home / subscribe / donate / tower / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events / faq
Is it the guy who asks you after the meeting about how the antiwar movement needs to get "serious" and asks you lots of questions about terrorism and "fighting back"? Jennifer Van Bergen reports, first-hand. Part 2 of our series on what really happened on 9/11/2001: the physics of collapse, and how not to make a "pancake" by Manuel Garcia, PLUS Engineer Pierre Sprey on why "controlled demolition" theories are off target. What you just missed, but can still get, in our last newsletter: Paul Craig Roberts on the Collapse of America. 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 towards the cost of this online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! |
Today's Stories October 18, 2006 Tom Barry October 17, 2006 Michael Neumann Manuel Garcia,
Jr. Stephen S.
Pearcy Sharon Smith Al Krebs David Underhill Daniel Wolff James Brooks Website of the Day
October 16, 2006 Gary Leupp Patrick Cockburn David Wilson Robert Fisk Robert Jensen Ingmar Lee
/ Krista Roessingh Mike Whitney Jake Whitney Sanho Tree Website of
the Day
Uri Avnery John Walsh Jean Bricmont Jennifer Van Bergen Ralph Nader Floyd Rudmin Mark Weisbrot Laura Carlsen Hani Shukrallah Dr. Susan Block John Chuckman Lucinda Marshall Don Monkerud Missy Comley
Beattie Ron Jacobs Website of
the Weekend
October 13, 2006 Jorge Mariscal Stephen Philion John Blair Col. Dan Smith Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry Stephen Fleischman Charles Perroud Anne E. Brodsky Website of the Day
October 12, 2006 Jonathan Cook Norman Solomon M. Shahid Alam Paul Craig
Roberts Meredith Schafer / Chris Kutalik Carl Gelderloos Alastair Crooke / Mark Perry Charles Sullivan William S. Lind CP News Service Website of
the Day
October 11, 2006 John Feffer Dave Lindorff Jackson Katz April Howard / Ben Dangl Michael Carmichael Ken Couesbouc Gregory Afghani Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
October 10, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Robideau Joshua Frank Dave Lindorff Dave Zirin Heather Gray James Knotwell Missy Beattie Mike Whitney David Rosen Website of the Day
Robert Fisk Norman Solomon Ron Jacobs Gideon Levy Walter Brasch Mickey Z. John Holt Lucinda Marshall Saul Landau Website of the Day
October 7 /
8, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Peter Kwong Ralph Nader Mark Donham Dave Lindorff Peter Bosshard Ron Jacobs Lawrence R.
Velvel Fred Gardner David Green Jim B. Missy Beattie Michael Donnelly Jackson Thoreau Jon Hung CounterPunch
News Service Tom D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
Alison Weir Tiffany Ten
Eyck / Mark Brenner Corporate Crime Reporter Juan Antonio
Montecino Walden Bello Christopher
Brauchli Brynne Keith-Jennings Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
John Walsh Carol Norris Paul Craig Roberts Ricardo Alarcón James Abourezk Nicola Nasser Kirkpatrick Sale Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Elizabeth Terzakis Paul Wolf Sean Penn Dave Lindorff Diane Farsetta Sharon Smith Felice Pace Sara Roy Website of
the Day
Jennifer Van
Bergen Greg Moses Stan Cox Niranjan Ramakrishnan Evelyn Pringle Fred Wilhelms Michael Abelman Gary Leupp Website of the Day
October 2, 2006 Eric Hazan Mike Whitney Norman Solomon Assaf Kfoury Missy Beattie Arthur Neslen Paula J. Caplan Website of the Day
Sept. 30 /
0ct. 1, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Marjorie Cohn Ben Tripp Ron Jacobs Ralph Nader Mike Whitney Christopher Reed Seth Sandronsky Fred Gardner Mokhiber /
Weissman Michael Dickinson Alan Gregory Poets' Basement
September 29, 2006 Bruce Jackson Michael J.
Smith Emira Woods William S.
Lind David Swanson Jonathan Cook Website of the Day
Sen. Russ Feingold Ron Jacobs Mokhiber /
Weissman Lee Sustar Robert Jensen John Chuckman Evelyn Pringle Nicola Nasser Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Camilo Mejia Ben Terrall Ridgeway /
Ng Joe Allen Andrew Wimmer Franklin C. Spinney Website of
the Day
Hani Shukrallah William Blum Niranjan Ramakrishnan Barbara Becnel Paul Rockwell Dave Lindorff Rich Gibson Anthony Papa Nate Mezmer Uri Avnery Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jonathan Cook Joshua Frank Paul Craig
Roberts Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Norman Solomon Dr. Charles
Jonkel Michael Dickinson Alexander Cockburn Website of
the Day
September 23
/ 24, 2006 Jonathan Cook Jeffrey St.
Clair Dr. Anon Tom Barry Carl G. Estabrook Laura Carlsen Todd Chretien Dr. Charles
Jonkel Debbie Nathan Fred Gardner Fred Wilhelms Seth Sandronsky Ralph Nader Rev. William
Alberts Jon Van Camp Heather Gray David Vest Jeffrey St.
Clair Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend Video of the Weekend
September 22, 2006 Patrick Cockburn Michael Donnelly Ramzy Baroud Evo Morales Stanley Howard Sarah Leah
Whitson JoAnn Wypijewski Website of the Day
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad Justin E. H.
Smith Mike Roselle Amira Hass Deborah Rich Mickey Z. Saul Landau Website of
the Day
Sharon Smith Christopher
Reed John Ross Joshua Frank Arthur Neslen Norman Solomon Michael Carmichael Evelyn Pringle Hugo Chavez Website of the Day
Patrick Cockburn Jeff Leys Brian M. Downing Col. Dan Smith Liaquat Ali
Khan Ron Jacobs Nik Barry-Shaw
/ Yves Engler Lucinda Marshall Saul Landau Photo of the Day Website of
the Day
Carl Boggs Uri Avnery Mike Stark / Jim Bullington Joshua Frank John Murphy Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff Bill Quigley Website of the Day
Subscribe Online
|
October 18, 2006 Bolivia's Blow to Neo-LiberalismWhen Cochabamba Said "Enough!"By FREDERICO FUENTES In April 2000, the people of Cochabamba captured the imagination of anti-corporate campaigners the world over. Only months after the US transnational Bechtel took control of the regions water supply - forcing citizens to pay for rainwater they collected - the people of Cochabamba, organised through the Coalition in Defence of Water and Life, rose up and booted out the corporation. Many heralded this as the first decisive reversal of neoliberal policy and the beginning of an intense cycle of mass struggle for a new Bolivia, led by the country's indigenous poor. One of those involved in this struggle and who continues to work with the Coalition in Defence of Water and Life, as well as the National Coalition in Defence of Water, Basic Services, Environment, Natural Resources and Life, established in December last year, is Gissel Gonzalez. Gonzalez is currently in Australia as part of the Second Latin American and Asia Pacific Solidarity Gathering to be held in Melbourne, October 21-22. Green Left Weekly spoke to Gonzalez about the current situation in Bolivia, where, six years after the "Water War", Bolivia has its first indigenous president, Evo Morales. Asked why such an intense rebellion had occurred in Bolivia since 2000, Gonalez explained that "for more than 20 years, we, as Bolivian people, have been suppressed by governmental and state policies", which were carried out by governments "managed, utilised and pressured by imperial powers like the US, like England, and all those bad governments in the world that look to eliminate poverty by eliminating the poor". However, he said, "the dignity and strength we have will never be eliminated". In Bolivia "after having lived through neoliberalism, where they privatisated our basic services, privatisated our resources, privatisated our strategic companies that had maintained Bolivia, we began to realise what was happening and said 'Ya Basta!' [Enough!] "We said 'enough' in April 2000 when we expelled a transnational, that same transnational that is now controlling the system of potable water and sewerage in Iraq - Bechtel ... Since 2000, I would say we have begun to fracture and break this neoliberal model." Gonzalez explained that following the Water War, a number of other important struggles and fights emerged. A key point was in October 2003, when the government of then president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada attempted to sell off Bolivia's gas to the US via Chile and the people responded by "expelling a president, an icon of the neoliberal model in Bolivia". Less than two years later, another uprising, again over the issue of Bolivia's hydrocarbons, forced the resignation of another president, paving the way for new elections. "This took us to the situation where, in December 2005, brother Evo Morales was elected, for the first time in Bolivian history by 54% of the vote, as president of the republic." Gonzalez explained that "this cycle that began in 2000 has led us to lose our fear, to recover our voices, and above all, demonstrated that we have the capacity to decide what kind of country we want to live in". However Gonzalez noted that although the right wing were dealt "a solid, strong blow" the conservative forces were "not eliminated, it has been difficult to eliminate them". The right is in "agony" but it "has not died" and has plans "to not allow us to change the structure of the government like we have proposed since April 2000". The intense polarisation that is occurring at the moment, which has included a general strike by the pro-business civic committees in the eastern region of Bolivia, is one example of this. "The trip of the departmental prefects [state governors] to the US, the information that the Santa Cruz elite have arms, and the fact that we have discovered that the prefect in Pando has a group of young people receiving paramilitary training" are further proof that the right is planning to fight back against the Morales government. Regarding rumours of a possible coup, Gonzalez believes "that the participation of all the people is very important" to avoid this, but he added "we are not aiming for this to end up as a confrontation among Bolivians, a civil war or a coup ... We simply have to eliminate that tiny group of business owners, of oligarchs, that exist in Santa Cruz." Gonzalez believes that the spreading of an idea of a confrontation is "an exaggeration by the mass media managed and manipulated by the right wing", which is looking to create instability. Commenting on the relationship between the social movements and the Morales government, Gonzalez noted that "clearly the government of Evo Morales is a government that has emerged from the social movements". He explained that "brother Evo", who rose up out of the cocalero (coca growers) trade unions, helped bring together different social organisations that "decided upon the recuperation of power via democratic votes, such as participation in the elections". "Parallel to this, we have also done important work of reorganising; bringing together, organising and unifying the social movements in Bolivia and all of us aim to strengthen this government", added Gonzalez. "But we should not mix up the administration of the governmental and state apparatus with the social movements. We believe that there has to be, if you want to call it this, autonomy - of decision making, of power - as much for the state as for the social movements." Gonzalez says that he believes the recuperation of power has to come about by "listening to the social movements". He explained that this was part of the reason why the coalition he is a member of has not joined the newly reestablished General Staff of the Peoples (Estado Mayor del Pueblo, EMP). The EMP is "a social bloc of social movements" involving around 30 social organisations, which was formed to "defend the policies of the state, which would be coming from the government of Evo Morales". Whilst Gonzales "respects the participation of these social movements" in the EMP, he argues "that there needs to be an autonomy of the attitudes and actions of the government and of the social movements and their needs". "What we are looking for, and what we have to do is totally eliminate this tiny group of elites that operate in the east of Bolivia so that afterwards we can come together as Bolivians, and amongst ourselves rearticulate a new form of state." When GLW asked Gonzalez if he believed the current Constituent Assembly, which began its deliberations on writing a new constriction on August 6, could play a role in creating this new state he answered that "as it is now, and left on its own, it will not function, because inside the Constituent Assembly are delegates from the right, the left, centre-right and centre-left". This is due to a "small error" committed in the calling of the Constituent Assembly, which was that "the norms and regulation of the Constituent Assembly were drawn up within a neoliberal schema. This meant that the indigenous peoples were not able to participate directly and that instead the delegates were elected in the traditional electoral contest between political parties." "This has been done with the aim of having the participation of all, not exclusion", he added. That is why, according to Gonzalez "this CA will not function if it is not accompanied by the social movements, if it is not accompanied by the unity, strength and, above all else, the mobilisation of all the people, of all of us who have demanded and are looking for a new Bolivia for ourselves, a new form of state, a new example of a state that we want. "We are going to push that the voices of the social movements in regards to the ... problems, demands and solutions to our problems be heard. As social movements we are going to demand the delegates attend to our priorities and our necessities." Gonzalez said solidarity from people around the world will be important to "allow us to achieve what we did with Bechtel". After being forced out of Bolivia, Bechtel threatened to sue the government for US$25 million for supposed losses of potential profits. The corporation doubled that to $50 million, but after an international campaign the trial was ended by an agreement that the people of Bolivia would by the shares off Bechtel and end the case for two bolivianos (less than forty cents). Frederico Fuentes writes for Australia's Green
Left Weekly. He can be reached at: fred.fuentes@gmail.com
|
from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org. The Occupation by Patrick Cockburn |