|
|
|
The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers! General Petraeus' Fake War
|
home / subscribe / donate / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events / faq
The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
General Petraeus' Fake War
How the Press and Congress Eagerly Swallowed It
EXCLUSIVE to subscribers in our latest newsletter, Gareth Porter dissects two years’ worth of successful lying by Gen Petraeus and his propaganda team. Guess what? The FBI AND DOJ didn’t specially target Muhammad Ali. Those G-men were just following normal procedures! Alexander Cockburn reviews the latest effort to “revise” the Sixties. Dick Cheney “didn’t understand the legalities.” James Abourezk describes his efforts to close down the lethal liquor operators that prey on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Whatever happened to the class war? Read Serge Halimi and find out. 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.
|
Today's Stories June 28 / 29, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jason Hribal Mike Whitney Justin E. H. Smith June 27, 2008 Franklin C. Spinney Jonathan Cook Brian Cloughley Saree Makdisi Liliana Segura Paul Krassner William S. Lind Candace Cohn Ron Jacobs Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day June 26, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Nikolas Kozloff William P. O'Connor Saul Landau Ashley Smith Dave Lindorff David Macaray Binoy Kampmark Matt Reichel Remi Kenazi Website of the Day
June 25, 2008 David H. Price Stephen Soldz Andy Worthington Marjorie Cohn Joanne Mariner Ralph Nader Robert Weissman Christopher Brauchli Suren Pillay Seth Sandronsky Website of the Day June 24, 2008 Ishmael Reed P. Sainath Nikolas Kozloff Gregory Kafoury Betty Shamieh Mike Whitney Andy Worthington Bill Christison Philippe Marlière Website of the Day June 23, 2008 Michael Hudson John Ross Peter Montague Ramzy Baroud Robert Fantina Robert Weitzel David Macaray Howard Lisnoff Richard Rhames Gail Dines Tim Matson June 21 / 22, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Pam Martens Mike Whitney Chris Floyd Tim Wise Paul Craig Roberts Michael Winship Ron Jacobs Ramzy Baroud Alan Farago Michael Yates Dave Lindorff Bernard Chazelle Linda Mamoun Jo-Shing Yang Robert Jensen Website of the Weekend
June 20, 2008 Robert Oscar Lopez Paul Craig Roberts Bouthaina Shaaban Bill Quigley Moshe Adler Patrick Cockburn Andy Worthington Norman Solomon Martha Rosenberg June 19, 2008 Ralph Nader Chellis Glendinning Neve Gordon Dave Lindorff Sheldon Richman George Bisharat Jackie Corr Farzana Versey Website of the Day June 18, 2008 Nicole Colson Rev. William E. Alberts Vijay Prashad Parvez Ahmed Bob Moss Dave Lindorff David Wilson June 17, 2008 Conn Hallinan Wajahat Ali Marjorie Cohn Uri Avnery David Macaray Rannie Amiri Website of the Day June 16, 2008 Uri Avnery Corey D. B. Walker Howard Lisnoff Dennis Loo Paul Craig Roberts June 13 / 15, 2008 Douglas Valentine Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Ishmael Reed Joe Bageant Harry Browne Andy Worthington Jeff Sharlet Binoy Kampmark Alan Farago Brian Cloughley Manuel Garcia, Jr. Reza Fiyouzat Patrick Bond / David Yearsley Niranjan Ramakrishnan Ronnie Cummins Dan Bacher Michael Dickinson Seth Sandronsky Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend June 12, 2008 Judith Levine Patrick Cockburn Saul Landau Christopher Brauchli Norman Solomon Helen Redmond Laura Carlsen Jeremy R. Hammond Anne Landman Website of the Day June 11, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Joshua Frank Clifton Ross Muhammad Idrees Ahmad Stephen Lendman Diane Farsetta Ron Jacobs Deborah Rich Hop Wechsler Website of the Day June 10, 2008 Alan Farago James G. Abourezk Saree Makdisi Malini Johar Schueller John Ross Wajahat Ali Peter Morici Jordan Flaherty Gary Macfarlane Joanne Mariner Website of the Day June 9, 2008 Uri Avnery Nikolas Kozloff Allan Nairn Dennis Loo Harry Browne C. Hand Peter Morici Kenneth Couesbouc Martha Rosenberg James L. Secor Website of the Day June 7 / 8, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Ishmael Reed Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Dave Lindorff Robert Fantina Conn Hallinan Neve Gordon Tom Barry Patrick Irelan Tim Wise David Ker Thomson Joshua Frank David Yearsley James T. Phillips Joe Allen P. Sainath David Macaray B.R. Gowani Fred Gardner Peter Harley Michael Dickinson Jen Roesch Poets' Basement Website of the Day
June 6, 2008 Frank Barat Patrick Cockburn Gary Leupp James Abourezk Peter Morici Faheem Hussain Andy Worthington Ayesha Ijaz Khan Dave Lindorff Website of the Day June 5, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Sharon Smith Nikolas Kozloff Linn Washington, Jr. Omar Barghouti Scott Pellegrino John Walsh Dan Bacher DC Larson Robert Jensen Website of the Day June 4, 2008 Eric Walberg Gary Leupp Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff George Wuerthner Victor M. Rodriguez Remi Kanazi Stephane Luçon Farzana Versey Laray Polk Website of the Day June 3, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts / Mike Whitney Steve Early Manuel Otero George Bisharat Nikolas Kozloff Dan Bacher Website of the Day June 2, 2008 Uri Avnery Nikolas Kozloff Allan J. Lichtman Malini Johar Schueller Robert Weissman Peter Morici Manuel Garcia, Jr. John Ross Ahmad Al-Akhras Website of the Day May 31 / June 1, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Gary Leupp Stan Cox Rannie Amiri P. Sainath Binoy Kampmark Robert Fantina Seth Sandronsky Corporate Crime Reporter Anthony DiMaggio Karl Grossman Matt Reichel Paul Myron Hillier Andy Worthington David Yearsley Daniel Cassidy Charles Thomson Gary Corseri Wajahat Ali Ron Jacobs Poets' Basement Website of the Day
May 30, 2008 Bassam Aramin Andrew Cockburn Saul Landau Nikolas Kozloff Robert Sandels Dave Lindorff Martha Rosenberg Harvey Wasserman Doug Giebel Shaun Harkin Website of the Day May 29, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Col. Dan Smith Karl Grossman William S. Lind Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff David Macaray Chris Genovali Laura Carlsen Website of the Day May 28, 2008 Wajahat Ali Ralph Nader Brian McKenna Corporate Crime Reporter Brian Cloughley Eric Walberg Michael Dickinson Ijaz Khan Website of the Day May 27, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Greg Kafoury Jean Bricmont Tim Wise Ricardo Alarcón Stephen Soldz Andy Worthington Alan Singer Richard Neville Susie Day May 26, 2008 Uri Avnery Bill Quigley Col. Dan Smith Cindy Sheehan Marjorie Cohn Fred Gardner Raymond J. Lawrence Harvey Wasserman Moncia Benderman David Rovics Website of the Day May 24 / 25, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Barbara Rose Johnston Nikolas Kozloff Adriana Kojeve Robert Fantina Dave Lindorff David Yearsley Nelson P. Valdés Kathleen M. Barry John Ross Allison Kilkenny Fred Gardner Elizabeth Schulte Daniel Gross Christopher Brauchli Richard Rhames Daniel Cassidy Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
May 23, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Alan Farago Conn Hallinan Mark Engler George Wuerthner Kamran Matin Sandy Boyer / Robert Weitzel Cindy Sheehan Liaquat Ali Khan Website of the Day
May 22, 2008 Vijay Prashad Joanne Mariner Sharon Smith Jeff Birkenstein Brendan McQuade Peter Morici Niranjan Ramakrishnan Dave Zirin Ron Jacobs Stephen Lendman Website of the Day May 21, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Alan Farago Dave Lindorff David Model Eric Walberg Franklin Lamb Kenneth Couesbouc Website of the Day
May 20, 2008 Ralph Nader Uri Avnery Patrick Irelan Ray McGovern David Macaray Chris Genovali Ibrahim Fawal Christopher Ketcham Andy Worthington Martha Rosenberg Website of the Day May 19, 2008 Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Brian McKenna Patrick Cockburn B. R. Gowani Dr. Trudy Bond Cindy Sheehan John Mohawk Remi Kanazi Robert Day Website of the Day |
Weekend Edition
June 28 / 29, 2008 The Musical Patriot The Rest is NoiseBy DAVID YEARSLEY Last summer the Musical Patriot decided to travel light. Rather than load up his saddlebags with fat volumes on music he stocked his iPod Nano with dozens of audio books, ranging from the lofty to the lurid. The first sunny day, I fell asleep on a West Sussex Beach ten minutes into the first of the 22 CDs of Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus. “Dein Leben soll kalt sein – darum darfst du keinen Menschen lieben!” — Your life shall be cold, and you won’t be allowed to love anyone. — So the Devil informs the composer Adrian Leverkühn what the price will be for his unflagging musical inspiration. Thus burned by my iPod, I vowed this year to return to the traditional formats of summer reading — ever more draconian airline carry-on guidelines be damned. Granted, one can also fall asleep while actually reading a book, but at least it can provide the better part of a square foot of solace from the sun. I would have been thankful for even that Faustian patch of white skin. Speaking of Doctor Faustus and the musical and moral conflicts of the benighted 20th century, I’ve just finished New Yorker music critic Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (Fourth Estate, 2008). It’s elegantly written, frequently imaginative, often unexpected, occasionally precious, and always informative and entertaining. At just under 600 pages, the book boasts a substantial, but still manageable, heft. Not quite big enough for a beach pillow, stowable even in that little pouch in the back of the seat in front of you in the plane. With a talent for conjuring the feel of historical moments and personalities, Ross weaves into his book many of the great personal encounters of the century, beginning with Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler dawdling in the countryside around Graz, Austria during the day of May 16, 1906 before that evening’s premiere of Strauss’s Salome, an opera as provocative for its music as its degenerate subject matter. When Mahler began to get nervous about the lateness of the hour, Strauss nonchalantly replied, “They can’t start without me. Let ‘em wait.” Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and Alexander Zemlinsky were among the leading figures of the young century’s musical culture gathered in the audience. In the subsequent pages of Ross’s book other encounters follow, many of them crossing the classical-popular divide: the enigmatic Berg meeting Gershwin in Europe 1928; Stravinsky sitting in the front row at Birdland and hearing Charlie Parker quote from The Firebird in the frenzied be-bop speed-test, Koko; Shostakovich coming to London to hear Rostropovich play Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto and meeting Benjamin Britten; Schöneberg, believing he was basis for the above-mentioned Adrian Leverkühn, and accosting the German expatriate novelist Lion Feuchtwanger’s wife in a Beverly Hills grocery store, raving against what he saw as the novel’s calumnies—a scene enacted to the bemusement of the laid-back L. A. onlookers: “Lies, Frau Mart, lie!” cried Arnold from across the lettuces. “You have to know, I never had syphilis.” Ross is at his best when he sets his egotistical, ambitious, eccentric, volatile, opinionated, fragile, sincere, and deluded cast of 20th century musical luminaries and side-liners into action like this. But Ross also has also an excellent ear and an enviably knack for distilling the essence of increasingly complex musical works for the enjoyment general readers. He can give a quick and useful account of how a piece sounds and chart a manageable and memorable course through the often broken-up geography of modernist works. He is a suave and erudite tour guide, one who knows his stuff, having gathered his material from original letters and contemporary accounts, as well as from the burgeoning musicological literature on 20th-century music. Adolf Hitler later claimed also to have been at that epoch-making first performance of Salome in Graz. A tidy historical symmetry it would indeed be, for as Ross darkly tells us later, Hitler’s legacy did much to discredit the moral authority of classical music later on in the 20th century. I’m simply not sure of such grand claims, given, for example, the centrality of Strauss’s music across the last century and into this one, before the Nazis, during their regime, and after it. When the Nazis march through a book or across a movie and television screen, it’s hard not to let them goose-step away with the story and considered historical judgments. Admittedly, the fact that the German air raid of November, 1940 that destroyed Coventry Cathedral had the code name Moonlight Sonata is an irony too grim and enticing to resist. Nor should it be. Ross tosses it into the mix with gloomy aplomb. One can just see and hear the entranced Beethoven coaxing the spirit of Romanticism from his piano as the bombs of Modern War rain down over England. That this particular chapter in the destruction of Europe indirectly led to the composition of Britten’s War Requiem at the reconsecration of the cathedral in 1962, perhaps too neatly encapsulates the moral tarnishing, not to say bankruptcy of the Land of the Poets and Composers. The malign cameos of such as Josef Mengele whistling his favorite classical melodies before sending Jews off to the gas chambers at Auschwitz come across rather opportunistically as Ross uses them to make his larger point about the ethical ambiguity of art music after Hitler. Many composers and performers (especially conductors) were themselves opportunistic, while others valiantly resisted, or simply escaped, through flight or death. Ross does help us see and hear some of the myriad ways music and politics are interwined. The book closes the lid the coffin, and I’m glad to see that creaky being laid to rest. But then again just because Charles Manson was deeply influenced by the Beatles, doesn’t mean we can blame the Fab Four for the Manson’s crimes. While that argument is too glib, Ross’s accounts of music and musicians in times of terror are often too general, too unwieldy, too obvious. Music, a complicated mode of personal expression to say the least, sometimes staggers under the bundle of pathological and political meanings Ross loads onto it. To change metaphors midstream: while the authorial eye seems sometimes to be squinting down a toy rifle and shooting at tin ducks at a carnival attraction, it is still fun to watch him fire away with such precision. Ross is at his best with American music, nailing John Adams and Steve Reich, although even on home soil he is sometimes wide of the mark—as with Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, whom he praises too much for his overtures into the classical genres, when it was the forms of Tin and Pan Alley that best expressed his genius. Still, Ross captures the electricity modern music was once capable of generating, not only among composers, but a society in which Great Composers still retained high standing. He is equally good—and pleasantly up-beat—at discerning what it means for that this art is now on the margins. Ross is selective, and not bashful about the omissions, which may aggravate devotees of this or that composer or style. All writers attempting to cover a single century of an art form in one book are forced to pick their spots. Inevitably, more time space is given to the first half of the century, before the demands of truncation loom as the page count grows and the millenium’s end still hasn’t quite come into view. But Ross does not lose momentum, sustaining his style and his larger claims, however unwieldy they can sometimes become, until the last page. The book energized this reader to revisit important works and performances of them — a suggested list of ten recommended readings, then twenty more comes at the end of the book—and discover new ones. I read the book on the plane, and can vouch for its beachability. Bring your iPod if you’ve got one and load it up with Ross’s recordings recommendations—just remember to put on lots of sun screen. David Yearsley teaches at Cornell University. A long-time contributor to the Anderson Valley Advertiser, he is author of Bach and the Meanings of Counterpoint His latest CD, “All Your Cares Beguile: Songs and Sonatas from Baroque London”, has just been released by Musica Omni. He can be reached at dgy2@cornell.edu
|
Now Available from CounterPunch Books!
Born Under a Bad Sky: Coming Soon! RED STATE REBELS:
Edited by  Buy End Times Now! CounterPunch Books of the Crossroads: HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG By Daniel Cassidy AMERICAN BOOK AWARD!  Click Here to Buy! Click Here for Dates & Venues Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz  Click Here to Buy! Saul Landau's Bush and Botox World Foreword by Gore Vidal  Click Here to Order! How They Made a Killing on the War on Terrorism     
    
 
 Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont               CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed                   |
