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May 6, 2005 | Issue 542

FRONT AND BACK PAGES

The right to choose abortion is under attack…
We won't go back!
The right wing is out to further restrict a woman's right to choose abortion--and Democratic leaders who claim to be pro-choice are surrendering even more ground.

Pablo Paredes and Kevin Benderman
Put on trial for refusing to go to war
Two military resisters will on trial in court-martial proceedings for refusing to take part in Washington's war for oil and empire in Iraq.

SW SPECIAL FEATURES

Antiwar soldiers speak out:
"The situation in Iraq is getting worse every day"
Socialist Worker talked to three outspoken soldiers about their experiences, observations and opinions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Why is Santos Reyes facing 26 years to life in prison?
A "three-strikes" injustice
Santos Reyes could spend the rest of his life in a California prison. His crime? He took the written portion of a driver's license test for his cousin, to help him qualify for a license.

Fox gives up on political prosecution after million-strong rally
Discontent surfaces in Mexico
Days after 1 million people demonstrated in support of Mexico City's populist mayor, President Vicente Fox pulled the plug on a politically motivated prosecution against him.

WHAT WE THINK

Washington maneuvers to control Iraq's new government
Death-squad democracy
Sectarian divisions and death squads will be the cornerstones of Iraq's new government, which is finally preparing to take office three months after elections held at U.S. gunpoint.

A new Social Security shell game
George Bush has a new plan for the Social Security system: steal even more from workers while taking a teeny bit from the rich.

NATIONAL NEWS

Muslim soldier gets the death penalty while...
Politicians forgive murder in Iraq
Two U.S. soldiers--one accused of killing two American officers, the other of executing two Iraqi civilians--are getting very different treatment in their trials.

Making kids pay for budget crisis in Seattle
Why are they closing schools?
Officials of the Seattle public school system announced a plan to close 10 schools and disrupt 14 school programs district-wide to address a projected $20 million budget deficit.

U.S. prison population jumps to new high
The "land of the free" is warehousing its citizens in prisons at shocking rates, according to the federal government's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

CHINA/JAPAN
What's behind the growing conflict?
For three weekends in April, Chinese cities were rocked by anti-Japanese protests organized with the tacit approval of the Beijing government.

ON THE PICKET LINE

Contract included health care caps and other concessions
OEA members reject deal
Members of the Oakland Education Association overwhelmingly rejected a concessionary contract last week.

Labor in brief
New York City teachers; University of California; Liberty Lines

NEWS FROM OUR STRUGGLE

The right to protest at stake
Activists at SFSU won't be silenced
Officials at San Francisco State University are threatening three students and two student groups with disciplinary action for their part in a protest against military recruiters.

NO TO WAR AND OCCUPATION
Money for health care, not for war
On May 1, thousands of people gathered in New York City to say no to war in Iraq at two demonstrations.

News and reports
Fight for immigrant rights; Stop the neo-Nazis

VIEWS AND VOICES

Haitian students face racism in NYC
Treated like animals
Nancy Miller, an assistant principal at PS34 in Queens, forced Haitian students to sit on the floor and eat with their hands in front of the whole student cafeteria.

Two recruiters on the hot seat
After work last week, I received an interesting phone call from two Army National Guard recruiters in Pennsylvania.

Views in brief
Tagging people like animals; Bigotry at Blue Cross; Left ignores disability rights; Stand up for gay rights; Is Wal-Mart discriminating?; Putting our rights in peril

REVIEWS

Seymour Hersh's book Chain of Command
How they got their war on the world
Journalist Seymour Hersh's reporting on the Abu Ghraib torture scandal as well as the Bush administration's drive to war have been expanded into a new book.

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