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BUSH'S MELTDOWN AND THE US DEFEAT IN IRAQ He's on the floor, but can the Democrats Save Him? They're sure trying. Scorching reports on the "new jobs" myth and the end of America's housing bubble. Savage dissection of Council on Foreign Relation's Plan to "Contain" AIDS and Throw Money at the Drug Companies. Why the Military-Industrial Complex Wants U.S. Out of Iraq. What the US Press Missed about the War. Get the facts you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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December 20, 2005 Dave Lindorff December 19, 2005 Mike Marqusee Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs John Blair Gideon Levy Kevin Zeese Missy Comley Beattie Don Santina Website of the Day
December 17 / 18, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Gabriel Kolko Susan Alcorn Werther Ralph Nader Patrick Cockburn Fred Gardner Dave Lindorff Ned Sublette Lee Sustar Jason Leopold Laura Carlsen Jeff White Ray McGovern Chris Floyd William Loren Katz Rose Miriam
Elizalde Greg Moses Heather Gray Alison Weir St Clair /
Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
the Day
December 16, 2005 Tom Kerr Mark Engler John Bomar Patrick Cockburn Pierre Tristam William S. Lind Cyril Neville Robert Jensen Saul Landau Website
December 15, 2005 Oren Ben-Dor Stan Cox Joshua Frank Ben Terrall Patrick Cockburn Monica Benderman Walter A. Davis Vijay Prashad Website of
the Day
Patrick Cockburn Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R. Velvel Wayne Garcia John Sugg Gary Leupp Ray McGovern Alan Maass April Hurley, MD Kevin Alexander
Gray
December 13, 2005 Stephen T.
Banko, III Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen Karl Grossman Niranjan Ramakrishnan Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Michael G.
Smith Stew Albert Bob Dylan Phil Gasper Website of
the Day
December 12, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Lawrence R.
Velvel Jessica Stewart George Bisharat Nate Mezmer Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Alison Weir Seth Sandronsky Patrick Cockburn Website of
the Day
Alexander Cockburn Landau / Hassen Ralph Nader Linn Washington, Jr Bill Christison Mike Ferner Elizabeth Schulte Neve Gordon / Yigal Bronner Linda S. Heard Ingmar Lee Ray McGovern John Chuckman John Ryan Dick J. Reavis Christopher
Brauchli Behzad Yaghmaian Aseem Shrivastava John Ross Ben Tripp St. Clair / Pollack / Vest
/ Despair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
December 9, 2005 Linn Washington,
Jr. Dave Zirin
/ Mike Stark Patrick Cockburn Alexander Cockburn Lila Rajiva Gary Leupp Jason Leopold Bruce K. Gagnon Andrew Cockburn Website of the Day
December 8, 2005 Kathy Kelly James Petras William S.
Lind Laura Carlsen Justin Akers Thomas Graham, Jr Norman Solomon Tariq Ali /
Robin Blackburn Website of
the Day
December 7, 2005 John Ryan Gary Leupp Fran Quigley Jeremy Brecher
/ Brendan Smith Joshua Frank William W.
Morgan Dave Lindorff Patrick Cockburn Harold Pinter Website of
the Day
December 6, 2005 Ron Jacobs Patrick Cockburn Yifat Susskind Mike Whitney Pat Williams Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
December 5, 2005 John Walsh Brian Cloughley Mokhiber /
Weissman Robert Jensen Norman Solomon Peter Rost, MD Lila Rajiva Website of the Day
Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Rev. William Alberts Saul Landau Ralph Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Mike Whitney Allan Lichtman Dave Lindorff Brian Concannon,
Jr. Fred Gardner Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Carol Wolman St. Clair /
Vest / Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
December 2, 2005 Stan Goff Mike Ferner Christopher Brauchli Niranjan Ramakrishnan Manuel Talens Peter Phillips J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. Website of
the Day
December 1, 2005 John Walsh,
MD Ron Jacobs Jenna Orkin Joshua Frank Tiffany Ten
Eyck Missy Comley Beattie Eli Stephens Elaine Cassel Website of
the Day
November 30, 2005 Allen / D'Amato Mike Whitney Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Stephen Soldz
November 29, 2005 Phil Gasper Behzad Yaghmaian Joshua Frank Walter A. Davis Gary Leupp Len Colodny Jeffrey St.
Clair Bill Quigley Website of
the Day
November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
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December 20, 2005 The Paralyzing Shadow of Accusation"Eco-Terrorism": Cui Bono?By MICHAEL DONNELLY In the 1980s in the North Santiam Canyon east of Salem, OR, Ancient Forest activism was peaking after years of dogged effort. This is the area of the famous 1986-89 North Roaring Devil blockade and tree sit (the second ever pro-forest tree sit; the first coming in the nearby South Santiam's Millennium Grove actions of 1985). North Roaring Devil protection efforts went on for three years, over sixty folks were arrested for non-violent Civil Disobedience at the logging site; sixty-three acres of five-hundred-plus year old trees were leveled; but, in the end, a lawsuit stopped the logging of an additional 170 acres and even led to the Willamette National Forest Plan being thrown out and redone. The entire area is now a part of a 49,000 acre reserve. Naturally, this effort gained a lot of notoriety. It was the first such effort to garner national attention to the plight of our fast-vanishing old growth forests, bringing in reporters from around the world. It led to a spread in National Geographic and some TV documentaries. By 1988, things also got going eight miles away in the Little North Fork Santiam drainage when a concerted effort was mounted to stop Forest Service plans to liquidate Opal Creek's wondrous Ancient Forest. The successful (it's now a designated Wilderness area with over 35,000 acres preserved) Opal Creek endeavor led to even more attention coming to the Santiam area. In 1995, sixty miles south at Warner Creek, activists mounted an occupation of a planned post-fire (an arson) "salvage" logging area. People from around the country came and camped out in the snow and rain for over a year before a lawsuit ended the threat of logging there.
Change in Tone Soon a few new folks arrived on the two scenes advocating major violent defense of the forests. One who moved to the Detroit area claimed eco-bona fides as one of the folks arrested with famed activist Judi Bari when she broke into the home of Harry "we log to infinity" Merlo, CEO of Louisiana Pacific until he was rudely fired by LP shareholders in 1995 after years of mismanagement. Bari and friends famously drank Merlo's sherry and soaked in his hot tub before arrest. Of course, when Northwest activists checked into this guy's story, he was not with Bari in California that night. He constantly pushed for more extreme actions by forest defenders. He claimed to have spiked trees in the area and falsely cited a recently deceased local (one of my best friends) as his accomplice. He even loudly claimed to have provided the accelerants used in the famous Vail arson. Then, he vanished one night and cannot be found, even by a contractor trying to settle a multi-thousand dollar monetary dispute in his favor.
On the Cusp of Victory On Oct. 28, 1996, an arson fire broke out at the Detroit Ranger Station, the Ranger District responsible for both Opal Creek and the Breitenbush River area of the North Roaring Devil. A truck was burned and graffiti reading "Earth Liberation Front" was painted on the building. At the time, Earth Liberation Front (ELF) was an England-based group that had done no actions in the USA. This was a first. Two days later, the Oakridge Ranger Station (yep, Warner Creek) was burned to the ground. Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas visited the site declaring the arson an act of cowardly eco-terrorism. "This is what people do who do not understand how to operate in a democracy," Thomas pontificated. When peaceful protesters arrived the next day, Halloween, at Forest Service HQ in Eugene to protest yet another Ancient Forest timber sale in the Detroit area, they were met by a phalanx of riot police, decked out in full Seattle WTO Ninja turtle attire and surrounding the entire block. From that point on, increased militarization took place at every forest protest; including ski-masked, black-attired, highly-armed characters slinking through the woods taking photos of every protester and, every once in awhile, leaping out of the brush and tackling and arresting folks for "violating a Closure Area." The big question at the time was; not so much who was doing these arsons, though that was high on everyone's minds; but why here? Why in the two areas where activists were winning? It was so counterproductive that major research into spotted owls and recovering burned areas went up in smoke at Oakridge; research that made the case of the protesters! Detroit was also well on its way to a transformation away from being the nation's biggest timber cutting ranger district in the 1980s (an average of 13,000 acres of Ancient Forest was cut annually, leading to an average yield of 125 million board feet per year!) Now, after the transition, the Detroit Ranger District hosts over three million visitors per year and cut less than one million board feet last year; all from salvage and small tree thinning operations.
Who Gains? All this brings me to last week's arrests in a number of "ELF" and "Animal Liberation Front" (ALF) incidents. Bandied about universally in the media as "Eco-terrorism" cases, each event also cries out for the same "Why here?" analysis. Even if one was a dedicated ELF/ALFer, why would one choose to attack these specific targets? Of course, one can find the rationales on their own website. (The notion of committed Luddites having websites is another issue.) Tim Hermach, head of the Native Forest Council, has seen how the fallout from such actions has impacted non-profit advocacy groups like his. He put it this way, "It's strange how easily we forget. COINTELPRO; industry's arson, insurance fraud & strategic PR campaigns to divide & conquer its opposition of responsible citizens. ELF and its alleged crimes are far more likely to be one or all of the above rather than "us." Just look at the targets. Just look at the results. Did they help us? Did they advance our cause or set us back? Even if one believed there were some willing dupes from within our ranks who played a role in "ELF" actions; were they directed, encouraged or manipulated by the FBI or industry agents?" "Eco-Terrorism" as a concept itself is the brain-fart of Ron Arnold, guru of the Wise Use Movement. Arnold ginned up the entire notion as a way to combat ever-increasing public support for conservation. And ironically, Arnold claims that "eco-terrorism" is clandestinely carried out at the behest of major non-profit groups and their funders when he himself uses the theory as the main cash cow for his own non-profit. While I agree with him on some things, especially that there is something just a tad shady about the Big Greens and their Big Oil foundation funders; it's not them in any way behind this wave of arsons. Nor is it the work of any of the many small groups that have organized to protect critical habitats. Despite the fact that a couple of the recent arrestees did spend some time at the Warner Creek blockade, they were not instrumental in that effort. Most long-time activists knew none of the accused. And accused is all they are. We also must remember that the FBI arrested activists Judi Bari and Daryl Cherney after they were the victims of a car bomb. The FBI accused them of bombing themselves basically. After years of litigation, Bari and Cherney were exonerated and the FBI was forced to pay Cherney and the deceased Bari's estate a $4.4 million dollar settlement for violating their First and Fourth amendment rights. In summary: we have questionable actions at questionable sites; we have arrests with the aid of an unnamed "confidential informant;" we have provocateurs (informants?) who arrive, then vanish; and, after ten years, we have no arrests in the Bari bombing nor in the Detroit and Oakridge arsons or the arson of the Warner Creek forest; reminiscent of the lack of law enforcement effort on the "Anthrax letters" to the media and top Democrats. A pattern emerges: issues that remain "unresolved' are matters where activists or their causes are harmed or silencing dissent is the motivation. Should industry or their stooges be even slightly impacted by anything, legal (remember those increasingly-present Ninja turtles appearing wherever citizens are exercising their constitutional rights) or otherwise, the FBI stages a full-court press; rights be damned. It really is "what people do who do not understand how to operate in a democracy." MICHAEL DONNELLY was instrumental
in both the North Roaring Devil (he was the plaintiff in the
lawsuit that stopped it) and the Opal Creek campaigns. He can
be reached at pahtoo@aol.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.                |
