JAN. 26, 2006 VOL. 48, NO. 3 50¢

workers.org Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite!

NUEVA ORLEÁNS

El pueblo detiene la destrucción de sus casas 16A pesar de Bush, una economía turbia 16

SUBSCRIBE TOWORKERS WORLDTrial subscription: $2 for 8 weeksOne year subscription: $25

NAME EMAIL

ADDRESS PHONE

CITY/STATE/ZIP

WORKERS WORLD NEWSPAPER55 W. 17 St. NY, NY 10011 212-627-2994www.workers.org

VENEZUELA•Belafonte speaks truth 10•Maine warmed

by solidarity 10

HANDS OFF IRAN!Another made-in-USA crisis 7

ROE V. WADETime to hit the streets! 5

AFRICAWorkers fight back 11

SAVE THE PLANETfrom bourgeois pessimism 12

FREE THE CUBAN 5Campaign intensifies 6

resenting Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) in Baltimore. Powellco-chaired the protest along with Sharon Black, a community andunion activist from the Million Worker March Movement.

“We want a moratorium on all evictions. We are also demand-ing that the people of New Orleans and the Delta have a right toreturn and a right to determine the development of the area. Eventhe basic democratic right to vote in the upcoming mayoral elec-tion has been denied. These were many of the same rights that Dr.King Jr. fought and died for,” Black stated.

Renee Washington described the horrendous conditions thatthe people of the New Orleans’ ninth ward have suffered.Washington recently participated in a delegation to the Dec. 9 and10 New Orleans protest and conference lead by Katrina survivors.Her companion, Joey Wilbon, was murdered by Baltimore citypolice. She has remained an outspoken activist against police bru-tality, racism and abuse.

“You can’t imagine. There is no electricity. You can’t drink thewater; it’s poison. Nothing has been done at all to help the peo-ple. Nothing! Garbage is in the street; sewage is everywhere. Youcan’t even stand the smell. This is criminal,” proclaimedWashington.

Luis Torres, from Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST), ayouth group that helped sponsor the activity, pointed out, “Weare also here today to oppose the racist anti-immigrant bill.”Formerly from Laredo, Texas, he gave a painful and moving

Honoring King’s legacy

Activists protest FEMA, racism&warBy Pam ParkerWashington, D.C.

As part of nationwide activities marking the 20th anniversaryof the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, community and anti-waractivists from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore joined forces onJan. 16 by protesting at the national headquarters of FEMA todemand justice for Katrina survivors and call for an end toracism.

The group then marched to Homeland Security headquartersat the Borders and Customs office to protest the bigoted anti-immigrant bill recently passed by Congress.

Protesters chanted, picketed and unfurled huge banners. Butwhat energized the group was the community-type speak-outthat put FEMA and the Bush administration on notice that theprogressive movement will not let people of color stand alone ina pivotal struggle that is clearly about racism and nationaloppression.

Who should control the fate of the Gulf Coast is clearly at theheart of the issue. Should the Black masses who have been bru-tally displaced, dispersed and murdered determine what com-munities are rebuilt and by whom or should the wealthy class ofdevelopers, Bush’s cronies and the military determine this?

“If Dr. King was alive today, this is where he would be; in frontof the FEMA headquarters to stop the evictions of the hurricanesurvivors and to demand justice!” proclaimed Andre Powell, rep-

KEEPING KING’S DREAM ALIVE

Five thousand home health care workers and their supporters marched through Harlem Jan. 16, the Martin Luther King holiday,to demand a living wage. They make less than $7.00 an hour in one of the most expensive areas to live in the U.S. Many do notget health insurance from their employers. The march and rally were called by SEIU/1199. Go to centerfold pages 8-9 to readmore on King-related events. —Photo and caption by G. Dunkel

KEEPING KING’S DREAM ALIVE

To the World Social Forum

A time for revolutionary

optimism

Greetings to the tens of thousands of progressive

activists gathering for sessions ofthe World Social Forum in Caracas,Venezuela, and Bamako, Mali. Nomatter what part of the world youhave come from, you can help givea push to the rising up of oppressedpeoples that is already so evident in Latin America, Africa and other

Continued to page 14

Continued on page 9

Page 2 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

Workers World55 West 17 StreetNew York, N.Y. 10011Phone: (212) 627-2994 Fax: (212) 675-7869E-mail: editor@workers.org Web: www.workers.orgVol. 48, No. 3 • Jan. 26, 2006Closing date: Jan. 18, 2006

Editor: Deirdre Griswold

Technical Editor: Lal Roohk

Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, LeslieFeinberg, Monica Moorehead, Gary Wilson

West Coast Editor: John Parker

Contributing Editors: Greg Butterfield, Fred Goldstein, Teresa Gutierrez, Berta Joubert-Ceci, MiltNeidenberg

Technical Staff: Shelley Ettinger, Maggie Vascassenno

Mundo Obrero: Carl Glenn, Teresa Gutierrez, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Donna Lazarus, Carlos Vargas

Internet: Janet Mayes

Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly exceptthe first week of January by WW Publishers, 55 W. 17 St., N.Y.,N.Y. 10011. Phone: (212) 627-2994. Subscriptions: One year:$25; foreign and institutions: $35. Letters to the editor may becondensed and edited. Articles can be freely reprinted, withcredit to Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., New York, NY 10011.Back issues and individual articles are available on microfilmand/or photocopy from University Microfilms International,300 Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106. A searchable archiveis available on the Web at www.workers.org.

A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. Send an e-mail message to WWnews-subscribe@workersworld.net.

Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., 5th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10011.

In the U.S.Activists protest FEMA, racism & war . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Teach-in defends Palestinians' right to go home . . . . . 2

Fifteenth anniversary of war. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Death penalty moratorium in New Jersey . . . . . . . . . 3

Garnering support for political prisoners . . . . . . . . . . 3

Gay soldier discharged for being beaten . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Criminal mine owners protested in New York City. . . . 4

Exploitation from the factory to the mine . . . . . . . . . 4

Class-action suit vs. Wal-Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Another reason to organize Wal-Mart: racism. . . . . . . 4

Legal abortion in jeopardy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Community women march for AIDS funding . . . . . . . 5

Lavender & red, part 51. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Campaign to free the Cuban Five grows . . . . . . . . . . 6

U.S. prioritizes travel over safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

In crisis, Washington manufactures new tensions. . . . 7

King marches connect racism, poverty & war. . . . . . . 8

Venezuela to help heat homes in Maine. . . . . . . . . . 10

Mumia: When the press serves power . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Around the wor ldBelafonte tells the truth in Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pinochet general takes over in Haiti . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

West African workers organize and fight . . . . . . . . . 11

Two views of our fragile planet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Italy marches defend abortion, same-sex rights . . . 12

The real Ariel Sharon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pakistanis protest U.S. terror raid on village . . . . . . . 13

Editor ia lsA time for revolutionary optimism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Notic ias En Español

Nueva Orleáns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

A pesar de Bush, una economía turbia . . . . . . . . . . . 16

JOIN US. Workers WorldParty (WWP) fights on allissues that face theworking class andoppressed peoples—Blackand white, Latino, Asian,Arab and Native peoples,women and men, youngand old, lesbian, gay, bi,straight, trans, disabled,working, unemployedand students.If you would like toknow more about WWP,or to join us in thesestruggles, contact thebranch nearest you.

National Office55 W. 17 St., New York, NY 10011 (212) 627-2994; Fax (212) 675-7869wwp@workers.org

AtlantaP.O. Box 424, Atlanta, GA 30301 (404) 627-0815atlanta@workers.org

Baltimore426 E. 31 St., Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 235-7040baltimore@workers.org

Boston284 Armory St., Boston, MA 02130 (617) 983-3835Fax (617) 983-3836boston@workers.org

Buffalo, N.Y. 1367 Delaware Ave,Buffalo, NY 14202(716) 566-1115buffalo@workers.org

Chicago27 N. Wacker Dr. #138Chicago, IL 60606 (773) 381-5839Fax (773) 761-9330chicago@workers.org ClevelandP.O. Box 5963Cleveland, OH 44101phone (216) 531-4004cleveland@workers.orgDenverdenver@workers.orgDetroit5920 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48202 (313) 831-0750 detroit@workers.orgHoustonP.O. Box 130322, Houston, TX 77219 (713) 861-5965houston@workers.org

Los Angeles5274 West Pico Blvd.,Suite 203Los Angeles, CA 90019 (323) 936-1416 la@workers.org

PhiladelphiaP.O. Box 9202, Philadelphia, PA 19139 (610) 453-0490phila@workers.org

Richmond, Va.P.O. Box 14602, Richmond, VA 23221richmond@workers.org

Rochester, N.Y.(585) 436-6458rochester@workers.org

San Diego, Calif.3930 Oregon St.,Suite 230San Diego, CA 92104 (619) 692-4496

San Francisco2940 16th St., #207San Francisco, CA 94103(415) 561-9752sf@workers.org

State College, Pa.100 Grandview Rd.,State College, PA16801 (814) 237-8695

Washington, D.C.P.O. Box 57300, Washington, DC 20037,dc@workers.org

By Bill CecilNew York

Activists from many different communities gatheredat the First Unitarian Church in New York City on Dec.7 for a teach-in on Palestine sponsored by the SharonShapiro Peace Seminary. Shapiro, who died two yearsago, was raised as a supporter of Israel but came tounderstand and support the Palestinian people’s strug-gle for freedom. The event was co-chaired by her life part-ner, Dr. Ahmed Halima and Sara Flounders of theInternational Action Center. Halima spoke of how muchsupport for Palestine had grown in the U.S. since he emi-grated from Egypt 30 years ago. He praised those pres-ent who had struggled for decades to make this happen.

Speakers from many different backgrounds and move-ments gave their perspectives on the struggle inPalestine. Gail Miller and Jan and Aisha Rehman fromWomen of a Certain Age gave eyewitness accounts of theday-to-day brutality of the Israeli occupation in the WestBank and Gaza. The Rev. Joseph Ben David, 85, a for-mer Israeli citizen who escaped Nazi persecution in hisnative Czechoslovakia, described his disillusion with theracism of the Zionist movement.

Michael Kramer, a U.S.-born veteran of the IsraeliDefense Forces who served in the 1973 war, told of thevast scope of U.S. aid to Israel and supported the right ofthe Palestinian people to their own state in all of historicPalestine.

Labor activist Brenda Stokely, former president ofDistrict Council 1707 and a leader of the Million WorkerMarch Movement, condemned union officials who spendtheir members dues on Israel bonds, which subsidize warand occupation. She pointed out that workers here andthe people of Palestine have a common enemy, the racistU.S. corporate ruling class.

Lakota activist Tiokasin Ghost Horse compared theracist genocide committed against the Native people ofthe Western Hemisphere and the Native people ofPalestine. He described the horrible poisoning of Nativecommunities in Dakota and Montana by mining andchemical companies.

Artist Samia Halaby, whose home in Jaffa was stolenby Zionist settlers in 1948, spoke of Israel’s role in theservice of U.S. corporate imperialism. “Israel will col-lapse as soon as its capitalist masters no longer need itor are able to pay for it” she said. “Their leaders and theirprinciples will be part of the trash heap of history. ThatPalestinians continue to defend themselves by all meansavailable to them is a cause for optimism. The strugglefor New Orleans, for Palestine, for the liberation of theindigenous people of the Americas and the struggle of theNew York transit workers are all one and the samebecause the enemy is one and the same. A strike by oneis a strike for all.”

IAC co-director Sara Flounders described how oilinterests have directed U.S. intervention in the MiddleEast from the 1948 creation of Israel to the 2003 inva-sion of Iraq.

Sharin Schiorazzo, the widow of Palestinian activistFarouk Abdel Muhti, spoke about the role of the U.S. cor-porate news media in “justifying” the persecution of thePalestinian people.

Author Lenni Brenner told of the history of collabora-tion between the Zionist movement and the Third Reichat the expense of the Jewish people who died in theHolocaust.

The final speakers of the day were youth from AlAwda—the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. IssaMikel told of the growing world campaign against invest-ment in Israel, similar to the divestment campaignagainst apartheid in South Africa.

Lubna Hamed exposed one of the hidden horrors ofIsraeli occupation, the mass imprisonment of Palestinianchildren. “At any one time at least 500 children are inIsraeli prisons,” she said.

Ahmed Daib, who was born in a refugee camp in Syria,spoke of the Palestinian people’s right to return to theirhomes.

Rana Kassed, a leader of New York Al-Awda, said,“We will not be silenced or told what to say or believe!We are not just voices and opinions, we are a movement,and we Palestinians are not going anywhere!”

Teach-in defends Palestinianpeople’s right to go home

WW CALENDAR

NEW YORK.

Fri., Jan. 20Workers World Party Forum.What's ahead for our fragileplanet? Hear Deirdre Griswold,editor of Workers World newspa-per, give a Marxist analysis of whythe struggle of the working class

and the oppressed nations to endcapitalist exploitation holds thekey to our survival. 7 p.m. (Dinner at 6:30) At 55 W. 17 St., 5th Fl.,Manhattan. For info phone (212) 627-2994.

WW PHOTOS: G. DUNKEL

On Tuesday, Jan. 17 - the 15th anniversary of the beginning of Desert Storm - International Action Centerfounder and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, center, spoke to a packed hall at Community Church inManhattan on 15 years of war and sanctions and the danger of new wars. Other speakers included TiokasinGhosthorse of First Voices Radio on WBAI, William Camacaro of the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle, BethLamont of the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York, Larry Holmes, left, of the Troops Out Now Coalition, and Sara Flounders, right, of the International Action Center.

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 3

By Gloria Rubac

Amid growing national concern overflaws with capital punishment, the NewJersey Assembly approved a one-year banon executions in the state and said it wouldstudy how the death penalty is adminis-tered. And California’s State Assembly isconsidering a bill that would enact a two-year moratorium on executions.

New Jersey became the first state topass a death penalty moratorium into lawthrough legislation when its assemblyvoted 55-21 on Jan. 9 to suspend execu-tions in the state while a task force stud-ies the fairness and costs of imposing cap-ital punishment. The Senate had passedthe measure in December. Gov. RichardCodey signed the bill into law on Jan. 12.

New Jersey’s moratorium will remainin effect until Jan. 15, 2007.

New Jersey is the third state to halt exe-cutions since capital punishment wasreinstated. Since 2000, executions havebeen halted by executive order in Illinoisand Maryland. Maryland’s moratoriumhas since been lifted.

The death penalty statutes in New Yorkand Kansas were both found unconstitu-tional in 2004, but have not been reme-died.

California is speeding up the pace ofexecutions as public support for the death

penalty is waning. A bill now before theCalifornia State Assembly would enact amoratorium on executions while a com-mission reviews the problem of wrongfulconvictions in the state.

A group of 40 police, current and for-mer prosecutors, and judges at the stateand federal level have urged Californialawmakers to pass the legislation. Theseagents of the state machinery do notoppose the death penalty on the basis thatit is a weapon of terror against the impov-erished and oppressed. They arguedinstead that legal lynchings should be “justand fair” by killing those they deem“guilty.”

In the letter to the assembly, this groupwrote, “Given that DNA testing and othernew evidence has proven that more than120 people who sat on death rows aroundthe country were actually innocent of thecrimes for which they were convicted, weagree that a temporary suspension of exe-cutions in California is necessary while weensure, as much as possible, that theadministration of criminal justice in thisstate is just, fair, and accurate.”

Assembly Bill 1121 calls for a morato-rium on executions until Jan. 1, 2009—twoyears after the newly-established“California Commission on the FairAdministration of Justice” is set to submitits findings to the legislature and governor.

The year 2005 was a year of extraordi-nary changes in the use of the deathpenalty in the United States.

There were fewer than 100 death sen-tences handed down in 2005. This is thelowest number of death sentences sincecapital punishment was reinstated in1976 and it is down 60 percent since thelate 1990s.

In 2005 the New York legislaturerefused to reinstate the death penalty afterthe state’s highest court struck it down.Texas became the 37th out of the 38 stateswhich have the death penalty to adopt lifewithout parole as an option for jurors. Andthe Supreme Court ruled states could notexecute those arrested for capital murderas juveniles and 71 juvenile offenders weretaken off death rows, 28 in Texas alone.The highest court also threw out the Texasconviction of Thomas Miller-El because ofracial bias in jury selection. Miller-El isnow in the Dallas county jail awaiting anew trial.

The New Mexico House of Represen-tatives passed a bill to abolish the deathpenalty and lawmakers in Massachusettsoverwhelmingly defeated a proposal bytheir governor for a “foolproof” deathpenalty.

Public support dropping

In October 2005, a Gallup Poll found 64percent in support of capital punishment,the lowest level in 27 years. And a CBSNews Poll found that when given sentenc-ing options, only 39 percent chose thedeath penalty, 39 percent chose life with-out parole and 6 percent chose a long sen-tence.

Sixty people were executed in 2005,down 39 percent from 1999 when a recordhigh of 98 people were put to death. OnDec. 2, the U.S. conducted the 1,000th

execution since the death penalty wasreinstated in 1976. But this bitter histori-cal milestone in the history of the deathpenalty comes at a time when the use ofthe death penalty in this country is steadilydeclining. Death sentences, the size ofdeath row, executions and public supportfor the death penalty are all lower thanthey were five years ago.

Editorial writers, even across theSouth where the vast majority of execu-tions take place, have recently criticizedthe death penalty. The Birmingham Newswrote that “after decades of supportingthe death penalty, the editorial board nolonger can do so” based on practical andethical reasons.

After a series in the Houston Chronicleexposed that Ruben Cantu, who was exe-cuted in 1993 was probably innocent, TheAustin American Statesman editorialized,“We’re not talking about a few flaws, butrather deep inequities and defects thatdeny defendants the basics for a fair trial,including competent lawyers and investi-gators and thorough and rigorous appeals.... We can’t bring Cantu back. But his casecan yield constructive lessons about howto fix Texas’ capital punishment system.”

But Texas death penalty activist NjeriShakur answers, “The system is workingjust as it was intended—the racism and theanti-poor bias is at the foundation of thecriminal justice system.

“The whole system is what needs chang-ing because the one we now have does notwork for us—it works for the rich, corpo-rate elite. In a just society, people wouldnot be in prison or be executed becausethey are poor or they are people of color.We have a lot of changes to make!”

Rubac is a long-time activist in thestruggle to abolish the racist, anti-poordeath penalty.

U.S. executions continue steady decline

Death penalty moratorium in New Jersey

Garnering support for political prisoners

Gay soldier discharged for being beatenBy David Hoskins

A 19-year-old Army private, KyleLawson, was physically assaulted andthreatened for being gay at the FortHuachuca Army Base in Arizona. TheArmy discharged Lawson after a fellowsoldier violently beat him.

Lawson suffered a broken nose in theattack. His attacker—Pvt. ZachariasPierre—reportedly used an anti-gay epi-thet during the attack. Lawson was laterthreatened at knifepoint by another sol-dier. Lawson’s sexual orientation hadbeen revealed by an acquaintance at anOctober 2005 battalion party.

Fearful for his life, Pvt. Lawson beganto sleep on a cot in his drill sergeant’soffice. Local police originally chargedPierre with felony assault. Police reportsconfirm that the attack on Lawson wasunprovoked. Fort Huachuca officials usedmilitary regulations to take control of thecase away from the Sierra Vista police. Theofficials promptly dropped the felonyassault charges after the case was success-fully transferred to military jurisdiction.

Media reports indicate that Pierre hasreceived little more than a slap on the wristfor attacking Lawson. Officials haverefused to comment on why the initialcharges were dropped or what actionswere taken. The army claims that the knifethreat is “unsubstantiated” and hasrefused to further investigate the incident.

Patricia Kutteles, the mother of a sol-dier killed by other members of the mili-tary in 1999 for dating a transsexualwoman, has spoken out against the Army’sfoot-dragging. She criticized military pol-icy regulating service members’ sexual ori-entation, saying, “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’

impacts every service member—gay andstraight alike—by creating a weapon toend careers and endanger service mem-bers through accusations, finger-pointingand rumor.”

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is the 1993 lawthat prevents lesbian, gay and bisexualGIs from being open about their sexual-ity. The law punishes those whose sexualorientation is revealed with the threat ofdischarge. Proponents of the law insistthat it also protects service members whoare harassed because of their perceivedsexual orientation. The events at FortHuachuca prove that claims of harass-ment prevention are mere lip-service asviolent intimidation is still condoned bymilitary officials and fueled by thePentagon’s anti-gay policies.

The brutal death of Kutteles’ son, ArmyPvt. Barry Winchell, prompted thePentagon to outline more concrete pro-posals supposedly aimed at curbingharassment based on sexual orientation.In 2000 the Pentagon released its so-called anti-harassment plan. Almost fiveyears later violent harassment still occurswith impunity.

Openly gay Massachusetts Congress-person Barney Frank wrote to Army Chiefof Staff Gen. Peter Shoomaker demandinganswers for why Lawson’s attacker hasgone unpunished.

Military officials have failed to offer afull account and justification of theiractions. Pvt. Lawson’s story indicates thathomophobic and anti-trans violence isstill condoned and tolerated. The militaryremains an unsafe environment for les-bian, gay, bisexual and trans GIs who livein constant fear of ridicule, discharge,assault and even murder.

Former political prisoner HermanFerguson, second to left, chaired the 10thannual commemoration dinner to supportpolitical prisoners. The event was calledby New York’s Malcolm X CommemorationCommittee under the theme “NoSurrender, No Retreat.”

With numerous speakers and Jericho’sPreserve musicians to entertain andinspire, the dinner was a fundraiser tohelp prisoners with their needs—stamps,phone call expenses, etc.—and to buildpolitical support.

This year’s dinner paid special attentionto the reactionary abuse of prisoners in

Pennsylvania, where they have sufferedrepeated attacks by State CorrectionInstitute guards. At SCI Greene—whereMumia Abu-Jamal is imprisoned on deathrow and where Abu Ghraib torturerCharles Grainer worked—prisoners suffersleep deprivation with lights on 24 hours aday. Guards are known to withhold food,showers and water from prisoners, whoare under lock down 23 hours a day. Insome cases they’ve even been denied toi-let paper, toothpaste and writing pens.

Families organizing against the attacksare also pictured here.

—Photo and story by Anne Pruden

NEW YORK CITY.

ical prisoners incarcerated in theU.S. prison-industrial complex.

The flyer, headlined “Twelveminers didn’t have to die:Corporate greed and Bush cut-backs killed them,” was receivedby hundreds of rush-hour com-muters in midtown Manhattan.It continues, “ICG pocketednearly $16 million in profits fromthis coal mine that racked up 208safety violations in 2005 alone,including 19 roof-falls.” Apparently theinvestors did not see fit to use these prof-its to improve the conditions for the work-ers who made them rich. Meanwhile, aseries of cuts in funding and personnel forthe Mine Safety and Health Administra-tion made it easier for the company to getaway with this deadly neglect.

Page 4 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

The first people to get the picket linegoing were two activists from Montclair,N.J. One of the women told WorkersWorld, “This is another show of what theadministration’s cutbacks are doing. Theydon’t care about the people—the workers.”A regular participant in weekly peace vig-ils in her town, she added, “Bush says he’s

Criminal mine owners protestedBy Sara CatalinottoNew York

A “picketline for justice” went up onJan. 12 around the corner of 52nd Streetand Lexington Avenue where Wilbur L.Ross & Co. has its New York offices.According to the flyer for the event, put outby the International Action Center,Million Worker March, and NY Coalitionto Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, “BillionaireWilbur Ross controls the InternationalCoal Group (ICG)” that owns the mine inSago, W. Va., where a dozen mineworkersdied earlier this month. The organizers’intent, in addition to showing solidaritywith mine workers everywhere, was toexpose this individual who the media hasnot denounced as a criminal—in contrastto the multitudes of poor people and polit-

making us safer, but what happened in thehurricanes and in this incident tell youhow safe we are” when billions of dollarsare diverted into the war machine. Herpicket sign read, “Bush cutbacks killed inNew Orleans and West Virginia.”

A man rushing home stopped longenough to thank the picketers for beingthere and to take a copy of Workers World.He had lived in West Virginia and he said,“I see how the mine companies treat thepeople there.” His view was that the edu-cational level is kept low purposely so thatpeople have no other option but to workin the mines.

From the bakery at the foot of the officebuilding came two Black women, speakingto each other in French. They engaged ina discussion with one of the picketers, andsummarized the problem in three words:“It’s our government.”

Another very supportive passerbyturned out to be from a long line of min-ers—not in West Virginia but in Bolivia,where the predominantly Indigenousmineworkers have new hope for better con-ditions under the administration of anti-imperialist President-elect Evo Morales.

Speakers wrapped up the event by call-ing for more demonstrations at these andother offices of the “vulture capitalists”behind the scenes of this industrial disas-ter in a non-union workplace. Readers cancheck on-line at www.peoplesvideo.orgfor the full text of the flyer and for footageof the picketers.

Exploitation from the factoryto the mine

Another reason to organize Wal-Mart: RACISM

By Jerry Goldberg

There is a strong connection betweenthe recent mining murders by theInternational Coal Group (ICG) and thefight of union workers against Delphi’sattempt to impose draconian cuts on jobs,wages, benefits and working conditionsthrough the use of the bankruptcy court.

The chairman of the Board of ICG isWilbur Ross. Here is a quote about Rossfrom the ICG website: “International CoalGroup was organized by WL Ross & Co.LLC to acquire the principal operations ofthen-bankrupt Horizon Natural Resour-ces on Oct. 1, 2004. Wilbur L. Ross, ICG’sChairman.”

Before he bought Horizon in partner-ship with A.T. Massey Coal Co., the bank-ruptcy courtroom of Judge William

Howard obligingly eliminated the health-care benefits for 3,800 retired Horizonminers and their widows. The PensionBenefit Guaranty Corp. had alreadyassumed responsibility for Horizon’sunderfunded pensions.

Ross has strong connections with SteveMiller, the CEO at Delphi, hired to putDelphi into bankruptcy and destroy theworkers’ livelihood. Miller was previouslythe CEO at Bethlehem Steel. When Millerled Bethlehem Steel into bankruptcy, Rosspurchased the company cheap and thensold it fairly quickly to the Mittal SteelCorp. in the Netherlands for a profit of$500 million.

Significantly, Ross has now accumu-lated a $4.5 billion war chest to buy upbankrupt automotive parts plants.

Wal-Mart has been accused of pro-moting racism and that is totally justi-fied. The shopping website of theworld’s largest retail store recentlylinked together a DVD box set of“Planet of the Apes: The Complete TVSeries” with documentaries on the livesof Martin Luther King Jr., actorDorothy Dandridge, former U.S. heavy-weight champion Jack Johnson andsinger Tina Turner—all of whom areAfrican American. In other words,when you click on the link to this partic-ular television series, under the sectionentitled “similar items,” these four doc-umentaries are listed. Representativesof the gigantic conglomerate apolo-

gized, saying that “Walmart.com’s itemmapping system does not work” andthat its movie recommendations sectionon its website was being shut down onJan. 5.

The “apology” put aside, the damagehad already been done. Wal-Mart man-agement’s action is another example ofthe deep-seated racism that permeatesU.S. society. If Wal-Mart was reallyserious about repentance (which it isnot), it would put its money where itsmouth is by stepping aside and lettingunions organize the low-wage workers,many of whom are people of color andwomen, at all of their stores here andworldwide. —Monica Moorehead

PHILADELPHIA..

Class-action suit vs. Wal-Martminute break during each three-hourshift. For each six-hour shift, an employeeis entitled to two paid 15-minute breaksand an unpaid 30-minute meal break.Wal-Mart’s own records revealed thatover 40 percent of their employees failedto receive the required breaks.

The Pennsylvania class action suit is notthe first brought against Wal-Mart, nor is

By Betsey PiettePhiladelphia

No matter how they try to sell it, Wal-Mart’s image just sustained another welldeserved blow on Jan. 16 when a Penn-sylvania state court judge certified a class-action suit against the billion-dollar chainstore for failing to give meal and rest breaksto its workers or to compensate them fortime worked through those breaks.

Philadelphia County Court of CommonPleas Judge Mark Bernstein granted theclass-action treatment of the wage-and-hour claims. The Pennsylvania suit couldcover nearly 150,000 current and formeremployees.

The proof was in the retail giant’s com-puterized records that showed that breakswere skipped on a routine basis and therewas no compensation when those breakswere missed. Instead of “slashing prices,”Wal-Mart was slashing workers’ wages—already almost a $1 an hour lower than theindustry average.

Wal-Mart tried to claim that their timesheets were not reliable. The companythen tried to explain the discrepancy byoffering up deposition testimony fromsome workers who said they voluntarilyworked without pay.

However, under the store’s own policy,each employee is entitled to one paid 15-

it likely to be the last. In a similar case inCalifornia, a state court jury awarded $172million to Wal-Mart workers when thecompany failed to provide lunch periodsfor thousands of employees or pay themfor the missed time, as required by statewage-and-hour laws.

In fact, Wal-Mart’s practice of failing toproperly compensate its workers is so

wide-spread that a federal Judicial Panelon Multidistrict Litigation in Orlando,Fla., will hear argument later this monthto consider a motion to centralize six suchsuits in the U.S. District Court for theDistrict of Nevada. The cases being con-sidered for inclusion in the multi-districtlitigation proceeding come from federalcourts in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho,Nevada and South Dakota. This wouldallow all the cases to be heard in one fed-eral court by one judge.

The Pennsylvania class action suit isexpected to be heard in September, butWal-Mart workers aren’t sitting backwaiting for the courts to give them justice.

After 20 percent of the workers hadtheir hours cut at a Central Florida Wal-Mart, they went directly to the local com-munity with a petition to reinstate theirtime. After 390 signatures were collectedin three days, the company was forced torestore their hours. This action and manyothers like it was initiated by the Wal-MartWorkers Association, representing over300 current and former Wal-Mart work-ers in 40 states.

These workers aren’t waiting for a court-licensed use of collective actions. Despitethe lack of a union, workers are demon-strating that they have the right to organi-zation and action on their own behalf,regardless of what the bosses say.

WW PHOTO: CHERYL LABASH

Protest against Delphi at the DetroitAuto Show.

Miners bury their co-workers killed in unsafe conditions at the Sago, W.Va. mine earlier this month, left. Protest at the New York office of Wilbur Ross who controls theInternational Coal Group (ICG)” that owns the mine in Sago, W. Va, right.

PV

N P

HO

TO

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 5

Legal abortion in jeopardy: Which road to take in its defense?By Sue Davis

Jan. 22 is the 33rd anniversary of Roev. Wade, the Supreme Court decisionlegalizing abortion. But given the impend-ing confirmation of right-wing ideologueSamuel Alito, legal abortion is in jeopardyas never before.

During the recent Senate hearings pro-choice and civil rights advocates exposedthe many bigoted, reactionary, pro-corpo-rate, anti-Roe positions Alito took as alawyer for the Reagan administration andlater as a judge. But despite their hue andcry, Sen. Dianne Feinstein—a long-timesupporter of legal abortion—told “Face theNation” on Jan. 15 that the Democrats inthe Senate will not filibuster to block thenomination.

Feinstein said that even though shemight disagree with Alito, “that doesn’tmean he shouldn’t be on the court.”

That leaves many women’s advocacyand reproductive rights groups across theU.S., which have traditionally relied on theDemocrats to defend abortion rights, outin the cold.

This is a momentous development. Thisbetrayal creates an unprecedented crisisfor the organized women’s movement andfor the millions of women of child-bearingage in this country who will be affected ifRoe is overturned. While it’s still too earlyto know how these organizations willrespond, this historic crisis will surelyinstigate intense debate within manygroups and among many pro-choiceactivists and supporters about what courseof action to take at this critical juncture.

A number of options are possible. Onecourse of action is to continue to dependon the Democratic Party. But that’s notlikely to produce results, given its historyover the past decade of submission to thereactionary Republican agenda. For

Mother Jones neatly summed it up:“Don’t mourn. Organize.”

The workers’ sit-down strikes wonunions in the 1930s, which bettered work-ing conditions for all workers. And RosaParks’ refusal to cooperate with segrega-tion in 1955 propelled the drive for Blackliberation that continues to this day.

It’s important to note that the modernwomen’s movement was inspired by thecivil rights struggle, just as the fight forwomen’s suffrage grew out of the aboli-tionist movement in the 19th century.

Building an independent militant massmovement, which highlights the specialneeds of women of color as part of the fightfor all women, including lesbian, bisexualand trans women, rural and immigrant, isin the spirit of the women’s liberationmovement that exploded in the late 1960s.

Though lawyers and doctors gave legaland medical reasons why abortion shouldbe legal, it was women taking to the streetsin huge numbers all around the countrythat spurred the Supreme Court, withseven Republican to two Democraticappointees, to decide in favor of legalabortion in 1973.

example, Democrats voted a few weeksago for a budget that instituted horrificcuts in education, housing and health carewhile rewarding the already wealthy withmore tax cuts.

Sticking with the Democrats is a dead-end strategy. A second option is to throwin the towel. But given that one out of threewomen in this country has an abortion asa means of birth control during her life-time, that would mean selling out themodern-day struggle for women’s libera-tion. Legal abortion has become the key-stone of that fight.

Though some long-time activists decrythe continued focus on abortion, theydon’t view it as part of the class struggle.

Just as the ruling class, whose powercomes from owning capitalist privateproperty and from controlling it throughthe patriarchy, backs the war in Iraq, sotoo it backs Bush’s anti-woman agenda.The ruling class does not want women,who represent more than half the workingclass and the oppressed in this country, todetermine their own destiny. That wouldchallenge its class privilege and its powerto exploit and oppress at a time when it’sintent on maximizing its profits in orderto dominate the world.

Despite the myth that the Democratsrepresent the interests of working andpoor people, their purpose has alwaysbeen to serve the ruling class. That’s whythey’ve chosen to genuflect before the rul-ing class and jettison the issue.

A third option is to strike an independ-ent course, free of both ruling-class par-ties, and build alliances with workers’ andcivil rights movements and all those fight-ing for economic and social justice. Thatcourse of action would be in sync with howthe most important gains for workers andthe oppressed were won over the last cen-tury—through militant mass struggle.

She told reporters her group, for exam-ple, is losing roughly 10 percent of its oper-ating budget, forcing some 30 programs inthe boroughs to be cut or consolidated.

—Leslie Feinberg

Women from the Bronx andBrooklyn—predominantly Black andLatina—marched on New York City Hallon Jan. 12 to demand reinstatement ofdeep cuts in monies for AIDS supportwork from the federal “Ryan WhiteEmergency AIDS Funds.”

“Thousands of sick and isolated HIV-positive mothers are being literally thrownout of services,” said Chris Norward, exec-utive director of an AIDS-support pro-gram based in the South Bronx. While 80percent of the city’s women living withAIDS reside in the outer boroughs of NewYork City, Norward stressed, theBloomberg administration is telling them,“go to SoHo” in Manhattan for services.

Community women march for AIDS funding

Because two cases involving abortionare already on the Supreme Court’s 2006calendar and a third—which challenges thelegality of the ban on so-called partial birthabortion passed by Congress in 2003—willsoon be added to the roster, pro-choiceactivists and their allies will need to movedecisively in the months ahead.

But they can take heart that the move-ment for legal abortion stretches aroundthe world. Tens of thousands of womenmarched in Milan, Italy on Jan. 14 to defendthe current law allowing abortions duringthe first three months of pregnancy.

On Nov. 17, the United Nations HumanRights Committee affirmed in a caseinvolving a Peruvian woman that denyingaccess to legal abortion violates women’smost basic human rights. “We are thrilledthat the UNHRC has ruled in favor of pro-tecting women’s most essential humanrights,” said Luisa Cabal, director of theInternational Legal Program at the Centerfor Reproductive Rights. “Every womanwho lives in any of the 154 countries thatare party to this treaty—including theU.S—now has a legal tool to use in defenseof her rights.”

Over the past 33 years women’s healthclinics have been blockaded and bombed,doctors have been murdered and legisla-tion in many states has set severe limits onaccess to abortion. A crucial battle for legalabortion lies ahead. Just as a coalition ofwomen’s groups—including for the firsttime organizations of women of color—held a multinational march of a million,young and old, in April 2004 in defense ofwomen’s reproductive rights, it’s time totake to the streets once again.

Sue Davis, a long-time activist forwomen’s rights, edited “Women UnderAttack: Victories, Backlash and theFight for Reproductive Freedom” (South End Press).

Rising on waves of mass struggle

First known U.S. national lesbian groupBy Leslie Feinberg

The founding of Daughters of Bilitis onSept. 21, 1955 in San Francisco—the firstknown political network for lesbian rightsin the United States—holds important les-sons about the era of resistance toMcCarthyism that may not be immedi-ately apparent.

DOB was not founded by communists.Nor did the organization seek revolution-ary change.

The group’s charter didn’t use the word“lesbian”; it referred only to “the variant.”DOB’s founding statement of purposecounseled members to adjust and adapt todominant mandates about proper dressand behavior in order to fit in. They hopedto gradually win acceptance through edu-cation. The organization drew to its rankslesbians who most wanted to and weremost able to “fit in”—white-collar workers,professional and middle-class women,overwhelmingly white.

DOB invited academic and medical“established experts”—some distantlysympathetic, some outright hostile—tospeak at their meetings. East Coast DOBfounder Barbara Gittings later recalled,“We invited people who were willing tocome to our meetings; obviously, itturned out to be those who had a vestedinterest in having us as penitents, clients,or patients.” (1974 interview withJonathan Katz)

The DOB leadership at that time lookedto these establishment figures as vehiclesof social change, to help them with theirgoals.

So it may appear to be veering off trackfor this Workers World newspaperseries—that focuses on the relationshipbetween the liberation of oppressed sexu-alities, genders and sexes, and the com-munist movement—to stop to examineDOB’s formation.

But the question must be asked: Howcould even such a politically moderatedemand by lesbians—theright to fit in and just live theirlives—be articulated at themid-fifties height of the ColdWar, the most focused perse-cution of gays and lesbians inU.S. history?

What gave these lesbiansthe idea that this was a good

time in history to sit down in someone’sliving room, and later in publicly rented

spaces in San Francisco, Bostonand New York, to discuss theirrights?

DOB was not formed in apolitical vacuum. It arose in themidst of militant strugglesagainst Jim Crow segregation,for national liberation and toend women’s oppression. With-out a deeper understanding of

that period, the establishment of DOBcould make it appear that the best roadforward for democratic rights in a periodof capitalist reaction is to ask for thempolitely, hat in hand—give an inch, get aninch.

The truth is that Daughters of Bilitisobjectively rose up on waves of resistanceby the Black freedom movement and bycommunist women—Black and white—who were fighting for the recognition thatwomen’s oppression is an important bat-tlefront in the class war.

Dramatic changes in the structuring ofthe U.S. wartime economy, its impact onthe heterosexual family, and the unbear-able burden of Jim Crow apartheid andother forms of national oppression, hadhelped create the conditions for thesestruggles. . . .

The rest of this article and the entireLavender & Red series can be readonline at www.workers.org.

WW PHOTO: JOHN CATALINOTTO

April 2004 March for Women's Lives.

Ruby Garner, Bronx mother living withAIDS, speaks out against service cuts.

PART 51

Page 6 Jan. 19, 2006 www.workers.org

By Julie Fry

Although a three-judge panel of the U.S.Court of Appeals unanimously overturnedthe espionage conspiracy convictions ofthe Cuban Five last August and ordered anew trial, the Five continue to languish inU.S. prisons today. The “Justice”Department, stunned by the unequivocaldefeat it suffered in August, is mountingan aggressive legal attack against the Fivein order to keep them in jail and prevent anew and fair trial. In response, the inter-national movement to free the Five heroesis increasing its work as well by launchingan ambitious political campaign to wintheir freedom.

The legal battle continues

After over a year of deliberation, athree-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Courtof Appeals held unanimously that the Fivedid not and could not receive a fair trial inthe hostile, anti-Cuba political atmos-phere in Miami. In a comprehensive, 93-page opinion, the panel found that theconduct of the prosecutor, the media, andthe anti-Cuba forces in Miami were soegregious that the Five were entitled to anew trial outside of Miami.

The 11th Circuit Court is widely consid-ered to be one of the most conservativeand reactionary courts in the nation. Itsjudges are by no means friends of Cuba orchampions of civil liberties. The unani-mous opinion of this court last August wasan indication both of the weakness of thegovernment’s case against the Five and ofthe strength of the worldwide movementto free them, a movement which hasgrown exponentially since the Five werearrested in 1998.

After their convictions were struckdown last August, the Cuban governmentdemanded the immediate release of theFive. However the Five are still being heldtoday in separate prisons all over thecountry. The Justice Department contin-ues to deny them the most basic rights,such as the opportunity to visit with theirwives and children.

The government was clearly surprisedby the 11th Circuit ruling. This is not

because they believed in the strength oftheir case, but rather because criminalconvictions of any kind are so rarely over-turned, much less by such a reactionarycourt. In addition, the Justice Departmentwas undoubtedly relying on the politicalhostility toward Cuba that exists in all sec-tors of the federal government to upholdits case. The prosecutors underestimatedthe strength and the impact of the vigor-ous campaign to win freedom for the Fivethat has grown in Cuba and all over theworld since 1998. And they underesti-mated the strength of the informationabout the case.

Now the U.S. government, facing apotentially enormous defeat in their cam-paign to isolate Cuba and those that sup-port Cuba, is engaged in a new phase ofthis legal battle. Instead of allowing theFive to have a new and fair trial, the JusticeDepartment has asked the 11th Circuitcourt to hear the case again en banc. Thismeans that, as opposed to the usual 3-judge panel, all of the judges who sit on11th Circuit court will review the case. Thejudges have the authority to uphold oroverturn the opinion of the smaller panel.

The 11th Circuit, in what many considerto be a somewhat unusual decision, agreedto the Justice Department’s request. Thelawyers in the case will present oral argu-ments during the week of February 13th.

This stage in the legal battle marks an

incredibly important period for the Five’scase. Although the movement to free theFive is still growing, the pressure on thejudges from the Bush administration andfrom other forces hostile to Cuba has alsoincreased since the 11th circuit’s Augustdecision. For example, the JusticeDepartment motioned the 11th circuit toreject two briefs written by the NationalLawyers Guild, the Florida branch of theNational Association of Criminal DefenseLawyers, and the National Association ofFederal Public Defenders in support of theFive. These briefs, referred to as amicusbriefs, are routinely accepted by courts.On Jan. 6, the court ruled against the gov-ernment and accepted the briefs.

New campaigns launched to winfreedom for the Five

In response to this growing right-wingpressure, the international movement tofree the Five is stepping up its politicalcampaign. The National Committee toFree the Cuban Five has launched the FiveHeroes Freedom Fund, a fundraisingcampaign to raise $250,000 to launch amajor political offensive for the Five. Thefunds raised will go to various initiativessuch as hiring a professional, progressivemedia company to raise awareness aboutthe Five as well as purchasing another full-page New York Times ad about the case.In 2004, $60,000 was raised to purchase

such an ad and tens of thousands of peo-ple around the country learned of theFive’s case for the first time.

The New York Committee to Free theFive has launched a women’s campaign onbehalf of the Five and their families. InSeptember 2005, the Committee deliv-ered a letter to the Justice Departmentsigned by dozens of prominent womenleaders. The letter demanded the immedi-ate release of the Five and the immediategranting of visas for their family memberswho wish to visit them. The New YorkCommittee is continuing this campaign,demanding a meeting with officials in theJustice Department that are directly han-dling the case.

Priscilla Felia of the NY Committee andCuba Solidarity New York said of thewomen’s campaign, “Although AttorneyGeneral Gonzales has not responded to acorrespondence and a visit by a group rep-resenting over more than 100 women fromaround the country, we hold AttorneyGeneral Gonzales accountable for the painhe has caused these honorable men andtheir families by not upholding the valuesheld in our Constitution which he must do,and he must do so immediately.”

There are local actions taking placeacross the country, including an upcom-ing East Coast film tour by filmmakerBernie Dwyer, the co-creator of “MissionAgainst Terror,” and prominent religiousleader Father Geoffrey Bottoms.

Movement leaders recognize that themore people know about the Five, theharder it is for the Bush administration todeny the Five their freedom. Building astrong support movement for the Five inthe next important months will be criticalto their victory. Teresa Gutierrez, a leaderof the New York Committee to Free theCuban Five, said, “Part of the U.S. govern-ment’s intransigence on the case of theFive is their longstanding war againstCuba. This war has escalated in the recentperiod with policies that aim to strike fur-ther blows. But developments fromBolivia to Venezuela indicate that a newperiod is rising, one that will turn the tidefor justice and help win freedom for theFive.”

As government continues its attack

Campaign to free the Cuban5 grows

U.S. prioritizes travel over safetyBy Cheryl LaBashDetroit

When you heard about the minerstrapped in West Virginia, did you thinkabout Cuba? I did.

Twelve West Virginia workers died inthe International Coal Group’s Sago mineon Jan. 2. Another young man barely sur-vived and is still critically injured. Theysuffocated on carbon monoxide, leavinggrieving families and neighbors.

The non-union Sago mine has a recordof safety violations that is criminal. Overthe past two years the Mine Safety andHealth Administration issued 270 cita-tions against the horrible conditions inthe mine. The owners were fined a totalof just $24,000. According to the AFL-CIO, in the past year, the mine was citednine times for failing to enact a propermine ventilation plan, a key to prevent-ing fires and explosions in the mine.Those West Virginia mine safety cases areheard before Administrative Law Judges.

This is where Cuba comes in. In 2004the price of coal was going up and themine owners carried profits to the bank.

Instead of stepping up mine inspectionsand filling the hearing dockets with safetycases, the U.S. government reassignedBureau of Mine Safety AdministrativeLaw Judges to hear cases against peoplewho traveled to Cuba - threatening to fineordinary people, instead of unsafe mineowners. (www.treasury.gov/press/releases/js1161.htm)

The United States is the only govern-ment that tries to stop its residents fromtraveling to Cuba, in violation of the U.S.constitutional right to free associationand travel.

In recent weeks, the Office of ForeignAssets Control (OFAC), a division of theU.S. Treasury Department, has con-ducted a blitz attack on hundreds of trav-elers to Cuba. Members of the Vencere-mos (We Shall Overcome) Brigade andthe Pastors for Peace FriendshipmentCaravans, who have done nothing morethan travel to an island less than 90 milesaway, have been issued official lettersdemanding information and threateningmore than 200 travelers with fines total-ing more than $1.5 million dollars.

Here in Michigan, the U.S./Cuba LaborExchange is threatened with a $27,000pre-penalty notice. Two health care work-ers from Port Huron are currently fight-ing fines for delivering medicines to aconvent in Cuba. Surely traveling to Cubacannot deserve fines larger than a corpo-rate mine owner operating an unsafe anddeadly mine.

Every year hundreds of thousands ofpeople from all over the world go tosocialist Cuba. They go for vacation. Theyattend conferences and concerts. Theyvisit family. They go for school—the LatinAmerican School of Medicine providesfull scholarships for young men andwomen to become doctors in under-served communities in their home coun-tries. They go for medical care—in collab-oration with the Bolivarian Venezuelangovernment, free eye operations arerestoring vision for thousands of SouthAmericans.

And we go from the United States, too.We know that if you don’t use your dem-ocratic rights, you lose them. That’s whyduring the 2006 summer, Pastors forPeace, Venceremos Brigade, the US/

Cuba Labor Exchange and other organi-zations will again exercise and defendtheir constitutional rights by organizingand traveling to Cuba.

But fining harmless travelers whilemurderous coal corporations get slappedon the wrist is only the tip of the 45-yearU.S. government blockade and waragainst that small but independent islandnation.

As mine workers’ advocate MotherJones told us, “Pray for the dead, andfight like hell for the living.” That fightincludes safe working conditions, end-ing U.S. military aggressions, a nationalsingle-payer health system, the right to ajob, to live free from racism and oppres-sion and the right to travel to Cuba, too.The time to act is now — your help andsolidarity will make the changes thatpoor and working people need.

For more information on this summer’s travel challenges to Cuba:Pastors for Peace www.ifconews.org;Venceremos Brigade www.venceremosbrigade.org;U.S/Cuba Labor Exchange laborexchange@aol.com

AntonioGuerrero

Gerardo Hernández

Ramón Labañino FernandoGonzález

René González

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 7

By Fred Goldstein

The Bush administration, besieged bycrises at home and abroad, is manufactur-ing new international tensions.

It is pushing the government of Iran upagainst the wall, demanding that it cedeits sovereign right to develop peacefulnuclear technology.

In Iraq in the last week, three U.S. hel-icopters have been shot down. The Iraqiresistance has escalated since the Dec. 15election as U.S. and Iraqi puppet casual-ties mount. Washington has announced itis sending 2,000 military police to Iraq to“supervise” the Iraqi police. This is anopen admission that the Pentagon cannottrust the Iraqi police force.

It has been over a month since themuch-heralded Iraqi elections and theresult has still not been announced, indi-cating behind-the-scenes antagonismsamong Washington’s collaborators thatcannot be resolved.

In Pakistan, the CIA and the Pentagonon Jan. 13 launched four missiles from aPredator drone that struck dwellings inthe village of Damadora, near the Afghanborder. U.S. authorities claimed they weretrying to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, analleged al-Qaeda leader. But instead theykilled 18 villagers, including children. Thestrikes were in complete violation ofPakistani sovereignty and provoked massoutpourings throughout the country. Thestrikes weakened Pakistani PresidentPervez Musharraf, a close collaborator ofthe Pentagon.

In Afghanistan, a Canadian envoy andhis aides were killed by the resistance onthe eve of an announcement by theCanadian government that it was going toincrease its troop strength in the countryfrom 500 to 2,000. The puppet Afghanforces of the government of Ahmad Karzaihave suffered heavy casualties and theresistance continues, despite 20,000 U.S.troops and thousands of German troops.

At home, the Bush administration hasbeen rocked by the Abramoff scandal,which is aimed at numerous Bush allies inthe Republican Party. Vice President DickCheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, hasbeen indicted and Deputy White HouseChief of Staff Karl Rove is under investi-gation. Bush is facing congressional hear-ings, lawsuits and growing cries forimpeachment because of the illegal wire-tapping of thousands of people in the U.S.without a court order.

When in trouble, create a widercrisis

Bush’s antidote to all this is to create anew international crisis by declaring Iranto be a threat to “stability,” to the MiddleEast, to the U.S. and the world, because itwants to have nuclear technology to gen-erate electric power and for a multitude ofscientific purposes generally available toall the imperialist countries and many lessdeveloped capitalist countries.

Washington is going through the Iraqscenario—raising the specter of weaponsof mass destruction and demanding sanc-tions on Iran. To this end it has bulldozedthe European imperialists, the Russiancapitalist government and the People’sRepublic of China into calling on Iran tocease research on its program for theenrichment of uranium.

Washington claims that this programis really a cover for developing nuclearweapons and is therefore a threat. It

could not, however, get China andRussia to agree to UN sanctions.

It is now universally understood andwell documented that all the U.S. govern-ment claims about weapons of massdestruction that served as the basis for theinvasion of Iraq were fraudulently con-cocted by the White House, the Pentagonand the CIA, and underwritten by theState Department.

The Iranian government has submittedto numerous intrusive inspections by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), which concedes that it has neverfound any evidence of Iranian intentionsto carry out a weapons program. The “sus-picion” that such a program exists isentirely based upon unfounded assertionsby the Bush administration and its impe-rialist allies in Britain, France andGermany.

The pretext for Washington creatingthe crisis was the announcement by theIranian government that it was going tobreak the IAEA seals on its nuclear instal-lation at Isfahan and resume its researchon uranium enrichment. Washingtonwent into high gear, whipping up fear andhysteria about the danger of Iran develop-ing a nuclear bomb and so-called “viola-tions of confidence.”

The facts in the case are as follows: AfterSept. 11, Bush declared Iran to be part ofthe “axis of evil” along with Iraq and NorthKorea—three countries that had won theirindependence from imperialism by revo-lution and armed struggle.

Iran has a long history of nuclearresearch and development, which beganunder U.S. auspices when the Shah wasstill in power in the late 1960s. But in late2003 Washington declared, without a sin-gle bit of evidence, that Iran was seekingto build nuclear arms in violation of theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

With the U.S. government in the back-ground, the so-called E3—Britain, Franceand Germany—began negotiations withIran over the issue. On Nov. 14, 2004, theIranians agreed to cease their research butonly on the ground that the E3 recognizethe cessation as “ a voluntary confidence-building measure and not a legal obliga-tion.”

The E3 agreed—because it was wellknown that the development of peacefulnuclear technology is not only permittedunder Article IV of the NPT, but encour-aged. Therefore, the Iranians were actingcompletely within their treaty obligationsin pursuing their research program andwere not required to stop. They did so tomake a goodwill gesture—under pressure.

No to ‘nuclear and scientific apartheid’

After two years of negotiations withthe European imperialists, the Iranianswere getting nothing but inspections,harassment and demands from the IAEA,Washington, Paris, Berlin and London.Their nuclear program was in a complete

stall with no end in sight.Frustrated by the stalling tactics of the

imperialists, Iran in August 2005 beganthe conversion of yellow-cake uranium togas, whereupon the IAEA issued an orderfor Iran to stop its conversion. Thespeaker of the Iranian parliament, theMajlis, then declared the IAEA order ille-gal under the NPT.

On Dec. 26, 2005, Iranian ForeignMinister Manoucher Mottaki declared:“We do not accept nuclear apartheid andscientific apartheid.” (Aljazeera.com, Dec.26) Later he said that Iran was ready todiscuss its nuclear program “but that doesnot mean that we are waiting for anycountry’s permission for the right ofIranian nation and the Islamic republic toenjoy nuclear technology.”(Aljazeera.com, Jan. 5)

On Jan. 5, President MahmoudAhmadinejad insisted that Iran wouldresume its nuclear research. Speaking tothousands of people in the holy city ofQom and referring to the Western powers,he said: “Recently, some of them have saidthe Iranian nation has no right to nuclearresearch. But they should know that theIranian nation and government willdefend the right to nuclear research andtechnology and will go forward prudently.

“By relying on its young scientists, Iranwill use this technology for medicine,industry, energy in the near future,” hesaid to cries of support.

Washington’s nuclear policy forthe Shah

Can the Iranian people regard the U.S.government as anything but a potentialaggressor? It was the CIA that overthrewthe popularly elected nationalist govern-ment of Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953,after he nationalized Iranian oil. It was theU.S. government that put in place therepressive regime of the Shah. The Shahthen gave the oil to a consortium of U.S.oil companies.

It was the CIA that set up the Savakpolice torturers who tried to destroy allleft and progressive forces in the country.And it is the U.S. government that has hadan attitude of implacable hostility to Iranever since the puppet Shah was over-thrown by the revolution of 1979.

As for nuclear development and theneeds of Iran, it is important to note thatwhen the Shah came to power, he and hisU.S. overseers set up a plan to have 23nuclear power stations in the country.Both Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,under President Richard M. Nixon, andPresident Gerald Ford signed ordersauthorizing U.S. government and indus-try support for Iran’s nuclear develop-ment.

It was not out of concern for Iraniannational development that Washingtonpromoted nuclear technology. It was forthe profit of the U.S. nuclear industry andalso because U.S. oil companies felt thatthe more Iran was able to use nuclear

In crisis, Washington manufactures new tensions

energy instead of oil to generate electric-ity, the more oil it would make availableto the oil companies to market at a profit.

So nuclear technology was good forIran, as far as Washington was concerned,as long as the counter-revolutionary Shahof Iran was watching over the PersianGulf, with weapons supplied by the U.S.,to enforce the rule of the Pentagon and bigoil. But once a revolutionary regime wasset up that took the oil back and declaredits independence from U.S. imperialism,then nuclear development became “athreat to stability” – that is, the stabilityof imperialist rule.

The U.S. nuclear threat

The U.S. government still possesses10,600 nuclear weapons—more than therest of the world combined. It is the onlygovernment in the world to ever have usednuclear weapons, having bombed thecivilian populations of Hiroshima andNagasaki, killing an estimated 200,000with two bombs. The Pentagon is nowworking to develop new nuclear weaponsfor use on the battlefield and is incorpo-rating the use of tactical nuclear weaponsinto its battle plans, to be used in conjunc-tion with conventional weapons.

In a blunt act of international terrorism,the Bush administration recently declaredopenly that it reserved the right to carryout a nuclear first strike and, furthermore,that these strikes could be carried outagainst non-nuclear nations as well asnuclear ones. Washington has supportedthe development of an estimated 200nuclear weapons by the Zionist settlerregime of Israel.

These nuclear military doctrines anddevelopments must be placed in the con-text of threats by Washington againstIran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba andVenezuela, and also accusations bySecretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeldabout China’s military development

Denying self-defense tointended targets

The Bush administration’s nuclear pol-icy is that of an imperialist power that pre-sumes to dictate to its intended victimsthat they have no right of self-defense.When Washington was aiming to attackIraq, it used the UN as a cover to disarmthe country. It has aimed at “regimechange” in Iran with the goal of recoloniz-ing it, even while its colonial adventure inIraq is going down in flames. Wash-ington’s objective is not only to keep Iranfrom developing nuclear technology butalso to cut off any possibility of it develop-ing weapons of self-defense against thePentagon or its Israeli cat’s-paw.

U.S. imperialism has long sought tooverthrow the socialist government of theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea. Itis trying to remove the possibility that theDPRK could have a nuclear self-defense inthe event of an attack by the U.S., whichhas never abandoned its global ambitionsto conquer Asia.

This new crisis manufactured by theBush administration is meant to terrorizethe Iranian people and their governmentinto submission. But there is every signthat it is having exactly the oppositeeffect. Washington is moving towards aconfrontation that is very dangerous. Theanti-war movement must take heed of thisnew threatening development coming outof Washington, put it high on the agenda,and tell Washington: “Hands off Iran!”

SUBSCRIBE TO WORKERS WORLDSpecial trial subscription $2 for eight weeks (new subscription) $25 for one year

Name _______________________________________________________ Phone number____________________

Address ______________________________________________________Email____________________________

City/State/Zip _____________________________________________________________ www.workers.org

Workers World Newspaper, 55 West 17 St. NY, NY 10011 (212) 627-2994

Page 8 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

King marches connect racism, By Monica Moorehead

From the East Coast to the WestCoast, in small and large cities in everystate, Martin Luther King, Jr. eventstook place during the third weekend inJanuary involving millions of people.

Jan. 15 is the birth date of the slaincivil rights leader. His contributions tothe struggle for social equality and jus-tice are commemorated by a federal hol-iday on the third Monday every January,won by the masses’ determination.

While the majority of events celebrat-ed the life of King as an heroic individ-ual, many activists took the opportunityto try to strengthen today’s movementby linking some of the most importantsocial issues of the day as King did asthe leader of the civil rights era.

For instance, in San Antonio, Texas—a military town—Black activists led aprotest against the inclusion of AirForce jets flying above the annual Kingmarch there, saying that King was

staunchly opposed to the Vietnam Warand would have been against the IraqWar if he were alive today. The anti-AirForce protesters, who wore yellow andblack armbands and chanted “Shame,shame!” when the jets flew by, madenational news. The Web site of the KingCenter in Atlanta has more informationabout King events here and worldwide(www.thekingcenter.org/holiday/info.html). Below are just a few of the Kingevents that occurred on Jan. 16.

DETROITThe third annual downtown Detroit

Martin Luther King Day FreedomMarch demanded “Money for our cities,not for war! Bring the troops homenow!” A youth drum corps led over athousand people waving blue and whitesilk-screened placards along with home-made banners and signs. Demonstratorsstreamed in the street and sidewalksright outside the Cobo Hall conventioncenter over police objections. The

program before and after the marchfeatured home daycare worker unionorganizers, a speaker on the Delphiworkers’ crisis, youth performers andessay contest winners.

LOS ANGELESThe International Action Center in

Los Angeles participated with SEIULocal 660’s African AmericanCommittee in this year’s Martin LutherKing Parade as part of the AFL-CIOCentral Labor Council contingent. Unitywas the theme of the labor contingent—which included both AFL-CIO unionsand Change to Win member organiza-tions—as reflected on the main placardscarried by the labor contingent reading“Unite to fight war, racism and poverty”and the chants of “We are the union—the mighty, mighty union.”

The large IAC banner read, “FromNew Orleans to Iraq, Stop the War onthe Poor.” Anti-war chants of “Moneyfor jobs and health care, not for war”

were led by both SEIU and IAC members.Towards the end of the route, where

most of the television cameras wereplaced, a Wal-Mart store is prominentlylocated at the Crenshaw Mall. Asmarchers from the labor contingentapproached the union-busting store,people chanted “Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart,you can’t hide, your workers will beunionized!”

NEW ORLEANSOver 100 residents of New Orleans’

Lower Ninth Ward took to the street inhonor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,flanked by crowds of supporters. Theresidents – some of whom have beenrebuilding their houses in spite of citythreats of demolition, others stillstranded in exile who traveled home forthe celebration day – marched, sang andorated in a direct challenge to Mayor RayNagin’s plan to raze the neighborhood.

“One of the lessons we learned fromKatrina is that the government aban-

DETROIT.

LOS ANGELES.

NEW YORK.

WW PHOTOS: DETROIT, CHERYL LABASH; LOS ANGELES, SEKOU PARKER; NEW YORK, G. DUNKEL

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 9

description of his friend, an undocu-mented worker, who died trying to crossthe border.

Philippine activist Rev. Renaldo Lopez,an organizer of maritime workers andfrom the Christian Peace Maker Team thatparticipated in the picket line, pointed outhow “the struggle against the occupationof Iraq is linked to the struggle for justicein New Orleans.” This group has organizeda week-long series of activities aimed athomeland security and against the occu-pation of Iraq.

David Hoskins, from the InternationalAction Center, explained how many strug-gles are linked in the fight against imperi-alism. Hoskins, once a West Virginia res-ident, described the recent deaths of the12 coal miners there as “murder.” “Itshows why poor white people have to sup-port the people of the Gulf.” The IAC pro-vided sound for the rally.

Denise Lowery, a Baltimore All-PeoplesCongress activist, stated, “This is aboutracism and about targeting the poor.” Shebrought her teenage son to the protest.Lowery has also been fighting to get mili-tary recruiters out of the schools.

Anise Jenkins, representing the StandUp for Democracy in D.C. Coalition, agroup that is fighting for statehood, urgeddaily organizing and protesting in honorof King.

Dustin Langley, from New York TONC,told the crowd how he wanted to standwith activists in this region against FEMA.He is also a national leader of SNAFU, aGI rights group. Langley has organizedprotests at military recruitment offices to“shut down the war.”

The excitement at the demonstrationgrew when Rev. Lennox Yearwood tookthe mike. He had come to the protest fromNew Orleans, where he participated in aJan. 12-14 people’s summit called by theMillions More Movement, People’sHurricane Relief Fund, Black Voices forPeace and many others. Yearwood is aleading organizer of the national Hip HopCaucus and Summit founded by producerRussell Simmons and has also organizedpicketlines in front of FEMA offices.

He described how the government anddevelopers were trying to disenfranchisethe people of the Gulf. “They have strippedthe area of its infrastructure and dispersedthe people in hotels. FEMA has set a datein March to evict people from hotels andwe need to stop this.” Yearwood putFEMA on notice that the people would nottolerate evictions.

Mothers of dead GIs speakagainst war

Following this rally and march, BlackVoices for Peace held a dynamic rally atPlymouth Congregational Church. Ap-proximately 500 people, mostly AfricanAmerican, packed the church both toshow their appreciation for BVP leader,Damu Smith, who has been battling can-cer, and to show opposition to the war andsupport for the people of New Orleans.

Damu Smith remarked, “It’s notenough to be against Bush. The Dems witha capital D voted for the war.” Smithexpounded on the hypocrisy of theDemocratic Party.

Several mothers of GIs who died in Iraqmoved the crowd to stand and applaudtheir courage when they spoke. Visiblyangry, Georgia Elaine Johnson fromSouth Carolina described how she wasshunned by the press when she partici-pated with Cindy Sheehan in the Wash-ington D.C. protests. “They don’t want toshow Black faces against the war. Youwould have just thought it was CindySheehan but that wasn’t true. Many of uswere here first.”

Johnson also described her meetingwith Bush and how insulted she felt whenshe received a coin in her son’s memoryfrom the White House, Bush muttering toher, “Now don’t go selling this on E-bay.”

Patricia Roberts from Georgia broughttears to the eyes of rally participants as shedescribed how her son was not supposedto be in actual combat; that he was part ofthe support team and was a trained com-puter expert. “He couldn’t shoot anyone!”,she said. Nevertheless he was sent to thefront lines. A disproportionate number ofBlack and Latin@ GIs have been woundedand killed in combat in both the Vietnamand Iraq wars.

The second part of the rally was devotedto the issue of Katrina and racism in theGulf. Felicia Eaves, co-chair of BlackVoices for Peace, emceed the panel thatincluded Melanie Campbell, NationalCoalition on Black Civic Participation;Colette Pinchon Battle, Operation GulfCoast; and Concei Civela, Café Mawonaj.The crowd cheered when Yearwood calledfor “revolution”.

The Rainbow warriors, a dynamicmulti-national group of students fromJames McHenry Elementary School per-formed a rousing step performance withdrums and poetry.

poverty & war

Honoring King’s legacy

Activists protest FEMA, racism & warContinued from page 1

doned us, left us here to die. We had todepend upon ourselves to save our-selves. And today we know we have todepend on ourselves and our unity torebuild our homes and our lives, evenagainst the government’s wishes,” saidMalcolm Suber, a resident and commu-nity organizer with the People’sHurricane Relief Coalition. “We’re herecarrying on the work of Dr. King. Just ashe stood against government oppressionof Black people & the unjust war inVietnam, we today stand against theattacks on people of New Orleans andIraq.”

The Lower Ninth Ward communityhas already begun to rebuild homes andis making independent plans to reopenthe Martin Luther King Jr. ElementarySchool. But many residents are scram-bling to find temporary housing that willallow them to begin reconstruction,since the City and FEMA have failed toprovide it. The federal Environmental

Protection Agency has also so far refusedto deploy its resources to removearsenic- and diesel-infused sedimentaround the city.

SEATTLEFour thousand multinational demon-

strators marched 2.5 miles to the federalbuilding on Martin Luther King Day.They marched with a thousand signsthat said, “Racism, Poverty, War—Iraq,Katrina, No More,” condemning theracist Iraq war, and demanding thatresources from the war go instead tohelp reconstruct New Orleans and theGulf Coast. A special tribute was givenfor the late Rosa Parks, and a vintage1955-era bus followed the march bearingher picture. The mass march was spon-sored by dozens of community groupswith strong support from labor unions.

Community Labor United, CherylLaBash, Jim McMahon and JohnParker contributed to this article.

FEMA protest, Jan. 16;Denise Lowery, above.

Rev. Lennox YearwoodAndre Powell

David Hoskins

Dustin Langley

WW PHOTOS: DUSTIN LANGLEY & DC BUREAU

FEMA protest, Jan. 16 WW PHOTO: WASHINGTON, D.C., BUREAU

Page 10 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

Venezuela to help heat homes in Maine

Belafonte tells the truth in Venezuela

UN forces in Haiti

Pinochet general takes over after mysterious death

By Bryan G. Pfeifer

As the ruling class and their servantssavagely attack the working class andoppressed worldwide at every availableopportunity, Venezuela is instilling hopethrough its Bolivarian Revolution byengaging in genuine unity and solidarityin the United States and beyond.

Beginning in November 2005,Venezuela’s most concrete form ofhumanitarian internationalism for U.S.residents to date is via CITGO, a whollyowned subsidiary of the Venezuelan stateoil company PDVSA. CITGO is the onlymajor oil company to grant heating oil dis-counts to low-income people in the U.S.,setting aside 10 percent of its oil produc-tion revenues to aid the poor.

Despite record-breaking profits of all ofthe U.S.-based Big Oil corporations in2005—a reported $33 billion in 2005’sthird quarter—none has granted onepenny in discounts. But they have reducedproduction to drive up prices thus in effectenacting a wage cut upon tens of millionsof U.S. residents, among other attacks.

‘A human face’

Maine Gov. John Baldacci, with repre-sentatives from the state’s heating oilassistance program and the Venezuelangovernment, signed a contract on Jan. 12with CITGO to provide 8 million gallonsof heating oil at a 40 percent discount tolow-income residents.

CITGO also pledged to provide 120,000gallons of heating oil to homeless sheltersin Maine that will be delivered to morethan 40 shelters by their heating oil sup-pliers. Residents expect to save 60 to 80cents per gallon with the discount, a sig-

nificant savings as home heating oil costsincreased on average 30 to 50 percentover the 2004-2005 winter season. Manyrecipients say the assistance comes just intime as an often-frigid winter arrives.

In a separate deal, CITGO will providediscounted heating oil to more than 900households on or near the Passama-quoddy, Penobscot, Micmac and theMaliseet Native nations. This deal is worthapproximately $543,000. The totalCITGO discounts in Maine are worthmore than $5 million, reaching more than48,000 households.

“The Penobscot Nation is very grate-ful,” said Penobscot leader James Sappier.In regard to Venezuelan President HugoChávez Frías, Sappier added, “We appre-ciate him very much as a leader. It’s beensaid he’s one of us. His thinking is likeours.” (timesargus.com)

The Maine program follows similarones in areas of the U.S. where extremelycold weather is a factor. CITGO’s dis-counted heating oil could be the differencebetween life and death and preventing oralleviating serious physical ailments dueto lack of sufficient heat, specifically forchildren and elders.

“This program has a human face.Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez madea promise in New York City following hur-ricanes Katrina and Rita and this Maineheating oil program represents the good-will between the people of Venezuela andthe United States,” said VenezuelanAmbassador Bernando Alvarez-Herreraupon the signing of the Maine deals.

“Help for those who need it most is acornerstone of the new Venezuelan econ-omy under President Chávez,” continuedAlvarez-Herrera, “and this program, fol-

lowing similar ones in Massachusetts andthe Bronx, is part of a new effort toincrease regional integration.” (venezuel-analysis.com)

A statewide heating assistance pro-gram in Massachusetts began Nov. 22and a similar program in the Bronxstarted Dec. 6. More than half-a-dozenare also imminent.

After Maine, CITGO and Rhode Islandcompleted a deal Jan. 13. CITGO will sell3.3 million gallons of heating oil toCitizens Energy, a nonprofit company thatis also distributing the discounted heatingoil in Massachusetts. Homeless sheltersand community clinics will also be receiv-ing discounted oil. Community organiza-tions will help arrange the discounted oilshipments.

“This is going to really help us out alot,” said Denise Bloomingburgh as FelixRodriguez—president and CEO ofCITGO—pumped the first discounted oilinto her basement in Warwick. Bloom-ingburgh and her husband have twochildren. She said rising energy costs,unemployment and inadequate part-time and temporary jobs have hit herfamily and others in her community andstate hard.

Talks are ongoing for similar pro-grams in Connecticut, Delaware, Penn-sylvania, Vermont and the New YorkCity boroughs of Brooklyn, Harlem andQueens. CITGO hopes to have secureddeals in place for these areas by the endof January.

Meanwhile in Chicago a battle is ragingbetween the Chicago Transit Authorityand its mostly poor riders and their allies.Since only about 12,000 households useheating oil in Illinois, CITGO offered the

CTA a 40-50 percent discount on dieselfuel for buses to offset soaring oil and gasprices for low-income Chicagoans. Riderscould then receive lower fares or other dis-counts, proposed CITGO. The CTA hasrefused CITGO’s proposed discounts onover 7 million gallons of diesel, worthalmost $15 million, despite the transitagency’s announced budget deficit of $17million for fiscal 2006.

The CTA isn’t a non-profit organiza-tion; it is a government agency thatreceives a significant amount of fundingfrom the federal government. Just weeksafter CITGO made its offer last fall,Congress passed the Federal Transpor-tation Appropriations bill, allocating $89billion in CTA infrastructure projects.

Under pressure from over 20 organizedlabor leaders, community activists andothers, CTA officials have now agreed tomeet with CITGO.

‘This revolution is real’

When the Venezuelan governmentannounced on Jan. 8 CITGO’s intent toexpand the home heating oil programs inthe United States, a group of U.S. activistsincluding artist Harry Belafonte, actorDanny Glover, Princeton Universityscholar Dr. Cornel West, journalist TavisSmiley and United Farm Workers leaderDolores Huerta were touring a state-funded cooperative in Caracas withAlvarez-Herrera.

Upon hearing the heating oil announce-ment, they immediately hailed it as anadvance for humanitarian international-ism and hope, said Dr. West. “This revo-lution is real; it’s not something that peo-ple are just talking about.” (venezuel-analysis.com)

By Teresa Gutierrez

The Internet is burning with the newsof a statement made about PresidentGeorge W. Bush by well-known singer andactor Harry Belafonte on Jan. 8.

Belafonte told the truth. Belafonte was in Venezuela as part of an

important delegation that includedDanny Glover, Dolores Huerta and CornelWest. At the radio show regularly hostedby Venezuelan President Hugo ChávezFrías, Belafonte made comments thatquickly spread around the world.

“No matter what the greatest tyrant inthe world, the greatest terrorist in theworld, George W. Bush says, we’re here totell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, butmillions of the American people ... sup-port your revolution,” said Belafonte.

On Jan. 15, Belafonte was at DukeUniversity in North Carolina where theDurham mayor presented him with a keyto the city. Responding to both praise andcriticism back in the U.S., Belafonte said,“I don’t live by consensus. And when I talkabout Bush, in the dictionary under ter-rorists there are many different subtitlesand ... if people are coming to open yourmail and tap your phones, and the peopleof Katrina are desperate for help and theyare not getting it from the most powerfulman in the world, he has brought terror inthe hearts of people and in the dictionaryanyone who brings fear is bringing terror-ism and is a terrorist.”

The next day, in New York City,Belafonte was at an event organized bythe Children’s Defense Fund, a main-stream advocacy group. Sen. HillaryRodham Clinton also attended the event.

The Daily News reported that sheshunned Belafonte. Despite the fact thatearlier at a Black church in Harlem shecalled the U.S. Congress a “plantation”where dissent is not allowed, Clintonfeared associating with someone whotruly was dissenting.

Belafonte indeed represents the senti-ment of tens of thousands in the UnitedStates who are organizing to stay the handof U.S. imperialism in Venezuela and

By G. Dunkel

The United Nations spends more onkeeping its so-called peacekeeping forcein Haiti, the Minustah, supplied and paidthan the Haitian government spends onits budget. Just browsing through the webpages devoted to Haitian affairs wouldindicate how fragile “peace” and securityare in Haiti.

Twenty kidnappings a week hardly ratea mention—unless some of the people kid-napped are non-Haitian. Somebody shotto death or robbed at gunpoint will bereported—if the somebody is a UN soldieror official, or a non-Haitian journalist.

Still, it was a shock when Lt. Gen. UranoTeixeira Da Matta Bacellar, the Braziliancommander of Minustah, was found sit-

ting on his balcony early Jan. 7, with a bookon his lap, shot to death. From close range.

The immediate reaction of the Brazilianauthorities and Haitian cops was that hehad committed suicide. Then theBrazilians tried saying he had had an acci-dent with his firearm, even though he hadbeen a firearms instructor.

A number of Haitian journalists,including Maude LeBlanc—co-director ofHaïti-Progrès, speaking on New York’sWBAI-FM morning show by telephonefrom Port-au-Prince—say it is possiblethat Bacellar was assassinated. He was adevout Catholic, not demonstrablydepressed, and he was reportedly opposedto the demands of the Haitian bourgeoisieto crush the supporters of deposedPresident Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose

stronghold is Cité Soleil.While Cité Soleil is often described as a

“neighborhood,” 300,000 very poor peo-ple make it their home.

The day before Bacellar died, the polit-ical head of the UN mission in Haiti, JuanGabriel Valdes, announced that UNtroops would “occupy Cité Soleil” andwarned that “civilians could be harmed”in an interview he gave to Reuters.Bacellar opposed Valdes’ plan.

The Monday after Bacellar’s death, theHaitian bourgeoisie, following the call ofthe Chamber of Commerce, held a “gen-eral strike”—which most accurately mustbe called a semi-successful lockout. Mostmajor businesses in Port-au-Prince, likebanks and big stores, closed. Outside of

wholeheartedly support the Bolivarianprocess.

Belafonte has it right when he said mil-lions in the U.S. support the VenezuelanRevolution. Why? Because when con-fronted with the truth about Venezuela—that its government is carrying out policiescontrary to the U.S. that are improvinghealthcare, education and welfare for thepeople—millions in this country absolutelyagree with that kind of society.

Continued on next page

Harry Belafonte with workers during avisit to government-run developmentproject Fabrzio Ojeda in Caracas Jan. 6.

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 11

Impoverished West African workers organize and fightBy G. Dunkel

Mali and Niger are so poor thatmany young men, and some youngwomen, spend two years walkingacross the Sahara desert to Morocco.There they risk their lives trying toclimb the fortified fences around Ceutaand Melilla, Spanish enclaves inMorocco, or try to slip into Spain byboat.

They are in search of a job that paysenough to help their family. Many, ifthey are caught and deported backhome, make the dangerous trip again.

The United Nations Human Devel-opment Program considers Mali, Nigerand the Central African Republic(CAR) among the 10 poorest countriesin the world. All are former coloniesthat for generations were robbed oftheir resources and even their people,laying the basis for their “indebted-ness” today.

CAR stops paying governmentworkers

The CAR government was so desti-tute at the end of February 2005 that itstopped paying its 20,000 employees.Relying on the solidarity of their fami-lies and the community and expectingthey would get paid sooner or later,they kept on working. Finally, the work-ers’ patience was exhausted by mid-October and the Central AfricanWorkers Union (USTC) called a strike.

They went back to work in the begin-ning of November, under threats andpromises. CAR’s president, FrançoisBozizé, said, “We don’t have any moneyto pay you, that comes from abroad.We are between the hammer and theanvil and it’s only your work that cansave us.”

But the workers went back out onstrike in the middle of November.

In early December, France camethrough with a loan of 4 million euros,which allowed the CAR to pay salariesand feed its troops through April.France is the CAR’s former colonialruler and still plays a dominant eco-

nomic and military role in the country.Having received another loan, the

CAR finally scraped up enough moneyby the end of December to pay salariesthrough the end of May.

The USTC, after a series of heatedgeneral assemblies, decided to “sus-pend the strike.” Noel Ramadan, thedeputy secretary general of the USTC,told the prime minister, according tothe BBC, “We do not want our com-rades to face administrative harass-ment after work resumption. Wewould like workers based in the variousprovinces to receive also their salaries.The government should ensure that allcivil servants throughout the countryreceive their salaries till the month ofMay 2005.”

According to the latest reports fromthe CAR, the workers are still back onthe job.

While the USTC was nominallystriking against its employer, the gov-ernment of the CAR, it was really put-ting pressure on France, which couldsee a small, but for Paris profitable,portion of its sphere of influence inAfrica facing the real risk of chaos anda collapsed government. So it steppedin, but not far enough to satisfy theworkers entirely.

Mali: a golden poverty

Mali is one of the main producers ofgold in Africa, after South Africa andGhana. Some years Mali producesmore than Tanzania, others less. Thereare a handful of large, modern opera-tions in the country, mainly along itssouthern border with Burkina Faso,the Ivory Coast and Guinea, as well asa large number of sites where handpanning is done.

Gold is now more important to Malithan its traditional cotton.

Yet Mali is so poor and so indebtedthat the research group CADD-Mali(Coalition of African Alternatives, Debtand Development-Mali) estimates itwill take 106 years for Mali to pay offits loans.

Mali avoided the extreme hungerthat killed hundreds of people a weekin neighboring Niger, where locusts atewhatever the drought left. But Mali stillhad a lot of trouble feeding its peoplein 2005.

The open pit mine at Sanso, a smallcity in southwest Mali, is run by theMorila Co., a subsidiary of the SouthAfrican transnational Randgold. InJuly 2005, 530 Malian workers walkedout and the struggle is still going on. Asubcontractor called Somadex man-ages its day-to-day operations.

Somadex refused to pay the bonusesit was contractually obliged to paysince 2000. After the union took it tocourt, Somadex paid the bonuses buttreated them as a salary advance,which meant the workers really didn’tget anything.

So the union struck for what wassupposed to be three days. The work-ers had other grievances. Their hous-ing had no electricity, no runningwater, no plumbing. Their rates of paywere not fixed. The cyanide and arsenicSomadex used to extract the gold pol-luted the air the workers had to breatheand the ground water.

Somadex fired 17 miners for strik-ing and accused a union leader,Amadou Nioumanta, of being a“thief” and a “communist.”

The union then decided to stay outindefinitely. After 25 days, Somadextried to break the strike by locking outthe workers. After two buses transport-ing scabs were burned, the copsarrested 35 miners.

Nine of them were still in jail as ofJan. 15. Four members of the union’sexecutive board and AmadouNioumanta are underground. TheMorila mine, according to a Jan. 11report in the South African newspaperBusiness Day, is set to resume ship-ments any day now, once its differ-ences with the Malian governmentover tax payments are resolved.

One of the points the miners’ strikeraised was a sweetheart deal thatRandgold had gotten from Mali.

Another mine opened up inSeptember 2005 near Sikasso onMali’s southern border with the IvoryCoast. More than 20,000 West Africannationals from Mali, the Ivory Coast,Nigeria, Niger and Ghana showed uplooking for work. This is the context inwhich the strike at Sanso took place.The miners there knew very well whatthey faced but they also knew what theyhad to do to get what they needed.

From Mumia Abu-Jamal on death row

When the pressserves powerThe recent news report that

media outlets kept mum onAmerican secret prisons in EasternEurope for nearly a year, haserupted in the midst of the NSA’s(National Security Administration)spying scandal.

Both events reflect the massive power of thestate; the power to gag the press when it suitsthem; and the power to blithely violate the U.S.Constitution at will.

Today, the Bush Administration has resurrectedan old Nixonian idea: executive privilege or thenotion that whatever the president does is inher-ently constitutional.

What is surprising is the surprise!This isn’t the first time that the White House

has killed or delayed a story; nor will it be thelast; nor is the idea new that presidents seek toexpand their power, without serious regard toprovisions in the constitution.

Presidents, both Republican and Democrat,have spied on Americans, invaded their privacy,wiretapped their phones, and broken into theirhomes. In this regard, the FBI served as a kind ofpresidential police, who bugged, spied on, tappedanyone that their boss in the White House wantedthem to.

Anyone who doubts this fact, need only readmy book on the history of the Black Panthers,entitled We Want Freedom (South End Press,2004).

We were all raised with the dogma of the FirstAmendment, which ‘guarantees’ (among otherthings) the freedom of the press.

What is less known is how often the press sur-rendered those freedoms, to the White House,the FBI, the CIA, or some other governmententity.

Remember the infamous Bay of Pigs? This was aCIA-backed invasion of Cuba, fronted by Cubanexiles. The April 17, 1961 invasion was crushed bythe Cuban army, and is remembered on the islandas the battle of Bahia de Cochinos, a victory thathas all the significance of David and Goliath forthe Cuban people.

The New York Times knew about the invasion,and planned to editorially denounce it. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy persuaded the Times to not runtheir denunciation, citing national security.

The rest is history.The CIA has (secretly) owned hundreds of

media outlets, and thus employed many journal-ists who didn’t know (or didn’t want to know)who they worked for. It has used the services ofat least fifty journalists both here and abroad,among them writers for Newsweek, TIME, theNew York Times, United Press International, CBSNews, and other periodicals published in Englishall around the world (Howard Zinn, Declarationsof Independence: Cross-Examining AmericanIdeology, N.Y.: HarperPerennial, 1990, pp. 215-17.)

As historian Howard Zinn has documented in hisbook, Declarations of Independence (1990), thecases are, quite literally, legion in which govern-ment has changed stories, had reporters trans-ferred, or had other stories killed.

Even now, in the midst of the NSA spying scan-dal of “thousands” of Americans, the politicalelites have targeted journalists, not those whohave done the illegal spying!

There is a reason why circulation in manymajor papers is rapidly declining; and while mostpoint towards the lack of interest among youngfolks, surely another element is distrust.

One need only look at this war and the media’srole as chaperone to imperial power, to see whythere is such massive distrust.

The press, far too often, reflects the world ofthe powerful, not of the people. It begins byobserving the feasts of the famous and the power-ful, then, through the power of the media, itbecomes a diner at the feast. The interests of thewealthy becomes their interest, and coveragecertainly reflects it.

Major news outlets boasted anchors andreporters who became wealthy celebrities, milesremoved from the best reporting, or streetreporting that began their careers. As they movedfarther from the streets, so did their product,which should now be called ‘narrowcasting.’

To call “this” a free press is but to demean it.

Go to leftbooks.com to order “We Want Freedom.”

the capital, life went on as usual.The aim of the lockout was to put

pressure on the UN to smash CitéSoleil.

The temporary replacement forBacellar is Chilean Gen. EduardoAldunate, who graduated from the U.S.School of the Americas in 1974 afterparticipating in the attack on Chile’spresidential palace in 1973. He workedin Chile’s military intelligence underthe U.S.-backed Pinochet dictatorship.

The U.S., France and Canada aredetermined that Haiti hold a presiden-tial election on Feb. 7, the date set bythe constitution for an elected presi-dent to take office. They do not wantany poor, bitterly determined oppo-nents to stand in the way of the elec-tion/selection they have scheduled,which is meant to validate the U.S.-ledcoup that overturned Jean-BertrandAristide, Haiti’s real, democraticallyelected president.

HaitiContinued from page 10 HAITI A SLAVE REVOLUTION

The Haitian Revolution is a singular event in history. Never before or since has anenslaved people risen up, broken theirchains, and established a new state. Haitiwas a beacon of hope and inspiration tothe enslaved Africans of the UnitedStates.

Drawing from a wide range of authors,experts, and historical texts, this bookreveals the intertwined relationshipbetween the U.S. and Haiti, and theuntold stories of the Haitian people’sresistance to the U.S. aggressions andoccupations.

Includes Ramsey Clark, Edwidge Danicat,Frederick Douglass, Ben Dupuy, Paul Laraque, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pat Chin, Greg Dunkel, Sara Flounders,Stan Goff, Kim Ives, Fleurimond Kerns,Maude Le Blanc, Sam Marcy, FranzMendes & Steve Gillis, Felix Morriseau-Leroy and Johnnie Stevens.

225 pages, photos, bibliography & index

$19.95

Order online from www.l e f t book s . com

Page 12 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

Bourgeois pessimism vs. revolutionary optimism

Two views of our fragile planet

ITALY..

Marches defend abortion, LGBT rights

By Deirdre Griswold

The British scientist James Lovelock—who 30 years ago put forward the viewthat a balance of global systems, which hecalled Gaia, keeps the Earth fit for life—now says that global warming has alreadypassed the point of no return. Changes inthese interlocking systems, says Lovelock,will accelerate to destroy much of theexisting biosphere, and human civiliza-tion is therefore doomed along with mostof our species.

It is the most pessimistic view of climatechange to emanate from the scientificestablishment so far.

Contrasted to this is a recent report bythe Worldwatch Institute called “State ofthe World 2006—Special Focus: Chinaand India.” The authors look at these twogiants of the developing world and findhope that they are already studying andimplementing technologies that can avoidthe ecological disasters created by thegrowth of so-called Western civilization.

Christopher Flavin, president of theenvironmental research group, predictedat a news conference announcing theWorldwatch report that “China and Indiaare positioned to leapfrog today’s indus-trial powers and become world leaders insustainable energy and agriculture withina decade.”

More than a third of the world’s peoplelive in these two countries. As consumersof the earth’s bounty, however, most havebeen peasants forced by poverty to livevery austerely. Even today, after severaldecades of rapid economic growth, theirper capita consumption of the world’sresources trails far behind that in thedeveloped capitalist countries—particu-larly the United States.

According to the report, while the aver-age person in China has an “ecologicalfootprint” of 1.6 global hectares, and inIndia 0.8 global hectares, the average per-son in the United States has an ecologicalfootprint of 9.7 hectares. And that grew by21 percent between 1992 and 2002.

An ecological footprint is defined as thebiologically productive area required toproduce the natural resources an individ-

ual consumes. A hectare is approximately2.5 acres.

Even though the Western diet is basedmuch more on meat and dairy products,the U.S. still consumes three times asmuch grain per person as China and fivetimes as much as India, notes the report.

U.S. per-capita carbon dioxide emis-sions are six times the Chinese level and20 times the Indian level.

Nevertheless, xenophobic politiciansand commentators in the U.S.—and thereare plenty of them—have treated thedevelopment of China, especially, as amajor threat to the world. They make direpredictions of future conflicts, perhapseven wars, over shrinking world energyresources. This view is not shared by com-mentators in the rest of the world, who seethe U.S. as by far the biggest problemwhen it comes to global warming anddepletion of the earth’s resources.

Efforts to build sustainableeconomies

The Worldwatch document points outthat China and India, respectively, arealready the world’s third and fourth largestproducers of ethanol—a renewable energysource.

China now has equipped 35 million buil-dings with solar panels to produce hotwater.

It is the world’s leading developer andproducer of low-energy fluorescent lightbulbs.

It is refining the development of nuclearpower, focusing on new technologies likethe “pebble-bed” reactor first developed inSouth Africa. This small-size reactor isconsidered “meltdown proof” and safe forthe environment because it does not usewater as a coolant.

Several Chinese cities are investing inBus Rapid Transit systems, which movepeople as quickly as subways but withgreater flexibility, thus reducing trafficjams and air pollution. It is also mass-pro-ducing electric bicycles.

And China can plan for the future—really plan. That is a legacy of its socialistrevolution. While China’s leaders sincethe 1970s have introduced what they call

“market socialism,” trying to pull thecountry out of poverty and underdevelop-ment by opening up the market andallowing foreign capitalist investment,there is still a formidable state sector andthe political ability to organize the alloca-tion of resources and people for the long-term benefit of the country.

China is working on a 50-year plan foreconomic development that puts a strongfocus on building the infrastructure to liftup its poorer regions in the west. Havinginput into this kind of long-term planningare many official and unofficial scientistsand specialists in the environment.

According to the Worldwatch report,China’s tenth Five-Year Plan, just com-pleted, was the “greenest” ever, withinvestments to meet environmentalobjectives set at $85 billion. These targetswere nearly met. There are now at least2,000 registered independent environ-mental NGOs in China, and more than200 university green groups are foundthroughout the provinces.

All this shows that there is strong sen-timent in China at all levels of the politi-cal structure to use the wealth it has accu-mulated in recent decades for sustainable,environment-friendly development whiletrying to raise up the standard of living ofthe workers and the rural population, inparticular.

Class struggle is crucial

However, none of this can be seen in asocial vacuum. The very forces unleashedin China that have caused its economy toexpand rapidly have also created great

inequality. Private investment does notjust create wealth for society as a whole.It also concentrates much of that wealthin the hands of a new class of capitalistowners, who, like the sorcerer’s appren-tice, are then driven to increase it in aprocess that has no limits and no end.They seek political power to enhance theirclass position while corrupting officialswith their abundant wealth.

China has been in the news recentlybecause of a string of terrible coal minedisasters and a toxic chemical spill thatpolluted the river flowing past the majorcity of Harbin in northeast China. In bothmining and petrochemicals, investmentby imperialist corporations is introducingprofit pressures that increase the risk tothe workers and the environment.

This alone does not change the classcharacter of People’s China, which shouldbe defended against imperialist threats,pressure and intrigues. But, as we wrotein Workers World (Dec. 29, 2005), “it isimportant that progressives understandthe debilitating side of these marketreforms and the deep problems they arepresenting for the workers and farmers ofChina, who have been the backbone of therevolution.”

The extreme pessimism of a JamesLovelock flows from the world imperialistsystem, which is incapable of putting thelong-term needs of humanity ahead of itsshort-term appetite for profits. To theextent that China is not fully part of thatsystem, it offers hope that is recognizedeven by environmentalists here.

But the actions of the U.S. and theother imperialist powers are still whatare decisive when it comes to globalwarming. Their system is what is drivingthe whole world toward ever bigger “nat-ural” disasters.

Hope for the future depends on thestruggles of the working class, the oppres-sed nations and all progressive people tobreak up these concentrations of corpo-rate power, assume ownership and con-trol over production and naturalresources, and establish plannedeconomies dictated by human needs, notprivate greed.

By Leslie Feinberg

Women marched through the streets ofMilan tens of thousands strong on Jan.14, in defense of an Italian law that legal-

izes abortions within the first trimester ofpregnancy. The same day, gay and lesbianactivists rallied in Rome to demand legalrights for same-sex and unmarried het-erosexual couples.

Milan, Italy January 14

From the reactionary summit of billion-aire Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s govern-ment to the towers of the Vatican, top offi-cials denounced both demonstrations invile and divisive language.

Both burning issues have become hotpotatoes for the country’s capitalist politi-cians in the upcoming general elections.

The Catholic hierarchy is reportedly theforce pushing to totally outlaw abortionagain. This is the first time the bishopshave openly worked to overturn abortionrights since Italian voters upheld the lawin a 1978 Vatican-backed referendum.

The Milan demonstration was organ-ized by women determined to keep the lawfrom being removed from the books. Theymarched under the slogan: “Let’s emergefrom silence!”

The Vatican’s opposition to same-sexlove was underscored when the Popespoke out against legal recognition and

rights for unmarried couples less than 48hours before the Jan. 14 protests.

Thousands of gays and lesbians andtheir supporters filled the Rome square todemand legal recognition of both same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexualpartners. “Let’s free love from religiousphobia,” read one banner.

At the same time, Giocanni Palom-barini, a senior Italian judge from thecountry’s highest bench—the Court ofCassation—symbolically wed 10 unmar-ried same-sex and heterosexual couples.Palombarini’s action defied PopeBenedict XVI and the Italian govern-ment—including a direct order fromJustice Minister Roberto Castelli not toperform the ceremony.

The movement for state recognition ofthe rights of unmarried couples, and theright to marry, has been inexorable world-wide. Same-sex marriage is already a legalright in several countries in Europe,including Spain—in which the CatholicChurch has historically wielded muchpolitical power.

The extreme pessimism of aJames Lovelock flows from theworld imperialist system, whichis incapable of putting the long-term needs of humanity ahead of its short-term appetite forprofits. To the extent that Chinais not fully part of that system, it offers hope that is recognizedeven by environmentalists here.

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 13

The real Ariel Sharon

Pakistanis protest U.S. terror raid on village

By Michael Kramer

At the Jenin refugee camp this week,we met some people who were prayingfor Ariel Sharon not to die: Somewished him a longer, more agonizingdeath; others hoped he would recoverso he can be tried in court for warcrimes.

– Haaretz Magazine, Jan. 13, 2006

Jan. 15—Since an 1897 meeting inBasel, Switzerland, the mission of theZionist movement has been to occupy andcolonize Arab Palestine with Jewish peo-ple from all over the world.

Not all Jews are Zionists and manyZionists today—especially in the UnitedStates and Western Europe—are mem-bers of various Christian sects anddenominations.

The political-bureaucratic body thatdirectly administers the colonial enter-prise is called the State of Israel. While itis recognized as an independent countryby the United Nations—and receives bil-lions of dollars a year in financial andmilitary aid from the U.S.—hundreds ofmillions of people worldwide view it asillegitimate, illegal and in violation of amultitude of international laws as wellas the United Nations Charter itself.

The movement has always includedmany different political parties, factions,coalitions and trends. Some like Meretzare social-democratic, the Labor Party iscentrist and others like Yisrael Beytenuare outright fascist. Political formationsbased in religious communities and oth-ers based on the sharing of the samecountry of origin (e.g. the former SovietUnion) are also active.

Over the years the Zionists haveorganized and sponsored a constellation

of autonomous organizations operatinginside Palestine and in other countriesto care for the needs of the settlers.Some are focused solely on fund raisingwhile others are concerned with issueslike health care, housing, higher educa-tion and vocational training. Most aregiven a special status by the U.S.Internal Revenue Service, which encour-ages monetary donations.

Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of theIsraeli settler state, has been all over thenews recently. As of this writing he is in avegetative coma in a hospital in Jeru-salem. His political and military careerappears to be over.

Sharon suffered a devastating stroke afew days after news reports that the Israelipolice had obtained evidence he had ille-gally accepted $3 million from anAustrian gambling casino owner.

The Zionist enterprise in Palestine hasalways required armed bodies to defenditself against the indigenous Palestinianpopulation and its allies in Egypt, Syria,Lebanon, Iraq and other Arab countries.Many settlers are armed with handgunsand automatic weapons. The IsraeliDefense Forces (IDF) are armed by theU.S. with state-of-the-art air, naval andground weapons systems; the paramili-tary Border Police; national and localpolice formations.

There are also secret police agenciesthat conduct surveillance and hit-squadoperations against Palestinian militantsand political activists. They also focus onsettlers and their descendants who havebroken with the Zionists and identify andstruggle with the indigenous Palestinianpopulation.

These armed bodies have always beenAriel Sharon’s base and compass.Maximum territory and minimum Arabshas always been his creed.

Sharon was born in Palestine in 1928 toa family of European settlers. As a juniormilitary officer he founded and com-manded the infamous “101” special com-mando unit, which conducted the My Lai-like operation in the West Bank village ofQibya on October 14, 1953 resulting in theexecution of 69 civilians—about half ofthem women and children.

During the 1956 Arab–Israeli warSharon commanded a brigade of para-troopers that invaded Egypt through theSinai Peninsula. As commander he set thetone. The brigade was implicated by oneof his subordinates—a company com-mander who later became a general—inthe massacre of hundreds of Egyptianprisoners of war and 50 Sudanese civilianroad workers.

In 1969 he was appointed head of theIDF Southern Command. According toThe Independent (Jan. 21, 2001) “InAugust 1971 alone troops under Sharon’scommand destroyed some 2,000 homesin the Gaza Strip, uprooting 12,000 peo-ple for the second time in their lives.”

By 1982 he had become minister ofdefense in a government led by Menac-hem Begin, who was a settler fromPoland. Within the government, Sharonsuccessfully pushed for an invasion ofLebanon to destroy the Palestinian polit-ical, military and cultural infrastructurethat was based in exile in Beirut. The June1982 invasion resulted in the deaths oftens of thousands of Lebanese civiliansand Palestinian refugees. It also gave riseto the Hezbullah resistance movementwhich after much self-sacrifice defeatedSharon’s army and on May 26, 2000forced it out of Lebanon in a humiliatingretreat.

Between Sept. 16-18, 1982, close to3,000 Palestinians were massacred in twocontiguous refugee camps—Sabra and

Shatilla—by Lebanese allies of the Zionistinvaders. The IDF had surrounded thecamps and lit flares to show their allies theroute in. It has been documented by anIsraeli investigation that Sharon met withhis allies shortly before the massacre tookplace.

Since then Sharon has continued to bethe consummate insider in Zionist poli-tics, serving at various times as Ministerof Construction and Housing, Minister ofNational Infrastructure, Foreign Mini-ster, and since March 7, 2001 as electedPrime Minister.

While the corporate press—from CNNto the New York Times—has projected agrandfatherly image of a hospitalizedAriel Sharon, a better description is givenby Zakariya Zubeidi, the undergroundcommander of the Al-Aqsa MartyrsBrigades in Jenin:

“From the day he entered the occupa-tion army to the day he entered the hos-pital, he hasn’t done one good thing forthe Palestinian people. Sharon is a crim-inal in terms of the Palestinian people. ...He was never a man of peace for aminute. ... Sharon is a good leader forthe occupation. Not a good leader for theIsraeli people, and not a good leader forthe Jewish people, but a good leader forthe occupation. ... And we, thePalestinian people, won’t be sorry whenthis man dies. We would like to see himtried in court and judged for the blood ofthe Palestinian people that he spilled,but this is how he’s ending up. ... There’snothing to feel sorry about with a personlike Sharon. We say: One of the greatleaders of the occupation, one of theworld’s great terrorists has gone. ... Ihope that when Sharon dies, the peopleof the left and of peace in Israel willstand up and take power.” (HaaretzMagazine, Jan. 13, 2006)

By John Catalinotto

Unnamed operatives of either thePentagon or the CIA bombed homes Jan.13 in the Pakistani village of Damadola.The explosions killed between 18 and 30civilians. Thousands of Pakistanis wentinto the streets all over Pakistan to con-demn this terrorist attack against thePakistani population.

Unlike the roadside bombings of U.S.troops in Iraq or suicide bombings carriedout against occupying powers in Palestine,whatever U.S. force carried out the attackin Pakistan was exposed to minimal per-sonal risk. The bombs were fired at a safedistance from the village where theyexploded.

In Karachi on Jan. 15, some 10,000people protested the bombing. Theychanted, “Death to America” and “Stopbombing innocent people,” and burnedU.S. flags. They also demanded that U.S.forces leave Afghanistan. The Pentagoninvaded Afghanistan in October 2001 andstill has 20,000 U.S. troops there, alongwith others from the U.S.’s NATO allies.

Demonstrators condemned Pakistan’sPresident Pervez Musharraf, a militarydictator closely allied to the U.S.’s “waragainst terrorism,” for being a U.S. pup-pet. “Our rulers are traitors,” and “Ourrulers are cowards and surrogates of

America,” protesters chanted in the capi-tal, Islamabad.

“There will be more ... bigger protests,”said Shahid Shamsi, spokesman for analliance of Islamic groups. “Pakistanicivilians, including children, were killed,”he said. “Principles cannot be broken inthe name of [fighting] terrorism.”(Associated Press, Jan. 16)

The Musharraf government was forcedto condemn the bombing attack.Information Minister Sheikh RashidAhmed called the attack “highly con-demnable.” At the same time, Musharrafwarned the population not to shelterthose forces fighting against U.S. rule inthe region, which he called “terrorists.”

U.S. officials claim the attack was aimedat Ayman al-Zawahiri, whom theydescribe as “the No. 2 leader of Al Qaeda.”So far there is no indication anyone waskilled but children, women and men wholived in the three homes in Damadola hitby the bombs.

The Musharraf government with U.S.help is trying to quickly examine theremains of the people killed in Damadolain the hope of finding something thatproves they succeeded in killing Zawahirior some other Al-Qaeda figures.

According to the Jan. 16 New YorkTimes, “The raid is believed to have beencarried out by the CIA, using missiles fired

by a remotely pilotedPredator aircraft, onthe basis of informa-tion gathered in anaggressive effort totrack Zawahiri. An American counterter-rorism official declined to discuss detailsof the attack, but said: ‘My understandingis that it was based on pretty darned goodinformation.’”

According to the Times, the U.S. hasonly 100 troops in Pakistan, ostensiblyhelping with hurricane relief. But

Pakistani officials have again warned theU.S. not to allow its troops in Afghanistanto carry out raids across the border in “hotpursuit” of Afghan resistance forces. Theyhad issued the same warning Jan. 9 afterU.S. troops crossed the border and killedeight Pakistanis.

January 18, Karachi, the

banner reads:“We condemn

the barbaricU.S. bombing

in Bajour.”

Page 14 Jan. 26, 2006 www.workers.org

MUNDO OBRERO

Detrás de la arenga deBush, una economía turbiaTo the World Social Forum

A time for revolutionary

optimismparts of the world.

As your meetings and exchanges aretaking place, the peoples of all continentsface grave and growing dangers on manylevels. We speak to you from the UnitedStates, the “belly of the beast.” We agreewith the view held in so much of the restof the world: the main source of theseproblems, whether it is war, environmen-tal degradation or the polarization ofwealth, is here. The U.S. imperialist rulingclass, along with its political and militaryestablishments, still believes it can domi-nate the world with its fearsome and costlymilitary machine. Its destructive geopolit-ical agenda is driven by an insatiableappetite for super-profits.

We are sure you will put opposition tothe continued U.S. occupation of Iraqand Afghanistan high on your agenda,along with the Israeli occupation andrepression in Palestine. We havemarched in coordination with you manytimes since the U.S. embarked on its newstage of aggression and military expan-sion after 9/11. Together, we all havedemanded an end to the war and then tothe occupation of Iraq. These demonstra-tions, which sometimes numbered in themillions, gave great encouragement toeveryone in the U.S. trying to stop thewar. And they helped turn the tide ofpublic opinion here against it.

Now the Bush administration,besieged on many sides, is doing whatthe Johnson administration did duringVietnam: it is talking peace while contin-uing to wage war. Every day many morelives are lost—especially among the Iraqipeople—as the Pentagon attempts to con-solidate a puppet regime and an effectivestate that will remain subservient to U.S.interests. But it is a hopeless task; theIraqi people have shown their determi-nation to continue this struggle untilthey have won true self-determinationand expelled the invaders.

The people in the United States wantthe troops brought home now and thehuge sums spent on war and occupationallocated instead to social services in cri-sis—health, housing, education and pen-sions. But, in the political establishment,there is no real opposition. TheDemocratic Party, which voted for thewar, criticizes Bush’s methods but sup-ports the occupation.

We hope you will take a clear anti-imperialist position on these questions:1) that the U.S. and other occupyingnations withdraw all their troops fromIraq and let the people there decide theirown future; 2) that the movement recog-nize the validity of the resistance in Iraq;3) that the movement show solidaritywith soldiers of the occupying forces whorefuse to participate in the war effort;

ciento durante el mismo período. Estacifra de salarios y sueldos está distorsion-ada sin embargo, porque incluye lossalarios de los ejecutivos en jefe de las cor-poraciones, y otros ejecutivos altamentepagados y gerentes de toda clase. Lossalarios de obrer@s que no son supervi-sores, ajustados por la inflación, estánahora más bajos que cuando comenzó la“recuperación”.

Toda referencia a una “actuaciónfuerte” de la economía significa poco paral@s 35.000 trabajador@s de la GM queahora enfrentan despidos en 10 fábricas ol@s 25.000 trabajador@s de la Ford, quetambién enfrentan la terminación de susempleos. Ell@s y sus familias, al igual quelas cientos de miles de personas en lascomunidades donde están ubicadas lasfábricas, están viviendo en un estado deansiedad y tensión sobre los cierres inmi-nentes. La GM y la Ford están a punto dela quiebra y posiblemente están mirandoa las cortes de quiebras para que les ayu-den de la misma manera que las cortesayudaron a la aerolínea Delta. Están tra-bajando con la corporación productora derepuestos para autos Delphi para tratar deromper los contratos sindicales.

El asalto de IBM contra las pensiones

La IBM anunció a principios de eneroque va a congelar el fondo de pensiones enun valor de $48 billones para sus 125.000empleados comenzando en 2008 y empu-jarlos hacia planes de ahorros para la jubi-lación del tipo 401K.

En vez de poder depender de beneficiosde jubilación fijos, pagados por la IBMbasados en sus años de servicio a la com-pañía, realmente años de explotación, l@strabajador@s tendrán que contribuir desus propios salarios, en fondos utilizadospor corredores de bolsa para jugar en labolsa de valores o invertidos en cuentasdel mercado monetario. Y esto en unmomento cuando los “fundamentos” delmercado están inestables.

La IBM va a hacer contribucionespequeñas a los planes del tipo 401K, peroestarán muy por debajo de las contribu-ciones a los beneficios de fondos de pen-siones fijos que la compañía pagaba antes.IBM espera ahorrar entre $450 y $500millones sólo este año y hasta $3 mil mil-lones entre los años 2006 y 2010.

Mientras que corporaciones comoDelta, Delphi y Bethlehem Steel han uti-lizado a las cortes de quiebra para deshac-erse de sus obligaciones con las pensionespara l@s trabajador@s, la IBM es laprimera empresa grande que simple-mente abandona sus pensiones como unanorma a tal escala.

Por supuesto, la IBM es una compañíano sindicalizada y se siente libre paraimponer unilateralmente lo que es enrealidad una recorte salarial masivo. Losbeneficios de pensiones son en verdadsalarios aplazados, que la corporacióntiene legalmente la obligación de man-tener y proteger para l@s trabajador@shasta su jubilación.

Este asalto frontal por la IBM es muyprobable que sirva como una señal a otrasempresas para que intenten escapar desus planes fijos de pensiones.

Los bancos y el fraude del Capítulo 11

Según un escrito de Mark Ruetter en elperiódico Washington Post el 23 de

4) that activists everywhere join in coor-dinated anti-war efforts on the weekendof March 18-19 to end the occupation.This will strengthen the anti-imperialist,anti-war movement here at the very cen-ter of the problem.

The anti-war, anti-imperialist struggleis a critical part of the growing move-ment of the working class and alloppressed peoples for a society based oncooperation and sharing—not class dom-ination, racism and exploitation. In theUnited States, this was made crystalclear during the New Orleans crisis afterHurricane Katrina. Hundreds died,mostly poor and African American,because the state was organized to pro-tect the interests of a privileged few, notthe needs of the people. They died forlack of food, clean water and transporta-tion out of the flooded areas. The U.S.government refused emergency helpoffered by both Cuba and Venezuela.When U.S. troops were finally broughtin, it was to repress the people as muchas to help them. New Orleans was like awar zone, and Black people were treatedlike the enemy.

Today, the survivors of that disasterare organizing and demanding the rightto return to their city and to determinehow it will be rebuilt. They are demand-ing money for jobs and reconstruction,not for war.

Everyone knows that more and bigger“natural” disasters lie ahead as globalwarming wreaks major changes on ourplanet. Just as with the tsunami, theCaribbean and Gulf Coast hurricanes, theearthquake disaster in Pakistan, and thedroughts and famines in Africa, it will bethe poor, those without options, thosealready without adequate food and shel-ter, who bear the brunt of them.

But where the people have rebelledagainst imperialist control and reorgan-ized their society to put human needsfirst—as in Cuba—the effects of such dis-asters have been mitigated. While theU.S. authorities, who boast of their awe-some military strength, responded toHurricane Katrina with total disorgani-zation and chaos, Cuba has withstoodmany violent storms by mobilizing thepeople, thereby saving countless livesand showing it can be done. It is a lessonin what kind of society is really morepowerful and can endure.

Those of you meeting in BolivarianVenezuela can feel the spirit of revolu-tionary struggle that is inspiring newgenerations to stand up to imperialismand dare to hope for a better world. Withcapitalism and imperialism, there is nofuture. But with the revolutionary strug-gle of the people, we can build a new,socialist, humane world capable of over-coming every obstacle.

Los salarios, con el ajuste de inflación,están todavía por debajo de lo que estabanal comienzo de la recuperación ennoviembre del 2001. La productividad, sinembargo, ha ascendido en un 13,5%. Elcrecimiento de los salarios ha sido acor-tado porque el 35% del crecimiento delingreso total se ha ido hacia las gananciasde las corporaciones.

Los ingresos medios de los hogares conun ajuste inflacionario, han caído por 5años consecutivos; Eran $46.129 en 1999y solo $44.389 en el 2004. Por lo tanto seve que el ingreso en los hogares ha caídoen un promedio de casi $2000.

En los últimos 4 años las deudas de loshogares en los Estados Unidos se han ele-vado un 35,7%, el nivel más alto de deudaen la historia, y ahora es de 115% delingreso luego de pagar los impuestos. Enpromedio, la gente está pagando un 13,6%de su ingreso en intereses a los bancos ylas compañías de tarjetas de crédito parapoder cubrir esta deuda.

El porcentaje de la población que tieneempleo no se ha recuperado desde laúltima recesión y todavía está en un 1,3%más bajo que en marzo del 2001. Se hanperdido más de 3 millones de empleos enla manufactura desde enero del 2000.

La pobreza creció del 11,3% en el año2000 al 12,7% en el 2004 y la cifra de lagente que vive en la pobreza ha incremen-tado 5,4 millones en el mismo período. Latasa de pobreza entre l@s niñ@s hasubido del 16,2% en el año 2000 a 17,8%en el 2004. El costo del cuidado de saluden los hogares ha subido entre un 43 y un45% entre los años 2000 y 2003. El añopasado el porcentaje de la gente que recibecuidado de salud con subsidio de losempresarios bajó una vez más por elcuarto año consecutivo. Casi 3,7 millonesmenos de personas tuvieron seguro desalud en el año 2004 que en el año 2000.

Según la Fundación de la FamiliaKaiser y el Fondo Educativo deInvestigaciones de Salud, desde el año2000 los patrones han incrementado elcosto de los pagos de seguro para l@s tra-bajador@s en un promedio del 50% ocerca de $1000 dólares por familia. Sóloun 63% de la población obrera tienecobertura de salud, lo que quiere decir quemás de un tercio de la población de edadlaboral, o casi 45 millones de personas, notienen ninguna. (Los Angeles Times, Oct.10, 2004)

Y mientras que los patrones añadieron2 millones de empleos en el año 2005,ellos también despidieron por lo menos a1.56 millones entre enero y noviembre del2005, según el Buró de EstadísticasLaborales. Y este cálculo es muy inexacto.Sólo menciona los despidos de 50 o mástrabajadores, quienes no tienen empleospor 31 días o más y se basa totalmente enlos testimonios de los patrones al Buró deEstadísticas Laborales

‘Recuperación’ para ricos

En los despachos ejecutivos y el loscampos de golf hay una recuperación, y nodebe producir sorpresa. El promedio deacciones Dow Jones finalmente ha subidoa 11.000, el Producto Bruto Nacional(GDP por las siglas en inglés) incremen-taron un 4,2 por ciento y, según lacolumna de Paul Krugman en el New YorkTimes del 5 de diciembre, las gananciashan subido más de un 50 por ciento desdeel último trimestre de 2001 mientras quelos salarios y los sueldos subieron un 7 por

leftbooks.com ...Books to change the world–that’s the point

Continua de página 16

Continua a página 15

Continued from page 1

www.workers.org Jan. 26, 2006 Page 15

octubre, “Alrededor de 150 corporacionesestán ahora en alguna etapa de reorgani-zación bajo la ley de quiebra, incluyendoa cuatro de las principales aerolíneas.Mientras que la posibilidad de que otrasempresas grandes se amparen en elCapítulo 11 se vuelve en un tema discutidoextensamente en los círculos corpora-tivos, (‘posibles’ en la lista incluyen talesiconos como la General Motors y la Ford),las tácticas utilizadas en las cortes dequiebra están sacudiendo los cimientosdel lugar americano de trabajo”.

Ruetter destaca que mientras lasnuevas leyes de quiebra personal hacenmás difícil para un individuo declarar laquiebra y borrar sus deudas provenientesde las tarjetas de crédito, que ahora llegaaproximadamente a $800 mil millones,las cortes de quiebra se están volviendo enun instrumento importante de las corpo-raciones para destruir los derechos de sustrabajador@s.

El fraude del Capítulo 11 es una conspir-ación entre los bancos, las corporacionesy las cortes en contra de la clase traba-jadora. Delphi es un ejemplo gráfico deesta conspiración. Justamente antes deque la Delphi declarara su quiebra, nosolamente había obtenido $1,6 mil mil-lones en efectivo disponible, sino quehabía asegurado $2 mil millones en prés-tamos y crédito rotativo del Citigroup y elbanco JP Morgan Chase.

La pregunta obvia que hace Ruetter era,“Si Delphi no tiene dinero por la cargasalarial insoportable y el aumento deobligaciones en pensiones, ¿porqué estándos de los bancos más grandes del paísofreciéndole hacer un préstamo con tér-minos muy favorables?

“La respuesta: Por la misma razón queel Bank of America, General ElectricCapital Group, UBS Securities y … ‘capi-talistas rapaces como buitres’ han inver-tido miles de millones de dólares en com-pañías supuestamente en problemas quehan entrado al Capítulo 11 desde 2001. Losinversionistas pueden recibir buenasganancias del colapso de compañíasestablecidas ….”

Al hacer grandes préstamos, estos ban-cos se vuelven en acreedores protegidos,mientras que l@s trabajador@s se quedansin protección. Los bancos pueden colab-orar con los reorganizadores y las cortespara nulificar los contratos colectivos consindicatos y obtener el dinero en efectivo deesas compañías mientras están en quiebra—y entonces volverse en jugadores clavesuna vez que emergen del Capítulo 11.

Lucha global por las ganancias

Estos asaltos contra l@s trabajador@sestán impulsados por la avidez de ganan-cias y la necesidad de estos gigantescosmonopolios transnacionales de ubicarsebien en la cruel lucha que están con-duciendo por la supervivencia y la domi-nación en los mercados globales. Estánluchando una contra la otra para incre-mentar su rentabilidad, y lo hacen ata-cando a l@s trabajador@s. Bajando lossalarios de cualquier modo, ya sea recor-tando pensiones y beneficios de salud osimplemente recortando los salarios ydespidiendo a l@s trabajador@s, esta esla forma principal como las corporacionescapitalistas luchan entre si. Ellos la llamanser “competitivos”.

No es simplemente la codicia individ-ual de los patronos que los impulsa a

atacar l@s trabajador@s. Es el sistema deganancias en sí el que impulsa los ataques.La revolución científico-tecnológica haacelerado la construcción de una redglobal de producción capitalista, concomunicación instantánea, transportebarato, control computerizado de produc-ción, pedidos y envíos, y una divisiónglobal sofisticada de división en el trabajoen la producción y en los servicios.

Cada avance en la tecnología y en laorganización incrementa la productividaddel trabajo, o en términos marxistas,incrementa el índice de explotación deltrabajo y la ganancia potencial de lospatronos. Pero con cada avance, hay quevender más mercancías a precios queobtengan ganancias. Esto significa quetienen que producirse en menos tiempomientras que l@s trabajador@s trabajancon más velocidad, con más fuerza y pormás tiempo, ya sea en máquinas nuevas ycostosas, o en fábricas supermodernasmanejados por computadoras, o en líneasde producción aceleradas en plantas aví-colas y plantas procesadoras de carne, enlas minas, pesquerías y en casi todos loslugares de trabajo.

En la lucha global por las ganancias,todos los procesos laborales, ya sea enhospitales, oficinas o campos, son someti-dos a presión cuando los patronos oponena l@s trabajador@s un@s contra otr@s.

La crisis de sobreproducción delcapitalismo estadounidense

Pero en este proceso, la clase capitalistaaumenta su propia crisis, la crisis desobreproducción la cuál trata de vencer.La meta de cada facción capitalista es pro-ducir más, vender más, y reducir o elimi-nar la mano de obra. Esto resulta en unacreciente crisis para l@s trabajador@s.

Después de las últimas cuatro crisiseconómicas, durante cada período derecuperación se ha hecho más y más difí-cil para el sistema, el absorber y reempleara l@s trabajador@s. Según estadísticascompiladas por el Instituto de la PolíticaEconómica, publicada el 6 de enero en undocumento titulado “El estado delempleo”, las cifras de crecimiento deempleos por 49 meses en cada período derecuperación han disminuido:

• marzo 1975 a abril 1979: 16,7 por ciento

• noviembre 1982 a diciembre 1986: 13,2por ciento

• marzo 1991 a abril 1995: 7,8 por ciento

• noviembre 2001 a diciembre 2005: 2,7por ciento

Después de cada crisis se ha hecho cadavez más difícil para l@s trabajador@sencontrar trabajo. Con cada crisis las cor-poraciones gigantescas se combinan.Despiden a nombre de promover “la efi-ciencia”. Hacen nuevas inversiones enmaquinaria y tecnología economizadorade mano de obra para incrementar susganancias. Construyen medios de produc-ción más y más poderosos.

Y tienen que vender más y más mer-cancía para recuperar el costo de las cos-tosas tecnologías y fábricas, y tenertodavía bastante dinero de sobra parasacar las ganancias fabulosas que son surazón de vivir. Las corporaciones chocancon la sobreproducción capitalista una yotra vez. Y cada vez es más difícil para ellossacar ganancias.

Para mantener la producción ellosrecurren al crédito, del gobierno federal

en la forma de tasas bajas de interés o delcrédito del consumidor. Según el WallStreet Journal del 10 de enero, el créditoconsumidor, sin contar las hipotecas, yallega a $2.1 trillones (millones de miles demillones).

En el ámbito de la producción y laexplotación, ellos contratan la mano deobra en áreas del mundo donde hay suel-dos muy bajos, enfrentan a l@s traba-jador@s de otros países contra l@s traba-jador@s de los Estados Unidos, y atacanlos sindicatos, los sueldos, las pensiones,y los beneficios.

En la actualidad, las corporaciones hanacumulado enormes ganancias que nopueden reinvertir. Las corporacionesestadounidenses son ricas en dinero enefectivo. Según el Wall Street Journal del3 de noviembre, “Las pensiones, segurosy fondos mutualistas del mundo tienen$46 trillones a su disposición, lo cual hasubido un tercio desde el año 2000. En elmismo período las reservas globales de losbancos-centrales se han duplicado lle-gando a $4 trillones, y otros índices decapital disponible han subido también.”

El Journal señala que los inversoresglobales se están metiendo en una gamaamplia de bienes arriesgados. Todos sonespeculativos y casi ninguno tiene quever con la producción de riqueza. Elloscompran instrumentos financieros,bienes raíces, y deudas apoyadas porhipotecas, etc.

De esta riqueza, alguna sólo tienevalor de papel, el resto no es nada másque la ganancia sacada del proceso labo-ral, sacada de l@s trabajador@s en laforma de plusvalía. Está siendoguardada porque no se puede invertir enproducción y sacarle ganancia. Lasrestricciones crecientes del mercadomundial sobre la economía cada vez másproductiva de los Estados Unidos y detoda la clase capitalista mundial, tien-den a limitar las inversiones. Ésto a suvez resulta en el desempleo y laexplotación acrecentada para sacar másganancias de l@s trabajador@s.

Crisis aquí, guerras en el exterior

Esta lucha global por mercados, recur-sos e inversiones impulsa a los patronos afomentar guerras. Eso es lo que impulsó ala administración de Bush a tratar de con-quistar el petróleo de Irak. Eso es lo queles está impulsando tratar de conquistara Irán y Corea de Norte, amenazar aChina, tratar de derrocar a Hugo Chávezen Venezuela, y bloquear a Cuba.

Sus aventuras en el exterior son sencil-lamente una extensión de sus prácticascrueles, racistas y abusivas en este país. Elracismo contra los iraquíes es sólo un

ejemplo de la manera en que el racismo yel chauvinismo en general han sido uti-lizados al servicio de la guerra imperial-ista, desde la guerra de 1898 con Españacuando los Estados Unidos se apoderó delas Islas Filipinas, Cuba y Puerto Ricohasta la Guerra de Vietnam.

Esta situación no puede proseguir enuna línea recta.

De hecho, l@s trabajador@s de laDelphi están empezando a luchar contrael intento de cortar drásticamente susueldo y beneficios con la excusa de la leyde quiebras.

El sindicato de trabajador@s del trán-sito (TWU) en la ciudad de Nueva Yorktomó una posición histórica contra elmismo centro del capital financiero esta-dounidense en Wall Street y dejaron suspuestos de trabajo para parar el asaltocontra sus pensiones y luchar por dig-nidad. Convocaron a una huelga retandoa la Ley Taylor que prohíbe las huelgas porempleados de la ciudad, y confrontaron alos tenedores de bonos de la AutoridadMetropolitana del Tránsito (MTA), alalcalde y al gobernador del estado, fero-ces adversarios de los sindicatos.

Los conserjes en Tejas han organizadorecientemente y han ganado una victoriasin precedencia.

La clase capitalista y su sistema hanasegurado que la lucha de clases se agu-dice y sea más grande en el porvenir. Es elrenacimiento de la lucha de la clase traba-jadora lo que llevará a toda la sociedadhacia adelante.

Los patronos estadounidenses hantenido un período relativo de tranquilidadlaboral por varias décadas. Pero en su sedinsaciable por ganancias y su necesidad devencer la crisis de sobreproducción, ellosinevitablemente despertarán unarespuesta de la clase trabajadora multina-cional que irá por el camino de la rebelióny abrirá una contraofensiva.

La contradicción entre el gran aparatomundial operado socialmente por unaproducción coordinada, por una parte, yla propiedad privada de la economíamundial por un grupo pequeño de multi-millonarios corporativos por otra, sólopuede ser vencida a través de la lucha. Losmedios para producir toda esta granriqueza han sido construidos por la clasetrabajadora, no por los explotadores. L@strabajador@s deben apoderarse de losmedios de producción y usarlos no para laganancia privada, sino para satisfacer lasnecesidades humanos—para el cuidadode la salud, la vivienda, la educación, losempleos y todo lo necesario para llevaruna vida decente. Eso es la esencia precisadel socialismo.

MUNDO OBRERO

‘La recuperación’ trae más sufrimiento para l@s trabajador@s

Continua de página 14

Las cifras de crecimiento de empleos por 49 mesesen cada período de recuperación han disminuido:

• marzo 1975 a abril 1979: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16,7 por ciento

• noviembre 1982 a diciembre 1986: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13,2 por ciento

• marzo 1991 a abril 1995: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,8 por ciento

• noviembre 2001 a diciembre 2005: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,7 por ciento

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los países, uníos!

NUEVA ORLEÁNS.

El pueblo detiene a la ciudad en su plande destruir el distrito ‘Lower 9th’

By LeiLani Dowell

En un evidente intento de excluir a per-sonas pobres y negras de los planes dereedificación, cuatro meses después delHuracán Katrina, funcionarios de la ciu-dad de Nueva Orleáns procuran demolerlos hogares del “Lower 9th” —un barrio deconcentración negra en el área, y tambiénuno de los lugares más pobres-aunquemuch@s residentes hayan sido incapacesde volver al área desde que el huracángolpeó.

Una declaración hecha por el colectivo“Common Ground” describe el área así:“El ‘Lower 9th’ personifica el corazón deuna comunidad que evolucionó durante eltiempo, de familias afroamericanas demuchas generaciones, l@s residentescomparten lo que llega a ser cada vez masescaso a través del país, una devoción y unorgullo por sus hogares y sus vecindarios.”

En enero 5, activistas de la comunidady abogados del Fondo de Ayuda a Víctimasdel Huracán (PHRF por sus siglas eninglés) protestaron por los planes que cur-san en la alcaldía, los cuales son la demoli-ción rápida del “Lower 9th”. El Fondohabía recibido una información de que losfuncionarios de la ciudad avanzaban consus planes para demoler—en infracción deuna orden temporaria dada el 28 dediciembre que prohibía la destrucción delos hogares hasta que se hiciera unarevisión por el tribunal de distrito civil. Larápida respuesta de l@s activistas y abo-gados forzó la ciudad a retroceder,parando la demolición por ese día y con-

cordando a una reunión al día siguientecon el Juez de distrito Martin Feldman.

En diciembre los abogados de la PHRFsometieron un pleito de clase contra la ciu-dad que llegó al tribunal federal esta sem-ana. Ellos afirman en el pleito que la ciu-dad violaría el derecho que se tiene a unproceso legal si destruyen la propiedad sinnotificar o buscar el permiso de sus propi-etarios. El juez emitió una orden derestricción que frena la demolición, enrespuesta a este pleito y la ciudad ha acor-dado no derribar los hogares hasta que eltribunal federal vea el caso el 19 de enero.

Mientras tanto, reaccionando a la indi-gnación pública por sus decisiones, el gob-ierno de la ciudad continúa hablandoacerca de cuáles hogares han dispuestopara la demolición. Hace dos semanas, elOficial de Tecnología Greg Meffert, delDepartamento de la Seguridad y Permisosdijo que alrededor de 2.500 hogares seríanderribados dentro de pocas semanas. Enenero 5, la ciudad hizo pública una listamás pequeña, de 1.957 hogares en peligroinminente de desplome, sin embargo esemismo día el Alcalde de Nueva Orleans,Ray Nagin dijo a la prensa que las autori-dades planeaban proseguir con la demoli-ción de menos de 100 de esas casas— “ésasque se destruirán, son aquellas que tienendaños severos.”

Meffert dijo a los concejales ese día queel número de casas era cerca de 120. Deacuerdo al periódico Times Picayune“luego de él hablar, la abogada en jefe dela ciudad recordó a los concejales que unaley de la ciudad permite que las estruc-

turas en peligro inminente de desplomesean derribadas sin el consentimiento onotificación a su dueño. Una portavoz deNagin también dijo luego “que la ciudadno necesita un permiso del dueño paraderribar algunos hogares.”

El papel de FEMA en la demolición

Parte de la prisa por derribar hogares,sin tener en cuenta a los propietarios queya han sufrido tanto, es que la AgenciaFederal de Administración de Emergen-cias (FEMA por las siglas en inglés), hapuesto una fecha límite, el 30 de junio,para FEMA pagar por el costo total de laremoción de escombros.

La demolición de hogares en una de lasáreas más pobres de la ciudad viene tam-bién a la vez cuando funcionarios delestado indican abiertamente que ellos noenfocarán sus esfuerzos en la recuperaciónde esas áreas. En un artículo del 6 de enero,el New York Times informa que “fun-cionarios del estado advierten que algunosvecindarios en terrenos bajos puede que notengan derecho a reedificarse con ayudafederal.” El artículo cita a Sean Reilly de laAutoridad de Recuperación de Louisianadiciendo, “Alguien tiene que ser duro,pararse, y decir la verdad. Cada vecindarioen Nueva Orleáns no será capaz de regre-sar seguro y viable. La ARL habla la ver-dad con el dinero que controla.”

El artículo del Times dice que las autori-dades acordaron no gastar dinero en reed-ificar lo que no se conforma con los mapasfederales de inundación. Por esto, el costo

de reconstruir para los que viven en áreascomo el Lower 9th es muy alto, pues setendría que construir por encima del nivelde inundación- lo cual aumentaría dece-nas de miles dólares, haciendo virtual-mente imposible para familias de bajosingresos reedificar su hogar.

Brandon Darby, de Common Ground yorganizador del barrio, explica la realidadde la situación en una declaración: “ LaParroquia de Bernard está a menos de dosmillas. Hay partes que se dañaron tantocomo en el Lower 9th . ¿Por qué obtienenlas comunidades predominantementeblancas remolques de FEMA y la libertadde decidir lo que sucede a su propiedadprivada, cuando los residentes del Lower9th predominantemente negros tienen aempresarios ricos que deciden acerca delfuturo de sus hogares y comunidades?”

Los activistas de la comunidad y losabogados demandan que todos los resi-dentes reciban notificación de la demoli-ción, y que ninguna demolición prosiga amenos que los residentes den el permiso-“después que hayan tenido la oportunidadde evaluar su propiedad, y hayan podidotomar las decisiones acerca de cómo pro-ceder,” según dice una declaración delFondo de Ayuda.

Bill Quigley, un profesor de Leyes de laUniversidad de Loyola que ayudó apreparar la demanda, expresó la determi-nación de los residentes en el EstándarNuevo: “Si perdemos en el tribunal, ustedsabe, las personas no pararán de resistir.Ellos tratarán y pararán las excavadoraspor cualquier medio necesario.”

Detrás de la arenga de Bush, una economía turbia

‘La recuperación’ trae más sufrimiento para l@s trabajador@sPor Fred Goldstein

Un día después de que el reporte sobrelos empleos fuera publicado por elDepartamento del Trabajo, El PresidenteGeorge W. Bush se dirigió a los asistentesen el Club Económico de Chicagodiciendo, “La economía americana entraal año 2006 con mucho vigor. ...Somosproductivos. Somos inventivos. Somosempresariales”.

La base para esta exaltación cuidadosa-mente formulada casi no tiene sustrato:un ascenso en los empleos nuevos de108.000 en el mes y una baja en la cifraoficial de desempleo del 5% al 4,9%.

En una movida que tuvo un toque alestilo de Karl Rove, Bush envió al vicepres-idente Dick Cheney y un grupo de su gabi-nete a una gira para hablar sobre laeconomía y tratar de hacer que estas cifrasanémicas aparezcan como un caminohacia un futuro mejor para la economíadel 2006. Cheney fue a una fábrica demotocicletas Harley Davidson en KansasCity, en Missouri, el secretario del Tesoro

John Snow al mercado de acciones deNueva York, el secretario del ComercioCarlos Gutiérrez a Lousville, Kentucky, elsecretario del Trabajo Elaine Chao aBaltimore y el secretario de Energía SamBodman a Pittsburg, en un gran esfuerzode tratar de levantar los bajos puntos deBush en los sondeos.

Bush fue forzado a moverse por el resul-tado del sondeo Gallup, el cual encontróque 63% de la población ve a la economíacomo “mediocre a muy pobre” y el 58%dice que las condiciones económicas seestán empeorando. Así que la crecienteeconomía, para la mayoría de la poblaciónno es más real que las armas de destruc-ción masiva en Irak.

Por supuesto que ni Bush ni sus emis-arios mencionaron que las cifras decreación de empleos son la mitad de lo quelos economistas de Wall Street habíanpronosticado. Ni tampoco mencionaronque se necesitan 150.000 empleos por messólo para mantenerse al nivel del crec-imiento de la población. Y tampoco men-cionaron que la cifra total de desempleo es

aún menor porque más y más gente hadejado de buscar empleos y por ello no soncontadas en la fuerza laboral, o sólopueden encontrar empleos a tiempo par-cial. En el mundo de la clase obrera,empleada y desempleada—la gente quecrea la riqueza y las ganancias estánsiendo desposeídas por los banqueros y lospatrones—el cuadro no es de color rosa.

No hay recuperación para l@s obrer@s

Los salarios crecieron en un 3,1% perola inflación creció un 3,5%. Esto es unrecorte en los salarios de un 0,4%. Elpromedio de hora trabajadas bajó un 0,2%a 33,7 horas y el ingreso promedio sem-anal es de $550.66. Esto no toma encuenta los cientos de miles de obrer@s yotr@s trabajador@s indocumentad@s,cuyos bajísimos salarios ni siquiera sereportan.

Poco o nada fue dicho sobre la maneraen que el racismo y el sexismo se reflejanen las estadísticas. Algo que raramente semenciona en el reporte mensual del

Departamento del Trabajo es el hecho deque el desempleo entre la poblaciónafricana-americana es más del doble quela de l@s obrer@s blanc@s, un 9,3% encomparación a un 4,2%; el desempleosentre la población latina es un 6%; y entrela mujeres de por lo menos 20 años deedad, es un 8,5%. El desempleo entre ado-lescentes es de un 13,4%. No hay estadís-ticas para las cifras de desempleo deobreros gay, lesbianas, bisexuales o tran-sexuales.

Por supuesto que aún estas cifras ofi-ciales son sospechosas, dándose el hechode que la mitad de hombres africano-americanos en el barrio de Harlem enNueva York, se sabe que están desem-pleados.

Las masa de trabajador@s estásufriendo y no sólo por un mes de laeconomía capitalista. Aquí hay algunas delas cifras compiladas por el PresidenteLawrence Michel y el Director RossEisenbrey del Instituto para la PolíticaEconómica publicada el 21 de diciembre.

Continua a página 14