workers.org Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! FEB. 8, 2007 VOL. 49, NO. 5 50¢ Mass protest demands: Arco iris para los Cinco Cubanos 12 Bring the troops • home NOW! Active-duty GIs, vets lead off D.C. march By John Catalinotto Most marchers came from the hundreds of community, local Washington and state peace and anti-war organizations that mobilize under 4-5 the umbrella of the national anti-war coalitions. A large number BLACK HISTO Anti-war forces poured into the U.S. capital on Jan. 27. It was of the marchers had a sign or banner to hold. Some were hand- The Panthers, the first national anti-war action since the elections in November made, some were provided by the United for Peace and Justice showed that a large majority of the people oppose the occupation (UFPJ) coalition that initiated the protest, others by the other police brutality of Iraq. Demonstrations were also held in other cities around the coalitions, national groups, unions, university student groups country. and community organizations on the march. and today’s struggles The D.C. mobilization, which gave a new impulse to the grow- Unions that mobilized included Hospital Workers SEIU ing movement to end the U.S. occupation, was among the largest Local 1199 and the Professional Staff Congress from New York, held since January and February 2003, when hundreds of thou- many locals of the Communication Workers (CWA), the United sands marched in Washington, New York and San Francisco Federation of Teachers, District Council 37 and United Auto IMMIGRANT desperately hoping their actions would halt the looming U.S. Workers and Teamsters from Detroit. invasion. Slogans throughout the march indicated there was near una- RIGHTS 3 Galvanizing opposition today was Bush’s “surge” of 21,000 nimity about what the U.S. should do regarding Iraq: get out more troops to Iraq. More Iraqis were dying, more U.S. troops and bring the troops home. Active-duty troops, recent Iraq vet- • Smithfield raids were getting shot out of their helicopters and more blood was erans, families of troops and veterans of prior U.S. wars held an being shed on the streets of Baghdad and Najaf even as the dem- Continued on page 6 • LA 8 victory onstrators made their way from the Mall to the Capitol. Aware of all this, the crowd cheered loudly at any insult to Bush, Cheney or their cronies and any appeal to “Impeach Bush.” One hand-made sign said simply: STATE REPRESSION “Bush, go surge yourself.” • Army vs. Watada 6 The crowd scorned the Democratic Congress’s plan for a “symbolic resolu- tion” to express disapproval of the war. • Al-Arian on hunger strike 7 Protesters showed they want Congress to stop all funds for the war and occupation, • Bush ‘renditions’ set back 11 no ifs, ands and buts, and will focus dur- ing the coming months on the struggle in Congress over funding. The presence of many Iraq War veter- LATIN AMERICA 8-9 ans and active-duty GIs made it clear that this growing sector of the anti-war move- • Venezuela moves ahead ment can play a big role in ending the occupation. • Rich-poor gap in El Salvador WW PHOTO: GLORIA VERDIEU • Support for Cuban 5 • Coke boycott San Diego, Calif. Subscribe to Workers World 4 weeks trial subscription $1 One year subscription: $25 Name _________________________________ Address ______________________________ City/State/Zip ________________________ Phone______________ email ___________ Workers World Newspaper 55 W. 17 St. NY, NY 10011 Washington D.C.. 212-627-2994 www.workers.org PHOTO: ROBERTO MERCADO Page Feb. 8, 007 www.workers.org As housing market falls Foreclosures kill the dream By Milt Neidenberg to achieve sustainable economic security. Losing that H In the U.S. home, in many cases, means losing life savings,” said Mass protest demands: Bring the troops home now! . 1 Home ownership was once a dream come true for CRL President Michael D. Calhoun in December. “Given Foreclosures kill the dream . 2 millions of workers. For many it is now becoming a the size of the subprime market today—nearly a quarter ICE arrests 21 workers at N C. hog factory . 3 nightmare. of all loans made this year—this epidemic of foreclosures Victory at last for Los Angeles 8 . 3 It was reported Dec. 19 that “2.2 million households will have a negative impact on the economy as a whole. Jury convicts doctor’s killer . 3 ... Low-income home buyers have been at risk even in the subprime market either have lost their homes to Chicago & Denver: the war at home . 4 when prices of housing are up. Thirteen percent of sub- foreclosures or hold subprime mortgages that will fail Media seek to justify racist police killings . 4 prime home loans ended in foreclosure within five years. over the next several years. These foreclosures will cost New FIST chapter fights bigotry . 4 homeowners as much as $164 billion, primarily in lost Prepayment penalties make them more risky.” A tribute to the Black Panther Party . 5 home equity.” (Center for Responsible Lending—CRL) Another vicious form of racism is the housing crisis/ Rally supports arrested Panthers . 5 Many homeowners are trapped, especially those with foreclosure epidemic in the Gulf Coast region follow- Army drops two charges against resister . 6 adjustable mortgage rates and interest-only down pay- ing Katrina. In New Orleans, out of 97,000 homeown- ments. As home values fall, the equity they were count- ers who applied for Louisiana’s “road home” Federal FIST youth join protest . 6 ing on dries up, along with the homeowner’s ability to Emergency Management Assistance for rebuilding, only Palestinian jailed in U.S. begins hunger strike . 7 borrow and spend that has stimulated the economy in 8,300 received award letters. Labor, youth expand Coke boycott . 8 recent years. As of December 2006 less than 100 had received checks. “Not a dime has gone to rebuild rental hous- Renters with poor credit, many of them workers from H Around the world the oppressed Black and Latin@ nationalities, have been ing, although about one-half of the displaced population An ‘Operation Condor’ in the Middle East? . 7 manipulated into taking subprime loans—interest-only had lived in rentals. Protestors stormed through New Lavender & red, part 88 . 8 mortgage payments and adjustable rate mortgages—to Orleans to protest Housing and Urban Development buy a longed-for home of their own and forego paying plans to demolish 7,500 units of public housing—many Aid to Chiapas . 8 a landlord. But one of every five of these mortgages that hardly scathed by the storm—in favor of ‘mixed’ more Venezuelan Assembly gives Chávez broad powers . 9 originated in the last two years will end in foreclosure, expensive housing.” (Facing South blog) El Salvador . 9 says the CRL. U.N. occupation of Haiti intensifies . 11 The $10 trillion bubble and capitalism This rate is nearly double the projected rate of simi- Canada to pay torture victim $9M . 11 lar loans made in 2002 and “exceeds the worst foreclo- Housing is a multiplier industry. It impacts on banks and financial institutions, construction corporations and sure experience in the modern mortgage market,” which H Editorials occurred during the 1980s. That’s when the savings and a myriad of related industries. The housing market—a The real cancer . 10 loan banks collapsed under similar lending practices. $10 trillion bubble that represents almost 80 percent of They were bailed out at a cost to the workers/taxpayers the $13 trillion gross domestic product—is weakening H Noticias En Español of about $200 billion. fast. A hard landing—code word for a crash—could be in sight. Su ayuda es necesaria para liberar a los cinco cubanos 12 Racism and predatory lenders Home sales fell nearly 13 percent in August 2006 com- Solidaridad del Arco Iris para los Cinco Cubanos . 12 Foreclosure means losing the equity in their homes pared to the year before; home mortgage debt since 1987 and having to go back to paying exorbitant rents and fac- has skyrocketed from $1.8 trillion to $8.2 trillion. ing potential eviction. Lenders will no longer make loans Caught in this maelstrom are a wide array of banks, to applicants who do not earn enough to make payments private equity funds, real-estate investors and specula- at the highest interest rates possible under the terms of tors who wheel and deal in the bond market that sets the loan. long-term interest rates—the leading cause of the rise in The greed-driven financial and corporate institu- mortgage rates. Workers World tions—snake oil profiteers, bankers, financial investors Over two-fifths of all private jobs created since 2001 55 West 17 Street and real-estate brokers—garner huge fees and commis- have been in housing-related sectors. As the housing New York, N.Y. 10011 sions from subprime mortgages. market slows, more layoffs will occur and wages and Phone: (212) 627-2994 Wheeling and dealing with people’s lives is consid- benefits will be downsized. Compounding this debacle is the slowdown in the Fax: (212) 675-7869 ered routine under capitalism. “Mortgage companies, E-mail: [email protected] manufacturing sector and the auto industry. banks and investors have been aggressively marketing Web: www.workers.org and trading the loans because their higher interest rates The housing crisis contains the seeds of a general capi- Vol. 49, No. 5 • Feb. 8, 2007 make them far more profitable than prime loans, even talist crisis. The $10 trillion bubble can have a domino Closing date: Jan.