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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers! How Cops Extort Confessions;
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The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
How Cops Extort Confessions;
How the U.S. “Justice System” Really WorksNinety-two per cent of felony convictions in the U.S. are obtained by plea bargains or confessions. Without them the “justice system” would grind to a halt. In an important piece in our latest newsletter, available only to subscribers, Emily Horowitz shows how totally innocent people will “confess” under police pressure, even without physical torture. Horowitz outlines the powerful case for banning confessions altogether. Also in this new edition Marcus Rediker, co-author of the legendary The Many Headed Hydra, writes of popular heroism and resistance in the favelas of Medellin, Colombia. Alexander Cockburn reports on how America’s oldest bank, patronized by the global elites, washed billions smuggled out of Russia, and how the Russians might win their money back, shaking the world’s banking system if they do so. Serge Halimi describes the real battle for the soul of Europe. Get your copy 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 gear make great presents.
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Today's Stories August 12, 2008 Uri Avnery Anthony DiMaggio August 11, 2008 Ishmael Reed Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Douglas Kammen William Willers Greg Moses Jeff Leys Cynthia McKinney Alan Farago Website of the Day August 9 / 10, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Bruce Jackson Kevin Young Chris Floyd Joshua Frank Robert Fantina Brendan Cooney Mark Almond Lois Gibbs Rev. William Alberts Kathy Kelly John Ross David Michael Green Bill Moyers / Ron Jacobs Richard Rhames David Yearsley Lee Sustar Brenda Norrell Ben Terrall Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 8, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Manuel Garcia, Jr. M. Shahid Alam Andy Worthington Lawrence J. Korb David Model Alan Farago Diop Olugbala Firmin DeBrabander Website of the Day August 7, 2008 Dr. Trudy Bond William Blum Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Robert Weitzel Jacob G. Hornberger Binoy Kampmark David Macaray Howard Lisnoff Website of the Day August 6, 2008 Marc Herold Greg Moses Sheldon Rampton Kevin Young Michael Estrada Robert Weissman Dr. Susan Block Cindy Sheehan Ace Hoffman Website of the Day August 5, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Jeff Halper Patrick Cockburn Nancy Welch Peter Morici Sousan Hammad Eamon Martin Shepherd Bliss Tim Matson Website of the Day August 4, 2008 Uri Avnery Saul Landau David W. Remington Rev. Jesse Jackson Dave Lindorff Peter Morici Joanne Mariner Ramzy Baroud Christian Wright Website of the Day August 2 / 3, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair Patrick Cockburn Winslow T. Wheeler James Abourezk Andy Worthington Brian Cloughley Robert Fantina Benjamin Dangl Marlene Martin David Yearsley Fatemeh Keshavarz David Michael Green Obama as Dukakis Harvey Wasserman Jason Hribal Phyllis Pollack Laray Polk Ron Jacobs David Macaray David Rosen Dan Bacher Joe Allen Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend August 1, 2008 Jonathan Cook Nikolas Kozloff Rannie Amiri Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli M. K. Bhadrakumar Patrick Cockburn James J. Brittain Dan Bacher Website of the Day
July 31, 2008 Michael Hudson Carl Finamore Mike Whitney Joshua Frank Andy Worthington Ralph Nader Bill Moyers / Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff Website of the Day July 30, 2008 Brian M. Downing Chuck Spinney William S. Lind David Ker Thomson Karl Grossman Mike Whitney Martha Rosenberg James Murren Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Website of the Day July 29, 2008 Jeffrey St. Clair John Ross Peter Morici Alison Weir Gary Leupp David Macaray Brenda Norrell Marjorie Cohn Eric Ruder Website of the Day July 28, 2008 Dr. Bryant Welch Kathy Kelly Mike Whitney Peter Morici Christopher Brauchli Clifton Ross Stephen Lendman Website of the Day
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August 12, 2008 Morality, Reason and the Edwards ScandalEqual Opportunity JudgmentBy THOM RUTLEDGE I am as disappointed and angry about the revelation of John Edwards’ infidelity as the next democrat. I will make no excuses for him. I do, however, want to suggest that we stop and think about how and what we tend to judge so harshly. We can reasonably assume that judgment of Senator Edwards in this circumstance is based on one of two considerations (or both). First the judgment can be based on moral grounds. In this case, not only is infidelity a violation of yours or my moral standards, but it is a direct contradiction of the Christian values that Senator Edwards, himself, professes to believe. Second, we can reasonably judge the senator’s choices to be unfaithful in his marriage, and his repeatedly choosing to lie to the public about it, from a perspective of logic. Quite simply, logic holds that if he is capable and willing to lie about this, we can expect that he will lie about other things. Bottom line: viewed through the lenses of reason and ethics, we can conclude that Senator Edwards cannot be trusted. Beyond the academics of logic, I don’t know if he can be trusted or not. But I do know that to argue, at this point, that he is trustworthy is a battle not worth waging. What I do believe is worth our time and consideration is a closer look at a glaring contradiction in our political world --- a contradiction that shows up in both moral and logical perspectives. Now, if you are a supporter of the current administration, at this point, I am going to make the genuine request that you respond to what follows with reasonable consideration of the facts, not dogma or emotional loyalty. I honestly believe that this is a clear, and as verifiable, as any simple mathematical formula. The contradiction is this: as a society, we are offended and even outraged at a man running for public office who is unfaithful to his wife, and who is willing to lie to us about it, but we have taken in stride men in public office (at the highest level of public office) who have blatantly lied to us about matters directly deciding the life or death fate of thousands and thousands of human beings. I will leave it for another time to argue that while infidelity, deception about infidelity and moral hypocrisy are wrong, these matters are neither illegal, nor life threatening. For the purposes of this article, I am offering up a far lesser request: that since judging is inevitable --- in many cases it is necessary and appropriate for our self-protection --- can we please come together in earnest effort to practice equal opportunity judgment? The responsibility in this is ultimately not on the politicians who run for office; it is on us. We the people decide who represents us in government. What I am suggesting here is that we do the right thing and stand in appropriate judgment of our media, and of ourselves, that we be big enough to acknowledge the danger of the double standard, currently in play, and that if we are going to point and stare at the spec --- or branch or tree trunk – in John Edwards’ eye, we step up to our responsibility to hold the Bush administration accountable for their sins of both morality and reason. Thom Rutledge is a psychotherapist in Nashville, Tennessee, and the author of Embracing Fear: How to Turn What Scares Us into Our Greatest Gift. For more information: www.thomrutledge.com
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