August 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The Colorado Green Party, McKinney/Clemente, and The DNC Protests (The Mahatma X Files) August 18, 2008

South Central Farmers Demand Ethics Investigation of Local Officials: Citing an apparent conflict of interest, the South Central Farmers are demanding that California's State Attorney General investigate the sale of the site of the South Central Farm by Los Angeles city officials to local developer Ralph Horowitz for a trucking center for women's clothing manufacturer and retailer Forever 21. (Los Angeles Indymedia) August 18, 2008

Eddie Boyd Jr., an auto salesman who had been the Green Party candidate for Maryland governor in 2006, died of lung cancer Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. "Eddie was the first Green Party candidate for governor in Maryland history as well as the first African-American candidate to ever run in a gubernatorial general election," said Myles Hoenig, Mr. Boyd's former campaign manager. (Baltimore Sun) August 16, 2008

Policing of Climate Camp a Major Attack on Democratic Rights in Britain: A week-long climate protest camp in north Kent has ended, amidst widespread claims of disproportionate and aggressive policing. Around 100 people were arrested over the course of the protest, 46 of whom have been charged, mostly with obstruction offences. The multimillion-pound policing of the camp marked a significant attack on democratic rights and civil liberties. (World Socialist Web Site) August 15, 2008

Resistance in Egypt: Egypt has the biggest working class in the region with a long, militant history of industrial struggle. (MR Zine) August 18, 2008

Petition: Urgent Help In Ensuring The Safe Return of Haitian Human Rights Activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine (Petition Online)

August 14, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Venezuela Pledges Strengthened Alliance with Bolivia Following Morales Referendum Victory (Venezuelanalysis) August 11, 2008

2004 Democratic Party Dirty Tricks in Oregon and Beyond (Scott L. West, SC) August 13, 2008

Amazon Rainforest Threatened By New Wave of Oil and Gas Exploration: Vast swathes of the western Amazon are to be opened up for oil and gas exploration, putting some of the planet’s most pristine and biodiverse forests at risk. (The Guardian UK) August 13, 2008

Schwarzenegger’s Wage Cuts Condemned: Unionists having been protesting against the decision by Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut the wages of more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of US$6.55 per hour, alleging he must do so because the state legislature has not passed a budget. (Green Left Weekly) August 9, 2008

Shell Rebuked For 'Greenwash' Over Ad For Polluting Oil Project: The Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell misled the public about the green credentials of a vastly polluting oil project in Canada. (The Independent UK) August 13, 2008

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, WITH THE IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR AND TENT STATE UNIVERSITY, HOST THE “TENT STATE MUSIC FESTIVAL TO END THE WAR” DURING THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: Rage Against the Machine has joined forces with the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Tent State University to perform as part of the “Tent State Music Festival to End the War” on Wednesday, August 27 at the Denver Coliseum. They will join the Flobots, The Coup, State Radio, and Wayne Kramer. Doors open at 9:30 am, show begins at 11 am. Tickets are free and available by lottery. (TentState.org) August 2008

The Nation Magazine and Buyers Remorse Over Obama (Counterpunch) August 14, 2008

August 11, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Cindy Sheehan On The Ballot: Cindy Sheehan qualified Friday for a November showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, collecting the signatures needed to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress in California. (San Francisco Chronicle) August 9, 2008

Georgia, Russia, and the USA: The "New Cold War" Escalates: The US ruling class, in pursuing its "new Cold War", has introduced an infernal logic of mutual escalation, so that even if this crisis simmers down, a new one is bound to emerge soon. The much-vaunted new world order is increasingly resembling the old one, but with more nuclear weapons and less stability. (Lenin's Tomb) August 9, 2008

President Morales Wins Bolivian Election: President Evo Morales of Bolivia won a resounding victory in a recall vote yesterday after calling a referendum to break a political stalemate and revive his leftist campaign. More than 63 percent of voters in this bitterly divided Andean nation ratified the mandate of Mr Morales. (Times Online) August 11, 2008

Exit Polls: Morales Ratified by Larger Margin than in 2005: The Morales-García Linera duo got more than 7 percentage points above 53.7 percent that they needed. (MR Zine) August 8, 2008

Israel's Siege of Collective Punishment: Imagine if Chinese-Americans visiting relatives were prevented by the Chinese government from returning to America. Or if an American traveled to Iran and was then forbidden from reaching an airport to come home. This happened to me at the hands of Israel, supposedly America's closest ally in the Middle East. I am a US citizen from Olathe, Kansas. I am also a Palestinian born in Gaza. I traveled to Gaza last December to care for my ill father. Israel trapped me there for four months. Yaser Wishah comments. (Electronic Intifada) August 7, 2008

Greens Launch Effort Against Electoral College Manipulation Of Presidential Elections In US: The Green Party of the US says that the outcome of the 2008 presidential election may be affected by the antidemocratic apportionment of Electoral College votes, with the popular vote misrepresented by the winner-take-all system of assigning votes to electors. (GP.org) August 5, 2008

Ecuador: Chevron Battles Government, Indigenous People (Green Left Weekly) August 10, 2008

August 4, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Fighting For Union Rights and Clean Air: Truck drivers and community groups unite in Oakland, California to demand better working conditions and environmental protection (Socialist Worker) July 24, 2008

Sexual Assault In Military: A congresswoman said Thursday that her "jaw dropped" when military doctors told her that four in 10 women at a veterans hospital reported being sexually assaulted while in the military. A government report indicates that the numbers could be even higher. (CNN) July 31, 2008

Sexual Assault in the Military: A DoD Cover-Up? Sexual violence against both female and male military personnel must stop. (ZNet) August 4, 2008

River Diversion Plans For Whose Benefit in Thailand? Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s plans to divert water from rivers in neighbouring Laos to help feed agricultural production faces stiff opposition from those who argue the projects could threaten the environment and local people’s lives. (Inter Press Service) August 4, 2008

Stinging Tentacles Offer Hint of Oceans' Decline: The explosion of jellyfish populations, scientists say, reflects a combination of severe overfishing of natural predators, like tuna, sharks and swordfish; rising sea temperatures caused in part by global warming; and pollution that has depleted oxygen levels in coastal shallows. (International Herald Tribune) August 2, 2008

Why For Profit Water Companies Are Behind A Bottled Water Backlash: In the UK, private water delivery companies see bottled water as a direct competitor for their product, tap water. The next time we hear of a new tap water campaign coming out of the UK, let's cheer for the profile the issue is getting, but we need to be wary that such a campaign is driven by a for profit water services company whose aim is to promote its brand of privatized water. (Alternet) July 31, 2008

The Fists Still Hold Power: The image lasted for only as long as it took to play the national anthem -- yet it still resonates four decades later. Black American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winners of the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter race bow their heads and raise their black-gloved fists to protest racism during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. (Los Angeles Times) August 3, 2008

Dave Zirin on Why Jonah Goldberg Fears the Fist: Jonah Goldberg’s regular column in the LA Times is usually an awkward grab bag of right wing talking points backed by knowledge of history that would shame a poodle, although a poodle would never be so pompous. Goldberg stepped on to Zirin's beat this past week with a column about the 1968 Olympic protesters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Goldberg's piece was such a cheap, dishonest scribble, Zirin feel compelled to respond. (Dissident Voice) August 2, 2008

Schwarzenegger Imposes Minimum Wage On California State Workers & Cuts 22,000 Jobs (Workers Independent News) August 1, 2008

July 31, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

South Central Farmers, Community members, and Progressive Organizations Call For Shutting Down the "h" Horowitz Warehouse in South Central Los Angeles (SouthCentralFarmers.com) July 24, 2008

His High Imperial Holiness Obama Does Berlin: While we should recognize that John McCain is a dangerous dunderhead, many have recently begun the overdue process of demystifying His High Imperial Holiness The Dali Obama in the United States. The sooner Europeans do the same the better for all concerned. (Black Agenda Report) July 30, 2008

Let Them Eat Mud Cake: In Haiti mud cakes have become a staple diet of the poor. Haiti is an example of how capitalism causes starvation and mass deprivation around the globe, usually hidden from view because it's built into the system, with no clear bad guy to put the blame on. (Wis[s]e Words) July 29, 2008

In Review: Jonathan Neale's ‘Stop Global Warming–Change the World’: A positive and optimistic addition to the arsenal of socialists and climate activists alike (Climate and Capitalism) July 29, 2008

Paramilitary Death Squads, Threats, Assassinations, Chainsaw Murders: One More Gruesome Month Under Colombia's Alvaro Uribe (Latin America News Review) July 29, 2008

The Spectre of 21st Century Barbarism: As capitalism continues with business as usual, climate change is fast expanding the gap between rich and poor between and within nations, and imposing unparalleled suffering on those least able to protect themselves. That is the reality of 21st Century Barbarism. No society that permits that to happen can be called civilized. No social order that causes it to happen deserves to survive. (Socialist Voice) July 27, 2008

Latin America’s Struggle For Integration And Independence: The election of Fernando Lugo as Paraguayan president seems to confirm the idea of a new fashion for presidents. The former priest joins the ranks of current Latin American presidents that includes two women (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina and Michelle Bachelet in Chile), an indigenous person (Evo Morales in Bolivia), a former militant trade unionist (Lula de Silva in Brazil), a radically minded economist (Rafael Correa in Ecuador), a doctor (Tabare Vasquez in Uruguay), a former guerrilla fighter (Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua) and a former rebel soldier (Hugo Chavez in Venezuela). But in order to understand the dynamics in Latin America today, it is necessary to go beyond broad sweeping statements, just as it is not enough to simply analyse these governments through the prism of national politics. (Green Left Weekly) July 26, 2008

Solidarity Key For Seattle Sprinkler Fitters: An 11-day strike ended in a victory for 300 fire sprinkler installers, members of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Sprinkler Fitters Local 699. (Socialist Worker) July 31, 2008

Poland’s Left Turn: The growth of popular anger against neoliberalism has created an historic opportunity for a new left movement to emerge (Socialist Worker UK) July 29, 2008

July 27, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

No Human Being Is Illegal: In April 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrant rights protestors marched in cities across the United States. They countered prolonged debates about the pros and cons of comprehensive immigration reform with a short but sweet affirmation, scrawled on placards: "No Human Being Is Illegal." It's time for all of us to march with those immigrant rights signs. (MR Zine) July 22, 2008

Wind Farm Puts Tiny Mo. Town On Alt-Energy Map: When it comes to alternative energy, little Rock Port, Missouri - population about 1,400 - is a pioneer: it's the site of a wind farm that's projected to generate more electricity than the town uses in a year. (Belleville News-Democrat) July 25, 2008

VIDEO: Permanent Peoples' Tribunal On Occidental Petroleum: Film of the July 22, 2008, Los Angeles, California, rally in solidarity with the People of Colombia. (LEFT IN LA LA) July 25, 2008

It's Time For Wind and Wave Power: George W. Bush is right in one sense: We need to maximize our offshore assets. He just has the wrong energy source in mind. Instead of endless oil derricks that bring polluted beaches and rising seas, it's time to move to wind and wave power. (Baltimore Sun) July 23, 2008

After Years of Struggle, California Hotel Workers Make Gains (Labor Notes) July 2008

First Tidal Power Turbine Gets Plugged In: An underwater turbine that generates electricity from tidal streams was plugged into the UK's national grid. Tidal power isn't 20 to 30 years away and a dream. It is something that, if we get the right resources around it, could become a significant reality and contributor much quicker than that. (The Guardian UK) July 17, 2008

Total Recall in Bolivia: Divided Nation Faces Historic Vote. In early July in Sicaya, Cochabamba, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that if he wins the August 10 recall vote on his presidency, "I'll have two and half years left." But if he loses the vote, "I’ll have to go back to the Chapare" to farm coca again. Though the recall vote is likely to favor Morales, it’s unclear if it will resolve many of the divided nation’s conflicts. (Toward Freedom) July 23, 2008

People to Ratchet Up Climate Heat: Teams of people concerned about climate change are planning to take to the streets over the coming weeks to put the spotlight on policy makers who they say are prioritizing corporate interests in the coal and oil industries over the impending threat of global warming. (OneWorld) July 25, 2008

July 23, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

"The Democratic Party of today is a corporate/imperial war party. End of story": An Interview with 'Savage Mules' Author Dennis Perrin (Green Left Infoasis) July 19, 2008

A Review of 'Savage Mules': Dennis Perrin’s “Savage Mules” is a slashing attack on the Democratic Party so badly needed in a time when so many false hopes are now invested in the party of “peace” and “progress”. “Savage Mules” is a pithy, sharp and funny survey of Democratic presidencies (and failed bids) going back to Woodrow Wilson that takes no prisoners. While it was written prior to the rise of Obamamania, it would certainly provide a useful corrective to a “change” campaign that seems to be recycling the centrism of the past 30 years at least. (The Unrepentant Marxist) July 23, 2008

First All-Women-of-Color Presidential Ticket in US History: Green Party Nominee Cynthia McKinney and Running Mate Rosa Clemente on War, Democracy and Hip Hop (Text, Audio, or Video) (Democracy Now!) July 21, 2008

No U-turn. Obama's Stance on Iraq is Chillingly Consistent: Tactical differences and issues of style aside, Obama's message on occupied Iraq is deeply troubling - not because it has U-turned but because it has been consistent. His 300 foreign policy advisers are making sure that he will not stray from protecting US imperialist interests, even if it does mean launching new wars and bolstering puppet regimes and corrupt dictatorships throughout the "greater Middle East". (Buzzle) July 21, 2008

Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil: After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. (Inter Press Service) July 23, 2008

Lessons From The Picket Line: A five-day strike by 8,500 service workers in the University of California system--in defiance of a judge's temporary restraining order--ended July 18 with workers even more determined to continue their fight for a decent contract. (Socialist Worker) July 23, 2008

Mall of America Starbucks Workers Join The IWW: The nation’s largest mall, Minnesota’s Mall of America, now has one of the county’s first organized Starbucks coffee shops. (Workers Independent News) July 23, 2008

July 7, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Declare Your Independence From Tweedle Dum / Tweedle Dee Politics and Support Cynthia McKinney: From Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Jamaica, NYC the name Cynthia McKinney is synonymous with the phrase "on my side". (American Chronicle) July 6, 2008

Rallies Held Worldwide to Protest Firing of Pro-Union Starbucks Workers: Rallies were held at Starbucks locations around the world this weekend in response to the alleged firing of two employees for union activity. (Workers Independent News) July 7, 2008

Strike Shuts Down Seattle Building Sites: A strike by 300 fire sprinkler installers, members of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Sprinkler Fitters Local 699, has shut down construction at most large construction sites here and Bellevue, Wash. (Socialist Worker) July 4, 2008

VIDEO: Former Santa Monica Green Mayor Mike Feinstein and Green County Councilmember Linda Piera-Avila Oppose Warehouse on South Central Los Angeles Farm Land (LEFT IN LA LA) July 5, 2008

Guerrilla Gardeners Dig In To Beautify Los Angeles (Associated Press) July 4, 2008

Amtraking the Progress Made: Train travel is finally becoming a third rail of US politics. Suddenly, the traveling public is demanding the development of commuter and high-speed intercity rail. According to the American Public Transportation Association, light rail was up 10 percent in the first quarter of this year, commuter rail was up by 6 percent, and subways were up 4 percent. (Lotus - Surviving A Dark Time) July 5, 2008

“Staunch advocate for the Green Party and long-time advocate for working people” Vic Roberts Dies At 75 (Green Party Watch) July 6, 2008

Independence from US Nationalism: We need to wake from the Patriot's Dream. It obscures history -- slavery of blacks, slaughter of native Americans, colonialism. We need to see the other dreams of the world and awake to the bliss of our collective Global Reality. (Husseini.org) July 4, 2008

Nader Tackles Sports: Sportswriter and author Dave Zirin interviews US presidential candidate Ralph Nader on sports and politics (The Nation) June 30, 2008

June 25, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Telecoms Flex Their Muscles: FISA “Compromise” Locks-in Spying: You knew it would eventually come to this: a huge victory for the Bush regime and a gigantic swindle by Democratic party sell-outs posing as an “opposition.” Thursday, House and Senate leaders in a bipartisan Washington love-fest, stooped to new lows of dissimulation as they reached agreement on a bill that gives the nation’s spy agencies and their outsourced “partners” in the telecommunications industry carte blanche to illegally spy on Americans. (Dissident Voice) June 23, 2008

A Critique From the Left of Jonah Goldberg's Ludicrous book Liberal Fascism (Socialist Humanism With A Human Face) June 18, 2008

2008 Green Party National Convention in Chicago (July 10-13) will be a public forum for discussion of impeachment and other major issues on which Democrats and Republicans have failed in their responsibility to voters. (GP.org) June 24, 2008

James Hansen's Timely Warning on Climate Change: On June 23, 1988, the threat of climate change finally captured the media's attention when James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, warned a U.S. Senate committee that the planet was already warming as a result of human activity. Monday, 20 years to the day after his appearance before the Senate committee, Hansen was back on Capitol Hill with a more immediate warning. (Toronto Star) June 25, 2008

Is Your City Going to Be Bottled Water-Free? A new resolution from leading U.S. mayors shows that more cities may be ditching the bottled stuff in favor of tap. (Alternet) June 24, 2008

Taking on the Purple Machine: SEIU President Andy Stern and his staff prevailed at the convention, but pro-reform members succeeded in advancing a debate inside the country's largest union. (Socialist Worker) June 17, 2008

University of California Workers Avert Walkout to Continue Contract Talks (MR Zine) June 24, 2008

Germany's Die Linke: ‘We have the wind of history in our sails’: After a year of stellar successes, almost 600 delegates from Germany’s new left-wing party, Die Linke, came together for the party’s first ever congress, held in the east German city of Cottbus on May 25 and 26. (Links) May 30, 3008

June 18, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

For Mass Transit, Mass Investment: With record ridership and fuel prices, subways, trains, and buses are strapped. (Christian Science Monitor) June 16, 2008

Co-operatives Turn Idle Landed Estates Green in Venezuela (Inter Press Service) June 14, 2008

U.S. Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney's Call to Action in Support of Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment Against Bush (RunCynthiaRun.com) June 2008

Essential Information On Carbon Trading From The Corner House: A great source of analysis and comment on global carbon trading is The Corner House, based in Britain. These are just some of the documents, presentations and videos available on their website. Highly recommended. (Climate and Capitalism) June 17, 2008

Fallujah's Legacy (Lenin's Tomb) June 16, 2008

U.S. Democrats to Back Down on Iraq War Conditions: Democrats in the U.S. Congress, who came to power last year on a call to end the combat in Iraq, will soon give President George W. Bush the last war-funding bill of his presidency without any of the conditions they sought for withdrawing U.S. troops, congressional aides said on Monday. (Reuters) June 16, 2008

Calif. City Halls Swamped With Same-Sex Couples Seeking Marriage Licenses (365Gay.com) June 17, 2008

Retirement for Seven Lab Chimps: The last seven chimpanzees at a Penn. research facility have been permanently retired and head to sanctuary. It's time the country's remaining 1,200 chimps living in laboratories are similarly relieved. (HSUS.org) June 13, 2008

June 8, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Life, Liberty, Water: As climate change and worldwide shortages loom, will people fight over water or join together to protect it? (Yes! Magazine) Summer 2008

World's Biggest Solar Farm Going Up In Portugal (The Guardian) June 6, 2008

Venezuela, along with Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia, criticised the final declaration of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Summit in Rome on Thursday, arguing that the document failed to identify the true causes of rising food prices, such as agricultural subsidies and unequal trade policies imposed by developed countries. (Venezuelanalysis) June 6, 2008

Stop Funding Torture! An Open Letter Urging Action by Congress (StopFundingTorture.com) May 2008

Obama and the Occupation of Iraq: People who believe Barack Obama will end the occupation of Iraq are likely in for a rude awakening. Despite talking about withdrawal from Iraq, his plan would keep troops in the country for years to come, likely well beyond his potential first term. (ZNet) June 8, 2008

Senate Considers $455 Billion in Nuclear Subsidies: The Senate is considering providing the nuclear industry with over $500 billion in subsidies for new nuclear power development. The subsidies are included in a much-touted bipartisan climate change bill. (Democracy Now!) June 6, 2008

Water Activists Slay Corporate Behemoth, Felton, CA’s Victory to Control Water Resources: Their victory is one in a series of setbacks for corporate water interests. (Food & Water Watch) June 2, 2008

May 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Plans For New Coal Plants Under Fire In UK: Protesters are to launch one of the hardest-hitting environmental campaigns for more than a decade over plans to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK. (London Observer) May 18, 2008

I Give Up, Says Brazilian Minister Who Fought To Save The Rainforest: In a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ms Silva said that her efforts to protect the rainforest acknowledged as the "lungs of the planet" were being thwarted by powerful business lobbies. (The Independent UK) May 15, 2008

The Emergence of Real Trade Unionism in Wal-Mart Stores in China (China Labor News Translations) May 4, 2008

Comments on the Strike Movement in Egypt (International Socialist Review) May-June 2008

Women - The Guardians of Potato Biodiversity in Peru (Inter Press Service) May 16, 2008

Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to US Lawmakers (OneWorld.net) May 17, 2008

Santa Ana, California Labor Rally: HEY, ARNOLD! NO BUDGET CUTS! (Los Angeles Indymedia) May 15, 2008

May 16, 2008 - News, Views, and Info

US Naval Fleet To Be Positioned Off the Coast of South America (Upside Down World) May 13, 2008

John Cusack’s War: The Actor Battles to Un-Embed Hollywood With His New Film, ‘War, Inc.’ (Common Dreams) May 16, 2008

The Horrors of ICE: Dangerous Forced Psychotropic Drugging, Frightening Lack of Medical Care (American Leftist) May 14, 2008

California Supreme Court Strikes Down Same Sex Marriage Ban (365Gay.com) May 15, 2008

China's All-Seeing Eye: With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export. (Rolling Stone) May 29, 2008

Species are dying out at a rate not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs, according to a report published today – and human behaviour is to blame. (The Independent UK) May 16, 2008

May Day Immigrants Rights March in Los Angeles

By Jacob Adelman, Press-Enterprise, May 1, 2008

Immigration-reform advocates gathered Thursday for downtown demonstrations one year after peaceful marches on the issue ended violently when police officers used batons and fired so-called non-lethal rounds to clear people out of a park during the day's closing rally.

Continue reading 'May Day Immigrants Rights March in Los Angeles'. . .

Longshore Workers Proud Of May Day Antiwar Action

By Doug Cunningham, Workers Independent News, May 1, 2008

Despite efforts by employers to stop it, longshore union workers in California are going ahead with their planned work stoppage Thursday to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jack Heyman of ILWU Local 10 expects the ports to be shut down during the day shift May 1st.
[Heyman]: "This action on May Day is a culmination of our internationalist perspective, and we’re really proud that we’re actually going to be doing this."

LINK

Daryl Hannah, Environmentalists Protest in Westwood, Demanding That Occidental Oil Company Clean Up Amazon

The actress and representatives of several groups say the firm's operations in Peru left behind toxics that continue to contaminate an indigenous people's waters.
By B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2008

Wearing white hazmat suits and carrying brooms and mops, dozens of activists crowded the entrance to Occidental Petroleum's headquarters in Westwood on Wednesday to demand that the company clean up toxic contamination they say it left behind in the rain forest of the Peruvian Amazon.
"Oxy, Oxy, clean up now!" chanted the protesters from various humanitarian organizations, including Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Action Network.
During the 30 years that the oil company operated in the Peruvian Amazon, activists claim, it dumped hundreds of thousands of barrels daily of toxic oil byproducts and wastewater into rivers and streams used by the indigenous Achuar people for drinking, bathing and fishing.

Continue reading 'Daryl Hannah, Environmentalists Protest in Westwood, Demanding That Occidental Oil Company Clean Up Amazon'. . .

Wasted Youth

Arnie’s proposed cuts would dramatically worsen an already dismal situation for California’s neediest kids
By Dan Heimpel, Pasadena Weekly, April 23, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s call for an across-the-board budget cut of 10 percent will exacerbate the often dismal situation for children in group homes.
- - -
The LA County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is bracing for a 10 percent reduction to its $168 million allocation for group homes which will possibly be announced in September. Child welfare experts point to the dangers that continued cuts can make to an already weakened group home system. Crippled by a chronic lack of funding since reimbursement rates were established in 1990, the system will be even further undermined by a tax cut.
- - -
“These cuts will absolutely decrease their [group homes’] ability to provide quality services to the most needy children in the system,” says DCFS Director Trish Ploehn, whose department manages out-of-home care for 20,000 kids and a budget of $1.6 billion.

Read all of 'Wasted Youth'. . .

Los Angeles March Builds Community Support For Organized Labor

Workers Independent News, April 23, 2008

Janitors, iron workers, teachers, healthcare workers, and actors recently took part in "Hollywood to the Docks" a 28-mile walk from South LA to the Port of Los Angeles. More than 5000 union members and supporters took part in the march. Leilani Albano met participants along the way:
The three-day series of events was part of a citywide effort to strengthen ties among workers and garner support from the community for unionization.

Continue reading 'Los Angeles March Builds Community Support For Organized Labor'. . .

May Day Protests To Challenge ICE Raids

By Lee Sustar, Socialist Worker, April 25, 2008

Vowing not to be intimidated by a wave of immigration raids, activists from coast to coast are mobilizing for May Day marches and protests for immigrant and workers' rights.

Continue reading 'May Day Protests To Challenge ICE Raids'. . .

Iraq, Impeachment, and the Democrats

By Cindy Sheehan, Dissident Voice, April 20, 2008

[Pelosi], too, is frustrated with the ongoing war in Iraq but believes that impeachment would be divisive and distract Congress from improving the lives of working families.
– spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi: Drew Hammill

The above quote from House Speaker, and my opponent, Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson would be hilarious if it were not so damn tragic. The quote was in an article about my recent visit and speech to students, faculty and the community members at CSU San Marcos. I wonder how long Drew stayed awake to think up this quote, and I wonder if Drew and Speaker Pelosi think that we, the American people, are too stupid to realize that our lives have been “improved.”
After five years of warfare on the people of Iraq; almost eight years of warfare on the American public and about 15 months of the reign of the Democrats in Congress, working class families of America have paid the heaviest price.
The human cannon fodder that BushCo believes is so expendable and that Pelosi funds, come mostly from the working class. Over 4000 American soldiers are dead and not one of them has been named Pelosi, Bush, Cheney, or Hoyer. Not one has been plucked out of the boardrooms of mortgage bankers or war profiteers.

Continue reading 'Iraq, Impeachment, and the Democrats'. . .