Oct 27, 2001

WASHINGTON - Leaders of organizations with millions of members denounced the Republican-majority House for pushing a $100-billion tax giveaway to big corporations while providing no help for millions of jobless workers.

OAKLAND, Calif. - In a rousing demonstration of affection and support for Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), 3,500 people gathered at Oakland's City Hall Oct. 21. The rally was in support of Lee's lone vote against granting unlimited power to President Bush to plunge the nation into war.

The deaths of U.S. postal workers in Washington, D.C. and this week's discoveries of anthrax in locations around the country have set off a debate about the threat and the role the government should play in handling the crisis. The New York Times characterized the situation as a "tangible fear of a mysterious germ."

Patricia Johnson, president of the 6,000-member Washington D.C.-Southern Maryland branch of the American Postal Workers Union, is angry - and she should be. Two of her members have died from inhalation anthrax and hundreds more may have contracted the disease.

BERKELEY, Calif. - The Berkeley City Council voted Oct. 21 to call on the U.S. government to "bring the bombing of Afghanistan to a conclusion as quickly as possible." The vote was five in favor, with four abstentions.

In reaction to Bush's war in Afghanistan a new U.S. peace movement has arisen. It is spontaneous, politically diverse, dispersed throughout the country and reflects the basic sentiments of the U.S. peace forces at this point.

CHICAGO - On Aug. 9, 65 members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Local 1114 went out on strike against the Coach and Car Company of Elk Grove Village, a Chicago suburb.

WASHINGTON, DC - La Unión Americana Pro Libertades Civiles (ACLU - por sus siglas en inglés) está haciendo una lucha de última hora para bloquear unas tal llamadas medidas "anti terrorismo" adoptada por la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado, que le otorga a la administración Bush amplios poderes de detención y vigilancia, sin examen judicial.

WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent letters to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to vote "No" on final passage of the Ashcroft anti-terrorism bill, which grants police sweeping new powers of surveillance and detention.

NEW YORK - Communist activists gathered here Oct. 20-21 for the first National Committee meeting since the body's election at the CPUSA's convention in early July.