Democracy Now! March 28, 2003

9:00-9:01 Billboard 9:01-9:06 Headlines 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:25: Some 215 people were arrested yesterday in New York after a major act of civil disobedience that shut down traffic on Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center. Scores of demonstrators laid down in the street in the die in to portray Iraqi war victims. Rockefeller Center was selected because it the home of major media companies whose coverage of the war was also protested yesterday. This was just the latest large direct action protest against the war. Last week some 2,200 peace protesters were arrested in San Francisco which saw two days of direct action protests after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Let s now go to hear the voices from yesterday s protests. * Tape: Voices from the NYC direct action protest 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:40: Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker, television producer and author, produced his first feature-length documentary Roger and Me, in 1989. The film is a study of the devastating effect that the loss of the General Motors factory had on the citizens of Flint, Michigan. According to the LA Times, it remains the highest-grossing narrative documentary in the history of American film. His best-selling book "Stupid White Men: And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation", which was almost pulped by the publisher after September 11th, is in its 12th month on the New York Times best-seller list and is once again the best selling book in the country. "Bowling for Columbine" is his latest film and it won him an Academy Award on Sunday for best documentary. Let s take a listen to the awards ceremony * Michael Moore at the 75th Academy Awards ceremony on March 23, 2003 Well last night at Riverside Church, Michael got a chance to finish his speech. Let s take a listen. * Michael Moore at Riverside Chuch, March 27, 2003 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:58: Michael Moore joins Democracy Now s Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez for a live interview. Among other things they discuss recent media coverage of the war. Yesterday Editor & Publisher ran a column of 15 stories that the press has widely misreported or poorly reported so far: 1. Saddam may well have been killed in the first night's surprise attack (March 20). 2. Even if he wasn't killed, Iraqi command and control was no doubt "decapitated" (March 22). 3. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 22). 4. Most Iraqis soldiers will not fight for Saddam and instead are surrendering in droves (March 22). 5. Iraqi citizens are greeting Americans as liberators (March 22). 6. An entire division of 8,000 Iraqi soldiers surrendered en masse near Basra (March 23). 7. Several Scud missiles, banned weapons, have been launched against U.S. forces in Kuwait (March 23). 8. Saddam's Fedayeen militia are few in number and do not pose a serious threat (March 23). 9. Basra has been taken (March 23). 10. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 23). 11. A captured chemical plant likely produced chemical weapons (March 23). 12. Nassiriya has been taken (March 23). 13. Umm Qasr has been taken (March 24). 14. The Iraqi government faces a "major rebellion" of anti-Saddam citizens in Basra (March 24). 15. A convoy of 1,000 Iraqi vehicles and Republican Guards are speeding south from Baghdad to engage U.S. troops (March 25). * Michael Moore, Academy Award winning director of Bowling for Columbine 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Ana Nogueira and Elizabeth Press. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer.