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Today's Stories November 2, 2010 Vincent Navarro November 1, 2010 Ted Honderich Steven Higgs John Ross Dean Baker Ralph Nader Justin E. H. Smith Marjorie Cohn Scott Boehm Brian Tierney Trish Kahle Martha Rosenberg Bathrobe Erectus: Feting Hugh Hefner Website of the Day
October 29 - 31, 2010 Alexander Cockburn Joe Bageant Peter Lee David Rosen Mike Whitney David Smith-Ferri Afghanistan: "Is This Normal?" David Macaray Chamber of Horrors: Turbo-Lobbyists for the Ruling Class Rannie Amiri Jonathan Cook Ramzy Baroud Ellen Brown Dr. Nina Pierpont Dave Lindorff Brian Horejsi Daniel Raventós Worldwide Concentration of Wealth: What the Figures Say Richard Anderson-Connolly David Thomson Christopher Brauchli Bob Fitrakis / Harvey Wasserman Charging Rove With Racketeering Roberto Rodriguez Arizona Blues: a Time and Decade of Betrayal Ron Jacobs Farzana Versey Michael Donnelly Gerald E. Scorse John Grant Mickey Z. Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini Peter Stone Brown David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
October 28, 2010 Paul Craig Roberts Joseph Grosso Kirkpatrick Sale Michael Winship Sherwood Ross Mark Weisbrot Sam Smith Washington: Where Smart People Go to Do Stupid Things Nicholas Arguimbau Sheldon Richman Franklin Lamb Website of the Day October 27, 2010 Conn Hallinan Michael Schwalbe Dave Lindorff Gareth Porter Dean Baker Clancy Sigal Ram Etwareea Stewart J. Lawrence Alan Farago Binoy Kampmark Offshoring Middle Earth: Prostituting the Hobbit Website of the Day
October 26, 2010 Pam Martens Joann Wypijewski Clarence Lusane Sold Brothers: the Bizarro World of Juan Williams and Clarence Thomas Gareth Porter Stephen Soldz Lawrence Davidson Alan Farago Dean Baker Jerica Arents Gerald E. Scorse Messing with Mankiw: Whining About Taxes and Work Website of the Day
October 25, 2010 Nancy Scheper-Hughes Patrick Cockburn Kathy Kelly Mike Whitney Bill Quigley Winslow T. Wheeler David Macaray Stewart J. Lawrence Ray McGovern Missy Beattie Website of the Day
October 22 - 24, 2010 Alexander Cockburn Lee Ballinger Franklin C. Spinney Rannie Amiri Ralph Nader Laura Carlsen Avi Shlaim Mike Whitney Josh Stieber Kathy Kelly Sasan Fayazmanesh Conn Hallinan Linn Washington, Jr. Christopher Brauchli Mark Weisbrot Stan Cox Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Benjamin Dangl Peter Stone Brown Julie Hilden David Ker Thomson Missy Beattie Suzy Dean Charles M. Young M. Shahid Alam Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 21, 2010 Diana Johnstone Joanne Mariner Mike Whitney Lawrence Davidson Bill Quigley / Alan Farago David Smith-Ferri Tolu Olorunda Educational Heroes and Myths Website of the Day October 20, 2010 Philippe Marlière Tariq Ali Anthony Pahnke / Mark N. Hoffman David Smith-Ferri Patrick Madden Ishmael Reed Dean Baker Mike Roselle Dave Marsh Pete Redington Website of the Day October 19, 2010 Pam Martens Uri Avnery Ralph Nader Clarence Lusane Sherwood Ross Trudy Bond Sherry Wolf Yves Engler Camilla Fox / Erin McManus Website of Day October 18, 2010 Mike Whitney Jonathan Cook Martha Rosenberg Stewart J. Lawrence P. Sainath James Zogby Ken Cole, Ralph Maughan / Brian Ertz Patrick Brennan Jack Heyman John Grant Website of the Day October 15 - 17, 2010 Alexander Cockburn Slavoj Žižek Paul Craig Roberts Adrienne Pine / Peter Lee Jonathan Cook Bitta Mostofi Franklin Lamb Rannie Amiri Robert Alvarez Joe Paff David Rosen David Correia Sam Hitchmough Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Graham Usher Gary Leupp David Macaray Ron Jacobs Peter Cervantes-Gautschi Lawrence Swaim Linn Washington David Ker Thomson Norman Solomon Michael Dawson John Stanton Jayne Lyn Stahl Paul Buchheit Ziad Abbas Anthony Papa Hardy Jones Missy Beattie Charles R. Larson Peter Stone Brown David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 14, 2010 Mike Whitney Jonathan Cook Dean Baker Marjorie Cohn Stewart J. Lawrence Carl Finamore Dave Lindorff Raúl Zibechi Willie L. Pelote Website of the Day October 13, 2010 Vijay Prashad Uri Avnery Dean Baker Winslow T. Wheeler Patrick Bond Michael Winship Myles B. Hoenig Tom Turnipseed Website of the Day October 12, 2010 Ralph Nader Franklin C. Spinney Mike Whitney Robert Alvarez Deepak Tripathi Chris Genovali / Camilla Fox Harvey Wasserman Robert Jensen Mark Weisbrot Charles R. Larson Website of the Day
October 11, 2010 Michael Hudson Bill Quigley Linn Washington Paul Krassner Jonathan Cook Cal Winslow Sherry Wolf Peter Stone Brown David Michael Green Jayne Lyn Stahl Website of the Day October 8 - 10, 2010 Alexander Cockburn Paul Craig Roberts Alain Gresh Patrick Cockburn Rannie Amiri Conn Hallinan Ramzy Baroud Saul Landau Sam Smith Yvonne Ridley Ellen Brown Santwana Dasgupta David Macaray Labor Secretaries: Frances and Elaine Gerald E. Scorse Tony Newman David Ker Thomson Christopher Brauchli Jon Mitchell Kevin Zeese Steven Best Missy Beattie Binoy Kampmark Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini Dave Marsh David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
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November 2, 2010 "Let the Landslide Begin"Midterm Day of ReckoningBy MIKE WHITNEY Barack Obama rode into office in 2008 on a wave of populist euphoria. By the time the ballots are counted in today's midterm elections, Obama's personal approval ratings will have fallen to historic lows and he will be universally recognized as the man who brought ruin on the Democratic party. While still popular among party loyalists, the president has become radioactive among independents--the critical group of “swing voters” who have fled Camp Obama en masse frustrated with both the lack of audacity and/or change. No one figured they were electing George W. Bush to a third term in office when they cast their vote for the inspiring senator from Illinois two years ago. But that's what they got. To say that supporters are disappointed, is a gross understatement of the pessimism that's spread like Kudzu among the party faithful. People have grown increasingly cynical as they realize that neither party provides a path to real structural change. The system is broken; Obama has merely exposed the rot at the heart of American democracy. In truth, it's not all Obama's fault. He was picked by elites who thought they could ride his lofty-sounding bloviating all the way to the White House. And they did, too, but that's when things began to unravel, as one campaign promise after the other was tossed aside. Obama even backpedaled on issues that would have cost him very little in terms of political capital—like gays in the military or allowing California's bid to liberalize marijuana laws go unchallenged. Issues that would have rekindled support among his downcast liberal base. But, no. Obama was ferociously opposed to throwing bones to the "professional left". As Humphrey Bogart famously quipped, "They'll get slapped and like it." Today, we'll find out how much they "like it." Voters had plenty of opportunity in 2008 to figure out Obama's real position on the issues, but they chose not to. They chose to ignore that he was a staunch supporter of the quagmire in Afghanistan, or that he voted for the Patriot Act, the TARP bailout, and warrantless wiretapping. And when he bowed to pressure from the right and kicked his friend and pastor--the Rev. Jeremiah Wright--to the curb, his devotees looked the other way. "Character doesn't matter", they thought. "What matters is hope." Since he's been in office, Obama has approved the policy of killing US citizens suspected of terrorism without due process, he's authorized intelligence/counterinsurgency operations in foreign countries, he's rejected habeas claims for terror suspects, and he's refused honor his promise to close the US gulag at Guantanamo Bay. He's made every accommodation imaginable for big finance, big oil and the drug companies — right down to allowing himself to be used as a prop in a photo-op on a beach in Louisiana during the Gulf oil spill to convey the impression of a chief executive who “feels the pain” of locals whose lives have been destroyed by the criminal negligence of the serial polluter, BP. He's bent over backwards to placate the GOP congressional minority while embracing the hard right's deficit slashing, warmongering world view. The argument could be made that the corporate Dems who fill out the current administration are more competent than the bunglers on the Bush team. But while it’s true that Clinton, Holbrooke and Gates are more discreet and resourceful than Wolfowitz, Cheney and Rumsfeld, that's not what people voted for. They wanted change, and they didn't get it. What they got was a more skillful imperial managerial staff. Nothing more. So now Democratic senators, congressmen and governors face the prospect of a GOP surge, followed by two years of political gridlock during which unemployment will rise to 11 per cent, extreme poverty will soar to levels not seen since the 19th century, more than one state government will declare bankruptcy, and Republican rejection of a second round of fiscal stimulus will thrust the economy back into recession. At the same time, the erosion of civil liberties, the bailouts, the covert foreign interventions, the fear-mongering, the torture, and the wars will continue apace. Today’s balloting is a referendum on the Obama presidency. Let the landslide begin. Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com
CounterPunch Print Edition Exclusive! CLASS WAR IN THE U.K. AND FRANCE Susan Watkins, editor of New Left Review, reports on Britain’s Tri-partisan Electoral Monolith and how the Slash-and-Burn Tory Coalition is picking up from where New Labour left off. Larry Portis reports from France on the mass protests and the shrivelling of Sarkozy. Peter Lee gives us an rivetting piece on the awful tragedy of China’s Yellow River.
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