http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/453899p-381958c.html
New York Daily News Goodman: People, not pols, spread 'Democracy' By DAVID HINCKLEY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 Radio remains the most important medium in reclaiming democracy for the people, says Amy Goodman, host of the nationally syndicated progressive news show "Democracy Now!" "Democracy Now!" heard mornings at 9 on WBAI (99.5 FM), is also carried on the Internet and some TV stations. But the program that began 10 years ago on five community stations run by WBAI's parent Pacifica has experienced its most dramatic growth on regular over-the-air radio, which accounts for almost all of its 500-plus outlets. "Radio is inexpensive," says Goodman. "It reaches everyone." That's important because Goodman starts with the premise that everyone matters. On the radio, in person and in the new book she co-authored with her brother David, "Static" (Hyperion, $23.95), she repeatedly declares only a chorus of individual voices can turn America around. She distrusts both Republicans and Democrats, and she's especially disappointed with the media that cover them. "The media is supposed to be the fourth estate, not for the state," she says. "But it has let itself be controlled. When it's 'embedded' in government, it stops being an independent voice." Using an example from "Static," she contrasts the powerful images and reports in early Hurricane Katrina coverage from New Orleans with the lack of anything similarly compelling from Iraq. "What we get from mainstream media is lies and distortion," she says. "When George W. Bush lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, he had the press corps right behind him selling it." While shows like "Democracy Now!" present another perspective, she says change will come only when people want it and speak out for it. "Bush is uniting people across the political spectrum against him and his policies," she says. "But there's no way to predict what will happen in the fall election because fewer than half the eligible voters go to the polls." Since progressive policies have made little progress in Washington lately, Goodman is swimming upstream. She says she's not discouraged. "There's always cause for optimism," she says. "There are so many people out there doing things in small ways." She points to Cindy Sheehan's vigil near the presidential compound in Texas, and to anti-war activists who pushed Ned Lamont past Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic primary. "That shakes the establishment," Goodman says. "It says there's another voice." The Internet is also a prime carrier of that voice, she says. "It's the great equalizer, unless it's privatized." But the strongest megaphone now, she says, remains radio. "'Democracy Now!' started with five outlets and now has 500. That says people are hungry for what mainstream media isn't giving them. "Republican or Democrat, people are just sick and tired of being lied to." *** Washington Post Blogs - Sep 19, 2006 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2006/09/nonaligned_movement_revived_sa.html World Opinion Roundup A Daily Survey of What the International Online Media Are Saying by Jefferson Morley Pundits See Revival for Non-Aligned Movement While scorned or ignored by U.S. commentators, the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana over the weekend made headlines in the international online media as a revived forum for nations that want to take an independent position in a one superpower world. "The movement is reasserting itself as a forum for anti-Westerners of all stripes, from Islamists to Communists," said Macleans, the Canadian newsmagazine. The movement has achieved "maturity," claimed Raul Castro, acting Cuban president. The NAM was founded in 1961 by Asian, African and Latin American countries seeking to distance themselves from the rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union. With the cessation of the Cold War 15 years go, the NAM landed at "a low ebb," said the People's Daily Online. In Havana, said China's state-controlled news site, the movement "recast its historical status." The gathering of 3,000 delegates from 116 countries made news on several fronts. - An unexpected handshake deal between India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani president Gen. Pervez Musharraf promises to bolster cooperation by the two countries on terrorism issues. - Venezuela announced the creation of a news agency to compete with Reuters and the Associated Press, according to Venezuela Analysis. - The conference's final declaration, issued Sunday, backed "Iran's right to nuclear energy and urged U.N. reform to give greater weight to poor countries," according to The Australian. (Read excerpts from the declaration here.) Chavez in the Spotlight The tone was set Saturday when two leading adversaries of the United States, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, embraced each other. "Let us join forces to push the sun in this new dawn... because I believe that it is possible for us now to create a world where no one country rules, nor one world gendarme, nor war nor cannons nor bayonets, but in which a world of love, peace and solidarity reigns," Chavez said in a speech. Ahmadinejad called for "strengthening the movement and turning it into a more effective tool," according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Nicarargua's Nuevo Diario (in Spanish), a moderate left newspaper, said the radical politics of the governments most opposed to Washington collided with the positions of more moderate governments and U.S. allies. The conflict revealed "the difficulty of achieving unity for a group that wants to play a more decisive role in the international scene." The Managua daily also noted that Cuban dissident Osvaldo Paya had circulated an open letter calling for recognition of the Cuban civic opposition, whose leaders have been subject to arrest. In Venezuela, the conservative El Universal(in Spanish) suggested that Chavez, along with allies in Cuba and Bolivia, was seeking to transform the non-aligned nature of NAM (or NOAL as it known in Spanish) to create a "radical leftist bloc" aligned against the United States. In Bolivia, Los Tiempos (in Spanish), a daily newspaper in the city of Cochamba, said the NAM was addressing the "dangerous situation caused by the only existing superpower." Los Tiempos also published a column by Cuban-American columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner contending that NAM's Latin American leaders -- Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia -- had taken a stand "against modernity." Bolpress, a leftist news and analysis site, responded by noting that Montaner had received money from the U.S. government for his anti-Castro writings, according to a recent Miami Herald story. India and the New NAM While the Iranian online media emphasized NAM's support for Iran's position in nuclear negotiations with the West (with special attention to Chavez), the agreement between India and Pakistan was the biggest news in the Persian Gulf, home to tens of thousands of expatriate South Asian workers. The Gulf News called it "a huge turnaround." The Khaleej Times said the Indian and Pakistani leaders had shown "that they are still committed to peaceful resolution of their problems, especially Kashmir," the disputed border region. In India, one of the founding nations of the movement, commentators were reluctant to embrace anti-Americanism but still endorsed the impulse to stand independent of the United States. "In a rapidly changing global situation there is no need for New Delhi to hang on to the coat-tails of Washington like Blair," said The Times of India. "It also needn't spew invective at the US like some NAM countries. The editors of The Hindu chastised Prime Minister Singh for "not calling attention to the pernicious doctrine of 'pre-emption,' which is a big threat to international peace and stability. Nobody expected him to adopt the strong language of Cuba's Acting President Raul Castro or the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. But NAM is surely the forum for India to reiterate a principled and clear opposition to any form of neo-imperialism." More World Reaction The non-aligned countries, wrote former foreign secretary Tanvir Ahmad Khan in the Pakistani daily Dawn, "are beginning to create a counter-narrative" to the story of American global power. "NAM is providing space to erect a rival edifice that robs the imperial dome of its splendour," he said. The Jamaica Observer suggested the summit justified NAM's existence in the face of global change. "The ethos of world politics has changed to more and more reflect an almost total American agenda ... Add to the mix the frightening speed of technological advances, especially in telecommunications, usually driven by the Americans and the condensation of the world into a technologically based global village and we can readily see and appreciate why the concept of non-alignment may now be redundant." Still the NAM "acts as a buffer for the marginalised countries that need help to build their political systems, their national economies and for some the fight against HIV-AIDS, to have a voice and to share their unique situations with the rest of the world," the Observer said. © 2006 The Washington Post Company *** ----- Original Message ----- From: UFPJ Action Alerts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 2:38 PM Subject: Declaration of Peace Actions Begin Tomorrow www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 | Click to subscribe If you are having trouble viewing this message, please click here. Please forward widely! Dear friends, Yesterday, Sept. 19th, as George W. Bush spoke before the UN General Assembly, an energetic, committed crowd of some 3,500 people marched and rallied on the streets of New York City. We prevailed over the New York Police Department's attempts to block our march -- faced with our determination to march with or without a permit, they decided to accommodate our peaceful crowd -- and we delivered a strong message against the war in Iraq. (Click here for media reports on the demonstration.) And now we look forward to the next step. Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, NYC, 9/19/06 -- Photo: Diane Lent Tomorrow, Sept. 21, is the first day of what promises to be a powerful week of antiwar actions all across the country as part of the Declaration of Peace campaign. More than 400 organizations and groups -- many of them members of UFPJ -- have endorsed and are part of this campaign. Over 300 antiwar activities are taking place in over 150 cities around the United States, primarily targeting pro-war members of Congress. One of the most exciting aspects of the campaign is the commitment to take our movement for peace to a new level through acts of nonviolent civil disobedience and civil resistance. As we all know, the news from Iraq is horrible: Every single day people are slaughtered and lives are ruined. It is time to end this war, and that means it is time for us -- the antiwar movement in this country -- to redouble our efforts. We need to continue to offer people as many ways as possible to make their voices heard, and we must also show our determination to end the war by taking more risks, including the risk of arrest. Click here to find out what's happening in your area. And please be sure that any activities you know about are listed on the Declaration of Peace calendar. It is not too late to join the events in your area, and it is not too late to plan to come to Washington, DC to participate in nonviolent civil resistance and civil disobedience on Tuesday, Sept. 26, and Wednesday, Sept. 27. To help us continue to build the momentum against this war, we hope you'll consider making a financial contribution to United for Peace and Justice. Every dollar you donate goes directly toward our efforts to bring the troops home now. You can make an online donation by clicking here, or make a credit card donation over the phone by calling 212-868-5545. You can also mail a check or money order to UFPJ, P.O. Box 607, Times Square Station, NY, NY 10108. As we head into the fall election season, let's make sure that all politicians and political candidates, from both major parties, hear our message loud and clear: It's time for the troops to come home -- NOW. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545 To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, visit www.demaction.org/ufpj/unsubscribe.jsp [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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