Exclusively in the new print issue of CounterPunch
HOLLYWOOD AND THE CIA — Film historian Ed Rampell details Hollywood’s entangled relationship with the CIA and the Pentagon; HOUSES OF THE DEAD: Nancy Kurshan exposes the cruel human rights offenses taking place inside America’s vast gulag of Control Unit Prisons; BROTHERHOOD OF SUMMER: David Macaray charts the history of the most powerful union in the US: the Baseball Players Association; TAR SANDS COME TO AMERICA: Steve Horn explains how the Keystone Pipeline debates have diverted attention from Big Oil’s other plans to transport Alberta’s oil into the US. PLUS: Jeffrey St. Clair on CONSTITUTIONAL ENTROPY; Mike Whitney on HOW THE BANKS TARGETED BLACKS; Chris Floyd on THE RISE OF BRITAIN’S TEA PARTY; Kristin Kolb on THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE; Kim Nicolini on the FILMS OF WILLIAM FRIEDKIN; and Lee Ballinger on POETS VS. THE ONE PERCENT.
Archives from November 2007
Recessions are not inevitable adjustments built into the clockwork of a modern economy. Businesses no longer make products on long lead times and stumble into excess inventories of cars and appliances, triggering layoffs and pauses in consumer spending. Com...
The lawyers’ movement in Pakistan—which by its courage has inspired the lawyers of the world to show solidarity for the rule of law—is at the verge of collapse. Political operators from all over the world have landed in Pakistan to share the spoi...
One may well think that the struggle inside the Jewish community of Israel is between those of the political right, who want to maintain the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank so as to "redeem" the Greater Land of Israel as a Jewish country,...
First the horror, lest any believe there is not a massive and continuous health care catastrophe in this country that kills and forces people to live lives full of preventable pain and disfigurement. A short article with haunting photos in the New York Time...
One reason parts of Iraq have quieted down, at least for a while, has received widespread attention: the Sunni split from al-Qaeda. AI-Qaeda’s own tactics alienated its base, which is usually a fatal political mistake, and for once we were wise enough not to...
Palestinian – Israeli peace-making can only deliver if Palestinians are united, but the current Annapolis “peace process” was launched first of all as a blueprint for perpetuating the inter- Palestinian divide.
Commitment or non-commitment t...
They are free, valuable, personal and too often not mentioned or used. I speak of the insights, wisdom and experiences of families over several generations. Now that Thanksgiving weekend is over, how many families recounted some of their traditions for thei...
In new books writers as disparate as Naomi Wolf and Pat Buchanan conclude that America as we know her is disappearing. Both writers hope, but are not confident, that enough Americans will catch on in time to find the leadership to pull America back from the brink....
On November 16, 2007, Victor Rabinowitz, one of the giants of the legal profession and a unflagging fighter for social justice, died at the age of 96. One of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild 70 years ago, Victor defended unpopular clients when other lawy...
What do you make of the following statement: "Asians are gaining on us demographically at a huge rate. A quarter of humanity now and by 2025 they’ll be a third. Italy’s down to 1.1 child per woman. We’re just going to be outnumbered." W...
There are about 900 miles of interstate highway between eastern Pennsylvania and Columbus, Georgia. Route 78 runs east-west to Route 81 along the south slope of the Blue Ridge, 81 slides south and west through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and then through...
Dear Entertainment Writers on Strike: Recently returned to so-called civilization from the canyons of Utah, I had the opportunity, after long hiatus, to enjoy the product of some of your writing as it gets shoveled into the American maw via television (no TV in my...
At midnight last Friday night, Lebanon entered the uncharted waters of a constitutional crisis as the outgoing President Emile Lahoud’s term ended without the appointment of a successor. Earlier in the day, the scheduled meeting of parliament to elect a new ...
Lately it seems as though everyone wants to take a poke at the dollar. Last week, it was the Brazilian supermodel who demanded euros for her jaunts on the catwalk instead of USD. The week before that, hip-hop impresario, Jay-Z, released a video dissin’ the d...
Jordon Fox–does the name mean anything to anyone other than his family and personal associates? Probably not, unless you happened to be listening to yesterday’s news summaries when his name was mentioned. What about Tyson Johnson III or Robert...
Making occupation and calling it peace. Killing fewer and calling it progress. Rotating troops and calling it a withdrawal. Setting up new death squads and calling them allies. Lowering standards and calling it opening new opportunities. All of the above p...
John Howard is gone. A mean-spirited little toady and lickspittle to the Monster Bush, Howard’s end when it came was more like watching a blood sport,than an election result. Picture the scene. In Australia’s capital, Canberra, a huge cro...
Last Saturday, the drama of the Australian elections was played out. By the evening’s end, the result was clear: John Howard) had been steamrolled by Labor’s Kevin Rudd. The Howard era in Australian politics had come to an end. One government minister,...
Evo Morales, the first Indian president of Bolivia, is forcing a showdown with the oligarchy and the right wing political parties that have stymied efforts to draft a new constitution to transform the nation. He declares, "Dead or alive I will have a new cons...
Not only did conservative Australian Prime Minister John Howard lose the election last Saturday, he may have lost his seat as well. Labor now controls all nine Australian governments: State, Territory and federal. Industrial relations was the key iss...
With the prayers, blessings and dances of the Shingle Springs Rancheria Miwok, Pomo, Pitt River and Calpullies, the Alcatraz Sunrise Gathering began, after 3,500 people crossed on boats to Alcatraz Island before first light. With the scent of sage filling t...
Pat Buchanan is too patriotic to come right out and say it, but the message of his new book, Da...
A cautionary tale, versions of which have happened in Mendocino County, and will continue to happen all over the Emerald Empire. On January 9 of this year, Rex Farrance, 59, a long-time technical editor of PC World Magazine, was murdered in a home invasion ...
After more than two weeks of supreme military command, Pakistan’s General Pervez Musharraf has had enough. Enough of international pressure to lift martial law, that is. Claiming to "have introduced the essence of democracy in Pakistan, whether ...
The doors have opened on another holiday season. Utility workers have spent hours hoisting holiday decorations to the tops of buildings and attaching lights to all the telephone poles in town. It won’t be long before the entrance displays of massive armored ...