Iraqi-Wisconsin solidarity for workers, against war

This video from the USA says about itself:

10,000 Stand in Solidarity on Iraq War Anniversary

IVAW Madison rally March 19, 2011

A rally lead by Iraq Veterans Against the War brought the labor movement, veterans movement, and the anti-war movement together in Madison, Wisconsin to connect the issues.

From the Iraq Veterans Against the War site in the USA (I have substituted working links for non-working links in the original):

In the wake of the threat posed to what remain of labor rights in Wisconsin, and the public’s powerful response, two Iraqi labor leaders, Hassan Jum’a and Faleh Abood, penned solidarity statements in late February on behalf the 26,000 member strong Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, and the 15,000 member Worker’s Front Against War and Occupation, respectively.

… Two of Iraq’s most prominent labor organizers, both Mr. Jum’a and Mr. Abood were served with charges June of last year, in the Iraqi government’s attempts to stifle their activity. As movements against repression continue to spread in the Middle East (including in Iraq) and austerity clamps down on the US, finding ways to build bridges and create concrete solidarity becomes more and more vital.

Mary Bottari, PR Watch: “The reign of lawlessness continues in Wisconsin…. This week, Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen charged into court in defense of secret government. He argued that when legislators break the law – the courts can’t do anything about it. Apparently legislators, like Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, have ‘immunity’ from the enforcement of their very own laws”: here.

Zaid Jilani, ThinkProgress: “All around the country, right-wing legislators are asking middle class Americans to pay for budget deficits caused mainly by a recession caused by Wall Street; they are attacking workers’ collective bargaining rights, which has provoked a huge Main Street Movement to fight back. Now, a group of House Republicans is launching a new stealth attack against union workers. GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (OH), Tim Scott (SC), Scott Garrett (NJ), Dan Burton (IN), and Louie Gohmert (TX) have introduced H.R. 1135, which states that it is designed to ‘provide information on total spending on means-tested welfare programs, to provide additional work requirements, and to provide an overall spending limit on means-tested welfare programs'”: here.

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