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June 6, 2002
Mark Weisbrot
Spying
and Lying:
The FBI's Shameful Past
June 5, 2002
Robert Fisk
Berlusconi the Censor
Danielle Brian
Nuclear
Plants and Terrorism
Ardeshir Cowasjee
For What Do We Fight?
George Monbiot
Kashmir
on the Brink
Michael Neumann
What is Antisemitism?
June 4, 2002
Dave Marsh
Bono the Useful Idiot
William Evan / Francis
Boyle
Kashmir:
Invoking Intl. Law to Avoid Nuclear War
Cockburn / St. Clair
The Future Wellstone Deserves
June 3, 2002
Ramdas / Makhijani
India,
Pakistan and Nukes:
A Road Map to Peace
Fran Shor
Meanwhile, Back in Afghanistan
Neve Gordon
The Caterpillar
Effect
June 2, 2002
Fidel Castro
From FDR to Mister "W.":
Cuba, the US and Democracy
Arundhati Roy
Under the
Nuclear Shadow
Bernard Weiner
Bush 9/11 Scandal for Dummies
June 1, 2002
Norman Madarasz
The
Strange Math of Roberto Carlos: Brazil v. Turkey
Gavin Keeney
Bush and Mies van der Rohe:
Architecture and Ideology
Jeff Halper
Sharon's
Post-Incursion Plan:
Incarceration or Transfer?
Walt Brasch
Crumpling the Constitution
May 31, 2002
Rev. Sandra Olewine
Land Grabs and Occupation:
Silent Destruction of Palestine
James Dunlop
Russian
Colonel:
"Insane But Fit for Duty"
Chomsky / Bennett
Debating "Terrorism"
May 30, 2002
Steve Perry
Jim Carrey:
"Love Me!"
Tom Turnipseed
Sex Among the Sacred
George Monbiot
Corporate
Phantoms
Web of Deciet over GM Foods
Robert Jensen
Are You a Journalist
or a Patriot?
Gary Leupp
Georgia
and the War on Terror
May 29, 2002
Mokhiber / Weissman
The Age of Inequality
Philip Farruggio
The
Cleaning Lady
Bill Christison
Disastrous US Foreign Policy:
Part 2, Globalization
Resources:
100s of Links
About 9/11
CounterPunch:
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Five
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Shook The World:
Seattle and Beyond
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Cockburn
and Jeffrey St. Clair
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How the CIA's Backing of the Mujahideen Created the World's Most
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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June 6, 2002
The Credibilty
Crunch at the Top
A Crisis of Confidence
in U.S. Leadership
by Tom Turnipseed
There is a broadening crisis in confidence in
political and corporate leadership in the U. S. Suddenly, the
world's sole super-power is faced with a credibility crunch as
its unparalleled status as a global military and economic giant
shows unmistakable signs of shakiness. It emanates essentially
from a worrisome-wannabe-warrior in the White House and corrupt
and crooked executives in major corporations along with collaborators
in their respective power structures and spheres of influence.
President George W. Bush fanned the flames
of continuing conflict by calling for "first strike"
military action against potential "enemies' of the United
States in an address to our young military leaders at West Point's
commencement. Bush's saber rattling offers a wretched role model
for the threat-swapping leaders of India and Pakistan as the
longstanding mortal enemies ratchet up the rhetoric of battle
and teeter toward the brink of a nuclear war in South Asia. While
Bush wags on about war, the Middle-East also desperately needs
bold and imaginative personal diplomacy for peace from the President
of the United States. The United States continues to project
an image to the world as being decidedly pro-Israel in the age-old
Arab/Israeli struggle. Antagonism engendered from this perception
answers the "why do they hate us" question asked of
much of the Muslim world in post 9/11/01.
White House talk of never-ending-war
to "make peace" is being actualized . Donald Rumsfeld,
the Secretary of Defense and civilian head of U.S. armed forces
(formerly known as the Secretary of War), has been dispatched
to make "peace" between India and Pakistan. George
Tenet, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the war-abetting
organization of spooks that has an indelible image of fomenting
division, distrust and mortal combat around the globe, has been
dispatched to the Middle East to "make peace". And
we wonder "why do they hate us?"
As reports continue to surface on a daily
basis about several instances of foreknowledge of the 9/11/01
terrorist attacks by U.S. intelligence and security agencies
like the FBI and CIA, more questions are being asked about "who
knew what when?" As the intelligence committees of Congress
launch into an investigation of the matter an on-going turf war
and blame-game between the FBI and the CIA is becoming apparent.
Finally, everyone can conclude the buck stops in the oval office
on such vital matters of national security. Our wide-eyed-warrior
President issued a Clintonesque denial of responsibility by admitting
that the FBI and the CIA failed to communicate but then said,
"I've seen no evidence...that said this country could have
prevented the attacks".
Many astute observers of political affairs
are beginning to question the motives behind the recent concerted
deluge of the scare talk of more imminent, large-scale terrorist
attacks. They were hastily churned out by Bush administration
officials immediately after the foreknowledge reports and the
who- knew-what-when questions arose. Would the Bush administration
deliberately frighten and divert the public away from their who-knew-what-when
before 9/11/01 concerns with a concerted campaign to alarm U.S.
citizens of new terror to come?
According to the Wall Street Journal
on June 4, 2002 the "possible new terrorist attacks have
also weighed on markets" in a front page story describing
the plummeting U.S. stock markets. The Journal also cited growing
anxiety about political turmoil abroad, a declining dollar, and
corporate scandals. The Dow Jones average was at its lowest point
since February 7, 2002 and was 17% off its' record high in January
2000. Nasdaq was 69% below its record high on March 10, 2000,
and about 20% down this year. Revelations of CEOs and top corporate
management involvement in a series of scandals and scamming has
weakened investor confidence in the stock markets to an extent
unseen in decades. The New York Times opined that, "These
days, business news can resemble a financial police blotter".
Such corporate crook's actions have aided the phenomena of an
unprecedented increase in the disparity of wealth between the
very wealthy and everyday people.
Rampant greed and corruption in the top
echelons of such seemingly prosperous companies as Enron, Arthur
Andersen, Global Crossing, Adelphia, and Tyco have sullied the
integrity of our much ballyhooed "free market" and
caused investors to pull out their money and begin to invest
it in overseas markets. Such shenanigans include many corrupt
practices like inaccurate and misleading accounting to inflate
values and increase the "take" of executives and top
management at the expense of shareholders and employees.
Those interested in reform to restore
the integrity of the equity markets have been urging Congress
to restrict accounting firms from providing both auditing and
consulting services to the same corporation, but the most powerful
members of Congress have prevented passage of such legislation.
In almost every instance high-level connections with governmental
officials in the Legislative and Executive branches, facilitated
by hefty campaign contributions and high powered lobbying, has
stopped such reform legislation. Political patronage has helped
the corporate crooks position themselves to pull off their scams.
Today's news tells us that thousands
of foreign nationals are evacuating India and Pakistan; that
there are 16 new Israeli deaths as a car bomber blew up a bus
and Israeli troops are entering the Jenin refugee camp again;
and that the CEO of Tyco has been indicted for evading more than
a million dollars in a sales tax scam. Where-oh-where is competent
and uncorrupted U.S. leadership in this crisis of confidence?
Tom Turnipseed
is an attorney, writer and political activist in Columbia, South
Carolina. He can be reached at: turnipseed@turnipseed.net
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