Hey Jim,
Thanks for the great website for the Wooblies. I used to be member of the
International Woodworkers of America and I used to enjoy strikes because I
got strike pay which amounted to about $40 per week for sitting in a both
waving a placard at the entrance of Weyerhaueser mill in Vavenby here. The
strikes were always in the summer months so I would have fun not showing up
to wave a placard...and go swimming and stuff.
I thought the other article by Noam Chomsky on the Wooblies site was even
more important from an enviroethics standpoint. I see another reference to
the 'psychological operations and training in counterinsurgency' US style
here that reminds me of the Unabomber as a test subject at Harvard when he
was experimented on by one of the leading founders of the 'mind control'
techniques of the CIA. Anyway I appreciate the post on the web site.
From http://www.iww.org.au/da/171/etimor.htm
Exposing foreign militaries to US values
"Inquiries about Clinton's programs received the routine response from the
State Department: US military training "serves a very positive function in
terms of exposing foreign militaries to US values." These values were
exhibited as military aid to Indonesia flowed and government-licensed sales
of armaments increased five-fold from fiscal 1997 to last year. A month ago
(Sept. 19), the London Observer international news service and the London
Guardian Weekly published a story headlined "US Trained Butchers of East
Timor." The report, by two respected correspondents, described Clinton's
"Iron Balance" program, which trained Indonesian military in violation of
congressional bans as late as 1998. Included were Kopassus units, the
murderous forces that organised and directed the "militias" and participated
directly in their atrocities, as Washington was well awareÑjust as it knew
that these long-time beneficiaries of US training were "legendary for their
cruelty" and in East Timor "became the pioneer and exemplar for every kind
of atrocity" (Ben Anderson, one of the world's leading Indonesia
specialists).
Clinton's "Iron Balance" program provided these forces with more training in
counterinsurgency and "psychological operations," expertise that they put to
use effectively at once. As they and their minions were burning down the
capital city of Dili in September, murdering and rampaging, the Pentagon
announced that "A US-Indonesian training exercise focused on humanitarian
and disaster relief activities concluded Aug. 25," five days before the
referendum that elicited the sharp escalation in crimesÑprecisely as the
political leadership in Washington expected, at least if they were reading
their own intelligence reports."
More on Greenpeace and my friends and my self
I have a friend that used to volunteer for Greenpeace in Vancouver. Her
nickname was 'Goober' and she came from one of those upper middle class
families. She said it was a great way to meet single men. She had a ball and
did not have anything bad to say about the whole time she volunteered.
Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver here.
I don't no but getting paid to wave a placard for $40.00 week makes the
volunteer pay of $30.00 per 5-6 hour day pretty putrid. What is $30.00
twenty years ago in Australia worth today? I was getting paid in Canadian
dough so I think there is no comparison. I certainly appreciated being in
the IWA though.
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