Democracy Now! June 5, 2003

Program Title:
Democracy Now! June 5, 2003
Series Title:
PRA Archive #: 
PZ0517.178
Description: 

Hour 1: The Weather Underground: A Look Back at the Antiwar Activists Who Met Violence with Violence. A conversation with Weather Underground co-founder Mark Rudd on why he went underground for 7 years and has since renounced violence. A new documentary which tells the story of the militant antiwar group holds its premiere run in New York; The First Meeting Between the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers Since the Beginning of the Intifada Comes to an End. Christian Science Monitor s Cameron Barr reports live from Jerusalem. Hour 2: Acclaimed Author Isabel Allende Compares Two September 11ths: the 1973 CIA-Backed Coup that Overthrew her Uncle, the Democratically Elected President of Chile, and the 2001 Attacks. Isabel Allende s latest book, My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile is a memoir and a reflection on exile. She writes on 9-11 in 1973 she lost a country, and on 9-11 2001, she gained one; Coordinated Actions Across the World Call for an end to the Israeli Occupation and for Immediate Deployment of International Observers in the Occupied Territories. It s imperative that the international community faces up to its responsibility to bear witness and protect the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza.

8:00-8:01 Billboard 8:01-8:06 Headlines The first meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers since the beginning of the intifada has come to an end. In the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stood side by side with Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen, President Bush, and King Abdullah II. In his closing speech, Sharon said: It is in Israel's interest not to govern the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians to govern themselves. He said, A democratic Palestinian state fully at peace with Israel will promote the long-term security and well-being of Israel as a Jewish state. Sharon also pledged to begin dismantling some unauthorized outposts. For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen called for an end to the armed intifada. He said: We will exert full efforts to ending the militarization of the intifada [uprising]. The armed intifada must end and we must resort to peaceful means to achieve our goals." The New York Times reports Sharon s speech fell short of the sweeping remarks US diplomats had drafted and then negotiated, word by word, with Israeli officials. He omitted any reference to ending Israel s occupation of Palestinian land, and pledged only to dismantle settlements Israel considers illegal. In a bizarre twist, the Israeli government issued so-called "clarifications" to Sharon s speech even before he made it. His office said when Sharon referred to a Palestinian state, he meant one that met the conditions he had laid down, such as being demilitarized, and being the only home for Palestinian refugees. President Bush announced the US will monitor whether the two sides fulfill their commitments under the so-called road map to peace. The Israeli newspaper Ha aretz reports President Bush waved his arms as he told reporters his aim is to keep the process moving, like a cowboy on horseback herding cattle. Later, aboard Airforce One sipping a Diet Coke, Bush said: "I used the expression 'ride herd.' I don't know if anybody understood it in the meeting today." * Cameron Barr, Christian Science Monitor reporter in Jerusalem Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0605/p01s01-wome.html At Summit, Israel solidifies gains by Cameron Barr 8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break 8:07-8:58: The invasion of Laos, the killing of four Kent State university students by the National Guard, the relentless violence of the Vietnam war these were the U.S. government s actions 30 years ago. And peaceful protest was not stopping it. In 1969 one group decided to meet violence with violence. They called themselves the Weather Underground. A radical splinter group which broke off from the Students for a Democratic Society, the Weather Underground were convinced that only militant action could end racism, the war in Vietnam and the inequalities they felt inherent in a capitalist society. They took responsibility for bombing two dozen public buildings, including the Pentagon, eventually landing on the FBI s Most Wanted list. A new documentary, The Weather Underground , which tells the story of the militant antiwar group, held its premiere run in New York last night. The group took its name from Bob Dylan s Subterranean Homesick Blues , with the lyric, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." * Mark Rudd, former member of the Weather Underground * Sam Green, filmmaker, The Weather Underground, a documentary that tells the story of the group. 8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits 9:00-9:01 Billboard 9:01-9:06 Headlines Some 20,000 settlers and supports in Israel protested against the peace plan last night in Jerusalem s Zion square. In the Occupied Territories, Israeli troops shot a seven-year old girl in the stomach during a raid. It was the third day running Israeli troops raided the Balata refugee camp of and the city of Nablus. According to the Red Crescent, some 50 people have been treated for bullet and shrapnel wounds in two days. The Guardian of London reports many in the West Bank were looking at their television in astonishment as their prime minister met with Sharon. Today, June 5th, is the 36th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Local, national, and international groups are protesting the occupation today. * Simona Sharoni, coordinator of June 5th Coalition and executive director of the Peace Studies Association Link: http://www.endtheoccupation.org End the Occupation 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:20 Acclaimed Author Isabel Allende Compares Two September 11ths: the 1973 CIA-Backed Coup that Overthrew her Uncle, the Democratically Elected President of Chile, and the 2001 Attacks. Today an hour with acclaimed Chilean author Isabel Allende. Allende is author of eight books and two memoirs. Her books have been translated to more than 27 languages. They have been best sellers in Europe, USA, Latin America and Australia. Born in Lima, Peru, in 1942, Allende traveled the world as the privileged daughter of a prominent family. Her uncle was the Chilean President, Salvator Allende. As a journalist in Chile, she worked for various television shows, movie documentaries and magazines. In 1973 her uncle was overthrown and assassinated in a CIA backed coup. Afterwards, her family fled to Venezuela where Allende continued to work as a journalist for the newspaper El Nacional . Her debut novel in 1982, The House of the Spirits, chronicled four generations of a Chilean family through the tumult of that country s political history. It is a history that is intertwined with Allende s own. Allende s latest book, My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Jouney Through Chile, is a reflection on exile. It traces the author s personal history bookended by two defining moments in the author s life- the Sept. 11th 1973 death of her Uncle and the Sept. 11th 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. * Isabel Allende, author of eight novels and two memoirs including House of the Spirits, Daughter of Fortune and Paula. Her latest book is, My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile. Link: http://www.isabelallende.com Isabel Allende 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:40 Isabel Allende Cont d 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:58 Isabel Allende Cont d 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Sharif Abdul Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press with help from Noah Reibel and Vilka Tzouras. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer. Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Emily Kunstler, Orlando Richards, Simba Rousseau, Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Karen Ranucci, Fatima Mojadiddy, Denis Moynihan and Jenny Filipazzo.

Date Recorded on: 
June 5, 2003
Date Broadcast on: 
June 5, 2003
Item duration: 
118 min.
Keywords: 
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Distributor: 
WBAI; Amy Goodman, host., June 5, 2003
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