Flashpoints Oct 3: Innocent man released from death row after 4 years; Ecuador : Indybay

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Thursday, Oct 3, 2002 - Start Audio
-00:00 Leslie Kean: introduction: Conversation with a man who spent four years on Oklahoma death row for a crime he didn't commit. Activists ready for FTAA summit in Ecuador this coming Halloween.
-00:50 Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: Bush now says you can't always want what you get.. running away from inspection agreement, war powers, and now.. regime change.. Colin Powell says regime change no longer necessary.. disarmament now the goal.. Powell's 180 degree turnaround seconded by British Prime Minister, and American echo, Tony Blair.. bewildering twin tactical reversals.. ARi flescher has even stopped calling for bullets for Saddam.. what does Bush really want, except for the oil?.. Israelis practice kidnapping and exiling operation against Arafat.. Bush says Jerusalem the capitol of Israel.. Barghouti raises heck in court.. Philippines attack blamed on terrorists.. in NY an anti-North Korea leafleter sprays the UN with bullets.
-04:40 Leslie Kean: about the 1985 Oklahoma murder of Kathy Wilhoit, mother of two.. husband Greg arrested and found guilty on two dentists' testimony that a bite mark on her breast matched his teeth.. his alcoholic brain "Greg damaged lawyer presented no defence.. he was convicted, and spent 5 years on death row.. finally 12 expert forensic witnesses testified that he could not have done it.. exonerated, he was released.. now w husband Greg Wilhoit.. how he was wrongfully accused, and sentenced to death.. how Greg didn't want to live out his life in prison.. Greg: "I encouraged them to give me a death sentence,".. now w new lawyer, Mark Barrett: his old lawyer, Mr Briggs, was the town drunk.. stories about him were astounding.. a bar association complaint against him filed the same month as Greg's trial.. an expert witness hired by Greg's parents, but not called by Briggs.. the entire board of 'bite marks' pathology testified that Greg could not have been the biter.. numerous problems with the only evidence.. one expert said Greg's bite mark drastically different.. the original dentists.. made mistatements.. false testimony.. Mark: no repercussions against the so-called experts or prosecutors.. Leslie: your response, Greg?.. Greg: the one dentist *expert*.. nothing gained by being angry.. you have a choice, you can let it eat at you like a cancer.. I'm not going to do that.. my luck had gone south long before I got to death row.. I knew the experience on death row would be interesting.. i still have nightmares.. my best friend did twelve years and came within five days of dying.. the legislature voted 91 to 1 to award Greg a meager $200,000 for his lost life.. vetoed by the governor.. Greg: I don't understand why that was vetoed, I don't understand why the prosecutor, the government never apologized.. I don't see how they can sleep at night.. Mark: at first Greg laid low.. now he speaks out as much as he can.. Greg: how I got started being an abolitionist.. two years ago Mark called me up, wanted me to go to Tulsa and speak at a Law Convention.. it went off quite well.. but was very emotional.. it took a lot of nerve to get up in front of judges and lawyers.. I spoke at a church.. I'm a Christian, at churches I empathize the spiritual aspect.. people are horrified at my story.. this issue needs more attention.. all my life I was an advocate of the death penalty.. even for the first three years on death row, I was an advocate of the death penalty, and the only advocate of 122 men on death row.. I began to get a lot of personal fulfillment out of speaking.. I am trying to change the world, my itty bitty corner of it.. two guys walked up to me, Roger Stafford and Chuck Colman the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet.. greated had a preference for killing people.. I developed a genuine fondness for these guys.. he went off to be murdered.. you say goodbye.. on TV they were counting off like news year eve.. I was overwhelmed with grief.. a moment of clarity, not like before or since.. the world wasn't a safer place.. I changed my mind about the death penalty.. the cornerstone of Christianity is forgivemness.. an epiphany.. I haven't been the same man since.. Event: Wednesday Oct 9, hear Greg Wilhoit, at Angelical Hall of Domincan Univerity, San Rafael, Marin County, CA, also w Bud Welch. topic: moratorium on the death penalty.. more info 415-461-3662 Mark: wrongful convictions are epidemic.. 1 in 7 convictions are flawed.. especially on death row cases.. because of pressure and awards for prosecutors and police.. Greg: final comments: I would like people to come out and see me, you won't sleep that night. being 'tough on crime' that sounds good.. but people if you're not part of the solution you're.. these people are being murdered in your name.. you are complicit unless you join the protest..
-38:00 Leslie: now w CA death penalty moratorium activists, Terry MacCaffery coordinator with Amnesty International and Buff Wittman Bradley of Marin County Against The Death Penalty.. more info: 415-461 3662.. Terry: or call me 408-257-4611
-42:38 Leslie: 34 foreign ministers going to Ecuador to negiotiate the FTAA later this month. now w Justin Ruben author of The Fight For Everything.. Justin: the FTAA.. Free Trade Area America.. an extention of NAFTA.. NAFTA on steroids.. a million small farmers in Mexico have lost their farms because of US dumping subsitized agriculture.. about the Canadian companies suiing CA for billions for daring to phase out the gasoline additive, MTBE.. about neoliberalism, cuts to critical social services..
-54:30 Rainjita Geesler, wrapup..
-55:23 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

Wednesday, Oct 2, 2002 - Start Audio

-00:00 Mary Bishop: "M.J.

introduction: an hour with M. J. Akbar, Indian newspaperman, and author of The Shade of Swords; Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity..
-00:52 Robert Knight and the Knight Report..

Robert: George Bush about to get a license to kill.. Congressional leaders state their belief that Bush will resolve the crisis via diplomacy.. Bush holds press conference in the Rose Garden, while protestors yell outside.
-04:44 Dennis Bernstein:

the impact on the region reverberated with the US attacks in Afghanistan.. now an hour with M.J. Akbar (link2), author of Shade of the Swords; Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity (link2) (order from Cody's Online) reknowned Indian scholar

and founder of Asian Age and two others newspapers.. Akbar: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE SADDAM HUSSEIN, TYRANNY ALONE DOES NOT KEEP ONE IN POWER, HE IS CLEVER AND CRAFTY.. particularly when one is not sure of the consistency of his friends.. the first mistake Americans did is announce their intentions so early (four months ago).. Saddam waited to the last minute to give his counterpunch (accepting inspections again).. a sucker punch .. it will be difficult for the United States to climb out of this hole.. India has 70 Iraqs inside it.. Iraq has always had a pro-India attitude.. now that Hussein has allowed weapons inspectors in.. the importance of credibility.. a war without the kind of bountaries that most wars have.. reaction to this war could take the form of global terrorism.. when Bush was running for president, he couldn't remember the name of the leader of Pakistan.. Dennis: the US not hunting for terrorists in Saudi Arabia.. Akbar: if support for terrorism is the reason for regime change, why not attack the Saudis?.. Dennis: the 'Shade of Swords'?.. Akbar: "Paradise is under the shade of swords".. a quote from the Prophet, but his Jihad is a Jihad against injustice.. Jihad is not an irresponsible war.. the ten rules of Jihad: 1) TERRORISM HAS NO PLACE IN JIHAD, YOU CAN NOT KILL AN INNOCENT MAN, NOR A WOMAN OR CHILD, NOT EVEN A PALM TREE OR CROPS.. Dennis: Americans cannot not tell the difference between Osama bin Laden and Islam.. Akbar: after the US created the mujahadeen.. and the mujadeen defeated the Soviets.. bin Laden said that 'if I with my Jihad can defeat the most powerful army in the world, why can I not defeat the USA?'.. about the trial for the first attackers of the WTO.. one said 'I dream of the day when I shall watch these twin towers topple over like dominoes'.. the Israeli Palestinian conflict a template for the war on terrorism.. has widened into South Asia.. between Afghanistan and Bangladesh live half the world's Muslims.. much bigger fish out there floating and still free (in Pakistan).. about the conversion of Pakistan into a religious state.. a state that has become a breeding ground for terrorism and fundamentalism.. Dennis: US with Pakistan war against the Soviets.. and now this latest war.. Akbar: ONE OF THE GREAT PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY.. AMERICA DOES NOT COMPLETE A WAR, DECLARES VICTORY EARLY AND LEAVES NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT HAS LEFT.. TO MANAGE A VICTORY IS FAR FAR MORE DIFFICULT THAN TO MANAGE A BATTLE.. about the bombing of Kanduhar, great precision of American arms.. with this kind of superpower ability, the Taliban is not removed from Afghanistan.. *president* Karsis almost assassinated by a former Taleban.. IT IS THE DUTY OF MUSLIM GOVERNMENTS TO EDUCATE THE YOUNG THAT TERRORISM IS NOT THE ANSWER.. America not closed one front, wants to open another.. have you thought of the consequences?.. not of losing in Iraq, but of winning?.. .. oil industry negotiating with the Taleban for years, an investigation might go nearer the white house than you think.. the VP involved.. a very strong feeling that this war has nothing to do with morality, but has everything to do with profit.. in 1991 the world community supported the US because Iraq was wrong to occupy a foreign country, now the US wants to occupy a foreign country.. Karsis one of Afghan's oil negotiators, is that a shock or what?.. Kabul has been invaded four time.. twice by the British, once by the Russians, now again in 2001.. about the similarities.. Kabul fell without a fight all four times.. then it took two or three years for a reaction to develop..
-33:24 Dennis: still w M.J. Akbar: about the

conflict going on in Kashmir.. for fifty years.. "W.J.

caused by British partition.. like where America was a hundred years ago.. rule by lynch mob.. one of the biggest mistakes India made in Kashmir, denied democracy, rigged elections.. WE NEED TO EXTEND THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY AND TOLERANCE ESPECIALLY TO TROUBLED REGIONS.. about the difference between secular and religious states.. about Israel.. THE GREAT GENOCIDE AGAINST THE JEWS, NOT DONE BY MUSLIMS, BUT DONE BY CHRISTIANS.. TORTURE AGAINST THEM, THEN HITLER.. (THOSE EVENTS) DEMANDED THAT THE JEWS BE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.. AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME TO GIVE THE PALESTINIANS A STATE AS WELL.. Dennis: Sharon celebrating the war on Iraq.. thinking about the 'transfer' of the Palestinians.. Akbar: astounding that the Israelis would think they could get away with fascism.. Jihad not an invitation to kill but an invitation to die.. young people strapped with bombs.. is the hard fact to bear.. two tradegies intertwined.. why is it the person who entered the camps of Sabra and Chatila, now elected head of a powerful state?.. Christianity and Islam, both are very old religions.. long periods in which the two have shared knowledge, shared science.. about the 'bloodless' crusade..
-54:00 Marvelous Mary Bishop, wrapup..
-54:43 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

latest art by Brazilian cartoonist, Latuff "Sharon

Tuesday, Oct 1, 2002 - Start Audio "Dennis

-00:00 Leslie Kean: introduction: 18 people die in Kashmir during elections; delegation to Iraq; US Rep Dennis Kucinich speech in Berkeley two weeks ago
-00:55 Robert Knight and the Knight Report..

Robert: Bush spokeman, Ari Fleicher explicitly advocates the murder of Saddam Hussein.. Colin Powell rejects inspection team 'breakthrough agreement'.. Bush and Blair exposed as liars when they said Iraq 6 months from nukes (audio).
-05:45 Leslie Kean: thousands have died in India and Kashmir in recent months..

now w Dr. Angana Chatterji, native of India, and "chatterji"

Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.. Professor Chatterji: many people displaced.. perhaps a UN trusteeship for ten years.. India and Pakistan have to make a serious committment.. "map

Leslie: India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war.. Professor Chatterji: terrorists and state violence.. in Marin County this Sunday, a Forum On Peace, incredible individuals, Americans need to play a role as maintenance of Freedom, active participatory citizenship.. feels like the war on terrorism being pushed to become a war on Islam..
-20:58 Leslie Kean: Iraq..

now w Media Beat's Norman Solomon of FAIR.. just returned from Iraq, part of a delegation.. Norman: the word from Vienna a fairly successful meeting between Iraqis and the UN inspection teams.. the White House does not really want inspections.. the Bush regime hell bent on attacking Iraq with huge military force.. Leslie: sanctions are a weapon of mass destruction.. Norman: upsetting to go from room to room in the hospital and see kids with "Iraqi

cancer and getting no treatment because of US imposed sanctions.. a human reality, to 5,000 children dying every month.. we got to Baghdad in mid September.. to establish a face-to-face dialoque.. Nick Rahall of West Virginia went.. also Jim Jennings of Conscience International.. people at the grass roots level have to every legal thing we can think to stop this war.. about the media language used about war... Norman: numbing distancing of human realities.. a huge crime against humanity being planned by the US.. imagine a two thousand pound bomb falling on San Francisco or Oakland or your home town.. really crucial we get in the same place.. fan out.. all news media need to hear from us.. and put pressure on so-called political leaders.. Institute for Public Accuracy.. Event: FORUM ON PEACE: Sunday, October 6, 2002 from 2pm to 6pm at at the Showcase Theater at the Marin Civic Center, San Rafael (20 minutes north of San Francisco), 415-389-0163; tickets: 415-472- more info: www.BiggerThanMe.com
-32:08 Leslie: Dennis Kucinich is a dynamic visionary..

passionate committment to public service.. proposes a US *Department of Peace*.. proposes no weapons in space.. made a speech at Wheeler Auditoriun UC Berkeley campus Sept 15.. now w Congressman Dennis Kucinich: (audio of his talk)
-54:00 Leslie Kean, wrapup..
-54:44 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

Monday, Sept 30, 2002 - Start Audio

-00:00 Leslie Kean: "Colorful

introduction: 350,000 march in London; *National Security Strategy*; rightwing *Campus Watch* website targets hundreds of thousands of innocent US academics
-05:00 now w David Armstrong, author of a current offset with the government.
-00:48 Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: Iraqi weapons inspection talks progressing well, bad news for Bush's plan, Anglo American bombers hit Iraq; Russia and France do not support Bush's UN resolution; Inspection head Blix says team to be in Iraq by December.. Ivory Coast two week old crisis.. 3 Palestinians killed including two children, one ten years old , one thirteen years old, one Israel soldier killed.. Israeli special forces already in Western Iraq.
-05:08 Leslie: perhaps as many as 450,000 people flooding the streets of London.. now w organizer, Mike Marksey (sp?), of the Stop the War Coalition.. Mike: one of the most remarkable mass demonstrations in European history; we want Blair to break from Bush now, we will not support a war but in Iraq, an extraordinary mix of activists and ordinary people who just don't like what's going down.. it's bloody unifying.. "protestors

we assembled just norht of the river Thames, past Whitehall, Trifalgar square, Hyde Park.. the march was four and a half hours long, all entirely peaceful.. only one arrest.. extremely colourful.. banners, flags, signs.. a huge amount of hard work to organize on little money.. we spent just 40,000 pounds on organizing this.. Mike: message to Bush: "Palestinian

'We in Britain will not support this war'.. part of an overwhelming global resistance.. without doubt, we will keep the pressure on Blair..
-12:47 Pledge to Resist: ..not in our name.. no more transfusions of blood for oil.. not by our hands will we supply weapons for the annihilation of families on foreign soil.. we pledge to make common cause with the people of the world.. another world is possible and we pledge to make it real.. ,read by Paul
-14:20 Leslie: the new "National Security Strategy" adopted by Bush.. of preemtive strikes, report by author David Armstrong author of the story.. David: the plan is for the US to rule "Londoners

the world.. at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, Bush the first, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Powell.. to insure that the US could dominate the world, prevail in any situtation, and not be threatened in any way.. Richard Perl, Paul Wolfowitz.. America's imperial moment.. in 1992 it met with bad reviews, protests around the world.. it was shelved for the 1992 election.. unilateralism.. penchant for pre-emption.. using low yield nuclear weapons.. the best we can hope for, is.. the US sending a clear message to the world that this is US policy from now on, saying, "we decide the targets".. read David's report in Harpers Magazine at your local newsstand and library.. more info www.publicEDcenter.org
-54:00 Rainjita Geesler, wrapup: yesterday (most probably because of the recent press attention, including KPFA, Flashpoints, and FSRN) the aforementioned website abruptly quit blacklisting college acedemics for being *too* pro-Palestinian. It now focuses on progressive organizations..
-54:44 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

Flashpoints Oct 3: Innocent man released from death row after 4 years; Ecuador

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