"Now they know. They also know that for nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as
PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste into a west Anniston creek and dumped millions
of pounds of PCBs into oozing open-pit landfills. And thousands of pages of Monsanto documents -- many emblazoned
with warnings such as "CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroy" -- show that for decades, the corporate giant concealed what
it did and what it knew."
Guests:
- Robert Weissman, Editor of the Multinational Monitor.
- Michael Grunwald, reporter for the Washington Post.
- David Baker, spokesperson for the citizens' activist group Community Against Pollution based in Anniston,
Alabama. He has had numerous health problems including rashes and learning disabilities as a likely result of
exposure to Monsanto PCB pollution. His younger brother died at age of 16 from probable PCB-related sickness.
Story: ACTIVIST PHILIP BERRIGAN RELEASED FROM PRISON, CONFRONTS BUSH AT CHURCH
Since September 11th, President George W Bush and his administration have threatened the world with warnings that
nations that do not fall in line with Washington's so-called war on terror will pay a price-you're with us or you're
with the terrorists he says. His attorney General John Ashcroft has pushed through a series of repressive decrees and
laws, aimed at slashing civil liberties and basic constitutional rights. Ashcroft has said on a number of occasions
that to criticize his detention of more than a thousand people here in the US--or any of his edicts for that
matter-is supporting what he calls the terrorists. In fact only one member of the Senate, Democrat Russ Feingold of
Wisconsin, voted against the repressive anti-terrorism bill.
At a time when dissent has been virtually outlawed, there are still some who dare to speak out.
This past weekend longtime peace-activist Philip Berrigan was released from federal prison after serving 2 years for
an anti-nuclear protest in which he and several other activists hammered on US warplanes at the Bath Iron Works in
Maine. Their Plowshares action was aimed at the A-10 warthog plane, one of the main warplanes that uses depleted
uranium weapons. This was not the first time Phil Berrigan was behind bars. In fact he has spent more than a decade
of his life in prisons and jails throughout the country:
- --In 1964 he was imprisoned for pouring blood on draft cards in Baltimore during the Vietnam War.
- --In 1968, along with his brother Fr. Daniel Berrigan and 7 others burned draft files in Catonsville, Maryland in
what came to be known as the Catonsville 9.
- --In the early 1970s he was put on trial on false charges of attempting to kidnap Henry Kissinger. Berrigan's
wife Liz McAlister was also indicted in that case.
- --In 1980, he and 7 others including Dan Berrigan entered the General Electric plant in King of Prussia,
Pennsylvania where they hammered on nuclear warheads. Known as the "Plowshares 8". This sparked a movement called the
Plowshares movement where dozens of actions have been carried out at US military facilities across the country,
usually involving hammering on weapons or pouring blood on them.
Barely a week out of prison, Phil Berrigan paid George W Bush a visit this past Sunday at the National Cathedral.
Guest:
- Phil Berrigan, is a longtime peace time activist and a member of the Jonah House community in Baltimore.
He was just released from prison where he served some 2 years for an anti-nuclear plowshares action in which he and
several other people hammered on A-10 warthog attack planes. These warplanes generally drop depleted uranium.
[listen to the entire second hour]
SECOND HOUR
NEWS HEADLINES
Story: PENTAGON DOWNPLAYS NUMBER OF MILITARY DEATHS AND INJURIES IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan's rulers said today they were negotiating the surrender of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar as
American paratroopers flew into the country to search for remnants of Osama bin Laden's networks. And as the Bush
administration increases US troop presence in Afghanistan, it maintains that less than 10 American soldiers have died
inside the country. But a recent report from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting alleges that the number may be
much higher.
An IWPR reporter smuggled himself onto the American military support base at Khanabad airport in southern Uzbekistan
and interview Uzbeks working on the base.
Guest:
- Alan Davis, is the Project Coordinator for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting which published the
report.
Story: PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST AND PHYSICIAN ARRESTED, BEATEN TWICE BY ISRAELI FORCES
Israeli police arrested leading Palestinian human rights activist Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi yesterday and then released
him on the edge of Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, where he was then rearrested by the Israeli Army. Barghouthi was
severely beaten by the Army, first on the street and then in a car. Among his injuries was a fractured knee.
Barghouti is president of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.
Before his arrest, he had just finished a press conference where he spoke out against the effects of current Israeli
policies on the health of the Palestinian population. Members of the European Parliament joined him at the press
conference. They demanded an immediate lifting of Israeli blockades on Palestinian areas. Some of them were also
beaten by the Israeli Army. I spoke with Dr. Barghouthi just moments after he was released by the Israeli Army.
Guests:
- Mustafa Barghouthi, President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.
- Luisa Morgantini, Italian member of the European Parliament. She was with Barghouthi when he was arrested.
Story: INTERNATIONAL CIVILIANS DEFY ISRAELI ARMY WITH DIRECT ACTION, DISMANTLING CHECKPOINTS IN THE
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Scores of international civilians are defying the Israeli military and engaging in direct action in the Occupied
Territories right now. New York labor organizer Jordan Flaherty has been in the territories for two weeks now, and
in that time has helped to dismantle Israeli checkpoints in Palestinian villages around Nablus, and a massive
checkpoint at Birzeit University near Ramallah. He has also met with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Guest:
- Jordan Flaherty, SEIU labor organizer who is doing human rights work and direct action in Palestine.
Story: UNITED NATIONS: GOVERNMENTS ARE USING THE U.S. "WAR ON TERRORISM" TO JUSTIFY REPRESSION AT
HOME
U.N. officials and independent human rights advocates are charging that demands by the Security Council that U.N.
members act against global terrorism are being used by some regimes to justify repression of domestic dissent.
In a joint letter to Bush early last month, eight leading American human rights groups said his order authorizing the
tribunals--which could impose the death penalty--will be cited by foreign dictators "for decades to come" as a
justification for summary executions.
Critics also say the campaign has been used by authoritarian governments to justify moves to clamp down on moderate
opponents, outlaw criticism of rulers and expand the use of capital punishment.
Guests:
- William Orme, is the United Nations correspondent for the LA Times.
- John Peck, is a member of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars. He has spent years researching
land-reform issues in Zimbabwe.
