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What You're Missing in our subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter SPECIAL REPORT: How Iraq is Being Destroyed "A weak Iraq suits many." Three years after the US attack, Iraq is breaking apart. Eyewitness report from Patrick Cockburn in Irbil. One of the great left journalists of his time, he was on the front lines in Korea and Vietnam. Chris Reed on Wilfred Burchett, the man who made Murdoch foam at the mouth. Katrina washes whitest. Bill Quigley in New Orleans reports tales of lunacy and hope. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! 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 donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! Get CounterPunch By Email for Only $35 a Year

Today's Stories April 7 -9, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair The Saga of Magnequench: Outsourcing US Missile Technology to China April 6, 2006 John Ross Mexico's Most Toxic Presidential Election Ever Dave Lindorff Time to Get on Message with the Sissy French Don Monkerud The Strange Case of the American Worker Robert McDonald The Texas Railroad to Death Row: How Prosecutors Fabricated a Case Against Rodney Reed Boris Kagarlitsky A Marriage of Convenience in Ukraine Remi Kanazi The Assault on Cynthia McKinney Niranjan Ramakrishnan Untangling the Issues in the Immigration Debates Robert Fisk A Lesson from the Holocaust for Us All   April 5, 2006 Dick J. Reavis Pancho Bin Laden and the Terrorists' Tombs Mark Brenner Workers in the Aftermath of Katrina: Survival of the Fittest Brian Cloughley Nailing the Lies: Come Clean, Mr. Bush Jozef Hand-Boniakowski Why Democrats Are At Least Half of the Problem Matt Vidal Republican Bliss: the Selfish Road to Happiness Juan Santos The Politics of Immigration: a Nation of Colonists and Race Laws Alan Maass Week of the Walkouts JoAnn Wypijewski Malevolent Power at Ft. Sill: the Army Slays Its Own Website of the Day My Life in the Bush of Ghosts   April 4, 2006 Jackson Thoreau How the Hammer Got Nailed: Taking Down Tom DeLay Gary Corseri Osama's Favorite Writer?: an Interview with William Blum Dave Lindorff Provocative Humanitarianism?: Bashing Hugo Chavez at the NYT Paul Craig Roberts Belligerent to the Bitter End Norman Solomon When War Crimes Are Unspeakable: Bush, Always the Accuser, Never the Accused Michael Carmichael The Christocrat: Condi Does Britain Winslow T. Wheeler Is the F-22 Worth the Price-Tag? Ingmar Lee Is Another World Possible?: Report from Karachi Michael Neumann The Israel Lobby and Beyond Website of the Day West Point Graduates Against the War   April 3, 2006 Saul Landau Vietnam Diary: "What Socialism?" Richard Thieme The CIA: Cowboys, Indians and Whistleblowers, an Interview with David MacMichael Timothy B. Tyson Race, Class and Rape at Duke Omar Barghouti The Israeli Elections: a Decisive Vote for Apartheid Iwasaki Atsuko "As Israelis, We Also Fight for Palestinians:" an Interview with Jeff Halper Julian Edney A Terrible Weapon in the Hands of the Rich Roger Morris Catfight Among the Conservatives   April 1 / 2, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Truth and Fiction in Elie Wiesel's "Night" Ralph Nader Exxon/Mobil: the Corporate Superpower of Superpowers Dave Zirin The Press Mob, Their Rope and Barry Bonds: Damn Right Race Matters David Underhill Walkin' to New Orleans Earl Ofari Hutchinson Do Immigrants Really Take Jobs from Urban Poor? Dave Lindorff Sen. Orrin Hatch: Defender of Presidential Lawlessness P. Sainath Where India's Brave New World is Headed Fred Gardner Debunking "Amotivational Syndrome" Clancy Chassay Hamas or Al Qaeda? The Gun or the Ballot Box? Heather Gray The Inspiring Face of Immigration: Australia and the American Rural Southeast Greg Moses Austin Students Walkout: "We're a Group This Country Needs" John Chuckman When the Violent Enforce the Peace: America's Brutal Tactics in Iraq Ron Jacobs Leaving Iraq Now is the Only Sensible Solution Jeffrey St. Clair Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week Poets' Basement Holt, Engel, Subiet, Ford and Davies Website of the Weekend Pentagon Thievery   March 31, 2006 Gary Leupp Better Off Under Saddam: an Inventory Patrick Cockburn Mosul Slips Out of Control Saree Makdisi Israeli Elections Big Winner: Avigdor Lieberman Ron Jacobs Where Capital is Not God: France Shows the Way Mark Engler There's Much More to be Done on Third World Debt Relief Curtis F.J. Doebbler An Appeal to International Lawyers: Hold Bush Accountable for Flauting International Law Laith al-Saud Iraq is Not in Civil War (Yet); It's Under Occupation Website of the Day Boobies, Dolphins and Flying Fish: Sailing the African Coast     March 30, 2006 Uri Avnery Israeli Elections: What the Hell Has Happened? Sen. Russell Feingold A Fact Check on a Presidential Crime: Myth vs. Reality on Bush's Warrantless Wiretapping Program Winslow T. Wheeler The Saga of the Joint Strike Fighter: Just Because Its High Tech and Costs $247 Billion Doesn't Mean It Works Dave Lindorff A Strategy of Massacres? Juan Santos The Ghost of George Wallace: Immigration and White Racism Frida Berrigan Privatizing the Apocalypse Joshua Frank War in Search of a Justification Vonnie Edwards Letter from the LA County Jail Neve Gordon Does Kadima's Victory Put the Peace Process in Reverse? Website of the Day The Women of New Orleans Speak   March 29, 2006 CounterPunch News Service Fake Saddam Interview Put Out by Israel Lobby Catspaw, Endorsed by NeoCons' Pet Cassandra, Now Wiping Egg From Face Patrick Cockburn Bush's Call for Ouster of Iraq PM Widens Rift with Shias John Ross When Water is Not a Human Right Omar Barghouti When is Killing Arab Civilians Considered a Massacre? William S. Lind Truth in Advertising from the Army? Missy Comley Beattie Missing in America Earl Ofari Hutchinson AWOL: Black Leaders and Immigration Website of the Day Colombia Support Network Needs Your Help   March 28, 2006 Sharon Smith Liberal Hypocrisy on Immigration: Krugman and Clinton Say Shut the Door Paul Craig Roberts Bush is No Conservative Tariq Ali Karachi Social Forum: NGOs or WGOs? Manuel Garcia, Jr. God's Torturers: from Torquemada to Opus Dei Ramzy Baroud False Impressions: the Media and the Middle East Evelyn Pringle Fentanyl's Body Count: the FDA's Math Problem Seth Sandronsky Inflation and Speculation Patrick Cockburn Shias May Now Turn on US Forces   March 27, 2006 Patrick Cockburn War Crime in a Mosque Joshua Frank The Democrats' Daddy Warbucks Ron Jacobs The Case of the Anti-Minutemen Five Jeff Lays Eternal Spending for a Never-Ending War Davey D. We Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us Robert Billyard "I Did Not Join the British Army to Conduct US Foreign Policy" Jim Rigby Why We Let an Atheist Join Our Church Lisa Viscidi Justice and Impunity in Latin America: the Case of Rios Montt Nick Dearden Refugees: Thirty Years in the Western Sahara Gideon Levy Are We Done Killing Children, Yet? Website of the Day "Love Me, I'm a Liberal " (Updated) March 25 / 26, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Why There's No Strategy to End This War Patrick Cockburn The Battle for Baghdad: It's Already Begun Ralph Nader Bush's Divorce from Reality Christopher Reed Slave Labor and Hell Ships: Mitsubishi Awaits Judgment for Its War Crimes Jeff Ballinger Memo to Walter Mosley: the Crisis in Black Leadership Joseph Massad Blaming the Israel Lobby Brian Cloughley The Fifth Afghan War Chris Floyd Death in the Village of Isahaqi Elaine Cassel Abortion Politics: The FDA and Plan B Dave Zirin Death Row Talks Back to Etan Thomas John Chuckman Sorry, Prime Minister, Afghanistan is Not Canada's War Sharon Smith "Si Se Puede!": On Chicago's Streets Christopher Fons A City With Latinos Chris Kromm Coretta Scott King a Communist? There's a History Here John Bomar Neurotic-in-Chief: Bush's "Change of Course" Ron Jacobs More Than Just a Band Maymanah Farhat What MoMA Does to "Islamic" Art St. Clair / Walker / Vest Playlists: What We're Listening to This Week Poets' Basement Harley, Davies, Engel and Subiet Website of the Weekend Peacecast   March 24, 2006 Cockburn / Sengupta / Duff How the CPT Hostages were Freed P. Sainath Bribe or Die Todd Chretien Jim Crow Goes Fishing: the Racist War on Immigrants Marty Omoto The Other California Michael Carmichael Islamophobia at Downing Street: Tony Blair's Bipolarity Peter Phillips Impeachment Movement Grows; Media Yawns Gabriel Kolko The US Empire vs. Reality Website of the Day Music for Peace   March 23, 2006 Charles V. Peña Bush's Pro-Terrorism Defense Budget Joe DeRaymond El Salvador 2006: a Broken Nation Robert Fisk "US Authorities Say..." Jonathan Cook The Emerging Jewish Consensus in Israel Tom Engelhardt Whatever Happened to Congress?: an Interview with Chalmers Johnson Joshua Frank Political Lemmings: the Democrats and the Precipice Norman Solomon The Ultimate Scapegoat: Blaming the Media for Bad War News Robert Fitch / Joe Allen An Exchange on the State of Organized Labor Patrick Cockburn Kirkuk's Dr. Death CounterPunch News Service On the Proper Way to Address a Bible-Waving Republican State Senator from Maryland Website of the Day Bird-Dogging Kerry   March 22, 2006 David MacMichael Iranian Nuclear Showdown: an Unnecessary Crisis Juan Santos Brown Skin, Yellow Star: Making Latinos Illegal Paul Craig Roberts Hollow Nation: Americans Don't Live Here Anymore Patrick Cockburn Iraq's My Lai?: Shooting Any Iraqi Who Moves Ramzy Baroud The Jericho Raid Jason Leopold The Mysterious "Official One": Woodward's Plame-Leak Deep Throat Dennis Perrin Killer Lies from Cheney's Harlot William Blum The Cuban Punching Bag Jeffrey St. Clair Contract Casino Website of the Day Bird Flu: Will It Cross Over?   March 21, 2006 Paul Craig Roberts Bush's Delusional Speech Winslow Wheeler Lipstick on the Pig: the Fiasco of Congressional Earmark Reform Tom Engelhardt Cold Warrior in a Strange Land: an Interview with Chalmers Johnson Arnold Oliver To the Guy Who Called Me a Traitor: Dissent and the Iraq War Earl Ofari Hutchinson When Black Cops Go Bad: the Killing of Elio Carrion Mike Whitney Death Squad Democracy William A. Cook Israeli Human Rights: Starve the Palestinians Sophia A. McLennen Assault on Higher Education: the Conservative Push for the Right Student   March 20, 2006 Paul Craig Roberts A Collapsing Presidency Dave Lindorff Howard Dean Tells CounterPunch: DNC No Foe of Impeachment Ralph Nader The DNC's "Grassroots Agenda": Howard Dean's Plea for Advice Diane Christian License to Lie: Over to You, Dante Jeff Halper "To Hell with All of You": the Power of Saying No Harry Browne Unhappy St. Patrick's Day: Bush's Crackdown on Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein Norman Solomon Why are We Here?: Is There a Right Way to Wage a Wrong War? Patrick Cockburn Death Squads on the Prowl; Iraq Convulsed by Fear Website of the Day Abugate   March 18 / 19, 2006 Cockburn / St. Clair Three Years On: Where's the Resistance Here on the Home Front? Werther Bombs and Butchers: "Where Do We Get Such Men?" Chris Kromm Katrina Aid Package: Much Too Little; Much Too Late Patrick Cockburn Halabja: Kurds Destroy Monument to Victims of Saddam's Poison Gas Attack Elaine Cassel Abortion Politics and Animus for Women: Can Justice Kennedy be Swayed? S. Brian Willson Iraq Vets and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Fred Gardner The War on Kids Brian Cloughley General Insanity: the Prevarications of Gen. Peter Pace Laura Carlsen Challenging Disparity: Toward a New US Policy in Latin America Eamon Martin Life in the Shadows of the Empire: Mysterious Photographers of Nothing Julie Hilden Free Speech in the Classroom: Teachers Don't Enjoy Enough Legal Protection Alison Weir So Much for "Sunshine Week": AP Erases Video of Israeli Soldier Shooting Palestinian Boy Jeffrey St. Clair Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week Poets' Basement LaMorticella, Krieger, Louise, and Engek Website of the Weekend Are the Elites Turning Against the Effects of the Israel Lobby?   March 17, 2006 Eduardo Galeano Abracadabra: Uruguay's Desaparecidos Begin to Appear Greg Moses Bush and Nuclear Preemption: Do You Feel Safe With This Man's Finger on the Button? Richard Falk / David Krieger The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is Dying: What Now? Cindy and Craig Corrie Three Ways to Remember Rachel Amira Hass Hamas's Haniyeh: "I Never Sent Anyone on a Suicide Mission" Mike Marqusee Reasons to March James Petas and Robin Eastman-Abaya Philippines: the Killing Fields of Asia Website of the Day Black Shamrock   March 16, 2006 Norman Solomon Hook, Line and Sinker: War-Loving Pundits Tom Philpott Neoliberalism at the Garden Gate: Community Farming in LA Heather Gray Anne Braden: the South's Rebel Without a Pause Amira Hass Is Hamas Playing into the Hands of Israeli Hardliners? Missy Comley Beattie Dangerous-to-Society Women: Locked Up in the Tombs Sen. Russell Feingold President Bush has Broken the Law; He Must be Held Accountable Lucinda Marshall President Ken Doll: Bush Insults Women on Intl. Women's Day Andrew Bosworth From the Man Who Voted Against Katrina Aid: Joe Barton's War on CITGO Clancy Sigal In Celebration of Dachau's 73rd Anniversary, Halliburton Gets Concentration Camp Contract Website of the Day Help Rebuild the New Orleans Public Library March 15, 2006 Jonathan Cook Israel's Raid on the Jericho Jail Winslow Wheeler Hiding the Cost of War: Paying for Iraq with Supplemental Funding Diane Christian Sharon's Stroke Ron Jacobs New Tenants for Abu Ghraib?: a Cell for Kissinger and Haig Missy Comley Beattie How Many Brinks to Pass? Jared Bernstein The Minority Wealth Gap Noam Chomsky The Crumbling Empire Website of the Day French Students Reclaim the Streets of Paris   March 14, 2006 Earl Ofari Hutchinson No Requiem for a Black Conservative: the Fall of Claude Allen Dave Lindorff Why the Gitmo Tribunals are a Bad Idea: Exhibit A, t he Moussaoui Case Kevin Zeese Divide and Rule in Iraq Gone Awry Todd Chretien Counting the Dead in Iraq: Why is the Left Understating the Carnage? Jason Kunin Canada in Afghanistan: "We're Here Because We're Here" Thomas Palley The Economics of Outsourcing Cockburn / St. Clair Pages from the Liberals' War Website of the Day Golf Courses and Swimming Pools   March 13, 2006 Uri Avnery The Missing Word Dave Lindorff Extra, Extra! Media Reports on Censure Motion Mike Whitney South Dakota's Taliban: the Fanatics are on the Loose David Green Questions of Solidarity: Blacks and Jews in Neo-Con America Jeremy Scahill Rest Easy, Bill Clinton: Slobo Can't Talk Any More Mike Ferner Up Against the Wall, Son: Hungering for Justice During My First Congressional Testimony Corey Harris Memories of Ali Farka Touré Paul Craig Roberts Killing Off Milosevic: Was Serbia a Practice Run for Iraq? Website of the Day Prayer Flags for Peace March 11 / 12, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Democrats: When the War Was Lost Ralph Nader Bush at the Tipping Point Paul Craig Roberts Why Did Bush Destroy Iraq? Ben Tripp My Night at the Oscars: the Happy People Speak Out John Strausbaugh The Cowboys and the Village Voice: Alt Press Flagship Goes Corporate Landau / Hassen Why "We" Fight "Their" Wars Robert Bryce A Thousand Pages of Rage Gary Leupp Why They Really Think They Must Defeat Iran Fred Gardner "But He's Good on Our Issue" Ron Jacobs Condi and Iran: Folly, Tragedy and Farce Jonathan Scott Science Fiction's Black Oracle: the Genius and Courage of Octavia Butler Ramzy Baroud Who Will Stop Bush's Militant Militarists? Jordan Flaherty Gitmo on the Mississippi: Life Under the Klan Wasn't This Bad John Chuckman Parable of the Hatchet: the Fallacy of Nation-Building in Afghanistan Joe Allen Smearing Ron Carey and the TDU: Bob Fitch's Hatchet Job Julia Kendlbacher Amazonia: Where All Life Matters St. Clair / Walker / Pollack / Vest Playlist: What We're Listening to This Week Poets' Basement Hassen, Harley, Ford and Subiet Website of the Weekend No Hay Ser Humano Ilegal   March 10, 2006 Ben Rosenfeld The Great Green Scare and the Fed's Case Against Rod Coronado: a War on the First Amendment Lila Rajiva The Gitmo Documents: Miller, Boykin, Cambone and Feith Saree Makdisi From Rachel Corrie to Richard Rogers: the Wall, the Javits Center and the Bullying of an Architect Elena Shore FBI Grills US Professor Over Support for Venezuela Joshua Frank How the Green Party Slays Their Own Dave Zirin Lynching Barry Bonds Aura Bogado An Interview with Subcomandate Marcos   March 9, 2006 John Walsh Neocon Daniel Pipes Advocates Civil War in Iraq as Strategic Policy Annie Zirin Leftwing Generals: the Dark Side of Liberal Imperialism Brian McKenna We All Live in Poletown Now: GM and the Corporate Uses of Eminent Domain Chris Floyd Scar Tissue: How the Bushes Brought Bedlam to Iraq Rachard Itani "Over There": Iraq as Soap Opera Niranjan Ramakrishnan The Action Thing Wylie Harris Immigration and Jeffersonian Democracy: Free Borders Make Good Neighbors Alexander Cockburn Ex-State Department Security Officer Charges Pre-9/11 Cover-Up Website of the Day About Pace: Expelling Anti-War Students   March 8, 2006 Patrick Bond The Loans of Mass Destruction: Wolfowitz's Anti-Corruption Hoax at the World Bank Brian Concannon, Jr. Elusive Victories in Haiti Pat Williams Buyer's Remorse: Bush, the View from the Purple States Lance Selfa The Democrats and Dubai: the Politics of Distraction Mokhiber / Weissman Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Felony? Walter Brasch Compromising Civil Liberties Vijay Prashad For Them Indian Mangoes: Anatomy of an Agreement Website of the Day Rachel Corrie: a Call to Action   March 7, 2006 Werther Half a Trillion Dollars: It's an Awful Lot of Money to Make Us Less Safe and Less Free John Blair Dr. Strangelove is Our President: Global Peace Through Nuclear Weapons Dave Lindorff The Impeachment Groundswell and Bush's Last Hope: the Democrats Mike Whitney No Immunity: Israel's Policy of Targeted Assassination Warren Guykema Who is Afraid of Rachel Corrie? Sen. Russell Feingold Misleading Testimony About NSA Domestic Spying Robert Jensen Why I am a Christian (Sort Of) Norman Solomon Digitalized Hype: a Dazzling Smokescreen? Bernie Dwyer Hopeful Signs Across Latin America: an Interview with Noam Chomsky Website of the Day Golem Song March 6, 2006 Ralph Nader Bush and Katrina: "Situational Information?" Dave Zirin Why Did Pat Tillman Die? an Investigation Reopens Vanessa Redgrave Censorship of the Worst Kind: the Second Death of Rachel Corrie Walter A. Davis Theater, Ideology and the Censorship of "My Name is Rachel Corrie" Joshua Frank Down By Law: the Mysterious Case of David Cobb Nate Mezmer A Second Look at "Crash": More Myths About Blacks and Racist Cops Paul Craig Roberts America's Bleak Jobs Future Website of the Day Crossroads: Race, Class and Art March 4 / 5, 2006 Alexander Cockburn The Dubai Ports Purchase: National Insecurity, Imported or Homegrown? Jennifer Van Bergen Bush's NSA Spying Program Violates the Law Steven Higgs Dying for Their Work: Westinghouse Workers and the Highest Level of PCBs Ever Recorded Winslow T. Wheeler The Generals, the Legislators and the Gulfstream VIP Transports Ron Jacobs Stealing Back Adam's Rib Rev. William E. Alberts Remember Damadola Colin Asher Goodbye, Dubai: the Teamsters and the Ports Fred Gardner Denney's Law "Pariah" Scapegoats and Shunning: Sexual Fascism in Progressive America John Scagliotti Brokeback Mountain: Pain is Not Enough Seth Sandronsky When the White House Walks Away: Bush, Arnold and the Flood Risk in the Central Valley Joan Roelofs A Challenge to Rebuild the World Arjun Makhijani The US / India Nuclear Pact: a Bad and Dangerous Deal Ardeshr Ommani Destroying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Diana Barahona An Open Letter to Freedom House: Release Info on Your Federal Grants Ben Tripp Bonzo, Wherefore Art Thou? St. Clair / Socialist Worker Staff Playlist: What We're Listening To Poets' Basement Engel, Davies, Buknatski Website of the Weekend The Return of Pearl Jam March 3, 2006 Laura Carlsen Mexico: the Power of Corruption and the Corruption of Power John V. Whitbeck Two States or One? Chris Floyd The Monolith Crumbles: Reality and Revisionism About Iran Mohamed Hakki Wolfowitz at the World Bank: Cronyism and Corruption Pratyush Chandra Bush in India: Dinner with George and Manmohan John Scagliotti Why are There No Real Gays in "Brokeback Mountain"? Website of the Day Support the IRC!   March 2, 2006 Paul Craig Roberts How the Economic News is Spun Dave Lindorff Troops to Bush: Get Us Out of Here! Ramzy Baroud Middle East Democracy: the Hamas Factor Saul Landau Halfway Down the Road to Hell Joe Allen The Murder of George Jackson: an Interview with His Lawyer, Stephen Bingham Steve Shore Berlusconi on Capitol Hill: "I Am Italy!" Denise Boggs Roadless and Clueless: Wilderness Logging Greenwashed by Enviro Groups Norman Finkelstein The Attacks on Beyond Chutzpah Website of the Day ScreenHead   March 1, 2006 Mairead Corrigan Maguire The Human Right to a Nuclear Free World Niranjan Ramakrishnan The India That Can No Longer Say No Faheem Hussain Bush in Pakistan Antony Loewenstein Spinning Us to War with Iran: an Aussie Perspective Elizabeth Schulte The Charge to Overturn Roe Has Begun Mike Whitney Sudan: Beware Bolton's Sudden Humanitarianism John Ryan Canada and the American Empire Michael Donnelly Brokeback Mountain: a No Love Story Tom Reeves Haitian Election Aftermath Website of the Day Mardi Gras Index: Reuilding of New Orleans Stalled         Subscribe Online

Weekend Edition April 7--9, 2006 A Miracle Play The Rich Young Man By MICHAEL DICKINSON   CHARACTERS (In order of appearance) The Mother Mary Martha Bartimaeus Judas Jesus Lazarus John James Peter Darius             SCENE 1. (The main living area of a home in Bethany, Roman-occupied Palestine, 32 A.D. The white walls are lit by sunlight that spills in through narrow open windows. Three women, THE MOTHER, MARY and MARTHA, squat on the floor, performing various tasks. The Mother is sewing a prayer shawl, Martha is rolling flat pieces of dough, and Mary is sorting and cleaning lentils from one basket to another. They work silently, occasionally shooing away a fly with their hands. At the back of the room steps lead to a doorway onto the flat open roof of the house. A sudden burst of male laughter comes from there. The women look at each other and smile. They continue working. There is another burst of laughter.)   THE MOTHER (Looking up fondly) He's happy. MARTHA They're excited. Who can blame them? In a few hours they'll be in Jerusalem. Your son is in great form. It's a joy to have him in our home. MARY Why can't we share his company while he is here? MARTHA Household duties don't perform themselves, Mary. Join the men if you wish. I'll take over your task when I finish these loaves. There aren't many left.   MARY We may never see him again. MARTHA Do we want to hear that kind of gloomy talk on such a day as this? I don't think so! Go and sit with him now, if you feel you must. MARY That careless laughter would end if I did. They resent me. Not him, of course, but the others. Why is she here? The whore! MARTHA You're too sensitive, Mary. All of that has been forgiven and forgotten. MARY By him, perhaps. Not them. THE MOTHER Whore? MARTHA It's nothing, Mother! Please don't start, Mary! MARY 'Whore' is just another excuse for their disdain! Being a woman is sin enough for them! They treat us like lepers! Segregated in the synagogue; barred from learning the Torah, not even allowed to pronounce blessing over a meal in our own homes! We slave our guts out while they laze and dispute. The birth of a son is greeted with celebration ­ commiserations for a daughter! We're just submissive men-pleasers ­ dowry-getters, shifted from one family prison to another! The commandments even sanction our cattle status: 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ox or ass or wife!" How do we tolerate it?     MARTHA Mary, Mary. Patience has always been our motto. The Lord will change everything. Soon there'll be equality. Truth and righteousness will reign! (To the Mother) Please let me say again what an honor it is to have the mother of the Messiah under our roof! Excuse my asking ­ I don't know whether I should - but such tales we've heard of his conception! Is it true that an angel appeared to you? THE MOTHER That's right. MARTHA It must have been an awesome sight! How did he look? THE MOTHER Beautiful. MARTHA And he announced that you were to bear the Son of God! I think I would have fainted or even died! How did you feel? THE MOTHER (After a pause) Excited. (The Mother is silent.) MARY Leave it, Martha. How can you ask such questions? MARTHA I'm only curious. Who wouldn't be? It's the Lord we're talking about! His birth, his being, his destiny! (BARTIMAEUS, An old ragged tramp suddenly appears in the doorway.) BARTIMAEUS "The Lord" did you say? This must be the right place! Would you be referring to the prophet, Jesus of Nazareth? Also known to his followers and disciples as 'the Lord'? MARY Welcome stranger! Yes, we were talking of him ­ our Lord. But what do you want? Can we help? BARTIMAEUS I want to see the Lord. MARTHA Is he expecting you? BARTIMAEUS I doubt it. But he knows me. Tell him it's 'Blind Bartimaeus' from Jericho. MARTHA Is it important? He's supposed to be here in secret. How did you find this address? BARTIMAEUS "Seek and ye shall find." He said that, and I did. MARY I'll tell him you're here. (She goes upstairs to the roof. Bartimaeus stands waiting. The Mother and Martha continue their tasks.) MARTHA Forgive Mary's excitable tongue, Mother. It was always her way, even as a girl. Father used to whip her for it. That's why she ran away. We hadn't seen her for years, when suddenly about three months ago your son and his disciples appeared in Bethany, bringing Mary with them. She said he'd saved her life. How happy Lazarus and I were to have her home! Father was dead, so Mary decided to stay. Your son is the only man she respects. It's not difficult to understand why. I became an immediate convert when he told us of his plan for God's kingdom. My brother too. He's completely changed our lives! At last we have something real to hope for. It's amazing the effect he has on people. Our friend and neighbor Judas even became one of his disciples! (JUDAS appears in the upper doorway and comes down the steps followed by Mary. He stops when he sees Bartimaeus.) JUDAS You? BARTIMAEUS Well, well! Speak of the devil! If it isn't old Judas! JUDAS What do you want? BARTIMAEUS I want a word with this Lord of yours. JUDAS He's not available. BARTIMAEUS I'm prepared to wait. JUDAS (Coming down into the room) If you'll excuse us ladies, I'd like a word with this man in private. MARTHA (Gathering up her things) Come Mother. We can work downstairs in the courtyard. (The women go out with their things, Mary last. She pauses in the doorway and looks back.) JUDAS (To Mary) See me later. (Mary goes) What's all this about, Bartimaeus? Why aren't you home in Jericho? BARTIMAEUS It's the miracle worker I wish to speak to, not you. JUDAS He's busy. He can't be disturbed. I'll pass on any message you might care to leave. BARTIMAEUS Well, how about asking if he'd kindly perform another of his amazing miracles and make me blind again? JUDAS (Angry) What are you trying to say? Explain yourself! BARTIMAEUS I've lost my role in life! Everyone knew me as 'Blind Bartimaeus'. That's who I was. I was comfortable with it. It wasn't such a bad life, begging at the city gate with my fellow unfortunates - quite sociable with the gossip, and none of us ever went hungry. Everything changed after the miracle. People say I ought to get a proper job. JUDAS Quite right. So you should. BARTIMAEUS That's all very well for you to say. But what can I do? I'm naturally lazy, and I'm too old to learn a trade.   JUDAS How about acting? You're good at that. BARTIMAEUS But only in that role. I inherited it from my father. I was still a babe in arms when I learned the knack of rolling back my eyeballs so that only the whites showed. Practice makes perfect, and I became an expert. I was making a fairly decent living until you came along. JUDAS And put a stop to your dishonesty. BARTIMAEUS You blackmailed me! You bribed me! Is that honest? JUDAS You should have looked around more carefully when you stepped into that olive grove to count your ill-gotten alms. BARTIMAEUS You were spying on me! JUDAS I was asleep. You stepped on a branch and woke me. I recognized you. One of the coins you were counting had come from my own pitying purse. BARTIMAEUS And then you blackmailed me. JUDAS All I did was ask you to inform people that the Messiah was here. BARTIMAEUS And if I didn't - you'd tell everyone in Jericho that I was a phony. JUDAS But you believe in the Kingdom of Heaven, don't you? You were full of enthusiasm when I told you about it. BARTIMAEUS Oh yes. All this talk of love and brotherhood and worldwide sharing and equality sounds very fine. But when's it going to happen? Why are we waiting? Meanwhile it's the same old dog eat dog world, and the only way to put food in our bellies is money. Give me some. JUDAS I'm sure the women will give you something to eat as you leave. BARTIMAEUS I meant money. I want money. Give me some or I'll denounce your Lord as a fraud! JUDAS This is a much better example of blackmail! But it wouldn't be very clever, would it, Bartimaeus? Because if you did that you'd be announcing that you are a fake yourself, and have been all your life. You'd find yourself in much direr straits than you are now. BARTIMAEUS You're smarter than I thought. JUDAS Don't blame the Lord for your situation, Bartimaeus. The miracle was my idea, not his. We were on a preaching tour and Jericho was the last stop. We'd heard stories about other self-proclaimed Messiahs gaining followers, healing the sick and casting out demons and so on. Our Master's popularity was definitely on the up, but I thought it could do with a boost, and as we approached Jericho I suddenly remembered you'd be there begging at the gate ­ a perfect instant miracle waiting to happen! I dashed ahead to tell you what to do, then hurried back to rejoin the Lord. I told him to touch the eyes of a blind beggar who cried out to him as we entered the city.   BARTIMAEUS Oh, that damned day, when I did as you bade! The crowd murmured his name as he approached, and I stood up shouting: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Over and over, till people got angry, telling me to shut up. But suddenly they go quiet and I'm led forward to your Lord. He asks what I want, and I say "I want to see!" He rubs my eyelids with his fingers and tells me to wash them in the water of a handy cattle- trough. I do, and abracadabra! ­ "I can see! I can see! I can see!" JUDAS A performance worthy of laurels! The crowd went wild, surging forward and demanding their own miracles. We had to flee the city for fear of being mobbed. Thanks to you, Bartimaeus, the Lord's name became famous in Jericho. BARTIMAEUS I was famous myself for a while ­ the doors of hospitality opened wide. Food, friends, booze! Pointed at in the streets. "That's the blind beggar the Galilean prophet cured!" It didn't last long though. After a few days they started to say I was greedy. The Pharisees had me barred from the synagogue for saying your Master was the Messiah. They even threatened to have me stoned for blasphemy! But the final straw was when I went back to my old place at the gate. Those treacherous malingerers had turned their backs on me! They said I had no excuse to beg any more - just normal grinding poverty, like everybody else, no special handicap. You're my only hope. I'm desperate. Give me some money for God's sake! JUDAS All right, Bartimaeus. You've convinced me of your plight. But this is the last time. We survive on the charity of others ourselves, and we've been saving to buy a lamb for the Passover supper. (He counts out some coins from the purse at his belt) Here, take this. It's not much, but it's all we can spare. BARTIMAEUS A pittance! How long do you expect me to survive on this? More!     JUDAS Sorry, but that's it! (He takes Bartimaeus' shoulder and leads him to the door.) We'll be in Jerusalem for Passover. Our expectations are high. This could be the climax of the Lord's mission, and the actual establishment of the Kingdom of God! BARTIMAEUS Well, hallelujah! He'd better get a move on establishing it. Otherwise I might just be forced to have a relapse and go blind again. That wouldn't look very good for him, would it? Miracles are meant to last! (Judas takes several more coins from the purse and puts them into Bartimaeus' open hand.) JUDAS Farewell, Bartimaeus! Try to be good! And don't come back! (Bartimaeus goes out. Judas fingers the few coins left in the purse and looks worried. Mary enters.) JUDAS Didn't I tell you the Lord was not to be disturbed! No one is supposed to know he's here. MARY Oh, all of Bethany knows! How could this visit be kept secret after the sensation of his last? The villagers are being discreet, but they're planning to give him a big send off today. Anyway, that old guy came up here without asking, demanding to see the Master. I thought you should vet him first. JUDAS You did right. The lord must be protected from needless disturbance, especially at this moment in time. Jerusalem awaits! MARY Do you really think he's ready for it? JUDAS Without a doubt! Look how famous he's become since your brother's resurrection! For which I can't thank you enough, by the way. You and Martha performed brilliantly! MARY The crying was exhausting. But are you sure it was worthwhile? JUDAS Absolutely! Important people sat up and took notice. We've made contacts in Jerusalem. You know where we're staying for Passover? At the house of Joseph of Arimathea! He's of one of the biggest cats in town! I tell you, people are going to know who the Lord is when we enter into Jerusalem. MARY I hope you're right. JUDAS Of course I'm right. And if they don't, we're going to make them know it! Stay down on the front step, Mary. Don't let anyone else in. The Lord is off limits, okay? MARY Understood. (JESUS suddenly appears on the top steps from the rooftop with a cup of wine in his hand, closely followed by LAZARUS.) JESUS (Slightly drunk) Judas! Judas! LAZARUS No Lord! I insist! You are our guest! It's a shame! (Mary stands staring at Jesus.) JUDAS Go Mary. Totally restricted entry. (Mary goes.) JESUS Nonsense, Lazarus! We have relied too long on your charity! Judas! Go out and buy a couple of flagons of wine. We've almost drunk Lazarus out of house and home! LAZARUS Please Lord; let me pay for the wine! JESUS After all your favors, Lazarus, it's time we did a little in return. Go Judas. Don't just stand there. Get the best. This is a special day. JUDAS I'm afraid we're financially embarrassed, lord. JESUS How? Surely we have enough for some wine? JUDAS I'm afraid not. I gave the money to a beggar, lord. He just left. It was blind Bartimaeus from Jericho. The man you cured. JESUS Oh him! Did Judas tell you about that miracle Lazarus? LAZARUS No Lord.     JESUS Another of his cunning brainwaves. They were both Judas's ideas, you know, these miracles. I had nothing to do but perform them. Giving sight to poor blind Bartimaeus, and restoring life to dear dead you, Lazarus! That really was a stroke of genius! LAZARUS It was, wasn't it? Amazing. Where did you get the idea, Judas? JUDAS A woman we met in Samaria. A dabbler in folk medicine, she showed me some of the powders and potions she'd made. One she described sounded just the kind of drug I was looking for. You know the one I mean, Lazarus. You took it. LAZARUS I didn't know who or where I was when I woke. Everything was black and silent. Then I realized. I'm in the tomb. I could still taste the drug on my tongue. I remembered why ­ your plan and our pact, one swig from the phial while my sisters watched. Everything swirled before my eyes in a fizz of lights and I fell away to oblivion. And there I was ­ alive again after two days 'dead'. It was stifling and I pulled the cloth away from my mouth to breathe. All I could hear was my heartbeat, and I remember thinking: What if I suffocate before they arrive? How embarrassing would that be - if I failed to rise on command? Or what if while I'd been in the coma, there'd been an earthquake, or you'd all been arrested and executed, and no one knew I was alive; I'd slowly die there gasping hungry and thirsty walled up inside the tomb, my fingers bloody stumps from futile scratching. And just as I was resigning myself to the worst, the stone suddenly grated aside; light poured in and I heard your voice. JESUS "Lazarus, come forth!" LAZARUS And I did, more grateful than I've ever been in my entire life. If you're talking miracles, Lord, that was one for me. Resurrected from the darkness to the light, to sound and people! Magic! JUDAS The villagers who'd been at the funeral only two days before were amazed as you walked from the tomb alive. Everyone agreed that it was a miracle that only the Messiah could have performed. JESUS I'm grateful to you and your sisters for all the trouble you went to, Lazarus, but I didn't ask for any of these wonderful inventions, and there are to be no more of them. The publicity may have boosted my popularity, but it's mostly those looking for cures, or thrill-seekers, not serious repenters. Miracles attract the wrong sort. JUDAS And I've promised to stop contriving them. But you must admit that Lazarus' resurrection was a masterpiece of planning and timing! JESUS Indeed. Which makes it even more extraordinary that the brain which arranged such a scheme should belong to the same individual who gave away all our money to a beggar? JUDAS I had to. JESUS You knew perfectly well I'd promised the men a lamb for Passover! Where is your logic? By your kind charity you've profited one and beggared thirteen! LAZARUS Well I'm glad you're broke, Lord, because now you can't refuse my offer to pay for the wine! JESUS Oh, Lazarus! In your debt again.     LAZARUS There's nothing to do but accept! And the best wine it shall be! There's a wonderful vintner on the other side of the village. You stay. You shouldn't be seen until you leave for the city. I'll get a couple of boys to carry the flagons. Back soon! (He runs out.) JESUS So. Today of all days we're suddenly poor. JUDAS I'm sorry Lord. Bartimaeus was threatening to expose you. I had to protect your name. JESUS Me? What's it got to do with me? You're the one who created the ridiculous situation! What have I to do with miracles apart from the ultimate one of changing hearts and founding the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth! JUDAS I'm sorry, Lord. JESUS Well, it can't be helped. I know you meant well, Judas, but from now on I'm asking you to follow my orders and do everything I ask. Agreed? JUDAS Of course. I already do everything you tell me! When have I not? JESUS I've been looking for a chance to speak to you alone. There's something I want you to do. The men expect a lamb for the Passover feast. If you do as I ask we should easily afford one! JUDAS Do you want me to borrow money from Joseph of Arimathea? JESUS We don't borrow. We receive. But in this case only ­ we sell. JUDAS We have nothing of value, Lord. All we have are the clothes we stand up in. JESUS We do have something which might fetch a reasonable price. JUDAS What Lord? JESUS Me. JUDAS You? What do you mean? JESUS When we get to Jerusalem I want you to go to the Temple priests and offer to betray me. They should pay a reasonable sum. JUDAS You're joking, right? JESUS I'm serious. You'll hand me over to them. JUDAS Have you gone mad? Why should I do such a thing? The priests hate you. You threaten their authority. They want rid of you. Remember the reaction to Lazarus' resurrection? We just got out of Bethany in time before the Temple police arrived to bring you in for questioning. Thank God Joseph of Arimathea warned us they were on the way. Just as we're on the eve of the Kingdom, after all your preaching, all the followers you've gained, why should you pull such a suicidal stunt and doom the movement to failure? JESUS Trust me. I've thought the whole thing out. Far from damning the mission, handing me over to them will result in our success! JUDAS How do you work that one out? JESUS The Sanhedrin are eager to bring me in for interrogation, it's true, but they wouldn't arrest me in the streets when I'm surrounded by followers, for fear of sparking a riot they'd find difficult explaining to the Romans. But if they had the chance to seize me in some unguarded place, they'd jump at it. JUDAS This doesn't sound like success to me. JESUS Listen. Have you heard of the Passover Amnesty? JUDAS No. What's that? JESUS It's a special concession the Romans have granted the Jews. A prisoner of popular choice can be released to the people on the day of Passover. The release is made at the Praetorium. And who else would that popular prisoner be, but me! JUDAS Master. I   JESUS Can't you just see it, Judas? When news gets round that I've been arrested, all my followers will head for the Praetorium to raise their voices and demand my release, and on that day their demand cannot be refused by law. I will be freed by the will of the people, and the message of the Kingdom will be on the lips of every man in Jerusalem! JUDAS (Imagining) I can see it. Triumphant hallelujahs echo in the air as they carry you down the steps away from your captors, shoulder high to victory through the jubilant crowds! JESUS "The Kingdom of heaven is here!" JUDAS But at the same time I see risk of injury while in police custody. They're sadistic pigs. Please reconsider, Lord. Think about it. JESUS I'm resolute, Judas. When we get to Jerusalem you will go to the temple, seek out the officials and come to an arrangement. Try to get a good price! I need hardly say that this matter is strictly between you and me. The men must have no inkling. JUDAS You can trust me with a secret, Lord. How much do the brothers know about our 'miracles'? Nothing. JESUS That's true. They actually believe I cured Bartimaeus and resurrected Lazarus, don't they? Better to keep them ignorant rather than confuse them with the facts. They're simple, trusting souls, and I love them for that! You're quite a different kettle of fish, Judas. That's why I chose you for this mission. You've a cool head on your shoulders, and you're wily. JUDAS But they'll think I'm a real traitor if I hand you over to the authorities and hate me! JESUS Not for long. When I'm released I'll tell them you were merely following orders, and you'll be admired and respected. In the meantime mum's the word. JUDAS My lips are sealed. JESUS (Hugging Judas) I'm glad I chose you as my last disciple, Judas. You've proved most useful. (He kisses him. Mary enters.) MARY Sorry to disturb. There's a young man downstairs who wants to see the Master. JUDAS I thought we agreed no visitors? MARY I told him, but he was sore crestfallen. Said he'd been searching for months. There's something strange about him. He's dressed like a beggar but his voice is cultured. JUDAS I'll go and vet him. God! This place is more like a caravanserai than a secret hideout! (He goes out.) MARY Not so secret. The whole village knows you're here. They're planning a big send-off! (Pause) Another of your lightning visits. Always on the move. You'll stay for lunch at least? JESUS If it's ready before our transport arrives. The men are keen to get started. Their hopes are high.   MARY And yours? Are you excited? JESUS The idea of the Kingdom has caught on. Crowds came out on our last tour. We've made contacts in Jerusalem too. A rich merchant is putting us up for Passover! MARY So I've heard. Congratulations. JESUS It's the culmination of the mission. Passover in the Holy City. Time for the harvest! MARY It's not yet spring. You're brave. Or mad. (Pause) You know, this is the first time we've actually ever been alone together. You're always surrounded. JESUS Except when I pray. I pray alone. MARY What else do you do alone? JESUS Crap and sleep, I suppose. And die, eventually. MARY I'm bored to death here in Bethany. There's nothing to do. Or rather, there's lots to do ­ but it's all boring. Fetching water and firewood, feeding the animals, washing the clothes, grinding the corn, making the food, weaving, stitching, and mending. It reminds me of why I ran away in the first place. I love Lazarus and Martha, but we're not really on the same wavelength. I'm beginning to wish you hadn't brought me home.   JESUS You asked us to. Bethany was on our way so it was no big deal. MARY Of course it's better now our bastard father's gone. Maybe it's because it's such a change in my lifestyle ­ from glamour and excitement to dull and dreary. JESUS Do you miss your former life? MARY God, no! It was false. False feelings, false friends, false fun, false everything! Selfish, greedy, vain; conniving in corruption without a thought for the poor and oppressed. You woke me up and saved my life ­ literally! Those filthy-minded Pharisees had been watching my place for weeks before they decided to break in and drag me out of bed screaming 'Adulteress!" Pulling me through the streets by my hair as they gathered stones along the way, dumping me at the feet of you and your men, awaiting your agreement to my execution. Please say them again. The words you told them then. The cleverest retort ever! JESUS "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." MARY Wham! Hypocrites! They slunk away with their tails between their legs, defeated! Could anyone in the world cast that first stone? Except you, perhaps? Are you sinless? JESUS I've never claimed to be. MARY You try to be, though. That's enough. And you certainly seem to be sinless. There are no visible signs of greed or pride or wrath about you. What about lust? Do you know how hard it is for a man to resist a woman when she deliberately uses her charms to get what she wants? JESUS 'Lead us not into temptation'. MARY You've heard of how the princess Salome danced before King Herod and won the head of John the Baptist? JESUS Unfortunately, yes. MARY They say she stripped as she danced, seven silken veils plucked and tossed aside like petals until she stood there naked. (She begins to dance slowly and sensuously around Jesus as she speaks.) As she danced that night, young princess Salome, expert in her charms, beguiling, bewitching, seductive, and aiming all at the infatuated king, cast off her seven veils much as you have cast off the seven deadly sins of the spirit. (She dances each of the sins, casting them from her self.) Pride! Wrath! Envy! Gluttony! Avarice! Sloth! (She finishes her dance kneeling in front of Jesus.) Lust? (She reaches for the hem of his robe.) JESUS (Sternly) Don't touch. MARY Congratulations. You pass with flying colors. Seven out of seven. (She stands up.) I can see that the only time I'm likely to get my hands on your body is when it's laid out for your funeral! (Pause) After her dance Herod granted Salome her wish. Does mine not deserve likewise? JESUS What would you ask?     MARY Let me come with you to Jerusalem. JESUS No, Mary. You must stay here with Martha and my mother. The city will be crowded and noisy and there might be trouble