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August 19, 2005 | Issue 553

FRONT PAGE

Confronting Bush in Crawford:
Cindy Sheehan's challenge
When Cindy Sheehan boarded a bus for Crawford, Texas, she had no idea that her vigil outside George Bush's ranch would turn her into a national symbol of discontent with the occupation of Iraq.

SW SPECIAL FEATURES

The soldiers' revolt in Vietnam
Rebellion in the ranks
The rebellion within the U.S. armed forces that contributed to the U.S. defeat in Vietnam has been erased from public memory. The republication of a classic account of this revolt is welcome.

"GI resistance will stop this war"
Camilo Mejía and Kelly Dougherty of Iraq Veterans Against the War talk about the struggle today to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
The case for clinic defense:
"Legal abortion doesn't matter if you can't get one"
A San Francisco abortion clinic director explains why she supports a vocal, activist defense of clinics from the anti-abortion bigots who gather to harass patients and staff.

Defending choice at the clinic doors
Washington's non-debate over the nomination of John Roberts for the Supreme Court has masked over the very real threat of violence that staff and patients face at abortion clinics.
WHAT WE THINK

Constitution meltdown highlights crisis for the U.S. in Iraq
The crumbling occupation
Iraq's constitutional deadlock, rising U.S. war casualties and plummeting approval ratings for George Bush have combined to create a wave of panic in official Washington.

The real threat to freedom in Britain
Using the excuse of the July 7 bombings in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced new "security" measures that take a page out of the USA PATRIOT Act.

NATIONAL NEWS

Bush escalates war threats against Iran
The Bush administration denounced the Iranian government as a "threat to peace," but a conservative magazine is reporting that the real threat is coming from Washington.

Politicians created the climate for this
Beaten by racist thugs in New York
Two strikingly similar racist beatings have taken place in New York City in recent weeks, in the wake of an increasingly racist atmosphere encouraged by the politicians.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Amid demands for improved living standards
What does China's revaluation mean?
The Chinese government's decision to allow the value of the yuan to rise is designed to manage the economy and head off the possibility of a crash.

The left's challenge in Germany
A new left-wing political party is continuing to gain broad support as September elections approach--and is coming under increasing attack.

COLUMNS

READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Israel gains from Gaza withdrawal
If you lay aside the rhetoric and look at what is actually doing, it's obvious that Israel is gaining far more than it is losing.

THE MEANING OF MARXISM
Should we trust the liberal elite?
The Bolshevik and Menshevik wings of the Russian socialist movement drew different conclusions about their attitudes toward representatives of Russia's liberal bourgeoisie.

ON THE PICKET LINE

Contract negotiations continue past August 15 strike deadline
Qwest takes aim at CWA
Communications Workers of America members at the telecom company Qwest face a possible strike if 14-state negotiations don't produce a contract palatable to the rank and file.

UAW workers push back at NUMMI
Workers at the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. auto plant in Fremont, Calif. ratified a new contract after the hardest-fought contract fight in 20 years.

Labor in brief
New York University

NEWS OF OUR STRUGGLE

Anti-immigrant racists go on the offensive in Calif.
Standing up to the bigots
Anti-immigrant bigots are determined to take the offensive in southern California. But opponents of racism are equally determined to confront them wherever they appear.

News and reports
Defend abortion rights; Health care is a right; Shut down Oak Ridge; Defend immigrant rights; Stop the Texas death penalty

VIEWS AND VOICES

Revolt of Indian workers fueled by neoliberalism
Taking a stand for more
India's prime minister pledged full support for neoliberalism and the "war on terror" on his recent visit to the U.S.--only to see the Indian district of Gurgaon explode in rioting.

Views in brief
A new name, a bigger war; Wrong to split antiwar forces; Thanks for all of SW's help; Left is rejecting the Greens

REVIEWS

The new album from Ry Cooder that tells...
The forgotten story of Chávez Ravine
Ry Cooder's CD Chávez Ravine captures the feel of day-to-day life in Chávez Ravine, the former Chicano neighborhood in Los Angeles that was flattened to build Dodger Stadium.

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