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Today's
Stories
November 2,
2006
Uri Avnery
The
Lovable Man? Lieberman and the Decline of Israeli Democracy
November 1,
2006
Alan Dershowitz
/ Bruce Jackson
On
Torture
Brian Tokar
Running
on Hype: the Real Scoop on Biofuels
Fred Leonhardt
Democrats,
Sex Crimes and the Press: the Goldschmidt Affair
Richard W.
Behan
Triumph
of the Petropublicans: Bush's Other Civil War
Brenda Norrell
Indigenous Opposition to the Border Wall
Charles Sullivan
Spoils of Corruption: Who Will Stand Up When America Goes Wrong?
Ron Jacobs
Hell is Rising in Oaxaca: interview with a Oaxacan Rebel
Mike Knapp
Green Stench in Minnesota: the Commissioner and the Hog Lot
Moshe Adler
The Temptations of a Union Boss: the Case of Brian McLaughlin
Walden Bello
Chain Gang Economics
Lee Ballinger
The Collapse of Hip Capitalism: How Tower Records Committed Suicide
Joshua Frank
Party in a Cage: Snake Oil and the Midterm Elections
Carl Gelderloos
Cheerleading the Massacre in Oaxaca: an Open Letter to the Washington
Post
Peter Rost,
MD
Panic
in Big Pharma
Saul Landau
Bush's
Anti-Terrorism Record: Don't Look Too Close
Website of the Day
The Meatrix
October 31, 2006
William S.
Lind
The
Third and Final Act: Iran
Stephen S.
Pearcy
Dem Candidate's Wife Urges Cindy Sheehan Not to Protest Iraq
War
Uri Avnery
Who's
Afraid of an Iranian Bomb?
Michael Colby
Corporations Win Again!: Bush Opens National Parks to Bio-Prospecting
Sunsara Taylor
A No-Win Election for Women
Ben Beachy
Targeting Nicaraguans' Stomachs: 11th Hour Election Meddling
by the US
Edward Humes
Nine Words: America's Disservice to Veterans
Roger Burbach
The Meaning of Lula's Victory in Brazil
Subcomandante Marcos
A Communique from the EZLN on Oaxaca
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Funny Business in the Booth: Vote for James H. 'Jim'
Sharon Smith
Those
Damned Democrats
Website of
the Day
Parks Not for Sale
October 30,
2006
Robert Fisk
Dirty
Bombs Over Lebanon: Did Israel Use Uranium Weapons?
Bruce Jackson
Normalizing
Torture
Norman Solomon
I Was Wrong About Thomas Friedman, the World's Wealthiest Pundit
Lance Selfa
Liberal Doormats: Tread on Us
Ali Khan
The Veil and the British Male Elite
Lee Sustar
European Islamophobia: Fanning the Flames of Hate
Robert Jensen
The Death of Empathy
Akiva Eldar
Lieberman: Making Haider Look Good
Tim Montague
The Natural Step to Eco-Villages
Brian M. Downing
Evil in the Valley: Civilian Massacres, From Vietnam to Iraq
Website of the Day
Alien Impeachment
October 27 / 29, 2006
Weekend Edition
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Hogwash:
Fecal Factories in the Heartland
Maher Arar
The
Horrors of Extraordinary Rendition: a Personal Account
David Rosen
Perversions of Power: Mark Foley and the Bush Administration
Gregory Elich
"A Bursting Boiler at Russia's Doorstep:" Why Bush
is Seeking Confrontation with N. Korea
Tom Barry
Fear and Loathing in the North: an Apartheid Fence in America?
Jeff Taylor
Democrats By Default?
Dave Lindorff
Why Nancy Pelosi is Wrong
Ron Jacobs
The General Who Called Out the Devil: the Politics of Hugo Chavez
Maurus Chino
Hauba Hanu: Oppression Affects All People
Christopher
Brauchli
Veiled Threats: the Global War on Fashion
Sherwood Ross
The Wages of Whistleblowing: Why Bunny Greenhouse Sits in a Corner
Rev. William
Alberts
In Search of a Real Inter-Religious Dialogue on War and Justice
Aseem Shrivastava
Pushing India Toward a "Dollar Democracy"
Saul Landau
/ Farrah Hassen
Bush's Mea Culpa Speech, First Draft
Russ Fine / Dee Fine
Of Peters and Principles: Learning About Sex and Hypocrisy from
the GOP
Seth Sandronsky
Social Security: the Distortions of Sebastian Mallaby
Michael Carmichael
Rogue President: Midterm Meltdown
Joe Allen
The Legacy of Gillo Pontecorvo: a Maker of Revolutionary Films
David Vest
Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week
Poets' Basement
Landau, Engel and Buknatski
Website of the Weekend
Safely Home
October 26,
2006
Ismael Hossein-zadeh
Islamic
Fascism?: Inflammatory Ironies
Carlos Zorrilla
The
Police Raid on My House: Trumped Up Charges and Collusion Between
a Mining Company and the Government of Ecuador
Paul Craig Roberts
The Crimes of Greed vs. the Crimes of Government: If Enron's
Skilling Gets 24 Years in Prison, How Many Should Bush and Cheney
Get?
Mike Whitney
The Charnel House of Baghdad
Lily Hughes
A Cruel and Unusual Reality: Inside the Texas Death House
Jennifer Matsui
Madonna's African Safari: The Great White Baby Hunter
Tim Matson
How to Save Vermont
Stephen Fleischman
Like a Soldier: Benchmarks, Timelines and Lies
Missy Beattie
The Blood of October: Are We Sure Barney Still Supports This
War?
Patrick Cockburn
From
"Mission Accomplished" to "Mission Impossible"
in Iraq
Website of the Day
Open Letter to The Nation
October 25,
2006
Michael Donnelly
Ethnicity
and Baseball
John Stanton
The
Vindication of Sibel Edmonds
John Ross
Upheaval from the Bottom
Conn Hallinan
Hunting Hugo: When It's About Oil Nothing is Off the Table--Not
Even Assassination
Robert Jensen
Academic
Freedom on the Rocks
Johnny Barber
Drinking Tea with Hizbullah
Bruce K. Gagnon
Space Cowboy: Bush's War on Heaven
Daniel McGowan
Elie Wiesel for Israeli President?
James J. Brittain
Uribe's Failure to Learn from Colombia's Past
Peter Harley
Afghanistan in 3-D
Jonathan Cook
Israel's
Minister of Strategic Threats
Shepherd Bliss
The Bioneers and the New York Times
Website of
the Day
The Price of Staying the Course
October 24,
2006
John Walsh
The
Book of Rahm: Emanuel's War Plan for Democrats
M. Shahid Alam
Not All Terrorists Are Muslim: the Latest Falsehood from the
Advocates of Civilizational War
Dr. Trudy Bond
The Silence at Home, as America Eats Her Young
Michael Phillips
The Story of My Kidnapping in Nablus: "I Never Feared for
My Life"
Dave Lindorff
Truth and Consequences on Iraq: Bush's Latest Cut-and-Paste War
Plan
David Phinney
A US Fortress Rises in Baghdad: Asian Labor Trafficking Used
to Build World's Largest Embassy
Laura Carlsen
Food Insecurity: the World Needs Its Small Farmers
Pierre Tristam
The American Way of Gore
Marguerite
Rose Jimenez
"About
That Trip to Cuba:" When the FBI Came Calling
Website of
the Day
Tampon Terrorists
October 23,
2006
Saree Makdisi
Israel's
Cluster Bomb War: "What We Did Was Insane and Monstrous"
Joshua Frank
The
Antiwar Movement and Independent Politics: an Interview with
Cindy Sheehan
Fred Gardner
What Have California Doctors Learned About Cannabis?
Ralph Nader
The End of Habeas Corpus and the Belligerent Despot-in-Chief
Ron Jacobs
Bush's Clark Clifford: James Baker Wants a Kinder, Gentler War
Norman Solomon
Punditry Without Consequences: Channeling Thomas Friedman
Richard Manning
Outside the Market: We Need and Owe Rural People
Neil Kitson
Canadians in Afghanistan: Bloody, Unbowed, Stoned?
William MacDougall
The Socialist, the Columnist, His Wife and the Prostitute
Gilad Atzmon
Surviving the Board of Deputies
Werther
The
Evening of Empire
Website of
the Day
Different Drummer: Internet Coffeehouse Movement
October 20
/ 22, 2006
Alexander Cockburn
The
Myth of Microloans
Gary Leupp
How
the US Declared War on North Korea
Brian Cloughley
What Are They Dying For?
Dave Zirin
Pat Tillman's Brother Breaks His Silence
William Blum
Don't Look Back: Who Said Clinton Didn't Kill Anybody?
Christopher
Brauchli
The
Cronies' War
Winslow Wheeler
The
Mad Logic of Pentagon Spending: As Costs Rise, Readiness Declines
Michael Donnelly
GOP Death Slide: Is the Party Really Over?
Fred Gardner
Corporate Drugs Useless Against Alzheimer's
Susie Day
How
to Stay Out of Gitmo
Lucinda Marshall
Behind Closed Doors: the Invisibility of Domestic Violence
Fred Wilcox
The Second Palestinian Intifada: History of a Struggle for Survival
Alan Maass
Standing Up Against Racism at Columbia: a Wake Up Call to the
Passive Left
Lee Sustar
A Bipartisan Border Wall: New Phases in the Crackdown on Immigrants
Ariadna Theokopoulos
Shame on You, Dr. Warf: Hail the Epidemiologist in Chief
Missy Beattie
Surges: the Dow and the Death Count
CP News Wire
Bush's Paraguay Land Grab: Hideout or Water Raid?
CP News Services
Sexually Repressed Republicans: Robert Bork, Riveted
Poets' Basement
Davies, Engel, Buknatski and Orloski
Website of
the Weekend
Scenes from Oaxaca
October 19,
2006
Elaine Cassel
The
Bush Administration's Assault on Defense Lawyers
Col. Dan Smith
Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine: Cracks in the Bush / Blair
Axis
Manuel Garcia, Jr.
North Korea's Nuclear Test: a Q & A
Josh Gryniewicz
Wal-Mart Tightens the Squeeze on Workers
Amira Hass
What is 20 Tons of Explosives?
Eric Holt-Gimenez
Poison and Famine in the Fields: How the Agri-Food Industry's
Deadly Cycle Feeds Immigration
Jesse Hagopian
Arrested Democracy: On Trying to Ignore Aaron Dixon
Sam Husseini
How Third Parties Can Solve the "Spoiler" Problem and
Win Elections
John Weisheit
A
Gathering of Water Buffaloes: Feds Celebrate Death of the Colorado
River
CP News Service
A Plea to U2 From Africa's Children: Stop Bono Before He Kills
Again
Website of
the Day
George W. Bush: Hollywood Producer
Art Gallery
of the Day
Botero's Abu Ghraib Paintings in Manhattan
October 18,
2006
Joshua Frank
Cindy
Sheehan's Lesser Evilism: Democrats or Bust?
Dr. Curran
Warf, MD
Slandering Sound Science: Bush's Attack on the Lancet Iraq War
Death Study
Saul Landau
Bush's
Foley: Will the Dems Blow It?
Tom Barry
The
Politics of Fear
Bruce Jackson
Thundersnow: a Report from Buffalo
Dave Lindorff
Loveless Among the Ruins: Even Repubs Flee Bush's Failed Middle
East Policy
Frederico Fuentes
When Cochabamba Said "Enough": Bolivia's Blow to Neoliberalism
Michael Simmons
Greetings from Echo Park: an Open Letter to Rolling Stone's Jann
Wenner
Daryll E. Ray
The Root Problems in American Agriculture
Kate Doyle
The Dead of Tlatelolco
Website of
the Day
The
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
October 17, 2006
Michael Neumann
Hit
and Run: Guerrilla Reviewing
Manuel Garcia,
Jr.
Nuclear
Test, Political Flare: Interpreting the Physics and Politics
of N. Korea's Nuclear Test
Stephen S.
Pearcy
The Interrogation of Julia Wilson: Secret Service Grills 14 Year-Old
Artist
Sharon Smith
Afghanistan
Reconsidered: The Taliban Aren't Gone, Women Haven't Been Liberated
Al Krebs
The Corporate Assault on Zoning
David Underhill
Politicus Interruptus: Come Back, Jo Bonner
Daniel Wolff
NY's Iraq Veterans Against the War Needs Your Help ... Now
James Brooks
Desirable
Duds: Israeli / US Cluster Bombs Litter Lebanon
Website of the Day
Stop Torture Now
October 16,
2006
Gary Leupp
North
Korea as a Religious State
Patrick Cockburn
General
Mutinies Against Blair
David Wilson
Where Have All the Doctors Gone?: the Collapse of Iraq's Health
Care Services
Robert Fisk
Confronting Turkey's Armenian Genocide
Robert Jensen
Racism and Cheap Thrills at U. of Texas Law School
Ingmar Lee
/ Krista Roessingh
An Appeal for S. India's Wild Elephants
Mike Whitney
America's Other War Party
Jake Whitney
The Courageous Dr. Rost
Sanho Tree
Sugar Daddy Politics: Was Foley Blackmailed to Secure His Vote
on CAFTA?
Website of
the Day
Best
War Ever
October 14/15, 2006
Weekend Edition
Uri Avnery
Gaza
as Laboratory: the Great Experiment
John Walsh
How
Rahm Emmanuel Has Rigged a Pro-War Congress
Jean Bricmont
A Fable About Palestine
Jennifer Van Bergen
Bush's Military Commissions Act and the Future of America
Ralph Nader
Wilted Yankees: the Fruits of Checkbook Baseball
Floyd Rudmin
The Logic of Proliferation: How Bush's Belligerence Prompted
N. Korea to Pursue Nuclear Weapons
Mark Weisbrot
Correcting the Facts on US/Venezuela Relations
Laura Carlsen
Building a Future in the Mixteca
Hani Shukrallah
A Stroll Through the Cairo Mall: Shopping as Cultural Pursuit
Dr. Susan Block
The Spent Milk of Human Foley
John Chuckman
North Korea's Bomb: Still 1,126 Nuke Tests Behind the US
Lucinda Marshall
Is Betty Ugly?: the Profits of Denigration
Don Monkerud
The Case Against Depleted Uranium
Missy Comley
Beattie
What Bush Means By Tolerable Violence in Iraq
Ron Jacobs
Shouting "No One is Illegal" in a Crowded Theater
Website of
the Weekend
Ratfink Raunchfest
October 13,
2006
Jorge Mariscal
PowerPoint
Racism: How Military Recruiters Pitch to Latinos
Stephen Philion
The
Myth of the Spat Upon Vets: an Interview with Jerry Lembcke
John Blair
Strip Mining Wildlife Preserves: Black Beauty's Filthy Lucre
Col. Dan Smith
Oil, Atoms and War
Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry
How Hezbollah Defeated Israel: Part Two, Winning the Ground War
Stephen Fleischman
Journalism Then and Now
Charles Perroud
The Death Penalty's Invisible Victims
Anne E. Brodsky
Return
to Afghanistan: Where the Rhetoric Doesn't Match the Reality
Website of the Day
Underwater Nuke Test
October 12,
2006
Jonathan Cook
Israel's
Plan for a Military Strike on Iran
Norman Solomon
The Pundit Path to Death in Iraq
M. Shahid Alam
On Colonialism and Colleagues
Paul Craig
Roberts
Can We Call It Genocide Now?
Meredith Schafer / Chris Kutalik
Is a General Transportation Strike Looming for 2008? Can Labor
Seize the Moment?
Carl Gelderloos
Images of Occupation: Teaching in Nablus
Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry
How Hezbollah Defeated Israel: Part One, Winning the Intelligence
War
Charles Sullivan
Assassins of Truth
William S. Lind
Why Do We Still Fight a Lost War?
CP News Service
The South Turns Against the War
Website of
the Day
There's a Riot Goin' On
October 11,
2006
John Feffer
Pyongyang
1, Bush 0
Dave Lindorff
A Killing Occupation
Jackson Katz
Gunning Down Women: Coverage of "School Shootings"
Misses Central Issue
April Howard / Ben Dangl
The Tin War in Bolivia
Michael Carmichael
World War W
Ken Couesbouc
The New Witchcraft: Marvin Harris on the War on Terror
Gregory Afghani
Sleepless on Skid Row: Guilty of Being Homeless in America
Alexander Cockburn
600,000 Dead in Iraq: Chortles in the New Yorker for Slaughter's
Cheerleader, C. Hitchens
Website of
the Day
Petition: Defend Columbia Students Who Confronted the Minutemen
October 10,
2006
Paul Craig
Roberts
Lost
Wars and a Lost Economy
Robert Robideau
The
Myth Keepers of Columbus
Joshua Frank
The
Democrats and the War on Civil Liberties
Dave Lindorff
Free the Press Free Linda Greenhouse
Dave Zirin
Brother of the Fist
Heather Gray
Where Votes Matter: My Experience in South Africa
James Knotwell
Big Ag in the Heartland: the Future of Nebraska's Family Farms
Missy Beattie
The Return of James Baker, III
Mike Whitney
Bush and North Korea: Bumbling Toward Disaster
David Rosen
Sex Panic on Capitol Hill: Mark Foley and the Politics of Sex
in America
Website of the Day
Eno / Byrne: Music to Enjoy the Foley Scandal By
October 9. 2006
Robert Fisk
The
Age of Terror
Norman Solomon
Welcome to the Nuclear Club
Ron Jacobs
The
Boom Heard Around the World
Gideon Levy
The Mystery of America
Walter Brasch
Their Back Pages: Sex, Lies and Family Values
Mickey Z.
Who Killed Michael Moore?
John Holt
Grizzlies in Our Midst: Can Humans and Bears Coexist?
Lucinda Marshall
Not So Pretty in Pink: Profits and Breast Cancer
Saul Landau
Post-Castro
Cuba
Website of the Day
War, Inc.
October 7 /
8, 2006
Weekend Edition
Alexander Cockburn
Wargasms
and Orgasms
Peter Kwong
The Chinese Face of Neoliberalism
Ralph Nader
Revolt of the Generals
Mark Donham
What Cynthia McKinney Means to Me
Dave Lindorff
Philly's Police Snoops
Peter Bosshard
World Bank Shuts Out Dissident Voices: Big Dams, Huge Profits
& Political Corruption
Ron Jacobs
Evil Hour in Colombia
Lawrence R.
Velvel
Governmental Derelicts: Moral Meltdown in America
Fred Gardner
Arnold Vetoes Hemp Bill
David Green
The US, Israel and the Invasion of Lebanon
Jim B.
Activism, Incorporated: Outsourcing Grassroots Politics?
Missy Beattie
Prayers for Peace at the Edge of the Abyss
Michael Donnelly
Blame the Page: Grand Old Perverts Go on Offensive
Jackson Thoreau
Enter Newt
Jon Hung
Revisiting Korematsu: Denying Civil Rights Based on National
Origin
CounterPunch
News Service
Why We Confronted the Minutemen at Columbia
Tom D'Antoni
Playlist
Poets' Basement
Orloski, Davies, Tirado, Gaffney and Ford
Website of the Weekend
Reagan Gone Wild
October 6, 2006
Alison Weir
Just
Another Mother Murdered
Tiffany Ten
Eyck / Mark Brenner
Made
in (DeUnionized) America
Corporate Crime Reporter
Look Who's Behind "37 Reasons" to Vote for Big Business:
Former Clinton PR Flak Mike McCurry
Juan Antonio
Montecino
Cleaving a False Divide in Latin America
Walden Bello
A Siamese Tragedy
Christopher
Brauchli
Rank Invitations: Dining with Bush
Brynne Keith-Jennings
Dan Burton in Nicaragua: the Congressman, His Stick and the Elections
Jonathan Cook
The Struggle for Palestine's Soul
Website of the Day
Fighting Hog Farms and Clearcuts in the Heartland
October 5, 2006
John Walsh
Turn
the Page
Carol Norris
The
Radical Right, the Myth of the Gay Child Abuser and You: a Psychotherapist
on the Hysteria Over Foley
Paul Craig Roberts
Will November Bring Hope or Another Stolen Election?
Ricardo Alarcón
The
Truth About the Embargo of Cuba
James Abourezk
Waterboarding the Constitution: After Torture, What's Next?
Nicola Nasser
Removing Hamas: Brinksmanship or Coup d'Etat?
Kirkpatrick Sale
Breaking Away: the First North American Secessionist Conference
Uri Avnery
Peace
with Syria: Lunch in Damascus
Website of the Day
More Naughty GOP Messages
October 4, 2006
Elizabeth Terzakis
The
Walls That Racism Built: Blood Revenge, the Death Penalty and
Kevin Cooper
Paul Wolf
The
Mushy Rebellion: Pakistan Under Musharraf
Sean Penn
The
Arrogant, the Misguided and the Cowards
Dave Lindorff
Outrage as Misdirection: The Real Scandal isn't Foley
Diane Farsetta
For Sale: Iraqi Kurdistan
Sharon Smith
Democrats:
Yes to War, No to Pedophilia
Felice Pace
Revoking 1776
Sara Roy
The Economy of Gaza
Website of
the Day
Alexander Cockburn: the Video Interview (Part Two)
October 3, 2006
Jennifer Van
Bergen
Compassionate
Conservative Pedophiles
Greg Moses
The Infallible Empire: Junking Habeas Corpus
Stan Cox
Real Bad ID: a National Driver's License and the Fading Right
of Anonymity
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
How Empires Die
Evelyn Pringle
Big Pharma Takes a Hit: Alaska's Supreme Court Outlaws Forced
Drugging
Fred Wilhelms
SoundExchange and Unpaid Music Artists: Help Us Find These Musicians
and Get Them Paid
Michael Abelman
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food: the Risks of Convenience and
Consolidation
Gary Leupp
The Foley Follies
Website of the Day
Bush and Blair: Endless Love
October 2,
2006
Eric Hazan
Roadmap
to Nowhere: an Interview with Tanya Reinhart on Israel/Palestine
Since 2003
Mike Whitney
Bloodbath on 60 Minutes: Court
Stenographer Finally Comes Clean
Norman Solomon
American Narcissism and Iraq
Assaf Kfoury
Meeting Nasrallah
Missy Beattie
The Meaning of "ummmm": Speaker Hasert and the Over-Friendly
Congressman
Arthur Neslen
Lie Less in Gaza
Paula J. Caplan
How
the Supreme Court Mangled My Research
Website of the Day
Predator Drones Target Bechtel
Sept. 30 /
0ct. 1, 2006
Weekend Edition
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
New Face of Class War
Marjorie Cohn
Rounding Up US Citizens: a Consitutional Shredding
Ben Tripp
Deviant Conservative Males: an Analysis
Ron Jacobs
A Dismal and Chaotic Place: Iraq According to Patrick Cockburn
Ralph Nader
Torturer-in-Chief
Mike Whitney
Iraq: The Breaking Point
Christopher Reed
It Pays to Raise a Ruckus
Seth Sandronsky
The Housing Bust: Excess Investment and Its Discontents
Fred Gardner
The Chancellor's Wife
Mokhiber /
Weissman
Hewlett Packard and the Erosion of Privacy
Michael Dickinson
My Escape Attempt from Prison Transfer: Extract from a Diary
in Turkish Police Custody
Alan Gregory
Fake Green: Top 10 Ways Politicians Pretend to be Environmentalists
Poets' Basement
Gardner, Landau, Lindorff, Davies,& Buknatski
September 29,
2006
Bruce Jackson
Chavez's
Reading, Bush's Reading
Michael J.
Smith
The
Lobby Debate Does Manhattan
Emira Woods
Oil Trip: Record Profits for Exxon, Deprivation for Africa
William S.
Lind
The Sanctuary Illusion: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq as Theme
Parks for 4GW
David Swanson
Mommy, What's Waterboarding?
Jonathan Cook
Bad
Faith and the Destruction of Palestine
Website of the Day
Jesus: the Recruitment Tapes
September 28, 2006
Sen. Russ Feingold
The
Flaws in the Military Commissions Act
Ron Jacobs
The
Generals, the Democrats and Iraq: One Policy, Two Parties
Mokhiber /
Weissman
Scenes from Laura's Book Festival: Elmo Will Not Save You
Lee Sustar
A Left Challenge to Lula
Robert Jensen
Finding My Way Back to Church--and Getting Kicked Out
John Chuckman
America Has Just Lost Two More Wars
Evelyn Pringle
Inside America's Nursing Homes: a Hidden Tragedy of Neglect and
Abuse
Nicola Nasser
Bush and Islam: Words vs. Deeds
Uri Avnery
Political
Corruption in Israel
Website of the Day
Art Against the Empire
September 27, 2006
Patrick Cockburn
A
Final Explosion Looms in Mosul
Camilo Mejia
Blowback From Iraq: Giving Terrorism a Reason to Exist
Pat Williams
Tax Burdens and Cheaters in the Rockies: Send Those IRS Mercenaries
in Search of Montana's Land Barons and Oil Drillers
Ben Terrall
Failing Haiti: Another Bungled UN Mission
Ridgeway /
Ng
Paul Weyrich Explaines His Opposition to the Patriot Act: a Short
Film
Joe Allen
Where are the Mass Protests?
Andrew Wimmer
Don't Disappear Into a Black Hole
Franklin C. Spinney
Rumsfeld's AutoCarterization: Skullduggery in the Pentagon's
Budget
Website of
the Day
Model Nukes: the Photo Contest
September 26, 2006
Hani Shukrallah
The
American Mind: When Historical Analysis is Reduced to Whim
William Blum
If It's Election Season, It Must Be Time for a Terror Alert
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Torturing the Obvious
Barbara Becnel
Witness to an Execution: a Slow and Very Painful Death
Paul Rockwell
Judicial Complicity in US War Crimes: the Watada Case
Dave Lindorff
Bush and Iran: Going to War to Save His Own Ass?
Rich Gibson
Lessons from the Detroit Teachers' Strike
Anthony Papa
The Danger of Meth Registries: "Have a Cold? Prove It, Then
Sign Here"
Nate Mezmer
New Orleans is Back ... Without Blacks: Monday Night Football
at the Superdome
Uri Avnery
Mohammed's
Sword
Website of the Day
Only YOU Can Stop the Sale of Public Lands to Mining, Timber
and Real Estate Corporations
September 25, 2006
Patrick Cockburn
The
Most Dangerous Place in the World: a Journey to Iraq's "Taliban
Republic"
Jonathan Cook
Human Rights Watch: Still Missing the Point on Lebanon
Joshua Frank
Did
Maria Cantwell's Campaign Try to Buy Off Aaron Dixon?
Paul Craig
Roberts
Is
the Bush Administration Itching to Nuke Iran?
Robert Jensen
Defending Chavez on FoxNews
Dave Lindorff
Horowitz on Campus: This Mouth for Hire
Norman Solomon
Media Tall Tales for Next War
Dr. Charles
Jonkel
Save a Grizzly, Visit a Library: "People like the Croc Hunter
are Worse Than the Most Bloodthirsty Slob Hunter
Michael Dickinson
"The King's New Clothes:" a Play Written in a Turkish
Jail
Alexander Cockburn
Flying
Saucers and the Decline of the Left
Website of
the Day
Great Bear Foundation
September 23
/ 24, 2006
Weekend Edition
Jonathan Cook
How
Israel is Engineering the "Clash of Civilizations"
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Star Wars Goes Online ... Crashes
Dr. Anon
A Doctor's Life in Baghdad
Tom Barry
Oil and Political Opportunism
Carl G. Estabrook
The Darfur Smokescreen
Laura Carlsen
Mexico's Two Presidents
Todd Chretien
The Axis of Lesser Evilism
Dr. Charles
Jonkel
From Grizzly Man to the Croc Hunter: the Global Media and the
Death of Bears
Debbie Nathan
I Was Disappeared By Salon
Fred Gardner
Dustin Costa Struggles Against Invisibility
Fred Wilhelms
The Money Belongs to the Artists Who Created the Music
Seth Sandronsky
The Cruel Economics of Health Care in America
Ralph Nader
Mavericks at Work
Rev. William
Alberts
"Specks" and "Logs" and 9/11
Jon Van Camp
Who is Hezbollah?
Heather Gray
Conservatives and Technology
David Vest
Jerry Lightfoot, RIP
Jeffrey St.
Clair
Playlist: What I'm Listenting to This Week
Poets' Basement
Landau / Davies
Website of
the Weekend
Meet
Me In The Morning: C. Wonderland & J. Lightfoot
Video of the Weekend
Is It a Bird? A Missile? Or, Just Perhaps, a Friggin' Plane?
September 22,
2006
Patrick Cockburn
Republic
of Fear: Torture in Bush's Iraq, Worse Than Under Saddam
Michael Donnelly
It's
the Manipulated Economy, Stupid
Ramzy Baroud
The Next Palestinian Struggle
Evo Morales
"We Need Partners, Not Bosses": Address to the United
Nations
Stanley Howard
Torture and Justice in Chicago
Sarah Leah
Whitson
Hezbollah's Rockets and Civilian Casualties: a Reply to Jonathan
Cook
JoAnn Wypijewski
Conservations
at Ground Zero
Website of the Day
Cockburn in Atlanta: the Video Interview
September 21, 2006
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad
"No
Nation Should Have Superiority Over Others:" UN Address
Justin E. H.
Smith
Ending
the Death Penalty: Outline of an Abolitionist Program
Rick Kuhn
Australian Government Steps Up Attacks on Muslims: "I Certainly
Don't Want That Type of People in Australia"
Mike Roselle
Ed
Wiley's Long March: the Elementary School vs. the Strip Mine
Amira Hass
In the Name of Security: What Israeli Police Files Reveal About
the Occupation of Palestine
Deborah Rich
From the Kitchen of Dr. Frankenstein: the Consumption of Gene-Engineeered
Foods
Mickey Z.
10 Reasons Cars Suck
Saul Landau
Terrorism at Sheridan Circle
Website of
the Day
Stop
the Decapitation of Mountains
September 20, 2006
Sharon Smith
Elections, Detentions and Deportations
Christopher
Reed
Goodbye
Koizumi, Hello Abe
John Ross
Mexico:
Does AMLO Have a Future?
Joshua Frank
A Wasted Campaign: How Jonathan Tasini Helped Hillary Clinton
and Distracted the Antiwar Movement
Arthur Neslen
The Clenched Fist of the Phoenix: What Made Israel Burn Lebanon,
Again?
Norman Solomon
The Hollow Promise of Digital Technology
Michael Carmichael
The Vatican's Tyrant
Evelyn Pringle
The Merck Vioxx Litigation: a Scorecard
Hugo Chavez
Rise Up Against the Empire: Address to the United Nations
Website of the Day
Before You
Enlist: Watch This Video
September 19, 2006
Patrick Cockburn
Deadly
Harvest: Lebanese Fields Sown with Israeli Cluster Bombs
Jeff Leys
Economic
Warfare: Iraq and the IMF
Brian M. Downing
War,
Taxes and Democracy
Col. Dan Smith
Dispelling
Brutality
Liaquat Ali
Khan
Presidential Incitements: Did Bush's Speech Violate Geneva Conventions
on Genocide?
Ron Jacobs
Just Sign on the Dotted Line: Iraqi Oil and Production Sharing
Agreements
Nik Barry-Shaw
/ Yves Engler
Canada in Haiti: Torture, Murder and Complicity
Lucinda Marshall
Air Paranoia: the Great Toothpaste and Hair Gel Scare
Saul Landau
The Pinochet Syndicate
Photo of the Day
Hold That Bridge
Website of
the Day
Scenarios for an Iranian War
September 18, 2006
Carl Boggs
Crimes of Empire
Uri Avnery
Peace
Panic
Mike Stark / Jim Bullington
Ann Richards, the Original Texacutioner
Joshua Frank
Corporate E. Coli
John Murphy
The Price of Free Speech
Ramzy Baroud
Murdoch Almighty
Dave Lindorff
On Constitution Day
Bill Quigley
Showing Conviction at Echo 9
Website of the Day
Tutorial: How to Hack a Diebold Voting Machine
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November
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Get Local, Stay Positive
Recharging
the Anti-War Movement
By ZOLTAN GROSSMAN
Across the country, actions and rallies
against the war in Iraq appear to have reached a peak, and membership
numbers of many peace groups has hit a ceiling. The main problem
is not that the U.S. public supports the war; polls show that
two-thirds favor a withdrawal. It is that this antiwar majority
has not been inspired to act. Even in most progressive communities,
it's almost impossible to tell that there's a war on, even as
our communities that have been hit by war-related budget cuts.
The main burden of this war within the United States has been
on youth who are losing their friends, and military families
who are losing their loved ones. No one has to tell them that
there's a war going on, but few people on the right or left are
listening to them (just as past generations of veterans were
initially not listened to). Instead, simplistic "Bush-bashing"
substitutes for educating and mobilizing the public against a
brutal war against that has now spanned three administrations.
Most U.S. citizens understand
that economic power is concentrated in corporate hands, that
the two political parties have merged, that presidents bomb foreign
countries to detract attention from domestic troubles. So why
aren't they joining peace and justice groups? It may be partly
that the insulated middle-class progressive culture creates a
political language that ordinary people cannot understand, and
cedes the majority culture to the conservatives. History confirms
that German progressives were making boring speeches in the 1930s,
while the Nazis were forming chorale groups, hiking societies,
and theater troupes. In the era of fast-paced corporate advertising,
we sometimes just chant slogans and send out mass e-mails. We
celebrate political folk musicians (some of whom I like a lot),
without remembering that hip-hop, metal and country music reach
far more people.
Many progressives understand
that the Iraq War is illegal and criminal, yet feel too disempowered
to act, or think they have nothing to offer. But being aware
without getting involved is like seeing smoke in a theater without
shouting 'Fire!' Just as Bush should not pass on this war to
the next administration, it is our responsibility not to pass
on this war to another generation. Here in Washington state,
Veterans for Peace members have reached literally thousands of
people this year through tabling at the state fair, marching
in community parades, and leafleting high school youth on military
recruitment. This kind of education may appear undramatic or
even mundane, but changing public consciousness (one mind at
a time) is the most important work we can be doing. The actions
of this and other groups inspired me to develop ten points on
possible directions in organizing and activism that the antiwar
movement can be taking to expand its base in the U.S., as a contribution
to a discussion that is growing across the country.
1. Reach new people
Both the antiwar and prowar
movements tend to preach to their respective choirs, and view
society as polarized between two binary black-and-white positions.
But on any issue, there are not simply two sides, but at least
four sides. Whatever your ideology, there are others who agree
or disagree with your position, but not always for the same reasons.
First, we tend to talk to the people that we see as taking the
right position for the right reasons (in this case,
opposing the war because it is an injustice to both Iraqis and
Americans). Second, we avoid talking with those who are wrong
for the wrong reasons (those who support the war because
they want the U.S. to dominate Iraq). The antiwar movement spends
far too much time talking to the first group, and complaining
about the virtually unchangable second group.
But there are two other groups
that are not as commonly addressed, who potentially could expand
the base of the movement if they are effectively engaged. There
is the third group of people who are wrong for the right
reasons. For example, they backed the Afghan war in order to
"liberate women," or back the Iraq occupation in order
to "prevent civil war." They take a position that we
disagree with, but have managed to convince themselves that they
are serving humanity in the process. If they can be convinced
that their premises are flawed, and if they truly have good hearts,
they may be moved into the peace camp.
Then there is the fourth group
of people who are right for the wrong reasons. For example, they
oppose the occupation because they see it as a "Jewish conspiracy,"
or believe that Iraqis are too "uncivilized" to rule
themselves. Similar people opposed the NAFTA or the Dubai port
deal only because they were bad for the U.S. Though it may be
difficult to dialogue with people having such a racist perspective,
a few of these people may also be moved closer to our views,
since they are already open to an antiwar argument. In both the
third and fourth group, we can open the door by starting where
we agree (such as discussing the Pentagon's unpopular "stop-loss"
policy). We can recognize that most North Americans have a split
consciousness that contains both progressive and conservative
impulses, and help direct their anger toward the structures that
really created their daily problems. Social change is all about
people changing their minds. If we assume their views are permanently
fixed, we have already given up on making change.
2. Tap into
creativity
Learning from the past is critical
to changing the future, but so is reinventing the present. Oftentimes,
the peace movement repeats the same tactics and strategies that
we have long been familiar with-such as lobbying, national demonstrations,
and civil disobedience. Although all of these are necessary tactics,
they have become old hat to many activists, and too predictable
(or even boring) to the public. Old-style tactics reach a certain
progressive audience, but does not succeed as well in reaching
the uncommitted. In this wired age, we should be using text messages,
sports, and catchy visuals, not just foreign policy analyses
and peace doves. Experienced activists should be listened to
for their knowledge of successes and pitfalls, yet they should
also listen to newer activists for their knowedge of how people
join the movement. Activist trainings do not need to convey organizing
formulas, but can encourage activists to create their own methods
appropropriate to their own generations. We should also be open
to entirely new ideas or tactics, especially from younger people,
instead of habitually adopting methods or slogans of the past.
As a New York activist once said, "A Slogan, Exhausted,
Shall Never Be Repeated!".
But ultimately, creating change
is not just about knowledge, but about action. Many people agree
that the war needs to be stopped, but don't see anyone actively
doing anything to stop it. Visible actions have a way of galvanizing
a response, and of bringing people out of the woodwork. Despite
the strong peace sentiment in Olympia, it was difficult last
year to tell that there was a war on. That changed suddenly this
Spring, when Fort Lewis began to ship Stryker armored vehicles
to Iraq through our port. Almost spontaneously, local students
and others blocked the Strykers in downtown streets, and rallied
at the port in the face of a harsh police crackdown. Instead
of waiting for a national network or party to develop a strategy
to end the war, the activists decided to focus on a local target,
and in doing so showed the global media that not all U.S. citizens
are apathetic about the war.
The Port protests were followed
by the refusal of Lt. Ehren Watada to deploy to Iraq. The same
protesters began to hold banners over Interstate-5 near Fort
Lewis to support Watada and other military resisters. In our
local area, we have an interesting and rare juxtaposition of
a strongly antiwar community next to a large military base community.
The purpose of actions at a military base should be not simply
to express our own frustration about the war, but to support
resistance in the ranks. Around the time of the court martial
this winter, supporters of Lt. Watada are planning a "Citizens'
Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq" to put
the war itself on trial. A seemingly local conflict around one
base can have a national or even global impact.
3. Use both
activism and organizing
The terms "activism"
and "organizing" are usually used interchangeably,
though they are really quite different. The terms are also not
mutually exclusive. "Activism" is getting together
people who are already convinced, in order to act on their conviction.
It has the positive attribute of setting the agenda, and going
on the offensive, instead of simply responding to crises. "Organizing"
is building a movement by attracting new people, to keep it alive
and kicking, and to mobilize people to join an on-going campaign
on a continual basis. Organizing is the art of convincing the
unconvinced, and the science of building relationships with people
from different walks of life. Rather than externally exhorting
people to resist, we can get information to people so they can
internally reach the conclusion that they want to resist.
But what we often see today
is "activism without organizing": small groups of friends
taking on enormous institutions, failing to reach out to (or
even alienating) others, and risking social isolation, weakness,
and burnout. A non-organizer activist will travel many miles
to distant actions, but fail to build a movement at home (or
use group networking and inward-looking events as a substitute
for organizing.) They beat their heads against the wall, rather
than getting many people to hammer at the wall, or outfox the
system by finding ways around the wall. They feel they because
they are morally correct, they don't have to care as much about
being effective. A parallel problem is "organizing
without activism": educating and getting many new people
to join the movement, but not offering them anything effective
to change the situation, except the pressure politics of "advocacy"
(or begging those in office to listen). A non-activist organizer
ends up jumping through the system's political or legal "hoops,"
and expresses frustration or despair once those remedies have
been exhausted.
Peace groups need both "organizing"
to build the movement, and "activism" to deepen its
impact. A balance of organizing and activism can help avoid the
obvious shortcomings of both. A balance means getting outside
our usual circles of friends and reaching people who have not
been reached before. It means covering a wide range of effective
tactics--from letter-writing to creative direct actions-so everyone
can plug in where they can risk doing so. It means not overestimating
the factual knowledge that ordinary people have, but also not
underestimating their intelligence and wisdom once they have
the facts. Effective organizer/activists do not talk over people's
heads, or talk down to people. They have faith in the ability
of people to understand and change. Above all, effective grassroots
organizing in this era of corporate advertising means making
some real link to people's everyday lives (in a way they can
see, hear and feel), not just dry facts.
4. Get out
of the progressive ghettos
The white progressive/radical
movement has long been concentrated in particular urban neighborhoods,
and the "college towns" such as Madison, Berkeley,
Cambridge, Olympia, etc. On one hand, we may feel comfortable
walking around a neighborhood with anti-Bush bumperstickers and
Tibetan prayer flags. Yet on the other hand, we may come to realize
that capitalism needs these progressive ghettos. They keep radicals
isolated, talking only with each other, and not influencing or
learning from other people. (In these ghettos, we also think
we can buy our way out of corporate control--with organic food,
green energy, or bottled water--instead of organizing to change
poisonous conditions for everyone.) There are countless people
in these communities who are against the war for the right reasons,
but who are too busy or comfortable in the progressive bubble;
getting them involved may mean putting on creative/artistic or
kid-friendly events.
We are far more effective when
we make connections outside of these communities. Even at the
height of martial law in the Philippines, the dictator Ferdinand
Marcos held back his security forces from cracking down on leftist
students and faculty at the University of the Philippines. He
allowed them to organize protests on campus so
they could blow off steam, and so he could avoid negative global
publicity. But when the students started to make links with peasants,
workers, tribal peoples, and other sectors off campus, they suddenly
started "disappearing." The regime dealt harshly with
those student activists who became effective organizers, and
who networked with other grassroots organizers.
It is a huge mistake for urban
progressives to view smaller cities or rural areas as cultural-political
wastelands, and create a vacuum that cedes these areas to conservatives.
We can use our more open cities and neighborhoods as a base,
but support issues outside them. In particular, medium-size cities
are where the battle for the heart and soul of America is taking
place-cities such as LaCrosse, Wis., Yakima, Wash., or York,
Pa. They are not so small that people are afraid of rocking the
boat, and not so large that most people who have opinions have
already expressed them. There is room for the movement to grow
in these cities, but not enough outside support yet for local
groups doing the slow, unglamorous work of education and organizing.
5. Organize
strategically
We are often told that the
path to political change winds through the halls of Congress
and the halls of justice. Although legislative and legal strategies
can bring about political shifts, it is almost always based on
begging someone more "powerful" to support our cause.
But who really has "power" in this society when it
comes to questions of war and peace? The path to change may wind
instead through the halls of our high schools and the halls of
our military barracks, and within the consciousness of our military
community and military-age youth. Some people have political
"power" far out of proportion to their numbers, but
most of them don't realize it yet.
Active-duty GIs, reservists,
veterans, and military families together make up the military
community. Just as women are the best people to organize women,
and immigrants are the best people to organize other immigrants,
the best people to educate and organize GIs are members of this
military community--now organized in groups such as Iraq Veterans
Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak
Out, and many more. During Vietnam, peace groups set up GI coffeehouses
near bases. Unlike in the Vietnam and Gulf wars, peace groups
can now reach GIs directly through the Internet. In the 21st
century, we can set up virtual GI "cybercafes"--websites
that provide information, resources, and a place for anonymous
dialogue among GIs (and their families) in a particular military
base, to make links between the military community and the peace
movement.
High schools have become the
other battleground for the hearts and minds of American youth.
Military recruiters have poured enormous resources into the high
schools to convince students to join the armed forces. By the
time they leave high school, students have decided whether or
not to enlist, or (in the case of 18-year-old males) whether
to register for the draft. Yet the peace movement has focused
much of its energies on university campuses, where important
and creative organizing is being done, but too late for many
military-age youth. Much of the focus of traditional peace groups
toward high school students and GIs has usually been to facilitate
open, individual resistance, such as Conscientious Objection
among draft-age youth or GIs. COs have played a heroic role in
the peace movement for many decades, but it may be more effective
to identify more low-level, discreet and collective means that
they can use to slow down the war machine.
6. Don't
wait for conditions to change
It often seems that antiwar
people are waiting for conditions to change-to dramatically improve
or worsen-before they seriously believe that peace is possible.
I often hear, for example, that a draft would equitably distribute
the burden of war, and increase resistance among students and
GIs. But during Vietnam there were plenty of loopholes for white,
upper/middle-class youth to evade the draft, and the most active
GI resisters were enlistees. Many progressives, disheartened
by Bush's two election "victories," assume that change
is only possible through a new president. One reason for the
lethargy in the peace movement is that so many antiwar people
put their eggs in the Kerry basket in 2004, and still can't get
over that election. Some young people (who have only known Bush
as president) even idealize Democratic administrations.
Yet it was Jimmy Carter who
declared an "energy war," established the Central Command
in the Middle East, accelerated the nuclear arms race, and revived
draft registration. It was Bill Clinton who repeatedly bombed
Iraq, enforced draconian sanctions on the Iraqi people, and bombed
Serbia and a few other countries. The new crop of candidates
include many familiar faces-Hillary, Kerry, Clark-who backed
those wars, or who voted for the Iraq War. While we may think
in terms of "red" vs. blue" counties, many
people view the dichotomy as between "elitist" and
"populist" candidates of both parties. We should support
populist candidates who support a withdrawal, but even then should
exercise caution. There is no "quick fix."
As we approach the 2008 races,
some activists are deciding whether to join electoral campaigns.
It is the kiss of death for any movement to drop issue-based
organizing for sake of a temporary fix in the next election.
Staying involved in peace organizing keeps the heat on Bush-and
whomever replaces him-more effectively. If we keep the Iraq War
as a central issue in our society (such as through local referenda),
we will have built a movement that will last even if an peace
candidate loses. If our preferred candidates win, a stronger
movement will be able hold their feet to the fire. The time to
build a movement is not after Bush stumbles or is replaced. The
time is now.
7. Watch
TV
I am baffled every time I talk
with a peace activist about a TV news interview or a critical
program, and the activist stops me to proudly proclaim that "we
don't have a TV." This is a sure-fire sign of an activist
who has no interest in being an organizer. How in the world can
we educate or organize people around an issue if we don't know
what bogus "facts" and myths that the people are already
receiving? How can we talk with them if we don't have an understanding
of mass culture as a common language? Joking about a TV drama
or comedy is often a frame of reference that can open a conversation,
and shows that we don't see ourselves as superior.
I understand if progressives
are protecting their kids, but the kids eventually go to bed.
I also understand if they don't want to sacrifice their souls,
and turn their brains into mush with overly large doses of TV.
But thousands of people have gone to jail (or even died) to fight
war and injustice in this country's history. Why can't we make
the sacrifice of laughing at an episode of Barbershop on
Showtime? Not every program is like Survivor or Deal
or No Deal; some programs actually try to critique society,
and are probably safe to consume in small doses.
Many progressive activists
attack "mainstream" people as nothing but consumers
and TV watchers, without recognizing that people are passive
because they feel powerless, and feel they have limited choices
in their lives. Television is a critical part of shaping collective
consciousness in the U.S. Just as the Latin American rebel has
to know the rainforest, and the Middle Eastern rebel has to know
the deserts or mountains, the North American rebel has to know
television. It is our wilderness-our jungle-that we ignore at
our peril. It may make us uncomfortable, but we must not become
so isolated that we can only talk with others who don't have
a TV.
8. Don't
get overwhelmed by the odds
The occupation of Iraq has
been going on for more than three long years, run by a president
who has prevailed in two elections. Civil liberties have been
limited, and with each terrorism scare, state repression and
media hysteria grow more intense. In the face of these seemingly
unshakeable realities, many progressives either throw up their
hands in despair, become obsessed with the backlash they face
when they speak out, or assume that a greater amount of repression
will generate a greater amount of public resistance.
Yet elsewhere in the world
(and in other periods of U.S. history), political organizers
faced far greater obstacles and far greater repression,
yet persevered by not letting it limit their resistance. In the
Philippines, for example, dissenters during martial law faced
media censorship, torture, disappearances, and a rubberstamp
parliament-the Patriot Act pales in comparison. Yet by creatively
organizing at the grassroots, and focusing not just on ending
repression but on more positive, inspiring visions of the future,
they formed powerful issue-based movements. I saw activists repeatedly
winning victories against the dictatorship-stopping nuclear plants
and hydro dams, and eventually closing huge U.S. military bases.
It is not the level of resistance or repression that determines
a movement's success, but the level of empowerment and powerlessness.
Any successful movement should
expect repression, and defend everyone's civil liberties. The
worst mistake to focus only on the repression of one part of
society, such as academics. It is elitist to assume that academics
have an "escape clause" that other activists do not
have, or that white activists should be protected from government
abuses that have long targeted activists of color. As the Native
American poet John Trudell once summed up the situation: "When
I go around in America and I see the bulk of the white people,
they do not feel oppressed; they feel powerless. When I go amongst
my people, we do not feel powerless; we feel oppressed."
9. Look
at the positive
George W. Bush is crashing
and burning. Not only are his poll numbers at the lowest ever,
but 73 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq told the Zogby Poll that
they want a complete withdrawal within one year. The Iraqi Shi'ites
(Saddam's foremost enemies) are increasingly turning against
the occupation, which may begin to collapse not gradually but
catastrophically--like a house of cards. The so-called "War
on Terror" does not elicit the same U.S. public reaction
as the so-called "Cold War" did for four decades. Bush
has to lie so much about the Iraq War precisely because he understands
that the U.S. public would oppose the war if it knew the truth.
We may often see the public as naïve and gullible, but the
right-wing understands it has to spend billions of dollars to
keep it that way-which actually says something good about our
people.
The U.S. peace movement often
underestimates its own potential. The movement (and GI resisters)
helped to shorten the Vietnam War, by recognizing that our military
could not defeat the Vietnamese. The peace movement prevented
a full-scale invasion of Nicaragua and El Salvador in the 1980s,
as it helped to end apartheid in South Africa. It mobilized
the largest peace protests ever before the Iraq War, and now
is regrouping on a global scale to demand an end to the occupation.
Why are the grassroots movements such a challenge to the empire?
Because they talk about democracy not simply as an exercise in
voting, but as increasing our direct control over our economy,
our culture, our land, our daily lives. Because instead of simply
begging political officials to change their minds, they initiate
change themselves at the base of society, within culture and
consciousness. Political leadership does not create this change;
it is generally the last to be affected by it. The movement starts
the snowball rolling in order to create the avalanche, and then
politicians and judges take credit for the very avalanche they
are buried in. Political party programs mean very little; President
Nixon spent more on social programs than President Carter, not
because he intended to, but because there were marches in the
streets creating fear within the elite. The fear of social instability
is what causes the elites to shift their thinking, not petitions
from a tamed, loyal opposition.
It is becoming clear that although
the U.S. is the undisputed military superpower, it is declining
relative to the growth of the European Union and East Asian economic
blocs.
Its onetime puppet governments
in Latin America are being replaced one-by-one with elected left-leaning
governments, or toppled by indigenous revolts. This process has
become nearly as dramatic as the Soviet Union losing its Eastern
European satellite states in a "domino effect" in 1989.
Just as the Roman Empire became militarily overextended, the
American Empire is winning its battles but losing its war to
dominate the world economic and political system. It may not
collapse as dramatically as the Soviet Union, but may end up
looking more like Britain-a former imperial lion now licking
its wounds. It is up to us to decide if the collapse of our empire
will continue to be much more violent than the collapse of the
British or Russian empires.
10. Make
changing society part of our lives
Any American working for peace
or social change (against great odds) is invariably asked the
same questions: "How do you keep going, despite discouragements?
How do you keep your spirit and emotions up? Isn't it too much
of a sacrifice to get involved?" Personally, I usually have
the same response: I see activism and organizing as a gift that
has greatly enriched my life, and provided an incredible learning
experience that I did not get in school or on the job. I've met
fascinating and kind people, visited beautiful places I would
not have otherwise seen, and been welcomed (and fed!) by communities
I would not have otherwise known.
Working for peace and social
change is not so much a sacrifice, as a commitment of time and
energy that can have great returns-but only if it is done right.
Doing it right means making social change a part of our lives--not
apart from our lives, or dominating our lives. It means
building a sense of community (respectfully introducing ourselves
and getting to know others), rather than separating ourselves
from our communities. Though it may mean sacrificing our own
well-being, it should not mean sacrificing our families or loved
ones--as I have had to be reminded.
Integrating social change into
our lives means working with other of different ideological factions,
rather than trashing people or expecting them to fit into Marxist
or anarchist or Gandhian pegholes. There is a place in our movement
for different ideas, and most people don't care as much about
ideologies as they do about stopping the war. Instead of battling
over tactics, we should constantly be thinking of the society
we want to create, and prefiguring it in our actions. Even the
progressive notion of "justice" implies that someone
else holds the power, and we want him or her to decide matters
in a just way. We should start thinking rather about other people
gaining the power to make those decisions. Grassroots organizations
can begin to think of themselves less as pressure groups to influence
government, and more like parallel institutions that function
as the real representatives of our communities. That is the real
meaning of "people power." At the same time as we "tear
it down," we can also begin to build a different community
and a better world.
Zoltan Grossman is a faculty member in Geography and
Native American Studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia,
Wash., and a longtime peace and justice organizer. His website
is at http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz
or contact grossmaz@evergreen.edu
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