Eclipsed from the headlines by the ongoing carnage, there is an active
civil resistance in Iraq that opposes the occupation, the torture regime
it protects, and the jihadi and Ba'athist 'resistance' alike.
All activities at the Port of Oakland, the nation's fourth-busiest container port, ground to a halt Thursday after a one-day strike was called by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
It was part of a larger shutdown of 29 West Coast ports to protest the continuing war and occupation of Iraq by the United States military... ILWU officials said more than 25,000 longshore workers at ports from Southern California to Washington state participated in the strike...
"Longshore workers are standing down on the job and standing up for America," Bob McEllrath, ILWU International president, said in a statement.
"We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq."
Pacific Maritime Association officials called the ILWU's work stoppage "illegal" and in defiance of an independent arbitrator's order for longshore workers to report to work as usual Thursday. They also claimed union officials may use work slowdowns to "leverage contract negotiations" two months before the current contract between ILWU and the association is scheduled to expire.
"Shutting down the ports in defiance of the contract and the arbitrator's order in no way benefits an already-fragile U.S. economy," said Steve Getzug, an association spokesman. "We have a lot of serious issues to resolve at the bargaining table, and the nation cannot afford uncertainty about the reliability of the West Coast ports."
The ports of Tacoma and Seattle were also shut down for the day (Tacoma News Tribune, May 2), as were Los Angeles (the nation's busiest), San Diego and Long Beach. (Reuters, May 1)
The inconvenient facts and unanswered questions surrounding the attacks are legion, but the endemic sloppiness of the self-styled "researchers" is delegitimizing the entire project of critiquing the "official version." The ostentatiously named "Truth movement" is not clearing the air, but muddying the water.
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WAR AT THE CROSSROADS
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The Balkan region is intensely multicultural - a point of crossroads and clash for some of the world's major religions, cultural spheres, and economic systems. While there have been vicious wars in Balkan history, these have taken place in the context of manipulation by imperial powers and the self-serving local leaders who cater to them.
opensource technology and the people of May First
ILWU shuts West Coast ports to protest Iraq occupation
From East Bay Business Times, May 1:
The ports of Tacoma and Seattle were also shut down for the day (Tacoma News Tribune, May 2), as were Los Angeles (the nation's busiest), San Diego and Long Beach. (Reuters, May 1)
See our last post on the anti-war effort.