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February 4, 2004 | Issue 529

NO TO WAR AND OCCUPATION

U.S. officials celebrate Iraq's election under occupation
Nothing to do with democracy
The elections in Iraq had nothing at all to do with democracy--and everything to do with Washington's quest for oil and empire in the Middle East.

Bush asks for $80 billion more to fund occupation
Next phase in the U.S. war
The U.S. hasn't brought freedom to Iraq with the January 30 elections. Nor does freedom figure into the Bush administration's future plans for Iraq.

Why we support the resistance to occupation
Iraq's right to national self-determination
Whatever the religious and political affiliations of the different resistance organizations, its main goal is "to liberate their country from foreign occupation."

SW SPECIAL FEATURES

Report documents human rights abuses in U.S. meat plants
Blood, sweat and fear
Working conditions in U.S. meat and poultry plants are so dangerous that a new report compares the situation to The Jungle, Upton Sinclair's famous novel of a century ago.

World Social Forum 2005
Crossroads for the movement
This year's World Social Forum highlighted crucial debates for the left in Latin America and internationally.

Giving ground to the anti-abortionists
Have Democrats surrendered on abortion rights?
Hillary Clinton's recent speech claimed that there is "common ground" in the abortion debate. Unfortunately, the "common ground" is squarely on the turf of the right wing.

NATIONAL NEWS

Three fires in New York City have something in common
Deadly toll of budget cuts
Though they took place in different parts of the city, three recent fires have one thing in common: They could have been avoided if not for the city's budget cuts.

Ruling on rights of detainees
New setback for military tribunals
A federal judge has ruled that the Bush administration's procedure to determine detainees' status as "enemy combatants" is unconstitutional.

Vigilantes prepare to "patrol" border
Some 200 racist vigilantes are expected to descend on the Arizona border with Mexico later this year.

COLUMNS

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Resisting soldiers need our support
Military resisters are showing their potential as a powerful component of the antiwar movement--forcing antiwar discourse to return to earth within the U.S. Empire.

ISSUES IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT
The end of the NUP's road to "reform"
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa's recent call for changes in the AFL-CIO is seen as the reason for the dissolution of a group of unions that called for reform of the federation.

ON THE PICKET LINE

Workers threaten strike against United's drive to slash wages
UAL mechanics reject cuts
Mechanics at United Airlines rejected a tentative contract filled with harsh concessions, but United pilots and flight attendants voted in favor of similar deals.

Labor in brief
Bay Area grocery workers; New York City private bus line drivers

NEWS OF OUR STRUGGLE

News and reports
SCCC Students Against War; Ralph Nader speaks out

OUR READERS SPEAK OUT

"They got millions of dollars for beating someone"
A travesty of justice
A jury awarded $2.4 million to Jeremy Morse and Bijan Darvish, two white Inglewood, Calif., cops who were videotaped beating a 16-year-old Black teenager.

SW twisted my argument
Left-wing columnist Norman Solomon says that an essay in Socialist Worker quoting him had a very odd way to summarize what he wrote.

Other letters
Victim of a backdoor draft; Radio Chomsky goes online

REVIEWS

The Assassination of Richard Nixon:
"It's all about money, Dick!"
The real star of this new film is the 1970s--the political era that included the Watergate scandal, the Black Power movement and the unraveling of the American Dream.

Story of revolt in 1968 Mexico
The English translation of '68--a reminiscence by one a leader of the Mexican student movement of 1968--is important for everyone who wants to draw inspiration from the 1960s.

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