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August 30, 2002 | Issue 419
FRONT AND BACK PAGES
These men don't care how many more Iraqis die
No war on Iraq!
They may not be able to prove their claims about Iraq possessing "weapons of mass destruction." But the war party in Washington is getting ready anyway for a new campaign of terror against the people of Iraq.
Battle for "survival" looming at Boeing
Some 26,000 machinists at the aircraft maker Boeing are in a high-stakes battle for job security, health care and decent pensions as their union contract expires September 1.
Chicago hotel workers demand wage hike
"Ready to strike"
"Who are we? Local 1!" rang out along Chicago's Michigan Ave. shopping district August 23 as some 4,000 hotel workers and supporters marched to demand better wages and benefits.
SPECIAL FEATURES
This country has two laws
The rich get richer and the poor get prison
George W. Bush & Co. claim that they're getting tough on corporate crime. Who do they think they're kidding? Socialist Worker looks at the shocking difference in punishment for crime in the streets versus crime in the suites.
UN conference in South Africa pushes business "solutions"
The sham summit
Tens of thousands of political and business leaders will gather this week in Johannesburg, South Africa, to make pious promises to preserve the environment and end poverty. But behind the hype surrounding the Earth Summit are business-oriented "solutions."
When San Francisco longshore workers beat the bosses
War on the docks
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is facing a tough battle against the port bosses on the West Coast docks. Union leaders need to remember the tactics that won the 1934 strike to win union recognition in the ports.
Exposing the myth of the "greedy" players
Lies they tell about a baseball strike
The media are up in arms about a possible strike by baseball's "greedy" and "overpaid" athletes. But the arguments put forward by baseball's owners and Commissioner Bud Selig about the state of the game are either deliberately misleading, or outright lies.
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WHAT WE THINK
Don't be fooled by the argument about Iraq invasion plans
They're debating how and when
Yet another leading voice of the U.S. political establishment, James Baker III, has told the Bush administration to slow down its race to war. But no one should think that this is a debate about war or peace.
The challenges ahead for labor
Concessions bargaining will overshadow Labor Day 2002 as unions face some of their toughest battles since the 1980s.
Israel plans a show trial
An Israeli court wants to put the Palestinian Intifada on trial with its case against Marwan Barghouti. But it may find Israel's occupation on trial instead.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Even secret judges reject his police-state plan
Spy court says no to Ashcroft
You know that John Ashcroft must be really out of control when even a secret U.S. spy court objects to his police-state schemes.
Feds want revenge against AIDS activists
Punished for protesting
Tommy Thompson is seeking revenge against advocates for AIDS treatment who protested his appearance at the international AIDS conference in Barcelona.
The dictator that Bush loves
Pakistan's dictatorial president, Pervez Musharraf, made a bold new power grab last week. And that's just fine with George W. Bush.
Sami Al-Arian faces new threat
Sami Al-Arian is facing a renewed threat to his job. University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft announced last week that the school has asked a court if it can fire the computer science professor.
Pentagon orders the enemy to lose
The Pentagon couldn't very well allow Saddam Hussein to win--even if it was just a war game. So military officials re-floated the better part of the U.S. Navy, sunk in a simulated surprise attack--and essentially ordered the enemy to lose.
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COLUMNS
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Beware of a hawk in dove's clothing
As the debate over invading Iraq continues, Secretary of State Colin Powell appears to be a voice of sanity--urging caution while George W. Bush races to start another war. But Powell is as bloodthirsty as the rest of the warmongers in the Bush administration.
THE MEANING OF MARXISM
What's behind the boom-bust cycle?
Capitalism's boom-bust cycle is central to its operation, not some temporary aberration. It is the product of the unplanned, anarchic nature of capitalism.
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ON THE PICKET LINE
Nonunion workers at Cody Steel are out on strike
"We're sticking together"
Non-union ironworkers walked off the job August 15 over unfair labor practices committed by their employer Cody Steel Erectors.
Labor in brief
United Parcel Service; Courtyard Marriott Hotel; Pajaro Valley Unified School District
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REPORTS FROM THE STRUGGLE
Portland cops attack anti-Bush protesters
Police used pepper spray, batons and even rubber bullets in an outrageous attack on a crowd of some 2,000 people who turned out August 22 to protest George W. Bush.
Reports in brief
Beat back the Nazis; Rally for reparations
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SW READERS SPEAK OUT
"The system is going to steal a part of his life"
This kid isn't a terrorist
I recently went to see a student of mine in jail. I was shocked. He hadn't seen sunlight in over a month, a gang had shaved his head, and he hadn't been sleeping because he's been drinking only coffee.
The ugly reality facing Argentina's poor
This has to be a new low. Regular readers of SW will know about the economic devastation hitting Argentina right now, where unemployment and underemployment is running at 45 percent. What's on offer for Argentina's unemployed is the latest--and sickest--version of "reality TV."
Other letters
Trained to kill by the U.S. military; How the Teamsters strike in 1997 beat UPS; How they make smokers pay
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