I really ought to be reading Weber instead of blogging, but I don't really feel like reading Weber right now, so instead I blog. The Times is reporting that people trying to evacuate from coastal Texas are lining up at Greyhound stations trying to get on buses, but there are none. Meanwhile Bush is lecturing Jewish Republicans (that is so trayf) about preparedness and patting himself on the back.

NYU's union-busting is destroying its international image: Via People's Weekly World

International support for NYU union
Presidents of three countries canceled their scheduled appearances at New York University in a show of support for graduate students there struggling for union recognition. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, and Nestor Kirchner of Argentina were scheduled to discuss “Latin American and Europe: Challenges and Realities” on Sept. 15 when the AFL-CIO asked them not to appear at any NYU events until the university agrees to negotiate with GSOC/UAWE Local 2110, the union representing graduate teaching and research assistants.

This university's spent fifteen years trying to rebrand itself as a "top notch," globalized research institution. Their vision of the work the university does is looking a lot like Richard Levin's right down to who does that work and just how little control over it we have. But folks around the world have put forward a different vision, and Lula, Kirchner, and Rodriguez Zapatero are all pro-labor politicians who are refuing to cross picket lines and violate a boycott and should be applauded for it. It's sad that NYU is wiling to squander an event like this rather than negotiate in good faith with the folks who teach its undergraduates.