Auto Pact revisited: the CAW negotiations (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Sam Hammond The unfolding drama of the CAW negotiations with the big three auto manufacturers, nearing the end of the second act at press time, is a rather large capsule of Canadian reality. There is a shadow figure at the bargaining table, a ghost from the past, an old hurt that keeps reminding us of betrayal and danger, a lost Auto Pact.      From the CAW website: "For 35 years the Auto Pact was the centrepiece of Canada's auto policy. It remains a compelling and practical example of how trade can work in the context of negotiated rules and safeguards. To qualify for tariff free access to the Canadian market, companies had to assemble one vehicle in Canada for every vehicle sold here... these provisions led to the building of new assembly plants and encouraged the growth of Canadian auto parts production.... on February 19, 2001 the WTO (World Trade Organization) decision, and Canada's compliance with it, led to the death of the Auto Pact. But the Auto Pact's core principle ‑ tying market access to the creation of domestic production and jobs ‑ is still worth fighting for."      The ghost of the Auto Pact and its demise in the Free Trade Agreements is the dark shroud of betrayal of the Canadian auto workers by the Mulroney Tories and every Liberal government since. In the larger picture, Free Trade is the betrayal of every Canadian except the capitalists who live off procurement for their U.S. masters. Everyone knows the street word for procurers, it might be too generous in this case.      CAW President Buzz Hargrove laid it on the line July 13th on the eve of the big three negotiations: "If either the companies or government think we will allow our wages, benefits, pensions or working conditions to be gutted as one of the so‑called realities of globalization, they're in for one hell of a surprise when we get to the bargaining table." He then talked about the influx of vehicles into Canada and the effect of a high Canadian dollar eroding the wage differential incentive (something that would have been handled by the Auto Pact).      Hargrove continued with a message to corporations and the government, warning that "I'll be damned if we accept that it's inevitable that the prosperity we fought for decades to achieve for our members, families and retirees should evaporate because of the completely stacked world trading system."      Hargrove's opening shots reflect the kind of militancy, the fighting spirit, that has made the Canadian Auto Workers Union probably the most visible and expanding organization in the Canadian labour movement.      That was the introduction. In the first act, Ford was chosen as the target for a first settlement to be used as a model and forced on Daimler‑Chrysler and General Motors. This is traditional CAW negotiating procedure with the big three auto makers, and it has served them well. On Sept. 18, 95% of workers in the Ontario cities of Windsor, St. Thomas and Brampton voted in favour of the recommended new Ford contract.      The three year deal gives a 1.5% wage increase in the first year and 1% in each of the next two years. It also acknowledges the closing of the Windsor casting plant, with significant job loss, and rationalization and adjustments that will also trim jobs across the plants. The job loss has been estimated at over 1,000, but a negotiated fattening of retirement and buyout incentives, natural attrition and preferential hiring of laid off workers at other Ford plants should keep the actual layoffs close to zero.      Still, there are 1,000 Ontario jobs gone, jobs that our youth will not have. This is probably the lowest wage settlement ever negotiated by the CAW. It seeks to protect existing workers by negotiating a shuffle to other locations and sweetens the pot for incentive to retire or leave so younger workers can remain. A difficult choice in a difficult situation, according to the negotiators.      The Ford settlement ends Act One. Enter Daimler‑Chrysler, who have been shaking their shillelagh from the cheap seats as the Ford contract unfolds. At the time of writing there is a tentative agreement with Daimler‑Chrysler that matches very closely the Ford agreement, including the loss of about 1,000 jobs. The terms of the agreement are not completely public until the members vote on the Sept. 24-25 weekend.      Apparently, in order to achieve parity with the Ford agreement, the CAW fought off a proposal to close an Etobicoke casting plant. This prevented outsourcing of janitorial, transportation and security jobs and saved 1,000 of the 2,000 jobs Daimler‑Chrysler wanted to cut. The job loss will be through more "efficiency" agreed to by the company and union. This has to mean more production with less employees, which equates to a higher level of exploitation. This is the precipice unions waver on when they start helping companies get more "efficient".      There is apparently also something in this deal that is not in the Ford agreement - transferring‑out of some operations to other companies. Buzz Hargrove told a news conference, "We took a very hard line in support of our members, that we could not and would not accept outsourcing." Part of the agreement, according to the media, allows moving "modular" production such as the making of doors and suspensions to outside firms. If that isn't outsourcing or exporting CAW jobs, Brother Hargrove is going to have to invent some new language to cover this apparently different phenomenon. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...?      Even though a compassionate and realistic approach to the difficulties in these rounds of negotiations is definitely in order, this would appear to be an entirely new and disturbing approach by the CAW. After all, this was the union that didn't do this, making it the union of choice for many, and a model for many others who are not even CAW members. Perhaps it would be better to fight and lose than to comply. Time will tell.      Act Three is already under way as the CAW attempts to crack the big nut, General Motors. GM has been sabre‑rattling on the side lines for weeks. The CAW has a strike deadline for midnight, Sept. 27. GM Canada made $500 million in profits last year, but like most corporations is crying poverty, especially weeping over the cost of pensions and health care. Hopefully the CAW can make them cry a little harder.      The auto companies in Ontario have received or been promised hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars because of implied threats to move out and other blackmail techniques. Buzz Hargrove realistically put his finger right on the money when he referred to globalization and accompanying problems that can't be solved at the bargaining table. At every stage of this struggle, every twist, every turn, the workers miss the stolen Auto Pact and the employers glory at its absence. Apparently there are two different agendas here. We don't need to wonder whose agenda spells ruin and want for the working people.      The struggle is sharpening. Globalization, neo‑liberal corporate agendas, the contradictions built into imperialism and the shadow of war hang over the working people. The political agenda of the imperialist states might be backed up by armed force, but it still a political attack that needs first and foremost a political response. That response must be a re‑dedication by labour, and especially the Canadian Labour Congress, to initiate new offensives against the Free Trade deals, the machinations of the WTO and the World Bank. Ken Georgetti might think Free Trade is old hat and a done deal, but he's not buying his groceries with industrial wages.      Without a political movement that mobilizes massive extra-parliamentary struggle and support, labour goes to the table with blunted weapons. It is ironic that in industrial Ontario, the home of the Canadian auto industry, the largest and most militant union, the CAW, is not affiliated to the Ontario Federation of Labour. It is ironic that in industrial Ontario, the provincial federation is probably the weakest in Canada, is most absent from the broader political struggles. This makes Ontario labour the weak link in the chain. This is not lost on the employers and not least of all on the automakers.      It is not our intention or purpose to sit in empirical judgement from the safe summit of Mount Olympus. The CAW is a good union with a good track record, something we are all proud of. Act Three is just beginning. In our next issue we will report on the GM settlement or the GM strike. When the CAW sets a strike deadline they keep it. That is their philosophy and the employers know it. We are with them 1000% and we realize that the fortunes of every worker rides with them. They are carrying a heavy load and they have been truthful and straightforward about the difficulties of this round.      (Hammond is the chair of the Communist Party's Central Trade Union Commission.) (Contents) (Home) BC teachers act for better education (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) PV Vancouver Bureau More than 88% of British Columbia teachers have voted "yes" to strike action, seeking major contract improvements in this round of negotiations. Over 80% of BC Teachers Federation members took part, with 27,990 voting "yes" and 3750 voting "no."      The BCTF calls the vote proof of "tremendous unity and commitment to achieve improvements for students, teachers, and the profession." Although education has been designated an "essential service" in B.C., this simply allows the Labour Relations Board to place limits on strike action. The LRB has approved a number of actions that teachers can take in the first phase of a withdrawal of services to affect the administrative operation of schools. Escalating job-action will start in late September, followed by rotating strikes on October 11. If the government and employer remain inflexible, a full‑scale withdrawal of services could begin on Oct. 24.      The current teachers' contract, imposed by the provincial Liberals in January 2002, expired in June 2004. For the last year, the BCTF has been at the bargaining table with the BC Public Schools Employers Association (BCPSEA). But that process has been hobbled by the government's refusal to provide adequate funding for public education, and its insistence on a "net zero" contract for teachers.      In 2002, the provincial government stripped the collective agreement, removing limits for class sizes and established staffing ratios for specialist teachers. The Liberals made it illegal for teachers to bargain class size, class composition, or staffing formula in the future.      That contract decreed a 2.5% annual salary increase over three years, but the increase was not funded by government, nor were other increases in costs fully funded, such as medical premiums. This forced school boards to cut the number of teachers. Some 1,900 teaching positions, nearly 8% of the teaching force, were eliminated by the funding squeeze. (Another 700 jobs were lost due to declining enrolment.)      Right across the province, cash-starved school boards have cut counsellors, teacher‑librarians, learning assistance teachers, English Second Language and special education teaching positions in order to meet budget requirements. Many of these supports for students, and working conditions for teachers, had been achieved on a trade‑off basis, with teachers accepting a smaller salary increase in order to have more colleagues in the schools.      Under tremendous public pressure, the Campbell government finally coughed up some extra funding for schools before the provincial election last May. But the funding has only allowed boards to increase hiring by about 600 positions, less than one-third of the jobs eliminated over the previous three years.      Unable to negotiate on major issues with the BCPSEA, the teachers have sought to meet with the government to discuss classroom teaching conditions and bargaining rights.      On the salary issue, the employer has not moved off a zero net position for three years, even though the B.C. budget now boasts a $2 billion surplus. Salaries of B.C. teachers are behind those in Alberta and Ontario, a difference which will grow widen without a salary increase here.      For example, a Vancouver teacher with Category 5 qualifications and maximum experience maximum already earns $9,013 less than a similar teacher in Ottawa, a gap that will grow to $12,560 by 2007.      The BCTF has been widely accused in the corporate media of "not caring about students." But as the union points out, there has been no progress at the bargaining table. The BCPSEA representatives simply keep repeating that they only have a mandate for a zero salary increase and no negotiation of working and learning conditions. That leaves strike action as the only possible alternative.      Another media complaint is that teacher strikes are frequent in British Columbia. The reality is that since 1993, when provincial bargaining was introduced under the NDP, not a single school day has been lost due to a teacher strike. Teachers held a one‑day protest in January of 2002 against the government's contract stripping, and teachers have respected local strikes by school support workers. But in the last dozen years, B.C. schools have never once been closed due to a teacher strike.      In fact, in a number of school districts, students regularly lose days in school, as a result of budget restrictions, not strikes. Several districts have reduced schools to four‑day weeks or nine‑day fortnights. (Contents) (Home) Is Health Care a right or a privilege? (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Karin Larsen Is health a right, or a privilege? Referendums in four Ontario cities will put the question to voters this fall.      All Ontario hospitals are under threat of privatization as the Renew Ontario Report, which outlines provincial plans to privatize our hydro, water, and roads moves into its phase on healthcare.      "The province has refused to give any assurance that new hospitals will be built fully public," said Natalie Mehr of the Ontario Health Coalition following a mid‑September closed door meeting with the government.      The Liberal government's rejection of the transparent, democratic process promised during the election can be seen in its legal wrangling to keep secret all information on deals currently being brokered on the public's behalf. Through this struggle the scope of the deals has begun to emerge: P3 hospitals will be decades-long deals which will bust unions, siphon tax monies into the hands of corporate shareholders, and fundamentally undermine any steps towards a socialized healthcare system.      If the P3s are allowed a foothold, medical staff may well be the only publicly employed workers in hospitals. Steven Shrybman, a lawyer working against the privatization, explains that management, food preparation, maintenance, land ownership and even patient records all stand to be run by "international health conglomerates".      Following the lead of St. Catharines earlier this year, Hamilton, North Bay, Sault Saint Marie, and Woodstock residents will all be running P3 referendums this fall.      While the results will not be legally binding, they will send a clear message to both the provincial and federal Liberals that their strong hold in Ontario depends on their support for purely public healthcare.      A recent Hamilton meeting to begin organizing work brought out 75 concerned citizens, seniors, trade unionists and political activists to discuss strategies to grapple with the magnitude of this blow from above.      Anticipating that privatization will be one of many steps towards Americanizing our health system, local health and seniors activist Mike Mirza observed, "this is discrimination against seniors: we have the least money and the most need."      City councillor Bob Brattina, who is backing the campaign to keep Hamilton hospitals public, furthered the discussion on the implications of P3s for the cities working poor: "My country doesn't have charity hospitals that exist in the US. We don't need them [because in Canada] health is not a commodity to be bought and sold."      This was certainly the opinion of those in the room, and the referendum will likely show that the majority of residents agree.      Many were shocked to learn that already in Hamilton one wing of St Joseph's Hospital (The Tower to locals) has begun using privately employed workers. Not only are these workers obliged to follow the company line in rebranding patients as "clients," none of them have been able to join the relevant public sector unions.      "Privatization is union busting!" roared Hamilton District Labour Council president Wayne Marsdon to this information. "They have to make a profit, so they go and slash wages - busting the unions is the only way they can do it."      Though the anti‑union stance of private companies was little surprise, the groups looking to invest in the P3 hospital projects took many aback. Shrybman reported that already a handful of pension funds for public sector unions are eyeing the "obscene rates of return for no risk", despite their direct and detrimental effect on the very unions that employ them.      Bob Mann, long standing candidate for the Communist Party in Hamilton East, was the only political representative present able to pledge full membership support for the campaign to keep our hospitals public. The CPC will help erect the thousands of lawn signs needed to publicize the vote.      The crowd left determined to make the referendum a huge success. "We are going to win the war over healthcare in Ontario" rallied Shrybman, "The future for all of Canada depends on it!" (Contents) (Home) Keep the pressure on Ottawa - Editorial (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) People's Voice Editorial, Oct. 1-15, 2005 The benefits of minority government can be seen in the latest news from Ottawa. The word is that Paul Martin's Liberals, faced with a potential defeat in the House of Commons, will once again delay new corporate tax cuts. Media reports indicate that the cuts could be included in Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's February 2006 budget, which is unlikely to be adopted before an election expected in April.      Goodale says that reducing corporate income taxes from 21 percent to 19 percent, and eliminating the corporate surtax, would save corporations $13 billion over five years. In other words, the Canadian people would have $13 billion less for child care, medicare, mass transit, and other urgent priorities, while the CEOs and shareholders of the big corporations amass ever greater wealth.      Fortunately, the Liberals backed off on the tax cuts to avoid defeat in last May's non-confidence votes. Both the NDP and Bloc Québécois continue to call for higher spending on social programs, not corporate tax cuts.      However, the Liberals remain determined to implement this giveaway to the rich by the year 2008. It's easier for the working class and its allies to press a minority government on key issues, but the heat must be kept on high to protect any such victories.      That's also the case on other important issues, such as control of the energy industry. Even though Canadians are demanding nationalization of this crucial resource, the NDP and the Bloc have so far failed to support this call. We urge the labour movement and all progressive Canadians to press all parties in the House of Commons to take action now to place oil and gas under Canadian sovereignty and democratic public ownership. (Contents) (Home) End the CBC lockout! - Editorial (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) People's Voice Editorial, Oct. 1-15, 2005 As of Sept. 26, the locked-out Canadian Media Guild and CBC management were back at the bargaining table. Federal Labour Minister Joe Fontana now calls it a "disservice to all Canadians" to let the dispute continue. Astoundingly, it took Fontana six long weeks to reach this conclusion. We can only surmise that the Martin government agreed with management's lock-out, aimed at saving big bucks for the network, until it became politically difficult to continue this tactic.      Progressive Canadians often wish the CBC presented more content reflecting working class and democratic struggles across the country. But we also know that the CBC is an invaluable part of the non-corporate media which makes it possible for citizens to have a deeper understanding of Canada and the world. Every attack against the CBC by right-wing pundits is an attack against the very concept that news and information should be freely available to all, not a commodity controlled by the rich and powerful. Not least, the attack on the CBC is part of the drive to undermine Canadian sovereignty, opening the door to the complete sellout of Canada to transnational capital.      This dispute has also made it clear that information industry workers are just that: workers. The presence of Media Guild members at union rallies and picket lines across the country since August 15 has given a lift to all their sisters and brothers who clean hospitals, install telephones, and do many other vital jobs. Like workers in other sectors of the economy, CBC employees are increasingly faced with part-time, short-term contract work, forced upon them by bosses who rake in enormous salaries.      Once again, we express our complete solidarity with the Canadian Media Guild. We urge all readers to contact your MPs, to demand an end to the lock-out and full funding for the CBC! (Contents) (Home) CUPE delegates hope to "move forward" in Winnipeg (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) PV Vancouver Bureau The Canadian Union of Public Employees holds its 22nd convention from Oct. 3 to 7 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Over 1,800 delegates are expected to take part in this gathering of Canada's largest public sector union.      In the context of ongoing attacks by right-wing governments, CUPE delegates will debate a "Moving Forward" plan which makes proposals on a wide range of issues faced by the union.      The plan reviews three key objectives arising from CUPE's 2003 convention: the need to strengthen bargaining power to win better collective agreements; ways to increase the union's day‑to‑day effectiveness in the workplace; and the campaign to stop contracting out and privatization of public services.      In terms of wages, CUPE members have almost held the line against inflation in recent years. But the union warns that recent sharp increases in gas prices might drive up the cost of living this fall, eroding any real wage gains.      In contrast to the days when most CUPE members began joining the workforce, "Moving Forward" points out, "Today, the collective bargaining environment is very different in large part because of worldwide pressure to squeeze corporate profit from workers and communities. We are living in a period of constraint on workers' compensation and collective agreement rights. This is particularly true in the sectors where CUPE members are employed: municipalities, hydro, health care, education, community and social services, airlines, telecommunications and local or municipal government services generally. The changes in the bargaining climate are particularly difficult for women, workers of colour and other members of equity‑seeking groups."      One response to this difficult environment has been to find ways to improve the union's structure, such as more effective coordination between locals, so that no local union is left to fight the employer alone. "Moving Forward" projects a number of steps to create stronger sector structures to build bargaining strength and make gains through coordinated bargaining.      Another issue which arose in 2003 was the need for stronger participation of women in CUPE, which is almost two‑thirds female in its gender composition. The document examines some of the barriers to participation by women in union life, such as the fact that women are more likely to be in low‑wage job ghettos and working at more than one job to make ends meet, leaving little time for union activity. "Women's time is also eaten up by voluntary community work, child care, elder care, and providing other supports that are no longer provided through public services and programs. Also, women continue to do disproportionately more housework than men."      "CUPE has done a good job of identifying these barriers and taking concrete action to address them," the document says, "... However, the sad fact is we are losing ground in many of these areas and we will continue to do so unless we initiate a more effective unionwide strategy to put working women's issues back on the bargaining agenda in a concerted and coordinated way."      Women also face barriers to full and equal participation in CUPE, the document notes: "Women are under‑represented on CUPE's provincial and national leadership bodies, and on the executive bodies of some local unions." As a result, a series of concrete measures are being proposed to improve this situation.      "Moving Forward" raises other issues, such as CUPE's "vision of a single public sector union as a long‑term goal," education campaigns against "public-private partnerships," increased involvement in municipal politics, work to build strong and effective alliances with citizens' groups and coalitions at the local level, including local health coalitions, etc.      All in all, it looks like a busy five days for CUPE delegates in Winnipeg. In our next issue, we'll look at some of the results of this important convention. (Contents) (Home) Celebrating the life of Professor Lee Lorch (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Special to PV On Saturday, Oct. 15, a special celebration will honour the life and work of Professor Lee Lorch, who has done outstanding work as a People's Voice circulation builder since our newspaper was launched twelve years ago. On this occasion, we are pleased to print the following tribute to Prof. Lorch. Lee Lorch's story started in the U.S. where he personally encountered racism in the process of applying for a job as a young Jewish math professor just after the Second World War. But his struggle to fight racism went way beyond his personal situation.      Early in his career he linked his life and that of his family to the continuing struggle for equality of the descendants of slaves in the USA. One of his earliest initiatives occurred as a young instructor at the City College of New York (CCNY), where he sublet an apartment to black students who were prevented from accessing the housing provided on that College's campus. For his solidarity he lost his job at CCNY after three years, as well as his new position as Assistant Professor at Penn State.      The following year he took a position as Associate Professor and Department Chair at historically black Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. A year later he protested the decision of the Mathematical Association of America to hold a regional meeting in a Nashville hotel which would not admit black participants.      When the Supreme Court decision made school segregation unconstitutional on May 17, 1954, he registered his young daughter at the neighbourhood black school, an action for which he was called to testify before the notorious House Un‑American Activities Committee. For refusing to testify, he was dismissed from Fisk in 1955, after serving as Chair of his Department for five years. He took up a position as Full Professor and Chair at another historically black university, Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.      In 1957, his wife Grace Lonergan Lorch, herself a math teacher, labour leader and activist, rescued a 15‑year‑old black girl from a mob that was resisting, with the support of the Arkansas National Guard, the desegregation ordered by the U.S. Federal Court of Central High School by nine black students. Grace's action resulted in official and vigilante intimidation. She was summoned before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, dynamite was placed under the family's garage door, and their daughter was beaten at school.      The funding of Philander Smith College was placed in jeopardy and Prof. Lorch was again dismissed, over the protests of his colleagues and the leading black trustees. After a year as a Visiting Lecturer at Wesleyan University, it was clear that he was on a virtual "blacklist."  He left for Canada, joining the faculty of the University of Alberta in 1959 for nine years before coming to York University in 1968.      Lee's outstanding teaching influenced many of his Fisk University students, and in particular female black students, to do graduate work in mathematics. In fact his students were the only Fisk graduates who pursued PhDs in mathematics. Of the 21 American black women who earned doctorates in mathematics before 1980, three had been taught and encouraged to continue their studies by Prof. Lorch during his short five years at Fisk.      Prof. Lorch has always spoken out on behalf of victims of racial, political and/or economic discrimination or aggression. This has been recognized by the special recognition and awards he has received from professional groups such as Howard University, Fisk University, Spelman College, the Association for Women in Mathematics, the Mathematical Sciences Education Boards of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Alliance of Black School Educators, The University of Cincinnati, and the Toronto Urban Alliance on Race Relations.      Underlying his progressive activism and his inspiring teaching is his equally impressive research record. Over 60 years, he has published more than 80 scholarly articles in several subfields of classical mathematical analysis. His distinguished contributions to the leading journals of pure and applied mathematics have generated international interest, initiating new fields of analysis as well as discovering new perspectives within older methods.      Lee Lorch has also been a strong supporter of peace, through organisations such as the Pugwash Conference and Science for Peace. Much of his work has been carried out in his role as Chair of the Canadian‑Cuban Friendship Association Toronto Section for many years. He has worked tirelessly to defend Cuba against the economic blockade and hostile propaganda campaign that have beset that island's Revolution since its earliest days. In 2003 he was awarded the Medal of Solidarity of the Cuban Institute for Friendship With the Peoples for his efforts on behalf of a country whose record of implementing equal opportunity represents those values for which Lee has struggled throughout his personal and professional life.      We wish to honour him for his exemplary accomplishments as he starts his 91st year, a year that promises to be another in which he works to make the world a better place for all. (Contents) (Home) What's behind the events in Basra? (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Kimball Cariou In a stunning turn of events, British troops destroyed a jail on Sept. 19 in the Iraqi city of Basra to free two undercover soldiers suspected of preparing to set off a bomb. Widely reported in the Arab world, but soon ignored in the North American media, the incident raises huge questions about the violence which has racked the country since the 2003 invasion and occupation.      The two undercover soldiers wearing traditional Arab headscarves were arrested after opening fire on Iraqi police who approached them sitting in an unmarked car.      "They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols," an official in Basra told the Reuters news agency.      Apparently, the men appeared suspicious to police, wary of car bombings and suicide attacks. After their capture, they refused to speak about their mission, saying they were British soldiers and that their commander should be asked about their mission.      Angry crowds threw rocks and gasoline bombs at British armoured vehicles after the shooting incident. One British soldier was engulfed in flames and hit by rocks as he scrambled out of a burning tank during the rioting.      Meanwhile, Iraqis with loudspeakers were driving through the streets demanding that the undercover soldiers remain in jail. Before the raid on the prison, Al Jazeera TV carried an interview with a member of the Iraqi National Assembly, who said that the undercover soldiers were driving a booby trapped Cressida car loaded with ammunition, to be exploded in the market in the centre of Basra.      One analyst who examined this story is Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Development in London, and a professor at the University of Sussex.      Ahmed notes that British military officials, including Brigadier John Lorimer, told BBC News (9/20/05) that the British Army had stormed an Iraqi police station to locate the detainees, and that Ministry of Defence sources confirmed that "British vehicles" had attempted to "maintain a cordon" outside the police station.      After breaking into the station in search of the men, British tanks then "staged a rescue from a house in Basra" and turned the men over to local militia, according to a commanding officer familiar with the operation. Both men, British defence sources told the BBC, were "members of the SAS elite special forces."      British defence sources told The Scotsman (9/20/05) that the soldiers were part of an "undercover special forces detachment" set up this year to "bridge the intelligence void in Basra, drawing on `special forces' experience in Northern Ireland and Aden, where British troops went `deep' undercover in local communities to try to break the code of silence against foreign forces."      These elite forces operate under the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, and were formed last year "to gather human intelligence during counter‑terrorist missions."      The question, notes Ahmed, is how does firing at Iraqi police while dressed as Arabs and carrying explosives constitute "countering terrorism" or even gathering "intelligence"?      He argues that "a glance at the Special Reconnaissance Regiment gives a more concrete idea of the operations these two British soldiers were involved in."      The Regiment is modelled on a plainclothes undercover unit that operated in Northern Ireland to gather intelligence covertly on suspect terrorists, with training by the SAS.      Most likely, he says, the two British SAS operatives were in Iraq to "penetrate the enemy and be the enemy," in order to "beat the enemy." Instead, however, "they ended up fomenting massive chaos and killing innocent people, a familiar pattern for critical students of the British role in the Northern Ireland conflict."      Ahmed's explanation, based on press reports from Pakistan, is that the US procured Pakistan‑manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket‑propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry, but not for the Iraqi security forces, which receive US-made arms. "Rather, the US is playing a double‑game to head off the threat of a Shiite clergy‑driven religious movement, in other words, to exacerbate the deterioration of security by penetrating, manipulating and arming the terrorist insurgency."      He notes that Iraq's most powerful Sunni Arab religious authority, the Association of Muslim Scholars, has condemned violence against Shiites as playing into the hands of the occupiers who want to split up the country and spark a sectarian war.      The case may well confirm suspicions that the US and British forces are using imperialism's traditional "divide and conquer" strategy to maintain their control over Iraq. If so, the people of that country will continue to pay a terrible price, and world demands that George Bush and Tony Blair be charged with war crimes will continue to mount. (Contents) (Home) What's Left (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) VANCOUVER, BC Fundraiser for Disappeared Children in El Salvador -  victoms of the army during the civil war, Sat., Oct. 1, doors open for supper at 5 pm, films at 6:30, at Unitarian Church, W. 49th & Oak. For info call Rosa, 604-874-0010, or Wilson, 604-732-5197. Mission Against Terror -  film on the Cuban 5, with co-directors Bernadette Dwyer and Roberto Ruiz Rebo, 2 pm, Sunday, Oct. 2,  SFU Harbour Centre, 555 W. Hastings. P3s Demystified -  free community workshops on "public-private partnerships", Wed., Oct. 5 (2-4 pm). For location and other details, call 604-681-7945. Sponsored by the BC Health Coalition, http://www.bchealthcoalition.ca. People's Co-op Bookstore -  60th Anniversary Celebration, 7 pm, Thursday, Oct. 6, WISE Hall, 1882 Adanac. Music and readings by Lydia Kwa, Anne Fleming, Bud Osborn and Karen X. Tulchinsky. For info, call 604-253-6442. Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority - book launch with co-authors Yves Engler and Anthony Fenton, 7:30 pm, Friday, Oct. 7, at VCC, 250 W. Pender St. Victor Jara Cultural-Solidarity Concert -  7 pm, Sat., Oct. 8, Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St. (49th & Ash). Featuring: Solidarity Notes Choir, Coral Fusion Latina, and musicians from the Chilean community. Tickets $10, call 604-460-0891 or 436-5599. Sponsored by Vancouver & District Labour Council, organized by Pena LatinoAmericana. StopWar.ca Film Night -  at Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St., 7 pm, Thursday Oct. 18, for details call 604-688-3456 or see http://www.StopWar.ca. Stop the Next War Now -  People's Co-op Books 60th anniversary event with co-founders of Code Pink peace group, 7:30 pm, Thursday, Oct. 20, Unitarian Church, 49th & Oak, call 604-253-6442 for information. WINNIPEG MB Communities Day Rally and March - part of CUPE Convention, 12 noon, Wed., Oct. 5, march from Winnipeg Convention Centre to Memorial Park. Mission Against Terror -  documentary on five Cubans imprisoned in the U.S. for fighting against terrorism. Fri, Oct. 7, 7 pm, Univ. of Winnipeg, Theatre B, Room 4M47. Info Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee, 783-9380. TORONTO, ON Celebration of Lee Lorch -  dinner and cultural presentation honouring his 90th year and his exemplary contributions to the world. Guest performer Faith Nolan. Doors open 7 pm, Sat., Oct. 15, Bloor Street United Church (300 Bloor St. West), tickets $30 (on Lee's request, proceeds go to People's Voice). For info, call Elizabeth at 417-654-7105. 60th Anniversary of Canada-Cuba Diplomatic Relations -  7 pm, Sat. Oct. 22, dinner, speakers, cultural program, at Fountain Dining Room, Queen Elizabeth Bldg., Exhibition Place. Auspices: Embassy of Cuba in Ottawa, Cuban Consulate in Toronto, Canadian Cuban Friendship Association, Free the Cuban Five Committee and Worker to Worker. Tickets: 416-410-8254, 905-951-8499(Sharon) or 416-534-5340 (Ardis) or info@ccfatoronto.ca. Rally Against Occupation of Palestine -  every Friday, 5-6 pm, picket at the Israeli Consulate at Avenue Road/Bloor West. Organized by Jewish Women Against the Occupation and Coalition for Just Peace in Palestine. REDS ON THE WEB http://www.communist-party.ca (Contents) (Home) The battle for the United Nations (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Guest editorial from the Guardian, weekly newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, Sept. 21, 2005 At every turn the triumvirate of George W. Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard pushes the terrorism envelope to further extremes. Prior to last week's summit at UN headquarters in New York, marking the world body's 60th anniversary, the Blair government announced the imposition of more anti-democratic laws in Britain. They include allowing authorities to hold suspects for up to three months without charge. The arrogance displayed by the three towards the world community continued at the World Summit. "We must send a message to the rulers of outlaw regimes that sponsor terror and pursue weapons of mass murder," Bush said in his address. "You must not be allowed to threaten the peace and stability of the world." John Howard received yet another reward for his obsequious role in the warmongers' alliance, chairing one of the four roundtable discussions at the summit. The threesome in fact wanted to hijack the world body, to line its members up in the phoney war against terrorism while the real war, the illegal one in Iraq that the international community opposed, continues on its bloody path. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan set out a series of actions at the summit, including making the UN Secretariat "more efficient, more effective and more accountable". The UN's ongoing mandate was reviewed and its budgetary and human resources rules re-assessed and reformed. An independent oversight audit committee will be set up after a full review of UN oversight and management is completed. "This is the way to restore the confidence of people everywhere in the Organisation's integrity and ability to deliver", Annan said. He cited last week's agreement to take collective action to protect civilians threatened by genocide and other crimes against humanity as "a hard-won revolution in international affairs" and sign that "we can find collective answers to common problems." Bush and his gang, though, aren't after reform - they want to destroy the world body set up 60 years ago to prevent conflicts and maintain the peace. A week before the World Summit the UN convened a meeting of non-governmental organisation, designed to give grassroots, civil society an input into the global gathering. Over 3000 NGOs were invited to participate in three days of plenary sessions, interactive workshops and roundtable discussions, making it the most participatory NGO session in UN history. The overall theme of the summit and NGO meeting was a five-year report card on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were agreed to in September 2000. The UN gave itself 15 years to achieve the goals, which take up the reduction of hunger and extreme poverty, universal access to primary education, gender equality, the reduction of infant and maternal mortality rates, the reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS, protection of the environment and the development of a partnership among all nations to achieve these goals. The organisation's annual Human Development Report says there has been some progress, including child life expectancy, an increase in children attending school and 130 million removed from extreme poverty. These achievements should not be underestimated, "nor should they be exaggerated", says the report. "In the midst of an increasingly prosperous global economy, 10.7 million children every year do not live to see their fifth birthday, and more than 1 billion people survive in abject poverty on less than $1 a day and live in countries where children die for want of a simple anti-mosquito bed net." The report notes that the world's richest 500 individuals have a combined income greater than that of the poorest 416 million people, and that 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a day. This is the inequality caused by capitalist greed - the inequality Bush and his cronies want to spread around the globe. At this historic summit it was the collective power of the world community that prevented Bush getting unequivocal support for his agenda: the collective power the biggest imperialist nation in history wants to undermine and strip away. (Contents) (Home) Bush dumps on post-Katrina workers (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined with labour leaders on Sept. 20 to urge Congress to overrule President Bush and reinstate wage guarantees for those rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. As part of reconstruction plans, Bush recently waived provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931  that require payment of prevailing wages on government contracts. Prevailing wages are based on surveys that take into account union and nonunion pay. "There is nothing meaner than kicking someone when they're down and unable to defend themselves," said Roger Tauss, vice president of the Transport Workers Union of America. Speaking at the union's convention in Las Vegas, Jackson said Bush was putting big business ahead of Katrina's victims. "Hurricanes are knocking down the powerless. Windfalls are lifting up the rich," Jackson said. He cited billion dollar, no-bid contracts for relief and recovery awarded to companies including Bechtel Corp. and a subsidiary of Halliburton Co. By allowing businesses with federal contracts to pay workers a lower wage, Bush is perpetuating the cycle of poverty in the South, Jackson said. "We know those who could get out did. Those who could not were left behind," Jackson said. "His very first act was to condemn them to poverty." AFL-CIO President John Sweeney accused the Bush administration of having a hidden agenda and said he would urge union members to contact Congress about the prevailing wage issue. "The president's administration, that was unprepared to respond to Hurricane Katrina, is moving at astonishing speed to use this crisis to push an anti-worker agenda it has been unable to move otherwise, said Sweeney. (Contents) (Home) Sony to cut jobs, shut factories (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Sony Corporation announced on Sept. 22 a new three-year corporate strategy that includes 4,000 job cuts in Japan and 6,000 overseas by the end of fiscal 2007. The move forces Sony workers to pay the cost of the company's recent profit decline. The company projects an operating loss of 20 billion yen (about $200 million Cdn.) and a net loss of $100 million Cdn for this fiscal year ending March 2006. Sony's last annual loss was in fiscal 1994. The costs of structural reforms will reach $1.4 billion Cdn, including early retirement payouts associated with personnel cuts. Fifteen "unprofitable" business areas will be closed or streamlined, and eleven of Sony's 65 manufacturing sites face shutdown. The new strategy will focus on games, electronics and the entertainment business, including movies and music. Resources will be concentrated in production of TVs, portable music players and digital cameras. Sony's television division, which has fallen behind rivals because of its slow move toward flat panel models, will concentrate on liquid crystal display and rear-projection models. Design facilities for flat-panel TVs and production centers for cathode ray tube TVs will be consolidated. (Contents) (Home) "Set the Cuban Five free now" (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By W.T. Whitney Jr., People's Weekly World Its momentum growing, a rejuvenated worldwide mobilization is pressuring the Bush administration to release five Cuban men held unjustly in U.S. jails. Millions are demanding that they be freed immediately. They are "kidnapped," Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon told interviewer Bernie Dwyer. "The abduction has to end - immediately, unconditionally," he said Sept. 5 in Havana. Jailed since Sept. 12, 1998, Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino and Rene Gonzalez learned Aug. 9 that a U.S. appeals court had reversed their convictions and sentences. The U.S. government had arrested and charged them with various crimes, including espionage in some cases, in connection with their efforts to monitor right-wing terrorist activity in the Miami area directed against Cuba. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals based its decision on the extreme bias evident at their trial resulting from its Miami location. Legal observers note that the court could have invalidated the trial on a number of other grounds, including a defense team deprived of necessary evidence. The Bush administration has put off for an extra month its announcement on any plans for appealing the recent decision, thus prolonging the Five's imprisonment. Alarcon said the Five waited over two years for their trial to begin, over three years for their appeal to be processed, and now face even more waiting. Paul McKenna, Gerardo Hernandez's lawyer, could have been speaking for all five victims: "My client now is innocent. He shouldn't be in prison. He should be out." The Cuban Parliament opened its current session Sept. 2 with a declaration to the world's people, parliaments and political organizations that called upon the U.S. government to release the five men immediately. In an Aug. 27 article, Alarcon imparts something of the urgency and intense determination with which his government views their current situation. "It is of no consequence to the U.S. government [that] a working group on arbitrary detention set up by the US Human Rights Commission declared the incarceration of the five men since September 1998 arbitrary and illegal," he writes. "The time has come to shout it from the rooftops, to go on demanding their immediate release until it happens. ... Nothing more. Nothing less." That message gained new force with the worldwide circulation of a petition demanding that all five prisoners go free. Nobel Prize recipients joined intellectuals and ordinary people to sign an open letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "For the past seven years, these five young men have been held in maximum security prisons; they have been held incommunicado in isolated cells for long periods of time and two of them have been denied the right to receive family visits." the letter states. "At this present time, considering the nullification of the sentence, nothing justifies their incarceration. This arbitrary situation which is extremely painful for them and their families cannot be allowed to continue." To sign the petition, visit http://www.petitiononline.com/5heroes/petition.html. (Contents) (Home) US Communists: defeating the far-right (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Darrell Rankin Delegates at the Communist Party USA's 28th convention, held over the July 1-3 weekend in Chicago, solidly re-affirmed the strategy of building the all-people's coalition against the far-right. In his opening address to 318 delegates and 124 guests, CPUSA  leader Sam Webb noted that the party was deeply engaged in the main struggles of the working class and people and in the fight to defeat Bush. Calling U.S. imperialism "the main danger to peace and social progress in the world today," Webb said "we (are in) a period of great peril," where the far right has used the "'war on terror' to win popular support, at least momentarily, for its project to reorder political and economic relations domestically and worldwide, in much the same way that anti-Sovietism and anti-Communism (was used) during the Cold War." According to the main political resolution, the new situation was prepared over many years: "Twenty-five years of right-wing dominance of the nation's political agenda has reached a qualitatively new level of reaction in the administration of George W. Bush. This administration represents the interests of the most reactionary section of U.S.-based transnational capital, especially in energy, finance and armaments." Webb noted that Bush had the initiative in the months after September 2001. But the voices of dissent have grown, "culminating in the millions who took part in the massive peace actions before and during the invasion of Iraq. These millions of protesters gave courage to the labour and people's movement to resume their opposition to Bush's policies, thus signalling that his honeymoon was over." "At no time was this more evident than last fall when a broad labour-led coalition battled Bush and the fraction of the ruling class he represents to nearly a standstill. And although we came up a little short on Election Day, so did Bush. While he won by a sliver, he was denied a popular mandate for his reactionary policies," said Webb. Webb's keynote dispelled criticisms aimed at the CPUSA's strategic orientation, which was reflected in its election tactic to support the broadest unity of forces against the far-right Bush administration. Noting that the Democrats have begun tentatively and reluctantly to act as an opposition party, Webb also said "on the bankruptcy bill, the estate tax, military appropriations, and the filibuster rule, the Democratic leadership showed little stomach for taking on Bush." Summarizing the present political situation, Webb said "Bush has no mandate, his walk has lost its swagger, his political bloc is fraying; the movement that opposed him in 2004 is regrouping, and the international situation isn't Bush-friendly. An immediate task is to continue the regroupment of the core constituencies of the all-people's coalition, namely the working class, the nationally and racially oppressed, women and youth." Webb agreed with the assessment of other left perspectives that it would be wrong now to "write off the Democrats," adding "that progressives and left thinking people should give their full support to expressions of political independence at every level, beginning with labour's political action forms and state formations like the Working Families Party." Webb said that would "lay the ground for the formation of an all-people's anti-corporate party whose task would be to curb monopoly power as a whole," "We can't allow our ideological mood and temper, or our occasional frustration springing from the grinding and defensive character of today's struggles, to pull us away from this strategic course," said Webb, adding "the best way to win advanced demands is to complete this stage of struggle." Many delegates participated in plenary discussions showing broad agreement with the keynote and draft documents, including on the goal of "Socialism USA." Delegates accomplished much at the convention, approving the main political resolution and a new Party program named "The Road to Socialism USA" and electing an 81-member National Committee. On the Party itself, Webb said "We participate in the meetings and conferences of a wide range of state and national organizations and coalitions, and are warmly welcomed. The People's Weekly World and Political Affairs are read by growing numbers of activists in key movements and struggles. At the same time, the overriding challenge to this convention is to reinvigorate our efforts to grow the Party and revitalize our clubs and district organizations." The growing people's movements in the U.S. for peace, equality and jobs, and confidence in the CPUSA's strategic orientation added to the optimism and spirit of the convention. The CPUSA's 28th convention reflected a Party growing with experience and creative Marxist thought, focused firmly against imperialism, and building the foundation for working class victory and socialism. (The CPC was represented by Darrell Rankin on behalf of the Central Executive Committee and Cheryl-Anne Carr, Chair of the CPC Aboriginal Peoples' Commission.) (Contents) (Home) Left Party-PDS analyses German elections (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) The Left Party-PDS International Department has issued the following analysis of the Sept. 18 German election: These elections were called by the German Federal President on the initiative of Chancellor Schroeder one year before the term of the red-green government was set to expire. Confronted with a dramatic fall in popularity and a long series of lost state elections because of his neo-liberal economic and social policies and his brutal dismantling of the German welfare state, the chancellor seized what he saw as his last chance for a mandate from the voters to stay in power. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens made their "reform" of the German economic and social systems the focal point of their campaign strategy, arguing that there was no alternative... The Conservative CDU/CSU and the liberal FDP answered with an even more neo-liberal program of economic and tax policies. Schroeder's initiative was a surprise attack on his political opponents, aimed at preventing them, by an extremely short election campaign, from unfolding alternative programs. It was especially aimed at the two formations of the German Left - the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) and the Election Alternative for Employment and Social Justice (WASG), the latter newly founded on the basis of last year's strong protest movement against Schroeder's policies. But in just three months the two organizations negotiated an agreement to cooperate and to avoid a situation in which each would prevent the other from breaking the five percent threshold needed to enter parliament. It was not possible, in the short time available, to implement the agreement of their leading bodies to merge into a united political party. The PDS changed its name to Left Party, with the suffix "PDS" and opened its candidate lists to representatives of the WASG and other personalities of the Left. The Left Party-PDS is the winner of these early elections. Under difficult conditions, with a new partner, opposed by all the other parties and large parts of the media, it reached its main goal - to enter parliament with its own group. The party more than doubled its vote of 4 percent in 2002. The 8.7 percent of the vote and 54 seats it received are an increase of 4.7 percent and 52 seats. The best news is that the cooperation with the WASG worked fully, creating a qualitatively new outcome that far exceeds the sum of the two organizations' expected separate results. It is very significant that it exceeded the 5 percent threshold in most of the country, including in 6 of the 10 states of Western Germany. In the Western states the party won 4.9 percent of the vote. The best results were achieved in the Saarland (Oskar Lafontaine's homeland) with 18.5 percent, Bremen with 8.3 percent and Hamburg with 6.3 percent. In the East the Left Party-PDS received 25.4 percent. Even in the states where it was participating in government, a highly controversial policy among its followers, the Left Party-PDS scored large increases: in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania 7.3 percent (to 23.7 percent altogether) and in Berlin 5 percent (to 16.4 percent altogether). The only two PDS deputies from 2002-2005, Petra Pau and Gesine Loetzsch, won again in their Berlin constituencies. The third direct mandate was taken by Gregor Gysi, also in Berlin. Thirty Left Party-PDS deputies were elected in the East, 24 in the West of the country. This election has changed political life in Germany. For the first time since the 1950s there is a nationwide political force to the left of the SPD. The Left Party-PDS will continue to fight against the dismantling of the German welfare state, the redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich, the sending of German troops into military action abroad. As Gregor Gysi stated at a press conference after the vote, the party will support neither the neo-liberal politics of Schroeder, nor those of Merkel. Party chair Lothar Bisky, speaking for the National Executive Board, proposed to the new parliamentary group that they elect Gregor Gysi and Oskar Lafontaine as their co-chairs. The Left Party-PDS did not achieve its goal of becoming the third largest force in the Bundestag and the strongest force in the East of the country, which had seemed possible, based on the first polls which expressed less the hard realities than the expectations of the people. The Left Party-PDS, the only one whose program includes many demands of trade unions and social and anti-globalization movements, will provide a strong voice in parliament of resistance to neo-liberalism and the militarization of foreign policy, thus increasing its impact. It will be supported by the actions of these movements, which are expected to develop and grow, given the announced plans of all the other Bundestag parties...  Left Party-PDS International Department, Berlin, Sept. 20, 2005 (Contents) (Home) Revealing look at lying US presidents  (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, by John W. Dean. New York: Warner Books, ISBN 0-316-00023-X. 281 pages. $19.95 Can. Reviewed by Steve Gilbert What could be worse than Watergate? No one is better qualified to answer this question than John W. Dean, who was Richard Nixon's legal counsel and one of the principal architects of the 1972 Watergate burglary. Dean subsequently confessed to obstruction of justice and spent four months in prison. Now an investment banker and sometime journalist living in Beverly Hills, he has previously authored two Watergate memoirs, Blind Ambition and Lost Honor. In Worse than Watergate, Dean argues that George W. Bush should be impeached because he lied to Congress about the reasons for going to war in Iraq. In a recent interview with Bill Moyers, Dean said: "There are many things worse than Watergate. Taking the nation to war in a time when it might not have had to go, and people dying... No one died for Nixon's so-called Watergate abuses. The evidence is overwhelming that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have engaged in deceit and deception over going to war in Iraq. Clearly, it is an impeachable offense." Dean lists many of Bush's original sources of information and shows how he misrepresented the facts. Bush's lies have fuelled a publishing bonanza of popular books such as Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell  Them, and David Corn's The Lies of George W. Bush. As of August 29, 2005, Google reported "about" 8,370,000 websites listed under the topic "Bush lies." Bush's lies have also been the subject of several scholarly studies. In 1999 James Pfiffner, a professor of political science at George Mason University, examined the history of presidential lying in an article published in Presidential Studies Quarterly. He concluded that "lying to foreign governments is often considered a necessary element of diplomacy," but that "presidential lying to citizens in a democracy should entail exceptional justification which typically would be related to national security." Dean reports that he worked through several hundred documented presidential lies without finding a single one which could be justified on grounds of national security. In 2004, the nonpartisan Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a study titled "WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications," which found that the reasons given for going to war in Iraq are based on fabrications: "Administration officials  systematically misrepresented the threat from Iraq's WMD and ballistic missile program, portrayed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as a single WMD threat; stated without evidence that Saddam Hussein gave WMD to terrorists, and consistently ignored caveats, probabilities, and expressions of uncertainty when making public statements, and misrepresented UN inspectors' findings in ways that turned threats from minor to dire." On Oct. 10, 2002, Congress authorized war with Iraq - but with an important caveat: the President must make a formal determination that the threat posed by Iraq could not be resolved by diplomatic means, and that his actions were a continuation of the war against the terrorists responsible for 9/11. In his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, 2003, Bush presented his case for invading Iraq. It was, writes Dean, "a moment of high deception; so egregious were Bush's misrepresentations that one can only conclude they were a calculated and deliberate effort to mislead Congress." In an appendix, Dean quotes eight alleged facts cited by Bush and refutes them on the basis of material available in the public record. He also demolished Colin Powell's February 4 speech to the United Nations, which consisted of "one false and misleading statement after another - a shocking performance." The crux of Dean's argument is that Bush did not comply with the Congressional requirement. Bush's so-called "formal determination" was based on alleged congressional findings which did not exist. It was simply a re-hash of his own previous statements, with no supporting facts. Dean describes it as "bovine droppings - closer to blatant fraud than to a fulfillment of the president's constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the law." How could Congress allow itself to be deceived? Dean cites the effect of post 9/11 shock and the widely held feeling that immediate action was necessary to prevent another terrorist attack on US soil, and the fact that most Americans were inclined to believe the president's word without question. Added to this was the prestige of Colin Powell and the effect of his presentation to the UN. If Nixon faced impeachment for lying to Congress, why can't Bush be impeached? The reason, according to Dean, is that under the control of the Republicans, "Congress has lost its institutional pride and could care less about its constitutional responsibilities. Rather than exercise oversight of the executive branch, as contemplated by the founders, the GOP Congress actually has been providing cover for a presidency that plays outside the law." Dean's book is a convincing indictment of the Bush administration's use of secrecy and lies to promote its own hidden agendas. Thoroughly researched, closely reasoned and eminently readable, it makes the best case to date for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. (Contents) (Home)  Huge peace rally in Washington   (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Initial reports from the Sept. 24 anti-war rally in Washington, DC, indicate that the protest was truly massive. Police said the turnout was over 100,000, and organizers estimated that by later in the day, as many as 300,000 had arrived. Participation was strong from trade unions, the Black community, and many other sectors. Speakers and performers included Cindy Sheehan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Jessica Lange, Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovics, and Joan Baez. To view photos and video of this historic event, check out Indymedia's Washington DC website. In other Sept. 24 actions, up to 50,000 rallied in San Francisco and 15,000 in Los Angeles. Over 100,000 marched in London, taking two hours to more into Hyde Park. Stop the War UK reports that "there was a wonderful mix of young people, pensioners, Woodcraft Folk, campaigners against climate change, for civil liberties - united in their demands above all for troops out of Iraq." The London march was led by Military Families Against the War. There were rallies and protests in about twenty cities and towns across Canada on Sept. 24, with the largest drawing close to 2,000 in Toronto. (Contents) (Home) U.S. peace movement at a turning point  (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) By Judith Le Blanc Over half of Americans now believe the U.S. war in Iraq is not worth the human and financial cost. Only 36 percent believe that maintaining current troop levels will ensure safety and stability in the country. It's a turning point moment for U.S. policy and the peace movement. How can the peace movement meet the challenge? Now is the time to build a massive, broad movement calling on Congress to set the date for removal of all U.S. troops and bases from Iraq. We must make the connection between the war in Iraq and the economic and social crisis at home, and build on the growing dissent among U.S. troops and their families and the unprecedented opposition to the war by organized labour. The peace movement must work at the grassroots to show that the ongoing occupation of Iraq is the biggest barrier to rebuilding America's cities, from the Gulf Coast to neighbourhoods across the nation. The Iraq war price tag surpasses $200 billion, While nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers have died, and thousands more are severely injured, veterans' hospitals are being closed. The Bush administration's racist indifference in the days following Hurricane Katrina has underscored to the entire world the president's distorted priorities. National Guard troops who should have been ready to respond to this natural disaster were in Iraq fighting a war based on lies. In a Sept. 15 Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, 60 percent of Americans said rebuilding the Gulf Coast should be a higher priority than "establishing democracy" in Iraq. The poll reported the top choice for paying for Gulf Coast recovery is cutting funds for the war. The shifting public opinion on the Iraq war is shown in the unprecedented criticism by military families and soldiers, most dramatically galvanized by Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan's quest to meet with Bush in Crawford, Texas. Working people increasingly see that the Iraq war is against their interests. Local union leaders and rank-and-file trade unionists formed U.S. Labor Against the War shortly before the war began and worked tirelessly over the last three years to pass antiwar resolutions in local unions, state federations and international unions. They organized a national tour of Iraqi trade unionists. This activity culminated in the passage of a historic antiwar resolution at the AFL-CIO's national convention in July. It is the first time the labour federation has ever passed a resolution opposing a U.S. war. The increasing opposition to the war in Iraq is no accident. It is the result of hard work by the peace movement, exposing the Bush administration lies, revealing the realities of war and giving voice to military families. Together with its member groups and allies, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) has organized some of the largest antiwar demonstrations in the country's history, as well as countless peace actions in small towns in every state. UFPJ has employed a multi-faceted approach, including lobbying, massive mobilizations, grassroots education, civil disobedience and coalition-building, to build the broadest movement possible to bring the troops home. The cumulative momentum of large national mass actions and local organizing efforts has spurred many national religious denominations, civil rights and other organizations to adopt antiwar resolutions. It has also created the political space for mainstream voices to come out against the war and for the emergence of an Out of Iraq Caucus in Congress. The Out of Iraq Caucus is just a beginning. Organizing must now use every possible way to channel the questioning of the Bush administration's priorities into the electoral arena, as nervous congresspersons worry about their re-election races a year from now. To end the war, we must build a bipartisan peace bloc in Congress that can set the date for troop withdrawal and force Bush and the Pentagon to end the occupation. We must redouble our efforts to draw in people of color, union members and unorganized people who are facing the daily effects of a system in deep crisis. We can end this war, but it will take a more dedicated and powerful peace movement, one that reaches out beyond its traditional constituents to the people most affected by the consequences of the war and the war budget. It is becoming clear to everyone that neither the U.S. nor Iraq is more secure while U.S. troops remain in Iraq. It is up to us to turn the growing opposition to Bush into a massive movement to set the date and bring the troops home now. Judith Le Blanc is a member of the Communist Party USA. She is also national co-chair of United for Peace and Justice, the largest U.S. peace  coalition.) (Contents) (Home) Victor Jara: A singer who died for peace and democracy (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) Special to PV Thirty-two years ago, on September 16, 1973, the legendary Chilean folk singer Victor Jara was executed at the National Stadium (Estado Chile) in Santiago, Chile, after enduring torture in the very stadium where he had performed dozens of times. Victor Jara's execution came five days after the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in the CIA-backed military coup that brought the dictator Augusto Pinochet to power. The recent declassification of key CIA and Nixon administration documents has shed new light on the U.S. role in the coup, which included economic pressure and the financing of acts of sabotage against the Allende government, and substantial funding from US multinationals such as ITT and Anaconda. The new military junta began arresting, torturing and killing those who dared to struggle for democracy in Chile. Victor Jara's voice was one of the strongest in that struggle. Sadly, the name of Victor Jara is still widely unknown in the United States. But to people throughout the Americas he is a legend. With his musical talent and great love for the people, he became one of the most influential musical figures of Chile and all of Latin America. His life was a reflection of his country, of the tumultuous times in which he lived, and of his personal philosophies. Victor Jara was born in 1932 in the small town of Lonquen, outside of Santiago. His father, Manuel, worked as a simple labourer while his mother, Amanda, performed many odd jobs to make money for the family. Manuel Jara had a drinking problem, and the home was often unhappy during the many fights when he used to hit Amanda. After some years of this  unhappiness, Manuel moved to the countryside to work as a farmer, and Amanda was left on her own to raise Victor and his brothers and sisters. She was an extremely hard worker, and in the words of Victor, her optimistic outlook gave strength to the family. Amanda was an extremely important part of Victor Jara's life. She sang and played the guitar, and taught Victor to play the guitar and the traditional folk songs of Chile. The time he spent with his mother had a great influence on Victor's musical style. Amanda had a great belief in the power of education, so when Victor finished high school he began studying accounting, but she died when Victor was only 15 years old. Saddened by her death, he left his accounting studies and entered a seminary, believing that the profession of a priest was the most important in the world. After two years, he became disenchanted with religion, and left to join the army for a few years, and then returned to Lonquen. With no job or prospects, he began to study the folk music of Chile with a group of friends. During this time he developed an interest in theatre, and began to study acting in the School of Theatre in the University of Chile. There he showed an inclination towards directing, and after his acting degree was completed, he entered the directing program, participating in countless theatre productions. He was also beginning to further sing and study folk music when he met Violeta Parra, an extremely talented singer and artist, an admirer of the traditional music and instruments of Chile, and the owner of a small cafe in Santiago. Victor began to help in this cafe, and soon began singing more and more. During this time he also became involved in politics. In 1966,  he made his first solo disk, the self-titled Victor Jara, and began to devote more time to music and political activities. Finally, in 1970, he left the life of the theatre to spend all of his time working for the people of Chile through his songs. The songs of Victor Jara are filled with his thoughts on the hard working people of small towns and villages. Many of his songs celebrate the lives of these people, and attack injustices in society or political scandals. Victor Jara is an essential part of the great Latin American musical movement known as "Nueva Canción" or New Song. This movement is linked with revolutionary activities, and the artists of Nueva Cancion share many common goals and thoughts. Victor Jara's political ideas were an extremely important part of his songs. Like many progressive singers of Latin America, he believed in the communist philosophy, because of its promises to better the lives of poor people. You can see the devotion of Victor Jara to his ideals most strongly in his support for the presidential campaign of Popular Unity candidate Salvador Allende in 1970. Allende also had a great love for the people of the small towns of Chile. Popular Unity had plans to improve education, and to supply increased housing and free socialized medical care. One of the concerts during the campaign was held in the National Stadium, where Victor Jara and other political artists sang in favour of Popular Unity. The campaign was a success, and Allende was elected president, after some political compromise and maneuvering. However, there was much opposition from the  right wing and the U.S. government. Eventually, the military organized its coup, during which Allende was killed. On the day of this tragedy, Victor Jara was at his job in the State Technical University, which was surrounded by the military. Taken prisoner, Victor was forced to live for five horrible days in cold and dirty prisons without proper food or water. But other prisoners testify that during these sufferings, he was only concerned with the welfare of his fellow prisoners. Finally, the military brought Victor Jara and other political prisoners to the national Stadium, where the concert for Allende had been held. There the military tortured and killed many people. They broke Victor Jara's hands so that he could not play his guitar, then taunted him to try and sing and play his songs. Even under these horrible tortures, Victor Jara magnificently sang a portion of Venceremos, the Popular Unity anthem. After this, he received many brutal blows, and finally was killed with a machine gun and carried to a mass grave. After his horrible death, Joan Jara, Victor's widow, was shown to his body. She was able to give him a proper funeral and burial, but had to leave the country in secret with tapes of Victor's music. Even today, the political and intensely human songs of Victor Jara are respected all over the world, and the ideals of Nueva Cancion remain extremely strong. The life of Victor Jara is a beautiful example of an intelligent and sincere singer who spoke strongly through his songs, which in turn are a testimony to his strength and positive view of life. (Victor Jara albums can be purchased on the internet, at http://www.delcanton.com, "a non-corporate activist-owned store which sells documentaries and music by artists whose creations are inspired by a desire for social justice and not by the market.") * * * * * La plegaria a un labrador (Public Prayer to a Worker) With its empathis on progressive and communist ideals, and its lyrics which echo the "Our Father," Victor Jara's song La plegaria a un labrador (Public Prayer to a Worker) won a prize at the first festival of New Song. Levantate y mira la montaña de donde viene el viento, el sol y el agua tu que manejas el curso de los rios tu que sembraste el vuelo de tu alma. Levantate y mirate las manos para crecer estrachala a tu hermano. Juntos iremos unidos en la sangre. Hoy es el tiempo que puede ser mañana. Libranos de aquel que nos domina en la miseria. Tràenos tu reino de justicia e igualdad. Sopla como el viento la flor de la quebrada. Limpia como el fuego el cañon de mi fusil. Hàgase por fin tu voluntad aquí en la tierra. Danos tu fuerza y to valor al combatir. Sopla como el viento la flor de la quebrada. Limpia como el fuego el cañon de mi fusil. Levantate y mirate las manos para crecer estrachala a tu hermano. Junto iremos unidos en la sangre ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte amen, amen, amen. Stand up, look at the mountains source of the wind, the sun, the water. You who change the course of rivers, who, with the seed, sow the flight of your soul, Stand up, look at your hands, Give your hand to your brother so you can grow. We'll go together, united by blood, Today is the day we can make the future. Deliver us from the master who keeps us in misery. Thy kingdom of justice and equality come. Blow, like the wind blows the wild flowers of the mountain pass. Clean the barrel of my gun like fire. Stand up, look at your hands, Give your hand to your brother so you can grow. We'll go together, united by blood, Now and in the hour of our death. Amen, amen, amen. (Contents) (Home) Venezuela proposes: move UN to the South (The following article is from the October 1-16/2005 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, 706  Clark Drive, Vancouver, Canada, V5L 3J1.) From the speech by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the UN General Assembly, Sept. 15, 2005 The original purpose of this meeting has been completely distorted. The imposed center of debate has been a so-called reform process that overshadows the most urgent issues, what the peoples of the world claim with urgency: the adoption of measures that deal with the real problems that block and sabotage the efforts made by our countries for real development and life. Five years after the Millennium Summit, the harsh reality is that the great majority of estimated goals - which were very modest indeed - will not be met. We pretended (intended?) reducing by half the 842 million hungry people by the year 2015. At the current rate that goal will be achieved by the year 2215. Who in this audience will be there to celebrate it? That is only if the human race is able to survive the destruction that threatens our natural environment. We had claimed the aspiration of achieving universal primary education by the year 2015. At the current rate that goal will be reached after the year 2100... We could, on the basis of national realities, exchange knowledge, integrate markets, interconnect, but at the same time we must understand that there are problems that do not have a national solution: radioactive clouds, world oil prices, diseases, warming of the planet or the hole in the ozone layer. These are not domestic problems. As we stride toward a new United Nations model that includes all of us when they talk about the people, we are bringing four indispensable and urgent reform proposals to this Assembly.  First: the expansion of the Security Council in its permanent categories as well as the non-permanent categories, thus allowing new developed and developing countries as new permanent and non-permanent categories. Second: we need to assure the necessary improvement of the work methodology in order to increase transparency, not to diminish it. Third: we need to immediately suppress the veto in the decisions taken by the Security Council; that elitist trace is incompatible with democracy, incompatible with the principles of equality and democracy. And fourth: we need to strengthen the role of the Secretary General; his/her political functions regarding preventive diplomacy, that role must be consolidated... At the Porto Alegre World Social Forum last January different personalities asked for the United Nations to move outside the United States if the repeated violations to international rule of law continue. Today we know that there were never any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... There were never any weapons of mass destruction; however, Iraq was bombed, occupied and it is still occupied. All this happened over the United Nations. That is why we propose to this Assembly that the United Nations should leave a country that does not respect the resolutions taken by this same Assembly. Some proposals have pointed to Jerusalem as an international city, as an alternative. The proposal is generous enough to propose an answer to the current conflict affecting Palestine. Nonetheless, it may have some characteristics that could make it very difficult to become a reality. That is why we are bringing a proposal made by Simon Bolivar, the great Liberator of the South, in 1815. Bolivar proposed then the creation of an international city that would host the idea of unity. We believe it is time to think about the creation of an international city with its own sovereignty, with its own strength and morality to represent all nations of the world. Such international city has to balance five centuries of unbalance. The headquarters of the United Nations must be in the South. Ladies and gentlemen, we are facing an unprecedented energy crisis in which an unstoppable increase of energy is perilously reaching record highs, as well as the incapacity of increased oil supply and the perspective of a decline in the proven reserves of fuel worldwide. Oil is starting to become exhausted. For the year 2020 the daily demand for oil will be 120 million barrels. Such demand, even without counting future increments, would consume in 20 years what humanity has used up to now. This means that more carbon dioxide will inevitably be increased, thus warming our planet even more. Hurricane Katrina has been a painful example of the cost of ignoring such realities. The warming of the oceans is the fundamental factor behind the demolishing increase in the strength of the hurricanes we have witnessed in the last years. Let this occasion be an outlet to send our deepest condolences to the people of the United States. Their people are brothers and sisters of all of us in the Americas and the rest of the world. It is impracticed and unethical to sacrifice the human race by (applying) in an insane manner the validity of a socioeconomic model that has a galloping destructive capacity. It would be suicidal to spread it and impose it as an infallible remedy for the evils which are caused precisely by them. Not too long ago the President of the United States went to an Organization of American States' meeting to propose (that) Latin America and the Caribbean increase market-oriented policies, open market policies - that is, neoliberalism - when it is precisely the fundamental cause of the great evils and the great tragedies currently suffered by our people: neoliberal capitalism, the Washington Consensus. All this has generated is a high degree of misery, inequality and infinite tragedy for all the peoples on this continent. What we need now more than ever is a new international order. Let us (remember) the United Nations General Assembly in its sixth extraordinary session in 1974, thirty-one years ago, where a new International Economic Order action plan was adopted, as well as the States Economic Rights and Duties Character by an overwhelming majority, 120 votes for the motion, 6 against and 10 abstentions. This was the period when voting was possible at the United Nations. Now it is impossible to vote... Now more than ever we need to retake ideas that were left on the road, such as the proposal approved at this Assembly in 1974 regarding a New Economic International Order. Article 2 of that text confirms the right of states to nationalize the property and natural resources that belonged to foreign investors. It also proposed to create cartels of raw material producers. In the Resolution 3021, May 1974, the Assembly expressed its will to work with utmost urgency in the creation of a new Economic International Order based on "the equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and cooperation among all states regardless of their economic and social systems, correcting the inequalities and repairing the injustices among developed and developing countries, thus assuring (for) present and future generations, peace, justice and a social and economic development that grows at a sustainable rate." The main goal of the New Economic International Order was to modify the old economic order conceived at Breton Woods. We the people now claim - this is the case of Venezuela - a new international economic order. But a new international political order is also urgent. Let us not permit that a few countries try to reinterpret the principles of International Law in order to impose new doctrines such as "pre-emptive warfare."Oh, do they threaten us with that pre-emptive war? And what about the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine? We need to ask ourselves: Who is going to protect us? How are they going to protect us? I believe one of the countries that require protection is precisely the United States. That was shown painfully with the tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina; they do not have a government that protects them from natural disasters, if we are going to talk about protecting each other. These are very dangerous  concepts that shape imperialism, interventionism, as they try to legalize the violation of the national sovereignty. The full respect towards the principles of International Law and the United Nations Charter must be, Mr. President, the keystone for international relations in today's world and the base for the new order we are currently proposing.   (Contents) (Home)

   

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