Letters

Iraq war casualties

Thank you for Susan Webb’s article “War in Iraq takes horrifying toll” (PWW/Mundo April 5) It was very informative and heart-wrenching. In the article, you stated that 725 Iraqi civilian deaths have been reported. Could you tell me where this statistic came from, and if there is a reliable source, which is keeping up with this statistic?

Daryl Mortensen

Via e-mail

Author’s note: The civilian casualty number came from www.iraqbodycount.net, which assembles data from publicly available news reports and other reputable sources – on their website they provide detailed information about the casualties, their sources and how they compile the data. Unfortunately, when I looked at the site just now, the number of civilian casualties is already up to over 1,200 – all needless casualties of this horrible war.

Too crowded for them

It was announced that the White House Easter Egg Roll will be limited to military families. While this is commendable, perhaps they should also include children who are no longer getting health care or day- care, or would that make the White House lawn too crowded?

Carolyn Plummer

New York NY

No yellow ribbons for the working class

Being buried alive is a terrible way to die. However, an average of 6,000 American workers lose their lives each year on-the-job accident. The AFL-CIO reports on their web site that each year more than 6 million workers are injured or become sick on the job. Sixty thousand American workers die from job injuries or occupational illnesses.

The AFL-CIO has chosen April 28 as a day to mourn the casualties suffered by our fellow workers. However, this day may pass unnoticed.

There will be no yellow ribbons for the working class.

Richard D. Neill

Cape May NJ

Support CITGO

I was glad to learn from your newspaper about CITGO gas being owned by the Venezuelan State Oil company. I have to buy from $80 to $100 worth of gas each month, and it always irked me that I had to give the money to the bad guys. I now have a CITGO charge card and am happy to fill up my car, knowing that the money I spend will ultimately help the workers and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Perhaps you or one of your readers could answer this question: Is there a similar way to show solidarity with workers and support the struggle for social and economic justice in our coffee purchases? I drink a lot of coffee, and it would be great to be able to purchase brand whose beans come from state-owned plantations, worker cooperatives, or some other just source. Are there any major brands like this that would be easy to find in grocery stores?

Joseph Reininger

Colorado Springs CO

Good for libraries

I presented a copy of the People’s Weekly World to the director of our local library in and asked that the paper be included along with other publications in the area provided.

After review at a board meeting we were approved for five copies per week.

I think this is step forward in letting interested people learn the real concerns of the average man that no other paper provides on a regular basic.

Other comrades or clubs might follow suit and be surprised with results as I was.

Halvard Ljongquist

Waterbury CT

Vote Bush out

I started reading People’s Weekly World last fall, picking up a free copy in a rack outside the Center for Marxist Education in Cambridge, while on my way to a security guard job at the old Necco Candy Factory. I was just laid-off because the building was sold to new owners who are converting it to other uses.

I find myself in agreement with most of what you stand for.

It’s like that old TV show: “You Asked for It” meaning the U.S. government has caused all this trouble for us. The biggest disaster to hit our country was the election in 1981 of the anti-labor, most foreign interventionist, pro-rich Reagan – Bush (Sr.) administration.

Bush Jr. and his gang are a threat to American freedoms. They must be voted out in 2004.

Charles Brickley

Watertown MA