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July 26, 2002
Walt Brasch
Ashcroft's War on Bookstores
July 25, 2002
Norman Madarasz
Paul
Krugman's Howl:
Populism, War and
the Melting Economy
Gavin Keeney
Van Morrison: In September
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
War
on Terrorism or
Police State?
July 24, 2002
Gary Leupp
An Islam Primer
July 23, 2002
Jeffrey St. Clair
The Battle
for Zuni Salt Lake
Ansar Ahmed
Am I with You, George?
Bill Christison
The
Disastrous Foreign Policies of the US: Oppression Abroad Means
Repression at Home
July 22, 2002
Rick Giombetti
Glaxo Raises White Flag
in Paxil Case
Wayne Madsen
Forbidden
Truth
The Press, Bush, Oil
and the Taliban
July 21. 2002
Francis A. Boyle
The Rogue Elephant
Jennifer Harbury
Why are
the FBI & CIA Targeting Me?
Joan Claybrook
Time
for a Special Prosceutor
for Thomas White
Gloria Bergen
The Struggle
of Workers
in Palestine
Dave Marsh
Mr. Big Stuff:
Alan Lomax, Great White Fraud
James T. Phillips
"I'll
Tell You No Lies"
The Human Rubble of War
July 20, 2002
Gavin Keeney
The Grave
New Urbanism
World Trade Center Burlesque
Jacob Levich
"I
Was Schooled in Hate"
Confessions of a
Summer Camp Terror Tot
Thomas Croft
Augusta,
GA
Growing Up in the Deep South
Alexander Cockburn
The
Market Hogwallow:
Popgun Populism Isn't Enough
July 19, 2002
Abe Bonowitz / SueZann
Bosler
A Discussion
with Jeb Bush on the Death Penalty
Jonathan Power
No Need
for War Against Iraq
Rick Giombetti
Qwest
Death Watch
Kurt Nimmo
Of Mice,
Bullets & Bombs
M. Shahid Alam
Through
Racist Eyes:
Is Eurocentrism Unique?
July 18, 2002
Mokhiber / Weissman
Business
As Usual
Jerre Skog
I Spy: Now
Let's be Fair,
the USA Ain't East Germany
Ralph Nader
The CEO
Crimewave:
Corporate Socialism
Mahbubul Karim (Sohel)
The Rising Tensions
Between Spain and Morocco
Alexander Cockburn
Drivel
and Squawk:
Can the Times' Jeff Gerth
Save the White House?
July 17, 2002
Philip Farruggio
The
New Role Model:
Remember Jesus, George?
Zara Gelsey
Who's
Reading Over
Your Shoulder?
Behzad Yaghmaian
9/11 and
Fotress Europe:
the Drama of the New
Moslem Diaspora
Mike Ferner
War, Incorporated
Gary Leupp
Bush, Burqas
and the Oppression of Afghan Women
July 16, 2002
Pierre Tristam
Faith--based
Capitalism in
the Ruins of the Market
Kurt Nimmo
How My
35mm Camera Almost Became a Tool of Treason
Robert Fisk
The Kashmir
Distraction
Salam al--Marayati
When
is Terrorism
Not Defined as Terrorism?
Kathleen Christison
The
Image Problem:
Anti--Palestinian Bias
from Wilson to Bush
July 15, 2002
Gavin Keeney
In One
of Safire's Ears,
Out the Other
CounterPunch Wire
Nader in
Cuba
Ralph Nader
The Secret
World of Banking
Dave Marsh
Vincible:
Michael Jackson, Racism and the Music Cartel
Rahul Mahajan
Justice
for Bhopal
Jeffrey St. Clair
Seduced
by a Legend
The Return of Jimmy T99 Nelson
July 14, 2002
Bill Christison
The
DOA (Poem)
David Vest
I'll Never
Get Out of This Band Alive
July 13, 2002
M. Junaid Alam
A Process
of Dehumanization
Gavin Keeney
Go Tell
Karl Rove!
Matt Vidal
Corporate
"Ethics" Red Herrings
Ed Whitfield
Lessons
from Independence Day
Resources:
100s of Links
About 9/11
CounterPunch:
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Coverage of 9/11 and Its Aftermath
Five
Days That
Shook The World:
Seattle and Beyond
By Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
Photos by Allan Sekula
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Robust Heroin Market and Helped to Finance the Rise of the Taliban
and Osama bin Laden
Whiteout:
CIA, Drugs & the
Press
by Alexander
Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
The Memphis Blues Again:
Six Decades of Memphis Music Photographs
Photos by Ernest Withers
Text by Daniel Wolff
The New Intifada:
Resisting Israel's Apartheid
Edited by Roane Carey
A Pocket Guide to
Environmental Bad Guys
by James Ridgeway
and Jeffrey St. Clair
The
Phoenix Program
by Douglas Valentine
Al Gore:
A User's Manual
by Cockburn
and St. Clair
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Reviews of Gore:
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July
26, 2002
Fascism in America
It Couldn't
Happen...Could It?
by Jerre Skog
Could the USA turn into a dictatorship? Of course
not, the idea is preposterous! Or is it? Let's look at a scenario:
End of 2004, the polls indicate that
G. W. Bush's previous massive support has melted away to below
45% and his gang is destined to vacate the White House. People
are starting to question the military spending and all the spies
informing on them since, except for the "weekly terrorist
threat", noone has noticed anything that could jeopardize
their safety except a stagnant economy and worsening social climate.
The temporary high approval rates slumped quickly once the Iraq
war was over after having helped the Republicans in the 2002
electons. Now Bush Junior and his cronies decide they had a good
thing going, why not try to hold on to it. A real or faked terrorist-attack
is engineered and the support is again quickly skyrocketing,
giving GWB unprecedented powers and silencing opposition. "Hmmm,
in four years there will be a new election and we can't count
on this device functioning for ever", might be an idea in
some peoples's mind, "let's grab what we can."
Under martial law ("hey, we're at
war) the constitution is revised by "The Security Amendment"
allowing a president more than two terms in power, the election
is "postponed" and Bush Jr declares himself "Defender
of the Free Wold", for the sake of the nation until comes
a time when "we can peacefully return to our road of freedom,
democracy and prosperity". Those few opposition leaders
and journalists who make too much noise find themselves declared
traitors and silenced and, in spite of some unrest, the armed
forces declare they stand united behind the emperor "in
this time of peril for the country". A dictatorship is born
and its logical development comes when GWB is secure enough to
declare that his offspring will continue the leadership of the
nation "leading the world towards peace and prosperity".
In other words, the classic scenario.
It couldn't happen you say? It's preposterous!
Then let me ask you a few questions.
Before 9-11, was it preposterous to imagine
a dozen fanatics armed with $2 boxcutters creating havoc and
killing 3000 people in the most heavily defended nation on earth?
Could anybody imagine a US vice president
declaring that his country was fighting an eternal war? A White
House spokesman telling people to watch what they say? The General
Attorney perverting the Bill of Rights, the administration introducing
a giant Office of Homeland Security or setting up a system whereby
1 out of 24 citizens is supposed to inform on "suspicious
activities" by their fellow countrymen?
Before Bush Jr, could anyone imagine
an American president coming to power by depriving citizens their
rightful vote, having his governor brother manipulating the voting
and the Supreme Court stopping the vote counting?
I can agree that the scenario is unlikely,
but is it impossible? Let's look at historical precedents and
probable prerequisites.
Men in positions of power tend to cling
to that power with all might. We have seen it time and again
all over the world. They get the presidency more or less legally
and, after a time, like it so much that they manipulate the laws,
harrass and jail opposition, censor the media and use their military
to stay in power, preferrably for life. The more power they have,
the more tempting it is to keep it. Is GWB a person who is careful
to stick to rules and laws or is it concievable that he is prepared
to do some "bending" to promote his and his backer's
agenda? Is he a man of impeccable honesty and integrity? Has
he strong principles? Does he enjoy power?
Rich people and big business are in general
in favor of dictatorships, while they tend to hate even moderately
left wing states. Remember all the big US corporations who were
very happy with Pinochet's Chile, Indonesia under Suharto, the
Shah's Iran and many South American regimes. Rich people and
big biz are the prime funders of the republicans (and the democrats).
Would these most important people incite a revolution if GWB
grabbed a bit more power and made it permanent? Are there enough
democratic people (I didn't say democrats!) in congress to put
a stop to such a try?
The dominating media outlets are owned
by the very people who applaud sending in the marines wherever
on the globe US "interests" are at stake and are not
famous for independence and critical reporting but rather have
the habit of reporting, parrot-style, what Pentagon and the government
tell them, as long as it is dressed in patriotic and benevolent
phrases. Would media be outraged or would they, like in most
other countries, more or less voluntarily support the "elected
president" even when he takes the steps to fascistic dictatorship?
A power grab as described would need,
if not backing, at least neutrality from the armed forces and
most probably backing from CIA and other agencies. Scattered
opposition would be easily clamped down on and CIA has a history
of helping dictators to power. Military have historically almost
always backed right wing regimes. Would CIA and the armed forces
actively rebel against their highest commander or is it imaginable
that enough of the top brass would come down on Junior's side
of the fence to secure a change?
And the people? 50% don't vote. 48% of
those who do, support the present leader and out of those there
are a great many who would welcome a republican president for
eternity, (or at least until they themselves were hit by the
opression). Those against GWB would find it hard to depose hime
as they don't have any say when locked out of the polling booths.
And, as usual, the general, TV-doped public would be fooled as
the pretexts for the change would be the standard "Freedom,
patriotism & security" cliches that have let them get
away with so much damage earlier. Would, and if so, could enough
of the millions of decent, true democratic and just Americans
stop a scheme like the outlined?
All aggression, interventions, attacks
and assassinations USA has embarked on around the globe have
been named to fool the world and their own people. Operations
"Vigilant Warrior", "Just Cause" and "Enduring
Freedom" are just a few names suppposed to give them that
nice, warm feeling of righteousness.
Would they for once react if the unelected
Bush henchmen embarked on a journey to fascist dictatorship under
the label "Operation Eternal Democracy"?
I don't ask you to agree with me and
I don't say it will happen. I only say: Could it happen?
Preposterous? Remember the $2 boxcutters!
Jerre Skog
is a Swedish writer, musician and alternative observer living
in Germany since 1999. More articles, political and satirical
can be found on: Jerre´s Thinktank www.skog.de
Comments are welcome at: jerre@skog.de
Today's Features
Walt Brasch
Ashcroft's War on Bookstores
Norman Madarasz
Paul
Krugman's Howl:
Populism, War and
the Melting Economy
Gavin Keeney
Van Morrison: In September
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