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Blair Wins Third Term; Majority Reduced Over Iraq War
Bloomington Resolutions Oppose Iraq War, Patriot Act, Seek
Higher Minimum Wage
Biology Prof. Resigns Over Gvt. Use of Plant Research
Julia Ward Howe: The Woman Behind Mother's Day
Blair Wins Third Term; Majority Reduced Over Iraq
War
Prime Minister Tony Blair wins a historic third term in
government but with a drastically reduced majority in parliament
for his Labour party. We go to London to speak with longtime
British politician, Tony Benn, the political editor of the
Guardian (UK) and Tariq Ali, author and editor of the New
Left Review. [includes rush
transcript]
We begin today with the elections in Britain. Prime Minister
Tony Blair has won a historic third term in government but
with a drastically reduced majority in parliament for his
Labour party. This is being attributed to widespread opposition
to the occupation of Iraq and Blair's close ties to President
Bush.
With most results in at the time of this broadcast, Labour
was heading for a majority of 66 seats, sharply down from
its 165 majority in 2001.
In percentage terms, Labour won just 36% of the national
vote, the Conservatives, 33%, and the Liberal Democrats 22%.
The result puts Labour back in office with the lowest share
of the vote in British electoral history.
Many voters accused Blair of misleading them by hyping intelligence
on Iraq's weapons to justify going to war. Blair, who celebrated
his 52nd birthday on Friday, addressed his supporters in his
home district before election results were announced.
- Tony Blair, speaking to supporters shortly after polls
closed on May 5, 2005.
In one of the biggest upsets of the night, George Galloway,
of the anti-war Respect party, narrowly beat Labour's MP Oona
King, who voted for the Iraq war. That was considered one
of the most bitter contests in the election and a significant
defeat for Blair. Galloway was expelled from the ruling Labour
Party in October 2003 after he was accused of encouraging
British troops to disobey what he called "illegal orders".
In his victory speech, Galloway told Blair, "All the
people you killed, all the lies you told, have come back to
haunt you." In January, I spoke with George Galloway
in London and we talked about his opposition to the occupation
of Iraq.
- George Galloway speaking on January 31, 2005.
With last night's election victory, Tony Blair won his place
in British history, becoming only the second prime minister
after Margaret Thatcher to win three elections in a row. He
is also the first leader of the Labour party to win three
successive terms.
- Tony Benn, former Labour MP.
- Michael White, political editor of the Guardian (UK).
- Tariq Ali, author and editor of the New Left Review.
Bloomington Resolutions Oppose Iraq War, Patriot
Act, Seek Higher Minimum Wage
We speak with a member of the Bloomington City Council which
has passed several bills and resolutions opposing the invasion
of Iraq and the Patriot Act, promoting fair elections through
a verifiable paper trail and seeking a higher minimum wage.
[includes rush
transcript]
- Andy Ruff, Bloomington City Council.
Biology Prof. Resigns Over Gvt. Use of Plant Research
We speak Dr. Martha Crouch, a former biology professor at
the University of Indiana. She ran a lab dedicated to cutting
edge plant research but decided to end her career when she
found out that biotechnology companies were co-opting her
research for profit. [includes rush
transcript]
We are broadcasting from Bloomington Indiana on our Unembed
the Media Tour. We are joined in the studio this morning by
Dr. Martha Crouch. Dr Crouch used to be a biology professor
at the University of Indiana. She was once a pioneering biotechnologist
who studied her entire life to reach the top of her profession.
She earned a Ph.D. in developmental biology at Yale before
going to Indiana University, to teach and run a lab dedicated
to cutting edge plant research. But she decided to end her
research career when she found out that biotechnology companies
were co-opting her research for profit.
- Marti Crouch, former professor of Biology at Indiana
University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Julia Ward Howe: The Woman Behind Mother's Day
We take a look at the woman behind Mother's Day, Julia Ward
Howe. The author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, she began
advocating for a mother's day for peace in 1870. [includes
rush
transcript]
As we approach Mother's Day this Sunday, we take a look
at the woman behind Mother's Day, Julia Ward Howe. Yes, she
is the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic but after
seeing some of the devastating effects of the Civil War- death,
disease, famine and poverty - she began advocating for a mother"s
day for peace in 1870.
- Valarie Ziegler, Professor of Religious Studies, DePauw
University.
- Mother's Day Proclamation, written by Julia Ward Howe
and read by Democracy Now producer Yoruba Richen.
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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