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CounterPunchers! We Still Mean It!
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CounterPunchers! We Still Mean It!
Please Read This, Then ActThese last days, assuming that you are among the tens of thousands of people around the world who check in at this CounterPunch site every day or two, we’ve been featuring our annual appeal for donations and saying that without the necessary $75,00 to be raised in these weeks, we’ll have to cut back drastically on what we do and what all you site readers who don’t subscribe to our newsletter, get every day for free.
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Today's Stories November 13-15, 2009 Tariq Ali November 12, 2009 Robert Weissman Franklin Spinney Nadia Hijab Afshin Rattansi Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Belén Fernández Allan J. Lichtman Dave Lindorff Jayne Lyn Stahl November 11, 2009 Andrew Cockburn Mike Whitney Rev. Jesse Jackson Jeff Nygaard Stewart J. Lawrence James Ridgeway Eamonn McCann Michael Ortiz Hill Shepherd Bliss Walter Brasch November 10, 2009 Ellen Cantarow Dean Baker Rose Ann DeMoro Ramzy Baroud Peter Lee Dave Lindorff Roberto Rodriguez Winslow T. Wheeler Alan Farago Joseph Grosso November 9, 2009 Patrick Cockburn Linn Washington Carl Ginsburg Jeff Leys John A. Murphy John Halle Bouthaina Shaaban James Ridgeway Dave Lindorff David Macaray Stephen Fleischman Website of the Day November 6-8, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Mark Grueter Paul Craig Roberts Patrick Cockburn Gareth Porter Mike Whitney James Bovard Dean Baker Robert Lawless Saul Landau Jayne Lyn Stahl Stephanie Westbrook M. Shahid Alam Marc Levy Franklin Lamb Ron Jacobs David Ker Thomson John V. Whitbeck Julien Mercille Rannie Amiri John Ross David Michael Green Carl Finamore Farzana Versey Missy Comley Beattie Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement November 5, 2009 Pam Martens Vijay Prashad Brian Gallagher Norman Solomon Nadia Hijab Joseph Shansky Andy Thayer Tracy Rosenberg Website of the Day November 4, 2009 Stan Cox Andy Worthington From Gitmo to Palau: Who are the Uighurs? Robert Weissman Susan Galleymore Ralph Nader Michael Leonardi Bitta Mistofi Robert Bryce Martha Rosenberg Dave Lindorff Website of the Day November 3, 2009 Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Franklin C. Spinney Laura Carlsen Serge Halimi John Stanton Sophia Weeks Dave Lindorff November 2, 2009 Steven Higgs Ishmael Reed David Macaray Bouthaina Shaaban David Michael Green David Swanson Ellen Brown Adam Federman James McEnteer Stephen Fleischman Website of the Day October 30 - Nov. 1, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair / Carl Ginsburg Mike Whitney Joe Bageant Gareth Porter Saul Landau Anthony DiMaggio Dave Lindorff Rannie Amiri Niranjan Ramakrishnan Jayne Lyn Stahl Rev. William E. Alberts Alvaro Huerta Martha Rosenberg Binoy Kampmark Norm Kent Charles R. Larson Roth's "The Humbling:" Nothing Like a Novel From an Old Pro Ron Jacobs David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 29, 2009 Michael Neumann Mike Whitney Gary Leupp Conn Hallinan Marshall Auerback Laura Flanders Eamonn McCann David Macaray Mark Weisbrot Stephen Soldz Christopher Brauchli Website of the Day October 28, 2009 Moshe Adler Dave Lindorff Frank Joseph Smecker Alexandra Early M. Shahid Alam Vijay Prashad John Ross Franklin Lamb Gregory Travis Susan Galleymore Website of the Day October 27, 2009 Mike Whitney Patrick Cockburn Stewart J. Lawrence Alan Farago Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff Bouthaina Shaaban Brian M. Downing Elections in Afghanistan, the Second Time Around Iain Boal Carl Finamore Jayne Lyn Stahl Website of the Day October 26, 2009 Bill Quigley / Paul Craig Roberts Uri Avnery Mike Whitney Michael Snedeker Shamus Cooke David Michael Green Martha Rosenberg Patrick Bond Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day October 23-25, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Christopher Ketcham Jeff Gore Gareth Porter Jayne Lyn Stahl Saul Landau Mike Whitney Nikolas Kozloff Ron Jacobs Russell Mokhiber Missy Beattie Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Stephen Lendman David Ker Thomson Rannie Amiri Ronnie Cummins Norm Kent Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Ben Sonnenberg Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 22, 2009 Dan Pearson / Jonathan Cook Paul Craig Roberts The US as Failed State Mark Engler Johann Hari Brian M. Downing Eric Toussaint Tom Mountain Israel Shamir Charles Thomson Website of the Day October 21, 2009 Pam Martens Linn Washington, Jr. Liaquat Ali Khan D. K. Wilson Franklin Lamb Norman Solomon Stephen Fleischman Patrice Higonnet Binoy Kampmark Kevin Coval / Website of the Day October 20, 2009 Sharon Smith Tariq Ali Mark Brenner Bouthaina Shaaban Michael D. Yates Dean Baker Dave Lindorff John Ross Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Kevin Zeese Gilad Atzmon Website of the Day October 19, 2009 Mike Whitney Greg Moses John Ross Michael Donnelly Jayne Lyn Stahl Eric Walberg Russell Mokhiber Barbara Rose Johnston John V. Whitbeck Christopher Ketcham Website of the Day October 16-18, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Carl Ginsburg Ralph Nader Nikolas Kozloff Carlo Galli Dave Lindorff Catherine Rottenberg
/ Neve Gordon Marshall Auerback Nicola Nasser Windy Cooler James L. Secor Ron Jacobs Wes Jackson Jesse Lerner-Kinglake David Ker Thomson Against Leaders Missy Beattie Emily Ratner Stephen Martin Michael Snedeker Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Peter Stone Brown Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 15, 2009 Andrew Cockburn Brian M. Downing Ramzy Baroud Danny Weil M. Idrees Ahmad Margaret Kimberley Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Harvey Wasserman Nirmal Ghosh Charles R. Larson Website of the Day October 14, 2009 Michael Neumann M. Reza Pirbhai Gareth Porter Paul Craig Roberts John Strausbaugh Fortress Moon Ralph Nader Dean Baker Charles Modiano Nadia Hijab Walter Brasch Website of the Day October 13, 2009 Peter Linebaugh Shamus Cooke John Ross Brendan Cooney Frida Berrigan Yves Engler David Macaray Dave Lindorff Mark Weisbrot Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day October 12, 2009 Pam Martens Mike Whitney Martha Rosenberg Jessica Arents Eamonn McCann Bill Hatch Sen. Russell Feingold Niranjan Ramakrishnan Gideon Levy Iyad Burnat Alan Cabal Dan Bacher Website of the Day October 9-11, 2009 Alexander Cockburn James Bovard Kathleen and Bill Christison Andy Worthington Marc Levy Tariq Ali Mike Whitney Paul Craig Roberts Alan Nasser Jack Z. Bratich Steve Breyman David Michael Green Dave Lindorff Paul Buchheit Jim Goodman Missy Beattie Michael Leonardi Nadia Hijab Mel Packer David Macaray James T. Phillips Charles R. Larson Michael Donnelly David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 8, 2009 Saul Landau Paul Fitzgerald / Linn Washington, Jr. Marshall Auerback Dave Lindorff David Rosen Chris Darimont / Misty MacDuffee John V. Walsh Stewart Lawrence Charles R. Larson Website of the Day October 7, 2009 Brendan Cooney Paul Craig Roberts Dean Baker Jonathan Cook John Stanton Joanne Mariner Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Stephen Lendman Sen. Russell Feingold Mary Lynn Cramer Website of the Day October 6, 2009 Mike Whitney Gareth Porter Jonathan Cook Boris Kagarlitsky Iain Boal Ron Jacobs John Ross Michael Dickinson Stephen Fleischman Ira Glunts Missy Beattie Website of the Day October 5, 2009 Pam Martens Mike Whitney Paul Craig Roberts Harry Browne Sara Mann Omar Barghouti Shamus Cooke Brenda Norrell Fred Gardner Binoy Kampmark Copenhagen Blues: McChrystal and the Afghan Trap Website of the Day October 2-4, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Diana Johnstone Greg Moses William Blum Brian Cloughley Russell Mokhiber John Ross Ellen Brown David Ker Thomson David Macaray Gary Engler Robert Fantina Lisa Stolarski / Naomi Archer Anthony Papa Joe Allen Harry Browne Ron Jacobs Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
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Weekend Edition What Obama Will FindGodless ChinaBy JOHN V. WALSH
Obama goes to China in a few days; the preparations are made and the props in place. The Dalai Lama was pushed out of the gate early, gold robes flapping, with his visit to the disputed area of Arunachal Pradesh, scheduled as if by miracle to coincide with Obama’s visit. He is part of a backdrop for Obama to lecture China on human rights, although the Torturer in Chief is likely to exclude extraordinary renditions and suspension of habeas corpus from the chosen items on his Chinese menu of rights. On the professorial side, Paul Krugman chimed in some weeks back, declaring that “China’s bad behavior is posing a growing threat to the rest of the world economy” and “Something must be done about China’s currency.” (1) One would almost think that China led us into the current global economic crisis, instead of leading the way out of it, which is the fact. (China has in fact offered to “do something” about its currency, namely develop a basket of currencies to gradually replace the dollar as an international reserve currency - with dollar, yuan, euro, yen, ruble and others included in the basket. This proposed solution, which slipped Krugman’s mind or at least his keyboard, is anathema to the US Imperium, which might be running on empty without the dollar as a reserve currency.) And the BBC this morning is trotting out some material which the increasingly discredited Human Rights Watch (2) last circulated before the Olympics. In fact the anti-China din in the media might be louder were it not for some confusion about the Middle Kingdom among the architects and minders of the U.S. Empire. (3) I learned a bit more about China on a trip there in September and perhaps some of it may be useful to CounterPunchers, and not just in the coming days. Since Dalai seems to be leading the way in the current anti-China charge, it is worthwhile to consider the place of religion in China – much different from the West, both now and for five millennia. One of the most difficult things for my fellow American travelers to comprehend was the near absence of religion in China – in fact the near complete lack of interest in it. When asked about religion, a Chinese woman, one of our guides, simply said that most Westerners think that Chinese are Buddhists but in fact very few are. My fellow Americans found that very difficult to accept. There must be religion somewhere some insisted. However, a quick check of that mainstay of Chinese government views, the CIA World Factbook (4) supports the view of the guide. Says our CIA: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian: 3%-4%; Muslim 1%-2%. (In a related statistic the CIA lists less than 10% of the population as ethnic minorities, i.e., non-Han: Han Chinese 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities 8.5%. Not all of these are dissatisfied, by a long shot, for example those living along the Li River, thanks in part to Chinese affirmative action programs and the exceptions made to the one-child policy for smaller minority groups.) In terms of religion one might say that an atheistic populace is to be expected of a country, which has passed through a revolution led by Communists. But the interesting thing about China is that it has never, in its many millennia, had a serious, long-standing attachment to religion except in Tibet, which constitutes a significant chunk of Chinese territory but has a tiny fraction of its population. China’s culture has never had a “Guy in the Sky” in all of its recorded history. Nor has it ever had a notion of Heaven and Hell. (How nice that is.) It has never had a creation myth resembling in any way that of the Desert Religions, with the Guy in the Sky assembling the whole business. The closest thing, which comes rather late in Chinese history is the fable of Pan Gu which has various forms. One is this:
And so the only guy with a shot at being The Guy in the Sky was gone. God was dead before he got off the ground. But even the existence of this myth, which I relate only to be complete, is not well known among Chinese. Some will recall hearing it once or twice in school but it is nothing like the creation myth of the desert religions drummed into the head of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim faiths. Certainly China was burdened by ancestor worship and the idea of ancestral ghosts, but these were banished by the Revolution. And these vague spirits were thin gruel indeed next to the Western idea of an all powerful deity ready to plunge one into the excruciating torments of eternal fire for any infraction he deemed serious. Mao Zedong was asked by journalist Anna Louise Strong, or so the story goes, what he thought of God. He replied that “there is plenty of God to go around.” Asked by Strong what he meant, he explained that when there is a war, the French God is on the French side, the German God on the German side, the Japanese God on the Japanese side, etc. “There is plenty of God to go around,” he concluded. Today the neocon philosphers, although atheists themselves, express dismay that belief in God is passing from the scene, recognizing as they do that such belief is a mighty asset when marching young men and women off to the abyss of war. In the cry “For God and Country,” China is missing half the call. It is one reason for a ray of optimism as China takes a central place on the world stage. John V. Walsh recently visited China and recommends the experience to one and all. Two previous CounterPunch articles on the subject are: ”Mao's China at 60” and “Remembering Hinton's Fanshen.” He can be reached at John.Endwar@gmail.com Notes. 1.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/opinion/ 2. A“search of CounterPunch.com yields a trail of ever more disappointing stances and double standards by Human Rights Watch from Lebanon to Palestine to Latin America. HRW is a brand name that can no longer be trusted. 3. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/opinion/ 4.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html 5. Origins of Chinese Science and Technology (2004). Asiapac Books (Singapore); page 25.
Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter! Obama and Black America Ten months into Obama-time, the plight of black Americans is terrible. Yet overwhelmingly they rally behind the president. In a powerful report from the Deep South Kevin Alexander Gray asks the question: what should the black political agenda be? Mark Rudd counterposes “organizing” with “activism” and describes what it will take to build a movement. H. Bruce Franklin gives a chronology of the march into Afghanistan. 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.Order CounterPunch By Email For Only $35 a Year !
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Now Available from CounterPunch Books! Yellowstone Drift:
"Powerful and shocking ..
Waiting for
Lightning
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