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> Wed., June. 4, 2003
Flashpoints
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Today's headlines:
US Support for a Violent Destabilization of Haiti;
At Least 15 More Shootings of Youth and Children in Nablus;
The Dead-end Roadmap to Peace;
A Massive Protest Against the Draconian Drug Laws;
The Knight Report
8:00:00 PM PST
Dennis Bernstein: introduction: Anne Gwynne reports 15 more
shootings of children in Balata Camp; the dead-end 'Roadmap
to Peace'; a massive protest against NY's draconian drug laws;
and The Knight Report with Robert Knight
8:00:00 PM PST
Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: Bush headed
for Qatar today.. earlier met with Sharon and unelected Palestinian
PM Abbas.. not mentioned, Israel's rejection of the unalienable
'Right of Return' of Palestinian refugees.. Paul Bremmer meets
with UN rep.. limited role for UN and Iraq citizens.. ongoing
resistance and attacks on US troops.. about the collective
propaganda before the war.. CIA to fabricate more 'evidence'?..
US official: "false weapons claims were a scandal"..
in the UK, an inquiry into the rationale for going to war..
massive protests over wages.. protests in Zimbabwe.. in NY,
Kofi Annan.. EU approves dispatch of peacekeepers to the Congo..
Taylor of Liberia..
8:05:12 PM PST
Dennis: now on the phone w Welsh nurse and ISM member Anne
Gwynne (Anne's home page) on the streets of Balata refugee
camp near Nablus.. Anne: they've sealed every single road..
amazing.. with piles of rubble old cars.. two story bulldozers..
then they parked their armored vehicles.. they shoot a barrage
at the young boys who throw stones.. 15 injured today.. I've
been shot at by three bullets on one occasion, and four bullets
on another.. they are sealing us in.. they are systematically
smashing doors, searching houses, wrecking them.. marking
them with red paint.. THIS IS PEACE?!!.. why do the kids throw
the stones?.. they fit in the palm of a hand.. they have no
dignity without the stones.. the humiliation here is 100%..
is absolutely total.. they come shooting.. they only thing..
can do is throw stones.. AIH! shooting.. I am with the bravest
fighter in Balata.. seven ambulances chasing me.. all lights
flashing.. they move toward the shots.. in front of the ambulances
two jeeps, bristling with weaponry.. $4500 US tax dollars
for one M16.. I saw a bulldozer pick up a Chevrolet Savana
and dumped it on top of a pile of earth to make a roadblock..
in every single hiding place are 1000's of children who come
out and throw stones.. why do their mothers let them?.. there
is no way to stop them.. I cautioned a thirteen year old..
he replied, 'without my stone I have no dignity'.. the ambulances
are always stopped.. no one allowed in, no one allowed out..
I have not met a single man in this city who has not been
shot.. everyman here has been in the prison.. unbelievable
the crimes that have been committed against these people,
and still they smile at you.. Why am I risking my life?..
(details).. about what one of these huge bullets does to the
body of a child.. children 11 years old, with dum dum bullets
exploding in their mouth.. heads blown off.. ribs explode..
there is no way to understand these crimes unless you are
here.. for the last three months, not any journalists here..
email me at: annegwynne@yahoo.co.uk
8:17:18 PM PST
Dennis: about Bush's so-called *Roadmap to Peace*.. now w
Ali Abunemah of Electronic Intifada.. Sharon said he would
dismantle all 'unauthorized settlements'.. Ali: a conjuring
trick.. fewer than a dozen settlements.. he has given up nothing..
like removing a goat from a crowded corral.. settlements are
Jewish only outposts placed in Palestinian territory to prevent
the end of occupation.. Israeli housing minister said the
number of settlements are growing and will continue to grow..
Sharon is going to dismantle a few trailer homes.. the unelected
Palestinian PM is playing into US Israeli hands.. Sharon did
not utter one word about Palestinian suffering.. Abbas went
further than any Palestinian expected, when he criticized
legitimate resistance.. ample reasons to be skeptical about
Bush's intentions.. but Bush didn't confront Sharon over the
settlements.. but he shied away.. the Roadmap may have reached
the end of the road.. Dennis: about the expanding occupation
in Iraq.. Ali: the occupation of Iraq starting to look like
the occupation of Palestine.. a parallel.. the reality of
increasing hostility against the occupiers.. last weeks Amnesty
International report.. dire situation in Afghanistan.. hard
to say things are better now than under the Taliban.. the
US backed government in Kabul only controls Kabul.. the status
of women, the reality is that Afghanistan is ruled by warlords
(US calls them 'regional commanders').. the US has supported
bringing into the government war lords with horrible human
rights records.. this is dire.. if your record is as bad as
the Taliban.. well.. and things are moving in the wrong direction..
on the Guardian website.. Wolfowitz in Singapore said the
reason for the war was oil.. they have just disbanded the
Iraqi army, but before the war they said they would keep it..
the US Army left holding the bag.. generating animosity between
Rumsfeld and the army.. Baghdad is a city of 5 million people,
had 30,000 police before the war.. now 2,000 soldiers trying
to maintain public order.. becoming heavy handed and violent..
Dennis: more anger coming on the Arab street?.. Ali: utter
disgust among Arabs.. none of the countries backed by the
US are democracies.. like a structure undermined by termites,
looks fine, but may suddenly collapse..
8:35:06 PM PST
music break
8:35:49 PM PST
Dennis: NYC has had the most draconian drug laws, ie the Rockfeller
drug laws.. today a massive march, sponsored by Mothers of
the NY Disappeared.. now w organizer Anthony Popell.. Anthony:
60,000 marched today.. movie stars, Mariah Carey, Tim Robbins,
Puff Daddy, Susan Saranden, lots of politicians too..
8:52:00 PM PST
Marvelous Mary Bishop: wrapup
8:52:33 PM PST
End today's show. today's review by John Lionheart
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