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U.S. Secret Drug War in Honduras: Botched DEA Raid Leaves 2 Pregnant Women, 2 Men Dead
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has confirmed its agents were on board a U.S.-owned helicopter with Honduran police officers when four people were shot and killed on a boat earlier this week. Two of the victims were said to be pregnant women. The deadly incident has highlighted the centrality of Honduras in the U.S.-backed drug war. Honduras is the hub for the U.S. military operations in Latin America, hosting at least three U.S. bases. We speak to Dana Frank, a Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. [Includes rush transcript]
All-White Jury Acquits Houston Ex-Police Officer in Videotaped Beating of Black Teen Chad Holley
Hundreds of people rallied in Houston on Thursday to protest the acquittal of a former police officer in the videotaped beating of an African-American teenager. On Wednesday, the officer, Andrew Bloomberg, was found not guilty by an all-white jury in the beating and stomping of 15-year-old burglary suspect Chad Holley. Video taken of the March 2010 incident shows Holley being stopped by a police vehicle. After Holley falls to the ground, he is clearly seen surrendering and putting his hands behind his head. But instead of placing him in handcuffs, Bloomberg and six fellow officers proceed to attack Holley with stomps and kicks. "It seems we have become jaded, willing to accept in too many instances, young black people being grossly mistreated," says NAACP President Ben Jealous. [Includes rush transcript]
"The Worst Racial Profiling Program in the Country": NAACP President on NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Program
A federal judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit opposing the New York City Police Department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program, opening the door to legal recourse for hundreds of thousands of people targeted by police. The judge’s ruling cited the city’s "deeply troubling apathy" toward the constitutional rights of New Yorkers. A recent study by the New York Civil Liberties Union found the NYPD program is racially skewed and largely ineffective, with blacks and Latinos making up 87 percent of people stopped last year. We speak to Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. [Includes rush transcript]
Ben Jealous: "Heartbreaking" Trayvon Tapes Capture Experience of Millions Racially Profiled in U.S.
Benjamin Jealous, the president and CEO of the NAACP, joins us to react to the new audio recordings and documents released in the investigation of Trayvon Martin's killing. The evidence indicates a fight occurred between Martin and his alleged killed George Zimmerman, but police determined the deadly encounter was "ultimately avoidable" if Zimmerman had not pursued Martin. An autopsy also shows Martin died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from "intermediate range." Reacting to a recording of Martin's girlfriend recounting her phone call with Martin moments before his death, Jealous says: "It's heartbreaking to listen to his childhood girlfriend talk about the experience of listening to him be hunted on the street just before he was killed. It dramatizes for people the experience of millions of young people across this country every year when they are racially profiled, whether it's by community watch volunteers or by cops." [Includes rush transcript]
"I Know He Was Scared": Trayvon Martin's Girlfriend Recounts Phone Call Right Before Fatal Shooting
Florida prosecutors have released a trove of documents, photographs and audio recordings revealing new details about the night George Zimmerman shot dead the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. We broadcast excerpts of the chilling recording of a prosecutor's interview with Trayvon's girlfriend. She and Trayvon were talking on the phone in the moments leading up to his death. "I know he was scared," the girl recounts. "I told him, 'Keep running!' ... He told me the guy was getting real close to him. And the next I hear is [Trayvon saying], 'Why are you following me for?' … I heard this man... say, 'What are you doing around here?' ... And I call Trayvon, 'Trayon, what's going on? What's going on?' ... Then, I am calling him and he didn't answer...You could hear someone had bumped Trayvon...I was still screaming, I was saying, 'Trayvon! Trayvon!'...And then the next thing the phone just shut off." [Includes rush transcript]
Occupy G8: Peoples' Summit Confronts World Leaders at Camp David, Urging Action on Poverty, Hunger
World leaders are convening at the heavily guarded Camp David in Maryland today for the G8 Summit. Leading nonprofits such as Save the Children and Oxfam are urging G8 leaders to live up to a 2009 pledge of $22 billion towards food security in developing nations of which only a quarter has been met. Activists are also urging G8 leaders to build on their previous commitments and partner with developing countries to urgently tackle hunger. We're joined by Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, and Dr. Margaret Flowers, a physician and organizer with the Occupy G8 Peoples' Summit. [Includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 18, 2012
Documents Reveal New Details in Trayvon Martin Killing, Hundreds Protest Acquittal of Houston Ex-Cop in Assault of Black Teenager, Envoy Tells Israel U.S. Ready for Attack on Iran, U.S. Gives Israel $70 Million Boost for Missile Defense, Israeli Gunfire Wounds 7 Palestinians Near Gaza Border, Egyptian Police Officers Acquitted in Protester Killings, U.S. Lifts Trade Restrictions on Burma, Global Events Mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, House Anti-Abuse Bill Omits Protections for LGBT, Native American, Immigrant Victims, Report: GOP Super PAC Planned Ads Tying Obama to Pastor
Paul Krugman: Debt Commission Chair Alan Simpson is Wrong to Call For Greater Austerity, Budget Cuts
Earlier this week, former Sen. Alan Simpson, who co-chaired President Obama's bipartisan deficit commission, attacked New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, saying his work "borders on hysteria." We ask Krugman to respond to Simpson, who has advocated for slashing spending despite the economic downturn. "We're witnessing a gigantic experiment in the kinds of policies that people like Simpson want," Krugman says. "The Europeans have gone whole hog for [austerity]. Catastrophic results." Krugman says now is the time to increase government spending. "We're not saying ignore the debt forever, but we're saying it's actually counterproductive to be slashing spending right now," he says. "It depresses the economy, it depresses long-term growth, it hurts long-term revenues." [includes rush transcript]
Paul Krugman on Eurozone: "The Whole Thing Could Fall Apart in a Matter of Months"
The European economic crisis is expected to top the agenda at the G8 meeting tomorrow at Camp David. In Greece, voters will soon head to the polls for another round of elections which will be viewed by many as a referendum on the euro. Our guest today, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, warns the current bank run in Greece could spiral into the end of the eurozone. "It's really quite shocking," Krugman says. "I hate to sound apocalyptic." Meanwhile, France's new finance minister has reiterated that the country's new Socialist government will not ratify the European Union's fiscal pact calling for greater austerity. [includes rush transcript]
Krugman: Jamie Dimon Should Resign over JPMorgan's $3B Lost Bet and Campaign Against Financial Regs
As the financial giant JPMorgan Chase continues to suffer major losses on its risky derivatives trades, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says bank chief Jamie Dimon should resign "precisely because he's been using his supposed wisdom as a way to campaign against reform, and now it's turned out that he wasn't that wise after all. In fact, his bank was doing seriously bad stuff." Krugman says, "I think it would be better for everybody if he went." The Justice Department is now probing JPMorgan amid new calls for tougher regulation of Wall Street. "They're making these bets with your money, because these are banks that are guaranteed. They have guaranteed deposits," Krugman says. "We're supposed to have a rule going into effect -- the Volcker Rule -- that says that they can't do this kind of stuff. But they are continuing to do it. ... We cannot trust the bankers to use this money safely." [includes rush transcript]
"End This Depression Now": Paul Krugman Urges Public Spending, Not Deficit Hysteria, to Save Economy
Public spending is under assault from the United States to Europe in the name of fighting deficits. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues in his new book, "End This Depression Now!", that the hysteria over the deficit will constrain an economic recovery in a time of high unemployment and stagnating wages. "The economics is really easy," says Krugman, "If we were to spend more money at the government level and ... rehire the schoolteachers, firefighters, police officers who have been laid off in the last several years because of cutbacks at the state and local level, we would be a long way back towards full employment. ... Right now, there just is not enough spending, and we need the government, which can do it, to step in and provide the demand we need. ... We've had austerity in the face of a recession, in a way that we have never had before since the 1930s. ... And the results are clear: it's disastrous." Krugman writes about the economy as a columnist for the New York Times and is a professor of economics at Princeton University. [includes rush transcript]
Journalist, Plaintiff Chris Hedges Hails "Monumental" Ruling Blocking NDAA Indefinite Detention
In a rare move, a federal judge has struck down part of a controversial law signed by President Obama that gave the government the power to indefinitely detain anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial -- including U.S. citizens. Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York ruled the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act likely violates the First and Fifth Amendments of U.S. citizens. We speak with Chris Hedges, a journalist who filed the suit challenging the NDAA along with six others, and Bruce Afran, the group's attorney. "This is another window into ... the steady assault against civil liberties," Hedges says. "What makes [the ruling] so monumental is that, finally, we have a federal judge who stands up for the rule of law." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 17, 2012
Judge Strikes Down Indefinite Detention in NDAA, JPMorgan Loses Additional $1 Billion on Risky Trade, DEA Confirms Involvement in Deadly Honduras Attack, U.S. to Send Combat Brigade to Africa, Over 100,000 Protest in Chile to Support Students' Demands, Kucinich to Retire from Congress, Wildfires Sweep Across Parts of Arizona, Vermont Becomes 1st State to Ban Fracking, Census: White Births No Longer the Majority in U.S., Lawsuit Challenging NYPD "Stop-and-Frisk" Granted Class Action Status
FBI Crackdown on Antiwar Groups Targets Chicano, Brown Beret Activist Carlos Montes
Supporters of a longtime California activist, Carlos Montes, rallied outside a courthouse in Los Angeles Tuesday calling on authorities to drop his prosecution. Montes faces four charges, including one for firearms possession that dates back to the 1960s. A longtime leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and antiwar movements, Montes' arrest in a May 2011 raid followed similar FBI raids on activists in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois targeting fellow members of a political group called the Anti-War Committee. "They're attacking me for my activism against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also because of my solidarity work with oppressed people throughout the world, whether they be in Palestine or Colombia or Mexico," says Montes, who plans to march against NATO this weekend in Chicago. Montes helped organize the Brown Berets and took part in the famous 1968 walkout by high school Chicano students in East Los Angeles to protest academic prejudice and dire school conditions. [includes rush transcript]
"What Have We Been Doing?": Decorated Veteran Aaron Hughes to Return War Medals at Anti-NATO Protest
Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will join thousands of protesters this Sunday at the NATO summit in Chicago. We speak to Iraq Veterans Against the War's Aaron Hughes, who's among a number of Afghanistan and Iraq war vets planning to return their medals of honor to visiting NATO generals. "[Veterans] have to live with [the] failed policy [of the global war on terror] on a daily basis," Hughes says. "A decade-long war, what have we been doing? ... There's a real moral disconnect between the idea that our military can build a democracy and the idea that our military is trained and designed to control, dominate and kill people. ... Occupations don't build democracies, don't extend individuals' freedoms. The movements—the Arab uprising, the Arab Spring—that was building democracy. The movements of Gandhi, the movements of the civil rights movements here in the United States, people's movements, that extends democracy, not military force." [includes rush transcript]
As NATO Meets in Chicago, Bill Ayers & Bernardine Dohrn Condemn "Militarized Arm of the 1 Percent"
Legendary Chicago activists Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers talk about this week's protests in Chicago, where NATO will hold its largest summit to date. Thousands of protesters from a diverse coalition of organizations including unions, antiwar groups, immigrant rights organizations and Occupy are expected to march in the streets. Chicago is preparing a massive security operation, with the Department of Homeland Security declaring the summit a "National Special Security Event." Civil liberties advocates have warned it could provide the first public test of a new law that expands the ability of the Secret Service to suppress protests in or around certain restricted zones. "We think that NATO should be meeting in an underground bunker or on a remote island," Dohrn says. "[Chicago] is being treated as really a practice military zone ... [while] we don't have money here for community mental health clinics, we don't have money for public libraries or for schools, we don't have money for public transportation... We want peace and not permanent wars abroad and military war games and [the] national security state at home." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 16, 2012
DOJ Probes JPMorgan Chase for $2 Billion Loss, Boehner Revives Debt Limit Threat, DEA Accused of Role in Killing of 4 Civilians in Honduras, Syrian Troops Kill 21 Civilians; Rebels Get Weapons Boost, Israeli Troops Wound Palestinian "Nakba" Protesters, France Inaugurates Hollande as New President, Greece to Hold New Elections After Unity Talks Fail, Charges Unveiled in Rebekah Brooks Phone-Hacking Case, Virginia House Denies Judgeship to Openly Gay Prosecutor, Investigation: Texas Executed Innocent Man in 1989, Medical Report Claims Zimmerman Had Injuries After Martin Killing, Mexican Novelist Carlos Fuentes Dies at 83
"Magic Soap" Maker David Bronner on Labeling Genetically Modified Food, Fair Trade, the War on Hemp
Critics of genetically modified foods have won a victory in California by securing enough signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot that could force food manufacturers to label food products containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Numerous items are already sold in grocery stores containing genetically modified corn and soy, but companies do not currently have to inform consumers. We speak to David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, about GMOs, fair trade, the U.S. war on hemp, and the company's support of Palestinian olive oil producers. [includes rush transcript] "Click here to watch Part 2 of the interview.":http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2012/5/16/part_2_magic_soap_maker_david_bronner_on_organic_labeling_fair_trade_hemp_and_not_selling_out
As Obama OKs Weapons to Bahrain, Neurosurgeon Tortured by Regime Faces Trial for Treating Protesters
Human rights organizations are criticizing the Obama administration's decision to resume military sales to Bahrain despite the ruling monarchy’s ongoing repression of pro-democracy protests. The State Department has said it will allow a multi-million-dollar weapons shipment to the Bahraini government, citing "national security interests." The announcement came just days after the Bahraini government vowed "tougher action" in its crackdown on protesters. We're joined by Dr. Nabeel Hameed, who is one of Bahrain's only neurosurgeons and among dozens of Bahraini physicians and nurses who have been arrested and tried for treating anti-government protesters. After a three-month prison stint that he says included abuse and torture, Dr. Hameed is expected to be tried by a Bahraini court soon after he returns home. "There is this silence, this deafening silence, from the world governments [about Bahrain]," he says. "There is a situation which is really getting worse and worse. And if you don't really stop it here, it may get really, really bad in the future. ... You don't have to wait until the violence propagates out of control." [includes rush transcript]
Ex-Financial Regulator William Black: Austerity is Sinking Economies from Europe to U.S.
White-collar criminologist and former senior financial regulator William Black addresses the grassroots reaction to austerity measures in Europe -- from the "Indignados" movement in Spain to the anti-bailout elections in France and Greece -- as well as in the United States, where the Occupy movement is re-emerging as the presidential campaign gets into full gear. "Finance is supposed to simply be a middleman to help the real economy," Black says. "It in fact now completely dominates and is a parasite on the real economy. German austerity has pushed the entire eurozone into recession and the periphery into Great Depression-level unemployment. And the same arguments are being made in the United States and are used as a pretext to try to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is economically illiterate, but politically attractive." [includes rush transcript]
Crony Capitalism: After Lobbying Against New Financial Regulations, JPMorgan Loses $2B in Risky Bet
JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank, is under fire after losing at least $2 billion in derivatives trading it was warned carried high risk. The loss has renewed calls for tougher regulation of Wall Street, with critics saying JPMorgan could have avoided it under regulations the bank opposed. We're joined by former financial regulator, white-collar criminologist, and University of Missouri-Kansas City Professor William Black, author of "The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One." Black says JPMorgan's latest woes stem from the flaws endemic to "too big too fail." "Allowing [banks] to be this big, even conservative economists call this crony capitalism," Black says. "The only way this can work is to shrink the systemically dangerous institutions -- this is the 20 largest banks in the United States -- down to the point that they no longer pose a systemic risk, they are no longer too big to fail, and therefore, they will no longer have this implicit federal subsidy that completely distorts competition [and] ... destroys democracy, because these giant institutions have so much political power." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 15, 2012
Palestinian Prisoners Approve Deal to End Hunger Strike, Palestinians Mark "Nakba" with Day of Protest, Colorado Lawmakers Nix Same-Sex Union Bill, Obama Delivers Commencement Address to Women Graduates, Report: NATO Failed to Fully Investigate Civilian Deaths in Libya Bombing, Head of Anti-Whaling Group Sea Shepherd Arrested in Germany for 2002 Confrontation, Malaysian Tribunal Finds Bush, Cheney Guilty of War Crimes, California Governor Unveils Cuts, Tax Hikes to Overcome Budget Shortfall, Democrats Accept Corporate Funds for Convention, Activists Protest Resumption of Controversial Immigration Policy in New York, Report: Attorney in Clarence Aaron Drug Pardon Case Withheld Vital Information, Obama Hailed for Same-Sex Marriage Stance at Campaign Fundraiser, Rebekah Brooks Charged in Murdoch Phone-Hacking Scandal, Ron Paul to Suspend Campaigning, Focus on Delegates
Noam Chomsky on WikiLeaks, Obama's Targeted Assassinations and Latin America's Break from the U.S.
As the United States carries out another deadly drone strike in Yemen, Noam Chomsky compares the counterterrorism policies of the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. "If the Bush administration didn't like somebody, they'd kidnap them and send them to torture chambers," Chomsky says. "If the Obama administration decides they don't like somebody, they murder them." Chomsky also praises the whistleblowing activities of WikiLeaks, as well as the ongoing Latin American shift away from Washington's long-running political and economic dominance. [includes rush transcript]
Chomsky: Occupy Wall Street "Has Created Something That Didn't Really Exist" in U.S. — Solidarity
Noam Chomsky says the Occupy movement has helped rebuild class solidarity and communities of mutual support on a level unseen since the time of the Great Depression. "The Occupy movement spontaneously created something that doesn't really exist in the country: communities of mutual support, cooperation, open spaces for discussion ... just people doing things and helping each other," Chomsky says. "That's very much missing. There is a massive propaganda—it's been going on for a century, but picking up enormously—that you really shouldn't care about anyone else, you should just care about yourself. ... To rebuild [class solidarity], even if it's in small pieces of the society, can become very important, can change the conception of how a society ought to function." Chomsky also gives his assessment of President Obama, whom he says has attacked civil liberties in a way that has "gone beyond [George W.] Bush." [includes rush transcript]
Noam Chomsky: Palestinian Hunger Strike a Protest Against "Violations of Elementary Human Rights"
We begin our hour-long interview with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky by discussing the Palestinian hunger strike. A tentative deal has reportedly been reached to end a landmark action that's seen an estimated 2,000 jailed Palestinians go without food to pressure Israeli prison authorities to end the use of solitary confinement and ease a wide range of restrictions. "The hunger strikes are a protest against ... violations of the elementary human rights," Chomsky says. He is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of dozens of books, most recently, "Occupy." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 14, 2012
49 Mutilated Bodies Found in Mexico, 11 Killed in Apparent U.S. Drone Strike in Yemen, U.S. Renews Military Sales to Bahrain Amid Crackdown, Report: Palestinians, Israel Reach Tentative Deal on Hunger Strike, JPMorgan Chase Ousts 3 Execs over $2B Loss, Spaniards Mark 1 Year of Anti-Austerity Protests, Greece Election Likely as Leftists Reject Coalition, German Voters Reject Pro-Austerity Governing Party, Former News of the World Editor Confirms Close Contact with British Leaders, Romney Woos Evangelicals with Liberty University Speech, Gun Retailer Sells Trayvon Shooting Target, Supporters Claim Self-Defense for Florida Mom Sentenced to 20 Years, Colleagues Donate 8 Months Vacation to Trayvon Martin's Mother
Stop the Drug War: Mexican Poet Javier Sicilia Condemns U.S. Role in Widening Drug Violence
We end the week with part two of our interview with renowned Mexican poet Javier Sicilia. Last year, Sicilia's 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was murdered by drug traffickers in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In his son's memory, Sicilia created the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity to urge an end to the drug war. Sicilia is now in the United States to launch a month-long peace caravan this August after leading a similar caravan across Mexico last year. "We are outraged, because this war has done nothing for us. It has not solved the problem," Sicilia says. "We need to create awareness, consciousness, that the people, the American people, know that behind every drug consumer and behind every use of guns, we pay with dead people." Click "here to watch part 1 of this interview":http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/10/mexican_poet_javier_sicilia_leads_us [includes rush transcript]
Sexual Violence and Natural Resource Pillaging Top Hardships Facing Alaskan Natives
Hundreds of indigenous leaders and activists from all across the world are gathering in New York City this week for the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. We speak with Dalee Sambo Dorough, an Inuit from Alaska who teaches political science at the University of Alaska-Anchorage and serves as vice chair of the Permanent Forum. Sambo Dorough discusses the range of hardships faced by indigenous peoples in Alaska today, from environmental devastation and threatened land ownership in the Arctic to rampant sexual violence. "In these various different political and economic agendas, indigenous peoples in the United States are at the bottom of the bottom. They always have been," Sambo Dorough says. "The issues facing Alaska Native communities, indigenous communities across the United States, never appear on the radar screen as a priority issue." [includes rush transcript]
UN Probe: U.S. Should Return Stolen Sacred Land, Including Mt. Rushmore, to Native Americans
James Anaya, the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, has conducted the United Nations' first-ever investigation into the plight of Native Americans living in the United States. Anaya's recommendations include advising the U.S. to return some land to Native American tribes, including South Dakota’s Black Hills, home to the famous Mt. Rushmore monument. Anaya says such a move would be a step toward addressing systemic discrimination against Native Americans that continues to this day. "The indigenous peoples of this country ... suffer from poverty, poor health conditions, lack of attainment of formal education [and] social ills at rates that far exceed those of other segments of the American population," Anaya says. "These conditions are related to a history of wrongs that they have suffered." [includes rush transcript]
The U.S. v. Joe Arpaio: Justice Department Sues Arizona Sheriff for Racial Profiling of Latinos
The Justice Department has sued Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies in Maricopa County for racially profiling Latino residents in the Phoenix area. The DOJ contends that Arpaio and his deputies aggressively targeted Latinos, regardless of their immigration status, and retaliated against anyone who got in their way. We go to Phoenix to speak with Randy Parraz, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona. "We believe, finally, we're going to have an airing of what's taken place," Parraz says. "We applaud the federal government and the Department of Justice for coming in and holding Sheriff Arpaio accountable, because local law enforcement officials here ... are unwilling to do that work." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 11, 2012
Obama Fundraises After Same-Sex Marriage Announcement, Romney Bullied Gay High School Classmate, 55 Killed in Syria Bombings, Afghan Soldier Kills NATO Servicemember, U.N. Relief Coordinator: Dire Conditions for Afghan Refugees, Up to 400,000 Protest Austerity Measures in London, JPMorgan Loses $2B on Complex Instrument, Deutsche Bank Settles Mortgage Fraud Claims, Florida Supreme Court Weighs Key Foreclosure Case, Pentagon Course Taught "Total War" Against Islam, Montana Judge Overturns Birth Control Funding Ban, Relatives of Disappeared March in Mexico, House GOP Cuts Protections for Immigrant, Native American, LGBT Victims in Domestic Violence Bill , White House: Biden Apologizes to Obama for Speaking First on Same-Sex Marriage, Journalist, Gay Rights Activist Slain in Honduras, Attorneys for Jailed Environmental Activist Tim DeChristopher Seek to Overturn Sentence
Mexican Poet Javier Sicilia Leads U.S. Peace Caravan to Expose Drug War's Human Toll
One of Mexico's best-known poets, Javier Sicilia, laid down his pen last year after his 24-year-old son was murdered by drug traffickers in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In his son's memory, Sicilia created the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity to urge an end to the drug violence -- violence that has left an estimated 60,000 dead, 10,000 disappeared, and more than 160,000 Mexicans displaced from their homes over the past six years. Sicilia is now in the United States to launch a month-long peace caravan to "bring to the American people's conscience their shared responsibility for the thousands of dead, missing and displaced in the drug war." [includes rush transcript]
Tony Kushner on the Overlooked "Radicalism" and Lessons of Abraham Lincoln's Presidency
For his latest project, Tony Kushner is writing the screenplay for an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie about Abraham Lincoln. Kushner says an understanding of Lincoln's presidency carries valuable lessons for political life today. "I think that [Lincoln's] incredible ability to finesse very, very treacherous political circumstances and continue to move the country forward, I mean, to lead the country forward in the midst of the most horrendously difficult period in its history, I think, is breathtaking and awe-inspiring." [includes rush transcript]
Maurice Sendak (1928-2012): Tony Kushner on the Life and Legacy of Legendary Children's Author
Playwright Tony Kushner reflects on the life of his friend Maurice Sendak, the writer and illustrator best known for his children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are." Sendak died on Tuesday at the age of 83. "Maurice had that ability to speak universally, which I think was evidence of the fact that he really was a genius," Kushner says. Kushner adds that he regrets Sendak, who was gay, did not live to hear President Obama embrace same-sex marriage. "He believed in decency and in fair play and in integrity, which is why I think he really liked our current president and would have been very moved to see change happening." [includes rush transcript]
Playwright Tony Kushner Hails Obama's Support for Same-Sex Marriage: "I Felt the Earth Move"
In an historic announcement, President Obama has become the first U.S. president to support same-sex marriage. We get reaction from acclaimed playwright and activist Tony Kushner. In 2003, he and his partner became the first same-sex couple to appear in the Vows section of the New York Times. "I felt the earth move," Kushner says. "It's one of those moments where you feel a corner being rounded and the actual change, or the groundwork for change, being prepared. It's been astonishing to watch over the years the slow but steady progress of marriage rights and, in general, of the enfranchisement of the LGBT community. It's at a pace that's faster than I honestly anticipated it would be. And it's incredibly moving." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 10, 2012
Obama Voices Support for Same-Sex Marriage, Dozens Killed in Syrian Bomb Blasts, U.S. Missile Strike Kills 5 in Yemen, U.S. Hosts Bahraini Prince as Monarchy Vows Harsher Crackdown, Greek Left Drops Bid for Coalition Gov’t, E.U. Delays Greek Loan Pending Coalition Talks, Hundreds Protest Bank of America in Charlotte, DOJ to File Civil Rights Suit Against Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Parents of Captive U.S. Soldier Reveal Secret Talks on Prisoner Swap, Report: NYPD’s "Stop and Frisk" Heavily Targets Black, Latino Men, Vermont Set to Become 1st State to Ban Fracking, U.S. Sees Warmest 12 Months on Record
Wisconsin Democrats Select Recall Challenger to Take On Gov. Scott Walker's "Ideological Civil War"
Wisconsin Democratic primary voters have picked Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to face controversial Republican Gov. Scott Walker in a recall election. Protests erupted across Wisconsin last year after Walker announced plans to eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for most public workers, as well as slash their pay and benefits. Walker and Barrett will now square off in a recall election on June 5. We go to Madison to speak with Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive magazine. Rothschild notes Walker's bid to remain in office has been aided by massive contributions from rich donors nationwide. "Walker is the darling of the vicious business class in America. He's a hero to every boss who wants to put [a] boot on the throat of labor," Rothschild says. "And these people ... have just been opening their wallets." [includes rush transcript]
From Coal to Foreclosures, Bank of America Faces Protest at Shareholders' Meeting in Charlotte
Occupy Wall Street protesters, environmental activists, and struggling homeowners are converging in Charlotte today for a protest outside Bank of America's annual shareholder meeting. The protesters are calling attention to the bank's involvement in the financial crisis, its support for the coal industry, and its long record of alleged foreclosure abuses. The rally marks a test run for activism targeting September's Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Charlotte. The city recently enacted broad police powers to stop and search anyone carrying a backpack, purse or briefcase with the intent to conceal anything on a long list of prohibited items, ranging from weapons to markers to bicycle helmets. "Folks are coming to Charlotte in order to stand their ground against the predatory practices of Bank of America," says Rachel LaForest of the Right to the City Alliance, a national coalition of community groups that is bringing roughly 175 residents to Charlotte who have been evicted by Bank of America. "We're coming to their shareholders' meeting in order to stand before their key shareholders and to say, 'This is what your practices have done to our lives. And we are entering into this space now to become decision makers and ensure that this is something that stops." We're also joined by Rebecca Tarbotton, executive director of Rainforest Action Network, which is calling on Bank of America, the largest financier of the coal industry, to transition its investments out of coal and toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. "Bank of the America is the lead financier of coal in the country. ... Coal-fired power plants, for instance, are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the cause of climate change and climate chaos. So we're here very specifically to say to Bank of America, 'Look, you need to get out of coal, if you're serious about ... this country transitioning out of fossil fuels and into renewable energy." [includes rush transcript]
North Carolina Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions
North Carolina voters have turned out in large numbers to pass a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman. While North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriage, the amendment means civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be recognized legally by the state. Some lawyers say the measure is vaguely worded and could impact the state's 150,000 straight couples who live together but are unmarried. Others warn it may invalidate domestic violence protections, undercut child custody arrangements and jeopardize hospital visiting rights. "If we look at the people who sponsored this amendment, we see they have a track record not of unity, but of division," says William Robinson of the Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 9, 2012
North Carolina Approves Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Lugar Loses GOP Primary in Indiana; Dems Select Walker Opponent in Wisconsin, GOP Blocks Student Loan Relief in Senate Vote, Would-Be Airline Bomber Was Saudi CIA Double Agent, Annan Warns of Syrian Civil War, Greek Leftists Rule Out Coalition with Austerity Backers, Red Cross Urges Israel to Transfer Hunger-Striking Palestinian Prisoners, Bahrain Delays Protester Retrials as 2 Hospitalized, Al Jazeera Closes China Bureau over Visa Denial, Utah Enacts 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period, 10 White Supremacists Arrested in Florida for "Race War" Plot, Twitter Resists Court Order on Occupy Activist, Officers Face Manslaughter Charges over Fatal Beating of Homeless Man
Justice Cheated: Human Rights Watch's Kenneth Roth on Failures of Guantánamo Military Tribunals
The military tribunal established to prosecute the five leading suspects in the September 11th attacks opened this weekend at Guantánamo Bay. During a nine-hour hearing on Saturday, the five prisoners refused to enter pleas on murder and terrorism charges, or to talk or listen to the judge, in what one of their lawyers explained was a "peaceful resistance to an unjust system." Defense attorneys say the trial for the five leading suspects in the September 11th attacks is rigged to lead to their execution. Critics say the Obama administration has set a dangerous precedent by proceeding through a military tribunal. After initially attempting to move the case to a civilian courtroom in New York, the White House caved to vocal opposition and agreed to resume the military commissions begun under President George W. Bush at Guantánamo. At least one defense attorney argues it will be impossible to present testimony against his client that is not corrupted by treatment he says amounted to torture. "Waterboarding is mock execution by way of drowning. That is a classic act of torture. Bush has admitted ordering that. There is no escaping the fact that he should be a criminal suspect, as should the other people in the room, people like Tenet, Rumsfeld, Cheney," says Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, who attended the military trial at Guantánamo this weekend. "I think President Obama has simply decided that he's not willing to invest the political capital that would be required for those kinds of difficult trials." [includes rush transcript]
"We Need to Make a Ruckus": Robert Reich Hails Occupy for Exposing Concentration of Wealth and Power
In his new book, "Beyond Outrage," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich opens with a dedication to the Occupy Wall Street movement. He writes: "To the Occupiers, and all others committed to taking back our economy and our democracy." We speak to Reich about the success of Occupy in reshaping the national dialogue on the economy and why strong grassroots movements are needed to push elected leaders in Washington to enact a progressive agenda. Reich also discusses why austerity is not the answer to the economic crisis at home or in Europe. [includes rush transcript]
Former Labor Sec. Robert Reich on Clinton's Errors of Crippling Welfare to Repealing Glass-Steagall
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich critiques President Obama's handling of the economic crisis and the Clinton administration's repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a key deregulatory move that ended the separation of commercial and investment banking and is widely seen as having helped lead to the financial collapse. The Clinton administration also presided over a drastic transformation of U.S. welfare laws, throwing millions off of welfare rolls. "I went outside of the White House, walked back to my office along Constitution Avenue, expecting I would see signs. ... There are a lot of people who were concerned about that issue. But there was nobody on the streets. It was deafening. The silence was deafening," Reich says of the day Clinton signed the change into law. He notes this is when he realized, "if people who are concerned about the increasing concentration of wealth and power in this country are not mobilized, are not visible, then nothing progressive is going to happen." Reich is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has written 13 books, including "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future." His latest, an e-book, is just out: "Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong with Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix Them." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 8, 2012
NATO Admits Killing Afghan Mother, 5 Children in Air Strike, Leftist Greek Parties Attempt to Form Anti-Austerity Government, Greek Neo-Nazi Party Wins Support on Anti-Immigrant Platform, German Chancellor Rejects Call to Remake Euro Austerity Pact, Interpol Seeks Arrest of Iraqi Vice President, CIA Thwarts Alleged Underwear Bomb Plot by Al-Qaeda in Yemen, Red Cross: Some Syrian Violence Qualifies as Civil War, Russia: Hundreds of Protesters Arrested as Putin Resumes Presidency, House Budget Committee OKs Massive Social Cuts to Preserve Military Funds, North Carolina Voters Consider Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage, U.N. Investigator Calls for U.S. to Restore Some Land to Native Americans, Arizona Enacts Ban on Public Funds for Groups That Provide Abortions, EPA Whistleblower Who Exposed 9/11 Health Risks Gets Job Back, Quebec Students Reject Government Bid to End Historic Strike, Bank of America Protesters Face New Police Powers in North Carolina
On Strike: Quebec Students Boycott Classes for 12 Weeks to Protest Proposed Tuition Hikes
For the past three months, students across the Canadian province of Quebec have waged an unprecedented strike against rising tuition. On Friday, more than 100 students were arrested in Victoriaville. One protester reportedly lost an eye after being shot by a police projectile. The future of the strike is now up in the air. Over the weekend, the government proposed an offer to end the strike, but student leaders say they are refusing to recommend the deal to student protesters who will vote on the offer on 150 campuses over the next three days. "We are at 170,000 people in strike in our province here," says Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student unions involved in the student strikes in Quebec, Canada. "So it's really an historical mobilization, an unprecedented mobilization by the Quebec students, on the specific issue of tuition fees." [includes rush transcript]
ExxonMobil's Dirty Secrets, from Indonesia to Nigeria to Washington: Steve Coll on “Private Empire”
We continue our conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Steve Coll, author of the exhaustive book, "Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power." He examines the controversial role ExxonMobil has played in Afghanistan and Indonesia, where it operated lucrative gas fields amidst a bloody war for independence. Coll also discusses the corporate giant’s involvement in the controversial natural gas drilling process known as "fracking" and the role its lobbyists could play in the upcoming U.S. election. "Click here to see part one of this interview.":http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/4/private_empire_author_steve_coll_on [includes rush transcript]
"A Political Implosion": Anti-Austerity Parties Win Historic French and Greek Elections
Voters in Europe have supported anti-austerity candidates in landmark victories. In France's presidential election, François Hollande was elected as the first Socialist to lead France in 17 years. Greek citizens rejected two parties in parliamentary elections that had pledged to enact harsh international bailout measures. Meanwhile, Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party could enter parliament for the first time. "Just like after 1929, when you start with a Wall Street collapse, which then spreads throughout the breadth and width of the world capitalist economies, similarly, after 2008, we have an economic crisis that shook the foundations of the eurozone," says Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economic theory at the University of Athens in Greece. "The political class, just like in the 1930s, has failed spectacularly to mount a response to this economic crisis, and now there is a political implosion." [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 7, 2012
Anti-Austerity Parties Win in France, Greece, U.S. Drones Hit Yemen, Pakistan, Report: U.S. Secretly Releasing Afghan Prisoners to Militant Groups, Guantánamo Defendants Stage "Peaceful Resistance" to Military Commissions, Bahraini Human Rights Activist Nabeel Rajab Jailed, Japan Shutters Last Nuclear Power Plant, Biden: "I Am Absolutely Comfortable" with Same-Sex Marriage, Federal Probe Launched into Police Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, FBI Pushes National Electronic Surveillance Strategy, 20 Convicted for Protesting NYPD Stop and Frisk Policy, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, 47, Dies, Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer Marry in California

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