Alexander Cockburn on Homelessness, the Palestinians, Racism (5/5) (1987)

December 17, 1987 http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.... Watch the full program: http://thefilmarchived.blogspot.com/2010/12/alexander-cockburn-on-journalism-...

CounterPunch is a bi-weekly newsletter published in the United States that covers politics in a manner its editors describe as "muckraking with a radical attitude." It includes a website, updated daily, which contains much more material not published in the newsletter.

Running six to eight pages in length, the CounterPunch newsletter primarily publishes commentaries by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair with regular contributions by a wide range of others. It is noted for its critical coverage of both Democratic and Republican politicians and its extensive reporting of environmental and trade union issues, American foreign policy, and the Israeli-Arab conflict.

The newsletter was established in 1994 by the Washington, D.C.-based investigative reporter Ken Silverstein. He was soon joined by the journalists Cockburn and St. Clair. In 1996 Silverstein left the publication and Cockburn and St. Clair have since been co-editors.

Notable contributors to CounterPunch have included Robert Fisk, Edward Said, Tim Wise, Ralph Nader, M. Shahid Alam, Tariq Ali, Ward Churchill, Lila Rajiva, Peter Linebaugh, Tanya Reinhart, Noam Chomsky, Frank "Chuck" Spinney, and Alexander Cockburn's two brothers: Andrew and Patrick, both of whom write on the Middle East, Iraq in particular.

Some paleoconservative writers, such as Paul Craig Roberts and William Lind, and libertarian writers such as Sheldon Richman and Anthony Gregory also contribute to CounterPunch. The site regularly publishes articles from those with left-wing views, such as Lenni Brenner, Fidel Castro, and the late Stew Albert, as well as newer contributors, such as Diane Christian, Joshua Frank, Norman Finkelstein, Ron Jacobs, Pam Martens, Gary Leupp, Cynthia McKinney, Kelly Overton, David H. Price, and Sherry Wolf.

Ben Cohen of the American Jewish Committee has described Counterpunch as "frequently anti-Semitic."

A number of writers, such as political commentator Steven Plaut, have written articles charging CounterPunch of being biased against Israel and antisemitic. In June 2006, the same Plaut was tried and convicted of libeling Neve Gordon, a regular contributor to CounterPunch, in an Israeli court. Plaut was ordered to pay the plaintiff NIS 80,000 (aprox. $18,600) in compensation plus NIS 15,000 (approx. $3,500) in legal fees.

CounterPunch has also been criticised by anti-Zionist activists Tony Greenstein and Roland Rance of Jews Against Zionism, for its practice of publishing articles by writers such as Gilad Atzmon and Israel Shamir which they describe as "blurring the distinction" between Zionism and Judaism, and failing to publish responses to these articles.

In 2009, CounterPunch's publication of articles by Alison Weir on organ transplant accusations were accused of disseminating the medieval antisemitic blood libel.

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