|
November 15, 2002 | Issue 430
FRONT AND BACK PAGES
Opposition grows across the world
No to war!
The United Nations Security Council voted for a war on Iraq last Friday. The next day, they got an answer from 1 million people--who took over the streets of Florence, Italy, in the biggest demonstration yet against George W. Bush and his war-making buddies.
Republicans set to reward their corporate pals
No more giveaways to the rich!
Christmas came early for Corporate America. On November 5, to be exact. "This historic election sets the stage for aggressive action" on Corporate America's agenda, said the head of the National Association of Manufacturers.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Eyewitness report from Italy
"A Europe of peace and rights"
The 1 million-strong antiwar demonstration in Florence, Italy, last weekend capped off the five-day European Social Forum, a meeting of unionists, global justice activists and left-wing organizations. Socialist Worker reports from Florence.
Eyewitness report from Ecuador
Stop Washington's free-trade rip-off
Between 10,000 and 15,000 demonstrators marched against the Free Trade Area of the Americas October 31 in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito.
Did voters endorse George W. Bush and the Republicans?
What happened in the election?
In all the post-election spin on the Republican midterm victory, it was easy to forget that the media's pre-election "conventional wisdom" was that the races would be "too close to call"--or that only three months ago, Bush's popularity was falling fast. What happened?
Back to the top
WHAT WE THINK
After the GOP election win:
What will stop Bush?
"If he pushed an aggressive platform before, with a minority of the popular vote and a divided Congress, imagine what he'll seek now." Those words--written by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof--sum up the consensus view of George W. Bush and the Republicans after the GOP election victory last week.
Why the UN voted for war
By a unanimous vote, the 15 countries of the United Nations Security Council gave the Bush White House just about everything it wanted--a resolution requiring Iraq to comply with incredibly intrusive weapons inspections and allowing the slightest incident to be the grounds for war.
Back to the top
NATIONAL NEWS
Thousands build for School of the Americas protest
The terrorists in Bush's backyard
As Washington gets ready for the next stop in its "war on terrorism," there's one question that you can be sure the Bush administration won't answer. What about the terrorists in their own backyard--the ones trained by the U.S. military?
Mentally ill and on death row
Sick face of Texas killing machine
In a just world, Texas death row prisoner James Colburn would be receiving treatment in a hospital--not languishing behind bars and waiting to die.
Chicago cops intimidate global justice rally
Daley's protest hysteria
Did they really expect an amphibious assault on corporate executives? Chicago police had a gunship docked on the Chicago River to reinforce thousands of cops, police cavalry and a fleet of helicopters in protecting a meeting of U.S. and European business leaders last week.
Bush gang takes aim at women's rights
The Bush administration has threatened to withdraw support from the United Nations Population Fund, an organization that promotes family planning and women's reproductive health care internationally.
Back to the top
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ISRAEL
Sharon calls new elections after Labor Party pulls out of government
Will Israel lurch to the right?
Israel's Labor Party pulled out of the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in late October, forcing him to call early elections for January.
TURKEY
Islamist victory shakes Turkey
A sweeping victory by an Islamist party has shaken Turkish politics to its foundations and complicated U.S. war preparations against Iraq.
Why children starve to death in a world of plenty
Governments in the world's richest countries are letting millions of people starve to death, according to a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Back to the top
COLUMNS
WHAT DO SOCIALISTS SAY?
A society that breeds violence and horror
When a reporter asked George W. Bush how he felt about the sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area, he responded, "This isn't the America that I know." In reality, the sniper case shows a lot about Bush's America.
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
The U.S. could use a little democracy
Bush never hesitates to preach the virtues of the "greatest democracy in the world"--nor does any other American politician. But they might want to practice what they preach.
Inside the system
Milking an ad for all its worth; Tapped for an odd phone bill; Heard it through the grapevine
Back to the top
ON THE PICKET LINE
Safeway wants givebacks from Chicago grocery workers
Dominick's attacks UFCW
"At some point, you have to stand up for yourself." That's what Edgar Pacheco, a shop steward with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 881, said as thousands of Chicago-area Dominick's supermarket workers voted to authorize a strike November 10.
Dockworkers' union leaders leave rank and file in the dark
Does ILWU deal contain concessions?
Why won't leaders of the West Coast dockworkers' union tell rank-and-file members what's in the tentative technology agreement with management?
Verizon
The fight against layoffs at Verizon is entering a new stage as the company prepares to axe as many as 3,000 low-seniority workers, possibly before the holidays.
Back to the top
REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
Antiwar veterans get cheers on Veterans Day
At the Veterans Day Parade in New York City, cheers went to 50 antiwar veterans carrying a huge "Veterans for Peace" banner. The day before, 150 people came to a Veterans for Peace speak-out to organize resistance to an attack on Iraq.
Reports in brief
Howard Zinn on war and terrorism; Campaign to End the Death Penalty; Defend gay rights; School of the Americas
Back to the top
SW READERS SPEAK OUT
Harassed by one of the most prominent bigots
We stood up to this racist
Last Wednesday, one of American's most prominent bigots, David Horowitz, spoke at the University of Illinois-Chicago. His talk, titled "How the Left Undermines America's Security," was a cover for his real agenda of insulting people of color, immigrants and women.
Antiwar movement needs to be able to have debates
Susan Bassein takes issue with what she sees as Socialist Worker's distortion of Medea Benjamin's recent USA Today editorial (SW, November 8). It is not a distortion. It is a debate.
Back to the top
REVIEWS
Exhibit details cases of wrongful convictions
Innocent and left to rot in prison
Innocent: Inside Wrongful Conviction Cases is a free exhibit based on research by Scott Christianson for a forthcoming book. The exhibit focuses on showing that the problem of wrongful convictions is widespread in New York, too.
Describing a journey from death to life
On Death to Life, Darby Tillis delivers a highly personal, four-song blues and gospel CD that chronicles his wrongful death sentence and the spiritual awakening that allowed him to cope with his incarceration.
Home page | Back to the top
| 
