progressive news from near and far

compiled by Paul Schafer

Health Care Workers Struggle to Unionize

In Spokane, nurses and techs at Valley Hospital, and techs at Deaconess, have recently voted to unionize. Nurses at Deaconess voted not to unionize by a margin of fourteen votes, though that vote is being challenged.

According to employees of the two Spokane hospitals, the root problem is the general lack of communication with administration, characterized by administrators' overriding of physicians' advice. Pay is also an issue. On April 4, 2003, a nine percent company-wide pay cut was imposed.

Hospitals all over the country are in the red for a number of reasons. An additional factor in the recent pay cut seems to have been the need for Valley Hospital to move into the black to qualify for bonds to finance a $17 million expansion. (Pacific Northwest Inlander, 5-29-03)

Oregon: Warfare State

A modern twist of the US empire is the increased role of private military contractors, and Oregon's are no exception. Oregon has eleven major military facilities, including the sprawling Umatilla Chemical Depot, and several industrial suppliers such as Symantec, which provides computer virus protection for the Department of Defense (DOD). The Portland area has seven major military industrial suppliers, nine military facilities, and several Homeland Security offices of various kinds, including FBI, DEA, and INS.

Why is this a problem? During the Napoleonic Wars, the French diplomat Talleyrand remarked that Napoleon, having built the new French state around militarism, had to employ military solutions to all his problems. "The long list of his enemies would never permit France to enjoy lasting peace." The challenge is to find ways to replace military-related jobs in ways that cause the least economic dislocation. (Portland Alliance, 6-03)

Montana Dams Sold, Citizens Locked Out

For most of the last century, Montana Power Company (MPC) granted access to more than 36,000 acres of recreational lands that surround the rivers and reservoirs on which are located the dams it used to generate electricity.

But in early May, Montanans were shocked to discover that they had been locked out of those lands. MPC's successor, Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL), gave "homeland security" as a reason. However, many doubt that the increased security (in one case, a single chain holding a gate shut) might deter even a moderately motivated terrorist.

The lockout is largely a result of the 1997 deregulation of Montana's electricity producers, during which PPL bought the dams. A 2002 citizens' initiative, I-145, would have let Montanans buy back the dams, but PPL defeated this initiative by using profit gained during the manufactured "electricity crisis" of 2000. Montana governor Judy Martz, along with the Bush government, continues to push to privatize state and national public resources. (Missoula Independent 5-15-03)

Axis of Peace

In the summer of 2002, Seattle's Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia and the Portland chapter of the War Resisters League met to shape a new income-tax "redirection" campaign. They hoped to encourage large numbers of citizens to "redirect" small amounts of income tax toward pursuits worthier than military funding. They chose amounts ($9.11 or $91.11) that symbolize the date on which militaristic U.S. policies came full circle and caused the violent deaths of over 2,000 non-combatants on U.S. soil.

But the redirection campaign has so far not reached the level of mass participation, being responsible for the redirection of about $1,500 in Seattle and $2,500 in Portland. Those interested in joining, helping to shape the campaign, or creating a local Axis of Peace movement are encouraged to visit the campaign's website (http://axisofpeace.info) or to contact the NACC office. (Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia Spring 2003)

Congress Debates Forest Thinning Bills

George W. Bush announced his "Healthy Forests Initiative" in August, 2002, a plan to prevent "catastrophic" wildfires by "reducing unnecessary regulatory obstacles that hinder active forest management." In other words, the plan sidesteps environmental laws to let loggers thin forests.

A related bill, introduced by Rep. Scott McInnis, R-CO, would reduce "hazardous fuel" (i.e. trees and bushes) on 20 million acres of federal lands. According to Sean Cosgrove of the Sierra Club, this bill would exempt forest-thinning projects from administrative appeals, drastically reducing both environmental law and citizen involvement. The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club have supported a different bill, by Rep. George Miller, D-CA, which is focused on protecting human communities from forest fires. (High Country News 5-26-03)

Next U.S. Targets

Iraq and Afghanistan have already fallen to the new US "empire", but who might be next? Economic factors come into play. The US domestic economy has been in decline since 2000, because of both competition of the dollar with the euro and the overproduction and volatility of our current deregulated economy.

Iran: Iran is considering making the euro its "currency of choice." [A huge threat if it influences OPEC to make the change, causing the value of the dollar to plummet. - ed] The U.S. may choose to use covert operations to change the Iranian regime, or to actually invade Iran, which would fulfill the wishes of Ariel Sharon. Iran has good cause for fear. First, Iran feels threatened by the strategic ties between the U.S. and the Gulf Cooperation Council, an organization of the six Persian Gulf monarchies, and by the stationing of U.S. troops in all six of those countries. Second, the U.S. military is present in next-door Iraq [as well as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan].

Venezuela: Venezuela is vulnerable because it is the world's fourth largest producer of oil and it is an OPEC nation considering switching to the euro. Venezuela has also angered the US for its giving oil to Cuba in exchange for Cuba setting up health clinics in rural Venezuela. This bartering effectively cuts the U.S. dollar out of the monetary cycle. Moreover, Venezuela has recently exchanged some of its dollar reserves for euros. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already endured two coup attempts, which are widely believed to have been backed by the U.S.

Saudi Arabia: With one fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of oil to the U.S. It is also the largest market for U.S. weapons and the source of up to $600 billion of investments in the U.S. It is a long-time U.S. ally, but that might be changing. Tensions rose when it was found that most of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudis. The RAND Corporation urges a policy of "Taking Saudi out of Arabia" by confronting the House of Saud (for support of terrorism), using U.S. troops to seize oil fields, and eventually installing a Hashemite monarchy.

Syria: The U.S. has several goals for Syria, starting with the severing of its links to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. Another goal is the restarting of an oil pipeline through Syria from Iraq to Israel. According to an article in the Asia Times, "regime change in both Iraq and Syria is the prerequisite for the [pipeline] project."

North Korea: North Korea has also dropped the dollar and has begun trading in euros. Tension between the U.S. and North Korea have escalated for months, but it is unlikely that North Korea will be the next U.S. target because it has enough military (perhaps even nuclear) strength to threaten South Korea and Japan. "North Korea has more than a million-strong military and an arsenal stocked with missiles that could destroy much of Seoul or Tokyo." (Works in Progress 6-03)

The Church: a Means to Peace

Given that Pope John Paul II condemned both the war on Iraq and the preparations for war as "illegitimate and immoral," and the U.S. Catholic bishops have stated that the church must guide its members in the development of their conscience, what steps can the Catholic Church take? Tom Karlin, an honorably discharged Navy veteran and eventual conscientious objector, urges church leaders to suspend all ROTC programs in Catholic schools and to establish peace studies programs to teach nonviolent resolution of conflict. (Tacoma Catholic Worker 5-03)