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January 4, 2002 | Issue 388
FRONT AND BACK PAGES
Corporate America swings the layoff ax
Throwing workers to the wolves
Ebenezer Scrooge would have been proud. Over the holidays, aircraft giant Boeing announced that it would ax 25,000 jobs within six months, and at Motorola, management said it would lay off another 9,400 workers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Mass uprising forces out the government
Rebellion in Argentina
One week after a mass uprising forced out Argentina's President Fernando de la Rúa, the country's interim president quit amid new protests.
SW SPECIAL FEATURES
Politicians put the rich and powerful first
Servants of Corporate America
The giants of Corporate America have their hands out--and Washington is filling them up with unprecedented goodies.
Who's running the war?
Socialist Worker's guide to the chief war makers in Washington.
The politics behind the Palestinian resistance movement
The fight to liberate Palestine
To the U.S. and Israel, all Palestinians who fight back against repression are mindless "terrorists." But this is a slander against a national liberation movement with a long history of struggle.
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WHAT WE THINK
Argentina's uprising shows alternative to market misery
The power of revolt
The uprising that toppled Argentina's President Fernando de la Rúa last month, and then, a week later, his interim successor, was an inspiring demonstration of the power of mass struggle and showed the potential for an alternative to a system wracked by economic crisis and war.
Showing who's boss at any cost
The government of Afghanistan wants the U.S. to stop bombing. No, not the former Taliban government, but the new one that was handpicked by the White House.
A kinder, gentler hanging
The new Afghan government says that it will continue to impose sharia law--the strict Islamist code that punishes crimes with executions and amputations. But it will be a kinder, gentler sharia.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INDIA/PAKISTAN
Stepped-up skirmishes along the border
Nuclear rivals at the brink of war
Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan were on the edge of a nightmarish war at the turn of the new year. As Socialist Worker went to press, India continued a massive troop buildup along its 1,800-mile border with Pakistan, whose military regime responded with new deployments of its own.
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Israel holds Arafat hostage
Palestinian Authority (PA) chief Yasser Arafat was barred by the Israeli government from making his annual trip to Bethlehem for Christmas Eve mass on December 24, Israel's latest attempts to humiliate him and further undermine his political influence.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Federal judge throws out death sentence
Free Mumia now!
Federal Judge William Yohn overturned the death sentence of Pennsylvania political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal on December 18.
Judge hears death row torture case
Illinois death row prisoner Aaron Patterson's struggle for justice will take center stage in a Chicago courtroom next week at new hearings into allegations that Chicago police tortured Aaron--and fabricated a "confession"--the main evidence used to convict him of two murders in 1986.
Bush admits anthrax letters were...
Homegrown terrorism
With as little fanfare as possible, the Bush White House admitted last month that the anthrax letter attacks following September 11 almost certainly came from a homegrown terrorist.
"Your guy thinks he's a king"
The Bush gang must think they can get away with anything. In December, the White House invoked "executive privilege" to block a congressional investigation of the FBI's Boston office--concerning a case from almost 40 years ago!
Witch-hunters claim new victim
The witch-hunt against Arab Americans reached a new stage in December when the University of South Florida (USF) fired computer science professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian.
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COLUMNS AND FEATURES
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Lying through their teeth
Last month the media revealed a "smoking gun" that showed an accused war criminal approving the massacre of thousands of civilians. This smoking gun didn't come from a grainy video in Afghanistan, but from the files of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
INSIDE THE SYSTEM
Let them eat cake
How does the U.S. military say "happy holidays" to Afghan civilians? It bombs them with cake.
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SW READERS SPEAK OUT
Actor Danny Glover speaks out against war
Standing up to Bush
As the U.S. military continues to bomb Afghanistan, it sometimes seems like everyone in Hollywood is jumping on the patriotism bandwagon. That's why it's so encouraging to hear actor Danny Glover take a courageous stand against the tide of warmongering.
Philippines "terrorists" created by CIA
The 26 U.S. military advisers who were sent to the Philippines last year to "fight terrorism" will be targeting a group that the U.S. government helped to create.
Fighting the tide of Internet racism
The other day, someone sent me a racist cartoon via e-mail. The cartoon characterized Arabs as technology-hating, anti-American buffoons. This is only one example of the many racist e-mails that I've seen since September 11.
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ON THE PICKET LINE
Oregon nurses on strike
More than 700 striking nurses rallied December 27 outside Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) hospital. Nurses and workers from 20 other unions joined them for the demonstration.
United mechanics ready to walk
Jennifer Biddle, a member of International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 1781 and a furloughed engine inspector at United Airlines, spoke to Socialist Worker about the recent strike authorization vote by IAM mechanics.
Labor in brief
Teamsters Local 722; Southern Connecticut State University; Immigrant airport security workers
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REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
Pacifica
A grassroots movement of listeners and activists is celebrating a recent win in its yearlong battle over control of the Pacifica Radio Network.
Protest David Horowitz
"Blacks are unemployed because they are unemployable." One would expect this kind of racism from a grand dragon of the KKK, but it was actually said by David Horowitz, a well-known member of the Republican Party.
New York antiwar demonstration
About 700 people rallied against the war at Rockefeller Plaza December 16.
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REVIEWS
Ali good, but not "The Greatest"
Director Michael Mann's film Ali could have been a whitewash of the famous boxer's life, ending up along the lines of Rocky. But instead, Ali does a good job of showing both the highs and lows of the career of Muhammad Ali (Will Smith).
The struggle of refugees in Iran
Baran--meaning "the rain" in Farsi--is a close-up look at displaced peasants who are forced to travel to Iranian cities for work. There, they compete with an ever-increasing pool of cheap labor, including ethnic Turks and--the least fortunate of all--Afghan refugees.
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