March 8, 2005 will be the 95th year that International Women’s Day has been celebrated worldwide since Clara Zetkin, a German revolutionary, proposed it in 1910. Zetkin was inspired by working women in the United States. In 1908, women, mainly from the garment industry, came together in New York City’s Rutgers Square to demand a strong union in the needle trades and the right to vote. Today, it is a holiday celebrated by working people worldwide.
March 8 is International Women’s Day. It is a day of struggle across the globe, when the battle of women for our own liberation and our contributions to the fight for a better world are put center stage.
March 8 is International Women's Day. It is a day of struggle across the globe, where the battle of women – for our own liberation and our contributions to the fight for a better world – are put at center stage.
Speaking at a news conference on May 5, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “The main effort in our strategic focus from a military perspective must now shift to Afghanistan.”
As we go to press, we have received word that Laurent Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been murdered. As we see it, this is a tragedy. Africa has lost another one of its freedom fighters.
Chicago, IL – On November 17, 300 students and community activists protested against police brutality at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The rally challenged the administration's cover up of police brutality.
Chicago, IL – Over 50 activists in the anti-police brutality movement rallied at the Chicago Police Board September meeting. They confronted the Board members, slamming the decision that the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) made in response to the police murder of Northwestern student, Bobby Russ.
Duluth, MN – Low income people demonstrated at the City Hall/Civic Center on March 1 to demand an end to police abuse. “We are protesting human and civil rights violations committed by Duluth law enforcement officers,” said rally leaders.
Chicago, IL – October 22nd, over 600 Chicagoans gathered in the Daley Plaza to rally to stop police brutality and the criminalization of a generation. The event marked the third year in a row that Chicago anti-police brutality activists came together to demand that the Chicago Police are held accountable for their actions.
One year after the current financial crisis began, the situation has gone from bad to worse. What began with the failure of small mortgage lenders has toppled Wall Street investment banks, the largest mortgage company in the world, and a trillion-dollar insurance firm. Depositors are starting to flee banks and money market funds, putting businesses in danger of not being able to get loans. Banks don’t want to lend to each other and the stock market can’t find buyers. The economy continues to get worse month by month. As job losses mount, companies declare bankruptcy, foreclosures rise and consumers cut back on spending.
Israel has added another offense to its long roster of crimes by attacking Lebanon. It is conducting an air war that intentionally targets civilians; even refugees fleeing in their cars are killed. Israel is systematically destroying the infrastructure of southern Lebanon by targeting people's basic needs – apartment buildings, warehouses full of food, gas stations, powers plants, bridges and roads. Almost a million people have been driven from their homes. Now Israeli ground troops have crossed the border into Lebanon.
In the face of recent moves by Democrats in Congress, the anti-war movement needs to reject both fuzzy timelines and continued funding for the war in Iraq. We need to insist on the demand, “U.S. out now!” Nothing less will do.
The U.S. should close down its bases and withdraw the troops from Korea. For more than 50 years, the U.S. has occupied southern Korea. It is time for that occupation to end.
The Bush administration is still threatening Iran, and a wider war in the Middle East. The U.S. government has made much of Iran’s nuclear energy program. Iran says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and now U.S. intelligence agencies agree with that characterization. But this makes little difference to Bush and Cheney. They are still talking about turning up the heat on Iran and looking to impose more sanctions – which are in and of themselves a form of war, and as we saw with Yugoslavia and Iraq, a buildup to open military action.
A campaign for the release of political prisoner Donato ‘Donat’ Continente has been announced by BAYAN, an alliance of progressive Pilipino organizations. Background information on this critical case appeared in the summer 2002 issue of Fight Back!
There's not any doubt that executives at corporate giant WorldCom are guilty of fraud. By claiming that $3.8 billion in expenses were “investments,” they were able to tell investors that they had an extra $3.8 billion in profits. But games with accounting were the least of their crimes. 17,000 workers are losing their jobs. For the laid off, more than a few homes and dreams will be casualties of WorldCom's callousness. WorldCom employs about 80,000 people. More job cuts will take place in coming months. Pensions are gone. Families are left without health care. Life savings are wiped out.
America's rulers are serial killers. They have killed before and left to their own devices, they will kill again. Would-be President George Bush has turned the Texas Department of Corrections into a murder machine. Al Gore has never been in a position to sign a death warrant, but he has made it clear that he would have no problem doing so.
El primero de mayo, día internacional de los trabajadores, millones de personas marcharán en contra de la crisis económica capitalista que ha consumido la mayoría del mundo. Gente trabajadora en África, Asia, Europa, América Latina, el Medio Oriente y Norte América tomarán las calles para protestar contra el creciendo desempleo, los recortes en horas y los recortes en sueldos que están afectando al pueblo a nivel mundial.
