Aug 31, 2002

Court rules against Bush / The real way to fight fire

TAMPA, Fla. – On the basis of secret evidence he has never seen, Palestinian college instructor Mazen Al-Najjar was removed from a federal prison, Aug. 23, hustled aboard a private jet and deported leaving behind his wife and three daughters who are U.S. citizens.

SACRAMENTO – Thousands of marchers besieged the state capitol on Aug. 25, demanding Governor Gray Davis (D) sign a bill that would make history for those who toil in the fields of this state.

Commentary

The race in central New Jersey’s relatively affluent 12th Congressional District is one of the more interesting races in the nation. The race pits two-term Congressman Rush Holt against the GOP candidate Reverend Buster Soaries, an African-American Baptist minister. Soaries, former Secretary of State in Christine Todd Whitman’s Republican administration, is seen by some as the "liberal" face of the Republican party.

Colombia: unionists face death threat/Canada: ‘Big Three’ face big strike/Portugal: Defense minister warns against general strike/Slovakia: Anti-civil liberties move fails/Mexico: Workers aim to block private power plan/Indonesia: Workers protest vs. Nike

Following are brief excerpts from the communique issued by the Iraqi Communist Party after its Aug. 15 meeting.

The meeting paid exceptional attention to the mounting dangers threatening our people and country, in connection with the escalating political-information and military campaign of the U.S. administration, which – as repeatedly declared – is aimed at demolishing the dictatorial regime.

TEL AVIV – A group of 48 French citizens who had traveled to Israel was stopped at the Tel Aviv airport and denied entry on Aug. 20 when the Israeli government declared them personae non grata. The group had come to Israel at the invitation of the Hadash Front, an Israeli peace group, led by Issam Mahoul, a member of the Knesset. Among its members were young people of different backgrounds, including several of Jewish heritage.

CLEVELAND – This is what steelworkers are saying as they build a campaign to save their pensions that are being sacrificed on the altar of corporate bankruptcies and outright theft by corrupt executives.

Commentary


The contract battle of the West Coast International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has emerged as a decisive struggle for workers rights and democracy in our nation.