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Coup Plot Alleged in Philippines

GUEST: Melissa Roxas, Bayan State Regional Coordinator for Southern California.

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared emergency rule today. She alleges a conspiracy by political opponents, Communists and rightists to remove her from power. The emergency rule is as effective as martial law. Rallies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Ferdinand Marcos, the former Philippine dictator, have been banned.

Iraq Under Curfew
GUEST: Robert Fisk

Iraq has been hit by a wave of sectarian violence that has killed nearly 130 people. The violence began after the bombing of one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines. Commentators are saying that Iraq stands on the brink of civil war with the American strategy in Iraq facing its gravest test since the 2003 invasion.

We turn next to a journalist of the highest caliber who has been covering the Middle East for decades upholding the best ideals of journalism. Robert Fisk has written many bestselling books, based on his field notes and recordings – combining straight factual reporting with analysis and often strong criticism the hypocrisy in British and United States government foreign policy. His view of journalism is that it must “challenge authority – all authority – especially so when governments and politicians take us to war”, and he quotes with approval the Israeli journalist Amira Hass: “There is a misconception that journalists can be objective … What journalism is really about is to monitor power and the centers of power.” Fisk’s latest book is The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“U.S. journalists I don’t think are very courageous. They tend to go along with the government’s policy domestically and internationally. To question is seen as being unpatriotic, or potentially subversive.”
–Robert Fisk