Democracy Now! February 12, 2003

9:00-9:01 Billboard 9:01-9:06 Headlines 9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break 9:07-9:20: Just one day after a federal judge banned a peace march in Manhattan, another federal judge has relaxed restrictions on the New York City Police Department s ability to spy on domestic political groups. Judge Charles Haight cited QUOTE fundamental changes in the threats to public security. Well New York City and the United States are not alone. Governments all over the world are imposing ever-tighter restrictions on their people in the name of fighting terrorism. Today we re going to hear the Indian physicist and philosopher of science Vandana Shiva talk about how the response to terrorism erodes democracy. She also argues that corporate-led globalization is another form of terrorism, and calls for peace and justice movements around the world to unite. She spoke recently at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Tape: Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist and philosopher of science. She is the director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology and the author of several books including Water Wars . 9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break 9:21-9:40 Vandana Shiva, cont. 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:53: NATO s plans to defend Turkey in case of war with Iraq are still deadlocked. France, Germany and Belgium refused to back down during overnight negotiations. The crisis erupted Monday when the three nations blocked NATO plans to begin shipping troops and arms to Turkey. They said that would signal an end to diplomatic efforts to avert war. NATO officials are now seeking a compromise to end what is widely reported as the worst crisis in NATO s history. US and British officials are furious. They say the dissenting countries are threatening the credibility of the alliance and could render NATO irrelevant. The Washington Post is reporting Republican Congressional leaders are considering starting a new trade war with France, and withdrawing US troops from Germany. House Speaker Dennis Hastert says he wants to target prized French exports of wine and bottled water. An aide says he is considering a bill that would require slapping bright orange warning labels on French wines that are processed with bovine blood. Meanwhile, France yesterday circulated a detailed plan to the U.N. Security Council that calls for tripling the number of inspectors in Iraq and increasing aerial surveillance as a way to avert war. Germany and Russia are supporting the plan. The London Independent reports British officials called the Franco-German plan a threat to peace. Britain immediately accused the two nations of undermining the United Nations by pursuing their own plan to avoid a war. They said the joint initiative could persuade the US to abandon the UN and take unilateral action against Iraq. We go now to Brussels, where Guardian of London reporter Ian Black is standing by. Possible Guest: Ian Black, journalist with the Guardian of London covering the emergency NATO meetings in Brussels 9:49-9:54: We go to Iraq for the latest installment of Iraq Journal with Democracy Now!correspondent Jeremy Scahill and filmmaker Jacquie Soohen. Scahill reports on an Iraq peace team demonstration at an electrical plant 30 miles outside Baghdad. It was one of the electrical facilities bombed during the Gulf War. The bombing of electrical plants led to massive power shortages across the country, which in turn led to the shut down of water and sewage treatment facilities and a massive humanitarian crisis. The Iraqi people are worried the same thing is about to happen again. Tape: Iraq Journal with Jeremy Scahill and Jacquie Soohen 9:54-9:58: As US troops continue to poor into the Gulf region, people all over the country and the world are stepping up their efforts to protest the looming war. Listeners and viewers have been flooding us with calls about what they are doing to protest. Call us at (212) 209-2999 and tell us what you are doing in your area. Tape: Democracy Now! listener/viewer comments 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Ana Nogiera and Alex Wolfe. Mike Di Filippo is our engineer and webmaster.