|
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
|