July 7, 2007

ATLANTA — Ten thousand community and human rights activists, trade unionists and young people converged in this city of epic civil rights struggles June 27-July 1 at the first United States Social Forum.

PHILADELPHIA — The No Child Left Behind Act and the Supreme Court rejection of school desegregation programs drew harsh criticism July 3 as 9,000 teachers and other school workers opened the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly here. The four-day conference met under the slogan “Great public schools, a basic right for every child.”

WASHINGTON — Call it the “family jewels” or the “skeletons in the closet,” the 702 pages of classified CIA files released June 26 expose the agency, once again, as deeply involved in assassinations, the Watergate conspiracy, a brainwashing project, training of provocateurs and terrorists, and spying on the American people.

The Senate last month failed to pass the Bush-backed immigration reform plan, known as the “grand bargain.” It’s now widely reported that any immigration reform measures will have to wait until after the 2008 elections.

OAKLAND, Calif. — The blue T-shirts of the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports were everywhere, proclaiming that port truck drivers, area union members, neighborhood residents and environmental activists are united to win decent pay and conditions for the drivers and a healthful environment for the Port of Oakland’s workers and neighbors.

Venezuelan leaders are preparing to put their Bolivarian Revolution on a more permanent footing. Organizing for a unified socialist party moved into high gear recently, and President Hugo Chavez described proposals for constitutional changes.

LONDON — You could almost hear a sigh of relief at the eagerly awaited departure of Tony Blair. The man who took Britain into more wars than any other prime minister, who worshiped at the altar of business and who treated the labor movement which founded his party with absolute contempt, has finally exited stage right.

Darfur has almost become a household word, and with good reason. The first human-made catastrophe of the 21st century, its death count combined with the huge humanitarian crisis staggers the imagination. Whether it’s the 400,000 claimed by some or the 70,000 suggested by the UN in March, the human toll combined with rapes, burned villages and destroyed lives has torn a gaping hole in the fabric of humanity.

Every night, just after midnight, the mockingbird that resides in the holly tree outside our bedroom window begins to sing. He is so loud, his songs so varied and complex, he wakes me up. I lie there listening to his trills, chirps and long mellifluous melodies.

Captain Irving makes history, Students confront Bush on torture, Let their voices be heard