> WW News Service Digest #207 > > 1) J20 gains momentum and media attention > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2) Unions endorse SF counter-inaugural > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 3) Forum warns of growing war in Colombia > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4) Cuba trains doctors for the world > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 5) Korean workers fight mass layoffs > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 6) NY transit workers choose New Directions > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 7) Seattle newspaper strikers rally public support > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 8) Cooking Scrooge's goose > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >EVERY PROTESTER COUNTS: J20 GAINS MOMENTUM AND MEDIA ATTENTION > >By Elijah Crane > >Scores of activists from all over the country are mobilizing >to fill the streets of Washington by the busload on Jan. 20 >to protest George W. Bush's inauguration. > >The all-encompassing issue at hand is the fight against >racism. Specific demands of protesters include: ending the >racist death penalty and freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal; stopping >Plan Colombia and the U.S. bombing of Vieques; supporting >the just struggle of the Palestinian people; the >disenfranchisement of Black voters and others in Florida; >and many others. > >"The U.S. ruling class has been caught in the act of a >fraudulent election," said Monica Moorehead, a leading >organizer of the demonstration. "This certainly is not the >first time it has happened. Every election that has taken >place in the U.S. has been bought or stolen. But this is the >first time in recent history that the thievery has been so >blatant and overt. > >"There's no denying that thousands of Black voters in >Florida were the targets of a racist attack," Moorehead told >Workers World. "Despite the fact that Florida's ballot >controversy had been headlining the media since Election >Day, neither of the two presidential hopefuls so much as >acknowledged the issue of racism. > >"And no amount of rhetoric on 'healing' and 'bipartisanship' >from President-elect Bush and Al Gore, who conceded, can >smooth things over now." > >People are angry--from Texas to Florida, from New York to >California--and that is why they will be raising their >voices in Washington at the inauguration protest, she added. > >J20 DRAWS MEDIA ATTENTION > >Over 400 groups and individuals have already endorsed the >call made by the International Action Center to protest in >Washington on Jan. 20, or 'J20', as some activists are >referring to it. That number continues to grow on a daily >basis. > >As of Dec. 20, there were more than 30 organizing centers in >operation in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, >Illinois, North Carolina and elsewhere. > >Even the mainstream media has been forced to recognize this >growing mobilization, resulting in articles and radio >interviews with organizers. > >An article in the Dec. 14 edition of the Washington Times >described the way in which the cops are preparing for the >upcoming counter-inaugural demonstration. Police Chief >Charles Ramsey cited last April's protests against the >International Monetary Fund, which shook the city of >Washington, as a reason for deploying not only the entire >Metropolitan police force, but also adding hundreds of cops >from surrounding areas. > >Brain Becker, co-director of the IAC, was quoted as saying >that "Charles Ramsey and the police are doing their usual >demonizing of the demonstrators, saying that we will cause >mayhem. The truth is that the police is the lawless group." > >Becker has since given numerous radio interviews, including >one to the ABC network. Organizers of the J20 action have >also been interviewed by radio stations in Michigan, New >York and Washington. > >The Colorado Daily newspaper was among the media that >highlighted the planned J20 action. In that article, Becker >explained that the protest was in the works long before the >election outcome was known. It was planned to take place >regardless of whether Gore or Bush were inaugurated because >both are strong supporters of the death penalty and other >methods of institutional violence--such as the U.S. >sanctions against Iraq and military aid to Colombia, he >said. > >For a complete list of organizing centers, or to sign up as a contact, >readers can visit the Web site www.Mumia2000.org or call the IAC at (212) >633-6646. > >Organizers are also planning and communicating through an e-mail >list server called "J20action." Anyone interested in participating in that >ongoing discussion can register at www.egroups.com or click on the link at >www.Mumia2000.org. > >- 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: <005f01c06ba9$afb08480$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Unions endorse SF counter-inaugural >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 18:56:50 -0500 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >UNIONS ENDORSE SF COUNTER-INAUGURAL > >J20 is not just in Washington. > >In San Francisco, the International Action Center has called >for a West Coast Inauguration Day protest. There will be a >noon rally at Civic Center Plaza followed by a march. > >On Dec. 18, the San Francisco Labor Council passed a >resolution endorsing the San Francisco and Washington >counter-inaugural demonstrations and urging unions across >the country to get involved. The resolution reads in part: > >"George W. Bush was selected president after an extremely >close election marred by the disenfranchisement of many >voters in Florida, including thousands of African American >voters, which has led many to believe Bush essentially stole >the election with the complicity of the U.S. Supreme Court >and the Republican-controlled Statehouse and Legislature in >Florida, and to view his presidency as therefore >illegitimate... > >"Bush has earned the nickname 'Governor Death' and worldwide >condemnation for his role in finalizing the death-row >executions of more people in Texas under his watch than in >the other 49 states combined. ... > >"Bush has pledged to pursue 'globalization' policies, such >as the expansion of NAFTA, cutbacks in social services, >privatization of publicly owned resources at home and >abroad, and other policies that will destroy good jobs, >impoverish the working class and result in more and more >unemployed workers coming under the control of a repressive >criminal justice and prison system... > >"Mass demonstrations to protest Bush's inauguration will be >held on Jan. 20, 2001, in Washington and San Francisco, with >hundreds of community, labor, civil rights and religious >organizations participating. ... The demonstration will >denounce other Bush policies and counter them with demands >to abolish the death penalty and grant a new trial for death- >row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal." > >For more information on the West Coast protest, call (415) >821-6545 or visit the Web site www.actionsf.org. > >--Workers World >San Francisco bureau > >- 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: <006701c06ba9$cb61c040$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Forum warns of growing war in Colombia >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 18:57:35 -0500 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >REPORT FROM REBEL ZONE: FORUM WARNS OF GROWING WAR IN COLOMBIA > >By Andy McInerney >New York > >Over 200 people came out for a Dec. 12 International Action >Center forum, "Eyewitness Colombia: Is the U.S. launching a >new Vietnam War?" The resounding message of the event was >the need to step up the campaign to stop the U.S. >government's increased intervention in Colombia, which is >being carried out under the misnamed Plan Colombia. > >Featured speakers included former U.S. Attorney General and >IAC founder Ramsey Clark and the IAC's U.S. Out of Colombia >Committee Chair Teresa Gutierrez. Clark and Gutierrez led a >delegation to Colombia in late November and early December. >They met with doctors, labor unionists and political >leaders. > >The delegation also traveled to the demilitarized zone, the >region where Colombian government troops have withdrawn as a >condition for negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed >Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP). > >The U.S. government is sending $1.3 billion to Colombia, >making the South American country the third-largest >recipient of U.S. military aid in the world. The aid is part >of the broader, U.S.-inspired $7.5 billion Plan Colombia. >The U.S. is pushing Europe and Japan to provide funds to >help prop up the weakened Colombian government. > >The New York forum was held in Local 1199/Service Employees >Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium. Local 1199's U.S. Health >Care Trade Union Committee, a co-sponsor of the event, >opened the evening with a greeting and a message of >solidarity to opponents of U.S. intervention in Latin >America. > >INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY > >Representatives of several international struggles expressed >solidarity with the Colombian people, including Ramon Mejia, >a leader of the New York-based Movement for Peace and Ray >LaForest of the Haiti Support Network and Haiti Progress >newspaper. > >Ismael Guadalupe, a distinguished leader of the struggle to >oust the U.S. Navy from the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, >traveled to New York for the event. He pointed to the new >ROTHR radar installations on Vieques, which enhances U.S. >intelligence in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, as evidence of >how the Pentagon uses Puerto Rican territory for its war >plans in Latin America. > >Teresa Gutierrez emphasized that the propaganda about the >U.S. fighting drugs is just that--propaganda. She noted that >the lies are being intensified to the point where even >Hollywood films like the racist "Proof of Life" are being >used to justify U.S. intervention. > >"If U.S. soldiers, disproportionately Black and Latino, die >in Colombia, it will not be fighting drugs," she explained. >"It will be to defend the International Monetary Fund and >the Pentagon." > >REPORT FROM LIBERATED TERRITORY > >Gutierrez described the IAC delegation's experiences in the >demilitarized zone. "People spoke with us openly and freely. >The only complaint people had about the FARC-EP was that >motor scooters were not allowed on the roads after 10 p.m. > >"It felt like Cuba," she said. > >She emphasized that the liberation movement has tried many >avenues over the years to achieve its goals. "No one is for >war," Gutierrez explained. "But there are irreconcilable >differences in Colombia. We want the side of the poor and >oppressed to win." > >During their trip, the IAC delegation had the opportunity to >spend a night in a FARC-EP encampment outside of Los Pozos >in the zone. There Ramsey Clark met with FARC-EP Secretariat >member Raul Reyes. Reyes heads the insurgent group's >International Commission. > >Clark said that activists in the U.S. have a rare >opportunity: To build an opposition movement before a U.S. >military victory. > >"Plan Colombia marks the beginning of the greatest U.S. >military intervention in the Western Hemisphere for decades, >with by far the biggest, most dangerous and most far- >reaching and long-lasting consequences," Clark warned. "It >is the preeminent effort to establish the New World Order of >U.S. domination and exploitation of the Western Hemisphere." > >The meeting closed with a video featuring an interview with >Reyes. It was one of the first times that a U.S. audience >had the opportunity to hear a message directly from the FARC- >EP leadership. > >CALL FOR ACTION > >Over and over, speakers at the forum emphasized the need to >mobilize against the escalating U.S. intervention in >Colombia. IAC speakers urged everyone to build for the >demonstrations against the inauguration of George W. Bush in >Washington on Jan. 20. > >"Bush should know that he will not be able to escalate the >war in Colombia without mass opposition," Gutierrez said. > >Gutierrez also warned that the end of January would mark a >dangerous time for the struggle in Colombia. In December, >the Colombian government agreed to keep its troops out of >the demilitarized zone only until Jan. 31, instead of the >six-month pledges it has made in the past. > >A decision to send in the Colombian military and its death- >squad allies--a decision impossible to make without Pentagon >approval--would mark a new phase of military conflict. The >civilian population of the zone worries that if the military >returns, they will be victims of death-squad murders. > >"We need to be alert to the potential for some Gulf of >Tonkin-like incident around the Jan. 31 deadline," Gutierrez >warned, referring to the Pentagon's manufactured excuse for >widening the Vietnam War. > >Members of the IAC delegation plan to speak at campuses, >union halls and cities around the country. The New York >forum promoted a video of the delegation's trip to Colombia, >which will be available to activists in January. > >- 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: <006f01c06ba9$de146ee0$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Cuba trains doctors for the world >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 18:58:08 -0500 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Dec. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >A MECCA FOR MED STUDENTS: CUBA TRAINS DOCTORS FOR THE WORLD > >By Sharon Eolis >Registered Nurse/Nurse Practitioner >Havana > >Imagine living in a country with free accessible health care >and education, including medical school. If you lived in >Cuba, this dream would be a reality. In spite of the four- >decade U.S. blockade, Cuba has one physician for every 168 >people. Since the 1959 revolution some 67,500 doctors have >been trained. > >After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, leaders like >Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and others were faced with many >problems related to health care. About half of the doctors >left the country. The vast majority of the people, >especially the campesinos who lived in rural areas, had had >little or no access to health care. Infectious diseases and >malnutrition were rampant. > >The newly formed Ministry of Health had to create and >develop a comprehensive health-care program. > >One of the organizations called upon to help was the >Committees to Defend the Revolution. The CDRs are grassroots >organizations of block associations. They defend Cuba from >counter-revolutionaries and take on the day-to-day problems >of the people. > >The Ministry of Health brought the CDRs into its campaign to >eradicate infectious diseases and other health problems. CDR >members went house to house educating the people about the >need for immunizations, checkups and prenatal care. > >Their campaign was so effective that many diseases were >eliminated. Prenatal care became the routine for all >expectant mothers. > >MEDICAL SOLIDARITY > >Over 25,000 Cuban health-care workers have volunteered to >provide medical care in countries throughout Latin America, >the Caribbean and Africa. These health-care workers have >saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in the >Third World. > >Many years ago Cuba established a medical school in Guinea- >Bissau. It was destroyed in a recent civil war and the >government has sent the medical students to Cuba to finish >their studies. > >When Hurricanes George and Mitch devastated Haiti and parts >of Central America, these countries called for emergency >assistance and Cuba answered by sending medical brig ades. >At the end of the emergency it became clear that there was a >general crisis in health care in these countries. > >The Cuban leadership decided to open a medical school for >students from the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa. The >program was oriented to students with a bachelor's degree >who lived in poor rural areas with no doctors. > >The Ministry of Health opened the Latin American School of >Medicine. Today it has enrolled 3,400 students from 23 >countries. The Latin American and Caribbean nations >represented include Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El >Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, >Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, >Uruguay and Argentina. The African nations are Equatorial >Guinea, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria. > >Fifty-six percent of the students are women. When the school >reaches capacity there will be 10,000 youths in the program. > >The Cuban government pays all tuition, room and board, and >an allowance. The students also receive one paid trip home >to visit their families each year. > >This is a six-year medical training program. The first two >years are a pre-med program. Then the students are >integrated into Cuba's 20 medical schools. > >CUBA OFFERS TO TRAIN AFRICAN AMERICANS > >In a speech at New York's Riverside Church last September, >President Fidel Castro stated, "Cuba has reduced its infant >mortality from 60 per 1,000 live births in the first year of >life to less than 7 deaths per 1,000." How does this compare >with U.S. infant mortality? > >Take Washington as an example. The U.S. capital is a tale of >two cities. One part is the home of the administrative >branch of U.S. imperialism. The other is the home of an >impoverished, super-oppressed African American community. > >The rate of infant mortality in Washing ton is twice as high >as in socialist Cuba. > >There are other examples. According to Harper's Index, 79 >countries, including Cuba, have a lower infant mortality >rate than Harlem, New York. > >While Castro was in the United States he met with members of >the Congressional Black Caucus. He spoke with a >representative from Mississippi who stated that in his >district there were areas with no doctors. > >Castro responded, "I see you are the Third World of the >United States... We are prepared to send you a few doctors >free of charge, the same as we do for other countries of the >Third World. > >"And," the Cuban president added, "we are prepared to grant >a number of scholarships to poor youths in your district 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 _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
