February 29-March7, 2008
100 Years Ago in the forward
It isn’t easy to be an anarchist in America these days. In fact, it’s as bad as it was in 1901, after President McKinley was assassinated. New York’s most famous anarchist agitator, Emma Goldman, is supposed to speak in Chicago next week, but she may not make it, since the government is making it difficult for her. U.S. immigration commissioner Frank P. Sargent has called for Goldman to be arrested, remanded and deported to Russia, where she was born, even though she has been in the U.S. for more than 20 years. Goldman has never obtained citizenship papers, so it is legally possible for them to deport her.
75 Years Ago in the forward
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler ordered that all 100 communist legislators be arrested on the charges of complicity in the burning of the German Reichstag. The fire was discovered around 9 p.m., after the Communist deputies held a meeting. Firefighters battled the blaze for two hours before it was brought under control. Hitler has been looking for an excuse to ban the Communist Party, and now it appears that he has one, even though no one has any idea as to why the Communists would want to burn down the Reichstag. It is expected that the government will declare the Communist Party to be illegal and this fire is simply an excuse.
A newspaper in Dresden published a story detailing how “Jewish Bloodsuckers” murdered German children so they could use their blood for “religious purposes.” Afterward they allegedly fed their bodies to pigs. In Berlin, pamphlets are available all over the city that describe how Jews use Christian blood on Passover. The Nazi Party newspaper, Volkischer Beobachter, published articles this week that characterized Professor Albert Einstein as an illogical moron and wrote that they are happy that the scientist is currently in America and not in Germany.
50 Years Ago in the forward
The State of Israel is prepared to sign a non-aggression pact with both new Arab federations: Egypt with Syria and Jordan with Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced at a press conference that he would be willing to meet with Egyptian President Nasser regarding this issue. When asked whether Israel plans to rely on the 1947 partition plan, Ben-Gurion said, “The 1947 partition plan is dead, just like the people who were killed during the Arab invasion of Israel after the U.N. decision. Israel will consider the partition plan when the Arabs will bring the dead back to life.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
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