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by Ret Z.
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Workplace Democracy Invades Argentina
      Steadily more and more Argentine workers are taking control of factories and running them better. This National Movement of Recovered Companies, as it's called, is the topic of a new documentary film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, which includes the story of workers who "took" the Forja auto plant in suburban Buenos Aires. After Argentina's 2001 bankruptcy, the plant closed down. Two years later, even the pigeons had moved on to better pickings when ex-employees returned and started foraging for parts -- minus their ex-bosses.
      Klein, the author of No Logo, the bible of the Seattle-Genoa global justice movement, and Lewis, host of the TV show Counterspin, made The Take in response to their opponents' persistent question: "We know what you're against, but what are you for?" When they heard about worker-run factories in Argentina filling the vacuum left by corrupt managers, the husband-wife team found something concrete that they were for: democracy in the workplace.
      Expropriated companies (the legal term for businesses that are stolen or stolen back by the workers) nearly always become more productive than they were under the old managers. The Zanon ceramics factory in the southern city of Neuquen now produces more tiles and employs more people than it did under the old management structure. Brukman, a garment factory in downtown Buenos Aires, fought off eviction, paid overdue gas and electricity bills, and resumed production even though they couldn't legally issue receipts for the suits they made. According to the solidarity group Workers Without Bosses -- who are making an appeal on behalf of the Brukman seamstresses for machine parts and instruction manuals -- there are now about 200 worker-run factories in Argentina, employing around 10,000 people.
      Zanon and Brukman reclaimed their factories more through pragmatism than ideology: Without social security and jobs in Argentina, what else was there to do?
      Something similar has even happened in Canada. When management announced the closure of the Alcan aluminum smelter in Quebec in January this year, workers occupied the factory and ran it themselves for two weeks (exceeding normal levels of production).
      In American towns where the primary employer has closed down, Klein believes that "people are absolutely ready for desperate measures." Lewis cited the Oneida flatware factory in upstate New York, where 500 workers recently lost their jobs, as a prime example of where a take could happen -- if the idea catches on.
      Source:  AlterNet

Youth Detention Horror Must End
      The condition of jails and detention centers on Indian reservations has been a concern for some time, but new allegations about treatment of juveniles in a facility in Browning, Montana, take that concern to a whole new level. If the complaints are borne out, they suggest a new priority for tribal councils and, if needed, for Congress.
      The allegations include common use of several methods of restraint that are forbidden or sharply limited in other juvenile detention centers. Earlier this year a national report documented abysmal conditions in jails and prisons throughout Indian Country. That was bad enough and underscored the need for remedies, including better funding. But now come the complaints from families of teenagers at the White Buffalo Youth Detention Center -- things such as a 17-year-old shackled for almost two weeks, or a 14-year-old confined to a "restraint chair" with a towel stuffed in his mouth and a pillowcase over his head. Upon his release the 17-year-old received medical treatment for swelling of his ankles and wrists; last week he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his incarceration.
      Some of these kids are bad actors, and many have serious addiction problems. But there can be no justification and should be no tolerance for such treatment -- of adults, much less of children.
      The Bureau of Indian Affairs is investigating, as is a Senate committee, which last week heard America's reservation jail system called a "national disgrace" similar to systems in Third World countries. This isn't a surprise to victims of that system, but it should serve as a wake-up call to the rest of us.
      Ending the maltreatment of juvenile prisoners, wherever it occurs, should take precedence over other corrections and justice-system issues. Such institutional abuse is just plain wrong, and it sows seeds of discontent that will haunt our society for years to come.
      Source:  Great Falls Tribune (Montana)

The Rewards of Tzedakah (Charity)
      Many traditional Jewish texts suggest that tzedakah (charity or almsgiving) brings concrete rewards. A number of rabbinic stories speak of people who, because of their acts of tzedakah, are miraculously saved from death. According to other teachings, one who is on the way to giving tzedakah is immune from harm. This belief has led to the practice, among some Jews, of giving tzedakah money to one going on a long trip, especially a trip to Israel. As long as the person is carrying money to be donated to tzedakah at his/her destination, the thinking goes, nothing will happen to this person during the journey.
      Much of the rabbinic discussion of the concrete rewards of tzedakah centers around a verse in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), the biblical book that we read on the Shabbat during Sukkot: "Send your bread forth upon the waters, for after many days you will find it." (11:1)
      The midrashim on this verse offer a number of stories in which individuals or the Jewish people are saved as a result of having given tzedakah. In one story, a man gives tzedakah as he is boarding a boat and, as a result, is miraculously saved from a shipwreck. In another story, Bar Kappara, an early rabbinic figure, generously clothes and feeds a Roman shipwreck survivor. Years later Rome captures and oppresses the Jews. Bar Kappara goes to Rome to beg mercy for the Jews and finds that the man he once saved has become the governor of Rome. The governor recognizes Bar Kappara and agrees to relieve the Jews' suffering.
      On the one hand, we might like to think that nothing will happen to us as long as we are engaged in acts of tzedakah. On the other hand, our real-life experiences of good and evil do not allow us the luxury of believing that the righteous are always rewarded.
      The most traditional Jewish response to this theological dilemma suggests that those who give tzedakah will be rewarded in the world to come, if not in this world. We might also understand the connection between tzedakah and reward as a promise that, in the end, our entire society will benefit from the tzedakah of individuals.
      Alternately, we might argue that the existence of these moral fables about the rewards of tzedakah teaches the permissibility of giving in order to receive a reward.
      Ultimately, any attempt to define the rewards of tzedakah remains problematic. We know from experience that tzedakah is not always rewarded. Additionally, our understanding of the nature of obligation prompts us to see to see tzedakah as something that should be done lishmah -- for its own sake. At the same time, many of us do expect some reward for doing tzedakah -- whether that reward is the public acknowledgment of a gift or the good feelings that come from donating money or volunteering.
      Let's face it: Sometimes we need a reward. Tzedakah done for the sake of reward may eventually lead to a life-long practice of giving tzedakah without any expectation of a return.
      Source:  SocialAction

One-Stop Job Help Comes to Gloucester County
      One-Stop Career Centers, like the one in Camden featured on Life-Net Radio, have been popping up all over New Jersey. Now, in West Deptford, Gloucester County residents have a new One-Stop to turn to for job training services as well as employment and unemployment services.
      Department of Labor and Workforce Commissioner Kevin P. McCabe said this is a state-of-the-art center for career development and job training. He was joined by county and state officials to open the facility on September 28.
      One-Stop centers provide career training, resume writing, job search, interviewing skills, job matching and literacy skills training. By federal mandate, some of the services require financial eligibility, but there are many walk-in services available free to everyone.
      "Today is a great day for Gloucester County because we're investing in the right things: improving the skills of our working men and women," said McCabe, who stressed that the joint effort put forth by the county and state officials was the key to bringing this facility to light.
      "Whether it's a worker looking to update skills or a business looking for qualified employees," said McCabe, "this One-Stop Career Center will bring all the different components of the labor market together in a single location to create the type of teamwork that promotes economic growth."
      Source:  Gloucester County Times

Debt Cancellation: Right and Easy
      The United States is proposing to cancel the debts of the world's 30 poorest countries. Britain has joined in. The rest of the G-8 should endorse this plan.
      One motivation for President Bush's efforts in this area isthat he wants the world to greatly reduce Iraq's debt. He has run into objections from other nations who rightly do not want to see a country like Iraq, with the world's second-largest oil reserves, treated better than, say, Burkina Faso. But Mr. Bush's proposal is also consistent with his longstanding campaign to get the banks to give money, rather than lend it, to the poorest nations.
      Current efforts to reduce these debts are failing. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative began in 1996, and was expanded in 1999, with the purpose of eliminating $100 billion in debt from dozens of poor nations. But it has been too slow and limited. It has not reduced debts to manageable levels.
      Poor countries deserve more help to get out from under loans made by banks awash in oil money. A great deal of that loan money went to corrupt dictators. Today, sub-Saharan Africa pays $1.30 in debt service for every dollar it gets in aid, four times what it spends on health care.
      Rich countries have yet to agree on who should pay. Britain has offered to contribute 10% of the needed money, but other G-8 countries are not likely to be similarly generous. The Bush administration's solution, that the IMF and the World Bank cover the costs, is the best one. Surprisingly, leaders of those institutions, who had previously opposed financing debt cancellation, now say they are willing. One reason is that the IMF owns more than 103 million ounces of gold, a holdover from the gold standard days that it values at about 10% of the market price. By selling a small part of that gold at market rates or by simply revaluing it, the IMF could finance debt cancellation painlessly.
      Source:  New York Times

It Takes a Village to Raise a Billionaire
      "Self-serving stories of 'self-made' success may nourish the ego, but they mask the real ingredients of wealth creation and a strong economy. Where would the Forbes 400 be without public investment and infrastructure -- from Google founders building on the Internet to Ross Perot and government contracts?" said Chuck Collins, co-founder of Responsible Wealth.
      According to the just-released Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, 39% inherited at least some of their wealth and "the rest have self-made fortunes." According to Responsible Wealth, everyone on the Forbes 400 owes their wealth partly to a taxpayer-financed inheritance of public research and contracts; public schools and universities; communications, transportation and other critical infrastructure; and myriad government institutions from the Federal Reserve and the courts to the Treasury, Defense and Commerce Departments.
      "It takes a village to raise a billionaire. Every taxpayer deserves some credit for Forbes 400 wealth," says Mike Lapham, co-director of Responsible Wealth. "Yet while the Forbes 400 richest Americans are doing better this year -- their collective wealth rose $45 billion since 2003 -- the average taxpayer is not. Median household income fell for the fourth year in a row last year."
      "Some Forbes 400 billionaires want to pull up the ladder behind them," says Scott Klinger, co-director of Responsible Wealth. "They received government help but don't want anyone else to. The myth of self-made wealth is used to justify tax cuts for the rich and reduce public investment in the very institutions and infrastructure that not only enable more Americans to become wealthy, but are crucial to a strong and growing economy."
      Source:  United for a Fair Economy

#  LNN  #  Small  #  Hauls  #

  • On Thursday, September 30, Congress approved a six-month clean extension of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, the federal welfare program). The House approved HR 5149 under suspension of rules around 12:30pm; the Senate cleared the bill later in the day by voice vote. This is the eighth time the program has been extended, and Congress will not act on the reauthorization of TANF until next year. Since 2005 will feature a new Congress, the current House and Senate TANF bills will expire and we will, in essence, start over with new legislation. RESULTS supports a TANF reauthorization that supports low-income families by providing the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty, rather than just off welfare, and provide a significant increase in funding for child care. (RESULTS)

  • The situation continues to deteriorate for displaced people from the Darfur region of western Sudan. More than one million people have been displaced in Darfur and more than 200,000 have fled into eastern Chad as a result of vicious ethnic conflict and violence targeted against civilians. While the US government has contributed financial and material resources for the emergency, it is not enough to meet the needs in this crisis. Church World Service urges you to e-mail or write President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and your members of Congress to ask that the US make available an additional $90 million to meet the US share of the UN humanitarian appeal for Darfur. For information on how to do this, visit www.churchworldservice.org. (CWS)

  • The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has created a $5 million Deep Subsidy Program to help the state's poorest residents pay their rent. DCA Commissioner Susan Bass Levin said the new program targets residents who earn less than 30% of area median income. The program provides construction subsidies for affordable housing developers, who could then charge lower rent to low-income tenants. The funds will come from the state's Neighborhood Preservation Balanced Housing Program. (Asbury Park Press)

  • "Sisi Watato" ("We, the Children") gives a voice to Congolese children affected by the war there. A 5-minute radio feature, it took first place in the Features category in the Children’s Lives, Children’s Voices competition hosted by OneWorld and UNICEF. A runner-up from Afghanistan was produced by 7-to-13 year olds who created an ideal imagined city with the company of an invisible parrot and flying carpet. Through the children’s adventures, the geography, history and current affairs of Afghanistan are presented in an engaging manner while addressing issues of post-conflict psychology from a child’s perspective. In the (60-second) Spots category, children's Radio UPA in El Salvador covered six basic children’s rights: education, participation, environment, the right to be heard, not to be abused, and the right of access to HIV/AIDS information. Hear these segments and more at radio.oneworld.net/section/childrensvoices. (Positive News)

Life-Net News Extras

Why Some American Indians Prefer Bush
      Adapted from a column by Rod Van Mechelen:
      On the morning of Sept. 23, I stood in a small park by the east entrance of the White House. With more than 100 other Indian tribal leaders, I waited to join President Bush as he marked the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.
      Praising the new museum, the President said our experience is central to the American story; that it "has involved great injustice against native peoples, and great contribution by native peoples." What stood out was his emphasis on our present and future.
      Everybody loves dead Indians -- especially liberals, who seem to want us to remain frozen in the past, stuck in stereotypes of how they believe we once lived. But we are not historical remnants of an imaginary native paradise. We are living communities, with as much reason to live and as much to give as anybody. This is why Indians are beginning to support the Republican Party.
      The Democratic Party gives us money and programs that allow us to scrape by. But pennies and programs are no substitute for being self-sufficient, independent and in control of our own destiny.
      As Bush noted that day, "Native American cultures survive and flourish when tribes retain control over their own affairs and their own future." That is sovereignty. That is what Republicans offer, and that, for the sake of our future, is what we need.
      Living balanced in the moment, looking seven generations forward, mindful of the seven generations past, is the Indian way. To know who we are, we remember our stories. But to walk a good path, we must see where we are and choose where we go. There can be no other way, for a sovereign people. Bush understands.
      "Earlier this morning," he said, "I signed an executive memorandum to all federal agencies reaffirming the federal government's longstanding commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and self-determination."
      Before such a small audience, he looked into our eyes as he spoke. When listening carefully, I scowl, and I did when his eyes met mine. He hesitated.
      When I nodded, he continued.
      "As we celebrate this new museum and we look to the future, we can say that the sun is rising on Indian country."
      His words offered hope, their meaning to us, profound.
      Source:  Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Starbucks Workers Fight to Unionize
      Daniel Gross is the lead organizer in the ongoing IWW IU/660 effort to establish the only unionized Starbucks in the United States. He's a worker at the 36th and Madison Starbucks in New York City, the immediate focus of the campaign. During a demonstration in front of his workplace during the RNC, Daniel was arrested along with co-worker (and union supporter) Anthony Polanco.

Derek Seidman: How's the response been-- in New York and beyond-- to this campaign? Are people finding out about it? Are you finding a lot of support?

Daniel Gross: The campaign is growing at breathtaking speeds. More and more Starbucks workers are learning they have the right to form a union and that the IWW is here to help.

DS: Besides the most immediate reasons for a union, what do you see as the bigger issues and implications involved in this fight?

DG: We're asking folks to join with us in imagining a fighting union of retail workers and what a constructive force in society such an entity would be. The Retail Workers Union of the IWW looks forward to the day when "associates" at Wal-Mart, "team members" at Kinko's, and "partners" at Starbucks march together under the black and red banner reading, "Abolition of Wage Slavery". Retail workers are some of the most exploited employees in the world. I believe a multi-dimensional revolutionary movement will necessarily require the participation of this group of workers. Also, retail workers organizing and speaking out has the potential to shift values within society. Almost everyone interacts with retail workers every day of the week. The corporate retail giants depend on their customers not having to think about the plight of the person standing behind the counter. Humanizing retail workers to other fellow workers making purchases sparks questions about the real price of something you buy at a Wal-Mart. Organized retail workers help shed light on the entire system of corporate rule where workers are pitted against other workers by the bosses.

DS: I've talked about your union struggle with some other people who don't have the same sort of political awareness about it. They have some of the same concerns that I imagine you encounter from folks while leafletting in front of Starbucks: worries about the prices going up if wages and benefits go up, for instance. What are some of the arguments you get from people on the middle ground, and how do you respond?

DG: Communicating to the general public about the need for a union at Starbucks can be challenging. Starbucks invests a lot of money and effort to create a socially responsible image. "Middle-of-the road" people often point out that Starbucks is better than some employers. This is true, but that doesn't change the fact that Starbucks workers live far below the poverty line and deserve to live free of repetitive strain injuries. The best way to counter Starbucks propaganda we've found is with hard data. The numbers don't lie, whether it's the poverty wage, the hours we get per week, the nuts and bolts of the health plan or the 401k. As far as prices going up, Starbucks has $4 billion coming in at current prices, plenty to go around. How about Chairman Howard Schultz spreading around the $17 million he took in last year? In fact, the Starbucks Workers Union opposes the price increase set to take effect at Starbucks, allegedly because of increased dairy prices. We think Starbucks customers are already being gouged enough. By the way, not every Starbucks customer is a yuppie!
      Source:  Counterpunch
      Web Site:  Starbucks Union


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