Thursday, July 27, 2006
Solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Palestine!
One of the principles of workers' solidarity is that when workers somewhere in the world are under attack, we take a stand for them wherever we are. Currently in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, hundreds of ordinary people have already been slaughtered in Israel's indiscriminate bombing and invasion. Of course, it's always the working class and the poor that get hit the hardest - those without the money to flee, whose lives and livelihoods are currently being ripped apart by American-made lazer-guided "smart bombs."
Of course, this violence ricochets back to workers in Israel, where those in Haifa are getting hit by rockets aimed at Israel by Hezbollah fighters using their most powerful weapons to defend their country. And it's workers that make up Israel's army, some of whose parents and friends have called for a halt to the violence and faulted Israel for it even though their sons and daughters have been killed in the fighting. In war, it is always the workers who die first.
The instances that led to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip and Lebanon two weeks ago happened as follows:
-Palestinian, not Lebanese, fighters captured an Israeli soldier. For the soldier's release, they demanded that Israel release all Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons (some 10,000 Palestinians currently languish in Israeli jails).
-In response to the soldier's kidnapping, Israel began a massive arial bombing campaign of Gaza, knocking out roadways and the only power plant in the Gaza strip.
-In solidarity with the Palestinians, Hezbollah launched a guerilla operation specifically targeting a squadron of Israeli soldiers on the border with southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah operation killed six and captured two Israeli soldiers, which Hezbollah has continued to hold until their demands are met. These demands are for a withdrawl of Israel from Lebanon and release of Lebanese prisoners of war.
-Israel immediately began airstrikes of Lebanon, targeting the airport in Beruit and the main highway from Beruit to southern Lebanon. This effectively left thousands of foreign tourists stranded until they could be rescued by their home countries, of which the U.S. was the slowest to respond to the situation. Israel then began bombing, and continues to bomb, civilian infrastructure and housing throughout southern Lebanon. Though Israel claims it is using "precision bombing," observers on the ground have noted that the bombing seems indescriminate, or even directed at inflicting the most civilian casualties possible. In several instances, Israel has warned civilians to evacuate southern Lebanon, only to then bomb civilian convoys fleeing for safety. Israel also bombed a U.N. compound in Beruit for over 12 hours, killing four unarmed U.N. observers. So far, hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed, with the death toll rising by dozens per day. Israel's actions qualify unequivocably as war crimes under international law, which U.N. officials including Kofi Annan have condemned as such despite taking heat from the united-front pro-Israel U.S. government.
Where has the U.S. been in all of this? On the wrong side of the fence, as always. Both the House and Senate rushed to pass resolutions, not to condemn Israel for launching a unilateral bloodbath, but to blame the victim of Israel's assaults, demanding that Hezbollah disarm. They say Israel has the "right to defend itself", in the same way the U.S. "defended itself" by invading Iraq - and of course the Palestinians and Lebanese have no such rights when faced with the bombing of civilians under a full-scale invasion using the latest, deadliest military hardware (supplied, btw, by the good ol' US of A). Now the Democrats are trying to beat out the Republicans in pro-Zionist rhetoric; Howard Dean himself objected to the remarks of Iraqi PM Maliki - a U.S. puppet - who criticized Israel, calling him an anti-semite, and called for a boycott of his speech to Congress. But even pro-Israel Jewish peace groups are calling criticism of Israel legitimate, and there has already been an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv of over 5,000 people. It's a sad day when the supposedly liberal party in the U.S. is more right-wing than the liberals of apartheid Israel. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to stonewall efforts to get a resolution passed in the U.N. security council calling for a ceasefire.
A bit of background: Israel withdrew its protracted occupation of southern Lebanon in 1985, after years of Hezbollah's guerilla warfare. It has continued to occupy the Shebaa Farms region of southern Lebanon, defying Lebanese authority. Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamic fundamentalist organization based in Lebanon, with close ties to Hamas in Palestine. It is one of two main Lebanese groups opposing Israel, and acts as the stronger of Lebanon's two armies (the other is the official Lebanese army, which is secular). Israel's avowed mission is to isolate Hezbollah by creating a rift in Lebanese public opinion that would see them as the cause of Israel's collective punishment. So far, support for Hezbollah resisting Israel seems to be high in Lebanon. But it's anybody's guess what the outcome of this latest bloodbath will hold.
So call those Senators. Call those Representatives. Call those slimeball Democrats - Dave Obey and Russ Feingold if you're in the northwoods - and try to impart some sanity over the phone. Good luck getting anywhere, but go ahead and try. More importantly, go to a protest. Or organize one. Or go to D.C. on August 12 to protest. We need to put on some public pressure to counter the ubiquitous Alice-in-Wonderland media message that Israel is somehow the victim.
Stand up for the oppressed Lebanese and Palestinian people! Stop the slaughter now!
Of course, this violence ricochets back to workers in Israel, where those in Haifa are getting hit by rockets aimed at Israel by Hezbollah fighters using their most powerful weapons to defend their country. And it's workers that make up Israel's army, some of whose parents and friends have called for a halt to the violence and faulted Israel for it even though their sons and daughters have been killed in the fighting. In war, it is always the workers who die first.
The instances that led to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip and Lebanon two weeks ago happened as follows:
-Palestinian, not Lebanese, fighters captured an Israeli soldier. For the soldier's release, they demanded that Israel release all Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons (some 10,000 Palestinians currently languish in Israeli jails).
-In response to the soldier's kidnapping, Israel began a massive arial bombing campaign of Gaza, knocking out roadways and the only power plant in the Gaza strip.
-In solidarity with the Palestinians, Hezbollah launched a guerilla operation specifically targeting a squadron of Israeli soldiers on the border with southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah operation killed six and captured two Israeli soldiers, which Hezbollah has continued to hold until their demands are met. These demands are for a withdrawl of Israel from Lebanon and release of Lebanese prisoners of war.
-Israel immediately began airstrikes of Lebanon, targeting the airport in Beruit and the main highway from Beruit to southern Lebanon. This effectively left thousands of foreign tourists stranded until they could be rescued by their home countries, of which the U.S. was the slowest to respond to the situation. Israel then began bombing, and continues to bomb, civilian infrastructure and housing throughout southern Lebanon. Though Israel claims it is using "precision bombing," observers on the ground have noted that the bombing seems indescriminate, or even directed at inflicting the most civilian casualties possible. In several instances, Israel has warned civilians to evacuate southern Lebanon, only to then bomb civilian convoys fleeing for safety. Israel also bombed a U.N. compound in Beruit for over 12 hours, killing four unarmed U.N. observers. So far, hundreds of Lebanese civilians have been killed, with the death toll rising by dozens per day. Israel's actions qualify unequivocably as war crimes under international law, which U.N. officials including Kofi Annan have condemned as such despite taking heat from the united-front pro-Israel U.S. government.
Where has the U.S. been in all of this? On the wrong side of the fence, as always. Both the House and Senate rushed to pass resolutions, not to condemn Israel for launching a unilateral bloodbath, but to blame the victim of Israel's assaults, demanding that Hezbollah disarm. They say Israel has the "right to defend itself", in the same way the U.S. "defended itself" by invading Iraq - and of course the Palestinians and Lebanese have no such rights when faced with the bombing of civilians under a full-scale invasion using the latest, deadliest military hardware (supplied, btw, by the good ol' US of A). Now the Democrats are trying to beat out the Republicans in pro-Zionist rhetoric; Howard Dean himself objected to the remarks of Iraqi PM Maliki - a U.S. puppet - who criticized Israel, calling him an anti-semite, and called for a boycott of his speech to Congress. But even pro-Israel Jewish peace groups are calling criticism of Israel legitimate, and there has already been an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv of over 5,000 people. It's a sad day when the supposedly liberal party in the U.S. is more right-wing than the liberals of apartheid Israel. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to stonewall efforts to get a resolution passed in the U.N. security council calling for a ceasefire.
A bit of background: Israel withdrew its protracted occupation of southern Lebanon in 1985, after years of Hezbollah's guerilla warfare. It has continued to occupy the Shebaa Farms region of southern Lebanon, defying Lebanese authority. Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamic fundamentalist organization based in Lebanon, with close ties to Hamas in Palestine. It is one of two main Lebanese groups opposing Israel, and acts as the stronger of Lebanon's two armies (the other is the official Lebanese army, which is secular). Israel's avowed mission is to isolate Hezbollah by creating a rift in Lebanese public opinion that would see them as the cause of Israel's collective punishment. So far, support for Hezbollah resisting Israel seems to be high in Lebanon. But it's anybody's guess what the outcome of this latest bloodbath will hold.
So call those Senators. Call those Representatives. Call those slimeball Democrats - Dave Obey and Russ Feingold if you're in the northwoods - and try to impart some sanity over the phone. Good luck getting anywhere, but go ahead and try. More importantly, go to a protest. Or organize one. Or go to D.C. on August 12 to protest. We need to put on some public pressure to counter the ubiquitous Alice-in-Wonderland media message that Israel is somehow the victim.
Stand up for the oppressed Lebanese and Palestinian people! Stop the slaughter now!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
A Fight for Bread and Roses
When 25,000 textile workers struck in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912, many of the women strikers carried picket signs that said, “we want bread, and roses too.” This slogan came to represent the fight not only for a living wage, but for dignity and the right to enjoy life outside of work.
Today we face a situation much like that in the early part of the last century. Wages are falling, the cost of living is soaring, and most of the workforce is no longer unionized. Many work two or even three jobs to feed themselves and their families.
We need a change. It’s time to stand up and say to the bosses, “we want bread, and roses too!” But in order to succeed, we need to know two things: what we are fighting for, and how to fight for it. I want to propose a platform that addresses both of these concerns.
WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR:
Bread:
- A raise in the minimum wage to bring it above the cost of living and official poverty level. Minimum wages adjusted up for workers with dependents. (The purchasing power of the minimum wage is currently at its lowest level since 1955. The value of the minimum wage peaked in 1968, at $7.71 in 2006 dollars. Source: Economic Policy institute, www.epinet.org)
- An end to the threats against Social Security. Expansion of Social Security to provide a living wage to the elderly. Expansion of welfare and unemployment insurance to ensure that everyone gets paid a living wage, whether they can find work or not.
- Downsize the military and establish a youth job corps to provide independence, a living wage and valuable work experience to youth.
- Rewrite the tax code to relieve the burden of paying for government from working people while redistributing the wealth of the rich in the form of social welfare programs (see above). This can be done via a heavy, progressive income tax – only those in “comfortable” income brackets pay tax, and the more they make, the higher percentage of income they pay, with no tax cap. End sales tax and reduce or eliminate property taxes for properties owned by working people.
- Rewrite farm subsidies to benefit small producers. Subsidize small farms and organic production while removing subsidies for large-scale agribusiness. Outlaw dumping by large agribusiness. Guarantee a minimum price for farm commodities. Preserve one-person-one-share in cooperatives. Bring minimum wage for farm workers into line with the minimum wage in other sectors.
- Re-evaluate logging practices; make logging companies pay the true cost of forest management. Require logging to be done ecologically and sustainably. If logging companies fold, re-open under state ownership with workers’ control.
- Establish “affirmative action” for state spending in rural areas – state spending in rural counties should reflect true costs of services for those areas and make up for the lack of other funding sources (municipal, etc.). It should not be based on population size.
- State takeover of factories/industries that threaten to close or are delinquent in taxes or violate labor or environmental regulations. Run the factories via elected workers’ councils.
Roses:
- Reduction of work hours with no reduction in pay. The first way to accomplish this is by raising the minimum wage to a living wage. Make any work over the first 40 hours per week worth time-and-a-half, with all work on weekends paid double-time.
- Six months paid maternity and paternity leave. At least two weeks of paid vacation per year. Paid sick days.
- Free, public health care available to all. Period.
- Fully fund public schools and place them in the control of local communities. No public taxpayer money for private schools (i.e. school vouchers or charter schools run for profit). Reverse school funding formulas to provide the most money for the neediest schools. Make all schools great schools.
- Eliminate tuition for public colleges and universities. Everyone should be able to afford a college education.
- Expand funding for libraries.
- NO FEES FOR:
- Parks, forests and recreation areas – these lands are owned by the people; why does it cost to get in?!
- Public mass transit – we need it to combat global warming and provide a way to and from work without stealing people’s hard-earned wages.
- Public services, such as drivers’ licenses, courts, etc.
- Public communication services – i.e. phone, internet, etc.
HOW TO GET IT
- Independent political party. Every time a struggle for justice gets co-opted into the Democratic Party, it fizzles and dies. The struggle for worker’s rights is no exception. Especially up here in the North, many good people who consider themselves progressives are drawn into the Democratic Party. While their politics may sound good, they get stuck in endorsing and running candidates for office who are funded by the party machine – including donations from big business – and won’t stand up for workers’ rights in the end. We need our own farmer-labor party, one that won’t get co-opted by business to serve the interests of the owning class.
- Independent media. In today’s “media marketplace,” most people still get their news from corporate media, which is wholly owned by the boss class. The reigns on what real information we get from the media are being pulled tighter and tighter, and none of it is “fair and balanced” from a working-class perspective. Meanwhile people’s brains are being poisoned and lulled into apathy by so-called “reality TV”, which exhibits anything but. We need more newspapers, websites, blogs, etc. published by and for the working class, pushing a working-class agenda. We need to encourage people to ignore the corporate media and seek out alternatives, such as Democracy Now!, Commondreams.org, Counterpunch, etc. So reach out to your neighbors, friends and co-workers and TALK about the issues of the day. Because if people knew what was really going on, there would be riots in the streets.
- Independent mass action. Short of riots in the streets, we need to start taking back some of what has been lost – jobs, wages, benefits, etc. We need to stand up against war and for increased social spending. We need to get organized and get creative – I’m talking strikes, rallies, festivals, people’s congresses, and more. We need to start by talking to our co-workers and organizing meetings. If conditions warrant, we should go on strike to push our demands – this is the only way to get the bosses to listen. Asking “pretty please” or going to our congress member isn’t going to solve our problems – only WE can solve our problems!
This is the agenda I am putting forward to you, my brothers and sisters who work in Wisconsin. I would love to have people comment on this platform, add points I missed, and point out problems that should be addressed. Many of my rants and polemics I plan to put on this blog will deal specifically with individual points of this platform. It’s a work in progress, so please don’t hesitate to contribute!
