People Before Profit blog

Letters

Fri, 20 Dec 2002 04:56:00 +0000

Remembering Roy and Paul

A year ago, my good friend Roy Rydell died. Yet he is still with us – certainly in spirit! In Oct., Paul Wellstone died also. Your 'Remembering Wellstone' article (11/9) was great.

I’m sending this small contribution to the People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo Fund Drive in Roy and Paul’s memory.

May I suggest that a booklet with Roy’s human interest articles be published. I miss them, as I think many others must.

Best wishes, in these very troubled times, for your greatly appreciated work.

M. Phyllis CunninghamNew York NY

Initial meaning

Enforcement of the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act is advocated by a C.A.B.A.L. (Contradicting All Basic Accepted Laws).

Fiorindo DiDomenicoHoney Brook PA

No to the death penalty

There is one thing about the PWW that I agree with completely and that is your opposition to the death penalty. I one hundred percent oppose it. I call it the ritualistic butchering of homo sapiens. It is barbaric and it serves as no deterrent. We execute the poor, minorities, and mentally ill people.

It is all grossly improper.

Cletis Harry BeegleTucson AZ

Reporting war’s impact

Thanks for the terrific article in Dec. 14 issue of the hearing in Chicago. [John Bachtell’s 'Hearing focuses on war’s impact' ] Your report of the hearing on how war with Iraq would impact union members and other working people is very important for people to know.

Betty CleggLombard IL

U.S. grabs UN documents for cover-up

It was rather bold, the way Bush snatched Iraq’s weapons declaration out of the UN’s hands. Just imagine the reaction years ago if the Soviets had trampled on the Security Council’s prerogatives the way the US has throughout this politically whipped-up standoff.

The facts are that Iraq’s weapons programs were only activated during the years that Saddam was protected by the Reagan and then Bush administrations. Iraq admits it was quite close to building an atomic bomb just prior to the 1991 Gulf War, while still officially a U.S. ally. Since then, Saddam has been stripped of any credible military posture.

There’s no great mystery why Bush wants to control the Iraqi declaration, as it’s likely to contain incriminating details about U.S.

corporations, government agencies and politicians who helped to arm Iraq in the first place. There may even be evidence of U.S. violations of various non-proliferation treaties. But now we’ll never be certain whether the CIA-vetted document ultimately released to the world is either accurate or complete.

Cord MacGuireBoulder CO

From an SOA prisoner

Excerpted from a letter to School of the Americas Watch supporters

Thank you for your letters of support. Your concern and encouragement gives me a glad-heart especially to realize the broad nature of the peace network that extends across this nation and the world.

There are some 220+ inmates here most of whom are convicted of nonviolent drug-related crimes. They will languish in prison for years due to the government’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Studies have shown that the average sentence served for murder charges is 6.3 years; the average U.S. prison sentence for marijuana is 10 years. The increase in the number of U.S. citizens jailed for nonviolent drug related offenses since 1980 is more than 800 percent. And an estimated 70 percent of the women here do not have a high school diploma. If I didn’t believe it before, I do now, the so called 'war on drugs' is really a 'war against the poor' in this country.

There is no end to the many interlinking injustices that call on our time for action. I urge you to continue making these connections when you call or write your Congresspersons to have them vote to abolish the [School of the Americas] and to stop the escalation of the war against the people of Iraq. Add to the list abolishing the mandatory minimum sentencing laws and reinstating the parole board system that’s been eliminated.

Sister Kathleen Greenville Federal Prison Camp Kathleen Desautels 90966-020 P.O. Box 6000 Greenville, IL 62246

Editorials

Fri, 20 Dec 2002 04:26:00 +0000

Stop the Bush-Cheney coup in Venezuela

Bush administration schemes to overthrow democratically elected President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are coming unraveled. Bush joined the anti-Chavez coup plotters in their call for Chavez to agree to 'early elections.'

But then the Organization of American States voted 32 to 0 in support of Chavez, the first time in history the OAS has defied U.S. diktat. The OAS resolution states: 'Resolved: To fully back the democratic and constitutional legitimacy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela … led by Hugo Chavez Frias, and to reject categorically any coup attempt.'

Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer hastily backpedaled, claiming Bush supports the OAS stand.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Army Chief of Staff Gen. Julio Garcia Montoya denounced a 15-day lockout as an 'irrational and brutal action against the country.' National Guardsmen seized control of oil tankers idled by a 'strike' of captains that was branded as 'piracy' by their crews.

Caracas police arrested a Portuguese provocateur, Joao Gouveia, on charges of firing the shots that killed three and wounded 28 anti-Chavez protesters. Gouveia reportedly confessed that he was paid 35 million Bolivars by coup leader Gen. Medina Gomez to open fire on coup supporters. (Snipers who opened fire killing several anti-Chavez protesters last April 11 were released by 'dictator-for-a-day' Pedro Carmona during his 24-hour coup.)

At home, hundreds of groups and individuals signed a letter to Bush initiated by 16 House members demanding that he 'state unequivocally that the United States government opposes any attempt to remove the democratically elected government of Venezuela by a military coup or other unconstitutional means.'

These same groups set up picketlines outside the offices of the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington and other cities Dec. 18 to protest NED’s role in the coup. We welcome these actions in opposition to another Bush-Cheney 'coup for oil.' We urge our readers to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela.

Peace on earth?

Unending war, preemptive strikes, missile defense, smallpox, global climatic change, AIDS, terrorism, pollution, poverty, racism and inequality – these are just some of the issues facing humanity. A bit overwhelming isn’t it?

This time of year many people gather with family and friends and reflect on their hopes and aspirations for themselves and their children, the bountifulness of nature and the wish for peace on earth. A wish that may seem as elusive as ever.

Or is it?

Poet Nikki Giovanni wrote:

In the name of peace

They waged the wars

Ain’t they got no shame?

Apparently they have no shame. But, who is 'they' and why do they wage war?

Since the Peace movement’s inception, many have grappled with this question. Today, the Bush administration and the monopoly corporations it represents are the 'they.' Their 'Pax Americana' policies, aimed at making the world safe for corporate greed, are the driving force behind humanity’s monumental problems, including the current threat of war. Now mainstream America is coming to grips with why peace on Earth is needed now. We on the left and in the Communist Party see these problems as embedded in the system of capitalism and the struggle by capitalists to retain their power over the working class and everybody else – the class struggle.

Not everyone may see it quite that way. But most will agree it will take a lot of voices, especially in the U.S., coming together to guarantee that the Bush administration does not have its way with the world.

More than a century ago, the abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner said, 'Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child … I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth…' How to turn swords into ploughshares is the historic challenge before us.

Peace on earth? If we work hard. And working people of all races and nationalities have never been afraid of hard work. As a former President of the UN General Assembly, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, once said, 'The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war.'

Letters

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 06:25:00 +0000

A world without war is possible

More than 300 people concerned about the Bush administration’s drive toward war against Iraq gathered at Riverside Church, Nov. 23, to raise their voices for peace.

It was billed as “A Call to Action: A Conference for Justice and Peace” and the main slogan was “A world without war is possible.”

The Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr. senior minister of Riverside Church welcomed the crowd and Jim White from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Manhattanville chaired the daylong meeting sponsored by 28 religious and peace and justice organizations.

Michael Klare, professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., delivered the keynote speech on “U.S. Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism” while the Rev. Simon Harak, S.J., speaking for Voices in the Wilderness spoke about the “War on Iraq.” Nancy Chang from the Center for Constitutional Rights spoke on the loss of civil liberties in the U.S.” from the Bush-Ashcroft “war on terrorism.”

There were also speakers from the Islamic, Jewish and Christian communities.

The conference adopted “principles of unity” that stated, “We condemn the detention and profiling of Arabs and South Asians and understand the implications for all immigrants and African Americans. We oppose religious discrimination whether it be anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish, or anti-Christian. In an era of globalization, we think that racism must be understood and opposed from an internationalist class perspective.”

Lillian RydellNew York NY

The bottom line

I love and appreciate the goodness in our country, but just as a parent does to their children, I must say when we, the United States are wrong.

Our leaders in the Pentagon and the rich were and are a big part of the problem. They are conceited, ignorant and quick on the trigger. At some point they are simply protecting their positions and fortunes and not much else. This is why many countries do not like the U.S. We’re behaving like bullies and are into power and wealth.

It’s time to change or modify our definition of success for the Pentagon and the rich. Protect our freedom – yes! Abuse and misuse free enterprise and capitalistic system – no!

Journalism is our watchdog. The press must be honest with their own questions and tell us the information we need to stay a democracy.

Let’s get with it America. We’re electing the wrong people We have to have better leaders, watch where our taxes go, bring back the railroads, and look forward to a modest future. Peace. Shalom.

Charlotte FiskettiDuluth MN

Dialog

I just became a new subscriber to PWW. I read Brandi Kishner’s article titled “Change our election system” (11/16). When I saw the title I thought that I might read about abolishing the Electoral College system, or eliminating the 435 membership cap on the U.S. House of Reps. or term limits for the Supreme Court Justices. It’s good that you exposed some of the precinct glitches that stifle the free flow of the people to vote but it is the time for you to write and be critical of a two party/one party system, money and winner take all system! There is no deeper problem so to speak.

Chris O’bannonvia e-mail

Author’s note:

Brandi Kishner answered Chris’ e-mail: Fundamental election reform is necessary. To begin the process we must bring political discussion into our homes, communities and workplaces. Politics may not be polite, but at a time like this it is necessary.

What about crime?

Thank you for your excellent web site. You provide articles that are well done and I am appreciative of them. I have a request for a possible topic that your fine writers may wish to write. As a bus driver I deal with hundreds of passengers a day. I am in conversation with the young, old, poor and the wealthy of our society. The topic most discussed is crime and its effect on any possible change in the future. What they want is the crime to stop. I realize this is painting a topic with a broad brush. I understand the underlying reasons for crime and I try to convey that understanding to them, but that is not what they want to hear. What they want is a quick fix and that simply is impossible. Nonetheless, if you have the time or desire for this subject it would be appreciated.

A readervia e-mail

Editorials

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 06:17:00 +0000

Racist Lott needs to go, too

There are angry demands that Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) resign because of his comments at a going away party for Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) last week. He stated that the country would have been better off if Thurmond had won the Presidential election in 1948. Thurmond ran as a violent pro-segregationist on the Dixiecrat ticket.

Lott has apologized but that isn’t enough. After all, in 1980, Lott made the same racist endorsement of Thurmond while campaigning for his own re-election in Mississippi.

We join the people’s organizations which say “good riddance” to Thurmond. (See pages 4, 13) Furthermore, Lott should go, too, and not let the door hit him on his way out. Imagine! A Senate leader in 2002 uttering such an outrageously racist statement as to wish for a segregated country. Lott is a member of the Conservative Citizen’s Council, formerly known as the White Citizen’s Council. If the Senate Republicans reelect him as Majority Leader, they become accomplices in Lott’s foul racism.

There is not one issue facing the people in which racism is not a factor. As Gus Hall, late Communist Party national chairman, said, “Racism is the nation’s most dangerous pollutant.” The five young African- American and Latino men wrongfully convicted in the Central Park rape case who spent 13 years in prison were victims of racism. The New York media, police and prosecutors whipped up racist hysteria, referring to them as “animals.” Racism poisons white people with the idea that people of color are not human.

Racism has often been referred to as prejudice plus power. Lott and his ultra right and corporate backers certainly have both prejudice and power. Racism means the absence of democracy. Democracy and racism cannot co-exist.

George W. Bush was present when Lott made his infamous remarks, joining in the revelry. He needs to sober up and join in the calls for Lott’s resignation.

Lessons from Oslo

With the Nobel podium in Oslo, Norway, as his bully pulpit, former President, and now Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter, sharply rebuked the White House drive toward war on Iraq. He did not mention George W. Bush by name, but his words were understood by everyone: “For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences,” Carter said. He also warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that he must comply with United Nations resolutions ordering Iraq to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction and cooperate with UN inspections.

But the thrust of his acceptance speech was aimed at the main danger to world peace, the Bush administration’s doctrine of unilateral, preemptive war.

The global challenges facing humanity, Carter said, “must be met by an emphasis on peace, in harmony with others. … Imperfect as it may be, there is no doubt that this can best be done through the United Nations.”

Carter also challenged “the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth” and urged rich nations to “share with others an appreciable part of our excessive wealth.” He condemned embargoes imposed in the name of ousting tyrants which in fact “inflict punishment” on millions of innocent people. These, too, put Carter at odds with the arrogant, ultra-right policies of George W. Bush.

When the prize was first announced, Nobel Committee chair, Gunnar Berge, told reporters Carter had been chosen explicitly in criticism of Bush for his warmonger role. Now Carter himself has echoed that sharp criticism. It dovetailed with Carter’s trip to Cuba where he met with President Fidel Castro and denounced the U.S. blockade.

Carter is speaking for a strong majority of world public opinion and a growing body of opinion in the U.S. against war on Iraq and the dangerous Bush strategy of “preemptive war.” Our challenge is to broaden and deepen that call for peace to encompass the overwhelming majority in our country.

AK ends 3-year lockout

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 04:31:00 +0000

PITTSBURGH – Armco/Kawasaki (AK) Steel ended its three-year lockout of over 600 members of the USWA at its Mansfield, Ohio, plant Dec. 10.

In a statement, the USWA hailed the triumph of union members’ solidarity. “The tragedy is that this company took three years to realize it needs the skilled and experienced work of our members to operate its Mansfield facility,” said USWA president Leo W. Gerard.

Ohio steel union director, David McCall, expects an orderly return to work as rapidly as possible that “respects the rights of our members in the contract that they accepted and ratified.”

AK locked out union members on Sept. 1, 1999. The company brought scabs in the back door. Currently, there are about 250 scabs in the mill. McCall said that he trusts that AK will tell scabs to avoid antagonizing union members as they return to work. He has instructed union members to ignore company provocations.

AK conducted a multi-million dollar media campaign to break the USWA in Mansfield. From TV commercials during NFL games, the most expensive time on television, to full newspaper page ads to bill boards, AK fanned sparks against the union, but no fires broke out. The 650 families at USWA 169 held together for 3 long years.

The announcement was made at press time. Details will follow on Dec. 21.

PDF version of 'AK ends 3-year lockout'

Letters

Fri, 06 Dec 2002 04:36:00 +0000

Recycling Kissinger

I sent this letter to The New York Times on an article making fun of Kissinger critics:

Neal Pollack’s article (Dec. 3) making fun of those who are shocked or amused by the Kissinger appointment made me think of Tom Lehrer’s explanation why he stopped composing and singing satirical songs in the 1970s: “Who could do satire after Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Seriously or not so seriously, there was Kissinger’s bugging of National Security Council members and his own staff, all at the behest of Richard You-Know-Who. Then there are all the corpses buried in the closets of Chile, Indochina, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), and assorted other places.

What comes around goes around as they say, and Kissinger keeps on being recycled by governments committing and covering up crimes.

George Bush’s decision to appoint Kissinger to direct an investigation of his administration’s September 11 intelligence disaster is the most “courageous move” a President has made since Richard Nixon appointed John Dean to investigate White House involvement in the Watergate crimes.

Norman MarkowitzBelmar NJ

Fact checking helps

I was gratified to see the reviews of Buhl and Wagner’s Radical Hollywood in the PWW (11/9). For the most part I agree with Tim Pelzer’s comments. The book certainly deserves a place alongside the growing number of volumes devoted to Hollywood and the Left.

I would like to mention, however, that despite the accurate and fascinating account of the history of the left in the film industry, the formation of the Screen Writer’s Guild, the activities of such organizations as the Anti-Nazi League and the Independent Citizen’s Committee for the Arts, Sciences and Professions, and the struggle to make films which addressed issues such as fascism, racism, and unemployment, the book is badly flawed when it comes to the specifics of many individual films.

A few instances:

Dana Andrews, not Walter Brennan, was the protagonist in Jean Renoir’s Swamp Water. Andrews is held hostage by Brennan, not Walter Huston, who played Andrews’ father in the film.

Dorothy McGuire is mistakenly referred to as Gregory Peck’s wife in Gentleman’s Agreement, and Dean Stockwell as their son. Stockwell is Peck’s son, but Peck is a widower who is just embarking on a new relationship with McGuire.

Other errors such as these abound and are most annoying to a film buff who shares the author’s political views but is appalled at the slipshod research which went into analysis of the films.

I look forward to future volumes from Buhle and Wagner, whose earlier titles included Tender Comrades, which comprises priceless interviews with Hollywood blacklistees, and A Most Dangerous Citizen, a biography of Abraham Polonsky (though I’m still waiting for a more in-depth treatment of the life of that fascinating, consumate artist and friend).

Again, the book is indispensible, and yet I trust their future efforts will benefit from more scrupulous fact-checking.

Michael SheplerWalnut Creek CA

Bushwhacked again

Like lemmings marching to the sea Americans appear destined, in fact, hellbent on iideological suicide. “Home of the brave, Land of the free” has become passe apparently. You don’t need a political pundit to interpret this year’s election to realize that many Americans have aggressively and vehemently cast the baby (democracy) out with the bathwater drowning out any passionate liberals, the working class and the oppressed for a little humanity or at least equal access unto the law. The nation has turned to and endorsed corporate greed i.e. Enron and political corruptness – the disenfranchisement of the electorate in Florida.

Let freedom ring! The Re-Publicans led by the “Pres” have retrofitted the American dream, robbed us of our personal investments, stripped us of any sense of fair play and put in place policy makers content to undermine the future of the children of America yet unborn. This is indeed a sad day for all citizens, for the ugly American just got uglier.

Michael ChaneyMinneapolis MN

Editorials

Fri, 06 Dec 2002 04:28:00 +0000

Enron one year later

Just over a year ago, Enron, the Houston energy trader, collapsed leaving 14,000 workers jobless, their Enron 401(k) retirement accounts worthless. Enron CEO Ken Lay and other Enron insiders denied Enron employees the right to sell their Enron stock while they sold theirs knowing the bottom would soon fall out. The public also learned of the tight crony relations between Ken Lay and George W. Bush reflected in the fact that at least 30 top Bush administration officials, including Army Sec. Thomas White, were former Enron executives.

Enron was followed by WorldCom, Tyco, Arthur Andersen Accounting and Citibank, the $700 billion bank giant that advised Enron on how to “cook the books” and not get caught.

Enron was the mother of all big business scandals, exposing transnational capitalism as legalized racketeering. Yet what has happened since? Despite halfhearted efforts by the Democrats to make corporate crime an issue in the Nov. 5 election, Bush, Cheney & Co., all closely tied to Enron thievery, buried it under a dungheap of war hysteria and fake patriotism. The AFL-CIO and a few leaders like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) seized on the Enron scandal, exposing, for example that California ratepayers will pay $30 billion in electricity overcharges because of Enron and its accomplices.

As for Wall Street regulatory agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission is in disarray with SEC Chair Harvey Pitt forced to resign. Former FBI Director William Webster stepped down as head of the new accounting industry oversight board. It reflects Bush’s plan to bury attempts to curb Enron-style abuses. Bush’s “greed is good” economic policies clear the way for the most rapacious Enron profiteering that is built into the capitalist system. Only a huge labor-led mass movement to end corporate right-wing rule can free us from Enronomics and the mass unemployment, poverty and union busting it breeds.

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Terrorism is not revolutionary

The recent terrorist attacks in Kenya, Indonesia and in Israel are heinous crimes against humanity. Terrorism does not extend democracy, it does not win equality and will not end Israeli military occupation. But terrorism does strengthen the grip of the Bush Administration, reaction, militarism, instability and exploitation.

Colonial and imperial forces have a sordid history of using provocateurs, pinning blame for their acts of terrorism on the democratic, working class and revolutionary movements. In apartheid South Africa, the racist forces branded the African National Congress (ANC) as a “terrorist” organization because the ANC had an armed wing. Bush, too demagogically equates all forms of armed struggle with “terrorism.” But the right of oppressed and enslaved people to engage in self defense and armed struggle is undeniable. Yet the ANC rejected terrorism which targets innocent non-combatants. The ANC along with the trade unions and the South African Communist Party utilized mass strikes, boycotts and international solidarity as their main weapons to defeat racist apartheid and win a democratic South Africa.

U.S. Government agencies and corporations covertly sponsor extremist groupings and terrorist networks to further their undemocratic self-interests. The CIA along with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) built the camps which trained bin Laden and Al Qaeda agents in their war against a democratic Afghanistan.

Terrorism and war feed each other. White House spokesperson Ari Fleisher recently justified terrorist assassinations as “cheaper than war.” The CIA used an unmanned drone plane in Yemen to blow up a “terrorist suspect” and his companions as they rode in a car.

The answer to terrorism is not war and repression but rather international cooperation and criminal investigation, obeying international law and upholding democracy An informed and politically mobilized population is also part of fighting both terrorism and war. The International Criminal Court is the forum to bring to justice, not only the perpetrators of Sept. 11, but all perpetrators and supporters of terrorism and other crimes against humanity.