news - written and oral

8/3/2019 News - Written and Oral

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RESPONDING TO PROTESTS, GADHAFIMAKES BLOODY APPEAL

MICHELE NORRIS, host:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Michele Norris.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

In Libya, there are reports of heavy fighting in parts of the country and joyous celebration in

others. In the west near Tripoli, pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with security forces loyal

to Moammar Gadhafi. In the east, opponents of Gadhafi claim to be gaining ground.

NPR's Jason Beaubien is following the situation from Cairo. As he tells us, today, Libya's

longtime ruler once again called on his people to beat back the protestors.

JASON BEAUBIEN: Moammar Gadhafi, in a speech today, blasted the anti-government forces

that are steadily grabbing control of his country. Speaking by telephone from an undisclosed

location over Libyan state TV, Colonel Gadhafi declared that he doesn't rule Libya, the people

rule Libya. And he called on the people to arrest the vandals who he says are destroying the

nation.

Colonel MOAMMAR GADHAFI (Leader, Libya): (Speaking foreign language)

BEAUBIEN: If you destroy your own country, Gadhafi said, well, that's it.

The speech veered from one topic to another. Defending his four decades in power, thestrongman pointed out that Queen Elizabeth has ruled England for 57 years. He blamed the

Libyan uprising on al-Qaeda and said the protesters are on drugs.

NPR received reports today of a brutal fight for control of the city of Zaouia, 30 miles west of

Tripoli. A Libyan newspaper reported that 23 people were killed and 44 injured in the clashes.

Gadhafi directly addressed the people of Zaouia, saying they must take the protesters' weapons

away.

Col. GADHAFI: (Speaking foreign language)

BEAUBIEN: My people of Zaouia, cut the ties with your sons, Gadhafi said. Chase the criminals,bring them to court, bring back your children. They were brainwashed. Cure them of the drugs

they are taking.

Gadhafi has unleashed the bloodiest response yet to the recent wave of pro-democracy protests

that are sweeping the Arab world. The Libyan government puts the death toll at 300 lives over

the last week. But human rights activists say the number is probably much higher.

(Soundbite of airport)


2/45

BEAUBIEN: Thousands of foreigners are attempting to flee Libya as the chaos grows. At the

Cairo airport, people arriving on a flight from Tripoli say people are desperate to get out of the

Libyan capital. Among them was 27-year-old Egyptian Hamda Saad(ph).

(Soundbite of airport)

Mr. HAMDA SAAD: (Speaking foreign language)

BEAUBIEN: In the airport we were afraid and we were afraid that thugs would come after us,

Saad says. Returnees say that Tripoli is gripped with fear right now. Most people are staying in

their houses and people who do go out are carrying pictures of Gadhafi as a form of protection.

This contrasts sharply with the reports we're getting from the east of Libya. A man in the eastern

city of Benghazi, who was still afraid to give his name, says people have been dancing in the

streets, celebrating the ouster of Gadhafi's security forces.

(Soundbite of report)

Unidentified Man: Old people, young people, families, small children, everywhere, everyone was

there.

BEAUBIEN: Libya has become the focus of the pro-democracy movement right now in the Arab

world. Here in Cairo, young men and women are loading medicine, food and other supplies onto

a truck bound for eastern Libya.

(Soundbite of street)

Mr. MOHAMMED ADEL (Architect): We are not donating food. We are sharing your case. We

are by your side.

BEAUBIEN: Thirty-year-old Mohammed Adel, who's an architect by day, says the supplies they

are sending are not nearly as important as the act of showing solidarity with the activists in Libya.(Soundbite of street)

Mr. ADEL: This is the real message we want to send to the Libyans. This is what they really

need, you know. People can survive without food, can survive without, you know, medication.

They can still, you know, keep alive. But the support, you know, the spiritual, this is what they

really need.

BEAUBIEN: He says they'll keep supporting their brothers in Libya until Gadhafi finally leaves.

Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Cairo.


3/45

PROFESSOR EVACUATES FROM LIBYA

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Use. For other uses, prior permission required.


We just heard briefly about the chaotic and scary scene for people trying to evacuate Libya.

We're going to talk now with someone who did manage to leave the country. Helena Sheehan

had gone to Tripoli last week to give a lecture. She's 66 years old and professor emeritus at

Dublin City University in Ireland. And just this afternoon, she made it back home safely to Dublin.

Professor HELENA SHEEHAN (Dublin City University): I'm delighted to be home. I don't know

when I've ever been so delighted to be home.

NORRIS: How long did it actually take you to get home?


4/45

Prof. SHEEHAN: Oh, I went to the airport early yesterday morning and got home here this

afternoon.

NORRIS: How long had you been in Tripoli before the chaos started?

Prof. SHEEHAN: Six days.

NORRIS: And you were there to deliver a lecture?

Prof. SHEEHAN: I was there to give a lecture and the lecture was postponed and postponed

again. And then my hosts abandoned me.

NORRIS: Who were your hosts and why did they abandon you?

Prof. SHEEHAN: Well, it was Sunday night that they abandoned me. Tripoli, it seemed to be

totally pro-Gadhafi city and from Sunday night it all shifted. The anti-government people started

coming out and the pro-Gadhafi forces fought back and so all night there was gunfire and

burning buildings. So that -everything shifted.

And then I got a call from reception saying the hotel was being evacuated. So I said, I have no

place to go, I know nobody here. And so she got me a booking at my own expense at another

hotel, which was even closer to the action, actually, in the very center of Tripoli near Green

Square. So I moved there. Then I found out that my flight home was cancelled. And the situation

kept deteriorating.

NORRIS: How did you actually get to the airport?

Prof. SHEEHAN: Oh, to leave, oh - Tuesday night I got a call from the Department of Foreign

Affairs here in Ireland saying that they were sending a small jet to Malta that would hopefully get

permission to land in Tripoli to evacuate us. So, you know, there was a thread of hope. And they

said, go to the airport in the morning. So I did.NORRIS: So what was the scene like when you actually got to the airport? What happened?

How did you actually get on a flight?

Prof. SHEEHAN: Well, that's the story. I mean, the Tripoli airport is real airport hell. First of all,

before you get into the airport, I was stunned by, you know - the way into the airport, there were

all of these people camped out in the rain, I don't know for how long, hundreds of people camped

out in the rain. I think mostly Egyptians and Tunisians.

And then as you came closer to the airport, just these heaving masses of people trying to get in

the airport, hundreds of people trying to get in the airport. And then when you get in the airport,

there are thousands of thousands of people in the airport. And to get in there and to try to find

who you would ask or what you would do or to whom you could speak, I felt absolutely lost.

And then at some stage, a young Italian woman came up to me and said, where are you from?

And I told her. And she said, oh, over there there's a - I hadn't even noticed, there's a group of

Irish and British people. And some of them were Irish people, teachers that worked in Libya who

were being evacuated in the same flight as me.


5/45

So we got through the morass of the airport and got onto the tarmac, got onto one of those

buses and circled around for three-quarters of an hour and they couldn't find the plane. And then

they brought us back to where we had gone out and they said that it's left without you. You know,

an evacuation that didn't evacuate.

NORRIS: Oh my goodness. I can't - I just am trying to imagine what that must've been like for

you.

Prof. SHEEHAN: However, the British foreign office people said that they would take us onto

their evacuation flight, which would be in some hours.

NORRIS: Now, before, I want to take you back. I want you to describe something for me and for

all of our listeners, the feeling when you sat back in that plane and put your seatbelt on and you

felt the wheels of that jet leave the ground.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Prof. SHEEHAN: And then it lifted off. It was fantastic. Fantastic.

NORRIS: Helena Sheehan, I have to make an observation. You sound remarkably calm giveneverything that you've just been through.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Prof. SHEEHAN: I'm not. I'm not. Well, of course, I'm calmer now that I'm out than I was then.

But, I mean, I'm very apprehensive about the people of Libya. I think it's horrendous. It's

horrendous.

NORRIS: Helena Sheehan just arrived home in Dublin, Ireland, after evacuating from Tripoli,

Libya. Helena Sheehan, thank you very much for speaking with us.

Prof. SHEEHAN: You're welcome. Nice to talk to you.


6/45

BRITISH JUDGE: WIKILEAKS FOUNDER CAN BE EXTRADITED




A British judge ruled today that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden.

There he would face questioning and possible prosecution over allegations of sexual assault.

Assange insists he will appeal, but Vicki Barker reports from London that he faces an uphill

battle.

(Soundbite of reporters)

Unidentified Man #1: Julian. Julian.

Unidentified Man #2: Julian.

Unidentified Woman: (Speaking foreign language)

VICKI BARKER: Julian Assange has accused Swedish prosecutors of mounting a politically

motivated attempt to silence him and his free speech cause.

(Soundbite of reporters)

BARKER: He shouldn't be sent back to Sweden, he's told the International Press Corps, because

he won't get a fair trial there. Today, a British judge rejected all of the defense arguments.

Assange's lawyer, Mark Stevens, immediately said he'll appeal.

Mr. MARK STEVENS (Attorney): It reaffirms the concerns that we have about the form of tickbox

justice that is the European arrest warrant.

BARKER: Assange himself said he'd been expecting the ruling. Ninety-five percent of all

attempts to challenge the Europe-wide warrant are rejected, he said.


7/45

Mr. STEVENS: It comes as no surprise, but is nonetheless wrong, a rubber-stamping process

that is a result of a European arrest warrant system run amuck.

BARKER: Although he denied ever implying American intelligence was behind the initial

accusations against him, Assange said he does continue to believe political pressure is being

exerted from unseen quarters.

Mr. JULIAN ASSANGE (Founder, WikiLeaks): Why is it that I am subject, a nonprofit free speechactivist, to a $360,000 bail? Why is it that I am kept under electronic house arrest when I have

not even been charged in any country?

BARKER: The system didn't allow him to rebut the allegations against him, he said. Instead, it

allows bureaucrats to, in his words, use the coercive power of another state to drag people off to

an uncertain destiny. But the judge ruled that the allegations of sexual coercion and the single

accusation of rape are extraditable offenses.

The judge also said the warrant itself had been properly issued. Assange now has seven days to

launch his appeal. If he loses that, he can take his case to Britain's Supreme Court. But

extradition expert Michael Caplan says it's likely all that will buy him is time.

Mr. MICHAEL CAPLAN (Extradition Expert): He does face an uphill tussle because there are

very limited grounds upon which you can appeal against his extradition warrants.

BARKER: And the judge, Caplan says, addressed all of those grounds in his ruling. Many of

Assange's supporters fear that the Swedes might hand him over to the Americans to be tried on

espionage charges. Not so, says extradition lawyer Julian Knowles. He's a colleague of the

British prosecutor who represented the Swedes in this case.

Mr. JULIAN KNOWLES (Extradition Attorney): The Swedes would not be able to extradite him

without the consent of the United Kingdom. That's a fundamental rule in extradition law.BARKER: Both Sweden and the U.K. refuse to extradite suspects to countries that might apply

the death penalty. If the Americans were to file less serious charges, Knowles says, then any

decision to extradite would be made by Britain's home secretary. But Assange could still take his

legal battle all the way to the European court of human rights.

For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London.


8/45

GM Posts $4.7 Billion In Profits Last YearbySonari Glinton

February 24, 2011

Listen to the StoryAll Things Considered

[2 min 27 sec] Add to Playlist Download

text sizeAAAFebruary 24, 2011

General Motorshas had a banner year from its stock offering in November to the triumphant

debut of the Chevy Volt. Now the company has reported earnings of $4.7 billion for last year. Butit still has a way to go before it's independent of the government.







General Motors is making money again - and a lot of it. After reinventing itself in bankruptcy with

a big assist from taxpayers, GM reported annual profits of $4.7 billion today. It's the company's

first profitable year since 2004.

As NPR's Sonari Glinton reports, the numbers are so strong, they're prompting speculation that

GM's recovery is complete.

SONARI GLINTON: It's been a banner year for General Motors. But in this last year, GM and its

CEO, Dan Akerson, have made it a point of sounding humble.

Mr. DAN AKERSON (CEO, General Motors): We know what went wrong and I believe we've

learned a lot from that.

GLINTON: That's Akerson when the company went public in November. Here he is on this show

back in December.

Mr. AKERSON: On behalf of the company and all of its employees, I'd like to thank the American

public for their assistance.

GLINTON: And this morning...
http://www.npr.org/people/130330851/sonari-glintonhttp://www.npr.org/people/130330851/sonari-glintonhttp://www.npr.org/people/130330851/sonari-glintonhttp://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_04.mp3?dl=1http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_04.mp3?dl=1http://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:GMhttp://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:GMhttp://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:GMhttp://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_04.mp3?dl=1http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034835%2C%20134034811%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/people/130330851/sonari-glinton


9/45

Mr. AKERSON: We know we still have a lot to do and we plan to continue to build on our

progress.

GLINTON: GM's post-bankruptcy balance sheet is impressive. These are the best profits since

1999. But what about the company's culture?

Ms. REBECCA LINDLAND (Analyst, IHS Automotive): I think they still have more work to do

internally.

GLINTON: Rebecca Lindland is an analyst with IHS Automotive. She says GM has done

exceedingly well in the last year. But it's not time for a victory lap.

Ms. LINDLAND: I think that there is still some Detroit-centric thinking. There also is just - is some

idea that, you know, the worst is over and look how far we've come.

GLINTON: Despite how far GM has come, its stock took a hit today. Gary Bradshaw, an

investment analyst with Hodges Capital Management, says the thing that is hurting GM's stock is

far from Detroit.

Mr. GARY BRADSHAW (Investment Analyst, Hodges Capital Management): Here it is that, youknow, last week we had Egypt out there and this week it's Libya and next week it's, could it be

Saudi Arabia?

GLINTON: Bradshaw says fear of uncertainty in the Middle East and higher gas prices has a

direct effect on car sales and GM.

Mr. BRADSHAW: I think that person walking in the showroom, when he walks by a pump and it's

3.29 or 3.39, they're going to think, well, you know, maybe I ought to hold off and wait a little bit.

And so there's a little hesitation right now.

GLINTON: Bradshaw says if nature abhors a vacuum, then the car industry definitely abhorsinstability, especially in the Middle East.

Sonari Glinton, NPR News, Detroit.

Toyota Pledges To Recall 2.2 Million MoreVehiclesFebruary 24, 2011

Listen to the Story
http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/


10/45

All Things Considered

[43 sec] Add to Playlist Download


Toyotahas agreed to recall another 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. to make sure the floor matsdon't interfere with the gas pedal. The agreement brings to a close the government's long-

running investigation of safety issues at Toyota.




So, good news for GM, but some bad news today for Toyota. It agreed to recall another 2.2

million vehicles in the U.S. The company wants to make sure its floor mats aren't interfering with

the gas pedal. The announcement comes with a silver lining for the automaker. The agreement

brings to a close the government's long-running investigation of safety issues at Toyota.


A rash of accidents involving runaway cars, including one that left four people dead led to

speculation that unintended acceleration had been caused by software issues or faulty

electronics. Earlier this month, government safety regulators issued a report that rejected those

claims. Toyota has long taken the position that accidents were caused either by the floor mats or

driver error.

A CALL TO SLOW DOWN CALIFORNIAS

HIGH-SPEED RAILCopyright 2011 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of


text sizeAAA

Heard on All Things Considered

February 24, 2011 - ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_05.mp3?dl=1http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_05.mp3?dl=1http://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:TMhttp://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:TMhttp://npr.wikinvest.com/wikinvest/export/v3/?frame=NPRTearsheet&action=getFrame&search=NYSE:TMhttp://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_05.mp3?dl=1http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034839%2C%20134034812%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/


11/45

Wisconsin, Ohio and most recently, Florida, have now turned down billions of dollars for high-

speed rail; dollars from Washington. But not California. It's moving forward with its high-speed

project and welcomes any and all federal money left behind. The first leg of the train is set to run

between two cities in California's bread basket: Fresno and Bakersfield.

NPR's Shereen Marisol Meraji visited a farm town on the proposed line and she talked with

community leaders who aren't yet onboard with the plan.

SHEREEN MARISOL MERAJI: Corcoran calls itself the farming capital of California. There's a

great big sign right in front of the main drive that says so and a farm right across the street from it

just in case you need proof. Corcoran has an old timey feel to it and that's what City Manager

Ron Hoggard likes.

Mr. RON HOGGARD (City Manager, Corcoran, California): We're small-town America. We're

Mayberry.

MERAJI: The analogy would be dead-on if nearly half of Mayberry's population were behind

bars. You see, 12 of the 25,000 Corcoran residents are in prison.There are two prisons here, a

lot of farmland, and an unemployment rate of 17 percent. Corcoran represents the path of leastresistance for California's controversial high-speed rail project: lots of open space and a bad

economy.

But Mayor Larry Hanshew has a long list of unanswered questions.

Mr. LARRY HANSHEW (Mayor, Corcoran, California): Why start something if we don't know we

can finish it? And the job that it would create for Corcoran are fantastic - that's great, we love it,

we need it, we want to see the jobs, we want to see the economy of Corcoran really begin to

thrive. But sometimes you wonder, at what cost?

MERAJI: Hanshew and Hoggard wonder if thejobs created will be permanent, where the trainwill go, how noisy it will be and if there's enough money to finish the project. On top of those

worries, they're fielding concerns from locals like this one.

Mr. BARRIE BOYETT (Farmer): I'm Barrie Boyett and I farmed here in Corcoran for over 50

years.

MERAJI: Boyett farms cotton, wheat and pistachios on his land. Although he doesn't know

exactly where the tracks will go, he's convinced that a bullet train will kill his livelihood.

Mr. BOYETT: It'll ruin our ranch, I mean, absolutely ruin it. And I know how the government

works. When they get ready to buy land, they'll buy at the very cheapest price they can buy it at.

So I know exactly how that'll work.

MERAJI: Boyett doesn't know why California is rushing to do something other states have

rejected and going ahead without the $45 billion the California High-Speed Rail Authority

estimates it will take to get the job done.

Mr. BOYETT: I don't plant a crop until I know I've got the money to finish that crop.

MERAJI: California High-Speed Rail Authority deputy director Jeff Barker says that's not the right

way to think about it. He says it's much more like buying a house than planting crops. You start


12/45

with a good down payment, in this case, $3.6 billion federal dollars and nearly 10 billion from

California taxpayers, and you go from there.

Mr. JEFF BARKER (Deputy Director, California High-Speed Rail Authority): That's because a

home is an investment and infrastructure is an investment in our future. And the bottom line is

we're going to go from 38 million to 50 million people. And our freeways are going to be clogged,

our airport runways are going to be clogged. We need another transportation option.

MERAJI: California State Senator Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat, agrees that high-speed rail can

be a good investment and a great transportation alternative. But he wants more government

oversight. He doesn't have confidence in the current authority's cost estimates, ridership

numbers and proposed ticket prices. And Lowenthal says he's just not convinced California's

Central Valley, with its relatively sparse population, is the right place to start.

State Senator ALAN LOWENTHAL (Democrat, California): I just would really like us to take a

deep breath, not to make decisions because there's a gun to our head, because unless we make

this decision, we're going to lose this federal money, because still, the largest contributors are

the people of California, and we need accurate data. We're not ready to throw the baby out with

the bath like other states have done, but we want to make sure we do it right.

MERAJI: For Jeff Barker of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, taking that deep breath

might lead to the end of the line for high-speed rail in California. He's convinced that if you build

it, they will come. Shereen Marisol Meraji, NPR News.

FREED ACTIVISTS OFFER REMINDER OFBAHRAINS PAST



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February 24, 2011 - MICHELE NORRIS, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.



The mostly Shiite demonstrators camped out in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, got a boost

today. Their government released a number of political prisoners, including veteran activists from

past protests.

Those released don't claim to be leaving the opposition now, but NPR's Peter Kenyon reports

that they are seen by many as living reminders of the pitfalls of negotiating with the Sunni-led

government.


13/45

PETER KENYON: The young protesters who have been on the front lines of the demonstrations

here have been reluctant to take up the government's offer of a national dialogue. For some, it's

people like Abduljalil al-Singace who fuel their worries that negotiated victories can disappear

once the pressure is off the government.

(Soundbite of protestors)

KENYON: Singace was among those whose freedom was celebrated at the Central Pearl Circle.He's one of the leaders of the Al-Haq Movement, which has refused to participate in Bahrain's

elections on the grounds that the government reneged on its promise of a parliament with real

powers.

(Soundbite of chanting protestors)

KENYON: In an interview with a small group of reporters at his home, Singace framed the

current crisis in the kind of historical terms that are anathema to supporters of Bahrain's Sunni

royal family. He calls himself one of the indigenous people of Bahrain; the mostly Shiite tribes

people who were here when the Al-Khalifa dynasty began more than two centuries ago.

Professor ABDULJALIL AL-SINGACE (Engineer/Chairman, University of Bahrain, Al-Haq

Movement): The indigenous citizens of this land have put forward their lives in order to be truly

represented in the public life. Those who had been in the front have been eliminated by the

regime. It's a pity that the regime has not really learned from history.

KENYON: It's a view that gives short shrift to the island's history as a key trading post that

attracted a polyglot population over the centuries. Many Bahrainis of Indian, Omani and Persian

descent claim a long lineage here. But through it all, the Shiite population has felt like second-

class citizens.

But the reform movement does have a long history here. Singace says the constitution of 1973included much of what demonstrators today are calling for. But that constitution was abrogated

two years later, the parliament dissolved and emergency rule put in place for the next 17 years.

Singace says the struggle to regain those lost rights has brought some hard lessons.

Prof. AL-SINGACE: Bahrainis have always considered themselves as decent, and they have

been seeking peaceful means.


KENYON: The other major force that rose up here, especially in the wake of Iran's Islamic

Revolution in 1979, was religious fundamentalism. A brief Shiite uprising in 1981 confirmed theSunni royal family's fears, and those of their patrons in neighboring Saudi Arabia, that there was

a danger of the island's Shiite majority being hijacked by religious forces.

The last major uprising here was in the 1990s, when people like Abdel Wahab Hussein were

important players. He attended the funerals last week of some of the young men killed in the

latest protests, and said the youth had taken the struggle to a new level.

Sheikh ABDEL WAHAB HUSSEIN (Shiia Religious Leader/Political Activist): (Through

Translator) There is a lot of difference between what's happening now and the 1990s. There's


14/45

more street experience now. People have learned from Tunisia and Egypt, they will have victory.

No one can stop the young people now.

KENYON: Hussein remains a bright-eyed and cordial elder statesman - tall and slender, clearly

revered by the young men who surround him. He argued that the mistake of the 1990s was to

back off when the government promised reforms, only to water them down later.

Sheikh HUSSEIN: (Through Translator) The protests of the '90s succeeded in bringing theNational Charter, the king's promise of real reform. But the government wasted its golden chance

when it produced a constitution that didn't live up to those promises. What you're seeing today

are the results of that failure.

KENYON: But other Bahrainis warn that if young Shiites today decide that only pressure and

confrontation can achieve their goals, they risk another violent crackdown, especially if the Saudi

leadership decides things are getting out of hand.

All sides are watching closely as the young demonstrators search for their next step.

Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Manama.


15/45

Al-Qaida Will Adapt To Mideast Changes,

Experts SayCopyright 2011 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms ofUse. For other uses, prior permission required.

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Before al-Qaida set its sights on the United States and the West, the group's top priority was to

topple regimes in the Arab world. Now uprisings are actually taking place. And in Libya today,

longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi blamed the terrorist network for unrest in his country.


He made his latest rambling appeal by phone over state television. Here's a clip, as interpreted

on Al-Jazeera's English news channel.

President MOAMMAR GADHAFI (Libya): (Through Translator) What has been the inciting factor

behind all this is the al-Qaida and bin Laden.

SIEGEL: And Gadhafi said al-Qaida has brainwashed and given hallucinatory drugs to Libyan

youth.

President GADHAFI: (Through Translator) Those enemies who have been training their kids,those are the ones who are under bin Laden's influence and authority.

NORRIS: Whether Gadhafi is right or not, there are real questions about what al-Qaida would do

as people rise up in the Middle East and North Africa.

As NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, Western intelligence officials are watching to find out.

DINA TEMPLE-RASTON: What a difference a few weeks makes. As this year began, European

capitals issued terror alerts. The U.S. was investigating a plot out of Yemen to bomb U.S. cargo

planes. And then, the Arab world got its first taste of people power.


Dr. KHALID ABBAS: Look, there is no going back. This is the start of the revolution. We have

acquired the first step. But we still have a lot to do.

TEMPLE-RASTON: What that same revolution will mean for al-Qaida is now being debated.

Mr. JUAN ZARATE (Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies): What this

current environment may be doing is shifting the ground under al-Qaida's feet.
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TEMPLE-RASTON: Juan Zarate is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International

Studies.

Mr. ZARATE: That is to say, al-Qaida has been very good at focusing the attention of their

constituents and of the world on this idea of the far enemy. That is that all of the world's

problems, all of the angst and grievances of the Middle East can be blamed on the United

States, or at least can be affected by attacking the United States.

TEMPLE-RASTON: Over the past several weeks, nonviolent demonstrations in Tunis and Cairo

have affected more change in a matter of days than al-Qaida has by targeting the West for more

than a decade. Analysts say al-Qaida is aware of the problem and will change its strategy

accordingly.

Professor BRUCE HOFFMAN (Director, Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown

University): The al-Qaida has always been ambidextrous.

TEMPLE-RASTON: Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert at Georgetown University.

Prof. HOFFMAN: And that's part of the opportunism that I think accounts for its longevity and

ability to survive the two-plus decades that it's existed. It'll exploit whatever issue is served in

front of it, and do so equally adroitly. So for now it will focus on the near enemy.

TEMPLE-RASTON: The near enemy - the regimes closer to home.

Rick "Ozzie" Nelson is the director of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program at

the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He says al-Qaida will likely target the near

enemies in Yemen and Libya first, and put less emphasis on targeting the West.

Mr. RICK "OZZIE" NELSON (Center for Strategic and International Studies): Both those

countries obviously have longer-standing ties to al-Qaida's senior leadership, and they are

probably best positioned to exploit the weakness in those countries.

TEMPLE-RASTON: Al-Qaida already has an arm in Yemen. That group was behind the attempt

to bomb a U.S. airliner two Christmases ago and the cargo bomb plot last fall. So that's Yemen.

Then there's Libya. One of al-Qaida's top leaders is from Libya and continues to have ties with

violent Islamists there. And if the new governments in Tunisia and Egypt don't provide their

citizens with the changes they want, that could provide al-Qaida with an opportunity, too.

Again, Rick Nelson.

Mr. NELSON: If the grievances aren't addressed and they demonstrate that peaceful means did

not bring about the changes they wanted, they can go back and al-Qaida can say, see, you doneed violent to do this.

TEMPLE-RASTON: Focusing on the near enemy in the region could mean less of a threat to the

U.S., but not necessarily. Hoffman says as popular movements sweep the Middle East, people

have been too quick to count al-Qaida out.

Prof. HOFFMAN: Al-Qaida is in it for the long haul. And even if we don't hear from them now, it

doesn't mean that they're not plotting and planning to use what they see as a golden opportunity


17/45

to their advantage. So I would say it's just too soon to tell how what's going on in the Middle East

and North Africa today will affect al-Qaida in the long run.

TEMPLE-RASTON: Hoffman says analysts are always underestimating al-Qaida's ability to

adapt.

Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

Indiana Legislature Faces StalematebyClaudio Sanchez

February 24, 2011


[4 min 15 sec]

Add to Playlist Download


Republicans and Democrats in the Indiana Legislature are at an impasse in their battle over

labor rights. All legislation is on hold, including two key bills that would limit teachers' rights to

negotiate contracts, and another that would no longer require workers to join a union as a

condition of employment.
http://www.npr.org/people/2101122/claudio-sanchezhttp://www.npr.org/people/2101122/claudio-sanchezhttp://www.npr.org/people/2101122/claudio-sanchezhttp://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_09.mp3?dl=1http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_09.mp3?dl=1http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2011/02/20110224_atc_09.mp3?dl=1http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.add_to_playlist%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/http://npr.player.openplayer%28134034843%2C%20134034816%2C%20null%2C%20npr.player.action.play_now%2C%20npr.player.type.story%2C%20%270%27%29/http://www.npr.org/people/2101122/claudio-sanchez


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Protests continued in Wisconsin today. Legislators in the assembly there are near a vote on a

controversial bill that would take away some collective bargaining rights from many public

employees. Action in the state Senate, though, remains at an impasse. State troopers were sentto the homes of the 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state to prevent a vote on the bill, not one

was found at home.


Meanwhile, the legislature in Indiana also ground to a halt today, as Republicans and Democrats

battled over labor rights there. All legislation is on hold, including a vote on the state's budget.

Earlier this week, all but two Democrats walked out of the state house.

From Indianapolis, NPR's Claudio Sanchez has the latest on the Indiana stalemate.

CLAUDIO SANCHEZ: By 10:00 this morning it was clear, Indiana lawmakers would not be takingup the people's business.

State Representative BRIAN BOSMA (R-IN, House Speaker): Roll call shows 63 members

present.

(Soundbite of a gavel)

State Rep. BOSMA: The chair declares that there's not a quorum for business.

SANCHEZ: That's House Speaker Brian Bosma, who says Democrats, including those who have

fled to Illinois, told him they had no intention of returning today or tomorrow to vote on the budget

and dozens of bills unless Republicans do the following: pull their proposal to curtail teachers'collective bargaining rights, drop their school vouchers proposal and abandon efforts to declare

Indiana a right to work state. Bosma says those demands are politically unacceptable.

Rep. BOSMA: This is more than just labor issues. This is a concerted effort to change the

agenda that was - that the folks selected at the ballot box last November. And my response has

been - that's not going to happen.

(Soundbite of protest)

SANCHEZ: Outside the House chambers, hundreds of union members chanted you're fired.

They were in no mood to compromise.This is exactly what Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels wanted to avoid. He wants to press unions

to make concessions but, unlike his counterparts in Ohio and Wisconsin, he did not want to

confront unions this legislative session, focusing instead on school reform.

Meanwhile, House Republicans insist their goal is to attract companies and investors who would

rather not deal with unions. But union leaders don't believe that.

Mr. NATHAN SCHNELLENBURGER: Their goal is to destroy our association.


19/45

SANCHEZ: Nathan Schnellenburger heads Indiana's state teachers association. He says no one

is more threatened in this fight over workers' rights than teachers. Already, Republicans in the

Indiana Senate have pushed through a bill limiting teachers' bargaining rights. It would deny

them the right to negotiate things like class size, tenure and teacher evaluations.

Schnellenburger says another bill ties teacher pay to student performance.

Mr. SCHNELLENBURGER: Teachers have been targeted, and I think that it's - that is politically

motivated because traditionally, unions have contributed more money to Democratic candidates

than they have to Republican candidates.

SANCHEZ: Schnellenburger says if you weaken the unions, you likely weaken the Democratic

Party and insists that's the motivation for this fight.

On the streets of Indianapolis, far from the political drama and long lines of protestors, people

seem to be growing weary. Stefanie Dirth, a young woman who works as a microbiologist, says

it's frustrating to hear and read about the political bickering day after day.

Ms. STEFANIE DIRTH: I think that Republicans are quick to shoot down anything that

Democrats do, and Democrats are really quick to shoot down anything Republicans do, andthere's not enough talking. It's actually kind of sad.

And there appears to be no end in sight. If House Democrats do not show up tomorrow, all

pending legislation will die, including any chance of passing a new state budget. What happens

after that is anybody's guess.

Claudio Sanchez, NPR News, Indianapolis.


20/45

Classic Film Returns To Theatersby Rick Karr

February 24, 2011




On the Boweryinspired John Cassavetes to make movies that's how good it is. It was

nominated for an Oscar and won a top prize at the Venice Film Festival. Yet the 1957

docudrama has rarely been seen since then. Now, the story of alcoholics on the Bowery is backin theaters.




From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.


And I'm Michele Norris.

The Academy Awards are this weekend, but we're going to look back now to 1957. One of the

Oscar nominees for Best Documentary that year was Lionel Rogosin's "On The Bowery." It was

set on New York City's Skid Row.

In addition to an Oscar nomination, the film won the top documentary prize at the Venice Film

Festival. But Rogosin then fell largely into the footnotes of American cinematic history.

Now, Rick Karr reports that's changing.
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21/45


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Mr. MICHAEL ROGOSIN: You know, the human face is something rather extraordinary. I think

my father had an extraordinary fascination and feeling for it, which comes through in that film.

Every time I see it, I see something I haven't seen before. I think it's a phenomenon which I find

actually rather incredible because you see a film five, 10 times, and you see something new

each time.

And I never get tired of it. I think it has to do with the beauty of the cinematography but also this

whole concept of portraiture, of these faces, which are ravished but very human and beautiful at

the same time.

KARR: Those portraits of the Bowery men were actually inspired by Rembrandt. But Lionel

Rogosin didn't just set out to make a beautiful film. In a documentary about "On the Bowery," he

said he wanted to change the world, so he abandoned the family business.

Mr. LIONEL ROGOSIN: One day, I said, well, I'm going to get out of this textile business,

synthetic fiber business. I'm going to make films about what's going on in the world. We just

came through the Holocaust, which was insane. Something's wrong. I have to find out with my

camera.

KARR: His son, Michael Rogosin, says the U.S. wasn't really ready to see what was wrong with

society. Sure, the film won an Oscar nomination, raves from critics and the top documentary

prize in Venice. But after that awards ceremony, Michael Rogosin says his father learned just

how the U.S. establishment saw the film.

Mr. MICHAEL: ROGOSIN: So there was some kind of big to-do afterwards, you know, a lot of

Italian press. The American ambassador was there, and I think my father went to shake her hand

or whatever, and she turned her back on him and walked out.

Mr. JONAS MEKAS: We're talking about the period when McCarthy was still - if he was not dead

in person, then his spirit was still there.

KARR: That's Jonas Mekas, one of Lionel Rogosin's peers on New York's avant-garde film

scene in the '50s, not long after Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunts.

Mekas is also founder of the city's Anthology Film Archives, which preserved the negative of "On

the Bowery." He says Lionel Rogosin was a member of a seminal group of New York filmmakers.

Mr. MEKAS: They had possibilities and dreams, but nobody wanted to sponsor the films. I mean,

Lionel kept writing scripts, and nobody wanted to produce his films.

KARR: Lionel Rogosin's second film won raves from critics, too. 1959's "Come Back Africa" is

another docudrama, set in the townships of South Africa under Apartheid. It'll be released to

theaters, and on DVD along with "On the Bowery," later this year.

While the movies live on, "On the Bowery's" two main characters didn't do so well. Shortly after

the film was completed, Gorman Hendricks drank himself to death. And Ray Salyer, whose good

looks and charisma won him an invitation to Hollywood, simply disappeared.

For NPR News, I'm Rick Karr in New York.


23/45

Letters: Joshua Foer; Cassette TapesFebruary 24, 2011

Listen to the Story

All Things Considered[2 min 50 sec]



Listeners respond to yesterday's conversation with Joshua Foer, the author of a book about the

art and science of memory; and lovers of cassette tapes. Robert Siegel and Michele Norris read

letters from our listeners.


24/45


25/45

(Soundbite of "Purple Rain")

NORRIS: Well, we appreciate your comments and the opportunity to play I'd say at last a Prince

song.

SIEGEL: Write to us by visiting npr.org and clicking on contact us.

< Libyan Rebels Plan Offensive AgainstTripoliCopyright 2011 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of


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Eastern Libya is now completely under the control of anti-government forces. Libyan army troops

have defected to join the protesters and are now trying to organize an offensive against theregime of Moammar Gadhafi. That is according to senior military commanders in Benghazi.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is there at the birthplace of the uprising, where she filed this

report.

LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO: Boxes of tank shells are being loaded up onto flatbed trucks but

what is being hailed here as the new Libyan army. The weapons are being taken to a warehouse

for storage. The soldiers here once worked for Gadhafi, but no more. Now, they are trying to
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26/45

gather up as much of their looted arsenal as they can for an offensive against the Libyan leader's

stronghold in the capital, Tripoli.

In a bustling complex which is the center of the rebel military operations in Benghazi, a senior

member of the newly-formed military council tells NPR that small groups of rebel soldiers have

been dispatched to infiltrate the capital. The roads to Tripoli from the east are still largely

controlled by pro-Gadhafi forces, he says, and small bands of soldiers attract less attention.

Colonel TAREK SAAD HUSSEIN: (Foreign language spoken)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Colonel Tarek Saad Hussein says the aim is to take Tripoli, but the

obstacle right now is the city of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown about halfway from Benghazi to the

capital. It's heavily reinforced, he says.

Colonel HUSSEIN: (Foreign language spoken)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The rebels are also trying to pinpoint Gadhafi's location. Colonel Tarek tells

NPR they have information that he is moving from house to house.

In a phone interview from the town of Tobruk, west of here, another defector from Gadhafi'sarmy, General Suleiman Mahmoud, says that the rebel aim is to bolster beleaguered pro-

democracy forces in Tripoli. What's not clear is how unified the fractured military command is,

and what kind of an effective fighting force can be assembled. Colonel Tarek and General

Mahmoud, for example, are not coordinating their efforts.

Unidentified Group: (Foreign language spoken)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: At an office in downtown Benghazi, dozens of men are lining up and

signing up to help, writing their names and contact details on a register.

People here in the east feel flush with the success of their revolution, and they say they want tohelp liberate Tripoli.


GARCIA-NAVARRO: The military isn't the only one organizing. The Libyan revolution is only a

week old today, but in eastern Libya, where the state apparatus has completely collapsed,

people are setting up a local authority.

Benghazi has formed committees to oversee food distribution, services, humanitarian aid and

garbage collection. There is a central council that oversees all the groups in Benghazi, and they

are coordinating with the leadership in other cities in the region.

Despite the brutal crackdown in Benghazi, the streets are now calm. Some banks have

reopened, and there is little evidence of widespread destruction...


GARCIA-NAVARRO: ...except at the main military base in Benghazi.


27/45

Men dance and chant on a tank. Around them are destroyed and looted buildings. The last pro-

Gadhafi forces in the city were holed up here until a few days ago. Today, hundreds of Benghazi

residents came to celebrate the victory.

Forty-year-old Jamal Mohammed Falah and his son were among them.

Mr. JAMAL MOHAMMED FALAH: (Foreign language spoken)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: He says he lived his entire life under Gadhafi's rule. I wanted to show my

son, he says, that a better leadership will be coming to Libya.

The horrors of the past one, though, were on full display in the army base.

(Soundbite of digging)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: At first, using shovels.

(Soundbite of digging)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And then with a giant digger, men here hunted for underground secret

prisons, where they suspect people were either detained or buried. One underground area hadblood smeared on the floor. Young men told us they had discovered soldiers who were being

held there for refusing to fire on protesters. It was impossible to confirm their account, but they

treated the dank cave like a shrine.

Such was the frenzy and fear at the base that people kept shouting out that they could hear

voices echoing from underneath the ground. No one today, though, was discovered.

Jamal el Kour was watching the scene. A member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood here who

was once imprisoned, he cried as he watched people digging.

Mr. JAMAL EL KOUR: Sorry. I'm just imagining myself that I'm one of them. It's somethingunbelievable. No human can describe this.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What happened under this regime can never be forgiven, he says. We will

be free or die trying.

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Benghazi.


28/45

Militias In Libya Attack ProtestersFebruary 24, 2011


February 24, 2011

A town roughly 25 miles west of Tripoli, Libya, was the site of a violent standoff Thursday

morning. Thousands of anti-government protesters had gathered in the town square in the

shadow of a mosque. The army attacked, but was repulsed back to the edge of town by the

protesters. Host Michele Norris speaks with a 58-year-old businessman who was in the town

square.




Roughly 25 miles west of Tripoli, along the Mediterranean, is the town of Zawiya. It was the site

of a violent standoff this morning. Thousands of anti-government protesters had gathered in the

town square in the shadow of a mosque. On the road between Tripoli and Zawiya, on the

outskirts of town, army forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were massing.


The army attacked but was pushed back to the edge of town by the protesters. After that initial

attack, we managed to get through to a demonstrator in the square. He was on his cell phone.

He's a 58-year-old businessman who gave us the name Mohammad(ph). He described the

protesters as a formidable group and said they were heavily armed.

MOHAMMAD (Businessman): There's a lot of machineguns here. The opposition, they are

dressed in their (unintelligible) because they're ready for the Gadhafi's regime's people to come

in. They closed all the roads coming to the square. They have tanks here. They havemachineguns. They have artilleries. They have a clashing probe(ph). They have small handguns

and machetes, and you name it. They have the weapons, and they are ready for the bastards.

NORRIS: I'm hearing a lot of chaos in the background behind you. Is that gunfire that I'm

hearing?

MOHAMMAD: Yeah. This is the (unintelligible). This square here has a mosque, and from the

mosque, they announced what's happening and what's going on. So they are encouraging the

people to stay put and not to (unintelligible) because it's really hard to (unintelligible) this battle.
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NORRIS: How many people are there in the square?

MOHAMMAD: Right now, I'd say at least two, 3,000, at least. Something is happening.

(Soundbite of explosions)

MOHAMMAD: Something is happening now.

NORRIS: What just happened? We heard that. What just happened?

MOHAMMAD: Something is happening now. Yeah. There's something happening. There are

those in one corner go into one corner while the opposition are coming through. Something is

happening. You hear this much...

(Soundbite of gunfire)

MOHAMMAD: Something is happening right now. Are you still with me, huh?

NORRIS: I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. Are you in a safe place right now?


MOHAMMAD: Something is happening right now.

NORRIS: Are you in a safe place?


MOHAMMAD: Well, I'm in the square right now just like everybody else. The other people run to

rooftops and hiding behind trees and buildings, but most of them still in the square.

NORRIS: So you're in an open area right now?

MOHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am. We are. (Unintelligible).

NORRIS: Do you know if it's the protesters firing, or are you being fired upon?

MOHAMMAD: I'm not sure, ma'am. I'm not sure. There's, like I told you, couple thousand, maybe

3,000 people here. Everybody - almost everybody is armed here, almost everybody. Almost

everybody. Some heavy guns, machineguns, some handguns, some machetes, some

everything.


NORRIS: Are you armed as well?

MOHAMMAD: No, ma'am. I did not go to the barricades to get my own arm. Everybody grabbedwhat they can, and they armed themselves. I see a tank coming in right now. The opposition just

took it. Near the tank - yeah, they just took it from the - the opposition, I guess, from Gadhafi's

regime.

NORRIS: When you say they took it, what do you mean by that?

MOHAMMAD: Well, I see a tank coming through the square, so it's either came from Gadhafi's

regime's people or from one of those...


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NORRIS: Did the tank roll through the barricade there? Is it now in the square?

MOHAMMAD: Inside in the square right now. It's with the opposition.


NORRIS: So...

MOHAMMAD: I think the machineguns you hear now...

NORRIS: Was this...

MOHAMMAD: ...I think it's just a celebration, so don't be alarmed.

NORRIS: All right. All right. I want to make sure I understand something. The tank that rolled in,

was that an army tank that the protesters overturned?

MOHAMMAD: Yes, it's an army tank, yes.

NORRIS: But now it's...

MOHAMMAD: Now it's with the opposition. There's like five, six tanks with the opposition rightnow.

NORRIS: Did the army just abandon those tanks?

MOHAMMAD: I'm not sure. They abandoned them, or they - if they want to call them the

revolutionaries. They won't come down from the camps. It's either or. I'm not sure. I just saw

them here in the square.

NORRIS: What do you know about casualties or deaths in the area?

MOHAMMAD: The casualties here, I just went to the gravesite where they had been this

morning, six people I see right there in front of me. There are six new graves. And in thehospitals, they say hundreds in the hospital, a lot of them with heavy injuries.


NORRIS: The wires are reporting that there are several people who have been wounded in this

sit-in. Have you had a chance to visit the hospitals? Do you know anything about what's going on

at the hospitals there?

MOHAMMAD: Well, I hear rumors now that they went to the hospital, and they emptied the

hospitals from the injured people because Gadhafi's son, which his name is Saif al-Islam or

something, he was supposed to be bringing some people from the media and showing them thatthere was nothing happening, and everything is nice in order, schools are open, and this is a lie.

Schools are closed. Shops are closed. The streets are deserted, empty except for a few cars

here and there, and there is nothing happening in the city. It's completely shut down. It's

completely shut down. And people are staying in their houses except the people right here in the

square right now, and they are coming from everywhere in Zawiya.

There are young people, as young as maybe 10 or 15, but there's a lot of old people, as well.


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NORRIS: How long have the protesters been there in that square in front of the mosque?

MOHAMMAD: (Unintelligible) I think four or five days.

NORRIS: And how long do you think they're willing to stay?

MOHAMMAD: They are willing to stay. Either he goes, or we go, and that's a fact. I know it from

their faces.

NORRIS: Mohammad, the world is watching and listening to what's going on in Libya right now.

What, if anything, should the international community do?

MOHAMMAD: I think they should interfere, ma'am. The United States should do something.

They're not going to say like what they said in Egypt or Tunisia, OK, we are not doing anything

until they knew that the regime is gone, and then they step in. And that's what they are doing in

Libya right now.

They are staying away until they know that the people are taking over, and then they're going to

come in. But we want them to do that before that happens. We want them to do that and show

that they are for the people, for the constitution, for freedom. This country has suffered a lot, 42years. That's enough.

NORRIS: We've been speaking to a businessman in the town of Zawiya. He's 58 years old, and

he's been describing what's happening at a sit-in right in front of a mosque in the town square

there. Mohammad, thank you very much.

MOHAMMAD: Thank you, ma'am. You have a good day.


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Georgetown Professor Speaks On MarriageLawFebruary 24, 2011

Listen to the Story

All Things Considered[4 min 1 sec]



Host Robert Siegel speaks to Georgetown law professor Susan Low Bloch about the legal

specifics of the Attorney General's decision to not defend the Defense of Marriage Act.


Use. For other uses, prior permission required.MICHELE NORRIS, host:




The Defense of Marriage Act became law in 1996. It's often called by its acronym: DOMA. It says

that under federal law, a married couple means one man and one woman, period. Since it's

federal law, it's up to the Department of Justice to defend it from challenges to its

constitutionality.

Yesterday, the Obama Justice Department announced that it's not going to do that anymore. It

considers the law unconstitutional and will not argue otherwise.

To find out how unusual that step is and what its likely legal consequences are, we've called

upon Susan Bloch, who's a law professor at Georgetown University. Welcome to the program.

Professor SUSAN LOW BLOCH (Georgetown University): Thank you, nice to be here.

SIEGEL: And first, how rare is it for the Justice Department to say: We won't defend a federal

law?

Prof. BLOCH: Well, it's not common, but on the other hand, it's not unheard of. The Department

of Justice is expected to defend all federal laws unless the department believes it's

unconstitutional. Typically, that is either when the law seems to infringe on the executive branch

or when the department just concludes that even though it may have been constitutional in 1996,

it can no longer, given the changes in the law, defend it.

SIEGEL: Are there obvious textbook examples of Justice doing this?


33/45

Prof. BLOCH: Yes. When the independent counsel statute was law and was challenged as being

unconstitutional, the administration refused to defend it. In that case, the Supreme Court

disagreed and upheld the law.

Another time when Congress had adopted something called a legislative veto, the administration

believed that that law intruded too far into the executive branch, refused to defend it, and the

Supreme Court agreed that it was unconstitutional.

SIEGEL: Well, once the Department of Justice says it's not going to defend a law, does anyone

else have standing to defend it in court, or is the law as good as undefended and dead?

Prof. BLOCH: No, it is not dead. Congress presumably still wants to defend it, and if so,

Congress will go get its own lawyer.

SIEGEL: And that could even be just one house of Congress, say the Republican-controlled

House could decide it wants to defend the law?

Prof. BLOCH: You know, that's an interesting question that I don't think we've experienced. I

have always assumed that Congress has to act together to defend its law.

SIEGEL: Considering the run of current challenges in the courts to the Defense of Marriage Act

and possible future challenges, how much does this tell us the outcome of litigation? Does this

pretty much tilt the game far in favor of opponents of DOMA?

Prof. BLOCH: Well, I think it makes the betting stronger on the side of unconstitutionality, but

really, it is just the administration's position. And I can tell you that when DOMA gets to the

Supreme Court, there'll certainly be a number of votes that will disagree with the administration.

So it's likely to be a five-four decision, and the administration's position has weight but nothing

controlling.

SIEGEL: Let's say that DOMA gets to the Supreme Court. During arguments, does somebody

from the solicitor general's office stand there but say don't ask me, you know, I agree with them.

I'm on there on side on this one? What actually happens?

Prof. BLOCH: I think they just don't appear. But they can ask to appear on the other side. But the

side defending the law will not include the Department of Justice, and the solicitor general won't

be there.

SIEGEL: Will not be there.

Prof. BLOCH: Won't be on the side defending the law. Whether the solicitor general chooses to

come in to watch proceedings, I guess I sort of doubt it, but it's possible.

SIEGEL: Well, Professor Bloch, thank you very much for talking with us.

Prof. BLOCH: Thank you.

SIEGEL: That's Susan Low Bloch, professor of law at Georgetown University, talking about the

announcement yesterday by the Justice Department that it will no longer defend the

constitutionality of a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act.


34/45

< Analysts Say A Government Shutdown IsNo JokeCopyright 2011 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of


text sizeAAA






In just eight days, the federal government could shut down. That is unless Democrats and

Republicans can agree on a spending bill to fund the government for the rest of the year.

NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson explains what a shutdown could mean.
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MARA LIASSON: In private, talks continue on a possible compromise, but in public, the two

parties are squaring off, trying to make sure if there is a shutdown, the other side gets the blame.

Here's President Obama at his press conference last week.

President BARACK OBAMA: People should be careful about, you know, being too loose in terms

of talking about a government shutdown because - this is not an abstraction. You know, people

don't get their Social Security checks. They don't get their veterans' payments. You know, basicfunctions shut down.

LIASSON: In fact, it's unlikely Social Security and veterans' checks would stop coming - we'll

have more on that in just a moment. Still, budget expert Stan Collender says a government

shutdown is a very big deal.

Mr. STAN COLLENDER (Founder, Capital Gains and Games Blog): Everybody may hate federal

spending, but they like federal services. And that's what happened back in '95 and '96 when we

had the last two shutdowns. Within minutes of the shutdown, after everyone got over the initial

kind of amusement of the situation, they realized suddenly that they couldn't apply for a passport

and couldn't apply for a visa, and National Parks were closed. And they were angry as hell aboutit.

LIASSON: The memory of that 1995 shutdown and the blame Republicans got for causing it may

be why House Speaker John Boehner insists that this time, the GOP does not want a shutdown.

Instead, he says...

Representative JOHN BOEHNER (Republican, Ohio; Speaker of the House): We have some

Democrats here in Capitol Hill threatening to shut down the government, rather than to cut

spending and to follow the will of the American people.

LIASSON: Republican strategist Ed Rogers thinks the GOP is right to try to inoculate itselfagainst the political repercussions of a shutdown.

Mr. ED ROGERS (Republican Strategist): Whatever the department is that's going to get cut,

ultimately, it gets down to producing, you know, the media equivalent of widows and orphans that

are going to go without and the heartless Republicans. So that to avoid the good guys versus the

bad guys, like we had during the Gingrich era, to avoid that is important.

LIASSON: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ended up as the number one bad guy in the

conventional retelling of the mid-'90s shutdown, but he thinks the political lessons of that

experience had a silver lining for Republicans that just might be applicable today.

Mr. NEWT GINGRICH (Former Republican Representative, Georgia): When we shut the

government down, we convinced our base we were serious, and we became the first re-elected

Republican House majority since 1928. So it's a little hard for me to believe that it hurt us. But I

think in this case, what you don't want to do is just play games with it. If they can find a way to

keep the government open in a principle manner, they should.

LIASSON: For Speaker Boehner that means a continuing resolution or CR -Washington jargon

for a temporary spending bill - that includes spending cuts.


36/45

Rep. BOEHNER: I am not going to move any kind of short-term CR at current levels. When we

say we're going to cut spending, read my lips: We're going to cut spending.

LIASSON: Exactly what level of cuts would satisfy Boehner's Tea Party freshmen is unclear.

They've already forced him to double the original level of cuts in the GOP budget bill.

And there are also political perils for Democrats in the standoff. They don't want to be in the

position of merely defending spending. That's why the White House today said the presidentwould be willing to make some additional cuts.

New Jersey Congressman Rob Andrews is eager to show that Democrats are the reasonable

ones.

Representative ROB ANDREWS (Democrat, New Jersey): One thing about a government

shutdown, the government doesn't stop taking money out of your paycheck every Friday. People

still pay taxes, but they get no services. How anybody could put the country at risk of that

situation is beyond me, and that's why the House Democrats and now the Senate Democrats

have stepped forward and said: Look, let's make a temporary agreement. Let's negotiate

reasonably and go forward from there.

LIASSON: So that's where things stand now. Speaker Boehner says he needs some unspecified

level of spending cuts to keep the government running. The White House and Senate Democrats

say they're willing to take some unspecified level of cuts. All that's left is for the two sides to

negotiate a compromise.

Government expert Paul Light thinks that unlike 1995, Republicans might actually have an edge

in this year's negotiations because the public's desire for fiscal restraint is so great. But, Light

says, if there is a shutdown, both sides will suffer.

Professor PAUL LIGHT (Wagner School of Public Service, New York University): I thinkAmericans are pretty well disgusted with how Washington is working, and a shutdown will

damage both parties. And I think these games about who cuts what and a continuing resolution,

they're just games.

The vast, vast, vast majority of Americans don't understand a thing about how the budget

process works, and they certainly wouldn't understand this kind of late maneuvering over a

continuing resolution.

LIASSON: The public may not understand, but most of the players agree this kind of

maneuvering will probably continue, until the very last minute late next week.

Mara Liasson, NPR News, Washington.


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Government Shut Down: A Threat To Social

Security?byDavid Welna

February 24, 2011




Based on what happened last time in 1996, it's not very clear. The U.S. Social Security

Administration maintained a few employees to administer benefits, but after a while it became

difficult to process new applicants or deal with problems.




And as we just heard, President Obama has warned of the possibility that if the governmentshuts down, people might not receive their Social Security payments.

NPR's David Welna looks into whether those checks would or would not be in the mail.

DAVID WELNA: What President Obama said last week about a shutdown's impact on Social

Security benefits did sound ominous.

President BARACK OBAMA: This is not an abstraction. You know, people don't get their Social

Security checks.

WELNA: Asked today about the president' assertion, White House spokesman Jay Carney said

the president was pointing out what Carney called the potential consequences of a governmentshutdown for those on Social Security.

Mr. JAY CARNEY (Press Secretary, White House): Some recipients, new retirees, new

applicants might not receive their checks. If retirees have questions about their checks, if they

didn't get their check in the mail, if they had a change of address, all those things could prevent

them from getting their checks.

Dr. ANDREW BIGGS (Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute): It seems almost

impossible to believe that Social Security checks won't go out.
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WELNA: That's Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington

think-tank. Biggs was deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration during the

George W. Bush presidency. Because what's paid out in Social Security benefits comes from

payroll taxes, not congressional appropriations, Biggs says that money won't be affected by a

shutdown, even though the jobs of some Social Security employees could be.

Dr. BIGGS: So I am 100 percent confident the checks will go out. But you could see in a

government shutdown that people would have a harder time applying for benefits or doing other

things that - where they would interact with the Social Security Administration's offices.

WELNA: On its website, the Social Security Administration says nothing about a possible

shutdown. And there was no response by the agency to repeated requests for comment about

this story. But an online ad by the agency, starring actress Patty Duke - playing two roles, as

Patty and Cathy - does encourage people to, quote, "Retire online."

(Soundbite of Social Security Administration ad)

Ms. PATTY DUKE (Actress): (as Patty) Who knew it would be this much work when Richard and

I decided to retire?

Ms DUKE: (as Cathy) Well, what are you going to do first?

Ms DUKE: (as Patty) Or heading down to Brooklyn Heights and start in on that Social Security

paperwork.

Ms DUKE: (as Cathy) Why would you do that?

Ms DUKE: (as Patty) What do you mean?

Ms DUKE: (as Cathy) Well, it's so much easier just to log on to socialsecurity.gov and file online.

WELNA: But filing online and sending out computerized checks still requires at least somepeople actually working at Social Security. So do many other tasks, as became clear during the

last shutdown 15 years ago.

Mr. JOHN KOSKINEN (Former Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget, Social

Security Administration): The last time around, actually as the deputy director for management, I

coordinated the shutdown.

WELNA: That's John Koskinen who ran that shutdown from the Clinton White House Budget

Office. Koskinen says virtually all Social Security employees were initially put on furlough, and

then, they weren't.

Mr. KOSKINEN: They were all shut down for, give or take, a little about a week. And then as we

continued every day to review the situation, the determination was made that the checks were

getting ready to go. If we didn't send the checks out that that would create an emergency,

definition as we saw it at the time. And so the workers were brought back even though the

shutdown continued.

WELNA: The Social Security checks did get sent out during that shutdown. But Witold

Skwierczynski, who heads the union representing Social Security employees, says a meeting


39/45

today that he had with the Social Security administrators did little to clear up uncertainty about

what might happen should there be another shutdown.

Mr. WITOLD SKWIERCZYNSKI: I'm not sure what they're going to do, and apparently, they don't

know what they're going to do, because they asked for a postponement of the briefing till

Monday, because they haven't -that the commissioner hasn't indicated what he's going to do

regarding the essential employee issues. And it may be really a decision of the president, rather

than him.

WELNA: And that's because by law, no agencies can operate without money appropriated by

Congress, unless the executive branch designates their continue

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