LaborGroups News 21Jan04
www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews21Jan04.pdf
www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews21Jan04.doc

LaborGroups News 21Jan04

www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews21Jan04.pdf
www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews21Jan04.doc

Addendum (Late Breaking News)
A) Work in Progress, January 20, 2004
B) Health Care Justice Update
C) Chicago: VALENTINES DAY SALSA IN SOLIDARITY

1) The State of the Union in 30 Seconds
2) 1984 in 2004 - OUL
3) DNC meeting in Hyde Park, Jan 24
4) 60 Talking Points
5) You be the Judge, Grade Bush's State of the Union Address
6) About U.S. Politics: Kerry Takes Iowa
7) Green Party "Terrorist" Not Allowed To Fly
8) Labor Report Back from Iraq - February 7 in Boston
9) Request of Prays for Victims of Communism
10) Canadian Unions and Cultual Groups Vow To Make Foreign Ownership Election Issue
11) Rob Sanchez's JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
12) DNC- The most powerful stories in America: yours
13) Vote for the WBAI Justice & Unity Slate
14) TruthOut
15) SafetyOnline
16) CLG News
17) 2nd notice Eddie Henderson!
18) Carolyn Kay's "Make Them Accountable"
19) A WARNING/Via Dwight
20) War-Times
21) Goodbye for Jeremiah Posedel (Lane Evans Campaign)
22) Citizen Works' Corporate Reform Weekly, January 20, 2004
23) America, Here is your ANSWER !
24) TREASURY RENEGES ON 30 YEAR BOND HOLDERS TREASURY RENEGES ON 30 YEAR BONDS

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Addendum (Late Breaking News)
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A) Work in Progress, January 20, 2004

www.aflcio.org/aboutaflcio/wip/wip01202004.cfm

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B) Health Care Justice Update

Hi! We are on the move and building more support for the
Health Care Justice Act.

The Health Care Justice Act has currently been submitted to the
Legislative Reference Bureau and will be introduced in the
Senate and House by the end of the week. We should have bill
numbers by the beginning of February. Senator Obama and
Representative Delgado will continue to be the chief sponsors.
We should know in two weeks who the top five sponsors will be
and we will let you know. Meanwhile call your state
representative and state senator and ask them be a co-sponsor
of the Health Care Justice Act.

Nearly 40 different groups participated in our Strategy Session
that was held this past Monday and dozens of other groups are
helping.

-We are starting a lobbyists consortium in Springfield to help us
in the lobbying effort.

-We are starting to organize Meet-Me Parties for the Health Care
Justice Act. If you are interested in organizing a Meet-Me Party,
contact Jim Duffett at jduffett (at) cbhconline.org. We have an
excellent kit that can assist you in this event. Not only will these
Meet-Me Parties help raise much needed funds, but more
importantly we will begin building a grassroots infrastructure
throughout the state.

Thanks for you help and support. We will keep you updated,
CBHC

Feel free to pass this message along to others.

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C) Chicago: VALENTINES DAY SALSA IN SOLIDARITY

A Valentine's Day Salsa Dance with Orquesta Nabori will be held at 9 PM February14 at the Heartland Café, 7000 N. Glenwood. Admission is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Free salsa lessons at 9:15. The dance benefits the work of the Nicaragua Solidarity Committee, which protests sweatshop working conditions in Nicaragua and around the world; opposes environmentally destructive development in Nicaragua; and raises money for material aid to Nicaraguan revolutionary communities.

Join us this year with RADIO POPULARES to set up a battery-powered radio station in MULUKUKU, an isolated community with a womenâ¬"s cooperative clinic.

Advance tickets are available at the Heartland or by calling NSC at 773-276-5626 or email nscchicago (at) igc.org

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1) The State of the Union in 30 Seconds

A year ago, President Bush told the nation that "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." It wasn't true, of course, but it did serve as a critical piece of the spin campaign that led the country into war.

Tonight, in preparation for the upcoming election, the President is again getting ready to tell the nation something that simply isn't true. According to news reports, the President will declare victory in the fight to provide the nation's elderly and disabled with health care. He'll point to the Medicare bill that he and Congressional Republicans pushed through Congress. But there's one small problem: the Medicare bill won't help Medicare, and it won't help seniors. In fact, it's designed to do the program in.

That's why we've prepared a 30-second alternative version of tonight's speech which exposes how the nation's drug companies backed and bought this bill. We've asked one of the country's most respected polling firms to test the ad, and we know it makes an enormous impact on the people who see it. But we'll need your help to get it out there. If you can help us reach our $10 million goal, we'll put up a $1.7 million buy and make sure millions of Americans in swing states know the real deal.

You can watch the ad and contribute by credit card or check at:
www.moveonvoterfund.org/donate/sotu.html

As the ad opens, we see a series of photos from previous State of the Union addresses, cut quickly together to resemble a movie. We hear the voice of someone who sounds like George Bush. "My fellow Americans," he says, "My Medicare bill has real drug benefits&but not for you. For my contributors at the big drug companies. My bill actually forbids Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices...so you'll probably have to pay more for your prescriptions than you do now; and you won't be able to get cheaper prescriptions from Canada."

One thing that President Bush probably won't mention in his speech tonight is how the bill came to pass. In the House, the vote was extremely tight: even some Republicans knew they couldn't justify the bill to their home districts. So, House Leaders held the vote open for three hours in the dead of night while they twisted the arms of the last few hold-outs. Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI), a retiring Congressman whose son will run for his seat, was one of them. Here's how the Associated Press reported the events that followed:

"On the House floor, [Rep.] Nick Smith was told business interests would give his son $100,000 in return for his father's vote. When he still declined, fellow Republican House members told him they would make sure Brad Smith never came to Congress. After Nick Smith voted no and the bill passed, [Rep.] Duke Cunningham of California and other Republicans taunted him that his son was dead meat."

Bribing House members on the House floor is, of course, a felony, and Rep. Smith has confirmed that this account is accurate. No special investigation has been launched. The bribers are still at large.

The story, in the end, is pretty simple: drug companies and insurance companies gave millions of dollars to push through legislation. The bill will greatly increase their profits while pulling the rug out from under our seniors. President Bush is trying to spin that huge sell-out as a benefit to the American people. And we won't let him.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn.org Team
January 20th, 2003

P.S. We've added a few resources below that give more details on the Medicare sell-out and tonight's speech in general.

The Campaign for America's Future's Medicare Fact Sheet:
www.moveonvoterfund.org/ourfuture-medicare.html

Rep. Sherrod Brown's editorial on the Medicare arm-twisting:
www.moveon.org/r

Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Tom Daschle's State of the Union Pre-Buttal:
democrats.senate.gov/%7Edpc/releases/2004116B38.html

The Center for American Progress's "State of the Union Viewer's Guide":
www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp


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2) 1984 in 2004 - OUL

Open University of the Left
1984 in 2004
Wednesday, February 4, 7 PM
ACME Artworks, 1741 N. Western, Chicago
Tuition $5 but no one will be turned away.


Open University Of The Left announces its first literary salon program of the new year, "1984 in 2004", a discussion of George Orwell's classic dystopic novel, 1984. We belatedly celebrate the 2003 centenary of the birth of this great socialist writer. This was the book, originally published in 1948 that put terms like "newspeak," "double think" and "thought police" into our language and generally accentuated our concern with the roles of technology and propaganda in totalitarian governments. Our discussion will focus on the relevance of Orwell's vision to "Amerika" today. The facilitator will be Mark C. Weinberg, Open University regular, reluctant bureaucrat and Political Education Director of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America.

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3) DNC meeting in Hyde Park, Jan 24

Chicago Area Chapter of the

Democratic National Committee

Presents

Pizza, Pop & Politics

Saturday, January 24, 2004

1pm  4pm

Location: DeVry University

Chicago Campus

3300 North Campbell

Student Academic Center, Room 322

(Off Belmont, 1 block west of Western, first traffic light; go north on Campbell to Melrose, one block, a blue-green building; once you get inside, follow the signs)

Featuring a video of the Debate of the Democratic Presidential Hopefuls, followed by lively open discussion of the candidates and issues. The DNC voting members will then decide if we are ready to endorse a candidate.

Refreshments will be served.

Speakers:

Dr. Finley C. Campbell, Co-Chair, DNC (773-929-8500, x2196)

Ms. Anna Mustafa, Co-Chair, DNC

Valerie Kellogg, Executive Director, DNC (312-590-0119)

Invited:

Barack ObamaDem. Candidate for IL State Senator (endorsed by DNC)

Mr. Michael MadiganIL Representative to the DNC.

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4) 60 Talking Points

For Immediate Release, January 18, 2004

Presidential Election Talking Points for

All Concerned Americans

(Abbreviated Version)

***For the fully sourced 26 page version free version of these

Talking Points, please email uxorpress (at) usa.com.

A public service project initiated by Bob Zimmerman, author of:

The American Challenge: Twenty-One Winning Strategies for the 21st Century.

www.TheAmericanChallenge.com , or BobZimmerman (at) usa.com BobZimmerman (at) usa.com>.

Contact for author queries is Bobbi Pallas at 415-383-8481.

The Bush Record Exposed: Nothing but Lies, Deceptions, and Crimes against Humanity

1. The Bush War of Terror is judged unfocused, and the Bush decision to

invade Iraq is dubbed a disastrous strategic error.

- Source: U.S. Army War Colleges Strategic Studies Institute, December 2003.

2. Bush Knew: He deliberately and repeatedly lied to us about 9/11; he was told

9/11 was imminent; and, instead of protecting us, he slept at the helm;

the record clearly shows he could and should have prevented 9/11.

3. Bush Knew: He deliberately and repeatedly lied to us about Iraqi WMD.

4. Bush Knows: He has destroyed more American jobs than Herbert Hoover.

5. Bush Knows: He seeks to place WMD in space and on Mars.

6. Bush lied to us and then used our soldiers as re-election propaganda props.

7. Bush refuses to cooperate with the official 9/11 investigating commission.

8. Bush actions upon learning of the 9/11 attack are highly suspect.

9. Bush deliberately stonewalls the families of the victims of 9/11.

10. Bush concern for Americas national security and claims about exporting

democracy to Iraq are entirely bogus.

11. Bush Treasury Secretary Paul ONeill says Bush is a failed president.

12. Bush is obstructing justice in the criminal investigation of the White House.

13. Bush is busily installing an anti-democratic, fascist, neocon agenda.

14. Bush policies and programs favor only wealthy special interest groups.

15. Bush seeks to fool seniors and to destroy Social Security and Medicare.

16. Bush is anti-choice, anti-womens rights, anti-civil rights, anti-human rights,

anti-worker rights, and approaches environmental issues with disdain.

17. Bush is pursuing an ugly policy of economic class warfare in America.

18. Bush has repeatedly looted the U.S. Treasury to enrich his wealthy friends.

19. Bush tax cuts are nothing but an ugly scam on working families and retirees.

20. Bush, with a smirk on his face, is waging war on Americas children.

21. Bush is contributing to the spread of AIDS amongst our youth.

22. Bush has failed to provide promised federal funding to fight global AIDS.

23. Bush is deliberately waging war on the environment.

24. Bush foreign policy is deliberately creating global instability.

25. Bush deliberately spreads hatred, fear, and loathing in America.

26. Bush is deliberately rescinding the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

27. Bush war talk is nothing but schoolyard bullyboy arrogance.

28. Bush has failed to capture Osama bin Laden and defeat al Qaeda.

29. Bush, immediately after 9/11, helped the bin Laden family, and numerous

other Saudi financiers of terror flee America.

30. Bush deliberately undercuts our soldiers and veterans by slashing veterans

benefits and by treating our soldiers as slaves.

31. Bush is highly antagonistic to working people and their unions.

32. Bush elective wars are ungodly and un-Christian.

33. Bush federal deficits (trillions of dollars) are a catastrophic blunder.

34. Bush is deliberately starving state and local governments.

35. Bush favors political fundraising over attending the funerals of the

soldiers who died in Iraq.

36. Bush deserted from the military when the U.S. was at war in Vietnam.

37. Bush as lord high executioner.

38. Bush anti-science policies are retarding scientific research.

39. Bush stole one election; is he planning to steal another?

40. Bush has lost his self-proclaimed global war of terror.

41. Bush war spending is counterproductive and bankrupting America.

42. Bush will say and do anything to avoid defeat in 2004.

43. Bush seeks to crush dissent in America # 1 (USA Patriot Act).

44. Bush seeks to crush dissent in America # 2 (First Amendment).

45. Bush sends U.S. reserve units into action without proper equipment.

46. Bush has appointed a cabinet of, by, and for the wealthy.

47. Bush spends big for bombs while slashing vital programs for the needy.

48. Bush denies access to necessary medical care to millions of Americans.

49. Bush is deliberately destroying Americas middle-income families.

50. Bush wants full control of what is left of our free press.

51. Bush has set out to destroy the separation of church and state.

52. Bush regularly violates international law; he and others that lied to us about

the reasons for invading Iraq could be tried as war criminals.

53. Bush has failed to prosecute most giant corporate crime.

54. Bush has an energy bill that only energizes energy company profits.

55. Bush rigged the California gubernatorial recall election.

56. Bush, a rugged individualist, or a military deserter, and a spoiled brat?

57. Bush prefers rebuilding Iraq to rebuilding America.

58. Bush friends stuff their pockets with staggering war profits.

59. Bush appoints judges for the sole purpose of furthering neocon interests.

60. Bush White House secrecy exceeds all reasonable bounds.

# # # #
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5) You be the Judge, Grade Bush's State of the Union Address


Leave No President Behind


Grade the State of the Union Address,
Then Send the President His Report Card

It started off as a good idea. The constitution requires the President "from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union." Unfortunately, the State of the Union address has become an annual spectacle filled with spin and distortion punctuated by thunderous applause from the President's people. Somehow the real "state of the union" never really gets discussed, not even "from time to time."

Maybe the problem is that Presidents don't know what we think about these speeches. Maybe all they hear is the applause and raves from their staff and donors so they think they've done a good job.

This year we want to change that. We've created a report card for you to use to grade the President's performance. He says he likes testing and accountability, so he should appreciate this. It's easy, just print out this page and give him a grade from A to F for each section while you watch his speech. When you're done, share his test results with him by just dropping it in the mail to the White House (address at the bottom).

Preparing for the State of the Union,

Andrew Greenblatt
Head Geek, TrueMajority.org



P.S. For a nice printout you can get a PDF version here:

action.truemajority.org/ctt.asp


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6) About U.S. Politics: Kerry Takes Iowa

Kerry Takes Iowa
"I have only just begun to fight" said Sen. John Kerry in his victory speech in Iowa as he was declared the winner of the nation's first primary in the 2004 Presidential Election. As the returns rolled in Sen. John Kerry won the Iowa Caucuses with 38% in his favor. The second and third place were surprising as well: Sen. John Edwards in second with 32% and Howard Dean took just 18%, half of what he had been projected to take as of polls taken four weeks ago.
uspolitics.about.com/b/a/057869.htm

First Braun and Now Gephardt Quit Race for President
After finishing in fourth place in the Iowa Caucuses, Rep. Dick Gephardt has decided to drop out of the race for President. The returns in Iowa were both surprising and heart breaking for Gephardt supporters who had been tracking an upsurge in support in the week leading up to the vote.
uspolitics.about.com/b/a/057806.htm

Fighting in Iraq Continues While Election Plans Move Forward
While U.S. forces continue to work out plans on how the first election in the new Iraq will be organized, fighting continues between coalition soldiers and guerilla fighters. The latest news and information on the war in Iraq include the capture of the nephews of the no. 6 most wanted Iraqi and new support from Baathist groups.
uspolitics.about.com/b/a/057623.htm

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7) Green Party "Terrorist" Not Allowed To Fly

Green Party "Terrorist" Not Allowed to Fly


By Frederick Sweet, Intervention Magazine

www.alternet.org/story.html
January 12, 2004
Art dealer Doug Stuber, who ran Ralph Nader's Green Party presidential campaign in North Carolina in 2000, was pulled out of an airline boarding line and grounded this past holiday season. He was about to make an important trip to Prague to gather artists for Henry James Art in Raleigh, N.C., when he was told (with ticket in hand) that he was not allowed to fly out that day.
When he asked why not, he was told at Raleigh-Durham airport that because of the sniper attacks, no Greens were allowed to fly overseas on that day. The next morning he returned, and instead of paying $670 round trip, was forced into a $2,600 "same day" air fare. But it's what happened to Stuber during the next 24 hours that is even more disturbing.
Stuber arrived at the airport at 6 a.m. and his first flight wasn't due out until nearly six hours later. He had plenty of time. At exactly 10:52 in the morning, just before boarding was to begin, he was approached by police officer Stanley (the same policeman who ushered him out of the airport the day before), who said that he "wanted to talk" to him. Stuber went with the police officer, but reminded him that no one had said he couldn't fly, and that his flight was about to leave.
Officer Stanley took Stuber into a room and questioned him for an hour. Around noon, Stanley had introduced him to two Secret Service agents. The agents took full eye-open pictures of Stuber with a digital camera. Then they asked him details about his family, where he lived, who he ever knew, what the Greens are up to, and other questions.
At one point during his interrogation, Stuber asked if they really believed the Greens were equal to al Qaeda. Then they showed him a Justice Department document that actually shows the Greens as likely terrorists ­ just as likely as al Qaeda members. Stuber was released just before 1 PM, so he still had time to catch the later flight.
The agents walked Stuber to the Delta counter and asked that he be given tickets for the flight so that he could make his connections. The airline official promptly printed tickets, which relieved Stuber, who assumed that the Secret Service hadn't stopped him from flying. Wrong! By the time Stuber was about to board, officer Stanley once again ushered him out the door and told him: "Just go to Greensboro, where they don't know you, and be totally quiet about politics, and you can make it to Europe that way."
In Greensboro, after Stuber showed his passport he was told that he could not fly overseas or domestically. Undeterred, he next traveled an hour-and-a-half to Charlotte. In Charlotte, the same thing happened. Then Stuber drove three hours to his home after 43 hours of trying to catch a flight.
Stuber said he could only conclude that the Greens, whose values include nonviolence, social justice, etc., are now labeled terrorists by the Ashcroft-led Justice Department.
Questions about how one gets on a no-fly list creates questions about how to get off it. This is a classic Catch-22 situation. The Transportation Security Agency says it compiles the list from names provided by other agencies, but it has no procedure for correcting a problem. Aggrieved parties would have to go to the agency that first reported their names. But for security reasons, the TSA won't disclose which agency put someone on the no-fly list.
Frederick Sweet is Professor of Reproductive Biology in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

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9) Request of Prays for Victims of Communism

Ref.: (gdu) MemorialCubano:EnCastellano cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=MemorialCubano:EnCastellano> / MemorialCubano:EmPortugues cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=MemorialCubano:EmPortugues> / MemorialeCubano:InItaliano cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=MemorialeCubano:InItaliano>

Cuban Memorial: Request of Masses, Religious Services and pray for the Victims of Communism

Your support is urgently needed. Strictly of a spiritual nature, this type of assistance is at everyone's reach and it's the most valuable before the eyes of God.

Dear Friends:

* We need your invaluable help to rescue from oblivion more than 10,000 Cubans who died as victims of the communist regime and whose deaths have been thoroughly documented. Your assistance is strictly spiritual in nature, at everyone's reach and, without a doubt, most valuable before the eyes of God.

* Next February 20-23 at Tamiami Park in Miami, Florida, in the United States, volunteers from different countries will organize the Cuban Memorial, which consists of more than 10,000 white crosses, each inscribed with the name of a victim of the Cuban communist regime. Exiled families of those assassinated who were unable to say their last good-bye to their loved ones and prohibited from visiting their gravesites, will be able to do so now.

* A gigantic wooden cross painted in white, measuring 14 x 17 feet will be placed in the center of this area to symbolically remember all those victims of the Cuban Communist regime with no verifiable information available of their deaths. This cross will be named: The Cross of "the Unknown Decedent".

* How can you become a part of this prayer crusade and pay spiritual homage? Simply by requesting a mass or religious service or by organizing, with your family or colleagues at work, a moment of joint prayer. We ask that these masses or religious services are set aside for Sunday, February 22. Thus, all around the world on that day, prayers will be said for the eternal rest of these souls. Please request them on behalf of the "victims of the Cuban genocide under the communist regime of Fidel Castro."

* Many of these victims were young men who were sent before firing squads proclaiming "Hail Christ the King!"

* We would be honored if you could confirm, as soon as possible, your valuable support and click on:

WeConfirmMass/ReligiousService cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=WeConfirmMass/ReligiousService> and/or WeConfirmPrayer cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=WeConfirmPrayer> including place, date and any other additional details.

* May Divine Providence and the Patron of Cuba, the Virgin of Charity, reward you a hundredfold.

Faithfully yours,

Renato Gómez / General Coordinator / tel. (1-786) 621-7505 Miami FL

Cuban Memorial Organizing Committee www memorialcubano org

Post Scriptum:

Please, also include in your prayers those men, women, and children who drowned in the Florida Straits in their attempt to obtain freedom. Most of their names are unknown and reliable sources estimate the numbers of Cubans trying to escape and who lost their lives at sea to be in the thousands.

Finally, pray for the all political prisoners agonizing in Cuban jails, such as the physician Dr. Oscar E. Biscet, the economist Martha Beatriz Roque and thousands others detained for advocating justice and freedom. The present reality in the island of Cuba, after six years of Pope John Paul II's historic trip (January 21-25, 1998), contradicts the pontiff's desire that Cuba open up to the world.

PRIMARY LINKS:

WeConfirmMass/ReligiousService cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=CubanMemorial:WeConfirmMass/ReligiousService> and/or WeConfirmPrayers cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=CubanMemorial:ConfirmPrayers> (include your name, place, date and other details)

CubanMemorial:MySupport cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=CubanMemorial:MySupport> (state how you are able to assist us in disseminating this spiritual and humanitarian project: sending the news to all your friends via email, journalists, placing it in a public bulletin board, or any other helpful suggestions.)

MyOpinion cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=CubanMemorial:MyOpinion>

OTHER LINKS:

LinkToCubanMemorial cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=IWishToReceiveLinkToCubanMemorial> (to receive the link to the Cuban Memorial website, with the names of all the victims)

MoreInfoOnPoliticalPrisoners cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=CubanMemorial:IWishToReceiveInfoOnPoliticalPrisoners>

NextMessages:OnlyInEnglish cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=NextMessages:OnlyInEnglish> / ProximosMensajes:SoloEnCastellano cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=ProximosMensajes:SoloEnCastellano> / ProximasMensagens:SoEmPortugues cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=ProximasMensagens:SoEmPortugues>

Rem/Unsubscr cubanmemorial (at) yahoo.es?subject=MemorialCubano:Rem/Unsubscr> (if you use redirectors, or have more than one e-mail, please, check the Properties of this message in order to verify to which e-mail, exactly, we have written; copy&paste&send it to us; we honor all Rem/Uns requests in less than 48 hs.).

The dissemination of this e-mail is the exclusive responsibility of the humanitarian agency Rights Without Borders / Derechos Sin Fronteras / Reconquista 375 - Buenos Aires - Argentina / Sergio González, Secretario


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10) Canadian Unions and Cultual Groups Vow To Make Foreign Ownership Election Issue

www.decima.ca/
Unions and cultural groups vow to make foreign ownership election issue



Canada¹s telecom unions are joining with cultural groups to battle the liberalization of foreign investment restrictions in the communications sector. To persuade the politicians, the largest union commissioned a public opinion poll that found Canadians are opposed to changes to the current regime. The results were released as 10 organizations gathered on Parliament Hill on January 15 to plan strategy for their campaign.

"We are calling on the prime minister to take the issue of foreign ownership out of Rlimboland¹ and confirm to Canadians that there will be no selloff," Peter Murdoch, media VP of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) told a news conference.

The survey, done by Vector Research last month on behalf of the CEP, discovered that 68% of the population opposed letting foreign companies own more of Canada¹s telcos. Only 25% favoured the move, with another 3% saying "it depends". Results for changing the broadcasting restrictions were similar. The opposition remained constant even when the respondents were broken down by sex and age. Vector interviewed 2,002 people in December. The poll is considered accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.


Voting intentions

"In the federal election expected in the new year for the federal Parliament, suppose Candidate A supports allowing foreign corporations to own more of Canada¹s broadcasting and telephone industries and Candidate B opposes allowing foreign corporations to own more of Canada¹s broadcasting and telephone companies. Which candidate are you more likely to vote for?"


Candidate
Supports Candidate
Opposes Makes
no difference

Total population 23% 57% 5%
Men 28% 55% 5%
Women 19% 60% 5%
Annual household income
<$15,000 38% 45% 5%
$40-60,000 25% 60% 6%
$100,000+ 20% 58% 10%
Source: Vector Research, December 2003

The results of the survey mirror the findings of several Decima Research Inc. polls done for Decima Publishing Inc. (NL, Jan. 13/03). The union also quoted from polling done on behalf of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Canadian Newspaper Association by Decima Research. The labour groups say their members are aware of the dangers of changing the investment rules.

"Workers know that these proposed changes are a problem to national security," Rod Hiebert, president of the Telecommunications Workers Union offered. "It¹s an attack on sovereignty, it¹s an attack on union service."

Murdoch said the coalition will make foreign ownership an issue in the upcoming federal election. The poll found that those who oppose changes to the rules are likely to vote for candidates who feel the same way (see table).

The public relations campaign will not be without its challenges. Last year, the government received opposite recommendations on the topic from two House of Commons standing committees. The Industry committee advocated widespread changes to the investment regime (NL, May 6/03) while the Canadian Heritage committee dismissed those proposals as "simplistic" (NL, June 16/03). Several members of Parliament who sat on the Industry committee have since been promoted by Prime Minister Paul Martin, either to Cabinet or as Parliamentary secretaries. Having that many proponents of more foreign ownership could prove daunting, as Murdoch freely admitted.

"Our expectation is bleak. We can see what happens when a minister opposes it," he said, alluding to the battle former Heritage minister Sheila Copps is undergoing to retain her seat in Hamilton East. "There¹s a message going out and it¹s not too subtle."

Murdoch said the group had invited MPs from each political party in the House of Commons to attend its session. Only Christiane Gagnon of the Bloc Québécois and New Democrat Wendy Lill showed up. The CEP VP was upset that the Liberals had no representative at the meeting.

It is generally assumed that most of the people seated around the Cabinet table are amenable to loosening the ownership rules. In addition, Telus Communications Inc. and most of the CLECs have been actively lobbying for changes in the rules. Despite the best efforts of the labour and cultural groups, opposition to lifting the restrictions has been muted at best.

Many of the participants were taken aback when they discovered that the telecom investment file had been shifted from Industry Canada to the International Trade portfolio. Union activists quoted from a Network Letter story about the new Cabinet that mentioned the move (NL, Dec. 22/03). It was the first several of the delegates had heard of the change. That shift of jurisdiction signals a change in approach, they felt.

International Trade is preoccupied with negotiations going on under the World Trade Organization (WTO). One of the key components of the WTO is the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Telecom issues have been added to GATS incrementally over the past 18 years.

"They used to say we can¹t do anything because of the deficit," one delegate told NL, referring to the federal government. "Now they¹ll use GATS as an excuse."

Murdoch took heart from the fact that some ILECs expressed reservations about changes to the rules during the Industry committee hearings last year. SaskTel president Don Ching told the MPs the current regime is "fair and reasonable" (NL, Mar. 11/03) while BCE Inc. head honcho Michael Sabia proposed a graduated easing of the rules (NL, Feb. 24/03). SaskTel had a company representative at last week¹s session in Ottawa.

"SaskTel is a firmly Canadian company," Murdoch asserted. "There is absolutely no need for foreign capital in media or tele-communications companies."

Hiebert told NL his union is concerned about loss of head offices and loss of jobs. He also raised the prospect of annual general meetings being held outside the country.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
11) Rob Sanchez's JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

Lou Dobb's Offshoring List

---------------<<<>>>---------------
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
www.ZaZona.com
---------------<<<>>>---------------

Lou Dobbs is finally putting his list of confirmed offshorers online.
www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/popups/exporting.ameri
ca/frameset.exclude.html

This list is updated daily so keep checking back for the latest
version.

You can also find the list this way:

Go to:
www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/

Then scroll down until you see the "Exporting America" logo and you
will see a link to click. This might not work if you block pop-ups.

***********************************************************************
Racist Job Ad for H-1Bs

---------------<<<>>>---------------
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
www.ZaZona.com
---------------<<<>>>---------------

Global Tech & Resources Inc, or dB Professionals, requires that their
H-1Bs must sign an indentured contract requiring them to pay back the
H-1B visa fee if they lose their job. This requirement is technically
illegal since the H-1B regulations specifically state that the employer
must pay the H-1B costs.
dB Professionals will be paying for the H1B costs and
if you decide to leave within twelve months from the
date of joining, then you are expected to pay for the H1B costs ( $1000) with a fifteen days formal written
notice.
Employers are expected to pay for premium processing if they want the
visa approval to be expedited so once again they are in violation of
the regulations.
If you would like to get the H1B on a premium processing then an amount of $1000 for the premium
processing cost has to be born by you.


This statement contains code-words that demonstrates their intention to
discriminate based on national origin.
Refer your friends who are like you in India and get
$250 as a referral bonus immediately when they come
on board or refer some of your friends here in USA and get $500 when they come on board with us.


In India, discrimination based on age, race, sex, caste, or national
origin is legal and widely accepted. Unfortunately these companies
bring their hiring practices here - and our government rarely tries to
force them to comply with our labor laws. Their office may be in
Illinois, but their hiring practices are old-school India.

Go to their website because you will love their music:
www.dbprofessionals.net

dB Professionals claims that they are "ethically-oriented". In the USA
we have a different name for these hiring practices - RACIST!
www.dbprofessionals.net/clients.html
dB Professionals is a value-based, ethically-oriented corporation.
------------------------------------

seeker.dice.com/seeker.epl/
d/0/d0b7d625a8b5ed4df6d6529c38ea9c36@activejobs0&source=2

Short Link:
makeashorterlink.com/

Title: Database Specialist Skills: Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, J2EE
Date: 1-19-2004 Location: Roselle, IL Area code: 630
Tax term: FULLTIME Pay rate: DOE Length: Perm
Position ID: 5 Dice ID: 10107317
Job description: The name of our organization is Global Tech & Resources Inc, but the
database community knows us or refers us as dB Professionals because we
are known as specialized (Certified) solution provider for Databases
and we are committed in creating Database Specialists. Hence we are
doing business as dB Professionals. We are I level partners for Oracle
corporation and Certified Partner for Microsoft Corporation for the
past four years. We have partnered with the nations premier consulting
firms and we are the approved vendors for the State of Wisconsin and
city of Chicago as database solutions provider.
We are currently recruiting highly talented professionals both pro
actively as well as for the requirements which we get from our client
contacts, specialized in 9i, 9i AS, 11i Oracle, SQL Server Databases
and would like to give them the opportunity which is unique because our
associates/consultants get to work with the latest database
technologies and the fortune 100 industry experts.
What we have and what we can do for our consultants/employees?

1. Good Client Contacts and references
2. Excellent Training methodology to keep you updated on the niche
market needs.
3. Four Divisions where you can work with: Contracting, Remote Support,
Consulting, and Training, so there is no concept of Bench
4. Clean Immigration and IRS history.
5. Well known in Chicago, vicinity as a very straight forward and
highly specialized organization, which is coming along with our
branding given to us. For example we have implemented 6 node RAC
servers on a Linux environment which made us to get outstanding
consulting requirements from Oracle Corporation.
6. Open culture and a flat organization with a very professional
approach (no need to sign any bond).
7. We apply Green Card in RIR category for those who want to process
with us; we have been in the business since 1996. 8. We Insure our consultants when they are on a client site (to cover
any unforeseen losses and damages caused by our consultants) and
provide technical help to our consultants on a 24/7 basis via web,
Phone and physical presence.
9. We provide a revenue sharing model where you can earn between 70 and
75% of the revenue, you generate for us. In addition to that we also
help you to get enrolled in our complete medical and dental health
insurance under our group health plan, which is a subsidized one.
10. We do provide Pre Tax Benefits, IRA (401K plan) and attractive
bonuses for people who contribute the growth of the organization.
Hence we strive to provide stability and growth - income and career;
maintain a clean immigration status, freedom, flexibility and an
uncompromised career opportunity which we have kept as our primary
focus.
Please visit our web sites for more information about us
(www.gistcenter.com and www.dbprofessionals.net).

In addition we also provide training in Oracle 11i (technical/admin),
9iAS, RAC, Dataguard, PeopleSoft 8 (technical/admin), SQL Server 2000,
Linux, Windows, Collaboration Suite etc at our authorized training
center. We also provide online training from the oracle corporation and
engage the individuals in conferences, seminars and workshops for their
career growth. We encourage them to publish white papers in order to
create a place for themselves in the database community. We expose our
people to the business arena and allow us to participate in the
Business Development activities with which our consultants are able to
generate an in valuable space in the industry for themselves and dB
Professionals.
We have at present around 300 members in our data base community in the
Chicago metro area and conducted 15 seminars for the year 2003.
Coming to the remuneration we are matching with the high industry
standards and it will be on a complete revenue sharing basis where
there are multiple ways of generating revenue.

What we expect from our consultants:
1. Positive attitude with a good team player and a fast learner,
exhibiting professionalism at all levels.
2. Must be a certified (OCA, OCP, SCJP, MCDBA) professional and self
motivating, in order to continuously be updated on the new technologies
by actively participating in the training programmes provided by dB
Professionals.
3. Willing to relocate nation wide at least for the first two levels of
growth in the organization.
4. Ability to provide help on an on call basis to our clients and our
consultants when they are in need.
5. Committed to make a career in databases.

dB Professionals will be paying for the H1B costs and if you decide to
leave within twelve months from the date of joining, then you are
expected to pay for the H1B costs ( $1000) with a fifteen days formal
written notice. If you would like to get the H1B on a premium
processing then an amount of $1000 for the premium processing cost has
to be born by you.


So if this opportunity interests you and you are interested in building
a career in databases, kindly contact me with the data sheets filled
and with your detailed resume at your earliest convenience to explore
this opportunity further.

Else
Refer your friends who are like you in India and get $250 as a referral
bonus immediately when they come on board or refer some of your friends
here in USA and get $500 when they come on board with us.

Expecting your reply at the earliest,


Travel required: 50% Telecommute: no
Web: www.dbprofessionals.net
******************************************************************************
Do Iowans Know What They Are Choosing?

---------------<<<>>>---------------
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
www.ZaZona.com
---------------<<<>>>---------------

The Iowa Democratic caucus is taking place on January 19th. The two
most likely to win are avid supporters of the H-1B visa program -
Howard Dean and Wesley Clark.
Howard Dean's position on H-1B sounds like something Harris Miller
would write. He repeats a few platitudes that H-1B regulations should
be enforced and says that companies should not replace American
workers. Dean goes on to say that companies should be allowed to hire
as many H-1Bs as they "legitimately need". I would like to ask Howard
Dean if he has ever talked to a company that said they didn't
legitimately need the H-1Bs they hired.

Wesley Clark's H-1B advocacy was praised on the "Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders for Wesley Clark" website. Asians are ecstatic about
Clark because most H-1B visas are from India and China. Clark throws a
bone to Arabs and Muslims also by criticizing Bush for holding up H-1Bs
from Arab and Muslim countries. Delaying visa approvals for security
reasons is one of the few things Bush has done right and yet
universities and corporations continue to whine that the economy of the
U.S. will collapse unless fewer security checks are done on potential
terrorists. Clark is pandering to these special interests when he says
that national security concerns shouldn't get in the way of employers
who consider H-1Bs to be "a critical source of labor". It's rather odd
to hear a former General pooh-poohing national security concerns, but
that's exactly what he does.

Conclusion: If these Democrats are the only alternative to Bush,
American labor is in BIG TROUBLE!

------------------------------------
www.deanforamerica.com/site/cg/index.html
=policy_policy_foreign_issue_visas

It shouldnt be easier to hire a foreign worker than a US worker. A
company should not be allowed to lay off an American worker and rehire
a foreign worker at a lower wage. And law abiding companies that play
by the rules should not suffer a competitive disadvantage. We need
visa programs that protect US workers and we need programs that cannot
be exploited. To ensure this happens, we need to fully fund business
immigration enforcement so that companies that abuse these programs are
punished. This will curb abuses, but still allow US companies to
obtain the foreign workers that they legitimately need and ensure that
foreign companies will still want to locate in the US. In the longer
term, we need to use the funds generated by the visa programs to
educate and train US workers so that they can acquire the skills that
they lack to fill the positions legally held by foreign workers.

------------------------------------

www.aapi4clark.com/pages/issue-immigration.htm

Given the clear enforcement focus of the Homeland Security Department,
the shift of the INS into this newly-formed department is especially
troubling for AAPIs since two-thirds of the APA population are
immigrants.

What steps would you take to ensure fairness in the processing of APA
immigrants?

In contrast to the Bush administration, I am firmly committed to
ensuring fairness and evenhandedness in the administration and
enforcement of our immigration laws. I realize that this issue has
particular resonance in the AAPI community because of our nations
shameful history of discriminatory "exclusion" laws in immigration and
naturalization. We must never forget that throughout history,
immigrants have been America's lifeblood, and that with the exception
of the Native Americans among us, we are all immigrants.

With the recent transfer of INS functions to the Department of Homeland
Security, and the division of these functions into separate bureaus
with DHS, there has been enormous confusion and bureaucratic delay as
the government tries to make all of the pieces fit together. The Bush
administration has exacerbated this problem through its ham-fisted
policy of targeting immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries for added
scrutiny and registration. I am heartened by the fact that the
administration has recently announced that it is finally retreating
from this unfair and excessive targeting of Arab and Muslim men. As
President, I will make sure that the processing of all immigrants,
including APA immigrants, is conducted fairly and efficiently. I firmly
believe that it is possible to ensure fairness and avoid discrimination
while safeguarding our nations security.

For all of the recent emphasis on national security and restricting
immigration, we must never lose sight of the fat that immigrants
contribute mightily to Americas economic development by providing a
critical source of labor. A carefully calibrated H-1 visa program
allows our nation to continue to benefit from the skills of the global
community. Indeed, an enlightened immigration policy is essential as
our nation continues to undergo a demographic shift to an older
population, since it allows us to alleviate the labor shortages and
related pension problems that are starting to plague other OECD
countries. Immigration, and the ability to harness the talents of a
connected world, is crucial to our economic, cultural and political
progress.

********************************************************************
Sears CEO Alan Lacy sings praises of offshoring

---------------<<<>>>---------------
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
www.ZaZona.com
---------------<<<>>>---------------

CEOs often belittle American workers when they try to justify
outsourcing their workforce overseas; but when pushed they usually
admit that cheap labor is their primary motivation. Sears CEO Alan Lacy
didn't say much about cheap labor but he sure put in some parting shots
to the Sears IT workers that will soon be fired:
if you think about personal intelligence and drive being
randomly distributed by population -- you know, there are
four or five times as many smart, driven people in China than there are in the U.S. And there's another four or
five, three or four times as many people in India that
are smarter or as smart or have more drive. And if
technology is now going to basically reduce location as a
barrier to competition, then essentially you've got
something like whatever that was, seven or nine times,
more smart, committed people that are now competing in this marketplace against certain activities.

Lacy thinks that intelligence is just another commodity to be traded on
the world market. If that is true, then surely Sears can find a smarter
CEO in China or India!

"So we're going to see, I think, this huge incentive to shift
some of these more commodity-like, knowledge worker jobs
offshore."

------------------------------------

www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/story/0,10801,
89161,00.html

Sears CEO Alan Lacy sings praises of offshore outsourcing

By CAROL SLIWA JANUARY 16, 2004

NEW YORK -- Alan Lacy, CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Co., this week
talked about offshore outsourcing and expressed keen interest in the
"non-U.S. opportunity" available for outsourcing some IT functions
during a general session on retail trends at the National Retail
Federation's annual conference here. Early in the week, Lacy said he couldn't predict what changes Sears
might make. "We're going to always look to see whether we can deliver a
service cheaper by outsourcing vs. doing it ourselves," he said. But
during a general session sponsored by BearingPoint Inc. Wednesday, Lacy
expounded on his views on outsourcing:
"I think that we're still in the early days of this, and we had some
outsourcing capabilities or functions that could be outsourced for
quite a while," he said. "But I do think that we're early in the cusp
of any celebration on this.
"I think that lots of companies are going to focus on cost structure,
and I think, just particularly from an IT standpoint, every year we
always have more IT projects than we can rationally afford to invest
behind. And it's often the case that ... administrative functions fall
to the bottom end of that prioritization scheme that you want to
develop behind sales growth or margin expansion or customer data or
what have you. And the administrative stuff kind of falls to the end.
"And I think that the fact that we now have potentially the ability to
outsource to people who this is their business, they're going to have
an incentive -- because it is their business to keep more
state-of-the-art in terms of the quality of the financial systems, the
HR systems and so on. I think that to some degree, just the nature of
IT spending is that we have scarce resources in IT. Resources being
scarce is going to lead to, I think, acceleration of outsourcing for
some of the more administrative-like functions.
"But I think, beyond that, to me, a very interesting trend right now is
the whole non-U.S. opportunity that's available, and ... if you think
about personal intelligence and drive being randomly distributed by
population -- you know, there are four or five times as many smart,
driven people in China than there are in the U.S. And there's another
four or five, three or four times as many people in India that are
smarter or as smart or have more drive. And if technology is now going
to basically reduce location as a barrier to competition, then
essentially you've got something like whatever that was, seven or nine
times, more smart, committed people that are now competing in this
marketplace against certain activities.
"So, I think that the outsourcing potential -- particularly of some of
the more commodity-like knowledge worker activities -- we're just
beginning to see the first of that curve. I think that, just given the
nature of technology and given the nature of those workforces, and
given the fact that we've had a decrease in the supply, prices are
going to fall.
"So we're going to see, I think, this huge incentive to shift some of
these more commodity-like, knowledge worker jobs offshore."
See more coverage of this issue in our Outsourcing Center.
------------------------------------

www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/story/0,10801,
89158,00.html?from=imutopstory

Sears plans to outsource part of IT infrastructure


By CAROL SLIWA JANUARY 16, 2004
NEW YORK -- Sears, Roebuck and Co. in March plans to strike a deal
to outsource a substantial portion of the technical infrastructure that
its IT department currently maintains. The outsourcing decision is one of several key IT deals that the
retailer plans to finalize early this year to help reduce costs,
improve margins and drive up sales, CIO Gary Kelly disclosed at the
National Retail Federation conference here earlier this week.
Outsourcing a significant portion of the technical infrastructure - a
decision that Kelly acknowledged is "huge" - will have an impact not
only on technology but also on the Sears IT personnel who support it.
Kelly said about 270 of the company's 1,160 IT staffers currently
manage the systems that the company plans to outsource.
"We don't know how many of them will remain with Sears, how many will
work with the new company. That's yet to be determined," he said.
"Usually, the company that acquires the contract to own and operate the
infrastructure hires some portion of the people that do the work for
the customer."
That's what happened at Target Corp., for instance, when it signed a
major outsourcing deal with IBM Global Services five years ago.
Kelly, who has been CIO at Sears since October 2002, said the company
spent much of the past year assessing its IT infrastructure and saw two
options to address the weaknesses it found: "remediate it internally or
have it outsourced." Sears chose the latter for its desktops, server
farms, routers, voice and data network, decision-support technology and
systems that support Sears.com, he said.
"There's no competitive advantage to having a better e-mail system and
a different type of voice or data network," Kelly said. "It's
fundamentally a commodity that can be provided better as a service."
However, Sears won't outsource its in-store retail systems or the
wireless application and other technologies that support its
product-repair service business. Kelly said the company wants to invest
more time in creating systems that will differentiate Sears from its
competitors.
Kelly said Sears is evaluating service providers for the outsourcing
contract and plans to make its decision by early March. The five being
considered are IBM Global Services, Hewlett-Packard Co., Electronic
Data Systems Corp., Computer Sciences Corp. and Affiliated Computer
Services Inc.
Sears will continue to have project managers, architects, developers,
business analysts and testers to support applications, operations and
systems, Kelly said. It will also provide direction on the technologies
being outsourced.
A survey conducted by the NRF Foundation and BearingPoint Inc., which
was released at the NRF conference, found that 26% of the 57 retail
executives polled plan to make outsourcing/offshoring a strategic
initiative this year. The top three functional areas they said they
would outsource are application development, integration projects and
application hosting. Most said they would do so to cut costs and to
increase the focus on core competencies, efficiency and performance.
"In many cases, in data center and IT operations, the infrastructure
itself has to be significantly upgraded before it can be outsourced and
turned over," said Scott Hardy, a vice president in BearingPoint's
retail division. He said CIOs assess what they're good at and then
typically adopt a hybrid model, choosing to keep some functions
in-house, some offshore and others "nearshore" in North America.
Sears is keeping control over its in-store systems because it plans to
have a "new generation of selling applications" that give customers a
standard way to make purchases, regardless of channel, Kelly said.
Kelly said that within 30 days, Sears will select a point-of-sale
application and an operating system that will run on the 35,000-plus
IBM hardware devices it started rolling out last year. Sears is also
taking bids from third parties to help with integration.
Sears' DOS-based POS systems, which were built to its specifications,
will be replaced by a POS application running on either Windows XP
Embedded or Linux, said Kelly. "The issue is going to turn on total
cost of ownership," he said.
In addition to beefing up its enterprise selling systems, Sears will
undertake a third major initiative that will focus on a new integrated
tool for merchandise, assortment and demand planning. Sears plans to
choose the vendor within 30 days, Kelly said.
None of Sears' upcoming IT initiatives involve its affiliate Lands' End
Inc., which continues to have its own IT operations. But Sears plans to
retool its systems so that Lands' End customers will be able to return
merchandise at Sears stores, Kelly said. He said he's not certain about
the completion date for that project.
====================================

Support this Newsletter and ZaZona.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

To Subscribe send an email to
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
12) DNC- The most powerful stories in America: yours


The Most Powerful Stories in America: Yours

Fellow Activist,

On January 20, President Bush delivers his State of the Union address -- the last one he'll ever give. But his speech won't tell us the real state of the union. For three years, the Bush administration has offered nothing but false promises and outright deception at every turn, and we can expect more of the same as Bush runs for reelection.


The real state of the union

The real state of the union is told in the stories of students and teachers. The stories come from veterans and active military, doctors and nurses, IT professionals and factory workers. They are told by small businesses owners and employees of the nation's biggest companies. They come from cities, suburbs, and rural areas, from the old and the young, and from every state in the nation.

Last week, we asked you to tell us the real state of the union, and you sent in more than 10,000 responses. The pictures you painted were powerful: tragic, funny, inspirational, and heartbreaking.

Those who sent us their stories have seen the costs of healthcare skyrocket and their incomes plummet. They've lost jobs and can't find new ones. They've seen tuition go up every year and the devastating effects of the No Child Left Behind Act in schools.

They've seen their property and local taxes rise way above the pennies they received under Bush's tax plan -- while the wealthiest sliver of Americans reaped the real rewards.


Your stories

These stories are moving because any of them could be your story.

Choose your state -- or any state -- below (or click here to choose ) to read a sample of the stories we received from ordinary Americans and learn what real state our union is in.

www.democrats.org/specialreports/2004sotu/index.html


Tell Your Friends!

Click here to tell your friends about our collection of powerful stories that tells the real state of the union.

www.democrats.org/tellafriend/2004sotu.html


Quote of the Week

"Bush's generous tax cuts have put an extra four dollars into my twice-monthly pay check. Meanwhile our local property taxes have increased by about $1000 this year. Our son's college tuition was raised by about 9%. My husband and I receive health care through our employer, who raised our contribution 400% this past year. My daughter who just graduated college last spring can not find a job that pays more than $7.50 and hour. She has no health insurance, and since she can only find low paying jobs without benefits, she is unable for now to repay her college loans, so we are making those payments for her. Thank you George Bush for your tender concern for the middle class."

A real American story from Durham, NH


------------------------------------------------------------------------
13) Vote for the WBAI Justice & Unity Slate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

>
> 1. Why We Urge You to Vote for the WBAI Justice & Unity Slate
> 2. Justice & Unity Candidates
> 3. Advice on Ballot Marking
> 4. Background on WBAI Elections and Why Competing Slates Could
> Reverse the Gains of Anti-Racist Activist Radio
> 5. Highlights of Justice & Unity Platform
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
> WHY WE URGE YOU TO VOTE FOR THE WBAI JUSTICE & UNITY SLATE
>
> To all progressive activists and friends:
>
> There is a high-stakes election going on now at WBAI radio (99.5 FM)
> that will determine the future direction of the station, and indeed
> of the entire 5-station Pacifica network. That's why we're asking
> those of you with voting rights to vote for the WBAI JUSTICE AND
> UNITY CAMPAIGN slate.
>
> VOTING RIGHTS
>
> For those of you who are enrolled members, you should have received a
> mail ballot by now. Your completed ballot must be RECEIVED by
> February 5. (If you didn't get a ballot, and you have evidence that
> you EITHER contributed at least $25 or volunteered at least three
> hours between Nov. 21, 2002 and Nov. 21, 2003, you can apply by mail
> for a late ballot no later than (postmarked) Jan. 20, 2004. Or, you
> can provide documentation via email. For details, go to
> www.wbai.org)
>
> If you don't qualify for this election, another one will be held in
> 9 months -- plus the station badly needs the money -- so please go to
> that same website and become a member via credit card or call
> 212-209-2800. Or you can pledge during the upcoming Winter Membership
> Drive, from Jan. 19 to Feb. 6. Tune in!
>
> WHO WE ARE
>
> We are the WBAI Justice & Unity Campaign, a broad coalition of
> progressive radio workers and community activists running a slate of
> candidates for the Local Station Board, which will consist of 18
> listeners and 6 staff members running in two parallel elections.
> Under new Pacifica bylaws, this board will have considerable power
> over station management, budgets and policies. We are fielding a
> truly diverse and experienced slate of 22 candidates in the election
> that we think represents the best of what WBAI is and can be. All are
> experienced progressive organizers, ranging from age 22 to 70, who
> bring a variety of important skills to the table. (Complete list
> later in this email; see also www.justiceunity.org .)
>
> Each voter can rank as many candidates as they want - it's a
> proportional representation election in contrast to standard US-style
> winner-take-all elections. We urge you to vote for the 16 listener
> candidates on our slate in whatever rank order you prefer. (For more
> detailed advice on ballot marking, see below.) Note that only staff
> members may vote for staff candidates - we include them here for
> reference, as we are a joint slate.
>
> WHAT WE STAND FOR / ENDORSERS / OTHER SLATES
>
> We have a detailed platform (outlined later in this email),
> highlights of which are:
>
> * We take the strongest position of any slate on the question of
> affirmative action in decision-making at Pacifica for communities
> that are disenfranchised based on race, nationality, gender, sexual
> orientation and/or disability.
>
> * We share a vision of WBAI as a tri-state multimedia organizing hub.
> We support activist radio as a necessity in these dire times.
>
> * The listeners and producers on our slate have developed clear
> positions on improving and broadening programming, securing the
> station's precarious financial future, protecting station workers'
> rights, and insuring transparency and accountability at all levels.
>
> Our slate has been endorsed by, among others, ACT UP/NY (the AIDS
> Coalition to Unleash Power), Amnesty International - Chapter 359
> (Rockland County), Anti-Racist Alliance (NY metro area social service
> professionals), Black Radical Congress - United New York Cha