Democracy Now! July 23, 2002

Israel bombs crowded Gaza neighborhood, killing a top Hamas leader, his wife, his daughter, and eight other children. Then, US oil giant ChevronTexaco suspends some of its exports after lightening strikes and women stage an unprecedented, peaceful, 10-day occupation. We'll go to Nigeria and to England. And, the USDA recalls 19 million pounds of beef contaminated with e coli in the 2nd largest beef recall in us history we'll look at how the meat industry blocked reform All that and more coming up. 9:01-9:06 Headlines: 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:20 KILLING TOP HAMAS LEADER, HIS WIFE, HIS DAUGHTER, AND EIGHT OTHER CHILDREN An Israeli F-16 bombed a crowded neighborhood in Gaza City Monday night, killing 15 Palestinians including its target, top Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh The missile attack also killed Shehadeh's wife, bodyguard, and daughter and 11 other civilians, including eight children ranging from 2 months to 13 years old. Over 140 people were injured. The raid came one day after Hamas said it would consider halting suicide attacks on Israelis if Israel withdrew from West Bank cities and took other measures. Now, Hamas has vowed bloody reprisals. Palestinians are outraged and are organizing massive protests. Guest: Professor Naseer Aruri, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and author of "Palestinian Refugees: The Right of Return" Guest: Justin Huggler, reporter for the Independent newspaper at the funeral procession in Gaza strip 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:40 US OIL GIANT CHEVRONTEXACO SUSPENDS SOME OF ITS EXPORTS AFTER LIGHTENING STRIKES AND WOMEN STAGE AN UNPRECEDENTED, PEACEFUL, 10-DAY OCCUPATION The US oil giant ChevronTexaco has been forced to suspend exports from its main Nigerian terminal following fire and protest. Lightening struck one of the crude oil storage tanks at the Escravos Oil Terminal in the western Niger Delta over the weekend, sending the terminal up in flames. And, in an unprecedented protest, women peacefully occupied four ChevronTexaco oil pumping stations in the Niger Delta for ten days. They demanded that Chevron build schools and hospitals in their villages, employ more of their people and pay cash compensation for the pollution they say has destroyed their fishing industry. The women maintained control of the terminal by threatening to remove their clothes, a powerful traditional shaming method which would have humiliated Chevron in the eyes of the community. After days of negotiations, company executives agreed to build schools, clinics, town halls, electricity and water systems in villages of rusty tin shacks. The company also agreed to give jobs to at least 25 residents and help build fish and chicken farms. Guest: Nnimmo Bassey, Environmental Rights Action in Benin city, Nigeria Guest: Emem Okone, with the Niger Delta Women for Justice in Port Harcourt Contact: www.ndwj.kabissa.org Guest: Sokari Ekine, international coordinator of Niger Delta Women for Justice and author of "Blood and Oil: Testimonies of Violence from Women of the Niger Delta" Contact: www.ndwj.kabissa.org 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:31-9:58 USDA RECALLS 19 MILLION POUNDS OF BEEF CONTAMINATED WITH E COLI IN THE 2ND LARGEST BEEF RECALL IN US HISTORY WE'LL LOOK AT HOW THE MEAT INDUSTRY BLOCKED REFORM It is the second largest beef recall in US history. Almost 19 million pounds of ground beef were taken off the market last Friday after 19 people in Colorado were sickened by hamburger processed by meat industry giant ConAgra Foods. As of this morning, at least six other cases of food poisoning have been reported in California, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. The U.S. Agriculture Department said meat from the company's Colorado plant may be contaminated with the deadly E. coli bacterium. The toxic strain of E. coli bacteria can lead to bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, kidney damage and in some cases death. It is spread to meat during the butchering process from cattle feces or transmitted through contaminated water. It is also easy to spread the bacteria in industrial slaughterhouses, where the meat of dozens of animals can be ground together. The infected meat of a single steer could contaminate an entire day's production. This is the second time in less than a month that ConAgra--one of the nation's largest food distributors--has had to recall beef. The company recalled another 354,200 pounds of beef on June 30. Federal plant inspectors confirmed the contamination on June 19, but ConAgra wasn't notified until ten days later. Many blame Agriculture Department testing procedures for the delay between the initial discovery and the two recalls. After the nation's largest recall of beef in history, when Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds in 1997, Congress mounted an effort to increase the number of inspections and tighten safety standards in packing plants. But the meat industry blocked that effort. Guest: Jeremy Russell, Spokesperson, National Meat Association Guest: Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director, Center for Science in the Public Interest and author of "Is Our Food Safe?" 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits