April 01, 2002
Israeli Troops Shoot Unarmed Peace Observers
Earlier this morning listeners of Pacifica station WBAI in New York city awoke to chilling sounds from the streets of the Bietshalla refugee camp in Bethlehem. WBAI’s morning show, Wake Up Call, had connected live to an Italian photo journalist with the Italian Independent Media Center who identified himself as Manolo. He is part of the delegation of foreigners that are currently in the occupied territories as human shields against the Israeli military. As Manolo spoke to Host Bernard White, the Israeli military opened fire.
Palestine Through the Eyes of a Peace Protester
Kristen Sher in Bethlehem has more on the movements of International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank.
Maine Seniors Travel to Canada for Cheap Drugs
Two years ago, Maine passed The Maine Prescription Drug Law that would have allowed the state to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical companies immediately went to the US District Court in Portland wining an injunction that put the law on hold. The state filed an appeal and won in 2001. Then, the drug industry¹s trade group, PhRMA, appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on Oct. 9, 2001 asked for an opinion from the U.S. Solicitor General before it decides whether to accept the case. Since then, the matter has stalled in the hands of Bush-appointed solicitor general Theodore Olsen. In the meantime, Maine seniors are taking matters into their own hands, organizing grass roots protests and making road trips to Canada to purchase their otherwise unaffordable medications. Emily Bernhard in Maine has this report.
Annan Supports International Force for Israel/Palestine
Haider Risby reports from the United Nations, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan voices his support for an international force in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
1,000 Protest at Woomer Detention Center
Rachel Maher reports from Melbourne, Australia on a 1,000 person protest outside the gates of the Woomera detention facility in Southern Australia. Hundreds of Afghans and Iraqi asylum seekers are being held behind razor-wire fence at the facility.
Cesar Chavez Day
Today is Cesar Chavez Day in California and in Arizona. Cesar Chavez was one of the great labor organizers of the 20th century. Born in 1927 he spent his childhood as a migrant worker and knew from personal experience the tribulations of the campesino. He devoted his life to organizing farm workers and bettering their living and working conditions, to improving their health and building a strong movement. In 1962 Chavez moved to Delano, California. Without the support of established unions, he organized the united farm workers union. Over the years he built the union, organized successful grape boycotts, fasted, got contracts from most of the growers and fought the use of pesticides in the fields.
