The following message is a response to a series of questions posed to Hubert Ballesteros by James Jordan of the Alliance for Global Justice. Ballesteros was arrested while negotiating for the National Agrarian Strike of 2013 and charged with Rebellion. He was also serving on the executive committees of Fensuagro, the country's largest federation of farm workers unions and the Unitary Workers Center (CUT), Colombia's largest general labor federation.
An Israeli military patrol was struck by a large IED in Lebanon’s occupied Shebae Farms, Jan. 4, destroying a vehicle and wounding a number of soldiers. According to the authoritative news outlet Al – Mamar, the progressive resistance group Hezbollah announced that “martyr Samir Kuntar group in the Islamic Resistance detonated” the huge explosion.
Iran’s FARS News Agency is reporting, Dec. 31, that Iran is planning a response to U.S. plans for new sanctions against companies and individuals that are allegedly working to develop Iran’s missile capacity.
To mark the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, Fight Back News Service is circulating his oft quoted 1945 speech at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Dec. 21 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) condemning the Israeli murder of the Lebanese resistance leader Samir Kuntar.
Thessaloniki, Greece – Workers of ZOURAS Food Industry who have been on strike since Nov. 14 received solidarity from around the world at a rally and workers' assembly on Dec. 6. The workers are demanding a collective bargaining agreement, back pay and the rehiring of laid off workers.
Salt Lake City, UT – 25 people rallied at the federal building here, Nov. 5, to demand “U.S. out of Syria and the Middle East.” Anti-war, student and labor activists gathered to stand with Syrian refugees fleeing U.S. wars and military intervention.
Athens, Greece – On Dec. 1 a delegation of trade unionists from the U.S. met for several hours with George Mavrikos, the General Secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Mavrikos presented the principles of the WFTU and explained the history of the union movement internationally. Then he answered questions and exchanged views on a variety of topics.
Houston, TX – Students and anti-war activists at the University of Houston rallied in solidarity with Syrian refugees on Dec. 4. They also protested the U.S. war in Syria that is driving millions of Syrians out of their country. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott recently said in a letter to President Obama, “Texas will not accept any refugees from Syria.” Governor Abbott filed a lawsuit against the federal government in an effort to prevent Syrian refugees from resettling in Texas.
