Democracy Now! February 28, 2002

9:01-9:06 HEADLINES STORY: ISRAELI KNESSET MEMBER AZMI BISHARA ON TRIAL FOR "SUPPORTING A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION" The trial of Israeli Knesset member Azmi Bishara opened yesterday at the Upper Magistrate's Court in Nazareth. Bishara is charged with "supporting a terrorist organization," a crime that carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. The charges were filed by the Israeli Attorney General last fall, following two speeches Bishara made allegedly praising Hezbollah. Bishara is the only Parliamentary representative of the National Democratic Assembly, a Palestinian political party that calls for the transformation of Israel into a state for all its citizens. He is also the only representative to have his parliamentary right to freedom of speech revoked. Bisharas trial has sparked outrage and protest throughout Europe, Israel, and the rest of the Arab World. As the trial began yesterday, supporters rallied outside the Nazareth court. Inside, meanwhile, Bisharas lawyers argued that political motives were behind his indictment. The next date for Bisharas trial is set for April 4th, 2002. GUEST: HASSAN JABARDDIN, lawyer for Azmi Bishara 9:06-9:07 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:07-9:30 THE VOICES OF PACIFICA: AN AUDIO TOUR THROUGH 50 YEARS OF PACIFICA HISTORYAND THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD We are going to take a look at the last fifty years of world history framed by the history of the Pacifica network, the nation's first listener-supported, community-based radio network founded by pacifist and artist Lewis Hill in 1949. This audio tour, produced by WBAI programmer Peter Bochan, brings the voices of some of the most important (and some of the least heard) social justice activists of the fifty years to the airwaves. Well hear from Harry Truman, William Mandel, Lewis Hill, Samori Marksman, Verna Avery Brown, Alan Watts, Gore Vidal, William Kunstler, Paul Robeson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joan Baez, John F Kennedy, Che Guevara, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, George McGovern, Bob Fass, Eldridge Cleaver, Richard Nixon, Mario Savio, Bella Abzug, Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Oliver North, Saddam Hussein, Phil Gramm, Bill Clinton , Fisel Castro, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. TAPE: THE VOICES OF PACIFICA AUDIO DOCUMENTARY by Peter Bochan, producer of All Mixed Up, program that airs on WBAI in New York CONTACT: www.mixedup.com www.pacifica.org 9:30-9:31 ONE-MINUTE MUSIC BREAK 9:31-9:58 AS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION PLEDGES TO SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO KEEP TABS ON FOREIGN VISITORS, WELL HEAR A HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY CULTURE FROM THE CO-AUTHOR OF THE COINTELPRO PAPERS With great fanfare, the Bush administration has pledged to fortify the nation's anti-terrorism protections by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new computer systems to keep tabs on foreign students and visitors. The nation's approximately 600,000 foreign students have come under particular scrutiny since the September 11 attacks. But visitors on foreign visas are not the only targets of the war at home. Activists and civil liberties lawyers point out that the so-called war on terrorism is an open door to surveillance of activist communities. We turn now to Ward Churchill, Cherokee scholar and long-time activist with the American Indian Movement, who has first hand knowledge of government surveillance and infiltration of organized activism. He is co-author of "Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret War Against the Black Panther Party" and "The COINTELPRO Papers", and professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado. GUEST: WARD CHURCHILL, Cherokee scholar and activist, co-author of "Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret War Against the Black Panther Party" and "The COINTELPRO Papers", and professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, speaking at a forum in New York last weekend. Recorded by Justin Lipman of the New York City Independent Media Center. CONTACT: www.nyc.indymedia.org MUSIC 6 PEOPLE LEAD by Ben Harper from the Fight for Your Mind CD 30 HOPE by Sweet Honey in the Rock from the twenty-five End PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER by Patti Smith 9:58-9:59 OUTRO AND CREDITS