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Echoes of Vietnam: Soldier Fights Extradition in Canada
Barack Obama: A Look at the 2004 DNC Keynote Speaker Who
Could Become One of the Only Black Senators in U.S. History
U.S. Policies Blasted at AIDS Conference
8:01-8:08 Headlines
8:08-8:09 One Minute Music Break
8:09-8:58
Echoes of Vietnam: Soldier Fights Extradition in
Canada
INTRO: We speak with U.S. Army conscientious objector Jeremy
Hinzman who fled to Canada to avoid being deployed in Iraq.
He is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to file for refugee
status in Canada for refusing to fight in Iraq.
Since October of 2001, when the US began its massive attack
on Afghanistan as part of the Bush administration's so-called
war on terror, Democracy Now! has spent extensive time airing
the voices of military families, of soldiers returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan and documenting the stories of the soldiers,
like Camillo Mejia, who have refused to fight in a war they
consider illegal or immoral. Today, we will hear another of
these stories. This is how independent journalist Patrick
O'Neill tells it:
On Dec. 20, 2003 Jeremy Hinzman, a U.S. Army specialist stationed
at Ft. Bragg got the news he had dreaded. His unit - the 504th
brigade, second battalion - would be shipping out to Iraq
shortly after the new-year for an indefinite deployment in
the war on terrorism. Last year, Hinzman, who is the father
of a 1-year-old son, was deployed for more than eight months
to Afghanistan. When he left, Hinzman's son, Liam, was just
seven months old. When Hinzman returned, Liam was walking
and didn't remember his father.
While he didn't see any combat in that first deployment,
Hinzman said he had a bad feeling about going to Iraq. In
Iraq, Hinzman said he felt like he would have to do some things
he'd regret. His application for Conscientious Objector status
was rejected by the military.
During Christmas leave, Hinzman and his wife, had discussed
their options. He could go to Iraq - an option both he and
his wife rejected. He could refuse the deployment order and
face court martial and a likely prison term, or he could follow
a plan of action that thousands of young men like himself
had taken during the Vietnam War - he could flee to Canada.
Option three was a go, and on January 2, Hinzman and his
family packed up their small car with a few essentials, leaving
almost all of their possessions behind. They left under the
cover of darkness for the 17-hour drive to the U.S.-Canadian
border. Quakers living in the U.S. made contacts in Ontario,
and the family was set up with places to stay until they moved
into a Toronto apartment on Feb. 1.
Hinzman is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to file
for refugee status in Canada for refusing to fight in Iraq.
Soon another soldier, 19 year-old Brandon Hughey, followed
him and fled to Canada. Some say this is the first echo of
the 12,000 deserters and 20,000 draft resisters who went north
more than 30 years ago to escape the Vietnam War.
Last Wednesday, Jeremy Hinzman appeared before Canada"s
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) in Toronto, supported
by Brandon Hughey. The Board set a hearing date for Hinzman
in late October.
- Jeremy Hinzman,
a US Army conscientious objector. He is currently in Canada
where he is seeking asylum.
Barack Obama: A Look at the 2004 DNC Keynote Speaker
Who Could Become One of the Only Black Senators in U.S. History
INTRO: Illinois state senator and Democratic nominee for
U.S. Senate, Barack Obama, was chosen to deliver the keynote
address at this year's Democratic National Convention in Boston.
Obama currently faces no known opponent in the November election
and if elected he would become only the fifth black senator
in U.S. history. We take an in-depth look at Obama with longtime
Chicago columnist Salim Muwakkil.
The Kerry campaign announced yesterday that Illinois state
senator and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Barack Obama,
will deliver the keynote address at this year's Democratic
National Convention in Boston.
In its press release, the Kerry campaign said: "More
African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, and
Hispanics will attend the Convention than ever before."
The announcement came on the same day that the Democrat launched
$2 million worth of ads for television, radio and newspapers
targeting black voters.
Barack Obama's father was from Kenya. He met Obama's mother,
who was white, when both were students at the University of
Hawaii. When Obama was 2 years old, his father left the family
and returned to Kenya, where he eventually became a senior
economist in the Ministry of Finance.
Obama was raised mostly in Kansas, by his mother and grandparents.
He graduated from Columbia University and received his law
degree from Harvard Law School. He became the first black
president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review and later
worked as a civil rights lawyer and as a community organizer
in New York and Chicago. He currently teaches law at the University
of Chicago and has served in the state Senate since 1997.
Obama currently faces no known opponent in the November election.
Republican Jack Ryan dropped out last month over embarrassing
allegations in his divorce papers that he took his wife to
sex clubs before they split up. Nearly three weeks later,
GOP leaders are still searching for a replacement. The possibility
that former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka would join the
race faded last night when he decided not to seek the party's
nomination.
If elected Obama could become only the fifth black senator
in U.S. history.
- Salim Muwakkil, senior editor of In These Times, where
he has worked since 1983, and a weekly op-ed columnist for
the Chicago Tribune.
U.S. Policies Blasted at AIDS Conference
INTRO: As the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok comes
to a close the U.S. is facing sharp criticism for it's funding
policies, the small size of its delegation at the conference,
and a lack of action to make generic AIDS medications available.
We speak with Rep. Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress
to attend the conference and we go to Bangkok and South Africa
to speak with AIDS activists on the ground.
As the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok wraps up
tomorrow, the United States is facing sharp criticism for
it's funding policies, the small size of its delegation at
the conference, and a lack of action to make generic AIDS
medications available.
Randall Tobias, head of President Bush's Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief and former head of pharmaceutical giant Eli
Lilly, was disrupted by about 40 protesters during his speech
yesterday.
Tobias" said, "Perhaps the most critical mistake
we can make is to allow this pandemic to divide us."
Many conference participants criticized Bush's 15 billion
dollar plan because it prioritizes abstinence-based AIDS prevention
and only a small percentage of the money will go to the multilateral
Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
The global conference has included extensive discussion
of the so-called ABC prevention technique, which stands for
"Abstain, Be Faithful, or Use a Condom," a method
advocated by the Ugandan government and supported by the US.
Critics say condoms should not be a last resort because women
around the world often do not have the option of abstinence.
Two reports from UNAids released at the conference reveal
that AIDS prevention programs had yet to have a significant
impact on the spread of the virus. Only 7% of those with HIV
who need drugs to stay alive over the next two years are getting
them.
Generic AIDS drugs will be vital in closing the gap between
infection and treatment. Doctors Without Borders presented
data from projects in 21 developing countries at the conference
showing that controversial fixed-dose generic drug combinations
to treat AIDS works just as well as patented medications.
The treatment combines three antiretroviral drugs into one
pill that patients must take twice a day. Fewer pills to take
increases compliance and generic drug production pushed the
cost of these medications to $389 or less, a fraction of the
cost of patented drugs.
The Bush administration says it will assist in providing
generic drugs after the Food and Drug Administration approves
those medications. This despite the fact that the same drugs
have already passed muster with the World Health Organization.
And while this conference will likely serve as a benchmark
for AIDS research and treatment, it's impact may be limited
by the absence of many U.S. scientists who planned to attend
but were blocked by the Administration for Health and Human
Services. The U.S. sent about 230 scientists to the AIDS conference
in Barcelona two years ago and this year sent only 50 AIDS
researchers. Observers speculated that the move could be retribution
from Secretary Tommy Thompson who was heckled by activists
during his speech in Barcelona.
- Rep. Barbara Lee,
Congressional representative from California, just got back
from Bangkok.
- Mark Wainberg, Director of the McGill AIDS Center and
chairman of the committee organizing the next International
AIDS Conference, to be held in 2006 in Toronto.
8:58-8:59 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 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
(RAY MA MU), Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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