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The Other Middle East Occupation: Israel Launches Largest
Offensive in Gaza Since 1967
The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit The
Super Rich - And Cheat Everybody Else
The Other Middle East Occupation: Israel Launches
Largest Offensive in Gaza Since 1967
As Israel launches what may be the largest offensive in
Gaza since the 1967 Middle East war, Democracy Now! hosts
a roundtable discussion on the Israeli occupation. We go to
Gaza City to speak with veteran Palestinian activist and political
leader, Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi as well as the head of a Gaza
community mental health services provider, Dr. Manal Awad.
In Tel Aviv, we hear from renowned Israeli writer and Gush
Shalom peace activist Uri Avnery. And in Rafah we speak with
one of Israel's leading journalists, Amira Hass, where Israeli
forces have sealed off the city from the rest of Gaza and
have demolished over 100 homes in the last week leaving thousands
of Palestinians homeless.
At least 12 Palestinians have died overnight in what may
be the largest Israeli offensive in Gaza since the 1967 war.
Thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah Monday before Israel
sealed off the city cutting it off from the rest of Gaza.
Civilians bundled away belongings on donkey carts, fearing
their houses would be destroyed. Many slept in the streets.
Last week Israel demolished over 100 homes in Rafah leaving
1,000 Palestinian homeless and the army has threatened to
demolish hundreds of more homes.
Amnesty International called on Israel today to immediately
stop the home demolitions and two members of Israel's parliament
have denounced the destruction as a war crime. Since the beginning
of the Intifada more than three years ago, Israel's armored
bulldozers have destroyed 1,200 houses in Rafah and, according
to the UN, made more than 12,000 people homeless: one in 10
of the population.
Israeli gunships bombed targets in the city of 90,000 overnight
including the Tel Sultan mosque. Israel claims the attack
in Rafah is justified and needed to secure the Gaza-Egyptian
border where they say weapons are being smuggled through underground
tunnels. Last week 5 Israeli soldiers were killed in Rafah,
a day after 6 were killed in Gaza City.
The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit
The Super Rich - And Cheat Everybody Else
We speak with Pulitizer Prize-winning New York Times reporter
David Cay Johnston about his new book Perfectly Legal. Johnston
argues that most Americans are "being duped into supplementing
the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the rich and powerful."
The income gap in the United States is greater than many imagine
-- the top 29,000 Americans have as much income as the bottom
96 million. And in recent years tax burden for the richest
Americans --- especially corporations -- has been falling
sharply while everyone else's has risen.
A study by the General Accounting Office found that almost
two-thirds of America's corporations paid no federal income
taxes during the late 1990's, when corporate profits were
soaring. Nine out of 10 companies paid less than the equivalent
of 5 percent of their total income.
A new book by Pulitizer Prize winning New York Times reporter
David Cay Johnston argues that most Americans are "being
duped into supplementing the incomes and extravagant lifestyles
of the rich and powerful."
The book is titled "Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign
To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit The Super Rich -- And Cheat
Everybody Else." Last month Johnston was awarded top
honors at the 2003 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards
for the book.
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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