Advertisement

A Toast to Bob Eckhardt

AUSTIN --- This being the season of thanksgiving, I am come to toast Bob Eckhardt, the great Texas congressman, who died last week at 88. We owe him thanks and are so lucky to have had him with us. What a rare one. And a lot of fun, too.

If ever a politician of the 20th century deserved the title "legislator," it was Eckhardt -- legal scholar, craftsman, steeped to his bones in the constitution, law and history. They called him, "The House's lawyer." The only politician I ever knew who could write a bill so that it did precisely what it was intended to do, and did nothing it was not intended to do, with a vision lasting past generations.

He was a character and a camper, a carpenter and a cartoonist, a cheapskate, a horseman, swimmer, devoted if slightly absent-minded father, drinker of whiskey and Shiner draft beer, story-teller, freedom-fighter, labor lawyer, environmentalist, anti-racist -- and all this long, long before it was ever fashionable or p.c. At least 60 years ago, someone said to his mother, "Mrs. Eckhardt, your son is just a little too cozy with the

Biotech Bullies: Business as Usual

Agbiotech and corporate special interests in reaction to stubborn global resistance have stepped-up their propaganda and bullying. This aggression is evident in the media, the marketplace, the trade and diplomatic fronts, the legislatures, courts, patent offices, and the streets of the cities where anti-globalization protests have taken place. Recognizing that a critical mass of youth, consumers, farmers, environmentalists, and public interest nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) all over the world are rejecting, not only the biotech and industrial agriculture model, but also the entire "Free Trade" globalization agenda itself, the Gene Giants and their allies know they are losing ground. Reacting to massive demonstrations in Seattle, Washington, Quebec, Sweden, and Genoa--with anti-Frankenfoods concerns often in the forefront-governing elites have clamped down and repressed youthful protestors, and have begun shifting their meetings to inaccessible locations such as the oil sheikdom of Qatar, where the 142 nation members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting November 9-13.

The Failure of U.S. Foreign Policies

The bombing campaign against the people of Afghanistan will be described in history as the "U.S. Against the Third World." The launching of military strikes against peasants does nothing to suppress terrorism, and only erodes American credibility in Muslim nations around the world. The question, "Why Do They Hate Us?," can only be answered from the vantagepoint of the Third World's widespread poverty, hunger and economic exploitation.

The United States government cannot engage in effective multilateral actions to suppress terrorism, because its behavior illustrates its complete contempt for international cooperation. The United States owed $582 million in back dues to the United Nations, and it paid up only when the September 11 attacks jeopardized its national security. Republican conservatives demand that the United States should be exempt from the jurisdiction of an International Criminal Court, a permanent tribunal now being established at The Hague, Netherlands. For the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, the U.S. government authorized the allocation of a paltry $250,000, compared to

Zimbabwe Angers Europe over Election Monitoring

HARARE -- A showdown is looming between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) over the African nation's refusal to allow the European Union to monitor next year's presidential elections.

Zimbabwe's foreign affairs minister, Stan Mudenge, has described as "thoughtless and futile" a demand by the European Union to be allowed to send its election monitors for the elections.

"That is how exactly we feel when people... come to us, even before we ourselves know the date of our elections to urge, insist and demand that they should be allowed to come by such and such a date and start assessing and observing," he said.

"It breeds suspicions and tempts others to ascribe sinister motives," said Mudenge, warning that Zimbabwe is a sovereign and independent state that can never take orders from any country.

Zimbabwean political analysts, however, beg to differ with Mudenge. "Yes, Zimbabwe is a sovereign state, but does it want free and fair elections. No. If they are genuine about holding free and fair elections, they should allow monitors from all over the world.

Fundrasing and Elections

Dear Editor,

In looking through the election results for the state I can't find a single race in which the top fundraiser lost. This local pattern reflects a national trend that was apparent in the New York City mayoral race (Michael Bloomberg outspent Mark Green by about $40 million), the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey.

If the top fundraiser always wins then the campaign contributors decide who governs. This is no way to run a democracy. I suggest two changes in how we conduct elections so that the impact of contributors will be reduced.

First, the Board of Elections in each county should prepare an official voter's guide for each election. The guide should be mailed to every registered voter in the county, and in it each candidate should get some space - one or two paragraphs - to make his/her case directly to the voters. Similarly the proponents and opponents for each ballot measure should have a chance to explain their positions to voters. In California the state auditor produces a financial analysis of each ballot measure which is included in the voter's guide.

U.S. Corporations Charged with Plundering Patriotism

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (IPS) -- Major U.S. corporations are profiting far too much from the wave of patriotism that has swept the country since the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks, say civic, environmental and labour groups.

They are pressing Congress to delay action on a mounting pile of legislation which, if approved, would add to the windfall big business and the wealthy have collected over the last six weeks.

Since Sep. 11, "members of Congress have served up a non-stop buffet of corporate pork legislation," says Ralph Nader, the Green Party's presidential candidate last year and the founder of a network of U.S. public-interest and consumer groups.

"Under the guise of national security our federal treasury is being raided and our democratic rights are being taken away while Congress feeds sympathetic campaign contributors at taxpayer expense, sends working people to fight, and leaves the unemployed, the disenfranchised, and American families to suffer," Nader adds.

Nader and others say they are incensed by economic stimulus legislation in Congress that provides more than 200 billion dollars

Anti-Terrorism Gives Cover to New Abuses -- UN OFFICIAL

A senior U.N. official expressed serious concern Tuesday over the erosion of human rights in the wake of the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told delegates that some countries -- which she refused to identify by name -- are introducing measures in apparent violation of core human rights safeguards.

Non-violent activities are being considered as terrorism in some countries while "excessive measures" are being taken to suppress or restrict individual rights, Robinson said. These restrictive measures cover rights to privacy, fair trial, asylum, political participation, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly.

"We should be mindful of such fundamental principles as the presumption of innocence, non-discrimination and due process of law," she said.

Since Sept. 11, the United States has detained more than 1,000 people, largely Muslims or those of Middle Eastern origin, in its ongoing investigation of the terrorist attacks.

Several human rights organizations have complained that the

Journalism and Bombing in Afganistan

AUSTIN, Texas -- Say, here's an item: A group of right-wing journalists famed for their impartiality has set themselves up as the Patriotism Police. No less distinguished a crowd than Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, The New York Post editorial page and the Fox News Channel --- quite a bunch of Pulitzer winners there -- are now passing judgment on whether media outlets that do actual reporting are sufficiently one-sided for their taste.

With the insouciance toward fact for which he is so noted, Limbaugh erroneously reported that Peter Jennings had been highly critical of President Bush for disappearing on Sept. 11. The Dittoheads flooded ABC with complaints. The bone of contention since has been over the reporting of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

Been there, done that. Yes, bombing causes the deaths of innocent civilians, a fact not mitigated by referring to them as collateral damage, nor by repeated references to "pinpoint bombing," an absurd combination of words. By the Pentagon's own analysis, even our smart bombs often miss. Among our more memorable recent errors were hitting the Red

Reparations and Our Rendezvous with History

The twenty-first century truly began-politically, socially, and psychologically-with two epochal events: the World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa this summer, and the terrorist attacks of September 11 which destroyed the World Trade Center towers and part of the Pentagon. These events were directly linked.

At Durban, the Third World, led primarily by African Americans and African people, attempted to renegotiate their historically unequal and subordinate relationships with western imperialism and globalized capitalism. "Reparations" was seen by black delegates at Durban as a necessary precondition for the socioeconomic development of a black community in the U.S., as well as for African and Caribbean nation-states. September 11th was a violent statement by fundamentalist Muslims demanding an end to American imperialism's economic and political subordinate relationships throughout the Arab world. Both events symbolized a challenge to the U.S.'s uncritical support for Israel, and were to some extent expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians. The aftermath of both

Bloomberg's Victory and the Triumph of Business

After billionaire Michael Bloomberg won the race to become New York's next mayor, the French news agency AFP noted that he "was among the first to see how the information age could serve investors in unprecedented -- and lucrative -- ways." In recent months, Bloomberg's campaign spent at least $50 million from his vast personal fortune, made possible by a media environment teeming with reverence for accumulation of wealth.

Bloomberg News became a far-reaching wire service during the 1990s as financial news gradually loomed larger in mass media. The operative definition of "general interest news" kept tilting. Mainstream outlets steadily shifted resources and priorities to the business of covering business.

Back in 1970, when PBS launched "Wall Street Week" with Louis Rukeyser, the program was conspicuous. Now it's just one of many national TV shows -- most of them daily -- focusing on the quest for high returns. After "Moneyline" premiered on CNN in 1980, cable television news grew while embracing the world of investment. In 1989, General Electric opted to

Pages

Subscribe to Freepress.org RSS