Issue 707 | October 8, 2009

War and Antiwar

  • The Obama administration is embroiled in a debate over Gen. Stanley McChrystal's proposal for a further escalation of troops to Afghanistan.

National

  • So-called "crisis pregnancy centers" prey on women looking for options--in order to bully and terrorize them against having an abortion.

  • SocialistWorker.org asked activists from around the country to say what the National Equality March for LGBT rights means to them.

  • Like the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, today's movement for LGBT equality didn't appear overnight. It's been shaped by decades of organizing.

  • The city of Seattle is ratcheting up the war on its most vulnerable citizens. But the homeless and their supporters are standing up to the attack.

  • Chicago officials and the city's business elite mourned the defeat of their bid for the 2016 Olympics, but residents can now breathe a sigh of relief.

  • The same right-wing forces that pushed Proposition 8 in California are behind a referendum in Maine to take away marriage equality.

  • SocialistWorker.org asked activists around the country to say what this week's National Equality March for LGBT rights means to them.

International

  • The coup-makers say they'll lift a state of emergency and may allow deposed President Manuel Zelaya to return to office--but they still plan to keep their grip.

  • Iran's agreement to allow inspection of a nuclear facility and negotiate with the Obama administration won't end U.S. attempts to impose its will.

Opinion

  • The National Equality March in Washington represents a renewal of the kind of activism that's needed on many other issues.

History and Traditions

  • The three victorious strikes that paved the way for the struggles to come in the 1930s were led by radicals dedicated to solidarity and rank-and-file democracy.

  • Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story is an incredible indictment of the current system. But what should replace it?

Labor

  • A faculty member at City College of San Francisco makes the case for voting "no" on a contract proposed by union leaders.

  • More than 50 workers and their supporters rallied at the Pratt Institute on September 26 as part of a fight for a fair contract.

  • Machinists at a Boeing plant in Charleston, S.C., voted on September 10 to decertify the IAM as their bargaining representative.

  • More than 1,000 hotel workers and supporters rallied in San Francisco, and over 100 were arrested while participating in a nonviolent sit-in.

Activist News

  • While G20 leaders debated how to run global capitalism, police placed the city under lockdown and attacked protests.

  • Supporters of women's right to choose are organizing to defend clinics that are the target of the anti-abortion campaign 40 Days for Life.

  • More than 200 activists rallied in response to a demonstration in Minneapolis by members of a neo-Nazi group.

  • More than 200 people rallied outside Blue Cross Blue Shield offices in Portland, Ore., to protest the insurance industry's greedy practices.

Readers' Views

  • Conservative lawmakers are latching onto abortion access as a new wedge to drive health care reform even further away from providing care to all.

  • Increased border security won't stop immigrants from entering the U.S., but it does push them into increasingly deadly parts of the borderlands.

  • For Tom DeLay, the chance to be on Dancing with the Stars is an opportunity to soften his image before his upcoming trial on felony charges.

Books and Entertainment

  • Millions will find in Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story a confirmation of their bitterness with the system--and their aspiration for something better.