We hear that the first act of President Jacques Chirac of France, upon being re-elected to his country's supreme magistrature with 82.1 percent of the vote (only 20 percent abstention), is to exile the defeated far-right candidate, Jean- Marie Le Pen, to the USA. Just kidding... But thinking of it, Le Pen would be welcome here with the likes of Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson; they'd become the three musketeers of white, Christian Occident, anti-immigrants, anti-abortion, women back in the kitchen and all the niceties these guys keep coming up with to appeal to the lowest common denominator of so-called human nature. Start a talk show on CNN with the three of them and both Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge would become envious of the ratings. Le Pen would just blend into the crowd of Americana!

For undoubtedly we -- the happy few 4 percent of the planet -- are the land of democracy and civil liberties as Steve Gowans and Deck Deckert demonstrate, the land of milk and honey where Monsanto will promise to feed the world at a price that the world cannot afford and with unforeseen consequences, as Jan Baughman and Alma Hromic reveal. Next, Monsanto will need to find a way to clone the 200 species that are being extinguished every day as a result of the transfer of their biomass to ours. But don't worry about our actions; no one can sue us: We ARE the Law. His Highness Bush II is "unsigning" the treaty (a first in history) creating an international criminal court and will assert that we are not bound by the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law and Treaties. As Milo Clark writes, there is nothing inherently wrong here...till we depend on a sheer dominance of physical power for our survival... The future is bright!

And while this brightness illuminates all the way to the Middle East, more particularly over the blessed lone democracy in the area, whose history Milo Clark touches upon in his own style, Serbs must be literally dumbfounded by the events that have taken place in the past five weeks in the West Bank. Steve Gowans draws an interesting picture when he compares these events with those in Kosovo... But here again, not to worry, the future is bright as Sharon comes into town with his own generous plan filled with painful concessions, a short primer revealed by Gilles d'Aymery with an irony the Palestinians will certainly appreciate. .

Finally, the first two parts of a ten-part poem by Hromic that continues her theme of immigration, and two must-read book reviews by Milo Clark, "Dollars for Terror, The United States and Islam" and "The Sixteen-Trillion- Dollar Mistake, How the U. S. Bungled its National Priorities from the New Deal to the Present," complete the new crop of articles, essays and poetry for this rendition.

As always, form your OWN opinion and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans. It's your voice that makes ours grow.

Here is the list of all the links:

www.swans.com/library/art8/gowans31.html
The United States v. Democracy - by Stephen Gowans

www.swans.com/library/art8/rdeck020.html
The Wrong Stuff - by Deck Deckert

www.swans.com/library/art8/aah025.html
The Hand Of God - by Alma Hromic

www.swans.com/library/art8/jeb111.html
Of Rice And Men: The Mistaken Promise Of Genomics - by Jan Baughman

www.swans.com/library/art8/mgc078.html
Self Interest - by Milo Clark

www.swans.com/library/art8/mgc077.html
Israel - by Milo Clark

www.swans.com/library/art8/gowans30.html
Massacre Or Not? It Depends On Which Side Of Washington's Ledger You're On - by Stephen Gowans

www.swans.com/library/art8/ga128.html
Blackmailing Palestinians: Plucked, Cooked, Baked And Packaged - by Gilles d'Aymery

www.swans.com/library/art8/aah024.html
Going Home: i - Looking Back - Poem by Alma Hromic

www.swans.com/library/art8/aah024a.html
Going Home: ii - Taking Flight - Poem by Alma Hromic

www.swans.com/library/art8/mgc079.html
Dollars for Terror - Book Review by Milo Clark

www.swans.com/library/art8/mgc080.html
Blighted National Priorities - Book Review by Milo Clark

Thank you for reading Swans

Gilles d'Aymery
Swans

"Hungry man, rush for the book: It is a weapon." B. Brecht