Feb. 22, 2023

by Ben Norton, published on Geopolitical Economy, February 13, 2023

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Mexico will lead an international movement to end the US government’s “inhumane” blockade against Cuba. Praising Fidel Castro as a “visionary”, AMLO denounced neoliberalism and pledged support for universal public healthcare and education.

Mexico’s progressive President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that his country will lead an international movement to end the US government’s illegal blockade against Cuba.

The Mexican president, known popularly by his initials AMLO, condemned the six-decade US blockade of Cuba as “inhumane”. He said the global campaign to overturn it must be more “active”, complaining that, while the vast majority of countries on Earth vote against the US embargo every year at the United Nations General Assembly, nothing ever changes….

AMLO also praised the Cuban Revolution for creating “one of the best health systems in the world”. He thanked Cuba for sending doctors to provide medical attention to people in underserved rural areas in Mexico and other countries around the world.

Criticizing the “neoliberal oligarchy” who ruled before him and “the corrupt neoliberal privatizers” who sold off many of the Mexican state’s assets, López Obrador explained that his government’s goal “is to establish a system of public healthcare, to guarantee the people’s right to healthcare”.

“The right to healthcare is a fundamental human rights, and it cannot be treated like a market”, AMLO declared.

The Mexican leader made these comments in a February 11 press conference in the southern port city of Campeche, alongside Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who addressed the two countries’ collaboration in public health.

The event featured dozens of Cuban doctors who were sent to Mexico as part of a solidarity mission….

UNAC Statement, February 20, 2023
https://unac.notowar.net/

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the criminal U.S.-invasion of Iraq, a major set of actions, including a demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C., will take place Saturday, March 18, demanding “Peace in Ukraine — Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine.”

Since 2003, the U.S. has engaged in sanctions (economic war) on more than 40 countries. These targets of U.S. economic warfare include the people of Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations. Even in the wake of the worst disasters, like the recent deadly earthquake, Washington keeps its cruel sanctions in place against Syria.

U.S. bases and “commands” blanket most of the world. It is a global empire.

The Biden administration is determined to escalate the Ukraine war. The real goal of the massive arming and training of Ukrainian forces has nothing to do with the interests of Ukrainian, Russian or U.S. people. The aim instead is to “weaken Russia,” as stated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense himself, even at the risk of a catastrophic nuclear war that could end life on Earth.

A U.S. general commanding 50,000 troops in the Pacific also issued a letter to his sub-commanders in recent days, informing them that he believes that the United States will be at war with China within two years. The danger of global war is growing! The people must act!

The demonstration will make connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad. Key demands include:

1. Peace in Ukraine — No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War!
2. Abolish NATO — End U.S. militarism and sanctions!
3. Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
4. No war with China!
5. End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
6. Fight racism and bigotry at home, not other peoples!
7. U.S. hands off Haiti!
8. End AFRICOM!

Click here to help build this action
Click here to endorse the action

Endorsers:

United National AntiWar Coalition; ANSWER Coalition; Black Alliance for Peace; The People’s Forum; CodePink; World BEYOND War; Popular Resistance; Veterans for Peace; International Action Center; Party for Socialism and Liberation; Al-Awda; The Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Labor Against Racism and War; Leonard Peltier Defense Committee; Universal African Peoples Organization; Workers World Party; East Bay Democratic Socialists of America; Socialist Action; Nevada Green Party; Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network; Ohio Peace Council; Green Party of Connecticut; Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee; Environmentalists Against War; Pacific Green Party (Oregon); Linn-Benton Chapter, Lauren Faith Smith Ministry for Nonviolence; Maine Cumberland County Greens; Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace; San Jose Peace and Justice Center; Servicio Particular Alacran; Minnesota Peace Action Coalition; PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick; UPWARD (Uniting Peace With Actions Respect and Dignity); Socialist Party of America; North Country Peace Group; . . . and more.

For information go to unacpeace.org

“A Nuclear Bomb would be better. At least with a Nuclear Bomb we die quickly. With the U.S. Sanctions we die every day.”  – Alex Saab

Members of the National Lawyers Guild (NFL) and International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) met with Venezuelan special envoy and political prisoner Alex Saab this week in the Federal Detention Center-Miami. Audrey Bomse, a member of the NLG’s International Committee, and Suzanne Adely, NLG President and IADL Bureau Member, met with the imprisoned Saab to convey the support and solidarity of progressive lawyers in the U.S. and internationally and the growing movement for his freedom….

Click here to help build this action

Click here to endorse the action

Click here for transportation information
(if your organization can help with transportation from your area, please let us know at UNACpeace@gmail.com)

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the criminal U.S.-invasion of Iraq, a major set of actions including a demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Saturday March 18 demanding “Peace in Ukraine – Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine.” Since 2003, the U.S. has engaged in sanctions (economic war) on more than 40 countries. These targets of U.S. economic warfare include the people of Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations. Even in the wake of the worst disasters, like the recent deadly earthquake, Washington keeps its cruel sanctions in place against Syria. U.S. bases and “commands” blanket most of the world. It is a global empire.

The Biden administration is determined to escalate the Ukraine war. The real goal of the massive arming and training of Ukrainian forces has nothing to do with the interests of Ukrainian, Russian or American people. The aim instead is to “weaken Russia” as stated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense himself, even at the risk of a catastrophic nuclear war that could end life on Earth. A U.S. General commanding 50,000 troops in the Pacific also issued a letter to his sub-commanders in recent days informing them that he believes that the United States will be at war with China within two years. The danger of global war is growing! The people must act!

The demonstration will make connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad. Key demands include:

• Peace in Ukraine – No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War
• Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions!
• Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
• No war with China!
• End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
• Fight racism & bigotry not war!
• U.S. hands off  Haiti!
• End AFRICOM!

Endorsers:

United National Anti-War Coalition, ANSWER Coalition, Black Alliance for Peace, The People’s Forum, CodePink, World BEYOND War, Popular Resistance, Veterans for Peace, International Action Center, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Labor Against Racism and War, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Universal African Peoples Organization, East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, Socialist Action, Nevada Green Party, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Ohio Peace Council, Green Party of Connecticut, Berkely Fellowship of Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee, Environmentalists Against War, Pacific Green Party (OR), Linn-Benton Chapter, Lauren Faith Smith Ministry for Nonviolence, Maine Cumberland County Greens, Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Servicio Particular Alacran, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, UPWARD (Uniting Peace With Actions Respect and Dignity), Socialist Party of America, North Country Peace Group, Workers World Party, Roger Waters, Bronx Antiwar Coalition, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Chicago Anti-War Coalition, National Immigrant Solidarity Network, China-US Solidarity Network, North American Climate Conservation and Environmental group, Stop the War Machine – New Mexico, Mobilization Against War and Occupation,  Struggle  La Lucha,   Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Odessa Solidarity Campaign, DC Young Communist League, Uhuru Solidarity Movement, North American Climate Conservation and Environment group, Virginia Defenders for Freedom Justice & Equality, Roger Waters…

Protest Food Stamp Cuts
Press Conference & Rally
Monday, February 27,
5 pm sharp (rain or shine)
City Hall, 100 Holliday Street

Emergency food stamp allotments are scheduled to end in 32 states, including Maryland on February 28,  2023.   Eighteen states already cut food stamps.  On the average people will lose $82 of SNAP benefits a month.  A family of four could see a cut of $328 a month.  Seniors could see reductions from $281 to as little as $23 per month.

The Peoples Power Assembly, Matthew Henson Neighborhood Association, Unemployed Workers Union and others are demanding that these cuts be restored immediately and that the program expand due to the continuing inflationary crisis affecting Marylanders.

Dr. Marvin ‘Doc’ Cheatham, Matthew Henson Neighborhood Association and civil rights advocate, stated, “The federal government must address this crisis, but local state and city governments can and must act too.  Everyone from the Mayor to the Governor can and must find the resources to keep people from starving and suffering!”

Reverend Annie Chambers, Douglas Homes housing advocate and Peoples Power Assembly organizer, delared, “They can find $100 billion for the Ukraine war, but nothing for the people.  This is an outrage!  Food stamps must be extended, not cut.”

Baltimore is already hard hit by food deserts and what activists are calling “Baltimore food apartheid”.  

Groups have banded together in a campaign to “End Food Apartheid in Baltimore”. They are demanding that the food stamp program be expanded including lowering requirements to allow seniors and low wage workers more access.  The campaign has called for rolling back prices including enacting a people’s control board that has the power to freeze and rollback prices and enacting stiff penalties for price gougers. 

———————————

Baltimore community groups are joining together to fight for people’s right to affordable, nutritious food.  If Under Armour can receive “opportunity zone” status and downtown businesses can receive financial benefits, why not Baltimore’s neighborhoods.  

We believe that it is time to put an end to food apartheid in Baltimore.  When we began our work there were four areas that we identified as ‘food deserts’ including West Baltimore, Pigtown, Oliver East and Cherry Hill.  Those boundaries have widened and with growing inflation most communities, with the exception of wealthy areas, are facing hardship and hunger.  

This is why we are submitting the following proposals for change.  Where it is possible, we welcome government officials negotiating with existing supermarket chains to locate in these neighborhoods.  But we cannot wait or rely on the good will of for profit food chains.  Comprehensive action is needed!

Action is needed on a City, State and Federal Level.  It includes City Council members, the Mayor, the Baltimore Health Department and the Governor. 

OUR PROGRAM

Public owned & subsidized markets.at the previous sites of closed markets or at locations designated by the community.

Train and hire residents from each affected area. 
Protect and guarantee union rights for all workers in subsidized supermarkets. 

Rollback food prices 

• Restore emergency allotments for food stamps to address the inflation crisis.
• Lower requirements to extend food stamp programs especially for seniors & low wage workers. 
• Workers and peoples control board to rollback and freeze prices
• Enact penalties for price gougers

Support and fund Black owned food-coops, gardens & farms

Community control of vacant city lots for people’s gardens.

Immediately enact transportation & food distribution plan for seniors, youth, disabled and poor residents

• Weekly bus routes to supermarkets from affected communities.
• Delivery of food to those in need and emergency preparation. 

Community control of redevelopment

• Form Community Action Committees in each area. 
• Citywide Commission made up of representatives from affected communities to determine action.

Mayor & City Council call for national aid – over $100 billion has already been spent on the U.S./ NATO proxy war on Russia, Time to feed the people, not the Pentagon.

For more information text: 410-218-4835

Press Release

Date: Friday, February 24, 2023

For Immediate Release

For More Information, Please Contact:

WASHINGTON, DC – RWU Special Safety Rep Fritz Edler 202-494-3848 kfedler@his.com

LAS VEGAS, NV – RWU General Secretary Jason Doering  202-480-0587  jason.doering@nvsmart-union.org   

DES MOINES, IA – RWU Co-Chair Ross Grooters  515-689-3229   blet778lr@gmail.com

SPARKS, NV – RWU Co-Chair Gabe Christensen  775-682-0889  gabe.christenson@nvsmart-union.org

RENO, NV – RWU Organizer Ron Kaminkow  608-358-5771  ronkaminkow@yahoo.com

ATLANTA, GA – RWU Treasurer Hugh Sawyer  404-290-1961  hlsawyerjr@gmail.com

POCATELLO, ID – RWU Steering Committee Member Paul Lindsey  208-317-7379  mplindsey208@gmail.com

CHICAGO, IL – RWU Newsletter Editor Mark Burrows  773-486-7001  potashpuller55@gmail.com

MILWAUKEE, WI – RWU Steering Committee Alternate JP Johnson 406-491-1791 ironhorse8401@gmail.com

DECATUR, IL – RWU Member Tim Sloper 217-652-0028 tslope242000@yahoo.com  

CHICAGO, IL – RWU Member Marilee Taylor 773-405-5246  marileetaylor@sbcglobal.net

FORT MADISON, IA – RWU Trustee Jeff Kurtz 319-470-9990  ia.chairman@gmail.com

SPARKS, NV – RWU Member Matt Parker 775-772-3675  mparker@bletnslb.org

TOLEDO, OH – RWU Steering Committee Member Matt Weaver 248-986-6079 bmweaver2624@frontier.com

BOSTON, MA – RWU Member Nick Wurst 508-335-8633 nick@w-sts.com

Railroad Workers Call for Immediate Action

to Prevent Future Train Wrecks

East Palestine, OH – It has been three weeks since the tragic train wreck that devastated this small town. Despite the initial lack of attention it received, politicians and bureaucrats have finally become aware of the tragedy. Railroad Workers United (RWU) urges everyone concerned not to be distracted by rhetoric, hyperbole, promises, and lies but instead to focus on the primary reasons for the derailment and take immediate action to prevent future disasters.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Preliminary Report released on February 23rd clearly stated that “This was 100% preventable. … There is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable.” RWU believes that the Class One freight rail carriers, including Norfolk Southern, have prioritized profits over safety, cutting maintenance, equipment inspections, and personnel in all crafts while increasing the average train size to three miles or more.

According to RWU Co-Chair Gabe Christenson, “Railroad workers experience firsthand every day the dangers inherent in this style of railroading. It has impacted their safety and health, state of mind, and lives on and off the job.” RWU General Secretary Jason Doering adds, “Every day we go to work, we have serious concerns about preventing accidents like the one that occurred in Ohio. As locomotive engineers, conductors, signal maintainers, car inspectors, track workers, dispatchers, machinists, and electricians, we experience the reality that our jobs are becoming increasingly dangerous due to insufficient staffing, inadequate maintenance, and a lack of oversight and inspection. We recognize that limits on train lengths and weights are necessary to prevent catastrophic derailments.”

RWU demands immediate action by government regulatory agencies and Congress to rein in Class One railroads. This action must ensure sufficient staffing to do the job properly, efficiently, and safely, with all trains operating with a minimum of a two-person crew. Train length and weight must be capped at a reasonable level to mitigate the increased likelihood of breakdowns, train separations, and derailments. Adequate and proper maintenance and inspections of locomotives and rail cars, tracks and signals, wayside detectors, and other infrastructure must be implemented. Ample training and time off without the harassment of draconian attendance policies must also be standardized.

“We demand that the railroad be run safely, efficiently, and professionally, and not as some ‘cash cow’ for Wall Street investors and billionaires,” notes Hugh Sawyer, RWU Treasurer. “Much of what is wrong with the rail industry today can be fixed easily and quickly by acting on what is outlined above. We demand action NOW.”

#####

For Immediate Release February 23, 2023

For More Information Contact: Art Heitzer, artheitzer@gmail.comFB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1217549222531697

MILWAUKEE–On Tuesday, March 7, the Wisconsin Cuba Coalition will present a free screening of a the award-winning 2012 documentary film “Maestra,” about the successful program to eliminate illiteracy in Cuba shortly after its 1959 revolution, and the young women who served as the teachers in that campaign. (See FB event, https://www.facebook.com/events/1217549222531697)

The family friendly presentation will take place from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mitchell Street Public Library, 906 West Historic Mitchell Street in Milwaukee. A discussion will follow the 33-minute film. There will also be food. 

Cuba launched its literacy campaign in 1961 seeking to achieve 100% literacy within a year. It sent 250,000 volunteers, mostly women, to teach reading and writing throughout the island. About 100,000 of the volunteers were under 18.

Maestra’s director, Catherine Murphy, spent six years interviewing Cuban literacy teachers for the film. It is narrated in English by acclaimed writer and activist Alice Walker, and includes subtitled interviews with nine women. These include Cuban feminist Norma Guillard and Cuban LGBT activist Diana Balboa, who were both 15 at the time of the campaign. The film is distributed by the non-profit feminist media arts organization Women Make Movies.

The film is being presented in honor of Women’s History Month, for which the National Women’s History Alliance has declared this year’s theme to be “women who tell their stories.”

“I’m really excited to be showing this documentary, said the Coalition’s Romie Beyer. “It will be a great opportunity to learn history but also to reflect on these young girl’s accomplishments and think about what we could be doing as well! For me, Cuba, and Cuban history have been a huge inspiration for the work that I do. Today I think most people have a need for something optimistic to push them forward, and this event will be great for that. A better world for all is possible, and together as regular working class people in our communities, we hold the power to create that; we are going to make that a reality.”

The Wisconsin Cuba Coalition, more properly known as the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, is a Milwaukee-based non-partisan coalition of individuals and organizations who pursue a 6-point program of encouraging diplomacy and person-to-person interactions and ending hostile US actions toward Cuba, including the US embargos on trade with and travel to Cuba. See www.wicuba.org.###

Check out these recent articles on Fighting Words

• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/18/the-police-murder-of-tyre-nichols-the-sad-yet-foreseeable-result-of-a-policing-system-based-on-the-slave-patrols/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/20/african-american-resistance-in-the-rural-south/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/21/african-american-resistance-in-the-rural-south-from-the-great-depression-to-world-war-ii/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/21/alliance-for-global-justice-has-been-attacked/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/22/blinken-attacks-china-for-seeking-peace-in-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR1badt0-cX5R_eqxXGSK1W4AGTbPEKLgTFxrVVUcBCWoaHRiMu8sqwJxSo
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/22/frederick-douglass-speaks-on-immigrant-rights/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/22/train-wrecks-earthquakes-and-profits/
• https://fighting-words.net/2023/02/22/african-american-resistance-in-the-rural-south-from-the-sharecroppers-union-to-the-new-farmers-of-america/