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Inside the New Print Edition of CounterPunch: How Go the Democrats? Democrats on the Brink: Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair; Innocent Lads, Depraved Killers and Predatory Priests by JoAnn Wypijewski; Torture Air, Inc.: the Road to Rendition: by Jeffrey St. Clair. Remember these stories are available exclusively in the print edition of CounterPunch. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! Call Toll Free 1-800-840-3683 or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558

Coming Soon from CounterPunch Books Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison by KATHY KELLY Click Here to Order! Today's Stories March 23, 2005 Patrick Cockburn The US Frees Iraqi Kidnappers to Become Spies March 22, 2005 William Blum Anti-Empire Report: Democracy--or is it the US Military--on the March Jim Vallette Cheney's Oil Change at the World Bank Greg Moses A Palm Sunday Chat with Sis Levin John Farley Bush's Culture of Life: Let the Insurance Companies Pull the Plug When the Sick Cost Too Much Ron Jacobs Halt the Anniversary Rallies and Stop the Damn War M. Junaid Alam How the Democratic Party Fosters Conservatism Rep. Cynthia McKinney An Immoral and Illegal War: Destroying Iraq Isn't Enough for Them Dave Lindorff "Saving" Schiavo; Killing the News James Petras Fateful Quadrangle: Cuba and Venezuela Face Off Against the US and Colombia March 21, 2005 John Walsh In the Bars on the Road to Fayettevile: War Support Paper Thin Werther The Legacy of George Kennan, Chief Architect of the Cold War Mike Stark Where is the "Culture of Life" in Maryland? Time is Running Out for Vernon Evans David Swanson Feeding Tubes for the Third World: Put the Hungry into Comas, Then Feed Them! James T. Phillips Happy Meals: Behind the Grill at a Baltimore Diner Mike Ferner Serving, Refusing, Impeaching Robert Jensen The World Waits for an Answer Paul Craig Roberts A Threat Greater Than Terrorism Stew Albert Vegetable Nation Website of the Day American Press Blotter: Jacko, Terry and Steroids vs. the World                     Hot Stories Alexander Cockburn Behold, the Head of a Neo-Con! Subcomandante Marcos The Death Train of the WTO Norman Finkelstein Hitchens as Model Apostate Steve Niva Israel's Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings? Dardagan, Slobodo and Williams CounterPunch Exclusive: 20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians Steve J.B. Prison Bitch Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber True Lies: the Use of Propaganda in the Iraq War Wendell Berry Small Destructions Add Up CounterPunch Wire WMD: Who Said What When Cindy Corrie A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter I Can't Hear From Gore Vidal The Erosion of the American Dream Francis Boyle Impeach Bush: A Draft Resolution Click Here for More Stories.     Subscribe Online

March 23, 2005 A Spontaneous Act of Conscience Why I Hung from a Bridge to Defend the Wild Forests of the Siskiyou Mountains By BECKY WHITE My name is Becky White. I am a 27 year-old musician with a degree in conservation biology. On March 14th, I suspended myself on a small platform over the Green Bridge above the Wild and Scenic Illinois River. The truck rope that held my platform stretched across the road, closing all logging traffic to the Fiddler Timber Sale for 7 hours. The choice to sit on the platform early that morning was fairly spontaneous, yet guided by years of study and a deep love for the wild places of southern Oregon. The Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon are one of the most biodiverse places in this country. There are places with over 27 conifer species and six undammed rivers with vibrant salmon runs. The wild places of southern Oregon are unique, but their fate is unfortunately extremely tenuous. The current logging is occurring in old growth reserves in the Siskiyou National Forest that were protected by their status before the Biscuit Fire in 2002. Many people don,t understand that these forests have evolved with fire and that the forest floor is now alive with rare plants, flowers and saplings that will only germinate with the hot temperatures of fire. The issue of this logging is not only about trees, it is about preserving an entire ecosystem that is world reknown by botanists and birders. It saddens me to know that the rivers will turn brown because of the run-off caused by hauling and yarding. I am not anti-logging. I am pro-restoration. I am interested in following the example set by the community of Williams, where I have lived for the last four years. In Williams, as an alternative to the Scattered Apples Timber Sale, local people are working with the BLM to remove small diameter timber, reducing fire risk and creating a local economy. The illegal timber sale that is currently being cut in the Biscuit Fire area does not create a local economy; in fact it robs the local community of the growing industry of ecotourism because they are left with a degraded landscape. The only profits go to loggers and international corporations outside the Illinois valley. I was forced by my conscience and my heart to take a stand and to use my body to make a message. There are already so many degraded landscapes; let's protect what is left for the future generations to come. It is not too late to change the way we interact with our national heritage. Becky White is a member of the Oxygen Collective. She can be reached at: becky@makeartnow.org