Analysis

Last month’s summit in New Orleans brought together President Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, all right wingers, for the fourth meeting of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of the Americas (SPP), which is a tri-national grouping designed to coordinate strategy to create a corporate friendly atmosphere.

Turning grief and shock to anger and action, hundreds of Chicago high school students, teachers, administrators, parents and elected officials rallied here April 1 against the crisis of gun violence plaguing the city. The rally was called in response to the shooting death of the 21st student this school year in the public school system

While some may take “what-goes-around-comes-around” satisfaction at the ruin facing Bear Stearns and other Wall Street investment firms, a financial meltdown could result in a freezing up of credit and growth for everyone. What happens on Wall Street might mean real hard times on Main Street. It could take a decade to recover.

CHICAGO — There are a million things people remember about Chicago’s first African American mayor, Harold Washington, who was elected in 1983. But the thing I remember the most about him was his great big hands. I remember as a child shaking or holding his hands, and now, thinking back, his hands seemed to symbolize the greatness of ordinary working-class people. And Washington, who unexpectedly died in office, will be someone Chicagoans will never forget.

Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon is moving to implement a new wave of “neoliberal” policies which are being repudiated by numerous other Latin American countries.

In the buildup to the 2008 elections, the right-wing Republicans have decided to make immigrants the scapegoat for the failure of the Bush administration and the shortcomings of the capitalist system. Right-wing personalities on cable TV, on talk radio and in newspapers are fueling this process. Vicious lies are being told about immigrants.

African leaders displayed an exceptional degree of unity at the European-African summit held in Lisbon, Portugal, on Dec. 8-9. The trade issues, which prompted the first meeting of its kind in seven years, were overshadowed by European attempts to prevent the participation of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

Like a terrible figure from a recurring nightmare, former Chilean Gen. Juan Manuel Contreras has once again thrust himself into the limelight of U.S.-South America relations.

Not every struggle carries the same political significance. Some leave little trace on the political landscape; others rearrange it extensively.

It seems to be a whole new race for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa. This is particularly true for the Republican candidates, who were in a lackluster campaign until Romney, the leader of the pack, heard footsteps drawing nearer, and looking behind, saw Huckabee closing on him