Issue 63
Table of Contents |
The Shameful Victory |
by Alexander Cockburn
The deal
brokered by NATO's errand boy Viktor Chernomyrdin on June 2 was virtually identical to that offered by Slobodan Milosevic to NATO before the bombing started. The sole purpose of the bombing was to demonstrate to Serbia and to the world NATO's capacity to bomb, thus killing nearly 2,000 civilians, destroying much of Serbia's infrastructure, and prompting the forced expulsion and flight of around a million Kosovars
| |
100,000 Serbs May Flee Kosovo |
by Vesna Peric-Zimonjic
Politicians and historians are foreseeing a repeat of the 1995 refugee crisis
in Krajina, when more than 200,000 Serbs were expelled by Croatian troops
from the land they had lived in for 400 years.
Thousands of Serbian families are already moving north together with troops
pulling out from the province under agreements reached last week between the
commanders of NATO and the Yugoslav
army, reports from Kosovo say
| |
NATO Involvement Just Beginning |
Analysis by Jim Lobe
NATO leaders, having forced Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic to yield to its demands after 72 days of bombing, must now
address a whole new set of challenges that could lead them even deeper into a
Balkan quagmire
| |
KLA Militias Terrorize Kosovo Serbs |
by Vesna Peric-Zimonjic
"They carry weapons, they act like NATO
has liberated Kosovo for them and they seek revenge" a Kosovo Serb told reporters
| |
War Ends, Hate Continues |
by Norman Solomon
After 11 weeks of bombing Yugoslavia, top U.S. officials are pleased to
take a virtuous bow in the media spotlight as refugees from Kosovo prepare
to return home. With steadfast U.S. leadership, we're told, NATO forces of
decency persevered and won. Yet few media commentators have explored how
the bombing actually fitted into the region's recurring cycles of violence
| |
How American PR Demonized the Serbs |
by Peter Phillips
So how has a phony photo of alleged Serbian death camp continued to
be used to portray the Serbian government as an holocaust perpetrator in
Kosovo? One part of the answer is that the American public relations firm
Ruder Finn was originally hired by the Croatian sessionists, Bosnian
Muslins and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to foster negative images of
the Serbs as nazi demons
| |
Kosovo is Forecast of 21st Century Trends |
by Walter Truett Anderson
There is much speculation now about the future impacts of the Kosovo
conflict, the precedents it sets: Will there be more "bombing wars," with
the U.S. and other major powers seeking to achieve military goals without
sending in ground troops? Will separatist movements around the world be
emboldened to battle even more vigorously against national governments?
Those are uncertainties; the certainty is that there will be more meddling.
The world keeps getting smaller, the communications media keep making it
easier for everybody to look over everybody else's shoulder
| |
Clinton's Grim Legacy of the Kosovo War |
by Christopher Caldwell
Overturning the age-old American policy of fighting wars for the
national interest, we now maintain that national interest would taint
the moral purity of those waging the war.
The danger is that such a doctrine turns all our wars into holy wars. Once
we've established the lack of national interest, we've established our moral
purity, and conscience need no longer intrude
| |
NY Jury Verdict is Landmark for Police Accountability |
Analysis By Farhan Haq
The grisly month-long trial of five New York police
officers on torture charges against an Haitian immigrant has ended with a
mixed verdict -- but one which paved the way for a wider crackdown on police
brutality
| |
Senate Packs Funding Bill With Anti-Environment Riders |
Including incentives for
increased logging at Tongass National Forest
in Alaska, preventing the reintroduction of grizzly
bears in Idaho and Montana, and diversion of roads
and trails fund to "improve forest health
conditions," which could include selective
logging
| |
Bill Bradley Keeps His Distance |
by David Corn
There is something odd about Bradley, in that Gary Hart manner. As he's
looking for millions of Americans to invest their hopes and dreams in him,
he is trying to keep a significant part of himself far from the crowd. No
doubt this stems from the fame that befell him early in life as a college
basketball star. He once was a genuine celebrity. And that's a different
beast from a political celebrity
| |
Al Gore's Hillary Problem |
by David Corn
There's been much punditifying about the impact of Hillary's race on Gore's
campaign. Outside of Gore spinners, no one seems to see how this could
redound to Gore's advantage. Hillary will be a distraction, a magnet (if not
a black hole) for money and media attention. Gore's chief challenge is
stepping out of the shadow (or mudpit) created by Bill Clinton | |
Cox Report Will Backfire on U.S. |
by George Koo
The Cox Report
may mark the beginning of the end of U.S. preeminence in
science and technology. Coupled with the high-profile dismissal of Wen Ho
Lee, the United States suddenly becomes a less than hospitable place for
foreign-born scientists. Some have been dismissed from jobs in government
labs, others are packing their bags to return home or go to the private
sector
| |
World #1 Terrorist Faces Execution -- or Diplomat Job |
by Franz Schurmann
The man
who could be called the world's greatest terrorist is now facing
trial on a prison islet in Turkey's beautiful Sea of Marmara. He is accused
of killing 28,394 Turks, of 3,254 bombings and 20,915 terrorist actions. He
is expected to be convicted and hanged.
But he could just possibly end up alive -- and hailed as one of the greatest
peacemakers in Middle Eastern history to boot
| |
Cambodians Clear Landmines, Lose Farms |
by Debra Boyce
Amid allegations of financial impropriety and
mismanagement swirling around Cambodia Mine Action Center in recent weeks, the agency has
acknowledged that the beneficiaries of its "humanitarian" demining are not
always poor Cambodians
| |
Error 404: News Not Found in Your Daily Paper |
Special report on guns: NRA myths and the easy availability of . 50 caliber semi-automatic cannons
| |
Reading, Writing, Religion |
by Nate Blakeslee
On
the fifteen-member Texas State Board of Education, Republicans hold a
nine-to-six advantage over Democrats. But the crucial division is between
the Christian conservative faction (which grew to six members in January)
and the moderate Republicans and Democrats. Beginning in 1993, with the
election of conservative Christian Bob Offutt, Christian activists -- with
the help of a state Republican party machine they now firmly control -- have
targeted Board of Education elections once largely ignored by both parties
| |
49 Pakistani Children Await Hangman's Noose |
by Ahmar Mustikhan
A global human rights watchdog has blasted Pakistan
for continuing to sentence children to death despite having signed a 1990 UN
agreement, and for now having
resentenced a 13-year-old child to death after his sentence was commuted
earlier this year
| |
New Army Aggression on Chiapas Villagers |
by Pilar Franco
Human
rights groups denounced new military
occupations of areas of southeastern Mexico inhabited by Native
sympathizers of the EZLN.
The town of La Realidad, considered the political stronghold of the Zapatista
rebels in the southeastern state of Chiapas, was invaded by around 800
soldiers and police June 9, while 700 security agents, backed by
helicopters, entered La Trinidad
| |
Independent Book Stores Score Victory |
by Tate Hausman
When
placed next to each other, the two words "Barnes" and "Noble" rarely
give independent booksellers a reason to smile. That is, until June 2, when
Barnes & Noble finally dropped its proposal to buy Ingram Book Group,
America's largest book wholesaler. The deal collapsed only one day after the
Federal Trade Commission decided that it might block the acquisition -- a
decision made in large part because of a grassroots lobbying campaign
organized by independent booksellers. Now the independents aren't just
smiling, they're celebrating
| |
Fresh Proof of "Operation Condor" Surfaces |
by Danielle Knight
The documents demonstrate that the head of DINA, now-retired
Gen. Manuel Contreras, created Operation Condor to coordinate
operations against the respective opponents -- real or suspected --
of the military regimes ruling several South American nations in the 1970s and 1980s
| |
Genetic Link to Gulf War Syndrome Found |
A genetic trait
can predispose people to
Gulf War syndrome, a new study has found, which shows why some veterans of the Gulf War may have gotten
ill from certain chemical exposures while others did not. | |
AIDS Spreading Faster Worldwide |
by Thalif Deen
AIDS is spreading throughout the world at a
rate three times faster than funding for ways to combat the killer disease,
according to the United Nations
| |
The New Corporate Predator |
by Charles J. Reid
Most Americans are
frustrated by the gravity of the problem: legally, corporations have
unlimited life, unlimited size, unlimited power, and a whole lot of
license to control the political, economic, and cultural destinies and
disparities of local communities and of the world. Having no conscience
for the community, corporations remain focused solely on their own
"rational" self interest in profit, respecting no human being that stands
in their way, especially those lacking status, wealth, or power
| |
Why Federal Hate Crimes Law Essential |
By Judith Gorman
Hate crimes are our dirty little secret, the worm in the American apple pie,
the flip side to the American promise of equality for all. Hidden from
public scrutiny, left in the dark, they thrive, like a fungus on the
national consciousness. However abhorrent you find this act, don't look
away
| |
When "Funny" Remarks are Hate Speech |
by Don Hazen
A starlet's comments on the late-night talk show "Politically Incorrect" have infuriated homeless advocates who are worried about the
dangers of treating people as if they are less than human and consider using
such language as a kind of hate crime
| |
Surprise Defeat for Big Steel |
By Steve Chapman
The Senate vote was the equivalent of dumping a bucket of ice water
over the heads of steel management and labor, which have come to expect
non-stop indulgence
| |
More Over-reactions to Littleton Shootings |
by Randolph T. Holhut
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the conservative radio talk show host
and dispenser of family advice, says parents must snoop on their children
because children have no right to privacy (or, for that matter, any other
constitutional rights)
| |
Hooray For Almost All of Us |
by Molly Ivins
As the sun shines upon our fair nation (rather strongly, what with global
warming in the works), I would like to make my annual salute to the sheer
wonderfulness of us all
| |
Right-Wing Courts Run Berserk |
by Molly Ivins
What we have here is a rather clear instance of the growing
menace of judicial activism by the very people who made judicial activism a
swear word to begin with. Hey, when liberals were judicial activists, all the right-
wingers said it was a terrible, horrible disgrace and had to be stopped before
the nation was brought to its knees. Now that we've got right-wingers going
berserk on the bench, we're all supposed to applaud and think it's dandy
| |
Wal-Mart Bans Contraceptive |
by Molly Ivins
Wal-Mart is the second-largest drug retailer in the United States and has announced that it will not carry Preven. This is the first time that Wal-Mart has done this with any legal drug. According to pro-choice groups, this is a taste of the boycott pressure that anti-abortion groups will bring against RU-486 if it is approved
| |
Defending Guns, Blaming Liberals |
by Molly Ivins
It is quite true that no law can assure that
guns will not get into the hands of criminals and lunatics. But laws can make it
much less likely that they will. The Brady law alone has kept tens of thousands
of people with criminal or mental records from buying guns in just a few years
| |
Not Your Average Summer Reading |
by Molly Ivins
We can find great shelves full of tripe in the bookstores about
"Spirituality" -- whatever that means anymore -- and "Self-Help" for everyone
who wants to straighten out his or her psyche, no matter which way it's bent. If I
were in book marketing, I would sure have noticed by now that we're looking at
a huge generation of aging baby boomers, and we can bet the farm that they'll
all be facing death, loss, grief and a struggle for the spiritual resources to cope
with same. Prozac and Viagra will get us only so far in this world
| |
Single Issue Clinton Haters |
by Molly Ivins
The overturning of gun-control measures is a classic example of how a single-issue, high-intensity minority can drive the political system, no matter what the majority wants. Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida simply re-wrote the Senate bill to take care of the NRA's objections, and the result is a nothing bill
| |
The NRA Prepares For Another Grand Fit |
by Molly Ivins
As we all know, the horror in Littleton, Colo., was (among other things) a public relations nightmare for the gun lobby. While keeping a low public profile, the National Rifle Association has been rallying its members to pressure politicians in every way imaginable
| |
A Failed, Unlovely War |
by Molly Ivins
From the beginning, I think the one thing that was clear was that this was a situation so complex it was neither morally nor militarily clear
| |
New Study Debunks PBS Claim to be "Public" TV |
by Norman Solomon
Analyzing data from 75 separate programs during a two-week period in
late 1998, Hoynes has assessed recent trends. It turns out that in the
media world of PBS stations, things aren't as bad as they used to be.
They're worse
| |
Media Wields Power Over Candidates |
by Norman Solomon
Every
modern presidential contest generates a lot of discussion about how
the nation's most prominent journalists cover major candidates. But there's
not much analysis of how candidates get along with the media conglomerates
that employ those journalists.
Politicians have long feared media power. And they've usually watched
their steps to avoid tangling with it
| |
The Sad Tale of KPFA |
by Norman Solomon
At a time when "public
radio" routinely means a mish-mash of cautious mainstream programming, the
station is an enduring symbol of feisty community radio. That's why you
should care about KPFA's fate, even if you've never been within earshot of
its transmitter
| |
The Drug War Out of Control |
by Alexander Cockburn
All those present in a federal courtroom in San Francisco in mid-May
were edified by the sight of a federal prosecutor getting off to a faltering start by
having to admit that the government's prime witness and lead investigator --
Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Mark Nelson -- had committed perjury
| |
How Vulnerable is Hillary? |
by Alexander Cockburn
If
Hillary Rodham Clinton truly enters the New York Senate race against
Mayor Rudy Giuliani, it will be the first time she'll be standing square in
the sights as a candidate and forced to respond directly to all charges
flung at her along the campaign trail
| |
New Jersey's Louima Case |
by Alexander Cockburn
While the recent guilty plea of Justin Volpe in the Abner Louima torture trial in New York generated some headlines, an equally brutal incident in Irvington, N.J., has passed with no attention
| |
Unabomber Participated in CIA Drug Tests as Student |
by Alexander Cockburn
As chairman of the Department of Social Relations at Harvard, Dr. Henry Murray
zealously prosecuted the CIA's efforts to carry forward experiments in mind
control conducted by Nazi doctors in the concentration camps. What did Dr. Murray give Kaczynski? Did the experiment's long-term
effects help tilt him into the UnabomberŐs homicidal rampages? The CIA's mind-
experiment program of those years was vast. How many other human time
bombs were thus primed by CIA doctors? How many of them have
exploded?
| |
Albion Monitor Issue 63 (http://www.monitor.net/monitor)
All Rights Reserved.
Contact rights@monitor.net for permission to use in any format.
|