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March 1, 2002 | Issue 396
FRONT AND BACK PAGES
Stop U.S. aid for this repression!
Israel's terror
The shooting of two pregnant Palestinian women 24 hours apart at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank capped the most violent week in more than a year. But though the number of casualties is high, Israel's savagery--backed to the hilt by the U.S. government--is routine.
States slash spending
These cuts are going to wreck lives
Students and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District got an ugly surprise in January when the school board suddenly announced a $56 million budget cut--another example of the budget crisis hammering California and other states.
Protests in Puerto Rico:
Free Pedro Colón
Hundreds of students paralyzed two campuses of the University of Puerto Rico February 21 in a walkout to show solidarity with student Pedro Colón Almenas, who was sentenced to prison last week for the "crime" of protesting militarism on campus and supporting the people of Vieques in their fight against the U.S. Navy.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Attacked by the bosses and betrayed by the union
The war at Accuride
For four years, UAW members at the Henderson, Ky., auto parts maker Accuride have fought a union-busting company and the union International's attempt to impose a yellow-dog contract. In this special feature, Socialist Worker tells the story of the war at Accuride--a struggle that reflects the best traditions of the UAW and the entire labor movement.
Bush's Pentagon budget boost
Feeding the war machine
Donald Rumsfeld's dream has finally come true. Since September 11, he's gotten a green light--and a blank check--to pursue all-out war around the globe and even into outer space.
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WHAT WE THINK
World's cop prepares to spread its "war on terrorism"
Wreaking havoc across the globe
Being the world's cop means never having to say you're sorry--even if you kill the people that you claim are your "allies."
Barbarism of the death penalty
Who's more insane? Andrea Yates, the mentally ill Houston woman who drowned her five children in the bathtub? Or Chuck Rosenthal, the prosecutor who decided that it was his solemn duty to seek her execution?
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Pastrana prepares for all-out war on the rebels
U.S. fuels Colombia's dirty war
Colombian President Andrés Pastrana gave the order February 20 for his military to invade territory controlled by left-wing rebels in a deadly escalation of the government's four-decade-old dirty war.
Where is Zimbabwe headed?
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has intensified repression of political opponents in a desperate attempt to maintain his 22-year grip on power, passing draconian laws and having protesters arrested and beaten.
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NATIONAL NEWS
White House sued over energy task force
What is Cheney hiding?
Congress is suing the White House for the first time in history to find out who wrote the Bush administration's energy policy. But based on the energy task force proposals, it's not hard to guess who's behind them--Dick Cheney's Big Oil pals and the other honchos of the energy industry.
Legal giveaway to the media giants
Media moguls like Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch got a belated Valentine's Day present last week from a federal appeals court.
The chief bigot of Alabama
Roy Moore is at it again. Last week, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court wrote that homosexuality was "abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature and a violation of the laws of nature and of nature's God"--in an official court document, to boot.
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COLUMNS
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Letting the real scandals go by
When the Enron scandal broke in December, political pros were quick to dismiss it as a short-lived "inside-the-Beltway" tussle that wouldn't interest most Americans. Turns out the pundits were wrong again.
INSIDE THE SYSTEM
They should get a compass
About 20 Royal Marines accidentally strayed off course during training exercises off the coast of Gibraltar--and ended up storming a beach in Spain.
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ON THE PICKET LINE
New proposal opens the way to concessions
Vote down United's deal!
Mechanics at United Airlines--who were euphoric two weeks ago because they thought they beat back one of the biggest, meanest corporations in the U.S. and George W. Bush--are now reeling. It appears that union leaders are yet again complicit in peddling a concessionary contract.
Airport screeners defend their jobs
Filipino community organizations, labor unions, antiwar coalitions and immigrants rights groups held simultaneous press conferences and rallies February 19 at airports in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to protest the planned firing of baggage screeners who aren't U.S. citizens.
Port of Seattle
Port Commissioner President Clare Nordquist last August postponed a decision to privatize the cranes at the Port of Seattle to "give the unions and the Port time to develop ways of cutting costs without eliminating jobs." But 35 people still lost their Port jobs January 15.
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REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
National student antiwar conference
More than 200 students from more than 40 campuses gathered this past weekend at Columbia University under the slogan "They want a war without end, we want a world without wars."
No racist scapegoating of Arabs and Muslims
A young, multiracial crowd of 400 people rallied February 20 as part of a National Day of Solidarity with Muslims, Arabs and South Asian immigrants.
Other reports
University of Texas tuition hike; San Francisco antiwar protest
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SW READERS SPEAK OUT
Education funds are under the knife in Mass.
They cut back, and we pay the price
I was shocked last week to hear that the University of Massachusetts-Boston is planning to raise student fees more than $300--the third increase in two months!
An Indian court's contempt for Arundhati Roy
Author and activist Arundhati Roy is facing an important court trial in the beginning of March. The Indian Supreme Court is charging Roy for contempt in an attempt to silence her.
Duke Power looks like Enron
In Charlotte, N.C., auditors recently began an investigation into what energy giant Duke Power calls "balance-sheet irregularities." The power company apparently underreported roughly $100 million worth of profits between 1998 and 2001.
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REVIEWS
John Q: A movie for our side
John Q is an inspirational movie that socks it to the naked greed of the health care industry. Most critics have panned the movie for being manipulative and not realistic enough, but John Q isn't meant to be subtle.
World terrorism created by the U.S.
Seven Stories Press has given antiwar activists an invaluable resource by republishing interviews by the late anti-imperialist fighter Eqbal Ahmad.
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