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THIS WEEK IN PEOPLE’S HISTORY, OCT 30-NOV 5  
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_ ‘The Boss’ Protests (1984), Halloween Parade Is Born (1974),
Algeria Fights for Freedom (1954), Safety First Isn’t for Everyone
(1974), Thanks for Your Service (1874), Global Warming’s a Hoax.
Really? (2019), If You Can’t Beat ’em, Shoot ’em (1934) _

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‘THE BOSS’ PROTESTS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, IS THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY of Columbia Records'
release of the "Born In the U.S.A." single by Bruce Springsteen and
the E Street Band. 

It is one of Springsteen's many super-songs, ranked 275th on Rolling
Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and 59th (out of
365) on the Recording Industry Association of America's “Songs of
the Century.”

The song's lyrics are an unambiguous protest against the War Against
Vietnam and the many severe hardships -- social, economic, political
-- for the rank-and-file residents of the nation that failed to impose
an imperialist regime on an unwilling Vietnamese population.

Nevertheless, “Born In the U.S.A.” has been (mis)interpreted as a
patriotic anthem by some right-wingers -- from Ronald Reagan to Donald
Trump and their supporters -- who do not hear the lyrics or do not
choose to understand them.  

Follow the link for a video (directed by John Sayles) with a sound
track taken from the song's studio recording, synced-up to images of a
live performance and scenes depicting a less-than-triumphant North
American working class, Plus subtitles for anyone not sure of the
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_A HALLOWEEN PARADE IS BORN _

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31 IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the first Greenwich
Village Halloween Parade in New York City.

The inaugural parade (in 1974) was organized by – and the brainchild
of – master puppeteer, actor and theater artist Ralph Lee, an
experienced designer and producer of outdoor theatrical performances,
including parades, pageants and celebrations. With modest funding from
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the first parade
featured huge puppets built by Lee and a cadre of neighborhood
volunteers. Some 200 people marched a mile from the courtyard of the
Westbeth studio, to the arch in Washington Square.

From that humble beginning it was not many years before the event
mushroomed into the world’s largest Halloween Parade, which has been
called New York City’s Carnival. Lee, who continued to direct the
parade for 12 years, died in 2023.
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_ALGERIA FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM_

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, is the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the
war between Front de Libération Nationale in Algeria and the French
army. Seven years and four months later, in 1962, the fighters for
independence reached an agreement with France that established an
independent Algeria after 132 years of French rule. For an
introduction to an important chapter in the fight for
self-determination, visit
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_SAFETY FIRST ISN’T FOR EVERYONE_

ON NOVEMBER 2, 1974 (50 years ago), the International Federation of
Chemical and General Workers Unions met in Geneva, Switzerland, and
declared that employers should be required to prove that a substance
was safe for workers and consumers before the substance was introduced
into industry.  

The Federation's position was one of the first efforts to mandate
enforcement of the "precautionary principle”

The idea behind the precautionary principle was an ancient one, but it
was not until the 1970s that organizations such unions and governments
began to regard it as having the potential to be an enforceable legal
or contractual requirement.

In 2006 the precautionary principle was made a general principle of
the law of the European Union in matters such as product safety, the
use of additives for use in animal nutrition, the incineration of
waste, and the regulation of genetically modified organisms. 

In the U.S., the precautionary principle has long been mandated in
several specific activities, such as the Food and Drug
Administration's requirement that new pharmaceuticals be tested and
proven safe before they can be offered for sale.

But many government agencies whose main mission is the promotion of
safety -- such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the
Consumer Product Safety Commission -- have largely avoided requiring
that employers prove the safety of an innovation before putting it
into production, to the considerable detriment of many unlucky workers
and consumers.
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_THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE_

ON NOVEMBER 3, 1874 (150 years ago), Civil War hero Roberts Smalls
(who had been an enslaved person when he was born) was first elected
to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives where
he served for 12 years. For details of his wartime heroism and his
later service as an elected official, visit
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_GLOBAL WARMING’S A HOAX. REALLY?_

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4 IS THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of the Trump
administration’s formal notification to the UN that the U.S. would
withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
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_IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ’EM, SHOOT ’EM_

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, IS THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY of an episode of
election-related violence in Kelayers, a small Pennsylvania
coal-mining town on the outskirts of Hazelton, in which members of the
town's most powerful family, the Brunos, who were all Republicans,
opened fire on a peaceful election-eve parade of Democrats, killing
five and wounding a score. 

The 1934 shooting occurred at a moment of high political tension in
Kelayers, when a New-Deal-inspired Democratic tide was in the process
of dethroning the long-dominant Bruno clan from their ability to run
the town as it saw fit. Exactly what the Brunos hoped to accomplish by
killing parading Democrats as they marched defiantly in front of the
Brunos' mansion no one knows. The bloodletting, if anything, inspired
an unusually high vote for Democratic candidates the next day, who
swept the Republicans from office.

In the end, the two senior Brunos were convicted of murder and
sentenced to life, while four of their sons and nephews were convicted
of manslaughter and sent to prison for shorter terms. All of the
killers were paroled long before they had served their sentences.
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For more People's History, visit
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* Bruce Springsteen
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* Greenwich Village
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* Halloween
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* Algerian uprising
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* Health and Safety
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* Reconstruction
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* Climate Deniers
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* election violence
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