Hundreds of thousands of mostly Hispanic immigrants skipped work and took to the streets Monday, flexing their economic muscle in a nationwide boycott that succeeded in slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants.

Police estimated 400,000 people marched through Chicago’s business district. There were two major rallies in Los Angeles, the first of which the mayor’s office estimated drew 250,000 people.

I was at that march. We started marching at 11 am. At 3 pm, there were still marchers coming in to the rally area. It was huge. And the other march may well be bigger.

KPFK reports the school district said 72,000 students were absent today from school and that 90% of the truckers at the ports were absent, effectively shutting them down. Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild said officials told him it was at least 500,000.

And it happened all across the country. The boycott succeeded. The movement grows. (More later, I’m fried.)

More photos on Flickr.  Check this one, full-sized.

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Invading Iraq spurred global terrorism

In its latest annual report on global terrorism, the U.S. State Department admitted that the number of ‘terrorist incidents’ and deaths since America invaded Iraq, has increased largely because of the war itself.

In other statements of the obvious

High gas prices will last years, Bush aides say

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Excerpts from an interview with Nativo López, president of the Mexican American Political Association, on the May Day Protests.

“You get what you’re ready to fight for”

The three-tier legalization program offered by Hegel-Martinez in the Senate is a codified caste system–a sort of bantu apartheid system that is tacitly un-American and unacceptable. It would result in the complete division of families, and that’s why our families find it so repugnant and unacceptable.

However, our greatest fear is that the Democratic Party will be unwilling to make a complete fight to oppose this version–in its haste to make a deal and impede the growth of this new civil rights movement.

Anthony Sotero fought for his rights and the rights of others, and he was repressed by the school authorities, criticized by the corporate media, sent back to school by political leaders, chastised by adults and patronized by too many other social hierarchies. He was the first victim and martyr of this new movement.

You get from life what you are ready to fight for. This is the message we have constantly conveyed to our base, and they have internalized this. They are ready and willing to fight for the whole enchilada. Why not? They have nothing to lose.

The next possible steps for the movement by immigrants is organization, organization, organization–of a permanent and politically independent character, where leadership can be developed, groomed, and prepared for the future fights that are sure to come.

I’ll be at the L.A. march at Olympic & Broadway today (and maybe the Wilshire march too, who knows) and will have reports and photos upon returning.

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If the Labour Party, as expected, loses enough seats in Thursday’s election, then rebels will be able to launch a highly damaging attack against Tony Blair, who is already reeling after multiple scandals and relevations. This could be the end for Tony.

Blair Watch has the details, Blair - The Knives Are Out, and is encouraging people to vote for any party but Labour.

[tags]tony blair[/tags]

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Powell puts some distance between himself and Bush.

Here’s why I call Colin Powell “the chameleon .”

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Finally, the major media has picked up on what I have been saying for years. The initial domino that drove oil to its current high level was the loss of Iraqi production. The ongoing attacks in Iraq have stripped 1.6 m barrels a day from the market. For an inelastic oil market beset by rapid growth in demand (both China and the US), this was a huge shock.

This confirms what I’ve been saying for a while. Not only are the Bushies nasty and freedom-hating, they are also incompetent. They invade to get cheap oil and instead drive prices up. They haven’t succeeded at much of anything, have they?

Above link from Global Guerillas, who also says the Iran war has already started.

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