Flashpoints 3/6 oops : Indybay

KPFA Flashpoints Radio
Wednesday, Mar 6, 2002 -

-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction:
-01:00 Pacifica Network News
-04:30 Dennis: with Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: Kabul shaken by accidental explosion.. German defence minister insisted Germans only involved in humanitarian missions in Afghanistan, a lie.. 1500 German troops on ships near Somalia.. British troops in Kenya.. Americans fighting in the Kush mountains.. Ceasar said Afghanistan divided into three separate parts
-08:20 Dennis: a fullpage ad in today's NY Times calls for the legalization of medical marijuana..

signers include doctors and celebrities.. now w Bruce Merken a sponsor of the ad.. Bruce: when Bush took office we hoped for a dialogue.. about CA prop 215.. the drug czar at the time, McCafferty asked the Institute of Health to investigate.. they did, and found that medical marijuana is the only alternative for some people.. now Asa Hutchinson claims no medicinal value.. time to call him on it.. over 300 elected officials signed the ad.. and newsmen including Walter Chronkite.. THE RIGHT OF A HUMAN BEING TO CHOOSE HIS/HER OWN MEDICINE IS AN ANCIENT RIGHT.. what kind of society would ask someone to forfeit their ancient god-given rights to a corrupt government?.. it's the drug war.. the bulk of drug arrests in the US are for possession of marijuana.. 3/4 million Americans arrested last year.. unbelievable, tragic that this is being perpetuated.. check out Marijuana Policy Project at http://www.compassionateaccess.org
-16:00 music break, One Ton of Marijuana, Derrell Cherney
-17:00 Dennis: Enrongate Update.. finally Congress calls on banks to turn over records..

now w Catherine Austin Fitts.. she started out as a staunch Republican.. served in the first Bush administration.. a former assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).. CATHERINE AUSTIN FITTS: A MILLIONAIRE REPUBLICAN TURNED WHISTLEBLOWER.. Dennis: why is marijuana still illegal?.. Catherine: the criminal syndicate is free to do anything they want.. most other people can't get what they need without risking going to prison.. about Enron.. still no real investigation.. the 7 steps.. 1) assert control of all records.. 2) prevent transer of assets.. 3) ^^^ 4) never allow shredding.. 5) assert control of cash both onshore and offshore.. 6) seize the cash from insider trading.. 7) people admitting to securities violation, fire them from federal contracts, assert control over that cash.. IT HAS REACHED THE POINT OF BEING A LAUGHING MATTER.. Dennis: Ken Lay at a fundraiser for Bob Dole today.. gave money.. Catherine: that is taxpayer, shareholder money he spent buying more political influence.. regular people working overtime in America to pay for their health care.. Enron execs are criminals, we have laws permitting their money to be seized, we should do it.. Catherine: about HUD financial.. HUD is being run as a criminal enterprise.. lead contractors at HUD: Enron, DynCorp.. 1.7 billion increase to an agency that is a criminal enterprise.. astonishing.. Catherine: the reason I started to look at Enron.. 3 TRILLION DOLLARS missing at federal agencies.. official numbers.. the agencies where the money is missing are run by Enron, DynCorp, Lockheed, Harvard, JP Morgan Chase.. all related to Enron.. investors guaranteed 2500% return on investment.. Pug Winokur playing a pivotable role.. starting in 1997.. was Enron a laundromat for all the money stolen at HUD??.. about the Harvard connection.. [this is illuminating electrifying information].. buddy of Pug, money manager at Harvard made millions shorting Enron stock.. Pug financial officer on board of Enron, DynCorp, Harvard Corp.. Arthur Andersen admits to cooking the books for Enron, shredding documents.. still not fired by Pug at DynCorp or Harvard.. WHY?.. Catherine: there are a thousand recipes for cooking the books.. [many details].. seeing incredible scams at HUD.. Dennis: about DynCorp's role in the 'drug war'.. Catherine: most people who have never worked in government don't understand.. we are paying a private corporation to collect massive amounts of information about us.. DynCorp.. those databanks can be used in horrible ways.. about a grandmother bringing up a granddaughter.. the granddaughter caught using drugs away from home.. Pug helping throw the grandmother out of her home.. but Pug stands up in Congress and says Arthur Andersen (whom he hired and has responsibility to oversee) lied to him and that's why he lost billions of shareholder dollars, and he's not to blame.. a double standard.. throw Pug out of his comfort zone.. put Pug on the street..
-43:00 music break
-44:00 Dennis: taking listener phone calls.. Bob: has Catherine gone to Congress?

Catherine: I have not gotten any response.. 2001 saw $5,467 per Californian paid in federal taxes, 84% went to agencies without reliable financial accountability.. Houston: where can we get greater detail? send me an catherine@solari.com solari.com.. Jeff: what's the best case scenario? Catherine: I don't think it's hopeless at all.. If we can save it, God can fix it.. if we can understand our government is not trustworthy.. we have to take matters into our own hands.. Dean in Houston: about drug policy forum?.. Catherine: there are two types of money.. about Narco Dollars for Dummies.. if you legalized drugs tomorrow, it would have a profound influence on cash flow.. FARC asked to invest drug profits in the NY stock exchange.. Peter from SF: what can citizens do? Catherine: vote with your time and money.. switch to free press, don't spend money on media that doesn't give you the truth.. Bill from Houston: I heard that all the prosecutors in Houston have recused themselves.. Catherine: yes..
-59:30 End today's show.. today's review by john lionheart

Tuesday, Mar 5, 2002 -

Start Audio

00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: on today's show: EnronGate Update, Phyllis Bennis, Nor Odeh in Ramallah, Barbara Lubin, avant-garde Latino performance theatre group, Culture Clash
-01:00 Pacifica News
-04:45 Dennis: with Robert Knight and the Knight Report..

Robert: US switches to heavy bombing raids.. five day battle.. Pakistani says fighting forcing an unprecedented inflow of refugees.. US assault supported by hundreds of Afghanis and Europeans.. Germans deny combat.. 7.2 earthquake hits Kush mountains in Afghanistan.. Russian news agency TASS says earthquake may have been triggered by the heavy bombing
-08:50 EnronGate update with Tyson Slocum, director of "ralph

Ralph Nader's Public Citizen organization's 'Critical Mass Energy' environment program.. Tyson: Dick Cheney released his energy plan back in May 2001.. the GAO immediately issued a demand letter for information about his meetings.. in July the GAO scaled back the request.. didn't ask for notes and minutes.. rebuffed and then they filed a lawsuit.. we need the notes and minutes.. it has been discovered that 17 specific recommendations in the energy plan written by Enron.. I put more emphasis on the ultra conservative Judicial Watch lawsuit.. for thousands of documents.. far more comprehensive than the GAO lawsuit.. Judicial Watch is one of the main reasons Bill Clinton was impeached and disbarred in Arkansas.. good to see they are consistent.. not a witchhunt.. about holding our democracy hostage.. about Thomas White.. Bush nominated to head up the US Army.. an 11 year veteran of Enron.. documents clearly show, White.. artificially inflated prices in California.. misconduct.. Bush rewarded him for his misconduct.. he has agreed to answer questions by the house reform committee.. and where is the Justice Dept criminal probe in all this? non-existent.. a serious breakdown.. about White's first major speech as Secretary of Army.. to privatize energy, a clear conflict of interest
-16:00 music break, Bush It, Derrell Cherney
-17:00 Dennis: violence continues unabated in Israel and Palestine..

now w Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies..

Bennis: there is some merit in the Saudi plan.. if the two sides wanted too, ie if Israel really wanted to.. requires Israel to withdraw from all of the occupied territory and the Golan Heights.. establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.. Sharon has made clear that he is not interested in peace.. wants full Israeli control of all Palestinian land.. what the Saudi's are looking for.. broader Arab support.. to stay in the good graces of the US and their own people.. Dennis: is Arafat going to be allowed to go? Bennis: unlikely the Israelis will let him go.. unless the Bush administration puts pressure on Israel.. Peace is not on the Israeli agenda.. growing opinion in Israel, that Sharon can not guarantee security.. increasing number of soldiers refusing to serve in the occupied territories.. Israel looking for a permanent interim agreement letting them keep control.. we're talking about a policy of military occupation.. dependent on collective punishment.. based on retribution of entire communities for the actions of individuals.. the constant use of military weapons, against crowded civilian apartment buildings, residential areas.. transferring Israelis citizens into the occupied territories.. ALL THESE THINGS ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE 4TH GENEVA CONVENTION.. the settlements are illegal, in violation of many UN resolutions, of US law against using weapons against civilian population.. US war on terrorism inflaming the situation.. embracing Sharon as a brother fighter against terrorism.. US has embraced Sharon's most extreme actions.. setting the stage for future terrorism.. people throughout the Middle East.. see the US as helping enforce the brutal occupation of a small people..
-28:00 Dennis: with Nor Odeh in Ramallah.. Nor: Our day

began with a goodbye to six Palestinians slaughtered yesterday.. Israeli forces fired a tank shell at a mom and three kids in a car.. two kids nearby killed also.. not enough for Sharon, who told his cabinet that the Palestinians have to be hit very hard.. missles hit close to my house.. everything in Ramallah is close to everything else.. lots of homes damaged.. US made Apache helicopters fired missiles onto another car, killing three more.. Israel have just banned Palestinians from using any road in the West Bank.. worse than the apartheid system.. no road use for school, work, medical access.. complete lockdown..
-32:35 Dennis: now we go to Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Childrens Alliance..

Barbara: most of our work has been in Dheisha refugee camp.. the kids talking about wanting to blow themselves up.. it should impress people, that little kids are feeling so desperate they want to kill themselves..

should horrify people.. the pictures look like 1948.. to me it is very very upsetting.. Dennis: one of the suicide bombers came from Dheisha camp.. Barbara: this is a horrendous situation, worse than it's ever been.. it's our US government that sends the weapons, making this possible.. Sharon said he's going to fight slaughter with slaughter.. Barbara: this is a leader?.. Nor: this morning a pipebomb exploded in the middle of a schoolyard.. at a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem.. injured 8 kids and a teacher.. the Principal called the police a half hour before to report a suspicious package.. the police argued with him and ignored his call.. an unknown Jewish terrorist group, Children Fight, claimed responsibility.. I just listened to a press conference.. Bush said the Palestinians must end the violence.. to listen to that kind of rhetoric.. only brings more desperation to the Palestinian streets.. Barbara: for 14 years I've been saying the same thing.. the way to end the violence, Israel must abandon the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and declare a Palestinian state there with East Jerusalem as its capital
-39:00 music break
-39:30 Dennis: about performance artists/documentarians Culture Clash.. their latest docu-theater, America, sketches of our country..

this post 911 era, this timely play portrays activists across the country.. now with member Richard Montoya.. Richard: there are amazing voices out there.. Herbert: what we are doing is reverse anthropology.. third world digging up the first world.. Dennis: in the play you have a journalist carrying a tape recorder.. how do you be funny and avoid disrespecting your interviewee?..

CC: one man, Charlie Cinnamon, talking about losing the family name because he couldn't speak the language of Ellis Island.. it would be easy for Culture Clash to poke fun at the whole human race.. Dennis: you guys interviewed a bunch of people for this post 911 piece.. CC: that week, Dennis, we weren't playrights or poets, more like war correspondent.. in the airport bars.. My mom is half Syrian,

I look a little Middle Eastern.. the face of terror might look like mine right now, but not too long ago it looked like Timothy McVeigh.. Dennis: to you try to dress neater after 911? CC: (all laugh).. Dennis: I was just with the mayor of Hamburg last night, arrested at the airport for carrying Marx Made Easy in German.. Karl not Groucho.. CC: (screams and hoots).. We did La Pena at a show.. Bernstein has very velvetty Marxist voice.. Event: check out Culture Clash's docu-theater, America, at the Berkeley Rep.. March 5 through March 10th
-60:00 End today's show.. today's review by john lionheart

Monday, Mar 4, 2002 -

Start Audio

00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: Arafat, refugee camps offer little resistance to Israeli military, Tariq Ali of Verso Press, New Mumia commentary
-01:00 Pacifica News
-05:10 Dennis: with Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: about the renewed fighting in Afghanstan.. about thermobaric bombs.. forces an explosive arosol into caves, and then explodes it.. people fossilized instantly, turned into glazed schmears on the cave walls.
-09:00 Dennis:

now with Tariq Ali of Verso Press.. Mr Ali: about the so-called war on terrorism.. the imperial motives of the United States.. the new ruler of Afghanistan a former CIA employee.. the US installed government not taken seriously by the populace.. Dennis: out soon, Tariq Ali's new book, The Clash of Fundalmentalism.. Muslims and Hindus clash in India.. Mr Ali: back to 1947.. about the Saudi peace initiative.. come actually from some elements in Washington.. in concert with Israel.. Dennis: great support for Bush so far in the US.. Mr Ali: but in Britain, Tony Blair could be defeated.. a war on Iraq will not play well in the country..
-24:50 music break, Universal Soldier, Buffy St. Marie
-26:10 Dennis: a Big Flashpoints Welcome to Houston sister Pacifica station, KPFT which joins the broadcast starting today.. now w Larry Everest, writer for

Revolutionary Worker, Zmag, and The Nation.. Dennis: How serious is the talk of war on Iraq?.. Larry: very serious.. a *regime change* in intense planning, but shrouded in secrecy.. Senator Loserman, er.. Lieberman says US may strike first, explain later.. making forays into Kurdish rebel groups.. 200,000 US troops.. Turkey, USA, Israel joint training in Ankara.. Bush's State Of The Union Address set the tone to all this.. a serious effort to gain control and exert dominance all over the globe.. What do the three 'Axis of Evil' nations have in common? A. They are all on the Eurasian land mass, and surround Russia and China.. to control the world you have to control oil, and the Persian Gulf.. oil a cornerstone of empire.. decided Saddam's arrogance a problem for the US.. a mafia mindset at work here.. 5000 children a month dying already.. incredible.. need to mount a serious opposition to this.. an attack on Iraq, could escalate anywhere everywhere in all sorts of ways.. undreampt of ways.. unimaginable ways
-37:30 music break
-39:00 Dennis: with Nor Odeh in Ramallah..

Nor: a father trying to evacuate his children. shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.. Tanks and Heliocopters firing indescriminately.. the head of the

Palestine Red Crescent (Muslim equivalent of Red Cross) killed by Israelis.. [ref: Red Cross / Red Crescent].. Dr Khalil Suleiman.. he was murdered (link2) evacuating a little girl.. his ambulance hit by an Israeli tank shell.. 5 paramedics injured.. to add to the damage, the Red Cross was stopped from entering the camps to evacuate the injured.. Nor: we've had Apache helicopters and fighter jets flying all over all day.. at 10 oclock last night, a helicopter flying slower than usual, two missiles.. hit Arafat's compound.. our home shook.. 6 civilians, including 4 children killed earlier today.. a 37-year old mother taking children from school at noon, her kids, 10, 12, 14 years old, Israeli soldiers fired a tank shell, hit her car directly head-on.. also killed a 16-year old boy, and a 4 year old girl standing behind the car.. (Rueters).. in a residential area, full of schools and kids.. the Israelis know that noon is when the children are let out of school and the streets are full of kids.. a violent attack.. .. they came in with great force.. tanks and airpower.. destroyed about everything in this refugee camp home to 22,000 Palestinians.. homes separated only by a single wall.. Israeli dynamiting the walls, searching and pillaging these homes.. entire families locked in one room, and not allowed out for four days..
-48:30 Nor: I met a man, had twelve daughters.. his son was shot dead one day, his mother died the next day, the next day the Israeli army came in.. they saw his son's picture on the wall, one of the Israeli soldiers put out his cigarette on the eyes in the photo to terrorize the father.

Flashpoints 3/6 oops

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