Worker Solidarity Needed

I use to feel sorry for the way that the Mexican people are treated not only in Mexico, but in the States too, until the company (Caterpillar) that I have worked for for 28 years went on strike. It lasted 18 months and during that time a lot of Mexican workers crossed our picket lines. Do they think they helped their cause by this type of action? The only action that was accomplished was more corporate greed. Caterpillar can now hire supplemental workers at a lower pay, no medical benefits, no holiday pay, no vacation pay, no benefits whatsoever. So now the Mexican workers have brought the American worker down to their standard. It's time that ALL blue collar workers stand up against corporate greed. --Greg Gottberg

Can We Afford So Many Children?

In his article, Dr. Norman Myers, "Can We Afford So Many Americans"? [July-Aug 2002] states that the population of the US is growing way too fast, we eat too much of the wrong stuff and use way too many unrenewable resources. Agreed! However, when he speaks of a "comprehensive population policy" is he implying that Americans should not have the right to produce offspring? Eight months ago I gave birth to the most fantastic human being on the planet. Since then, I have looked at my habits related to eating, fuel consumption, community involvement, the effects of household and yard chemicals and water quality. But much more than this, my little girl has given me hope for the future. Children are the future, not some problem that needs to be solved with public policy. Does Dr. Myers have children? Would he be willing to give them back? --Jenica McClure

WFP replies: We agree children are the hope of the future, but what kind of future are we facing as we move inevitably on toward the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2050? The Earth can sustain these numbers only with the destruction of open wild spaces, clean water, clean air, and multitudes of species of animals, plants and insects. The US and all countries need to develop clear population policies and goals. Indefinite expansion of the population is not healthy. Clinics providing a full range of reproductive services, from free or low-cost contraceptives and pre- and post-natal care should be universally available, so that all children brought into the world are wanted. Surveys show that when couples have a choice, they want fewer children spaced further apart. This should immediately be the option of every family on the planet. Some demographers and environmentalists are saying that the Earth should humanely reduce its population to about 2 billion people. Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall has said, "If we don't halt population growth with justice and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity---and we will leave a ravaged world." No one is asking people to "give back" their children. All children should be loved and cared for--and they will be when all parents have full ability to control their fertility.

Same in Ontario

I am an Ontario worker in the auto industry, in which we were stunned to read your article on the disabled Boeing worker [July-Aug. 2002]. I am an affected worker among over one hundred in our plant, who has fallen ill due to this phenolic formaldehyde resin. It has affected others in our other plants as well as the workers in the plant who supply us with this resin. I very much related to the stories of this worker, their plant sounded so much like ours, poor to no ventilation, the scorching temperatures, to the lack of concern of the workers' safety. They continue to try to cover their tracks and the workers are the ones who suffer. Our lives are never the same and doctors who have been unable to determine what exactly is wrong for years until we feel like it is in our heads...but it is not. I so much believe these conditions in our plant and working with these chemical mixtures have created and will continue to create devastating effects on workers now and in the future. Somehow we are sold out even by our unions who do not wish to push these issues. But on three separate occasions I almost died because of the environment in which I have been working, [and] in the past four years my health has become worse. --Lorrie Green

The Demise of American Healthcare

This is not a good time to get ill or injured in America. If you enlist the aid of a mainstream medical doctor you immediately fall under the influence of corporate medicine, principally the massive pharmaceutical manufacturers. Profit is the byword in medicine now. Our hospitals have become behemoths with a whole lot of expensive rooms to fill. "We'll have to run a series of test," is usually the first thing a patient hears. You can bet those tests are expensive! Next, you will get the onslaught of prescriptions, in most cases designed to hide symptoms. Money is what it's about. After all, somebody has to pay the massive overhead for doctor salaries, fancy equipment and medical buildings, and insurance company high rise buildings full of personnel figuring out new ways to deny claims. The better way of healthcare is prevention. Use your body's own immune system. Go to a naturopath, the future of modern medicine. These professionals are trained in the natural way of healing and prevention, and are not pawns of the medical-industrial complex. If you were to take time and really investigate the American Medical Association, you would find the nation's largest labor association with deep ties to the drug companies. Let's all join together and boycott the members of the AMA.

You may wonder where I developed such a negative feeling about corporate medicine. The answer is simple experience. In 1995 I suffered a massive stroke and nearly died. True, a mainstream MD saved me. That is what they are for: trauma. After my stroke I was written off, "disabled forever". They told me a nursing home was my best option, where I wouldn't be a burden on my family and would have someone to supervise my many medications. No thanks, I have fought them tooth and nail. I did find a brilliant, forward thinking neurologist in Clearwater, Florida that rehabilitates brain-injured people with astounding results. Mainstream medicine called him a quack. I saw him anyway and have experienced remarkable recovery. Now, under the care of a naturopathic doctor, I continue to progress. I urge everyone to do the same. Get as much distance as possible between you and the money-grubbing corporate world of mainstream medicine. It's your health and your future. Go get 'em! --Larry Hunter

Ready to Invade Holland

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was formed July 1 to hold leaders responsible for major war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The Bush right wingers immediately threatened to withdraw UN Peacekeeping forces unless the ICC agreed to exempt Americans, and badgered the UN Security Council into granting exemptions for American peacekeepers. The world reacted with justifiable resentment and outrage towards the US.

Bush right wingers have misstated the facts about the ICC, thereby doing a disservice to our nation and its military personnel. They are entitled to their opinion, but must not get away with deliberate lies. They say that American peacekeepers might be subjected to politically motivated prosecution by the ICC. This is simply not true. only crimes against humanity, genocide and major war crimes will be investigated after authorization by a three-judge panel, and the case can be transferred to the accused's country to try the suspect if requested. Guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally an Assembly of 76 nations will be watching the process.

There are other protections under the ICC, too numerous to mention, but rabid right-wingers continue to undercut the ICC, most recently passing the American Service Members Protection Act (aka "The Hague Invasion Act") which authorized US troops to invade Holland to "rescue" incarcerated Americans. Will Americans allow the Bush administration and its congressional supporters to weaken US standing in the world by insisting that law applies to everyone else, but not the US? --Howard Pellett