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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY OR UNCLE SAM? The answer at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags the tail. Fifty years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg in the East Village. Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered them up. 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! |
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Today's Stories May 9, 2006 Ishmael Reed May 8, 2006 Kate McCabe Paul Craig Roberts Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Ingmar Lee Robert Jensen Ricardo Alarcon Will Youmans / M. Kay Siblani Alexander Cockburn Website of the
Day
May 6 / 7, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair Ariel Dorfman Joe Allen Fred Gardner Jeff Taylor Saul Landau Stephen Philion Trish Schuh Ralph Nader Robert Fisk Paul Cantor John Holt James Ryan Lawrence R. Velvel Greg Moses Laray Polk Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Mickey Z. Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
May 5, 2006 Vijay Prashad Robert Fisk David Swanson Mearsheimer / Walt Dave Lindorff Sarah Ferguson CounterPunch
News Service Corporate Crime Reporter Website of the
Day
May 4, 2006 John F. Sugg Jonathan Cook Roger Burbach Chris Dols Christopher Brauchli Tony Swindell Website of the Day
May 3, 2006 Robert Bryce Paul Craig Roberts James Petras Lee Sustar David Bolton Joshua Frank Jeffery R. Webber Website of the
Day
May 2, 2006 Evelyn Pringle Tariq Ali Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Sen. Russell
Feingold Anthony Papa Website of the
Day
May Day, 2006 Norman Finkelstein Christopher Reed Michael Donnelly Dave Zirin Mike Whitney Gilad Atzmon Missy Comley Beattie Alexander Cockburn Website of the
Day
April 29 / 30, 2006 Peter Linebaugh Ralph Nader Robert Bryce Rev. William
Alberts Lee Sustar John Chuckman Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Fred Gardner Don Monkerud Tommy Stevenson Lettrist International Contratiempo St. Clair, Vest
and D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of the
Weekend
April 28, 2006 James Ridgeway Ramzy Baroud Sarah Knopp William S. Lind Werther April 27, 2006 Winslow T. Wheeler Robert Fisk Juan Santos Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Jose Pertierra
April 26,2006 Robin Philpot Sherry Wolf Pratyush Chandra Joshua Frank Gary
Leupp Bill
Quigley
April 25, 2006 Gary
Leupp Paul
Craig Roberts Linda
S. Heard Ralph
Nader Mike
Whitney Michael
Donnelly Sharon
Smith Website
of the Day
April 24, 2006 Tim
Wise John
Stanton Dave
Lindorff Steve
Shore Amadou
Deme Mickey
Z. Ralph Nader Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day
April 22/23, 2006 Jeffrey
St. Clair Jeff
Halper Jeff
Klein Thomas
P. Healy David
Underhill Lee
Sustar Deb
Reich John
Chuckman Fred
Gardner Julian
Edney Seth
Sandronsky Brynne
Keith-Jennings Dave
Lindorff Catherine
Ann Cullen and Harry Browne Bill
Pahnelas Jim
French Ron
Jacobs David
Krieger Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
April 21, 2006 Jonathan
Cook Lawrence
R. Velvel Evelyn
Pringle Christopher
Brauchli Pratyush
Chandra Michael
George Smith Missy
Comley Beattie Sarah
Hines Website
of the Day
April 20, 2006 Chris
Kutalik Gary
Leupp Joshua
Frank Diane
Christian William
S. Lind Ramzy
Baroud Justin
E.H. Smith
April 19, 2006 P.
Sainath Norman
Solomon Anthony
Papa Mike
Ferner Stanley
Heller Rifundazione Christopher
Reed Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day April 18, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Eric
Wingerter Juan
Santos Greg
Weiher Sam
Bahour Behzad
Yaghmaian Website
of the Day
April 17, 2006 Kevin Zeese Uri Avnery Norman Solomon John Ross Laila al-Haddad Jeffrey Blankfort Website of the Day
April 15 / 16, 2006 Jeffrey
St. Clair Ralph
Nader Thaddeus
Hoffmeister Kevin
Prosen / Dave Zirin Thomas
P. Healy Kristoffer
Larsson Fred
Gardner Edwin
Krales Brian
Cloughley John
Holt Seth
Sandronsky Rafael
Renteria Michael
Ortiz Hill William
A. Cook Gideon
Levy Andrew
Wimmer Madis
Senner Michael
Kuehl Mark
Scaramella Nate
Mezmer Jesse
Walker Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
April 14, 2006 Col.
Dan Smith Saul
Landau Stan
Cox Kevin
Zeese Brian
McKinlay Howard
Meyers Ishmael
Reed Website
of the Day
April 13, 2006 CounterPunch
News Service Norman
Solomon Stanley
Heller Jeff
Birkenstein Evelyn
J. Pringle Michael
Donnelly Kamran
Matin Website
of the Day
April 12, 2006 Vijay
Prashad Alan
Maass Dave
Lindorff Ron
Jacobs Ramzy
Baroud Randall
Dodd Missy
Comley Beattie P. Sainath Website
of the Day
April 11, 2006 Al
Krebs Lawrence
R. Velvel Sonia
Nettinin Willliam
S. Lind Robert
Ovetz Pratyush
Chandra Grant
F. Smith Laray
Polk Francis
Boyle José
Pertierra Website
of the Day
April 10, 2006 Ralph
Nader Heather
Gray Uri
Avnery Joshua
Frank Seth
Sandronsky Michael
Leonardi Evelyn
Pringle Tom
Kerr Lucinda
Marshall Website
of the Day April 7 -9, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Jeffrey
St. Clair Patrick
Cockburn David
Vest Dave
Lindorff Gary
Leupp Elaine
Cassel Saul
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Jacobs John
Walsh Ramzy
Baroud Christopher
Brauchli Todd
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Brand Ronan
Sheehan Mickey
Z. Don
Monkerud Michael
Dickinson Website
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Ross Dave
Lindorff Don
Monkerud Robert
McDonald Boris
Kagarlitsky Remi
Kanazi Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Robert
Fisk
April 5, 2006 Dick
J. Reavis Mark
Brenner Brian
Cloughley Jozef
Hand-Boniakowski Matt
Vidal Juan
Santos Alan
Maass JoAnn
Wypijewski Website
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April 4, 2006 Jackson
Thoreau Gary
Corseri Dave
Lindorff Paul
Craig Roberts Norman
Solomon Michael
Carmichael Winslow
T. Wheeler Ingmar
Lee Michael
Neumann Website
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April 3, 2006 Saul
Landau Richard
Thieme Timothy
B. Tyson Omar
Barghouti Iwasaki
Atsuko Julian
Edney Roger
Morris
April 1 / 2, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Dave
Zirin David
Underhill Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Dave
Lindorff P.
Sainath Fred
Gardner Clancy
Chassay Heather
Gray Greg
Moses John
Chuckman Ron
Jacobs Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
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May 9, 2006 "Life Ain't Been No Crystal Stair"Blacks, Latinos and the New Civil Rights Movement By KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR
Who made these comments? Was it a right-wing Republican congressman? Was it a hate-monger from the racist Minutemen Project? No, these statements came from the liberal darlings of the Democratic Party-Maxine Waters, John Conyers and Barack Obama, respectively-during various interviews on how to deal with the so-called immigration "problem". In fact, these comments reflect what has been a generally cool reception to this new civil rights movement for immigrant rights, by the old guard of the last civil rights movement for African Americans. From the NAACP to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)-the self-anointed "conscience of the Congress-a number of Black political leaders have been notably lukewarm to the new movement. In fact, Black Democrat and CBC member Harold Ford of Tennessee actually voted affirmatively to the racist HR4437 anti-immigrant bill. When the NAACP finally came out with a statement, at the end of March, in support of the rights of immigrants, they firmly planted themselves on the right wing of the movement by supporting the vague "earned path to legal permanent residency and citizenship for college age students." Rev. Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH and the Nation of Islam have been the most prominent Black organizations to come out support the new movement. At the Chicago May Day march the NOI had three speakers, all of whom expressed the need for solidarity between Blacks and Latinos. What, however, is behind the Black Democrats tepid response to the new movement? There are three explanations. First, the Democratic Party as a whole has radically shifted to the right over the last twenty years. In a move toward "electability" the Democrats have pandered and acquiesced to the right-all the while abandoning their base-on the key political and social issues of the day: abortion, the death penalty and the criminal justice system, gay marriage, health care and education and now immigrant rights. Black Democrats are no different. Moreover, they have an additional role to play-helping to patch up the reputation of the party in the Black community and within the broad left when the Democrats line up with Republicans on important political issues. Second, a number of Black elected officials feel politically threatened by the rising number of Latinos moving into their districts. As Latinos have displaced African Americans as the largest racial minority in the United States, there is a competitive fear amongst Black politicians that the rising political clout of Latinos could erode into their electoral base of support. A prime example of this is being played out in Chicago where Black Democrats have been visibly absent from the historic marches of up to one million people in the last months. Even the Reverend Jesse Jackson has been noticeably absent from the two Chicago marches even though he lives fewer than five miles from where the marches have wound through the downtown streets instead he chose to speak at the May Day rally in New York City. One reason for Rev. Jackson's absence from the Chicago march may have something to do with House Rep. Luis Gutierrez recently announcement on his intentions to "seriously consider" running for Mayor in 2000. Rev. Jackson's son, House Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has hinted for almost a year now of his intentions to run for mayor of Chicago. It may have proven too uncomfortable for Jackson to stand with Rep. Gutierrez, while Gutierrez led 500,000 people in a chant of "today we march, tomorrow we vote." At Chicago's historic May Day march not a single Black elected official-alderman or Congressman-spoke at this event. On the other hand three Black Democrats spoke at a Darfur rally happening at the same exact time as the May 1st march separated by five blocks. Lastly, there is another side to the Black Democrats conservative approach to the immigration question. Many of the Black elected officials are tailing the genuine anxiety that a number of ordinary Blacks have expressed about low wages and job loss that they attribute to the presence of undocumented workers who accept low wages. There is a reality that the poorest Blacks and the undocumented compete for low wage jobs. In fact, there is a conscious attempt to pit Black and Latino workers against each other. Many of the jobs that are synonymous with immigrants today-the supposed jobs that Americans are too good for-used to be filled by African Americans. The displacement of Black workers is a real problem-but not a problem caused by displaced Mexican workers. That's right displaced. When the U.S. destroys economies abroad through war-read El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala-or through allowing American corporations to roam free in search of cheap labor-read Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, in fact the entire South American continent and the Caribbean-depressing wages, sinking living standards, and spreading poverty like wildfire, it is the apex of hypocrisy for anyone in this country to then deny the right of any immigrant to come to this country to try and find work and take care of their family. It is as hypocritical then for the United States to complain about the laws of its country being broken. Leaving aside the fact that the U.S. makes habit out of breaking the laws of countries around the world-from launching illegal wars to torturing prisoners of war-unjust laws should be broken. Throughout the history of this country, immigrants, Blacks, workers and women have had to break the law in the name of justice. Barack Obama forgets, when he chides immigrants who break our nations' laws, that his own father, the Kenyan sheep herder who married a white woman would have been breaking the law if he'd tried to wed his wife in the former confederacy instead of Kansas. Workers on the move to find work or refuge, because we live in a world of economic and political insecurity, break unjust laws in order to feed their families not to suck off the great benefits and high wages of America. Thanks to the immigrant rights movement the corporate media and the Black political elite have re-discovered the Black unemployed-just in time to blame Mexican immigrants for it. After spending the better part of the last decade enumerating the supposed pathologies of Black behavior as the culprit for persistent Black poverty and social crisis, the Democrats and the media have pointed the finger at Mexican immigrants. As this new movement was unfolding, the New York Times ran a front-page story on the worsening plight of Black men in the United States. There is unprecedented poverty and unemployment amongst Black men exemplified by the statistic that in 2004, 72 percent of African American men in their twenties who had dropped out of high school were unemployed. Several media outlets have run dozens of stories on the "suspicion" with which African Americans are supposed to be regarding the new movement for immigrant rights. The media has embellished the idea that Blacks are opposed to immigrant rights exemplified by major newspapers in both Los Angeles and Chicago focusing on the miniscule handful of Blacks working with the racist Minutemen. In fact, in a recently published poll from California-a state in the heart of the immigration debate-a whopping 82 percent of Blacks support offering the undocumented an opportunity to become citizens. A Pew poll found that more than 50 percent of Blacks view immigrants as "hard working", but the same Pew poll found that one-third of Black workers thought immigrants take jobs from Americans. There is a reality that all low wageworkers-Black, white and Latino-are in competition with each other for jobs. 40 percent of African-American workers are stuck in low wage, service sector jobs. These are also the jobs that employers are most likely to seek out undocumented workers to fill. This isn't the fault of the undocumented; this is the reality of the capitalist economy. Employers are in a never-ending pursuit of lower wages. The deliberate solicitation and employment of undocumented labor is an effort to push wages as far down as they can get away with while also fostering animosity and antagonism between Black and Mexican workers, native and foreign-born workers. This isn't new but rather is the story of the formation of the American working class. As Jesse Jackson put it in a recent article on the issue of immigration,
The focus on undocumented immigrants as the source of Black unemployment and Black poverty is a diversion and distraction of gigantic proportions. The main impediments to progress for Black workers in this country remain racial discrimination in hiring and firing, the "restructuring" in manufacturing in the American economy, the decline of trade union jobs, the diminished remnants of the American welfare state and a minimum wage that locks workers into poverty permanently. A few years ago the University of Chicago conducted a study showing the employers were less likely to call back a job applicant with a "Black sounding name". Northwestern University released study showing that employers were more likely to call back a white male applicant with a criminal record than a Black male applicant with no criminal record. In a survey of employers compiled for the book, Stories Employers Tell, 46 percent of employers viewed the skill level of Blacks and Latinos negatively, based in part on racial stereotypes. Racism, job loss and underemployment has persisted for Black labor for more than thirty years now. The hey day of Black employment has gone the way of industrial factory work in the inner city-simply gone away. According to an article written by Betsy Leonard-Wright called "Black Job Loss Déjà vu",
Nor is this only a historical explanation for Black job loss and unemployment. It is a phenomenon that continues to this day. When the recession of 2001 hit, manufacturing lost 2.1 million jobs-of those 300,000, were lost by Black workers. Black labor's concentration in the hard hit manufacturing sector combined with racist hiring and firing practices has had much more to do with African American's precarious work situation. In 1979 Blacks made up 24 percent of manufacturing workers, by 2004 this number had shrunk to 10 percent. "African Americans tend to be the last to be hired when the economy is booming. That means that they also tend to be the first to lose their jobs when a downturn hits," according to Stephanie Armour writing in USA Today in December 2002. She goes on to say, "job losses have been deep in manufacturing and construction, they have also hit retailers, which lost 39,000 jobs in November. Jobs in those industries tend to be disproportionately held by African Americansdepartment store hiring was down by 17,000, the worst November for store hiring since 1982." In July 2003, the New York Times reported:
This economic picture combined with the shrinking number of Black workers with trade union jobs has contributed to the economic and social crisis in Black America. Black workers in trade unions went from a high of 31 percent in 1983 down to 16 percent in 2004-almost half even still Black workers are still more likely to be in a union than white or Latino workers. Against this backdrop of job loss and unemployment has been the U.S. relentless attack on the social safety net. In 2002 the federal government cut funding for job training from $245 million down to $45 million in 2002. In 1996, President Bill Clinton ended welfare as an entitlement for the poor-including poor workers. This horrible legislation included cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, and housing subsidies. For those who have argued that immigrants are taking resources from poor citizens, they should instead point the finger at scapegoating politicians who used anti-Black racism to push the punitive welfare reform legislation ten years ago. They should also point the finger at a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour that has not been raised in eight years-essentially trapping low wage workers in poverty. Moreover, when we live in a country that spends $1 billion a week to violate the sovereignty of Iraqis borders, the idea that there is not enough money to go around for all is a joke. We shouldn't be quibbling over pennies with undocumented workers, we should be demanding an end to the war in Iraq and declaring a new one on poverty and unemployment in this country. It should also go without saying that for Latinos, documented and not-in the words of Langston Hughes--"life ain't been no crystal stair" either. Blacks and Latinos share in a daily struggle to make the ends meet.
These statistics play out differently depending on what ethnic group you are referring to. The poorest "Latinos" in the United States are Puerto Ricans, who are of course American citizens. But immigrants of Mexican and Central American descent also suffer from disproportionately high poverty rates. African Americans have a stake in the success of the movement for immigrant rights. If the reactionary legislation that is on offer actually passes and becomes law it will enshrine a two or three tier wage system that will only further perpetuate the race to the bottom for American workers. Moreover, if the state is allowed to criminalize the existence immigrant workers this will only fan the flames of racism eventually consuming Blacks in a back draft of discrimination. How exactly does one tell the difference between a citizen and a non-citizen? Through a massive campaign of racial profiling, that's how. The police are already using racial profiling skills they perfected with African Americans, when stopping brown skinned people for innocuous traffic stops turns into a discussion about papers and citizenship. In fact, the entire working class has a stake in the success of this movement. When labor in the past has been faced with the question of immigrant labor being used to drive down wages, there are really only two responses-giving into racist xenophobia or embracing, as brothers and sisters, immigrant workers into the struggle for workers rights. Where labor has failed on this question, all workers have suffered. Where labor has taken up the fight of immigrant workers and welcomed them into its ranks all of labor has progressed-in terms of wages, rights and political consciousness. All workers should support unequivocal amnesty for undocumented workers. It would immediately end the employer's ability to pay less than minimum wage to a section of the working class. It would remove the fear from immigrant workers who must constantly look over their shoulder for fear of raids and deportation which would increase the likelihood of organizing them into trade unions. An article in the Los Angeles Times summed up the potential of this kind collaboration and solidarity within the labor movement,
The debate over immigration in this country is racist. Its intention is to demonize Mexicans and other Latinos-for whom the debate is almost exclusively focused on. It is no grand revelation to say that the point of focusing on Latinos by politicians and the media is to avoid the real debates about what is happening to this country. The fact that Black elected officials and much of the Black Left have either been on the sidelines or passively in support of this movement only points to their further decline and degeneration. Instead of talking about how to organize and fight for better jobs and higher wages, we are marooned in a surreal discussion about how the worst jobs with the lowest wages are "Black jobs" and are mad at Mexican immigrants for "stealing them". Instead of embracing the movement and organizing and mobilizing the Black community to participate in the demonstrations that have brought literally millions of people onto the streets, Black leaders sit jealously on the sidelines nitpicking and haggling over whether or not immigrants should refer to the new struggle as a civil rights movement. Are their ordinary Black workers who are afraid of what the future of immigrants in this country will mean fom them? Of course there are, but we have to patiently argue that if the state is allowed to criminalize the undocumented and stygmatize the documented, it will only further division, promote racism and would be a huge step backward. The new movement for immigrant rights is the most exciting development in the struggle for social justice and workers rights in a generation. It should be embraced, studied, and generalized to a whole number of social and economic ills afflicting this society. Imagine a new movement against racism, against poverty, against the war-the most dispossessed of our society are showing us all that, not only is it possible but it really is the only way forward from here. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
writes regularly for
the International Socialist Review on issues of race and class.
She can be contacted at
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