War. Recession. World poverty. Those are just a few of "the big problems confronting humankind" that the World Economic Forum claims it will take up at its meeting in New York City this week. But the people who suffer from the "big problems" aren't invited.
Bush is giving the green light to these killers
No to Israel's reign of terror!
The Israeli government took its reign of terror against Palestinians to a new level last week--and the Bush White House responded by giving it the green light.
SPECIAL FEATURES
SOCIALIST WORKER SPECIAL SECTION
Protest the global fat cats in New York
Read SW's look inside the bosses' exclusive club known as the World Economic Forum, our interviews with leading global justice figures Dennis Brutus and Eric Toussaint, and the case for an alternative to their sick system.
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WHAT WE THINK
What Bush won't talk about:
The real state of the union
A program to "preserve and extend the great good that we've seen come out of the evil of September 11." That's how a senior administration official described George W. Bush's State of the Union address on January 29. By "great good," he must mean astronomical defense spending and more tax cuts for the rich.
The death penalty: Too flawed to fix
January marked the 25th anniversary of the resumption of state-sponsored killing after a 10-year pause. Since then, 99 people have been proven innocent and freed from death row--some of whom came only hours away from execution.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Anti-abortionists thrilled by Bush's rally speech
Bush backs the bigots
George W. Bush just couldn't resist the urge to insult women across the country last week. On January 22, he spoke via telephone to a rally of thousands of anti-choice fanatics in Washington, D.C.
Growing outrage over Camp X-Ray
"To be in an 8-by-8-foot cell in beautiful, sunny Guantánamo Bay is not inhumane treatment," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had the nerve to tell reporters last week.
Right-wing fanatic picked for top AIDS position
New White House nut
The Bush White House managed to pick perhaps the single worst person imaginable to co-chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
California energy crisis was a hoax
Last year's energy crisis in California was a hoax orchestrated by the power industry, according to a new study by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
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COLUMNS AND FEATURES
Enron's collapse reveals scandal of the free-market system
What's wrong with capitalism?
"This financial disaster goes far beyond the failure of one big company," declared Business Week. "This is corruption on a massive scale." Strong words for one of the leading mouthpieces for big business--but still an understatement, given what Enron's collapse exposes about the free-market system.
Background to Israel's crackdown
"All we've gotten is more bloodshed"
For 15 months, Israeli forces have hammered Palestinians fighting for justice and freedom. Today, Arafat finds himself under increasing pressure--both from Israel and from Palestinians.
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Why won't the Democrats fight?
The Enron collapse reminded the public that Bush and Co. are the same water carriers for big business they were before September 11. But don't hold your breath waiting for the Democrats to fight.
INSIDE THE SYSTEM
Ethics for sale
To make up for the money they lost when Enron went belly-up, a few former employees have taken to auctioning off merchandise from Enron's marketing department.
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ON THE PICKET LINE
Bush panel cooks up deal for United mechanics
Why I'm voting no
"On the surface, the [Presidential Emergency Board's] recommendations seem alarmingly fair, even sympathetic," writes IAM Local 1781 shop steward and strike-committee member Jennifer Biddle. "But dig a little deeper."
Accuride workers defy UAW leaders
Members of United Auto Workers Local 2036 once again defied Accuride management and the UAW International to reject a union-busting contract by a vote of 170 to 87.
Labor in brief
Verizon; New York workfare; UMass Amherst; New England Gas Co.
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REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
Protest the global fat cats
Activists in New York last weekend kicked off more than a week of events and actions to protest the arrival of the world's billionaires for the World Economic Forum.
Other reports
Protest Cincinnati police violence; Defend the rights of Arabs and Muslims; North Carolina antiwar protest
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SW READERS SPEAK OUT
Village Voice attacks protesters as terrorists
We won't let their smears stop us
Being an activist, you get used to attacks from right-wing crackpots and the media about global justice fighters being "middle-class students." But attacks from the once-upon-a-time left are always more disturbing.
Class war is alive and well in Bush's America
Despite all the hype about "United We Stand," it's nice to know that the class war is alive and well in capitalist America.
They think that kids should "sacrifice"
Mike Bloomberg was recently inaugurated mayor of New York City, and he lost no time announcing his proposal for budget cuts which could devastate working people's lives.
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REVIEWS
We need a fight for a better world
With many people fighting for social change today facing attack, Arundhati Roy is a strong voice of defiance.
25 years after Alex Haley's "Roots"
Twenty-five years ago in January, the miniseries "Roots," a drama about U.S. slavery, opened up a conversation on race never heard before.
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