http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/julio/vier24/Honduras.html
Second day of general strike in Honduras
GRANMA INTERNATIONAL: Havana. July 24, 2009
TEGUCIGALPA (PL).-The three principal labor unions in Honduras are
maintaining a general strike in the state sector for the second day this
Friday, supported by road blocks put in place by the popular forces
repudiating the coup d'état.
Second day of general strike in HondurasThe country remained paralyzed
yesterday for several hours due to the closing of several strategic routes
by demonstrators, workers leader Juan Barahona informed Prensa Latina.
Barahona, president of the United Workers Federation, described the first
day of the strike as a success, taking into account the road blocks and
occupation of various state institutions by workers.
The popular actions cut off the country's principal ports on both the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as highways connecting the capital with
the northern part of the country.
Meanwhile, thousands of people began to move toward the Nicaraguan border.
Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya affirmed yesterday that he is to
return to his homeland overland from Nicaragua.
Many people called Radio Globo, a radio station that is keeping its
microphones open for the people, to report that they had been victims of
repression by the army forces who attempted to halt their movement.
In addition, a new problem has presented itself to the de facto government
headed by the entrepreneur Roberto Micheletti: police discontent over delays
in paying their wages, which has provoked a strike by some agents from a
station in the capital.
Daniel Molina, an official police spokesman, tried to downplay the issue,
assuring the press that it was merely related to administrative problems.
Nevertheless, officers interviewed by TV Channel 36 - the only station with
a critical stance toward the June 28 coup - said that they will not attend
to their duties until their complaints are resolved.
The problems arising in this repressive body, which includes the special
Cobras squadron, comes in addition to the regime's international isolation
and the wave of popular condemnation that will completes its 27th day this
Friday.
The leaders of the National Front against the Coup stated last night that
the popular struggle will continue until the coup leaders are defeated and
constitutional order and Zelaya are restored.
During the blocking of the northern exit of the Panamericana Highway in the
capital yesterday, the crowd was urged over loudspeakers to leave in convoys
for the border with Nicaragua to await Zelaya.
Translated by Granma International
***
----- Original Message -----
From: Eric Ahlberg
OPEN LETTER FROM THE WORKERS OF OVERHILL FARMS, AMERICAN APPAREL, AND FARMER
JOHNS -
Date: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 2:58 AM
Dear LULAC and friends of LULAC: Today we received a letter from a group of
workers, many of whom are undocumented, appealing to us for help. Many have
already been fired, and many are very close to being let go at several food
processing plants. These workers will be participating in orderly Union
organized pickets on various days over the next few months. They have
families, and many have been employed for 10, 15 and even 20 years with
these companies. I am asking that Long Beach LULAC assist by making the
picket signs for the marchers who will begin to picket in Vernon. To do this
we will need funds to pay for the supplies, such as ink and paper and
cardboard. If you think we should use our resources to assist these
families, please send me an e-mail with your answer, and any funds you can
spare to my home. I will deliver the signs to the organizers of the march.
We will not be officially joining the pickets as Long Beach LULAC, but will
as individuals who support their cause. Sincerely, Tomas
Tomas Gonzales
6327 Lewis Avenue
Long Beach, 90805
OPEN LETTER FROM THE WORKERS OF OVERHILL FARMS, AMERICAN APPAREL, AND FARMER
JOHNS -
we make a public appeal to all immigrants' rights coalitions, unions,
churches, community organizations, and worker/human rights activists to join
us in organizing marches and rallies at this most distressing moment of mass
terminations due to the Obama Administration's policy of unprecedented
enforcement of employer sanctions through I-9 audits of profiled companies
that hire immigrants; and the broad use of e-Verify, the federal system of
employment verification of legal status. We demand unity between all the
organizations and coalitions that represent that they work on behalf of
immigrants and in favor of fair and humane immigration reform.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 March and Rally from American Apparel (7th and
Alameda) to the Federal Building (Temple and Los Angeles Street, Los
Angeles) - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 1, 2009 Rally at the Placita Olvera (Alameda and Cesar
Chavez) - 1:00 p.m.
We are not activists but the very workers that you all refer to in your
press communications, articles, advocacy, research and conferences. We are
taking the lead in this struggle and will not wait for others to act.
***
From: bigraccoon
New Rule: Not Everything in America Has to Make a Profit
Bill Maher
July 23, 2009
How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a
profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so
vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things
we just didn't do for money. The United States always defined capitalism,
but it didn't used to define us. But now it's becoming all that we are.
Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a "war
profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated by private
contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations. There are more
private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and we pay them generous
salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for themselves -- like laundry.
War is not supposed to turn a profit, but our wars have become boondoggles
for weapons manufacturers and connected civilian contractors.
Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason -- who
the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you're going to have trouble
with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company called the
Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock Exchange, which
is convenient since that's where all the real crime is happening anyway. The
CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing
laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America
has the world;s largest prison population -- because actually
rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.
Television news is another area that used to be roped off from the profit
motive. When Walter Cronkite died last week, it was odd to see news anchor
after news anchor talking about how much better the news coverage was back
in Cronkite's day. I thought, "Gee, if only you were in a position to do
something about it."
But maybe they aren't. Because unlike in Cronkite's day, today's news has to
make a profit like all the other divisions in a media conglomerate. That's
why it wasn't surprising to see the CBS Evening News broadcast live from the
Staples Center for two nights this month, just in case Michael Jackson came
back to life and sold Iran nuclear weapons. In Uncle Walter's time, the news
division was a loss leader. Making money was the job of The Beverly
Hillbillies. And now that we have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out
with the Palin family, the news is The Beverly Hillbillies.
And finally, there's health care. It wasn't that long ago that when a kid
broke his leg playing stickball, his parents took him to the local Catholic
hospital, the nun put a thermometer in his mouth, the doctor slapped some
plaster on his ankle and you were done. The bill was $1.50, plus you got to
keep the thermometer.
But like everything else that's good and noble in life, some Wall Street
wizard decided that hospitals could be big business, so now they're run by
some bean counters in a corporate plaza in Charlotte. In the U.S. today,
three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to 600 hospitals and other
health care facilities. They're not hospitals anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes
with bedpans. America's largest hospital chain, HCA, was founded by the
family of Bill Frist, who perfectly represents the Republican attitude
toward health care: it's not a right, it's a racket. The more people who get
sick and need medicine, the higher their profit margins. Which is why
they're always pushing the Jell-O.
Because medicine is now for-profit we have things like "recision," where
insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you coverage when
you get sick, even though you've been paying into your plan for years.
When did the profit motive become the only reason to do anything? When did
that become the new patriotism? Ask not what you could do for your country,
ask what's in it for Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized medicine," I
get to call private health care "soulless vampires making money off human
pain." The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism,
it's capitalism.
And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal system,
my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they charge? They must
be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!
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