October 25, 2002
MN Senator Wellstone Dies in Plane Crash
Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota died in a tragic plane crash earlier today. His wife, daughter and five members of his staff were also killed. Deepa Fernandes spoke with Pacifica’s Senior National Affairs correspondent Larry Bensky who has covered the career of Paul Wellstone for over a decade.
NRA Visits Colorado to Round Up Republican Support
As authorities in three states and the District of Columbia conferred today about who should prosecute two suspects arrested in the Washington sniper case, the media is drum beating for the death penalty when charges against the suspects are yet to be filed. Meanwhile few seem to question the issue of gun control in the country. The Republican party has enlisted Charlton Heston, president of the NRA, in a national tour to speak at campaign rallies for Republican candidates. As Daniel Costello reports, Heston spoke in Denver yesterday for Republican candidates Bob Beaupray and Senator Wayne Allard.
Environmental Activist Demo in DC
The Bush Administration is at the wrong end of a flurry of damning environmental reports this week. Senate Democrats, civil rights groups, and even the administration’s own Environmental Protection Agency are all condemning the government’s response to what they see as a national environmental crisis. Meanwhile hundreds of environmental justice activists from around the world are meeting in the US capital in response to the crisis they see as international. Josh Chaffin reports from D.C.
Newspapers Bear the Statement “Not in Our Name”
A new tactic in the media battle around a war in Iraq is currently gaining momentum. Today one mass email from the Center for Community Change read: “Full-page ads in the NYT aren’t cheap. We’re asking all the signers to contribute on a sliding scale.” Increasingly, critics of government policy have taken to printing statements in newspapers. Every day, in the pages of the New York Times and other papers, organizations and individuals are paying for the right to voice their opinions to a wide audience. In response to the growing likelihood that the US will declare war on Iraq, the American people are finding new and public ways to express dissent. On September 19th, a full-page ad appeared in the New York Times under the headline “Not In Our Name.” Signed by thousands, including many prominent artists and intellectuals, the Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience represents the growing unease of many in this country towards government policy since September 11th. Julie Hey files this report.
Solidarity with Afghan Women in NYC
A conference was held this past Saturday in NYC bringing together women from Afghanistan, Afghan women living in exile and feminists from around the US. Timed to occur one year after the historic meetings in Bonn Germany where Afghan tribal delegations divvied up power in the new post-Taliban Government, this important gathering served to refocus attention on the devastated country of Afghanistan, one year after the US bombing campaign of that country began. Deepa Fernandes attended the conference.
