2-25-07, 10:18 am

Gabcast! Poltical Affairs #3 - Employee Free Choice Act to Get a Vote in House

plus, Rising Sectarian Violence in Iraq; Japanese Communists Fight Constitutional Revisions; Australians Oppose Secret Base Deal

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800) as 'a top priority' for House Democrats.

Speaking at a news conference as part of a series of nation-wide events sponsored by the AFL-CIO, Pelosi said, 'It’s time to restore the right of American workers to join a union without harassment from employers.'

Pro-union organizations say the bill may come up for a vote within the next two weeks, and are urging supporters to contact their representatives.

The legislation has the bipartisan support of 233 co-sponsors.

See or for more information. You can also send a message to Congress urging support for the Employee Free Choice Act by going to PoliticalAffairs.net and scrolling down the Take Action column.

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Despite a recent security crackdown in Baghdad, there has been no let up of sectarian violence in Iraq.

According to a report by IRIN News, since the February 2006 bombing of a revered Shia shrine in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, relations between Iraq’s main Muslim groups has deteriorated to the brink of civil war.

According to international observers, clashes and revenge killings between Sunnis and Shias have escalated at an alarming rate.

In the capital, which has seen the highest levels of violence in the country, families of the respective sects have been driven out of neighborhoods where they have long lived.

The violence is likely the cause of a mass emigration of Sunnis from Baghdad to other areas of the country.

According to the Iraqi Migration and Displacement Ministry, nearly 100,000 families, about 500,000 individuals, have been displaced countrywide since February 2006.

At least 30% of those are from Baghdad alone.

The security crackdown, led by US occupation forces, has failed to stop the rising violence.

Many analysts believe the presence of US forces exacerbates the violence because of the close alliance between the Bush administration and the Shia-dominated government and the lack of national sovereignty.

Withdrawing US forces combined with regional diplomatic efforts are likely the best first steps toward resolving the crisis and ending the war.

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In Japan, Japanese Communist Party (or JCP) Leader Ichida Tadayoshi last week criticized a US group for advocating revision of the Japanese Constitution.

According to the Party’s newspaper Akahata, a panel of Asian affairs 'experts' co-chaired by former Bush administration Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Joseph Nye, a former Clinton adviser, compiled a report entitled 'The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Getting Asia Right Through 2020,' which calls on Japan to renounce Article 9 of its Constitution.

Article 9 outlaws the creation of a military force other than a self-defense force and forbids participation in war.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party have called for a revision of Article 9.

Abe’s government has already expanded the role of Japan’s defense forces with the intention of participating in the Bush administration’s preemptive wars. This move earned Abe sharp criticism from the Communist Party last December.

An Akahata editorial argued that Abe’s policy 'will only encourage the Bush administration, which is deepening its isolation even from its allies, and help it accelerate its unjustifiable war policies.'

Ichida told the paper this past week that, 'We will call for the defense of Article 9 louder than ever and increase the struggle to stop the constitutional revision.' … Australia’s Guardian newspaper reports the launch of a campaign to block a military base agreement between Australia and the US.

The secret deal between the Bush administration and Australia’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister John Howard would set up a new US base in Geraldton, Western Australia, about 200 miles north of Perth.

The Guardian reports that the purpose of the new facility would be part of a new network of military satellites to enhance the US's ability to wage war in the Middle East and Asia.

Local residents say the base would make them a military target and would bring with it the numerous social problems associated with US military bases.

Nationally, says The Guardian, the installation would undermine Australia’s sovereignty, harm relations with its neighbors, massively increase its military spending, and further entwine the country in the Bush administration’s aggressive and militaristic foreign policy agenda.

The Guardian opined:

'If Australia pursued a genuine defense policy based on an independent and peaceful foreign policy, the Asia-Pacific region would be a safer place and the billions of dollars freed up could not only be used to meet the present crises in health and education but also provide Australia’s Pacific neighbors with genuine assistance.'

You can find out more about the Australian anti-bases campaign at: