Nov. 3, 2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium (IPS) — The United States is leading efforts to resist a complete ban on cluster bombs, human rights activists charge.

Egypt’s independent, nongovernmental press is trying to cope with government regulations that stifle freedom of speech and deny the public access to balanced news coverage.

One week before a UN General Assembly vote calling for an end to the decades-long U.S. blockade of Cuba, President George Bush lambasted Havana, distancing himself from Democratic presidential candidates critical of U.S. policies toward the island. Bush delivered the tirade at the State Department on Oct. 24 before a handful of Florida legislators and a few relatives of so-called dissidents in Cuba.

Palestine: Siege tightens on Gaza
Congo: Humanitarian crisis looms
Venezuela: New socialist party on track
Italy: Protest to gov’t, ‘Do better’
Philippines: Scandals build

While looking at most media coverage and news analysis about the current economic crisis, you will find almost no references to how the situation is affecting young people. There is little, if any, talk of what is happening in our nation’s schools and universities. However, for a number of reasons, it is easy to see that young people are being hit especially hard.

There’s an old saying that “there is nothing new under the sun,” meaning the essence of life — matter — can be neither created nor destroyed. It just changes form.

ENSCONDIDO, Calif. (PAI) — California officials showed leadership helping hundreds of thousands of San Diego-area residents forced to flee their homes during the state’s weeklong fire disaster, said Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, but President Bush didn’t.

Union demands apology
Autoworkers back nurses
Large union endorses Barack Obama
Big New York union backs HR 676
AFL-CIO takes case vs. Bush overseas

If you are driving down the interstate and suddenly come on a terrible smell, you are probably passing the site of a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). There, thousands of animals are crowded together, being fed to get up to market weight. The manure these operations produce equals the sewage produced by a city.

We cannot allow the Bush administration to use the “war on terrorism” or its brand of “democracy” as an excuse to attack Iran, whether with sanctions or military force.