CWA 1180 - Political Action

Weaons of mass deception found in White House!
Just say NO—to war, to Bush, to repression
February 2004

August 29 - The world says no to Bush:

In a disgusting exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy, Republicans are holding their national convention in New York City this year and they changed the date in order to make it close to the third anniversary of 9/11. August 29 has been planned for over a year as another day of international protest. The biggest event will be right here. Sponsored by United for Peace and Justice.

September 1- Labor protest

On the last day of the Republican convention, the New York labor movement will stage another major protest against the policies and politics of "President" Bush. This will be in place of the annual Labor Day parade. Sponsored by the Central Labor Council.

As the first anniversary of the war in Iraq is drawing near, it is becoming increasingly clear that opponents of the war were right all along: There are no weapons of mass destruction and the Bush Administration lied to the American people and manipulated the country into an illegal war that has turned into a disaster. Thousands of Iraqi civilians have died, and U.S. casualties are mounting every day as more and more Iraqis turn to armed resistance to oppose the occupation of their country. "President" Bush refuses to go to funerals of fallen U.S. soldiers and has banned reporters from all military bases where the dead are being shipped home. Veterans benefits are being cut.

Meanwhile, the administration's attempt to spin another rationale for its war by claiming that the U.S. is bringing democracy to Iraq is a bad farce. Thousands of Iraqis have been detained and often abused by the U.S. military with no regard for any kind of due process. The Iraqi law that gave women rights and defined their status in society in secular terms instead of religious terms was repealed, but U.S. occupation authorities have seen fit to keep Saddam Hussein's repressive labor laws on the books. These make unions illegal for the vast majority of all Iraqi workers. Iraqi workers have been organizing anyway, and on December10—International Human Rights Day—U.S. authorities stormed the Iraqi trade union federation office, handcuffed and arrested eight leaders, and ripped anti-terrorism posters off the wall. Unemployment in Iraq is at 70%, and there are no unemployment benefits. Many people are hungry. Massive privatization, which would result in even more unemployment since most workers are public-sector workers, and foreign ownership of privatized companies, is very much on the agenda.

The $87 billion approved by Congress for reconstruction in Iraq goes mainly to maintain the massive military machine and for pipelines and oil refineries. Baghdad still lies in ruins. And in a less dramatic—but no less real—way, so do our cities.

If all this makes you mad, then put these dates in your calendar.

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