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World Community, Except for the US, Condemns Israel's Assassination
of Top Hamas Leader
Hip Hop Journalist Davey D on Police Surveillance of Rappers,
the National Hip Hop Convention and the 2004 Election
"Reflections on Return": Injured Soldiers Speak
About Coming Home From Iraq
World Community, Except for the US, Condemns Israel's
Assassination of Top Hamas Leader
For the second time in just over a month, Israeli forces
assassinated the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas. Killed
on Saturday was Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi who took power last
month following the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The Bush
administration - as well as Sen. John Kerry - backed Israel's
right to defend herself, but the UN and EU condemned the killing.
Israel has sparked massive international outcry following
its assassination this weekend of the new Hamas leader Abdel
Aziz al-Rantisi in Gaza. His car was hit by rockets fired
from an Israeli military helicopter. The United Nations, the
European Union and several nations called the killing a clear
violation of international law. UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan labeled it an extrajudicial killing. Far from condemning
the killing, the White House issued its standard statement
calling for restraint on all sides.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry appeared
on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday and appeared to support
the assassination. In reaction to the news of Rantisi's killing,
Kerry said, "I believe Israel has every right in the
world to respond to any act of terror against it. Hamas is
a terrorist, brutal organization. It has had ten years to
make up its mind to take part in a peaceful process. They
refuse to. Arafat refuses to. And I support Israel's efforts
to try and separate itself and try to be secure."
Kerry also came out in support of President Bush‚s
endorsement last week of Israel's plan to keep illegal settlements
and Bush‚s assertion that Palestinian refugees should
not be allowed the right of return. Kerry said he completely
supports Bush on these issues. Bush made the statements in
a press conference last week with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon.
Meanwhile in Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians marched
through the streets in a funeral procession for Rantisi. Hamas
says a new leader in Gaza has been appointed but his identity
is being kept secret for security reasons. The organization
has vowed a "volcano of revenge" against Israel
for the deaths, saying in a statement "revenge will come
a hundredfold for the blood of Rantisi" and Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, the Hama spiritual leader who was assassinated by
Israel last month. Meanwhile, in a statement on Israeli Army
Radio, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon congratulated his army
for the assassination, while another Israeli official said
Israel also planned to kill another Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal
as soon as the opportunity arose.
- Lamis Andoni, independent journalist who has been covering
the Middle East for 20 years. She has reported for the Christian
Science Monitor, the Financial Times and the main newspapers
in Jordan. She is a professor at the Graduate School in
UC Berkeley.
Hip Hop Journalist Davey D on Police Surveillance
of Rappers, the National Hip Hop Convention and the 2004 Election
Recent reports in Miami and New York have revealed how the
police in these cities have been closely monitoring the hip
hop community in ways critics say are a throwback to COINTELPRO.
We talk acclaimed hip hop journalist Davey D who hosts a daily
show on Pacifica station KPFA.
Since the Bush administration took office three years ago,
the number of secret surveillance warrants sought by the FBI
has increased some 85 percent. This is one of the findings
of the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks.
Recently, there have been a number of stories in the press
about surveillance against Hip Hop artists. Recently, the
New York Police Department hosted a hip-hop training seminar,
attended by several law enforcement agencies. At the meeting,
a six-inch thick black binder was handed out. It included
the arrest records and photos of dozens of rap artists and
their companions. Also, the Village Voice newspaper recently
revealed the existence of a Hip-Hop Intelligence Unit within
the New York Police Department.
- Davey D, a hip hop historian, journalist, deejay and
community activist. He is the webmaster for what is considered
one of the oldest and largest Hip Hop sites on the web:
Davey D's
Hip Hop Corner
"Reflections on Return": Injured Soldiers
Speak About Coming Home From Iraq
Over the weekend, the 700th U.S. soldier died in Iraq. Nearly
12,000 more have been injured since the invasion began. Today
we hear a piece produced by Youth Radio capturing the voices
of several of those injured soldiers recovering at Andrews
Air Force Base. As many as 11,700 US soldiers have been wounded
in Iraq since President Bush ordered the invasion on March
20th. All of the injured GIs returning to the United States
go through Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland. Since
Andrews is the first stop home, it‚s where soldiers
start the process of healing and reflecting on what it means
to be injured and a war veteran. Youth Radio produced this
audio postcard of some young soldiers and the nurses taking
care of them.
- Reflections on Return, produced by Youth Radio
- Ursula Mehl, Youth radio producer
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 Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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