Democracy Now!
Fri, Feb 14, 2003
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown
Date: 02-13-03
PRSS Channel: A67.7
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
Nelson Mandela is condemning President Bush's plans
to invade Iraq; meanwhile South African President Thabo Mbeki
announced today Baghdad and UN inspectors have accepted South
Africa's offer to help Iraq disarm
"Empire may well go to war, but it's out in the
open now, too ugly to behold its own reflection, too ugly
even to rally its own people. It won't be long before
the majority of American people become our allies": award-winning
author Arundhati Roy condemns Bush's plans to invade
Iraq
"Deflowering Ecuador: the bloom is off the rose in Cayambe
Valley, homeland of your valentine bouquet"
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 NELSON MANDELA IS CONDEMNING BUSH'S PLANS
TO INVADE IRAQ; SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI ANNOUNCES
BAGHDAD AND UN INSPECTORS HAVE ACCEPTED SOUTH AFRICA'S
OFFER TO HELP IRAQ DISARM
South African President Thabo Mbeki today announced that
both Baghdad and UN weapons inspectors have accepted South
Africa's offer to help Iraq disarm.
Speaking at the opening of the South African Parliament,
Mbeki said a South African team had offered to share its own
experience of the disarmament of weapons.
Blix last month praised what he calls "the South African
model of co-operation" with the United Nations and urged
Baghdad to adopt it.
A decade ago, Blix was the director-general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, when its inspectors traveled to South
Africa to verify claims that all the country's nuclear weapons
had been dismantled.
Today, Blix reports to the UN Security Council. The world's
media is riveted on the deepening split between the US and
Europe. But countries all over the world are opposed to the
Bush administration's plans to launch a first-strike
attack on Iraq.
At the African Union summit in Ethiopia last week, 54 African
heads of state issued a statement saying the African Union
is firmly against any war against Iraq. African Union Chair
and South African President Mbeki said many of Africa's economic
problems stem from a sharp rise in oil prices following war
in the Middle East in 1973. He warned that a new conflict
in the Gulf would have a serious impact on Africa's economies
by pushing up oil prices.
Meanwhile, former South African President Nelson Mandela
has strongly criticized the Bush administration.
Mandela spent 30 years in prison for his leadership in the
struggle against apartheid. In 1994 he was elected the President
of South Africa's new multi-racial democracy.
He spoke last month to the International Women's Forum meeting
in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tape: Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa,
political prisoner and anti-apartheid movement leader, speaking
at the International Women's Forum in Johannesburg, South
Africa on January 30, 2003
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:40 "IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE THE MAJORITY
OF AMERICAN PEOPLE BECOME OUR ALLIES": AWARD-WINNING
AUTHOR ARUNDHATI ROY CONDEMNS BUSH'S PLANS TO INVADE
IRAQ
Western media attention remains riveted on the U.S.-Europe
split over attacking Iraq.
But the vast majority of rest of the world is also opposed.
We just heard Nelson Mandela's views, about how the African
Union issued a unanimous statement about the war, and about
how South African President Thabo Mbeki will be attempting
to help Iraq disarm.
We go now to South America, to Porto Alegre, Brazil, where
the World Social Forum was recently held.
World-renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy spoke out against
Bush's plans to attack Iraq. She won the Booker Prize
for her book, 'The God of Small Things.'
Tape: Arundhati Roy, award-winning author, 'The God
of Small Things', and'Power Politics.'
9:40-9:41 One-Minute Music Break
9:41-9:58 "DEFLOWERING ECUADOR: THE BLOOM IS OFF THE
ROSE IN CAYAMBE VALLEY, HOMELAND OF YOUR VALENTINE BOUQUET"
Today is Valentine's Day, and a lot of people are going
to give or receive Roses. I'm going to turn to Ross Wehner's
piece in 'Mother Jones' magazine. It's called
"Deflowering Ecuador."
"The equatorial sun beats down on the clear plastic
roof of a greenhouse in the Cayambe Valley of Ecuador. Despite
the suffocating heat, the workers inside move at a frantic
pace. In two weeks it will be Valentine's Day, and every
rose in sight will be for sale in the United States. Women
stand at tables, hands flying as they sort roses by the length
and size of the head, arranging them in bunches of 25. Teenagers,
mostly boys, run from table to table, carrying the roses to
the next room. The flowers have already been treated with
chemicals to kill insects and mildew; now they are dunked
in preservatives to keep them from rotting during their journey
through U.S. Customs. After being wrapped in cellophane and
boxed, the flowers are chilled and flown overnight to Miami.
By the time they reach florists and supermarkets across the
country, a rose that cost less than 17 cents to produce in
Ecuador will sell for as much as $8.
The article goes on to say: "But international agencies
and workers in the valley paint a markedly different picture
of the industry: Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and
soil fumigants used in the greenhouses are causing serious
health problems for Ecuador's 60,000 rose workers --
especially the women and children who sort and package the
flowers prior to shipping."
We'll be joined in a minute by the mayor of Cayambe
and an organic farmer from Oregon. We start with Ross Wehner,
author of the article in 'Mother Jones.'
Guest: Ross Wehner, wrote article in Mother Jones "Deflowering
Ecuador" which documents the harsh conditions faced by
workers in Ecuador's booming rose industry. Wehner said
"workers Šare paying a heavy price for the roses
Americans will present to their loved ones on Feb. 14.
Contact: www.motherjones.com
Guest: Diego Bonifaz, Mayor of Cayambe
Guest: Paul Sansone, organic farmer from Oregon
9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits
For a copy of today's program, call 1 (800) 881 2359. Our
website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie
Karran, Ana Nogiera and Alex Wolfe. Mike Di Filippo is our
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