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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! 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 March 9, 2004 Jeffrey St.
Clair Vijay Prashad
March 8, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Fisk Kurt Nimmo Suzan Mazur Evelyn Pringle Giuliana Sgrena Elaine Cassel
March 7, 2005 Dave Zirin Brian Cloughley John Chuckman Mike Whitney Mark Weisbrot Fred Gardner Richard Neville Uri Avnery
March 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Tom Reeves Jenna Orkin Tom Barry Joshua Frank Moshe Adler Jane Stillwater Omar Barghouti / Jacqueline
Sfeir Christopher
Brauchli John Pilger Raúl
Zibechi David Krieger Three Takes on Nepal Surendra R. Devkota Bhishma Karki Joseph Pietri Ben Tripp Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
March 4, 2005 Frederick Hudson
March 3, 2005 Pat Williams Brian Cloughley Dave Lindorff Amira Hass Greg Moses Lynne Landes Nelson P. Valdés John Ross
March 2, 2005 Saul Landau
/ Farrah Hassen Mike Roselle M. Junaid Alam Suzan Mazur Jackson Thoreau Michael Donnelly Jeffrey St.
Clair Website of the Day
March 1, 2005 Scott Richard
Lyons David Lindorff Patrick Cockburn
/ David Enders Ron Jacobs Tanya Garcia Joseph Pietri Kona Lowell Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
February 28, 2005 Gary Leupp Bill Quigley Paul de Rooij David Swanson Mario Lamo
Jimenez Emma Perez Diana Johnstone Website of the Day
February 26 / 27, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Noam Chomsky Rev. William E. Alberts Fred Gardner Gary Leupp Saul Landau Robin Philpot Yitkhak Laor Ben Tripp Justin Taylor Jack Random Rafael Renteria Jim B. Seth DeLong John Chuckman Alison Weir Richard Oxman Dr. Susan Block Poets' Basement
February 25, 2005 Roger Burbach Behzad Yaghmaian Kurt Nimmo Joshua Frank John Farley Lawrence Reichard Pratyush Chandra David Smith-Ferri Website of
the Day
February 24, 2005 Omar Waraich Brian Cloughley Tom Wright Sharon Smith Dave Lindorff Fred Feldman James Reiss
Diane Christian Website of
the Day
February 23, 2005 Werther W. John Green James Petras Conn Hallinan Joe Pietri Louis Proyect Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
February 22, 2005 Naseer Aruri Richard Manning William A.
Cook Paul Craig Roberts Ken Krayeske Dave Zirin Kirkpatrick
Sale
February 21, 2005 Hunter S. Thompson John Ross Ward Churchill Dr. Teresa
Whitehurst David Swanson Dave Lindorff Stew Albert Michael Neumann
February 19 / 20, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Kathleen Christison Ted Honderich Gary Leupp Don Santina Jennifer Roesch Scott Richard
Lyons Chris Clarke George Beres Harry Browne Manuel Garc'a,
Jr. Mark Scaramella Michael Donnelly John Pilger Norman Madarasz Surendra Devkota Deborah Rich Fred Gardner CounterPunch
News Service Richard Oxman Poets' Basement
February 18, 2005 Ben Moxham Dave Lindorff Larry Birns Gregory Elich Samuel Logan / John Meyers Nicole Colson Suzan Mazur Mickey Z.
February 17, 2005 Joshua Frank Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Fisk Christopher
Brauchli Dr. Teresa
Whitehurst Alison Weir Ahrar Ahmad Saul Landau Website of the Day
February 16, 2005 Robert Fisk Kevin Zeese Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Jessica Leight Greg Moses Mark Engler Jack McCarthy Bill Christison Website of the Day
February 15, 2005 CounterPunch
News Service Robert Fisk Uri Avnery Stan Cox Mickey Z. Dave Zirin Nadia Martinez Lila Rajiva Paul Craig
Roberts
February 14, 2005 Robert Jensen Brian Cloughley Patrick Cockburn Gary Leupp Michael Donnelly Dave Lindorff Elaine Cassel
February 12 / 13, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Paul Craig
Roberts Patrick Cockburn John Feffer Mickey Z. Kurt Nimmo Fred Gardner Dave Zirin John Chuckman Ben Tripp Carol Norris Robert Fisk Frank / Chowkwanyun Mike Whitney Deborah Frisch Niranjan Ramakrishnan Christine TenBarge Ron Jacobs Dr. Susan Block Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
February 11, 20055 Manuel Garcia,
Jr Kurt Nimmo Dave Lindorff Larry Birns Bill Quigley Tom Barry Jennifer Van
Bergen
February 10, 2005 Dave Lindorff Christopher Brauchli Patrick Cockburn Nicole Colson Suzan Mazur Michael Donnelly Mike Stark Greg Moses Website of
the Day
February 9, 2005 Jeffrey St.
Clair Mickey Z. John Ross Tom Barry Conn Hallinan Patrick Cockburn Steen Sohn Tim Wise Website of
the Day
February 8, 2005 Patrick Cockburn Brian Cloughley Steve Breyman Harry Browne Doug Giebel Nate Collins Dave Lindorff David Smith-Ferri
February 7, 2005 Paul Craig
Roberts Carolyn Baker Joshua Frank Mickey Z. Patrick Cockburn Mike Whitney Stacie Jonas Dave Zirin Tariq Ali
February 5 / 6, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Kurt Nimmo Joshua Frank P. Sainath Patrick Cockburn Laura Carlsen Dave Lindorff Pamela Olson Behzad Yaghmaian Saul Landau / Farrah Hassen Roger Burbach Robert Fisk David Swanson Justin E.H. Smith Cacie Hart Ron Jacobs Mickey Z. Ben Tripp Ben Sonnenberg Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
February 4, 2005 Brian Cloughley Bill Christison Elaine Cassel Jacob Levich Kanak Mani Dixit Ron Jacobs
February 3, 2005 Ward Churchill Sharon Smith Mickey Z. Mike Whitney Jenna Orkin Saul Landau Yitzhak Laor Dave Lindorff
February 2, 2005 David Domke
/ Kevin Coe Noam Chomsky M. Shahid Alam Richard Oxman Joshua Frank Dave Lindorff Nina Hartley Website of the Day
February 1, 2005 Joshua L. Dratel Patrick Cockburn Robert Fisk Uri Avnery Col. Dan Smith Alison Weir Alan Farago Ray Hanania Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
December 22, 2004 James Petras Omar Barghouti Patrick Cockburn / Jeremy Redmond Harry Browne Richard Oxman Kathleen Christison Website of the Day
December 21, 2004 Greg Moses Dave Lindorff Chad Nagle Dragon Pierces
Truth* Patrick Cockburn Seth DeLong Ahmad Faruqui Paul Craig
Roberts
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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March 9, 2005 Foreseeing and ForestallingStanding Up to Ecocide in OregonBy MICHAEL DONNELLY
On "Management" The 23rd University of Oregon Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (E-LAW) has come and gone. The Big Green professionals have all boarded ozone-depleting jetliners and decamped back to computer solitaire in the "vast cubicle wastelands;" the local hippies, trustafarians and assorted malcontents have re-congregated around favorite beverage joints; Sierra Club "leaders" have gone on to promoting the architect of the worst Ancient Forest liquidation schemes as "our" representative on the Oregon Board of Forestry; Earth First! heroes left the festivities early and have set up an Action Camp and over a dozen have already been arrested blocking the first logging in an Ancient Forest Reserve since Clinton's 1994 Northwest Forest Plan; and, the High Rollin' Low Baggin' US Tour has left town to lead the Mountain Justice Summer effort to end Mountaintop Removal and Valley Fill coal mining in Appalachia. Talk about "ugly!" E-LAW was the first such environmental law conference. Held the first weekend of March, it brings together lawyers, wonks and activists from around the country. It's been a rite of Spring for the many movements always represented. (With Global Warming, it's become a rite of Summer, as instead of 40 degrees and raining as in the early years; lately it's been 60 degrees, sunny skies, blooming flowers and pollen-driven sniffling noses.)
Collaboration Collaboration was the word of the day. For every discussion panel on Ending Commercial Logging on Public Lands, it seemed there were ten panels on "Collaborative" logging schemes. Seems a number of paid enviros have been meeting with local millowners, County Commissioners, Forest Service folks and other members of the rural oligarchy across the West and coming up with plans to send more of our public trees through local private mills. The gist of the argument is that past mismanagement has led to "overstocked fire, disease and insect damage-prone monoculture thickets" (as advocates foresaw and, of course, noted would happen!) and the only way to get them back to a functional forest is to "thin" the plantations. The predictable result? More big stumps, species driven further towards the brink, exacerbated poverty in resource extraction communities, a widened gap between the foundation-dependent enviros and the grassroots and, of course, continued grant funding for the collaborators. One such Collaborative Plan would have a NW National Forest divided in thirds with one-third becoming designated Wilderness, one-third subject to "single entry restoration" (read: chainsaw surgery), and the rest as some kind of big timber free fire zone with a guaranteed annual cut. Activists have been unable to gain Wilderness status for lands in this forest for over 30 years, and this unlikely, admittedly attractive as per Wilderness scheme provides a sort of "victory" to worn-out advocates.
Any commercial version of "restoration" logging has the built-in incentives that will ensure that the lauded ecological goals --- reducing the numbers of even-aged, monoculture trees in plantations and reducing fire risks --- will come secondary to the bottom line. But, Nature's Bottom Line is this: the value of undisturbed soils as carbon sinks increases exponentially as the effects of greenhouse gasses broaden. The entire Public Lands (and some private, as well) protection effort needs to adapt quickly to the necessity of framing the argument in terms of carbon sequestration. It is critical that we quit soil-disturbing activities. The very life of the planet is in the balance.
The Real Deal: Brower's Angels Many are dedicated to the Archdruid David Brower's observation that the best campaigns are those that are sketched out on a cocktail napkin at closing time. Mike Roselle www.lowbagger.org passed out invites to a reception that introduced Mountain Justice Summer to the assembled activists. As the invite was good for one drink and free pizza, some 400 showed up to chow down, reacquaint with old allies and hear the brilliant, dynamic women behind the efforts to slow Big Coal and End Commercial Logging on Public Lands. (As could be expected, local riff-raff out-lowbagged the lowbaggers and counterfeit free drink invites littered the bar. Roselle, of course, anticipated this and could not have cared less.) Grove Parsons addressed the receptive crowd. She outlined the Mountain Justice Summer plan and invited all to join in. She and Hilary Hosta are gathering their allies in Virginia this summer. (After fighting back tears as I later watched a documentary on Mountaintop Removal/Valley Fill coal extraction, complete with all the same arguments we've heard for years regarding old growth forest mining, including the same classist holding of workers' livelihoods hostage; I'll be joining them.) Their National Forest Protection Alliance (NFPA) allies Susan Curry, of Charlottesville, VA and Jeanette Russell from Missoula, MT spoke of the their work. NFPA represents over 200 member organizations, state representatives, and businesses that actively support the protection of public lands from commercial logging. Both groups raised some money. Some folks even got a slice of pizza. All had a good time and the embattled residents of Appalachia got the word out and got some commitments of help from veteran forest activists.
Logging the Biscuit The Ancient Forest reserve, called a Late Successional Reserve (LSR) under terms of the Clinton Option 9 logging plan, that's been entered and is being vigorously opposed is part of the woeful Biscuit Fire Salvage Sale. Over 300 people from ages 5 to 85 turned out to try and stop the logging near the Babyfoot Lake trailhead/Wilderness Boundary. The year-old Silver Creek Lumber Co., Inc. has been the point of the saw for logging the Biscuit. Owner John W. West has claimed local preference in the bidding process and was awarded the logging rights to numerous sales within the Biscuit complex. Despite West's filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2000 and again in 2001 and his previous timber concern Westland Contracting, Inc. and his parents filing for bankruptcy in 2000, the Forest Service had no problem awarding this shady, supposedly broke operator with logging contracts. It is standard practice for big mills to front the money to "local" loggers to bid on sales. Reportedly that is what has happened here and the mill behind Silver Creek is said to be Roseburg Forest Products, owned by Allyn Ford. Ford also owns the Umpqua (StUmpqua to activists) and Commercial Banks in Oregon. Ford has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to right-wing causes and is a major bankroller of the Republican Party. By funneling money through a John West it appears like "local, small concerns" are involved and it reduces competition at the auction. That he can operate like this while owing so much money is beyond sleazy; almost as sleazy as his stealing over 200 old growth trees in the Flat Top area of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, an egregious crime that resulted in a mere slap on the wrist fine and, obviously, no ban on future bidding on nearby sales.
Defiant, Celebratory Culture
Now E-LAW would not be complete without the 10th Annual OutLAW Bash. Saturday night during the conference sees a gathering of a few hundred with food, drink and entertainment. Despite the bleak reports from around the world presented every E-LAW, a life-affirming culture has grown up. Sometimes one has to dance to keep from crying. It's fitting that Eugene is the venue. Sponsored by the local Earth First! crowd, the party has grown to over four hundred and this year had to be moved to a larger site. This year's soiree was held at a hallowed gathering site around the corner from Ken Kesey's farm in Pleasant Hill. (People could proudly puke on the same soil that absorbed the vomit of Jack Cassidy and tryst under the same trees that sheltered legions of Pranksters.) This year's bash was a fundraiser for the Biscuit defenders. Slugthang treated all to a rousing spoken word series of rants. Bands performed. And, as usual, the highlight was the ritual burning of a mock-up icon of the Empire --- this time an Iraq oil derrick covered with Air Force emblems. The exquisite sculptures have evolved from the early days of mere plywood bulldozers. Some recent ones have been last year's giant Skull and Bones with each rocket-spewing bone labeled --- one for Bush and one for ABB; a giant Electric Chair with Bush effigy; Dick's (Cheney) Playhouse; the TIA Pyramidyou get the idea.
Join In So, pull out the Summer Schedule, check in on the links above and jot down a trip to the Virginia coalfields and/or to the Biscuit Salvage scam. It's beyond time to Foresee and we damn well better Forestall and Rein In. And, as always, don't let 'em get your day, too. Michael Donnelly lives in what used to be the moist
side of Oregon. He can be reached at pahtoo@aol.com |
