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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 25, 2005 Ray McGovern Leigh Saavedra Jeff Halper
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
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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 25, 2005 Chemical Factory Explosions Knock Homeland SecurityWill Bush Miss the Next Bhopal?By BRIAN McKENNA On May 12, 2005 the Department of Homeland Security staged a spectacular joint terrorist preparedness exercise in Romulus, Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport called "Operation Vigilant State, a Surface to Air Threat Exercise." Citizens were informed that military aircraft would be flying in and around Metro Detroit, and warned not to panic. The daylong event tested the response plans, communications and interoperability of a host of governmental exercise participants. "It may look like the real thing," the press was told. But when the real thing happened, just 3 months later, on August 9, 2005, homeland security was caught unaware, breached from within. "It was like an atomic bomb went off," said Aurora Martin of Romulus, recalling that night. "My son lives next door and came running over. His walls were rattling. The firemen came yelling on loudspeakers and banging on doors telling us all to get the hell out of here."
Terrorist Plane? At first it was suspected in the media that a terrorist plane had slammed into "Environmental Quality Resource Recovery," a Romulus based chemical plant, resulting in the catastrophic toxic explosion. Orange yellow flames careened into the upper reaches of the sky. Many residents spoke in horror of a "black mushroom cloud" that spread soot, ash and "black hamburger like" debris over rooftops, yards, churches, bikes and an elementary school, Roosevelt McGrath, that sits a few hundred yards from the facility. No alarm sounded but the eight workers at the factory had run frantically off site after hearing a hissing noise from an ammonia tank. The working class community surrounding the factory, totaling about 3,000 households, were given no prior warning. They were rapidly evacuated to area shelters and not permitted to return home for 2 days. The explosion had immediate physical health effects. Fifty people, including residents and firefighters, were seen at Oakwood Hospital for burning sensations in their lungs and associated ailments. According to an EPA finding, 32 above ground tanks, some ranging in size up to 15,000 gallons, "were impacted." Four hundred toxic drums were destroyed. "I never even knew there was a chemical factory over there," said Martin. There was. And now it's mostly gone.
Nothing to Worry About? On August 15th, MI Congressman John Dingell requested a full accounting from government agencies, including the EPA and the Department of Homeland Security, about the chemical hazards and the advance preparations for a disaster by EQ Resource Recovery. For example, he asked whether EQ had been required to file an emergency response plan. "There has been a need to improve security and safety at the nation's chemical plants for years," he said, "Despite my repeated requests and those of other Members of Congress, the federal government has made almost no progress toward a comprehensive program for securing chemical facilities across the nation." Carolyn Merritt, chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, agrees. She goes so far as to raise the specter of Bhopal, the world's worse chemical catastrophe, which killed thousands within hours of a poisonous gas leak from an Indian pesticide plant in 1984. Merritt told reporter Kristen Hays, "Over and over again, we see companies--even those covered under process safety rules--committing the same kind of management errors, mechanical errors and process errors that set up the facility at Bhopal for the accident." The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is currently investigating a number of serious chemical explosions which have impacted neighboring communities. These include 2005 explosions at BP America in Texas City, Texas, and one at the Acetylene Service Company in Perth Amboy, NJ, which killed three workers. It also includes 2004 explosions Marcus Oil and Chemical in Houston, TX, (felt more than 20 miles from the site), Sterigenics Ethylene Oxide in Ontario, CA (rendering the facility unusable), and another at Formosa Plastics in Illiopolis, IL. That explosion killed five workers and forced a community evacuation. For a mother running in tears in the night with her infant from a catastrophic mushroom cloud spewing toxic debris over her head, as happened in Romulus Michigan in August, it doesn't matter if the "terrorist" is al-Qaeda or one of the chemical complexes named above.
Off the Radar Romulus is located in Wayne County, Michigan. In FY 2004 Wayne County received $23.5 million (which it shared with Detroit) in Homeland Security Grant awards. Romulus directly received $256, 818 in FY 2004. But these governmental agencies had apparently paid little or no attention to the "Surface to Air Threat" (i.e. a possible pollution plume from EQ Resource Recovery) in their midst on May 12, 2005, the day of the exercise. It's not as though it wasn't noticeable to them. EQ is the nation's third largest facility that blends toxic wastes for fuels in cement kilns. In 2002 EQ handled or treated 81,181,711 pounds of toxic waste in the Romulus neighborhood, including 13,485 pounds released into the air of the surrounding community. According to the federal government's own Toxics Release Inventory, EQ has a cancer risk score that places it near the 100th percentile as "dirtiest/worst facilities in the U.S." Two tons of this pollution are recognized carcinogens with carbon tetrachloride being the top cancer risk. EQ has been cited 68 times over the past two decades. On May 11--the day before Operation Vigilant State -- an inspection by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality found three violations at EQ including not storing hazardous waste in the areas specified by its license. One wonders why this wasn't alarming enough to draw increased scrutiny by Wayne County officials.
"We're Moving" Tracey Easthope, Director of the Environmental Health Program at the Ecology Center is engaged in a study on the likely short-term and long-term effects the pollution. "There could be traces of several dangerous pollutants in the fallout," she said. "It's an incredible toxic stew, and people who live there are going to deserve a lot of answers." Dr. Michael Harbut, an environmental and occupational medicine expert said it is possible that microscopic particles suspended in the burnt solvents could have lodged in the lungs of people. It's also known that numerous by-products could be created from the explosive interactions. These can drift into the soils, rugs and wood throughout ones home. That is why residents were told to turn off their air conditioners before evacuating, to avoid sucking in the airborne contaminants. Citizens who can afford it often flee from these insecure homelands. A plumber who lives a few blocks from the Romulus Michigan explosion showed off his car which had a number of black, gummy patches on it, six weeks after the firestorm. "They've not come off even after eight car washings," he said. He worries about the health effects of material like that on his family's lungs. "My wife has asthma and complained about throat burning but we decided not to join the class action lawsuit," he said. "We're moving."
How to Make Toxins Invisible & Create Illusions of a Safe Homeland There is often little citizen unrest about potential chemical explosions in their midst. One reason many Romulus neighbors are unaware of the true nature of the Environmental Quality corporation is its signage. A pretty green yin yang EQ image adorns its façade and trees shield passer-by from the inner workings. Its Orwellian name, focusing on "quality," connotes safety, distracting citizens from the yang within the yin, which is "dangerous to your health." Imagine if "Toxics Central" was the name presented to the public. Brad van Guilder, an organizer with the Ecology Center, an environmental group located in Ann Arbor, expresses an even broader concern about the need to eliminate the use of toxic substances in general. "The EPA has a Toxic Waste reduction program that is based on reducing the use of these toxic materials," he says. "Allowing a market where this toxic soup is reprocessed as a fuel to be burned so we have to breathe all of this crap, and transporting hazardous waste through a densely populated area and having it sit around in storage in huge quantities as a time bomb, contradicts the goals of the EPA program." Brian McKenna can be reached at: MCKENNA193@aol.com
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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.               |
