Vol. 75/No. 43      November 28, 2011

November 28, 1986
The catastrophic release of millions of gallons of poisoned water into the Rhine River, one of Europe’s most important waterways, was the direct result of corporate greed.

The huge spill, November 1, resulted from a fire that destroyed two warehouses at the Sandoz chemical company in Basel, Switzerland. Fire fighters dumped millions of gallons of water on the blaze. Combining with tons of lethal chemical, this water then poured into the Rhine. The river runs through Switzerland, West Germany, France, and the Netherlands, where it flows into the North Sea.

The destroyed warehouses lacked the most elementary fire safeguards. The buildings where the fire erupted were originally built to house machinery.  
 
November 27, 1961
The apparent decision of the Justice Department to move with “deliberate speed” in its prosecution of the Communist Party does not lessen the danger to democratic rights inherent in this first attempt in the nation’s history to outlaw a political party. If the Kennedy administration succeeds in forcing dissolution of the Communist Party, a precedent will exist which could ultimately lead to the suppression of all political opposition.

The Justice Department had given the Communist Party until Nov. 20 to turn over its membership lists, financial records, etc. The demand was based on a ruling, approved by the Supreme Court, that the party must register under the Internal Security Act as a “foreign agent.”  
 
December, 26, 1936
A unity convention of the Minnesota locals of the Workers’ Alliance of America was held Dec. 12 and 13 in St. Paul. An attempt of Communist Party elements to provoke a split in the convention failed.

The organized unemployed in Minnesota have been divided into two groups. First from point of view of size and effectiveness has been the Federal Workers Section of Local 544. This organization, sponsored, financed and organized by the General Drivers Union Local 544, has been in existence ever since the 1934 drivers’ strikes in Minneapolis. Because the F.W.S. has this tie-up with the organized union movement, workers in this area obtained probably the highest relief and work relief standards in the United States.  
 
 
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