Democracy Now! February 25, 1999

Jasper Trial An update on the sentencing phase of the murder trial of John William King, a white supremacist convicted of the capital murder of an African-American man (James Byrd, Jr.). GUEST: Jeremy Scahill, reporter for Pacifica Radio U.N. Seeks Retrial of American in Peruvian Prison The Geneva-based United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention asked Peru this week to take steps to "remedy" the case of Lori Berenson. A native of N.Y., Berenson is serving a life sentence in a Peruvian preson after being tried by a secret military court and found guilty of belonging to a guerilla organization. GUEST: Mark Berenson, father of Lori Berenson L.A. Eight Face Deportation The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that illegal immigrants generally have no right to argue that they are victims of selective enforcement immigration laws. This cleard a large hurdle in the governments efforts to deport a group of Palestinians accused of supporting terrorism. GUEST: Marc Van Der Hout, co-counsel for the "L.A. Eight." GUEST: Khader Hamide, one of the "L.A. Eight" GUEST: Hussein Ibish, Media Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Levi Strauss Moves Plant Overseas Levi Strauss and Company, an icon of popular American culture, said this week that it will close half of its manufacturing plants in the United States and Canada and ship much of the work overseas. The company will lay off 5,900 of its employees, or 30% of its North American work force. GUEST: Charlie Kernigan, From the National Labor Committee. GUEST: Media Benjamin, Director of the Corporate Accountability Project at Global Exchange. GUEST: Viola Casares, Coordinator for "Fuerza Unida" in San Antonio, TX. GUEST: Miriam Louie, from the Women of Color REsource Center in San Francisco and The Bay Area Support Committee for "Fuerza Unida"