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Blood and Oil: The Rising Cost of Domination
Vigilantes or Civilian Border Patrol? A Debate on the Minuteman
Project
Remembering Japanese American Civil Rights Pioneer Fred Korematsu
Blood and Oil: The Rising Cost of Domination
Oil prices have risen almost $15 a barrel since the year
began, briefly topping a record $58 a barrel on Monday. While
the Bush administration is fond of blaming oil prices on OPEC,
the group says the pricing is beyond their control. We take
a look at the current state of oil with Jim Paul of the Global
Policy Forum and Michael Klare, author of "Blood and
Oil.”
When you ask most people in the world why the US invaded
Iraq, the majority would probably include oil in their answer.
But now, two years after the invasion began, oil prices have
not only not gone down for U.S. consumers - they have actually
gone up. And in dramatic form.
Oil prices have risen almost $15 a barrel since the year
began and gas is costing US motorists an average of $2.15
a gallon. Yesterday, oil prices briefly topped $58 a barrel,
causing some shock waves on the markets. The Bush administration
is fond of blaming oil prices on OPEC - the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries. But OPEC officials say the
pricing is beyond their control. So what is driving this so-called
crisis? To discuss this, we are joined by two guests.
- Jim Paul, Executive Director of Global
Policy Forum. He is based at the United Nations and
monitors events there. He has authored a number of reports
on oil companies and Iraq.
- Michael Klare, Professor of Peace and World Security
Studies at Hampshire College. His latest book is called
"Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's
Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum."
Vigilantes or Civilian Border Patrol? A Debate on
the Minuteman Project
In Arizona, a group calling itself the Minuteman Project
has stationed scores of men and women along the Mexican border
in a controversial effort to track down undocumented immigrants.
We host a debate with the media liaison for the Minuteman
Project and the executive director of the Border Action Network.
In Arizona, a group calling itself the Minuteman Project
has stationed scores of men and women along the Mexican border
in a controversial effort to track down undocumented immigrants.
The Minutmen take their name from a militia group during the
American Revolutionary War.
The group's founder, James Gilchrist, says the project has
attracted some 450 volunteers from around the country. On
Monday, Gilchirst said they aided in the arrest of 146 undocumented
immigrants.
The Minutemen have staked out across a 23-mile stretch of
border northeast of Nogales for the month-long action. Many
use binoculars and night-vision goggles. Some are armed with
guns. Over 20 pilots with aircraft are also surveying the
area.
Organizers call their effort a peaceful protest over the
government's failure to secure its borders. Both the Mexican
government and the Bush administration have described them
the Minutemen as vigilantes. Meanwhile, the American Civil
Liberties Union has sent observers to keep tabs on the Minutemen
to ensure they don't take the law into their own hands.
Today we host a debate.
Remembering Japanese American Civil Rights Pioneer
Fred Korematsu
Japanese American civil rights pioneer Fred Korematsu has
died at the age of 86. He was jailed during World War II refusing
orders to be sent to an internment camp set up for U.S residents
of Japanese ancestry. We air an excerpt of the documentary,
"Of Civil Rights and Wrongs: The Fred Korematsu Story"
and we speak with one of his attorneys. [includes rush
transcript]
Late last week, Japanese American civil rights pioneer Fred
Korematsu died at the age of 86. He was jailed during World
War II refusing orders to be sent to an internment camp set
up for U.S residents of Japanese ancestry.
Today we take a look at his story. This is an excerpt of
a documentary produced by Eric Paul Fournier.
- "Of Civil Rights and Wrongs: The Fred Korematsu
Story" - documentary produced produced by Eric Paul
Fournier. Courtesy of POV.
After the attack at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government ordered
120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry to leave their homes
and be placed in the camps. His attorney compared him to Rosa
Parks. Korematsu challenged his arrest and the case eventually
went to the Supreme Court. The court upheld the establishment
of the internment camps. Decades later a federal court decided
to vacate Korematsu's conviction after it was uncovered that
the federal government had lied to the high court about the
threat posed by Japanese Americans. In 1998 President Clinton
awarded Korematsu a presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's
highest civilian honor.
In 2004, Fred Korematsu filed a friend-of-the court brief
in a case before the Supreme Court challenging the Bush administration's
detention of foreign nationals at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station
in Cuba. His brief stated in part, "the extreme nature
of the government's position is all too familiar."
- Don Tamaki, from 1983 to 1985 he served on the legal
team that re-opened the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case
of Fred Korematsu, overturning his criminal convictions
for refusing to be interned.
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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