A Weekly Column by Bill Onasch
September 3, 2006
Week In Review
A Weekly Column by Bill
Onasch
September 3, 2006
This
week’s review is abbreviated as we focus on our imminent Labor Day Special.
Making Us Secure
While Homeland Security worked feverishly at the nation’s airports confiscating
bottled water to protect us from terrorist attacks, the FAA failed to prevent an
airliner from racing down a runway too short to allow take off. The resulting
crash killed more than lost their lives in the terrorist hijacking of United
flight 93 on 9/11. It was the crew’s first visit to the airport since a new
runway configuration was implemented just the previous week. Even after they
made a wrong turn disaster could likely have been averted if the air traffic
controller had immediately alerted them. But, unlike Homeland Security, the FAA
has been penny-pinching. Although their own rules call for two controllers to be
on duty at this airport there was only one. He had worked fifteen out of the
previous 24 hours, and had managed only two hours sleep between shifts. After
clearing the ill-fated flight for take off he had turned his attention to
catching up on paper work. And people wonder why I don’t fly any more.
One Man’s Trash…
After plea bargaining two men got burglary charges reduced to trespassing for
taking five cucumbers, four or five apricots, two bundles of asparagus spears
and a handful of cherries–from a garbage can at Sweet Pea Produce in Steamboat
Springs, Colorado. The men said they arrived in town late, after all stores
selling food were closed, and weren’t aware that garbage pilfering was taken so
seriously in Colorado. By copping to the lesser charge these produce purloiners
got off easy with only six months jail time.
Afghan Recovery
“Opium Harvest at Record Level in Afghanistan,” proclaims a headline in today’s
New York Times.
Teachers Strike Where All Kids Are Left Behind
Life had been grim enough for the last several generations of youth living in
the Occupied Territories, conquered by Israel in 1967, today governed by the
Palestinian Authority. Things have gotten much worse since Palestinian voters
chose Hamas to be their governing party. Bush and the European Union immediately
cut off aid and Israel sealed off Palestine, bringing most economic activity to
a halt. The 175,000 Palestinian public employees, including teachers, have
received little pay since March. Desperate, their unions have turned to the
tactic of last resort for workers everywhere—the strike.
The Hamas government has declared the strikes illegal, says it has no money to
pay, and claims such disruption is just what Israel and the U.S. want to see.
We support the right to strike unconditionally. We are no fans of the political
perspective of Hamas. But we recognize they indeed are short the 150 million
dollars in aid pledges reneged on by Bush and his European allies and are also
being starved by the Israeli blockade. Such actions aimed at overthrowing a
democratically elected regime run counter to every principle of democracy and
self-determination.
Those of us in this country can best show our solidarity with Palestinian
working people by demanding that the government that speaks in our name come
through with the aid that was pledged to support essential services in Palestine
and further call on Israel to lift the blockade of the Occupied Territories.
Thankful For His Daily Bread
General Electric’s CEO, Jeffrey R. Immelt, “earns” as much in one day as the
average U.S. teacher makes in a year (46,600).
That’s almost all for this week—the Labor Day Special will be out on Labor
Day.