An open letter to President Bush 100,000 dead and you call yourself pro-life?
Opinion Dear President-elect Bush: There are at least 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians from your invasion. About 50,000 of them are women and children. There are over 1,100 U.S. soldiers dead. And certainly the death toll will mount with the bloodbath in Fallujah. With all this death, how can you claim to be pro-life?
Health care as a human right
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a “Second Bill of Rights” for Americans, declaring “freedom from want” to be one of four essential liberties necessary for human security. Roosevelt’s definition of freedom included “the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.” The right to health was subsequently enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Colo. students sit-in to protest Bush
Though the movement to defeat President George W. Bush suffered an electoral defeat on Nov. 2, students at Boulder High School in Colorado proved by example that this movement is hardly out of steam.
Fight to save South LA trauma center continues
LOS ANGELES — South Los Angeles area residents and their allies are expected to rally Monday afternoon, Nov. 15, to protest the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ proposal to close the Martin Luther King Jr./Charles Drew Hospital’s trauma center.
Bush plan for Social Security: divide and profit
At the Republican Convention this summer, President Bush said, “We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account.”
Sunshine State votes to hike minimum wage
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nov. 2 witnessed a great step forward for workplace justice in Florida. By an overwhelming 72-28 percent majority, the state’s voters adopted “The Florida Minimum Wage Amendment” to the state’s constitution. Commonly known as “Amendment 5,” this historic law will directly benefit up to 1 million workers throughout the Sunshine State.
San Francisco hotel workers keep up fight
SAN FRANCISCO — Spirited picket lines continued this week at 14 big San Francisco hotels, as talks continued between UNITE HERE Local 2 and the Multi-Employer Group.
International notes
Haiti: OAS commission condemns atrocities / Britain: Iraq war dead honored / Nigeria: Unions call new strike / World trade unions found int’l forum / Australia: U.S. to test new weapons
Bush election: Team World got clobbered
Most world leaders responded to the election of George W. Bush with diplomatically crafted congratulations. But beneath the polite veneer, a number of governments signaled their continuing disagreement with the administration’s approach to international affairs and especially to the war and occupation in Iraq.
Saskatchewan OKs same-sex marriage
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Another victory for equal rights was won in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan Nov. 5 when a judge ordered the government to legalize same-sex marriage.
