Mad Cow and the Crisis of Food Production On December 23, 2003 the US government officially acknowledged the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in a herd of cattle in the state of Washington.This is officially the first case of mad cow in the US, but is in reality the second case of an outbreak in the integrated Canadian and US cattle industry. The farming and cattle crisis is at root a reflection of the crisis of capitalism worldwide and a result of "globalization".
USA: The Truth Behind Immigration Reform Bush's new plan for immigration "reform" will benefit only the ruling classes of the US and Latin America, Mexico in particular. Working people will only see their conditions of life further deteriorate while big business pockets big profits.
Unemployment: An Organic Feature of Capitalism The latest "employment" figures in the USA expose the lie of the economic recovery. By Shane Jones published in the latest issue of the US Socialist Appeal.
Mother Jones - 1830 - 1930 Greg Oxley looks at the life of this labor pioneer and lifelong fighter for the working class.
USA: The Health Care Epidemic There are an astonishing 44 million Americans without healthcare. Those who do have healthcare have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for it, and even then, they have to worry about co-payments, deductibles, etc. Never mind SARS and influenza - the entire for-profit American health care system is diseased.
Huge increase in injured US soldiers in Iraq - but the Pentagon tries to hide the facts So far over 400 US soldiers have died in Iraq (during and after the "end" of the war). This is having a big impact on US public opinion. A further 1500 US soldiers have been injured in armed conflicts, and a staggering 9,341 have been flown out for various other health reasons, most importantly for mental stress. Fred Weston reports on the growing dissatisfaction in the US Army
Poverty and Unemployment in America The crisis of unemployment and poverty in America continues to worsen. Despite a nominal increase in jobs in recent weeks, what is not reported is what kind of jobs are being created. Manufacturing jobs, the backbone of any economy, continued to be lost for the 37th month in a row in October. For the vast majority of Americans, the days of high quality jobs with decent wages, security, and full health and retirement benefits are a thing of the past. By John Peterson, from the US Socialist Appeal
USA: 9/11 and the Story That Stays Under-Reported In New York many firefighters did not receive protective gear during the first two weeks of the clean-up, which involved prolonged exposure to asbestos and the handling of thousands of body parts. 40 percent of the workers who cleaned up Ground Zero had no health insurance, and 75 percent have reported ongoing respiratory difficulties. By M.C. Perez, from the US Socialist Appeal
Pages from US Labor History: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Many skeptics say that a socialist society could never exist in America. They say that Americans are greedy and unwilling to join together in common struggle. But US labour history is rich with examples of the heroism of the working class in their struggle for a better world.
Between Iraq and a Hard Place – An Occupation Gone Awry, and a “Job-Loss” Recovery at Home Just a few weeks ago, Bush, Rumsfeld, and co. seemed incapable of doing any wrong. The lightning charge across Iraq led to one of the quickest and most decisive military victories in the history of warfare. Here at home, things were looking up as well. A broad range of economic indicators seemed to indicate that this time for sure, the recovery the markets had been predicting for the past two years had arrived. How quickly things change!
"Bring them home now!" After the invasion of Iraq seemed to have run according to plan and without meeting any great resistance, the anti-war movement declined. Now it is beginning to pick up again. Among those actively campaigning in the USA for an end to the occupation of Iraq are the "Military Families Speak Out" (in which people who have relatives in the army are organized), and "Veterans For Peace". The mood in the USA is changing.
September 11 - two years on Two years ago today the world watched in disbelief as two planes were deliberately crashed into New York's twin towers. In a few minutes the dream of America's invulnerability came crashing down in a pile of twisted, scorched rubble. Two years later, the ruling class in the USA is making cynical use of the anniversary to justify its warlike policies, while at the same time they are burying the site of a great human tragedy in order to construct new offices for the greater glory of profit and the market economy.
Misery likes company - George Bush has second thoughts on Iraq Sometime last May a triumphant George W. Bush hired an aircraft carrier (at the tax payer's expense) to announce to the nation that the war in Iraq was over and America had won. Just four months later a more sober George Bush, his feet now firmly on dry land, faced the television cameras to inform the American public that they were in for a long, hard haul in Iraq, that they would have to put up with a lot of pain and expense before the show was over.
September 1 - US Labor Day Yesterday was Labor day in the US. On this occasion, we are publishing two articles from the new issue of the American Socialist Appeal Workers’ Struggle at Whole Foods Market Support the right of workers everywhere to join a union! By Shane Jones. Why Join a Trade Union? Some interesting facts about trade unions and the bosses' attempts to prevent them from forming!
US Perspectives for 2003 / 2004: July 2003 Introduction Here we publish the perspectives' document approved at the National Congress of the Workers' International League, held last June.
