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"The Plan is to Take You Over by Force"
As the economy implodes, the social fabric frays and nutball groups organize for Armageddon. Pam Martens describes the national game-plan of the “Free State Project”. He was the richest man on the planet and in 1973 he pledged to shut down the illegal drug industry in New York. Thousands, mostly blacks and Hispanics were pitch-forked into prison for decades. This year New York State will repeal its drug laws. Read Bruce Jackson on Nelson Rockefeller’s curse. Half a million new jobless every month and the salesmen of “free trade” still hawk their credo. Paul Craig Roberts describes what offshoring has done to America. 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 gear make great presents.
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Today's Stories April 27, 2009 Pam Martens April 24-26, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Marjorie Cohn Andy Worthington Jeremy Scahill Chris Floyd Mike Whitney Anthony DiMaggio Chris Kromm Saul Landau Dave Lindorff Greg Moses Joshua Frank Fred Gardner Manuel Garcia, Jr. David Michael Green Ramzy Baroud Rannie Amiri Laura Carlsen Richard Morse Nikolas Kozloff Kent Peterson Robert Bryce Niranjan Ramakrishnan The Financial Experts Ron Jacobs Richard Rhames Stephen Martin David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend April 23, 2009 Eamonn Fingleton Ray McGovern Michael Ratner Alan Farago Rob Larson Nadia Hijab Fawzia Afzal-Khan Dave Lindorff Helen Redmond Adam Federman Website of the Day April 22, 2009 Chris Floyd Joanne Mariner Vijay Prashad Gareth Porter Dean Baker Peter Morici Winslow T. Wheeler Barucha Calamity Peller Harvey Wasserman Aisha Brown / Teo Ballvé Website of the Day April 21, 2009 Randy Rowland Dave Lindorff Fidel Castro George McGovern Greg Moses Benjamin Dangl Sonia Nettnin Frank Barat Binoy Kampmark John V. Walsh David Macaray Website of the Day April 20, 2009 Mike Whitney Andrea Peacock Henry A. Giroux Liaquat Ali Khan Fred Gardner Stephen Soldz Nadia Hijab Dave Lindorff P. Sainath Nelson P Valdés Mark Engler Belén Fernández Website of the Day April 17-19, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Franklin Lamb Ralph Nader Fred Gardner Dean Baker Rannie Amiri George Wuerthner Dave Lindorff David Swanson Jim Goodman Kathy Sanborn Don Monkerud Manuel Garcia, Jr. David Michael Green Nelson P Valdés Manuel Gomez Dr. Susan Block Ramzy Baroud Christopher Brauchli Stephen Martin Ron Jacobs David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend April 16, 2009 Mike Whitney Russell Mokhiber Ronald Teska Gareth Porter Paul Fitzgerald / Benjamin Dangl Kevin Pina Robert Bryce George Wuerthner Paul Garon, David Roediger and Kate Khatib The Surreal Life of Franklin Rosemont Website of the Day April 15, 2009 Kathleen and Bill Christison Ray McGovern Robert Sandels Heather Williams / Jack Willoughby David Swanson Paul Craig Roberts Sara Mann Kenneth Couesbouc Binoy Kampmark Kekuni Blaisdell, Lynette Hi'llani Cruz, George Kahumoku Flores, et al.: An Urgent Letter to Obama on the Rights of Native Hawaiians Website of the Day April 14, 2009 Conn Hallinan Mike Whitney Peter Morici Greg Moses Fidel Castro Robert Weissman Rebecca Macaux / Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero Dave Lindorff Walter Brasch Benjamin Day Website of the Day April 13, 2009 Patrick Cockburn Uri Avnery Jeremy Scahill Martha Rosenberg Karl Grossman Nadia Hijab Sam Smith James McEnteer Sean McMahon Namihei Odaira John V. Walsh Website of the Day April 10 / 12, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Chris Floyd Mike Whitney Saul Landau M. Reza Pirbhai Franklin Spinney Rannie Amiri William Blum Matt Vidal Jeff Howison Jeff Leys Dave Lindorff Ramzy Baroud Missy Beattie Fred Gardner Harvey Wasserman Another $50 Billion for Rust Bucket Nukes? Suzan Mazur Bernard Umbrecht David Macaray Janet Kauffman Ron Jacobs Norman Solomon Michael Winship Richard Rhames Wanda Fucha David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Ben Sonnenberg Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend April 9, 2009 Mike Whitney Patrick Cockburn Stephen Soldz P. Sainath Ellen Cantarow Gareth Porter / Jeremy Scahill Jerry Kroth Binoy Kampmark Fidel Castro Website of the Day April 8, 2009 John Prados Bill Moyers / Winslow T. Wheeler Russell Mokhiber Kathy Sanborn Rev. William E. Alberts James McEnteer Rashomon and the Binghamton Shooter: the Rush to Interpret Jiverly Wong's "Statement" Nadia Hijab Adam Turl Kevin Zeese Website of the Day April 7, 2009 David Price Uri Avnery Chris Floyd Winslow T. Wheeler Defense Cuts: Gates and the System Marjorie Cohn Dean Baker Diana Johnstone Dave Lindorff Martha Rosenberg Evelyn Pringle Website of the Day April 6, 2009 Michael Hudson Andy Worthington Bagram: Guantánamo's Dark Mirror Ray McGovern Deepak Tripathi Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Jonathan Cook Judith Bello Deena Metzger Blackwater in Liberia Dr. M. Kamiar Website of the Day April 3-5, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Kathy Kelly / Peter Morici Kathy Sanborn Andy Worthington Rob Larson Saul Landau Steve Early John Goekler Rannie Amiri Dave Lindorff Lee Ballinger Ron Jacobs David Macaray John Wight Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Mychal Bell Missy Beattie Reza Fiyouzat Michael Boldin Christopher Brauchli Charles R. Larson Susie Day Stephen Martin Kim Nicolini David Yearsley Phyllis Pollack Poets' Basement Website of the Day
April 2, 2009 Robert Weissman Eric Toussaint / George Bisharat Russell Mokhiber Franklin Lamb Gareth Porter David Macaray Chris Genovali Sam Smith Suzan Mazur Website of the Day
April 1, 2009 Chris Floyd Stanley Heller Mark Brenner, Mischa Gaus and Jane Slaughter Obama's Perilous Plan for Detroit: Restructure the Big 3, But Not With Bankruptcy Jonathan Cook Eric Walberg Richard Morse Don Fitz Laray Polk Belén Fernández Harvey Wasserman Website of the Day March 31, 2009 Uri Avnery Peter Lee Nicholas Dearden Dave Lindorff Joanne Mariner Ron Jacobs Wiliam S. Lind David Michael Green Benjamin Dangl Johnny Barber Dedrick Muhammad Website of the Day March 30, 2009 Michael Hudson Patrick Cockburn Henry A. Giroux Mike Whitney Ralph Nader Paul Craig Roberts Jeremy Scahill Robert Bryce Jonathan Cook Ray McGovern Website of the Day
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April 27, 2009 How the Right Got Trounced Iceland's New DawnBy JOSÉ M. TIRADO The numbers are in and they are decisive. The longstanding, corporate-right forces of the Independence Party, known here as Iceland’s “Republicans”, have received a trouncing at the polls. With 100% of the vote tallied, the Social Democratic Alliance (moderate Socialist) won 29.8% of the vote (55,758 votes) and their partners the Left-Green Movement (Socialist-Green-Feminist) 21.7% (40,580 votes). Together they will now have 20 and 14 seats in the Parliament, or Althingi, respectively; 34 out of 63 total. The new Citizen’s Movement (left-populist) received 7.2% of the vote, garnering 4 seats. The former ruling Independence Party received 44,369 votes, shockingly losing 9 seats. Their support in the country has never been this low. Their former coalition partners, the Progressive Alliance (center-Right) gained only 2 seats. The fact that the Independence Party received less than 4000 votes over the Left-Greens signals a sea change in how Icelanders view their country and what should be done to take them out of the ruin imposed on them through 18 years of Independence Party and Progressive Alliance (mis)rule. While pre-poll surveys suggested even higher votes for the Left-Greens, this still remains a huge victory for them. Steingrimur Sigfusson, leader of the Left-Greens will probably remain as Finance Minister and his principled opposition to EU and privatization of resources will keep his voice, and party, in the forefront of all major decisions in the days ahead. Another significant change is the rise of the Citizen’s Movement, a brand new populist based group that arose out of the “pots and pan revolution” which toppled the right wing government this past winter. This new group will now have 4 seats in Parliament bringing the number of left-populist ministers to 38 out of 63. Iceland will now have one of the most Left-oriented governments of any of the industrialized Western nations. (And special note should be made that 43% percent of the parliament are now women, including the Prime Minister.) Is this a coup for the Left? Possibly. European Union membership is now the big issue, and unlike most of the Parliament, the Left-Greens are not in favor. Is this a big victory for the people against the moneyed interests who have ruined the world economy? Definitely. Without engaging in too much hyperbole, this next government will take office reflecting a new era of populist revolt against the policies embodied by speculative banking and investment, emblematic of the past 20 years or so in public policy around the world. Don’t let anyone tell you that 300,000+ people can’t signal a shift that might have repercussions for the US. At 1/1000th the population and a far more homogenous society than the US is, it might at first appear so. But looks can be deceiving. Icelanders took to the streets with grit and determination following revelations that their ruined economy was driven into the ground by self-serving politicians interested more in hobnobbing with celebrities and selling off the country’s resources to the highest bidder than in advancing the people’s best interests. The people decided (in their typically reserved Icelandic manner) that enough is enough and nonviolently toppled the establishment in just a few short months. The people withheld their support, obstructed the governance of the country, and demanded completely new elections. They got all of that and more. A whopping 85.1% of eligible voters voted yesterday, an indication of Scandinavian civic-mindedness, to be sure, but also an indicator of how mobilized the people were. Whether the new governing coalition can deliver considering the extremely difficult circumstances plaguing the world economy will not be easy to say. Some key differences within the newly certified governing coalition will make solving their problems a bit more complicated than one might at first suspect, given the uniformly positive support the broad Left has received. For example, the Left-Green Movement, unlike the Social Democrats, opposes attempts to join the European Union, which may have siphoned votes from the Independence Party which has also historically opposed the EU. Thus, the Social Democrats, who favor EU integration, will need to proceed cautiously (although the Citizen’s Movement and Progressive Party also favor EU entry). And should EU membership be advanced out of the Parliament, another election will need to be held with a nationwide referendum on EU membership taken. While a majority in the new Parliament favor EU entry, (even some Independence Party members now support it) the country as a whole is split on this issue but Icelanders aren’t known for impulsively acting on urges (which is partly why the people were so mad at the former government) and will debate this issue carefully. There are pluses and minuses either way. Joining the EU will affect Iceland’s fishing and immigration policies, among other things, and they are in no position to demand concessions considering their precarious financial condition. But many Icelander’s seeking long-term stability view safety in EU numbers. Either way, major decisions about social service spending, repayment of debt, ensuring unemployment benefits, and restructuring the banking system, while investigating the shenanigans which brought them into this mess in the first place, will be the first tasks ahead. Thus, Jóhanna Sigurdadóttir, the acerbic but viewed as incorruptible Prime Minister, will have her hands full. For now however, the morning after is quiet as hangovers are nursed and a new era dawns for this republic of Vikings tenaciously clawing their way back into solvency and 21st century relevancy. One can only hope the Left in the US learns something about coalition-building and sustaining mass-based popular movements against government policies that benefit the wealthy few over the many. Rev. José M. Tirado is a poet, priest and writer finishing a PhD in psychology while living in Iceland. |
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