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November 30, 2001 | Issue 385
FRONT AND BACK PAGES
Massacres and misery
This is what Washington calls victory
"We must unite in opposing all terrorists, not just some of them," George W. Bush declared to the UN General Assembly in November. Meanwhile, Washington was celebrating the terrorists of the Northern Alliance as they took over Afghanistan.
Layoff ax leaves more workers...
Struggling to put food on the table
With layoffs in October at their highest level for a single month in nearly two decades, George W. Bush told Americans to "dig a little deeper" during the holiday season. But he's really interested in another kind of charity--for the rich.
SW SPECIAL FEATURE
U.S. air strikes pave the way for...
Afghanistan's new masters
"There is no victory in Afghanistan's tribal war, only the exchange of one group of killers for another," journalist John Pilger wrote in Britain's Mirror newspaper as the Northern Alliance took control in Kabul. Socialist Worker looks at the warlords who took over Afghanistan--with the help of the warlords in the White House.
The truth about Washington's assault on our civil rights
Behind bars for being Arab
"We watch the X-Files on television, but we never thought it would happen here." That's what Pakistani native Asif Kazi told reporters after FBI agents came crashing through the front door of his Chester, Pa., home last week.
WHAT WE THINK
Washington looks for new targets in its "war on terror"
They'll stop at nothing
As U.S. Marines poured into the southern Afghan province of Kandahar and American warplanes bombed Taliban prisoners, politicians and pundits in the U.S. were already speculating about the next target of the war.
Have Afghan women been liberated?
"Only Afghans can determine the future government of their country. And Afghan women should have the opportunity to play a role in that future." Fine words--unless you consider that the speaker was Laura Bush.
Powell's fake peace plan for Palestine
Less than a week after Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered a much-anticipated speech on U.S. policy toward the Middle East "peace" process, Israeli forces had killed at least 12 Palestinians.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Shut down the U.S. terrorist training camp
Thousands protest School for Assassins
Some 10,000 people traveled to Columbus, Ga., for actions on November 17 and 18 against the School of the Americas, where the U.S. trains Latin American military personnel in kidnapping, torture and assassination.
U.S. official's message at IMF-World Bank meeting:
Bombs not food
Some 4,000 people marched in the Canadian city of Ottawa November 17 against the joint meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Inside the barricaded meeting, the U.S. government showed once again why it--and the institutions it controls, such as the IMF and World Bank--are hated the world over.
Victims' relatives say:
Not in our name!
Relatives of some of the victims of the September 11 attacks are marching from Washington, D.C., to New York City this week to protest the U.S. war on Afghanistan under the banner "Our grief is not a cry for war."
Helping oil bosses court the Taliban
What a difference a few years makes. Today, Zalmay Khalilzad is a special assistant to the president and a leading adviser on the U.S. war on the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Four years ago, he was helping the U.S. oil industry court the Taliban.
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COLUMNS AND FEATURES
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Washington's new witch-hunt
On November 19, Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)--chair of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security--suggested that state police should "arrest every Muslim that comes across the state line."
How will the antiwar movement debate the way forward?
Democracy or consensus?
Student antiwar conferences held in November showed the depth of organizing against the war on campuses. But as the character of the war changes, tough questions about how to proceed will arise--which is why activists need to address the issue of how to make decisions.
THE MEANING OF MARXISM
The importance of a real debate
The socialists want to "hijack the movement." This not just gospel according to J. Edgar Hoover of FBI fame, but also popular currency among some anarchists in the antiwar movement.
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SW READERS SPEAK OUT
Mentally ill prisoner locked behind steel doors
Where is the justice?
Once every two months, I walk the tiers of the death row unit in Pontiac, Ill., with a group of people from the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. One of the most disturbing cells I go by is Reginald Mahaffey's.
N.C. professors refuse to be silenced
David Horowitz's Web site labeled them "America's Enemies," and Rush Limbaugh urged his radio audience to harass them. But faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are undaunted.
FBI raids target Somali immigrants
Federal agents raided the Maka Mini Market in the heart of the Somali community in Seattle. The raid was supposed to target the Barakat Wire Transfer located in the market, which provides the only way for many Somalis to send money home to relatives, but included other shops as well.
Other letters
Stand in solidarity with Palestinians; Virginia gives green light to racism
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ON THE PICKET LINE
How did Hoffa Jr. win again?
Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa was reelected to office with an overwhelming 65 percent of the votes cast in the recent election. Reform candidate Tom Leedham received only 35 percent of the final vote, a decline from the 39 percent he won in 1998.
ISSUES IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT
What's ahead at the AFL-CIO convention?
AFL-CIO conventions are usually sleepy, stage-managed affairs. But with recession-driven layoffs on the rise and a million manufacturing jobs lost since July 2000, unions face an enormous fight to rebuild membership--now just 13.5 percent and just 9 percent in the private sector.
Labor in brief
Boston hotels; V&V Supremo Foods
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REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
Justice for Mumia!
As activists across the country prepare for a national day of action to get justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a state judge rejected Mumia's plea for a new trial.
South Central LA fight for schools
More than 200 high school students and community members descended on the LA Unified School District board meeting on November 13 to demand that the board build new high schools to end tremendous classroom overcrowding.
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REVIEW
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:
A blockbuster that lives up to the hype
Going to see a hyped movie is often a crushing disappointment. But every so often something comes along that actually lives up to the hype: such a film is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
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