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Should the Left Cheer the Dollar's Drop? How to make the bankers scream: Robert Pollin, world's best obituarist of Clintonomics, explains it all for you. Do police states make people feel safer? Vicente Navarro on Franco's Spain, Cockburn on Ireland in the Fifties under the Catholic Hierarchy, Alevtina Rea on growing up in Brezhnev-time. Capitalism's true utopia? St Clair on the Pentagon's no-bid arms contracts. How's the press doing in Iraq? Patrick Cockburn tells all to Omar Waraich. Get the answers you're looking for in the latest subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison by KATHY KELLY  Today's Stories May 10, 2005 Michael
Neumann May 9, 2005 Louis
Proyect Robert
Fisk Kevin
Zeese Joshua
Frank Sasha
Kramer Andrew
Wimmer Jeffrey
Webber Jeffrey
St. Clair
May 7 / 8, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Gary
Leupp Saul
Landau Joe
DeRaymond Daniela
Ponce Heather
Williams Gregory
Elich Anis
Memon John
Chuckman Mike
Whitney Ron
Jacobs Colin
Kalmbacher Lance
Selfa Fred
Gardner Ben
Tripp Mickey
Z. Richard
Joseph Dr.
Susan Block Poets'
Basement
May 6, 2005 Patrick
Cockburn Erin
Yoshioka Sam
Husseini Dave
Lindorff Kevin
Zeese Joshua
Frank Dan
Bacher P.
Sainath
May 5, 2005 Carles
Mutaner Carl
G. Estabrook Farrah
Hassen Kevin
Zeese Michael
Leonardi Bennett
Ramberg Ray
McGovern Norman
Solomon Nicole
Colson Brian
Concannon, Jr.
May 4, 2005 Colin
Kalmbacher John
Walsh Greg
Moses Ali
Khan Chris
Floyd Linda
S. Heard Dave
Zirin William
S. Lind Gary
Leupp Website
of the Day
May 3, 2005 Dave
Lindorff Brian
Cloughley Ira
Kurzban Seth
Sandronsky Gilad
Atzmon Michael
Donnelly Alex
Sanchez Peter
Linebaugh
May 2, 2005 Ron
Jacobs Stan
Goff Karyn
Strickler Joshua
Frank Kevin
Zeese Vicente
Navarro
April 30 / May 1, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Gabriel
Kolko Jennifer
Loewenstein Lee
Sustar Saul
Landau T.W.
Croft Nikolas
Kozloff William
Blum Dave
Lindorff Joshua
Frank Doug
Giebel Steven
Erlanger Fred
Gardner Mike
Whitney Kurt
Nimmo Joe
DeRaymond Michael
Dickinson Mickey
Z. Justin
Taylor Poets
Basement Website
of the Weekend
April 29, 2005 W.
John Green Luke
Brothers Norman
Solomon M.
Junaid Alam Jackie
Corr Hunter
Greer Sharon
Smith Website
of the Day
April 28, 2005 Omar
Waraich Kevin
Zeese Dave
Lindorff Greg
Moses Toni
Solo Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Werther
April 27, 2005 John
Ross Joshua
Frank Ray
McGovern Mark
Donham Dan
Smith
April 26, 2005 Dave
Lindorff Alevtina
Rea Greg
Moses Joshua
Frank Diana
Johnstone
April 25, 2005 Uri
Avnery Alison
Weir Lee
Sustar Leonardo
Boff Gary
Leupp
April 23 / 24, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Gary
Leupp James
Petras Harry
Browne Fred
Gardner Ron
Jacobs Elizabeth
Schulte Chris
Floyd
April 22, 2005 Saul
Landau Kevin
Zeese Joshua
Frank Mike
Whitney Michael
Flynn Lee
Sustar Website
of the Day
April 21, 2005 Bill
Quigley Dave
Lindorff Jason
Leopold Kathleen
Christison
April 20, 2005 John Ross Kevin Zeese Uri Avnery Website of the Day
April 19, 2005 Jean-Guy Allard Dave Lindorff Neve Gordon Brian Concannon, Jr Murray Hudson Frank B. Ford Monty Python Michael Dickinson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
Linda Schade
/ Kevin Zeese John Ross Brian McKenna Mike Whitney Patrick Cockburn Dave Zirin Eli Stephens Harry Browne Website of
the Day
April 16 / 17, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Mark Dow Omar Waraich Robert Buzzanco Sherry Wolf Fred Gardner Ron Jacobs Mark Weisbrot John Pardon Yoshie Furuhashi Mike Roselle Ralph Nader Ramzy Baroud Jackson Thoreau Michael Dickinson Richard Neville Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
April 15, 2005 Brian Cloughley Bill Glahn Mickey Z. Stephanie McMillan Josh Mahan David Russitano Jorge Mariscal Rodolfo "Corky"
Gonzales Tom Reeves
April 14, 2005 Karyn Strickler Pat Williams Jessica Pupovac Joshua Frank Jerzy Mankowski Talli Naumann Antony Loewenstein Virginia Rodino Saul Landau
/ Farrah Hassen Website of the Day
April 13, 2005 Maria Carrión Mike Whitney Terry Jones Dave Lindorff Nathaniel Livingston, Jr. Kurt Nimmo Don Fitz Tom Crumpacker JG Jack McCarthy Kevin Zeese Jeffrey St.
Clair
April 12, 2005 John Wheat
Gibson Kevin Zeese Alan Farago Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Nelson P. Valdes Dave Zirin Website of the Day
April 11, 2005 Tom Barry Saul Landau Monique Dols Phil Gasper Mike Whitney Edwin Krales Paul de Rooij Website of the Day
April 9 / 10, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair William A. Cook Gary Leupp Alan Maass Laura Carlsen Joe DeRaymond Nikolas Kozloff Dave Lindorff Greg Moses Fred Gardner Justin Smith Ron Jacobs M. Junaid Alam Ira Kay Elizabeth Schulte Jackie Corr Christopher
Brauchli Leslie A. Fiedler Ben Tripp Poets Basement Website of
the Weekend
Hot Stories Alexander Cockburn Subcomandante
Marcos Norman Finkelstein Steve Niva Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams Steve
J.B. Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber Wendell
Berry CounterPunch
Wire Cindy
Corrie Gore Vidal Francis Boyle
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May 10, 2005 From Roadless to Clueless...The Great Stillborn Eco-VictoryBy MICHAEL DONNELLY
The e-mails lists were abuzz V-E Day with articles and post-mortems on the Bush Administration's new offensive in their War on the Earth. The dumping of the toothless Clinton "Roadless Area Conservation Rule" and installing of a "New" Roadless Rule barely went noticed by the general populace. Far more newspapers editorials appeared (most against the BushCo move) than news stories about it and virtually no real analysis as it's pretty hard to explain how one "rule" that didn't protect anything is now replaced with another that will also do nothing to stop industry's rapacious raids on our last public-owned wildlands. (I'll give it a try.) Big Labor quickly weighed in quickly of course; in support of Bush. And, the Big Greens? Already the "send us your money to defend the Clinton Roadless Rule" campaign is in full swing. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the League of Conservation Voters, the Heritage Forests Campaign, Trout Unlimited and the rest of the Democrat Greenwash cabal now call the new measure "The Treeless Rule" in their pleas. (Poll-tested labeling, for sure.)
Historic Back in 2000, the Big Greens unveiled their Pew Charitable Trusts-funded Heritage Forests Campaign (HFC). In a New York Times piece that year, professional enviro, HFC Director Ken Rait announced that Pew funding "will ultimately include more than $4 million in spending." In a telling portent, Rait gloated about the "proud moment" a few months later when the out-going Clinton finally put his Roadless Rule in place. In a piece he wrote at the time, Rait crows "The scope and scale of what we have done is truly historic." Yet, in the very first ten words he brings up the fact that "it (the roadless policy) is threatened;" the most honest words he musters. Gee. Ya think? Clinton unveils the plan literally at the last moment (safely after even it's weak provisions would have applied to his administration - the one that gave us the "Salvage Rider") on January 12, 2001; just eight days before Bush was inaugurated! And, yes, that "threat" has subsequently worked quite well as fund-raiser; as Rait et al. are still on the foundation dole, keeping their jobs longer than the stated reason for the jobs itself lasted. (Does this losing team ever change the line-up?) The slick HFC web-site still claims; "This reasonable and well-balanced rule protects the last remaining wild and intact 58.5 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands from road construction and most logging, drilling, and mining."
The Seven-Year Ditch And, just what was the scope and scale of this great victory? The falsely-titled piece "Clinton Preserves Pristine Roadless National Forests" from 2001 had this revealing series of observations: "(George) Frampton, (Clinton's Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and former president of the Wilderness Society (1986-1993), dismissed charges that the roadless policy is too extreme, noting that it does contain provisions for thinning trees to reduce wildfire risks, and for restoring forest health. Frampton downplayed the rule's effects on timber harvesting activities in the Tongass National Forest, noting that certain timber sales already in the "pipeline" in that forest will be "grandfathered in" under the new roadless policy. The grandfathering clause, Frampton said, will ensure that there will be a steady supply of timber from roadless areas in that forest for the next seven years. Timber sales slated for roadless areas in other national forests will also be grandfathered in under the new policy, but only if they have been finalized with a record of decision, Frampton said." Well, they didn't even have to reach the end of the seven-year "pipeline" before the paper tiger was jettisoned. In the end, it 'preserved' nothing but Al Gore and his successors' pale-green eco-credentials and the jobs of a gaggle of Democrat Greenwashers --- as intended.
Where the Trees Are Notably, the Roadless Rule never DID take into account millions of acres of what are known as "uninventoried roadless areas," generally lower elevation with bigger trees and greater biodiversity; and closer to existing road networks they can be easily linked with. The vast majority of the 58.5 million acres Rait claimed he historically protected are higher elevation, with less commercial timber (by a 1 - 10 ratio by some estimates) than the univentoried lands. Outside of Alaska's Tongass National Forest (gee, why was it "grandfathered?"), most logging of pristine forests has occurred in these threatened areas during the short lifetime of the Roadless Rule, as could be expected. As Willie Sutton would note, "That's where they keep the big trees." Most other recent public lands logging has been in those other areas the Big Greens loudly claimed Clinton protected (the so-called Late Successional Reserves of the Northwest Forest Plan) which were to be set aside for spotted owls and other dependent species; but quickly become a Big Timber free-fire zone once burned by Nature or, more likely of late, the usual "Light it; Fight It and Log It" arsonist.
The 40 Pieces of Silver Lining While the self-serving authors of the "Environmentalism is Dead" fund-us-instead grant proposal are dead wrong when it comes to actual citizen activism, they are certainly on to something when it comes to what passes for an "Environmental" lobby as represented by the Big Greens and their Big Oil foundation funders (any wonder why the Big Greens don't seriously take on Peak Oil?). For them, it's all about funding and not causing pain/providing cover to the Democrats. The actual living Environment has become, like news content in your local paper, just the filler for advertisements. In a "movement" that consistently rewards mediocrity and punishes competence (when was the last time any of Opal Creek's successful grassroots defenders was asked to be a decision-making part of any of these grand, foundation-dictated schemes?) this is no rout, as it brings with it a fund-raising god-send on the "scale and scope" of James Watt. (Why change the losing line-up if the dough continues to rise?) Joined with the recent rout on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) --- the number one fund-raiser and "top issue" for the Big Greens for over a decade now --- and the surrender on Post-fire "Salvage" Logging; the thrashing on the impotent Roadless Rule will bring on a one-two-three punch of on-line pleas and glossy mailers. A veritable fund-raising Klondike --- to be strip-mined at least through the defeat of Hillary "Finishing the Job on the Roadless Rule" Clinton's 2008 presidential run. MICHAEL DONNELLY of Salem, Oregon is a long-time grassroots
forest activist. He and friends were able to gain Wilderness
designation for Opal Creek's 35,000 acres of Ancient Forest,
the sole Ancient Forest to gain such inviolate protection during
Clintontime or since. He can be reached at: pahtoo@aol.com
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