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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers! How Cops Extort Confessions;
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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
How Cops Extort Confessions;
How the U.S. “Justice System” Really WorksNinety-two per cent of felony convictions in the U.S. are obtained by plea bargains or confessions. Without them the “justice system” would grind to a halt. In an important piece in our latest newsletter, available only to subscribers, Emily Horowitz shows how totally innocent people will “confess” under police pressure, even without physical torture. Horowitz outlines the powerful case for banning confessions altogether. Also in this new edition Marcus Rediker, co-author of the legendary The Many Headed Hydra, writes of popular heroism and resistance in the favelas of Medellin, Colombia. Alexander Cockburn reports on how America’s oldest bank, patronized by the global elites, washed billions smuggled out of Russia, and how the Russians might win their money back, shaking the world’s banking system if they do so. Serge Halimi describes the real battle for the soul of Europe. 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.
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Today's Stories August 30 / 31, 2008 Andy Worthington August 29, 2008 Mike Whitney Brian Cloughley David Ker Thomson Joanne Mariner Neve Gordon Chris Genovali Ron Jacobs Michael Donnelly August 28, 2008 Judy Gumbo Albert Paul Cantor Saul Landau / Andy Worthington Ben Terrall Leonard Peltier Niranjan Ramakrishnan Donna J. Volatile Website of the Day
August 27, 2008 Anthony DiMaggio Jordan Flaherty Ralph Nader Melissa Checker Bob Sommer Cynthia McKinney Ali Khan M. Junaid Levesque-Alam Dave Lindorff David Macaray Website of the Day
August 26, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Michael D. Yates Paul Craig Roberts Andy Worthington Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Huwaida Arraf Joseph Grosso Sheldon Richman Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day August 25, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Bill Quigley Jonathan Cook James McEnteer Uri Avnery Will Potter Robert Jensen Stephen Lendman Wajahat Ali Carl Finamore Website of the Day August 23 / 4, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patty O'Grady Nicole Colson Steve Conn Deepak Trapathi Robert Fantina Jonathan M. Feldman Joshua Frank Osama Qashoo Howard Lisnoff David Michael Green Dave Lindorff Christopher Brauchli Alan Farago Michael Winship Richard Rhames David Rosen Patrick B. Barr Jamie Newlin Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 22, 2008 Boris Kagarlitsky Laura Carlsen Bob Barr Marwan Bishara Peter Morici Manuel Garcia, Jr. Charles Mostoller Sumbul Ali-Karamali Keith Rosenthal John F. Miglio Website of the Day August 21, 2008 Allan J. Lichtman Dave Lindorff Loserville: How Obama Blew It Ralph Nader Joanne Mariner Wajahat Ali Ron Jacobs Rostam Purzal Anthony Papa Website of the Day August 20, 2008 Michael Neumann Ray McGovern Eric Walberg Fidaa Abed Daniel Haack Mike Whitney Website of the Day August 19, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Deepak Tripathi Marwan Bishara Saul Landau William S. Lind Martha Rosenberg James Brittain Pratyush Chandra David Macaray Website of the Day August 18, 2008 Tariq Ali Gary Leupp Uri Avnery John Ross Farooq Sulehria Luis Rodriguez Manuel Garcia, Jr. Noah Baker Merrill Charles Thomson Website of the Day August 16 / 17, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Deepak Tripathi Conn Hallinan Mike Whitney Robert Fantina Ray McGovern Nicole Colson Fatima Bhutto Jean-Luis Rocca David Michael Green Ramzi Kysia Dave Lindorff Lisa Martinovic Richard Rhames Don Santina Rannie Amiri Ramzy Baroud John Stanton Howard Lisnoff Ron Jacobs Seth Sandronsky Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
August 15, 2008 Steve Niva David Remington Michael Winship Paul Craig Roberts Farzana Versey Harvey Wasserman Felice Pace Julian Critchley Website of the Day August 14, 2008 Saul Landau / Conn Hallinan Mike Whitney Reza Fiyouzat Ralph Nader Christopher Brauchli The Cheerleader in China Jack Bradigan Spula Patrick Irelan John Walsh Dan Bacher Website of the Day
August 13, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts David Remington Brian Cloughley Glen Ford Brendan Cooney Dave Lindorff Tom Lewis Stan Cox Alan Farago Martha Rosenberg Website of the Day August 12, 2008 Uri Avnery Anthony DiMaggio Bill Christison Eric Walberg Kate Connolly Diane Farsetta Peter Morici Thom Rutledge Lee Patton Niranjan Ramakrishnan Website of the Day August 11, 2008 Ishmael Reed Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Douglas Kammen William Willers Greg Moses Jeff Leys Cynthia McKinney Alan Farago Website of the Day August 9 / 10, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Bruce Jackson Kevin Young Chris Floyd Joshua Frank Robert Fantina Brendan Cooney Mark Almond Lois Gibbs Rev. William Alberts Kathy Kelly John Ross David Michael Green Bill Moyers / Ron Jacobs Richard Rhames David Yearsley Lee Sustar Brenda Norrell Ben Terrall Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 8, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Manuel Garcia, Jr. M. Shahid Alam Andy Worthington Lawrence J. Korb David Model Alan Farago Diop Olugbala Firmin DeBrabander Website of the Day August 7, 2008 Dr. Trudy Bond William Blum Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Robert Weitzel Jacob G. Hornberger Binoy Kampmark David Macaray Howard Lisnoff Website of the Day August 6, 2008 Marc Herold Greg Moses Sheldon Rampton Kevin Young Michael Estrada Robert Weissman Dr. Susan Block Cindy Sheehan Ace Hoffman Website of the Day August 5, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Jeff Halper Patrick Cockburn Nancy Welch Peter Morici Sousan Hammad Eamon Martin Shepherd Bliss Tim Matson Website of the Day August 4, 2008 Uri Avnery Saul Landau David W. Remington Rev. Jesse Jackson Dave Lindorff Peter Morici Joanne Mariner Ramzy Baroud Christian Wright Website of the Day August 2 / 3, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patrick Cockburn Winslow T. Wheeler James Abourezk Andy Worthington Brian Cloughley Robert Fantina Benjamin Dangl Marlene Martin David Yearsley Fatemeh Keshavarz David Michael Green Obama as Dukakis Harvey Wasserman Jason Hribal Phyllis Pollack Laray Polk Ron Jacobs David Macaray David Rosen Dan Bacher Joe Allen Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 1, 2008 Jonathan Cook Nikolas Kozloff Rannie Amiri Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli M. K. Bhadrakumar Patrick Cockburn James J. Brittain Dan Bacher Website of the Day
July 31, 2008 Michael Hudson Carl Finamore Mike Whitney Joshua Frank Andy Worthington Ralph Nader Bill Moyers / Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff Website of the Day July 30, 2008 Brian M. Downing Chuck Spinney William S. Lind David Ker Thomson Karl Grossman Mike Whitney Martha Rosenberg James Murren Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Website of the Day July 29, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair John Ross Peter Morici Alison Weir Gary Leupp David Macaray Brenda Norrell Marjorie Cohn Eric Ruder Website of the Day July 28, 2008 Dr. Bryant Welch Kathy Kelly Mike Whitney Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli Clifton Ross Stephen Lendman Website of the Day
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Weekend Edition More of the Same, in Disguise?McCain and PalinBy ROBERT FANTINA Before the last balloon had even been removed from the Pepsi Center at Invesco Field for the Democratic National Convention, where Illinois Senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain deflated them all. Waiting until after Mr. Obama’s stirring speech, but before the euphoria and excitement it brought could even peak, Mr. McCain pulled a rather vague rabbit out of his electoral hat and plucked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin from the depths of Juneau to serve as his running-mate. This announcement has brought great excitement into a campaign that was thus far noted only for its continuation of the Republican tradition of nominating tired, rich, old white men for the highest offices in the land. But Mr. McCain, obviously reaching back to the failed 1984 campaign of Democratic candidate Walter Mondale, who selected New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running-mate, decided to do something ‘new’ and choose a woman. Perhaps Mr. McCain believes that Democrats who worked for, contributed to and fervently supported New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for president will now flock to the GOP ticket; after all, Mr. McCain, in his sexist way, may believe that one woman is as good as another. That may be true for him in marriage (although the ample purse of the current Mrs. McCain far exceeds that of her predecessor), but one would hope that most voters are more interested in policy and experience than in simply voting for a member of the ‘pantsuit sisterhood.’ Is Mrs. Palin a worthy alternative to Senator Clinton? Let us make a logical comparison of some pertinent facts about each woman in the context of their governmental experience. Fact 1: International experience. In her role as First Lady, Senator Clinton met with world leaders as she travelled the globe with her husband. She often involved herself in meetings with these leaders, and also spent time in many countries meeting with those countries’ citizens. To date, no information about Mrs. Palin’s international travel and experience is readily available. She attended college in Idaho, but much as one stretches one’s imagination, that is still not ‘international.’ Fact 2: Governing experience Senator Clinton was First Lady of Arkansas and for eight years prior to becoming First Lady of the U.S. During her years in Arkansas, she worked tirelessly to foster the political aspirations of her husband. Once she moved into the White House, she did not exactly fit the mold of the traditional First Lady, content to cut ribbons at the opening of day care centers and do little more than be an innocuous ornament beside the president. During those years, for better or for worse, she was an integral part of government. She worked with Congress, albeit unsuccessfully, for universal health care. Senator Clinton followed up her experience as First Lady by being elected senator from New York, one of the most populous states in the union (estimated population in 2007: 19,297,729; ranked third). Following her first term, she was re-elected. Governor Palin served as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population in 2000: 5,470) from 1992 - 1999. She has been governor of Alaska (estimated population in 2007: 683,478; ranked 47th) now for two years. Fact 3: Campaigning Senator Clinton has been involved in several state-wide campaigns when her husband was running for office in Arkansas. She then took a major role in his two successful presidential campaigns, and waged rigorous and successful campaigns of her own for U.S. senate. In Governor Palin twice campaigned successfully for mayor of Wasilla. She ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002, and successfully for governor in 2006. Fact 4: Issues Environment: Governor Palin supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; she opposed the decision of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to list polar bears as endangered, saying it might hinder oil and gas development in Alaska. (It might be interesting to note that her husband was once employed by British Petroleum). She has also stated that the overwhelming evidence presented by nearly every reputable scientist on the topic of global warming is unreliable, and that it is not a man-made problem. Guns: Governor Palin is proud of her long membership in the National Rifle Association. Abortion: Opposed. Gay Rights: Opposed. Senator Clinton, on the other hand, opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, supports a woman’s right to choose and supports gay rights. She takes a more moderate position on guns than does the Governor. Based on these few facts, one wonders if it is at all possible that Mr. McCain believes that any significant number of those 18,000,000 people who supported Mrs. Clinton in the primaries will flock en masse to the Republican ticket. The next three months may prove interesting. Mr. McCain, who can barely string two words together in a coherent sentence, and who always sounds as if he’d rather not be speaking at all, will debate Mr. Obama, one of the most gifted orators of our generation. Mrs. Palin, with her limited experience in governing Alaska, will go toe-to-toe with the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, who has over 20 years experience in the senate and has served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been a member of that committee for several years. Mr. McCain will endorse and encourage positions that even President George Bush has jettisoned, while Mr. Obama will continue to chant his attractive mantra of change. Mrs. Palin will compare her years as mayor of Wasilla to the needs of a nation of over 300,000,000. Mr. Biden will discuss his decades of legislating for the nation. What, one wonders, will the voters buy this year? Will they vote for another rich, out-of-touch, elderly white male war-monger and his youthful, inexperienced, reactionary running-mate who support a continuation of the last disastrous eight years? Or will they prefer a youthful, relatively inexperienced (although with far more experience than Mrs. Palin) African-American and his vastly experienced running-mate who promise change? Will they select four more years of a deadly, costly unwinnable war, or a reasoned, safe and orderly end to it? Will they continue the era of job erosion, home ownership loss and soaring deficits, or change course to fiscal responsibility and economic recovery? Will they prefer to see the U.S. ridiculed, hated and feared by the rest of the world, or work to bring respect back to the nation? In 2008, with the candidates who they are, there should be no question; polls which indicate a close race should predict a landslide victory for Messrs Obama and Biden. But the Republicans have long used fear to cause voters to vote against their own best interests, and this deceitful, dismal strategy may once again succeed. If it does, the tragedy will not be limited to the U.S., or the current generation. The effects will be felt globally and will reverberate for years. Robert Fantina is author of 'Desertion and the American Soldier: 1776--2006.
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