Welcome to the People’s Tribune On-line Edition, February, 2010
The People’s Tribune is devoted to the proposition that an economic system that can’t or won’t feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Below is a listing of the February 2010 articles. To view the PDF of the print edition,CLICK HERE <
http://www.peoplestribune.org
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COVER STORY: THE PEOPLE NEED THEIR OWN PARTY
People’s Tribune: “Millions eke out an existence, while profits for America’s 360 billionaires and their corporations soar. Such cataclysmic events set the stage for political polarization – the separation in thinking of the people from their rulers and the opportunity for a class-conscious movement for power over the corporations. . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.03.html>READ
EDITORIAL: WILL YOU BECOME A DISPOSABLE WORKER?
People’s Tribune: “Two recent headlines in the corporate press tell the story. In Business Week, the article was headlined “The Disposable Worker.” And in USA Today: “Jobless Citizens Seeking Day Labor – More Look for Work Alongside Migrants.” Taken together, they reveal the situation facing more and more workers: Nobody’s job is safe and no job is permanent . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.02.html>READ
AVATAR: BEYOND CGI : A MOVIE FOR THE AGES
Andy Willis: “As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, the blockbuster movie AVATAR is a pointed arrow aimed at the heart of exploitation. Is there an important message in this visually incredible movie? Absolutely. . . . “<http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.04.html> READ
WARNING SIGNS
Dee Allen:
“When land is left vacant,
Pitch up a tent on poles.
Drive ropes and stakes into the ground to secure it,
. . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.04.html#two>READ
REVIEW OF PBS FRONTLINE PROGRAM, “CARD GAME”
John Moran: Scoundrels have patriotism, lies and an army of straight men to sell their world view. The program “Card Game” is an enlightening example of stating the obvious. In my view, this is a desperate attempt to quiet the righteous rage the American people have been expressing over the bailout . . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.04.html#three>READ
DETROIT UTILITY & WATER FIGHT UPDATE
Marian Kramer: The protests are continuing in Detroit over the 27,000 or so utility cut offs . . “ <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.05.html>READ
HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE NOT ALONE
Cathleen Williams and Sandy Perry: “On January 20, thousands of protesters gathered in San Francisco from all across the West Coast . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.06.html>READ
THE RIVER
Sarah Menefee:
shoulder to shoulder
face by beautiful face
marching thru the rain
oh my people
oh my sisters and brothers
come from everywhere
and from every struggle
each with a singular heart
to add to the work of justice
. . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.06.html#two>READ
OUR PEOPLE
Cathleen Williams:
Our people are writing this poem
an unusual people
in their borrowed clothes
in their paper clothes and cardboard slippers
together leaning forward and going on.
. . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.06.html#two>READ
CABRINI EVICTIONS PART I
Joseph Peery: “After a holiday moratorium, Cook County Sheriffs Officers resumed evictions in the Chicago area. One of their targets was Cabrini Green, where as many as 14 families may have been evicted. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Willie Fleming, a long time resident of Cabrini Green and an organizer for the Chicago Anti- Eviction Campaign . . . “ <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.07.html> READ
D.C. SAFETY NET IN PERIL, HOMELESS CHANGE TACTICS: HOUSING TAKEOVERS PLANNED
Eric Sheptock : “In Washington, D.C., homeless advocates align their activities with the annual budgetary cycle. During the February-May budget hearings, advocates for the poor and homeless do their best to have sufficient tax revenue allocated for the populations they serve . . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.07.html#two>READ
ALL EMPLOYEES DESERVE A LIVING WAGE
Gloria Slaughter: “On Monday, January 11, 2010, school employees, parents, students and community members stood together outside the DeKalb County Board of Education building to protest the $15,000 raise that the DeKalb County School Superintendent received on January 4th. The School Board voted 8 – 1 to approve the increase in salary. The Superintendent receives a $2,500 a month expense account . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.08.html>READ
SHOULD WOMEN UNDER 50 GET MAMMOGRAMS? PART 2: THE ANSWER IS PREVENTION
Dr. Isaac Wolfe:”The debate about mammograms has been presented as a discussion on how to save lives by optimizing the identification of what is the best way to save lives. However, while the early detection of breast cancer certainly saves lives, the best way to treat cancer is to prevent it. This was ignored during the recent debate . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.08.html#two>READ
RACE TO NOWHERE: MAYORAL TAKEOVER BID STALLED IN MILWAUKEE . . . FOR NOW.
Todd Alan Price: “Over the last several months, a soap opera has played out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Taking place in the Milwaukee Public School District, the storyline, includes dismantling the elected school district, appointing an unelected advisory board, and cutting costs (following the orders of an outside private firm, the notorious McKinsey Report on Education). Mayoral Takeover, as it is called, would save the city some revenue, the business community would prosper. . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.09.html>READ
NO CUTS, NO FEES: PUBLIC EDUCATION MUST BE FREE!
Steve Miller: “Last fall, the Regents increased fees for California’s nine public universities by 32%. Fees were increased by about the same amount for all the states, 3.5 million students attending public higher education. But the Regents had already spent the UC increases before they voted. How could this be? The increases had been “securitized,” . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.09.html#two>READ
HELL IS PRIVATIZED IN HAITI
Steve Miller: “Many of the people reporting on the radio from Haiti talk about how hard the post-earthquake situation is on the poor. For the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, this is the vast majority of the people. There is water, the reports go, but it is only for sale on the streets as bottled water. The public delivery of water, already quite decimated by years of government cutbacks, is non-existent – unless you can pay. Food is available, too, but only at a price . . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.10.html>READ
OH HAITI
Sarah Menefee:
oh Haiti! you are the battered face
of what we do and what we are
poorest of poor: poor made poorer
crushed and abandoned with
the vultures of exploitation
wheeling around your broken bones
dipping their beaks in your blood
sending in their soldiers and guns
to keep you again
from what you need:
a scrap of food a rag to lie on
when all the blankets are laid across
broken bodies
<http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.10.html#two>READ
EZILI
Jack Hirschman:
the world
responds
to the horror
with what
you are—Love
Ezili
the eyelid of a dead
child of nine
feels your
kiss
<http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.10.html#two>MORE
HIP HOP CONGRESS PARTNERS WITH U.S. SOCIAL FORUM & ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE FOR THEIR MIDWEST SUMMIT. . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.11.html>READ
HIP-HOP CONGRESS – HAITI BENEFIT SONG – (SPIT 8BARS)- ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE PEOPLE OF HAITI . . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.11.html#two>READ
GOVERNMENT MUST PROVIDE ADEQUATE DRUG ADDICTION REHAB FACILITIES
Lenette Evans: “On December 11, almost 2 months ago, my step-son Bill H. Gardner IV, was in a tragic accident with his friends. They were traveling on Red Arrow Highway near Sawyer, Michigan. . .” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.05.html#two>READ
BENTON HARBOR, MI
WHIRLPOOL – THE GLOBAL BLOODSUCKERS – WINS IN FEDERAL COURT
Dorothy Pinkney: “Whirlpool, a racist global bloodsucker, continues to disrupt the community by building the golf course, on 530 acres of prime land, centered around luxury housing. This is a Billion dollar project designed to drive all Black Benton Harbor residents from the city. . . ” <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.12.html>READ
HOW CAN THE POOR UNITE
People’s Tribune: “The race question in America has always been used to divide and control the working class as a whole.In the past, America’s poor could not unite in a struggle against the corporations, despite a common poverty. To maintain the divisions among the workers, the powers that be gave petty social privileges to the white poor over the Black poor, making unity impossible. People could not unite when they were unequally oppressed and exploited. . . “<http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.12.html#two>READ
COMMUNITY QUOTES . . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.12.html#two>READ
NEW PAMPHLET: THE PEOPLE VERSUS THE CORPORATIONS . . <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.12.html#four>. READ
YOU NEED TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PEOPLE’S TRIBUNE! <http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.02/PT.2010.02.12.html#five>READ
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