New OSHA boss adds insult to injury
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao announced on Dec. 14, 2004, the appointment of Jonathan Snare as the deputy assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to replace the outgoing OSHA head John Henshaw. Although Snare will oversee the safety and health of 100 million workers under OSHA’s jurisdiction, it was not deemed important enough for significant media coverage.
Indian patent law threatens low-cost drugs
NEW DELHI — India, which is part of the World Trade Organization, may have to change its patent laws. The government is considering amending the Indian Patent Act of 1970, which would introduce patent protection for big corporations and pharmaceutical products.
Will 2005 mark the end of polio?
Polio is a disease that invades the spinal cord and brain, causing muscle weakness and atrophy, and, in severe cases, permanent paralysis or death. The polio virus lives and replicates in the intestines and spreads either from person-to-person contact or by ingestion of anything that is contaminated.
Rich will be richer, rest will become sicker
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created as part of the Medicare drug legislation. The Bush administration has promoted this concept as a magic bullet that will both rein in the cost of health care and broaden coverage among the uninsured.
Call me by my name, not my number!
Pages from workers' lives In 1940, I was looking for work. The war in Europe increased the demand for American products but jobs were still hard to get. Finally, I landed a job at Dictograph, a machine shop in Long Island.
WORLDNOTES
China-Venezuela: Trade pact signed / Israel: Children getting poorer / West Africa: Food shortages loom / Cuba: GDP up 5 percent last year / Ukraine: Pro-NATO candidate wins
Puerto Ricos voters defeat pro-statehood candidate
The election for the governorship of Puerto Rico was decided just in time for the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 2. Anibal Acevedo Vila obtained 48.4 percent of the vote, beating former governor Pedro Rosselló, who got 48.2 percent, by a margin of only 3,500 votes. The close Nov. 2 vote, which was certified just five days before the inauguration of Acevedo Vila, had set off an automatic recount. click here for Spanish text
Cuba builds up defenses and alliances
Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, has repeatedly said that for the Bush administration to carry out its program of returning Cuba to its capitalist past, the U.S. military would have to invade. The ensuing war, said Alarcon, would last for generations.
Canada plays big role in propping up Haiti regime
NewsAnalysis VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Canadian government is taking a leadership role in propping up the U.S.-installed regime in Haiti and keeping Fanmi Lavalas, the party of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, from returning to power.
Gay, lesbian group charts post-election work
For over 30 years, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) has played a crucial role in the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. For nearly two decades, the task force has sponsored the Creating Change Conference, held in various cities throughout the United States.
