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Amazing Plan Surfaces: "We Need Ethno-Weapons!" David Price tells how top-flight US anthropologists eagerly obeyed US government's mandate to "think in a-moral terms". One scheme of OSS's willing executioners: target Japanese physical "weak spot", the respiratory tract, with anthrax germs. Gabriel Kolko asks What's so New About the Neo-Cons? If they had not existed, would the policies have been the same? Jeffrey St Clair digs up more dirt on Halliburton's secret history. Alexander Cockburn on why we need more "celebrity justice". Get the answers you're looking for in the latest subscriber-only 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! or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 |
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Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison by KATHY KELLY ![]() Today's Stories July 9 / 10, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Sheldon
Rampton Bill
Christison Robert
Fisk Behrooz
Ghamari Karl
Beitel Brian
Concannon, Jr. Fred
Gardner John
Whitlow Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Jackie
Corr Dave
Lindorff N.
D. Jayaprakash Seth
Sandronsky Ben
Tripp Website
of the Weekend
July 8, 2005 Paul
Craig Roberts Tariq
Ali Monica
Benderman Rick
Jahnkow Christopher
Brauchli Kim
Peterson Joshua
Frank Norman
Solomon Website
of the Day
July 7, 2005 Cockburn
/ St. Clair John
Walsh Mike
Marqusee Gilad
Atzmon Nicole
Colson Jack
Random Norman
Solomon Len
Colodny Cockburn
/ St. Clair
July 6, 2005 Elaine
Cassel Sean
Donahue Jeremy
R. Hammond Joshua
Frank Ali
Khan Michael
Dickinson Norman
Solomon Dave
Zirin Gary
Leupp Website
of the Day
July 5, 2005 Behrooz
Ghamari Elaine
Cassel Ron
Jacobs Bob
Libal Dr.
Peter Rost Mark
Engler Gideon
Levy Dave
Zirin Sameer
Dossani
July 2 / 4, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Lenni
Brenner Laura
Carlsen James
Petras William
A. Cook Brian
Cloughley Saul
Landau Tom
Crumpacker Greg
Moses Dr.
Susan Block Fran
Shor Fred
Gardner Moshe
Adler David
Model Seth
Sandronsky Ramzy
Baroud Suzan
Mazur Ben
Tripp Justin
Taylor Brendan
Bailey Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
July 1, 2005 Christopher
Brauchli Pat
Williams Gary
Leupp John
Stauber John
Chuckman Justicia
y Paz Cockburn
/ St. Clair
June 30, 2005 Kathy
Kelly John
Stauber Virginia
Rodino Jason
Leopold Dave
Lindorff Greg
Moses Norman
Solomon Joshua
Frank Alexander
Cockburn
June 29, 2005 Mike
Schaefer Roger
Burbach / Paul Cantor Sharon
Smith Sam
Husseini John
Stauber Ahmad
Faruqui Linda
S. Heard Stew
Albert Ray
McGovern
June 28, 2005 Paul
Craig Roberts Landau
/ Hassen John
A. Murphy Mike
Whitney CounterPunch
News Service Dave
Zirin Dave
Lindorff Patrick
Cockburn
June 27, 2005 Paul
Craig Roberts Mike
Marqusee Mark
Scaramella Leigh
Saavedra Kathy
Kelly June 25 / 26, 2005 Alexander
Cockburn Jennifer
Van Bergen George
Corsetti Mark
Chmiel / Andrew Wimmer Kevin
Zeese P.
Sainath John
Stauber Scott
Handleman Tom
Barry John
Walsh Justin
E.H. Smith Alan
Wallis Ben
Tripp Frederick
B. Hudson Poets'
Basement
June 24, 2005 Ray
McGovern Jorge
Mariscal Desiree
Hellegers Zeynep
Toufe Joshua
Frank David
Lindorff Michael
Neumann Website
of the Day June 23, 2005 Christopher
Brauchli Clay
Conrad Standard
Schaefer P.
Sainath Mark
Engler Norman
Solomon Cockburn
/ St. Clair Kathy
Kelly
June 22, 2005 Kevin
Zeese William
S. Lind Arsalan
Iftikhar Dan
Nagengast David
Krieger Kathleen
& Bill Christison
June 21, 2005 Brian Cloughley Mike Whitney Dave Lindorff Mark Weisbrot Matthew R.
Simmons Dave Zirin Virginia Rodino Paul Craig
Roberts
June 20, 2005 Alan Maass Tariq Ali Mickey Z. William Blum Gary Leupp Jason Leopold Dave Lindorff Alan Maass Uri Avnery Website of
the Day
Hot Stories Alexander Cockburn Subcomandante
Marcos Norman Finkelstein Steve Niva Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams Steve
J.B. Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber Wendell
Berry CounterPunch
Wire Cindy
Corrie Gore Vidal Francis Boyle
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Weekend Edition Deepening the InequitiesCAFTA: Losing Proposition for the HemisphereBy LAURA CARLSEN More than a year after signing, President Bush finally sent the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) to the U.S. Congress for vote. On June 30, the Senate approved the agreement by a 54-45 vote. The reason for the unusual wait time between signing CAFTA and the Congressional vote is simply explained-the president didn't have the votes to pass his pet trade project. Fearing a demoralizing setback, the unpopular treaty sat in the wings. In fact, the adminstration's intensive special-interest lobbying still hasn't clinched CAFTA's passage in a House floor vote. But waiting is likely to worsen prospects of approval. A groundswell of opposition is growing in the heartland. Congressional offices have been hearing from thousands of constituents over the past months asking them to reject the trade agreement. Opposition to CAFTA comes from three main sources. Labor, a traditional foe of free trade agreements, has protested the net loss of U.S. jobs and erosion of labor rights and protections that has resulted from free trade agreements. They argue that FTAs create a downward pressure on workers' quality of life in all countries involved and that CAFTA has even fewer labor and environmental safeguards than the North American Free Trade Agreement-NAFTA. Church and anti-poverty groups protest CAFTA's projected effect on the poor in Central American countries. Like NAFTA, CAFTA is expected to concentrate wealth in a region where poverty is widespread--leading to increased hunger, out-migration and instability. A third area of concern is that CAFTA will deepen the U.S. deficit. The record deficit, largely trade-driven, already has the economic community trembling. Free trade has been a contributing cause by generally leading to a higher increase in imports than exports. A soaring deficit undermines the economy's strength and could mean that future generations will not know the comfort and security that we take for granted. Part of CAFTA's problem is also the bad behavior of its older brother, NAFTA. After ten years, the North American Free Trade Agreement has failed in nearly every benchmark set for it during the buoyant years of free trade negotiating in the early nineties. Its major success, not surprisingly, has been to increase trade between Canada, Mexico and the United States . But many people are wondering if international trade in itself is the panacea it's set out to be. It certainly wasn't for Mexico. There, poverty has grown over the NAFTA decade and real wages fallen. The economy is held together with remittances from economic refugees, especially small farmers pushed off their land. In thousands of rural villages, children cry for their missing parents. A select group of international businessmen has benefited enormously since the agreement but the majority of the population has been left behind. This experience is not lost on the people of the five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic united in CAFTA. Although their governments have ratified the agreement, there continue to be protests in the streets. In the case of Guatemala , farmer and worker-led protests triggered government repression that led to injuries and claimed a life last March. The dividing line between CAFTA proponents and opponents in these countries is more economic than political-the rich like it, the poor protest. It's no wonder, since the main, across-the-board effect of the NAFTA-CAFTA trade agreements is to widen the disparity between rich and poor. Protest in foreign countries is often viewed as irrelevant to U.S. policy debates. Historically, even labor opposition to the misnamed free trade agreements has seen foreign workers as the competition. But the CAFTA debate has shown that Northern and Southern societies share a common interest in defeating the agreement. If the U.S. were to see itself more as a global "good neighbor"--to borrow from FDR's famous policy of the thirties-common sense would tell us that it serves U.S. interests to contribute to sustainable and equitable development in these historically tinderbox nations. By hurting the most vulnerable-workers, small farmers, women-CAFTA rattles already shaky structures of governance. By stripping national governments of important decision-making powers in negotiating foreign debt, implementing national development policies and using generic medicines to treat health problems, it constitutes a setback for democratization. How much money, how many lives have been lost in regional conflicts that had at their root basic inequities? CAFTA will merely deepen the inequities. Laura Carlsen directs the Americas Program of the
International Relations Center (IRC), based in Mexico City, Mexico,
on line at www.americaspolicy.org.
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