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New Reagan Memorial Edition Exclusively in the Print Edition CounterPunch Pentagon Cartoons; Hollywood Fantasies into Political Policy; From Fort Wacky to Bitburg; Star Wars, the Enron of Its Day; Touching the Gipper's Hair; How Reagan Made Clinton by Alexander Cockburn; When Reagan Was King and AIDS Was Raging: Joking About the Terminally Ill by Larry Speakes and the White House Press Corps; Parallel Lives: Watt, Reagan and Brower: by Jeffrey St. Clair; Fortress Baghdad; Iraqi Fury by Patrick Cockburn; Troy, the Iliad and Iraq by Jeffrey St. Clair. In May, CounterPunch Online was read by over 20 million viewers! 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 (tax deductible) donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! June 16, 2004: 100 Years of Bloomsday "And there came a voice out of heaven, calling: Elijah! Elijah! And he answered with a main cry: Abba! Adonai! And they beheld Him even Him, ben Bloom Elijah, amid clouds of angels ascend to the glory of the brightness at an angle offortyfive degrees over Donohue's in Little Green Street like a shot off a shovel." James Joyce, Ulysses. Call Toll Free 1-800-840 3683 or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558

Cockburn / St. Clair's Scorching New History of a Decade of War Now Available! Today's Stories June 16, 2004 Vicente Navarro Meet the New Head of the IMF: Who is Rodrigo Rato? June 15, 2004 Harry Browne Ireland Adds a Brick to Fortress Europe Neve Gordon The Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited David Palmer Richard Armitage, Abu Ghraib and CACI John Blair Lovelock's Misguided Call: Nukes Are No Solution to Global Warming Dave Lindorff God Wins in TKO Bill Quigley Blood-Pouring Peace Activists: State Charges Dropped; Feds Step In Patrick Cockburn Carbombs and Street Dances: 13 More Killed in Baghdad Blast John Chuckman John Kerry, Political Placebo   June 14, 2004 John Stanton / Wayne Madsen Torture, Inc: Oliver North Joins the Party Kathy Kelly Requiems: What Happens When Compassion Dies? Bruce Jackson Bush Gets Testy About Torture Lee Sustar Strikers Defy Visteon's Company Thugs Kurt Nimmo The Desperate Censors: the Republican Plot to Kill Farhenheit 9/11 Jim Davis Hard Right Nativism Eliot Katz Death and War Uri Avnery The Nightmare Comes True Website of the Day Instruments of Statecraft June 12 / 13, 2004 Peter Linebaugh Remembering the Common Hood: Soweto and Runnymede Team CounterPunch CP's Favorite Albums Jeffrey St. Clair Troy, Now and Then Gary Leupp Not Really a Puppet Government in Iraq? Brian Cloughley US Military in Crisis Antonio Ponvert, III Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: the Connecticut Connection Ben Tripp The Polls Get Stupider Joe Bageant Mash Note to the "Girl with the Leash" Ron Jacobs The Return of the Hip Hop Insurgency Forrest Hylton Object Lessons from the Case of Francisco Cortés Christopher Brauchli Federal Bureau of Errors Kurt Nimmo Going After Qaddafi, Again Wayne Madsen Israel's Slap at Reagan Anthony Loewenstein Al Jazeera Awakens the Arab World Michael Donnelly A Lightship in the Forest: Greenpeace Docks in the Siskiyous Greg Moses Who Will Tell Us More About the Workers of Nasiriyah? Susan Davis Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban Joseph Ramsey Weather Report: a Review of The Weather Underground Niranjan Ramakrishnan The 18th Brumaire in the 21st Century Wayne Saunders The Gipper, D-Day and the Stanley Cup Poets' Basement Richey, Ford, La Morticella, Albert Website of the Weekend Insurgent Music   June 11, 2004 Alexander Cockburn Reagan in Truth and Fiction Ron Jacobs Ray Charles' Legacy of Spirit Chris Floyd Funeral Games Steven Sherman How Reagan Destroyed the Democrats and Paved the Way for Clinton Mokhiber / Weissman Remembering Reagan Norman Solomon Media's Mourning in America Paul Alexander The Kerry Fantasies of Chalmers Johnson CounterPunch Wire The Terror Hour: Miami TV Station Invites Commandoes to Talk About Planned Attacks on Cuba     June 10, 2004 Noam Chomsky The Apotheosis of Reagan : Divinity Through Marketing Gary Leupp Bush, the Religious Scholar Patrick Cockburn The Iraqi Street Has Spoken: New Govt. Made Up of CIA Pawns Saul Landau Force-Feeding Lies About Free Trade Scott Evans Settling for the System: How Punkvoter.com Became Just Another Tool of the Democrats Jacob Levich John Kerry's World of Hurt: Senator Supports Beam Weapons Zeynep Toufe Reagan, Neo-Cons and the "Intelligence Failures" Nico Pitney Reform at Wal-Mart? Dave Zirin Son of a Reagan: What a Sporty 6-Year Old Saw at the Revolution Jack McCarthy Where Were You When Reagan Croaked? Gary Corseri Nouns That Should be Acronyms David Price Reagan and the Black Budget Website of the Day Inequality by the Numbers   June 9, 2004 Mustafa Barghouthi Israel's Common Use of Torture Must be Exposed Mike Whitney Alan Dershowitz, Still Defending Torture John Chuckman Why the CIA will Always be a Costly Flop Jim Tarbell / Roger Burbach Bush's Democratic Charade in Iraq Dave Lindorff Put Reagan on the $3 Bill Miguel D'Escoto Reagan was the Butcher of My People Becky Burgwin The Betrayal of Smarty Jones: Flogging a Natural Born Hero Patrick Cockburn The Rich Have Been Warned to Leave Baghdad   June 8, 2004 Jeffrey St. Clair The Nature of Ronald Reagan: Will the Earth Accept His Corpse? Dave Lindorff The March on Rumsfeld's House: Is the US Anti-War Movement Running Out of Steam? Phillip Cryan Torture, Bombings & the Press in Colombia Mark Zepezauer Getting Reagan Wrong Mickey Z. Reagan, Radicals and Repetitive Reactions John L. Hess Reagan and Bush in Normandy Alex Dawoody Reagan and Saddam: the Unholy Alliance Christopher Fons Reagan in a Word: Mean Niranjan Ramakrishnan Some Tenets are More Important Than Others Ahmed Bouzid Nothing New Under the Israeli Sun Michael Leon Bush the Narcissist   June 7, 2004 Jason Leopold New Enron Docs Show Lay and Skilling Knew of California Trading Schemes Patrick Cockburn The Baghdad Bombings: the Pattern of Attacks is Changing Dennis Hans From Afghanistan to El Salvador: Reagan's Dark Global Legacy Tracy McLellan Nader at the National Press Club: a Glimpse at a Different Kind of Politics Bill Blum The Myth of the Gipper: Reagan Didn't End the Cold War Ben Tripp What I Owe Reagan: the Brylcreemed Bullshitter Susan Davis Reagan, In a Nutshell Phil Gasper Reagan: Goodbye and Good Riddance Website of the Day A Child's ABCs of Terrorism   June 5 / 6, 2004 C. Douglas Lummis Toward a Universal Declaration of Human Wrongs Saul Landau Five Cubans in Prison, Victims of Bush's Obsession Dave Lindorff John Walker Lindh, Revisited Brian Cloughley Apologies, Please, From Those Who Got It Wrong Rich Gibson The Grenada 17: the Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black Elaine Cassel A Sorry FBI Cathrin Schütz On the Ruins of Yugoslavia Ben Tripp Call Me, Mr. Cassandra Kurt Nimmo The Madness of King George Ron Jacobs They Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Unless We Make It So) Laura Flanders The Lynne Cheney Show? Lenni Brenner Renaissance Noir: Caravaggio at the Met Abigail Jones Whatever Happened to Lori Berenson, President Toledo's Trophy Prisoner? Mark Latham Nothing Bush Said Has Changed Our Hopes Gerry Adams I Was Photographed While Tortured, Too Toni Solo Venezuela 2004, Nicaragua's Contra War Reprised Derek Seidman Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old M. Junaid Alam Torture is Just the Symptom Matt Siegfried An American Way of War Dave Zirin The Politics of Charles Barkley Poets' Basement Albert, Krieger, St. Clair Website of the Weekend Overnight Sensations     June 4, 2004 Chris Floyd Masked and Anonymous: Inside America's Animal House Cornwell / Penketh Exit Tenet: the Fall of a Fall Guy Wayne Madsen Apprehension & Frustation: Neo-Cons on the Brink Greg Moses Agitating for Workers' Rights in Iraq Yitzak Laor Before Rafah Ghali Hassan Ambassador to Death Squads: Who is Negroponte? Jane Stillwater God, the Rapture and Vera Casey CounterPunch Wire D-Day Reconsidered: Was It Really Worth the Carnage? John Borowski Woo-Wooism v. Meteorites: Why the Dems Are No Match for Bush Mike Griffin Caterpillar's Assault on the UAW Alexander Cockburn Has Bush Gone Over the Edge? Website of the Day Aquae Urbis Romae: Water and Empire     June 3, 2004 Ron Jacobs Iran's Nuclear Dilemma Dr. Susan Block America in tha Hood Michael Donnelly The Bully and the Brahmin John Chuckman Insanity in America: US Ranks Number One in the Deranged Christopher Brauchli The Return of Cardinal Law: Rome on $12,000 a Month Samia Nassar Melki Caravaggio in Iraq Mike Whitney Subverting Justice: Pre-Trial Ruminations in the Padilla Case Diane Rejman Memorial Day Isn't Just About the Dead Scott Morris "WMDs" in Cuba Paul de Rooij Palestinian Misery in Perspective     June 2, 2004 Brian Cloughley The Liars are Winning Ray McGovern How Far Would They Go? Beware "Credible Intelligence" Josh Frank The Anybody But Bush Offensive Mike Whitney The Afghanistan Failure: Bush's Warlord Patriots Jackie Corr Iraq and Ireland: Three Tales from Butte, Montana Robert Jensen The US Lost the Iraq War...and It's a Good Thing, Too Alexander Cockburn "Bye, Bye Boonville!"   June 1, 2004 Gary Leupp Instant Karma: Bush's Sins Catch Up with Him William A. Cook Manufacturers of Fear and Loathing in Rafah Dave Lindorff Will the Times Clean House? Kevin Zeese Inside the Kerry / Nader Meeting: Did the Kerry Campaign Lie About What Was Discussed? Jacob Levich Coming Soon: Return of the Draft, a Bipartisan Production Kathy Kelly Voices in the Wilderness v. the US Government Website of the Day Remind Us     May 29 / 31, 2004 Lee Ballinger / Dave Marsh The Origins of Memorial Day Janine Pommy Vega Memo for Memorial Day Mike Ferner On Their Way to Abu Ghraib Alfred W. McCoy The Cruel Shadow: the Long History of CIA Torture Research Douglas Valentine An Open Letter to the NYT: Questions, Questions, Questions Chris White First to Fight Culture: a Former Marine on the Marine Motto Bruce Anderson The Awful Injustice to Tai Abreu David Vest Get Ready for Kerry's War: the 100 Year Quagmire Saul Landau Torture: the Logical Outcome of Bush's War for Democracy? Kurt Nimmo Abu Hamza al-Mazri, Made in the USA Elaine Cassel The Secrets of Surveillance: Ashcroft, Snoops, and Gag Orders Will Potter The New War on "Terror": Protest the Torture of Chimps; Get Arrested as a "Terrorist" Ben Tripp They Fiddled While Nero Got the Matches Dr. Susan Block Save Abu Ghraib! Kia Kojouri Nukes, the US, Israel and Iran: an Interview with Sasan Fayazmanesh Mickey Z D-Day: 60 Years is Enough! Jon Brown Correcting the Correction at the Times Patrick B. Barr Pre-emptive War Insurance Stephen Gowans Bad Apples in a Bad Barrel Tom Gorman Gore on Bush in Iraq: the Approach May be Exotic, But It's Hardly New Dave Zirin Fighting for Boxers' Rights: an Interview with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad Gregory Weiher Bush to Arabs: "Go Get Yourself Some Democracy" Erik Cummings Jung Meets Bush Poets' Basement Davies, Ford, Kearney, McLellan and Albert     May 28, 2004 Rafael Rodriguez Cruz Curtain of Silence on the Cuban 5 Greg Moses Bush's Misleading Speech on Abu Ghraib Dave Lindorff Dissing Independent Contractors: Those Who Do the Dirty Work Norman Solomon Leaping for Lies at the Times Rep. Bill Delahunt Bush's Cruel New Rules on Cuba Paul McGeough Chalabi Baba and the 40 Thieves Niranjan Ramakrishnan India and Nehru: 40 Years After Alexander Cockburn NYTs: "Maybe We Did Screw Up...a Little"     May 27, 2004 Amy Goodman / David Goodman Fatal Errors: the Lies of Our Times Douglas Valentine Ragging the Dogs of War at the NYTs John L. Hess The Times Confesses...Kind Of Stew Albert Dellinger, the Wrestling Pacifist Dave Dellinger a 1993 Interview Christopher Brauchli Tax Breaks for Scions...to Hell with Poor Kids Rampton / Stauber Banana Republicans: Pumping Irony     May 26, 2004 Ron Jacobs Goodbye, David Dellinger: He Was a Friend of Ours Robert Fisk The Things Bush Didn't Say in His Speech Zeynep Toufe New Draft UN Resolution Permits Perpetual Occupation Conn Hallinan Bush and Sharon: the Oil Connection Tom Stephens 2 + 2 is On My Mind: More Morons and War Crimes Derek Medley Protesting Gov. Bigot CounterPunch Wire FBI Abducts Artist; Seizes Art Andrew Cockburn The Trail to Tehran     May 25, 2004 Joe Bageant The Covert Kingdom: On Earth as It is in Texas Col. Dan Smith A Question of Human Dignity Gary Handschumacher Visiting Lori Berenson: Time to Bring Her Home Toni Solo A Developing War in the Andes Marc Estrin September Song: Disturbing Questions About 9/11 Stephen Banko, III A Vietnam Vet on "Supporting the Troops" Website of the Day The Wizard of Whimsy May 24, 2004 Ron Jacobs Dan Senor is Safe! Kurt Nimmo Dirty Tricks & TortureGate: the Missing Taguba Pages Sam Hamod Gen. Zinni: "Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time" Mike Whitney The Wedding was a Bomb Stan Goff Open Season on MAMs Image of the Day A Photo from Abu Ghraib We Didn't See on the Front Page of the NYTs     May 22 / 23, 2004 Paul de Rooij Colin Powell, a Political Obituary Jeffrey St. Clair When War is Swell: Bush and the Carlyle Group Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Her Son Was Told He Wouldn't See Combat; Now He's Dead: an Interview with Sue Niederer Brian Cloughley America is Committing War Crimes in Iraq Saul Landau Democracy in Latin America: Great for Investors; Not So Good for People Brandy Baker Feminists Stand By Their Man: Abortion, Judges and Kerry Randall Robinson Bushwhacked in the Caribbean Uri Avnery The Rape of Rafah Ben Tripp Assume the Worst Bruce Anderson News from Ecotopia: the Truth About the Wine Business Josh Ruebner Why I Burned My Israeli Military Papers Peter Wolson, Ph. D. Exhibitionistic Revenge at Abu Ghraib Chloe Cockburn In Defense of "Troy": What Hector Could Teach Rummy Linda Burnham Sexual Domination in Uniform: an American Value Adrien Rain Burke War of the Necrophiliacs: Spc. Sabrina Harman and Her Corpse David Krieger Charting a New Course for US Nuclear Policy Ron Jacobs Turnaround Poets' Basement Ford, Albert & LaMorticella   May 21, 2004 Ray Close The Canards of the Apologists Christopher Brauchli "The Object of Torture is Torture" Amira Hass Darkness at Noon Jack McCarthy Camilo Mejia: Can the Son of a Sandinista Get a Fair Trial from the US Army? Bill Kauffman Nader v. Bush Omar Barghouti No More Tears for America Ghali Hassan Moral Failure of the "Free World" in Gaza Christopher Reed How the CIA Taught the Portuguese to Torture Website of the Day Eric Idle on the Bush Administration: Fuck You, So Very Much   May 20, 2004 Andrew Cockburn The Truth About Chalabi Kathy Kelly A Visit from the FBI Niranjan Ramakrishnan Brown and Bored of Education in India Tom Stephens & John Philo The War Crimes of Bush, Cheney & Co. Sam Bahour / Michael Dahan Genocide by Public Policy Robert Ovetz Ending the Race for the Last Turtle Billy Wilson The Most Important Thing I Learned at School This Year Website of the Day Rafah Today         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.     Subscribe Online

Bloomsday June 16, 2004 Back to the Past Turning Haiti into One Big Sweatshop By JG "The glorification of war and conquest and the absolute power of the authoritarian state; the belief in the Aryans, or Germans, as the master race(these) are not original to HitlerThey emanate from that odd assortment of erudite but unbalanced philosophers, historians and teachers who captured the German mind during the century before Hitler with consequences so disastrous" These the thoughts, so poignantly composed by the renown historian William L. Shrier, tastefully denounce the laughable argument that the German populace was abruptly and precisely bamboozled during the reign of the Third Reich; that the son of Alois' vociferous rantings and megalomania were but an occurrence of the most obscene misfortune; the isolated combustion of ill-bred genes, forming the withered silhouette afflicted with a rare Bi-polar disorder brought on by post-Bohemian-Vienna-trauma; a wretched corpse that pumped vital fluid to a skull carved in the likeness of Lucifer, juices that animated the most vile of theories, the backdrop of xenophobia before which his masterpiece was painted, on display for all humanity, till her rule extinguishes in the same flash of glory from whence she came. As history has demonstrated in reoccurrence, nothing is without practical or theoretical precedence. To the above, it would behoove any in subscription to peruse the writings of Hegel, Treitschke, Fichte, Neitzsche or Wagner and the despotic record of Bismark. Point being, although the vast expanse that was once Germania undoubtedly housed millions of kind humanitarians, the spliced seed of supremacy and oligarchy had not only long been planted, but was rapidly maturing to a gargantuan oak under which the world would soon cower. Lessons as such are easily forgotten; oftentimes advertently neglected to facilitate the means of the selectively absentminded. 1937--20,000 Haitian workers (mostly sugarcane pickers) massacred at the will of General Trujillo of the Dominican Republic. The General's explanation (as if he needed one considering the enormity of his butchery): Retaliation for the alleged assassination of DR spies by the Haitian government. Retaliatory acts are nothing new to tyrants inasmuch are the nuances of hyper-conservatism. The sugarcane pickers who perished to the lead of Garrands and Carbines, snuggly gripped by the paws of self-hating, Uncle Tom Dominican conscripts, were entrenched in assiduous struggle for worker's rights and basic freedoms, on the bordering plantations of the Spanish versions of the Maritime Bourgeoisie. General Trujillo, in Hitleresque honesty, put forth not a murmur of doublespeak pursuant to his hatred of the Haitians and all descendants of Africa. Again as Hitler did, Trujillo put his anti-social theories into practice by establishing a mandate prohibiting two persons of color to engage in either "relations" or matrimony; this to cleanse the "nigger out the arse;" proving his studiousness as a subordinate to the Irish Trader vernacular. Trujillo and the puppet leaders that followed bettered this discourse by aiding the U$ in suppressing movements of socio-economic autonomy in Haiti by "any means necessary," literally. Earlier this year, Haiti fell victim to a third coup in 14 years (yes, Big Dawg's occupation of 1994 was a sacking of state, economically if nothing else). Boot licking scoundrels under the leadership of convicted war criminal Guy Phillipe, outdid the vacillation of Haitian Mulattoes and loyalists Rigaud and Beauvais, stepping to a "march of death," illegitimately asserting CIA backed authority on a sovereign government; the drummer boy pounding the calfskin with the clip of a Yank M-16. Reports have now circulated as to the reunion of this death squad in the DR during the months leading to their spineless coup. Rumor tells of a recent weapons shipment from the U$ to the DR, this including approximately 20,000 M-16's, as part of some Neo-Con "Democracy Upkeep Initiative," or something along these lines. Perhaps the brilliant think-tanks who orchestrated this exhibition of Democratic support are adhering to the lessons of Roosevelt and McCarthy masterfully administered in the Philippines? The seminar is in full swing. The cultural antagonisms between the neighboring nations, speculatively rooted in a historic, communal sense of jealousy on the part of the Dominicans, surrounding the Haitians' triumph in the righteous revolution of 1804 versus the appalling capitulation of the Dominicans to the Spanish Monarchy; and conversely the Haitians' envy of the relatively advanced state and wealth of the DR (economic actualization resulting from U$ Imperialism and subordination of the Dominican people through a bloody occupation, Cold War détente, Neo-Con stratagems and continued support of a right wing junta; as opposed to a 200 + year campaign of destabilization and colonization specific to Haiti, mere retribution for the "uppity" brazenness of an upstart revolutionary by the name of L'Overture), are ever so evident today. June 14, 2004--301 workers have been fired by the Groupo M jeans factory in the CODEVI free trade zone in Ouanaminthe Haiti. The CODEVI free trade zone is a fetus of the genocidal World Bank, bordering the two countries in the north eastern city of Ounaminthe, Haiti. Groupo M is a seedy Dominican subcontractor of light textiles and sorts, currently contracted by Levi Strauss & Co. The workers being persecuted are Haitian laborers, seeking employment beyond the sparse market of their country, the majority of whom are affiliated with two major worker right's groups: The Batay Ouvriye and the SOKOWA Workers' Union. On April 14, 2004, representatives from Batay Ouvriye & SOKOWA opposite CODEVI management & Groupo M management, formally resolved a conflict years in the making; a variance founded on the pillars of totalitarianism, Neo-Liberalism, Terrorism and general contravention to Internationally recognized standards of worker's rights. During the months prior to April 14th, CODEVI and Groupo M enacted a policy disallowing factory workers to either organize or unionize; in doing so eliminating all future possibilities for sorely needed work-place reform. Aside from simply disseminating this decree, these groups, Groupo M in particular, carried out a systematic offensive on the workers, spearheaded by Alex Corona. Corona is an especially despicable character; a thick-necked, half-wit-brawler who achieved notoriety through the tactics employed by the classic state-grunt: Intimidation by superior numbers and force--force in this context referring to the Colt .45 adorning his hip, the same piece known to pistol whip innocent and oppressed workers. He is the commandant of the CODEVI's and Groupo M's S.A. storm troopers; responsible for the beating of countless workers, the molestation of female employees and the overall environment of terror encapsulating the factory. Mr. Corona's official title is that of " Chief Security Officer." (On this subject I must segue: If there is an individual in this context deserved of the rage of the masses, it is he. The only thing worse than a cabinet of capitalist mongers are the mindless worker-bees who do their bidding, gladly at that. Mr. Corona is confirmed swine who need be dealt with commensurate to his character.). The campaign intensified by the firing of 34 workers who had been and were subsequently further beaten and harassed. The groups entered negotiation on April 13th, returning to deliberate on the following day. The agreement was as follows (this from a report by the Haiti Support Group, 4-18-04): "the factory management finally agreed: to reinstate on 14 April all the fired workers, to provide continued medical treatment to those who were most severely beaten and are still suffering, to pay back-salaries at the minimum wage rate for all the time of the dispute, to recognize the right to unionize inside the factory, and finally to immediately enter into negotiations with a delegation from the union to discuss the workers' wider demands." As soon as the following work day, CODEVI and Groupo M began to renege on the agreements formerly reached. Badges denoting sonority ant title (hence salary codes, vacation etc.) were stripped and new ones reissued, workers were dismissed arbitrarily and some put on stand-by. On June 14, 2004, the valiant Haiti Support Group published another report updating all to the plight of these sojourned workers. Sadly, the situation had worsened; hardly a surprise to anyone observing both its evolution and the lessons taught via the University of Dominican despotism (this to infer the government, private sector and all insuring U$ corporate interests, not the Dominican people). 301 workers fired, the Dominican Army dispatched to quell the "rebellious Haitians," and Groupo M announced they will "abandon production at the CODEVI free trade zone plant;" in doing so, ensuring the laying off of 700 workers. Within the 301 workers already dismissed, one finds the Secretary and Coordinator of the SOKOWA union. The primary result of the latest coup in Haiti has been an omnipresent vacuum of power throughout. Those filling the void are members of Guy Phillipe's Praetorian rebel guard, formerly exiled and or docile Duvalierists, Industrialist opportunists (Andy Apaid and company) and many other serpent-like sub-creatures. On a border which has never been kept to the liking of the thousands of Haitians raped, massacred, brutalized and terrorized by Dominican and Haitian thugs alike, the imminence of this power vacuum is manifest. A day whence a foreign nation can send its troops into another, not to invade (preventatively or otherwise, i.e. Iraq), violently annex or subdue internal strife on the behest of recipient nation, but to intimidate factory workers in the interests of national and international corporate interests is remarkable indeed! The guilty parties go without mention--most importantly Levi Strauss & Co. Group M and the Bush-lackey President Mejia would not have the impudence to make such moves if it were not for the most commanding of all figures, Mr. Dolla. The cluster-fuck interim / puppet government of Haiti had best remove their tongues from the rotten-orifices of the U$ empire and lift their heads high enough to see the magnificent tide of Revolution rising. The chances of this metaphor yielding reality are nonexistent--if for no other reason that the parties who orchestrated the coup and now find themselves in power, aspire to such an extinguished model of control and tyranny as the Dominicans have exemplified; you know, to keep the "niggers from straying afar the field." As for the lesson learned, explicitly forgotten then followed to the last detail: What is transpiring in Ouanaminthe is irrefutably so, because wanton acts against the Haitian masses by the Dominican Government, private sector and U$ corporations is simply, very simply, nothing new. Lesson learned, I think. JG is the lead Emcee for the politically leftist Hip-Hop duet, Over The Counter Intelligence (JG & HavikenHayes), based in Fort Lauderdale Florida. They are most recognized through their support of various grassroots organizations throughout the country; most notably The Coalition of Immokalee Workers -- The Taco Bell Boycott. They are of the best known Indie-Hip Hop groups nationwide. JG has written songs, articles and editorials specific to the oppression of the Haitian Global Village, most importantly, the virulent immigration statues pertaining to Haitian Refugees. He has recently recorded a solo album entitled "Insurgent," which will be released this year via record label. He can be reached through his website: www.insurgentjg.com Weekend Edition Features for June 12 / 13, 2004 Peter Linebaugh Remembering the Common Hood: Soweto and Runnymede Team CounterPunch CP's Favorite Albums Jeffrey St. Clair Troy, Now and Then Gary Leupp Not Really a Puppet Government in Iraq? Brian Cloughley US Military in Crisis Antonio Ponvert, III Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: the Connecticut Connection Ben Tripp The Polls Get Stupider Joe Bageant Mash Note to the "Girl with the Leash" Ron Jacobs The Return of the Hip Hop Insurgency Forrest Hylton Object Lessons from the Case of Francisco Cortés Christopher Brauchli Federal Bureau of Errors Kurt Nimmo Going After Qaddafi, Again Wayne Madsen Israel's Slap at Reagan Anthony Loewenstein Al Jazeera Awakens the Arab World Michael Donnelly A Lightship in the Forest: Greenpeace Docks in the Siskiyous Greg Moses Who Will Tell Us More About the Workers of Nasiriyah? Susan Davis Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban Joseph Ramsey Weather Report: a Review of The Weather Underground Niranjan Ramakrishnan The 18th Brumaire in the 21st Century Wayne Saunders The Gipper, D-Day and the Stanley Cup Poets' Basement Richey, Ford, La Morticella, Albert Website of the Weekend Insurgent Music WWW http://www.counterpunch.org   Keep CounterPunch Alive: Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Today Online! home / subscribe / about us / books / archives / search / links /