Democracy Now! April 4, 2003

Program Title:
Democracy Now! April 4, 2003
Series Title:
PRA Archive #: 
PZ0517.134
Description: 

Hour 1: The United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: We hear Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak out against the Vietnam War on the 35th anniversary of his assassination and talk with the Rev. James Lawson on MLK & war; We don't do body counts says Gen. Tommy Franks: To counter the Pentagon's refusal to track civilian casualties we talk with the founders of iraqbodycount.net; Saying no to war: Stephen Funk becomes one of the country s first conscientious objectors since the Iraq invasion; Don't fight in this illegal war: British MP George Galloway explains why he is telling soldiers to resist orders in Iraq Hour 2: "Perhaps your listeners do expect a 50-50 balance at this stage over whether there ought to be a war or not, but in my view it is just not the relevant question" : We spend the hour with CNN s Aaron Brown who discusses the network's coverage of the anti-war movement, the sanitization of the war in Iraq and why he feels this is an inappropriate time for reporters to ask questions about war.

8:00-8:01 Billboard 8:01-8:06 Headlines 8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break 8:07-8:30: It was 35 years ago today in Memphis, April 4 1968 when the Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated outside his hotel room. Memorials are being held across the country this weekend to commemorate King. April 4 is the anniversary of another significant but lesser known date in MLK's life. It was on this date, in 1967, exactly one year before he was killed, King appeared at Riverside Church in New York City. He outlined why he opposed the Vietnam War. It would become known as his Beyond Vietnam address. Today we will listen to another speech of King s against the Vietnam War given shortly after his Riverside Church address. He would call the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today and note that A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Tape: Rev. Martin Luther King Well today in Harlem, the Riverside Church is celebrating the anniversary of King's Beyond Vietnam speech with an anti-war funeral procession that will proceed from Grant s Tomb on 122nd Street down to Bryant Park near Times Square. Caskets will be carried to represent those who lose and what is lost in war: one for everyone who has already died, another for those who are not yet dead, one for the civilians who die in the war, another for the loss of social betterment programs because of war, another for combatants, one for international laws that are ignored, another for the civil liberties, and finally a casket for the children who live in a violence filled world with fewer resources than needed. On Saturday, the recently formed Black Solidarity Against the War Coalition is also hosting a permitted march through Harlem. * Rev. James Lawson, president of the SCLC, Los Angeles chapter and former mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. * Nellie Hester, organizer with Black Solidarity Against the War Coalition 8:30-8:40: "We don't do body counts." That is the quote from Gen. Tommy Franks that appears at the top of one of the most talked about news sites covering the invasion of Iraq. The site is Iraqbodycount.net. It attempts to tally the total number of civilians killed in the invasion. The site estimates between 574 and 733 Iraqi civilians have died since the attack began. We are joined today with the site's founder. * Hamit Dardagan, co-founder of the Iraq Body Count Project from Turkey; grew up in UK, www.iraqbodycount.net 8:40-8:41One Minute Music Break 8:41-8:50: Stephen Funk surrendered to military authorities on Tuesday and declared himself a conscientious objector. The 20 year-old Marine reservist had been on unauthorized absence for weeks after refusing to report when called up to active duty. The Marines have assigned him to desk duty in San Jose while his case proceeds. Funk enlisted last February when he was 19 and living on his own for the first time. Since his training he has gone to every major antiwar rally in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the first American conscientious objector from the Iraq invasion. We are joined now by Stephen Funk and his lawyer, Stephen Collier. * Stephen Funk, the 20 year-old Marine reservist in California who declared himself a conscientious objector. * Stephen Collier, lawyer for Stephen Funk the 20-year-old Marine reservist in California who declared himself a conscientious objector. 8:45-8:58: Two British soldiers have been sent home and may face disciplinary action after objecting to the conduct of the Iraq invasion. They were returned to Britain on the eve of the war when they expressed concerns the offensive was in breach of the UN charter and for protesting that the war is killing innocent civilians. The soldiers have been identified as a private and an air technician from 16 Air Assault Brigade, a frontline unit that has been engaged in heavy fighting in southern Iraq. British authorities said the soldiers were ordered home on "medical and/or compassionate grounds" but denied the two had refused to fight. Joining us now is Robert Norton-Taylor a journalist from the Guardian who reported on the story. * George Galloway, British Labor MP * Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian reporter who wrote article about British soldiers being sent home after protesting at civilian deaths. 8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits 9:00-9:01 Billboard 9:01-9:08 Headlines 9:08-9:09 One Minute Music Break 9:09-9:20: We are joined now by Aaron Brown, CNN's lead anchor during breaking news and special events as well as anchor of NewsNight He worked previously, was as anchor of ABC's World News Tonight Saturday and reported for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Nightline and other ABC news broadcasts. We are also joined by Steve Rendall, senior analysts at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. We spend the hour talking about coverage of the anti-war movement, the sanitization of the war in Iraq and why Brown feels this is an inappropriate time for reporters to ask questions about war. Full transcript coming soon . Guest: Aaron Brown, CNN Newsnight Guest: Steve Rendall , senior analyst at FAIR, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting 9:19-9:20 One Minute Music Break 9:20-9:40 AARON BROWN PT 2 9:40-9:41 One minute music break 9:41-9:58 AARON BROWN PT 3 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.

Date Recorded on: 
April 4, 2003
Date Broadcast on: 
April 4, 2003
Item duration: 
118 min.
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Distributor: 
WBAI; Amy Goodman, host., April 4, 2003
Rights Summary: 
RESTRICTED. Permissions, licensing requests, Curriculum Initiative, Campus Campaign and all other inquiries should be directed to: Mark Torres, Archives Director, 800-735-0230, Mark@PacificaRadioArchives.org
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