truthteller's blog

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the only socialist in the U.S. Senate, introduced the “Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act” on September 26, 2007. The Act requires employers to hire American workers at higher wages before hiring guest-workers under what is called the H-2B program, a temporary program allowing foreign workers who are less-skilled to work in the U.S. in non-agricultural roles.

The Act also gives the Department of Labor the “explicit authority” to enforce labor law violations “pertaining to the H-2B program,” according to statements Sanders made while introducing the Act.

Late September Buddhist monks in Myanmar, formerly called Burma, led a protest march against the military-controlled government (the Junta). They marched past Nobel Prize winner, Suu Kyi, who was democratically elected as the leader of Myanmar in 1990, but never allowed to assume office. The Junta attacked the monks and other protestors. The Myanmar government claims only ten people were killed, but no one knows how many were really killed.

The occupation of Iraq by U.S. military forces has proved to be a ‘meat-grinder’ for both U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians. National polls indicate that the majority of Americans want U.S. forces out of Iraq. Yet the Senate just passed the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill without timelines for withdrawal.