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Democracy Now!
July 2003
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 7/31
Bush Speaks On Iraq, Economy and Gay Marriage; NYT
Describes Performance as “Vague and Sometimes Nearly
Incoherent”; As President Bush Assumes “Personal
Responsibility” for Uranium-Niger Statement We Take
a Look at Another Lie in the State of the Union; ACLU Files
First Major Lawsuit Against Patriot Act; Ashcroft Seeks Death
Penalty in Puerto Rico Murder Case Overriding Island's Constitution
and 74-Year Capital Punishment Ban; Should the Media ID the
Woman Kobe Bryant Allegedly Raped?;
7/30
Can the U.S. Legally Kill Saddam Hussein?; Ex-Diplomat
Joseph Wilson: Bush May Start Another War in 2004 To Win The
Election;U.S. Prison Population Jumps 3.7% to 2 Million; Increase
of 700 Inmates Every Week; Over 200 WTO Protesters Arrested
in Montreal;
7/29
Israeli Troops Fire Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets at
Protestors of “Security Wall,” We Go to Jenin
to Hear From Injured ISM Activist Jordan Flaherty; Australian
Man Pleads for U.S. Not To Try Son By Secret Military Tribunal;
The California Recall Debacle: We Speak with Author Arianna
Huffington on her Potential Candidacy and Hear from Green
Party Candidate Peter Camejo on Why Gov. Gray Davis Should
be Recalled; U.N.-backed School Threatens to Shutdown Radio
For Peace International. Station staff have locked themselves
in the station. We go inside the studios to talk to station
head James Latham;
7/28
North Korea Threatens to Conduct its First Underground
Nuclear Test as Veterans Mark the 50th Anniversary of the
Korean War Armistice. Veterans from 16 nations attended a
ceremony in Panmunjom, in the demilitarized zone between North
and South Korea to mark the 50th anniversary of the armistice.
We hear from activist Seung Hye Suh and author Martin Hart-Landsberg;
Castro Criticizes EU in Speech Marking 50th Anniversary of
the Launch of the Cuban Revolution. The nationally broadcast
speech was billed as the highlight of three days celebration
of his bold attack on the Moncada army barracks on July 26,
1953. We speak with professor Lillian Guerra and go to Cuba
to hear from exiled activist Nehanda Abiodun; Mother Jones’
March of the Mill Children 100 Years Later. Actress Betsy
Means retraces the steps of Mother Jones’ historic 1903
march from Philadelphia to the Long Island home of President
Teddy Roosevelt. The 70-year-old labor organizer was protesting
the plight of child laborers. Means performs as Mother Jones
in the Democracy Now! studios;
7/25
9/11 Report: "Incontrovertible Evidence"
that Saudi Gov't Supported Hijackers; CIA and FBI Face Scathing
Critique. Report findings include: FBI informant housed two
of the hijackers; no link existed between Iraq and Al Qaeda;
possible Saudi agent directly helped two hijackes; U.S. knew
Al Qaeda was considering flying planes into buildings. We
speak to former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman, reporter Robert
Fisk and Stephen Push whose wife died on Sept. 11; Ex-CIA
Agent on Cheney Iraq Speech: "Longest Statement of Disinformation"
Ever Fed U.S. Public. Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday
attempted to restate the administration's case for war at
a speech at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise
Institute; Robert Fisk: “The Publication of the Uday
and Qusay Photographs will Prove to be Either a Stroke of
Genius or a Historic Mistake of Catastrophic Consequences”.
As the U.S. releases the bloody and grisly photos of two men
identified as the sons of Saddam Hussein we go to Baghdad
to hear from London Independent reporter about the reaction
of Iraqis; Monsanto Sues Milk Producer For Advertising It
Sells Hormone-Free Milk. Monsanto claims the advertisements
give the public the impression artificial growth hormones
are not safe. But there have long been concerns of the effect
on the hormones on both the cows and humans.
7/24
Humanitarian Crisis in Liberia Worsens as U.S. Continues
to Debate Sending Troops. Monrovia is short of water, food
and medicine, 300,000 people are displaced from their homes
and hospitals are brimming with wounded civilians. We go to
Liberia to speak with Reuters correspondent Alphonso Toweh;
In A Stunning 400-21 Vote, House Howls Foul Over Powell &
FCC Media Regulations. House overwhelming votes to repeal
a key provision of the Federal Communications Commission new
media ownership rules. Such a vote was unimaginable just six
weeks ago when the FCC voted 3-2 to allow the nation’s
largest television networks to grow bigger by owning more
stations; How Bush Blew His Chance to Learn More About Al
Queda and Saudi Financing Of Terror In a Failed Attempt to
Kill Saddam Hussein. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour
Hersh details how the Bush Administration destroyed U.S.-Syrian
relations by attacking a convoy of cars inside Syria last
month in an attempt to assassinate Saddam Hussein. It turned
out the convoy was made up of dozens smuggling goods out of
Iraq. Syria has since stopped sharing intelligence with the
U.S.; Landmark Legislation Proposed to Improve Working Conditions
of Day Laborers. People rallied throughout the country for
the proposed introduction of legislation that ensures wage
and health protections for day laborers. The move comes days
after the house of a day-laborer in Farmingville, NY was firebombed;
Thousands of Young People Gather on Capitol Hill to Protest
Child Tax Credit Payments That Shut Out Millions of Low Income
Families. The protest was organized by the Children's Defense
Fund and elected officials for families with incomes between
$10,500 and $27,000 that will not receive the refund;
7/23
U.S. Army Says Hussein's Two Sons Killed In Firefight
With American Troops The top U.S. military commander in Iraq
says his troops yesterday killed Saddam Hussein’s two
sons, Uday and Qusay. They were the most wanted men in Iraq
besides their father. We speak with London Independent reporter
Patrick Cockburn; What Really Happened to Jessica Lynch? As
Private Jessica Lynch arrives in West Virgina Democracy Now!
takes a look at the media coverage of her capture and “rescue”
in Iraq. We speak with Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler
and listen to an earlier interview with London Times reporter
Richard Lloyd Parry; Judge Drops Two Terrorism Counts Against
Civil Rights Attorney Lynne Stewart in Major Defeat for the
Justice Department. A federal judge said the charges Lynne
Stewart conspired to support a terrorism organization by delivering
messages from her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman’s
prison cell to his followers in Egypt were unconstitutionally
vague. We speak with Lynne Stewart and her lawyer Michael
Tigar; House Votes 309-188 to Scale Back Patriot Act; FCC
Rules May Be Overturned Too. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) discusses
last night’s vote where the House surprisingly voted
to bar the Justice Department from secretly searching homes
in first vote against Patriot Act. The House may also vote
this week to oppose the FCC’s recent media ownership
rule changes. And Sanders raises questions about what Vice
President Dick Cheney knew about the Iraq intelligence; GOP
Warns TV Stations Not to Air Ad Alleging Bush Mislead the
Nation Over Iraq. Republican attorneys claim that it isn’t
the Bush administration who is guilty of misleading the country
but the Democrats for running an anti-Bush TV spot. Only one
station has refused to run the ad, a Fox station;
7/22
Bush Refuses To Take Action as Over 600 Killed In Liberia.
Dozens of mortar shells were fired throughout the capital,
two hit the U.S. Embassy. Secretary General Kofi Annan called
for immediate deployment of peacekeeping troops. We talk to
Salih Booker of Africa Action; Nearly 40% of Brits Want Blair
To Resign Following Suicide of Gov’t Scientist. Iraq
intelligence scandal grows in London as reporters ask Blair
if he has blood on his hands following the apparent suicide
of scientist David Kelly. Blair denies he OK’d the leaking
of Kelly’s name as a possible source for the BBC’s
report that the UK’s Iraq intelligence data was “sexed”
up. We talk to longtime Labor MP Tony Benn and the chief political
reporter at the London Telegraph; Can You Achieve Democracy
Through Undemocratic Means? A Look At the New Governing Council
in Iraq. We speak with Occupation Watch Center’s Medea
Benjamin and Nermeen Al-Mufti in Baghdad and Rev. Patricia
Ackerman of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. And we play
an interview with the founder of a new women’s shelter
in Baghdad Yanar Muhammed; Republican Calls Police to Arrest
Democrats. Republican Bill Thomas called in the police to
arrest a group of Democratic members of the Ways and Means
Committee who had fled a late night meeting to protest the
way Republicans were handling a pension bill. We hear from
Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel who was part of the protest
and Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin;
7/21
An Hour With Scholar, Philosopher and Theologian Dr.
Cornel West. "We can look at the Patriot Act I, the Patriot
Act II, the escalating authoritarianism, the violation of
rights and liberties of Arab brothers and sisters and Muslim
brothers and sisters. We can look at the aggressive militarism:
in Iraq today, Syria, Iran, North Korea. It's very dark...[But]
keep smiling, keep fighting, keep thinking keep loving, keep
serving, keep sacrificing. It's not about the win overnight,
it's not about the quick fix, it's not about the push-button
solution. It's about what kind of human being you want to
be, what kind of legacy you want to live," West told
a crowd in Santa Fee late last month;
7/18
Intelligence Scandal Escalates As Top Bush Aide Blamed
For Forcing False Iraq Nuke Claim Into Bush's State of the
Union. While Sen. Grahan says Bush could be impeached, Bush
and Blair meet in D.C. to defend why they invaded Iraq. We
broadcast portions of their press conference and yesterday's
heated White House press briefing. We talk to writer Rahul
Mahajan on the administration's lies that led to war. And
human rights attorney Michael Ratner outlines Britain's complaints
over Washington's plans to try two Britons by secret military
tribunal; Number of U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq 3X Higher
Than Media Reports; Troop Morale Reaches New Lows. As American
troops begin to speak out, Army Gen. John Abizaid declares
that soldiers must silence their criticism. We go to Iraq
to hear from Jonathan Steele of the Guardian reporting on
the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad; For the Lucky Few Soldiers
Returning Home From Iraq, Another Battle Awaits: Anxiety,
Sleepless Nights, Depression. A Look at Post Traumatic Stress
Syndrome. Democracy Now! speaks with the wife of a deployed
soldier and the Christian Science Monitor's Ann Scott Tyson
about the emotional and mental toll of war.
7/16
Iran Admits its Security Forces Beat to Death an International
Journalist; her Son Demands the Return of her Body to Canada.
Zahra Kazemi was taking pictures of a notorious prison in
Tehran. Democracy Now! speaks with her son, her friend, a
Doctor who spoke with witnesses of her beating by Iranian
police and a member of Committee to Protect Journalists; Trading
With the "Enemy": Halliburton & GE Make Millions
Trading With Iran. As head of Halliburton and as U.S. Vice
President, Dick Cheney lobbied to remove sanctions against
Iran to allow his business to profit off the Iranian dictatorship;
U.S. Freelance Reporter Billy Nessen Faces a Five Year Sentence
in Indonesia. We speak with filmmaker David Martinez who traveled
with Billy Nessen through Aceh, former U.S. embassy official
Edward McWilliams and Lesley McCulloch who was jailed in Aceh;
7/15
Lies, Lies and More Lies: Intelligence Agents from
the U.S. and Australia and a Top U.K. Researcher Outline the
Falsehoods that Led to War. Democracy Now! speaks to former
Australian intelligence analyst Andrew Wilkie, Cambridge University's
Glen Rangwala and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern; The Greatest
Hits of Ari Fleischer. White House Press Secretary steps down
after his 300th press briefing. We look back on his warning
Americans to “watch what they do and what they say,”
his memorable exchange with Helen Thomas over whether President
Bush valued the lives of Iraqi children and his interactions
with Russell Mokhiber, of “Ari & I” fame;
7/14
“You Can Do It For Everybody Else, Why You Can’t
Do It For Her?”: The Sakia Gunn Story. Two months after
a 15-year-old African-American lesbian is stabbed to death
in Newark, NJ in a vicious hate crime, friends, family members
and community leaders take on the mayor of New Jersey, the
Principal of West Side High School, the school board, and
the national media; Africa Aftertmath. As Bush returns from
his five-nation tour of Africa we go to Uganda to speak with
Hellen Wangusa of African Women’s Economic Policy Network
and Nigeria to speak with Environmental Rights Action’s
Oronto Douglas.
7/11
As President Bush Meets with the CEO of Chevron Texaco
in Nigeria, a Look at Chevron's Role in the Killing of Two
Nigerian Villagers. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice
is with Bush on his African tour. Rice was a board member
of Chevron when the villagers were killed in 1998. Today,
we spend the hour with the documentary "Drilling and Killing:
Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship.
7/10
Joseph Wilson, Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Debunks
Iraq-Niger Uranium Deal and Why the U.S. Went to War. Last
year the Bush administration sent Wilson to Niger to investigate
reports that the African nation sold uranium to Iraq to revamp
nuclear program. He found no evidence of the sale, but President
Bush cited the “sale” as a reason to invade Iraq;
Lockheed Martin Employee Kills Five Co-Workers in Racism-Fueled
Attack. We Speak to the Children of One of the Victims and
a Survivor of the Shooting. Four of those killed were African-American
and evidence is mounting that the incident was a hate crime
with colleagues reporting racist incidents involving the killer;
A Tribute to Chris Burney: KPFA/Pacifica News Reporter Chris
Bruney Dies of an Apparent Heart Attack. He was 44 Years Old.
Chris had anchored KPFA's morning newscasts in Berkeley, CA
for the past ten years. His colleagues at KPFA remembered
him in a tribute;
7/9
As Bush Travels to South Africa We Hear From Nelson
Mandela, Poet and Activist Dennis Brutus, Greg Palast and
Others. Breaking precedent, Bush is not seeking to speak with
Mandela. We'll go back to January to hear Mandela say Bush
"cannot think properly " and that the invasion of
Iraq was "the greatest mistake of his life". And
we go to the streets of Pretoria where thousands are protesting
Bush's arrival; Pentagon Goes Sci-Fi: A Review of DARPA's
Plans to Build Hypersonic Attack Drones, the Big Brother-like
Lifelog and a Massive Urban Surveillance System. The Pentagon's
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announces new projects
that would give U.S. military ability to strike at any target
in the world within two hours without the need of foreign
bases. Meanwhile proposed surveillance programs raise ire
of civil libertarians; Clear Channel Sued For Firing Radio
Host Opposed to Iraq War. While Clear Channel has kept shock
jock Michael Savage on its airwaves, a radio host in South
Carolina is fired for speaking out against the war. Roxanne
Walker says Clear Channel also forced her to attend pro-war
rallies;
7/8
Bush Arrives in Senegal to Kick-off Five-Nation Tour
of Africa. The president will visit Goree Island, one of the
best-known memorials to millions of Africans driven from West
Africa’s jungles and sold into slavery. In Dakar, thousands
of protesters were arrested ahead of Bush's arrival; Five
Months Before Being Killed in Iraq a US Marine Speaks Out
for Peace. We play an excerpt from an interview he gave the
day before we was deployed. At the time he asked not to be
identified and his voice was electronically altered; When
Are Our Sons, Daughters and Spouses Coming Home From Iraq?
Democracy Now! talks to two parents of troops stationed near
Iraq. They expected their children to return weeks ago, now
all plans are off. And a pair of reporters discuss the changing
mood at Fort Stewart Georgia where hundreds of military wives
met recently with an official from Pentagon. The wives grew
so angry that their husbands were not returning home soon
that the official needed to be escorted out of the room; MSNBC
Fires Shock Host Michael Savage After He Tells Caller, “Get
AIDS and Die, You Pig” Weekly TV show “Savage
Nation” was canned yesterday, two days after Savage’s
homophobic remarks aired. He remains on 300 radio stations.
We talk to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s Steve
Rendall and broadcast an excerpt of Savage’s show;
7/7
Should the U.S. Send Troops Into Liberia? As Liberian
President Charles Taylor accepts asylum offer in Nigeria,
Democracy Now! hosts a debate with TransAfrica's Bill Fletcher
and Mel Foote of Constituency for Africa on what the U.S.
should do. This comes as President Bush starts a five-nation
tour of Africa; Protests Held Outside “Crypto City,”
the HQ of the Top-Secret National Security Agency. Plowshare
activists target the NSA for its role in providing the White
House intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq; Domestic
Weapon Inspecting Nuns Face up to 8 Years in Prison for Anti-Nuclear
Protest Action. Roman Catholic nun Ardeth Platte talks with
Democracy Now! about why she broke into a nuclear silo in
Colorado to hammer on a U.S. warplane. This weekend she protested
outside the National Security Agency for its role in providing
the intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq; Morale
of U.S. Troops and Their Families Back Home Reaches New Low
as Three More Soldiers are Killed in Iraq. Democracy Now!
speaks with Global Exchange’s Medea Benjamin who is
leading an international group in Iraq to launch an Occupation
Watch Center;
7/4
Independence Day Special: A Dramatic Reading of Howard
Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States
with James Earl Jones, Alfre Woodard, Kurt Vonnegut, Danny
Glover, Harris Yulin and others;
7/3
A Look At Why The Carlyle Group Wanted to Drop George
W. Bush From Its Board A Decade Ago; Exposed: U.S. Secretly
Built Mobile Germ Unit & Plans to Vastly Expand Bioterrorism
Labs; 35 Nations Lose U.S. Military Aid For Not Exempting
Americans From International Criminal Court;
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