People Before Profit blog

Disarmament advocates vs. U.S.-India nuclear deal

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Peace and disarmament activists are warning that an agreement now before the Senate to let India buy nuclear fuel and technology from the United States for civilian purposes could make it easier for India to build more nuclear weapons. They say the pact also undermines the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty because it would let India participate in international nuclear trade even though it developed nuclear weapons outside the NPT framework and won’t sign the treaty.

The pact, in the works for years, passed the House of Representatives Sept. 27 on a 298-117 vote. It would let U.S. firms help India build more civilian nuclear power plants. In return, India would allow international inspection of its civilian nuclear power plants (but not its military facilities).

President Bush called the House action “a major step forward in achieving the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship,” and urged the Senate to act quickly. But with several unnamed senators reportedly in opposition, it was still uncertain at press time whether a vote would take place before the Senate adjourns to campaign for the November election.

Before the House vote, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) spoke out against the pact. “I strongly disapprove of this agreement and urge my colleagues to do likewise,” she said on the House floor. While affirming the importance of strong ties with India and its people, Lee called it “unwise and reckless” to approve the pact because doing so would undermine efforts to persuade other countries not to develop nuclear weapons. “The fact that India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty is sufficient reason to disapprove this agreement,” she said.

Organizations including United for Peace and Justice, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Arms Control Association and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation urged the public to press Congress not to approve the pact.

Beyond the urgent non-proliferation issue lie several broader questions, said Andrew Lichterman, program director with the Western States Legal Foundation.

“While the surface purpose of the deal is to allow India to expand its domestic nuclear power industry, nuclear power is very expensive, very capital intensive,” and not nearly as promising a way to bring energy to the vast bulk of India’s population — most of when still live in a rural, farming economy — as a mix of alternative energy technologies, Lichterman said.

He also noted that the pact could let India buy fuel for its civilian reactors on the international market, while using scarce domestic uranium in weapons production.

Writing for disarmamentactivist.org earlier this month, Lichterman said U.S. military planners “see India as a possible forward base for operations from South Asia to the Middle East, and perhaps as a junior partner in those operations as well.”

The 2005 agreement in principle on nuclear trade and cooperation — the precursor of the present pact — was among a set of U.S.-Indian agreements concluded at about the same time. Others included a “New Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship” that provided for wide-ranging military cooperation, and a “CEO Forum” to “deepen the bilateral economic relationship.” Also concluded that year, Lichterman said, were a pact to cooperate in space, and a “Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture” involving key players in U.S. agribusiness.

The pact has also been controversial in India. Countrywide protests organized by the country’s left parties including the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) took place Sept. 25. India’s Communists and left have emphasized the need to safeguard their country’s sovereignty and independent foreign policy in the context of the U.S. drive to dominate Asia.

Last summer, the coalition of left parties including the CPI and CPI(M) withdrew from the United Progressive Alliance government led by the Congress Party when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisted on moving the pact forward over their objections.

Nor is concern limited to India’s left. Writing last July in Frontline, The Hindu’s weekly magazine, commentator John Cherian pointed out that the pact’s origins in 2005 “coincided with the intensification of ‘a new Cold War’ — it came at a time when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was being transformed into a new grouping that identified Russia and China as its rivals … It is feared that a successful conclusion of the India-U.S. deal will make New Delhi a junior partner in Washington’s aggressive pursuit of its geopolitical designs in Asia. India could end up supporting Washington’s game plan to monopolize the oil and gas reserves in West and Central Asia.”

Protect your vote

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:44:00 +0000

This year’s historic election may come down to two major factors: how many people turn out to the polls, and how many of their votes are counted.

Voter turnout increased more than 120 percent during the presidential primaries and few if any of the pundits predicted it. Over 3.4 million people in Ohio turned out to the polls to make their voices heard. Millions of young people and people of color have been especially energized by the candidates and are registering to vote for the first time.

Yet the primaries also spotlighted questions about whether our country is ready for Nov. 4. There were numerous reports of polling place problems, voting machine malfunctions and complaints of voter registration glitches. Lines were long, voters were not on the rolls, and too many would-be voters simply gave up.

Polls in parts of Ohio, California, and the District of Columbia ran out of paper ballots, in some place as early as noon, according to a Pew Center on the States study. And the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law reported that its nationwide voter protection hotline received over 5,000 complaints during the primaries.

In the 2006 general election, the hotline received 2,334 calls from Ohio, more than any other states. There were reports of vote switching (where they voted for one candidate and another candidate’s name appeared on the confirmation screen), including a voter at a senior center in Franklin County who received two error messages and had the screen flip his vote. A poll worker was uncooperative when he asked for assistance, and finally told him that the machine was broken and they would call him when it was fixed. He never got a call and therefore never voted. It was almost like a repeat of the 2000 and 2004 elections, when horror stories of long lines, inaccessible and understaffed voting places, poorly designed ballots, ill functioning voting machines, and voter intimidation and manipulation in low-income, Latino, and African American communities were widespread.

We cannot allow these voting rights problems to occur again in November 2008 – there’s simply too much at stake. This year, every eligible voter in Ohio must be able to cast a ballot, and have that ballot counted.

A truly historic election day is going to come down to individual voters who must be active proponents of their own right to vote.

That’s why AFL-CIO union activists and constituency groups have joined a nonpartisan coalition of civil rights organizations, faith-based organizations, students, lawyers, and other community allies in Ohio to tackle voting problems in our community and reach out to citizens about their voting rights.

Here are six simple steps that everyone in Ohio can take to make sure their ballot counts:

First, call your local elections office before Election Day to verify the location of your polling place.

Second, bring some form of identification to the polls, preferably a government-issued photo ID.

Third, ask for help from poll workers and check posted information signs if you have questions or need assistance at the polls.

Fourth, if you are in line at the polling place when the polls close, do not leave. You’re still entitled to vote.

Fifth, if you are offered a provisional ballot, ask if you can cast a regular ballot instead by providing additional ID or by going to another polling place. If there are no other options, cast the provisional ballot.

Sixth, if you have a voting rights problem, ask to speak to an election official or to a voting rights volunteer, or call the toll-free voting rights hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE, operated by a nonpartisan coalition of groups, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the AFL-CIO.

This November’s election will mark the moment that America begins to build a future for all, or one in which we finally give up on the American Dream. Every Ohioan ought to stand up and weigh in on the direction our country should be headed. Voting is our most precious right and responsibility as Americans, and this year, we must make sure our votes will count.

Richard Trumka is secretary treasurer of the 10 million-member American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Letters: Sept. 20, 2008

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Heavy toll on Afghan children

More reports coming out of Afghanistan indicate more dead children (“Protests grow over civilian deaths,” PWW 9/6-12).

Civilian casualties are a perpetual reality in Afghanistan. In July, 47 were killed in another air strike. Last year there were said to be 320 civilian deaths due to U.S. and NATO attacks; this year no improvement appears evident.

A tragic historic reality is the U.S. relationship to the most extreme members of the mujahideen. In the early 1980s the Reagan administration along with Congressman Charlie Wilson sought out, funded and armed some of the worst human rights abusers and anti-democratic forces in its Cold War maneuvers to expel the Soviets. During that time I recall Pacifica Radio reporting on the mujahideen routinely bombing and burning down girls’ schools, along with committing rape and murder. This group was one of Reagan’s “freedom fighters.” The evolution of the mujahideen, today’s Taliban, was a predictable occurrence.

Rebuilding Afghanistan’s infrastructure, food aid and agricultural support are common-sense endeavors we should be engaged in. The most exemplary American in the region is Greg Mortenson, who has built and funded dozens of girls’ schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His book “Three Cups of Tea” is a must-read for those who want to gain a better understanding of the area. A cessation of killing civilians should be the U.S. and NATO’s primary venture, not continued denials and excuses.

Brian McAfee

Muskegon Heights MI

What we need today

Good job, Tim Wheeler, for the article on the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Aug. 30 — Sept. 5 issue. How desperately we need a present-day counterpart of the CCC to repair the mess that has been imposed on our country — not least the disrepair of the infrastructure — and provide jobs to millions of unemployed workers: laborers, artisans, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, architects, carpenters, etc., who could repair and modernize deteriorating roads, buildings, bridges, foundations, equipment, etc., and build new ones. Also, as was proven by FDR’s CCC, educational, cultural, health and scientific projects would flourish.

And all at a fraction of the cost taxpayers are supplying for U.S. invasions and destruction in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now, Pakistan. Not to forget the inestimable cost of thousands of lives, and counting.

Ellen Perlo

Croton-on-Hudson NY

No, baby, don’t drill

Please write your members of Congress. We do not need to “drill, drill, drill!” The American people are being fooled into believing that they will pay less at the pump if we just give the oil companies, the Republicans supported by their lobbyists and led by Sen. McCain the right to dig into our public parks and our offshore waters.

Facts:

• If we sucked up all the oil out of the Arctic (ANWR) in Alaska it would only be a 1-1/2-year supply.

• Drilling offshore of all our beaches we might get another two-year supply!

• If all that oil was flowing tomorrow, according to Bush’s EIA (Energy Information Administration), it would have an “insignificant” effect at the pump.

• If all this drilling was authorized by the government today it couldn’t start for five years because all the drilling ships are booked solid for that long and it would take 20 years to reach the market! The ANWR oil would not reach the market before 2018.

• Big Oil blocs in the Senate with McCain’s support are denying $18 billion in tax credits for renewable energy entrepreneurs while they want to open public land for oil but NOT wind or any other projects.

Please write Congress today. Educate your neighbors, towns and all others who are fighting for new sources of energy.

Vivian Weinstein

Colorado Springs CO

Why would McCain think of Palin?

Clearly, Obama was speaking about McCain’s program, or lack of one, when he used the well-known phrase about lipstick on a pig. But McCain immediately thinks of Sarah Palin! If I were Palin, I’d whomp him one.

Betty Smith

New York NY

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Liar, Liar

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:12:00 +0000

Part 2

Independent watchdog groups and, increasingly, mainstream media are debunking what many call an unprecedented number of distortions and smears put forward by John McCain as he attempts to lie his way into the White House.

Concern about the McCain lies is being raised by non-partisan groups, fact check operations, newspapers and columnists. Jonathan Alter, the Newsweek reporter who has covered eight presidential elections, is among many who have described the number of lies as “unprecedented” for a candidate seeking the highest office in the land. Even Karl Rove, longtime GOP mastermind of smear tactics, said in a TV interview that McCain’s “stretching of the truth” has been “over the top.”

One of the latest lies involves McCain’s response to the financial meltdown that threatens the livelihoods of millions of Americans. Economist James Galbraith, professor of government and business relations at the University of Texas, challenged McCain’s claim Sept. 15 that he would reign in abuses on Wall Street. The “waves of predatory finance” that led to the meltdown, Galbraith said, “were aggressively promoted by McCain and his closest economic adviser, Phil Gramm, who systematically subverted the public interest” through their support for deregulation.

The Democratic Party has created a new website, Count the Lies, which has so far posted 54 lies and distortions by McCain since he wrapped up the GOP nomination in March, culled from the mainstream media.

Among these, the Washington Post noted Sept. 16 that McCain described his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, as “the most knowledgeable person in America on energy issues.” The paper said, “The woman touted by John McCain as the most knowledgeable person in America on energy issues has been having a lot of trouble getting her statistics straight. Last week she said that her state, Alaska, produced nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.

“Yesterday, she told a campaign rally in Golden, Colorado, that she has been responsible for overseeing nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas. Both claims are way off.”

News outlets are noting that McCain can lie in Spanish, too.

The New York Times declared, Sept. 15, that “John McCain’s truth-deficient campaign hit another low last Friday with a fraudulent new ad, this time about immigration. The ad, in Spanish, accuses Barack Obama and his congressional allies of killing immigration reform. It’s a gross distortion.” Salon pointed out the same day, “It was McCain who abandoned his own legislation after the Republican base rose up against it.

Blaming Obama for the failure of the bill is simply wrong, no matter what language you do it in.”

The Chicago Tribune on Sept. 9 challenged the repeated McCain-Palin lies about Palin being the main player in blocking Alaska’s infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.”

“The McCain campaign keeps saying she stopped the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ in an attempt to burnish her credentials as a pork-fighting reformer. And reporters keep point-ing out that her claim is exaggerated. Still the McCain campaign keeps up the misleading line that she was the main player in taking out the bridge. And still reporters keep shedding light on the inexactness, to put it politely, of that claim. And after all this the McCain campaign has cut a TV ad that pushes the line that Palin stopped the bridge. It’s as if they decided to go with the first two parts of that famous Lincoln quote: ‘You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time.’”

The Daily News Miner in Anchorage said Aug. 31 that “Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere and later kept the money — that was hardly ‘thanks, but no thanks.’”

On Sept. 11 The New York Times assailed McCain for lying about Obama’s position on sex education. McCain is running ads claiming Obama backed comprehensive sex education for kindergarten children when, in fact, he backed funds that provided for a comprehensive program in public schools. The segment for kindergarteners was geared to helping them protect themselves against potential abuse. The Washington Post said “McCain gets two Pinocchios for the education ad.”

Another McCain ad claims that Obama’s tax plan will raise taxes on small businesses, seniors and the middle class. FactCheck.org noted on Aug. 8, “This statement is simply not true.” The group pointed out that the Obama plan involves a $1,000 tax cut for families making up to $150,000 a year and increases only for families earning more than $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000.

McCain has said he supported every investigation to determine how the government failed after Hurricane Katrina. “The claim is false,” says FactCheck.org: “The record is clear. McCain lined up with his party as it circled the wagons to defend the Bush administration against probes of what went wrong before and after Katrina.”

Contrasting the audacity of the McCain campaign lies to the craftier “deceptive and dishonest 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign,” columnist Paul Krugman argues that the Bush administration secrecy and lies about Iraq would pale in comparison. The McCain-Palin administration would not just be a continuation of Bush-Cheney, he said, “if the way [they] are campaigning is any indication, it would be much, much worse.”

jwojcik@pww.org

Letters - Sept. 13, 2008

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:18:00 +0000

What is a maverick?

According to Webster a maverick is “a person who acts independently of any political party, faction, etc.” John McCain and Sarah Palin call themselves “mavericks.”

However, when one examines their political record one finds their independence to be quite limited. They act more like watch dogs with long chains fastened to their collars, roaming around someone’s front yard. As long as they don’t stretch their chains to the limit they can be as independent as they please. However, the moment their Republican masters yank on the chain, they fall obediently in line and follow the party line when it comes to critical votes in Congress.

The so-called independence of McCain and Palin is nothing but a cover-up for their organization, which is full of powerful lobbyists. They want people to believe that if they return to power that things will be different than they were under Bush. Yet illegal wars, contempt of the constitution, abuse of power, anti-union legislation, privatization of Social Security, higher Medicare premiums, further curtailment of good public education curtailment of civil liberties and above all else the destruction of a woman’s right to choose are guaranteed to continue.

Their slogan is “change” but what kind of change? They cry “less taxes” when in fact they are really opposed to fair tax policy. The fact that they call themselves “mavericks” could mean real danger to our country.

Mavericks belong in old cowboy movies but not in modern politics.

Emil Shaw

Rio Rancho NM

Cuba solidarity now

Attention all Americans who believe in democracy and fair play: The blockade which has been placed on Cuba by our government for almost 50 years must be lifted now. Cuba has been hit by two severe hurricanes causing billions in damage to their country. Over 100,000 homes have been destroyed, millions of dollars of crops have been wiped out and much of their infrastructure has been badly damaged. Not one person was killed during hurricane Gustav (four were killed during hurricane Ike) but the Cuban people are ready and able to begin massive repairing to their country. The supplies needed to rebuild can be purchased in the United States if the blockade is lifted.

Please take a few minutes to write or call your congressperson demanding that the Bush administration lift all restrictions on trade and commerce and also to permit Cuban Americans to travel freely to Cuba to visit their loved ones and send money to them without restrictions.

John Gilman

Milwaukee WI

John Gilman is chairman of the Wisconsin Committee for Peace and Justice.

Prepare to protect vote

Just in case we thought we’ve already seen it all with ugly, sleazy election campaigns - from Nixon to Bush, all indications are the Republican right is driving to make this election the ugliest, lowest ever. If you want to remind yourself just what we’re up against, I recommend an evening watching “Recount,” the terrific HBO true-life drama shown earlier this year, starring Kevin Spacey and a bunch of other great actors. Relive the 2000 theft of the elections in all its horror, including some revelations not known at the time. Watching it was so tense, I felt like I couldn’t stand it, but the stunning reality of it pulled me back. Get it at Netflix or your video store, and get ready to protect the votes this November.

Renee Weisman

Chicago IL

Palin and wolves

Defibrillator usage increased last week after John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate who will be only a heartbeat from the presidency if he is elected. But, shortly after most Republicans were shocked back to life, they circled the wagons to declare she was the perfect choice. Apparently, the cure also included a dose of psychotropic drugs as well.

The pundits and commentators rallied beside Palin, even lying about how great her ghost-written acceptance speech was, apparently in the mistaken belief that they are being fair and balanced. Since Palin is the topic of everyone’s greatest love or deepest enmity, I won’t be writing about her life and most of her positions.

What I will write about are wolves. Alaska is the only state that allows hunters to use helicopters not only to kill wolves but also to chase them down and then execute them while they lay exhausted from the chase. No hunter would ever consider this to be fair.

Palin has even offered a $150 bounty for every wolf killed in Alaska. Kill every one of the 9,000 or so wolves in Alaska, and the shooters will reap a harvest of about $1.3 million. And, don’t worry about wolves being extinct in Alaska. There’s still another 5,000 or so in the lower 48, most of which are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Wolves are highly intelligent social animals, loyal to their mates, care for their children and protective of all in their pack.

But just this past May, Palin had no problem with her own Department of Fish and Game killing 14 orphaned wolf pups in their own dens, in violation of her state’s own law.

Wolves provide absolutely no meat value, and wolf coats are just not the fashion item for this season. Except when deliberately provoked, wolves don’t attack humans. Even then, wolves try to avoid human contact.

No, I won’t write about Sarah Palin’s political philosophies. Her disregard for life is enough.

Walter Brasch

Bloomsburg PA

Dr. Walter Brasch is professor of mass communications at Bloomsburg University and is the author of “Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush.”

We want to hear from you!

By mail:

People’s Weekly World

3339 S. Halsted St.

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Letters should be limited to 200 words. We reserve the right to edit stories and letters. Only signed letters with the return address of the sender will be considered for publication, but the name of the sender will be withheld on request.

Editorial: GOP meltdown

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:34:00 +0000

Unpopular President Bush is kept away from his party’s convention. Texas Republican Ron Paul holds a counter-convention of some 10,000 across town, reportedly with far-right ideologues like Grover “drown the government” Norquist in attendance. The Republican media machine churns out smoke and mirrors to try to prettify a hasty and highly problematic pick for vice president. The GOP’s far right wing can’t trust the GOP’s right wing.

But does America hear a constant drumbeat about a party divided?

Yet in Denver last week, when history was made – nominating the first African American as a major party’s candidate and giving living proof of a progressive shift in the country’s political landscape – all the corporate media could talk about was how Hillary Clinton supporters supposedly wouldn’t go with Barack Obama.

The GOP is in a meltdown, but its showcasers — those corporate and far-right ideologues who benefitted from the years of Republican ruthless rule — only cover it up.

The far right constantly accuses the media of having a “liberal” bias, of giving so much time and ink to Obama. Yet a Media Matters study found that 72 percent of all that “time and ink” was negative coverage of Obama.

The political winds are shifting away from the right, but the GOP is fighting with all its might to stop it, and the corporate media-meisters keep following the GOP script. Instead of asking the deep questions, challenging the Bush/McCain/Rove spin and informing the public on the substantive issues, they parrot that very spin.

Fortunately, the corpor-ate/right-wing crowd hasn’t gotten control over the Internet and independent media, though they’ve tried.

When McCain announced Sarah Palin’s selection, the corporate media went ga-ga. All you could read was the Karl Rove line about what a bold move it was and how it would play big with Hillary supporters. It took independent bloggers to start turning over the rocks and getting the Palin-ultra-right worms to crawl out into the light of day.

The GOP meltdown may be just as dangerous as the polar ice cap meltdown. As this reckless, power-hungry reactionary cabal feels its power slipping away, watch out for the October Surprise and its necessary far-right hype. And the corporate media will surely be there helping.

Columbus reestablishes Labor Day

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:27:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio — More than 200 unionists, retirees, family members and friends poured into the IBEW Picnic Grounds here for the first Labor Day event held there in recent memory.

“It’s been at least 25-30 years since organized labor held a real Labor Day event” here, said Dave Friesner, retired pipefitter and coordinator for the Alliance of Retired Americans (ARA).

A great time was had by all. A country band played, dozens and dozens of door prizes were given out, and nobody left hungry. Besides the great food and company, folks circulated, registering voters, numerous labor-endorsed candidates pressed flesh and a couple speakers urged everyone to talk to their family, friends and neighbors to get out a huge vote for change, electing Obama and a strong pro-labor majority in November.

Walt Workman, executive secretary of the Central Ohio Labor Council, told the revelers, “November is our time! It’s our time to win health care for all, our time win organizing rights for workers, our time to end the war and win back our pension rights! But it’s only our time if we work hard to make it so and vote our interests in November!”

Represented at the picnic were 19 unions, the Central Labor Council, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) and the Columbus Organized Labor Retiree Council, as well as the universal health care movement, Upper Arlington Progressives and the local peace coalition.

“We were talking about a SOAR picnic, but I’m so glad we did it this way, with all the unions, all our friends involved. This is great,” said Don Coulter, president of Central Ohio SOAR.

As volunteers worked on cleaning up, others were talking about next year’s Labor Day event. “We’re going to set up an organizing committee and next year will be bigger and better,” said Barb Davis, president of the Organized Labor Retiree Council. “This is just the first of many, many more Columbus Labor Day celebrations.”