Issue 692 | March 13, 2009

War and Antiwar

  • Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, plus family members and activists, came together for a Winter Soldier event in Austin, Texas.

Economy

  • The great American jobs wipeout continues with no end in sight, as the financial meltdown continues and the entire world economy unravels.

  • The administration's $275 billion program to deal with foreclosures is a departure from the do-nothing Bush approach--but it falls short of what's needed.

National

  • The California Supreme Court is due to rule on a lawsuit that aims to overturn the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban.

  • One in every 31 adults in the U.S. is behind bars, or on parole or probation--the result of decades of "tough on crime" policies.

  • Hundreds of parents, teachers, activists and students held an angry picket of the Chicago Board of Education in a last attempt to save 16 schools.

International

  • A resident of Gaza City describes conditions after Israel's 22-day war--and the message Palestinians want to send to the emerging global solidarity struggle.

Opinion

  • Republican complaints about Obama's "socialism" are laughable. But the economic crisis and the new era in Washington are opening up a debate about capitalism.

Labor

  • "No more cuts!" was the demand as tens of thousands of union members, joined by students and other New Yorkers, rallied in Manhattan.

  • Union members and their supporters rallied at the Los Angeles Times headquarters to protest management's union-busting tactics.

  • Some 3,000 SEIU members and their families filled the landmark Chicago Theatre for a rally to prepare for a coming contract battle.

  • Hundreds joined UNITE HERE for a rally to kick off a boycott of two San Francisco hotels that are resisting efforts to unionize.

  • Two buses of supporters came out for a rally for striking nurses at two Innova Health facilities in New Jersey.

Activist News

  • Our comrade Devin Cohee--a loving friend, driven activist and unyielding revolutionary--died tragically on February 28.

  • On the eve of court hearings on Proposition 8, hundreds marched in San Francisco and Los Angeles to call for the ban on same-sex marriage to be overturned.

  • Under pressure from activists, the University of Washington announced it is terminating its licensing agreement with the anti-union Russell Corp.

  • Hundreds of LGBT people and their allies held a candlelight vigil and march to stand up against an increase in anti-LGBT hate crimes.

  • Palestinian rights activists turned out to counter a pro-Israel rally called by the Student Alliance for Israel in the Amherst Common.

  • Pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University kicked off their campaign for divestment from Israel with a teach-in and speak-out.

  • Hundreds of San Francisco State University students attended a teach-in to address the effects of California budget cuts.

  • More than 100 people turned out for a rally against ABC's racist reality TV show Homeland Security U.S.A.

  • Activists in Rochester mobilized on 24 hours’ notice to confront anti-choice protesters at a local abortion clinic.

Books and Entertainment

  • The Watchmen comic stepped out of the simplistic world of good versus evil to pose larger questions about power and human nature. How about the movie?

  • Homeland Security U.S.A. is basically a show that glamorizes exactly what is wrong with immigration policy and the criminalization of immigrants.