How
the Press &
the CIA Killed Gary Webb's Career
Today's
Stories
December 23,
2004
David Price
Social
Security Pump and Dump
December 22,
2004
James Petras
An
Open Letter to Saramago: Nobel Laureate Suffers from a Bizarre
Historical Amnesia
Omar Barghouti
The Case for Boycotting Israel
Patrick Cockburn / Jeremy Redmond
They Were Waiting on Chicken Tenders When the Rounds Hit
Harry Browne
Northern Ireland: No Postcards from the Edge
Richard Oxman
On the Seventh Column
Kathleen Christison
Imagining
Palestine
Website of the Day
FBI Torture Memos
December 21,
2004
Greg Moses
The
New Zeus on the Block: Unplugging Al-Manar TV
Dave Lindorff
Losing
It in America: Bunker of the Skittish
Chad Nagle
The View from Donetsk
Dragon Pierces
Truth*
Concrete
Colossus vs. the River Dragon: Dislocation and Three Gorges Dam
Patrick Cockburn
"Things Always Get Worse"
Seth DeLong
Aiding Oppression in Haiti
Ahmad Faruqui
Pakistan and the 9/11 Commission's Report
Paul Craig
Roberts
America
Locked Up: a System of Injustice
December 20,
2004
Gary Leupp
Japan
in Iraq
Robert Fisk
An
Army Without Compassion
Uri Avnery
The Mountain and the Mouse
Francisco Letelier
My Case Against Pinochet
Patrick Cockburn
The Polls of Fear
Bill Conroy
Charles Bowden on the Legacy of Gary Webb: "He Drew Blood"
Yoshie Furuhashi
Chokeholds of a Giant: Attacking Wal-Mart's Supply Chain
David Swanson
Media Blackout of Bush's War on Labor
Chad Nagle
Did Yushchenko Poison Himself?
December 18
/ 19, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Why
They Hated Gary Webb
Saul Landau
Gen.
Pinochet Should Also Face Charges in DC
Patrick Cockburn
Losing
Mosul: Once They Called It a Model for the Occupation
Douglas Valentine
Wolves
and Revolution in Venezuela: a Caracas Romance
Ray McGovern
Laughing Dragon, Dancing Bear: the New China / Russia Alliance
Fred Gardner
DEA Upholds Grower's Marijuana Monopoly
Jean-Guy Allard
Locked Up Naked in a Hole Within a Hole: Have the Cuban 5 Been
Tortured in US Prisons?
Ron Jacobs
Drifters Escape, Again: Encounters with Berkeley's Police
Raymond G.
Helmick, S.J.
The Law and Peace in the Middle East
Sean Sellers
Values Voters, Desperate Housewives and Sweatshop Tacos
Lee Sustar
Christmas
on the Picket Line at CNH: "They Want to Break Our Unions"
Richard Thieme
Webb's Wife: "Gary Was Never the Same After They Attacked
Him"
Sam Bahour
WANTED:
Middle East Negotiator
Joshua Frank
The
Spin Doctor: an Interview with Mickey Z.
Dave Lindorff
A Man Who Confers with God Should Have Good Hearing
Stan Cox
What Kids Cost: Dallas v. Delhi
Chris Frasier
Farming By Numbers: More Poets, Fewer MBAs
Poets' Basement
Katz, Melek, Harley, Albert and Ford
December
17, 2004
Cockburn /
St. Clair
CounterAttack:
How the Press and the CIA Killed Gary Webb's Career
Dave Lindorff
Racism:
Philly Style
Dan Bacher
Bush Abandons Salmon Restoration
Marisa Jacott
NAFTA and the Environment: Trade Still Runs Roughshod
Francis Thicke
How Now, Industrial Cow?
Rupert Cornwell
The Inuit Strike Back
Website of the Day
Franz Boas Unrolls Over in His Grave
December
16, 2004
Michael
Neumann
How We Became Barbarians
Merlin
Chowkwanyun
An Interview with Ralph Nader
Gabriel
Espinoza Gonzales
The Dubious Career of John Bolton
Christopher
Brauchli
Louis Freeh's New Gig: Usurer
Patrick
Cockburn
Allawi's Pre-Election Ploy: Putting "Chemical Ali"
on Trial
Mike
Whitney
Gearing Up for a Draft?
Walter
Brasch
Hillbilly Humvees and Rumsfeld's New Physics
Bill
Conroy
How Gary Webb Saved My Ass from the FBI
Website
of the Day
Saturday Memorial for Gary Webb
December
15, 2004
Robert
Fisk
Who Killed Baha Mousa?
Jennifer
Van Bergen
The Monster Under the Bed
Heather
Gray
Will the Real Christians Please Stand?: a Personal Testimony
Dave
Lindorff
The DNC, Albright and the Iraq Elections
Luis
Hernandez Navarro
To Die a Little: Migration and Coffee
in Mexico and Central America
Joshua
Frank
The Ohio Recount: an Exercise in "Dumbocracy"
Greg
Moses
Eighty-Sixing Civil Rights in Ohio?
George
Caffentzis
The Petroleum Commons
December
14, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
DNC Meddling in the Ukraine Elections
Larry
Birns / Seth DeLong
Haiti is Unraveling and No One is Saying
Anything
Richard
Thieme
My Last Talk with Gary Webb: "I Knew It Was the Truth and
That's What Kept Me Going"
Patrick
Cockburn
A Year After Saddam's Capture, Iraq
is Getting Worse
Chris
Floyd
Client State: Moral Values and Voluntary Servitude in Bush's
America
Akiva
Eldar
A One-time Hanukkah Miracle
Burbach
/ Cantor
The Legacy of Pinochet: Kissinger
and the Teflon Tyrant
December
13, 2004
Cockburn
/ St. Clair
Gary Webb: a Great Reporter, Trashed
by the CIA's Claque
David
Phinney
"Contract Meal Disaster" for Iraqi Prisoners: Rancid
Food Sparked Abu Ghraib Riots
Paul
Craig Roberts
A Dose of Non-Delusional Reality
for Douglas Feith
M.
Junaid Alam
The War is the War Crime
Robert
Jensen
The US Has Lost the Iraq War...and That's a Good Thing
Richard
Oxman
Kafkaesque Lessons for the Left
Greg
Moses
Send No Messengers of Defeat
Douglas
Lummis
The Pentagon's Neurosis: Fallujah
Gulag
December
11 / 12, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Running an Empire on the Cheap
Ron
Jacobs
The Drugs of War: Getting High in the Green Zone?
Saul
Landau
Listening and Talking to God About
Invading Other Countries
Gary
Leupp
Bush's Capital
Sharon
Smith
The Horrible Toll on US Troops
Dave
Lindorff
Deja Vu All Over Again: 5,000 Desertions and Counting
Uri
Avnery
The Boss Has Gone Crazy
Jude
Wanniski
The Neo-Con Smear on Kofi Annan: What Food-for-Oil Scandal?
Heather
Gray
How the South Became Republican: an Interview with John Egerton
Patrick
Cockburn / Ken Sengupta
Fallujah: the Homecoming and the Homeless
John
Pilger
Return to Kosovo: Calling the Humanitarian Bombers to Account
Joshua
Frank
All the Rage: Mr. Solomon, Say You're Sorry
Ben
Tripp
O Canada!: the Truth About the Election of 2004
John
Stanton
God Speaks!
Laura
Nathan
Porn Stars are People, Too: a Talk with Christi Lake
Poets'
Basement
Capaccio, Davies, Louise, Ford and Albert
Website
of the Day
Fallujah Photos: Killed in Their Beds
December
10, 2004
Ralph
Nader
President Bush, Stop Destroying the
Mosques of Iraq
Greg
Moses
Whitewashing Voter Fraud
Nicole
Colson
Rebellion in the Ranks: Grunts Are Resisting Stop-Loss Orders
Frederick
B. Hudson
"They Still Got Those Dogs": A New Book Probes Old
Civil Rights Lessons
Patrick
Cockburn
Iraq's Insurgents Oppose the Occupation, Not the Elections
Kathy
Kelly
From Haiti to Iraq: Burying Water
December
9, 2004
Greg
Moses
Ask Not Who Bankrolled Fallujah
Joshua
Frank
Cobb and the Ohio Recount: Vote Fraud as Fundraiser!
Ralph
Nader
An Open Letter to Bush: It's Time to
Disclose the Real Casualty Figures
Lee
Sustar
Bhopal: the Making of a Disaster
Tom
Barry
Restrictionist Resurgence
Mickey
Z.
Sander Hicks and the 9/11 Truth Movement
Christopher
Brauchli
Bush in the Bubble
Mark
Donham
Why are House Democrats Trying to
Deny Cynthia McKinney Seniority?
Gary
Corseri
On the Anniversary of John Lennon's Death, 2012
Paul
de Rooij
The Voices of Sharon's Little Helpers
December
8, 2004
Ralph
Nader
Will the Real Michael Moore Ever Re-Emerge?
Ann
Harrison
The Ohio Recount: Reluctant Officials
and Few Rules
Paul
Craig Roberts
War Crime
Dave
Lindorff
They've Got a Secret: Inside the $40 Billion Black Budget for
Spying
Patrick
Cockburn / Andrew Buncombe
CIA Warning on Iraq: Fallujah Did Not Break the Back of the Insurgency
Col.
Dan Smith
Rules of Engagement in Iraq
Emily
Alves / Michael Johnson
Paradise Lost: Corruption and Clientelism in Costa Rica
Richard
Oxman
The Dylan Bob Wouldn't Mention: Up With Dylan Thomas
Ron
Jacobs
In Fallujah, Freedom Isn't Free
December
7, 2004
Patrick
Cockburn
Running Battles in Baghdad
Behrooz
Ghamari
Lost Muslim Voices of Dissent
Dave
Lindorff
American Fantasies: Psst! Hey Buddy,
Did You Hear How Well the War's Going?
Joshua
Frank
Dean at the DNC?
Richard
Oxman
Down with Dylan: the Insufferable Interview
Ray
McGovern
All Mosquitoes, No Swamp
John
Chuckman
The Invasion of Hallifax: The Imperial Wizard Visits Canada
James
Petras
Latin America: the Empire Changes Gears
Website
of the Day
ToxMap: Who's Poisoning You
December
6, 2004
Paul
Craig Roberts
Paranoia and Pre-emption: Is the
Bush Administration Certifiable?
December
4 / 6, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Politicize the CIA? You've Got to
be Kidding
Joe
Bageant
Dining with the Rhinos
Alan
Maass
Reporting from the Ground in Iraq: an Interview with Patrick
Cockburn
Brian
Cloughley
Democracy, Bush-style, in the Gulf
Laura
Carlsen
Latin America Shifts Left
Lenni
Brenner
Jefferson, Madison, Bush and Religion
Anna
Ioakimedes
Brazil's Haitian Mission: Doing God's Work or Washington's?
Uri
Avnery
Widow of Opportunity?
Fred
Gardner
Supreme Court Hears Medical Pot Case
Dave
Zirin
Steroids to Heaven
Jackie
Corr
Mining Camp Blues: the Red State Variation
Don
Fitz
Will Greens Abandon IRV?
Lucy
Herschel
"Art can be a Weapon of the Oppressed": an Interview
with Artist Anthony Papa
Richard
Oxman
No Angels in America: Bashing the Gay Play
Ron
Jacobs
Holiday Greeting Card
Poets'
Basement
Collins, Albert, LaMorticella
December
3, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Lie Then Escalate
Ben
Tripp
Fun With Boycotts: How to Shop in a
Time of Crisis
Joe
Allen
Murder in El Salvador: the Assassination of Teamster Organizer
Gilberto Soto
Matthew
B. Riley
Human Rights Court Fails Lori Berenson
Meir
Shalev
In the End, It is the Violin that Wins
Bob
Wing
The White Elephant in the Room: Race and Election 2004
Christopher
Brauchli
When McCain Bit His Tongue
Sasan
Fayazmanesh
The EU, the US, Israel and Iran
December
2, 2004
Tito
Tricot
No Justice in Chile: I'm a Torture
Survivor in a Country Where Torturers Still Run Free
Behzad
Yaghmaian
The Murder of Theo Van Gogh and Muslim Migration
Dr.
Susan Block
Lana and Me: Meetings with Remarkable Apes
Frank
/ Chowkwanyun
Liberalism and Its Bounds
Lee
Sustar
Standoff in Ukraine: the Bad v. the Corrupt
Patrick
Cockburn
Another Grim Record in Iraq
Mark
Engler
Seattle at Five
Michael
Donnelly
Something Stinks in South Bend: the Firing of Tyrone Willingham
Nate
Collins
The Bay Area Mall on an Ohlone Burial Grounds
Saul
Landau
The Assassination of Danilo Anderson
December
1, 2004
Phillip
Cryan
Associated with Whom? Rightist Bias
in Wire Coverage of Colombia
Dave
Zirin
What's the Matter with "Leon"?:
Budweiser's Racist Commercial
Ghali
Hassan
Iraq's Health Care Under the Occupation:
200 Children Die Every Day
Donna
J. Volatile
Beware Western Nations Threatening "Democracy"
Patrick
Cockburn
How Saddam Tried to Arm the Insurgency
Nick
Meo
Chemical War Over Afghanistan
Mike
Ferner
The Battle of Toledo
Mokhiber
/ Weissman
Shame and Determination on Global AIDS Day: 40 Million and Rising
Kathy
Kelly
Looking the Other Way: the Real Crimes
of the UN in Iraq
November
30, 2004
Jennifer
Van Bergen
The Veil of Secrecy
Toni
Nelson Herrera
Meeting Kurtz: When Art is a Crime
Paul
Craig Roberts
The Bush Delusions: Successful at Incompetence
Patrick
Cockburn
The Insurgency Strikes Back: There Are No Safe Havens in Iraq
Chuck
Munson
WTO Protests Five Years Later: Seattle Weekly Trashes Anti-Globalization
Movement
Adam
Williams
Citizenship Sold: Back to Business in Indiana
Gregory
Elich
A Dangerous Turn in the US Plans for
North Korea
Website
of the Day
Read Lynne Cheney's Lesbian Novel Online!
November
29, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Blowback in Ukraine: The Hand of
the CIA?
Omar
Barghouti
"The Pianist" of Palestine:
Roadblock Concerto at Gunpoint
Mike
Whitney
The US Media and Fallujah: How to
Market a Siege
Uri
Avnery
The Abu Mazen Style: "Give Me
Some Credit!"
Matt
Vidal
Globalization and Economic Inequality: a Look at the Numbers
Patrick
Cockburn
An Interview with Iraq's Foreign
Minister
Alan
Farago
Sex Change and Salvation: God, Girly Men and Endocrine Disrupters
Justin
Huggler
Bhopal 20 Years Later
Antony
Loewenstein
How Australia Reported Arafat's Death and Legacy
Gary
Leupp
Ukraine: Poll Results Aren't the Real
Issue
Website
of the Day
Mosul: Images from a Kill Zone
November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
November
26, 2004
Peter
Feng
Gavin Newsom: Man or Machine?
Greg
Moses
It's the White Vote, Stupid
Liaquat
Ali Khan
The Devil's Work: Bush's Minority Appointments
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should Be Banned from Canada: a Memo to the Ministry
of Immigration
Dave
Lindorff
Nation of Sheep, Turkey of an Election: Urkrainians Show the
Way
Gary
Corseri
When Black Friday Comes...
Paul
Craig Roberts
Whatever Happened to Conservatives?
Website
of the Day
Iraq Pipeline Watch
November
25, 2004
Willliam
Loren Katz
Giving Thanks to Whom?: "Thanks
to God We Sent 600 Heathen Souls to Hell Today"
Mitchel
Cohen
Why I Hate Thanksgiving
Mike
Ferner
An Uncommon Mom
November
24, 2004
Gila
Svirsky
License to Kill: the Example of Violence
is Set by the State
Winslow
T. Wheeler
The
Other Mess in Congress
Christopher
Brauchli
The Company He Keeps: the Syndicate of Tom Delay
Dave
Lindorff
Double Standards on Exit Polls: Hypocrisy Sans Irony
Ron
Jacobs
The Occupation of Iraq is the Root of t he Problem
Ken
Sengupta
Witnesses: War Crimes in Fallujah
Diana
Barahona
The Final Holocaust or Why I Voted for Ralph Nader
John
L. Hess
Safire the Shameless
Jason
Leopold
Did Harvard Hire (Another) War Criminal?
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The Mark of McCain: the Senator Most Likely to Start a Nuclear
War
Map
of the Day
Now and Then: 2004 v. 1860
November
23, 2004
Forrest
Hylton
Bush and Uribe at the Beach
November
22, 2004
Dave
Zirin
Fight Night in the NBA: Selective Outrage
in Detroit
Paul
Craig Roberts
On to Iran: We Won't Get Fooled Again?
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should be Banned from Canada
Kathie
Helmkamp
Our Son: a Marine Who Won't Kill
Ken
Sengupta
The Triangle of Death: "This is Now the Most Dangerous Place
in Iraq"
Mike
Whitney
Greenspan's Hammer
Roger
Burbach
Why They Hate Bush in Chile
Website
of the Day
Fed Up with Government Lies and Corporate Spin?
November
20 / 21, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
The Poisoned Chalice
Todd
May
Religion, the Election and the Politics of Fear
Abbas
Ahmed Ibrahim
The Horrors of Fallujah: a First-Hand Account
Kevin
Zeese
Mishandling Nader
Landau
/ Hassen
After Arafat
Tom
Barry
The Vulcans Consolidate Power: The Rise of Stephen Hadley
Fred
Gardner
Pot Shots: Ask Dr. Todd
Justin
E.H. Smith
Triumph of the Will: the Sequel
Carl
Estabrook
Where We Are Now
Gary
Leupp
Imperial History-Making vs. Reality-Based Thought: a Dialogue
Dave
Lindorff
Apocalypse Soon
Jenna
Michelle Liut
Plans Colombia and Patriota: Wanton Wastes of Money, Manpower
and Lives
Mickey
Z.
The Granma Moses of Radical Writing: an Interview with William
Blum
Greg
Moses
The Same Old Struggle Against Imperial America
Sharon
Smith
Abortion Rights and the Election: What Now?
Ron
Jacobs
Sandwiches and Car Bombs
Ben
Tripp
Raising d'Etre: Finding Money in Hollywood These Days
Richard
Oxman
Basketbrawl Two Pointer: Iraq Rules!
Gilad
Atzmon
Politics and Jazz
Poets'
Basement
LaMorticella, Albert, Ford, & Anon.
Website
of the Day
Voice of the Forest
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.
|
December 23, 2004
Al-Manar Revisited
When
No Law Means No Law
By
GREG MOSES
The following Q&A
with CounterPunch readers (who are opinionated and engaging souls)
leads to two conclusions:
(1) the State
Department's letter of justification for adding Al-Manar to the
Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) should be immediately de-classified
and published in the Federal Register;
(2) the Patriot
Act should be amended to require the de-classification and publication
of all reasons for TEL designations that are based on public
acts of speech.
Question: Is there some reason why your article
entitled ìThe New Zeus on the Blockî on counterpunch.org
contained every relevant fact about the issue surrounding Al-Manar,
with the exception of the actual content that is responsible
for banning the network? Clearly the freedom of speech does not
protect one's right to disseminate lies and propaganda?
Answer: The answer is classified. According
to the Patriot Act, the State Dept. is required to distribute
a ìclassifiedî letter of justification one week
prior to designating a group as a ìterrorist organization.î
Then, on the day that the designation takes effect, a notice
appears in the Federal Register. The Dec. 17 notice in the Federal
Register about Al-Manar doesn't (and doesn't have to) set forth
any of the ìclassifiedî reasons. We'll get back
to the USA directly, but first a word about France.
The French ruling on Al-Manar
is interesting, because it comes through an administrative court
known as Council of State. Reports about the Council's ruling
on Al-Manar focus on the following incident in which a commentator
reportedly purveyed Zionist conspiracy theories: ìThe
commentator, who was defined as an expert on the ëZionist
entity', described at length how Israel has been trying to spread
dangerous diseases, including AIDS, in the Arab world.î
So far, I have not seen very
much information about the French court's proceedings or about
the legal traditions that inform French law. For instance, what
if I further explore on this page the pros and cons of the Al-Manar
commentary about the spread of AIDS? Could this page be banned
in France? Or, what is being talked about when the commentator
speaks about a Zionist entity? Is this how Al-Manar refers to
the state of Israel? Under French law can states claim protection
against defamation? There is a lot I don't know about French
law.
Returning to principles of
the First Amendment in the USA, I happen to believe that a world
without Zionist conspiracy theories would be a better world.
But a world where Zionist conspiracy theorists are suppressed
by state agents for ìinciting terrorî is a chilling
one. As reported in the media so far, Constitutional justifications
for restricting Al-Manar's freedom of speech have yet to be publicly
set forth. If the State Dept. is acting in a Constitutional manner,
I would expect stringent standards regarding speech that ìincites".
The Al-Manar ruling appears
to designate a ìterrorist organizationî based solely
on public acts of speech. As far as I know, this is new.
In neither the State Dept.
briefing of Dec. 17, nor in news reports about the terrorist
designation in the USA, were examples of content given that would
qualify for ìinciting terrorism.î As for what the
First Amendment protects, indeed lies and propaganda are broadly
tolerated, unless they libel or incite. As far as I know, "libel"
does not pertain to states. As for ìincite,î the
ghost of Abbie Hoffman is here to warn you, that's a very serious
word.
Until a fuller account is given
for the Al-Manar designation, we have good reasons to be seriously
concerned, because the treatment of Al-Manar is a very practical
test of the rights to free speech that will be respected under
the jurisdiction of the USA. The First Amendment bans administrative
censorship of speech carried out under laws made by Congress:
ìCongress shall make no law.î If the Al-Manar ruling
is to be defended as a justifiable exception to First Amendment
protections, the burden of proof must be quite tall. And given
the legal precedents that may be set by the Al-Manar example,
I believe citizens of the USA are entitled to the gravest procedural
courtesies. Instead, I perceive more power, more arrogance, and
more state control operating under cover of ìanti-terrorismî
legislation.
While one may ring with the
popular chime that state intelligence about certain acts of terrorism
has some basis to be counted as ìclassifiedî (for
purpose of protecting sources, etc) what can be the basis for
classifying ìacts of speechî that have been previously
broadcast? What possible sources could the State Department be
protecting? The Al-Manar file should be immediately de-classified
and published in the Federal Register.
In addition, the case of Al-Manar
indicates that the Patriot Act should be amended. Whenever a
terrorist designation is made on the basis of public acts of
speech, the State Department should be compelled to divulge its
evidence.
The CounterPunch reader
writes back: I
live in Canada where thankfully they are not carrying this satellite
station, and we have quite stringent hate-crime laws which I
feel comfortable would keep this garbage off our televisions.
I do not disagree with you when you state that using terrorism
legislation to punish this broadcaster is not the most logical
way to do it, because technically this is not terrorism in and
of itself, although I can see how it could very easily incite
terrorist actions. If you would like an example I will point
out to you the recent arson attack in Montreal Quebec; an 18
year old Montreal man of Arab origin set fire to a Jewish Day
School and Library. He left a note at the scene claiming that
the attack on the school was punishment for Israel's assasination
of Sheik Yassin. Clearly this is terrorism, and it is almost
certainly incited by one-sided news reports from channels such
as Al-Manar. Channels that deliberately refuse to show that there
are two sides to a conflict and depict only one villain.
What I'm curious to know however,
is how you can criticize a government for doing everything it
can to get this poison off the airwaves. Freedom to express one's
opinion is one thing, but the lies this station spreads to further
its political objectives are dangerous. They are not lies which
espouse political action, but rather racial hatred. In your article
you discussed the removal of the television station and the reasons
why it was wrong, but you never discussed the reasons why the
station was pulled and whether they had merit. I didn't find
it a very balanced report.
And I Reply That: Regarding structures of law that discourage
hate speech or war propaganda, I am ready to listen. But this
is not the same thing as asking a state (or an empire for that
matter) to do everything in its power. As Mary Ratcliff has pointed
out in a Dec. 15 post at The American Street, the Bush administration
is using the charge of "propaganda" to prosecute some
parties, while it openly organizes "propaganda" campaigns
at home and abroad. Based on what I know so far, it appears to
me, and to the next CounterPunch reader below, that the Al-Manar
ruling exhibits a blatant double standard for what counts in
the Bush adminsitration as ìincitingî and what does
not:
Another Reader Writes: Started reading your great piece on
Al-Manar and it reminds me of the same BS that the Govt used
for deporting formerly Cat Stevens and the so called charity
group! Notice, if it's white, right wing who baits people to
do their dirty work as Mr. Byrd, Matthew Shepard, Dr. Slepian
et al who cares?! Actually am sure the Triumpherate in the White
House and their foot soldiers are celebrating as in a touchdown!?
YOUR articles are for contemplating
and learning too!!
Reply: Dear Reader, I love the way you spell
Triumpherate. Indeed who or what can this White House not conquer
once it sets out? As you suggest, the Bush team might even have
effects against racism, homophobia, or misogyny in America if
it took such things to be any of its business. Now, returning
to the example of terrorist crime and the things that incite
it:
PS: In a freebie web offering at Stratfor.Com,
George Friedman says in a Nov. 17 webinar that Europe has been
traumatized by the Amsterdam street killing of filmmaker Theo
Van Gogh (great grand nephew to the painter). The killing has
been attributed to a man dressed in a traditional Moroccan jalaba,
who was allegedly motivated to retaliate against the filmmaker's
work about violence against women in Islamic societies.
The Van Gogh example sounds
like the one given by my Canadian correspondent above, with important
differences. In the Canadian example, we have terrorism that
attacks anonymous members of a perceived enemy population in
retaliation for state actions. In the Amsterdam example, the
retaliation is directed against a specific person for acts of
expression.
The killing of Van Gogh, says
Friedman, has provoked in European civil society a more sympathetic
(or less hostile) attitude toward Bush's war on terrorism. This
climate may have something to do with the timing of the French
ruling against Al-Manar. If events are linked in this way, then
a killing that retaliates against expression is answered by collective,
state censorship. The chill we feel in the aftermath of Van Gogh's
murder is answered by the power to chill.
In the Canadian example, my
correspondent says that it was probably one-sided news reports
about the killing of Sheikh Yassin, not the killing itself, that
incited the terrorist response. Therefore, we should shut down
the alleged sources of one-sided news reports, not the power
to assassinate. This is another discussion altogether. What seems
clear however is that nobody has yet asserted a carefully traced
link between Al-Manar's reporting and some specific act of terror.
My Canadian correspondent has
led me to sources that say Al-Manar has broadcast programming
based upon the infamous Protocols of Zion. On this point, I take
at face value claims that the Protocols are anti-semitic. What's
decisive, however, is that the number one Google source for the
Protocols is listed at an Australian domain known as biblebelievers.
Again, if anyone has ideas about how to lawfully reduce anti-semitic
expression, I'm listening. But if anti-semitic expression is
enough to make one guilty of inciting terrorism, then we have
quite a legal reformation ahead of us. If there is to be such
a legal reformation in the West, then I say let the biblebelievers
go first.
Meanwhile, says Friedman, French
President Jacques Chirac, for one, wants to restore a working
relationship with Bush during the second term, because there
are things Bush can give him, such as trade concessions and support
in West Africa.
I take note of Friedman's claims
as I think about the synchronized timing of French and American
responses to Al-Manar. But I also consider that something profound
is taking shape in the nexis of profit and power that involves
communication companies such as France Telecom, Eutelsat, and
Intelsat, who have been sublimely compliant.
Thinking about transatlantic
satellites is like thinking about opium in Afghanistan, or oil
in Iraq. All these things count for money in the bag. State power
never overlooks money in the bag. As Alex Jones has helpfully
noted in his daily news clips this week, there was a French spy
satellite launched over the weekend. "Helios 2A is said
to be able to spot objects as small as a textbook anywhere on
Earth. Its infrared sensors will allow France's military to gather
information at night from space for the first time." Did
the Bush team need some snapshots? Inquiring minds have a right
to ask.
Finally, it must be said. The
hammer came down on Al-Manar on the Friday before Christmas week.
This ensures that nobody but receptionists will be working full
time for many days to come.
And this just in: CounterPunch reader asks, "Time
to dust off the shortwave radios?"
Greg Moses is editor of the Texas Civil Rights
Review and author of Revolution
of Conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Philosophy of
Nonviolence. His chapter on civil rights under Clinton and
Bush appears in Dime's
Worth of Difference, edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey
St. Clair. He can be reached at: gmosesx@prodigy.net
Weekend Edition
Features for November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
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