I went to the Internet, typed “oil in Africa.” Pages of information. Bush meeting privately with leaders of 11 African nations. Cheney spotlighted West Africa as the fastest-growing source of oil and gas for the American market! Bush discussed a $3.5 billion pipeline project in Africa that includes U.S.-based Exxon/Mobile Corp. and Chevron/Texaco Corp. These companies are to invest billions!

Now I hear from our president and his administration we are going to go to Liberia for humanitarian reasons. They are going to make it safe for oil companies to drill and ship oil!

When I heard this compassionate conservative administration was going to send billions of dollars to Africa for HIV AIDS, it didn’t make any sense. I thought maybe for the Black vote. Then, when no fight came from the Repuppetcan Party in Congress, something was wrong. I knew they were not doing it to be nice people.

Now it is so clear. Just like the “L”iberate “I”raq “E”xcuse, Lie! The media and the American people went for the story. The war went well. There was no other plan, except save the oil wells, which was first.

Saying going to Lie-beria for humanitarian reasons, and we have a past with them because of being freed slaves from America, is so ridiculous! I am worried that the American people and the media are going for this story too. Please check into this.

Richard Whitey
Las Vegas, Nevada
 
 
Insurance scam
There are serious crimes occurring right now against injured workers by insurance companies. When people are at their most vulnerable, they are denied medical and therapeutic care.

The saddest part of it is that the Worker’s Compensation Board and state governors are doing absolutely nothing about it. No one seems to care about injured workers. The insurance companies, if they were not obsessed with profit and were moral, would consider providing for injured workers a sacred trust.

We as a society look to them to take care of injured workers’ needs? Unbelievable!

The insurance companies are being allowed to exploit, re-injure, verbally attack and deny workers the things they need to get better. They are criminal and I do not see any discussion about this nation wide invisible fist on some of our most vulnerable citizens.

How can anyone respect a country that treats its own people, especially injured and disabled workers, in this way?

Karen Hetherington
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
 
Democrats collapse
With the disappearance of the socialist camp and the rise of the United States as the only great power, the world is the victim of neoliberalism and neofascism.

I say the world because there is no corner of the earth that is not affected by this phenomenon that has brought a general economic crisis.

In the United States we have seen the collapse of the Democratic Party, which can no longer be differentiated from the Republicans and cowardly supports the policies of constantly violating human, civil, and political rights of the American people.

In Latin America the traditional parties have joined this farce, some of a “Social Democratic” others of a “Christian Democratic” leaning.

In Europe the same thing happens with parties with these same names, that in reality have a rightist direction and represent the rich. Others, like the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, are not socialist or worker.

I believe the workers can only move forward with a political line. They have to forget all those parties that just represent the large interests wearing socialist, worker, and social-democratic disguises and create workers parties with workers leaders.

José Martínez
Miami, Florida

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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