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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY
OR UNCLE SAM?
The answer
at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's
power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow
annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would
sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags
the tail.Fifty
years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs
out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the
heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg
in the East Village.Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii
died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher
Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered
them up.CounterPunch
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NAFTA's Failure and the
Increasingly Desperate Mexican Economy
What Bush's Speech
on Immigration Will Miss
By JEFF FAUX
In his speech tonight, President Bush
will likely once again ignore the 800-pound gorilla sitting in
the center of the immigration debate: Mexico, the source of over
three-quarters of illegal immigrants in America.
Like the rest of Washington, Mr. Bush talks as if the problem
of illegal immigration can be solved within the borders of this
country. More border guards might make crossing the frontier
more difficult, and amnesty and guest worker programs might redefine
the meaning of "legal," but they will not stop--and
may well accelerate--the growing tide of people driven north
by poverty and the lack of job opportunities at home.
Some 40% of the more than 100
million people still living in Mexico say they would come to
the United States if they had the opportunity, which can be bought
for the roughly $2,500 or so it costs for a "coyote"
to smuggle them across the border. Last year, at least 400 died
in the attempt.
This was not supposed to happen.
Thirteen years ago, when illegal immigration from Mexico over
a less-protected border was half of what it is today, we were
assured that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
would transform Mexico into a prosperous middle-class society.
"There will be less illegal immigration," promised
President Bill Clinton, "because more Mexicans will be able
to support their children by staying home." Mexican president
Carlos Salinas told Americans it was a choice between getting
Mexican tomatoes or tomato-pickers.
But NAFTA did not deliver.
Mexico has grown too slowly to create enough jobs for its people,
and the benefits of trade have largely gone to the wealthy, making
it one of the most unequal societies in Latin America. Moreover,
the agreement flooded Mexico with highly subsidized U.S. and
Canadian grain, driving between 1 and 2 million Mexican farmers
off the land and adding to the supply of desperate Mexicans looking
for work.
NAFTA stands in vivid contrast
to the experience of the economic integration of Western Europe,
which actually provided for free migration among the participating
nations. Originally there was great fear that Germany, France,
and the other rich economies would be flooded with workers from
Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece. To avoid this, the European
community provided funds for economic development programs, which
stimulated job growth in the poorer nations, and insisted on
domestic reforms that assured that the economic growth would
be broadly shared. The result was that the people of the poorer
nations stayed home and prospered.
It is time for the leaders
on this continent to acknowledge that NAFTA has not fulfilled
its promises and go back to the drawing boards. We need a new
deal among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It should include
a transfer of funds to Mexico for infrastructure, education,
and other public investments aimed at creating jobs and raising
wages there. In exchange, Mexican leaders would have to agree
on enforceable protections for human rights, free collective
bargaining, minimum wages, and other policies to promote the
equitable sharing of wealth.
Such a new deal with Mexico
would not be easy. But it would be far better to address the
source of the problem directly than continue with the illusion
that it can be solved simply by new immigration laws and ever-taller
fences. So long as the Mexican economy cannot provide its people
with jobs, they will keep coming.
Jeff Faux was founding president and now distinguished
fellow of the Economic Policy Institute
in Washington, D.C.
Now
Available
from CounterPunch Books!
The Case
Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
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