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SHOULD SCOOTER LIBBY'S LAWYER BE DISBARRED? Law school dean Lawrence Velvel says, Maybe he should, if he sat idly by while client Libby spouted lies. What lies at the core of Zionism? Michael Neumann tortures Alan Dershowitz, without a warrant! "Sex-mad adulterer from British aristocracy claims to have 'revolutionized' philosophy." Yes, Bertrand Russell, they mean you! Alexander Cockburn on Smearing 101 in the British press. Get the answers you're looking for in the subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch ... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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November 29, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair November 28, 2005 Chris Reed David Isenberg Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Justin E.H. Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney David Swanson Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
November 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley John Ross Gary Leupp Fred Gardner Christopher Brauchli Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Timothy J.
Freeman Lila Rajiva Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Joaquin Bustelo Lewis Alper Will Youmans Phyllis Pollack St. Clair /
Vest Barbara LaMorticella Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
November 25, 2005 David Price Brian McKenna Jeff Halper Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Ingmar Lee Website of the Day
November 24, 2005 James Petras Bob Shirley Mike Fox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Greg Moses Alexander Cockburn
November 23, 2005 Ramzy Baroud Mike Whitney Stan Cox Linda S. Heard November 22, 2005 Kevin Gray
/ Mike Hersh Ralph Nader Michael Donnelly Mike Ferner Pierre Tristam Marshall Auerback Website of
the Day
November 21, 2005 Mike Marqusee Josh Frank Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Russ Baker Robert Jensen Paul Craig
Roberts
November 19 / 20, 2005 Fred Gardner Rep. Cynthia McKinney Ron Jacobs David Vest J.L. Chestnut,
Jr. John R. Bomar John Ross Phillip Cryan Dave Lindorff Dick J. Reavis Jeremy Scahill Dan Wright John Stanton St. Clair / Vest / Walker Phyllis Pollack Dr. Susan Block Poets Basement
November 18, 2005 Michael Neumann Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Mark Chmiel
/ Andrew Wimmer Don Monkerud Tom Kerr Trish Schuh
November 17, 2005 John Walsh Rep. John Murtha Brian J. Foley CounterPunch
News Service Dave Lindorff Mark T. Harris Cockburn /
St. Clair
November 16, 2005 John F. Sugg Noam Chomsky Dave Lindorff Evelyn Pringle Sam Husseini Pierre Tristam Greg Bates Farrah Hassen Bill Christison Website of
the Day
November 15, 2005 Todd Chretien Leah Caldwell Frederick Hudson Harry Browne Jason Leopold Ingmar Lee Diana Barahona Tom Andre Website of the Weekend
November 14, 2005 Diana Johnstone Paul Craig Roberts Conn Hallinan Joshua Frank Christopher
Reed
November 11 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gwyneth Leech Elmas Mallo Michael Neumann Saul Landau Sam Husseini Brian Cloughley Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Michael Donnelly Joe Allen Roland Sheppard Justin E.H.
Smith Ben Tripp St. Clair /
Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
November 10, 2005 Peterside,
Ogon, Watts and Zalik Pat Williams Steve Higgs Jimmy Massey Lucson Pierre-Charles Anthony Newkirk Lawrence R.
Velvel Website of the Day November 9, 2005 Gary Leupp Tariq Ali Chris Floyd Elaine Cassel Joshua Frank Alison Weir Diana Johnstone
Paul Craig
Roberts Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Jim McGrath David Bloom Stan Goff
November 7, 2005 Dick Reavis Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Eli Stephens David Swanson M. Junaid Alam Matt Reichel Naima Bouteldja Jeff Halper Website of the Day
November 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Lawrence R.
Velvel Diana Johnstone Roosa / Nevins Niranjan Ramakrishnan John Ross Mike Whitney Mark Engler Juliano Mer-Khamis Ron Jacobs Jill S. Farrell Missy Comley
Beattie Mitchel Cohen Evelyn J. Pringle Reza Fiyouzat Charles Sullivan Zachary Richard Ben Tripp St. Clair / Vest
November 4, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Dave Lindorff Phillip Cryan Christopher Brauchli William S.
Lind Daryl G. Kimball George Beres Peter Montague
November 3, 2005 James Petras Saul Landau Rep. Cynthia McKinney Michael Dickinson Joshua Frank Remi Kanazi Reza Fiyouzat Website of the Day
November 2, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Robert Oscar Lopez John Walsh Brian J. Foley Ramzy Baroud M. Junaid Alam Todd Chretien Bruce K. Gagnon Website of the Day
November 1, 2005 Ron Jacobs Gary Leupp John Ross Bill Quigley Joseph Nevins Dave Lindorff Linda S. Heard Heather Gray Michael Dickinson Jeffrey St. Clair
October 31, 2005 Elaine Cassel Mark Weisbrot Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Farooq Sulehria Nicole Colson Madis Senner Paul Craig
Roberts
Cockburn /
St. Clair Peter Linebaugh Tim Wise John Chuckman Steven Higgs Brian Cloughley M. Shahid Alam Nikki Robinson Ralph Nader Joe DeRaymond Joshua Frank Laura Santina Fred Gardner Michael Dickinson Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Vanessa S. Jones Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
October 28, 2005 Jared Bernstein Virginia Tilley Phil Gasper Jennifer Matsui Manual Garcia,
Jr. Monica Benderman Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff
Saul Landau Stuart Hodkinson Ingmar Lee Lila Rajiva Ilan Pappe Niranjan Ramakrishnan Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Cockburn / St. Clair
October 26, 2005 Kathy Kelly Gary Leupp Mike Marqusee Eric Ruder Patrick Cockburn Joshua Frank J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Website of
the Day
October 25, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Ken Sengupta / Patrick Cockburn Conn Hallinan Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed Jackie Corr Robert Day John Sugg
October 24, 2005 Dave Lindorff Michael Donnelly Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Bill and Kathleen
Christison
October 22 / 23, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Billy Sothern Saul Landau Ralph Nader Behrooz Ghamari Brian Cloughley Diana Barahona Fred Gardner Lee Sustar Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen James Petras Joshua Frank Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Michelle Bollinger Missy Comley
Beattie Kona Lowell Ben Tripp Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Day
October 21, 2005 Dave Lindorff Winslow T. Wheeler Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Madis Senner Michael Donnelly
Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Jeremy Brecher
/ Patrick Cockburn Kevin Zeese Ross Eisenbrey Randy Shields Justine Davidson After Lucas
Cranach Joe Allen
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November 29, 2005 "Who Will Rid Me of My Meddlesome Cabinet?"Bush the Dupe?By GARY LEUPP I read in the Drudge Report that Bush "has become isolated and feels betrayed by key officials." Maybe Cheney and his neocon protégés are really in the dog house these days. The report asserts that "Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes." I read too on Capitol Hill Blue news service that presidential aides have become increasingly concerned about Bush's "short temper and tirades," directed especially at anyone who questions his war and his honesty. But he's also been exploding in cabinet meetings at his subordinates. Angry at his enemies, angry at his friends, he may be under stress and returning to his youthful habits. Check out this video clip of his appearance at Jerry Kilgore's campaign rally in Virginia awhile back. No further comment on that clip, but I'm just wondering. Might the president be feeling so messed up on account of him feeling himself, you know----duped? Big time? The president is of course not the most intelligent man to ever occupy the Oval Office. In debates or news conferences, in any unrehearsed unscripted situation, he is inarticulate, repetitious, incoherent, unfocused, lost, fourth-grade, apparently brain-fried. He famously avoids reading newspapers, has a poor memory for details, is unable to grasp nuance, mistrusts science and embraces religious fundamentalism. On the other hand, he is surrounded by people who are highly intelligent and sophisticated, and he has been uncommonly dependent upon them---especially Cheney and his neocon Machiavellian amoral warmongering staff. Quite likely, the latter think of Bush the way Margaret Thatcher thought about Ronald Reagan. ("Poor dear," she remarked in 1988, "there's nothing between his ears.") But just as Thatcher found in the Gipper a staunch friend and ally, Bush's advisors may see in Dubya the perfect front man for their world-changing agenda. He doesn't know much about foreign countries, won't ask many questions, loves Israel as a matter of principle, thinks its existence fulfills Bible prophecy. The perfect patsy to get to say, "I know Ariel Sharon is a man of peace," "Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," "Iraq has also provided al-Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training," "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories" and other such suckered nonsense. But now, the majority of Americans think Bush's dishonest. 58% of those polled question his integrity. Maybe that explains the reported rages in cabinet meetings. Of course it's possible that Bush was in on the lies all along, as I've pretty much assumed to date. But maybe not. Maybe he really believed what he was told to say by trusted staff members, and has only gradually come to ask, "How'd they dare make me say all that bullshit, that makes me look like a liar?" Cheney is out lecturing reliable neocon-friendly audiences that it's "dishonest and reprehensible" for anyone to suggest that any member the Bush administration "purposely misled the American people" before the war. It's a perfectly natural self-defense mechanism for the vice president---whom only 29% of Americans think honest at this point because he himself indeed purposely mislead the American people before the war---to bark in that fashion. Meanwhile, wouldn't it be nice for Bush to have the following conversation with his trusted spouse?
[Indeed, how does he get out of this mess? I think of Ronald Reagan, who finessed his way out of the Iran-Contra scandal by explaining that he wasn't a hands-on manager but rather delegated responsibility to trusted subordinates who let him down. Many believed and forgave him. But he was for many an endearingly doddering, if nothing-between-the ears, sort of president, and this one's a strutting punk with a murderous streak whose fratboy smirk has lost its charm. And an arms-for-hostages deal is nothing next to a bloody unwinnable war based on lies.]
In this coterie of women around the lonely president, Rice holds the greatest power. While a team-player, willing to use the "mushroom cloud" imagery concocted by the White House Iraq Group in September 2002 and to promote the centrifuges lie at the same time, Rice is not a neocon ideologue. She may wish to rein the crazies in. She's stated specifically that the U.S. seeks "policy change" rather than "regime change" in Syria, and that she will hold John Bolton, neocon ambassador to the UN and big-time disseminator of disinformation, "on a short leash." Maybe she and the other ladies should do the same for Dubya. Handcuff him to the bed for a few days, for godsakes. Tell people he's choked on a pretzel, fainted again, and needs rest. Do NOT let Dick Cheney near him, lest he curse the man out so that the veep in turn lashes out wildly at Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy again. Do NOT let Rev. Franklin Graham in the room, lest he be shocked at Dubya's slurred and ungodlike speech. Do NOT let Patrick Fitzgerald get anywhere near the man until the wild glint disappears from his eyes, the impish grin disappears from his lips, the tell-tale tongue-in-jowl dry-mouth symptoms fade and he's ready to identify just one teeny-tiny mistake he's made in his presidency. Bring in almost Supreme Court justice Harriet Miers, and station her at the bedside, repeating, "You're not a dupe, not a dupe, not a dupe. You're the most brilliant man I've ever met!" He'll like that. But what if he was used, unwittingly, his callous cruel arrogant nature exploited by those who really are Evil Incarnate, and who are going to make him go down in the "History" he alternately validates and despises as the worst and stupidest president ever? How painful for the spoiled brat, who as Texas governor mocked a born-again Christian death-row inmate, pursing his lips to the camera in mock desperation cracking that she'd pleaded, "Please, don't kill me!" before he happily decreed her death. How painful for a child of privilege accustomed to abusing everybody else to wake up and discover he's been had by people far more aware and intelligent than him. Isolated and betrayed, this most powerful of men. May he withdraw further into himself, and those divine voices in his head telling him "Smite! Smite!" as out in the real world the crimes of his administration become more and more clear. Gary Leupp is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Religion. He is the author of Servants, Shophands and Laborers in in the Cities of Tokugawa Japan; Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan; and Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch's merciless chronicle of the wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, Imperial Crusades. He can be reached at: gleupp@granite.tufts.edu |
from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann  Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair          Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.               |
