Atlanta Progressive News

This article was previously published by the Inter-Press Service at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38374. ATLANTA, Jun 29 (IPS) – Under the banner, “If another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary,” 10,000 civil society activists gathered in Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday for the beginning of the first U.S. Social Forum. A spin-off of the annual World Social Forum, the USSF aims to “send a […]

(APN) ATLANTA — US Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA-04) has joined ten other Members of Congress in supporting H Res 333, a bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. “I believe it was time to send a message to the Vice President and to the Executive Branch as a whole,” Congressman Johnson told Atlanta Progressive News in a statement issued verbally […]

This article contains additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale, News Editor   (APN) ATLANTA — Thousands of progressive activists from around the US and the World marched through Downtown Atlanta on the first day of the US Social Forum. Our conservative estimate of the number of marchers is 5000, also the official estimate provided by USSF spokesperson Karlos Schmeider. However, other […]

(APN) ATLANTA — From 12pm-1pm, 100 public housing residents and advocates from Atlanta and Chicago gathered at City Hall to plead for the preservation of poor people’s homes in Atlanta and across the United States. From before 12pm, to 1pm, thousands of US Social Forum marchers began to arrive early for the USSF March, which was to begin at 1pm. […]

  (APN) ATLANTA — Residents of, and advocates for, Chicago public housing joined Atlanta residents and advocates today for a rally at Atlanta City Hall. About 100 in total protested Atlanta’s plans to demolish public housing. The rally coincided with the first day of the US Social Forum. Organizations represented included the Task Force for the Homeless, ACORN, Women in […]

Interview with Carolyn Clemmons by Matthew Cardinale, News Editor. (APN) ATLANTA — Carolyn Clemmons made 81 years old today, but instead of celebrating, she has been having trouble eating and sleeping at night, due to Atlanta Housing Authority’s mass eviction policies. “I couldn’t eat, even though I’m supposed to eat with my pills, I would drink milk with my pills. […]

(APN) ATLANTA — An amendment to close the controversial School of the Americas or WHINSEC (Western Hemisphere Institute for National Security Cooperation) at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, failed in the US House late last night in a vote of 203 to 214, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. The vote was an improvement over last year’s vote on the same […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously Monday to file an ordinance creating free speech zones, essentially killing the legislation, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. The vote came after the Community Development/Human Resources (CDHR) Committee voted unanimously June 12, 2007, to recommend to the City Council to file the legislation. CDHR Chairman Jim Maddox, who first introduced the […]

(APN) ATLANTA — “More and more Members of Congress are becoming aware of the concerns of the American people to make sure the Constitution is protected,” US Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) told Atlanta Progressive News in a phone interview. Yesterday, US Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chair of the Out of Iraq Caucus, became the eighth total cosponsor of Kucinich’s bill, […]

(APN) ATLANTA — US Congress passed a $120 billion emergency Iraq spending bill May 24, 2007, that included an increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25. President Bush signed it into law May 25, 2007, ending a standoff over the wage issue. The federal minimum wage increase, HR 2, passed the Democratic-majority US House earlier this year, but […]

(APN) ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee (CDHR) unanimously recommended Tuesday to file the Atlanta Outdoor Events Ordinance, which called for Free Speech Zones for protesters, possibly spelling the end for the controversial proposal. The City Council will consider the ordinance with the Committee’s recommendation to file when Members meet on June 18, 2007. […]

(APN) ATLANTA — MARTA’s Board of Directors voted Monday to preserve the Paratransit Fare Structure for fiscal year 2008, ending a standoff between the Board and the disabled community over a proposed alteration to the Paratransit Fare Structure. Disabled riders can currently purchase a Paratransit monthly pass for $105, twice the amount other MARTA riders pay, and have unlimited one-way […]

By Sarah Olson, Special to The Atlanta Progressive News (APN) FORT STEWART — “Just because we volunteered, doesn’t mean we volunteered to throw our lives away for nothing. You can only push human beings so far,” Marc Train, 19, a soldier from America’s heartland, stationed most recently in Fort Stewart, Georgia, says. “Soldiers are going to Iraq multiple times. The […]

(APN) ATLANTA — A City Attorney will recommend to the Community Development/Human Resources Committee of the Atlanta City Council they postpone for two weeks the consideration of the controversial Free Speech Zone (FSZ) ordinance, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. “At the CDHR meeting this Tuesday, June 12th, I, on behalf of the Law Department, will request the Committee hold the […]

(APN) ATLANTA — US Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) became the sixth and seventh total cosponsors of US Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) bill to impeach Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. In addition to Kucinich, the additional four Members of Congress who have signed on to H. Res 333 are […]