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This week on NOW:
As the American and British governments pointed to the threat of weapons
of mass destruction (WMDs) to make a case for war with Iraq, some say
the American media took the government at its word and didn't dig deep
enough to uncover the truth behind the intelligence claims. In Britain,
a news report accusing the Blair government of inflating evidence of
WMDs erupted into a scandal that shook the BBC, one of the most
respected news organizations in the world, to its foundation. What can
this battle between the British government and the BBC tell us about the
dangers of political influence on independent journalism? Former BBC
director general Greg Dyke, who left his post in the wake of the
scandal, tells Bill Moyers that the government's "public relations
machine" embellished intelligence documents to make the case for war.
Dyke discusses the possible future of the BBC, which he fears could face
a brutal fight over its government-issued charter.
Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to determine
whether Vice President Cheney should be forced to produce documents
revealing the energy industry insiders with which he consulted when
writing the nation's energy policy. The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch,
which brought the suit, allege that energy industry executives and
lobbyists were in on the meetings while environmentalists were shut out.
The resulting policy, some say, granted valuable favors to gas and oil
industries while giving short shrift to the environment and renewable
resources. David Brancaccio sits down with Sierra Club executive
director Carl Pope to discuss the energy task force as well as get his
thoughts on President Bush's environmental record. "The American people
are still waiting to find out what happened behind closed doors when the
administration met with polluting energy companies to form the nation's
energy policy," said Pope recently.
This Sunday, hundreds of thousands of women's rights activists will band
together at the nation's capitol for the March for Women's Lives. One
woman standing up for women's rights is Kavita Ramdas, president and CEO
of Global Fund for Women, the largest foundation in the world focused
exclusively on women and girls. As leader of the Global Fund for
Women, her work has supported women's human rights around the world,
addressing such critical issues as economic independence, increasing
girls' access to education and stopping violence against women. On
Sunday, Ramdas will be at Women & Philanthropy's annual meeting where
she will accept the distinguished 2004 LEAD (Leadership for Equity and
Diversity) award. Ramdas sits down with David Brancaccio to talk about
her work in women's rights and about the impact of US aid policy on
women around the world.
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