Flashpoints Mar 29: SF march; Nader; Medea; US bombs to target indy journalists?

Wednesday, Mar 19, 2003 stream / download
-00:00 Dennis Bernstein: introduction: Legendary Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader Speaks Out Against the War; Street Protests and Civil Disobeidience Actions Around the World; A New York Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a Peace T-Shirt at a Mall; US Government Denies Protection to Independent Journalists in Baghdad
-00:20 Robert Knight and the Knight Report.. Robert: 48 hours after Bush's implausible command, no invasion under way.. Bush sends letter to Congress.. military planners await sandstorm.. resolution of Turkey issue.. air force prefers darkness for bombing.. in 91 and 98 attacks near the darkness of the new moon, today the moon is full.. only a two hour window of darkness.. National Guard troops seal off Wall Street and rooftop snipers in other cities..
-03:39 Dennis: Charles Liteky in Baghdad.. at this hour, Bush's deadline ends..
-04:50 Dennis: now w consumer advocate, former Green Party presidential candidate, Ralph Nader.. Ralph: I think it is quite certain that Bush will deliver a blow to Iraq.. will he also deliver a blow to the children of Iraq?.. see: EssentialAction.org.. the Bush administration doesn't know what it is doing.. after the war comes civil war, and the slaughter within, the spreading of disease, the terrorist attacks.. this army is not an occupation army.. doesn't know how to deal with the civilian tragedies.. this will be a quagmire.. an overextending US budget.. like a messianic duck, the president has been quacking 'Attack Iraq' 'Attack Iraq'.. while mundane problems are taking the lives of thousands of Americans every day.. Dennis: is this a *war*?, no oppostion in Iraq really.. Ralph: and there is no opposition party in the US either.. the war resolution gave up our constitutional protections.. and this an illegal war under international and US law.. many of our former military officials point out that Iraq doesn't constitute a threat.. the Israeli military powerhouse would have wiped out his regime by now if they thought he was a threat.. we're dealing with a president who goes on TV and reaches 80 million people.. and no rebuttal allowed.. the people don't get any other side of the story.. the president has an absolutely closed mind.. makes decisions He says 'in His gut, by instinct'.. maybe maybe a way to run a football team, but not a nation.. He has never met with any of the major 13 anti-war groups.. their letters on our website.. about UNICEF's touching statement on the dire future of the Iraqi children.. the media giants shutting out dissent.. these are our airwaves.. US media acting like Iraq's state owned media.. Dennis: what impact will this expanse have on consumer interests?.. Ralph: the military now consumes 1/2 of our discretionary budget.. no money for libraries, environment, health care, education.. this would be insane if a family allocated its budget that way, 50% to deal with imaginary threats.. in 1957 Douglas MacArther warned about bloating the Pentagon budget by exaggerating threats.. this war opposed by many retired military and intelligent officials..
-15:50 Dennis: now with Cliff of Voices in the Wilderness.. along the Tigris river.. Cliff: we have heard no bombing today.. we have made preparations, made a shelter in the hotel.. a place to sleep.. at four o'clock.. we're here for each other in the hotel, with some other guests, and some staff.. in two other hotels more members of the Iraqi Peace Team.. it's amazing how there is still no animosity from the Iraqi people directed at us citizens of the US, which is readying to level this place.. people are.. trying to get children and old people out into the country.. they expect a difficult time.. Kathy Kelly said today that this started 12 years ago, we starved the people so we didn't have to bomb them, now we're bombing them so we don't have to starve them.. but we realize that the world has spoken out against this war.. AND WE CALL ON US CITIZENS TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE MACHINERY OF WAR.. STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!
-21:16 Dennis: I'm watching CNN pointing to a beautiful full color map of where the bombs are going to fall.. now back with Ralph Nader.. Ralph: this is the price we are paying for allowing this kind of concentration of power.. Iraq extremely weakened, surrounded, and surveilled.. the administration chicken hawks.. a new kind of virulent power being concentrated.. a great deal of dissent in the Pentagon and CIA and Treasury.. but muted by the media.. but contrary viewpoints not getting air time except on Pacifica and occasionally NPR.. one former general said this is a big recruitment for al-Quada.. bin Laden wants the US to attack Iraq worse than Bush does..
-24:40 Dennis: now w Bill Hackwell in SF at Powell and Market.. Bill: (yelling over the crowd noise) a heavy cop presence.. 5,000 people.. the Free Palestine Alliance just finished speaking and the people going crazy.. a new urgency in the tone of the people, a new militancy.. a varied crowd, old and new.. people still pulling out of the Bart.. we're asking your listeners to please come down here.. asap.. we're going to start marching soon, going up Market Street, catch up with us at the Civic Center Bart later..
-27:20 now w Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange.. Medea: a day of actions all over DC today.. DC standing up right now.. a dramatic funeral procession to Congress.. we got inside and went into Pelosi's office.. told her staff she had betrayed her constituents.. then to Tom Delay's office.. shouting 'Shame Shame the Blood of the Iraqis is On Your Hands'.. 25 religious leaders arrested at the White House.. we marched screaming to Donald Rumsfeld's house.. speeches by grandmothers.. a strong police presence.. secret service.. the French ambassador's home across the street.. so we also sung Viva La France.. amazing what is going on here.. so many people coming out of the woodwork.. never done this before.. joining CODE PINK..
-32:10 Leslie Kean: now w John Reese on the situation in Britain.. enormous strike by school students.. thousands blocking the roads in many cities.. 12-16 years old.. if the bombs start falling, there will industrial actions, student strikes, protests, civil disobeidience.. the government trying to sway public opinion.. 72% of London opposed.. a third of Labor MP's voting against their own PM.. Blair goes to war with about 2/3 of the people opposed to him.. he's in trouble.. starting to realize that the opposition is not melting away with the start of hostilities..
-37:00 Dennis: last night a well respected attorny went to court.. having been arrested at CrossGate Mall in NY.. now w attorney Steven Downs in NY.. made a purchase at the mall.. Steven: we had Peace on Earth and Give Peace a Chance.. No War on Iraq.. foodcourt.. two security guards told us we had to take off the teeshirts or leave.. they found a police officer, he told us to take off the shirts of leave.. my son took his off.. I didn't.. they cuffed me and arrested.. for trespass, for not leaving.. the officer spent quite a .. the mall like a private home, the owner can ask you to leave for any reason.. I don't think that is a good analogy, a mall is like a marketplace.. this stemmed from an incident a few months ago, when a group of people with peace teeshirts went shopping at the mall.. their reasoning that the word 'peace' might enrage someone else.. the teeshirt maker doing a good business in peace teeshirts, the cops didn't restrict him.. the story hit the media, went around the world.. huge publicity.. went to court yesterday.. CrossGates dropped the charge.. but the prosecutor wanted to prosecute anyway.. a serious issue of free speech..
-49:40 Leslie Kean: now w Elizabeth Peters of the Association of Independent Filmmakers.. Elizabeth: a week ago a British reporter was told that the Pentagon would target locations where there were satellite uplinks happening.. independent journalists.. Mei Ying Welsh in Iraq doing reports for Free Speech TV.. Leslie: about the safety of journalists.. Elizabeth: the Defence Dept saying any (independent) journalist reporting out of Iraq not 'embedded', will be treated as civilians.. WE BEG YOU TO CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND DEMAND INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS BE PROTECTED..
-54:20 Leslie Kean: wrapup
-59:21 End today's show. today's review by john lionheart

Tuesday, Mar 18, 2003

the NY based Center for Economic and Social Rights says this threatened war on Iraq is blatently illegal.. now w Hons von Sponek, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.. and Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights.. Michael: the US is stretching old arguments, old resolutions to make a.. weak attempt to give it a fig leaf of authority.. Hans: that the majority of the fifteen members in the Security Council opposed a second resolution gives.. evidence that there is overwhelming oppostion to US and Britain going ahead without a second resolution.. an attack on Iraq now, a cruel conclusion to 12 years of cruel sanctions, that killed a million Iraqis.. The Genocide Convention.. the Convention on the Rights of The Child.. Ratner: about the violation of the Geneva Convention.. we are planning to keep track of what is going on here.. the promised 'Shock and Awe' bombing will kill a disproportional number of civilians.. today the Australians put out a statement saying they will restrict the rules of engagement much closer than the US.. both Australia and Britain have signed on the ICC, and are thus open to prosecution for war crimes (while the US is not).. and a seige of Baghdad, to starve out Saddam.. another war crime.. Dennis: Bush tells the Iraqis that the US will liberate them.. Hans: if by *liberation*, one means burial, then I guess so.. what is facing the Iraqis now, such fear, death in a few days.. as an international community we haven't learned a thing.. the 23 million people in much worse shape than in 1991.. a very fragile survival system.. civilian casualties will multiply because of a lack of food and medical supplies.. 50% of the population already fully dependent on rations from the government.. 23% of children under five already suffering from malnutrition.. Ratner: we need to get this in the General Assembly quick.. see our website, or Greenpeace.org.. time for everybody to be active everyday, hit the streets..