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Re: Rundown 4-16-03
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8:00-8:01 Billboard:
The unexploded bombs of Baghdad: Christian Science Monitor
reporter Scott Peterson reveals how cluster bombs are still
killing Iraqis
“When you add up the corruption, moral, and human costs
(of war) they far out weigh the dollar costs, and the dollar
costs are astronomical”: former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney
speaks out on the unseen costs of war.
8:01-8:10 Headlines
8:10-8:11 One Minute Music Break
8:11-8:25 THE UNEXPLODED BOMBS OF BAGHDAD: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
MONITOR REPORTER SCOTT PETERSON REVEALS HOW CLUSTER BOMBS
ARE STILL KILLING IRAQIS
“A two-inch-long black cylinder hangs on a white "stabilizer"
ribbon from the branch of a lemon tree, a deadly fruit in
a leafy Baghdad neighborhood.
“It's one of the unexploded cluster bombs fired by
US forces last week that still litter several residential
areas of the city.
“On this street alone, residents say the controversial
bomblets have killed four men. About 100 unexploded cylinders
lie under bushes and in the gutters of houses in the district
of Al Khouarneq, according to US bomb disposal experts who
were encasing them in plaster Tuesday or blowing them up.
Those are the opening lines to a piece in today’s
Christian Science Monitor co-authored by Scott Peterson. The
article is titled “Baghdad’s Unexploded Bombs.”
Scott joins us now from Baghdad…
- Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor reporter in
Baghdad
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:25-8:58 FORMER U.S. REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY SPEAKS OUT ON
THE UNSEEN COSTS OF WAR.
The London Observer reported this weekend that the US multinational
corporation DynCorp has won a multi-million dollar contract
to police Iraq. DynCorp began recruiting for a private police
force last week.
But the corporation faces accusations of human rights violations
around the world.
A British tribunal recently forced Dyncorp to pay compensation
to an employee who blew the whistle on colleagues involved
in a sex ring in Bosnia- where the company was policing.
Ecudorians have filed a class action law suit against the
company for spraying herbicides that killed legitimate crops,
caused illness and killed children.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney spoke last week
about DynCorp as well as the various costs of war at an event
hosted by PeaceAction in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This speech was recorded by Guiseppe Quinn and Zoom Productions
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Rep. Cynthia McKinney, former Congressmember from Georgia
8:40-8:41 One Minute Music Break
8:41-8:58 McKinney cont’d
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
U.S. Marines raid the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad: We go
to the Iraqi capital to speak with a reporter inside the hotel
“We believe your very public criticism of President
Bush at this important -- and sensitive -- time in our nation's
history helps undermine the U.S. position, which ultimately
could put our troops in even more danger”: The Baseball
Hall of Fame cancels Bull Durham celebration citing actor
Tim Robbins’ opposition to war. Robbins joins us in
our Firehouse studio.
“Democracy is coming to Iraq and is being met with
U.S. gunfire”: 20,000 Shia Muslims protest against U.S.
led government talks in Nasiriyah. As’ad AbuKhalil talks
about the prospect of a civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims
in Iraq.
9:01-9:10 Headlines
9:10-9:11 One Minute Music Break
9:11-9:20 U.S. MARINES RAID THE PALESTINE HOTEL IN BAGHDAD:
WE GO TO THE IRAQI CAPITAL TO SPEAK WITH A REPORTER INSIDE
THE HOTEL
US Marines raided the Palestine Hotel this morning. That
is where foreign journalists are staying, and is also where
the US has set up a temporary operations base.
Marines kicked down doors, rousing journalists from their
beds and pointing M-16s in their faces, according to the Associated
Press.
Marines were seen guarding suspects in a hall and interrogating
a man who said he is a cameraman.
Marines press officer Sgt José Guillen said the Marines
were checking the hotel to ensure it was "100% safe."
Yesterday I talked to Ezzedine Said, a reporter with Agence
France Press reporter based at the Palestine Hotel. I asked
him to outline what happened...
- Ezzedine Said, Agence France Press reporter speaking
to us from the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:50 THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME CANCELS “BULL
DURHAM” CELEBRATION CITING ACTOR TIM ROBBINS OPPOSITION
TO WAR. ROBBINS JOINS US IN OUR FIREHOUSE STUDIO.
Bull Durham. Jacob’s Ladder. Bob Roberts. Short Cuts.
The Hudsucker Proxy. The Shawshank Redemption. Dead Man Walking.
Cradle Will Rock.
These are just some of the films that have made Tim Robbins
one of the biggest stars in Hollywood over the past decade.
But it hasn’t been his acting but his activism that
has put Robbins back in the headlines recently.
Later this month the Baseball Hall of Fame was set to celebrate
the 15th anniversary of the film Bull Durham. The film which
starred Robbins and his future wife Susan Sarandon chronicled
life in the minor leagues. It has since become a baseball
classic.
But the celebration in Cooperstown has been called off.
Last week Dale Petroskey, the president of the Baseball
Hall of Fame, announced the decision.
Petroskey, who served as an assistant press secretary in
the Reagan White House wrote to Robbins:
"In a free country such as ours, every American has
the right to his or her own opinions, and to express them.
Public figures, such as you, have platforms much larger than
the average American's, which provides you an extraordinary
opportunity to have your views heard -- and an equally large
obligation to act and speak responsibly.
Petroskey went on to write: “We believe your very
public criticism of President Bush at this important -- and
sensitive -- time in our nation's history helps undermine
the U.S. position, which ultimately could put our troops in
even more danger. As an institution, we stand behind our President
and our troops in this conflict. As a result, we have decided
to cancel the April 26-27 programs in Cooperstown commemorating
the 15th anniversary of Bull Durham.
- Tim Robbins, actor and activist
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:41-9:50 ROBBINS cont’d
9:50-9:58 “DEMOCRACY IS COMING TO IRAQ AND IS BEING
MET WITH U.S. GUNFIRE”: 20,000 SHIA MUSLIMS PROTEST
AGAINST U.S. LED GOVERNMENT TALKS IN NASIRIYAH. AS’AD
ABUKHALIL TALKS ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN
SUNNI AND SHIA MUSLIMS IN IRAQ.
On Tuesday, some 20,000 people, mostly Shia Muslims, converged
on Nasiriyah to protest the first talks in Iraq on a post-invasion
government.
Iraq’s main Shia Muslim opposition group, the Supreme
Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, organized the
protest against control of the talks.
The BBC reported that the Shia are concerned Washington
is preparing to install a pro-US puppet government.
The Shia leadership in Najaf distributed instructions to
mosques across the country to form defense committees and
control what’s happening in the streets.
Prior to the invasion, rhetoric within the Pentagon and
State Department pinned Shia Muslims - who were brutally suppressed
by Saddam’s Sunni Muslim minority - as reliable allies
in the campaign.
But during the invasion, US forces met with heavy military
resistance in Shia-dominated cities in southern Iraq. And
now Shia Muslims are strongly resisting US influence in reshaping
the country.
As US occupation forces turn a blind eye to unrelenting
violence and looting in cities throughout Iraq, friction between
Sunni and Shia Muslims continues to escalate.
The prospect of a civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims
threatens further instability in a country plagued by lawlessness.
- As’ad AbuKhalil, Professor of political science
at University of California, adjunct professor at UC Berkeley.
Author of ‘Bin Laden, Islam and America’s New
War on Terrorism
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, Sharif
Abdel Kouddous, Angie Karran, Ana Nogueira and Elizabeth Press
with help from Noah Reibel. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro
and engineer.
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