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PO Box 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 Alexander Cockburn 1 (707) 629-3683 1- year print/digital edition $45 1941–2012 table of contents VOLUME 25 number 2 · 2018 letters to the editor . 5 columns Roaming Charges .......... 6 borderzone notes Badge of Impunity 1968 + 50: The Year of Youth by Jeffrey St. Clair How America’s police get away by Laura Carlsen . 10 with murder. eurozone notes Empire Burlesque ......... 7 MSNBC’s Progressive The Working Poor Bot-ulism By Chris Floyd by Daniel Raventós and Julie Wark . 12 Liberals’ undying obsession articles with Putin. Bottomlines ............... 8 New Nuclear Weapons Express Train to by John LaForge . .14 the 19th Century By Pete Dolack John Reed and the Russian Revolution Back to trickle-down economics. by P. Sainath . 21 Between the Lines ......... 9 Mexico’s Big and Contentious Elections The President and the Porn Star by Kent Paterson . 26 By Ruth Fowler The FBI At Work Sex as transaction. by Paul Krassner . 30 culture & reviews Appalachia Say You Will by Lee Ballinger .......... 32 Soderbergh’s Truth by Ed Leer ..............34 You’re holding an official copy of Counter- print + digital subsCriptions include the bi-monthly Punch Magazine which contains exclusive magazine by mail (6 issues per year), containing exclusive articles and special features you will not find articles and special features you can’t find on our web- site. Each edition of the magazine is (36) pages. Subscrip- on the CounterPunch website or anywhere tions begin within 3 weeks of subscribing, and start with else on the internet. the current issue being advertised at the time the order is Current subscribers can find their expiration placed unless specified otherwise. 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All Total Enclosed renewals outside the U.S. please add shipping: add $25.00 per year for postage for Canada and Mexico; all other countries outside the US add $45.00 per year. No checks from banks outside students, seniors, & low inCome: Take off $5 for any type the US. The information you submit is confidential and is never shared or sold. of subscription. This designation Please call for all gift subscription orders. is self determined. letters to the editor Yearsley’s Prize tive military force in history. The Evicted are often fearful of the mere I was delighted to learn from Bob Alvarez There was a forum on home existence of black people. As yesterday’s NY Times that evictions in Kansas City back if they are only used to being David Yearsley, one of my Drones Over Syria in December, organized by the around other white people and favorite CounterPunch writers, If the President was really public library and the local don’t really personally know received a Guggenheim award. psychopathic and really wanted PBS station. It was attended many black people. They then This is as well an implicit to maneuver everyone in the by over 600 people. Tara project their fear and bias onto tribute to Counterpunch, establishment & general public Raghuveer, who is a Harvard non-white bodies... sometimes which publishes so many fine into gracefully submitting to grad and studied with Matthew getting them killed. writers from a wide range of his batshit insanity, he would’ve Desmond, presented her Priya Reddy cultural fields. sent drones to Mueller’s offices. research on eviction rates in Starbucks & Cops Best regards, Since he’s as “sane” as Hillary Kansas City. She found that the June Zaccone Clinton and maybe even John eviction rate was around 98% As a Starbucks Barista, I can Ellis “Jeb!” Bush, he’s only for court cases that went to the say that our safety training Tired of War gonna send drones into Syria… final judgment phase. almost always has us rely- Syrians are beyond tired of war. Matthew Hardwick Chuck Munson ing on calling the police if we And we are tired of dictators, experience or suspect danger.