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Ms Mary Jane

Ms Mary Jane

Hi! Happy Thanksgiving, although I know that every day is a day to give thanks. My name is Mary Jane... :-)

Ms Mary Jane

Ms Mary Jane

Thank you for stopping by the show. There is so much going on in the World today that if you don't have Christ as your guide you will get lost in the shuffle and loose hope quickly because it 'looks' like evil is going to prevail. Evil has but a short time and that is why the volume and the occurrences have increased. But praise be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Glory! Again thank you for stopping by and for the information you are providing, it allows whosoever reads it to draw their own conclusion!

gusomeruff

gusomeruff

thank you Reza for your hard work and support of Jacque's Venus project. Good Luck :)

GanmaDebbie

GanmaDebbie

are you on Facebook also....I don't see a link here..

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

MY SHOW PAGE AND BLOGS PAGE IS http://www.blogtalkradio.com/EAGELS-OF-USA1-

Pure.Mind

Pure.Mind

I would like to thank Reza, Jacque and Roxanne for reminding me once again how importnant it is to be the best I can because of all of the obstacles we have to overcome to get to a better and saner world. Thank you again ;o)

LEAL

LEAL

You do the true peace-filled people good service by teaching Mohammad's writing in the Koran. People in all cultures deserve peace from violence. Keep up great informative shows Reza! : )

Pastor Fran

Pastor Fran

GOD BLESS, thank u so much for listening to our segment May ur listeners know we just had a segment on the 80-20% rule for christian relationships, we are here to serve the Lord and our brethren, bless your segments in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ

THE ARENA

THE ARENA

Hey my friend your shows are great

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

HAPPY 4 OF JULY TO ALL, HELL TO SHARIAH LAW ...USA IS ALWAYS REMAIN USA.

mt1

mt1

THANK YOU my friend. I appreciate your point of view. Thanks for sharing.

9-11 truth media

9-11 truth media

hi

Rachel Wells

Rachel Wells

Keep up the GREAT work REZA you are great friend!~

No Show

No Show

Thanks for listening again!

Literary Diva

Literary Diva

Thanks for stopping by the show! Remember patience is what we need to have!

Michael Ian Henry

Michael Ian Henry

Brother Reza! Keep up the fine work! You are doing a good job my friend. May God bless you my Brother, your friend Ian Henry, AREA 33

Literary Diva

Literary Diva

Thanks for stopping by the show! Call in tomarrow night!

Usapatriots-shout

Usapatriots-shout

One way or another, freedom will prevail!

Michael Ian Henry

Michael Ian Henry

Hello brother.......Nice show, well done! Ian Henry

Literary Diva

Literary Diva

Thanks for listening and participating in the show! It's greatly appreciated!

Rachel Wells

Rachel Wells

Look foreward to you show!!

Literary Diva

Literary Diva

Thanks for listening to the show!

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

Wake up USA before is too late ?

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

EAGLES-OF-USA1-

illegals aliens made rape 99 years old?Is that ok with you ?

Michael Ian Henry

Michael Ian Henry

Hello its Ian Henry. Thank you so much for being friends, I see we both are both Anti New World Order! Good for you! You will always have my full suport, if there is anything I can do you need but ask. If it is within my power or ability to to be of help to you... you will have it! Please stay in touch Never stop talking about the Shadow Masters! I'm not going to stop. Blessings to you and all of your listeners. Ian Henry host of AREA 33.

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In the Bill of Human Rights of Cyrus the Great, we read:Freedom and tolerance of thought, speech, religion; choice of place of residence, coming and going, jobs and professions, will be on equal terms and conditions for everyone.No inquiry, injustice or harassment is allowed to be done to anyone.In this way Cyrus says that I have sown the seed of amity, friendship and affection among nations and have granted the people peace of mind, security, tranquility and comfort. From Cyrus the Great, King of Iran, sixth century B.C. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGRwzAlQbXE&feature=related toxic skies 10 PARTS EVERY ONE MUST SEE PASS IT ON. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/EAGELS-OF-USA1- The alternative 'Patriot' news world is thoroughly penetrated and controlled by agents and operatives... from talk shows and net sites, to documentary producers and columnists. Beware

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MR MATTHEW STEIN VIA SKYPE TALKED TO EUROPE. PLEASE VISIT http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2334825 War always causes recession. Well, if it is a very short war, then it may stimulate the economy in the short-run. But if there is not a quick victory and it drags on, then wars always put the nation waging war into a recession and hurt its economy." www.blogtalkradio.com/REZA-ASHKENAZI- THAT IS MY BLOG AS WELL
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    INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDERS OF THE VENUS PROJECTS. The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. There are many people today who are concerned with the serious problems that face our modern society: unemployment, violent crime, replacement of humans by technology, over-population and a decline in the Earth's ecosystems.PLEASE CALL US AT 1-347884-9191 PRESS 1
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    CAIR linked to FBI shootout

    Already under increased scrutiny after revelations in a new book, the Council on American-Islamic Relations now is defending itself against documented links to a federal case that drew national attention this week when an indicted Detroit imam was killed in an FBI raid.

    Internal documents from an undercover investigation by the authors of "Muslim Mafia" show CAIR helped finance the legal appeal of Muslim cop-killer Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, who is named in the Detroit criminal complaint as the spiritual leader of a radical group that calls for violent action to establish a sovereign Islamic state within the U.S.

    The federal complaint also states one of the 11 indicted followers of the imam who was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the FBI Wednesday, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, attended a mosque "affiliated with CAIR" in Windsor, Ontario, just across the Canadian border from Detroit.

    Get "Muslim Mafia," autographed, from WND's Superstore

    The criminal complaint suggests CAIR literature supporting Al-Amin incited Abdullah to violence.

    "CAIR and everybody send me all of this stuff. I get sick," he was recorded as saying. "I got some soldiers with me. ... Brothers that I know would, you know, if I say 'Let's go, we going to go and do something.'"

    Abdullah and his "soldiers" trained with weapons and explosives to carry out a plot to "take down" the U.S. government in violent jihad, according to the complaint. Al-Amin, the complaint adds, has been designated by the "nationwide radical fundamentalist Sunni group" led by Abdullah to be the ruler of the future Islamic state.

    Formerly a leader of the Black Panther Party known as H. Rap Brown, Al-Amin is serving a life sentence at the Florence, Colo., supermax prison for shooting two police officers in Georgia and murdering one of them.

    (Story continues below)



    As revealed in a confidential letter obtained by the authors of "Muslim Mafia," P. David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry, CAIR made an "additional contribution" of $9,000 in April 2007 to Al-Amin's legal appeal.


    Luqman Ameen Abdullah was killed Wednesday in an exchange of gunfire during an FBI raid (Muslim Alliance of North America)

    The letter of thanks addressed by the cop-killer's lawyer-wife to CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, which indicated CAIR had made previous contributions, passed on "greetings" from the imprisoned imam.

    Attorney Karima Al-Amin wrote:

    As-salaamu alaikum:

    On behalf of the Justice Fund, we extend appreciation to you and CAIR for the additional contribution of $9,000.00 to be used for legal expenses relative to Imam Jamil Al-Amin's case. The contribution particularly was needed to defray the cost of the recent habeas hearing held in Reidsville, Georgia. We certainly were delighted that you responded to our request in a timely manner.

    As always, Imam Jamil sends his greetings and appreciation for the assistance.

    Sincerely,

    Karima Al-Amin
    Attorney at Law

    Al-Amin, a black convert to Islam, shot two Atlanta deputies in 2000 who were trying to arrest him for failing to appear before a judge on auto theft charges. One deputy was shot in both legs, the left arm and the chest. The other, Fulton County Deputy Ricky Kinchen, died after Al-Amin pumped him with six bullets. A jury convicted Al-Amin in 2002 and sentenced him to life in prison, but CAIR jumped to his defense, celebrating him as a martyr.


    CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad

    The group participated in an Atlanta news conference protesting the guilty verdict, and Awad visited him in jail.

    CAIR is listed as a member of the National Support Committee for Imam Jamil, which has a stated goal of raising $1.3 million to pay for a team of lawyers to free Al-Amin.

    "Whoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next," the committee says in a fundraising letter. "Allah will aid a servant so long as the servant aids his brother."

    'Complete shock'

    Abdullah, imam of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit, was one of 12 named in the indictment released Wednesday, which includes charges of conspiracy, dealing in stolen goods and weapons offenses. Eight of Abdullah's followers were in custody Wednesday night and three remained at large.

    The head of CAIR's Michigan branch, Dawud Walid, told the Detroit Free Press any attempt to link Abdullah to his group is "bogus."

    He insisted CAIR has no connection with the Windsor mosque or with Abdullah.


    CAIR's national headquarters, three blocks from the U.S. Capitol

    "No one in that mosque has ever been a board member, or a staffer, or even a dues-paying member for that matter," Walid asserted.

    But Walid told the Associated Press he knew Abdullah to be a "respected imam in the Muslim community."

    "He would open up the mosque to homeless people. He used to run a soup kitchen and feed indigent people," Walid said. "I knew nothing of him that was related to any nefarious or criminal behavior."

    Abdullah served together with at least two CAIR figures in the governing body of the Muslim Alliance in North America, or MANA, a national network of mosques, Muslim organizations and individuals "committed to work together to address certain urgent needs within the Muslim community."

    Former CAIR national advisory board member and current fundraiser Siraj Wahhaj is a MANA leader along with Ihsan Bagby, a longtime member of CAIR's board of directors.
    Ihsan Bagby

    CAIR board of directors
    member Ihsan Bagby

    In addition to their membership in the governing body, Wahhaj is the "amir," or chief, of MANA's executive committee, and Bagby is the staff general secretary. Al-Amin is one of the founders of MANA, which is made up of radical black converts to Islam, including one of the imams of the 9/11 mosque near the Pentagon.

    Bagby told the Detroit News the FBI raid and death of Abdullah shocked the African-American Muslim community nationwide.

    "We want to know what happened," said Bagby. "We had no inkling of any kind of criminal activity. This is a complete shock to all of us."

    But as "Muslim Mafia" author Sperry reports in his previous book "Infiltration," Bagby once stated his belief that Muslims cannot be faithful to the U.S.

    "Ultimately we can never be full citizens of this country," Bagby said, "because there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and ideologies of this country."

    As WND reported, Wahhaj – who is on record urging a violent overthrow of the "filthy" U.S. government assisted by jihad warriors armed with Uzis – gave a fundraising appeal for CAIR at its 15th annual banquet in Arlington, Va., Saturday night.


    Siraj Wahhaj

    'Every Muslim should have a weapon'

    An affadavit filed with the complaint by FBI agent Gary Leone said Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, called his followers "to an offensive jihad, rather than a defensive jihad."

    "He regularly preaches anti-government and anti-law-enforcement rhetoric."

    Abdullah and his followers, Leone says, "have trained regularly in the use of firearms and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."

    The imam preached that "every Muslim should have a weapon and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed."

    Leone says members and former members of the mosque "have stated they are willing to do anything Abdullah instructs and/or preaches, even including criminal conduct and acts of violence."


    Site of Detroit mosque that housed shooting range (Google Earth)

    The FBI agent says that when Abdullah's mosque was evicted from its previous location in Detroit, a search turned up empty shell casings and large holes in the concrete wall of an indoor "shooting range."

    A confidential source who admitted he was a follower of Abdullah, says Leone, saw the imam "discipline children inside the mosque by beating them with sticks on their hands, knees and legs, until they were covered with bruises."

    The source said Abdullah beat one boy so badly with sticks he was unable to walk for several days.

    "Abdullah and Al-Amin both served Muslim Brotherhood entities whose objective is to wage 'civilization jihad' against America to 'destroy' it," said veteran FBI special agent John Guandolo, who worked counterterrorism cases out of the bureau's Washington field office.

    "Al-Amin served CAIR," Guandolo added, "and was on the board of ISNA (Islamic Society of North America, CAIR's sister organization) – both leading Muslim Brotherhood entities in America and both unindicted co-conspirators in the largest terrorism financing case in U.S. history," the criminal trial of the Holy Land Foundation, Hamas' fundraising arm in America.

  • Date / Time:

    NY Gov. Declares State of Emergency Over H1N1 Flu

    Source: News Day

    Gov. David Paterson declared a state of emergency, saying a recent rise in swine flu cases has created a “disaster” and that certain provisions of state law needed to be set aside to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

    The executive order Thursday means that far more health care professionals — including dentists, dental hygienists, podiatrists, pharmacists, midwives and physicians assistants — will be permitted to administer swine flu and seasonal flu vaccines with only brief training.

    The declaration will help avoid overwhelming hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities with swine flu cases, according to Paterson’s order.

    It also allows health centers in schools, which have been particularly hard hit, to vaccinate children and adults.

    A week ago, the small Worcester Central School District in Otsego County, about 50 miles west of Albany, was the first district in the state to close because of flu. Although only two students had confirmed cases of the swine flu, a third of the enrollment and staff were out with flu symptoms. Most weren’t tested for the H1N1 virus.

    The federal government has urged schools to cancel classes only as a last resort, but school officials across the country say they are being hit so hard and so fast by swine flu that they feel shutting down for a few days is the only option.

    At least 351 schools were closed last week alone — affecting 126,000 students in 19 states, according to the U.S. Education Department. So far this school year, about 600 schools have temporarily shut their doors.

    The number of closings this fall appears on target to surpass the roughly 700 schools closed last spring when the swine flu outbreak first hit.

    The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that for the week of October 11-17, the latest available, influenza activity continued to increase. It said the number of doctor visits with flulike illnesses are much higher than usual, hospitalizations for laboratory confirmed flu is much higher than expected for this time of year and
    “almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses.”

    Also on Thursday, New York officials said the number of vaccine doses is being increased. The federal government is ramping up availability of the vaccine to the state, allowing it to order twice as many doses as a week ago, a trend that’s expected to continue.

    The executive order obtained by The Associated Press says at least 75 deaths in the state have been attributed to the swine flu.

    “A disaster has occurred throughout New York state, for which the affected local governments are unable to respond adequately,” Paterson states in the order.

    There was no immediate comment from Paterson on the order, which was dated Wednesday.

    The order doesn’t require vaccinations of health care workers or other adults without their consent and it doesn’t require vaccinations of children without parental consent.

    The order states that the World Health Organization has declared the swine flu a pandemic and President Barack Obama has declared a national emergency. Obama’s declaration is a precaution so if hospitals are overwhelmed, patients can be taken to other health care sites.

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    US: Lack of insurance linked to thousands of child deaths

    Lack of health insurance may have caused or directly contributed to the deaths of nearly 17,000 children in the United States over the past two decades, a new study has found.

    Research of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, published October 30 in the Journal of Public Health, indicates that uninsured children were far more likely to die in the hospital than those with insurance. The study took in over 23 million hospital records from 37 states from 1988 through 2005 and accounted for a number of factors. When researchers compared death rates by underlying illnesses, the uninsured seemed to have an increased risk of dying, regardless of their medical condition.

    Johns Hopkins researchers cautioned that because the study considered only deaths during hospitalization, not deaths after discharge or children who might have died without ever being hospitalized, the death toll is likely a conservative estimate.

    Fizan Abdullah, the lead author and a pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins, said in a press statement about the study, “If you are a child without insurance, if you’re seriously ill and end up in the hospital, you are 60 percent more likely to die than the sick child in the next town who has insurance.”

    The study revealed 104,520 patient deaths out of 22.2 million insured hospitalized children, a mortality rate of 0.47 percent. In comparison, out of 1.2 million uninsured children, 9,468 died in the hospital, a rate of 0.75 percent. In order to find out how many of these deaths would have been prevented by health insurance, researchers applied a statistical simulation to the uninsured group by projecting the expected number of insured patient deaths based on the severity of their medical conditions.

    Among the uninsured, 3,535 more children died than was accountable by disease severity. After applying this rate of excess deaths to the total number of child hospitalizations in the US over the study period—117 million—researchers found there were more than 16,787 deaths among some 6 million uninsured children who were hospitalized.

    Insured children were found to be charged more for treatment, which the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center noted was “most likely explained by the fact that uninsured children tend to present to the hospital at more advanced stages of their disease, which in turn gives doctors less chance for intervention and treatment, especially in terminal cases.”

    Parents of uninsured children were also “more likely to seek treatment through the Emergency Room, rather than through a referral by a doctor,” the researchers noted, “likely markers of more advanced disease stage and/or delays in seeking medical attention.”

    Some 7.3 million children in the US lack health insurance, a substantial segment of the estimated 47 million uninsured Americans. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average cost of insuring a family is over $13,000—more than double the costs of a decade ago and far out of reach for most working class families.

    At the same time that insurance and medical costs have spiked, budgets have been slashed for public health clinics, preventive care programs, and other services comprising the social safety net for the poor and uninsured.

    The Johns Hopkins study follows a Harvard study on health insurance and adult mortality in the US, released last month, which found that nearly 45,000 deaths each year were associated with the absence of insurance among working-age Americans. This figure translates into an average of one death every 12 minutes.

    Researchers arrived at this figure after a 13-year study of more than 9,000 people and accounting for a multitude of factors, including education, income, smoking, drinking, and obesity. After accounting for all of these factors, the uninsured group still had a 40 percent higher risk of death than those with insurance. Reflecting the enormous increase in medical costs over the past two decades, the report notes that in 1993, the uninsured were considered to have a 25 percent higher risk.

    According to the Harvard study, “The increased risk of death attributable to uninsurance suggests that alternative measures of access to medical care for the uninsured, such as community health centers, do not provide the protection of private health insurance.” The researchers add, “Despite widespread acknowledgement that enacting universal coverage would be life saving, doing so remains politically thorny.”

    A supplemental study from the Harvard team, released October 20, suggested that uninsured people with chronic illnesses often go undiagnosed and undertreated. Based on medical data of some 16,000 non-elderly adults, researchers found that of those who were uninsured and suffering from diabetes, fully 46 percent did not know they had the disease. Fifty-two percent of uninsured patients were not aware of their high cholesterol conditions.

    Researchers stressed that along with the dearth of care for the uninsured, the large underinsured population also confronted a lack of access due to unaffordably high co-payments and deductibles

  • Date / Time:

    Workers Struggles: Europe & Africa

    France: press distribution workers go on strike

    Le Monde reported that staff at Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne (NMPP), the largest press distribution company in the country, staged a 24-hour strike October 28, severely depleting newsstands across France.

    The industrial action, which followed a call by the trade union SGLCE-CGT, is the latest in a series of strikes to protest plans by the paper, including the closure of the

    Combs-la-Ville magazine distribution centre, with the loss of a number of jobs.

    Italy: transport workers strike

     

    Transport workers across the country staged a 24-hour strike October 23 to demand improved wages and better working conditions, and to protest layoffs and cuts. The walkouts were scheduled at separate times from city to city. Unions said they would guarantee a minimum service in rush hours.

     

    The Associated Press said Italian carrier Alitalia had cancelled six domestic flights because its workers were staging a four-hour strike.

     

    The strike was called by the Cub, Cobas and Sdl unions. The major union confederations are not participating.

     

    Belgium: BASF workers take strike action

     

    BASF declared “force majeure”—a break in its contractual obligations—at its 115,000 tonne/year maleic anhydride (MA) plant in Feluy, Belgium due to strike action, a company source said, according to ICIS news.

     

    The workers walked out following BASF’s announcement that it intended to pull out of the MA market at the end of 2009 and withdraw all activities from the site, endangering at least 133 jobs. The German chemicals giant cited poor profit margins and the failure of restructuring attempts.

    ICIS news said: “The European MA market was already suffering from low availability due to a number of recent and continued production issues. The force majeure at Feluy was expected to further tighten supply and push spot prices higher.”

     

    Spain: strike at major airline

    Cabin crews at Iberia airlines took two days of strike action last week in support of wage demands.

    The strike has been called by unions representing around 4,300 staff, who want an end to a four-year pay freeze. According to an AP article on October 25, the unions say other Iberia workers, such as pilots, have had wage increases.

     

    A statement on the Iberia web site said the 48-hour stoppage would affect domestic, European and trans-Atlantic flights, about a quarter of Iberia’s flights. Further stoppages are planned for November 10 and 11.

     

    Like its counterparts, Spain’s aviation sector has been badly hit by the international economic crisis.

     

    Hungary: rail strike halts system

     

    A two-hour warning strike by rail workers paralyzed rail traffic nationwide early on October 27. International trains had initially been halted at the border.

    Striking workers were protesting against government plans to close down 33 spur lines, deemed uneconomic, on the state-owned railway.

    Unions stated that the strike was intended as a message to the government. The five railway unions that organized the latest strike have scheduled to continue negotiations with the government next Monday.

     

    UK: BA staff to be balloted on strike action

    The Unite union has announced it will ballot 14,000 cabin crew over whether to launch a campaign of industrial action in protest over the British Airway’s planned changes, aimed at “slowing significant losses for a second year running.”

    “The UK flag-carrier infuriated staff earlier this month by cutting 1,700 jobs, imposing a two-year pay freeze and changing working practices, without any agreement from the union and despite months of negotiations”, reported the right-wing Telegraph newspaper.

    Workers are expected to gather at an emergency meeting at Sandown Racecourse in Surrey next Monday, said the paper, to discuss the changes, which are due to be instigated from November 16.

    At centre of the airline’s plans is to cut the number of crew on BA’s 57 Boeing 747 aircraft from 15 to 14, and require the most senior crew member, who presently has a supervisory role, to start serving passengers.

    Given the legally binding consultation periods, any strike would be likely to take place over the Christmas period.

    UK: second strike by fire crews

    Hundreds of fire fighters in South Yorkshire staged a second 24-hour strike on October 23.

    The strike action took place after 744 employees were threatened with the loss of their jobs if they did not accept new employment contracts requiring that they work 12-hour day and night shifts.

    The fire authority is pushing for crews to work the new shifts in place of the

    current nine-hour days and 15-hour nights, but fire fighters have argued this would result in many problems, especially for workers with families, such as difficulties with childcare arrangements.

     

    The county’s fire authority said fire engines had attended 17 incidents, with a further 28 incidents attended by small fires units. The strike saw managers and volunteers at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service manning 16 front-line fire engines, with various other appliances being used for minor incidents.

     

    The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is planning to hold five further strikes. According to the BBC, the union said fire crews planned to walk out from 1600 BST to midnight every night from October 31 until November 4.

     

    Sheffield, UK: second city bus strike

    Bus drivers in Sheffield, working for the company First Bus, took part in a second, two-day strike this week in a long-running dispute over disciplinary issues. A 24-hour strike which affected all commercial bus services in the city took place last week.

     

    The dispute centres on disciplinary issues at Sheffield’s Olive Grove

    bus depot. About 750 drivers are taking part in the strike.

     

    The Unite union said the issues included grievances over the way the company handled workers who had taken sickness leave and First’s “attitude to disciplinary action”, reported the BBC.

     

    A walkout by drivers in Doncaster and Rotherham was cancelled last week after First offered a 3 percent pay rise by 2010. The new pay deal is to be put to union members in a ballot next week.

     

    A further bus strike is planned for October 31.

     

    Middle East

     

    Egypt: Co-op workers protest against corporate control

    Around 300 workers at the state-run Nile Co-Op Company staged a sit-in on October 25 to protest a plan to rent out a company outlet to a private businessman. Employees claim that the businessman in question already owes the company some LE7.5 million, according to Almasry Alyoum.

    According to trade union member Gamal el-Zomor, the outlet now being considered for rental had been the source of “considerable revenue”, which had previously been used to pay workers’ bonuses.

    Almasry Alyoum cited company syndicate member Ahmed Youssef as saying that the rental contract had been for the period from 1999 to 2004, but that the outlet was never returned to the company, he explained, because the relevant authorities failed to carry out court orders issued to this effect.

    Africa

    Ugandan Clay workers strike over unpaid wages

    Around 300 workers at Africana Clay took strike action last week over salary arrears, vowing to remain out on strike until they had been paid. The workers say they are owed wages for the months of July, August and September. The strike caused the company to suspend its operations.

    The company makes ceramic tiles, roof tiles and ornaments.

    One of the striking workers told the Ugandan Daily Monitor paper, “They are treating us like slaves. They don’t want to pay us our salaries…We have families to look after; our children have been chased for school fees and the land lords are on our necks….”

    The company director John Kikome Lubega said, that following a meeting with workers, the factory would reopen and that the arrears would be paid in the near future.

    Nigeria: Polytechnic staff strike

    Academic and administrative staff belonging to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and the Non Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (NASUP) at the Delta state polytechnics in Oghara, Ogwash-Uku, Ozoro and the physical education college at Mosogar began strike action October 25.

    According to ASUP chairman at Ozoro Polytechnic, Mr Ebiobi, their demands include payment of 28 days hotel allowance when first appointed and to stop pension deductions from their salaries. The unions are also seeking the reimbursement of pension deductions back to April 2007 and for the new salary structure previously agreed to be implemented together with arrears.

    Nigeria: Doctors at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital take action

    Resident doctors at the Edo state hospital in Irrua are taking strike action over terms and conditions. The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) has demanded the re-commencement of sponsorship fees for doctors undergoing refresher training and exam fees.

    They are also demanding renovation of their hospital accommodation. The ARD hospital branch chairman, Dr Samuel Aigere described the present condition of the accommodation as having cracks in the walls allowing infestation by snakes, rats and in some cases with bats flying around in the roof space.

    Journalists attending a press briefing given by the resident doctors this week were manhandled by hospital security staff and had their equipment seized.

  • Date / Time:

    The way forward for Ford workers

    With votes tallied at factories employing more than a third of Ford’s 41,000 US workers, the concessions contract being pushed by the United Auto Workers appears headed for defeat.

     

    If the deal is defeated, it will be the first time auto workers have turned down a national agreement recommended by the UAW since 1982.

     

    The opposition among Ford workers to the cuts in pay and benefits and the no-strike provision being demanded by both the company and the union is an expression of growing resistance in the working class as a whole to the drive by big business and the Obama administration to make workers pay for the failure of the profit system.

     

    It is the culmination of decades of job cuts and concessions in auto, combined with outrage over depression conditions for growing numbers of workers, on the one side, and record pay and profits for Wall Street on the other.

     

    It is critical that Ford workers recognize clearly the forces that are aligned against them, and those to which they must turn to defend their jobs and living standards.

     

    Break with the UAW

     

    The precondition for a successful struggle is the understanding that the workers face no more bitter enemy than the UAW. Decades of betrayals and ever closer collaboration with the companies have transformed this organization into a corporatist business enterprise that serves the selfish interests of its top executives and their bureaucratic flunkies.

     

    Even if the workers vote against the contract—and the vote is not stolen through ballot-stuffing and fraud—the concessions can be defeated only through the organization of a rank-and-file rebellion against the UAW. This means the development of independent and democratic organs of struggle of the workers themselves.

     

    A “no” vote on the contract will immediately be met with blackmail from both the UAW and the company. They will gang up to threaten mass layoffs and plant closures. They will denounce the workers for “breaking ranks” with GM and Chrysler workers who have been forced to accept sweatshop conditions under the bankruptcies engineered by the Obama administration. They will seek to organize a new vote to ram through the deal.

     

    Ford workers should organize rank-and-file committees to overturn the UAW-Ford sellout, prepare strike action, and fight to mobilize their fellow workers to overturn the betrayals at GM and Chrysler. A rank-and-file negotiating committee should be formed to replace the company stooges appointed by the UAW. Preparations should be made to occupy all plants and work locations slated for mass layoffs or closure.

     

    Such a struggle will win mass support from workers, youth and unemployed people all over the country and around the world. It can serve as the focus for a fight-back by the entire working class.

     

    A political fight against Obama and the twin parties of Wall Street

     

    The workers face a fight not only against the company and the UAW, but against the government. The Obama administration has spearheaded the attack on auto workers. With one hand it doled out trillions to the Wall Street speculators, with the other it forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy in order to impose deep cuts in jobs, wages and benefits. The government-led assault on auto workers was a signal to corporations across the country to slash wages and impose speedup.

     

    In resisting the Ford-UAW demand for a ban on strikes, workers are opposing a provision that Obama insisted on imposing on GM and Chrysler workers.

     

    Ford has directly benefited from the government’s restructuring of the auto industry. The company has gained market share from GM and Chrysler, expanded sales in Europe and China, and is making substantial profits. Since February, the value of its shares has increased nearly seven-fold. CEO Alan Mulally pocketed $17.7 million in 2008 and is on the way to make millions more this year.

     

    The actions of the Obama administration demonstrate that the financial elite controls both political parties. To halt the destruction of jobs, working conditions and living standards, workers must combine the mobilization of their industrial power with the building of a new political party—a party of, by and for the working class.

     

    Nationalize the auto industry under workers’ control

     

    To defend the interests of auto workers and society as a whole, the auto industry must be taken out of the hands of the corporate and financial elite. It must be transformed into a public utility under the democratic control of the working class in order to produce high quality, safe and environmentally sustainable transportation and guarantee the living standards of the workers.

     

    The banks and major financial institutions must likewise be nationalized under workers’ control. The vast resources they control must be made available to address social needs, rather than further enriching an aristocracy of speculators and parasites. This should include a massive public works program to provide jobs at decent pay and rebuild the cities and the social infrastructure.

     

    Unite auto workers internationally

     

    It is necessary to reject all attempts to divide the working class along national lines. Economic nationalism and chauvinism are the stock-in-trade of the UAW and the AFL-CIO. As decades of “buy American” demagogy have proven, such appeals play into the hands of the auto companies, dividing American workers from their real allies--their class brothers and sisters in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan--while lining up US workers behind their “own” bosses. Far from “saving American jobs,” economic nationalism has helped the companies destroy jobs both at home and abroad.

     

    The greatest strength that workers have is their international solidarity. The global power of capital, its ability to scour the globe in search of the cheapest sources of labor, must be countered by the global unity and organization of the working class. An appeal should be made to workers in Canada, Latin America, Asia and Europe to launch a common struggle in defense of jobs and wages.

     

    The socialist alternative

     

    The decay of the UAW is the inevitable outcome of its nationalist perspective and its opposition to socialism. The UAW long ago rejected the struggle for the political independence of the working class and tied the fate of auto workers to the fortunes of American capitalism. This has left the working class without a perspective to fight the onslaught of the corporations.

     

    The present crisis gives the lie to all claims that capitalism can guarantee the working class decent living conditions. The preservation of this system means the impoverishment of the working class throughout the country and internationally, in order to pay off the gambling debts of the financial elite.

     

    The alternative to capitalism is socialism—democratic and rational control of the economy to meet social needs, not private profit.

     

    We urge all auto workers to take the immediate step of forming independent rank-and-file committees to carry forward the fight against concessions. If you agree with our program, make the decision to join the Socialist Equality Party and build the new socialist leadership of the working class.

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