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A Special Report on the Presidential Elections Exclusively in the Print Edition CounterPunch How Progressive Challenges Have Been Killed Off Since LBJ; Gagging Fanny Lou Hamer; Eugene McCarthy on "a Peasants Rebellion;" Sabotaging McGovern; The Wreck of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition; Smearing Nader, Not Once But Three Times: by Alexander Cockburn; The Thieves of the Green Zone by Patrick Cockburn; Murder in Mississippi: Could John Doar Have Saved Cheney, Schwerner & Goodman by David Kotz. In May, CounterPunch Online was read by over 20 million viewers! 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 (tax deductible) donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! Call Toll Free 1-800-840 3683 or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558

Sex, Drugs & the Blues! Serpents in the Garden CounterPunch's Sizzling New Book on Culture and Sex is Now Available Click here to purchase Today's Stories July 21, 2004 Ron Jacobs American Exceptionalism John Ross Bush May Lose, But His Wars Will Go On and On   July 20, 2004 Stan Cox The Bush / Kerry War Ticket Chris Randolph An Open Letter to Dr. Ehrenreich: It's Over, Barb! Forrest Hylton The Ghosts of Gonismo: "Popular Patricipation" and Bolivia's Gas Referendum Mark Scaramella It's Official! Mendocino County is Crazier and Fatter Than the Rest of California Sam Bahour The World is Knocking on Israel's Door George Reiter A Defense of David Cobb John Ross Burying Iraq, Burying Bush John L. Hess Girlie Stuff: Media Tolerance of Arnold & Co. Website of the Day This Land is Your Land     July 19, 2004 Uri Avnery Marie and the Ghosts: the Hoax of Paris Col. Dan Smith What Has Been Accomplished? Mike Whitney Allawi: Our Puppet with a Pistol Karyn Strickler Just Marriage, Not Gay Marriage Robert Fisk The Crisis of Information in Baghdad David Swanson Media Blackout of US Labor Opposition to Iraq War Jennifer van Bergen The Death of the Great Writ of Liberty   July 17 / 18, 2004 Gary Leupp Apocalypse Now: Why the Book of Revelations is Must Reading Ghada Karmi Vanishing the Palestinians Lenni Brenner When Cattle Unite, Lions Go Hungry: Notes for Ralph Nader Ben Tripp Man on a Bridge: a Ghost Story Brandy Baker What Would Elizabeth Cady Stanton Make of John Kerry? M. Shahid Alam Israel Builds Another Wall Sasan Fayazmanesh Nuclear Hypocrisy: Israel, Iran and the IAEA Patrick Bond The George Bush of Africa Fred Gardner Politics of Marijuana: Cannabiniod Therapuetics William Blum Bush and Thucydides Ben Terrall Carter and the Indonesia Elections: "I Don't See Anything Wrong with a General Running the Country" Tom Barry John Lehman on the War Path David Vest Dylan Without the Music Phyllis Pollack Return to Sin City: Keith Richards Does Gram Parsons Ron Jacobs Smearing Muhammad Ali: Bob Feller Strikes Out Joshua Frank Kerry to Edwards: "Let's Lose!" David Nally A Call for Sudan: Our Georgraphical Blindspot Toni Solo Bolivia's Gas Referendum Landau, Hassan, Prashad & Lindorff Three Reviews of Moore's F911 Poets's Basement Ford, Smith and Albert   July 16, 2004 Dave Zirin Adonal Foyle: Master of the Lefty Lay-Up Shervan Sardar Dershowitz, the ICJ and Jim Crow Laws Ron Jacobs The Lil' Engine That Couldn't: Kucinich Surrenders on Anti-War Plank Robert Fisk Iraq, According to Edgar Allen Poe: Coffin Bombs in Baghdad Greg Moses The Forts of Iraq Mickey Z. Ad Infinitum?: Presidential Campaigns in the Age of TV Dan Bacher A Landmark Win for Salmon and the Tribes Dave Lindorff The Mumia Case: Support from NAACP, But a Movement in Shambles Paul McGeough Did Allawi Shoot Inmates in Cold Blood? Website of the Day 10 Reasons to Fire Bush (and 9 Reasons Kerry Won't Be Any Better)     July 15, 2004 Heather Williams McMissing the Point: Supersize Me Crashes on Its Message Werther Iraq: Follow the Money Tom Crumpacker The Birds of Guantanamo Brian Cloughley What Does the Bush Regime Object To? Bill Christison Reorganize the CIA? Of Course, But...   July 14, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair Chronicle of a Nomination Foretold: the Green Deceivers Neve Gordon Of Socrates and the Apartheid Wall Diane Christian The Priesthood of Death Stefan Wray Who Benefits from Missing Data at Los Alamos Nuclear Lab? Josh Frank The Nader / Dean Debate Conn Hallinan Divide and Conquer as Imperial Rules Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Bring My Brother Home!: Class, War and Education Website of the Day Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of US Empire     July 13, 2004 Ray McGovern The CIA and Iraq: an Intelligence Debacle...and Worse Mark Donham The Sierra Club's Inexplicable Treatment of Cynthia McKinney Ben Tripp Politus Interruptis: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Electorates? Mark Gaffney Slipping Towards Armageddon: Israel in Iraq Dave Lindorff Osama Wins! Election Postponed! Chris White Double Think: the Bedrock of Marine Indoctrination     July 10 / 12, 2004 Kathleen Christison The Problem with Neutrality Between Palestinians and Israel Janine Pommy Vega Trail of the Comet: a Gathering of the World's Poets Against War Sherry Wolf From Maverick to Party Attack Dog: Howard Dean Gay-Bashes Nader Saul Landau and Farrah Hassen A Transfer of Power, Sort Of Michael Donnelly How to Steal an Election: the Green Version, 2004 Stanton / Madsen Iraq Survey Group: Rumsfeld's al-Qaeda? Richard Lichtman The End of Innocence: Reflections on American Pathology Gila Svirsky Thank You, Your Honors: a Legal Blow to the Wall Kurt Nimmo Clinton's Life Toni Solo Empire-Speak: What Roger Noriega Really Means Ron Jacobs The Black Panthers and the Rest Camelo Ruiz Marrero Gene Warfare in Oaxaca: Genetic Mutation of Mexican Maize Omar Barghouti Wither the Empire: Rise of a Global Resistance Poets' Basement Curtis and Albert   July 9, 2004 Dave Zirin Carlos Delgado on Deck: Blue Jays Slugger Stands Up Against War Justin Delacour Wishing Kerry Would Shut Up About Latin America Robert Fisk Iraq in Reverse: Martial Laws Fuel Insurgency Boris Kagarlitsky Two Congresses and a Funeral William S. Lind The October Surprises Sibel Edmonds Our Broken System: John Ashcroft's War on Truth Ron Jacobs Reading Tea Leaves: What Vietnam Tells Us About Iraq's Future Gary Leupp The Lie That Will Not Die: Cheney and the Iraq/al-Qaeda Link   July 8, 2004 Niranjan Ramakrishnan The Inexplicable John McCain Toufic Haddad Protesting Israel's Apartheid Wall: a Letter from the Hunger Strikers' Tent Dave Lindorff Liberation as Martial Law Joshua Frank The Fall: How Beltway Dems Sank Howard Dean Christopher Brauchli Bush & Cheney Play the Hitler Card James Petras The Truth About Jimmy Carter   July 7, 2004 John Chuckman Kerry's BBQ: a Deafening Silence of Meaning Virginia Tilley A Line in the Sand: Azmi Bishara's Hunger Strike Susan Martinez A Letter to Bill Cosby Mickey Z Elie Wiesel's Strange Parade Michael Donnelly Our Own Private Wilderness: Trusting the Land in the Inland Empire Sean Donahue Boston Social Forum: the Dems aren't the Only Show in Beantown Diane Christian Sovereignty and Freedom in Iraq   July 6, 2004 Lisa Viscidi Fleeing Guatemala: Central Americans Risk Lives to Reach El Norte Marc Norton The Felonious Five Ride Again: the Supreme Court and Enemy Combatants James Brooks Chemical Warfare on the West Bank? Ray McGovern Porter Goss as CIA Director? William Cook Legacy of Deceit: If Dante Knew of Bush and the Neo-Cons...   July 5, 2004 Forrest Hylton US Imperialism in Latin America: Sept. 11, July 4 and Systematic Torture Chris White A Former Marine Sgt. on the Meaning of Independence Day Joe Bageant Cranky Reflections on the 4th of July Robert Jensen Stupid White Movie: What Michael Moore Misses About the Empire Kathy Kelly "Two Days an' a Wake-Up"   July 3 / 4, 2004 Elaine Cassel Bush's Police State and Independence Day Stan Goff ABC of Opportunism: "Progressive" Latin American Leaders Support the Coup in Haiti Snehal Shingavi "We Want Real Justice for Bhopal": Two Survivors Speak Out Bruce Anderson The Cheney-Leahy Metaphor and the Greens Sharon Smith Twilight of the Greens: the Chokehold of "Anybody But Bush" Josh Frank Ralph Nader's Revolt: an Interview with Greg Bates Robert Fisk Pentagon Tried to Censor Saddam's Hearing Joe Bageant Sons of a Laboring God: Leftnecks Unite! Brian Cloughley Fortress Bush and the One Law Doctrine Justin Delacour The Anti-Chavez Echo Chamber: Venezuela's Media Tycoons William S. Lind Saudi Spillover Linda S. Heard A Joke Called "Justice" Greg Moses "It's Illegal, But It's Our Right": Korean Labor Won't Back Down Ron Jacobs "Ain't You Proud to be White on Independence Day?" Toni Solo Weary of Indigenous Resistances? Just Pretend They're Not There Dan Nagengast Chicken Manure as Cattle Food: Safe, But Do We Want to Eat It? Stew Albert Brando, a Personal Recollection Dave Zirin From the Black Panthers to Sacheen Littlefeather: a Eulogy for Our Brando Patrick W. Gavin The Progressive Case for Dodgeball Steven Rosenthal / Junaid Ahmad The Problem is Bigger Than the Bushes: a Review of F911 Poets' Basement Kearney, Ford and Davies Website of the Day Global Peace Solution   July 2, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair Suicide Right on the Stage: the Demise of the Green Party Douglas Valentine Fahrenheit 911: Mocking the Moral Crisis of Capitalism Gary Leupp "Just Because I Could": On Obscenities and Opportunities Lee Ballinger Illegal People: Kerry Opposes Immigrant Rights Robert Fisk Saddam in the Dock: Confused? Hardly CounterPunch Wire "What Law Formed This Court?": a Transcript of Saddam's Arraignment Christopher Brauchli Bush's Drug Card Lottery: the Price Ain't Right Saul Landau Buzz Words and Venezuela   July 1, 2004 Katherine van Wormer Bush's Damaged Mind: the Madness in His Method Joe Bageant Is Our President a Whackjob? Does It Matter? William James Martin The Dogma of Richard Perle Dave Lindorff Bush's Evacuation Moment Robert Fisk Bread and Circus Trials in Iraq Alan Maass Green Party in Reverse Website of the Day Michael Moore and Israel: Blind or a Coward?     June 30, 2004 Kurt Nimmo Nicholson Baker's Checkpoint: a New Kind of Anger About Bush Tariq Ali Getting Away with Murder in Iraq Jennifer Van Bergen Bush and the Detainees Douglas Valentine Apotheosis of the Psychopaths: Instead of Fahrenheit 9/11, Rescreen The Quiet American David Price Fahrenheit 9/11 Through the McCain-Feingold Looking Glass Roger Normand America's Criminal Occupation of Iraq Stan Cox Sanitized for Your Protection: Ashcroft's War on Art Henry David Thoreau On the Futility of Bush v. Kerry: All Voting is a Kind of Gaming Ben Tripp Who Dast Call Him Liar: a Rebuttal to Nicholas Kristof                       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.     Subscribe Online

July 21, 2004 New Government, Same Old Generals Will Congress Rearm the Guatemalan Army? By AMY MARTIN Vice President Eduardo Stein, accompanied by Human Rights Commissioner Frank la Rue and Defense Minister Mendez Pinelo, will visit Washington July 21-23 to deliver a presentation on the recently reformed Guatemalan military in an effort to ease the ban on International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Regarding this visit, Pinelo told the Guatemalan Daily Newspaper, Prensa Libre, "the idea is to justify our needs in the areas of transport, communications, and technology." After Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) visited Guatemala last month to observe the advances in Guatemala's military, there has been broadened discussion about whether it is an appropriate time to lift the ban. Senator Leahy's staff, among others, will meet with Stein to discuss the possibility of increasing U.S. military to Guatemala next year. In light of the recent military reductions which were finalized June 30th, the Guatemalan government has declared the need for new equipment to both enhance border protection and combat narco-trafficking. When asked to comment on his upcoming visit, Stein stated that "we believe it is strategically very important that they [the U.S.] are aware of the military advances during the last five months and what this has done for human rights" (Prensa Libre). Despite the Berger government's widely publicized military reduction plans, and the subsequent positive reaction from the international community, the House and Senate subcommittees on Foreign Affairs have left the ban intact for 2005--continuing the restrictions which have been in place since the 1990 murder of American businessman Michael Devine. Modified after the 1996 Peace Accords, the ban was eased to permit training in expanded-IMET (E-IMET) courses, a subsidiary of IMET. Even though E-IMET allows funding for non-co mbat courses, dealing with such topics as military justice reform and respect for human rights, the government has been pressuring the U.S. to lift the ban entirely. However, failure to comply with the Peace Accords, continuing human rights abuses, and alleged corruption on the part of current military and ex-military officials, have discouraged the U.S. government from easing restrictions. Stein's presentation will undoubtedly highlight the shrinkage in military forces, accounted for by the thousands of troops who accepted indemnification packages in exchange for their voluntary retirement. Despite the impressive statistics and positive international press, the human rights community is skeptical of the plans. Due to the positive correlation between unemployment levels and gang violence, many groups have expressed concern regarding the government's failure to issue concrete reintegration plans for the thousands of troops returning to civil society. Furthermore, several groups are suspicious of the reported numbers. Marvin Perez of the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation asserts that of the 11,663 soldiers the government lists as having "voluntarily retired," upwards of 6000 are purportedly "ghost soldiers"--imaginary troops contrived to siphon more money from the government through military salaries and food parcels. Of the remaining 5,663, 99 percent are infantry soldiers, meaning that the military officers who directed the brutal civil war (for which the military was responsible for 93% of human rights violations) are still in power (Center for Historical Clarification (CEH)). Thus, while the government boasts large reduction numbers, the military's leadership and mentality remain unchanged. While the military leadership stays intact, the same men, leaders of Guatemala's clandestine, armed mafia, or "hidden powers," will assure that these networks retain their tremendous influence over society. Led by current and retired government and military officials, these prominent men use their positions to manipulate the justice system--enjoying impunity from crimes against those who threaten the powers' financial interests and those who seek to prosecute current or retired officials for wartime human rights abuses. The U.S. recently expressed their disapproval with these networks, citing narco-trafficking and organized crime as reasons for revoking the visas of retired Generals Francisco Ortega Menaldo, Edgar Godoy Gaitan, and retired Colonel Napoleon Rojas Mendez. Another concern is the military's clandestine financial records, which conceal pervasive inconsistency and embezzlement schemes. Iduvina Hernandez, director of Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM) further criticizes the recent modifications, stating "the reduction process was done without supervision of civil society and it has only been managed by the army." She cites the need to approve an Access to Information Law that would publicize military expense accounts, cracking down on embezzlement and the inefficient appropriation of funds. El Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo's (GAM) June report found spending "irregularities" in 12 of the 13 ministers investigated, and continues to scrutinize the Defense Minister's embezzlement of thousands of quetzals (Siglo Veintiuno). The reality is that seven months into the new administration of Berger, army impunity and military-linked abuses continue. Just last year the U.S. State Department expressed concern over military-inflicted human rights abuse, noting the "continuing impunity in cases involving military participation in human rights abuses that occurred during Guatemala's 36-year civil conflict; a recent resurgence of abuses believed to be orchestrated by ex-military and current military officials; and allegations of corruption and narco-trafficking by ex-military officers." In January, the only high-level military officer ever definitively sentenced for a human rights violation fled the country, with the apparent help of the army. Military and ex-military officials, such as retired General Gaitan, who participated in the murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack, still hold prominent positions in society. To avoid prosecution, members of the military continue to threaten and intimidate lawyers, judges, witnesses, human rights advocates, and journalists. The government plans for military modernization include, according to Pinelo, spending "one billion quetzals in the next four years, spent on the purchase of UH-1H helicopters, A-37 planes, at least fifty land vehicles, and GPS equipment" (Prensa Libre). Despite recent offers of aid from France, Spain, and Colombia, as well as five decommissioned military bases that could be sold for profit, the military's ambitious goals will not be realized without help from the U.S. Bruce Wharton, Deputy Chief of Mission to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, confirms that acquiring the new equipment "will depend on the decision of U.S. congress" (PL). Given that U.S. military equipment manufacturers stand to make great profits from the lifting of the ban, this could be a critical year for the Guatemalan government to sway the State Department and Congress. Despite the pomp surrounding the Berger government's vague adherence to the 1996 Peace Accords, Guatemala's major issues remain wholly unresolved. The Washington Office on Latin America states in their report Hidden Powers in Post-Conflict Guatemala: "Full compliance with the military provisions prescribed in the Peace Accords would significantly debilitate the hidden powers by limiting their sphere of influence"--yet these networks still permeate the land. Moreover, Guatemalan civil society has expressed strong disagreement with the military's exorbitant modernization plans. Hernandez maintains that "the risk of the army achieving their goals is real, and any investment in the armed forces is money lost, not offering a single benefit to society" (Prensa Libre). SEDEM has demanded that until victims of the armed conflict are paid, the Access to Information Law is passed--forcing the army to render their expense accounts, and the government issues a reintegration plan for t he thousands of newly retired troops, the embargo should remain intact. Human rights organizations also recommend that the government be more proactive in convincing the Guatemalan legislature to permit the establishment of the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Groups and Clandestine Security Organizations (CICIACS). While the military continues its corrupt activities through clandestine groups and enjoys impunity for past human rights violations, the U.S., rather than offering aid in the form of military equipment closely tied to U.S. business interests, would do better to provide funding for Guatemala's ongoing peace process, or to social services in a country where fifty-six percent of the population lives in poverty (World Bank: Guatemala Poverty Assessment). Amy Martin is an intern with the Guatemala Human Rights Commission and a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She can be reached at: amymartin@wisc.edu Weekend Edition Features for July 10 / 12, 2004 Kathleen Christison The Problem with Neutrality Between Palestinians and Israel Janine Pommy Vega Trail of the Comet: a Gathering of the World's Poets Against War Sherry Wolf From Maverick to Party Attack Dog: Howard Dean Gay-Bashes Nader Saul Landau and Farrah Hassen A Transfer of Power, Sort Of Michael Donnelly How to Steal an Election: the Green Version, 2004 Stanton / Madsen Iraq Survey Group: Rumsfeld's al-Qaeda? Richard Lichtman The End of Innocence: Reflections on American Pathology Gila Svirsky Thank You, Your Honors: a Legal Blow to the Wall Kurt Nimmo Clinton's Life Toni Solo Empire-Speak: What Roger Noriega Really Means Ron Jacobs The Black Panthers and the Rest Camelo Ruiz Marrero Gene Warfare in Oaxaca: Genetic Mutation of Mexican Maize Omar Barghouti Wither the Empire: Rise of a Global Resistance Poets' Basement Curtis and Albert WWW http://www.counterpunch.org   Keep CounterPunch Alive: Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Today Online! home / subscribe / about us / books / archives / search / links /