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Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter! Drug Companies and Psychiatrists
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Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter!
Drug Companies and Psychiatrists
Partners in CrimeEugenia Tsao reports on the upcoming revision of one of the most important books in America, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Here’s where the drug lords, the shrinks and the insurance companies collude in establishing hundreds of bogus psychic conditions requiring the psychotropic drugs from which they reap billions every year. There are about 250,000 migrant laborers in Israel, mostly from the Philippines and Thailand. Meanwhile tens of thousands of Palestinians can’t find work. From Tel Aviv, Yonatan Preminger reports on Israel’s vicious employment strategy. Also in this latest newsletter Andrew Cockburn updates his CounterPunch world exclusive on how the U.S. has secretly helped build Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Get your new edition 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 t-shirts make great presents.
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Today's Stories July 13, 2009 Uri Avnery July 10-12, 2009 Alexander Cockburn José Pertierra John Ross Conn Hallinan Nikolas Kozloff Clifton Ross / Carl Ginsburg Michael Neumann Gilad Atzmon Jeffrey St. Clair Ellen Hodgson Brown Jim Goodman Christopher Bickerton Wendell Potter Dave Lindorff David Ker Thomson Anthony DiMaggio Raymond Lawrence Walid El Houri Stephanie Westbrook Roger Gaess David Yearsley Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
July 9, 2009 Ronnie Cummings Jonathan Cook Nikolas Kozloff James Bovard Norman Solomon Afghanistan: the Escalation Scam Allan Nairn Andy Worthington Tomas Borge Nadia Hijab Paul Krassner Website of the Day July 8, 2009 Saul Landau Dean Baker Winslow T. Wheeler Eric Walberg Ray McGovern David Rosen Dr. Mona El Farra Ron Jacobs Benjamin Dangl Alan Farago Website of the Day July 7, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Uri Avnery Brian M. Downing Gary Leupp Gregory A. Burris David Macaray Laura Flanders Alan Farago Greg Moses Dan Bacher Website of the Day July 6, 2009 Patrick Cockburn Diana Johnstone Nikolas Kozloff Gary Leupp Jonathan Cook Tim Wise Franklin Lamb Charles R. Larson Carlos Benemann Shepherd Bliss Jerry Kroth Karyn Strickler Website of the Day July 3-5, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Eamonn Fingleton Jeffrey St. Clair Mike Whitney Pam Martens George Ciccariello-Maher Paul Craig Roberts Patrick Cockburn Anthony DiMaggio Roger Burbach John Ross Nikolas Kozloff Gareth Porter Andy Worthington Saul Landau David Macaray Adam Federman Jane Slaughter Labor's Vague Rally for Health Care Russell Mokhiber Black Caucus Muzzled on Israeli Kidnapping of McKinney Robert Jensen Robert Bryce Belén Fernandez Missy Comley Beattie C. G. Estabrook Stephen Martin Charles R. Larson Lorenzo Wolff Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend July 2, 2009 Andrew Cockburn Nikolas Kozloff Wendell Potter Ellen Hodgson Brown Christian Christensen Iran: Networked Dissent? Patrick Irelan Binoy Kampmark Returning Iraq Nicola Nasser Brian Tokar Dan Bacher Website of the Day July 1, 2009 Vijay Prashad Alberto Vallente Thorensen Paul Craig Roberts Robert Weissman Manuel García, Jr. Victor Figueroa-Clark / Pablo Navarrete Norman Solomon Franklin Lamb Martha Rosenberg Diane Rejman Website of the Day June 30, 2009 Michael Hudson Esam Al-Amin Benjamin Dangl Jonathan Cook Franklin Lamb George Wuerthner Todd Gordon Ron Jacobs Kenneth Libby Julian Vigo Website of the Day
June 29, 2009 Ishmael Reed Nikolas Kozloff Clifton Ross Patrick Cockburn Uri Avnery Conn Hallinan James G. Abourezk Ralph Nader Carol Miller Greg Moses Website of the Day June 26-28, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Doug Peacock Daniel Wolff Mike Whitney John Ross David Rosen Emily Ratner Gareth Porter Farid Marjai Nadia Hijab Paul Craig Roberts Fred Gardner Carl Ginsburg Paul Watson David Ker Thomson Farzana Versey Geoff Berne Todd Alan Price Ramzy Baroud Jeff Sher Dr. Carol Paris Despite My Arrest by Max Baucus, I Will Continue to Advocate for Quality Health Care for All Walter Brasch Adultery as Family Value? Glen Johnson Charlotte Laws Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend June 25, 2009 Kathy Kelly Jack Bratich Wendell Potter Charles R. Larson Alan Farago Jonathan Cook Gareth Porter Bitta Mostofi / David Macaray Mark Schuller Website of the Day June 24, 2009 Andrew Cockburn Dean Baker Andy Worthington James Bovard Diana Gibson / P. Sainath Gareth Porter Robert Alvarez Dave Lindorff Steven Colatrella Remembering Giovanni Arrighi Website of the Day
June 23, 2009 David Price Patrick Cockburn James Ridgeway / Dave Lindorff Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero Gary Leupp Brian M. Downing Robert Bryce Nicholas Dearden Yousef Munayyer Website of the Day June 22, 2009 Michael Hudson Esam Al-Amin Chris Floyd Jack Z. Bratich Atash Yaghmaian Laura Carlsen Paul Craig Roberts Vijay Prashad Fred Gardner Andy Thayer David Macaray Website of the Day
June 19 - 21, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patrick Cockburn Al Giordano Henry A. Giroux Anthony DiMaggio Paul Craig Roberts John Ross Gareth Porter Carl Ginsburg Tommi Avicolli Mecca Joe Bageant Serge Halimi P. Sainath Jim Goodman Dave Lindorff Rannie Amiri Robert Fantina Harvey Wasserman Walter Brasch David Ker Thomson Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Kim Nicolini Ben Sonnenberg Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
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July 13, 2009 Letter From AmericaSpring in the Time of ObamaBy NIRANJAN RAMAKRISHNAN Dear Chandni Chowk, The six-month curtain is about to descend on the Administration of Hope in our part of the world. So far, at least, hope seems about the only thing it Now it was plain enough to any dispassionate observer of Obama's campaign, that he was more a person of competence than of conviction. It is also true that American political wisdom is unambiguous on one point: that any politician, left or right, who holds fast by any principles, is a born loser. Many, including well-known Bush critics, were persuaded during the campaign that this wasn't such a bad thing after all, for winning was key. Look at Kucinich, they said. Look at Ron Paul....and Nader is a joke. Obama's chief bankable asset was an inchoate likeability, making him a respository for a spectrum of vague aspirations held by millions across the land...all without any commitment on his part. Nor on theirs -- I sometimes ask myself, just how much did it take to be an Obama supporter? A 25/50/100 dollar online donation, maybe? A bumper sticker? Waiting in line to catch a glimpse of the Myspace Messiah throwing his head back and flashing a smile as he loped easily across the dais, to return with a cellphone photo to upload on Facebook? Whatever it was, there was no doubt he had supporters. That wasn't in question. More notable, to me, was that the candidate did not make the least effort to harness all this goodwill into a viable mass force. To take just one example. He was at the crest of his popularity when Congress passed the wirtetapping bill to provide retroactive immunity to lawbreakers. Did Candidate and Constitutional Law Profesor Obama go to the mat on the issue? Could the force of his oratory, strong enough to send tingles up the legs of TV anchors, have moved thousands to peacefully surround their Congressmen and Senators' offices pressuring them to vote against this outrage? Hard to say, because it was never even considered, much less tried. Do you know what he actually ended up doing? Voting FOR the bill! So much for faith in the people. Where an earlier generation might have shaken its head at the frippery of his slogans, our media-soaked audiences in the US lapped it all up as if Hope and Change were the actual stone tablets from Mt. Sinai, nestled in Prophet Obama's arms (You remember our watching the Ten Commandments at the old Shiela Cinema in Pahar Ganj, don't you? India's first 70mm Movie Hall!). Naturally they were quite unperturbed when Grandma Moses (I mean Obama's real grandmother) was vilified in public by their hero without a second's remorse (albeit in a reprise of what was already in his book). But this was as she lay dying, shortly after it became clear to the candidate that the Bible had had it right all along -- after Jeremiah comes Lamentations. But we are past all that now. After the elections, Revelations is where it's at. As in his Cairo speech, where he referred to Arabia as the place where Islam was first 'revealed'. An extraordinary piece of phraseology for a President of the United States to use in an official address, wouldn't you think? But in his defense, the US Supreme Court has only insisted on the separation of Church and State; it has never been asked about the Mosque. I hear you groaning. My point is, a spirit of kya kar loge (Tr: Eat my Shorts - Ed.) is now abroad. Where during the campaign, any mention of his middle initial (H for Hussein) would result in Obamaites calling in an Air Strike on the offender, so to speak, for playing the Muslim card, President Obama these days appears to revel in his Husseinhood. Of course, some revelations are more equal than others. For one whose hi-tech campaign elevated photo-sharing to an art form, Obama sahib has declared Abu Ghraib to be 'Taboo Ghraib' where images are concerned. Ditto for releasing transcripts of Dick Cheney's interview about his role in Valerie Plame's exposure. But this above all. The highest reverence is accorded to not shaking up things. Yes, Arabia was the place where Islam was 'revealed'. It was also, many would say, the place where 9-11 was 'conceived', But as you saw, the President didn't dwell on such inconvenient truths all that much. For he is against partisanship. So what if there are people walking free who have have knowingly broken the law with torture or cooked the intelligence to start a war? Why stir the pot, cause dissention, by dredging up all that? Yes, yes, I know what you're saying, the oath says to uphold the Constitution. But you only know America from the books. Sorry to shatter your rosy vision, but no one in America is bothered about all that old stuff any more. We're about the Twenty-First century, not the Eighteenth. It's a different matter if you were to hold the 'wrong' opinion on gay marriage, gender equality, race, or even immigration. Then, if the Obama administration gets its way, you could be in a power of trouble, with extra jeopardy for a 'hate crime'. In other words, we may let it slide if you've committed a real offense, but by golly if you harbor unholy thoughts we shall throw the book at you. To paraphrase the old Angrezi muhavra (Tr: English idiom - Ed.), "Only the Holder knows what Hold That Thought really means". (I can see you're lost -- sorry, I should explain -- Eric Holder is the Attorney General, who's clamoring for a Hate Crimes Act). The economy continues to struggle, with more job losses on the horizon. It reminds one of the ancient Banta Singh yarn, where he visits an ailing acquaintance at the hospital. On seeing Banta the patient appears to be overcome with emotion. All choked up and tears streaming down his cheeks, he begins sputtering and gesticulating wildly. Seeing his distress but unable to fathom all this sentiment at the sight of a casual visitor, Banta nevertheless has the presence of mind to hand him a paper and pen. The patient scrawls something and shoves the paper back at Banta, collapsing even as he does. In the ensuing melee of frantic doctors and nurses, Banta Singh stands petrified, watching them try to revive the man. In vain, unfortunately. It is only when he reaches home that evening that he remembers the piece of paper, Fishing it out of his pocket, he looks at it: "Get off my Oxygen tube. You are standing on it". When a decades old import-heavy and outsource-friendly trade policy has both feet planted solidly upon the country's neck, what are the odds of a recovery? The timidity of the administration's plans here is a metaphor for the man at the top. How difficult would it be to declare, "We have a job in America for any American who wants one." Looking around there certainly seems to be enough scope for WPA-like public works to employ people from all fields, while adding directly to the nation's wealth. As to discouraging imports through taxation, perish the thought. Simply not in the cards -- which are themselves Made in China! You'll have to tell me what they're saying in India about the Obama foreign policy. My own impression is there's little more than cosmetic changes. You do remember the early 80's when Indira Gandhi, with her fine eye for tactics and tin ear for strategy, ignored all the political demands of the moderates in Punjab, proceeding instead to appease the religious demands of the extremists, all to win an election? You might even remember her allowing Sikhs to carry daggers on Indian Airlines planes to display her "respect" for religion... Here in America each day brings some facile and puerile new shibboleth in the name of diversity and multiculturalism, diverting attention from the effects of real depredation and expoitation. Lake Naivasha in Kenya, I heard the other day, is being exhausted to provide water to grow roses -- for the drawing rooms of Europe. Western agribusinesses are booking large tracts of land in Pakistan as captive resources to be used for farming, even as acres of rich American farmland are paved over each day to make way for new suburbs. And do you really want me to begin my rant about the Iraq invasion? If Obama sees the absurdity of all this, there is no sign. Public policy is still car- and suburbia-centric -- practically no departure from the Bush years. The imperial mindset is alive and thriving. In other words the news is the same, only being read by a fresh, charming and articulate new anchor. Invite the World, Invade the World, In Hock to the World, as someone described it a few years back, is still very much the watchword. And then there is health care. Here Obama's wishy-washiness makes even Bill Clinton seem like a Casabianca. Perhaps the latter's strongest moment was when he stood in the well of the House and held up a card, saying everyone should have one of these, with access to health care. Apparently today's teleprompter cannot be coaxed to carry a simple sentence that would help cut the cost of health care to a fraction, and also help cut the...that is to say, get to the heart of the debate -- "The health of our people is too important to be caught up in the imperatives of money-making". A timorous affair, then, is the Age of Obama thus far. A great opportunity to rally the people (for action or for sacrifice) has been lost. A tidal wave of enthusiasm has been squandered, dare one say, strangled. A far cry indeed from Martin Luther King, as whose second coming Barack Obama was touted in the press during the campaign (come now, you must admit, even you bought this!) Talking of which, do you remember the old Sanskrit poem from our middle school? The reference to blackness is entirely incidental but hardly infelicitous:
Well, I guess Spring just came and went, and it seems pretty clear who's President... and who's King. Until next time, Yours affectionately, Niranjan Singh "Amrikawale" P. S. A bit of trivia for you. It was Gerald Ford who reportedly said upon being sworn in, "Remember, I'm only a Ford, not a Lincoln". Niranjan Ramakrishnan is a writer living in the West Coast. He may be reached at njn_2003@yahoo.com.
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Now Available from CounterPunch Books! Yellowstone Drift:
Spell Albuquerque:
Waiting for
Lightning
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