Honduras’s supreme court has rejected an ultimatum by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to reinstate the country’s president after he was deposed in a military-backed coup.

–The people of Colombia deserve better.

–Could this mean that the medical professionals are starting to realise that their status in the middle class is under attack in the same way workers in the rest of the economy are? Maybe that is a stretch, but the only way to address the economic attacks on all working people in the province is to stand together.

One wonders whether any liberals will shed tears for Hyam Ayash.

“[The] relief boat [was] carrying 21 activists, medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children’s toys en route to Gaza, violating the Israeli blockade and trespassing the country’s territorial waters.”

“All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June”

“Unlike every other recipient of US military largesse, Israel is permitted to bypass the Pentagon and to deal directly with US suppliers. Consequently, the Israel Lobby’s influence multiplies, because military suppliers fight for Israel in congressional committees in order to get Israel’s business. This lets Israel turn the screws on Iran.”

A short history of Iranian politics which delves further than the past two weeks.

“At least 1.9 million people have been displaced by fighting between militant Islamists and the Pakistani armed forces. … The humanitarian crisis in Pakistan, the biggest in the world right now, has attracted only a minuscule amount of help.”

Also see: Unicef plea for Pakistan refugees | BBC

“[I]t [i]s the biggest internally displaced population since the Rwanda crisis in 1994.”

–Sensible policy.

It is disgraceful that our government thinks that cutting ambulance services is an acceptable response budget deficits.

“Currently all 50 [US] states criminalize spousal rape, but remnants of the marital rape exemption are still present in many states’ laws. Most states, like California, for example, define spousal rape as a separate (and lesser) offense than stranger rape.”

They are little white, yellow or green pills and are available almost anywhere. At the pharmacies or in the market, they are accessible, addictive and cheap.

“I take them because it makes me forget, at least for a little while, that I’m in Gaza,” says Abu Alaa, a resident of the strip and father of four. “There is no alternative.”

–Yet another reason that economic understanding needs to be promoted by unions and progressive organizations in Canada. The reality is that the contradictions inherent in capitalism are smacking us all in the face on a daily basis, but we do not seem to have the resources or understanding to know which direction we should go.

–There is no question that there is an issue with the way the general public views the unions that are currently on strike. It stems from a general lack of understanding about how unions negotiate their contracts and the economics of the current recession. Also lost is the sense that if people are earning more than you then you should unionize yourself to demand higher wages instead of insisting that the other workers earn less.
I must admit, I am not as surprised as Stanford is by this reactionary assault on the unions that are currently on strike. The corporate media is all about fueling this feeling so that they may sell newspapers—reactionary drivel always sells more newspapers than reasoned analysis. What is troubling is that none of the newspapers are taking their role to educate the public about the economy seriously. Unions are the only mechanism that working people have right now not to bear all the burden of the economic downturn. Education about the way that we all interact with the economy must start to be a main focus of unions and other progressive organisations if we are going to arm the general public with reasons to march in solidarity with workers fighting for a better tomorrow.

“Following Tuesday’s initial bids, of the six oil and two gas fields on offer, Iraq had only struck a deal with a BP-led consortium for Rumaila, the largest oil field available… Bids on the others came in far above the maximum fee the government was willing to pay for every extra barrel of oil produced.”

“In the current bidding round, Iraq said it would reimburse companies for costs and pay them a per-barrel fee for increases in production from the country’s abundant but long-neglected fields. But it did not offer the companies an ownership stake in the crude, which would have been a more attractive type of contract.”

“The US president has said that he expects Washington to eventually reach a free trade deal with Colombia… ‘I commended president Uribe on the progress that has been made on human rights in Colombia and dealing with the killings of labour leaders,’ Obama said”

“Financial institutions, including the World Bank and regional banks, have also ordered the suspension of loans and payments to the impoverished nation. … The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, meanwhile, asked to visit Honduras to evaluate the situation of some 30 people missing or detained after Sunday’s coup”

“High school girls as young as 16 are being forced to sell sex on the internet by a group of their former fellow students, according to North Vancouver RCMP.”

Analysis on the Lebanese elections earlier this month.

–Health care in Venezuela.