People Before Profit blog

LETTERS

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:17:00 +0000

Cheers for Connecticut

Kudos to the Democratic majority in Connecticut that opted to replace Joe Lieberman with Ned Lamont. This was a vote for peace and justice.

To those many others who oppose the war in Iraq, but who are apathetic about bringing it to a halt (“You can’t fight City Hall”), this election victory clearly demonstrates that “yes, we can!”

Lamont’s win gives hope to people throughout the world. There have been too many lies, too many deaths. It is now time to bring our troops home!

Yes, we can!

Irving Kessler Flushing NY

Breaking the travel ban

The recent Cuba Challenge, July 17, at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, N.Y., organized by Pastors for Peace, the Venceremos Brigade and the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, underscored the need for solidarity and human compassion.

The focus of the event was to draw attention to the criminal nature of a 46-year blockade. It was a test for travelers asserting their freedom to travel.

Since 1959, a so-called crisis centered around the Cuban Revolution has been invented as a pretext for imposing greater restrictions on the island, an objective of U.S. foreign policy. Instead, what we observed in Cuba was increased awareness of subtle changes that reflect the intelligence, dignity and a determined spirit among our Cuban brothers and sisters.

The lessons learned during the trip were that justice cannot be served in the midst of lies, propaganda and servility to unjust laws.

Our experience emphasized the importance of neighbor-to-neighbor contact.

Richard Grassl Via e-mail

Government neglect on Agent Orange

I read with interest Tim Wheeler’s article and the comments made by a Mr. Dan Shea with regard to Vietnam and Agent Orange (PWW 5/13-29).

Many years have passed but my memory is clear on the service people I met with concerning their families and themselves, with all manner of disability and medical conditions. In fact, the name of the group was the Agent Orange Victims of South Jersey (New Jersey). I met them in a house out in the country and their stories were different but the same. They were being denied medical and psychological services, not being believed, and were very angry. I am an advocate for the disabled and someone had given my name to one of the families.

All the men were sick or medically involved one way or another (cancer of varying types, skin rashes and conditions that were horrible, etc.) The children had varying kinds of disorders and disabilities.

It was their belief that the government would cover this up for as long as it could, until most of the guys died, and/or their kids as well. In most cases that came to be true.

Ronee Groff Via e-mail

Differs on Hezbollah

I disagree with Webb’s and Markowitz’s analysis of Hamas and Hezbollah (PWW 8/5-11, 8/12-18).

It is unfair to blame provocations by Hezbollah for Israel’s invasion. For one thing there is some dispute on whether the kidnapping of Israeli troops took place in Israel or Lebanon. Another thing is that Israel currently holds thousands of Hezbollah and Palestinians are being held illegally by Israel and Hezbollah was trying to get some of them released.

Hezbollah was formed to defend Lebanon against Israel’s invasion in 1982. They are soldiers, not terrorists. Their attacks in Israel have been targeted at military targets for the most part. They are a national liberation organization and a victory by them against Israel is a defeat for imperialism. Are not the Lebanese permitted to defend their country from a foreign invasion?

As for Hamas, in January 2005 it passed a resolution to replace armed struggle with political struggle and agreed to a unilateral cease-fire and stopped terrorist attacks. As for the support of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, Fatah and the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have joined a Hamas-led national unity government. The only way for peace to come to Israel and Palestine is for Israel to negotiate with Hamas.

Sean Mulligan Via e-mail

Getting Kansas vote right

I’m an AFSCME activist and got your paper at our international convention. Re: “Great day for Kansas” (PWW 8/12-18), a year ago, after the Kansas Board of Education voted to dilute the science standards, I got involved and found that [board member and creationist supporter] Connie Morris padded her state expense account on a Miami junket by about $3,000. She made immediate reimbursement when confronted with the charge, but the majority protected her from prosecution. The dishonesty is what cost her the election.

The board had voted 6-4, not 6-2, as you reported, to change the science standards to permit “alternate” theories to be presented alongside what they called “the religion of Darwinism.” Because of prior court decisions, they could no longer mandate the teaching of the pseudo-scientific “creationism.” When they rewrote the standards, it was with a three-person committee including Morris that heard from 25 witnesses, many with dubious credentials.

Not only was the fundamentalists’ majority reversed, but they may lose one or two more seats in the November general election.

There were other issues besides evolution involved. The majority, especially Morris, was anti-immigrant, anti-bilingual education, anti-sex education, anti-world history, pro-voucher and pro-charter schools.

Frank Smith Bluff City KS

Take back Congress?

Your coverage of the November elections follows the slogan, “Take Back Congress.” Since when have we — the people who know the reality behind the liberal-conservative, Democrat-Republican coalition and who read publications like PWW — ever had Congress?

Brian Hokanson Minneapolis, MN

Wake up Wal-Mart rocks St. Louis

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 06:05:00 +0000

ST. LOUIS — As part of the nonstop, cross-country “2006 Change Wal-Mart, Change America” tour, over 150 trade unionists, activists and community leaders rallied here Aug. 11. The tour, scheduled to visit 35 cities in 19 states in 35 days, is sponsored by WakeUpWalMart.com and is designed to build awareness and pressure Wal-Mart to become a better corporate citizen.

At the rally, Jim Dougherty, president of Local 655 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said, “We need to turn up the heat on Wal-Mart.” Dougherty said that Wal-Mart portrays itself as a community business that cares about working families, but the “real Wal-Mart is cutting wages, cutting workers and cutting health care. Over half of Wal-Mart’s workers don’t have health care — over 775,000 workers.”

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, employs over 1.4 million people and operates 3,400 stores across the globe, controlling more wealth than most small nations. And while the retail giant’s CEO made $10.6 million last year, Wal-Mart’s U.S. employees average around $8.50 an hour, or around $13,500 a year.

Jeff Smith, who recently won Missouri’s 4th Congressional District primary race, said, “Wal-Mart wreaks devastation upon the countryside. Where Wal-Mart opens, small businesses close.” Commenting on the groundswell of popular activism surrounding the WakeUpWalMart campaign, Smith said, “This is a testimony to the power of ordinary people spreading the word.”

Many speakers connected the fight for higher wages at Wal-Mart with the recent Give Missourians a Raise Campaign, a statewide ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.50 an hour.

A spokesperson for Claire McCaskill, candidate for state Senate, said Wal-Mart “has a responsibility to set the trend for other companies to follow by providing fair wages. … We can all advocate for fair wages and support the Missouri ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage.”

McCaskill’s opponent, right-wing Republican Jim Talent, has voted against raising the minimum wage 11 times, despite the fact that he himself receives a pay raise every year. Missouri Gov. Matt “Baby” Blunt also opposes raising the minimum wage.

Lew Moye, president of the St. Louis chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, told the World, “Wal-Mart made $11 billion in profits last year. They can afford to share the wealth.

“Wal-Mart’s wages undercut good paying union jobs,” he said. “We have to hold Wal-Mart accountable and take action.”

Cuban Five lose appeal, fight continues

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 05:36:00 +0000

A federal appeals court handed down bad news for the Cuban Five on Aug. 9. It reversed a decision from its three-judge panel one year ago that nullified their Miami trial because of prejudice.

The Five — Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez — were arrested in 1998 for efforts to thwart violent anti-Cuban attacks emanating from Florida with the connivance of the U.S. government.

A 10-judge majority opinion said the original trial was fair, with even-handed jury selection. It sent the defense back to the original three-judge panel to seek rulings on nine unresolved issues.

The men spent 17 months in solitary confinement between their arrest and their trial in 2000. They were sentenced the following year, but had to wait another four years for a decision from the three-judge appeals panel. Then, in an unprecedented move, the court accepted the prosecution’s request for a full-court review of that decision. No other case in U.S. history has dragged on longer than this one.

“The majority whitewashed the question of the coercive atmosphere of Miami,” defense attorney Richard Klugh told a news conference Aug. 10. Attorney Leonard Weinglass said, “This is not the end of the case.” The six appeals attorneys will meet next week to decide between asking the Supreme Court to rule on the question of community prejudice and returning to the Appeals Court panel for rulings on the nine remaining issues.

Bruce Nestor, past president of the National Lawyers Guild, said the decision had “very profound implications for anybody seeking a fair trial within the current political climate in the United States.” The ruling gives the government “immense power to raise politically motivated cases and then find a venue where the community prejudice and attitude will ultimately favor them in the trial,” he said.

In a message to the prisoners’ families, Geoff Bottoms, co-coordinator of Britain’s campaign for the Five, wrote that “the timing of the decision appears designed to further undermine the sovereignty of the Cuban people.” He was referring to leadership changes in Cuba and the July 10 restatement of U.S. plans to return Cuba to its capitalist past.

At the trial, defense experts testified that the defendants caused no harm to U.S. government installations, personnel or strategic plans. They were monitoring private, well-financed paramilitary groups who specialize in bombs, automatic weapons and terror against Cuba. Terrorist attacks against Cuba over decades have caused over 3,400 deaths and economic losses in the billions, according to sources in Havana.

Three of the men, convicted for “conspiracy to commit espionage,” not actual spying, are serving life sentences. Jailers regularly impose solitary confinement on the Five, and the U.S. government blocks or impedes family visiting.

Amnesty International, the UN Commission for Human Rights, and parliamentarians worldwide have taken up their cause. An International Month of Action, Sept. 12-Oct. 6, seeks to bring greater world attention to the case.

Sept. 12 is the eighth anniversary of the prisoners’ arrests. Oct. 6 is the 30th anniversary of Luis Posada’s downing of a Cuban airliner, killing 73 people.

A march on the White House is scheduled for Sept. 23. Demands include freedom for the prisoners, family visiting rights and Posada’s extradition to Venezuela. Lead organizers are the National Lawyers Guild, the Committee to Free the Five and the National Network on Cuba. Other rallies will take place in Seattle, Detroit, and New York.

LETTERS

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:48:00 +0000

Minimum wage & seniors

Has anyone taken a poll of all the seniors between the ages of 55-62 that are being exploited with this minimum wage law? I am approaching 60 and am being discriminated against because of my age. The only jobs that I can get are through Experience Works. I work at nonprofit organizations as an administrative assistant 20 hours a week for $5.15 an hour. It is not because I lack the skills, it’s because no one wants to hire anyone my age. I’m not in the minority with people my age there are a lot of us that no one considers in their arguments concerning raising minimum wage. Take a poll you will find that we are not in the minority, we are the hidden majority. We need someone to speak for us. Because of our age a lot of us are uninsured. We have medical needs and medications. Most of us are victims of job elimination due to downsizing or companies moving out of the area. We need to be counted.

Beverly King Via e-mail

Ex-NASA chief responds

In the article “Time to end the Republican war on science” (PWW 7/29-8/4) Tim Wheeler writes a review of Chris Mooney’s recent book, “The Republican War on Science.” In the book, Mooney states that I, as NASA administrator at the time, told scientist James Hansen that he should not “talk about dangerous anthropogenic interference because we do not know enough or have enough evidence” to prove that use of fossil fuels is causing the earth’s temperature to rise.

I did not say this to Dr. Hansen. The referenced discussion was alleged to have occurred several years ago at a briefing Dr. Hansen gave to several senior NASA officials.

More than a year later, the New York Times and Washington Post reported Dr. Hansen’s recollection of the briefing and attributed this comment to me.

The Times and Post gave me the opportunity to respond and I maintain that Dr. Hansen is mistaken in his recollection. All others in attendance, including the director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the NASA associate administrator for Space Science, were also quoted that they had no recollection of any comments to this effect from me or anyone else at the briefing with Dr. Hansen.

I am disappointed that your publication would have reprinted an inaccurate statement. At a minimum, I would have appreciated your publication offering me the chance to respond.

Climate change is an important topic that deserves debate — and that debate is degraded by this offensive repetition of inaccuracy. Let’s get back to debating policy options.

Sean O’Keefe Via e-mail

Sean O’Keefe is the former NASA administrator. A sentence was added to the online article that Mr. O’Keefe denies making that statement.

Disappointing

The recent manifesto by Communist Party Chairman Sam Webb on the war now engulfing Lebanon and Gaza was a disappointment. (PWW Online eXtra “The Middle East in crisis,” posted July 26).

It is my view that Webb’s analysis was off the mark.

Webb should have first read the declarations of the Israeli and Lebanese Communist parties. The Israeli CP sees this as an imperialist war aided and abetted by U.S. imperialism to “reshape the Middle East” as Condoleezza Rice openly and candidly declares, with Israeli youth being the cannon fodder and Israeli society paying the price. The Israeli CP is calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of troops. Nothing is said about the so-called provocations by Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Lebanese CP is calling for all-out resistance and is supporting Hezbollah with over 100 fighters.

Webb says that all methods of struggle must be exhausted before any people resort to violent behavior. This is well taken, but is he aware of the two historic Palestinian intifadas and decades of peaceful struggle which resulted in increased oppression, more illegal settlements and dismemberment, more Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners and more homes razed by bulldozers thus weakening the moderate and left Palestinian forces and giving rise to the fundamentalist solution.

The Palestinians and Lebanese had reached the point of utter and absolute desperation. Our party should be more careful in its analysis of blaming the victim. Salam (peace).

Hazzim Yousif Detroit MI

Correct position

Sam Webb’s position in “The Middle East in crisis” is, in my opinion, correct and statesmanlike. While Webb’s position will not satisfy many people who want straightforward rhetorical answers to assuage their anger, it is, I believe, a good position in a very bad situation.

Hezbollah and Hamas are, in my opinion, clerical fascist organizations that Marxists should not and would not support anywhere, even if they come from oppressed peoples. The Palestinian people are certainly a super-oppressed people and communists have long supported the PLO as their representative. The Israeli government has used the Hezbollah provocation to achieve strategic goals in southern Lebanon with the support of the Bush administration.

Marxists don’t and never should judge the nationalism of the oppressed as comparable to the nationalism of the oppressor but we never supported right-wing Zionist groups like Menachem’s Bitar in pre-war Poland in spite of the oppression of Polish Jews. Communists have supported anti-colonial, anti-imperialist nationalist movements in many nations that were not Marxist and were even anti-Communist, but had some relationship to a broader left, not clerical right-wing organizations feeding on the suffering of the oppressed and actively supporting violence to solve all problems. I realize that Israel is the one with the great military power here and has carried out the invasion, but it is not simply a question of either-or, imperialist vs. anti-imperialist, aggressor vs. victim.

Norman Markowitz New Brunswick NJ

LCLAA spells solidarity

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:55:00 +0000

SAN ANTONIO — If anybody thought the working class is splintering under the American right wing’s battering ram, they could take heart from the convention of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), which concluded here Aug. 5.

The bonds of solidarity barred every conceivable division: between men vs. women, Latinos vs. other nationalities, unionized vs. unorganized, public workers vs. private, AFL-CIO vs. Change to Win, citizens vs. immigrants, craft unions vs. industrial unions, old vs. young, and gay vs. straight.

Milton Rosado, the group’s president, said Latinos comprise about 13 percent of the U.S. workforce, and that percentage is increasing. He cited a growing list of worker grievances, with stagnant wages at the top of the list.

“We cannot afford to be blind to attacks on the civil rights of workers,” Rosado said. “LCLAA is the most effective defense that the workers have.” He stressed the need for immediate coordinated action: “Mañana is too late!”

With 1.7 million members, this union-led civil rights organization is one of the country’s largest Latino organizations. Speakers and panelists came from all aspects of union and civil rights struggles.

Rosa Rosales, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, pledged to work side by side with LCLAA.

Both of America’s labor federations were strongly represented among the delegates and on the podium. Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, played a prominent role in the proceedings.

Virtually all of the speeches explicitly rejected the current efforts by Congress and the Bush administration to degrade and criminalize immigrants. A special “Town Hall meeting” was devoted to standing in solidarity with non-citizens working in this country.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston denounced Republicans for unethical maneuvers on the immigration issue. She said that, instead of honest parliamentary procedure, “the Republicans called for the biggest road show of false truths that you can imagine.” She said the current hearings being held around the country are “encouraging Americans to come out and show the worst of their sides.” She branded them “hearings that are contracted and contrived.”

Steve Saldana of Catholic Charities stated flatly that he and other religious leaders would go to jail if HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner bill that passed the House last December, becomes the law of the land. The bill would criminalize the undocumented as well as anybody who helps them.

AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson explained the reason behind the right-wing assault: “Immigrant workers are the ones that we need to be organizing, because they are the most growing segment of the workforce in America. The reason behind Sensenbrenner and the Senate proposals is to keep us from organizing!”

The convention passed 41 resolutions that extended solidarity, from local organizing drives to international questions such as opposing military aid to Colombia and calling for a recount in the Mexican elections.

LCLAA delegates studied America’s problems of education, organizing and how to win the upcoming elections. A special emphasis on action was underlined by a militant picket line with San Antonio’s postal workers. Four regional immigrant rights demonstrations were announced for early September.

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 05:19:00 +0000

CRAWFORD, Texas: Sheehan returns to Camp Casey

“Last summer I made a commitment to be here every time George Bush was supposed to be on vacation,” said Gold Star peace mother Cindy Sheehan last week. Her son Casey, 24, was killed in 2004 while on duty in Iraq. “The troops are still in Iraq,” she said.

Sheehan stood in the blazing sun with religious and peace activists continuing their vigil to end the war and occupation of Iraq, now in its third year. Thousands of people are expected to join Sheehan on the recently purchased 5 acres of land known as Camp Casey.

Last year, the county commissioners enacted ordinances prohibiting roadside camping and parking, formerly a common practice in rural Texas.

Unlike last year, Bush will only be on vacation at the compound for only 10 days. The administration drew heated criticism for staying on vacation in the wake of Katrina.

COLUMBUS, Ohio: ‘Culture of corruption’ takes down Ney

Not even voters in the so-called “ruby red” rural south central 18th Congressional District of Ohio could tolerate the stench of corruption emanating from the office of their Republican Rep. Bob Ney, in his sixth term. Ney announced Aug. 7 that he would not seek re-election, although he has not yet filed a withdrawal notice.

Ney is tied to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Accused of selling legislative goodies, Ney’s former chief of staff Neil Volz has pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. In late June, three of Ney’s senior staff resigned. Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed them.

Zack Space is the Democratic candidate for Ohio’s 18th, a nationally targeted district where Bush received 57 percent of the vote in 2004.

PITTSBURGH: GOP donors support Green candidate

Slumping in the polls, Sen. Rick Santorum, Republican Senate leader, resorted to slipping money to the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate Carl Romanelli, allegedly to siphon off votes from Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr.

Answering a call from Santorum, traditionally Republican donors kicked in at least $66,000 to the Green Party of Luzerne County. They used the money to hire Florida based JSM Inc. to collect about 100,000 signatures to get Romanelli on the ballot, according to press reports.

“It’s no surprise to anyone that when you’re an incumbent, having more people on the ballot benefits,” said Santorum to the media in a Pittsburgh suburb. “This is politics.” He fell silent when asked why he did not encourage Republican donors to contribute to the campaign of conservative Constitution Party candidate Carl Edwards or Libertarian Party candidate Tom Martin.

Meanwhile, Republicans have launched a “swift boat” campaign against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Republican operatives held a rally Aug. 3 in Johnstown, Pa., defaming the decorated Marine officer and member of Congress for 32 years. Although Murtha was campaigning for another Democrat, over 200 of his supporters staged a demonstration supporting him. Republican Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey, a real estate developer, is running against Murtha in Pennsylvania’s 12th CD.

TOPEKA, Kan.: ‘Great day for Kansas’

The state school board became the target of late night comedians last year when they voted 6-2 to change public school science standards, recommending alternative theories to evolution. Voters changed that Aug. 1 when they ousted creationist supporter Connie Morris. Creationism is a religious-based idea pushed to rival evolution.

West Kansas Republican moderate Sally Cauble defeated Morris in the state’s primary. The door is now open to reverse the policy and restore science to Kansas’ public schools with a 6-4 moderate majority on the state board.

“This is a great day for Kansas,” Cauble said.

“I’m hoping this shows Kansas, politically, wants to return to the center,” said Kansas Citizens for Science leader Jack Krebs.

The state school board has seesawed between right-wing and moderate leadership since 1998. Voters removed the right wing in 2000. However, they came roaring back in 2004.

RALEIGH, N.C.: Tarheel State sets up innocence commission

With the mounting number of convictions overturned on DNA evidence, the North Carolina state Legislature took action. By a margin so wide that the money is already in the state budget, they voted to establish the country’s first Innocence Commission, Aug. 3. Signing the measure into law, Gov. Mike Easley said, “Its creation gives our criminal justice system yet another safeguard by helping ensure that the people in our prisons in fact belong there.”

With a budget of $210,700, the eight-member commission will begin accepting claims from inmates in November.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696@aol.com).

Dear Comrade Fidel Castro,

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:15:00 +0000

We wish to extend to you and the Cuban people our very best wishes for a speedy recovery from your recent surgery. We hope you will be able to quickly resume your invaluable work in the struggle for world peace, justice and equality.

We also want to a ssure you that we will remain steadfast in our work to oppose the dangerous provocations coming out of the Bush White House and the extreme right-wing Republicans in Congress. You have our full solidarity in exposing and fighting their vicious plans to remake Cuba and overthrow the democratic will of the Cuban people.

The ugly demonstrations in Miami are a disgrace, egged on by the Bush administration, and not representative of the true general feelings of the majority of the American people. The truth is that overwhelmingly, most people, regardless of their political feelings, reject such anti-human, uncivilized and repulsive behavior.

Again our best wishes for you speedy return to good health.

National Committee Communist Party USA

LETTERS

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 08:43:00 +0000

Qana in the last days of July 2006 “All the frankincense grown in the land is brought to Cane (Qana), as to a warehouse….” — Alexandrian merchant, 40-70 AD

In this city now of rubble and bodies and bodies and bodies of the burning dead, In this city the mother of a prophet once begged her son to turn water into wine. Now water has turned into blood on pebbled streets, once used by tourists.

This city where the ancients stored incense in large palm baskets, the dead are wrapped in blankets and carried way, amid the screams of pain and rage, and no incense can hide the stench of death.

In this city of precious lavender and sun-drenched olive trees, lies a cemetery of marble crypts, paying honor to those slain once before, their photos open to the smoke-filled air, and the same butchers, sending death from the sky, offer condolences for this “necessary” maneuver.

On this cruel morning, as the dawn rises on another day, I mourn the slaughter of these children, their parents and grandparents, and all those beautiful southern women of Qana who died before their time.

Luis L. Tijerina Burlington VT

Lebanon invasion was pre-planned I am writing to thank you for the wonderful article: “Stop the Bombing” (PWW July 22-28). There is nothing spontaneous about the Israeli attack on Lebanon, and this attack is not in response to low-level military activity on the border as the Bush administration and Israel would have us to believe. The San Francisco Chronicle printed an article headlined: “Israel set war plan more than a year ago. Strategy was put in motion as Hezbollah began gaining military strength in Lebanon.” It went on to report: “More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail.” I think it is useful too to challenge the thinking that pigeonholes Hezbollah as a “terrorist” organization. Hezbollah, founded in 1985, is a political organization with a military wing, participating in the government in Lebanon. While not a Marxist or Communist party, it does advance the national aspirations of the Lebanese people despite the Bush administration’s attempts to tar it with the easy to use and hard to define term “terrorist.”

Eric Brooks Indianapolis IN

The view from here A few issues ago you printed a letter from a reader who complained that there was only “one view for all Puerto Ricans” (PWW 7/1-7). In almost all publications in the U.S. Puerto Ricans do get one view, that Puerto Rico is best off being associated with (read “dominated by”) the U.S., either through the present colonial status or by annexation, making that nation a part of the U.S., which would be the apex of colonialism. The PWW strives to give them another view, the democratic, progressive viewpoint: self-determination and independence. In Puerto Rico there are a number of dailies on the island that espouse the view of those that favor the destruction of the Puerto Rican nation — statehood — or the present colonial arrangement for Puerto Rico. They also push the agenda of Washington on the people of Puerto Rico (imposition of federal death penalty, Puerto Ricans fighting in wars that do not have anything to do with them, etc.) On the other hand there is only one weekly that presents the independence alternative and practically nothing on TV and radio that presents an alternative voice to the people of Puerto Rico.

José A. Soler North Dartmouth MA

Police torture In Chicago, evidence has come to light of past incidents of police torture. Unfortunately prosecutors won’t do anything because too much time has gone by. There shouldn’t be a statute of limitations on police torture. We citizens need to put limits on police power, unless we want to live in a police state.

Chuck Mann Greensboro NC

Torture victim speaks out Re: Pepe Lozano’s “Chicago torture probe draws worldwide attention” (PWW 7/1-7). As a victim of the torture, I relive what happened to me each and every day. Many times, it is a passing thought. Then there are the times when even the therapy cannot ease the pain and suffering. I have never had an avenue to deal with the clinical needs that would have helped me come to grips with the torture. For years, I had to withhold any thoughts about it. In short, the majority of the torture victims were helpful to Jon Burge. Nobody talked or got advice in dealing with their cases. Who would we talk to? Who would listen? Today, only the mayor, City Council, corporate counsel, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State’s Attorney Dick Devine continue to ignore the crimes of Jon Burge and the other detectives. As lawsuits continue to mount, citizens can bet their life savings that the amount of money allocated to defend, settle and resolve the police torture and abuse cases have surmounted the spending on Soldier Field, Millennium Park and that great big bean in the sky all together! My question is will the citizens of Chicago hold Daley and all accountable for their participation in the biggest scandal in Chicago’s history?

David Bates Chicago IL David Bates is active in the struggle for justice for torture victims.

EDITORIAL: Poison pills

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 08:18:00 +0000

Does the hard working woman refilling your coffee cup at the lunch counter look like she deserves a pay cut? That could be the outcome if the minimum wage bill, passed in the dead of the night by the House of Representatives, makes it past the Senate. The bill also provides for a dramatic cut in the estate tax for multimillionaires. These “poison pills” in the minimum wage legislation are the price Republican lawmakers are demanding in exchange for a modest increase in the federal minimum from the current $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.

Just hours before the middle-of-the-night vote, Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) took to the House floor to brag to minimum wage supporters that “you have really seen us outfox you on this issue tonight.”

The tip provision in the law would affect workers in seven states where current state law doesn’t allow employers to count tips workers receive toward their minimum pay. The House bill would override that prohibition and institute a $2.13 minimum wage for workers who receive tips. In Washington state, for example, waitresses, bartenders or hairdressers who now earn the state’s minimum of $7.63 would take a $5.50 pay cut.

The bill “is the first time in history that the federal government has acted to put a ceiling on minimum wage levels, rather than establishing a national floor from which the states can make improvement,” said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute.

By an 80 percent margin, the American people support raising the minimum wage. Did the bosses’ representatives really “outfox” the people on this one? November can’t come soon enough.

NATIONAL CLIPS

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 05:56:00 +0000

WASHINGTON: Antiwar fast nears second month

Before British Prime Minister could share tea with President Bush, July 25, he had to run a gauntlet of peace activists who blocked a White House entrance. Under the banner of CodePink, demonstrators, including Ann Wright, a retired Army colonel, sat down in the driveway and refused to move. Police arrested five of the several dozen participants in the day’s events.

Antiwar activists have been camped out here since July 4 and, borrowing a page from Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez, they have been fasting to end the war and occupation of Iraq — to bring the troops home “fast,” they say. Thousands have joined the fast nationwide.

On Aug. 15, the White House fast will relocate to Camp Crawford, near the Bush compound in Texas, to join Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan and peace activists. Sheehan’s son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

FRESNO, Calif.: Death toll climbs from heat

A record-setting, two-week heat wave in California has claimed at least 126 lives. Loralee Cervantes, coroner here, said the 50-person refrigerator in the morgue is full, mostly with people aged 65 to 80. “I’ve never seen these kinds of numbers,” she said.

The temperature outside was 110.

This is just a preview of what’s to come if we do not change our behavior, warns Jet Propulsion Laboratory climatologist Bill Patzert. In the past century, he said, with skyrocketing use of fossil-based fuels, “we have had an extreme makeover.” Average temperatures have risen 3 degrees during the day and a whopping 7 degrees at night. Global warming is no joke.

In Missouri, 13 people died while the region struggles to restore power following massive storms on July 19 and July 21. The heat index, which adds the impact of humidity to air temperature, reached 115 degrees.

Idahoans are sweating through the third straight summer of high heat and drought. University scientists say that soaring temperatures has resulted in early snowmelt, reducing hydroelectric power and increasing the number of forest fires.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, some residents of Queens in New York City sweltered in the dark for 10 days when Con Ed’s power network there collapsed. Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the giant utility corporation for its work, but Queens resident Christos Padadopoulos was furious. “Angry, that’s not the half it,” he said. “I’m angry with the mayor and Con Ed.”

MIAMI: Synagogues, Jewish businesses defaced

“This is a significant attempt to harass and intimidate the Jewish community,” said Art Teitelbaum, director of the southern area Anti-Defamation League. “It’s an anti-Semitic incident but it’s a challenge for everyone.”

Teitelbaum spoke to reporters as workers cleaned up Congregation Shaaray Tefilah and Young Israel of Greater Miami. On July 30, four men were seen spray-painting swastikas, “KKK” and “You’re Next” across the two synagogues. One man was arrested and is in custody.

The same night, two businesses — Judaica Enterprises and Kosher World — were also hit. Police said they believe it was a random act, but Yitzie Spalter, owner of Kosher World, said, “I don’t believe it was kids. They were too organized to come to two temples in the neighborhood and two Jewish stores.”

The Anti-Defamation League reports that anti-Semitic attacks have increased in south Florida from 173 in 2004 to 199 in 2005.

CINCINNATI: Ohio labor backs ‘Medicare for All’

Ohio steelworkers, electrical workers and other manufacturing workers know the impact of having hard-won health care coverage ripped away with one stroke of a corporate pen. They rallied 589 delegates to the state’s AFL-CIO convention and joined Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Connecticut labor calling for passage of HR 676, the Conyers Medicare for All bill, a single-payer health care program.

“The U.S. health system continues to treat health care as a commodity distributed according to the ability to pay, rather than as a social service to be distributed according to human need,” the resolution read in part. “Insurance companies and HMOs compete not by increasing quality or lowering costs, but by avoiding covering those whose needs are greatest.”

The resolution will be sent to the Ohio congressional delegation and calls upon all member unions and their communities to take action for passage of HR 676.

National Clips are compiled by Denise Winebrenner Edwards (dwinebr696@aol.com).