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Rachel Corrie was Crushed by an Israeli Military Bulldozer,
Tom Hurndall was Shot in the Head by an Israeli Soldier. Today
on the 36th Anniversary of the Occupied Territories, we Speak
with the Parents of these Two International Peace Activists
INTRO: Corrie’s family is supporting resolution HCR111
which calls for an independent investigation into Rachel’s
death and for the U.S. to work with the Israeli government
to ensure the safety of activists in the Occupied Territories.
Rafeef Ziadah, who Lost her Parents in the 1982 Massacre
at the Shatilla Refugee Camp, Speaks About Life as a Palestinian
Refugee
INTRO: Rafeef hid under a bed while the massacre went on
around her. She was four years old. She now works for SUSTAIN
- Stop U.S. Tax-Funded Aid to Israel Now.
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:58 Rachel Corrie was Crushed by an Israeli Military
Bulldozer, Tom Hurndall was Shot in the Head by an Israeli
Soldier. Today on the 36th Anniversary of the Occupied Territories,
we Speak with the Parents of these Two International Peace
Activists Today is the 36th anniversary of the Israeli occupation
of Palestine.
On June 6th 1967, Israeli forces captured the West Bank,
Gaza and East Jerusalem. 36 years later, the brutal occupation
continues.
In less than a month, Israeli forces killed or seriously
injured three peace activists working in the Occupied Territories.
On March 16th Rachel Corrie attempted to block a bulldozer
from demolishing the home of a Palestinian doctor the Gaza
town of Rafah.
Eye-witnesses say Rachel was sitting directly in the path
of the bulldozer holding a megaphone and wearing a fluorescent
jacket as the driver advanced towards her. The bulldozer continued
forward and ran over Rachel, crushing her with the lowered
bulldozer blade. She was 23 years old.
A US congressional resolution demanding an independent inquiry
into Rachel’s death has been buried in committee, leaving
the Israeli military's investigation - which cleared itself
of any wrongdoing - as the only official investigation.
Corrie was set to graduate from Evergreen State College in
Olympia this spring.
Just weeks later 24-year-old Brian Avery of New Mexico, was
shot in the face in Jenin. He has regained consciousness and
is able to communicate by writing messages. But his face is
said to be shattered, with his tongue split in two. He remains
in critical condition and may never speak again.
Eyewitnesses and members of the ISM say Avery was shot by
an Israeli tank. Israel said the shooting is under investigation.
A week later, British peace activist Tom Hurndall was shot
in the head by an Israeli soldier.
Wearing a bright orange vest, he was trying to help Palestinian
children out of the line of Israeli fire.
Tom is now in a coma and suffers severe brain damage.
The Israeli military announced on May 10th that all foreigners
entering the Gaza Strip will be required to sign waivers absolving
the Israeli army from any responsibility if the army shoots
them.
- Craig Corrie, Rachel Corrie’s father.
- Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie’s mother.
- Anthony Hurndall, Tom Hurndall’s father.
- David Rovics, musician playing live in the studio.
Link: www.palsolidarity.org
www.sustaincampaign.org
Rafeef Ziadah who lost her parents in the 1982 Massacre at
the Sabra and Shatilla Refugee Camps speaks about life as
a Palestinian refugee
On September 18, 1982, the Lebanese Christian militia forces
allied to Israeli forces began slaughtering up to 2,000 unarmed
Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps outside
Beirut.
The massacre unfolded over three days when Israel allowed
its Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia allies into the
refugee camps. Many of the victims were stabbed and a large
number of women were murdered after being gang-raped.
The man who is now the Prime Minister of Israel, General
Ariel Sharon, was in overall command of the Israeli forces
at the time. Then, he claimed there were 2,000 "terrorists"
in the camps. But the subsequent Israeli Kahan commission
reported that Israeli troops surrounding the camps knew what
was happening. The Israeli inquiry also found Sharon "indirectly
responsible," and he was forced to resign.
- Rafeef Ziadah, Palestinian living in the U.S., she works
for SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-Funded Aid to Israel Now) and
is a survivor of the 1982 massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla
refugee camps in Lebanon where her parents her killed.
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
The Two Top Editors of The New York Times Resign
INTRO: Yes - The New York Times is at a 152-year low –
but is it thanks to Jayson Blair? Or is it because the paper
has become the Pentagon’s most effective mouthpiece?
Latino Lawmakers Demand the Resignation of the Roman Catholic
Bishop of Phoenix, Charging he Transferred Sexually Abusive
Priests to Latino Neighborhoods
INTRO: “The sinister part of this is that church officials
know that many in the Hispanic community don't question the
church. Many… are undocumented immigrants who don't
speak English."
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 The Two Top Editors of The New York Times Resign
The two top editors of the country’s most influential
newspaper resigned yesterday after a series of scandals that
have severely undermined the paper’s credibility.
The resignations of New York Times’ Executive Editor
Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd come after reporting
scandals involving journalistic fraud, plagiarism, and pandering
to the U.S. government.
Five weeks ago, the New York Times discovered that 27-year
old reporter Jayson Blair had fabricated details in more than
30 articles. The paper referred to the incident as a new low
in its 150-year history.
Then, one of the paper’s star reporters, Rick Bragg,
resigned after he acknowledged he’d relied heavily on
young stringers who did not receive byline credit. The paper
announced the formation of an internal investigation that
vowed to restore the trust of the readership.
Finally, Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz published
an internal email communication between Baghdad Bureau Chief
John Burns and veteran, star Times reporter Judith Miller.
In recent months, Miller had written several stories about
alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They relied heavily
on unnamed sources. In perhaps her most remarkable front-page
story, Miller suggested that the main reason US forces have
failed to find WMDs is that they were destroyed just before
the invasion or sent off to Syria. The story conveniently
met the Bush administration’s needs as it was facing
increased questioning about the whereabouts of the alleged
WMDS, and as it was ramping up the rhetoric against Syria.
In the email to Burns cited by the Washington Post, Miller
admitted that the main source for all of these articles was
Ahmad Chalabi. Ahmad Chalabi is the exile leader who the Pentagon
and the Bush administration had hoped to install as the new
ruler of Iraq.
The national and international media have treated these three
journalistic scandals in starkly different terms. The New
York Times itself published an extraordinary four-page account
detailing how Jayson Blair had defrauded the newspaper. Executive
Editor Howell Raines formed a committee to investigate how
Blair was able to commit such repeated journalistic fraud.
He convened a two-hour long meeting of newsroom staff and
accepted blame for the allowing Blair’s fraud to occur.
But there has been no news of meetings regarding the Judith
Miller scandal; indeed, The Times has given little or no mention
to it at all.
Even as the Times was faced with one of the biggest challenges
to its credibility in its history, the rest of the U.S. media
continued to follow its lead. Jayson Blair become the subject
of major news exposes and talk shows for weeks, and graced
the cover of Newsweek. The revelations about Judith Miller’s
reporting had minor reverberations.
Jayson Blair reported on stories that had few if any global,
geo-political implications. But Miller’s reporting seemed
to provide the Pentagon and the Bush administration with an
excuse for the U.S. invasion of a sovereign country.
Race is also central in this story. Jayson Blair is black,
Judith Miller is white. After the Blair scandal erupted, columnists
and talk shows debated whether Blair’s fraud was a case
of affirmative action gone awry.
- Condace Pressley, President of the National Association
of Black Journalists
Contact: www.nabj.org
- David Nasaw, Professor at the CUNY graduate center and
the author of The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
- John “Rick” MacArthur, Publisher of Harper’s
Magazine
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:40 New York Times CONT’D
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:41-9:58 Latino Lawmakers Demand the Resignation of the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Phoenix, Charging he Transferred
Sexually Abusive Priests to Latino Neighborhoods
A group of Latino lawmakers is demanding the resignation
of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Phoenix, Thomas O'Brien.
On Monday, an Arizona prosecutor said O’Brien signed
an agreement admitting he knew of accusations of sexual abuse
by priests but transferred them without telling their new
superiors or parishioners. In exchange for his admission of
guilt, O’Brien will avoid prosecution.
Phoenix democrats say O’Brien sent many of the abusive
priests to predominantly Latino neighborhoods. The Arizona
Republic reports Rep. Robert Meza said: "The sinister
part of this is that church officials know that many in the
Hispanic community don't question the church. Many of these
parishioners are undocumented immigrants who don't speak English."
But O’Brien told the paper he will not step down.
Not one bishop involved in the Roman Catholic sexual abuse
scandal that rocked the nation last year, has been indicted.
- Ben Miranda, is a Democratic Representative in the Arizona
State Legislature and one of nine lawmakers who is calling
for the resignation of Bishop Thomas O’Brien. O Brien
allegedly sent many priests accused of sexual misconduct
into predominantly Latino neighborhoods, without informing
parishioners.
- Shari Roy, victim of sexual abuse. Raped by one of the
priests who was indicted last week.
- Paul Pfaffenberger, leader of the Phoenix chapter of Survivors
Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Link: www.survivorsnetwork.org
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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