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Hezbollah's Rise, Israel's Fall |
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Today's Stories September 14, 2006 J.L. Chestnut,
Jr.
Jack Bratich John Ross Christopher
Brauchli Dave Lindorff Antony Loewenstein Al Krebs Leonard Peltier Jim Bensman Website of the Day
Norman Finkelstein Seth Sandronsky John Walsh Alan Maass David Krieger Nate Mezmer Kathleen Christison
Uri Avnery Patrick Cockburn Col Dan Smith Dr. Susan Block Anthony Alessandrini Dave Lindorff Niranjan Ramakrishnan Joshua Frank Jean Bricmont Sprague / Emesberger Website of
the Day
September 9/10,
2006 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St.
Clair Greg Grandin Peter
Stone Brown Ralph
Nader Brian
Cloughley Col.
Chet Richards David
Model Dave
Himmelstein Ron
Jacobs Fred
Gardner Mike
Whitney Josh
Gryniewicz Daniel
Gross / Joe
Bageant Nicole
Colson Alexander
Billet Poets'
Basement
September 8, 2006 Uri
Avnery Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Quigley Robert
Jensen Norman
Solomon Keith
Bolin
September 8, 2006 Uri
Avnery Paul
Craig Roberts Bill
Quigley Robert
Jensen Norman
Solomon Keith
Bolin Kristin
S. Schafer Jeffrey
St. Clair Patrick
Cockburn Website
of the Day
Marjorie
Cohn Sharon
Smith René
Drucker Colín Michael
Donnelly John
Borowski Lucinda
Marshall Charles
Sullivan Jeffrey
St. Clair Jonathan
Cook Website
of the Day
September 6, 2006 Stephen
Soldz Dave
Zirin Ramzy
Baroud Noel
Ignatiev Dave
Lindorff Norman
Solomon Binoy
Kampmark Jeffrey
St. Clair John
Ross Website
of the Day
September 5, 2006 Jonathan Cook Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney
Roland Sheppard James Petras Alexander Cockburn
September 4, 2006 Clancy Sigal Jeffrey St.
Clair Anthony Alessandrini Dennis Perrin
Daniel Cassidy
Paul Craig
Roberts
September 2 / 3, 2006 Uri Avnery Jeffrey St.
Clair Ralph Nader Noam Chomsky Allan Lichtman Stanley Heller Rana el-Khatib Peter Montague Laura Carlsen Dr. Susan Block Joe Bageant Scott Stedjan / Matt Schaaf Gary Leupp Stephen Fleischman Paul Balles Ingmar Lee Jane Stillwater Ron Jacobs St. Clair /
Bossert Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
September 1, 2006 Uri Avnery Paul Craig
Roberts Bill Ayers Kevin Zeese Xochitl Bervera Norman Solomon Alexander Cockburn Richard Neville Website of the Day
August 31, 2006 David MacMichael John Ross Edward Said Amira Hass Missy Comley
Beattie Lee Sustar Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
August 30, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts George Salzman Dave Lindorff Leigh Davis Alan Maass Mike Whitney Eliza Ernshire Website of
the Day
Saul Landau Jeffrey Buchanan Dave Lindorff James Brooks John F. Burnett Walter A. Davis Rich Gibson Amira Hass Paul Craig
Roberts
August 28, 2006 John Walsh Sibel Edmonds
/ William Weaver Ramzy Kysia Ron Jacobs Gideon Levy Missy Beattie Virginia Tilley
Uri Avnery Alexander Cockburn Jordan Green Azmi Bishara Ray Close Gary Leupp Ralph Nader Joe Allen Fred Gardner Dave Lindorff David Krieger Stephen Fleischman Mary Turck Walter Brasch Jim Scharplaz Israel Shamir Alexander Cockburn Charles Henderson Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement
August 25, 2006 Elena Everett Juan Cole Chris Moore James Marc Leas Salah Obeid Claudio Albertani Tom Barry Website of
the Day
CounterPunch
News Service Uri Avnery Nermeen al-Mufti Norman Solomon Megan Wiles Laura Santina Mike Whitney Seth Sandronsky Christopher
Brauchli
August 23, 2006 Dr. Trudy Bond Ramzy Baroud Ron Jacobs Heather Gray Amira Hass Mavis Anderson Ingmar Lee Francis Boyle John Ross
Gilad Atzmon Jack Heyman Eamon McCann Sharon Smith Edward S. Herman Ramzi Kysia Bill Quigley August 21, 2006 Jonathan Cook Paul Craig
Roberts Kathy Kelly Mike Roselle Lenni Brenner Maher Osseiran
August 19 /
20, 2006 Uri Avnery Eliza Ernshire Virginia Tilley Kathy Kelly Marc Levy Stephen Bradberry / Barbara Rose
Johnston William Blum Stephen Fleischman Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff Fred Gardner David Krieger Dan La Botz Poets' Basement
August 18, 2006 Brian M. Downing John Blair Alan Hart Craig Murray Chris Dols Emily Kirksey Joaquín Bustelo William S.
Lind Podcast of the Day Website of
the Day
August 17, 2006 CounterPunch
News Service Barucha Peller Ramzy Baroud Rothem Shtarkman Craig Murray Samar Assad Mike Ferner Arnold Kohen Kevin Zeese Missy Comley Beattie Uri Avnery Video of the Day Website of
the Day
August 16, 2006 Merav Yudilovitch Robert Fisk Mark Williams John Ross Christopher
Brauchli John Walsh Ron Jacobs Rachard Itani Felice Pace Niranjan Ramakrishnan Frank, Sharma
and Peterson Jonathan Cook Website of
the Day
August 15, 2006 Andrew Ford
Lyons Binoy Kampmark Robert Fisk Ralph Nader Todd Chretien Chris Floyd Mark Engler George Galloway Laray Polk Trish Schuh Website of the Day
Uri Avnery Karim Makdisi Kathy Kelly Robert Fisk Norman Solomon Sunsara Taylor Robert Jensen Mike Whitney P. Sainath Goretti Horgan Christopher
Reed
August 12 /
13, 2006 Jean Bricmont Norman Finkelstein Robert Fisk Adrian Grima Barucha Peller Omar Barghouti Adam Engel Conn Hallinan John Stauber Rev. William
Alberts Fred Gardner Lucinda Marshall Ron Jacobs CounterPunch
News Service Poets' Basement
Col. Dan Smith John Ross Michael Donnelly William S.
Lind Linda Milazzo Rep. Cynthia
McKinney Azmi Bishara Henri Picciotto CounterPunch News Wire Dave Lindorff Jonathan Cook
Uri Avnery Dave Marsh Gabriel Kolko Arthur Versluis Jennifer Loewenstein
Linda Schade Jackie Mason Jonathan Cook Gilad Atzmon
Charles Hirschkind
Tom Barry Cockburn &
St. Clair
August 8, 2006 Patrick Cockburn Paul Larudee Joan Roelofs Dimi Reider John A. Murphy Tim Llewellyn Website of the Day
August 7, 2006 Uri Avnery Karim Makdisi Nadia Hijab Sharon Smith Magan Wiles George Beres Rachard Itani Norman Solomon Stan Cox Mickey Z. Jonathan Cook Website of
the Day
August 5 / 6, 2006 Virginia Tilley Uri Avnery Patrick Cockburn Sgt. Martin Smith Gary Leupp Neve Gordon Ralph Nader Peter Bouckaert Peter Montague David Krieger Michael Donnelly Fred Gardner Catherine Norris Imraan Siddiqi Missy Comley
Beattie Ira Kay Dave Lindorff Pratyush Chandra Ron Jacobs St. Clair / Donnelly Poets' Basement Website of the Day Video of the
Weekend
August 4, 2006 Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley Eliza Ernshire Roger Assaf George Bisharat Remi Kanazi Laura Carlsen Niranjan Ramakrishnan Derrick O'Keefe Mickey Z. Col. Dan Smith Website of the Day
Jonathan Cook Uri Avnery Saree Makdisi Robert Fisk Farrah Hassen Nicola Nasser Ron Jacobs Mitchel Cohen Seth Sandronsky Bruce K. Gagnon Alexander Cockburn
John Ross Chip Mitchell Saul Landau Naseer Aruri Winslow T.
Wheeler Matthias Gebauer Joshua Frank Bill Quigley Manuel Yang Shamai Leibowitz David Himmelstein Lara Marlowe Website of
the Day
August 1, 2006 Michael Neumann Robert Fisk Omar Barghouti Marc Levy Diana Barahona / Jeb Sprague Claud Cockburn Ross Eisenbrey Dave Lindorff John Chuckman Francis Boyle Phil Doe Stephen Soldz Website of the Day
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September 14, 2006 A City in RuinsAh, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?By J.L. CHESTNUT, Jr. Recently I watched Spike Lee's movie in four acts on the breaching of the levees in New Orleans during Katrina and I was often in tears. Although Katrina turned Eastward in the Gulf and actually missed New Orleans much of my favorite city was nevertheless destroyed by the rampaging waters from Lake Ponchitrain after the levees broke. The fumbling and distant attitude of government officials at every level toward thousands of destitute African-Americans did not surprise me. That is to be expected in a nation that systematically "sweeps under the rug" the truth about race and being poor. I harbor serious reservations about what kind of city will eventually rise in place of the New Orleans I knew and loved. Black Mayor Ray Nagin speaks of a "chocolate New Orleans" but I don't trust this black Republican. However, I do understand he was overwhelmed, and who wouldn't be, by the unprecedented destruction of almost an entire city. Mayor Giuliani and New York City on 9/11 didn't face one-third of the problems confronted by Mayor Nagin and New Orleans. Nevertheless, it is fair criticism to say Mayor Nagin had no plan for action before the disaster and doesn't have one now. Three times more money has been spent on rehabilitation of the Mississippi coastline than has been spent on New Orleans. Literally billions of dollars are on hold by Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco while they create a rehabilitation plan, and millions of dollars in aid has disappeared. Nagin and Blanco don't have a clue. All we can do is pray. New Orleans is unique in many ways. I was 18 years young in 1949 when I stepped outside Alabama for the first time passed over into Mississippi and headed down to New Orleans to attend Dillard University. Up to that point, Birmingham had been the only city of any size I had visited and in my young mind it was akin to fabulous New York City. I would almost be in heaven when my mother took me to Birmingham during the summer to visit her sister. So way back in 1949, I hardly knew what to make of big, bustling New Orleans, "The Crescent City, the Big Easy." In fact, I was almost speechless when the Greyhound Bus slowly weaved along the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast on U.S. 90, passing Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport and all the wonderful little port cities now damaged by Katrina. To be sure, I had never laid eyes on a body of water as large as the Gulf of Mexico, much less witness mile after mile of the longest man-made white sandy beach in the world and one lined with picture post card palm trees. To me, it was one huge movie set that fit my youthful imagination of glamorous Hollywood. Nevertheless, sitting with the other black passengers in the rear of the racially segregated Greyhound bus I sensed something quite un-Dixie about it all, almost foreign to the Confederacy. I was simultaneously delighted and apprehensive. Then came another huge shock. Dillard University's gorgeous campus (now damaged extensively by water and fire) a large green sea of beautifully manicured grass (like a well tended golf course), studded with magnificent and stately white buildings all in perfect symmetry and each featuring huge white columns patterned after the Pennsylvania Avenue facade of the White House in Washington. How would a young black boy, who had never been outside poor, race conscious Alabama adjust to living in such a place? I wondered if this sprawling, breathtakingly beautiful campus was itself part of a higher education. Of course it was, but how could I understand that in 1949? Also, back in Selma, Alabama there were only black people and white people but in New Orleans there were black people, white people, Creole people, Cajun people and other ethnics. Make no mistake: New Orleans was Southern but only in its own peculiar way. I often sat in the rear of a segregated city bus and tried to guess from a boarding passenger's skin color and appearance if he would sit in the front or the back of the bus. I guessed wrong as often as I guessed right. That would not happen anywhere else in the South. I was only 300 miles from home in Selma but in another world altogether and one that seemingly, in ways, was unrelated to Alabama, Mississippi and even the rest of Louisiana. To complicate matters further, the French Quarter (spared by both hurricane Betsy and Katrina) was off-limits to African-Americans unless one was a musician, entertainer, bartender, waiter or in maintenance. The Dixieland music played in joints lined up on every street in the Quarter was often third-rate and strictly for tourists, but I quickly noted that a young saxophone player with his head on right could make money in this unusual section of this unusual city. Indeed, that is why I had chosen Dillard. It took me about a year to put New Orleans in some perspective and learn to exploit it. In time, I organized a group of jazz players and we would make money by playing on weekends for the tourist trade in clubs in the Quarter, but about 2 or 3 A.M. we headed "Up Town", the black nightlife section, and joined in some of the best jazz and entertainment anywhere in the world and we often partied until late the next day. The there's a New Orleans jazz type wake, funeral and burial. Together they constitute a most unusual jazz tinted show and march or strut. Ah, do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? There were many black clubs and among them were "The Dew Drop Inn", Foster's "Rainbow Room" and others. White residents of New Orleans often avoided the Quarter and came uptown to have a rollicking integrated good time. The major industry in New Orleans was tourism and nightlife, and it seemed that everyone was a musician, entertainer, bartender or waiter. Night people were my people and appreciated the genius of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. More than a few New Orleans musicians and entertainers from that era went on to become international musical stars. I knew Fats Domino when he, like the rest of us, was hustling any gig or engagement he could find. After he finally made it, Pat Boone made more money off his music than he did, but Fats has done well, and he never moved from the 9th Ward where Katrina did terrible damage. Ah, do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? Dr. Benjamin Quarles, one of America's most noted black historians, a scholar and author, was in the late 40s and early 50s Dean at Dillard. He tried to "rescue" me from what he called "all that unhealthy nighttime dissipation." Dean Quarles would say, "You must put that saxophone down young man and make something of yourself. You should become a lawyer." I was having a ball and making more money than the dean and two or three black lawyers in New Orleans combined. I doubt that I would have become a lawyer except for Dean Quarles and Sociology Professor Daniel Thompson. Over the years I have debated in my mind how a little black boy from Selma, Alabama could be so fortunate. I don't think it was chance. I don't think anything is ever purely by chance. On the bus to New Orleans those many years ago, I sensed that along with all the beautiful geography I would soon face very different standards and different values than I had known in Alabama. In Selma, it was often difficult to discern if the Union had really won the Civil War. New Orleans was a much more complicated and confusing place racially and otherwise, and I sort of understood that of necessity. I would soon begin to grow up quickly. Recently I listened as black Republican New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (a graduate of Tuskegee University and reelected primarily by black democrats largely because he is black) proudly told how President Bush invited him to take a shower in the Presidential quarters on Air Force One. Nagin was obviously quite pleased with himself as he described the president's plane as "a penthouse in the sky." Then, a few months ago prior to his reelection, Nagin told a black audience in Atlanta that President Bush invaded Iraq under false pretense. Nagin had never before been critical of Bush, to my knowledge. I am sure he voted for Bush and donated to the President's reelection campaign. Nagin did not support Democrat Blanco when she ran for governor, and instead campaigned for her losing republican opponent. You can be sure Governor Blanco did not want to do anything that would make Nagin look good before, during or after Katrina. That hurt the poor people of the 9th Ward more than it hurt Nagin. The Mayor's reconstruction plans, such as they are, are not being run by "chocolate" people, but nevertheless this black republican claims the new New Orleans will be a chocolate city. Don't bet on it! The conditions the mayor and his advisers have proposed for rebuilding and revitalizing the 9th Ward are both impractical and unreal. They will displace many poor homeowners, most of them black. Some of the strong black democrats who helped reelect Nagin over a liberal white democrat despite his Republican instincts are beginning to call his hand. I am looking for ways to help them. J.L. Chestnut, Jr. is a civil rights attorney in Selma, Alabama. He is the founder of Chestnut, Sanders and Sanders which is the largest black law firm in Alabama. Born in Selma and, after graduating from Howard University Law School, he began practicing law in Selma in 1958. He started as the only black lawyer in the town and has been challenging the establishment since then. His law firm now owns two radio stations in Selma and Mr. Chestnut hosts a radio talk show three days a week touted as the most popular radio show in south and central Alabama. He is the author of "Black in Selma" with Julia Cass (1989 Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and writes a weekly column called the "Hard Cold Truth". He can be reached at tmarshall@csspca.com.
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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.                     |
