Jul 24, 2004

WASHINGTON – A request for United Nations observers to prevent the theft of the 2004 elections has sparked an outpouring of support in the face of Republican attacks. click here for Spanish text

The biggest story of the Iraq war is not about missing weapons of mass destruction, or about deep-cover CIA officers getting their covers blown by vengeful White House agents, or even about 900 dead American soldiers.

BOSTON (PAI) – When he gets to Boston, Richard Martin will discuss health insurance and homeland security.

The reality of war has the phones ringing. As the death toll of U.S. forces since the start of the war rose to 900 this week, and the Bush administration’s rationale for war lies shredded by the truth, military personnel have been contacting a loosely-knit network of dozens of conscientious objectors (CO) groups, known as the GI Rights Hotline, to find a way off the front lines.

SAN DIEGO – The California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, has voted in favor of “an immediate end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and to support the repeal of the Patriot Act and the reordering of national priorities toward the human needs of our people.”

AUSTIN, Texas – Three Texas campaign reform groups called July 15 for the U.S. House Ethics Committee to appoint an independent outside counsel to investigate charges that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas illegally funneled corporate campaign contributions to Republican candidates running for seats in the Texas House of Representatives.

MILWAUKEE – About 50 people gathered at the headquarters of the Milwaukee AFL-CIO County Labor Council July 10 for a four-hour training session on voter rights.

NEW YORK: City workers to picket convention site / TAMPA, Fla.: Cuban Americans protest travel restrictions / BEDFORD, Ind.: Despite corporate violence, workers win contract / MILLTOWN, N.J.: First hurdle scaled to prevent deportation

OAKLAND, Calif. – A years-long simmering crisis threatening the existence of the Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) is heating up again, as a “turn-around” management firm’s drive to cut hundreds of workers is challenged by a labor-community coalition struggling to save the only public health care safety net for thousands of poor, sick and uninsured residents.

PHILADELPHIA – The NAACP 95th Convention, held here July 10–15, had the theme “The Race Is On.” Two currents flowed throughout every convention session: voting and defending civil rights gains.