Former Green Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Gives his First Major Address on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. It s a severe criticism of our policy that our government has never allied itself with the very, very sizable peace movement in Israel; Judge Frees 12 Residents of Tulia, Texas Who Served Years in Prison Based on the Testimony of a Narcotics Agent Who Has Since Been Indicted. More than ten percent of the African-American community were arrested in the 1999 drug sting.
8:00-8:01 Billboard 8:01-8:09 Headlines Judge Frees 12 Residents of Tulia, Texas Who Served Years in Prison Based on the Testimony of a Narcotics Agent Who Has Since Been Indicted 12 people arrested in the controversial drug sting in Tulia Texas in 1999 were set free yesterday. The hearing took only 22 minutes and included brief statements from four of the 15 defense attorneys present, most of which were an attack on Tom Coleman, the undercover agent on whose word 38 convictions were obtained. At a hearing related to the case in April, Coleman was charged with lying under oath about his background. Coleman arrested 43 people in 1999 on charges of selling small amounts of cocaine. The officer had no corroborating evidence in the biggest drug sting in local history. Forty out of the 43 defendants were black. More than ten percent of the African-American community were arrested. In some cases, hometown juries later meted out sentences ranging from 20 years to more than 300 years. Local officials declared the operation a stunning success. 22 of the defendants were sent to prison while others received probation. Coleman, was named by the state as lawman of the year. Democracy Now! spoke with attorney Margaret Ratner Kunstler of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice and Freddie Brookings Jr., one of the men freed yesterday. * Margaret Ratner Kunstler, attorney, William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice * Freddie Wesley Brookings Jr., one of the 12 men freed yesterday. Link: http://www.kunstler.org William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice 8:09-8:10 One Minute Music Break 8:10-8:58: Senior members of two Palestinian groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said yesterday they will refuse to consider a cease-fire until the Israeli government takes steps to stop targeted killings and dismantle Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Meanwhile Israeli prime Minister Ariel Sharon was assailed by pro-peace legislators in the Knesset who accused him of deceiving the U.S. government and the Israeli people by claiming to support the road map even as he ordered assassinations of Palestinians. In his first major address on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader spoke at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee convention in Washington DC last weekend about civil liberties, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Tape: Ralph Nader, speaking at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee convention in Washington DC on June 14th Link: http://www.adc.org American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee 8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press with help from Noah Reibel and Vilka Tzouras. Mike Di Filippo is our music maestro and engineer. Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Emily Kunstler, Orlando Richards, Simba Rousseau, Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Karen Ranucci, Fatima Mojadiddy, Denis Moynihan and Jenny Filipazzo.
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