[PEN-L:1205] Trade Treaties Threaten Local Democracy
Trade Treaties Threaten Local Democracy Robert Naiman Sunday Journal (suburban DC) August 23, 1998 These days, most people are aware that many government policies are more likely to benefit big corporations than the little guy. But convincing most people they could do something about it is hard. Most people think that theres not much they can do to change government policies, and their pessimism has some basis -- its harder for ordinary people to change government policies than it should be. The bigger the issue seems, the more pessimistic people are, and there is arguably no concern that people are more pessimistic about than reforming U.S. foreign policy, which most people are aware is generally harmful to people in other countries and has bad effects on Americans as well. After all, barely half the electorate think the differences between the major parties Presidential candidates justify even bothering to vote. If "you cant fight City Hall," as many people believe, how are ordinary people going to have any impact on U.S. foreign policy? Still, its not as hard to have an impact on government policies as many people believe, even U.S. foreign policy. Folks are always coming up with ways to break through the corporate-military complex that dominates the government. For example, movements around the country have sprung up to penalize corporations that prop up regimes that are gross violators of human rights. Students around the country testified at university trustees meetings and built shantytowns to protest the abuses of South Africas apartheid regime and demand that universities divest themselves of holdings in corporations which bolstered that regime. Of course it was the determined resistance of the South African people which broke apartheid, but the campaign for sanctions against South Africa certainly hastened apartheids demise by convincing South African elites that they would never again have normal economic relations with the rest of the world so long as apartheid remained in place. A key element of the sanctions campaign against South Africa was the adoption by state governments of "selective purchasing" laws, barring the states from making purchases from companies doing business in South Africa. The prospect of losing lucrative state contracts helped convince many companies to stop doing business with the apartheid regime. Its worth remembering that the state and local sanctions against South Africa were passed at a time during which the federal government -- under the Reagan Administration -- was promoting "constructive engagement," a policy opposed to sanctions. It is therefore not surprising that the state sanctions that were so effective in hastening the end of the apartheid regime are now under attack by the Clinton Administration and the big corporations. The latest battleground is Massachusetts, which has a law barring state contracts with companies doing business with the ruling junta in Burma/Myanmar, generally acknowledged to be a gross abuser of human rights. Apparently European and Japanese corporations in particular take a dim view of state policies that punish corporations for coddling dictators. You might wonder why the good citizens of Massachusetts should be overly concerned about causing disquiet in the boardrooms of greedy foreign corporations, but it turns out that the Clinton Administration, in its ongoing campaign to appease big corporations, negotiated a provision in the World Trade Organization agreement which sharply restricts the ability of state governments to implement sanctions against these companies. As you can imagine, not too many people in Massachusetts were aware that the Clinton Administration had given away their sovereign democratic right to decide what sorts of corporations the state of Massachusetts should do business with. And when they found out, many of them were more than a little irritated. As a result, Representative Dennis Kucinich [D-OH] recently proposed legislation that would have barred the federal government from spending any tax dollars to overturn state laws on the grounds that they contradict provisions of international trade agreements. The Administration lobbied hard against the amendment, in part because it threatened a key goal of the Administration -- the negotiation of a new treaty called the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. This far-reaching agreements would further undermine the democratic rights of the citizens of Massachusetts, and every other state. The Clinton Administration won this battle, but it is losing the war. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its hard for people to understand why U.S. foreign policy still has to be based on coddling bloodthirsty dictators. --- Robert Naiman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Preamble Center for Public Policy 1737 21st NW Washington, DC 20009 phone: 202-265-3263 fax: 202-265-364
[PEN-L:1202] intl sign-on against the IMF quota increase
--- On Tue, 25 Aug 1998 07:19:21 -0400 (EDT) Robert Weissman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Essential Action is joining with Walden Bello of Focus on the Global South and a number of other groups throughout the world to circulate the following letter to the U.S. Congress. It urges no increase in the size, power or funding of the IMF. The letter is open to signatures from groups or individuals, in the United States and especially outside of the USA. If you would like to sign, please send an e-mail message to Robert Naiman of the Preamble Center for Public Policy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Also, please circulate this note and the letter to other appropriate organizations and lists. We have a good chance of defeating the proposed quota increase in the U.S. Congress. It is important that Members of Congress understand this letter's message that the IMF hurts not helps the world's poor people. Robert Weissman Essential Information | Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To: Members of the United States Congress Re: Why we Oppose the IMF Quota Increase The undersigned organizations and individuals from around the world are opposed to any increase in the size, power, or funding of the International Monetary Fund [IMF], and in particular are opposed to any increase in the quota of member countries. The disastrous impact of IMF-imposed policies on workers rights, environmental protection, and economic growth and development; the crushing debt repayment burden of poor countries as a result of IMF policies; and the continuing secrecy of IMF operations provide ample justification for denying increased funding to the IMF. Economic Growth and Development: The IMFs overwhelming preference for high interest rates and fiscal austerity, even in the absence of any economic justification, has caused unnecessary recessions, reduced growth, hindered economic development, and increased poverty throughout the world. There is now a consensus among economists that the IMFs recent intervention in the Asian financial crisis actually worsened its impact. Many believe that the Fund bears the primary responsibility for turning the financial crisis into a major regional depression, with tens of millions of people being thrown into poverty and no end in sight. Labor: IMF policies undermine the livelihood of working families. IMF policies have mandated mass layoffs by companies and changes in labor law to facilitate or encourage mass layoffs, as happened recently in South Korea. IMF policies regularly force countries to lower wages, or often undermine efforts by governments to raise wages-- as, for example, in Haiti in recent years. Environment: IMF policies encourage and frequently require the lowering of environmental standards and the reckless exploitation of natural resources in debtor countries. The export of natural resources to earn hard currency to pay foreign debts under IMF mandates damages the environment while providing no benefit to poor and working people in debtor countries. Debt: IMF and World Bank policies have forced poor countries to make foreign debt service a higher priority than basic human needs. The World Bank claims that it is "sustainable" for countries like Mozambique to pay a quarter of their export earnings on debt service. Yet after World War II, Germany was not required to pay more than 3.5% of its export earnings on debt service. Poor countries today need a ceiling on debt service similar to the one Germany had. According to UN statistics, if Mozambique were allowed to spend half of the money on health care and education which it is now spending on debt service, it would save the lives of 100,000 children per year. Openness of IMF operations: IMF policies which affect the lives of a billion people are negotiated in secret, with key conditions not released to the public. The people who bear the burden of these policies often do not even have access to the agreements which have been negotiated. The policies of the IMF have undermined the ability of developing countries to provide for the needs of their own peoples. Such an institution should not be expanded. Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. Sincerely, Walden Bello, Co-director, Focus on the Global South, Bangkok; Professor of Sociology and Public Administration, University of the Philippines Carlos Heredia, Congressman, Mexico Dennis Brutus, Jubilee 2000 Africa Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Friends of the Earth 50 Years Is Enough Network Institute for Food and Development Policy -- Food First FoodFirst Information and Action Network -- USA Center for Orang Asli Concerns, Malaysia Development Group for Alternative Policies Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Essential Action United Church of Christ Network for Environmental and Economic Responsibility WorldWise Campaign for Foo
[PEN-L:1197] Re: Re: Congo?
> Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 06:05:52 -0500 (CDT) > Patrick, where is all that expensive modern hardware coming from? > Is sub-Saharan Africa about to host a surrogate world war? >valis > For hints of an answer let's check one of the nearest rational sources of information, from Lusaka, the Post of Zambia (21 August 1998): Profit motive (Editorial Comment) Lusaka - Not surprisingly, President Frederick Chiluba and his government have failed to find the words to defend military intervention in support of the embattled Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila and have remained mute well over 48 hours after its ill-advised decision to intervene became public. It is now attempting to use its propaganda media to purvey a slanted version of the supposed Banyamulenge's reaction to the fulmination from Harare. But for the record, the Banyamulenge never said they were prepared to negotiate with Kabila unconditionally but only that they would talk if Kabila recognised the gravity of the situation. They do not seem unduly cowed by the sabre-rattling from Harare. The intervention in support of Kabila is a singularly senseless undertaking for which there can be no justification. Many of those who are lining up behind Kabila are beset by serious domestic problems of their own for which they need a distraction and none of them appear to have consulted or have the support of their people. They are acting largely ultra-vires and with the profit motive uppermost . Their interest is to make money from their munitions industries by selling large quantities of small arms to Kabila. Zambia has no such industry and only indivi-duals in government stand to benefit by being middlemen or by pretending that the arms are destined for Zambia and then passing them over to Kabila for a fee. This is the only explanation for what is going on. For the bottom line in this matter is that it is the Congolese who have taken up arms against Kabila. Who are the Zambians or anyone else for that matter to insist that he should remain leader when the Congolese themselves want him out? In any case what leverage has Zambia got to ensure that Kabila stays in power? The whole support for Kabila is based on the amount of money to be made from the conflict by governments and individuals within the governments. Otherwise Zambia can hardly help Kabila. Its defence force has never really been tested in battle and less than a year ago, Chiluba, by his own account, had himself to be saved by God's divine intervention from a section of the army that wanted him out. Is this the same force that Chiluba expects to go through fire and hell to save his friend, Kabila? How reasonable can the expectation be? This is a clear case of unwarranted and naked interference in the internal affairs of Congo. All things considered, Zambia simply comes through as hell-bent to meddle in Congolese affairs even though she effectively lacks the capacity to maintain Kabila in power. Money is behind it all. For it cannot be Zambia's business to decide who should be the leaders of neighbouring countries. It is a matter for the citizens of those countries to decide. SADC seems to have lost direction largely because it has been perverted to accommodate the business interests of some member countries and individual leaders. Otherwise the situation is very clear. Congo is for the Congolese and they should be left to decide on their national affairs without interference. If there is perceived interference from some other quarters, wholesale interference cannot surely be the answer to the problem. SADC does have a role to play but it is not to intervene militarily because it is not in any case a military alliance. It should help find a political solution to the Congolese situation, one that will ensure lasting peace in that country. Imposing Kabila by military means, no matter the large quantities of arms he may buy from those supporting him, will not bring that about .
[PEN-L:1204] Re: From the rectum
Wonderful posts like Rob's make pen-l a joy for me. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:1200] Re: "Nail Willy"
>From the subject line I thought this was about Slick Willy. And I was
surprised that Jim Craven had turned against the Democrats!
Gene Coyle
>With all the weeping children, press coverage and proposed
>expenditures of millions of dollars associated with the moving of
>Keiko the Whale (aka "Free Willy") to Iceland, perhaps another more
>efficient and sort of win-win solution (except for Willy) might be
>proposed: Do (Kill) Willy on Pay-per-View.
>
>1) Willy could be killed on film through traditional harpooning
>practices thus making a sort of training film thus eliminating the
>need to do other whales to teach the techniques to the young and thus the
>middle-class Greens get to see many other whales saved in return for
>only one being sacrificed;
>
>2) Some of the pay-per-view revenues could be used to fund cultural
>and other programs for Indigenous Peoples;
>
>3) This would save considerable expenses associated with the
>transportation and acclimation of Willy to Iceland;
>
>4) Non-Indigenous children could be gathered around the pool and, in
>addition to cultural-sensitivity training through interacting with
>Indigenous children, be given hands-on experience in harpooning which may
>become a scarce but
>in demand skill if the big whaling nations get their way with their
>considerable influence in the UN;
>
>5) Willy would be an easier target swimming around in that closed
>pool and thus save considerable expenses associated with dicey open
>sea chases;
>
>6) Residuals, spin-off series, toys etc could yield big bucks some of
>which could be invested in R&D and science to save whales in general;
>sort of Willy's individual sacrifice to save whales in general--humans do
>it all
>the time;
>
>7) Would boost re-issue and big ratings for the original "Free Willy"
>movies and in addition, teach children a valuable lesson: when it
>comes to profits and ratings, NOTHING is sacred;
>
>8) All the weeping, moaning and sensitive Greens who love animals but
>just hate and are prepared to kill people (e.g. ALF types) would have
>a real donation-boosting cause and could be given a "con slot" on the "pro and
>con" portion of the event that could boost ratings;
>
>9) Willy has had a movie star existence--far better than the average
>whale--and since his marginal revenue product would drop considerably
>living in Iceland, why not save a less-fortunate whale by doing Willy
>who has had it good and needs to start paying back for all that he
>has received;
>
>10) All sorts of people who have never tasted whale meat could try it, perhaps
>even a celebrity auction for charity of the parts could be done
>live;
>
>I think its a win-win and on pay-per-view, a 40-share and some big
>bucks for sure.
>
>Jim Craven
>
> James Craven
> Dept. of Economics,Clark College
> 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863
>---
>---
>"The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their
>land and
>property shall never be taken from them without their consent."
>(Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789)
>
>"...but this letter being unofficial and private, I may with safety give
>you a more
> extensive view of our policy respecting the Indians, that you may better
>comprehend
>the parts dealt to to you in detail through the official channel, and
>observing the
>system of which they make a part, conduct yourself in unison with it in
>cases where
>you are obliged to act without instruction...When they withdraw themselves
>to the
>culture of a small piece of land, they will perceive how useless to them
>are their
>extensive forests, and will be willing to pare them off from time to time
>in exchange
>for necessaries for their farms and families. To promote this disposition
>to exchange
>lands, which they have to spare and we want, for necessaries which we have
>to spare
>and they want,we shall push our trading houses, and be glad to see the
>good and
>influencial individuals among them run in debt, because we observe that
>when these
>debts get beyond what the individuals can pay, they become willing to lop
>them off
>by cession of lands...In this way our settlements will gradually
>circumscribe and
>approach the Indians, and they will in time either incorporate with us as
>citizens
>of the United States, or remove beyond the Mississippi.The former is
>certainly the
>termination of their history most happy for themselves; but, in the whole
>course
>of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As to their fear, we
>presume that
>our strength and their weakness is now so visible that they must see we
>have only to
>shut our hand to crush them..."
>(Classified Letter of President Thomas Jefferson ("libertarian"--for
>propertied white
>people) to William Henry Harrison, Feb. 27, 1803)
>
>*My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opi
[PEN-L:1199] Re: Corporate crime
See Stephen M Rosoff,Henry Pontell, and Robert Tillman, "Profit Without Honor: White Collar Crime and the Looting of America" (Prentice Hall, 1998. This is a study in textbook form; ch.1 includes a rough estimate that costs of white collar/corp crime are at least $250 billion a year. Covers consumer fraud, envrionmental stuff, insurance fruad, medical crime, etc, etc. Also, older but good source is Russell Mokhiber's Corporate Crime and Violence (1987). That includes many case studies and a useful, detailed 50 point plan to contain and aggressively prosectue corporate crime. He is editor of Corporate Crime Report out of Washington. Thad > From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Aug 25 10:07:12 1998 > From: michael perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [PEN-L:1185] Corporate crime > References: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.2.06 -- ListProc(tm) by CREN > > Does anybody know of a good, quick overview of the costs and consequences of > corporate crime? > > -- > Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > Chico, CA 95929 > > Tel. 916-898-5321 > E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:1196] Barkley Bonds
> Besides pan-Islamic anti-colonialism (with an emphasis >on the US) and anti-Zionism, the ideology of Osama bin >Laden . . . I'm starting a syndicate to sponsor Barkley to go on Jeopardy. We'll securitize him and sell bonds against his winnings, which I am certain will be huge. MBS
[PEN-L:1198] "Nail Willy"
With all the weeping children, press coverage and proposed
expenditures of millions of dollars associated with the moving of
Keiko the Whale (aka "Free Willy") to Iceland, perhaps another more
efficient and sort of win-win solution (except for Willy) might be
proposed: Do (Kill) Willy on Pay-per-View.
1) Willy could be killed on film through traditional harpooning
practices thus making a sort of training film thus eliminating the
need to do other whales to teach the techniques to the young and thus the
middle-class Greens get to see many other whales saved in return for
only one being sacrificed;
2) Some of the pay-per-view revenues could be used to fund cultural
and other programs for Indigenous Peoples;
3) This would save considerable expenses associated with the
transportation and acclimation of Willy to Iceland;
4) Non-Indigenous children could be gathered around the pool and, in
addition to cultural-sensitivity training through interacting with
Indigenous children, be given hands-on experience in harpooning which may become a
scarce but
in demand skill if the big whaling nations get their way with their
considerable influence in the UN;
5) Willy would be an easier target swimming around in that closed
pool and thus save considerable expenses associated with dicey open
sea chases;
6) Residuals, spin-off series, toys etc could yield big bucks some of
which could be invested in R&D and science to save whales in general;
sort of Willy's individual sacrifice to save whales in general--humans do it all
the time;
7) Would boost re-issue and big ratings for the original "Free Willy"
movies and in addition, teach children a valuable lesson: when it
comes to profits and ratings, NOTHING is sacred;
8) All the weeping, moaning and sensitive Greens who love animals but
just hate and are prepared to kill people (e.g. ALF types) would have
a real donation-boosting cause and could be given a "con slot" on the "pro and
con" portion of the event that could boost ratings;
9) Willy has had a movie star existence--far better than the average
whale--and since his marginal revenue product would drop considerably
living in Iceland, why not save a less-fortunate whale by doing Willy
who has had it good and needs to start paying back for all that he
has received;
10) All sorts of people who have never tasted whale meat could try it, perhaps
even a celebrity auction for charity of the parts could be done
live;
I think its a win-win and on pay-per-view, a 40-share and some big
bucks for sure.
Jim Craven
James Craven
Dept. of Economics,Clark College
1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863
--
"The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and
property shall never be taken from them without their consent."
(Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789)
"...but this letter being unofficial and private, I may with safety give you a more
extensive view of our policy respecting the Indians, that you may better comprehend
the parts dealt to to you in detail through the official channel, and observing the
system of which they make a part, conduct yourself in unison with it in cases where
you are obliged to act without instruction...When they withdraw themselves to the
culture of a small piece of land, they will perceive how useless to them are their
extensive forests, and will be willing to pare them off from time to time in exchange
for necessaries for their farms and families. To promote this disposition to exchange
lands, which they have to spare and we want, for necessaries which we have to spare
and they want,we shall push our trading houses, and be glad to see the good and
influencial individuals among them run in debt, because we observe that when these
debts get beyond what the individuals can pay, they become willing to lop them off
by cession of lands...In this way our settlements will gradually circumscribe and
approach the Indians, and they will in time either incorporate with us as citizens
of the United States, or remove beyond the Mississippi.The former is certainly the
termination of their history most happy for themselves; but, in the whole course
of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As to their fear, we presume that
our strength and their weakness is now so visible that they must see we have only to
shut our hand to crush them..."
(Classified Letter of President Thomas Jefferson ("libertarian"--for propertied white
people) to William Henry Harrison, Feb. 27, 1803)
*My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion*
[PEN-L:1195] Re: Re: Re: Real Islam or not, etc?
Wojtek, Hmmm, a few observations. You may be right that, for example, in Germany the religious division between Protestants and Catholics left over from the Thirty Years War meant that the nationalist anti-Semitism took on a racist rather than religious theme. But things are hardly simple in the Islamic world, although there is certainly the potential for a holistic "totalizing" ideology based on pan-Islam. But there are divisions within Islam, most notably between the Sunnis and the Shi'is. Thus, in Pakistan there have been efforts to establish a Shari'a-based law code. But this has been hampered by ongoing arguments between Sunnis and Shi'is over aspects on which they differ. Arguably the Shi'is, whose Shari'as tend to be both looser and more subject to modern revision, are the more totalistic in that they have a tradition of outright theocratic rule as we see in Iran. The Sunnis have traditionally preferred to have the Head of State be a secular figure, a king, a president, an emperor, whatever, however subject to obeying a Shari'a, with the judiciary being under the control of the religious hierarchy, as in KSA. There is a long tradition of there being a single political/religious leader of the Islamic umma (global community), the Caliph. The last Caliphs were the Ottoman emperors and the Caliphate was abolished by Kemal Attaturk in the 1920s. Traditionally the Caliph has had political control of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina (and often al-Quds (Jerusalem) as well). Thus, the Sa'udi monarchs could claim the Caliphate, but have not done so, merely calling themselves the "Protectors of the Holy Cities." It is true that nationalism has been weaker in the Islamic world than in Europe, but it is hardly dead. Egypt and Iran are obvious cases of ancient nations that have reasserted their identities. "Arab nationalism" is now on the skids in comparison with Islamic fundamentalism, but has long been a powerful movement in the Arab part of the Islamic world (note: the largest Muslim nations are not Arab, e.g. Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan). This movement ironically began in the 1870s among Arab Christians at the American University in Beirut. It spread as secular Turkish nationalism became powerful under the Young Turks in the first decade of the twentieth century, who were still ruling the multinational Islamic Ottoman Empire. A flash point came over headgear, when the Turks ruled that only fezzes would be allowed. In 1913 Turkish police gunned down many demonstraters in Beirut who were protesting this law. One of those observing this incident was Faisal ibn Hussein al-Hashem, son of the Hashemite Sharif of Mecca, local ruler for the Ottomans (the Najd in central Arabia was not under Turkish rule, but independent Sa'udi rule). Faisal convinced his father to support the Arab nationalist revolt against the Turks and support the British in WW I. Lawrence of Arabia was their contact and Alec Guinness played Faisal in the movie. Faisal would later become King of Iraq. His father became the King of Hejaz after the war, only to be thrown out by the Sa'udis who stormed out of the desert accusing the Hashemites of corruption. BTW, there are only four Muslim nations that succeeded in avoiding outright foreign rule during the period of European colonialism: Turkey (a colonial power in its own right, arguably), Iran, Afghanistan, and Sa'udi Arabia. Barkley Rosser On Tue, 25 Aug 1998 12:15:26 -0400 Wojtek Sokolowski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 11:24 PM 8/24/98 -0400, boddhisatva wrote: > > I think you are on the right track although I would say that Islamic > >fundamentalism as such is not the problem. Clearly there are people who are > >wholly devoted to Islam who would not engage in fascistic behavior. I do > >think that Islam has become the totalizing philosophy of fascistic movements. > >This makes sense in that nationalism (what we think of as the typical > >totalizing philosophy of fascism) is not quite so relevant in places where > >national identity has been undermined by colonialism. > > > True, but nationalism (in the European sense of the world) was never a > driving force in the Islamic world to begin with. Remember that Islam has > always been a sort of totalizing religion of essentially tribal people who > embarked on a very expansionistic course and eventually uverrun many > national entities. > > If we draw paralleles with Europe, Christianity was a totalizing religion > (albeit in a different geopolitical context, about which later) during the > middle ages, Rome always struggling with local power centers for control. > With the Reformation, the local centers eventually won (which has probably > something to do with the ascent of colonialism and the world system). That > gave birth to nationalism: the consolidation of power by 'intermediate' > power centers that both gained
[PEN-L:1190] Two new films on Chile
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 13:37:30 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Jennifer Houlihan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Two Films on Chile Dear Louis Proyect, I am writing to ask if you would consider posting the following press release to the [EMAIL PROTECTED] list, and any other listservs you think would be appropriate. I believe this will be of interest to your readers. Thank you for your consideration. Jennifer Houlihan --- To mark the 25th anniversary (September 11th) of the right-wing coup which toppled Salvador Allendes democratically elected Marxist government in 1973, First Run / Icarus Films (http://www.echonyc.com/~frif/) is proud to announce the US theatrical premier of CHILE, OBSTINATE MEMORY by Patricio Guzmán, along with Part 2 of his landmark work, THE BATTLE OF CHILE. The two-film program will play at the FILM FORUM (http://www.filmforum.com) in New York City, running from September 9 - 22, and at FACETS CINEMATEQUE (http://www.facets.org) in Chicago from September 11-17. Guzmán recorded events leading up to the coup in his epic, 3-part THE BATTLE OF CHILE. Part 2: The Coup dEtat documents the three months leading directly to the coup. It shows a left divided over strategy, while the right lays the groundwork for a military seizure of power. Dramatic concluding sequences document the actual coup, including Allendes last radio messages and footage of the aerial bombing of the presidential palace. Pauline Kael of THE NEW YORKER called it "Spectacular A major film." In CHILE, OBSTINATE MEMORY, Guzmán returns to Chile (where THE BATTLE OF CHILE has never been released) to show his film and interview participants in the events of 25 years ago, as well as young students not born at the time. "A stunning follow-up to his early documentary classic." -- THE INDEPENDENT Contact Jennifer Houlihan at First Run/Icarus Films for information on engagements in other cities. Visit the new Latin America Film & Video section of our website at: http://www.echonyc.com/~frif/subjects/latin_am.html for information on these and over 80 other titles about Latin American politics, history, culture, economics, and environmental issues. Jennifer A. HoulihanPhone: (212) 727-1711 Acquisitions/Publicity Coordinator Fax:(212) 989-7649 First Run/Icarus Films Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 153 Waverly Place, 6th fl. New York, NY 10014 USA Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
[PEN-L:1189] The adventurism of the US ruling class
"When Kabul fell to Taliban forces, the US Oil company UNOCAL shocked world public opinion by announcing its optimism about developments in Afghanistan. The Taliban victory was perceived as a positive sign. It was revealed that UNOCAL had been involved in negotiations with Taliban over a gas pipeline construction project that is designed to pass through western Afghanistan, delivering Turkmen gas to Pakistan. Before the escalation of fighting in Afghanistan, Chris Taggart, UNOCAL's executive vice-president in charge of the gas pipeline project, told Reuters his company was providing "non-cash bonus payments" to Taliban in return for their cooperation with this US$2 billion project. The Saudi Arabian Delta Oil Company is also a project partner and is believed to have had contacts with Taliban." Shahram Akbarzadeh, La Trobe University --- It doesn't take a genius to connect the dotted lines in the news stories dominating the front pages. There is a distinct relationship between the attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan, and the Russian financial woes. I suppose that the bourgeois media does not have many analysts who can think dialectically, so they fail to make these connections. Years ago when 1930s era radicals worked for the bourgeois press, the reporting was much sharper because these folks knew the 18th Brumaire like the back of their hands. No such luck nowadays, so it is up to us to make the connections. The Islamic fundamentalists that the US is trying to blow into oblivion are the very same terrorists and gangsters that we created in our surrogate war with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. As Barkley Rosser just pointed out, "The royal family supported anti-Soviet Wah'habist mujaheddin in Afghanistan, and with Osama bin Laden's participation in that war, well, the rest is history." Doug Henwood also forwarded an article by Robert Fisk which stated that "in the 1980s, Mr Bin Laden and his men were regarded as 'freedom fighters' rather than 'terrorists' and were encouraged to use British-made Blowpipe anti-aircraft missiles against the Russians. Mr Bin Laden demands the withdrawal of US troops from his native country of Saudi Arabia - some of whose officials give him considerable support. None of this, of course, was finding its way into the American news reports from Washington last night." This is what Malcolm X called the chickens coming home to roost. One of the main causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union was its costly intervention in Afghanistan, which was its Vietnam. Like Vietnam, the war had an eroding effect on the country. This was why the US was so pleased at the USSR's morass. It could drain the Soviet Union while appearing as the "good guy" to world opinion. Except for the Alexander Cockburn, the Spartacist League and pro-Soviet CP's, most leftists regarded this intervention as a violation of self-determination. The Soviet Union leadership, perhaps after reading too much Living Marxism, decided to lift up the barbaric Afghans to civilization. When the idiocy of rural life turned out to have roots that were deeper than a 60 foot dandelion, the results were a war that drained the nation's treasury and created a mood of disillusionment among its young. So now the United States has achieved its "victory" over Communism. The effort has produced a desperate and maddened nation that has a significant fascist movement. These fascists, unlike the fascists we chummed around with since WWII, don't really admire the US. Some of them might even like to cause immense destruction to the US. Since there are thousands of tactical nuclear weapons strewn about the former Soviet Union, the US might have some genuine worries about the threat. I am quite sure that one of the reasons that the ruling class of the United States is anxious to bail out Russia is that it would like to stabilize the situation and isolate the fascists. There is as much likelihood of this happening as permanent peace issuing out of the Munich conference of 1938. Turning to the world of Islamic fundamentalism, the signs of entropy are just as alarming. The worries that fascists in the former Soviet Union might sell or donate an A-bomb that can fit into a suitcase to Islamic terrorists is very real and very scary. That would be the ultimate irony: a Russian tactical nuclear weapon detonated in Washington DC at the hands of some Islamic cabal. This would not be a case of the chickens coming home to roost, it is a scenario that would evoke the final scenes of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." The truth is that the world has become a more dangerous place since the collapse of Communism. The Kremlin was always interested in peace and stability. Even when the "zealot" Stalin was in charge, the Soviet Union had a powerful interest in keeping violent conflicts contained. The United Nations was the joint project of the WWII allies, including the Soviet Union. Even when the cold war started, the chances of forestalling nuclear war were
[PEN-L:1188] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Real Islam or not, etc?
At 09:57 AM 8/25/98 -0700, Jim Devine wrote, inter alia: >another quibble: in England, the separation of Church from state dates only >from the Civil War/"glorious revolution" and has not been completed. in >France, it took the 1789 Revolution, but even there it's not final. Even in >the US, where the separation is part of the Constitution, it's still >contested. I do not mean to quibble, but a separation between secular and religious institutions has always been present in the occidental world. The level of that sepration might have varied, and the separation between the Church and the State you mention was the culmination of that process, but even in the middle ages the canon and the civil law were two separate (albeit unequal :)). spheres. I do not think that was the case of Islam, where religion and civil-legal matters were inseparable. > >Later, however, Christianity regained its expansionist tendency (in league >with imperialism), in the form of the missionary movement, which seems >largely Protestant but also includes the Catholics and Mormons (if one >considers the LDS to be Christian). I don't think one can say that Islam is >more expansionist than Christianity. In fact, it's more accurate to say >that Islam is on the defensive these days (against Christianity riding on >the back of imperialism and against Israel). Maybe the defensiveness >explains the shrill tone of a lot of fundamentalist Muslims, though a lot >is added (or lost) in the translation. There are many different uses of religion, so to speak. Here, I 'm trying to focus on a rather narrow issue what serves as totalizing ideology of fascist movements. As we know, fascist movements need such an ideology to create a sense of national unity, continuity and thus security in the period of transition, mobilize supporters, clearly identify friends and foes, as well as legitimize the existing power structures. What I argued is that in Europe, nationalsim has become such a totalizing ideology of fascist movements, because nationalistic ideologies have been historically used for mobilization (esp. war mobilization) and legitimation purposes. Nationalism being relatively absent in bothe the Islamic world and the US, a substitute had to be found. Such substitute was religion: various variants of islam or Christianity respectively. That, of course does not mean, that Isalm or Christianity are by nature 'fascist' or that they cannot be used differently for different purposes in differtent time periods. Regards, Wojtek
[PEN-L:1191] Re: Corporate crime
On Tue, August 25, 1998 at 09:29:56 (-0700) michael perelman writes: >Does anybody know of a good, quick overview of the costs and consequences of >corporate crime? *The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison* by Jeffrey H. Reiman might help, so might http://www.ratical.com/corporations/CCRivRG1197.html, and finally Russell Mokhiber's *Corporate Crime and Violence*. Bill
[PEN-L:1194] Dangers from Abroad
"Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is
to be charged to provisions against danger, real or pretended, from
abroad."
( Letter of James Madison to Thomas Jefferson 1798)
There were conquerors and conquered
Among the conquered the common people starved.
Among the conquerors the common people starved too.
(Bertolt Brecht)
Jim C.
James Craven
Dept. of Economics,Clark College
1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863
--
"The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and
property shall never be taken from them without their consent."
(Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789)
"...but this letter being unofficial and private, I may with safety give you a more
extensive view of our policy respecting the Indians, that you may better comprehend
the parts dealt to to you in detail through the official channel, and observing the
system of which they make a part, conduct yourself in unison with it in cases where
you are obliged to act without instruction...When they withdraw themselves to the
culture of a small piece of land, they will perceive how useless to them are their
extensive forests, and will be willing to pare them off from time to time in exchange
for necessaries for their farms and families. To promote this disposition to exchange
lands, which they have to spare and we want, for necessaries which we have to spare
and they want,we shall push our trading houses, and be glad to see the good and
influencial individuals among them run in debt, because we observe that when these
debts get beyond what the individuals can pay, they become willing to lop them off
by cession of lands...In this way our settlements will gradually circumscribe and
approach the Indians, and they will in time either incorporate with us as citizens
of the United States, or remove beyond the Mississippi.The former is certainly the
termination of their history most happy for themselves; but, in the whole course
of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As to their fear, we presume that
our strength and their weakness is now so visible that they must see we have only to
shut our hand to crush them..."
(Classified Letter of President Thomas Jefferson ("libertarian"--for propertied white
people) to William Henry Harrison, Feb. 27, 1803)
*My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion*
[PEN-L:1186] Re: Corporate crime
Michael, In his book *The Rodrigo Chronicles*, Critical Race theorist Richard Delgado has a useful bit. The book is not about corporate crime, but he's got this lovely little appendix in which he looks at the costs of corporate crime vs. the costs of individual crimes (robberies and so on). He then looks at the sentencing disparities between the two. The book is a few years old, so the stats are out of date, butit's worth cheking out for the differences alone. Frances On Tue, 25 Aug 1998, michael perelman wrote: > Does anybody know of a good, quick overview of the costs and consequences of > corporate crime? > > -- > Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > Chico, CA 95929 > > Tel. 916-898-5321 > E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >
[PEN-L:1184] Re: Re: Re: Real Islam or not, etc?
At 11:24 PM 8/24/98 -0400, boddhisatva wrote: > I think you are on the right track although I would say that Islamic >fundamentalism as such is not the problem. Clearly there are people who are >wholly devoted to Islam who would not engage in fascistic behavior. I do >think that Islam has become the totalizing philosophy of fascistic movements. >This makes sense in that nationalism (what we think of as the typical >totalizing philosophy of fascism) is not quite so relevant in places where >national identity has been undermined by colonialism. True, but nationalism (in the European sense of the world) was never a driving force in the Islamic world to begin with. Remember that Islam has always been a sort of totalizing religion of essentially tribal people who embarked on a very expansionistic course and eventually uverrun many national entities. If we draw paralleles with Europe, Christianity was a totalizing religion (albeit in a different geopolitical context, about which later) during the middle ages, Rome always struggling with local power centers for control. With the Reformation, the local centers eventually won (which has probably something to do with the ascent of colonialism and the world system). That gave birth to nationalism: the consolidation of power by 'intermediate' power centers that both gained hegemony over communities witrhing their sphere of influence and gained autonomy in legal, doctrinal and religious affairs from Rome. To my limited knowledge, no such process took place in the Islamic world. I think one of the reasons is different institutional design. Unlike Europe that de facto had two separate sets of institutions, civil-secular and religious (each with applicable sets of laws), and the civil-secular ones eventually winning control of local territories (nations), Islam never allowed such a separation, and religion has always been the foundation of the 'universal' (i.e. both 'civil' and 'canon') law. Such an institutional design made the formation of national centers more difficult than in Europe. Another element is that thanks to its early expansionistic character, Islam encompassed a truley diverse spectrum from Spain to India. This is in contrast to Europe that during the early middle ages was defensive rather tha offensive, ie. local communities trying to survive and preserve their respective domains form outside attacts rather than expand and conquer new cultures. That might explain the formation of the national nuclei that later developed into nations in Europe, and the break-up of 'catholic' = universalistic Christianity into national (protestant) religions. BTW, a similar development could be observed in Buddhism. In the Islamic world, however, the local communities were overrun by outside conquerors who imposed Islamic institutions (esp. law) over local ones. That, IMHO, can be another reason contributing to the weakness of nationalistic tendencies under Islam, and religion becoming a totalizing ideology instead. While we are at that, a parallel can be drawn with the United States which, thanks to its multi-cultural, mutli-national character and very expansionistic dynamics, never became a nation in the European sense of the world. In the absence of nationalism, religion became the totalizing ideology. That might explain why Christian fundamentalism in the US, like Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world, -- but unlike European nationalism -- has become the ideological expression of fascist movements. I think that account dove-tails with Barkley Rosser's account of historical development of Wah'habism in Saudi Arabia. So these are my 2 cents. What do others think? regards, Wojtek
[PEN-L:1193] Re: Re: Corporate crime
Thanks to everyone who responded: Here is one tidbit that I had found on my own: Cohen, Mark A. 1989. Corporate Crime and Punishment: A Study of Social Foreign and Sentencing Practice in the Federal Courts, 1984-1987." American Criminal Law Review, 26: 3 (Winter): pp. 605-60. 606: Of the 1,283 corporations convicted of federal crimes from 1984 through 1987, "only about 10% crossed the threshold of $l million in sales and 50 employees; less than 3% had traded stock. Cohen, Ho, Jones & Schleich. 1988. "Organizations as Defendants in Federal Court: A Preliminary Analysis of Prosecutions, Convictions and Sanctions, 1984-1987, 10 Whittier L. Rev. 103, 112. 607: He uses a sample of 288 non- antitrust corporate offenders -- about 30 percent of all non-antitrust offenders between 1984 and 1987. 618: Table 6: Total monetary sanctions imposed on corporations average only 33 percent of the harms caused. If we only include direct fines, then the ratio falls to 10 percent. 658: "a firm causing up to about $50,000 in harm can expect to pay about twice that amount in criminal penalties and restitution. However, a firm causing over $1 million in harm is likely to pay less than the harm it caused in criminal fines and restitution." 617-8: We can see a strong inverse correlation between the size of the harm done and the sanction as a percentage of the harm done. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:1182] BLS Daily Report
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. -- =_NextPart_000_01BDD040.5F477100 BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 1998 RELEASED TODAY: The Producer Price Index for Finished goods increased 0.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a decrease of 0.1 percent in June and an increase of 0.2 percent in May. Prices received by producers of intermediate goods were unchanged in July, after moving down 0.3 percent in June. The crude goods index fell 1.8 percent, following a 1.4 percent decline in the prior month Initial claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits declined by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted total of 301,000 for the week ended August 8, the Employment and Training Administration reports With the end of the General Motors strike the last week of July, the UI claims totals were expected to continue declining from the high level of more than 390,000 initial claims recorded in late June (Daily Labor Report, page D-1)_The unemployment insurance data suggest that the cooling economy was not slowing the robust labor market (New York Times, page C2)_The unemployment insurance report showed no sign that the hiring boom is easing (Wall Street Journal, page A2). Import prices declined for the ninth consecutive month in July, falling 0.9 percent, the largest drop since February, BLS reported Analysts again pointed to the Asian economic crisis and the strength of the dollar against foreign currencies as the catalysts for the continued decline in import prices Imported oil prices had the most precipitous decline, plunging 6.8 percent in the month, while nonpetroleum imports declined 0.5 percent (Daily Labor Report, page D-3)_Asia's turmoil hasn't been all bad news for the U.S. -- it has also spurred a rise of inexpensive imports, aided by a strong dollar and a fall in world-wide demand for commodities such as food and energy. Total import prices for July dropped by 0.9 percent, even sharper than June's 0.5 percent drop Excluding oil, import prices fell by 0.5 percent, the biggest monthly decline since January (Wall Street Journal, page A2). Retail sales fell 0.4 percent in July, pummeled by a big drop in car sales related to the General Motors strike, the Commerce Department reports (Daily Labor Report, page D-5)_Auto sales dropped 3 percent. Sales of all retail goods except autos rose 0.5 percent (Washington Post, page G1)_Although July's decline in retail sales was the first in nine months, it was smaller that the 0.8 percent that analysts had expected. Low interest rates, the thriving job market, steady incomes, and high consumer confidence have proved a fruitful combination for retailers, even as weak results from Asian operations pour in. Still, if the stock market begins an extended decline, consumer spending could suffer (New York Times, page C2)_Consumer spending predilections have taken on a heightened importance in keeping the economic expansion going, as the Asian crisis has forced a slowdown in manufacturing and threatened to curb business investment. Despite daily news of Asia's deterioration, though, American consumer confidence remains high. One reason for strong household spending has been the robust job market (Wall Street Journal, page A2) The average price of prescription drugs sold in the United States in the second quarter was 3.4 percent higher than in the same period last year, according to the market research firm IMS Health. Prices for brand-name pharmaceuticals rose 4.3 percent, while prices of generic drugs fell 5.1 percent, but generics account for only 10 percent of sales (Washington Post, page G4). -- =_NextPart_000_01BDD040.5F477100 b3NvZnQgTWFpbC5Ob3RlADEIAQWAAwAOzgcIABkACwA5AAIAAgA+AQEggAMADgAAAM4HCAAZ AAsANAAhAAIAWAEBCYABACEyMzJDMDZDNEY5M0JEMjExODg4RTAwMjBBRjlDMDMwOAAABwEE gAEAEQAAAEJMUyBEYWlseSBSZXBvcnQAkAUBDYAEAAICAAIAAQOQBgCYCwAAHEAAOQBg CAgAQdC9AR4AcAABEQAAAEJMUyBEYWlseSBSZXBvcnQAAgFxAAEWAb3QQI/9 xAYsJDv5EdKIjgAgr5wDCAAAHgAxQAENUklDSEFSRFNPTl9EAAMAGkAAHgAw QAENUklDSEFSRFNPTl9EAAMAGUAAAgEJEAEAAADXCAAA0wgAAGQPAABMWkZ1 V6mdjf8ACgEPAhUCpAPkBesCgwBQEwNUAgBjaArAc2V0bjIGAAbDAoMyA8UCAHDccnESIAcTAoB9 CoAIzx8J2QKACoENsQtgbmcxODAzMwr7EvIB0CBCgkwF8ERBSUxZB/AARVBPUlQsIEYUUkkYwFkZ gEFVR0BVU1QgMTQZgDE4OTk4CoUKhRkgTEWAQVNFRCBUTxnRhDogHHBoZSBQA2BYZHVjBJAdMWkd kCBkSW4NsHggAhAFwEaHC4AEAB0QZCBnbwRwZwQgC4AFAGVhEfAfQDB6LhIgcASQHZACMB+xIPBK dWx5GYAR8CAQAiADB0AhcCBhZGp1c9p0CYAuHOIEACAFEBHwkx6BIiBvdx8xYSAFgVEf8yBvZiBR MSCcbn8dIABwJCEDoB/GJOQgi008YXki4R3TI0EFkGVp+nYfMWIiQBOQHWQEICTx6wuAIrByB4Bk BzAisB9V+yQAFTAgJiARsRbgHzEhJ65hAYAdoQRgdguAZyRQ9yPwA6AgYDMlXiLjHSAFAG51DbAf Vx5TZSIgGoAufjgglhmAI7QuIiRAMcA0uyCXBYFsC4AdICEhdB0RnROQaQWxBGACMGguNbHnHOAb HB4waXQHMTBAC2H6bQQgZgMQHzED8DTAIaD7AZArgWE
[PEN-L:1177] Congo?
This is a terrific source of info on Africa. Here's some more on the Congo crisis. You can sign up for the free service by talking to Patrik Eklof at [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- CONTENTS 1. DR Congo: Namibian troops said to be in DRC 2. DR Congo: DRC accuses SA of 'behind-curtains' tactics 3. DR Congo: Uganda threatens action 4. DR Congo: Towards a paix 'Tutsicana'? 5. DR Congo: Zim troops carrying out operations as planned 6. DR Congo: Conflict splits SADC 7. DR Congo: 'Bring back our children' nation tells Mugabe 8. DR Congo: We have not sent any troops, says Zambia 9. DR Congo: Chiluba's stonewalling 10. DR Congo: Angola receives Clintion's Envoy 11. Angola: Unita severs ties with US, Russia and Portugal 12. Lesotho: Mbeki returns 13. Nigeria: Mandela calls for closer ties with Nigeria 14. Namibia: Diescho speaks out on Nujoma's third term *NEWS and BACKGROUND 1. DR Congo: Namibian troops said to be in DRC The Namibian, 24 August 1998 By Christof Maletsky Windhoek - The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is moving closer to becoming a multi-national conflict with Rwanda and Uganda threatening all-out war following reports that Namibian and Zimbabwean troops have gone to the aid of beleaguered DRC President Laurent Kabila. The Namibian Government has continued to neither deny nor confirm claims surround the extent of its involvement, including allegations that Namibian troops have been sent to the DRC to fight rebels trying to topple Kabila. Rwanda's non-resident Ambassador to Namibia Dr Ben Karenzi on Friday said that both Namibia and Zimbabwe had sent in troops to support Kabila. Rwanda was ready for all-out war if Namibia and Zimbabwe failed to recall their troops immediately, Karenzi said. The Rwandan envoy vowed that Rwanda was ready to protect its vital interest in eastern Congo and called on South African President Nelson Mandela to convince Namibia and Zimbabwe to withdraw their military support for Kabila. "The alternative is a bloodbath," Karenzi was quoted by the South African Press Agency (Sapa) as saying. Zimbabwe has since confirmed sending troops to the DRC, but no clarification has been forthcoming from either Namibia's Ministry of Defence or Foreign Affairs about the presence of Namibian soldiers in the strife-torn country. Namibia's stance on the DRC crisis has been both ambiguous and unclear. Namibian officials are still to confirm or deny reports which first surfaced more than a week ago that weapons were dispatched to the DRC from the military base at Grootfontein. Namibia's Defence Minister Erkki Nghimtima last week backed plans by nine SADC countries to support Kabila. Nghimtina said Namibia would provide DRC troops with "logistical support". President Sam Nujoma on Thursday backed plans to hold an emergency heads of state summit to find a diplomatic solution to the DRC crisis. Shortly after Nujoma agreed to the summit, more weapons were reportedly being dispatched from Grootfontein, although the destination of these weapons was not clear. And now it is reported that Namibian troops are actually in the DRC fighting for Kabila; something which the Namibian Government has also yet to clarify. Both Rwanda and Uganda have been accused of backing the anti-Kabila rebels who, according to latest reports, are close to the DRC capital Kinshasa. The Namibian Ministry of Defence on Friday did not confirm or deny the claims that Namibian troops were in the DRC. Approached for comment, the Ministry's Media Liaison Officer Vincent Mwange referred The Namibian to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, much to the surprise of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Braam Cupido, who said his Ministry found it "very strange that Defence refer people to us". However, Cupido said that, as far as his Ministry knew, there were no Namibian troops in the DRC. Karenzi's claims surfaced as sources at Grootfontein reported that trucks - thought to be destined for Angola or the DRC - were being loaded with weapons and ammunition, something which had been going on since Thursday night. Mwange was unable to confirm or deny these reports either. "I'm not aware of that," he said. Sources at Grootfontein, which is home to a major NDF military base, said a convoy, which included around 13 armoured vehicles and was accompanied by a helicopter, had left the town on Friday morning bound for Angola. Reports of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe's military involvement in the DRC come as Mandela is trying to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis. 2. DR Congo: DRC accuses SA of 'behind-curtains' tactics Mail&Guardian, 24 August 1998 Cabinda, Angola - The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday accused South Africa of "behind-curtains manoeuvres". DRC justice minister Mwenze Kongolo, in SA to represent DRC President Laurent Kabila at the Southern African Development Community summit called by President Nelson Mand
[PEN-L:1181] Union job announcement
Please post & circulate (8/23/98) HOTEL WORKERS UNION SEEKS RESEARCHERS FOR EXCITING CAMPAIGNS THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE) is recruiting full-time research staff for its fast-growing Research Department. Positions are currently available in a number of regions across the U.S. and Canada, with new positions opening frequently (see listing below). The department is responsible for conducting in-depth research and for assisting in the development and implementation of strategic campaigns in support of organizing and bargaining struggles in the hotel, food service and gaming industries (casinos, riverboats and Native American gaming). Depending upon location and specific staffing needs, positions may be at the International Union or the Local Union level, and positions may be for senior or junior researcher analysts. Some positions may require substantial travel. Additional qualifications may apply to some locations. The qualifications for all analyst positions include: · Strong demonstrated commitment to labor/social justice organizing; · Investigative research experience, including industry, corporate and/or issue research; · Familiarity with basic financial concepts and/or analysis; · Demonstrated ability to research, strategize and implement plans around specific issues/campaign; · Significant work or volunteer experience with progressive/activist organizations; · Excellent writing skills/communications skills (oral, written and one-on- one); · Ability to handle multiple projects and tight deadlines; · Ease with working in a team environment; · College degree in liberal arts, social science, economics, planning or business. Research analyst openings are currently available (as of 8/98) in: Atlantic City NJ California (LA or SF base to be determined) Connecticut/Rhode IslandDistrict of Columbia Las Vegas San Antonio/Austin San Francisco Bay Area Toronto Certain locations will be filled on a priority basis. Also Administrative Assistant - San Francisco only. Qualifications include excellent office skills (including word processing, computer skills, database management); ability to organize and prioritize tasks; desire to work in a campaign atmosphere Salary is negotiable on the basis of experience; excellent benefits. Please send resume and cover letter specifying your geographic flexibility/interest to: Recruitment, HERE Research Department, 1219 28th St. NW, Washington, DC 20007-3389; Fax: 202-333-6049. No phone calls please. (Posted 8/98)
[PEN-L:1192] thanks to Bill Rosenberg
Almost a month ago Bill Rosenberg sent a paper on the New Zealand economic crisis. I requested it, after his offer. I don't know if it went to the list or not. Time constraints kept me from really looking at it till today. A good paper. And a depressing one. So, belatedly, thanks Bill, for sending it along. Gene Coyle
[PEN-L:1187] Re: Re: Re: Re: Real Islam or not, etc?
>If we draw paralleles with Europe, Christianity was a totalizing religion >(albeit in a different geopolitical context, about which later) during the >middle ages, Rome always struggling with local power centers for control. >With the Reformation, the local centers eventually won (which has probably >something to do with the ascent of colonialism and the world system). That >gave birth to nationalism: the consolidation of power by 'intermediate' >power centers that both gained hegemony over communities witrhing their >sphere of influence and gained autonomy in legal, doctrinal and religious >affairs from Rome. A minor disagreement: I would use the word "protonationalism" rather than nationalism above. The "nationalism" that arose with the Reformation was one of kings (absolutism, mercantilism) rather than that of peoples. Eric Hobsbawm's little book on nationalism is really good: for him, true nationalism arose in the late 19th century, representing a cross-class alliance. >To my limited knowledge, no such process took place in the Islamic world. >I think one of the reasons is different institutional design. Unlike >Europe that de facto had two separate sets of institutions, civil-secular >and religious (each with applicable sets of laws), and the civil-secular >ones eventually winning control of local territories (nations), Islam never >allowed such a separation, and religion has always been the foundation of >the 'universal' (i.e. both 'civil' and 'canon') law. Such an institutional >design made the formation of national centers more difficult than in Europe. another quibble: in England, the separation of Church from state dates only from the Civil War/"glorious revolution" and has not been completed. in France, it took the 1789 Revolution, but even there it's not final. Even in the US, where the separation is part of the Constitution, it's still contested. >Another element is that thanks to its early expansionistic character, Islam >encompassed a truley diverse spectrum from Spain to India. This is in >contrast to Europe that during the early middle ages was defensive rather >tha offensive, ie. local communities trying to survive and preserve their >respective domains form outside attacts rather than expand and conquer new >cultures. That might explain the formation of the national nuclei that >later developed into nations in Europe, and the break-up of 'catholic' = >universalistic Christianity into national (protestant) religions. ... Later, however, Christianity regained its expansionist tendency (in league with imperialism), in the form of the missionary movement, which seems largely Protestant but also includes the Catholics and Mormons (if one considers the LDS to be Christian). I don't think one can say that Islam is more expansionist than Christianity. In fact, it's more accurate to say that Islam is on the defensive these days (against Christianity riding on the back of imperialism and against Israel). Maybe the defensiveness explains the shrill tone of a lot of fundamentalist Muslims, though a lot is added (or lost) in the translation. >While we are at that, a parallel can be drawn with the United States which, >thanks to its multi-cultural, mutli-national character and very >expansionistic dynamics, never became a nation in the European sense of the >world. In the absence of nationalism, religion became the totalizing >ideology. That might explain why Christian fundamentalism in the US, like >Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world, -- but unlike European >nationalism -- has become the ideological expression of fascist movements. I'd say that the US has a strong streak of "anti-nationalistic nationalism": this is the semantic game of "you guys are nationalists, we're patriots!" (he, of course, is a chauvinist.) It's akin to the open-door imperialism that W.A. Williams points to. But you're right that the US doesn't have ethnic nationalism the way they do in Europe (though the WASP ethnicity is pretty influential). It's more a "melting pot/beacon of democracy/we're better than you are" kind of nationalism, linked as you suggest to Christianity. I'd also say that the the "totalizing ideology" of Protestant Christianity involves a lot of competition amongst various denominations and sects. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Departments/ECON/jdevine.html
[PEN-L:1185] Corporate crime
Does anybody know of a good, quick overview of the costs and consequences of corporate crime? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:1183] (Fwd) AGITPROP NEWS: Special: Who's the Terrorist Issue (fwd)
--- Forwarded Message Follows --- Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 22:43:16 -0700 (PDT) From: John Shafer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:James Michael Craven <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: AGITPROP NEWS: Special: Who's the Terrorist Issue (fwd) fyi - Clinton apparently knew the Sudanese installation was a civilian target. My reading of how this is playing in Islam as well as other places, indicates that this is NOt going to blow over. I think things are very volatile right now globally. -- Forwarded message -- Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 15:38:08 -0400 From: Mike Alewitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: AGITPROP NEWS: Special: Who's the Terrorist Issue Please post & distribute: LaBOR aRT & MuRAL PRoJECT AGITPROP NEWS Special: Who's the Terrorist Issue In this issue: 1. Clinton Knew Target Was Civilian 2. The Real Terrorists 3. No Double Standards Here 4. Concerned in Bali 5. Quotes ___ 1. Clinton Knew Target Was Civilian President Bill Clinton knew he was bombing a civilian target when he ordered the United States attack on a Sudan chemical plant. Tests ordered by him showed that no nerve gas was on the site and two British professionals who recently worked at the factory said it clearly had no military purpose. The disclosure will deepen the crisis, following the American attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan, in relations between the US and its Muslim allies, who have called upon Clinton to produce hard evidence that the attacks had a legitimate relevance to the war against international terrorism. The US claims that the Al-Shifa Pharmaceuticals Industries plant in North Khartoum was producing the ingredients for the deadly VX nerve gas. But Sudan's assertion that it produced 50 per cent of the country's drug requirements is much closer to the truth. Several vital pieces of evidence point to this conclusion. US forces flew a reconnaissance mission to test for traces of gas and reported that there were none. Nevertheless Clinton immediately authorised the attack. He was also told that the absence of gas would avoid the horrifying spectacle of civilian casualties. Sudan has said 10 people were injured, five seriously. Belfast independent film-maker Irwin Armstrong, who visited the plant last year while making a promotional video for the Sudanese ambassador in London, said: "The Americans have got this completely wrong. "In other parts of the country I encountered heavy security but not here. I was allowed to wander about quite freely. This is a perfectly normal chemical factory with the things you would expect - stainless steel vats and technicians." Tom Carnaffin, of Hexham, Northumberland, worked as a technical manager from 1992 to 1996 for the Baaboud family, who own the plant. "I have intimate knowledge of that factory and it just does not lend itself to the manufacture of chemical weapons," he said. "The Americans claimed that the weapons were being manufactured in the veterinary part of the factory. I have intimate knowledge of that part of the [plant] and unless there have been some radical changes in the last few months, it just isn't equipped to cope with the demands of chemical weapon manufacturing. "You need things like airlocks but this factory just has doors leading out onto the street. The factory was in the process of being sold to a Saudi Arabian. They are allies of the Americans and I don't think it would look very good in the prospectus that the factory was also manufacturing weapons for Baghdad. "I have personal knowledge of the need for medicine in Sudan as I almost died while working out there. The loss of this factory is a tragedy for the rural communities who need those medicines." The engineer, who has said he will be returning to Sudan in the near future to carry out more work for the Baaboud family, condemned the American attack and its resulting loss of life. "It's a funny feeling to think that I had a cup of tea in that place and the security guard on the gate who used to say hello to me is very probably now dead. The Baabouds are absolutely gutted about this. People who they knew personally have been killed - it is very upsetting." from THE OBSERVER By Ed Vulliamy in Washington, Henry McDonald in Belfast , and Shyam Bhatia and Martin Bright Sunday August 23, 1998 2. The Real Terrorists The following is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 1994. This guide does not include demonstration duty by military police, mobilizations of the National Guard, offshore shows of naval strength, reinforcements of embassy personnel, the use of non-Defense Department personnel (such as the Drug Enforcement Agency), military exercises, non-combat mobilizations (such as replacing postal strikers), the permanent stationing of armed forces, covert actions where the U.S. did not play a
[PEN-L:1179] 11% support an armed uprising
August 25, 1998 With Resignation, Russians Work Ever Harder for Even Less By MICHAEL WINES MOSCOW -- Nina Kostina cheered Boris Yeltsin's ascension to the presidency in 1991. She voted to re-elect him in 1996. She expected to be comfortably into her retirement by now. Instead she is a cleaning woman at the Old Moscow Circus, working 11-hour days and taking home $70 a month -- maybe -- after last week's ruble devaluation. Better not to ask what she thinks about Yeltsin's promise Monday that his latest government shakeup will bring stability to Russia. "I thought we would live normally," she said bitterly, trudging toward a Moscow metro station as dusk fell Monday evening. "He said to wait half a year; wait a year; wait another year. Now I've waited seven years -- and nothing. We don't expect anything better, because there's nothing good. I only count on my own self." Russians have waited seven years for Yeltsin's capitalist revolution to bear fruit, only to be confronted this month with the certainty that life will again become more expensive, and probably harder, before it gets better. Russians are famous for their stoicism. But there are hints that the country's legendary forbearance -- with Yeltsin's bureaucratic pirouettes, with their hard lives -- may be eroding. A nationwide poll of 6,000 Russians conducted shortly before the latest economic crisis registered a marked increase -- from 50 percent in March to 65 percent in mid-August -- in the share of respondents who said Yeltsin's government could "no longer count on the people's patience." Twelve percent of respondents said they were ready to join a strike, and 11 percent said they supported an armed uprising against the government -- figures that have roughly doubled in six months. Only 8 percent had any faith that Yeltsin's program of tax and economic reforms would improve their lives. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, according to Nuzgar Betaneli, head of the Sociology and Parliamentarianism Institute, which conducted the survey. In an interview Monday, Betaneli said that Russians' dwindling hope for economic improvement is directly tied to their increased willingness to protest. He also predicted that the public will see Yeltsin's latest reshuffling of his government in a poor light unless the president can better explain his motives for the change in leadership. Polls can be conducted or interpreted wrongly of course, and Russia is so vast and diverse that snapshots of the public mood are difficult to take well. (complete article at www.nytimes.com) Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
[PEN-L:1180] Polling honesty in Russia
> With Resignation, Russians Work Ever Harder for Even Less > By MICHAEL WINES . > A nationwide poll of 6,000 Russians conducted shortly before the latest > economic crisis registered a marked increase -- from 50 percent in March to > 65 percent in mid-August -- in the share of respondents who said Yeltsin's > government could "no longer count on the people's patience." > Twelve percent of respondents said they were ready to join a strike, and 11 > percent said they supported an armed uprising against the government -- > figures that have roughly doubled in six months. I'm very skeptical of Russian polling figures on questions that go beyond cars, bars and movie stars. We'll only know when it happens. valis
[PEN-L:1178] Re: Congo?
Patrick, where is all that expensive modern hardware coming from? Is sub-Saharan Africa about to host a surrogate world war? valis
