October 27, 2006 | Page 12

OTHER VIEWS BELOW:
Demeaning work tactics
Kyoto treaty is a fraud
Why we're for impeachment
Violence in Oaxaca

U.S. won't save Darfur

IT SEEMS to me that Nathan Kleinman ("It's Time to Save Darfur," October 13) gives the U.S. and other governments far too much credit. In his letter in favor of U.S. intervention in the Sudan, he seems to proceed from the assumption that the occupying forces would actually stop the genocide. I can see no historical example from which this conclusion can be drawn.

In the Balkans, NATO went in supposedly to stop ethnic cleansing, yet by the time their "Operation Storm" was over, 200,000 more Serbs were driven from their homes in Croatia. In Afghanistan, the U.S. promised women's liberation to Afghans oppressed by the Taliban. Yet our allies in the Northern Alliance have presided over some of the most brutal instances of misogyny.

And, of course, there is Iraq, where Bush promised to free the people from Saddam's death squads and torture chambers. Now, three and a half years later, over 650,000 Iraqis have lost their lives because of these lies.

There's just no reason to take imperialists at their word. Especially when oil's involved. While it may be painful to argue against U.S. action in a case as awful as the Sudan, the history of U.S. interventions shows that the best thing Bush and Co. can do in Sudan is keep their bloody hands off.
Paul Heideman, Madison, Wis.

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Demeaning work tactics

I'M GLAD you exposed Wal Mart's disgusting tactics ("In the belly of the beast of Bentonville," September 8).

Let's not let Border's off the hook. Employees must endure routine bag searches that catalogue the reading material they bring into the store. We were also penalized for overtime--"full time" at Borders means 37.5 hours. Our hours were also subject to the fluctuations of the stock market. In the words of the general manager, "The rent on this space is $150,000 every month. It's not like we can argue with those costs."

Our break room was a cubicle wall away from all the managers' desks. I sold copies of SW and had political discussions with coworkers. Even though I was told the district manager wanted me gone, the general manager and my direct manager called me in for a sit-down meeting about my union talk.

I was told about how harmful unions are to workers. Had SW columnist Sharon Smith's book Subterranean Fire not been flying off the display, I might have believed them.

I left as an "internal loss-prevention audit" was rolling through. Theft of an expired pastry in the cafe is grounds for termination--as is knowing about such a theft and not reporting it. A national-level stooge was interviewing one person at a time through the store, and people were vanishing. The store's loss-prevention department was no longer allowed to talk socially with other employees and were sent on rounds to watch us.

Anger is high, but organization is low.
Mer S., San Francisco

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Kyoto treaty is a fraud

I MUST disagree with you very strongly about the Kyoto treaty ("Ignoring the threat," October 6). The Kyoto treaty is a fraud.

First, let me tell you that I have a poor opinion of Bush. He is not very bright, and there is not one thing he has done right as president. He will go down in history as one of the worst, if not the worst presidents we ever had.

Additionally, I am convinced that global warming is real, and that is was caused by humanity. In fact, I believe it is happening faster and will be worse than the conservative predictions of the climatologists indicate.

Having said that I am opposed to the Kyoto treaty. The Kyoto treaty exempted India and China--this makes it a fraud. Manufacturing production was already in the process of moving to India and China when the treaty was first proposed. Since then, it has moved almost completely there. Go to any Sam's Club or Home Depot, and you will see almost all the merchandise manufactured in China.

Moving the manufacturing to China and India is actually making the situation worse. Those countries have no reasonable record of pollution controls. I am sure that China's inefficient production will produce more carbon dioxide and pollution than the same production occurring here in the U.S.

Now why would Socialist Worker support it? Are you trying to destroy the few remaining factory jobs here? That would indicate you don't really care about the worker, doesn't it?

It is sad, but as I look at the participants in this debate on global warming, all I see on the "left" or "right" is politics, lies, and fraud. In pushing their own agendas, neither side seems to give a damn about the science, truth or what will really happen. There is no call to monitor the permafrost, which will add more carbon dioxide than all of humanity.

There is no call to make plans for the saving of Venice, New Orleans, Holland, Bangladesh, etc. There is no discussion of what to do with the citizens of the island countries of the Pacific, which will be flooded out of existence.

Even Al Gore ignores his own data which shows that the Arctic Ocean will be ice free by 2017, not 2100. But the "left" would rather slam Bush and promote the useless Kyoto treaty fraud for political points.
Craig, Chicago

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Why we're for impeachment

I AM writing to comment on Lance Selfa's piece, "What the 'Impeach Bush' liberals ignore." (October 13)

While it is true that there are a great number of people who want to see Bush/Cheney impeached who come from a lot of different political persuasions, including liberals, and that our book, Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney, is an edited collection with 22 authors with different political views, Mr. Selfa ought to actually read our book before he labels us liberals who are letting the Democrats off the hook.

It would appear that he merely read David Swanson's review, rather than actually looking at our book. If he had, he would have seen very clearly that we make crystal clear that the Democrats are complicit; that we cannot rely on the electoral road or on the Democrats; and that a popular upheaval is what must occur. I urge you to pick up a copy and read it.
Dr. Dennis Loo, from the Internet

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Violence in Oaxaca

Excellent article! ("Oaxaca strikers face the threat of a crackdown," October 13) But there is one glaring inaccuracy which should be corrected. Early reports of killings during the June 14 repression against the teachers' sit-in were never confirmed by anyone. Most early reports talked of two dead, and even these were never confirmed.

More importantly, there have been several deaths subsequent to those events, which can be attributed to thugs and plainclothes cops and militaries under Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) control, the most recent being a man on the barricades, who was shot in the head by a plainclothes soldier, and died later that day. Otherwise, a fine job of reporting.
Tom, New York City

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