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Calling All CounterPunchers!
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Calling All CounterPunchers!
Annual Fundraising AppealWe interrupt your regular reading habits to bring you the following important announcement: CounterPunch needs your financial support!
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Today's Stories October 31, 2008 Alexander Cockburn October 30, 2008 Cockburn / St. Clair Vijay Prashad Paul Craig Roberts Glen Ford Stanley Heller William Loren Katz Joshua Frank James McEnteer Felice Pace Jonathan Cook Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
October 29, 2008 Arno J. Mayer Eric Toussaint Matt Gonzalez Steven Conn Jonathan Cook Patrick Bond Ramzi Kysia Douglas Valentine Stephen Martin Margaret Dooley-Sammuli Amee Chew Website of the Day
October 28, 2008 James G. Abourezk Andy Worthington Gary Leupp Paul Craig Roberts Mike Whitney Gregory V. Button Ralph Nader P. Sainath Martha Rosenberg Charles R. Larson Website of the Day October 27, 2008 Michael Hudson Barbara Rose Johnston John Dinges Mike Whitney Mary Lynn Cramer Greenspan's Higher Power Alan Farago David Michael Green Andy Worthington George Wuerthner Niranjan Ramakrishnan Website of the Day October 24 / 26, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Ishmael Reed Mike Whitney Don Santina Scott Boehm Saul Landau Ron Jacobs Binoy Kampmark Linn Washington Jr. Nicole Colson Bernard Chazelle Brian Jones Christopher Brauchli Benjamin Dangl Val Strange Steve Early David Macaray Allison Kilkenny Richard Rhames Jim Bell Kris De Welde Barry Clemson Adam Engel Mark Scaramella Tuli Kupferberg Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 23, 2008 Allan J. Lichtman Todd Chretien John Ross Peter Morici Mats Svensson Marlene Martin Robert Jensen / Margaret Kimberley Deepak Tripathi David Morris Website of the Day October 22, 2008 Brian Cloughley Heather Gray Jeff Birkenstein Ralph Nader DC Larson David Swanson Keeanga-Yamatta Taylor Race and the Election: When the "Real" America Enters the Voting Booth Larry Everest Robert Fantina Martha Rosenberg Stephen Martin Website of the Day October 21, 2008 Vijay Prashad Paul Craig Roberts Corey D. B. Walker Steve Breyman Eric Toussaint Wajahat Ali Robert Weitzel Brendan Cooney Dave Lindorff Marqueece Harris-Dawson / Bob Wing Patrick B. Barr Omar Barghouti Website of the Day October 20, 2008 Michael Hudson Anthony DiMaggio Tariq Ali Uri Avnery Bill Quigley Ben Rosenfeld David Michael Green William S. Lind Chris Genovali Stephen Martin Howard Lisnoff David Yearsley Website of the Day October 17 / 19, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Pam Martens Paul Craig Roberts Mike Whtney Michael D. Yates Suzanne Smith Carl Boggs Ralph Nader Fidel Castro Dave Marsh Saul Landau Jo Guldi Kevin Zeese Larry Everest Steve Early David Macaray Ben Terrall Missy Beattie Don Monkerud Helen Redmond Dan Bacher Wajahat Ali Farzana Versey Vladimir Frolov Kim Nicolini Poets Basement Website of the Day
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October 31, 2008 The Myth is DeadThe Last Dance in RamallahBy MATS SVENSSON Until November 2004, Israel lacked a partner for peace. President Arafat was locked up in a prison in Ramallah. He could admittedly receive international dignitaries from the whole world after Israeli approval. Israel often demanded that the dignitary first visit Israel and then leave for the home country to only return a couple of months later and visit the Nobel prize winner, one of the world’s most famous persons. The international community, including Sweden, accepted this moratorium theater without shame. Almost everyone obeyed the orders of the occupation power. There were, however, countries that rebelled against the folly, South Africa was one of them. But in November 2004, the folly ended. Arafat died on the 11 November. Since Arafat was finally gone, normalized relations would be established and Israel would finally get a partner for peace. We are in a large hall, the walls are white, the ceiling white, cold marble under our feet. We are in the main hall, part of the building that used to serve as President Arafat´s prison during his final years. This is where he was shut away, restricted by the curfew put upon him. Before this we have been escorted by guards through a vast sea of people. There must be more than a hundred thousand of them. Many have been waiting for days. Many have been stopped at checkpoints outside Nablus, Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqiliya. But they have found other roads high up in the mountains or taken narrow paths past soldiers on high alert. These are the mourners that just couldn´t stay at home and watch the last journey on television; these are the mourners who want to come close. But many never managed to get through and had to turn back. We are taken to the landing ground for the two helicopters and see the place that has been prepared for the interment. A few days ago, the area was filled with rubbish; old cars and cement barrels serving as protection from possible attackers, but now the threat is gone and the myth is dead. Now other people need protection. The diplomats are led away from the spot. The soldiers create an opening in the compact crowd that we can pass through. All is calm, all is dignified. In spite of the weapons around us, we do not feel anxious. We are part of one great sorrow. The people we see around us have come today to honor a man, and to remember. Internal conflicts are put aside. Today Arafat is seen as a father and a leader. Today all negative epithets are forgotten. We are taken away from the crowds and escorted into the large, white hall. Here we will wait for the coffin to arrive. The final religious ceremonies preceding the interment will be carried out in the presence of diplomats, the new leaders and chief mourners. The people are to wait outside. We hear the rotor blades of the descending helicopters. We hear volleys of shots, fired in the air in honor of the leader. We hear the cries and whistles of the crowd. It is as if we wanted to protect ourselves, shutting ourselves away from the crowd. We hear that something is happening, but we cannot see anything. We know less than we would if we had stayed at home and watched the television or listened to the radio. Then we hear the pounding at the gates. The few soldiers on the inside cannot resist the crowd, pressing against the gates. They are too many and the doors are forced open. The room is filled with men that were meant to be shut out. And those of us who were supposed to honor the myth in the secluded calm of the hall, we suddenly find ourselves on the side, we have put ourselves aside. All our preparation and plans come to nothing. The Palestinian people who at his death were a people without a country. Mats Svensson, a former Swedish diplomat working on the staff of SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is presently following the ongoing occupation of Palestine. He can be reached at isbjorn2001@hotmail.com.
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 Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont               CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed                   |
