The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

News

Catholic Bishops Investigate The Girl Scouts

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Today’s WTF Story:

Girl Scouts under scrutiny from Catholic bishops. [CSMonitor.com] – Long a lightning rod for conservative criticism, the Girl Scouts of the USA are now facing their highest-level challenge yet: An official inquiry by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. At issue are concerns about program materials that some Catholics find offensive, as well as assertions that the Scouts associate with other groups espousing stances that conflict with church teaching. The Scouts, who have numerous parish-sponsored troops, deny many of the claims and defend their alliances.

Brian’s Comment:

Clean up your own power-mad money-grubbing homophobic misogynistic pedophiliac den of iniquity, Bishops.

Leave our Girl Scouts alone.

Industrial Worker May 2012

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The May 2012 issue of Industrial Worker from the IWW is now available.

The Industrial Worker is the official (English language) newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World. It is published ten times a year, and printed by GCIU/Teamsters union labor. The editor is elected by the membership via a rank and file vote for a two year term of office.

I’ll be posting a link to the online version of each new issue as if becomes available. You can always find the most recent issue by clicking on the image of the newspaper in the right sidebar of this Weblog.

Headlines:

  • General Strike, Mass Protests Engulf Europe
  • Picket Against Unpaid Labor In Glasgow
  • Polish Ironworkers Walk Out In Wildcat Strike

Features:

  • Some Objections To Occupy May 1st
  • Review: Who Bombed Judi Bari?
  • Sex Workers: “We Ask For Solidarity, Not Salvation”

Download a Free PDF of this issue.

Industrial Worker April 2012

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The April 2012 issue of Industrial Worker from the IWW is now available.

The Industrial Worker is the official (English language) newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World. It is published ten times a year, and printed by GCIU/Teamsters union labor. The editor is elected by the membership via a rank and file vote for a two year term of office.

I’ll be posting a link to the online version of each new issue as if becomes available. You can always find the most recent issue by clicking on the image of the newspaper in the right sidebar of this Weblog.

Headlines:

  • Industrial Bakery Workers Fight For Dignity In NYC
  • Living Wage Victory For IWW Cleaners In London
  • IWW Launches In Uganda

Features:

  • Direct Unionism And Beyond
  • Special: Lessons From Workplace Organizing
  • IW Book Review: The Fiction Issue

Download a Free PDF of this issue.

Millions Join Spain’s General Strike

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The Spanish People Strike Against Austerity and Attacks on Labor

Coming Soon to a Country Near You!

Spain Hobbled by General Strike. [NYTimes.com] – Heavy industry and large parts of the transportation network were disrupted on Thursday by Spain’s first general strike since the Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy came to power late last year.

The strike was called by Spain’s two main trade unions to protest a recent overhaul of labor rules that makes it less costly for employers to hire and fire workers. It came on the eve of Mr. Rajoy’s presentation of Spain’s 2012 budget, which is expected to contain about €20 billion, or $26 billion, in additional spending cuts and tax increases to help Spain meet deficit targets it agreed to with the European Commission.

Millions Join General Strike in Spain. [WSWS] – Yesterday’s general strike against new labour laws imposed by the right-wing Popular Party government was backed by millions.

The two main union federations, the Socialist Party (PSOE)-aligned General Workers Union (Union General de Trabajadores, UGT), and the Communist Party (PCE)-led Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) estimated that the stoppages were supported by 77-80 percent of the workforce. Many more people, unemployed, school children, housewives and students used it as a vehicle to protest government cuts and austerity measures.

Mass stoppages took place in industry, transport and services. The walkout hit road, rail and air service with barely any domestic or European flights in operation.

Industrial Worker March 2012

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The March 2012 issue of Industrial Worker from the IWW is now available.

The Industrial Worker is the official (English language) newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World. It is published ten times a year, and printed by GCIU/Teamsters union labor. The editor is elected by the membership via a rank and file vote for a two year term of office.

I’ll be posting a link to the online version of each new issue as if becomes available. You can always find the most recent issue by clicking on the image of the newspaper in the right sidebar of this Weblog.

Headlines:

  • Pizza Hut Workers Demand A Proper Slice
  • Women Workers Fight Back Against Austerity In Poland
  • General Strike in Nigeria

Features:

  • Special: Centennial of the Bread & Roses Strike
  • A Wobbly Version of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”
  • Labor Solidarity Around the World

Download a Free PDF of this issue.

Big Brother’s Secret Legal Theory

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I wish I could tell you more about the government’s “secret legal theory” that allows them to spy on you, but it’s – you know – a secret.

Democratic Senators Warn About Use of Patriot Act. [NYTimes.com] – WASHINGTON — For more than two years, a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee have warned that the government is secretly interpreting its surveillance powers under the Patriot Act in a way that would be alarming if the public — or even others in Congress — knew about it.

On Thursday, two of those senators — Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado — went further. They said a top-secret intelligence operation that is based on that secret legal theory is not as crucial to national security as executive branch officials have maintained.

Dueling Headlines

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First, from yesterday’s New York Times:

Next, from today’s Wall Street Journal:

When you dig into the details, both reports seem “factual.” The question is whether or not these stories represent competing points of view, or competing agendas.

Click on the images to read the full articles.

G-8 Moved From Chicago

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G-8 summit to be held at Camp David, not Chicago. [ChicagoTribune.com] – President Obama is moving one of two major world summits from Chicago to the presidential retreat near Washington, with an aide saying the president has decided he wants a more “intimate” setting than his hometown for the May gathering.

The Group of Eight meeting will be moved to Camp David, according to the White House, but the gathering of NATO allies and the International Security Assistance Force will go on in Chicago as planned in mid-May.

Camp David will more closely approximate the remote settings in which the G8 leaders prefer to gather. Summits in large cities typically see clamorous protests, while those in the countryside are calmer and more sedate.