Tuesday, September 1, 1998

• Commentary By Mumia Abu-Jamal

  
  

  At the beginning of every month we bring you a commentary from death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. A year ago we broadcast Abu-Jamal reading his own commentaries. Since that time Pennsylvania prison authorities cracked down on prisoners. Now inmates cannot be photographed, audiotaped or videotaped. In response, Democracy Now! has decided to broadcast Abu-Jamal’s latest commentaries as read by well known activists and artists.

• World Markets Drag Down Dow

  
  

  First analysts said it was a "correction," but now the Dow Jones industrial average has lost practically all of this year’s gains. Yesterday the Dow dropped 500 points, a 6% loss. Markets around the world have been in flux for quite some time, but for the most part the U.S. stock market has posted gains. Some analysts still say that the long-term prospects are good, but others say the market cannot help but follow the global trend.

• Instability in Russia

  
  

  President Clinton arrived in Russia for his summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The meeting comes at a time when the Russian Ruble has plummeted against the dollar and other western currencies. The economic instability has created political instability in Russia. There have even been calls for Yeltsin’s resignation. And hopes the Russians might have had about a coalition government between Yeltsin and the communists fell off yesterday when the lower house of parliament, the Duma, voted against Victor Chernomyrdin, Yeltsin’s choice for Prime Minister.

• Human Impact of Economic Crises

  
  

  While the focus of the world press has been on stocks and bonds and the impact of the current economic crises on wall street brokers, economist Radhika Balakrishnan has just returned from Asia where the financial collapse is measured in human lives rather than corporate profits.