As Democrats celebrate their victory in the House and Senate this week, there is talk in Washington of a new plan for Iraq, an increase in the minimum wage, a new era of accountability and responsibility in government. On one issue, however, the Democrats are oddly quiet. There is little, if any, talk of immigration reform. For many immigrant rights activists the silence isn't surprising. Of the six issues Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., listed in July as immediate priorities for the party if it took control in the midterm elections, immigration reform was not on the list.
Still, this week many immigrant rights activists expressed a cautious optimism that reasonable immigration reform might be on its way. In elections across the country, many anti-immigrant hardliners -- both incumbents and new candidates -- were defeated. At the same time, Democratic candidates who campaigned against undocumented immigration were elected. (more...)Archive for November, 2006
What About Immigration Reform?
As Democrats celebrate their victory in the House and Senate this week, there is talk in Washington of a new plan for Iraq, an increase in the minimum wage, a new era of accountability and responsibility in government. On one issue, however, the Democrats are oddly quiet. There is little, if any, talk of immigration reform. For many immigrant rights activists the silence isn't surprising. Of the six issues Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., listed in July as immediate priorities for the party if it took control in the midterm elections, immigration reform was not on the list.
Still, this week many immigrant rights activists expressed a cautious optimism that reasonable immigration reform might be on its way. In elections across the country, many anti-immigrant hardliners -- both incumbents and new candidates -- were defeated. At the same time, Democratic candidates who campaigned against undocumented immigration were elected. (more...)Italy Launches the First Integrated “Bio-Plastics” Network
A low-profile industrial revolution based on corn and sunflower seeds is being born in Terni, a middle-sized Umbrian city, situated some 100 kilometers north of Rome. On Friday 13 October, in this once-prosperous steel and chemical industry cluster, the Italian company Novamont, pioneer in the sector of biodegradable products, inaugurated the "first green bio-refinery in the world, able to produce bio-polyesters based on vegetable oil." European leader in bio-plastics based on starch thanks to its star product, Master-Bi, 35,000 tons of which already are turned out by the Terni site, the firm is raising its production capacity to 60,000 tons, or about 60% of the global market.
Compared to 40 million tons of petroleum-based plastics consumed in (more...)The Return of Fascist Rule
Phillipines
Anyone who has yearned for and enjoyed the inner peace and tranquility brought about by a period of complete silence and focused meditation knows the shock of sudden and unexpected intrusion of any form, more so the jarring violence of physical aggression imposed with arrogance and abuse of authority. Therefore the forcible entry and intrusive search into the convent of the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd (CGS) in the late evening of All Saints Day is a clear travesty.
Not only did the police raiding team headed by a certain Colonel Wilfredo Reyes, violate the law by failing to present a valid search warrant, they completely disregarded the internationally recognized principle of sanctuary accorded to churches, mosques and similar religious venues. (The same raiding team subsequently attempted to enter the convent of the Missionary Sisters of Mary and also conducted a search at the San Lorenzo Ruiz Pastoral Center, all located within the vicinity of Baan, Butuan City.)
(more...)Global Notes #5
. Middle East investments soar
Flooded with money from soaring oil prices there has been an explosion of investment banks, private equity funds and venture capital coming out of the Middle East. But unlike the 1970s and 1990s when both governments and investors relied on international banks to handle their wealth local transnational capitalists are now guiding their own funds. That means petrodollars aren't being recycled through New York and London but through such firms as Dubai's Istithmar and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Funds are expect to hit $10B by 2007. David Jackson, chief executive officer at Istithmar says, "In 2003, people hardly understood what private equity and alternative investments really were; now every other day we get wind of another fund." Says another banker, "In the past, they would just give the money and put it in the US. Now they want to do their own deals…" (more...)
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Flooded with money from soaring oil prices there has been an explosion of investment banks, private equity funds and venture capital coming out of the Middle East. But unlike the 1970s and 1990s when both governments and investors relied on international banks to handle their wealth local transnational capitalists are now guiding their own funds. That means petrodollars aren't being recycled through New York and London but through such firms as Dubai's Istithmar and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Funds are expect to hit $10B by 2007. David Jackson, chief executive officer at Istithmar says, "In 2003, people hardly understood what private equity and alternative investments really were; now every other day we get wind of another fund." Says another banker, "In the past, they would just give the money and put it in the US. Now they want to do their own deals…" (more...)‘Iraq Study Group’ Taking Charge
.
US Foreign Policy Set
Analysis by Jim Lobe
Inter Press Service News Agency
WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (IPS) - The abrupt replacement of Pentagon chief, Donald Rumsfeld, by former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Robert Gates, combined with the Democratic sweep in Tuesday's mid-term elections, appears to signal major changes in United States foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East.
A career CIA analyst until his retirement in the early 1990s, Gates, a favorite of both former president George H.W. Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, has shared their ‘realistic' approach to U.S. foreign policy and shown little patience with the neo-conservatives and aggressive nationalists, like Vice-President Dick Cheney. Or with Rumsfeld, who dominated the younger Bush's first term after the Sept.11, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on New York and the Pentagon and led the march to war in Iraq. (more...)
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US Foreign Policy Set
To Change Dramatically
Analysis by Jim Lobe
Inter Press Service News Agency
WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (IPS) - The abrupt replacement of Pentagon chief, Donald Rumsfeld, by former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Robert Gates, combined with the Democratic sweep in Tuesday's mid-term elections, appears to signal major changes in United States foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East.
A career CIA analyst until his retirement in the early 1990s, Gates, a favorite of both former president George H.W. Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, has shared their ‘realistic' approach to U.S. foreign policy and shown little patience with the neo-conservatives and aggressive nationalists, like Vice-President Dick Cheney. Or with Rumsfeld, who dominated the younger Bush's first term after the Sept.11, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on New York and the Pentagon and led the march to war in Iraq. (more...)Taking on the Global Warming Crisis
A Green 'High Road' for Venture Capitalists
By Andrew K. Burger EcommerceTimes.com (Nov. 8, 2006) When it comes to alternative, renewable energy, European companies and countries have been leading the charge. "We see several trends concerning financial investments into solar energy," said Edwin Koot, the founder and principal of Solar Plaza. Making the Case for Enterprise Mobility: Wireless Management and Spend Control. Find out how AT&T was able to reduce spiraling enterprise mobility costs and boost the efficient use of assets. Venture capital (VC) and private and public investments in alternative energy continue to grow at their highest rates since the OPEC crisis of the 1970s. Around the world, the persistence of much higher fossil fuel prices, heightened power demands -- particularly in the fast-developing economies of China and India -- national employment trends, security concerns, and growing evidence of sharp climate changes are contributing to what amounts to a clean technology boom. (more...)Huge Antiwar Vote in Chicago
ANTIWAR REFERENDUM PASSES
BY OVERWHELMING MAJORITIES
IN CHICAGO, COOK COUNTY SUBURBS
AND SEVERAL ILLINOIS CITIES
By Chicagoans Against War & Injustice
CHICAGO (Nov 8, 2006) - Huge numbers of voters across the state of Illinois, wherever antiwar referendums appeared on the ballot, voted to stop the war and 'immediately begin an orderly and rapid withdrawal.'
At 3am, in the City of Chicago, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, the margin was 80 percent to 20 percent--389,000 'Yes' and 93,000 'No'. The tallies were similar throughout suburban Cook County, where towns like Evanston and Oak Park had the measure on the ballot as well (more...)
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BY OVERWHELMING MAJORITIES
IN CHICAGO, COOK COUNTY SUBURBS
AND SEVERAL ILLINOIS CITIES
By Chicagoans Against War & Injustice
CHICAGO (Nov 8, 2006) - Huge numbers of voters across the state of Illinois, wherever antiwar referendums appeared on the ballot, voted to stop the war and 'immediately begin an orderly and rapid withdrawal.'
At 3am, in the City of Chicago, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, the margin was 80 percent to 20 percent--389,000 'Yes' and 93,000 'No'. The tallies were similar throughout suburban Cook County, where towns like Evanston and Oak Park had the measure on the ballot as well (more...)Text Messaging Registers Young Latinos to Vote
RU a Txt Votr?
By Daffodil Altan
Nov 03, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO--The numbers are in, and the drive to register a million new voters after massive immigrants' rights marches earlier this year came up short. But most analysts missed an experimental and successful registration process that sought to engage young Latino voters a la "American Idol." Using cell phone text messaging technology and online networking sites like MySpace, young voters reached out to other young voters via the digital maze that now dominates communication among the 35-and-under crowd. (more...)
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By Daffodil Altan
Nov 03, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO--The numbers are in, and the drive to register a million new voters after massive immigrants' rights marches earlier this year came up short. But most analysts missed an experimental and successful registration process that sought to engage young Latino voters a la "American Idol." Using cell phone text messaging technology and online networking sites like MySpace, young voters reached out to other young voters via the digital maze that now dominates communication among the 35-and-under crowd. (more...)Global Notes #4
. Financial Times concedes world to China and India
“Over the next 30 years, China and India will grow to dominate the world economy. They will give birth to great industrial companies that own plants all around the world. National pride may suffer a little but economic nationalism and imperialism have had their day and that can only be a good thing.†Wow, UK globalists really need to talk to George W. and clue him into the future. What brought the former colonialists of England to accept their national decline; Tata of India is buying Corus, or what is the entire steel industry of the UK and the Netherlands. As the Financial Times points out, the historic tables have turned, not only has the British East India Company disappeared but “the current wave of globalisation, in contrast to that of the 19th century, is led by the developing as much as the developed world.†Moreover, no one in the UK, not politicians nor workers, raised an alarm. Transnational capital has truly become global. (FT, 10/21/06 Empire strikes back as Tata bids for Corus, p. 6) (more...)
U.S. Soldier Takes Her Own Life after ‘Interrogating’ in Iraq
http://tinyurl.com/yektuz
10 Proposals to Democratize U.S. Elections
Bring Democracy Home
By Katrina Vanden Heuvel
The Nation
Nov. 20, 2006 Issue
Former President Jimmy Carter, who is arguably more identified with the struggle to guarantee free and fair elections than anyone in the world, gets an interesting response these days when he talks about observing voting overseas. "The Carter Center has monitored more than fifty elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions," he says. "When I describe these activities, either in the US or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are Why don't you observe the election in Florida? and How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"
The American people are waking up and realizing that for all the Bush Administration's talk of promoting democracy abroad, the US electoral system fails to do the same at home. With the approach of the midterm elections, there is justified alarm about how easy it is to hack electronic voting machines and that in many states these machines have no paper trail.
(more...)
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By Katrina Vanden Heuvel
The Nation
Nov. 20, 2006 Issue
Former President Jimmy Carter, who is arguably more identified with the struggle to guarantee free and fair elections than anyone in the world, gets an interesting response these days when he talks about observing voting overseas. "The Carter Center has monitored more than fifty elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions," he says. "When I describe these activities, either in the US or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are Why don't you observe the election in Florida? and How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"
The American people are waking up and realizing that for all the Bush Administration's talk of promoting democracy abroad, the US electoral system fails to do the same at home. With the approach of the midterm elections, there is justified alarm about how easy it is to hack electronic voting machines and that in many states these machines have no paper trail.
(more...)The Black-Latino Future
Black Agenda Report:
Finding a Way to Solidarity
By Glen Ford
BAR Executive Editor
When as many as two million immigrants and their supporters, most of them Latino, turned out for demonstrations against draconian undocumented worker legislation in cities across the nation this spring, everywhere the question was raised: Is this the new civil rights movement? By all appearances, some kind of great awakening had indeed occurred which, if sustained, would transform the participants and, eventually, the society at-large.
However, Black opinion was decidedly mixed. Traditional and progressive African American organizations generally supported the explosion of Latino activism, and marveled at the coordination and sheer size of the rallies in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas, Houston, Seattle – at least two dozen cities, nationwide. Luminaries such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, NAACP chairman Julian Bond, the SCLC’s Rev. Joseph Lowrey, and numerous Black congresspersons were quick to make a positive connection to the struggles of the Sixties.
(more...)‘War on Terror’, Sexism and US Militarism
Updating The Subic
Naval Base Rape Case
in the Philippines
By Carol Araullo
Nicole is the pseudonym used by the Filipino victim in the sensational rape case involving "visiting" US troops out for some "rest and recreation" in Subic, formerly the biggest US naval base outside the US mainland. Almost a year after the incident, she appears to be a normal, comely young woman, in the flush of life. But that life came to a standstill close to a year ago when she came across six US marines who jointly took advantage of her vulnerability, abused her and then dumped her like a used rag on the sidewalk in full view of several witnesses. (more...)
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Naval Base Rape Case
in the Philippines
By Carol Araullo
Nicole is the pseudonym used by the Filipino victim in the sensational rape case involving "visiting" US troops out for some "rest and recreation" in Subic, formerly the biggest US naval base outside the US mainland. Almost a year after the incident, she appears to be a normal, comely young woman, in the flush of life. But that life came to a standstill close to a year ago when she came across six US marines who jointly took advantage of her vulnerability, abused her and then dumped her like a used rag on the sidewalk in full view of several witnesses. (more...)China: Market Socialism or Capitalism?
This is the second
of two articles assessing
classes and class struggle in China’s past
and present day. Here, David Schweickart,
replies to YiChing Wu's article from yesterday,
which was actually an earlier exchange between them at the Global Studies Association at Depaul University in 2006.
What's Wrong with China?
By David Schweickart
Loyola University
There's plenty wrong with China, as everyone knows.
--The income gap is large and widening--China's Gini coefficient, a standard measure of income inequality, is now larger than the U.S.'s.
--Unemployment is rising as large numbers of state-owned enterprises shed workers, before or after they are privatized.
--There are sweatshops providing the Wal-Marts of the world with cheap manufactured goods.
--Corruption is rampant.
--So is environmental degradation. Consider the comments of Pan Yue, China's Deputy Environmental Minister, made in a recent interview:
Our raw materials are scarce, we don't have enough land and our population is constantly growing.... Cities are growing, but desert areas are expanding.... Five of the most polluted cities in the world are in China; acid rain is falling on one third of our territory; half of the water in China's seven largest rivers is completely useless, a quarter of our citizens lack access to clean drinking water.
With so many things wrong, China must be capitalist, right? Much of the Left thinks so, seeing China hell-bent on self-destruction, a trajectory that can only be remedied by a genuinely proletarian revolution. See, for example, Barbara Foley's "From Situational Dialectics to Pseudo-Dialectics: Mao, Jiang and Capitalist Transition, " published in Cultural Logic (2002), or Martin Hart-Landsberg and Paul Burkett's "China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle," a special issue of Monthly Review (July-August 2004) that was subsequently published in book form, or Robert Weil's "Conditions of the Working Class in China," a lengthy manuscript now circulating on the internet. (more...)[SolidarityEconomy.net is proudly powered by WordPress.]
