Sept. 24, 2005

At Capitol Hill hearing, talk is not ‘if’ but ‘how’

WASHINGTON — With thousands of people across the nation protesting the Iraq war, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) convened a Capitol Hill hearing Sept. 15 to air “exit strategies” to bring the troops home.
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NEW ORLEANS — I had never visited a city ravaged by war, but as I drove across the Mississippi Bridge into the heart of this devastated city with People’s Weekly World reporter Tim Wheeler last week, I felt that I was in a war zone. Debris filled the streets and a dreadful stench filled the air. Buildings were boarded up and the city’s celebrated music had gone silent.

Over 500 union women activists and many brother unionists adopted an action plan for the fight for women’s rights. They met at the national convention of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) in Detroit on Sept. 14-17.

UNITED NATIONS — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez received tremendous applause from world leaders at the United Nations World Summit Sept. 15 after a stirring speech assailing the Bush administration and world capitalism. He then toured New York City, greeted by enthusiastic crowds, and repeated his offer of oil and other assistance to low-income Americans.

CHICAGO — “This war has been an immense waste and it burns me to know the losses taking place,” declared South Side Alderman Ed Smith in City Council chambers Sept. 14. “It’s senseless to allow it to continue. Let’s admit the mistake and bring the troops home!” And with that, fed up members of the Chicago City Council voted 29-9 to “immediately commence an orderly and rapid withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq.”

Whistling past months of sinking poll numbers, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week announced he will run again for governor in 2006. At the same time he made public his longstanding support for Proposition 75, on the ballot in this fall’s special election, which would greatly restrict labor’s political participation.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas: State executes Frances Newton
ATLANTA: Civil rights groups sue to protect voting rights
RICHMOND, Va.: Mountaintop mining back in court
JACKSON, Miss.: Justice Dept. smears environmental groups

PHILADELPHIA — On Independence Mall, across the street from the Liberty Bell, over 500 supporters rallied Sept. 16 to welcome Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan and the “Bring Them Home Now” bus tour. The tour was making its way toward the national antiwar rally and march set for Sept. 24 in Washington.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On Sept. 15, the eve of Mexican Independence Day, Bay Area immigrant rights advocates called for recognition of immigrants’ great contributions to California’s economy and culture, challenged those who would deny them their human rights and protested the imminent arrival of armed vigilante groups, including the Minutemen, on the state’s border with Mexico. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was roundly criticized for backing the Minutemen.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was remarkably candid during his visit to New York last week about his government’s continued willingness to push ahead with several policies widely regarded as violations of international law.