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Today's Stories October 25, 2006 Jonathan Cook
October 24, 2006 John Walsh M. Shahid Alam Dr. Trudy Bond Michael Phillips Dave Lindorff David Phinney Laura Carlsen Pierre Tristam Marguerite
Rose Jimenez Website of
the Day
October 23, 2006 Saree Makdisi Joshua Frank Fred Gardner Ralph Nader Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Richard Manning Neil Kitson William MacDougall Gilad Atzmon Werther Website of
the Day
October 20 / 22, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Gary Leupp Brian Cloughley Dave Zirin William Blum Christopher
Brauchli Winslow Wheeler Michael Donnelly Fred Gardner Susie Day Lucinda Marshall Fred Wilcox Alan Maass Lee Sustar Ariadna Theokopoulos Missy Beattie CP News Wire CP News Services Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
October 19, 2006 Elaine Cassel Col. Dan Smith Manuel Garcia, Jr. Josh Gryniewicz Amira Hass Eric Holt-Gimenez Jesse Hagopian Sam Husseini John Weisheit CP News Service Website of
the Day Art Gallery
of the Day
October 18, 2006 Joshua Frank Dr. Curran
Warf, MD Saul Landau Tom Barry Bruce Jackson Dave Lindorff Frederico Fuentes Michael Simmons Daryll E. Ray Kate Doyle Website of
the Day
Michael Neumann Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Stephen S.
Pearcy Sharon Smith Al Krebs David Underhill Daniel Wolff James Brooks Website of the Day
October 16, 2006 Gary Leupp Patrick Cockburn David Wilson Robert Fisk Robert Jensen Ingmar Lee
/ Krista Roessingh Mike Whitney Jake Whitney Sanho Tree Website of
the Day
Uri Avnery John Walsh Jean Bricmont Jennifer Van Bergen Ralph Nader Floyd Rudmin Mark Weisbrot Laura Carlsen Hani Shukrallah Dr. Susan Block John Chuckman Lucinda Marshall Don Monkerud Missy Comley
Beattie Ron Jacobs Website of
the Weekend
October 13, 2006 Jorge Mariscal Stephen Philion John Blair Col. Dan Smith Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry Stephen Fleischman Charles Perroud Anne E. Brodsky Website of the Day
October 12, 2006 Jonathan Cook Norman Solomon M. Shahid Alam Paul Craig
Roberts Meredith Schafer / Chris Kutalik Carl Gelderloos Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry Charles Sullivan William S. Lind CP News Service Website of
the Day
October 11, 2006 John Feffer Dave Lindorff Jackson Katz April Howard / Ben Dangl Michael Carmichael Ken Couesbouc Gregory Afghani Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
October 10, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Robideau Joshua Frank Dave Lindorff Dave Zirin Heather Gray James Knotwell Missy Beattie Mike Whitney David Rosen Website of the Day
Robert Fisk Norman Solomon Ron Jacobs Gideon Levy Walter Brasch Mickey Z. John Holt Lucinda Marshall Saul Landau Website of the Day
October 7 /
8, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Peter Kwong Ralph Nader Mark Donham Dave Lindorff Peter Bosshard Ron Jacobs Lawrence R.
Velvel Fred Gardner David Green Jim B. Missy Beattie Michael Donnelly Jackson Thoreau Jon Hung CounterPunch
News Service Tom D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
Alison Weir Tiffany Ten
Eyck / Mark Brenner Corporate Crime Reporter Juan Antonio
Montecino Walden Bello Christopher
Brauchli Brynne Keith-Jennings Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
John Walsh Carol Norris Paul Craig Roberts Ricardo Alarcón James Abourezk Nicola Nasser Kirkpatrick Sale Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Elizabeth Terzakis Paul Wolf Sean Penn Dave Lindorff Diane Farsetta Sharon Smith Felice Pace Sara Roy Website of
the Day
Jennifer Van
Bergen Greg Moses Stan Cox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Evelyn Pringle Fred Wilhelms Michael Abelman Gary Leupp Website of the Day
October 2, 2006 Eric Hazan Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Assaf Kfoury Missy Beattie Arthur Neslen Paula J. Caplan Website of the Day
Sept. 30 /
0ct. 1, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Marjorie Cohn Ben Tripp Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Mike Whitney Christopher Reed Seth Sandronsky Fred Gardner Mokhiber /
Weissman Michael Dickinson Alan Gregory Poets' Basement
September 29, 2006 Bruce Jackson Michael J.
Smith Emira Woods William S.
Lind David Swanson Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
Sen. Russ Feingold Ron Jacobs Mokhiber /
Weissman Lee Sustar Robert Jensen John Chuckman Evelyn Pringle Nicola Nasser Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Camilo Mejia Ben Terrall Ridgeway /
Ng Joe Allen Andrew Wimmer Franklin C. Spinney Website of
the Day
Hani Shukrallah William Blum Niranjan Ramakrishnan Barbara Becnel Paul Rockwell Dave Lindorff Rich Gibson Anthony Papa Nate Mezmer Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jonathan Cook Joshua Frank Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Norman Solomon Dr. Charles
Jonkel Michael Dickinson Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
September 23
/ 24, 2006 Jonathan Cook Jeffrey St.
Clair Dr. Anon Tom Barry Carl G. Estabrook Laura Carlsen Todd Chretien Dr. Charles
Jonkel Debbie Nathan Fred Gardner Fred Wilhelms Seth Sandronsky Ralph Nader Rev. William
Alberts Jon Van Camp Heather Gray David Vest Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend Video of the Weekend
September 22, 2006 Patrick Cockburn Michael Donnelly Ramzy Baroud Evo Morales Stanley Howard Sarah Leah
Whitson JoAnn Wypijewski Website of the Day
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad Justin E. H.
Smith Mike Roselle Amira Hass Deborah Rich Mickey Z. Saul Landau Website of
the Day
Sharon Smith Christopher
Reed John Ross Joshua Frank Arthur Neslen Norman Solomon Michael Carmichael Evelyn Pringle Hugo Chavez Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jeff Leys Brian M. Downing Col. Dan Smith Liaquat Ali
Khan Ron Jacobs Nik Barry-Shaw
/ Yves Engler Lucinda Marshall Saul Landau Photo of the Day Website of
the Day
Carl Boggs Uri Avnery Mike Stark / Jim Bullington Joshua Frank John Murphy Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Bill Quigley Website of the Day
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October 25, 2006 From Indifference to RidiculeBioneers Sparks Drive-by Shots from New York TimesBy SHEPHERD BLISS "First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. Finally they integrate (or co-opt) what you have been saying all along," a wise person said decades ago. After seventeen years of ignoring the growing Bioneers, the New York Times finally evolved to the second stage of ridicule. The Bioneers drew over 3000 people to its annual conference in San Rafael, California, Oct. 20-22. It was beamed by satellite to another 10,000 people at eighteen communities around the United States from Honolulu to Anchorage to Houston to Massachusetts. Then those some 13,000 people went home around the country and beyond to talk to their friends about what they learned. The Times' Oct. 24 article cynically describes the event as a "pep rally," a "megachurch for the Prius set" and "true believers" and "a monoculture, a love-fest between graying activists and youthful idealists." As one of those "graying activists," now 62, I appreciate the Times' growth into adolescence by covering this newsworthy event and await its maturing to understand at least some of the ideas advanced by the scientists and others at Bioneers. Perhaps better to be ridiculed than ignored. The corporate media was skewered by "Democracy Now" host Amy Goodman, both at Bioneers and in her best-selling new book "Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back," which is climbing up even the NY Times best-selling list. Though the Times article does not mention Goodman or her book--still trying to ignore the journalist whose radio and TV program appears on over 500 stations, making it the largest public media collaboration in the country--one wonders if there might be some childish payback going on here. As a professional journalist who has also taught journalism in college, I try to be more neutral and objective than the Times when I write about the recent weekend. But let me admit to my bias toward the intention of the Bioneers to draw biological and other pioneers together to work to restore the Earth. Some still dismiss us with phrases like "tree huggers," but with fewer trees each year to clean our air, draw water to the ground, provide beauty and food and do all the other wonderful things that trees naturally do, I must admit that I have indeed been hugging the redwoods, oaks, cedars, apples and other trees on my small Northern California farm. My attempt at a more balanced-though sympathetic rather than cynical- report on last weekend's Bioneers follows: According to founder Kenny Ausubel, Bioneers seeks "to bring biological pioneers together to restore the Earth." Co-producer Nina Simons described its intention to "co-create a living social system. This is not a spectator sport." Among this year's keynote speakers were New York Times writer Michael Pollan and businessman Paul Hawken. These and other morning speakers were beamed to 18 communities. In the afternoon and evening different local presentations were made at each site. The aim of the Honolulu gathering, for example, was "to create community stories of practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies for restoration of harmony between humanity and the earth." The Logan, Utah, site featured a presentation by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson at the Mormon Tabernacle. The Anchorage site included a Native Elder Wisdom Circle. Images of the gatherings around the country were projected on a giant screen at the California base event. "Democracy Now" radio and TV host Amy Goodman reported on her 80-city tour with her new book. "The media are the most powerful institution in the world," Goodman asserted. "The Pentagon has employed the media and we need to take it back. We need a media that covers power, not one that covers up for power." Goodman told "stories in a time of war." She talked about Cindy Sheehan camping outside "the Presidential Estate, which is not a ranch," noting, "Beware of mothers who have nothing else to lose." Sheehan lost her son Casey in Iraq and dogs Bush with a single question, "For what noble cause did my son die?" He has yet to answer. "When the media covers Cindy Sheehan," Goodman added, "it is about her as an individual, not about the movement of which she is a part." Goodman seeks "to report from the victim's perspectives" and give voice to those who are silent. "The level of resistance by soldiers is a huge story," Goodman contended. "Soldiers in Iraq are overwhelmingly against the war." Ann Wright, a former Army colonel who resigned her diplomatic post to protest the Iraq War, added in an interview, "The Pentagon admits that some 40,000 soldiers have gone AWOL since the Iraq War began." "This year Bioneers has a large number of workshops focusing on stories," commented Ilyse Hogue of Moveon.org. Workshops were offered on themes such as "When Stories Change, the World Changes," "Women Telling Our Stories and Promoting Justice," and "Change the Story: New Strategies for Shifting Culture." "We are made of stories. Stories contain power," asserted James Ball, who worked formerly for Fox TV and ABC and now with smartMemes. "People don't just tell stories. Stories tell us who we are and how to live." "Indigenous Knowledge" was one of the main tracks of the gathering. The youngest-ever Chief of the Neetsail Gwich in Alaska, Evon Peter, spoke about Youth Leadership. A film about Sioux John Trudell was shown. Bioneers gives ample attention to emerging leaders. Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Cree Nation in Canada has been the Native Energy organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and was recognized by Utne Reader as one of the top 30 under 30 activists in North America. "Indigenous people are the original bioneers," Thomas-Mueller began his presentation. "The IEN is composed of 250 indigenous groups around North America. Our lands and people are being sacrificed for irresponsible energy policies. Oil, natural gas, and mining industries violate our humans rights and territories." "America's burgeoning natural gas industry" threatens the indigenous people and their land in Canada, according to Thomas-Muller. He described a natural gas pipeline of 1700 miles that is being built to get oil from the tar sands in North Alberta, noting, "Tar sands are the second largest oil reserves in the world, next to Saudia Arabia. Industry's goal is to make Canada the number one producer of oil for the US. Energy companies from China and India are also now arriving for this lucrative and destructive energy. They wants to get natural gas down to the tar sands to rip off the upper boreal forest surface. The tar sands are underneath the homes of a First Nation people just north of our Cree people." Michael Pollan is the bestselling author of various books on the relationship of humans to nature. He currently teaches at the University of California at Berkeley. His most recent book is "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals." "The path to my current book was born in this room," Pollan began. He referred to meeting Joel Salatin at a Bioneers Conference, the farmer who figures prominently in his book, "Joel calls himself 'a grass farmer.' So rather than talk to me on the phone, he insisted that I come to his farm, get on the ground, and meet his grass. If we go really local, we go the grass." "Local food is one of the most important movements going on today," according to Pollan. Even organic food "is on the path of industrialization- including strawberries from China and blueberries from Canada. We are in the age of organic factory farming." To counter this, Pollan described "a revolt of small producers and consumers that is on the rise today." The growth of farmers markets are part of the solution. "Much more goes on in farmers markets than the exchange of money for food." "Our centralized food system is vulnerable to deliberate and accidental contamination," Pollan declared. "We need to de-centralize our food supply and develop food independence. Lets put our faith not in technology and regulation, but in relationships." "We need a way to eat when the cheap oil is gone," Pollan contended. "The industrial food system will break down. We need to have more food choices and think in terms of economic diversity. We need to cultivate multiple gardens and not seek a single source." A panel on "The Globalocal Food Movement: Act Globally, Eat Locally" occurred in the afternoon. Brian Halweil, author of "Eat Here," told stories of food activism in Long Island and in Japan, contending that "eating local is a political decision." Paul Hawken was the gathering's final conference-wide speaker. He has written various books, including "Natural Capitalism," and is currently writing "Blessed Unrest." Hawken advocated "liberation ecology," "bottom-up power," and "independence movements." "The social justice, environmental and indigenous movements are fast-growing and becoming the biggest movement in the world," Hawken asserted. He favors linking them more. "The house is burning down, literally," Hawken contended. "We are witnessing the breakdown of the world. We will either come together as a globalized people or we will disappear as a civilization. We need to arrest our descent into chaos." "Bioneers is an inspiration for the whole year for me," Catherine Allport of Santa Fe, N.M., explained. "It takes me that long to integrate what happens here." "Bioneers gives us a taste of what could be," noted Noli Hoye of Massachusetts. "I especially appreciated Paul Hawken's closing message that we need to bridge various movements. Staying home was the central message that I heard. So I think I'll go to the beaming Bioneers in Massachusetts next year." "This year there was more attention to creating a culture," Puerto Rican Mara Nieves noted. "There were many different cultures present and we were able to create a multi-cultural community. Living in colonized Puerto Rico with all the hatred of the US globally, Bioneers is like medicine. It is healing to come and not be so negative and see all the good things that are happening." Dr. Shepherd Bliss is a retired college teacher who now
runs Kokopelli Farm in Northern California. He can be reached
at: sb3@pon.net.
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.  The Occupation by Patrick Cockburn                        |
