Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Fri., Apr. 8, 2005
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 4-8-05
PRSS Channel: A67.7
The Funeral of Pope John Paul II
War Surgeon Gino Strada: "Media Not Interested in Human
Tragedies" of War
Three People Forcibly Removed From Bush "Town Hall"
Meeting on Social Security
Undocumented Border Patrol Target Undocumented Immigrants
The Funeral of Pope John Paul II
As the funeral of Pope John Paul II takes place in Saint
Peter's Square, we go to Rome to get a report on what is being
called one of the most momentous funerals in world history.
The funeral of Pope John Paul II is under way in St. Peter's
Square in Rome. Up to two million people are watching the
service on giant television screens around the city in what
is being described as one of the most momentous funerals in
world history.
Four kings, five queens and at least 70 presidents and prime
ministers are attending the open-air service. Hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims have poured into the Vatican to attend
the ceremony. Roman Catholics around the world are following
the funeral on television or attending Masses in local churches.
John Paul's 26-year leadership of the Roman Catholic Church
was the third longest in history and he was the first non-Italian
pope in over 400 years. During his papacy, he visited a record
120 nations and was seen in person by millions.
After his death, the pope's body lay in state in St. Peter's
Basilica for four days, bringing millions of pilgrims streaming
through the Vatican in a vigil that almost paralyzed Rome.
Today's three-hour funeral ceremony was conducted by Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals,
which will begin electing the Pope's successor on the 18th
(eighteenth) of April.
Italy closed the airspace over central Rome and called in
extra forces, anti-aircraft missiles and patrol boats to guard
the funeral. Authorities ordered all public offices, schools
and museums to close and banned cars from the roads.
After the funeral mass, the pope's coffin will be carried
back into Saint Peter's Basilica and laid to rest in a crypt
after being enclosed in a zinc coffin and finally an oak casket.
- Sophie Arie, correspondent for the Christian Science
Monitor. She joins us from Rome.
- Raffaele Mastrolonardo, freelance Italian journalist.
War Surgeon Gino Strada: "Media Not Interested
in Human Tragedies" of War
We speak with Dr. Gino Strada, a war surgeon and the founder
of Emergency, a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated
to providing assistance to civilian victims of war.
Working in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Cambodia
and Rwanda, Emergency enters war zones and provides medical
assistance in conflict situations.
In February, the English-language edition of Dr. Strada's
memoir, Green Parrots, was published in the United States,
with an introduction by Howard Zinn.
Dr. Strada's campaign against the manufacture and sale of
the green, flying anti-personnel mines helped persuade Italy
to abandon the use and manufacture of anti-personnel mines.
- Dr. Gino Strada, war surgeon and the founder of Emergency,
a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated to providing
assistance to civilian victims of war. The English-language
edition of Dr. his memoir, "Green Parrots" was
recently published in the U.S.
Three People Forcibly Removed From Bush "Town
Hall" Meeting on Social Security
As President Bush continues touring the country to promote
his plans for overhauling social security, we speak with one
of the three people forcibly removed from Bush's Town-Hall-Style
"Conversation on Social Security," in Denver on
last month.
As President Bush continues touring the country to promote
his plans for overhauling social security, some have begun
to ask questions about the costs and the procedures determining
who is permitted to attend these publicly funded events. Yesterday,
an article in the Washington Post reported that this tour
may be one of the most expensive in memory, costing millions
of tax-payer dollars.
Representative Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the
Government Reform Committee, wrote a letter to the Government
Accountability office, asking for the exact cost of the tour
and questioned whether the administration had crossed the
line from education to propaganda. Waxman's letter stated
in part: "There is a vital line between informing the
public as the President did in his State of the Union address,
and commandeering vast resources of the federal government
to fund a political campaign for social security privatization."
Another member of Congress, Rep. Diana Degette, has requested
that that the House Government Reform Committee investigate
the exclusion procedures at these events. In North Dakota
and Arizona, people expressing contrary political views were
denied access to the Bush events. The latest incident happened
on March 21st in Denver where three Coloradoans were ejected
from President Bush's social security town hall meeting.
- Alexander Young, one of the three people forcibly removed
from President Bush's Town-Hall-Style "Conversation
on Social Security," in Denver on March 21st. More
information at: DenverThree.org.
Undocumented Border Patrol Target Undocumented Immigrants
We speak with Magdalano Rose-Avila, the executive director
of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project about the Minuteman
Project, comparing street gangs to al Qaeda, Homeland Security
and much more.
Three volunteers from the so-called Minutemen Project patrolling
the Arizona border for undocumented immigrants are being investigated
after a man told authorities he was held against his will
and forced to pose for a picture holding a T-shirt with a
mocking slogan.
According to law enforcement officials, the 26-year-old Mexican
man told agents he was physically restrained and forced to
hold a shirt while his picture was taken and he was videotaped.
The shirt read: "Bryan Barton caught an illegal alien
and all I got was this T-shirt."
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.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
whole
show
