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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers! General Petraeus' Fake War
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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
General Petraeus' Fake War
How the Press and Congress Eagerly Swallowed It
EXCLUSIVE to subscribers in our latest newsletter, Gareth Porter dissects two years’ worth of successful lying by Gen Petraeus and his propaganda team. Guess what? The FBI AND DOJ didn’t specially target Muhammad Ali. Those G-men were just following normal procedures! Alexander Cockburn reviews the latest effort to “revise” the Sixties. Dick Cheney “didn’t understand the legalities.” James Abourezk describes his efforts to close down the lethal liquor operators that prey on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Whatever happened to the class war? Read Serge Halimi and find out. 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 June 28 / 29, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jason Hribal Mike Whitney Justin E. H. Smith June 27, 2008 Franklin C. Spinney Jonathan Cook Brian Cloughley Saree Makdisi Liliana Segura Paul Krassner William S. Lind Candace Cohn Ron Jacobs Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day June 26, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Nikolas Kozloff William P. O'Connor Saul Landau Ashley Smith Dave Lindorff David Macaray Binoy Kampmark Matt Reichel Remi Kenazi Website of the Day
June 25, 2008 David H. Price Stephen Soldz Andy Worthington Marjorie Cohn Joanne Mariner Ralph Nader Robert Weissman Christopher Brauchli Suren Pillay Seth Sandronsky Website of the Day June 24, 2008 Ishmael Reed P. Sainath Nikolas Kozloff Gregory Kafoury Betty Shamieh Mike Whitney Andy Worthington Bill Christison Philippe Marlière Website of the Day June 23, 2008 Michael Hudson John Ross Peter Montague Ramzy Baroud Robert Fantina Robert Weitzel David Macaray Howard Lisnoff Richard Rhames Gail Dines Tim Matson June 21 / 22, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Pam Martens Mike Whitney Chris Floyd Tim Wise Paul Craig Roberts Michael Winship Ron Jacobs Ramzy Baroud Alan Farago Michael Yates Dave Lindorff Bernard Chazelle Linda Mamoun Jo-Shing Yang Robert Jensen Website of the Weekend
June 20, 2008 Robert Oscar Lopez Paul Craig Roberts Bouthaina Shaaban Bill Quigley Moshe Adler Patrick Cockburn Andy Worthington Norman Solomon Martha Rosenberg June 19, 2008 Ralph Nader Chellis Glendinning Neve Gordon Dave Lindorff Sheldon Richman George Bisharat Jackie Corr Farzana Versey Website of the Day June 18, 2008 Nicole Colson Rev. William E. Alberts Vijay Prashad Parvez Ahmed Bob Moss Dave Lindorff David Wilson June 17, 2008 Conn Hallinan Wajahat Ali Marjorie Cohn Uri Avnery David Macaray Rannie Amiri Website of the Day June 16, 2008 Uri Avnery Corey D. B. Walker Howard Lisnoff Dennis Loo Paul Craig Roberts June 13 / 15, 2008 Douglas Valentine Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Ishmael Reed Joe Bageant Harry Browne Andy Worthington Jeff Sharlet Binoy Kampmark Alan Farago Brian Cloughley Manuel Garcia, Jr. Reza Fiyouzat Patrick Bond / David Yearsley Niranjan Ramakrishnan Ronnie Cummins Dan Bacher Michael Dickinson Seth Sandronsky Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend June 12, 2008 Judith Levine Patrick Cockburn Saul Landau Christopher Brauchli Norman Solomon Helen Redmond Laura Carlsen Jeremy R. Hammond Anne Landman Website of the Day June 11, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Joshua Frank Clifton Ross Muhammad Idrees Ahmad Stephen Lendman Diane Farsetta Ron Jacobs Deborah Rich Hop Wechsler Website of the Day June 10, 2008 Alan Farago James G. Abourezk Saree Makdisi Malini Johar Schueller John Ross Wajahat Ali Peter Morici Jordan Flaherty Gary Macfarlane Joanne Mariner Website of the Day June 9, 2008 Uri Avnery Nikolas Kozloff Allan Nairn Dennis Loo Harry Browne C. Hand Peter Morici Kenneth Couesbouc Martha Rosenberg James L. Secor Website of the Day June 7 / 8, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Ishmael Reed Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Dave Lindorff Robert Fantina Conn Hallinan Neve Gordon Tom Barry Patrick Irelan Tim Wise David Ker Thomson Joshua Frank David Yearsley James T. Phillips Joe Allen P. Sainath David Macaray B.R. Gowani Fred Gardner Peter Harley Michael Dickinson Jen Roesch Poets' Basement Website of the Day
June 6, 2008 Frank Barat Patrick Cockburn Gary Leupp James Abourezk Peter Morici Faheem Hussain Andy Worthington Ayesha Ijaz Khan Dave Lindorff Website of the Day June 5, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Sharon Smith Nikolas Kozloff Linn Washington, Jr. Omar Barghouti Scott Pellegrino John Walsh Dan Bacher DC Larson Robert Jensen Website of the Day June 4, 2008 Eric Walberg Gary Leupp Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff George Wuerthner Victor M. Rodriguez Remi Kanazi Stephane Luçon Farzana Versey Laray Polk Website of the Day June 3, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts / Mike Whitney Steve Early Manuel Otero George Bisharat Nikolas Kozloff Dan Bacher Website of the Day June 2, 2008 Uri Avnery Nikolas Kozloff Allan J. Lichtman Malini Johar Schueller Robert Weissman Peter Morici Manuel Garcia, Jr. John Ross Ahmad Al-Akhras Website of the Day May 31 / June 1, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Gary Leupp Stan Cox Rannie Amiri P. Sainath Binoy Kampmark Robert Fantina Seth Sandronsky Corporate Crime Reporter Anthony DiMaggio Karl Grossman Matt Reichel Paul Myron Hillier Andy Worthington David Yearsley Daniel Cassidy Charles Thomson Gary Corseri Wajahat Ali Ron Jacobs Poets' Basement Website of the Day
May 30, 2008 Bassam Aramin Andrew Cockburn Saul Landau Nikolas Kozloff Robert Sandels Dave Lindorff Martha Rosenberg Harvey Wasserman Doug Giebel Shaun Harkin Website of the Day May 29, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Col. Dan Smith Karl Grossman William S. Lind Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff David Macaray Chris Genovali Laura Carlsen Website of the Day May 28, 2008 Wajahat Ali Ralph Nader Brian McKenna Corporate Crime Reporter Brian Cloughley Eric Walberg Michael Dickinson Ijaz Khan Website of the Day May 27, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Greg Kafoury Jean Bricmont Tim Wise Ricardo Alarcón Stephen Soldz Andy Worthington Alan Singer Richard Neville Susie Day May 26, 2008 Uri Avnery Bill Quigley Col. Dan Smith Cindy Sheehan Marjorie Cohn Fred Gardner Raymond J. Lawrence Harvey Wasserman Moncia Benderman David Rovics Website of the Day May 24 / 25, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Barbara Rose Johnston Nikolas Kozloff Adriana Kojeve Robert Fantina Dave Lindorff David Yearsley Nelson P. Valdés Kathleen M. Barry John Ross Allison Kilkenny Fred Gardner Elizabeth Schulte Daniel Gross Christopher Brauchli Richard Rhames Daniel Cassidy Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
May 23, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Alan Farago Conn Hallinan Mark Engler George Wuerthner Kamran Matin Sandy Boyer / Robert Weitzel Cindy Sheehan Liaquat Ali Khan Website of the Day
May 22, 2008 Vijay Prashad Joanne Mariner Sharon Smith Jeff Birkenstein Brendan McQuade Peter Morici Niranjan Ramakrishnan Dave Zirin Ron Jacobs Stephen Lendman Website of the Day May 21, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair Nikolas Kozloff Alan Farago Dave Lindorff David Model Eric Walberg Franklin Lamb Kenneth Couesbouc Website of the Day
May 20, 2008 Ralph Nader Uri Avnery Patrick Irelan Ray McGovern David Macaray Chris Genovali Ibrahim Fawal Christopher Ketcham Andy Worthington Martha Rosenberg Website of the Day May 19, 2008 Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Brian McKenna Patrick Cockburn B. R. Gowani Dr. Trudy Bond Cindy Sheehan John Mohawk Remi Kanazi Robert Day Website of the Day |
Weekend Edition
June 28 / 29, 2008 Exception to the Rule? Nader, Obama and White TalkBy NIKOLAS KOZLOFF Ralph Nader, whose independent bid for the White House has received scant media attention, just got noticed. Speaking to the Denver-based Rocky Mountain News, Nader said he was unimpressed with Barack Obama and that the Illinois Senator was playing down poverty issues. ‘‘There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,’’ the veteran consumer advocate and political activist remarked. ‘‘Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson?’’ The independent candidate for President also said that Obama didn’t want to appear to be ‘‘another politically threatening African-American politician.’’ ‘‘He wants to appeal to white guilt,’’ Nader added. ‘‘You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he’s coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it’s corporate or whether it’s simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.’’ Nader’s remarks quickly ignited a political firestorm. Speaking to reporters, Obama dismissed Nader’s claim that the Democratic candidate was trying to ‘‘talk white’’ and had failed to challenge the power structure to appeal to ‘‘white guilt.’’ Obama added that Nader was trying to get attention with ‘‘an inflammatory statement.’’ Referring to his independent opponent, Obama said, ‘‘I think it’s a shame because if you look at his [Nader’s] legacy in terms of consumer protections, it’s an extraordinary one. But at this point, he’s somebody who’s trying to get attention and whose campaign hasn’t gotten any traction.’’ Obama added that Nader hadn’t been paying attention because the Illinois Senator had discussed predatory lending, housing foreclosures and similar economic issues throughout his campaign. Nader told the New York Times that he would not apologize for his remarks. He reiterated his argument that Obama had not discussed poverty in the inner cities enough. The fact that Obama was African-American, Nader argued, should make a difference. “What difference it should make is that he would be more sensitive and determined to bring elevated visibility and concrete programs to The racially charged rhetoric has led to a liberal firestorm, with many chiding Nader for being insensitive towards the African American community. Nader’s remarks even prompted CNN’s Anderson Cooper to devote an entire segment to the dustup. Appearing on Cooper’s show AC 360, Al Sharpton lambasted Nader for “going way over the line.” Some of Nader’s comments about Obama are mundane and self evident to anyone who follows U.S. politics. From the day he won the Iowa caucus if not earlier, Obama has proclaimed his eagerness to transcend race and to bring different constituencies together: he’s built his entire campaign around this underlying idea. What’s more, the media itself has been chattering away for months now about Obama’s “post-racial” candidacy. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong about Obama’s electoral strategy; the question is whether the Illinois Senator has gone over the line in pandering to whites. Obama’s attempt to navigate troubled racial waters was on abundant display during the “Jena 6” controversy in Jena, Louisiana. There, six black juveniles were arrested on murder charges. Tensions had simmered at Jena High School and in the small town for first three months of the 2006 school year after a black student asked the vice principal if he and some friends could sit under an oak tree where white students typically congregated. Told by the vice principal that they could sit wherever they pleased, the student and his friends sat under the sprawling branches of the tree in the campus courtyard. The following day, students arrived at school to find three nooses hanging from the branches of the tree. The school's principal reportedly recommended expulsion for those involved in placing the nooses. Instead however, a school district committee reportedly suspended three white students for three days calling the incident just a "prank." Later several students jumped a white classmate, knocking him unconscious while stomping and kicking him. The charges against the six blacks -- dubbed the "Jena 6" -- resulted from that incident. The Jena controversy became a cause célèbre, with civil rights leaders such as Al Sharpton rushing to Louisiana to protest racist handling of the case. “This is the beginning of the twenty-first century’s civil rights movement,” Sharpton remarked. “In the twentieth century, we had to fight for where we sat on the bus,” the civil rights leader added. “Now, we’ve got a fight on how we sit in a courtroom. We’ve gone from plantations to penitentiaries, where they have tried to create a criminal justice system that particularly targets our young black men. And now we sit and stand in a city that says it’s a prank to hang a hangman’s noose, but that it is attempted murder to have a fight. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others faced Jim Crow. We come to Jena to face James Crow, Jr., Esq. He’s a little more educated, a little more polished, but it’s the same courthouse steps used to beat down our people. And just like our daddies beat Jim Crow, we will win the victory over James Crow, Jr.” After one of the teen’s charges was thrown out, Obama said "I am pleased that the Louisiana state appeals court recognized that the aggravated battery charge brought in this case was inappropriate. I hope that today's decision will lead the prosecutor to reconsider the excessive charges brought against all the teenagers in this case. And I hope that the judicial process will move deliberately to ensure that all of the defendants will receive a fair trial and equal justice under the law.” In a separate statement, Obama said, "When nooses are being hung in high schools in the 21st century, it's a tragedy. It shows that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This isn't just Jena's problem; it's America's problem." rights Jesse Jackson however accused Obama of delivering an inadequate response and declared that the Illinois Senator was ‘acting like he's white,’ according to a South Carolina newspaper. Jackson later said that he did not recall uttering those exact words, but continued to condemn Obama for not bringing more attention to the Jena case. He added that Obama needed to be "bolder" in his stances. In a statement, Obama said his previous statements about the Jena 6 case "were carefully thought out" with input from his national campaign chairman and Jackson's own son, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Democrat of Illinois. Seeking to avoid a polarized racial discussion, Obama said "Outrage over an injustice like the Jena 6 isn't a matter of black and white. It's a matter of right and wrong.” That statement wasn’t enough to satisfy Jackson however, who declared "If I were a candidate, I'd be all over Jena.” "Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment,” Jackson added. Then Obama celebrated Father’s Day by chiding black fathers. African American men, Obama said, were "missing from too many lives and too many homes" to become active in raising their children. Taking on the role of a stern moral teacher, Obama remarked "They [black fathers] have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it." Contrasting himself with other more irresponsible black men, Obama declared “I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle - that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls" [Obama has two daughters, Sasha and Malia]. Speaking to a largely black congregation at the Apostolic Church of God, a congregation located on the South Side of Chicago, Obama said "Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father." Continuing with his moral sermon, Obama said that parents who proudly tell him their child gets great grades, all B's, should encourage them even more: "All B's? Is that the highest grade? It's great that you can get a B, but you can get a better grade. It's great that you've got a job, but you can get a better job." Obama told his black audience not to simply “sit in the house watching SportsCenter,” and to stop praising itself for mediocre accomplishments. “Don’t get carried away with that eighth-grade graduation,” he said. “You’re supposed to graduate from eighth grade.” While Obama doesn’t deny that social injustice has contributed to the stresses on the African American family, he has gone out of his way to stress individual responsibility. In this sense, he echoes calls by African American comedian Bill Cosby, who stirred debate amongst blacks by bluntly speaking about an epidemic of fatherless African-American families. Cosby went even farther, suggesting that some blacks use racism as a crutch to explain lack of economic progress. Nader should be commended for introducing issues that are important to inner city residents. That said however the consumer advocate is on a slippery slope when he argues that Obama is “talking white.” Is Nader implying that Obama is some kind of Oreo or Uncle Tom? Since Nader is Arab-American, Obama could just as easily shoot back and say that the independent candidate for the White House has not sufficiently challenged white racism towards Arabs and racist U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. It’s not every day that the mainstream media pays attention to Nader, and as a result I was intrigued to see CNN’s Anderson Cooper take up this controversy on Wednesday night’s edition of AC 360. Cooper had a bizarre mixture of guests on the show including Ed Rollins (a white, long-time GOP operative who managed Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign), Al Sharpton, and Roland Martin, a black syndicated columnist, radio commentator, and author of the book Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America. Cooper introduced the segment by declaring that Ralph Nader, “a racial bomb-thrower,” was “mixing race and politics, targeting Barack Obama, accusing him of trying to talk white, in his terms, and ignoring problems in what he calls the ghettos. Did he cross the line?” Sharpton quickly jumped into the fray, remarking that though he had “respected Nader in the past…this is way over the line.” Cooper then asked turned to Martin and asked, “Does his [Nader’s] rhetoric, does it come from another time?” “The Spinners had a song that said, ‘everybody plays the fool sometimes, no exception to the rule,’” Martin replied. “This is Ralph Nader. That's what it points to…the problem with Nader…is…he is defining black issues.” Rollins then joined the discussion, remarking amusingly “as the only homeboy on this group here...I certainly am not going to tell you to talk whitey. The bottom line here, if you're running for president, you try and talk to all Americans. And, basically, to be successful, you have to put coalitions together of blacks, whites, Christians, Jews, what have you to be successful.” The conversation then took a rather unexpected turn when Cooper, who is white, asked Sharpton about the Jena 6 controversy:
Cooper’s question seems reasonable enough, given that Sharpton himself was intimately involved in the Jena protests. But Sharpton, unlike Jackson, was unwilling to criticize the Illinois Senator:
Sharpton’s comments on CNN are ironic in a couple of respects. To be sure, Nader should also take McCain to task for not confronting racial issues head on. It seems unfair to criticize Obama more than McCain on race just because the Illinois Senator is black. On the other hand it is odd that Sharpton, who has spent his entire life bringing attention to racial injustice and cases of racial bias, should somehow let Obama off the hook here. At this point Martin chimed in, echoing Sharpton’s sentiments.
At this point the hapless Rollins, who had been left out of much of the discussion, interjected his own commentary:
Despite Rollins’ and Martin’s calls for racial harmony however, it’s unlikely that race will disappear from the discussion any time soon Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008)
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