Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Fri., May. 27, 2005
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 5-27-05
PRSS Channel: A67.7
Texas Judge Fines DeLay's PAC Treasurer Nearly $200,000
Pipeline to Promise or Pipeline to Peril? New U.S.-Backed
Oil Route Starts Moving Crude Oil From Azerbaijan to the West
Report: U.S. Routinely Sends Arms to Undemocratic Nations
"Martha Stewart is Totally Against the War in Iraq,"
Says Activist Nun Imprisoned With Her
Texas Judge Fines DeLay's PAC Treasurer Nearly $200,000
A Texas judge ruled that Tom Delay's Texas political committee,
Texans for a Republican Majority, violated Texas campaign
law when it failed to disclose more than half a million dollars
in corporate campaign contributions during the 2002 state
legislative elections. We speak with the executive director
of Texans for Public Justice.
Yesterday, Texas Travis County District Judge, Joseph Hart
ruled that Tom Delay's Texas political committee, Texans for
a Republican Majority known as TRMPAC- violated Texas campaign
law when it failed to disclose more than half a million dollars
in corporate campaign contributions during the 2002 state
legislative elections. Judge Hart awarded $196,000 to the
five democratic candidates who lost in 2002. Delay aides who
worked for TRMPAC still face multiple criminal indictments
and a grand jury investigation into TRMPAC is ongoing.
Pipeline to Promise or Pipeline to Peril? New U.S.-Backed
Oil Route Starts Moving Crude Oil From Azerbaijan to the West
A U.S.-backed oil pipeline linking the Caspian Sea to the
Mediterranean opened on Wednesday, and began moving crude
oil from Azerbaijan to the West. The route of the pipeline
is reportedly designed to only go through nations with strong
U.S. support like Azerbaijan and Georgia, which have both
been criticized for human rights abuses. We also examine why
many believe the pipeline could be could be an environmental
disaster for the region.
On Wednesday, the long-awaited oil pipeline linking the Caspian
Sea to the Mediterranean, started moving crude oil from Azerbaijan
to the West. The Caspian sea contains the world's third-largest
oil and gas reserves and plans for the $3.6 billion dollar
pipeline began more than ten years ago. It is one of the longest
oil routes in the world and it is expected to pump 1 million
barrels of oil a day by 2010.
Heads of state from Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey attended
the inauguration, as did U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman,
and Lord Browne, chief executive of the British energy giant
BP, which led the pipeline investment consortium. The consortium
also includes the US firms Unocal and Conoco Phillips.
The U.S government has been heavily involved in the planning
of the project over the last decade and has spent millions
to help protect the underground pipeline. But the massive
project has brought increasing scrutiny to U.S support of
the repressive regime in Azerbaijan. The project has also
raised a host of environmental concerns and many believe it
could be could be an environmental disaster for the region.
- Candace Rondeaux, reporter for the St. Petersburg Times.
She traveled to Georgia in November 2004 as an International
Reporting Fellow at John Hopkins School of Advanced International
Studies.
- 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."
- Enzer Safafzade, South Caspian program coordinator for
Crude Accountability,
an NGO that works with local activists and citizen groups
in the Caspian basin.
Report: U.S. Routinely Sends Arms to Undemocratic
Nations
A new report from the World Policy Institute has found that
the U.S. is routinely funneling military aid and arms to undemocratic
nations. In 2003 more than half of the top 25 recipients of
U.S. arms transfers in the developing world were defined as
undemocratic by the State Department. [includes rush
transcript]
The political climate in Uzbekistan continues to be unstable
after government troops opened fire on demonstrators last
week, killing an estimated 500 people. Human Rights Watch
reporters say Uzbek citizens are afraid to speak to journalists
or other "outsiders" due to fear of government retribution.
In Egypt, anti-government protesters were recently beaten
during demonstrations calling for greater political reform.
The State Department's latest human rights report says torture
and abuse of detainees in Egypt is "common and persistent."
In Saudi Arabia, petitioners were recently arrested after
calling for political reform. Amnesty International has long
called for reform of Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system,
where defendants face convictions based on confessions obtained
under torture or deception.
So how are these three countries connected? They all receive
military aid from the United States. A new report from the
World Policy Institute has found that the U.S. is routinely
funneling military aid and arms to undemocratic nations.
The report titled "US Weapons at War" finds that
in 2003 more than half of the top 25 recipients of U.S. arms
transfers in the developing world were defined as undemocratic
by the State Department.
"Martha Stewart is Totally Against the War in
Iraq," Says Activist Nun Imprisoned With Her
Antiwar activist Sister Carol Gilbert returned home from
prison this week after serving a 33-month sentence for a Plowshares
disarmament action. During her time behind bars, she became
friends with a high-profile prisoner at Alderson Federal Prison--Martha
Stewart. In an interview on Democracy Now!, Gilbert says,
"Martha [Stewart] is totally against the war in Iraq,
there is no question about it...we need to understand that
Martha is still under house arrest right now, and so, she
still is very limited by what she is allowed to do and not
do by this government.." [includes rush
transcript]
Sister Carol Gilbert has been released from prison after
serving a 33-month sentence in a federal prison. She was jailed
along with two other Dominican sisters -- Sister Ardeth Platte
and Sister Jackie Hudson. They were arrested for destroying
government property during a Plowshares action at the N-8
Minuteman silo in Colorado.
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
