Jul 6, 2002

CHICAGO – Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) brought some 2,000 delegates attending the national convention of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to their feet with a ringing call for “the people’s agenda.”

CHICAGO – In the midst of record summer heat, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 880 joined together July 1 to stage a large protest in the Downtown Loop here against federal government plans to force countless numbers of decent and hardworking immigrants and residents out of work.

ARLINGTON, Va. – On June 6, over 500 Arab Americans went to Capitol Hill to kick off the 19th National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). They lobbied their Congressional representatives on the protection of civil liberties at home and fundamental human rights throughout the world, issues highlighted at the four-day convention.

Brecht on Brecht, Theater by the Blind Through June 30, at The Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 E. 24th St. (between Park-Lex) $19, $15 seniors and students – call smartix 212-206-1515 or show up 45 minutes before the show.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – “We’re under attack, not in Afghanistan but in San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Central Valley and across California. We’re being intimidated from within,” said Art Pulaski, secretary-treasurer of the California Federation of Labor. International watchdog groups have found that U.S. labor laws are not protecting workers’ rights, he told a rally at the Capitol here June 25.

CARACAS – Es oportuno aclarar que los Círculos Bolivarianos son organizaciones sociales, organizaciones de base que el pueblo utiliza en el proceso revolucionario para activar y dirigir la participación de los ciudadanos, de sus comunidades, con la única finalidad de construir la patria nueva, la sociedad libre, independiente y prospera que soñaron nuestros libertadores.

The announcement by the FBI that it was propagating new guidelines that would extend far-reaching powers to its agents to monitor the internet, snoop in mosques and keep an eye on people everywhere from the local library to a protest demonstration was met with reactions within the Black community ranging from disbelief to anger and fear accompanied by calls to resist this unconstitutional encroachment on civil liberties and the right to dissent.

SEATTLE – The final leg of the AFL-CIO sponsored tour, “Could you be ‘Enron-ed’?” was kicked off at the Seattle Labor Temple on June 19.

CHICAGO – Están creciendo las preocupaciones sobre la detención por el gobierno de José Padilla sin formularle ningunos cargos criminales. En una reunión cerrada de la Comisión Judicial del Senado el 13 de junio, oficiales del departamento de Justicia dijeron que iban a tener a Padilla encerrado hasta que la administración Bush decida que ha terminado la “guerra contra el terrorismo”. El gobierno dice que no le va a formular cargos.

The global economy is leaving millions of people in poverty, according to a recent report. In Rigged Rules and Double Standards, the human rights group Oxfam reports that the rules of the global economy favor the rich.