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Re: Rundown 5-20-03
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8:00-8:01 Billboard:
“This is not American troops going after Saddam’s
folks. This is violence in the streets and it’s out
of control.”: John Alpert and Sharif Abdel Kouddous
join us in our studio to discuss their recent visit to Baghdad.
In an Exclusive U.S. Interview, Democracy Now! Talks with
the Widow of the Al Jazeera Journalist Who Died When U.S.
Forces Shelled His Office in Baghdad : “Look at the
American Dream and how it was Implemented Here: We Lost Our
Happiness, We Lost Our Lives, We Lost Our Liberty,”
says Dima Tahboub who is suing Iraq war commander General
Tommy Franks for war crimes.
U.S. Bombing of Basra Kills One Iraqi Boy and Wounds His
Brother. Their Mother, Umm Haider, Speaks About Her Family’s
Plight.
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:20 “This is not American troops going after
Saddam’s folks. This is violence in the streets and
it’s out of control.”: John Alpert and Sharif
Abdel Kouddous join us in our studio to discuss their recent
visit to Baghdad.
Some 50 electrical workers staged a demonstration today outside
the headquarters of US-British coalition forces in a former
presidential palace in Baghdad.
They were protesting against the appointment of a former
Baath party official as the director of the electricity department.
The electricity department workers handed over a letter to
US forces. The Agence France Presse reports the letter says:
"We were shocked and horrified to see the same old guard
come back." It says, "We ask you to hear our appeals
for help and to sack the clique of corrupt hypocrites.”
It reads: "Do not let the excuse of restoring electric
power prevent you from carrying out your sacred duty to make
Iraq a free country."
The demonstration comes just a day after some ten thousand
Shiite Muslims rallied peacefully in front of a Sunni Mosque
in Baghdad. They demanded the US hand over power to the Iraqi
people, and withdraw its troops from the country.
The Shiite protest comes after the new US ruler of Iraq,
Paul Bremer, announced the US has indefinitely put off plans
for Iraqi self rule.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports Iraqis have begun
tracking down and killing former members of the ruling Baath
Party.
The assassinations appear to have picked up since the US
issued a decree last Friday that prohibits senior Baath Party
officials from holding positions in Iraq's postwar government.
The Post reports former exile groups and Iraqis familiar
with some of the killings say the number of Baath party members
assassinated since the invasion could reach several hundred
in Baghdad alone.
We’re joined right now in the studio by filmmaker and
founder of the Downtown Community Television center Jon Alpert
as well as by Democracy Now! producer, Sharif Abdel Kouddous.
They both have just returned from Baghdad.
They were in Baghdad to set up a live dialogue via satellite
between Iraqi and American youths, and also worked on a documentary
for HBO.
- John Alpert, filmmaker and founder of Downtown Community
Television center
- Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! Producer
8:20-8:21 One Minute Music Break
8:21-8:40 In an Exclusive U.S. Interview, Democracy Now!
Talks with the Widow of the Al Jazeera Journalist Who Died
When U.S. Forces Shelled His Office in Baghdad : “Look
at the American Dream and how it was Implemented Here: We
Lost Our Happiness, We Lost Our Lives, We Lost Our Liberty,”
says Dima Tahboub who is suing Iraq war commander General
Tommy Franks for war crimes.
An anonymous adviser to the Prime Minister of Belgium told
the Agence France Presse the Belgian government will block
a lawsuit filed there against the US commander in the Iraq
war for alleged war crimes.
Seventeen Iraqis and two Jordanians filed a suit against
General Tommy Franks this month. The lawsuit accuses US troops
of using cluster bombs in civilian areas and firing on ambulances
in three separate incidents.
The lawsuit is brought under a law in Belgium called the
"universal competence" law. That law allows charges
to be brought regardless of where the alleged crimes took
place.
But under US pressure, Belgian lawmakers in early April amended
the law, enabling federal prosecutors to decide whether a
suit can proceed.
The anonymous advisor told the AFP the prime minister will
call a special cabinet session this week to apply the amended
law, and stop the lawsuit.
The BBC reported last week that the Jordanian plaintiffs
are the widow and the father of Tareq Ayoub.
On April 8, US forces bombed the Baghdad offices of Al Jazeera,
killing correspondent Tareq Ayoub. Moments later and less
than a mile away, another explosion, reportedly from U.S.
artillery, damaged the offices of Abu Dhabi TV, trapping as
many as 30 journalists in the debris. And then, a US tank
fired on the Palestine Hotel, where almost all the international
journalists were staying. A Ukranian cameraman with the Reuters
news agency Taras Protsyuk, and Jose Couso, who worked for
Telecinco Spanish televison, were killed.
That evening, Al Jazeera broadcast an interview with the
widow of Tareq Ayoub, Dima Tahboub. Tears streamed down her
face. She said:
“American forces, British forces are in a war that
was claimed to be clean.” I cannot see the cleanness
in this war. What I see is blood, destruction and shattered
hearts.”
She said, “The Americans said it was a war against
terrorism. Who is doing the terrorism now?”
She said, “My message to you is that hatred grows more
hatred. The Americans are asking why are there suicide bombers,
which we do not consider as such, we consider them as martyrs.
Let them ask Bush and Blair who targeted their families and
friends.
“We are going to fight back. Let Mr Bush know what
he sows in Iraq, what he sows in Palestine, what he is going
to see is the tip of the iceberg.”
We are joined right now on the telephone by Dima Tahboub
from her home n Jordan. She cannot comment on the lawsuit
at this time.
- Dima Tahboub, the widow of Tareq Ayoub, the al-Jazeera
journalist killed by a US tank shell in Bahgdad. She is
a lecturer at the University of Jordan and a member of the
Islamic Action Front.
8:40-8:41 One Minute Music Break
8:41-8:58 U.S. Bombing of Basra Kills One Iraqi Boy and Wounds
His Brother. Their Mother, Umm Haider, Speaks About Her Family’s
Plight.
In January 1999, a U.S. cruise missile smashed into a Basra
neighborhood in southern Iraq killing 6-year old Haider and
spraying his brother, Mostafa, with with shrapnel.
Mostafa, who still has over 130 pieces of shrapnel in his
body had some of his fingers amputated and much of his liver
removed. He has recently arrived in the U.S. with his mother,
Umm Haider, for much-needed medical care.
- Umm Haider, 6-yr-old son died in U.S. bombing
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
Will changes in the nation’s media ownership rules
mark "the beginning of the end of our democracy"?
A debate between the publisher of the Seattle Times and a
Vice President at the Tribune Co. which owns 15 newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times and Newsday as well as over
25 television stations.
Who, What, When, Where, How? Did the U.S. Media Follow the
Basic Rules of Journalism, or did they “Follow the Flag”?
Journalism professor Robert Jensen argues the U.S. media would
fail Journalism 101
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:30 Will changes in the nation’s media ownership
rules mark "the beginning of the end of our democracy"?
A debate between the publisher of the Seattle Times and a
Vice President at the Tribune Co. which owns 15 newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times and Newsday as well as over
25 television stations.
Sen. Russ Feingold yesterday called on the Federal Communications
Commission's chairman to postpone a vote on loosening the
rules on media ownership.
But FCC Chairman Michael Powell turned down a similar request
from the two democratic FCC commissioners last week.
The FCC is poised to vote on the proposal to relax the rules
on June 2nd.
The rules have not even been made public. Still, some things
are known about the upcoming vote.
Under the expected changes, for the first time ever broadcasters
will be allowed to own television stations that reach more
than 35 per cent of the country. They will be allowed to own
a newspaper and broadcast outlet in the same market. And the
four largest TV networks will be free to merge.
That means that a single CEO could theoretically own all
of the largest media outlets in the country.
Analysts say if the revised rules are passed, the US will
see a wave of media mergers and consolidation that is unprecedented
in the country’s history.
Major media conglomerates such as AOL Time Warner, General
Electric, Disney and Viacom, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
are all lobbying for the changes.
Today, we continue our series on the FCC, with a debate looking
at the impact on the newspaper industry.
- Frank Blethen, publisher of the Seattle Times and five
other papers in Washington and Maine. He has been a vocal
opponent of the proposed FCC changes to the media ownership
regulations.
- Shaun Sheehan, Vice President and lobbyist of the Tribune
Co. which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times,
Newsday and 12 other papers and over 25 television stations.
The Tribune has backed rewriting the media ownership regulations.
9:30-9:31 One Minute Music Break
9:31-9:58 Who, What, When, Where, How? Did the U.S. Media
Follow the Basic Rules of Journalism, or did they “Follow
the Flag”? Journalism professor Robert Jensen argues
the U.S. media would fail Journalism 101
The BBC producer who had his foot amputated after stepping
on a landmine in Iraq has called on news organizations to
continue using independent journalists in war zones despite
the risks.
Stuart Hughes was part of a four-person team filming the
Iraq War in Kurdish-held territory. A local guide accidentally
led them into a minefield.
In the explosions, Stuart's colleague, cameraman Kaveh Golestan
was killed. Thirteen reporters, cameramen and other media
workers lost their lives in Iraq. Hughes told the London Guardian
it was a terrible war for journalists.
But Hughes is still insisting on the importance of independent
journalism. He said: "We will always need people on the
ground, independently forging ahead, finding the stories."
He warned that the deaths of the journalists may be used as
an excuse to push aside independent and freelance journalists
in favor of embedding journalists with the military.
Last night, media critic Robert Jenson spoke at St. Francis
College in Brooklyn on the US coverage of the invasion of
Iraq.
- Robert Jensen, Associate Professor at the University
of Texas School of Journalism at Austin. He is author of
Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to
the Mainstream.
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, Sharif Abdul Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press
with help from Noah Reibel and Vilka Tzouras. Mike Di Filippo
is our music maestro and engineer. Thanks also to Uri Galed,
Angela Alston, Emily Kunstler, Orlando Richards, Simba Rousseau,
Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Karen
Ranucci, Fatima Mojadiddy, Denis Moynihan and Jenny Filipazzo.
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