The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.61/No.13           March 31, 1997 
 
 
The Great Society  

BY HARRY RING
Sober-minded - "... record unemployment in many mature economies... job insecurity, societal stress... the yawning gap between rich and poor.... It's time to tighten portfolios, we may be in for a wild ride." - Financial adviser Rob Brown in the Toronto Globe and Mail.

No borders for social crisis -In previous recessions, Switzerland's unemployment rate never went past 1 percent. It's now 5.7 percent. The government wants a greater army role in ensuring domestic "order." It proposes giving the troops handcuffs, clubs and tear gas. Said a division commander, "We have studied the Los Angeles riots very carefully."

Free advice - "People are learning about capitalism. Everyone has to realize, no one told the people that they had to invest [in pyramid swindles]. Its not easy to get money, especially without working." - Gilbert Galanxhi, spokesperson for Albania's ministry of foreign affairs.

Great white father - You're skeptical of the claim that donors to the Democratic National Committee got nothing in return? Well, here's proof. Officials of two native tribes in Oklahoma - with an 80 percent jobless rate - emptied an emergency relief fund to donate $107,000 to the Democrats with the expectation that land stolen from them in 1869 would be returned. The land has not been returned.

Top this one - A White House aide said the prez was "troubled" by the disclosure of the Oklahoma rip-off. And Democratic officials said they would return the money if the two tribes officially asked for it. If not, they said, the money will be used for Native American voter outreach.

Imperialist chutzpah - In its war on Vietnam, Washington napalmed and carpet-bombed the country. Now, as a price for greater trading rights, it is forcing the Vietnam government to repay up to $140 million for U.S. loans made to its defeated puppet regime in South Vietnam. The loans were allegedly for food and for infrastructure improvements.

Slow leak - At the Brookhaven Laboratory on New York's Long Island, a storage pool for nuclear reactor waste has been leaking radioactive tritium into ground water since 1985, twice as long as previously estimated. At monitoring wells nearly a half mile away contamination is four times the federal standard. But, the lab says, there's no threat to drinking water. Meanwhile, the feds agreed to switch 500 nearby families to another water source.

No Acts of God? - Adecco, a California temp agency, offers employees medical and dental plans. "Summaries" of what's not covered fill two brochure columns. Our favorites: "Suicide or attempted suicide.... Acts of war (declared or undeclared)."

Lower ranks? - In Rajkot, India, cops blinded seven men accused of minor offenses by rubbing chili powder in their eyes. Reporting this, a London Times correspondent explains that the "lower ranks" of India's cops are corrupt and abusive. He adds that local police officials demanded a full report, but "it is rare for police to prosecute their own officers."  
 
 
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