The Egyptians have opened their border with Gaza—with restrictions

NO SOONER had Egypt lowered the drawbridge at Rafah, letting the people of the Gaza Strip cross into Egypt and from there to the rest of the world, than its ruling military council began winding it up again. On May 31st Egypt’s transitional government imposed a quota of no more than 400 passengers a day, insisted that they register the day before they cross, and declared that it was reinstating a blacklist of 5,000 Gazans who would not, for security reasons, be allowed to come over. This cut the flow to little more than when Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted as president in February, co-operated with Israel to keep Gaza under siege.

http://www.economist.com/node/18775969?story_id=18775969&CFID=165340040&CFTOKEN=20074200

Inciting a revolution in Kuwait

"Bassem, a ten-year-old Egyptian child residing with his parents in Kuwait, was expelled from school for asking his teacher “Why didn’t you have a revolution in your country?”

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/inciting-revolution-in-kuwait.html

CeeNoNews

Monday, June 06, 2011
CNN
I mean, would any serious person watch CNN? With Rima Maktabi covering the Middle East, and Demi Moore doing special reports, and Fareed Zakaria is the local "thinker", and Anderson Cooper is the lead anchor. I would learn more from watching the Potato Channel.
Posted by As'ad AbuKhalil at 9:02 AM
Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz
Labels: English

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/06/cnn.html

Deep Ideology and Conspiracy, Michael Parenti

Follow this link to audio of speech. A good rumination on the topic.

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/45375

Maruti Suzuki India sacks 11 striking workers; stalemate continues

The services of 11 persons, who were inciting workers to go on an illegal strike and created an atmosphere where safety of people were in danger, have been terminated," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Maruti-Suzuki-strike-disrupts-production-shares-fall/articleshow/8745352.cms

Burkina Faso arrests 93 soldiers after mutiny: officer

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gBEAWwJ4pTGmdPqdubBVKvZd278A?docId=CNG.4c6d9a705302133fcb33283701223ce3.2e1

Regime Change In Burkina Faso?

The army mutiny has been put down, but there are new revolts in the gold mines and cotton fields.[1] Is this the end for the Burkinabe Mobutu? Let's hope so. Here's an excellent piece.

http://www.african-bulletin.com/watch/850-burkina-faso-regime-crisis.html

[1] http://www.miningweekly.com/article/cluff-confirms-burkina-faso-disruptions-says-guidance-unchanged-2011-06-06

Rape Of Greece Update

IMF [International Marauders' Fund]: In order to qualify for future loans, the Greek government will have to turn over the responsibility for the collection of taxes to the "outside authorities."

MIDEAST: Settling Into Humiliation

http://ipsnews.net/newsTVE.asp?idnews=55930

Thousands attend funeral of slain Sri Lankan FTZ worker

Excellent article.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/sftz-j06.shtml

The French Recolonize Cote d'Ivoire

Good article.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/inve-j06.shtml

Serbian government threatens protesting farmers and armament workers

Much of the Serbia’s northern province of Vojvodina has been blocked since May 30 by protesting farmers. They have reportedly deployed some 10,000 tractors and other large machinery on vital traffic points throughout the region, protesting the decision by the Ministry of Agriculture to cut their subsidies. The farmers initially planned to stage a protest in Belgrade, but following the intervention of the police, they responded by blocking the roads to the capital.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/vojv-j06.shtml

Will Greece let EU Central Bankers Destroy Democracy?

Another great piece from Michael Hudson.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28258.htm

Dial 1-800 Unionism is Not the Answer

Good article.

http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/1-800_unionism/#steve

The Jobs Deficit Grows

http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/jobsdeficitgrows/

IMF gives Egypt $3 billion

Egypt’s finance ministry had been looking to boost social services, health care and other sectors to meet demands of the 80 million people in the country.

Will everybody who believes that the IMF gave the Egyptian military junta this dowry so it could boost social spending please stand up. Okay, those of you who are on your feet: Please do not drive, vote, or procreate. And sue your parents, they gave you the wrong genes.

This money is for the suppression of the revolution.

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34376

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers May Face Public Rebuke and Little Else

Below the link is a comment I posted at the site.

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/bankrupt-lehman-brothers-may-face-public-rebuke-and-little-else

Wang neglected to mention that after Lehman’s was brought down in a controlled demolition, it was purchased by a member of the Bush family for peanuts on the dollar. That’s right, GWB’s administration chose to let Lehman’s implode while rescuing many another giant, and then the ruins were purchased for a tiny fraction of book value by the ruling family. That is the biggest scandal of them all, which apparently isn’t of interest to MW. What is detailed above is the official cover story.

U.S. mulls larger troop pullout from Afghanistan: report

When's the next election again? Source the "liberal" NYT, oh, well that explains it.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/06/u-s-mulls-larger-troop-pullout-from-afghanistan-report/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=833ed3f5ae-6_6_116_6_2011&utm_medium=email

Police in Nigeria free 32 pregnant teens from 'baby factory;' newborns sold into labor, sex markets

Isn't capitalism grand!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/06/02/2011-06-02_police_in_nigeria_free_32_pregnant_teens_from_baby_factory_newborns_sold_into_la.html?r=topnews

Botswana Strike Update: Diamond's Are A Despot's Best Friend

The union has agreed to the three percent offer by the government, but is insisting the fired workers be reinstated. So far, the government refuses.

Here's a good article:

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=10&aid=1394&dir=2011/June/Monday6



Meanwhile, the police claim neutrality:

Thebeyame once again appealed to the strikers to act within the law and promised that the police will restrain themselves even in trying situations. He said the police recently denied political parties permits to demonstrate because such permission was likely to jeopardise national security.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1401&dir=2011/June/Monday6



As in the US and elsewhere, international capital is running the show.

Thanks in large part to good policies supported by a rebound in diamond exports, the Botswana economy is now back onto a strong growth trajectory, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently sent a mission to Gaborone to review economic developments, prospects and policies to ensure the country's continued macroeconomic stability and growth.

http://www.diamondintelligence.com/magazine/magazine.aspx?id=9600



And there's plenty of them.

BOTSWANA'S LERALA DIAMOND MINE READIES TO RE-OPEN

http://www.diamondintelligence.com/magazine/magazine.aspx?id=9599

Angolan police put down anti-poverty protests

What did they do, feed them?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSyTC2bhtjdGBverSYTM4XZrT1_g?docId=CNG.80b23b06b8797cf929365dd8d249e49a.10d1

Green Colonialism, Britannia Rules The Waves Of Grain

Biofuels boom in Africa as British firms lead rush on land for plantations

London: British firms have acquired more land in Africa for controversial biofuel plantations than companies from any other country, a Guardian investigation has revealed. Half of the 3.2m hectares (ha) of biofuel land identified – in countries from Mozambique to Senegal – is linked to 11 British companies, more than any other country.

http://www.trademarksa.org/news/biofuels-boom-africa-british-firms-lead-rush-land-plantations

Bangladeshi strike disrupts normal life

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Dhaka's usually bustling streets looked barren Sunday as opposition parties enforced a daylong general strike over a government move to change the electoral system.

Police and witnesses said hundreds of anti-government protesters in the capital and several other districts fought with police, who used clubs and teargas to disperse them.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/05/bangladesh.strikes/

Vince Cable to warn British Unions against co-ordinated strikes

Business secretary Vince Cable is to warn delegates at the GMB union's conference that co-ordinated strike action may lead to tougher union laws.

That's why they call it class war.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13661098

Strike will speed up Canada Post’s demise

Gee, whose side do you think the Herald is on?

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Corbella+Strike+will+speed+Canada+Post+demise/4891670/story.html#ixzz1OT7RQpqi

Communism Cuban Style

Cuban dissident on hunger strike to protest death

HAVANA — Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas has launched a hunger strike, his 24th in 15 years, to ask the government to prosecute those "responsible" for the death of a fellow activist.

"I started the hunger strike today at noon (1600 GMT), demanding the government to bring the perpetrators of the murder of Juan Soto and stop beating dissidents," the 49-year-old Farinas told AFP via telephone from his home in Santa Clara, east of Havana.

The online journalist, who led a 135-day hunger strike last year to demand the release of political prisoners, said he would keep up his protest "until the ultimate consequences" and would only agree to negotiate with the government on "equal conditions."

Soto's supporters say he died last month after being taken to the Santa Clara hospital following his arrest in a park and subsequent beating. Cuban official media quoted Soto's doctor and his sister as saying that police brutality had nothing to do with his death.

It seems that not much change has occurred during the House of Castro's first succession. The scepter has passed from Fidel I to Raul I, but the dynasty lives on Long live the revolution! Long live the king!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j5yWGplNxvnzddAdZioea58TneCw?docId=CNG.066f3d956c6f46179c88b9c7f2317b07.791

Army Mutiny Quashed In Burkina Faso, Seven Dead, 57 Arrested

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g8TIQRDWXUHQHHT9meIV448FQ_xg?docId=CNG.7ea7ec57b4bdcaf84fccd75a315339c0.c41

Amid Burkina Faso Unrest, UN & Djinnit Stay Silent, Under France's Watchful Eye

Why? Because the UN is an extension of international capital, and Campore is their man.

http://www.innercitypress.com/un1faso060411.html

Communique from the Communal Autonomous Council of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca, Mexico

Our history is not only like the mature fruit which falls from a tree when we became aware that is was time to walk together as a people, nor like the spring of our grandparents when times were good, or the times to plant and to see our lands full of life and our people walking without being afraid, our history is more than the branches which create shade in a patriarchal and dominating system, it is more than the trunk which is the unity of our peoples and their thousand-year old forms of organization which have always allowed us to sustain ourselves, it is the deep ancestral roots which teach us that we have to defend our culture in the face of invasions; we are the Triqui people, the inheritors of lightning, we come from the earth, we are one of the guardians of the history which we have lived, at many times facing colonization, the nation-state and wars of extermination.

Sweet Justice, Couple Foreclose On Bank of America

It started five months ago when Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on the home of a couple, who didn't owe a dime on their home.

The couple said they paid cash for the house.

The case went to court and the homeowners were able to prove they didn't owe Bank of America anything on the house. In fact, it was proven that the couple never even had a mortgage bill to pay.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28249.htm

23 dead as Israel opens fire on Golan

Israeli troops opened fire on Sunday as protesters from Syria stormed a ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights, with Damascus saying 23 demonstrators were killed.

http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/syria-says-20-dead-israel-opens-fire-golan-0

Egypt military urged to allow freedom of expression

Reporters Without Borders called on Friday on Egypt’s military regime to stop the “threats, arrests, interrogations and physical violence” it said the country’s journalists and bloggers had been subjected to in the months since the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34296

Police ‘torture’, death spark Egypt protests

CAIRO: It is a scene Egyptians unfortunately know all too well: the killing of citizens at the hands of the police. On Friday, protests erupted and scores attacked a central Cairo police station after a man was reportedly beaten to death by a police officer.

Nothing has yet changed in Egypt. Mubarak is gone but his regime lives on.

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34346

Ontology 101, from Father Bill O'Reilly

Riseup.net Fights Subpeona in Mt. Hope/Bash Back Infinity Case

What do right-wing churches, kiss-ins, homophobic lawyers, and Riseup have in common? They were all involved in "Mount Hope Baptist Church v. Riseup.net" in US Federal court. The short story: we kicked ass.

After a right-wing church subpoenaed the account records of several Riseup users, we went to court on behalf of these users to defend their right to anonymous speech. By winning our case, Riseup has established an important precedent in US Federal court. Riseup's legal victory is important because it strengthens our ability to defend the anonymity of Riseup users.

Riseup is an autonomous tech collective which provides e-mail accounts, among other internet services. The "about us" page is linked below. In the interests of total disclosure, I am a contributor.


http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/640

https://help.riseup.net/en/about-us

Communism Vietnamese Style

Millionaire Elected to Vietnam Assembly in Hint of Change

The legislative body that convenes for a five-year term in July now includes 42 representatives who are not Communist Party members and four self-nominated candidates, the results show. The contest was the first since 2007 and comes after the Communist Party said it would allow private business owners into the party in January.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/03/bloomberg1376-LM75PQ0D9L3501-21MFN0OB0F2FBT3JF9BU3IIPOJ.DTL#ixzz1OPugsScT

On Diane Ravitch

I posted an article by Ravitch [http://saveourcola.blogspot.com/2011/05/diane-ravitch-on-charter-schools.html] in which I noted that she is not without her detractors. Here's one of them with some important criticism.

http://richgibson.com/againstravitch.html

Even The Troops Are Waking Up - A Fantastic Video - David Ic.mp4

Amen! Great speech by former soldier.

The “Great Moderation” and the International Assault on Labor

A decade ago, a useful word was coined in honor of May Day by radical Italian labor activists: “precarity.” It referred at first to the increasingly precarious existence of working people “at the margins”—women, youth, migrants. Then it expanded to apply to the growing “precariat” of the core labor force, the “precarious proletariat” suffering from the programs of deunionization, flexibilization and deregulation that are part of the assault on labor throughout the world.

http://www.thenewsignificance.com/2011/05/03/the-great-moderation-and-the-international-assault-on-labor/

The French General Strike Of May, 1968,

Since there is talk of a general strike in Greece, Egypt, and Tunisia, it might be useful to take a look back at the largest strike in history. French workers and students defeated the police repression, took control the economy, put de Gaulle to flight, and had French soldiers declaring their solidarity and stating openly they would not fire on the strikers if ordered to do so. Tragically, they were defeated by international capital with the connivance of the Communist Party and the trade unions. It is the saddest chapter in the history of labor resistance.

Here's a good review:

http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Dermot_Streeran__France__The_General_Strike_of_1968.html


Here's an excellent eyewitness account by the great Maurice Brinton:

http://libcom.org/library/May-68-Solidarity


Here's an audio presentation:

http://www.marxist.com/audio-france-may-1968-go.htm


Here's a video:

http://academicearth.org/lectures/may-1968


And here's a better video:

Morocco: Pro-Democracy Movement Faces State Repression

Good piece.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/06/03/morocco-pro-democracy-movement-faces-state-repression/

Greek protesters seize finance ministry

And call for general strike.

http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greek-protesters-finance-ministry-revolution/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Dahlia Wasfi, Telling It Like It Is

We have an obligation to every last victim of this illegal aggression because all of this carnage has been done in our name. Since World War II, 90% of the casualties of war are unarmed civilians. 1/3 of them children. Our victims have done nothing to us. From Palestine to Afghanistan to Iraq to Somalia to wherever our next target may be, their murders are not collateral damage, they are the nature of modern warfare. They don't hate us because of our freedoms. They hate us because every day we are funding and committing crimes against humanity. The so-called "war on terror" is a cover for our military aggression to gain control of the resources of western Asia.


http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2011/06/03/we-are-the-terrorists/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+%28Sabbah+Report%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Will the true representative of the revolution please stand up !?

Another great essay on the Egyptian revolt by Zeinobia.

One of the biggest advantages of Egyptian revolution is that it has no leadership nor centralized ideology and this what made millions of Egyptians from around the country join the revolution and support it with all its differences. It is a blessing but it is also a curse at the same time because who will speak with SCAF on behalf of the revolution and all those millions that support it !? I will not speak about politicians and parties because they have never represented the demands and needs of the people before.

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/06/will-true-representative-of-revolution.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Interview With Mohamed Waked On Egypt's Supreme Council Of The Armed Forces

Mohamed: First of all, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF] is currently the ruling entity. It occupies the roles of president of the republic and parliament. It holds both the executive and legislative powers at the same time. At the outbreak of the revolution, one of [the latter’s] attributes was that it was not able to rule. A revolution occurred, deposed the sitting president, but did not succeed in arriving to power. The army then came to power by delegation from Husni Mubarak. [01:10]

This is an important characteristic of the stage we are currently in. We would not have been able to arrive at this stage had any of the revolution’s institutions, movements or establishments been able to come to power.

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1738/the-stunting-role-of-the-supreme-council-of-the-ar

Revolt in Egypt - Hazem Kandil

Great interview.

http://libcom.org/library/revolt-egypt-hazem-kandil

Some Interesting Posters From The French Uprising In 1968

The largest strike in history.

http://libcom.org/gallery/paris-68-posters

Link to audio of best discussion of OBL story I've heard yet

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/05/21/podcast-show-44/

Serco - The biggest uk company you have never heard of

Intelligence operation obviously.

Sibel Edmonds On OBL Story: Many Eggs Laid Inside the Osama Death Script Incubator

Astute.

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/05/25/osama-death-script-counting-the-chickens-so-far/#more-3732

The Poisoned Well & The Mainstream Poisoned-Water-Bearers

Nice piece from Sibel Edmonds, an underappreciated essayist.

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/05/30/the-poisoned-well-the-mainstream-poisoned-water-bearers/#more-3770

Sri Lanka workers strike for fifth day, more unrest feared

On Friday, the president ordered 1 million Sri Lanka rupees ($9,111) in compensation to the family of the dead worker, officials said. Two police officers were arrested over the shootings and the police chief also stepped down.[ID:nL3E7H12SZ]

Also on Friday, hundreds of Buddhist monks marched towards the president's residence to protest the killing. A Reuters reporter saw police remove barricades to let them approach the heavily secured building in central Colombo.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/srilanka-unions-idUSL3E7H30EX20110603

Burkina Faso presidential guard take on mutineers

Elite forces loyal to Burkina Faso's leader Blaise Compaore have for the first time intervened against rioting army mutineers.

The troops fired shots and encircled the mutineers at their military base in the second city of Bobo Dioulasso.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13644545

Greeks call for mass strike over budget cuts

Protesters last night took over the Finance Ministry building in Athens, hanging a giant banner calling for a general strike, as Greece wraps up negotiations with international officials on new austerity measures.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/news/article.cfm?c_id=34&objectid=10730134

Yemen's Saleh Not Dead

Yemen's President Wounded After Shells Strike Presidential Palace

http://www.rferl.org/content/yemen_troops_fire_on_protesters/24214359.html

Canada Post Workers Begin Rotating Strikes

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110603-706885.html

KC pipefitters union strikes over benefits, pension issues

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/02/2922540/kc-pipefitters-union-strikes-over.html

Oaxaca: Zapatista Agrarian Movement Denounces Acts Of Intimidation And Harassment In Mixtec Region Of Oaxaca

http://www.indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10745:oaxaca-zapatista-agrarian-movement-denounces-acts-of-intimidation-and-harassment-in-mixtec-region-of-oaxaca&catid=60:central-american-and-caribbean-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=82

Mexican teachers vote to end strike

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/mexi-j02.shtml

The decision to give Chomsky peace award blasted

Gotta be read to be believed.

"It is a serious joke to give Chomsky any kind of human rights award because of his long-term track record against human rights and in favour of revolutionary killings of opponents," said Australian academic, critic and author Keith Windschuttle.

"Chomsky has a five-decade history of justifying violence in the name of revolution by communist and terrorist organisations," Professor Windschuttle said. "In 1975, Chomsky was the most prestigious and persistent Western apologist for the Pol Pot regime."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/chomsky-peace-award-blasted/story-fn59niix-1226068256064

Botswana Update, June 2, 2011

Botswana government’s wage talks break down

THE latest wage talks between the Botswana government and about 90000 striking public service workers failed this week, with a union chief saying the state continued to negotiate in bad faith.

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=144563



Meanwhile, Botswana gets better evaluation than US

Standard & Poor's maintains Botswana credit rating

"Nonetheless, the public sector balance sheet is still strong overall...

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4&aid=1351&dir=2011/June/Friday3

The Civil War In Yemen

Warning, some graphic pictures.

Security forces attack Bahraini protesters

Video

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/20116122426560161.html

Egypt looking more like the same

Don’t you notice anything?” he asked, pausing slightly. “The pictures of [Hosni] Mubarak are gone,” he said in reference to the absence of any photos of the former president who was ousted on February 11 after 18 days of protests. But, Ziad is concerned.

“Maybe we should start putting up pictures of the military, since they have become the new leaders,” he added, attempting to avoid overt criticism, which in recent days has seen activists and journalists called in for questioning.

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34246

Morocco urged to end violent crackdown

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34242

George Carlin: They Own You

Eight families own the NYC Fed and just about everything else. If you want to know who your masters are, you must read this.

The Four Horsemen of Banking (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo) own the Four Horsemen of Oil (Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, BP and Chevron Texaco); in tandem with Deutsche Bank, BNP, Barclays and other European old money behemoths. But their monopoly over the global economy does not end at the edge of the oil patch.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25080

Greek government to announce billions more in austerity measures

Hey, why not.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/gree-j03.shtml

Tunisia finds 150 bodies from refugee vessels

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/150-bodies-recovered-off-tunisia-coast-u-n-103307004.html

Reuters: Yemen President Saleh killed-opposition TV says

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/03/yemen-president-idUSLDE75213N20110603?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=hotStocksNews&rpc=401

Comedy and Reality Break: Bill Hicks Classic on War, Taxes, Media and Freedom

Courtesy of http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/05/27/comedy-and-reality-break-bill-hicks-classic-on-war-taxes-media-and-freedom/

Good News for Street Protesters: Inflatable Rats Are OK!

NLRB rules that use of blow-up vermin is protected form of speech

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7374/good_news_for_street_protesters_rat_balloons_are_ok/

Rahmed Again: Workers Comp ‘Reform’ in Illinois Aims to Curb Alleged Abuses

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7375/workers_comp_reform_in_illinois_could_target_workers/

The Year Of The Citizen

Another great piece from Mouin Rabbani

During the Spring of the so-called Arab Spring, the euphoria that characterized the Winter of 2010/2011 has increasingly given way to more somber attitudes associated with Winter. For those who were expecting a linear progression towards freedom, in which vain autocrats and sclerotic regimes would fall with growing ease and rapidity, despondency is an appropriate response to the increasing ferocity with which ruling elites seek to remain in power.

[He then changes tone considerably in what is largely an optimistic essay.]

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1722/the-year-of-the-citizen

Thus Far Egypt's Revolution Has Been A Boon For International Capital

Great article.

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1711/egypt%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98orderly-transition%E2%80%99-international-aid-and

Pander Alert: Afghan president warns NATO: Stop killing civilians

If President Chevron...er...Karzai gave a damn about his people he would never have a party to the conquest of his country by his former employers...er..I mean US government.

He's done his job well, I'm sure he'll be welcomed back to the board at Chevron when he's done betraying his country. Bet there willl be a nice little bonus in it for him too.

http://www.peoplesworld.org/afghan-president-warns-nato-stop-killing-civilians/

Sipping Cancer Through A Straw: Nation’s biggest union fast tracks Obama endorsement

CHICAGO - Delegates to the convention of the nation's largest union, the National Education Association, will vote July 2-5 on whether to immediately endorse Democratic President Barack Obama for re-election. Its leaders recommend the 3-million-member group do so.

http://www.peoplesworld.org/nation-s-biggest-union-fast-tracks-obama-endorsement/

French pseudo-lefts attempt to strangle “los indignados” solidarity movement

he protesters have directed their anger in particular against the “social pact” between the trade unions and the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) government of Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero. This includes a pledge by the unions to prevent mobilisations against the massive austerity measures, including a 20 percent cut in pensions, which have been imposed in order to reduce the national budget deficit at the behest of the banks.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jun2011/frso-j02.shtml

Zorba Joins Greek Protests

Nikos would be proud I'm sure.

http://roarmag.org/2011/06/greeces-best-known-composer-joins-protests/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Ohio Senate Republicans Attempt To Gut State Minimum Wage Law

http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/06/02/ohio-senate-republicans-attempt-to-gut-state-minimum-wage-law/

Iranian labor activist Osanloo free at last

The ITF is delighted to announce that imprisoned trade unionist Mansour Osanloo was today freed from jail in Iran almost four years since his arrest and imprisonment, which set off a storm of international protest.

http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org/?p=1444

Greek unions call general strike against new austerity steps

Bout time.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCsZZCo_gzVpQWlEABWxzJve_8aA?docId=CNG.8fa875910351b4d56b4f2c3c4f00e20d.231

Sri Lanka unions threaten indefinite strikes over pension plan

Thousands of workers clash with police.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/srilanka-unions-idUSL3E7GV0IK20110531

Is Compaore's reign in Burkina Faso coming to an end?

Let's hope so. This is the man who betrayed Thomas Sankara (reportedly they were best friends) and succeeded him after the assassination. He then went about undoing the Burkinabe revolution which Sankara had led. Compaore is as foul as they come. How fitting it would be if inernational capital betrays him, as it now appears.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/0601/Is-Compaore-s-reign-in-Burkina-Faso-coming-to-an-end

Burkina Faso Soldiers Protest, Fire Shots and Loot Shops in Bobo Dioulasso

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/burkina-faso-soldiers-protest-in-the-city-of-bobo-diolousso-fire-shots.html

Pay Cuts For San Jose Public Employees Set Up Potential Strikes

The gloves have officially come off in labor negotiations between the city and public employee unions, and whispers of potential strikes are being heard in certain City Hall corners. On Tuesday, the City Council imposed 10 percent cuts in total compensation for four unions, including the city’s largest—AFSCME—by an 8-3 vote.

http://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/entries/06_01_11_budget_deficit_mayor_chuck_reed_city_council_labor_unions/

Communications Workers Union of South Africa embarks on strike

This was after the facility management company offered workers seven percent as opposed to their demand of an eight percent increase, spokesman Matankana Mothapo said in a statement.

“CWU has moved from its initial demand of 15 percent as negotiations progressed to where we stand now,” he said.

http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/cwu-embarks-on-strike-1.1077007

Saskatchewan HSAS issues warning of escalated strikes

The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS) is warning of escalating strike action if the provincial government doesn't agree to send the dispute to independent, binding arbitration.

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/HSAS+issues+warning+escalated+strikes/4871853/story.html#ixzz1O4y5rfIP

St. Louis bricklayers set strike for midnight

http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/job-watch/article_6a1d3b38-8bec-11e0-9fba-0019bb30f31a.html

Botswana Strike Update

Well I guess I was wrong. The union agreed to the humiliating three percent offer by the government but asked that the fired workers be reinstated. This condition has been rejected by the government, so the strike continues.



Botswana orders strikers back to work

"We are saying no to the conditions set by the unions. The strike has consequences and it is something that they knew and must accept. They must just go back to work," said Festinah Bakwena, head of the public service directorate

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ivwSDxhsAfc5oFHzViMt3cSNAfCQ?docId=CNG.3fe18ab5af9d3cb2bd07a5efa1d18035.5c1



The strike has caused a fissure in the ruling party.

Tawana drops bombshell: I quit BDP

Commenting on the Cabinet ministers' address on the ongoing civil servants strike, Moremi said it showed the BDP has lost 'moral authority'. He said the Khama leadership constantly clings on to the Constitution to take decisions not good for the party. Moremi said the landmark constitutional case where Gomolemo Motswaledi and Khama squared off in court, as an example of how the law has been used to stifle democracy.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1320&dir=2011/June/Wednesday1



The government's intractability keeps the union out on strike.

Botswana, Union Leaders Fail to Agree on Terms, Strike Continues

There is lack of respect on the part of the government that has just developed and we cannot take that,” Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions spokesperson, Goretetse Kekgonegile said by phone today.

“The strike will therefore continue until we meet as union leadership to map a way forward sometime today,” Kekgonegile said

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-01/botswana-union-leaders-fail-to-agree-on-terms-strike-continues.html



Meanwhile, international capital stands behind its man in Botswana.

Botswana's Economy Is Back on Strong Growth Path, IMF Says

The government must continue efforts to reduce its large state wage bill, it said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/01/bloomberg1376-LM3UN66S972D01-6L1533P6IPQ3ATFO3U5AHIMNAO.DTL



The clergy intervenes

Strike : now divine intervention

It urged the government to re-consider its approach from the point of view of paying wider attention to social justice and narrowing the income disparities in Botswana.


http://gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9859:strike-now-divine&catid=18:headlines&Itemid=2

The Protection Of Hosni Mubarak Begins

His patrons are not doing it for him, but to protect themselves from what he might divulge.

http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=34014

Humanitarian Depleted Uranium Update

LEIDEN, The Netherlands , Jun 1, 2011 (IPS) - The pattern of deception to gain legitimacy for war in the eyes of the public by now is familiar. In the middle of March, Western powers led by the U.S., Britain and France initiated actions of war against Muammar Gaddafi’s government of Libya. The start of war was preceded by a publicity offensive in which the Libyan leader was depicted as a madman.

Good Piece.

http://ipsnews.net/newsTVE.asp?idnews=55871

Update On Hossam El-Hamalawy and Reem Maged After Their "Interviews" By The Military

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/05/hossam-and-reem-follow-up-chitchat-more.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

Recovery fears mount after slow jobs, factory data

(Reuters) - U.S. companies hired far fewer workers than expected in May and output in the manufacturing sector slowed to its lowest level since 2009, adding to concerns that the U.S. recovery is running out of steam.

What Steam?!?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/01/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE7492P720110601?feedType=nl&feedName=ustopnewsearly

Economic Recovery Update: Business Jet Sales Booming

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/01/us-bombardier-idUSTRE7502HC20110601?feedType=nl&feedName=usbusinessearly

Geithner and Goldman, Thick as Thieves

What was Timothy Geithner thinking back in 2008 when, as president of the New York Fed, he decided to give Goldman Sachs a $30 billion interest-free loan as part of an $80 billion secret float to favored banks? The sordid details of that program were finally made public this week in response to a court order for a Freedom of Information Act release, thanks to a Bloomberg News lawsuit. Sorry, my bad: It wasn’t an interest-free loan; make that .01 percent that Goldman paid to borrow taxpayer money when ordinary folks who missed a few credit card payments in order to finance their mortgages were being slapped with interest rates of more than 25 percent.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/geithner_and_goldman_thick_as_thieves_20110531/

Florida to require drug testing for all welfare recipients

In March, Scott also issued an executive order requiring that all state employees be subjected to urine analysis once every quarter, with random screenings throughout. The order is expected to cost Florida taxpayers over $3.5 million.

Why do I think the pharmaceutical industry supported Scott?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/31/florida-to-require-drug-testing-for-all-welfare-recipients/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=a1bf85f542-6_1_116_1_2011&utm_medium=email

The new shape of the struggle in Egypt

Great piece, as always, from Mustafa Omar.

http://socialistworker.org/2011/05/31/new-shape-of-the-struggle

More blood on the hands of Kazakhstan’s banks

On 24 May, the bailiffs turned up at Zholyamin’s flat, to find activists already there. The protesters were so desperate that they poured petrol over themselves and threatened to light a match. This was not enough to stop the bailiffs continuing their raid, with police back up. They charged the flat, beating women and pushed pensioner Maria Ivashkina down stairs, breaking her ribs and a collar bone. When Marat, Zholamin’s son, tried to defend her, he was brutally beaten by these thugs. He eventually broke away, ran up to the roof of the ten story block of flats and jumped off. The heartless bailiffs left his broken body laying where it fell, with his mother weeping on the ground nearby, while they continued their dirty work of clearing the flat. Elena Semonova was later arrested and held for several hours.

http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5089

Over A Thousand Photos Of The Paris Commune Of 1871

http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/siege/

Fantastic slide show of Paris Commune from The Historical Library of Paris

http://www.parisenimages.fr/en/an-event-in-pictures.html?sujet=commune

The Paris Commune told in pictures

Some sketches and a short narrative.

http://www.katardat.org/marxuniv/2002-COMPARIS/comparis-text/comparis-strip.html