Many antiwar demonstrations during the Vietnam era also contained backward elements, such as calls for negotiations, the sporting of American flags, and pious avowals of patriotism. Nevertheless, revolutionary socialists recognized the historic value of the antiwar movement and participated energetically. Your article suggests that the current situation is not analogous; if this is your belief, please explain why.

Chuck Cairns
New Hyde Park, New York
 
 
Chomsky
The Toronto Star’s October 20 Sunday edition carries an article by Noam Chomsky on what he calls "the threat of terrorist atrocities." He’s billed as the author of the best-selling book, 9-11. So many visitors to my house have seen that book lying around and asked what Chomsky has to say, I thought I’d write you a quick note.

His thesis is that there is a real threat to people’s well-being from terrorist attacks. Bin Laden and his associates are rich men, many of whom are erstwhile creations of US government funding. These rich men are waging a war against other rich men, none of whom have any regard for ordinary people. Nothing in this for common folk, he says. Sending warplanes to bomb Afghanistan adds fuel to the fire, he thinks, rather than a solution to the violence.

Colonial policies have created poverty and injustice in many countries which need to be eliminated in order to "drain the swamp" that breeds "the mosquitoes" (i.e. the "terrorists"). He borrowed this analogy from a former head of Israeli intelligence and used it in the Toronto Star article.

He points out that he has had greater access to main-stream media since the September 11 events, and that "the shock of the horrendous crimes has already opened elite sectors to reflection." (p. 117) So social activists should continue seeking the truth and acting to right the wrongs.

That’s it. No reference to the working class. No proper explanation of the fight against national oppression in the Middle East or elsewhere.

He lists a huge jumble of facts and historical events without explaining the course of development of international capitalism, imperialism. No glint of the need for workers and farmers to fight for power in order to end the reign of the warmongers.

Katy LeRougetel
Toronto, Ontario
 
 
Death of workers in rail car
At the packing house where I work I was talking to a worker who has worked in this industry for over 20 years. He said U.S. government immigration policy was to blame for the deaths of the eleven workers in the grain hopper car. Then he pointed out that the rail road companies should also share blame because there was no way to get out of these cars, once they were locked from the outside. "What if a rail worker or a grain elevator worker got caught inside? There would be no way they could get out," he said.

Apparently federal law does not require that hopper car latches be made so that they can be opened from the inside.

According to the Des Moines Register, Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said, "I think what we would find is that probably the cost of doing so would greatly outweigh the benefits."

Profits over people once again!

Edwin Fruit
Des Moines, Iowa
 
 
 
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