Kissinger
Cancels Appearance due to Protests
February 1, 2000 - Start
Audio
Former Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger canceled his lecture at the University of Texas in Austin
today. Faced with mounting protests against his appearance, the University's
Chancellor announced the cancellation. Hundreds of students and faculty
attended a teach-in on Kissinger's policies last week and accused the former
Nixon official of being involved in crimes against humanity. Students had
planned to attend the lecture at the L.B.J. center on campus and then disrupt
it with questions and other forms of civil disobedience. The Chancellor,
William H. Cunningham, suggested that the lecture was canceled because
of security concerns. Cunningham said he was concerned that he could not
guarantee the safety of Kissinger or those attending the lecture. Flashpoints
spoke earlier today to two people instrumental in opposing Kissinger's
visit to campus. Robert Jensen is a professor in the Department of
Journalism at the University of Texas. Also joining the discussion is Rahul
Mahajan, a graduate student in the physics department at the Austin based
campus. Jensen began with a background on how Kissinger was invited.
HMOs: Is Corporate Health
Care Endangering Human Lives?
February 1, 2000 - Start
Audio
In a press conference last
week, a new piece of California legislation was introduced addressing abuses
by HMOs. The bill, authored by Assembly Member Sheila Kuehl, prevents HMOs
from forcing patients into binding arbitration to resolve disputes over
patient care. Arbitration puts all the power into the hands of the HMO,
allowing it to stall the process for years until patients die, without
public scrutiny. The legislation would make court action a possibility
for patients and families fighting HMO abuse. Two key players in the fight
to reform HMOs, who spoke at the press conference, joined us to talk about
the problems with corporate control of health care, and how we can protect
ourselves. Jamie Court is co-author of the Common Courage Press book "Making
a Killing: HMOs and the Threat to Your Health." He is also the advocacy
director of the Foundation of Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Ina Engalla
Konold is a Bay Area financial analyst and advocate for HMO reform. Her
father died as a result of negligence on the part of Kaiser, following
a nightmarish delay of the arbitration process by Kaiser. Ina Englla Konold
began by describing what happened to her father.
Governor of Illinois
Declares Moratorium on Executions
January 31, 2000 - Start
Audio
Today conservative Illinois
Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions. In doing so,
he also ordered a review of the state's capital punishment system. Since
Illinois reinstituted the death penalty in 1977, 12 death row inmates have
been executed while 13 have been exonerated. In a strongly worded statement,
the Republican Governor, who is also the Chairman of the George Bush for
President campaign, expressed grave concerns about his states "shameful
record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row." Ryan's
statement followed troubling revelations about a pattern of wrongful convictions
and misconduct by prosecutors around the state. These revelations were
the result of a wide ranging investigation by two Chicago Tribune reporters,
Steve Mills and Ken Armstrong. Joining us to talk about today's action
by the Governor and what may have led up to it is Steve Mills, staff writer
for the Chicago Tribune.
Wrongful Convictions
January 31, 2000 - Start
Audio
A number of wrongfully convicted
people in Illinois have been released due only to the efforts made by journalism
and law students, working under the guidance of Northwestern University
Professor Lawrence Marshal and David Protess. Anthony Porter was one of
those inmates whose life was saved by a group of students just last year.
Porter, an African American with an IQ of 51, spent 16 years on death row
for a crime he did not commit. Just before air time, Dennis Bernstein and
I spoke to Shawn Ambrust, a former law student at Northwestern University.
At age 21, she was instrumental in proving the innocence and winning the
release of Anthony Porter. Ambrust is now case coordinator of Northwestern's
Center on Wrongful Convictions. We began by asking her how she became involved
in working on wrongful convictions and the case of Anthony Porter in particular.
Later on the show we will speak with Gary Gauger. Gauger is a certified
organic vegetable grower who lives outside of Chicago. In 1993, he discovered
the murdered body of his father on his farm, and soon after his mother's
body was also discovered. Gauger was immediately arrested and was sentenced
to death for the murder of his own parents He was exonerated three and
a half years later due to the work of attorney Lawrence Marshall from Northwestern
University.
Civil War Raging in Burma
Again Boils Over Into Thailand
January 25, 2000 - Start
Audio
The bloody and violent civil
war in Burma continues to have a major impact on neighboring Thailand.
Earlier today, Thai security forces put a bloody end to a 26 hour takeover
of a Thai border hospital by a small isolated rebel splinter group from
Burma. While none of the hundreds of hostages being held were harmed, most
of the rebels from a group known as God's Army were killed by security
forces at the border town of Ratchaburi. The latest violence comes in the
midst of a vicious civil war and terrible oppression by the Burmese Junta
that is sending tens of thousands of ethnic Burmese fleeing over the border
to Thailand. Joining us to talk about the latest violence, the ongoing
suffering by the refugees and the underlying causes of the violence are
Edith Mirante, an expert on Burma and the Director of Project Maje. Mirante
is the author of "Burmese Looking Glass: A Human Rights Adventure." Also
joining the discussion is Dr. Ben Brown, a Bay Area physician and the Director
of Burmese Refugee Care Project. Dr. Brown is just back from the Thai border
where he has been involved in emergency medical relief for the refugees
for the past nine years.
US Executes Glen McGinnis
January 25, 2000 - Start
Audio
By all indications, Glen
McGinnis was executed about one hour ago by the State of Texas. McGinnis,
who was 17 at the time of the murder for which he was convicted, is the
third juvenile offender to be put to death in the US in the last 15 days.
Today the US Supreme Court refused to stop the execution, and a last-minute
appeal, directed to the Texas Lieutenant Governor in George W. Bush's absence,
was denied. Flashpoints producer Dennis Bernstein spoke yesterday with
McGinnis's attorney, Ross D'Emanuele. D'Emanuele began with a description
of Glen McGinnis's early life. Also, to provide some perspective
on the recent killing of juvenile offenders, we offer the words of Sister
Helen Prejean. Prejean, a renowned anti-death penalty activist, is the
author of "Dean Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty
in the US." She also works with the families of murder victims. She was
in the Bay Area last weekend, and after a visit to San Quentin's death
row she sat down with Flashpoints producers Dennis Bernstein and Leslie
Kean. Yesterday, we presented the first part of the interview; we now continue
with the rest of the conversation.
Sister Helen Prejean's
Battle to End Death Penalty
January 24, 2000 - Start
Audio
Sister Helen Prejean is
a renowned anti death penalty activist who travels the world educating
people about the wrongs of state sponsored killing. Born and raised in
Louisiana, she is best known for her work with death row inmates, which
began in 1981. Sister Prejean is the author of "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness
Account of the Death Penalty in the US," which has now been translated
into ten languages. The book was made into a motion picture written and
directed by Tim Robbins, starring Sean Penn and Susan Saradon. Susan Saradon
received a 1996 best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Sister Helen Prejean
in the film. Sister Prejean was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in
1998 and 1999. She was in the Bay Area over the weekend and Flashpoints
caught up with her just after she had returned from a visit to San Quentin's
death row. She began with a background on her visit to the prison.
Vietnam War Widows
January 24, 2000 - Start
Audio
War widows from both sides
of the Vietnam war are spending this month touring the United States to
mark the 25th anniversary of the end of the war. The women are featured
in the academy award nominated film "Regret to Inform" which received a
best director and best cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film looks at the legacy of war through the eyes of women who are profoundly
affected by it many years later. It will air nationally tonight on PBS;
in the Bay Area it will be broadcast on KQED channel 9 at 9 pm. The writer,
director and producer of "Regret To Inform" Barbara Sonneborn, spoke to
us about her journey to come to terms with the death of her husband in
Vietnam, which culminated in the making of the documentary. Joining us
with Sonneborn were four other Vietnam widows - two Vietnamese, one African
American and one Navajo American who are featured in the film. Today we
will play for you the beginning of this in-depth interview with these five
remarkable women. Flashpoints will be airing the interview in its entirety
over the next few weeks. Barbara Sonneborn began by telling the story of
her husband's death and how this led to her creating the film twenty years
later.
Fighting for Leonard
Peltier's Freedom
January 20, 2000 - Start
Audio
Today a number of leaders
in the American Indian movement met with political prisoner Leonard Peltier
at Leaveworth Penitentiary in Kansas. Peltier has been imprisoned there
for 23 years. A press conference was held outside the prison following
that meeting. Native American Leonard Peltier was accused of murdering
two FBI agents in 1975, although there was no evidence to support such
a charge. In fact, government officials withheld key information that would
have established Peltier's innocence. Prosecution witnesses were terrorized
by the FBI into lying. Officials have admitted they do not know who fired
the fatal shots, yet Peltier has still not been awarded a new trial. His
health continues to deteriorate as a result of years of brutal treatment
in prison.
Child Immigration
January 20, 2000 - Start
Audio
Much has been said about
Elian Gonzales, who still remains in the US despite orders by Immigration
that he be returned home to his father in Cuba. The case of six year old
Gonzales has infuriated many attorneys and activists working with immigrants
from other countries. They say that there is a profoundly unfair difference
in the way children who come here from other countries are treated. Joining
us to talk about the discrepancy between how child immigrants are treated
from different countries is Anne Pilsbury. Pilsbury is an attorney with
Central American Legal Assistance in New York City.
Rural Prison Boom
January 20, 2000 - Start
Audio
On Saturday, January 22nd,
Critical Resistance and the Prison Moratorium Project will hold a mini
conference in Berkeley. The conference is titled "Rural Activism to Stop
Prison Construction." It will feature activists from prison towns throughout
California. The conference will also present the new documentary "Yes In
My Backyard" about the construction of new prisons. Joining us in the studio
to talk about the boom in rural prison construction is Ruth Gilmore, a
professor of Geography at UC Berkeley and a member of Critical Resistance
and the Prison Moratorium Project. Also joining us by telephone is Bob
Puls, a farmer in Tulare County and founder of the organization "Stop this
Outrageous Prison." He has been involved in opposing the construction of
rural prisons for ten years. I began by asking farmer Bob Puls how he first
became involved in trying to stop prison growth in his community.
Human Rights Hero and
Author Pramoedya Ananta Toer
January 18, 2000 - Start
Audio
Around 600 Indonesian Christians
fled the island of Lombok, today, fearing renewed Muslim violence that
claimed five lives and left dozens of churches and homes destroyed. The
violence erupted after thousands of Muslims demonstrated last Monday to
demand an immediate end to Christian-Muslim fighting on Indonesia's Maluku
Islands, where around 2,000 people have died over the past year. Flashpoints
has recently reported on turmoil in many areas of Indonesia, including
Aceh province, East Timor, Jakarta and the Maluku Islands. The continuing
bloodshed and conflict certainly pains Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's
greatest writer and legendary political dissident: he endured twenty years
of incarceration for his political beliefs, including a total of 14 years
under the US-supported dictator Suharto. When Suharto took power in 1965,
Pramoedya was thrown into a military prison in Jakarta. Four years later,
he was sent to a remote penal colony on Buru Island, where he remained
for ten years. When Pramoedya saw his fellow prisoners beginning to despair,
he began to create semi-historical tales to tell them. Following their
release, many prisoners said that waiting to hear what happened next was
the only thing that gave them the will to live. Last summer, Pramoedya
sat down to talk about his experiences and his new book, "The Mute's Soliloquy"
which is part memoir, part a collection of letters, and part essay. Joining
Pramoedya in the studio to translate was Sylvia Tiwon, professor of Indonesian
studies at UC Berkeley. Pramoedya began by talking about some early experiences
that led him to writing and to activism.
Clinton, Gore & Bradley
Fall Short On Racial Profiling
January 18, 2000 - Start
Audio
Bill Bradley and Vice President
Al Gore faced off last night for their final debate before next Monday's
kick-off Iowa caucuses. The two appeared to agree on most issues. But in
a heated moment during the debate, Bradley challenged Gore to demand that
the President issue an immediate order banning racial profiling. Gore shot
back that Bill Clinton doesn't need a lecture from Bill Bradley on standing
up for African Americans and Latino civil rights. How has the Clinton Administration
done on the issue of racial profiling? And how aggressive was Senator Bradley
during his time in Congress trying to put an end to the racist policy that
is pervasive in his home state of New Jersey? Joining us to talk about
the records of the Clinton Administration and Bill Bradley is Lynn Washington.
Washington is a professor of journalism at Temple University and a widely
published investigative journalist.
Racism in Solano County
Prosecution of Two Latinos
January 18, 2000 - Start
Audio
Two young Latino men are
now on trial in Solano County for the murder of their friend, Jeremiah
Alvarez English. English was stabbed to death two years ago -- by a white
teen named Chad O'Connell. But despite O'Connell's confession, the boy
was released. District Attorney David Paulson decided instead to pursue
murder charges against the victim's two friends, David Moreno and Justin
Pacheco. Charges of racism abound, both in the decision to jail and prosecute
Moreno and Pacheco, and in the ways authorities have tried to link the
two young Latinos to gang activity. Joining us now to talk about this case
is John Avalos, program associate for We Interrupt This Message, who has
closely followed the case and has been at the trial, which is expected
to wrap up next week.
Sweatshops in Bangladesh
January 18, 2000 - Start
Audio
Freelance journalist Reese
Erlich recently traveled to Bangladesh on assignment for Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation Radio to look into sweatshop conditions in the poverty stricken
country. He wrote an in-depth story on his discoveries there for this month's
East Bay Monthly, and also provided stories for the San Francisco Chronicle
and the St. Petersburg Times. Reese Erlich recently came into our studio
to talk about Bangladesh and the issue of sweatshops, which he has been
covering since the 1980's.
Martin Luther King Day
January 17, 2000 - Start
Audio
Today, in honor of Dr. Martin
Luther King's birthday, we present a never before broadcast speech of Dr.
King, delivered just weeks after the historic Freedom March from Selma
to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Also, rare recordings from the march itself,
the words of other civil rights leaders, and music and song. In early 1965,
Selma, Alabama was Ground Zero for the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. believed the time was ripe to secure equal voting rights
for blacks. In Selma, blacks in jail far outnumbered blacks registered
to vote. As Dr. King observed in his autobiography, this was not accidental
-- instead, it reflected a calculated strategy to maintain white political
hegemony in many areas of the South. Official violence directed against
the civil rights agitators was endemic. In late February, 1965, Jimmie
Lee Jackson was gunned down by police during a demonstration in Marion,
Alabama. Nine days later, unarmed voting rights marchers were brutally
beaten, tear-gassed and whipped by helmeted state troopers and white civilians
at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Soon after, cvil rights leaders began
planning a huge march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama -- Dr. King hoped
to see, in his words, "the greatest witness for freedom that had ever taken
place on the steps of the capitol of any state in the South." Marchers
set out on March 21, 1965 from Selma. Fifty four miles and four days later,
50,000 people marched on the State Capitol in Montgomery, the so-called
Cradle of the Confederacy. As the swelling crowd gathered to call for equal
voting rights for blacks, the smell of vitory was in the air. One journalist
called the march "the most spectacular people's movement in American race
relations." But as the march ended and the throng dispersed, Dr. King wrote
that "the scent of victory in the air gave way to the stench of death.
We were reminded that this was not a march to the capital of a civilized
nation. We had marched through a swamp of poverty, ignorance, race hatred,
and sadism." Carl Benkert, a retired designer from Detroit, was there.
Benkert traveled to Alabama with his tape recorder and camera to record
history in the making. He recorded many speeches, interactions, and songs,
much -- or all -- of which has never before been broadcast anywhere. But
Carl Benkert was not just an observer; he was a marshal in the Selma to
Montgomery march, charged with protecting the vanguard including Dr. King.
Busy with his duties, Benkert handed his tape recorder to a stranger, a
reporter named Steve Nevas, who produced a beautifully wrought narration
of what happened in Montgomery on March 25, 1965.
Peru's National Security
Advisor Investigated for Corruption
January 13, 2000 - Start
Audio
Peru's state prosecutor
is now investigating allegations that President Alberto Fujimori's National
Security Advisor and personal attorney earned millions of dollars illegally.
Vladimiro Montesinos is Fujimori's closest personal advisor and a key architect
of the Peruvian President's policies. He also has a reputation as an attorney
for drug traffickers and was in fact listed on US drug enforcement lists
for his close ties to cartel members. Joining us to discuss the strange
case of Vladimiro Montesinos is investigative reporter Larry Everest.
Recordings from Historic
1965 Freedom March
January 13, 2000 - Start
Audio
On Monday, January 17, in
honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Flashpoints will air a
special, never before broadcast speech of Dr. King as well as other sounds
of the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Among the remarkable
sounds captured on the tapes by Carl Benkert, a marshal of the march, are
interviews, speeches, interactions between the police and marchers, and
freedom songs and chants. Today we want to just give you a taste of these
rare recordings that we will air on Monday and throughout Black History
Month in February. The particular tape that you will hear today was made
by a Detroit reporter, Steve Nevas, who borrowed the recorder in order
to free up the hands of Benkert who, as marshall, was engaged in the important
work of defending Dr. King. Nevas narrates the historic events of the march
as they head toward the capital, Montgomery.
Vigil for Christopher
Thomas
January 11, 2000 - Start
Audio
Outside the Virginia prison
last night a somber group of death penalty opponents gathered to pray and
keep vigil. The group included Chris Thomas's parents, his wife - a woman
Chris married from prison one year ago - and the mother of another person
on death row. Presiding over an emotional prayer service was Tim Stanton,
member of the group Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and
he joins us to talk about what happened.
Virginia's Next Execution:
Steven Roach
January 11, 2000 - Start
Audio
Virginia is now becoming
the execution capital of the world when it comes to executing child offenders.
On Thursday, 23 year old Steven Edward Roach will be executed at 9pm by
lethal injection. Roach was the next door neighbor to Chris Thomas on death
row, and watched him being taken out last night. Like most child offenders,
Roach comes from a broken home and was beaten up and abused. On December
3, 1993 he was convicted of killing 70 year old Marianne Hughes, one of
the elderly neighbors he used to help. Like Thomas, he was 17 years old
when he committed the crime. Joining us just before air time to discuss
the planned execution of a second child offender in less than 4 days, was
Steve Schnaybaum, attorney for Steve Roach. Schnaybaum began with some
background on Roach's brutal upbringing.
Florida Speeds Executions
January 11, 2000 - Start
Audio
On January 7th, Florida
lawmakers both banned the use of the state's electric chair and approved
a bill that will speed up that state's execution process by lethal injection.
The legislation which dramatically shortens the appeals process was proposed
and aggressively pushed by Governor Jeb Bush, brother to George Bush of
Texas. It's modeled after similar Texas legislation pushed through by George
Bush. Jeb's big brother George has presided of 111 executions in Texas,
where more people have been executed than in any other state. Joining us
to discuss the implications of the new Florida legislation was George Kendall.
Kendall is a staff lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York
and has over 20 years of experience working with death penalty cases. Kendall
began by explaining what Bush's motivation was in calling the special legislative
session that approved the new legislation.
Douglas Christopher Thomas
Interview
January 10, 2000 - Start
Audio
On today's show a death
row interview with 26 year old Douglas Christopher Thomas, who will be
executed in one hour. Also, a discussion of how Thomas's execution by the
state of Virginia is the first case in the world of a juvenile offender
who claimed his rights under established international law. The case of
Chris Thomas is unprecedented in that this is the first time that a state
will execute a juvenile who has claimed before the supreme Court that the
execution would violate international laws and treaties. Thomas's attorneys
filed a petition before the Supreme Court making this argument, but just
a few hours ago the motion was denied. Joining us to discuss the implications
of he US violation of international laws and treaties with regard to the
execution of juvenile offenders is Constance de la Vega. She is a tenured
professor at the University of San Francisco Law School and the Director
of the USF Civil Litigation and Human Rights Clinic. She is a teacher of
international human rights.
Nuclear Weapons in Space
January 6, 2000 - Start
Audio
Nukes in space, nuclear
by-products in the foods we eat, and the US resumes production of materials
for a new generation of nuclear warheads. We have only a narrow window
to prevent an arms race in space, says noted anti-nuclear activist Professor
Carl Grossman. The key, he says, is an international pact to ban all weapons
in space. Yet, he points out, the military of the United States of America
is seeking to control space and the earth below. There is indeed great
alarm in the anti-nuclear community that the United States is in fact stepping
up the race to control space with nuclear weapons. They say the dangers
of a new generation of nuclear space weapons are almost unimaginable and
threaten again to put an end to civilization as we know it. Joining us
to talk about nukes in space is Carl Grossman, founder of the Global Network
Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Grossman is also a noted investigative
reporter who has written for many newspapers and magazines. He is the author
of The Wrong Stuff and Nukes in Space. Also, the Center for Defense Information
based in Washington, DC has been closely monitoring the nuclear arms race.
The Center states that in early December, the US took two very significant
steps closer to a new nuclear arms race. Joining us is Rear Admiral Eugene
Carroll, Deputy Director of the Center for Defense Information.
Executions of People
Who Commit Crimes as Children
January 6, 2000 - Start
Audio
The United States is only
one of a handful of countries that continues to execute people who commit
crimes as children. The US is set to open the 21st century with a triple
human rights violation by killing three child offenders in their twenties.
While the Clinton Administration continues to lecture the world about human
rights, its own draconian policies remain unchecked. In fact, the US solicitor
general filed a brief in the Supreme Court last October stating that the
US is not obliged under international law or its treaty obligations to
exempt children from the death penalty. The US claims blatantly ignore
the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, which forbid
the use of the death penalty against children. On Monday, January 10th,
twenty-six year old Douglas Christopher Thomas is scheduled to be executed
in Virginia. Thomas, like many juvenile ofenders, comes from a broken home
with very little resources. Joining us to talk about the upcoming executions
and US death penalty policy is Sam Jordan. Jordan is the Director of Amnesty
International's program to abolish the death penalty. Jordan began with
a description of Chris Thomas's troubled youth.
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