Sign the petition
Thank you for a wonderful petition against the war on Iraq (democrats.com/iraq). I live in Sweden and I translated it to Swedish for a communist paper.
Maria Waldenvia e-mail
DuBois history
In their article on Ish Flory (8/10), Bill Applehans and Carolyn Black state that Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, living in Ghana, “renounced his U.S. citizenship, formally applied for membership in the Communist Party, USA.”
Both points are inaccurate and misleading.
1. On his U.S. citizenship: Dr. DuBois went to Ghana on the invitation of the head of the Ghanaian government, Nkrumah, to edit a projected encyclopedia of Africa. Dr. Levering Lewis, in Volume II of his biography of DuBois, states that while living in Ghana, DuBois went to the U.S. Embassy for a renewal of his passport. The Embassy refused, thus denying him his rights of citizenship in violation of the U.S. Constitution. It is only then that DuBois, on his 95th birthday, became a citizen of Ghana.
2. On joining the CPUSA: Dr. DuBois joined the CPUSA in 1961 in the USA not in Ghana. He applied for admission in a letter to the Party and was personally welcomed as a member of the CPUSA by Gus Hall, on behalf of the Party. Of course Dr. DuBois was a U.S. citizen at the time of joining and made a tremendous contribution to the U.S. and world struggles by joining. For further information and documents see Highlights of a Fighting History: 60 Years of the Communist Party USA.
George FishmanNew Haven CT
Math, China & the 21st century
The International Congress of Mathematicians is being held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, until the 28th of August. This is the main international conference held every four years in the field of mathematics. It spans all branches of the subject of mathematics, from the most pristine pure abstract topics, to useful areas such as statistics, and on to educational and historical areas relevant to mathematics.
The opening ceremony was yesterday. As a sign of the significance attached to the mathematical sciences and its relevence to the future of the People’s Republic, it was held in The Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing. This was a tremendous event, attended by over 4,000 mathematicians and their families from around the world. The main award in mathematics, the Fields Medal, was presented at the ceremony.
The special significance of mathematics to the advancement of China was made evident by the very special guests. The President of China, Jiang, was in attendance. Some people stood and applauded when he was announced and entered. Also three Vice-Premiers were in attendance too. Vice-Premier Li gave a speech making a nice comment about the relevance of Marxism to the current situation.
It is wonderful that such high-powered visitors were in attendance. Given the perilous international situation, the President or Vice-Premiers would have plenty of excuses to avoid the Opening Ceremony, but the speeches made clear the importance of mathematics and its applications in the economic development and new techologies that will be significant in the 21st century.
Jesse Deutschvia e-mail
Thank you for the petition
Many thanks for the petition against war on Iraq, which is being circulated among Iraqis everywhere. Thanks also for keeping me informed of the PWW articles. We remain firm against war and the dictatorship. I liked and translated for our paper comrade Sam Webb’s article from the July 20 issue on corporate thievery and the new political moment. Warm greetings and best wishes all around.
Dr. Ghanem Mouri
Editor of Al-Thakafa Al Jadida
London, England
More web activism
There’s a group of folks over at Bartcop.com who are trying to organize a national day of protest against Bushco’s erasure of civil liberties, and to that end we’ve produced a website that we hope will appeal to the “average” American and activists alike.
Because of our concerns for the political sensitivies of the former, you may find the tone of our website a bit tame. However, I hope you will take a look at what we’ve got and join us, give us a plug, participate, or just give us some feedback. We’re mostly novices, so any suggestions you have will be most welcome.
Our address is www.americalivefree.org.
Thank you for all that you are doing! We’ve got to undo this coup – now!
Kathleen Trevenavia e-mail
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