Nov. 17, 2007

BERWYN, Ill. — All we wanted to do was send a message of peace and “bring an end to the conflict in Iraq,” student Matt Heffernan told reporters in front of Morton West High School here Nov. 6.

WASHINGTON (PAI) — Off-year election results in state and municipal races on Nov. 6 show union voters are already energized for 2008, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says. And they also show unionists and the country want “a clear rejection of Bush administration policies,” adds federation Political Director Karen Ackerman.

As Pakistan enters its second week under martial law, political parties, unionists, lawyers, journalists and other “civil society” components are coalescing to challenge Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule and widespread repression of democratic rights.

NEW YORK — Members of the Communist Party USA national committee meeting here Nov. 10 heard Sam Webb, the party’s chairman, say that “in the struggle against the ultra-right we are at the cusp of a political conjuncture which could shift things in favor of the working class.” After “a quarter century of domination,” he said, the right is finally losing momentum.

Supporters of First Lt. Ehren Watada rejoiced over a federal judge’s injunction last week barring a new court-martial for the officer who refused to serve in Iraq. But they also urged stepped-up pressure to drop all charges and release Watada from the Army with an honorable discharge.

On Nov. 7, the House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a historic civil rights measure that would bar discrimination against workers in hiring, firing, or promotion based on sexual orientation. The vote was 235-184.

LONG BEACH, Calif.: Antiwar vets barred from parade
OLYMPIA, Wash.: Peace activists arrested for blocking military gear
PALO ALTO, Calif.: Stanford students say no to Rumsfeld
LEWISTON, Maine: Somali American runner charges foul play

TORONTO, Canada — Over 200 friends of Cuba from throughout North America gathered in here, Nov. 9-11, to hear legal updates, retool strategies and rededicate themselves to the liberation of five Cuban men jailed in the United States.

Dominican Republic: UN report condemns racial oppression
Syria: Dilemma on subsidies mounts
Kenya: Trade conflict looms
New Zealand: Zealous police jail activists
Canada: Most forest workers back on job

Voters in the Nov. 6 off-year election made clear once again that they are fed up with the pro-corporate policies of the Republican right and looking for positive changes like ending the Iraq war, rooting out corruption and saving the environment.