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Baby Bush Go Home: Arundhati Roy on Massive Protests Against
Bush's Visit to India
Katrina Six Months Later: Activists Discuss Grassroots Disaster
Relief, Evictions, Racism and the Struggle to Help Those Left
Behind
Baby Bush Go Home: Arundhati Roy on Massive Protests
Against Bush's Visit to India
We speak with acclaimed Indian author and activist Arundhati
Roy who is in New Delhi, India. Bush arrived in India late
Wednesday in his first trip to the country. He was greeted
the next day by various branches of the Indian military. But
on the streets, Bush was greeted by mass protests across the
country. In New Delhi alone, crowd estimates varied from 250,000
to 700,000.
President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed
a controversial deal on nuclear cooperation Thursday between
the United States and India. Under the deal, the U.S. would
end a decades-long moratorium on sales of nuclear fuel and
reactor components to India while allowing the country to
substantially step up its nuclear weapons production. India
is one of only three countries that has refused to sign the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The deal was criticized by some lawmakers in Washington who
said it could lead to the spread of nuclear weapons. House
Democrat Ed Markey, who co-chairs the Bipartisan Task Force
on Nonproliferation, called the agreement "a historic
failure of this president to tackle the real nuclear threats
that we face." Meanwhile, John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador
to the United Nations, defended the deal saying, "India
and Pakistan had never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty
and therefore they weren’t in violation of it by having
nuclear programs."
Bush arrived in India late Wednesday in his first trip to
the country. He was greeted the next day by various branches
of the Indian military. After Bush reviewed the troops, he
told reporters, "I have been received in many capitals
around the world, but I have never seen a reception as well-organized
or as grand." But on the streets, Bush was greeted by
mass protests across the country. In New Delhi alone, tens
of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets. Crowd estimates
varied from 250,000 to 700,000. The president’s three-day
stop to India included a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial
in Rahjat.
Bush is due to arrive in Pakistan later tonight, where he
is due to hold talks on Saturday. While he is scheduled to
meet in Islamabad, the Financial Times reported he may make
an unscheduled visit to the southern city of Karachi following
Thursday’s suicide bomb attack outside the U.S. consulate
that killed an American diplomat and at least three others.
- Arundhati Roy, acclaimed Indian author and activist.
She is author of several books including, "The Ordinary
Person’s Guide to Empire," "The Checkbook
and the Cruise Missile" and her Booker prize-winning
novel, "The God of Small Things." Her latest article,
published on The Nation
website is titled "Bush
in India: Just Not Welcome."
Katrina Six Months Later: Activists Discuss Grassroots
Disaster Relief, Evictions, Racism and the Struggle to Help
Those Left Behind
Six months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast,
we speak with two activists about what many call the worst
natural disaster in U.S. history. Jordan Flaherty is an organizer
with the New Orleans Network and an editor of Left Turn magazine;
Kevin Powell is a journalist and author who is helping to
launch Katrina On the Ground, an initiative which will bring
student delegations from around the country to the Gulf Coast
to work with local aid organizations.
Democrats have renewed calls for an independent investigation
into the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina
following the release of new video showing the Bush administration
was warned of a catastrophe. On Wednesday, the Associated
Press released confidential video footage of President Bush’s
final briefing before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.
The President was given dire warnings the storm could breach
levees and threaten the lives of residents of New Orleans.
Yet days later, President Bush said the breach of the levees
hadn’t been anticipated.
The news comes six months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged
the Gulf Coast in what many call the worst natural disaster
in US history. The storm displaced some 770,000 residents
and destroyed over 300,000 homes. Nearly 2,000 people are
reportedly still missing in Louisiana alone, at least 130
of whom are children. In the city of New Orleans, whole neighborhoods
remain obliterated. In the city’s hardest-hit areas,
such as the Ninth Ward, there is still no power or running
water.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, hurricane evacuees in nearly 3,000
hotel rooms nationwide were faced with a dreaded choice: either
remain in their hotel and pay the bill with their own money
or other federal assistance, or check out and find a new place
to live. It was the last day FEMA directly paid hotel bills
for many evacuees outside Louisiana and Mississippi. Storm
survivors in about 7,400 hotel rooms in those states have
been granted another extension through at least March 15.
- Jordan Flaherty, an organizer with the New
Orleans Network. He is a longtime activist and editor
of Left Turn magazine.
Jordan was in New Orleans when the hurricane hit in August.
He returned to the city soon after being evacuated to help
with relief efforts and to report on what was happening
on the streets, particularly to the poor, black communities
that were most effected by the hurricane.
- Kevin Powell, long-time activist, journalist, and hip-hop
historian. Powell traveled to New Orleans the week after
the Hurricane and is currently helping to launch Katrina
On the Ground, and initiative which will bring student
delegations from around the country to the Gulf Coast to
work with local aid organizations.
Links:
leftturn.org
reconstructionwatch.org
neworleansnetwork.org
criticalresistance.org
communitylaborunited.net
commongroundrelief.org
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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