Blagojevich hits GOPs Ryan for frame-ups
A huge uproar has erupted over clemency hearings requested by 142 people on Illinois’ Death Row. The hearings were requested because people facing execution are entitled to file clemency requests, because prosecutors asked for public hearings and because of concerns that outgoing Governor George Ryan has qualms about the death penalty that his successor may not share.
Reporters Journal from Israel and Palestine:The struggle for peace and a decent life
TEL AVIV – Every day in the last two weeks, someone in a cab or a coffee shop or in a bus has asked, “Where are you from? Aren’t you afraid to be here?” As a visitor to these troubled lands it is not fear but a great sadness when you witness the daily struggles of the people for a future of peace and to make a decent living for themselves and their families. There are many seemingly insurmountable obstacles standing in the way of the two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, to live peacefully in two states side by side.
A mighty roar Oct. 26: No war on Iraq
WASHINGTON – Demonstrators numbering in the hundreds of thousands marched in cities and towns across the U.S. and around the world Oct. 26 to protest George W. Bush’s drive toward a unilateral war against Iraq.
National security, or war on workers?
OAKLAND, Calif. – Like many Filipinos living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Erlinda Valencia found a job at the airport, screening carry-on bags for passengers. She worked for Argenbright Security for 14 years, most of that time at a minimum-wage job, barely able to support her family.
Harry Hay, pioneer gay rights activist, mourned
SAN FRANCISCO – Well-known gay rights activist Harry Hay passed away Oct. 17 at the age of 90.
Solidarity is new watchword for actors union
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) President Melissa Gilbert is hoping that stronger ties with the AFL-CIO will help both organizations advance their members’ interests in Washington and help their efforts to take on global conglomerates.
Bowling for ColumbineBowling for Columbine
Movie review Bowling for Columbine
Bridge between two worlds
Review Crescent & Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds, by Stephan Kinzer, published 2001 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 240 pp plus index, hard cover – $25.00, paperback – $14.00
Free trade negotiations only money speaks
Beginning Oct. 12, Mexican citizens have had the opportunity to voice their opinion about the controversial Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Mexican social organizations are organizing a five-month-long plebiscite, called the “People’s Consultation,” in response to the lack of civil society participation in FTAA negotiations.
Administration hides role in Venezuela coup
Treasury Secretary Paul H. O’Neill’s trip to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay has brought some needed attention to the financial and economic crises there. But there is one country where the United States is playing an enormous – and thoroughly destructive – role that has been left out of the picture: Venezuela.
