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Today's
Stories
March 3, 2004
Mike Whitney
"Blood Will Have Blood":
143 Murdered in Liberated Iraq
March 2, 2004
William Blum
If Kerry's
the Answer, What's the Question?
Conn Hallinan
Haiti:
the Dangerous Muddle
JoAnn Wypijewski
The Bravo
H-Bomb Test: One WMD They Couldn't Hide
Mike Whitney
Regime Change in Haiti: the Bush Dominos Keep Falling
Ra Ravishankar
Afghanistan, the Liberation That Isn't: an Interview with Mariam
from RAWA
Dan Bacher
Merle Haggard & the Politics of Salmon: "Clearcutting
is Rape"
Greg Moses
Oscar White
Brandy Baker
Mel Gibson's Minstrelsy Show
Little Tucker Carlson
What I Did on My Vacation
Robert Fisk
All This
Talk of Civil War, Now This
Merle Haggard
Kern River
Website of the Day
Rebel Edit
March 1, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Morris
Thanks War Criminal in Front of Billions
Richard Oxman
Oscar's
Obit: Thanking Bob McNamara
Elaine Cassel
Writing and Reading as "Terrorism"
Mickey Z
Thomas Friedman's Education
Mike Whitney
George Will and Anti-Semitism: a Cul-de-Sac of Prejudice
Heather Williams
Haiti
as Target Practice: How the US Press Missed the Story
Cathy Crosson
Chanson d'amour haïtienne
Website of the Day
God Hates Shrimp
February 28 / 29, 2004
Stephen Green
Serving
Two Flags: Neo-Cons, Israel and the Bush Team
Gary Leupp
Another Senseless Bush Battle: Defining and Protecting Marriage
William A. Cook
Israel:
America's Albatross
Ron Jacobs
Kucinich: Good Fight; Wrong Battlefield
Ben Tripp
A Nosegay of Posies: Queer Weddings at Last!
Leilla Matsui
Dances with Crucifixes
Mike Whitney
Dismantle
the Military Goliath
Yoel Marcus
Down and Out in the Hague
Uri Avnery
The Dancing Bear
Linda S. Heard
Britons and Americans Condemned to a Hobson's Choice
Al Krebs
Unmasking a Secret American Empire: Land, Water & Cotton
Stan Cox
Life (Pat. Pend.): Genetic Commandeering
JG
The Haiti Boomerang: "After The Looting & Pillaging,
Your Hunger Will Remain"
Rick Giombetti
Censorship at the Seattle P-I on Forced Psychiatry
Keith Hoeller
The Bankruptcy of Mental Health Insurance Parity
Dave Zirin
Colorado Football: Buffalo Swill
NADERAMA
Alan Maass
Nader and the Politics of Lesser
Evils
Michael Donnelly
Regime
Rotation: Anybody But Bush...Again?
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Exeunt Serenaders; Enter Nader
Doug Giebel
So Nader's Running? Get Over It
Bruce Jackson
An Open Letter to Naderites
CounterPunch Wire
Stalinists for Kerry! and Other Roars from the Crowd
Poets' Basement
Davies, Scarr, Kearney & Albert
February 27, 2004
Thomas C. Mountain
A
White Jesus During Black History Month?
Laura Carlsen
Americans
Abroad: Bush is Persona Non Grata
John B. Anderson
Nader's Campaign Brings Back Memories: Creating an Open Electoral
Process
Jason Leopold
Spying
on Kofi Annan
John Chuckman
Nader,
Risk and Hope
Standard Schaefer
An
Interview with Michael Hudson on Putin's Russia
Ray McGovern
Punished
for Honest Intelligence
Saul Landau
The
Haiti Redux
Website of the Day
Bush: Why I'm Running for Re-election
February 26, 2004
Brandy Baker
Is Nader
on to Something?
Jacques Kinau
AEI
to Colombia: "Can't Give You Anything But Guns, Baby"
Norman Solomon
Bugging Kofi Annan: UN Spying
and the Evasions of US Journalism
Greg Weiher
A Purloined Letter: the Zarqawi Gambit
Walt Brasch
Janet Jackson, Bush & No. 542: There are No Halftime Shows
in War
Shadi Hamid
The Music World Explodes in Anger
Norman Madarasz
As Canadian as Corruption
Chris Floyd
Bullets and Ballots
Virginia Tilly
The
Deeper Meaning of the Wall
Amy Goodman / Jeremy
Scahill
Haiti's
Lawyer Says US is Arming Haiti's Anti-Aristide Paramilitaries
Website of the Day
Clear Channel Sucks
February 25, 2004
Dr. Susan Block
Saddam's
Sex Therapist and the Rape of Free Speech
Bruce Anderson
Treacherous Bastards: The Greens and the Dems and Nader
Ron Jacobs
Our Power is on the Streets and
in Our Hearts
Mike Whitney
Bush
and Gay America: the Politics of Duplicity
Sam Husseini
Jesus in 100 Words
John L. Hess
Kick Off or Flub?
Sam Hamod
Bush's Newest Red Herring
Cockburn / St. Clair
Winning
with Nader
Website of the Day
VotePact
February 24, 2004
Ralph Nader
Why
I'm Running for President
Greg Moses
Rally
the Mob! Bush, Gay Marriage and the Constitution
Douglas O'Hara
The
Merchants of Fear: Smearing Nader
Phillip Cryan
Frozen in Time: The WSJ's Paranoid
Lens on Latin America
David Lindorff
John Kerry's China Connection
Jason Leopold
Cheney's Shame: Halliburton Faces New Charges
Gary Younge
Haiti: Throttled by History
Kromm, Masri & Purohit
Why No Democracy in Iraq?
Steve Perry
Tangled Up in Red and Blue: Beware the Electoral College
February 23, 2004
Neve Gordon
Israel's Apartheid Wall on Trial
at The Hague
Kurt Nimmo
Richard Perle, Executioner: "Heads Should Roll"
Jonathan Franklin
US Soldier Seeks Refugee Status in Canada
Al Krebs
The Liberal "Intelligentsia" v. Nader
Josh Frank
Nader's Nadir? Not a Chance
Bruce Jackson
Nader, Another View: "He's as Evil as Bush"
Gary Leupp
A Misguided
Attack, The Passion, Rabbi Lerner and the Gospels
February 20 / 22, 2004
Cockburn / St. Clair
Kerry:
He's Peaking Already!
Derek Seidman
Chasing
Judith Miller from the Stage: Watch Her Run!
Ghada Karmi
Sharon is not the Problem
Vanessa Jones
This Week in Redfern, a Boy Dies, Chased by Cops
Ben Granby
Anatomy of a Night Raid on Balad, Iraq
John Holt
An Air That Kills: Greed, Apathy, Dead People
Saul Landau
Entry from a White House Diary
Tom Jackson
Why They Couldn't Wait to Invade Iraq
Frederick B. Hudson
Slave Power and the Constitution: Jefferson, Slaves, Haiti and
Hypocrisy
Roger Burbach
Argentina Fights Back
Kate Doyle
Lessons on Justice from Guatemala
Mike Whitney
Operation Enduring Misery: the Afghanistan Debacle
Greg Moses
What Gives Texas A&M the Right to Trample the Civil Rights
Act?
David Krieger
US Elections: an Opportunity to Debate Nuclear Weapons
Sam Bahour
Palestinian Issue Riddles Bush's Budget
David Grenier
You Could Get 10 Years in Prison Just for Reading This
Charles Sullivan
Corporatism vs. Single Party Politics
Poet's Basement
Hilda White, Larry Kearney & Stew Albert
Website of the Weekend
The Rumsfeld Fighting Technique
February 19, 2004
Cecilie Surasky
Anti-Semitism
at the World Social Forum? That's Not What I Saw
Ray McGovern
Iraq
Hawks and Deceptive Intelligence: Did They Really Think They'd
Get Away With It?
Tariq Ali
How Far
Will Bush Go in Iraq?
Ralph Nader
Whither
the Nation?
Wayne Madsen
Would Kerry Purge the Neo-Cons?
Norman Solomon
The Collapse of Dean's Cyber-Bubble
Christopher Brauchli
Cheney, Halliburton and the NYT
Mike Whitney
Bush's Iraq Strategy: "I Hope They Kill Each Other"
Lewis Carroll
Bush the Mighty Helmsman from Yale
Website of the Day
Sex Toy Horoscope
February 18, 2004
William Wilgus
Bush:
AWOL and Dereliction of Duty
William Blum
Mush-Minded
Liberals
Dave Lindorff
Bush's China Syndrome
Greg Weiher
Why
is Kerry Getting a Pass?
Mike Griffin
Killing the Messenger: the AFL-CIO's Attack on Harry Kelber
Mark Hand
Kerry Tells Peace Movement to "Move On"
February 17, 2004
Mike Ferner
The
Countryside Murders in Iraq
Mokhiber / Weissman
Corporation
as Psychopath
Marjorie Cohn
DrakeGate:
a Victory for Free Speech
Kurt Nimmo
Bush's
Endgame: a Review of Chalmers Johnson's "Sorrows of Empire"
Greg Bates
Nader Ambush: a New Low for The
Nation
Ximena Ortiz
A Bush
Doctrine, of Sorts
Gary Leupp
Whatever Happened to Gen. Khazraji?
Sen. John Kerry
"The Cause of Israel is the Cause of America"
Steve Perry
Kerry
1, Drudge 0
February 16, 2004
James Johnston
Huddling
with the Cheeseheads in a NASCAR World
Sara Eltantawi
To
Wear the Hijab or Not
Bruce Anderson
Kevin
Cooper and the Midnight Needle
Elaine Cassel
Feds
on Campus: the Drake Subpoenas
Rahul Mahajan
Bush,
Is the Tide Finally Turning?
Kevin Cooper
The Ritual of Death
Stan Cox
Goodbye, Howard Dean
Larry David
My War
Steve Perry
Bush and the Guard: the Cover-Up's the Thing
Website of the Day
Prison Patriots: Help This Vital Film Get Made
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click Here
for More Stories.
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March
3, 2004
Haiti, Is That One
of the Tahitian Islands?
The
Yuppie Silence
By JG
The "progressive" community in America
has always and will continue to flabbergast my perception of
know-all. As one who commonly identifies with the monolithic-activist-culture,
furthermore a proud son of Haiti (albeit Diaspora) striving to
fulfill the prodigal Caribbean prophecy, an anomaly has manifested
itself on the crown of this dualistic self-perception; grant
me the luxury of expounding as to why.
The issue du jour
The ongoing coup d'etat in Haiti is more
or less a semi-torrid rehearsal of the Bush administration's
Grand Imperialist Strategy; an anabolic fetus to Reagan's Caribbean
Basin Initiative (the precursor to NAFTA, FTAA etc.), with a
twist of indirect-interventionist militarism. Aristide has fled
the country, allegedly...Correction, Aristide was sternly relieved
(sic) from his Constructional post and the baton is in passing.
The most up-to-date "FRAPH" (violent blow) one-upped
650 million USD in withheld aid, multiple embargoes and Neo-Liberal
sanctions, Yanqui sponsored political destabilization (terrorism)
by Group 184 & The Democratic Convergence and the vile hijacking
of 1991, in potentially obliterating popular sovereignty in Haiti,
permanently.
Let us for once (including myself), as
"lefties," refrain from 10,000 word odes to statistical
analysis: The Bush Administration publicly advocated that a democratically
elected leader step down; a hijacking of guard attributable to
internal rebel pressure. The extent of this advocacy has yet
to de revealed in full, but based on the bloody evolution of
U$ hemispheric policy, one has reason to believe that the operation
was, from start to finish, a military offensive. As the astute
foreign policy paralegal that he is, would Secretary Powell allow
us the privilege of forecasting a parallel anchored in this precedent?
"President Bush speaks from the
Oval Office: Throughout my term, I have addressed the nation
on matters that I believed to be of national importance. This
time I come to you with a heavy heart. Unidentified rebels have
taken siege of the
Breckenridge Ski Resort in the Rocky Mountainous region of the
country. Prior to these illegal actions, I had requested aid
from our international allies. To my dismay, they have not responded.
Today I announce that I am resigning my post in hopes of preventing
blood shed. In the case of the war in Iraq, the war on 'terrer'
(pronounced tear-were), thousands of lives were lost. I listened
to my advisors, perhaps foolishly But, there is a saying in Tennessee,
and I think they have it in Texas Fool me once (pause), sh-sh-sh-shame
on me (stutter). Fool me twice"
A bit dramatized yes, but point exhibited.
The same argumentation could be used to prove why Nazi Germany
had better reason to attack the U$ (ala Pearl Harbor), as a form
of preventative warfare, motivated by the theory of encirclement,
than we in our manifold of Cold War counter-insurgencies!
Haiti could be looked at as the ideal
battleground for U$ proxy-class warfare -- Andy Apaid and his
"eight-percenter" oligarchs in cohorts with Guy Phillipe
and his column of Uncle Tom thugs, versus the starving Black
Proletariat. If the above parties were the only characters in
play, various Third World truisms would reign above all. Actually,
the pseudo-inbred French descendants (the Haitian elite), and
the Black majority are not even the protagonists at center stage;
instead the U$ government and public opinion, the world's superpowers.
Through a deliberate assault on the labor movement in the early
1900's, the corporate privatization of the press, tripled with
the American Left's penchant for self-destruction, public opinion
rarely reflects a populist perspective. This being said, one
can call witness to several exceptions and variations to rule.
As to my confusion,
the dilemma, the anomaly
In my brief 26 years, I've observed demonstrations
that defy this anti-populist judgment of public opinion. It seems
as though the activist movement is uninterruptedly fickle in
how it pursues varying injustices. One can safely point to a
few that are synonymous with Folk music, rallying, protesting,
leafleting and so on: Tibet, East Timor, Chiapas, Iraq. Dare
I say that if there were an omniscient pathology fueling the
Circadian rhythm of secular humanitarians, it would be collectively
named after these causes! Are the pressures instigating support
for the "famous four" valid in their potency? Unquestionably.
Is there a correlation between celebrity endorsement and the
popularity of an examined issue? Unequivocally.
Brothers like Zack De La Rocha, Bono,
Tom Morello, Serj Taniken, Chuck D., have all exploited their
status as celebrities to bring about awareness to numerous examples
of social injustice. Actions such as theirs are invaluable in
such downtrodden times. They epitomize the essence of art, of
the artist. They make "the revolution irresistible"
(Toni Cambi). The inherent quandary arises when we as activists
posture as bovine simpletons, endorsing solely, strictly and
religiously the movements associated with Pop Culture.
For years I have battled a rising tide
of anger, disbelief and RAGE. Oddly enough, these sentiments
haven't been poised to attack the Dixiecrats of this era, rather
aimed at the so-called activists. I wholeheartedly admit to a
degree of selfishness pursuant to this discontent. By rite of
heritage and blood, my foremost concern is that of the valiant
men and women of Haiti.
At every juncture wherest I've taken
to stage, in either a musical or oratorical capacity, the very
mention of the word "Haiti" disconfigures otherwise
stoic brows to shriveled temples of confusion. There may be a
soul or two who are familiar with the Mariel Boat Lift, Abner
Louima or the Crome Detention Center. On rare occasion, a timid
comrade will approach me post set wishing to debate the guerilla
strategies perfected by L'Overture and Desaillines. However,
I can't possibly count the incidents of "Dude, I really
feel for your people of Tahiti" Tahiti, this from
a cadre ostensibly involved with progressive endeavors!
This phenomenon of intellectual ignorance
could partly be blamed on the indoctrination of educational systems
stateside; partly. The ideological commissars have done well
in reducing Haiti's entire existence to a mere 12 syllables:
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. If their wiles
were flawless, we would all be imprisoned by the incessant
humdrum of consumerism, oblivious to even the most fractional
of societal abuses Please! How is that this planetary orb has
often been wondered by macrocosmic manifestations of solidarity
and humanitarianism; exhibitions in defiance of the power structure's
mendacity and disdain, preceded by infinite microcosmic, grass-roots
trials; how? As evidenced by the past and current showings of
leftist complacency (for the most part) specific to the socio-economic
plight of the Haitian Global Village, there is a lurking stimulus
aside from the aforementioned ones.
Many countries in Latin America have
a valid claim to being the beacon for Third World oppression,
injustice etc. The progressives have sanctioned a milieu of struggles
in a majority of the countries in query, and rightly so
But, and a gargantuan one at that, if there is a single nation
in this hemisphere that has beheld the back of humanitarians,
is Haiti. Trace the history of socio-political isolation and
embargo opposite to the interests of the U$; you will find that
Haiti is the elder of the village. Examine the savagery of dictatorial
regimes since the Anglo-Saxon rape & pillage of the America's;
you will find no parallel to the Duvalier junta (on a per-capita
scale). Analyze the virulence of immigration statutes over the
last 40 years, across the multi-cultural spectrum; you will note
that Haitians outnumber every other group as far as indefinite
detentions and cases of blind repatriation. Consider the bestiary
of police / state acts of violence against migrant sectors; you
will call Haitians to the echelon of the unfortunate selection.
Recall the infamous 12 syllables of Haitian definition; the
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; and you will note
the following:
The richest 1% of the population controls
nearly half of all of Haiti's wealth.
Haiti has long ranked as the poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere and is the fourth poorest country
in the world.
Haiti ranks 146 out of 173 on the Human
Development Index.*
Life expectancy is 52 years for women
and 48 for men*.
Adult literacy is about 50%.*
Unemployment is about 70%.*
85% of Haitians live on less than $1
US per day.*
Haiti ranks 38 out of 195 for under-five
mortality rate.*
('Investigating the Effects of Withheld
Humanitarian Aid,' a report of the Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center.)
Where is the public outcry; where in
the hell has it been since 1804? Where are the hordes of white
ideological college students, breathless and hoarse from a regiment
of protest? Where are the "Hip-Art" B-Boys & Girls
sporting a red shirt with 1804 plastered in blue front
and back? Why aren't are the "Free-the-Haitian-Refugees-at-Crome-Detention-Center"
banners at every antiwar rally? Aside from boring the reader,
I could go on, endlessly.
Understanding our limited knowledge of
human nature and assuming that the American left in this country
is embarrassingly Anglo Saxon, let me cast out a hypothesis:
It is exponentially easier to identify with causes whose victims
resemble us in some ethno-cultural sense. Conversely, it is daunting
realization indeed, admitting that those diametrically opposite
in ethno-culture are seldom the recipients of our compassion.
Not being informed about the downward journey of Haiti and its
Global Village post 1804, doesn't make you a Negrophobe (if that
were the case, African Americans would similarly suffer from
this affliction, defying its very definition therewith). Denying
the plausibility that we as the "high & mighty"
activists be impervious to the pressures of the machine makes
a sad case for the future of all disenfranchised peoples. The
anomaly has been revealed. I still find it difficult to sympathize
with the socio-economic woes of the Confederate flag-waving Dad's
of NASCAR; perhaps its because they are inexplicably different
than I?
Confused and bewildered I remain.
JG
is the lead Emcee for the politically leftist Hip-Hop duet,
Over The Counter Intelligence (JG & HavikenHayes), based
in Fort Lauderdale Florida. They are most recognized through
their support of various grassroots organizations throughout
the country; most notably The Coalition of Immokalee Workers
-- The Taco Bell Boycott. They are of the best known Indie-Hip
Hop groups nationwide. JG has written songs, articles and editorials
specific to the oppression of the Haitian Global Village, most
importantly, the virulent immigration statues pertaining to Haitian
Refugees. He has recently recorded a solo album entitled "Insurgent,"
which will be released this year via record label. JG & Over
The Counter Intelligence will be performing at this year's Taco
Bell Boycott, 3-5, Irvine, CA.
He can be reached by email: jg_1804@hotmail.com
Weekend
Edition Features for February 28 / 29, 2004
Stephen Green
Serving
Two Flags: Neo-Cons, Israel and the Bush Team
Gary Leupp
Another Senseless Bush Battle: Defining and Protecting Marriage
William A. Cook
Israel:
America's Albatross
Ron Jacobs
Kucinich: Good Fight; Wrong Battlefield
Ben Tripp
A Nosegay of Posies: Queer Weddings at Last!
Leilla Matsui
Dances with Crucifixes
Mike Whitney
Dismantle
the Military Goliath
Yoel Marcus
Down and Out in the Hague
Uri Avnery
The Dancing Bear
Linda S. Heard
Britons and Americans Condemned to a Hobson's Choice
Al Krebs
Unmasking a Secret American Empire: Land, Water & Cotton
Stan Cox
Life (Pat. Pend.): Genetic Commandeering
JG
The Haiti Boomerang: "After The Looting & Pillaging,
Your Hunger Will Remain"
Rick Giombetti
Censorship at the Seattle P-I on Forced Psychiatry
Keith Hoeller
The Bankruptcy of Mental Health Insurance Parity
Dave Zirin
Colorado Football: Buffalo Swill
NADERAMA
Alan Maass
Nader and the Politics of Lesser
Evils
Michael Donnelly
Regime
Rotation: Anybody But Bush...Again?
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Exeunt Serenaders; Enter Nader
Doug Giebel
So Nader's Running? Get Over It
Bruce Jackson
An Open Letter to Naderites
CounterPunch Wire
Stalinists for Kerry! and Other Roars from the Crowd
Poets' Basement
Davies, Scarr, Kearney & Albert
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