April 21, 2007

Injustice doesn’t taste right
In case you guys forgot, that’s illegal
Chrysler buyout will trigger new concession push

PITTSBURGH — At a time when strikes are measured in months, concessions are the beginning of negotiations, and it takes years for new union members to get the company to talk to them, coal miners at Foundation Coal Co. look like they will beat the odds.

In late December 2006, 26 Kentuckians from the Louisville area traveled to Cuba to learn about the country for themselves and to build bridges with the Cuban people. We called ourselves the Henry Wallace Brigade, honoring the memory of a longtime Louisville activist who fought for civil rights, gay and lesbian rights, conservation and an end to war.

Like the rest of America, our hearts go out to the Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff, their families and the whole community. During such times of mourning many people look for life lessons so that another tragedy like this might be prevented.

Earlier this month, in the second installment of its four-part report, the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said worldwide shifts in weather patterns and rising sea levels could bring drought, hunger, heat waves and disease to all continents. The poorest societies in the most arid regions would be hardest hit.

‘You have struck a rock’
Class angle
Source help
Mugabe
Our growing meanness

The crude racist/sexist remarks of radio talk show host Don Imus have ignited a firestorm of anti-racist protest from people of all races and nationalities all over the country.

As editor of this page, I searched the Internet for insightful commentary on the Duke lacrosse players case. Sad to say, such comments have been all too few. Most seized the opportunity to throw sand in our eyes, to downplay the racism, sexism and class privilege that poison our society.

On April 11, after pressure from Latino leaders with the Defend the Honor Campaign, the Public Broadcasting System said it had reversed its original decision and plans to include the Latino experience in Ken Burns’ new World War II documentary, “The War.”

The first five minutes of “The Lives of Others” prepared me for another assault on socialism, and in particular, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). What appears to be a one-sided film quickly reveals there is much more to the story.