British Invasion: The Olympics March Into London
'There was no plebiscite. No vote. Now we have these games being shoved down our throats.' These are the shocked and stunned words of London organizer Katie Andrews, upon finding out that the Olympics will be marching into New Britannia.
Music Review: Punk to Blues
Hiretsukan is a loud New York hardcore punk band whose lyrics on their latest, End States range from the deeply personal and emotional, sometimes surreally so, to highly charged political and historical matters. f you love blues, jazz, folk, or roots music in any combination and haven’t discovered Otis Taylor, you have missed out on an excellent body of work.
Australia: Wave of protests to defend trade union rights
Seven hundred people braved rising flood waters in Lismore, southern NSW, to join more than 100,000 across the state. Although their city had been declared a disaster zone, people battled to several venues to hear about the campaign on a Sky Channel broadcast that linked 220 venues on Friday July 1.
The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization?
To workers and union leaders, it is a familiar refrain. These days, the story goes, consumers demand low prices, meaning goods must be produced and sold cheaply — and retail wages must be kept as low as possible. Companies like Wal-Mart insist they’re feeling the squeeze and must pay workers poverty wages — even while netting $10.5 billion in annual profits and awarding millions to top executives
Philippines Leftists Call for Ouster of Arroyo
Arroyo's cheating in the May 2004 elections was exposed, with the public airing of wire-tapped recordings of over a dozen of Gloria Arroyo's election-period calls to Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). In one of those recorded conversations (now widely known as the 'Hello Garci' calls), Arroyo demanded, and was assured, a lead of over 1-million votes over her closest presidential rival.
Africa Demands a Permanent Seat at UN Security Council
African Heads of State and Governments are winding up Tuesday the 5th Ordinary African Union (AU) summit in Sirte, Libya, reaffirming their demand to have two permanent seats at the UN Security Council.
Are the Chinese more dangerous than the Japanese?
Recent Chinese attempts to buy American multinationals have been stirring up 'nationalist' worries in the United States. Economist Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist, has just published an article that was reproduced in the Brazilian newspaper 'Folha de Sao Paulo' on June 28th, the title of which suggests that 'the Chinese are more dangerous than the Japanese.'
The Olympics? Cities Should Just Say No
The bribes have been spent. The pimps paid off. The 'escorts' shuttled home. Now it's sweat-time for local fat cats, anxiously tapping their uncalloused fingers, as they wait to see if 'their' city will be chosen Wednesday as host for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The motley Montgomery Burns's of New York, Moscow, London, and Paris already have the champagne on ice, in expectation of feeding at the trough of Olympic slop.
Risking Social Security on the Dubious Success of Chile’s Economic Strategy
Once again on the road early this month to attract popular support for his plan to privatize social security, President George W. Bush has proposed a model for pension reform based in part on the formula adopted in 1981 by the regime of Chilean military dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
UAW Members Win, and Pledge to Fight to Protect Contracts
Last week the United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced a major victory for Thomas Built Bus workers in High Point, North Carolina. The workers voted by a large majority of 58% to join the UAW in an election supervised by the National Labor relations Board (NLRB), the federal regulatory body that oversees union matters.
