi killings
On June 21 a jury of nine whites and three Blacks in Philadelphia, Miss., convicted octogenarian and former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen of manslaughter, exactly 41 years after the triple slaying of young civil rights workers James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. click here for Spanish text
Its a great time to be a Communist
CHICAGO — The Communist Party USA returns to its birthplace this week as 500 labor, peace, civil rights and community activists, and international guests converge here for the party’s 28th national convention, July 1-3.
Iraqi labor leaders welcomed across U.S.
Six Iraqi union leaders touring the U.S. this week called for an end to the U.S. occupation and expressed hope that American workers would support their efforts to protect Iraqi workers’ rights and defeat privatization. U.S. Labor Against the War sponsored the 17-day, 25-city tour by the representatives of three major labor organizations in Iraq. click here for Spanish text
From Congress to union halls: Demand widens: Exit Iraq!
WASHINGTON — “Let Conyers in!” the crowd chanted at the White House gate the evening of June 16. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and a dozen other lawmakers had come to deliver petitions signed by 566,000 people demanding that President George W. Bush answer for the so-called Downing Street Memo proving that he “fixed” intelligence to justify war on Iraq.
Philly hears calls to boost minimum wage
PHILADELPHIA — A coalition of labor and community groups rallied here May 25 to demand an increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, which has remained frozen at $5.15 an hour for eight years. Rally speakers demanded that the state Legislature hike the wage to $7.15 an hour to provide adequate worker income and to bring it closer to the minimum wage prevailing in nearby states.
A celebration of brave hearts and courageous acts
This book is a collection of 33 short biographies about the lives and actions of people who are deeply committed in changing the world. As the cover of the book states, “You know the names of Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela.” Yet it questions the reader, “But have you ever heard of Roy Bourgeois, Neta Golan, or Sulak Sivaraksa?” There are many brave men and women who are activists and continue in the tradition of faith-based activism.
Belafonte, Huffington honored for speaking truth to power
NEW YORK CITY — “When Martin Luther King Jr. began to respond to the demands for justice, one of the first persons he called upon was Harry Belafonte,” said Andrew Young, a top aide to King, former congressman and United Nations ambassador. Young was introducing Belafonte at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy annual benefit here on June 8, which honored Belafonte and Arianna Huffington for “Speaking Truth to Power.”
More about white privilege concepts
The following are reader responses to an article by Sam Webb, “Communists make key points on racism” (PWW 4/30-5/6). A discussion worth continuing; Our job in fight against racism
The 800-lb. gorillas: war spending & tax cuts for the rich
The persistent budget crises in Illinois and Chicago are in large measure created by the Bush administration policies of tax cuts for the very rich, militarization and Iraq war spending that are bankrupting cities, counties and states across the nation. The recently adopted Bush budget projects red ink as far as the eye can see.
