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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers! From Nixon to Sarah Palin
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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
From Nixon to Sarah Palin
What’s happened to the Republican Party? What’s happened to populism? Read Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair on the life and death of Nixonland, and the class politics of the war over Sarah Palin. ALSO in our new subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter, read Serge Halimi on how Russia gave Georgia and the U.S.a well-deserved black eye. PLUS Carrie Dann’s wonderful first-hand account of the fight of the Western Shoshone to reclaim their land. Get your copy today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! CounterPunch books and gear make great presents.
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Today's Stories September 4, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair September 3, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Sen. Mike Gravel Vijay Prashad Nikolas Kozloff Ralph Nader Howard Lisnoff Steve Early / Cal Winslow Shepherd Bliss Bill Quigley Website of the Day
September 2, 2008 Marjorie Cohn Jonathan Cook Robert Weitzel Corey D. B. Walker John Ross Eric Walberg Judith Scherr Richard Morse B. R. Gowani Michael Greenberg Website of the Day September 1, 2008 Nikolas Kozloff C. G. Estabrook Manuel Garcia, Jr. David Macaray B. R. Gowani Saul Landau Charles Orloski Gloria La Riva Website of the Day August 30 / 31, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Bill Quigley Jeffrey St. Clair Andy Worthington Deepak Tripathi Stanley Howard Dave Lindorff Wajahat Ali Robert Fantina Josh Schlossberg Benjamin Dangl Missy Beattie Howard Lisnoff Suzan Mazur Rev. Jim Rigby David Yearsely Serge Quadruppani B.R. Gowani Richard Rhames Poets' Basement Website of the Day
August 29, 2008 Mike Whitney Brian Cloughley David Ker Thomson Joanne Mariner Neve Gordon Chris Genovali Ron Jacobs Michael Donnelly August 28, 2008 Judy Gumbo Albert Paul Cantor Saul Landau / Andy Worthington Ben Terrall Leonard Peltier Niranjan Ramakrishnan Donna J. Volatile Website of the Day
August 27, 2008 Anthony DiMaggio Jordan Flaherty Ralph Nader Melissa Checker Bob Sommer Cynthia McKinney Ali Khan M. Junaid Levesque-Alam Dave Lindorff David Macaray Website of the Day
August 26, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Michael D. Yates Paul Craig Roberts Andy Worthington Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Huwaida Arraf Joseph Grosso Sheldon Richman Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day August 25, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Bill Quigley Jonathan Cook James McEnteer Uri Avnery Will Potter Robert Jensen Stephen Lendman Wajahat Ali Carl Finamore Website of the Day August 23 / 4, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patty O'Grady Nicole Colson Steve Conn Deepak Trapathi Robert Fantina Jonathan M. Feldman Joshua Frank Osama Qashoo Howard Lisnoff David Michael Green Dave Lindorff Christopher Brauchli Alan Farago Michael Winship Richard Rhames David Rosen Patrick B. Barr Jamie Newlin Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 22, 2008 Boris Kagarlitsky Laura Carlsen Bob Barr Marwan Bishara Peter Morici Manuel Garcia, Jr. Charles Mostoller Sumbul Ali-Karamali Keith Rosenthal John F. Miglio Website of the Day August 21, 2008 Allan J. Lichtman Dave Lindorff Loserville: How Obama Blew It Ralph Nader Joanne Mariner Wajahat Ali Ron Jacobs Rostam Purzal Anthony Papa Website of the Day August 20, 2008 Michael Neumann Ray McGovern Eric Walberg Fidaa Abed Daniel Haack Mike Whitney Website of the Day August 19, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Deepak Tripathi Marwan Bishara Saul Landau William S. Lind Martha Rosenberg James Brittain Pratyush Chandra David Macaray Website of the Day August 18, 2008 Tariq Ali Gary Leupp Uri Avnery John Ross Farooq Sulehria Luis Rodriguez Manuel Garcia, Jr. Noah Baker Merrill Charles Thomson Website of the Day August 16 / 17, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Deepak Tripathi Conn Hallinan Mike Whitney Robert Fantina Ray McGovern Nicole Colson Fatima Bhutto Jean-Luis Rocca David Michael Green Ramzi Kysia Dave Lindorff Lisa Martinovic Richard Rhames Don Santina Rannie Amiri Ramzy Baroud John Stanton Howard Lisnoff Ron Jacobs Seth Sandronsky Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
August 15, 2008 Steve Niva David Remington Michael Winship Paul Craig Roberts Farzana Versey Harvey Wasserman Felice Pace Julian Critchley Website of the Day August 14, 2008 Saul Landau / Conn Hallinan Mike Whitney Reza Fiyouzat Ralph Nader Christopher Brauchli The Cheerleader in China Jack Bradigan Spula Patrick Irelan John Walsh Dan Bacher Website of the Day
August 13, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts David Remington Brian Cloughley Glen Ford Brendan Cooney Dave Lindorff Tom Lewis Stan Cox Alan Farago Martha Rosenberg Website of the Day August 12, 2008 Uri Avnery Anthony DiMaggio Bill Christison Eric Walberg Kate Connolly Diane Farsetta Peter Morici Thom Rutledge Lee Patton Niranjan Ramakrishnan Website of the Day August 11, 2008 Ishmael Reed Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Douglas Kammen William Willers Greg Moses Jeff Leys Cynthia McKinney Alan Farago Website of the Day August 9 / 10, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Bruce Jackson Kevin Young Chris Floyd Joshua Frank Robert Fantina Brendan Cooney Mark Almond Lois Gibbs Rev. William Alberts Kathy Kelly John Ross David Michael Green Bill Moyers / Ron Jacobs Richard Rhames David Yearsley Lee Sustar Brenda Norrell Ben Terrall Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 8, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Manuel Garcia, Jr. M. Shahid Alam Andy Worthington Lawrence J. Korb David Model Alan Farago Diop Olugbala Firmin DeBrabander Website of the Day August 7, 2008 Dr. Trudy Bond William Blum Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Robert Weitzel Jacob G. Hornberger Binoy Kampmark David Macaray Howard Lisnoff Website of the Day August 6, 2008 Marc Herold Greg Moses Sheldon Rampton Kevin Young Michael Estrada Robert Weissman Dr. Susan Block Cindy Sheehan Ace Hoffman Website of the Day August 5, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Jeff Halper Patrick Cockburn Nancy Welch Peter Morici Sousan Hammad Eamon Martin Shepherd Bliss Tim Matson Website of the Day August 4, 2008 Uri Avnery Saul Landau David W. Remington Rev. Jesse Jackson Dave Lindorff Peter Morici Joanne Mariner Ramzy Baroud Christian Wright Website of the Day August 2 / 3, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patrick Cockburn Winslow T. Wheeler James Abourezk Andy Worthington Brian Cloughley Robert Fantina Benjamin Dangl Marlene Martin David Yearsley Fatemeh Keshavarz David Michael Green Obama as Dukakis Harvey Wasserman Jason Hribal Phyllis Pollack Laray Polk Ron Jacobs David Macaray David Rosen Dan Bacher Joe Allen Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 1, 2008 Jonathan Cook Nikolas Kozloff Rannie Amiri Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli M. K. Bhadrakumar Patrick Cockburn James J. Brittain Dan Bacher Website of the Day
July 31, 2008 Michael Hudson Carl Finamore Mike Whitney Joshua Frank Andy Worthington Ralph Nader Bill Moyers / Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff Website of the Day July 30, 2008 Brian M. Downing Chuck Spinney William S. Lind David Ker Thomson Karl Grossman Mike Whitney Martha Rosenberg James Murren Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Website of the Day July 29, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair John Ross Peter Morici Alison Weir Gary Leupp David Macaray Brenda Norrell Marjorie Cohn Eric Ruder Website of the Day July 28, 2008 Dr. Bryant Welch Kathy Kelly Mike Whitney Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli Clifton Ross Stephen Lendman Website of the Day
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September 4, 2008 When Gustav Hit CubaHurricane as Nuclear StrikeBy FIDEL CASTRO It is not an overstatement. This is the general expression of many compatriots. It was the impression of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Alvaro Lopez Miera, an experienced soldier, when he saw the twisted steel towers, the shattered houses and the devastation everywhere in the Isle of Youth. "It has been a hard blow; I couldn’t even imagine it," Ana Isa Delgado, the Party secretary and president of the Defense Council in that important municipality, said in a voice that was hoarse but steady and resolute. "I’ve never seen anything like it in the almost 50 years I’ve lived here!" said an astounded resident. A young soldier getting out of an amphibious vehicle shouted, "Let’s demonstrate that we are ready to give our lives for the people!" In Herradura, looking at the devastation all around him, Army Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frías shared his admiration for and amazement at the people’s courage and said, "This is like seeing a nuclear explosion." He came close to seeing one in Southwest Angola, if the South African racists had decided to drop one of the seven bombs supplied them by the U.S. government on the Cuban-Angolan forces. That was a calculated risk, however, and the most convenient tactics were adopted. Polo was accompanied by Olga Lidia Tapia, Party first secretary and president of the Provincial Defense Council, who never doubted for a second the results of the efforts and determination of her compatriots. In all honesty, I daresay that the photos and film footage shown on national television on Sunday reminded me of the desolation I saw when I visited Hiroshima, victim of the first nuclear strike in August 1945. With good reason, it is said that hurricanes release an enormous amount of energy, equal, perhaps, to thousands of nuclear weapons like the ones used on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It would be worthwhile for a Cuban physicist or mathematician to do the relevant calculations and make a comprehensible presentation. Now the battle lies in feeding the hurricane’s victims. The difficulty does not lie in reestablishing electricity as soon as possible. The problem in the Isle of Youth is that only two of 16 bakeries — all equipped with electric ovens and generators — were able to operate immediately; the buildings had been severely damaged. They needed to receive bread or crackers. The amount of roofing and other materials needed for housing at this time is enormous. And the Isle of Youth is separated from the main island by the sea. It’s not enough to fill up trucks with food and material to send there directly. Our Armed Forces have sent airfield and land and air transport specialists. Day and night, with the help of generators, planes can land on the Isle of Youth’s airports. Their mission is to wage a battle for the people without wasting any resources. They will act with the same spirit in devastated areas of Pinar del Río (province). All agencies and institutions have their assigned tasks; they are all important. But goods do not come out of the blue. Sharing involves sacrifice. Let’s not give ourselves the luxury of forgetting this in a few days. Adverse events should serve to make us work more efficiently every day and for rationally and fairly using every piece of material. We must fight against our own shallowness and selfishness. One hundred million dollars signifies just nine dollars per inhabitant, and we need much more. We need 30 times, 40 times that figure just to meet our most basic needs. That effort must come from the work of our people. Nobody can do it for us. Obviously, our capacity to disseminate news has increased and our people, who know how to read and write, are also highly educated. Kcho, the painter, went by plane to the Isle of Youth, his birthplace, and sent us a letter about the high morale of his compatriots. These are a few paragraphs:
With his letter, he (Kcho) sent eloquent photos of the devastation. On the envelope, he drew an outline of the Isle of Youth with a Cuban flag flying. The excellent painters who have always accompanied our battles of ideas might leave a record of this episode and encourage our people in their epic struggle. Orfilio Pelaez in the Granma (newspaper) told us about a hurricane that hit in 1846 with a record minimum pressure of 916 hPa registered by a machine. That happened 162 years ago, when there was no radio, television, movies, Internet or many other means of communication that sometimes clash, creating chaos in our minds. The Cuban population at that time was at least 12 times smaller. Using slave and semi-slave labor, the country exported the largest amount of sugar and coffee for a considerable part of that century. Retirement did not exist, life expectancy was much lower, and the illnesses of old age were almost unknown, as was mass education, which is so much needed for the development of so many brains and brawn. Natural resources were abundant. Hurricanes had a big impact but did not signify a national disaster. Climate change, quite far-off, was not even a subject of discussion. In the Granma (newspaper) of today, Tuesday, the same journalist tells us about the heroic feats of our people in their battle for recuperation, and the fruits of efforts made in recent years. For his part, Rubiera, the scientist, made a detailed observation of the ruins of the Meteorology Institute facilities in Paso Real de San Diego during his tour of Pinar del Rio; he saw how the wind-measuring equipment registered 340 kilometers (per hour) when it was destroyed by strong gusts of wind. It was been announced that he will speak as part of the "Roundtable" (TV/radio program) today. He has theories about what happened. Juan Varela, for his part, has reported on damage to the largest agricultural farm in Güira de Melena, Habana province. This farm should have produced about 140,000 tons of root vegetables, grains and green vegetables this year. As I see it, losses in work time, food products, farming and irrigation equipment, fuel and other costs, at international prices, total millions just at that enterprise. However, the most impressive event, because of the human drama portrayed, was reported by journalist Alfonso Nacianceno and photographer Juvenal Balan: the odyssey of the five crew members of the Langostero 100 (lobster boat) from Batabanó in Habana province. These workers had been ordered back to port like all the other fishing boats, in due time. By pure chance, they were delayed. On Saturday, as the hurricane was quickly advancing, communication with them was lost. I had said in two previous reflections: "We’re lucky to have a Revolution! No citizen will be abandoned to his fate." I found out the lobster boat was incommunicado on Saturday, almost at midnight. Raúl had given me news of the situation; he was confident in the fishermen’s experience in dealing with storms and hurricanes. He told me that at dawn, he would send the necessary resources to find them. As soon as the weather improved, the search started; it eventually involved 36 boats, three helicopters and two planes for almost two days. There was no trace of the (lobster) boat, but they found the shipwrecked men. What they describe is incredible; whoever is familiar with the sea knows what it means to spend endless hours hanging on to an oar and then a buoy. The revolutionary miracle happened and the fishermen were rescued. But let’s not get carried away by illusions. This hurricane has left behind 100,000 homes hit to a lesser or greater extent and the almost total loss of things needed after a tragedy, as Kcho explains in his letter. How many safe, hurricane-proof homes does Cuba need? No less that 1.5 million houses for a total of 3.5 million families. Let’s estimate what it would cost internationally for such an investment according to figures used worldwide. A family in Europe has to pay at least $100,000, plus interest, for which they contribute $700 per month of their income for 15 years. Ten billion dollars is the approximate cost of 100,000 homes for average-size families in the developed countries, which are the ones that determine the prices of industrial and food products in the world. To this, we must add the cost of social facilities that were affected and must be rebuilt, economic facilities and those required for development. It is only from our work, I repeat, that the resources will come. While the new generations are carrying out this task, the men and women of this country need the solidarity, courage and combativeness shown by the people of Pinar del Río and the Isle of Youth. The empire is going through a difficult test at this time, in the second half of the year, involving its ability to deal with the difficulties brought about by its lifestyle at the expense of other peoples. Now they need a change at the wheel. Bush and Cheney have almost been left out of the Republican campaign for being warmongers and undesirables. There is no debate about changing the system; it is about how to preserve it at a lesser cost. Developed imperialism will end up killing everyone trying to enter its territory to become wage slaves and have something to eat. It is already doing so. The chauvinism and egotism generated by that system is huge. We know that and we will continue developing solidarity, our greatest resource within and outside of our country.
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