I offer more wage suppression, with employers gouging more unions and driving down wages in this country.
For more than two months, 3,600 United Auto Workers (UAW) members have walked picket lines in Detroit, Three Rivers, Mich., and upstate New York. The strike at American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), a major supplier of truck and sport-utility axles for General Motors (GM), is shaping up as a line-in-the-sand campaign for the embattled union.
The strike began Feb. 26, when AAM demanded steep wage concessions, from $27 per hour to $14 per hour. In order to stay in business, AAM says, it must secure "competitive" labor costs. "AAM is simply asking for the same changes the UAW has already agreed to with our U.S. competitors," reads the company website, referring to recent UAW deals with companies like Delphi — GM’s bankrupt auto-parts division — which slashed wages and benefits two years ago. AAM has said it may move production to its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant if its demands are not met.
However, Rob Segura, a machinist at AAM’s Detroit plant, points out that the company is in much better financial shape than the rest of the auto industry. The company turned a $37 million profit last year, while its main competitor, the Dana Corporation, only recently emerged from bankruptcy protection.
I offer a transition to a police state to fight against the War on Terror.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant scattered the Hispanics of Postville. About 400 found their way to St. Bridget's Catholic Church, waiting for information. Some filled out G-28 forms that allow a lawyer to represent their detained children or minors in their care.
A woman who would identify herself only as Judy said she and her husband work at Agriprocessors. The last time she saw him was before his shift Monday, about 5:30 a.m.
"No, I don't know where he is," she said in Spanish.
Judy said she and her husband came from Mexico illegally. Like many others at St. Bridget's, they regard the church as a haven from law enforcement.
Asked whether the church would indeed be a safe place, Sister Mary McCauley of St. Bridget's said, "That is our belief and hope."
...
Standing outside the Agriprocessors plant, Adolfo Calderon said he tried to put himself in the shoes of someone here illegally.
He has friends who work at the plant, he said, most of whom are in America legally, but he feared for the families who might be separated.
"They shouldn't do this," Calderon said. "I understand it's a legal (issue) and they're trying to do their job, but what happens to these poor families?"
Adolfo Calderon, 15, said his father manages apartments in the town. With the raid, those apartments could be cleared out and his father could be put out of business.
Hidie Roach, a teller at Citizens State Bank in Postville, said the raid gives the town a bad name.
The town needs the packing plant, Roach said. "I think a lot of people will leave."
At St. Bridget's on Monday night, Real, the lay pastor, fielded calls, answered questions and handed out pamphlets advising immigrants of their rights while trying to keep about 400 people clothed, sheltered and fed.
His wife, holding the phone to her ear, said a caller was offering food. Did they need it?
Real, without looking up from his desk, answered quickly.
"Say yes."
I offer more support for foreign dictators.
Images of the dead keep trickling out of Burma. The most moving are those of children who died when Cyclone Nargis tore through their world in the populous Irrawaddy delta.
Among those e-mailed to IPS is one showing a row of six children, girls in faded dresses, a boy in shorts and an orange shirt, and another in a blue sarong. There is an image of a child, face down, stuck between branches of a bush. And there is another of a man, shock on his face, holding a dead baby in his arms.
Yet the photographer does not want to be named. He knows the risks he faces if he is identified in a country ruled by a military that has no limits to its oppression since coming to power following a 1962 coup. Even the May 3 cyclone, which has reportedly killed over 100,000 people and rendered over a million homeless, has done little to change the junta’s iron grip.
This week, a senior junta official issued another command to extend the blanket of censorship that has been thrown over the devastated terrain. Prime Minister Gen. Thein Shien told a meeting of pro-junta businessmen that ‘’no foreigners’’ and ‘’no cameras’’ would be permitted in the delta, in south-western Burma, according to an informed source.
I offer more corporate control of our media to so that they can combine their resources to bring you better news.
People actually write this stuff:
Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart's 1984 campaign suffered when it was revealed that he had changed his signature several times over the years. "Who is Gary Hart?" his rivals demanded.
That's a new level of stupid.
Our world is a dangerous place, and we should fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here.
Breaking months of calm, seven bombs went off in close succession on Tuesday evening near a Hindu temple and a crowded bazaar inside the walled enclave of the historic pink city of Jaipur, about 160 miles from here. Authorities described it as a terror attack that killed at least 45 people and injured 100.
The police said that the bombs all went off within a radius of 50 feet and that they may have been planted in the wheels of bicycles, the mangled remains of which were found near many of the blast sites.
One blast was set off near the temple, dedicated to the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman, which is especially crowded on Tuesday evenings, and six more went off within minutes of each other in the crowded warrens of shops and monuments nearby, including the popular 18th-century tourist site, Hawa Mahal, and the Johri Bazaar, lined with jewelers. Panic set in immediately, officials said.
We cannot take care of Mexican or Latin American families; we must take care of American families!
Economic woes and hostility against immigrants in the United States are having a financial impact thousands of miles away, in the communities to which migrant workers send their hard-earned savings.
In particular, fewer Latin American immigrants are sending money to their homelands on a regular basis, the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) has found.
Migrants polled by the Washington-based institution blamed the drop in remittances on the U.S. economic slowdown and hostility against immigrants, which often resurges during an election year and this time also is being fanned by an ailing economy described by growing numbers of economists as in recession.
Only half of Latin American adults living in the United States continue to send money on a regular basis to their families in their countries of origin, the MIF found, down from 73 percent when it last polled migrant workers in 2006.
I have the pleasure of maintaining an excellent relationship with the media.
During a Washington Post online discussion today, a questioner wondered why Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is running close to Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in polling despite "discontent" with the direction of the country and President Bush "at an all time high." Post reporter Dan Balz cited McCain’s "maverick identity," and — echoing one of his colleague’s sentiments — added that press scrutiny of McCain will come in time:
It’s been said repeatedly that McCain may be the only Republican who could win the White House, given the public’s disaffection with the president and the GOP. Both he and the Democratic nominee will get renewed scrutiny once the general election really begins.
NBC’s Tim Russert has also acknowledged that McCain has avoided press scrutiny because of a "grace period" the media have given him. As Atrios patiently noted, we’re "still waiting."
We reject any conversion to organic foods, as it is nothing more than a Communist plot.
The application of agroecological techniques and the salvaging of traditional farming methods have revolutionised food production in rural areas along the southern edge of the Cuban capital.
Cuba is currently facing the urgent challenge of boosting agricultural productivity because of the rise in global food prices.
A number of farms in the outlying Havana district of Batabanó that are taking part in the Programme for Local Agrarian Innovation (PIAL) have seen improvements in their harvests and livestock.
The key seems to lie in efforts to capitalise on natural conditions in the area and in the openness to innovative ideas, particularly with regard to crop diversification.
"We used to have big problems with animal feed," 39-year-old Jorge Bársena told IPS. "But today we don't need to buy hay, and we supply our own meat and eggs," said the farmer, who owns the La Otmara farm and is president of the 9 de Abril small farmers cooperative.
I am firm. I am immovable. Once I have set on a course, nothing will convince me to change my mind. And I will stay the course for our country with my good friend John Hagee, who I am proud to have as a mentor.
Since February, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) accepted the long-sought endorsement of controversial Pastor John Hagee, the two have come under criticism for Hagee’s past descriptions of Catholicism as "‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system.’" On multiple occasions, McCain has distanced himself from Hagee’s anti-Catholic comments while still maintaining that he is "glad" to have his endorsement.
I am a maverick. I do not believe in political dynasties, either Ted Kennedy's or Bill Clinton's.
On an August day in 1993, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Ted Kennedy cemented a political alliance with Bill and Hillary Clinton that would last for nearly 15 years, through Kennedy's own near-defeat, the Republican revolution and President Clinton's impeachment.
As recounted in Adam Clymer's 1999 biography of Kennedy, the three - along with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her companion, Maurice Tempelsman - went sailing at a moment when it looked like the Clintons were on the verge of winning a national health-insurance bill, Kennedy's longstanding dream. Clymer describes Kennedy as "almost boyishly eager to be with the Clintons" that day.
Now it's over. It began with Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama earlier this year. But these things happen in politics. The game is played, the winner and loser are declared, and frayed relationships are renewed, even if they're never quite the same. (Note: I am not related to Ted Kennedy.)
Thus it was of far more significance when Kennedy decided last week to throw Hillary Clinton over the side of the yacht once and for all. In an interview with Al Hunt of Bloomberg Television, Kennedy said Obama should not pick her as his running mate because Obama needs someone who "is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people." Kennedy added: "If we had real leadership - as we do with Barack Obama - in the number two spot as well, it'd be enormously helpful."
I am an American. I am a war hero and I fought for our country. I will never let India or China ever dictate our policies or how Americans should live their lives.
Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy — and go on a diet.
That has been the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics here, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India’s rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation.
The global food problem has clearly been created by Americans, who take in far more calories than the typical person in India, said Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the center for international trade, economics and the environment of CUTS International, an independent research institute center based here.
Mr. Mehta said that if Americans slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, "many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates." He added, archly, that the money spent in the United States on liposuction to get rid of fat from excess consumption could be funneled to feed famine victims.
I reject those forces of doom and gloom. I will lead America to grand new heights and create a new American century where American military power is unrivaled.
Already climate change--in the form of a changing pattern of global rainfall--seems to be affecting the planet in significant ways. Take the massive, almost decade-long drought in Australia's wheat-growing heartland, which has been a significant factor in sending flour prices, and so bread prices, soaring globally, leading to desperation and food riots across the planet.
A report from the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia makes clear that, despite recent heavy rains in the eastern Australian breadbasket, years of above normal rainfall would be needed "to remove the very long-term [water] deficits" in the region. The report then adds this ominous note: "The combination of record heat and widespread drought during the past five to 10 years over large parts of southern and eastern Australia is without historical precedent and is, at least partly, a result of climate change."
Think a bit about that phrase -- "without historical precedent." Except when it comes to technological invention, it hasn't been much part of our lives these last many centuries. Without historical precedent. Brace yourselves, it's about to become a commonplace in our vocabulary. The southeastern United States, for instance, was, for the last couple of years, locked in a drought -- which is finally easing -- "without historical precedent." In other words, there was nothing (repeat, nothing) in the historical record that provided a guide to what might happen next.
We will protect our elections by making sure you are who you say you are. We will not have dead voters, political machines, and illegal immigrants determining our elections.
The New York Times reports today about the efforts in Missouri to change the Missouri Constitution--immediately!--to allow the state to pass laws making it much harder for people to vote.
These are the offending sections of the Missouri Constitution:
* "all persons . . . are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law," Mo. Const. art. I, sec. 2 * "all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage." Mo. Const. art. I, sec. 25. * "All citizens of the United States . . . over the age of eighteen who are residents of this state [**23] and of the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people, if . . . they are registered within the time prescribed by law" Missouri. Mo. Const. art. VIII, sec. 2
It was on the basis of these provisions of the Constitution that the Missouri Supreme Court concluded in 2006 that the right to vote in Missouri was fundamental, and the difficult and confusing bureaucratic barriers of a proof-of-citizenship requirement to voting could not be erected without them being narrowly tailored to meet a compelling state interest. The MO Supreme Court struck down the proof-of-citizenship law, but its supporters are back, determined to use Constitutional amendment processes to intimidate voters.
Our power must be unrivaled. Our power must be unmatched. We will do whatever it takes to bring about the New American Century and bring about an era of permanent American dominance.
The United Nations says that of the estimated 250,000 child soldiers worldwide, a sizeable proportion is in South and Southeast Asia.
What are the primary causes of forced military conscription in Asia? Is it driven by ideology or by poverty? Or both?
"Whilst both ideology and poverty play a role in different proportions, there is also a third dimension to this problem," says Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, executive director of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, one of Sri Lanka's biggest charitable organisations which subscribes to the principles of self-help, non-violence and peace in a strife-torn country.
In ideological terms, Ariyaratne points out, militant groups can exercise control not only over a whole generation of children, but also of another generation, namely parents who invariably become subservient to these groups for want of protection of their children.
In an interview with IPS U.N. Bureau Chief Thalif Deen, he said that conscription of children can be considered as an example that represents power dynamics between adults and children, and also an imbalance of power between them.
I make no apologies for who I am or who I will be. I supported George Bush right or wrong on Iraq, and I would do it all over again.
Last night, Iraq war architect Douglas Feith appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his war apologia, War and Decision. When Stewart said that many Americans feel the Bush administration misled them into war, Feith replied, "Errors are not lies. I think a lot of what the Administration said was correct."
Feith insisted that the entire administration conducted a "serious consideration of the very great risks of war." When Stewart reminded Feith that those risks were never presented to the public, Feith said he was wrong, and that people who felt that way simply "misremembered" the run-up to war:
STEWART: If you knew the perils, but the conversation that you had with the public painted a rosier picture, how is that not deception? The fact that you seemed to know all the risks takes this from manslaughter to homicide. [...]
FEITH: When people read this book, I think people will be surprised to be reminded of what was actually said. I think a lot of people’s perceptions of what was said are filtered through the recent history. ... I think they misremember a lot.