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The Debt Threat: How Debt is Destroying the Developing World
George Monbiot: "Climate Change Is a Far Greater Threat
To Human Well-Being Than Terrorism"
Whistleblower Charges Justice Dept. with Misconduct in Chertoff's
Prosecution of John Walker Lindh
The Debt Threat: How Debt is Destroying the Developing
World
As a group of the world's richest countries agree to temporarily
freeze debt repayments of Asian countries hit by last month's
tsunami, we speak with globalization expert Noreena Hertz,
author of The Debt Threat: How Debt is Destroying the World.
[includes rush
transcript]
The Paris Club of rich creditor nations reached an agreement
on Wednesday to temporarily freeze debt repayments of countries
hit by last month's tsunami to help them recover.
Club president Jean-Pierre Joyuet told a news conference
that the suspension of debt would not be subjected to any
of the conditions that usually accompany aid, such as an accord
with the International Monetary Fund or private creditors.
According to the World Bank, the affected nations owe hundreds
of billions in debt. Indonesia owes $132 billion. India owes
just over $100 billion. Thailand owes $60 billion and Malaysia
owes $50 billion.
So far only Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles have
signaled that they will take up the offer. Other tsunami-affected
countries, such as India, Malaysia and Thailand have not requested
a freeze on their debt payments.
British aid agency Oxfam was critical of the Paris Club offer.
They said in a statement "Rather than agreeing to cancel
significant proportions of debt, they seem set to go for the
easy option of a temporary suspension of repayments, which
will then be reapplied in a few months."
The Paris Club is made up of an informal group of the world's
richest creditor nations, including the UK, France, Germany,
Japan, Russia and the U.S. It meets about 10 times a year
to discuss debts owed to them.
- Noreena Hertz, associate director of the Centre for International
Business at the University of Cambridge and a leading experts
on economic globalization. She is author of the new book,
"The Debt Threat: How Debt is Destroying the Developing
World."
Related Links:
George Monbiot: "Climate Change Is a Far Greater
Threat To Human Well-Being Than Terrorism"
Landslides and flooding following days of heavy rain in
California have left some 20 people dead in the state, including
10 in La Conchita following a devastating mudslide. We take
a look at extreme weather and global warming with author and
columnist George Monbiot.
Residents of the coastal town of La Conchita are begin warned
that the steep hills overlooking their community could collapse
again as the death toll from Monday's mudslide rose to 10
with three still missing.
Rescue workers are still searching for any survivors who
may remain trapped in the 30-foot-deep mound of earth that
swallowed some 15 homes in La Conchita, which lies about 80
miles north of Los Angeles.
Part of a hillside that towered over the seaside enclave
collapsed two days ago after weeks of drenching rain unleashed
torrents of mud that buried a four-block area within seconds.
Video of the mudslide showed a large portion of a towering
bluff break off and then rumble down the hill toward the town,
carrying trees, power lines and thick mud into homes below.
Several cars were crushed, and a bus was tossed into one of
the homes.
On a visit to the area, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
told reporters "We have seen the power of nature to cause
damage and despair, but we will match that power with our
own resolve."
Authorities blamed the landslides and flooding on five days
of heavy rain, which have resulted in some 20 deaths in the
state. Southern California has had a total of about 17 inches
of rain in the past two weeks.
- George Monbiot,
author and columnist for the London Guardian. His latest
book is "Manifesto for a New World Order."
Whistleblower Charges Justice Dept. with Misconduct
in Chertoff's Prosecution of John Walker Lindh
We speak with former Justice Department attorney, Jesselyn
Radack, who charges that department officials under Michael
Chertoff improperly questioned John Waker Lindh and that her
memos raising ethical concerns about his interrogation were
purged and not turned over to a criminal court.
Michael Chertoff, President Bush's Homeland Security Chief
nominee, was praised by Senate Democrats and state lawyers
this week as being a tough but fair prosecutor who would serve
well as Tom Ridge's replacement.
But as his record comes under fresh scrutiny, questions are
being raised about his handling of the case of John Walker
Lindh - the so-called American Taliban. As head of the criminal
division of the Justice Department, the 2002 prosecution of
Lindh was one of Chertoff"s biggest triumphs.
But the case resurfaced the following year in Senate confirmation
hearings after Chertoff was nominated to be a federal appellate
judge. At that time, Senate Democrats questioned Chertoff
extensively about concerns that the FBI might have improperly
questioned Lindh in Afghanistan even though his family had
hired a lawyer for him.
The questioning yielded potentially damaging admissions from
Lindh that factored into his decision to later plead guilty
to felony charges, resulting in his 20-year prison sentence.
At his 2003 confirmation hearing, Chertoff said he and his
deputies did not have an active role in discussions about
ethics warnings in the case from lawyers elsewhere in the
department. But a Justice Department whistleblower tells a
different story.
Jesselyn Radack was an attorney in the Justice Department's
Professional Responsibility Advisory Office during the Lindh
case. She raised legal and ethical objections over the questioning
of Lindh without his lawyer and revealed misconduct by Department
of Justice officials.
As a result, Radack was pushed out of her job at the Justice
Department, fired from her next job, put under criminal investigation
and put on the no-fly list. She joins us on the phone today
from Washington DC.
- Jesselyn Radack, former Justice Department lawyer.
Related Links:
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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