(March 2003)
Judy Somberg, issue editor, writes:
As we go to press, the Bush and Co. war against Iraq seems unstoppable, in spite of millions of people around the world expressing their opinion in the streets that this is a war of aggression -- aggression by the United States, not by Iraq. The Guild, through our members, continues our work to try to stop the war, by participating in coalitions and demonstrations against the war, by disseminating information about the illegality of the war (see Fact Sheet on Illegal Attack on Iraq at www.nlg.org), by representing demonstrators and those committing civil disobedience, and by filing lawsuits (see suit by John Bonifaz on page 3).At the same time, in this issue of Mass Dissent, we continue to look at what is happening in other arenas around the world.Brook Baker continues his series about the global AIDS epidemic with an article explaining the role of international trade agreements and U.S. policy in the growth of the epidemic. Brook argues that the U.S., through the use of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), has promoted "Big Pharma" at the expense of slowing down the epidemic. Brook gives a number of examples of how the use of TRIPS has limited access by African countries to lower-priced AIDS medications.Based on his observations from a recent trip to Israel and the occupied territories, Dan Burnstein, former co-chair of the Guild Middle East Committee, writes about the difficulties of achieving peace there. Although the obstacles are many, he found a genuine willingness among people to try to work toward a solution. He believes that the role of Americans could be important in helping to achieve peace.Also in this issue, Marguerite "Mugs" Helen reports on a bill to create a Citizen Review Board for the Department of Corrections and urges members to attend a hearing on the bill on March 20.And finally, we report through words and photos on how Mass Chapter members fared at the February 15 demonstration in New York.
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