Jan 11, 2003

The economic downturn has caused fiscal crises in almost every state and city.

Progressive Cinema



Although the all-encompassing Toronto International Film Festival, with 265 feature films, has its share of Hollywood blockbusters and a seemingly endless array of celebrities, it’s the stunning collection of socially conscious films that attracts most progressive viewers.

The NAACP has reaffirmed its opposition to a U.S. war against Iraq, with a statement urging “ solutions that offer peace over resolutions that end in war.”

PHILADELPHIA – On Dec. 27 dozens of unemployed workers and their supporters gathered in front of Pennsylvania Career Links, the Unemployment Office here, to call for the extension of the Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program, which was passed in March 2002.

LA HABANA (Prensa Latina) – La bancarrota del gigante United Airlines (UAL), ante la imposibilidad de saldar sus millonarias deudas y como única vía factible para protegerse de sus acreedores, confirma que las aerolíneas estadounidenses aún viven sumergidas en su peor trauma económico.

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela received its first shipment of 525,000 barrels of oil from Brazil to help relieve the shortages because of a strike against President Hugo Chavez and the Venezuelan Constitution.

Movie Reviews


My movie buddy and I saw Solaris when it opened. There was no new “Firefly” on the tube that night, so we watched a tape of Star Trek. Since present-time fiction tends to describe the way storytellers see the world today and sci-fi gives them a chance to describe the future, there are reasons to wish that more of today’s artists had a bright, progressive view.

One of the first items of business before the new Senate will be the confirmation of John W. Snow, President Bush’s choice for Treasury Secretary.