Links of the morning - Wed, May 20

Links of the morning of Wednesday, May 20. What I'm reading this morning.

1. Let's start with some good news. This from the DC Labor Council:

WASHINGTON WOMEN BUILDING SOLID FOUNDATIONS: Hoping to build a better future, Washington-area women are looking to break out of low-paying jobs by getting hands-on training in the construction trades. A group of 14 women from Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) completed the hands-on portion of their training last Friday after an eight-week program that provides skill-based training for women who are seeking to enter a trade. “This program enables women who typically find themselves in a cycle of poverty - many in the ‘pink collar’ economy – to have the opportunity to join apprenticeship programs, build careers in the building and construction trades, provide for their families, become empowered by their self-sufficiency and create a stable living environment for themselves and their children,” WAWIT Trades Liaison Sylvia Casaro Dietert told Union City. The 8th WAWIT training cycle included training at Cement Masons Local 891, Laborers Local 657 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 100. WAWIT is a partnership of the YWCA, Wider Opportunities for Women and the Community Services Agency of the Metro Wash ington Council. – photo by Sylvia Casaro Dietert

(DC Union City emails are great - they help keep me connected to local labor issues. Website here.)

2. This on human rights in Burma:

"Dear Friends,

" Burma's democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been locked up on new trumped up charges, just days before her 13 years of detention was due to expire. She and thousands of fellow monks and students have been imprisoned for bravely challenging the brutal military regime with peaceful calls for democracy.

"Risking danger to speak out for their jailed friends, Burmese activists are demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners and calling on the world to help. We have just six days to get a flood of petition signatures to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon calling on him to make their release a top priority -- he can make this a condition of any renewed international engagement. Follow the link to sign the petition, and forward this email on to friends to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners are freed. Burmese activists will present the global petition to the media on May 26th. "

Learn more and take action through my friend Mike's organization, the U.S. Campaign for Burma: http://uscampaignforburma.org/

3. Keeping it international. Here's some headlines from Just Foreign Policy. Thanks, just foreign policy folks, for making it easy to stay informed about what's going on with what the U.S. does worldwide.

--- Pakistan and Rwanda (wait, what??): UNHCR says the Pakistani exodus from Swat is turning into the world's most dramatic displacement crisis since the Rwandan genocide, the Guardian reports. Almost 1.5 million people have registered for assistance, bringing the total number of war displaced in North West Frontier province to more than 2 million, not including 300,000 the provincial government believes have not registered. Aid workers and political analysts warn that if international aid to ease the crisis is not urgently delivered, the strain on the displaced and those helping them could lead to political destablisation.

--- Panama and Trade Agreements: The Obama administration offered business groups more assurances it intends to move several pending trade agreements as soon as possible, The Hill reports. USTR Kirk expressed optimism to the Chamber of Commerce that the Panama trade deal would be submitted to Congress soon, and that he would try to move the Colombia deal this year.

--- Colombia: The Fellowship of Reconcilation says the US is planning to establish a new military facility in Colombia that will give the U.S. increased capacity for military intervention throughout most of Latin America, based on US planning documents. FOR says the plan should be subjected to vigorous debate.

4. It's an international kind of day. Here's an action alert from Oxfam.

Dear Lily,

Today we can extend a hand to more than 850 million people living on the brink of starvation. Ask your Senators to support a comprehensive strategy to end the global food crisis.

As you probably know, the global food crisis has added at least 100 million more people to the 850 million people living at the brink of starvation.

But you may not know that there's a law that could help end this crisis by making US food aid to poor countries vastly more efficient and effective.

But without more support in Congress, it's not going anywhere.

Tell your Senators to co-sponsor the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act of 2009 and help end the global food crisis.

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A note about why I'm doing this. I participate in a lot of action campaigns. It's part of my desire to be a positive influence on the world - which necessitates speaking out when I think something isn't right.

I don't want to make anyone to feel guilty here. I just want to share some things that I read every day that I care about.

If a friend of mine stops by every month or so and clicks a link or two, I will consider this website worthwhile.