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AFTER IRAQ, BUSHIES PLAN WORLD WAR THREE Japanese "defense force" practices amphibian landings in Southern California. Target: China. Chris Reed reports from Tokyo. The FBI and the Myth of Fingerprints: Cockburn and St Clair trace the final downfall of "100 per cent certainty" on fingerprint matches What's a miner's life worth? Do we hear $230 and seventy six cents? Jeffrey St Clair on Big Coal's lethal auction, courtesy of the Bush administration. ... 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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January 14 / 15, 2006 JoAnn Wypijewski James Petras Brian Clouihley Marianne McDonald Bruce Tyler Wick Fred Gardner Flavia Alaya Gary Leupp Dr. Susan Block Nicole Colson
January 13, 2006 Ralph Nader Leonard Weinglass Amira Hass Chris Kutalik
/ Jennifer Biddle Lawrence R. Velvel Dave Lindorff Mike Whitney David Price January 12, 2006 Jennifer Van
Bergen Jeremy Brecher / Brendan Smith Lawrence R.
Velvel Ralph Nader / Robert Weissman Jackie Corr Jared Bernstein Russell D.
Hoffman Aubrey Streit Clancy Sigal Website of the Day
January 11, 2006 Kevin Zeese Ray McGovern Allan Maass
/ Joe Allen Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Annie Murphy Allan Lichtman Ramzy Baroud Joshua Frank Kathleen and
Bill Christison Website of
the Day
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Roberts
January 9, 2006 Behzad Yaghmaian George Bisharat Dave Lindorff Norman Solomon Christopher Brauchli Aharon Shabtai Andrew Cockburn
January 7 / 8, 2006 Lawrence Velvel James Petras J.L. Chestnut Mike Ely Andrew Wilson Lila Rajiva William Cook Ramor Ryan Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff Peter Montague Ron Jacobs Neve Gordon Fred Gardner Josh Mahon Dr. Susan Block Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
January 6, 2006 José
Pertierra Joe Allen Winslow T. Wheeler John Bomar Jason Leopold Norman Solomon Robert Pollin
January 5, 2006 Scott Boehm Zoltan Grossman Heather Gray Haninah Levine Pierre Tristam Remi Kanazi Gilad Atzmon Kathleen and
Bill Christison
January 4, 2006 Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Huibin Amee
Chew Pat Williams Linda Milazzo Nick Dearden James Petras Website of
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Beattie Paul de Rooij
January 2, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Clancy Sigal Cindy Sheehan Alexander Cockburn
Dec. 31 / Jan. 1, 2005/6 Patrick Cockburn Alexander Cockburn Ralph Nader James Petras Peter Montague J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Vijay Prashad P. Sainath James Brooks Eileen E. Schell Christopher
Brauchli Jo Guldi Fred Gardner Ben Tripp St. Clair /
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the Weekend
December 30,2005 Evo Morales Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Dave Lindorff Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Brian Concannon Sandra Lucas T.W. Croft Website of
the Day
December 29, 2005 Norman Solomon Missy Comley
Beattie Dave Zirin Kevin Zeese Derrick O'Keefe Sam Bahour Macdonald Stainsby Bill &
Kathleen Christison Website of the Day
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Clair Lila Rajiva Amira Hass Joshua Frank David Swanson Richard Thieme Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
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Velvel Lance Olsen Ben Terrall Scott Boehm Charlie Ehlen Tom Kerr
December 24/25, 2005 Aleander Cockburn James Petras Ralph Nader Lila Rajiva Fred Gardner Ron Jacobs Dave Lindorff Gary Leupp Saul Landau John Chuckman Dr. Susan Block St. Clair / Vest / Pollack
/ Donnelly Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
December 23, 2005 John Ross Chris Floyd Lawrence Mishel
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Jr. Website of
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Brauchli Robin Blackburn Evelyn Pringle Amira Hass Francis A.
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December 21, 2005 Paul Craig
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December 20, 2005 Jackie Corr Earl Ofari
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Accardo Pierre Tristam Norman Solomon Sen. Robert Byrd Dave Lindorff Website of the Day
December 19, 2005 Mike Marqusee Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs John Blair Gideon Levy Kevin Zeese Missy Comley Beattie Don Santina Website of the Day
December 17 / 18, 2005 Cockburn /
St. Clair Gabriel Kolko Susan Alcorn Werther Ralph Nader Patrick Cockburn Fred Gardner Dave Lindorff Ned Sublette Lee Sustar Jason Leopold Laura Carlsen Jeff White Ray McGovern Chris Floyd William Loren Katz Rose Miriam
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December 16, 2005 Tom Kerr Mark Engler John Bomar Patrick Cockburn Pierre Tristam William S. Lind Cyril Neville Robert Jensen Saul Landau Website
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Banko, III Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen Karl Grossman Niranjan Ramakrishnan Kevin Zeese Norman Solomon Michael G.
Smith Stew Albert Bob Dylan Phil Gasper Website of
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Roberts Lawrence R.
Velvel Jessica Stewart George Bisharat Nate Mezmer Earl Ofari
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January 14 / 15, 2006 Rotting Within, Tremors WithoutThe State of the Empire, 2006By JAMES PETRAS In 2005 the US economy defied all the known tenets of economic theory: In the face of record high trade deficits, monstrous budget deficits, a failed war and major political scandals involving presidential aides, the dollar strengthened against the Euro and the Yen, the economy grew at 3.4% and all the major investment houses had record profits. It seems the US economy defied the laws of gravity, floating above the political turmoil and structural vulnerabilities. But the point of 'prophesy' is not to specify the day and hour of sharp decline and recession but to identify the deep structural vulnerabilities and the possible trigger events, which could detonate a crises. The US economy will continue to diverge in a double sense. The financial sector will expand overseas, especially the major investment houses like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citibank while the manufacturing sector led by the 'Big Three' automobile sector will decline even further, with a good chance that General Motors will go into bankruptcy. The US multi-nationals will expand on a world scale, buying into major banks and industries, especially in China, extending the economic reach of the empire, while the domestic economy will suffer as the housing and real estate speculative bubble collapses, high energy prices undermine export competitiveness, resulting in sharp decline in consumer spending. The US empire will increasingly become identified with its economic giants as its failed wars will lead to a withdrawal of combat troops and a reliance on airpower, local military forces, economic sanctions and accommodating to social liberal regimes. The domestic social crisis will deepen as overseas profit opportunities expand. In 2006, over 90% of US workers will be paying for their costly individual health and pension plans or, if they cannot pay, they will lose coverage. Precarious work contracts are the norm for all but a small sector of public employees. Real inflation (including increased health, education, energy and pension costs) will rise to about two times the consumer price index and contribute to the further decline in actual living standards. A rapid deflation of the housing bubble would reduce the "paper value" of homeowners by half and force many who are heavily indebted into bankruptcy. Nevertheless, as happened in recent decades (after the Savings and Loan, Dotcom, Enron and other speculative failures), while millions of small speculators and investors in real estate will lose billions of dollars, their discontent will not find any political expression. The greater the inequalities in income, property and wealth between the financial and imperial economic elites, on the one hand, and the domestic wage and salaried classes, on the other, the lower the level of organized political and social opposition. In 2006 the US will become the developed country with the greatest inequalities, with the most sustained decline in living standards and the nation least able to organize a defense of social rights let alone an alternative - against the empire-centered model of capitalist accumulation. In a word, the domestic crisis of living standards will finance further economic empire building rather than challenge it. US global expansion is sustainable because of fundamental changes taking place in India, China, Indo-China and the oil kingdoms of the Middle East. These countries have lowered many barriers to foreign investment, joint ventures and even majority ownership of high growth industries, banks and energy sources. US , European and Japanese MNCs and banks will accelerate their entry beyond initial beachheads and move across all sectors of the economy, with greater depth: 2006 will mark China's transition from "national capitalist" to a model of imperial and national led capitalist growth. The US will continue to substitute an air war for a ground war in Iraq: For every 10,000 troops withdrawn, there will be hundreds of added air attacks. The US policy toward Iraq is a classic case of "rule or ruin" of Biblical proportions. Since the US or its puppet regimes cannot rule, Washington's policy is to regress the country into an "Afghanistan" of warring clerical and ethnic warlords and tribal chieftains based on min-fiefdoms. The debate over a new war against Iran is still not resolved because of the deep divisions in Washington, Israeli military threats and the spy trial of two leaders of the major pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee). Washington can be expected to push for Security Council economic sanctions, which will likely fail because of a China/Russia veto. Subsequently it is possible, especially if Netanyahu is elected Prime Minister, that Israel will attack Iranian experimental nuclear energy sites, with the complicity of their partners in the White House and Congress. Israeli aggression will likely unleash a series of proxy wars in Lebanon, Iraq (including "Kurdish" Iraq) and beyond, leading to an escalation of US casualties and weakening Washington's client regimes (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt etc) In Washington, Congress and both political parties will be further discredited as Jack Abramoff, the self-confessed lobbyist-swindler will implicate dozens of Congress members, party leaders and government officials in an enormous bribery scandal. The trial and prosecution of Congressional leaders, especially Republican heads of Congress, may prevent any new regressive and repressive legislation from being enacted, but may spur the President to engage in an overseas military adventure(bombing Iran) to paper over the crisis. On the other hand, another failed military intervention by the White House in the context of a discredited Congress led by felonious party leaders could ignite a grass roots movement for impeachment. A weakened US military, the decline of orthodox neo-liberal clients, and failed diplomatic initiatives in regional forums, is forcing the US toward "accommodating" center-left politicians in Latin America. Washington's greater flexibility will find expression in the continuing good working relations with the Presidents of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and probably Bolivia. The State Department's hostility toward Venezuela's President Chavez will be tempered by its loss of internal levers of power, and the close working relations between the US and Venezuelan oil companies. The US will likely not intervene in the elections in Colombia, Chile, Mexico or Brazil, because each of the major candidates are well within the US neo-liberal orbit. The improbable outcome in Peru, where a 'nationalist' former military officer close to Chavez is a major contender, will likely result in heavy backing for the conservative candidate. Washington will probably engage in some rear-guard 'dirty tricks' in the Venezuelan Presidential elections, knowing in advance that Chavez is likely to win by a substantial majority. In other words, Washington will lose its automatic voting majority in Latin America and be forced to shelve some of its most blatant attempts to impose economic dominion,. Nevertheless none of its strategic military bases, extensive financial and resource holdings and lucrative debt payments will be threatened by the election of 'center-left' Presidents. The major caveat to this potential 'co-habitation' outcome is a successful popular uprising if the center-left fails: In that case Washington will likely intervene with local proxies, detonating regional opposition. In summary, 2006 will certainly be an extremely volatile and uncertain year for the Empire. The military defeats, internal crises , a big decline in the dollar and a general weakening of domestic economic fundamentals are juxtaposed to growing overseas economic expansion, high rates of financial profits, extremely weak internal opposition and accommodating elites in Asia and South America. The greatest threat to empire building is not domestic nor in the competitive marketplace but in a possible war against Iran either a US or Israeli attack could set in motion a series of severe economic political and military shocks which would radically change all previous predictions and outcomes regarding the state of the Empire for 2006. The second big shock in the making is the growing popular revolt against the monstrous inequalities and terrible working conditions imposed by the Chinese ruling class in alliance with foreign capital. A further shock could emerge beyond 2006 if and when the current commodity boom collapses and undermines the export strategy of the center-left regimes in Latin and Central America.In that context it is likely that there will be a new wave of extra-parliamentary, anti-imperialist movements that could send tremors throughout the Empire. James Petras, a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, owns a 50 year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the landless and jobless in brazil and argentina and is co-author of Globalization Unmasked (Zed). His new book with Henry Veltmeyer, Social Movements and the State: Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina, will be published in October 2005. He can be reached at: jpetras@binghamton.edu
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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. |
