> > WW News Service Digest #131 > > 1) Baltimore cops kill again > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2) Italian restaurant refuses to serve NYC mayor > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 3) Boom economy? Then why is poverty rising > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4) Peltier supporters challenge FBI to debate > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 5) What will it take to slow AIDS toll in Africa > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 6) Pentagon push for world domination > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 7) Mexico's election: Right gains with push from U.S. imperialism > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >This digest is sent to you because you are subscribed to ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To switch to the non-digest, standard mode, E-mail to ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >Message-ID: <019601bfee7e$29ba7a00$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Baltimore cops kill again >Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:00:22 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >BALTIMORE COPS KILL AGAIN: >DEATH OF JOE WILBON SPARKS "WALK FOR JUSTICE" > >By Sharon Black >Baltimore > >On July 5, residents of the Brentwood and Barclay >neighborhood in East Baltimore joined the family of Joseph >Wilbon, the All-Peoples Congress and Unity for Action in a >"Walk for Justice" for Joe Wilbon who died shortly after an >encounter with Baltimore police. > >On June 5, Joe Wilbon left his shop to help fix a car for >one of his customers. He owned a small body shop in the >neighborhood. Witnesses from the neighborhood state that >police surrounded Wilbon when he attempted to enter the car >and began to beat him. Then they dragged him into a police >van. > >Several hours later, he was pronounced dead at Mercy >Hospital. > >The victim's family was not allowed to view the body until >days later at a funeral home. By their account there were >bruises on his badly swollen face that were not there >before, despite efforts by the funeral home to restore his >appearance. > >One month has transpired since Joe Wilbon's death and many >questions remain unanswered. The coroner's office has yet >to release a report on the cause of death. And no one from >the police department has spoken with the family. > >Despite several rallies, all of the big-business media >have remained silent. Only the local African American >community newspaper has printed a story. > >`WE WON'T GO BACK!' > >Family members continued to call for justice at the July 5 >event for Wilbon. > >Andre Powell, an organizer for the All-Peoples Congress, >told those gathered, "We demand that the police stop the >cover up, release the reports and jail the cops responsible >for killing Joe Wilbon." > >As the family and supporters took over city streets, >police attempted to stop the march. But the determination >of the crowd turned the police away. > >Eric Easton, vice president of Unity for Action, took the >microphone and denounced the police. He shouted, "How dare >they try to stop our march. First they kill us; now they >try to take away our rights. We won't go back." > >Jeff Bigelow, a union organizer and member of the All- >Peoples Congress, said, "Joe Wilbon's death is not an >isolated incident. Since the mayor appointed Ed Norris as >police commissioner the incidence of police abuse and >killings has risen. > >"This neighborhood has become a target," he continued. >"Residents tell of police forcing Black men to lay spread >eagle on sidewalks, youth being verbally harassed, >residents being called names and police using obscene >gestures. The attempt is to intimidate, but our >organization will continue to work with the community to >stop police abuse and killings." > >After the rally, the group marched through the >neighborhood and local business district and back to the >body shop near the sight of Wilbon's beating. Activists >distributed hundreds of flyers along the route of march to >sympathetic residents who appeared energized by a show of >opposition to police terror. > >The All-Peoples Congress, Unity for Action and the family >have called for a picket line at the City Council on July >10. The City Council voted unanimously to ratify the >appointment of Ed Norris to police commissioner despite >protests from many in the African American community. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > >Message-ID: <019c01bfee7e$3a540ca0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Italian restaurant refuses to serve NYC mayor >Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:00:50 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >NEW YORK: >ITALIAN RESTAURANT REFUSES TO SERVE MAYOR GIULIANI > >By G. Dunkel > >Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's racist and anti-working class >policies and pro-cop stance have enraged many and not only >in the Black and Latino communities of New York. His >demonization of Patrick Dorismond after undercover cops >shot the unarmed Haitian worker also alienated many >progressive whites in the city and around the state. > >And now, with his career in shambles, Giuliani is finding >it hard to even get a reservation in a fancy eatery. > >The last week of June, the mayor and his entourage-- >including Police Commissioner Howard Safir--tried to get >reservations at Josepina, one of the most fashionable and >posh Italian restaurants in the Bronx. > >The first time City Hall called for a reservation, Charles >LoPresto, the owner, hung up. He thought it was a joke. A >friend of Giuliani's who is a regular at Josepina called >back in half an hour to confirm that the request was real. >LoPresto still refused. > >"I would've felt hypocritical to take his business," >LoPresto told the Daily News, adding that Safir was also >unwelcome. "I find them both morally objectionable." > >Citing Giuliani's handling of the police shooting of >Dorismond, LoPresto added that "when people have suffered >unnecessarily, he has shown no sympathy and no remorse." > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > >Message-ID: <01a201bfee7e$66a2f9b0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Boom economy? Then why is poverty rising >Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:02:04 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >REPORT ON WORKERS: LIVING STANDARDS: >CAPITALIST FLOOD OF PROFITS DOESN'T LIFT ALL BOATS > >By Gary Wilson > >Living standards for the working class have sharply >declined over the last decade, a new study reports. > >The rising impoverishment of workers across the United >States contrasts sharply with gaudy celebrations of soaring >profits by the big bankers and corporate bosses. > >One of the most pervasive myths told by the big-business- >controlled media is that workers' living standards have >gradually improved over the years. > >While there have been gains for some, the stark fact is >that for much of the working class the living standards >have been declining. > >While Marxists have pointed to this trend of capitalism-- >one of this economic system's irrationalities that can be >fixed only by replacing it with socialism--it was also the >featured subject of a June 29 Wall Street Journal article. > >The Wall Street Journal is neither Marxist nor anti- >capitalist, but here is how its report opens: > >"The long economic boom has pushed unemployment to its >lowest level in decades, but more jobs don't necessarily >mean higher living standards. > >"A new report shows that an American holding a full-time >job in the late 1990s was still as likely to fall below the >official poverty line as a similar worker in the 1980s, and >more likely to do so than a full-time worker in the 1970s." > >In other words, the standard of living for most workers >today is below that of the 1970s. The report the Wall >Street Journal refers to is from the Conference Board, >which describes itself as a business membership and >research organization. > >"By this measure," the Journal reports, "the 1990s economy >looks much worse than the 1970s." > >According to an expert cited by the Wall Street Journal, >the average wage for a full-time worker without a college >education is now 8 percent less than it was in 1972. > >The Conference Board report also has more statistics that >confirm that poverty is increasing and is sharply higher >than it was during the early 1990s recession. > >The "new" jobs available today generally pay less and the >lowest paying jobs now make up 48 percent of the total >employment. The minimum wage has fallen sharply since 1969, >when it was $7 per hour in today's dollars compared with >the current level of $5.15, the Journal reports. > >The same week the Conference Board made its report, >Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies >released a report titled "The State of the Nation's >Housing: 2000." > >According to this study, low-income households cannot >afford the rent on a two-bedroom apartment in any state >anywhere in the United States. > >"The red-hot economy has done little to relieve the >housing problems of low-income households. Renters in the >bottom quarter of the income distribution saw their real >incomes actually decline between 1996 and 1998, while real >rents increased by 2.3 percent," the Harvard study says. > >Everyone knows that the great capitalist crisis of the >1930s created havoc with the workers' standard of living. >This happens with every significant capitalist depression. > >But how many know that today's "red-hot economy" is also >devastating workers' living standards? Too many believe >that their growing poverty and difficulties are their own >problem and not that of others. Perhaps they are convinced >that few others are getting poorer by the giddy reports of >Wall Street's boom shown almost nightly on the TV. > >It was only through united, organized struggles that U.S. >workers in the 1930s were able to make gains. That's what >built the strongest union movement this country has ever >seen. It will take that same kind of organization and >struggle to turn around the economic devastation that >workers are enduring today. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > >Message-ID: <01a801bfee7e$7e246e70$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Peltier supporters challenge FBI to debate >Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:02:43 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >PELTIER SUPPORTERS CHALLENGE FBI TO DEBATE > >By Greg Butterfield > >Supporters of Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier >have challenged FBI Director Louis Freeh to a nationally >televised debate. > >The challenge by the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee >came after Freeh issued a statement opposing Peltier's >freedom on June 26, the 25th anniversary of a shoot-out at >Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. > >Other FBI bigwigs took to the airwaves to denounce Peltier >and make racist remarks about the American Indian Movement. > >Two FBI agents and one AIM warrior died in the 1975 shoot- >out. Peltier was convicted of killing the FBI agents and >sentenced to consecutive life sentences, even though there >was no physical evidence linking him to the shootings. > >Years later, the U.S. prosecutor admitted "we cannot prove >who shot those agents." > >Yet Peltier, who is in failing health and maintains his >innocence, remains behind bars in federal prison in >Leavenworth, Kan. > >A FBI smear campaign that included full-page ads in major >newspapers contributed to Peltier being denied parole at a >June 12 hearing. > >On the shoot-out anniversary, AIM members and Pine Ridge >community members gathered at the site to remember Joseph >Killsright Stuntz, the AIM warrior who died. No one was >ever charged, much less convicted, for Stuntz's death. > >In fact, the LPDC charges, the FBI ignored 64 killings of >AIM members and supporters on the reservation between 1973- >1976. Many activists believe that these were victims of the >government's COINTELPRO terror campaign, which also >targeted the Black Panther Party and other revolutionary >movements. > >Dozens of local residents signed a petition to Freeh. It >said in part, "We strongly protest the existing double >standard, which allows the ruthless murders of our family >members to remain without investigation while Mr. Peltier >remains behind bars after 24 years, despite the total lack >of evidence against him." > >The LPDC urges supporters to write letters to Freeh >demanding that he take part in the debate. Send letters to: >FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, 601 4th Street, NW, >Washington, DC 20535-0002. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > >Message-ID: <01ae01bfee7e$94b7b2a0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] What will it take to slow AIDS toll in Africa >Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:03:21 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO SLOW AIDS TOLL IN AFRICA? > >By Pam Parker > >On the eve of the 13th International AIDS Conference in >Durban, South Africa, a June 27 report by the United >Nations World Health Organization revealed the appalling >extent of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. > >Some 34.3 million people are infected with the HIV virus >in sub-Saharan Africa. > >Some 71 percent of the world's HIV-infected population >lives in South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, >Lesotho, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi and Kenya. > >It's estimated that only 2 percent of those people have >access to life-extending drug therapies, or even to drugs >that treat the secondary diseases that accompany AIDS. > >In South Africa 3.6 million people, or 8.6 percent of the >population, are infected. > >The UN estimates that 50 percent of all girls in Kenya now >15 years old will be infected in their lifetimes. > >In Botswana two thirds of all today's 15 year olds will >eventually die of AIDS. This means that in 20 years there >could be more people in their 60s and 70s than in their 40s >and 50s in that country. > >Such a huge death rate usually happens only during a major >war, and then affects mostly the adult male population. > >Last year AIDS surpassed all other causes of death in >Africa. > >AIDS SPREADING WHERE POVERTY IS GREATEST > >AIDS has taken its toll in many Latin American and Asian >countries as well. The Caribbean nations have been hit >hardest. In some areas of Haiti 13 percent of pregnant >women are infected with the virus. The exception is >socialist Cuba, where the rate of infection is just .03 >percent. > >The African National Congress was confronted with the >gloomy forecast of the AIDS epidemic at roughly the same >time it was taking power from the apartheid regime. The ANC >recognized that this could be a huge health crisis. > >An ANC health officer stated that "we could see AIDS all >around us in the countries where we were in exile and we >were already seeing some HIV-positive comrades." > >In 1990, shortly after Nelson Mandela was released from >prison, the ANC convened a conference in Mozambique. Chris >Hani, who headed the ANC's guerrilla force, Umkhonto we >Sizwe, said the South African people "cannot afford to >allow the AIDS epidemic to ruin the realization of our >dreams." > >The ANC leadership saw the need for aggressive control of >the epidemic. But they were burdened with an inadequate >health care apparatus inherited from the apartheid regime. > >As part of an agreement with the apartheid National Party, >the ANC had agreed to keep on civil servants who had been >in office before the democratic revolution. During their >tenure, however, a government AIDS program had been >virtually nonexistent. > >This decision left the new government with "people who __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
