Democracy Now! August 20, 2002

9:00-9:01 Billboard: The Health Department launches a witchhunt against AIDS activists: groups that protested against Health Secretary Tommy Thompson at the AIDS conference in Barcelona are targeted. FBI is sued for hundreds of millions of dollars for shielding The Animal mobster and framing an innocent man: The FBI s Secret Partnership With The Mob Thousands rally in DC for reparations: a speech by rally organizer Rev. Herbert Daughtry 9:01-9:06 Headlines: 9:07-9:20 US HEALTH DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES A WITCHHUNT AGAINST AIDS ACTIVIST GROUPS The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Department of Health and Human Services has begun a review of more than a dozen prominent AIDS service organizations whose members joined in a noisy demonstration against Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson at last month's international AIDS conference in Barcelona. All of these organizations currently receive government funding. HHS officials said they launched the reviews at the request of 12 members of Congress, who also said they were upset by the absence of religious themes at the meeting. Many of the targeted groups provide services to AIDS patients through government contracts but they also are very vocal activists. Tommy Thompson was heckled on the third day of the weeklong conference when he delivered a speech on the U.S. government's overseas AIDS activities. Protesters blew whistles, chanted "Shame, Shame," rhythmically jabbed their fingers and eventually surrounded Thompson on the stage. He read his address to the end but his remarks were entirely inaudible. Handouts in both English and Spanish criticized the government for not spending enough on care and treatment of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in poor countries. At the bottom of the flier was a list of 12 organizations. On July 17, five days after the end of the conference, a letter signed by 12 members of Congress asked Thompson to provide "the total amount of U.S. federal assistance" that went to the AIDS conference. It also asked: "How many individuals -- from both the government and non-government organizations --attended the conference with some form of federal assistance? Please provide a complete list of these individuals and their affiliations." Guest: ANA OLIVEIRA, is the Executive Director of Gay Men s Health Crisis. She is the first woman to run the organization. Contact: 1-800-AIDS-NYC (1-800-243-7692); In New York City: (212) 807-6655 www.gmhc.org 9:21-9:40 FBI IS SUED FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR SHIELDING THE ANIMAL AND FRAMING AN INNOCENT MAN: THE FBI S SECRET PARTNERSHIP WITH TH EMOB As Attorney General John Ashcroft tries to expand the FBI s power in the so-called war on terror, the FBI has come under fire for framing innocent citizens in the 1960s. Last week the Bureau was sued for $300 million for knowingly allowing an innocent man to be sentenced to death. This is not about COINTELPRO operations against the American Indian Movement or the Black Panthers but because of FBI involvement in the Boston mob underworld. The case revolves around a man nicknamed The Animal, a man who was considered the most dangerous individual known in New England. Joseph Barboza was also an FBI informant, approved by J. Edgar Hoover himself. Government records show that at a 1968 trial, the FBI withheld evidence in order to shield Barboza s identity. As a result, four innocent men were sentenced to death. The sentences were later reduced to life, but two of the men, Henry Tameleo and Louis Greco, have died in prison. Peter Limone served 34 years, and Joseph Salvati served 30 years. Salvati is now suing the FBI for hundreds of millions of dollars. Congressional leaders have strongly condemned the FBI s role. Right wing Republican Dan Burton of the House Committee on Government Reform recently introduced legislation to strip J. Edgar Hoover s name off the FBI building in Washington, and he has bipartisan support. But Attorney General John Ashcroft has publicly praised the Justice Department unorthodox investigative methods in the 1960s to crack down on the mob underworld. He said in October, Investigators focused on function, not form they focused on doing what was necessary to get the job done rather than what was dictated by the organizational chart. To fight the so-called war on terror, Aschcroft has sought to restore the FBI s ability to conduct domestic surveillance and to enhance its investigative powers. Guest: RALPH RANALLI, reporter for the Boston Globe and author of Deadly Alliance: The FBI's Secret Partnership with the Mob , the only book on the FBI program set up to employ organized crime figures as government informants 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:58 THOUSANDS RALLY IN DC FOR REPARATIONS Thousands of African American activists descended on Washington DC this past Saturday, the 115th birthday of Marcus Garvey. Busloads of people came from across the country to demand reparations from the US government for centuries of slavery and oppression. The day was billed as the Millions for Reparations March. Among those who spoke at the rally were Representative John Conyers who has introduced legislation in Congress for 13 years to create a commission to study reparations. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan also spoke, along with dozens of reparations activists from across the country. We turn now to a speech from Saturday s rally given by the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, one of the organizers of the rally. Daughtry is pastor of The House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, NY. Guest: REV. HERBERT DAUGHTRY, is pastor of The House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, NY 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits