Flashpoints Jan 6, '03: Nablus ambulance; Adam, Huwaida Shapiro; Daniel Ellsberg

Monday, Jan 6, 2003 - Start Audio
-xx:xx Dennis Bernstein: Israel leads the continuation of violence in the Middle East, report from ISM member Ann Quinn from the back of an ambulance in Nablus.. also an interview with ISM members Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf in studio.. a talk with Patriot Act resistor, Daniel Ellsberg
-00:00 Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: (joined in progress).. news summary (no review this segment yet)
-01:33 Dennis: violence continues unabated in the Middle East.. Israeli military continues its vicious illegal immoral killing of children, destroying homes.. and after six weeks of quiet from extremist Palestinians, two finally respond with their own vicious illegal immoral attack inside Israel.. now w Ann Quinn of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Nablus.. calling from the back of an ambulance.. Ann: city looks like Berlin at the end of the war.. bombed houses, cars crushed, burned out.. just now passing a house where nine people were killed by a bulldozer for failing to move out fast enough.. torn up roads.. trenches dug to prevent ambulances from moving.. we minutes ago stopped by a tank, aimed at us.. the ambulance has bullet holes in it.. even the handles of the stretchers have bullet holes in them.. we were taking a child to the hospital wounded by a rubber-coated bullet.. saw another ambulance parked on a side street.. learned soldiers had taken it over.. to make an ambush on anyone walking up needing an ambulance.. heard it happens quite often.. Dennis: what's your situation now?.. Ann: we can hear sporadic fighting.. an aircraft dropped a bomb this afternoon.. the tanks rolled in, but we don't expect action until 2AM.. the families of yesterday's 17 and 19 year old suicide bombers will be expelled to Gaza, their homes destroyed.. in the last four weeks, 55 residents of Nablus killed for no reason.. all shot in the neck, head, or shoulders.. not a single journalist in this place.. the Israelis shot an international in the street yesterday who was tending to a small child shot in the head with a rubber bullet.. a vast wasteland.. Nablus was a very beautiful city.. like Berkeley.. the main street now trashed completely..
-08:44 Dennis: now w Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf in studio.. you two are now a couple.. how did you meet?.. Huwaida: in April 2000 I went to work in Jerusalem for a Seeds of Peace conflict resolution project.. Adam was the director.. we worked together.. I resigned, because I would see great injustices, and I would want to put my body in front of the bulldozers, but couldn't with my job.. Dennis: Israel used the 9/11 attacks to label all Palestinians as terrorists.. Adam: we keep on finding milestones for how much worse things are getting for Palestinians.. now a potential war with Iraq, Israel will use as a pretext to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians out of the West Bank or squeeze them into ever smaller prisons.. official conversation about the merits of ethnic cleansing goes on every single day here in Israel.. Huwaida: just last week 25 refugee homes in Gaza were destroyed.. I didn't see one mention of it in the mainstream media.. it is hard enough to get journalists to come into the occupied territories.. even then the soldiers may prohibit them.. the Palestinians are preparing for the worst.. but hard to imagine it could get any worse.. Dennis: it must be frustrating to hear the dual standard.. Iraq may someday get a nuke vs Israel already have hundreds of nukes.. Huwaida: encouraging that civilians are coming to the occupied territories.. the UN and the Red Cross are not doing their jobs.. and the US not standing up to its human rights committments.. the action of average civilians is really heartening though.. Dennis: the Israelis come to DC today asking for another 14 billion dollars, no strings attached.. Adam: U.S. the rich sugar uncle for Israel.. a big secret from the US taxpayer, the US gives far more money to each Israeli than it spends on its own US citizens.. Israel is not an ally, but a liability.. Dennis: reminds my of that Pete Seeper song: inch by inch, row by row, we're going to make.. Israel row by row knocking down the homes of Gaza..
-20:20 Dennis: now taking listener phone calls.. now w Jeff in Oakland: Adam, how is your family doing?.. about the alliance between Mossad and CIA.. about the influence of weapons manufacturers.. Adam: to look at AIPAC as the only influence on Congress, and ignore the military industrial complex is a mistake.. now w man in SF: what would you say to the families of yesterday's bombings?.. Adam: nobody should have to die, and I urge all governments to work to end the occupation and end the oppression of the Palestinians.. Dennis: Event: Huwaida and Adam are speaking tonight at New College, 764 Valencia, SF; at 7:30PM.. now with Bronston: why the restraint in language?.. ethnic cleansing, genocide?.. why not tell it like it is.. Huwaida: Americans are not given the truth by the media.. most Americans are ignorant or confused.. the stark truth would turn off a lot of people.. we're trying to reach out and just describe what we see, in plain language, without the harsh adjectives.. now w Jackie: does Sharon plan to expel the Palestinians from inside Israel?.. Huwaida: we haven't seen that yet, but they don't have equal rights.. and we've recently seen two Palestinians parties disqualified for asserting that Palestinians have equal rights.. and their lands are being taken.. now w lady: I'm discouraged by the stalement between Arafat and Sharon.. we need new leaders?.. Huwaida: Arafat has not been an effective leader.. but Sharon is worse.. during the last six weeks, no Palestinian attacks on Israel, but 75 Palestinians died in the same time span..
-31:14 music break
-32:05 Dennis: about the Patriot Act and the war against Iraq.. now w Daniel Ellsberg, approaching cities to reject the Patriot Act.. Dennis: is war inevitable?.. Daniel: Saddam could decide to get out.. otherwise US hellbent for a war of aggression.. to get control of oil.. for classical imperialist motives.. Dennis: Israel has 300 nukes and forces in Turkey.. Daniel: it would be suicidal for Saddam to launch against Israel.. if he has the capability to launch gas or chemical against US or Israel.. would probably get a nuclear response.. and lead to [hell].. Dennis: you are in Fairfax tommorrow.. Daniel: I was asked to speak out in Fairfax tomorrow before the town council about the Patriot Act.. from a personal point of view, I had the experience of having a group of white house thugs.. break into my therapists office and.. intimidate me.. call me names.. Nixon had to buy their silence.. Howard Hunt and others, that in the end brought him down.. many of Nixon's crimes would not be crimes now.. Congress very hastily wiped out many of our basic rights.. to break into a doctor's office, to intimidate criticism.. now maybe *legal*.. Bush could now put me on 'terrorist' list.. and the internet subject to much more surveillance.. we are in the process of becoming a police state.. the Patriot Act needs to be repealed.. we are losing our rights, and its worth it to struggle to get them back.. Rumsfeld wants an official secrets act.. we are getting a lot of leaks now.. the administration wants to close that off.. we'll see dirty tricks again.. I think there will be a phoney incident to provoke a provocation to launch this war.. we are flying all over Iraq, daring the Iraqis.. I think the administration would be glad to see a couple planes shot down.. like the Gulf of Tonkin incident 40 years ago.. I will be joining many many other citizens.. the Patriot Act has to be repealed.. Dennis: if Fairfax decides tomorrow to become the 22nd city to reject the Patriot Act, then what?.. Daniel: they would be doing exactly what 19 newspapers did in 1971.. defied president's order to supress the publication of the Pentagon Papers.. Dennis: your new book, Secrets... more info: Ellsberg.net..
-49:05 Marvelous Mary Bishop: wrapup: Event: tomorrow night meet ISM members, Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf, 7PM, at the Newman Center in Sacramento, 5900 Newman Court.
-49:45 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart