Truth
 An internationalist website in Detroit

Saturday, December 25, 2004

Holiday.

Friday, December 24, 2004

Dollar reaches record low against euro. The U.S. dollar reached record lows against the euro on Thursday. In the past two months it has fallen 7%. It has fallen 33% in the last two years. The immediate cause of the decline is the enormous trade deficit approaching $600 billion this year, as well as the federal deficit which is growing because of Iraq war expenditures. The decline in the dollar helps U.S. exports short term. In the long run, coupled with the relative stagnation in the European and Japanese economies, it means that the world economy is entering a period of increased instability and crisis.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Bush reduces aid to college students. In yet another unpleasant surprise from the Bush administration, new federal rules that take effect next fall reduce Pell grants for 1.3 million students and eliminate them completely for nearly 90,000. Beyond this immediate effect, the rules are expected to have a domino effect, reducing aid amounts from nearly every institution. As one put it, "Seasons greetings from Uncle Sam."

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Attack on U.S. military base kills 22. A suicide bomber attacked a U.S. military base in Mosul in northern Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 60. Earlier that day hundreds of students had demonstrated in the center of Mosul demanding that the U.S. troops cease raids on homes and mosques. "Do you consider killing women and children, making them homeless, legitimate actions for an occupier? All the actions done by the Americans are terrorism, so it is the right of anyone treated with this cruelty to use any means to act against the terrorists," said Talaat al Wazan, secretary general of the Iraqi National Unity Party. According to a recent U.S. poll, 47% said that things had gotten worse in Iraq during the past year.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Aleve added to Celebrex and Vioxx as potentially dangerous. Aleve, an over the counter (OTC) medicine for pain relief made by Bayer, joins Celebrex and Bextra (from Pfizer) and Vioxx (from Merck) as another medicine that increases the risk of heart problems. It is possible that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, including Advil and Mobic, may increase heart problems. We need to live in a society where people don't need to take so much pain medication -- headaches, joint and muscle pain, lower back pain -- are often caused by stress or by working when one shouldn't. Public ownership of the economic wealth would help ensure that people o not work under conditions that shorten their lives, either through the conditions themselves or through the medication required to tolerate the conditions.

Monday, December 20, 2004

Detroit CIty Council members demand deficit plan from mayor. Five council members, Maryann Mahaffey, Ken Cockrel, Barbara-Rose Collins, Sharon McPhail and JoAnn Watson, issued a statement on Friday asking the mayor to meet with them over the projected $200 million shortfall. They want to see Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan for layoffs. At least the council members are demanding some role in the process, although the real sources of money, the auto barons and Washington, DC, are not yet on anyone's radar.

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Michigan has third worst survival rate for Black babies. In Oakland County, Michigan, Black babies die in the first year at a rate 4 times greater than white babies. "It is an atrocity and should not be tolerated. It is the worst thing I have seen in the entire time I've been practicing," said Dr. Eugene Rogers, an obstetrician who serves a large number of Black patients. Low birth weight and respiratory problems are the top causes of death and these could easily be avoided with better pre-natal care. It is truly a scandal, made worse by the fact that this disparity has existed for decades. We need quality health care for all, especially for children and their mothers.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

EPA declares one-third of Americans breathe polluted air. For the first time since it established new pollution standards in 1997, the EPA has listed the counties are out of compliance with the new standard for particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller. These fine particles are estimated to cause thousands of premature deaths each year. Counties include several in southeastern Michigan. Data shows that 225 counties, home to 95 million people, did not meet the standard. Most of the particulate in the East comes from coal-fired power plants. We need to find other sources of energy that are renewable and pollution-free -- wind, solar, hydrogen. We need to get away from an economy based on coal and oil, fossil fuels that are non-renewable.

Friday, December 17, 2004

U.S. National Guard recruitment drops. In a statistic that surprises no one, the Army National Guard announced yesterday that it had fallen "30 percent" below its recruiting goals. It will offer enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000. A sum attractive to poor and working class people, but meaningless to the upper classes. The National Guard and Army reserves make up 40 percent of the 148,000 troops in Iraq. The sharp decline in recruitment to the Guard comes from the failure of current Army regulars to sign up for the Guard after discharge. Young working class people need good jobs at union wages, healthcare, affordable housing, and education, not guns and war! The unions should take up this struggle instead of supporting pro-war Democrats.

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Army study shows high mental illness rate among returning soldiers. An Army study released yesterday shows that one is six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, a proportion that could climb to one in three, the rate of Vietnam veterans. "There is a train coming that's packed with people who are going to need help for the next 35 years," said Stephen Robinson, a 20-year Army veteran and executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center. What a punishment for being in the U.S. Army! Psychological problems for the rest of your life. Mental health for U.S. troops needs one therapeutic step: Get the troops out now.!

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Abused woman convicted of murdering husband. Oakland County jurors convicted Nancy Seaman of first degree murder in the murder of her husband Robert. Robert Seaman's skull was crushed by a hatchet, striking him 16 times on the head and face before he was stabbed 18 times. The jurors convicted her of 1st degree murder, meaning it was pre-meditated. The jurors made a serious error. Here's one juror: "I do not believe she was a battered woman. I believe there may have been some abuse, but not as serious as she claimed." How serious does abuse of women have to be before it is stopped? She was married 30 years and was so tired of her husband's abuse that she had bought a condo and was preparing to move into it. She was afraid that he might stop her. One of her sons testified that there was abuse; the other said no. Nancy Seaman was a "well-respected fourth grade teacher in Farmington Hills," according to the Detroit Free Press. The suburbs are not free of abused women and their revenge. Nancy Seaman should be freed.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Human Rights Watch accuses Pentagon of operating outside the law. In an open letter to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld Human Rights Watch described the deaths in Afghanistan prisons which operate outside the law. "It's time for the United States to come clean about crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan," said Brad Adams, Asia division director for Human Rights Watch. The U.S. continues to operate in violation of international laws and Afghan law concerning detentions. The Pentagon has only charged a few people in the deaths of detainees. These are only known cases and do not include the hundreds killed by indiscriminate use of bombs and attacks on civilians. There needs to be an independent investigation of the war crimes of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Monday, December 13, 2004

Pentagon disinformation continues. While the department that the Pentagon established after 9/11to feed lies and misinformation to the public was closed down, the Pentagon continues the policy under different forms. With U.S. credibility throughout the world at its lowest point, the Pentagon's disinformation campaign seems more directed at the United States, that is, sources that allegedly support U.S. policy but appearing to emanate from foreign countries. It is very important for people in the United States to develop other sources of news. One good source is the network of Independent Media Centers (IMCs) which not only supply local news but, through their links, are connected to activists and independent journalists throughout the world.

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Ukrainian opposition candidate was poisoned. Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate for president of the Ukraine, was poisoned because the movement against Stalinist control represented a threat to the ruling Ukrainian faction as well as the Putin faction ruling in neighboring Russia. Another election is scheduled after the first election was thrown out by the Ukrainian Supreme Court for widespread vote fraud. The Ukraine is very important to Russia. It is rich and is home to many Russians who migrated there.

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Japan focuses new military on China and North Korea. In developments that mirror those in Germany, Japan is re-arming itself, including developing arms and weapons for export, as well as increasing spending on missiles and aircraft. After World War II, the United States, Britain, France and the USSR put in place several restrictions on German and Japanese military development. These restrictions have all but vanished, especially in and around the Iraq Wars. The inevitable growth of militarism as a response to clashes over trade is a repeat of history that capitalism cannot avoid. The re-arming of Japan is as inevitable as the sun rising in the East. World peace will only come when all the capitalists, especially the United States, are disarmed.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Romulus deep-injection well permit request withdrawn. Community activists in Romulus, Michigan, a working class community just west of Detroit, after several years of struggle, have won a victory in their efforts to stop the construction of a hazardous waste deep-injection wells. The firm, Environmental Disposal Systems of Birmingham, Michigan, has withdrawn its request for a permit with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). This effectively ends the struggle unless the company reapplies. The struggle has taken over 5 years.

Thursday, December 9, 2004

Marines push Rumsfeld on poor armor. Specialist Thomas Wilson, complained of scavenging dumps in Iraq looking for scrap metal to form what soldiers call "hillbilly armor" to protect their vehicles. "Why don't we have those resources readily available to us?" he pointedly asked Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld at a marine camp in Kuwait, drawing cheers and applause from the 2300 soldiers assembled for a prowar rally. Soldiers asked more questions. These soldiers are not anti-war, but their questions do underline one of the problems with modern warfare. Soldiers remain "cannon fodder" that is, unprotected and untrained. Although U.S. soldiers are surely better equipped and trained than the Iraqis who are killed in higher numbers on both sides. The questions are also the downside of using reservists in Iraq; many are older and have jobs and lives they want to get back to and they are not afraid to address their concerns. Antiwar activists should do everything to publicize and support the soldiers who question the war as they rebuild the antiwar movement.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

World hungry increase. In a statement whose content condemns making profit from food, the United Nations food and agriculture agency released a report stating that the number of chronically hungry people rose to 852 million. At least 5 million children now die from hunger each year. "The world in aggregate is getting wealthier and producing more than enough food, " said Hartwig de Haen, the assistant director general in the economic and social department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. "The problem is the access of people to jobs, to resources, to land and to money to buy food." Eighty percent of the chronically hungry live in rural areas and more than half are subsistence farmers. This week the International Labor Organization also reported that 50% of the world's workers (1.4 billion) earn less than $2 each day. Oxfam International released a report that the aid budgets of rich nations is 1/2 of what it was in 1960.

Tuesday, December 7, 2004

Attack on US Consulate in Saudi Arabia. Five armed men stormed the U.S. Consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia on Monday before four were killed in a gun battle with Saudi security and one was captured. Al Queda claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it "the blessed Fallujah battle" in a conscious link to the US attack on the "city of mosques" in Iraq. The attack shows the extent to which the Saudi regime is isolated in its own country and the unity that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is bringing to all those throughout the Muslim world against the U.S.

Monday, December 6, 2004

State offers "guidance" to Dearborn asbestos victims. Dearborn residents near a closed vermiculate processing plant owned by W.R. Grace were receive "guidance" from the state of Michigan to deal with the exposure to the dust which contains a particularly lethal form of asbestos. Over 700,000 Michigan home owners have the brand name Convolute insulation. The mine in Libby, Montana, was closed in 1990. The mine and the town are at the center of a federal cleanup and probe because of the large concentration of people who have contracted asbestos-related diseases. W.R. Grace and its governmental collaborators owe a whole lot more than "guidance" to the residents and the homeowners. The areas must be cleaned, the homes cleaned and people tested. And, to prevent further contamination, independent laboratory analysis presented in public hearings for any new products or factories in neighborhoods.

Sunday, December 5, 2004

EPA list of cleanup sites grows. A new report by the EPA states that as many as 335,000 hazardous waste sites could require cleanup over the next three decades at a cost of upwards of $250 billion. The number of sites increases by 28 each day, but no new monies are proposed to respond to the pollution. Instead of cleaning up the sites, the EPA is proposing various ways to get around cleaning them up (private business' interest in the contaminated sites) and reducing the expectations of community residents (stop adding sites to the list until the current list is completed!). Decontaminating the nine biggest sites uses 52% of the cleanup budget. The corporations responsible regularly declare "bankruptcy" and negotiate deals with the EPA that place the burden for cleanup on the public. Now, the same owners who have refused to cleanup the sites refuse to use public money to clean them up. The capitalist contamination of the United States' (and the world's) air, water and land will only be cleaned up when the people control not only the government but the economy too. Only the majority in power has the self-interest to clean up the mess and stop making it.

Saturday, December 4, 2004

Developer buys old McLouth steel plant. The Real Estate Interest Group in Bloomfield Hills, a wealthy Detroit suburb, has announced that it will buy an abandoned McLouth steel plant in Trenton, a working class suburb of Detroit. The developer plans to "raze the buildings" and put in their place homes, stores, etc. The McLouth plant is located on the Detroit River and it is very likely that the housing will be unaffordable to working class residents of Trenton. These properties should be given to local communities for their development. It belongs to them not to the rich in wealthy suburbs. As Detroit and other cities have learned, development run by developers profits them, not the communities they occupy.

Friday, December 3, 2004

State suspends same sex benefits from contracts. The first consequences of the undemocratic, religious ballot initiative Proposition 2 limiting marriage and its "benefits" to the union of a man and a woman, have been announced. The state of Michigan is suspending all benefits for gay and lesbian partners until a court decision is made. The divide and conquer tactic of the rich, for working people to attack their own (at least 10% of workers are gay or lesbian) continues strong as people allowed religious bigotry to overcome solidarity among themselves. So now we plan to save money by depriving gay people of healthcare. How progressive we are in Michigan!

Thursday, December 2, 2004

Factory shutdowns scheduled for next year. As Ford, General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler continue to lose market share to other auto manufacturers, there are scheduling weeks of layoffs for 2005. These layoffs will have a devastating effect on other Michigan workers at suppliers and other businesses. There is no reason why the people of Michigan should suffer because the former Big Three cannot sell cars and make profits. There needs to be a program of public works -- repairing roads, building schools, public transportation, health clinics needed and demanded by the citizens -- paid for by taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations -- to provide union jobs for everyone who wants one. We will not survive if the inevitable failure of individual owners of industries punishes all of us.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

NAACP calls for independent audit of Detroit schools. Detroit NAACP President Wendell Anthony called for an independent financial audit of the school district, a citizen-controlled transitional team and the community to work together to select qualified candidates to serve on the new school board. We think the NAACP's proposals are a good starting point. We support the call for an independent financial audit if it includes all the finances of the appointed board and it is made public. There needs to be an open election to the school board with the reduction in salaries to the level of the average Detroit school employee. And above all, the struggle needs to include a campaign to stop wasting our money in Iraq and use it to fund quality education for Detroit's children.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Detroit schools attacked .... again. Detroit Public School Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Burnley went to Lansing on Monday to as part of the effort of both Lansing and local officials to overturn the results of the voters on Proposition E. The voters decided to return to an elected school board, rejecting the proposal for a board controlled by the major, Kwame Kilpatrick. Lansing took over the Detroit school board to ensure that the money for school repair and upgrade enriched their friends at the expense of Detroit children. Now that feeding at the public trough may be stymied, he is claiming a "financial crisis" and is seeking state authorization to issue $200 million in bonds to cover the financial problems created during his tenure. The board meeting in November was cancelled when hundreds of angry Detroiters showed up to express their anger at the unelected school board and its purported plans to close schools and lay off employees. Lansing needs to provide the funds that Detroit is owed for its schools. Working people in the surrounding communities -- Lincoln Park and downriver, Garden City and west, Harper Woods, Southfield, etc., should support Detroit. All children need more and better educational opportunities -- reduced class size, modern buildings, supplies and equipment. If the governor and the legislature cannot provide for our children, they should be put out of office!

Monday, November 29, 2004

Bonuses for bankers rise. As the economy sputters and millions of residents have lost their jobs, investment bankers are bellying up to the bank with year-end bonuses rising 10-15% over last year. As we often say in Detroit, "we're in the wrong business." Bonuses and increased bonuses for the least deserving, the least needy, is the appropriate image for the Christmas season in the United States in 2004.

Sunday, November 28, 2004

The phony "United" Nations. If the developing nations needed yet another reason to leave the "United" Nations, it is the just-released report of the "High Level Panel for Threats, Challenges and Change." Bowing to the U.S. war on Iraq to seize its oil fields, Kofi Annan asked for a "fresh look" at how to deal with threats posed by terrorist networks, the "illicit" spread for nuclear weapons technology, and to give it the usual liberal cover, the persistent threats of disease and poverty. The report supports "pre-emptive" military strikes for self-defense and says that the final decision should belong to the Security Council. The panel included former Russian Prime Minister Primatov, former UN refugee chief Ogata and former US national security advisor Scowcroft. The report was commissioned after the U.S. invaded Iraq without Security Council approval. How "united" is the United Nations when it endorses war by big powers against any country without any threat?

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Africa needs more health workers. A report released on Friday from the Joint Learning Initiative, composed of more than 100 scholars and health experts, said that Africa needs a million more health care workers to respond to the pandemics, hunger and other health issues. African countries worked together at the international assembly of the World Health Organization to get rich countries to compensate them for the loss of migrating healthcare professionals. Once again, the refusal of the rich owners in the United States, Europe and Japan to provide the basics of life -- food, safe water and decent housing -- to the millions of Africans who have suffered from the devastation of globalization. The rich owners, with one crop economies, puppet dictators to control precious resources (oil, minerals, diamonds), have nearly destroyed a rich a fertile continent. The healthcare workers should be provided at full cost and expense by a special tax on the rich owners. That is the least that they can do for the billions they have made and continue to make off of Africa.

 

 

Friday, November 26, 2004

Mexican City residents kill two federal officers. On Wednesday, residents of a poor neighborhood in Mexico City, beat to death two federal officers who were allegedly investigating local drug dealers. The leaders said that the two, dressed in civilian clothes, had kidnapped two children. The charge, apparently, was false. Local police did little to stop the residents. Now federal agents, in uniform this time, are sweeping through the neighborhood arresting lots of residents. This is yet another time when the Mexican people have taken justice into their own hands and dealt with local or federal officers who are violating their neighborhoods. While the charge of kidnapping may be untrue, it is true that government officials of all types in Mexico serve the rich, steal from the poor and collaborate with the worst criminal elements. The residents who have been arrested should be released.

 

Thursday, November 25, 2004 - Thanksgiving holiday

 

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Ukrainian election in dispute. The results of the presidential election held Sunday in the Ukraine, one of several independent countries created by the breakup of the old Soviet Union, are being disputed inside the Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians opposing the declaration of victory by Viktor Yanukovich, the hand-picked successor of the current president Leonid Kuchma, demonstrated in the capital Kiev Monday and Tuesday. Although the candidate of the opposition, Viktor Yushchenko, appears to be supported by Western countries including the United States, it is also likely that he is the choice of the Ukrainian people over the candidate of the remnants of the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Ukraine but by Vladimir Putin, the former head of the KGB and currently President of Russia. It is important to support democracy in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, even if it appears that the United States government may support them. The U.S. wants to control the popular movements in these countries to ideologically confuse them and to prepare these countries for the imposition of IMF programs to privatize publicly-owned property. We support democracy so that the people can end the rule of those they consider oppressors and find their own way to public ownership and socialism.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Poll shows majority disapprove of Iraq war. In a New York Times/CBS poll conducted last Thursday through Sunday, 55% of Americans answered No to the following question: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?" Forty-eight percent answered "stay out" to the following question: "Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the U.S. have stayed out?" And only 46% thought it was the "right thing", the lowest percentage recorded. Truly a wakeup call for the anti-war movement, particularly for the wing of the movement that supported Anybody But Bush, that is John Kerry, a pro-war candidate. This percentage is nearly the same as the peak of opposition -- 58% -- reached last June-July. The single top issue that people raised that caused them to vote their choice for president was "the economy and jobs." The challenge for the anti-war movement is to link the opposition to the war to the needs of the population for jobs, a $10/hr minimum wage and healthcare.

Monday, November 22, 2004

Big powers cancel Iraqi foreign debt. The big powers -- United States, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Canada and Italy -- cancelled 80% of the $39 billion owed them by Iraq. While the "concession" is being hailed as a "real milestone" and shows that NATO is a "strong force for good in the world," the amount cancelled by France and Germany (owed $3.5 billion and $2 billion) is only X% of the $39 billion and only X% of the total foreign debt of $120 billion. The United Nations has received war reparations claims against Iraq for the 1991 Gulf War of $350 billion. Russia, owed $8 billion, has also agreed to the same program. The purpose, it seems, is largely symbolic for no serious investment will take place in Iraq as long as the uprising continues. The US had sought 95%. Germany's finance minister agreed to the 80% figure under a program in which 30% is forgiven immediately, the remainder over the next 3 years, subject to Iraq's embrace of an IMF "economic reform plan." The conflicts among the big powers over Iraq is not substantially diminished by this deal.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Sports brawl blamed on Detroit fans. The NBA benched four players Saturday in the fracas that ended the Friday night game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers at the SIlverdome. Sports announcers around the country are blaming "Pistons' fans" calling them "punks." But, the source of the violence at sports events, which has occurred in other countries too, is not a product of "poor sportsmanship" but of a violent society in which human life is cheap. The owners of multinational corporations in the United States, along with those in other major powers, are responsible for the minimal value of life. For example, the US troops and planes have killed over 100,000 Iraqis, nearly all civilians, in defense of corporate interests. Nearly 60,000 people are killed on US highways each year in automobile accidents. Millions of children die each from hunger, simply for lack of money, not a lack of food. To end a violent society, the overwhelming majority of humankind must own and control all the property, resources of the planet -- only they can free it from war and violence.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Bush protested at summit in Chile.The biggest demonstration in CHile since the military dictatorship ended 14 years ago protested the presence of George Bush and the US war against Iraq. Over 40,000 demonstrated against the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Pacific rim governments endorsed the WTO and some new "anti-terrorism" measures. The world continues to oppose the Iraq War. On Friday, nearly 100 people demonstrated in downtown Detroit against the continued war in Iraq.

Friday, November 19, 2004

Top US drug official denounces his agency. In the wake of drug manufacturer Merck's withdrawal of Vioxx from the market after data showed that it doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke, Dr. David Graham, a drug-safety reviewer for the FDA, testified before the US Senate Finance Committee that "we are faced with what may the single greatest drug safety catastrophe in the history of this country or the history of the world." He also said that federal drug regulators are "virtually incapable of protecting America." Ra Public Citizen, an advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader, has called for the withdrawal of several drugs from the market that the FDA has approved. In his testimony, Dr. Graham mentioned five drugs with total sales in 2003 of nearly $1.6 billion with definitely dangerous side effects and dubious benefit to patients. Drug company domination of the FDA is one more reason that we need national quality healthcare controlled by the public.

Thursday, November 18, 2004

K-Mart takeover of Sears. As part of a survival plan for both chains, K-Mart will buy Sears for $11 billion, creating the third-largest retailer behind WalMart and Home Depot. The merger is yet another sign of "globalization" inside the United States, the further interdependence of the US economy on the world economy. For working people what is most important is a $10hr/ minimum wage, high-paying union jobs for all who want them through a program of public works, and quality healthcare for everyone. These are the three main economic demands that US workers must focus on in the next period. Saving individual capitalists, no matter how old (Sears has been a US company for over 100 years), is not our problem.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Detroit School System under attack. The CEO of the Lansing-imposed school board announced on Monday that Detroit public school system is in dire straits: an estimated 4,000 workers will lose their jobs and up to 40 schools will close. Naturally, the CEO, Lansing, etc., speak of the problem as a something caused by Detroiters -- low enrollment and "fleeing to the suburbs," as well as the usual cries of "funds mismanagement." The issue is: providing quality education to all the children in the United States. The right to a quality public education has been eroded by the Democratic and Republican parties refusal to fund education as a top priority. Instead our tax money is spent for war in Iraq, the "war on terror," corporate subsidies. That's the problem. Until Detroiters are organized to make a fight on principles, including the right to a quality education, they will be subjected to increasing attacks on their schools, neighborhoods and jobs.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Fallujah siege provokes uprising throughout Iraq. As US commanders in Fallujah claimed that "one hundred percent of that city is secure," and that "American and Iraqi forces can go anywhere, anytime in that city," Iraqi freedom fighters attacked US forces in Mosul, Baquba, Kirkuk and Suwaira. They stormed police stations, set oil wells ablaze and ambushed American military convoys. Once again, US war planes dropped 500 pound bombs on Fallujah. The former CIA employee who heads Iraq, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, claims that one of the groups he blames for the rebellion, the Army of Muhammad, was created by Saddam Hussein to return the Baathist Party to power! The US claims that 38 American and 6 Iraqi soldiers had been killed assaulting Fallujah. The US also claimed that 1,052 "insurgents" had been captured, nearly all of whom were Iraqis. The demand remains: Bring the troops home now!

Monday, November 15, 2004

Death Row Population Falls Again. The number of people sentenced to death in 2003 reached a 30-year low, according to a U.S. government report released Sunday. At the end of last year, 3,374 people were on death row, 188 fewer than 2002. Illinois accounted for 91% of the drop. A movement against the death penalty in Illinois which showed that several of those on death row were not guilty, forced the governor to commute the death sentences of 167 people. It was a movement to eliminate this racist, cruel and unusual punishment that forced change. 42% of those on death row are Black, 56% are white; the US population is only 12% Black.

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Iraqi puppet government sends troops to Mosul. Citizens of Mosul, the third largest city in Iraq with 1 million people, have re-energized their resistance. Hundreds of Iraqi police abandoned their stations and posts in the face of armed citizens demanding their resignation. The U.S. sent in four battalions of Iraqi National Guard, composed primarily of ethnic Kurds as well as moving troops from the Fallujah siege, to "restore order" in Mosul.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Pentagon stops investigating stress as cause of Gulf War Syndrome. The Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday that it no longer will pay for studies that want to show that stress is the primary cause for Gulf War Syndrome. A Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness spent two years reviewing studies and recommended that the VA abandon stress studies and instead focus on toxic substances. Thousands of veterans have complained of chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness and loss of balance. While it is likely that the Pentagon will try to blame Saddam Hussein for the toxins, one of the key suspects is the anti-nerve gas drug pyridostigmine bromide administered by the government to soldiers.

Friday, November 12, 2004

PLO picks Mahmoud Abbas as chairman of the PLO. With the death of Yassir Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas has been chosen as the chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Considered a moderate and someone who shuns publicity, he will likely be elected to the position of president of the Palestinian Authority, with the backing of Al Fatah, the liberation organization founded by Arafat, and the largest faction of the PLO.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Palestinian Leader Yassir Arafat dies. The central leader of the Palestinian people for many decades, Yassir Arafat, died in a military hospital in France. Yassir Arafat is honored by all those who struggle for social justice as a leader of the Palestinian people and their just demand for their own state. Yassir Arafat was hated by the United States and its junior partner in the Middle East, Israel. Yassir Arafat received the Nobel Prize for Peace, placing him on the same level internationally as Martin Luther King Jr. Yassir Arafat led the Palestinian people from exile for many years.

Saturday, October 30, 2004

GM worker killed. A GM worker, Marcel Chagnon, was killed Friday morning when machinery fell on him at the GM Warren Transmission Plant just outside Detroit. The incident has been ruled an accident. The number of workers killed in the plants has been increasing. In spite of increased safety training and internal discussions of safety, programs and policies to increase the profits of the U.S. owners drive employees to do unsafe things. These programs implement "lean manufacturing," modern code words for increased productivity. While the companies speak of safety and people as the most important, the real message is very clear -- if the US owners do not increase profits, US workers will lose their jobs. The UAW openly supports the drive for lean manufacturing. It is complicit in Chagnon's death.

Friday, October 29, 2004

100,000 Iraqi civilians killed in war. "We were shocked at the magnitude but we're quite sure that the estimate of 100,000 is a conservative estimate," said Dr. Gilbert Burnham of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at John Hopkins University. Dr. Burnham was part of a team that conducted the most extensive scientific study to date on Iraqi civilian death since March 2003. They interviewed nearly 1,000 families in 33 communities. Before the invasion the most common cause of death were heart attacks, strokes and chronic diseases. After the invasion, violent death was far ahead of all other causes. "...the majority of excess mortality is clearly due to violence," said Dr. Burnham. The research team included Iraqi physicians and researchers.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

War Against Terror violates rights, says UN. Theo van Boven, director of the reports on torture for the United Nations, expressed "serious concern" over "allegations of attempts to circumvent the absolute nature of the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill treatment in the name of countering terrorism, particularly in relation to the interrogation and conditions of detention of prisoners." Although he refused to single out the United States by name, "the report seemed to be squarely aimed at the Bush administration's attempts to justify its practices ....",especially in light of its recent approval to move prisoners of war from Iraq, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. He rejected arguments that the methods of the United States were justified. He said the use of secret detention should be a punishable crime.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Israel Parliament approves pullout from Gaza. Tuesday evening the Israeli Parliament approved Prime Minister Sharon's plan for the removal of the approximately 8,000 Jewish settlers in Gaza. The plan and the action are being hailed as "unprecedented" concessions by Israel. This small victory is a product of the intifadas that have shaken Israel for the past several years. Israel will continue to encircle Gaza. Israel retains complete control over the borders, the coast and air space of Gaza. Gaza was seized by Israel from Egypt in the 1967 War and even with government subsidies only 8,000 people have settled in 35 years. Sixty-five percent of Israelis support the pullout. Sharon said that it is part of his plan to " strengthen Israel's grip over the land that is crucial to our existence," that is, the West Bank where more than 230,000 settlers live. The need for a fully functioning Palestinian state and the right of return for Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homes is still on the agenda. As long as the Palestinians are denied their state and their rights, there will be no peace in the Middle East.

 

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Captured non-Iraqis lose rights. The Bush Administration, in an important precedent, has issued a legal opinion declaring that some non-Iraqi prisoners captured in Iraq are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention governing prisoners of war. The CIA has secretly deported dozens of non-Iraqi prisoners out of Iraq in the past 18 months, in violation of the Geneva conventions that bar civilians from being deported from occupied territories. The CIA wants to interrogate these people outside of Iraq. Woe to them! The policy of the ruling rich towards the rest of the world is so arrogant it borders on the unbelievable. People in the U.S. should deepen and extend their opposition to the war in Iraq until the troops are home.

Monday, October 25, 2004

U.S. diplomat killed in Iraq. Edward Seitz, from St. Clair Shores, Michigan, is the first U.S. diplomat to be killed in Iraq since the war began. He was killed by a mortar round while he slept. At least 37 new Iraqi soldiers who had been ambushed and killed were found Sunday northeast of Baghdad, according to the Iraqi Defense Ministry. It was one of the deadliest attacks yet on the U.S.-sponsored Iraqi security forces. As the war continues. the "firsts" and the "worsts" will continue. The troops need to come home now!

Sunday, October 24, 2004

African-Americans in Mount Clemens begin recall. African-Americans, about 20% of Mount Clemens' 17,000 residents, filed the wording for a recall petition on Friday against John Milkovich, a City Commissioner. He was heard to use racial slurs at a bar during the summer and during a September commission meeting. A hearing to rule on the language is scheduled for November 9. The recall is endorsed by the Macomb County NAACP, and the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance.

Saturday , October 23, 2004

New arrestee in Fireworks shootings. Daron Caldwell was released on October 4 in connection with the shootings at Hart Plaza during the fireworks display June 23, 2004. On Friday, October 22, police arrested another African-American, Gary WIlliams, in connection with the shootings. Mr. Williams had been wanted in connection with another shooting at the Watts Club Mozambique on July 6, 2003. An anonymous tip led police to Williams. Time will tell whether Mr. Williams is another victim of a police department determined to hang the fireworks shootings on somebody soon.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Planet cannot sustain modern ways of living. Humans consume 20 percent more natural resources than the Earth can produce, the Living Planet Report, issued by the World Wildlife Fund Thursday, said. The biggest violators are the United Arab Emirates, The United States, Kuwait, Australia and Sweden. The world's 6.1 billion people leave a collective footprint of 33.36 billion acres, 5.44 acres per person. To allow the Earth to regenerate the average should be no more than 4.45 acres. The average US resident leaves a 23.47 acre footprint, largely from fuel consumption. To what end do the people in the US consume more than their share? The creation of a way of living -- automobiles, conspicuous consumption, enormous expenditures of energy from fossil fuels -- that is unsustainable and damaging to the planet. What a legacy!

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Flu vaccines in short supply. Limited supplies of flu vaccines needed by seniors and small children were distributed in some parts of the Detroit area today. The shortage of flu vaccines across the United States has prompted charges and responses in the presidential campaign. The immediate cause was alleged contamination at a British laboratory, one of only two suppliers of vaccines. Panic has caused some Detroiters to go to Canada only to find that the Canadian government is distributing the vaccines only to people with Canadian national healthcare cards. Naturally, and without shame, there are 2000 vaccines available for the 535 members of Congress and their staffs! Of course, George Bush and the White House staff are covered too. Healthcare and the healthcare industry should not be in private hands, it is a public need, like drinking water or fresh air. It should be owned and controlled by the public. Until the people of the United States make up their mind that the healthcare of the majority is at least equal to the healthcare of the rich minority, we will continue to have health care crises. (Local note: at least 7 members of Congress from Michigan got their flu shots.)

Guilty Plea for Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse. Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick II, the highest-ranking Army reservist charged by the US Army in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, pleaded guilty to five charges of abusing prisoners. He said that he was following orders of superior officers. These officers should be tried in Iraqi courts by Iraqis.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Millions for "get out the vote" Why? The New York Times reported that "an army of interest groups is pumping at least $350 million into get-out-the-vote campaigns." It is long past the time when ordinary people, their ideas, their contributions, play any significant role in the elections. It is entirely possible that the rich want this election to look as close as possible. US military forces have announced plans for an all-out assault on Fallujah which has been preceded by weeks of air strikes. The ruling rich may also be planning to attack another country. Voter participation limited to the Democrats and Republicans contributes to increasing the buy-in of voters for the war policies of Bush/Kerry, both of whom have the same goals for the United States in Iraq -- victory over the insurgents in order to fully control the oil, a base of operations to further control the area, as well as protect Israel. Yet another reason to vote for Nader/Camejo or any of the anti-war candidates on the ballots.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Anglican Church criticizes ordaining of gay bishop. An Anglican Church Commission rebuked the Episcopal Church USA for ordaining an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire and for blessing same-sex unions. The report asked that the Episcopal Church apologize for causing "pain and division" in the church called the Anglican Communion, the second largest church body in the world, with 77 million members in 164 countries. The Anglican Commission issued a cowardly position. It criticized the Episcopal Church USA for not consulting with the other churches, rather than openly criticize the ordination of the gay bishop itself. But, of course, that is issue. The Anglican Church or the Church of England is the Protestant Church closest to the Catholics in its liturgy and apparently, in its hatred for gay people. It is critical to support democratic rights for gay people, including the right to marriage, civil unions, full benefits. Democratic rights cannot be tossed by the rich to the people, while they scramble to pick them off the ground. Democratic rights belong to us, including gay people. It is hoped that the Episcopal Church USA does not back down.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Bombs explode inside Green Zone in Iraq. Bombs carried by suicide bombers killed at least three Americans and wounding 20 others. It is the first time that the Iraqi resistance had penetrated into the Green Zone, the military compound which houses the American Embassy and its puppet government. The Americans are preparing for an all-out military assault on Fallujah, with plans for followup assaults on all the major cities of resistance in Iraq. These last weeks have seen almost daily air strikes directed against Fallujah. It is truly a war in which "we destroyed the country in order to save it," to paraphrase the words of a US military commander describing the destruction of a South Vietnamese village.

SPECIAL NOTE: Margaret Guttshall, one of the editors of Truth, was severely injured in a car accident. She is currently recovering in Detroit. Messages of support may be emailed to: info@truthdetroit.org.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

On Tuesday, the official 40 day mourning period ended for the 330 people, over half of them children, killed by Russian troops in an assault on a school captured by supporters of Chechnyan rebels. The assault was ordered by Russian President Putin to show that he is "tough" on terrorists and on the Chechnyan rebels. Russia is collaborating with the United States in the war on terror, in this case, to secure the oil-rich area of the Caucasus where the republic of Chechnya is located. The Russian government is claiming that the Chechnyan rebels are linked to Al-Queda, but the evidence is slight. The Caucasus region of Russia borders on the Middle East and is home to many Muslims.

Thursday, October 7, 2004

Is Ralph Nader a communist? Teachers at Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills invited a representative of the Nader campaign to speak to students in their classes today. Hearing what Nader and Camejo stand for -- a more progressive income tax, abolishing taxes on incomes under $50,000, public programs to provide jobs, a $10 minimum wage, publicly-funded health insurance for all -- one student said this sounds like socialism or communism as if this, in and of itself, would be enough to reject Nader. Nader isn't a socialist or a communist; he favors the capitalist system and reforming it. But what if he were a socialist or a communist? So what? Young people in the U.S. need to get over the tendency to look at something quickly, slap a label on it, and then accept or reject it on the basis of the label. It's necessary to look at everything carefully, from all sides, and see clearly. The most important thing is what someone is fighting for -- concretely -- not what they call themselves or what others may call them.

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Peter Camejo in Detroit and Ann Arbor! Ralph Nader's candidate for vice president, Peter Miguel Camejo, spoke in Southwest Detroit and Ann Arbor today. The meeting in Southwest Detroit, a Latino neighborhood, was especially interesting because it brought together activists from the Latino Community, young people from the Nader campaign, Greens from various cities in Michigan, and socialists affiliated with Solidarity. Camejo made strong arguments against voting for both Bush and Kerry. He pointed out that when antiwar Democrats argue for voting for Kerry they often say, "Don't pay attention to what he is saying, he's just saying that to get elected, after he gets elected, you'll see he's really not for the war on Iraq, not for escalating the war on terrorism, etc., etc." In other words, they say Kerry is lying and we should vote for him even though he lies, or perhaps because he does. He pointed out that the majority of people in the U.S., not to mention the world, agree with Nader, yet they won't be voting for him. We have a problem in the U.S.; we don't stick to our principles, we don't fight for them, we settle, we vote for the "lesser evil." He said the time has come to do as the abolitionists did; they stopped voting for both Democrats and Whigs, because they were both pro-slavery, although the Whigs weren't as pro-slavery as the Democrats. They started campaigning and voting only for anti-slavery candidates. In so doing, they used their election campaigns and their votes to strengthen this movement and paved the way for abolishing slavery.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Students at Oakland University rally for gay rights. Gay students and their supporters organized a rally at Oakland University today for equal rights for lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and gays. Students spoke out against the proposal on the November ballot that will ban same-sex marriages. The supporters of this proposal claim to be highly moral, yet they are killing young people. The persecution of young lesbians and gays -- and this proposal is very much a part of this -- leads them to attempt to kill themselves much more often than straight youth do. It's a sick society that considers it immoral to touch someone of the same sex in a certain way, yet considers it perfectly moral to drop a bomb on people of all sexes in Iraq. Why aren't Bush and Kerry using their campaigns to speak out against this persecution that is killing many of our most sensitive and talented young women and men?

Monday, October 4, 2004

U.S. forces kill people of Samarra. U.S. forces killed dozens, perhaps hundreds of Samarrans, as they succeeded, at least temporarily, in taking over the town and taking it out of the control of Iraqis who oppose the U.S. occupation of Iraq. "The hospital is full of bodies, children are buried in the gardens and there are bodies filling the streets," according to Muhammad Basharal-Faidhi, a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars (Detroit Free Press, October 4, 2004). U.S. forces are bombing people from the sky, in an effort to "soften up" the resistance, then sending troops in to "clean up." This is the first in a series of efforts that U.S. men are making to kill people in Iraq, who are most opposed to the U.S. occupation, drive them out of their homes and towns, and make it very difficult for them to function.

Friday, October 1, 2004

Kerry lets the cat out of the bag. Bush and Kerry "debated" last night. Of course Bush seemed incredibly stupid. That the U.S. ruling class can't find someone who at least appears to be a little brighter than Bush is one of the indications that it is going down. Kerry finally started speaking against Bush and his policies a little more than he usually does, so his views became clearer. He has no principled opposition to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He simply thinks that experience has shown the U.S. cannot maintain it alone. He complained that Bush has offered contracts only to friends at Halliburton and other U.S. corporations. Kerry wants to offer oil and contracts to the Europeans in exchange for their help in crushing the Iraqis. Nader, on the other hand, wants U.S. corporations and U.S. troops out of Iraq.

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Nader campaigners in Michigan. Nader/Camejo campaigners arrived in Michigan today, armed with literature, buttons, bumperstickers, signs, and a van with a sound system. Young men from Ohio, they are part of a nationwide campaign of 40 young people in 20 vans traveling from campus to campus and town to town in nearly 50 states, campaigning against Bush and Kerry and their policies and for Nader, Camejo and theirs! What a welcome contribution to the struggle against the owners of the corporations in Michigan!

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

U.S. soldiers will be disabled. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi told the Detroit Free Press that a relatively high percentage of U.S. soldiers are going to come back from Iraq mentally and emotionally disabled, and U.S. officials will have to pay them disability benefits, because of the Iraqis' war style -- unexpected Iraqis attack at unexpected times in unexpected ways. Principi didn't say this is inevitable when you wage war on an entire people, occupy their country, and they don't want you to be there; the only alternative is to get out now.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Go home Michael Moore! Michael Moore, who likes to brag about being from Flint, Michigan, is now going from campus to campus in Michigan urging young people to vote for John Forbes Kerry. He says Bush may begin drafting young people into the armed forces and, if they don't want to be drafted, they should vote for Kerry. Moore doesn't bother to mention that well-known Democrats -- Charles Wrangel and John Conyers -- have been promoting a bill calling for drafting all young men and women, 18-26. With dishonest, convoluted logic, they argue that re-establishing the draft will stop war because rich people won't want their children to be drafted. But re-establishing the draft will mean more working class youth of color will die, those now volunteering and those drafted. Rich whites will find alternatives for their children, one way or another. Go home to New York Michael! We don't need more dishonest men in Michigan. You aren't a Michigander any more!

Monday, September 27, 2004

Bush's tax cuts favor the rich..The Detroit News, a conservative paper, is publishing a series with statistics showing Bush's tax cuts favor the rich. While the richest 1% will receive tax cuts totalling over $78,000 this year, 7% of their average incomes ($1 million!), the bottom 20% will receive only $250, or 2% of their average incomes (around $16,000). The cuts in taxes for working class people don't begin to make up for the cuts in programs that benefit them, like job training, childcare, healthcare, housing. It's good to see the Detroit News editors are finally admitting what working class people have been saying for a long time, but what do they want to do about it? Ralph Nader is the only well-known candidate who has an alternative -- public programs to provide jobs, a $10 minimum wage, and publicly-funded health insurance for all.

Friday, September 24, 2004

U.S. armed forces have killed the largest number of Iraqis. U.S. officials count the number of people U.S. forces and others kill in Iraq, but refuse to release their numbers to the public. The Iraqi Ministry of Health is also counting and is now releasing its numbers. According to this Ministry, which just gave statistics to the Detroit Free Press, U.S. armed forces have killed two-thirds of those who have been killed, while "terrorists" -- which the Ministry defines as those who set off explosives in residential areas -- have killed one-third. Since April 5, a total of 3,487 have been killed and 13,720 have been injured. The Ministry says most of these people are civilians, but there are some Iraqi police and guardsmen among them.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

U.S. and Israel have double standards. Zainab Abu Salem, a 19-year-old woman and member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, killed herself and two Israeli policemen yesterday. At the same time, Arabs, opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, threatened to behead another U.S. or British hostage in Iraq, if U.S. authorities don't release all Iraqi female prisoners now. Of course U.S., British, Israeli authorities and their media are denouncing this young woman and these men for their violent acts. But why do they denounce Palestinian and Iraqi violence, but not U.S., British and Israeli violence? U.S. and British oil corporations worked together to develop Israel as a powerful and loyal military base to protect extracting and shipping oil out of the region and killed Palestinians and stole their land in order to accomplish this task. Now the U.S. is killing Iraqis and stealing their oil and land so they can have the oil and Iraq as a military base. Why is it OK for U.S. and British oil corporations, U.S. and British governments, U.S. and British armed forces, and their Israeli allies, to use violence against Palestinians and Iraqis, but it's not OK for Palestinians and Iraqis to use violence? Why are the U.S, the British, and the Israelis, "heroes," "freedom fighters," and the Palestinians and Iraqis "terrorists"?

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Israeli workers strike! 400,000 public workers in Israel are now on strike, including workers in banking, transportation, the postal service, and public hospitals. They are striking against the government because it has tried to hold back workers' wages and many workers have not been paid for months. U.S. workers need to fight for the U.S. government to stop all aid to Israel. The U.S. sends the Israeli government billions; it uses this money to make war on Palestinians, Lebanese, and others who represent a threat to U.S. and British oil and their Israeli allies. The Israeli government obviously is not using this money to pay public workers!

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Funds for African-American owned businesses in Detroit. JoAnn Watson, a member of Detroit City Council, is calling for funds and space to be set aside for African-Americans who want to set up their own businesses within the city of Detroit. This is a legitimate democratic demand. It's been very difficult for African-Americans to get money to set up their own businesses, just as it has been difficult for them to get into certain schools and get certain jobs. Anyone who supports affirmative action programs in schools and jobs, should also support this demand. But this, by itself, won't resolve the problems facing the majority of African-Americans. We need public programs to provide jobs, wages, health insurance, housing, and pensions to all who need them. One man's ability to find a job with a living wage should not be dependent on another man's ability to make a profit.

Monday, September 20, 2004

U.S. plans post election offensive in Iraq. U.S. military officials are planning to try to take over sections of Iraq now in the hands of Iraqis who oppose the U.S. occupation. They claim they are planning this so it will be possible to have elections in January. However, it seems to be more a way to determine the outcome of the elections than a way to facilitate them. If the U.S. makes war on and kills Iraqis who oppose the U.S. occupation, how can these people have a voice in the elections? There are also rumors that military officials are going to force thousands of men and women who are members of the armed forces still stationed in the U.S. to join the fighting in Iraq.

Friday, September 17, 2004

Kerry speaks to big shots in Detroit. Kerry spoke to 1,000 people at the elite Detroit Economic Club in Detroit on Wednesday, including Ford Motor Company Vice President Allan Gilmour, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Teamster president James P. Hoffa, and Wayne State President Irvin Reid. This is another indication that Kerry may not be interested in getting rid of Bush and replacing him. If Kerry were serious about getting rid of Bush, he would be campaigning against Bush and talking with thousands of voters in Detroit, not just with a small number of big shots at an elite club.

Thursday, September 16, 2004

U.S. officials pessimistic about Iraq. The National Intelligence Council and the National Foreign Intelligence Board have prepared a "classified" report on the situation in Iraq. While they have not made the report available to the public, they have told reporters the document says they are pessimistic about the possibilities of "stabilizing" Iraq and there may be civil war. At the same time, the Bush administration is asking Congress for authority to shift funds from rebuilding the water, sewage and electric systems (that U.S. armed forces destroyed!) to "security," that is, to financing the men and machines attacking and killing Iraqis so U.S. and British oil corporations can take their oil.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

U.S. refuses to ban dangerous anti-depressants. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted 15-8 that certain anti-depressants -- Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Remeron, Serzone and Wellbutrin -- do not help children and teens overcome depression, can cause suicidal thoughts and suicide, and must contain "black box" warning labels. Yet the panel refused to ban prescribing these drugs to children and teens, as other countries, like Great Britain, have done. The rich corporate families have created a world that is increasingly toxic for the majority of people in every way; instead of resolving the problems that cause depression in young people -- unemployed parents, parents without adequate incomes, freetime and/or parenting skills, isolated parents, lack of caring relatives, friends, teachers, etc., etc. -- the corporate families produce and market drugs that can make the problems worse. We need to fight for public ownership and workers' control of the healthcare industry, including and especially the drug industry. Experts, with proven records of devotion to children, should be deciding what is and is not prescribed for children, not drug profiteers and less-than-independent government officials.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Ralph Nader speaks to hundreds in Michigan! Ralph Nader spoke to hundreds of young people at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan State in East Lansing, and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, on Monday and Tuesday. There were 600 in Ann Arbor, 700 in East Lansing, and 300 in Kalamazoo. Nader urged young people to demand more of elected officials and more of themselves; he urged them to use the facilities they have now -- student newspapers, radio stations, tv stations, rooms for meetings, labs for testing -- to fight for a better world, and not to settle for things as they are, not to settle for the "lesser evil." In Ann Arbor and East Lansing, he spoke for about 45 minutes and took questions and comments for as long or longer. When questioned about Republicans collecting signatures to put him on the ballot, he urged young people to think about why officials refused to allow him on the ballot on the Reform Party line, why they were forcing him to choose between being on with the aid of Republicans who collected signatures or not being on at all. Repeatedly he urged young people to be independent, to do their own thinking, not to simply repeat whatever they hear. Many of the young people who attended made contributions and said they plan to vote for Nader and Camejo on November 2.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Public ownership and workers' control of the airline industry. U.S. Airways declared itself bankrupt for the second time. It's not yet clear what will happen to employees or passengers. Workers may be laid-off; services may be cut. U.S. Airways is one of many airlines that have declared bankruptcy, including United, Delta, Continental, TWA, Braniff, Eastern and PanAm. In some cases, the airline continued to operate; in other cases, the airline was bought. The owners of the airline industry are not especially incompetent. The problem is the profit system itself. There are many tasks that need to be done that just aren't profitable. That doesn't mean the task shouldn't be done. Airline workers, other workers, and their unions need to fight for public ownership and workers' control of the airline industry. Airline workers can be relied upon to plan and organize safe and efficient air transportation wherever it is needed. The owners and top managers are unnecessary and, in many cases, a drag on the industry, as their declarations of bankruptcy show.

Friday, September 10, 2004

Release non-violent prisoners in Michigan now! Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm just cut $2 million from the funds allocated to help educate men and women in Michigan's prisons; the state legislature just cut an additional $1 million. The majority of people who enter Michigan prisons don't have high school diplomas; these funds pay for programs to help them get high school diplomas, for other forms of training, including programs to help people overcome addictions, as well as testing and treatment for hepatitis C. These cuts are further proof that Michigan prisons are useless institutions that do nothing to help the people at the bottom. We need publicly-funded programs to provide jobs to everyone who needs them and living wages, not prisons. Everyone convicted of non-violent crimes -- other than rich, white-collar criminals -- should be released now. Men and women convicted of violent crimes against other people must be allowed to appeal their convictions before a jury of their peers. When this is done, the number of people in prison will be reduced dramatically. We can allocate resources to create places where people who are unjustifiably violent toward others can be prevented from hurting others and, at the same time, have an opportunity to overcome whatever problems led them in this direction in the first place. Imprisoning people and abusing them makes non-violent people violent and violent people more violent.

Thursday, September 9, 2004

No to U.S., Israeli and Russian terrorism! Vladimir Putin, head of the Russian government, called for pre-emptive strikes against stateless "terrorists" today, in response to Chechnyan rebels who took over a school in North Ossetia, including hundreds of children, parents, and teachers, and the consequent death of at least 300 of these people. Russian officials claim that Chechnyan rebels are responsible for all these deaths, but this is not clear. The last time Chechnyan rebels seized a building, held the occupants hostage, and demanded that Russia release Chechnyan prisoners and get its forces out of Chechnya, it was Russian armed forces who killed most of the hostages by shooting nerve gas at the rebels and the occupants and killing both. This time Russian authorities claim that rebels set off a bomb, Russian forces retaliated, and hundreds were killed in the conflict. Of course we are sad to see so many children, parents, and teachers suffer and die. But to place all the blame on Chechnyan terrorists and paint them as barbaric savages is dishonest and hypocritical. Russian authorities could have negotiated; they could have released Chechnyan prisoners; they could have agreed to get Russian forces out of Chechnya and allow them to be independent, to own and control their own country; they could have offered compensation for the thousands and thousands of Chechyan children, young people, women and men that the Russians have tortured and killed, bombing them from the sky, destroying their country, as the U.S. and Israel have been doing in Iraq and Palestine. Workers need to take a stand against U.S., Israeli and Russian terrorism. Why is it OK for the U.S., Israel and Russia to use violence, but it's not OK for Iraqis, Palestinians and Chechnyans to use violence? The U.S., Israel, and Russia are occupying Iraq, Palestine and Chechnya. Iraq, Palestine, and Chechnya aren't occupying the U.S, Israel, or Russia.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

1,000 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. As of today, over 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq. The majority of these soldiers are from the poorest working class families, forced to join the armed forces because they could find no work and get no higher education in the U.S. Yet the U.S. union leadership continues to go along with the U.S. war on Iraq and support either Bush or Kerry, both of whom advocate continuing the war and occupation. As long as workers in the U.S. continue to vote for pro-war candidates, they are going to continue to see their spouses, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters killing our brothers and sisters in Iraq and being killed by them. Voting against pro-war candidates, voting for anti-war candidates, will not, by itself, stop U.S. war on Iraq and bring the troops home. But it is a way that workers can make it clear that they are against the war and encourage everyone to organize and mobilize to stop it.

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

Nader on the ballot -- a victory for working people. While Michigan judges refused to order the State of Michigan to put Nader on the ballot on the Reform Party line, they did order the State to put him on the ballot as an independent candidate. This is a victory for working people and exploited and oppressed people everywhere. Nader is the only well-known candidate for U.S. president who is against U.S. war on Iraq, for bringing U.S. troops home, for using U.S. resources for jobs, schools, and healthcare, not for war. Both Republicans and Democrats say Nader and his campaign are helping Bush and the Republicans -- Michigan Republicans collected 45,000 signatures to put Nader's name on the ballot; some Republicans are certainly hoping Nader and his campaign will help the Republicans. It's certainly possible that Nader's criticisms of both Bush and Kerry will cause some to vote for Nader who might otherwise vote for Kerry. It's possible that Nader will draw more votes away from Kerry than he will from Bush. There have been many studies of Nader's impact on the 2000 and 2004 elections. There is no clear agreement on how he affected the outcome in 2000 or how he will affect the outcome in 2004. But even if voting for Nader means that Bush will get a majority on November 2 -- and this is not at all clear -- it is still best for the working class to campaign and vote for Nader. The future of the working class, and all exploited and oppressed, depends on speaking out, campaigning, and voting for policies and candidates in their interest. If workers can't even speak, campaign, and vote for policies and candidates in their interest, how can they organize, mobilize and fight for policies and representatives in their interests? This is far more important than who is in the White House. Anything that we might lose by Bush remaining in the White House, by Kerry not coming to the White House -- and it's not clear we will lose anything -- will be more than compensated for by workers and oppressed peoples taking a big step forward in consciousness and organization: seeing that Bush and Kerry represent their enemies; seeing that Nader is campaigning for pro-labor policies; going to the polls and voting against the owners and bosses, voting for pro-labor policies.

Monday, September 6, 2004

Labor Day. Today is "Labor Day," the labor holiday established by U.S. capitalists, in collaboration with the U.S. union leadership, in order to recognize labor and, at the same, separate U.S. labor from workers in other countries and their international working class holiday May 1st. Yet even this concession to labor seems to be too much for the capitalists and the labor leadership in Detroit. The traditional Labor Day parade has been cancelled and replaced with "Labor Fest" on another day, later in September. It is an open celebration of collaboration between capitalists and workers in which the owners of GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler are invited to have booths and promote their products! While labor leaders in Detroit aren't acknowledging Labor Day, Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo, independent candidates for president and vice president, are. They issued a statement calling for a "Bill of rights for working people."

Friday, September 3, 2004

Activists continue protesting Bush and RNC. As Bush gave his big speech, accepting the Republican Party nomination, activists in New York City continued to protest Bush, the Republicans and their agenda. At least 1,000 protestors have been arrested, most for disorderly conduct; some have been held for three days. A judge just ordered NYC authorities to release all protestors now.

Thursday, September 2, 2004

GM and Ford will layoff more workers. GM and Ford spokesmen announced that the owners and managers of these giant corporations will layoff more workers this fall, but didn't say how many. They claim they are not selling enough cars and trucks. We need a shorter work week without cutting pay, so everyone can work together to do the work that needs to be done and continue to make enough money to pay their bills. If anything has to be cut, it should be the owners' profits and top management's compensation, not the workers' wages.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

U.S. forced to drop charges against alleged terrrorists. U.S. anti-terrorist officials were forced to drop charges against three Moroccan men -- Karim Koubriti, Abdel-Ilah El-mardoudi, and Ahmed Hannan -- who were arrested shortly after September 11 and accused of providing material aid to terrorists. Under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins, Assistant Attorneys Richard Convertino and Keith Corbett withheld evidence showing the Moroccan men were innocent. Unfortunately, U.S. officials plan to retry Koubriti, El-mardoudi and Hannan for allegedly falsifying their identification papers. These men have already served more time than the maximum others might serve for falsifying identification papers. Everyone against the persecution of Arabs and Muslims and for equal rights must demand the U.S. drop all charges against these men now, release them now, and compensate them for the U.S.'s crimes against them. The labor movement must organize an independent investigation into the false charges, trial and conviction of these men; everyone involve in manufacturing false evidence and suppressing evidence must be punished.

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Toyota is not the answer. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is trying to bribe Toyota to expand its operations in the Ann Arbor area and provide more jobs by selling state property to Toyota for three times less than what another company has offered. Michiganders need jobs, but bribing Toyota with public resources is not the answer. We need a public plan to clean up the environment and develop a new economy based on using safe, renewable energy sources. The oil/gas/car economy is doomed. The amount of oil on the planet is limited. Instead of wasting time, money and lives fighting for the limited amount of oil left, we should be using our intelligence and energy to develop a new economy, superior in everyway to the old, which is destroying both the environment and the health of human beings. (A high percentage of Michiganders suffer from diseases resulting from using their cars instead of their legs to get around.) It's impossible to rely on the owners of the car industry to lead this effort; they are primarily interested in short-term profits for themselves, their family and friends. We need a public plan, public funds, and public officials willing to lead this effort.

Monday, August 30, 2004

500,000 against Bush's agenda in New York City! At least 500,000 people gathered to express their opposition to Bush and his agenda on the eve of the Republican Convention in New York City yesterday. Both organizers and police -- albeit unofficially -- agreed there were at least a half million people; this was the largest demonstration in New York City history, even larger than a 1982 demonstration against nuclear weapons in Central Park. Protestors were not just against Bush, they were also against his policies, and every aspect of his policies, from war on Iraq, to U.S. aid to Israel, to U.S. aid to rightwing armed forces in Colombia, to tax breaks for the rich, unemployment, cuts in funds for schools and healthcare, and the Patriot Act. The march was led by Jesse Jackson, Michael Moore, and Danny Glover. Jackson and Moore are known for supporting "Anybody But Bush," but Glover, the African-American actor, has been speaking against both Bush and Kerry. Many protestors carried signs and wore stickers and buttons for Kerry, but many did not. Some chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, George Bush has got to go!" Others chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Bush and Kerry have got to go." Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo, independent candidates for president and vice president, and their supporters, organized a contingent in the march. Peter Camejo headed the contingent. Nader/Camejo supporters carried a 20-foot banner saying, "Impeach Bush-Cheney!" and "Votenader.org." and signs saying, "Bush + Kerry = War ... Nader + Camejo = Peace." They chanted, "Bush and Kerry are for war ... Vote for Nader in 2004!" and "1234 ... Bush and Kerry are for war ... 5,6,7,8 ... we need Nader state to state." The contingent was small -- about 50 to 100 people -- as so many Nader/Camejo activists are still fighting to get these names on the ballot in so many states. But it was energetic, enthusiastic, and well-received by most protestors!

Friday, August 27, 2004

U.S. forces to pull out of Najaf. Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani, leader of the Shi'ite community in Iraq, has been calling for Shi'ites throughout Iraq to march on Najaf. While he said the purpose of the march was to "stop the fighting," it's clear that thousands of Shi'ites marching on Najaf is a threat to U.S. forces and their ability to take over Najaf and crush Iraqis against the occupation. Now the media says a deal has been reached in which U.S. forces will pull out of Najaf, Iraqi police will enter Najaf, and Muqtada al-Sadr and his supporters, Mahdi's Army, will pull out of the Imam Ali shrine. There are to be no reprisals against Muqtada al-Sadr and his supporters; they are to retain their weapons. Bush and Company are not convinced that they can crush Iraqi opposition to the U.S. occupation; if they were, they would not have made this deal.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Kerry demands that Rumsfield resign. Kerry demanded that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resign, saying that Rumsfeld did not properly oversee U.S. operations and created an atomosphere in which U.S. troops could torture prisoners. This is a step forward; Kerry has not said much against U.S. torture in Iraq. But why isn't Kerry, a Senator, urging his colleagues in the House of Representatives to impeach Bush and Cheny? They are as much or more responsible than Rumsfeld. Is Kerry afraid that impeachment procedings against Bush would draw too much attention to Bush's crimes and to the Democratic Party leadership that has supported him?

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Iraqi forces hold their ground. U.S. forces and their Iraqi allies continue to demand that Iraqis against the U.S. occupation of Iraq, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, abandon the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf and turn it over to Iraqi forces that support the U.S. occupation. According to the U.S. media, U.S. forces and their allies are surrounding the shrine and closing in. But Iraqi forces against the occupation are holding their ground and refusing to leave. The more resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the better things will be for everyone on the planet, including the majority of people in the U.S. The more the U.S. owners of the transnational corporations are successful in taking over other peoples' oil, land and other resources, the more the U.S. economy will be nothing but a war economy and the people of the U.S. nothing but a war machine.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Kerry's bragging backfires. Kerry's decision to make bragging about what he did in Vietnam an important part of his election campaign seems to be backfiring. Kerry claims he was innocently guiding his boat up a river when he was "ambushed," so he turned his boat into the fire, jumped off, and pursued the killer or killers. Others say that someone fired on them, they fired back, injured the shooter so that he was unable to return fire, and that Kerry jumped off the boat and killed a wounded and dying man, which is against regulations and makes Kerry a war criminal. Kerry tells the first tale; Republicans and their supporters tell the second (usually without noting that it makes Kerry a war criminal). Of course, it's impossible to believe either one, but one thing is clear -- Kerry claimed to be against the war on Vietnam, but enlisted, became an officer, went to Vietnam, and volunteer for missions aimed at killing Vietnamese.

Monday, August 23, 2004

Michigan students pay the price. As Michigan students return to school this fall, they will find more students in their classrooms, fewer teachers, new books, and other supplies. Because of cuts in public funds to schools, officials have laid-off at least 6,000 teachers and failed to hire new teachers when necessary. As school officials cut the number of teachers, increase the number of students in each classroom, and, at the same time, demand that students do better and better on standardized tests, many students will become more anxious, be disagnosed with mental and emotional disorders and drugged. We need money for jobs, schools and healthcare, not for war. We need to hire more teachers, cut the number of students in the classroom to a maximum of 15, stop focusing on testing children and young people over and over, and cut drugging them to an absolute minimum. We need a society that nurtures each child and helps each child develop her/his abilities, no one that molds them into mindless robots in a corporate war machine.

 

Friday, August 20, 2004

Olympics displace and damage poor of Athens, Greece. While people in the U.S. can see Olympic athletes on television, they can't see the story behind them. There are at least 60,000 homeless people in Greece, yet Greek officials spent over $7 billion to prepare for the Olympics. They drove poor people living in shacks out of a neighborhood, and replaced them with stadiums and media centers. Officials told the poor the Olympics would be an opportunity for the poor to make money, but this has not been true. Officials decided they didn't want Olympics participants, tourists and viewers to see the poor, so they banned poor street vendors from getting near the Olympics. Those who make their living selling things they collect, flowers, and even Olympic souvenirs have been driven away and even arrested and imprisoned. According to Matthew Schofield, Knight Ridder reporter, at least one poor family that tried to buy a ticket to the Olympics was refused and told they were not wanted. (Detroit Free Press, August 20, 2004, page 6.)

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Michiganders need jobs. At least 6.8% of Michigan workers need jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. This percentage is one of the highest in the nation. Both Bush and Kerry say they have plans that will provide jobs, but what are they? Bush wants to continue cutting taxes for the rich through cutting individual taxes; Kerry wants to cut taxes for the rich through cutting corporate taxes. Nader and Camejo have a different plan -- increasing taxes on the richest 5%; developing a public plan to provide jobs cleaning up the environment and building a new economy based on safe, renewable energy sources.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike. 1,600 out of about 7,500 Palestinian prisoners now held in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on Sunday to protest conditions, including unsanitary conditions, bans on access to phones, bans on visits from family members, and strip searches. Israeli Public Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said: "The prisoners can strike for a day, a month, even starve to death, as far as I am concerned." .

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Iraqis won't fight Iraqis. According to Detroit Free Press reporters, the U.S.'s attack on Najaf is not receiving the support the U.S. expected from the new Iraqi armed forces. Over 100 Iraqi National Guardsmen and an entire battalion, composed of 600 to 900 men, have quit rather than join in an attack on fellow Iraqis.

Monday, August 16, 2004

Victory in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez, the popular president of Venezuela who has implemented a number of reforms in the interests of the majority of Venezuelans, just won a referendum on his rule. U.S. oil corporations, U.S. officials and their allies in Venezuela have been working to overthrow Chavez for over a year. Chavez's victory is a victory for all working people; it shows that with solidarity against U.S. corporations and their allies, progress is possible.

Friday, August 13, 2004

U.S. out of Najaf! The U.S. claims that Muqtada al-Sadr and his co-thinkers are organizing a "bloody uprising" in Iraq. In reality, the U.S. is trying to wipe out opponents of the U.S. war on and occupation of Iraq. At the moment, it seems that the U.S. may have al-Sadr surrounded and may be closing in on him. Iraqi authorities are asking al-Sadr to come out of the Shrine of Imam Ali and "negotiate." The highest ranking Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is still in London and has simply called for an end to fighting on both sides. The U.S. antiwar movement should be in the streets demanding U.S. out of Najaf!

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Detroit public school workers fight back. About 200 Detroit public school workers, including teachers, clerks, security guards, custodians, boiler operators, and skilled trades, picketed the administration's headquarters today, demanding an end to layoffs and the outsourcing of union workers' jobs to non-union private contractors. The Lansing appointed head of Detroit Public Schools, Ken Burnley, has hired a private firm, Servicemaster, with which he used to be affiliated, to do many jobs within the school system formerly done by public, unionized workers. Teachers and students affiliated with "By Any Means Necessary" also protested Lansing's plan to retain control of Detroit schools by having a CEO, appointed by the Detroit mayor, retaining all important powers, and an elected school board with few important powers.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Bush and Kerry. George Bush recently challenged John Kerry to say clearly whether he would have voted to give the president authority to make war on Iraq knowing what he knows now -- that Saddam Hussein had no ties to Al-Quaeda and no weapons of mass destruction. On Monday, August 9, in Grand Canyon Arizona, Kerry replied: "Yes, I would have voted for that authority." (New York Times, August 10, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/10/politics/campaign/10 kerry.htm.) In the same interview, Kerry said he would have still gone to war, but made an effort to get more support. He also said, "I believe that within a year from now, we could significantly reduce American forces in Iraq, and that's my plan." Kerry is under pressure from the owners of the oil and weapons corporations to make it clear he will defend their interests and, at the same time, under pressure from the millions who oppose U.S. war on and occupation of Iraq. Some activists who claim to be antiwar, yet also support Kerry, have seized on his recent statement saying he plans to bring some troops home as proof antiwar activists should vote for Kerry. Yet Bush has also said he might bring some troops home. It's a serious mistake to think voting for Kerry will contribute anything to getting U.S. troops out of Iraq. On the contrary, the smaller the number of votes for Bush, the smaller the number of votes for Kerry, the more difficult it will be for the Republicans and Democrats to continue war on and occupation of Iraq. They will lack the mandate, the authority.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

A fight to the death? According to Knight Ridder reporters, Tom Lasseter and Dogen Hannah, Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of some of the poorest people in Iraq, now possibly trapped within Imam Ali shrine in Najaf by U.S. forces, says: "I will stay until the last drop of my life." He is trying to persuade Iraqis not to collaborate with the U.S. occupation. He says: "I wish that America would hit me with an atomic bomb, but not a bullet from the Iraqi police." The problems facing the poorest people in Iraq are obviously extraordinary. They not only have to contend with the U.S. occupation, and the consequent deprivation of water, sanitation, food, power, etc. They also have to contend with the wealthiest in Iraq collaborating with the occupation. Working class and poor people in the U.S. can change this situation. They can make an all out fight to bring the troops home now, for money for jobs, healthcare, schools, not war!

Monday, August 9, 2004

Bring the troops home now! U.S. forces seem to be engaged in a full-scale battle with Muqtada al-Sadr and his forces in Najaf and Sadr City, the poorest neighborhood in Baghdad. These seem to be the forces within Iraq most opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and most prepared to sacrifice their lives to stop it. Don't these people have a right to their own neighborhoods? Shouldn't U.S. troops be getting out of their neighborhoods? To date, John Kerry, has not said a word against Bush's attempt to wipe out these people; yet many people who claim to be antiwar continue to call for antiwar activists to vote for Kerry. How can we stop U.S. war on Iraq if we vote for candidates who favor that war?

Friday, August 6, 2004

Detroit workers fight back! Yesterday, Detroit city workers who drive and repair buses, organized a demonstration against city officials' decision to layoff 119 bus service workers, those who maintain and repair buses. City workers told us while city officials were laying off union workers, city officials were outsourcing union workers' work to private contractors who overcharged for their services. There are supposed to be over 400 Detroit buses working during peak hours; now there are only 150. City residents are standing in the heat for hours waiting for buses. Detroit school workers also joined the demonstration; public school officials are threatening to layoff over 2,100 school workers, including teachers, clerical workers, security guards, custodians, and skilled workers who maintain and repair the schools. Here again workers report work is being outsourced to private contractors charging absurd prices for their services; workers think this is one of the reasons for the school budget deficits. It's an inspiring struggle because workers from different unions are coming together and getting involved in politics; they are campaigning to recall two city council members, Sheila Cockrel and Kay Everett, who have been supportive of Kilpatrick, the anti-labor, pro-Democratic Party mayor. Jo Ann Watson, Detroit City Councilwoman, called for a general strike against the attacks on city workers; some of her fellow Democrats are threatening to bring legal action against her, just for saying this!

Thursday, August 5, 2004

Lansing out of Detroit. After taking over the Detroit schools five years ago, the Michigan State Legislature is now offering the people of Detroit a "compromise." Detroiters will be allowed to vote for their school board, but a CEO will be appointed who will have veto power over important issues. There will be two proposals on the ballot in November: one for a more complete return to more democratic control of the schools; another for the "compromise" proposal. Of course Detroit residents should have the same rights others do: the right to elect their school board without "oversight" from appointed "overseers." But, this by itself won't solve the problems with our schools. We need teacher control of the schools; teachers are the section of the society most knowledgeable about education and most dedicated to young people. We also need millions of dollars so our children can be well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed, so they and their parents can have jobs, and so we can have the buildings and materials needed to provide proper education. There is nothing wrong with Detroit teachers or students; they are simply being deprived of the control and the resources they need to go forward.

Wednesday, August 4, 2004

U.S. soldiers on trial. The U.S. Army is now holding hearings to decide whether Lynndie England, the infamous young woman photographed laughing beside naked prisoners piled one on top of the other, should be court-martialed for what she did. Army prosecutors are arguing that she is an out-of-control, "loose cannon"; England's defense lawyers are arguing she was following orders. England was clearly following orders, in the sense that U.S. officials at the highest levels encouraged U.S. soldiers to disregard the rights of people in Iraq. We need to get U.S. forces out of Iraq; we need to prosecute Bush and other officials at the highest levels for their war crimes. But that England was clearly following orders to some extent, should not be used to allow England off the hook; she should be punished.

Tuesday, August 3, 2004

Local "war on terrorism" chief resigns. Jeffrey Collins, U.S. attorney and the man responsible for the "war on terrorism" in Eastern Michigan, resigned on Monday and took a position in a private firm. After September 11, Collins oversaw the "investigation" of the Arab-American community in Dearborn and Southeast Michigan, as well as the first "anti-terrorist" trial. Collins and his man, Richard Convertino- - now being investigated because of his role in the trial -- managed to convict three out of four alleged terrorists; since then the convictions have been called into question, not simply because of the questionable character of the evidence, but, above all, because the prosecutor suppressed evidence of the innocence of the alleged terrorists.

Monday, August 2, 2004

Code Orange. The Bush administration declared there is a high risk of terrorist attacks against financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup buildings in Manhattan, Prudential Financial in Newark, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, D.C. According to Tom Ridge (former Pennsylvania Governor, who played a leading role in the illegal, unjust prosecution and imprisonment of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and now head of "Homeland Security"), "Al Qaeda" may attack one of these buildings with car bombs, truck bombs, or a hijacked oil tanker; Ridge has declared a "Code Orange," one step lower than a "Code Red," the highest level of "terrorist alert."

Of course, it's impossible to know if this is true or not. These are the same people who told us Saddam Hussein was involved in September 11 and had "weapons of mass destruction" he was about to use. It may be true; it may also be false, part of Republican efforts to create a climate in which Bush might be re-elected, justification for preventing demonstrations against the Republican National Convention in New York City, or justification for canceling the presidential elections.

In any case, some things are clear.

-- If the people now planning to attack the New York Stock Exchange are part of the same network that planned and organized the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, they are not trying to kill "the largest possible number of ordinary Americans," as public officials and the media often tell us. On the contrary, it seems that these poverty-stricken, stateless terrorists, who have no way to deliver their blows but with their own bodies, are, once again, targeting wealthier Americans and their financial institutions and trying to disrupt the economy.
-- The war on terrorism has failed. After three years of this war, countless numbers of people dead, imprisoned, tortured and billions of dollars, people who live in the U.S. are less safe.
-- This war on terrorism can never win. It's impossible to win a war on poverty-stricken, stateless terrorists; the more rich families in the U.S., their government, security and armed forces attack and persecute alleged terrorists and others allegedly associated with the them, the more people will join the ranks of the terrorists, the more they will create conditions in which people don't want to live, in which they want to die and take people they consider responsible for their suffering and misery with them. We have already seen this with the British war on Irish terrorists, the Spanish war on Basque terrorists, the U.S.-Israeli war on alleged Palestinian terrorists, and the Russian war on Chechnyan terrorists.