–Send a message to Walmart and demand that workers be able to defend their rights to unionise.

–The Conference Board is predicting a continued decline until 2010. However, the economy continues to do worse than expectations of whatever economists the major media companies are polling so it is anyone’s guess what the real outcome will be. More here from Bloomberg.

And for the broader economy see this article from Bloomberg. It is interesting to note that all the predictions and even current measures of the economy tend towards erring on the optimistic side.

Interesante artículo sobre el sexto aniversario de las juntas de buen gobierno establecidas en territorio autónomo zapatista.

“Social justice? Struggle against neo-liberalism? The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Guantanamo? Visit their websites or read their journals, online articles. Hardly any mention of these issues. The “hard-line communists” usually include some general talk against capitalism, but most don’t even see these issues on their radar screen. Half of these “leftists” I have dealt with support privatization as a Western measure that brings about “economic growth. … What do these “leftists” think about Hamas or Hezbollah? Forget about them. In the first place, they are guilty by virtue of being religious. The fact that they are being assisted by the Iranian regime makes them doubly guilty. In my opinion, judging a movement for its religious ideology rather than its class character is nothing but outright racist” (emphasis added).

Just brilliant.

“Bloomberg is reporting that Honduran coup leader, Roberto Micheletti has accepted the Arias plan, which means — if true — that Manuel Zelaya will be, with conditions, as president.”

–The revolution is Linux powered.

–It is the sport that will never go out of fashion on the right.

From the M.s. Citizenship Feminist Collective:

As of January 1 2008, Winnipeg Police Services’ CrimeStat service changed the definition of sexual assault to “ an offence that combines the components of assault with circumstances of a sexual nature where the suspect is not known to the victim ” (emphasis added) from the definition based on the Criminal Code which includes sexual assaults where the suspect is known or unknown to the victim.

Over 78% of assault in Winnipeg is perpetrated by a suspect known to the victim (Statistic found in “Mean Streets?” Comak, Chopyk and Wood, p.7). This definition change is not in line with Crimestat’s stated principles of disseminating accurate information and promoting transparency and accountability. Winnipeg is the only Canadian city which reports on sexual assaults in this way (As reported by Gabrielle Giroday in the article “ Board wants police website to report all sexual assaults” in the Winnipeg Free Press, May 29, 2009)

We encourage you to sign a petition demanding that Crimestat and Winnipeg Police Services restore the original definition to include those sexual assaults perpetrated by someone known to the victim. We believe that finding holistic and effective solutions to domestic and sexual abuse begins with being given accurate information.

“Consumer confidence typically is swayed by “good news” hype. The drops in the Conference Board’s and the University of Michigan’s measures of consumer confidence in July suggest that Americans are becoming inured to recovery hype and are realizing that the government and the media lie about the economy just as they lie about everything else.”

Also see: Stockwell Day: The Recession is over | Penticton Western News

–It seems the larger corporate owners of copyright are trying to undermine the public consultations. No surprise, but people should still be upset.

“”All of Musharraf’s illegal actions will be discussed, which include forced disappearances, one of the major causes for the sacking of Iftikhar Chaudhary,” retired squadron leader Khalid Khawaja told Asia Times Online … Khawaja is a flagbearer of the campaign for the release of detainees who have been held for years in detention centers without trial.”

“The Plan Socialist Guayana is Venezuela’s first example of real democratic planning from below”

An instructive piece outlining the challenges to organising socialist enterprises as opposed to sustaining state-capitalist ones.

An ominous article, especially considering President Chavez has just frozen relations with Colombia.

If Britain’s tradition-bound Conservatives can experiment, why can’t Canadian parties? | Preston Manning

-Fine, Preston. But this is only a valid democratic reform if it accompanies proportional representation, and while we are at it, Senate reform. Canadian democracy has a long way to go yet.

“[I]t is “false” to say Afghan culture is inherently misogynistic. “By the 1950s, there was a growing women’s movement in Afghanistan, demonstrating and fighting for their rights,” she says. “I have a story here” – she rifles through her notes – “from The New York Times in 1959. Here! The headline is ‘Afghanistan’s women lift the veil’. We were developing an open culture for women – and then the foreign wars and invasions crushed it all. If we can regain our independence, we can start this struggle again.”

Imperialist threats against Iran’s right-to-exist are getting louder.

“Total compensation to the top six Vale executives increased by 120% in the last two years (from 2006 to 2008). Still Vale insists they need to radically impose these concessions from their Canadian workers.”

Vale Inco is also threatening to implement a worker severance plan in Indonesia.

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, July 26 (Yonhap) — Scores of demonstrators were arrested after they clashed violently with riot police in a sympathy protest for laid-off workers of the troubled Ssangyong Motor Co., police said Sunday.

Production at Ssangyong’s sole plant in this rural town has been paralyzed for two months as nearly 1,000 unionized workers protesting a mass layoff have occupied a paint shop and other facilities. Thousands of riot police who cordoned off the plant have been bracing for a possible raid since last week.

In the coming weeks, B’Tselem will publish data that it collected on the Palestinians who were killed in Gaza in Operation Cast Lead. Attached is an update on our work procedures in preparing the data.

For two decades, B’Tselem has maintained a comprehensive databank on all persons killed in the course of the violence – Palestinians, Israelis, and others. Information on Israelis, civilians and soldiers, in Operation Cast Lead are based on IDF Spokesperson announcements and on available Israeli sources.

Herman smashes the CPD’s attempt at justifying imperialist intervention in Iran.

Michelletti attempted supported joining ALBA and Petro Caribe, he also attempted to repeal term limits 24 years ago. The Real News provides their analysis on why the coup actually happened.

“If it wasn’t about Chávez or term limits, why overthrow Zelaya so close to the end of his rule? Zelaya was removed from power hours before what would have been the first ever popular consultation in Honduran history—in order to gauge support for having the Honduran people write their own constitution, to replace the one written in 1982 under a US-backed military dictatorship.”

Also see: Manuel Zelaya: Democracy Has a Price and I Am Prepared to Pay It | MR Zine

“I am going to risk everything and the world is taking the same risk with my return. I’ve said that if there is an assassination General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez will be responsible for my death”