Jury Convicts Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge of Lying About Torture
29 Jun 2010
Decades after torture allegations were first leveled against former Chicago police commander Jon Burge, a federal jury has found him guilty of lying about torturing prisoners into making confessions. Burge has long been accused of overseeing the systematic torture of more than 100 African American men. Two years ago federal prosecutors finally brought charges against Burge—not for torture, but for lying about it. On Monday afternoon, after a five-week trial, Jon Burge was found guilty on all counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about the abuse. He could face up to forty-five years in prison. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for June 29, 2010
29 Jun 2010
Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Vows to Be Impartial, Republicans Criticize Kagan’s Ties to Thurgood Marshall, Sen. Leahy: Kagan Is Well Within the Legal Mainstream, Court Strikes Down Chicago Handgun Ban, Court: Christian Group Can’t Bar Gay Members, 1,000 Protest in Toronto Against Police Crackdown During G20, FBI Arrests 11 Alleged Russian Spies, US Launches Major Offensive Near Afghan-Pakistan Border, 10 Killed in US Drone Strike in Pakistan, Report Raises Doubts About Readiness of Afghan Forces, Rep. Lowey Threatens to Cut $4 Billion in Foreign Aid to Afghanistan, Tropical Storm Alex May Impact Cleanup of BP Spill, Bill Clinton Suggests Blowing Up BP Oil Well, Mexican Gubernatorial Candidate Assassinated, Ousted Honduran President Accuses US of Being Behind the 2009 Coup, Obama Admin Outlines Plan to Expand Wireless Spectrum

Toronto Police Arrest Over 600 in Crackdown Outside G20 Summit
28 Jun 2010
Canadian police have arrested over 600 people in Toronto in a police crackdown on protests at the G20 summit. Riot police used batons, plastic bullets and tear gas for the first time in the city’s history. More than 19,000 security personnel were deployed in Toronto, and a nearly four-mile-long security wall was erected around the G20 summit site at the Toronto Convention Center. The security price tag for the summit is estimated at around $1 billion. Franklin Lopez of the Vancouver Media Co-op filed this report from the streets of Toronto. [includes rush transcript]

One Year After Coup, Honduras Repression Continues
28 Jun 2010
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the military coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. A year later, the coup’s repressive legacy continues, with ongoing reports of killings, disappearances, torture and impunity. We speak with Gerardo Torres, a member of the National Front of Popular Resistance in Honduras.

Naomi Klein: The Real Crime Scene Was Inside the G20 Summit
28 Jun 2010
As thousands protested in the streets of Toronto, inside the G20 summit world leaders agreed to a controversial goal of cutting government deficits in half by 2013. We speak with journalist Naomi Klein. “What actually happened at the summit is that the global elites just stuck the bill for their drunken binge with the world’s poor, with the people that are most vulnerable,” Klein says.

Journalist Describes Being Beaten, Arrested by Canadian Police While Covering G20 Protest
28 Jun 2010
Among the hundreds of people arrested at the G20 protests in Toronto were a number of journalists. Jesse Rosenfeld is a freelance reporter who was on assignment for The Guardian newspaper of London. He is also a journalist with the Alternative Media Center. He was arrested and detained by Canadian police on Saturday evening covering a protest in front of the Novotel Hotel.

Headlines for June 28, 2010
28 Jun 2010
Over 600 Arrested at G20 Protests in Toronto, G20 Leaders Agree to Cut Government Deficits in Half by 2013, Elena Kagan Confirmation Hearings Set to Begin, Report: Karzai Meets with Leading Insurgent Leader, CIA Director Panetta Defends Drone Attacks in Pakistan, US to Keep Control of South Korean Military, Turkey Closes Airspace to Israeli Military Flights, Blackwater Won’t Face Charges for Deals in Sudan, Guinea Holds First Free Election, Funeral Held for Congolese Human Rights Activist, Manufacturer of Oil Dispersant Beefs Up Lobbying Force, 600 Anti-Offshore Drilling Rallies Held, Sen. Robert Byrd, 1917-2010

Canadian Activist Stefan Christoff Targeted by Government Surveillance, Harassment Ahead of G20 Summit
25 Jun 2010
The G20 host province of Ontario has secretly passed an unprecedented regulation allowing police to arrest anyone near the G20 security zone who refuses to identify themselves or agree to a police search. We speak to Stefan Christoff, a Montreal-based activist who has come under harassment from the Canadian intelligence agency, CSIS, over the past year.

Indigenous Leader Art Manuel: “Indigenous People Are the First Ones Impacted” by Western-Driven Resource Extraction
25 Jun 2010
Indigenous leader Art Manuel, former Chief of the Neskonlith Band in British Columbia and spokesperson for the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade, joins us to talk about the struggle for indigenous rights and sovereignty in the context of the G20 summit. [includes rush transcript]

Indigenous Groups Lead Struggle Against Canada’s Tar Sands
25 Jun 2010
A group of lawmakers are calling on the Obama administration to take a closer look at the significant environmental impacts of a proposed massive pipeline that would carry Canadian tar sands oil 2,000 miles from northern Alberta all the way down to refineries in Texas and tankers off the Gulf Coast. Tar sands mining emits three times more greenhouse gas pollution than traditional oil and has come under heavy criticism from environmental and indigenous groups. Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke speaks to Clayton Thomas-Mller, a Canadian indigenous activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network.

CODEPINK Activist Detained for Over 48 Hours at Canadian Border After Being Denied Entry to Canada
25 Jun 2010
Two activists from the group CODEPINK taking part in the US Social Forum were detained and prevented from entering Canada on Wednesday when they tried to cross the border from Detroit. Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke spoke with one of them, CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. [includes rush transcript]

Indigenous Activists Protest G8/G20 Meetings in Toronto
25 Jun 2010
On Thursday, indigenous groups in Toronto held a demonstration to protest the G8 and G20 meetings. Franklin Lpez and Dawn Paley of the Vancouver Media Co-op file a report from the streets. [includes rush transcript]

Fortress Toronto: Massive Security Clampdown for G8/G20 Meetings Most Expensive in Canadian History
25 Jun 2010
World leaders have started arriving for the G8 and G20 meetings amidst a massive security crackdown that will mark the most expensive three days in Canadian history. Large swaths of Toronto’s downtown core have the appearance of a police state, with an estimated deployment of over 19,000 security personnel—nearly five times the number at the G20 in Pittsburgh last year. The security price tag is around $1 billion, and some predict the total summit cost will surpass $2 billion. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for June 25, 2010
25 Jun 2010
Obama Backs Down from July 2011 Drawdown in Afghanistan, Congress Negotiators Approve Financial Regulation Overhaul, Senate Republicans Block Unemployment Benefits Bill, NRA, Sierra Club Exempted from Campaign Finance Bill, US to Deploy Predator Drones Along Texas-Mexico Border, Obama Faces Another Setback on Drilling Moratorium, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Enron CEO, Julia Gillard Becomes Australia’s First Female PM, Whale Hunting Talks Break Down, Jamaican Gang Leader Extradited to US, Detroit to Close 77 City Parks

Detroit Hip-Hop Artist and Activist Invincible: Another Detroit Is Happening
24 Jun 2010
Invincible performs an a capella version of her new “Detroit Summer” and talks about how youth organizing is transforming Detroit. She is releasing the song this summer on her own label Emergence, which is based on cooperative economics. The website TheTop13.com recently named Invincible the fifth best female MC ever, behind Jean Grae, MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah.

Detroit Summer: The Youth Program that Inspired Many Activists to Make Detroit a Movement City
24 Jun 2010
To many longtime Detroit-based activists, urban farming and other community-based programs are a prime example of why they see Detroit not as Ground Zero for the recession but as a movement city—a place that uses crisis as an opportunity to nurture sustainability and community-building. When many of the Detroit-based activists and organizers are asked how they first got involved in their communities, they often mention Detroit Summer, a youth program started in 1992. We speak with Michelle Brown, who is sometimes called “the mother of Detroit Summer,” and a member of the Detroit Summer mural project.

Detroit Urban Agriculture Movement Looks to Reclaim Motor City
24 Jun 2010
In Detroit, demolition crews are planning to tear down 10,000 residential buildings over the next four years that the city has deemed dangerous. But as old structures are coming down, the city is redefining itself in other ways. An estimated 20 to 30 percent of the city’s lots are vacant, and there is a growing urban agriculture movement that community groups are using to reclaim the city. Malik Yakini, chairman of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, gives us a tour of D-Town Farm, one of the biggest urban farms in Detroit.

3 US Soldiers Speak Out on McChrystal’s Firing, Petraeus as Replacement, and the Unending War in Afghanistan
24 Jun 2010
President Obama says the Afghan war will continue as planned despite his firing of General Stanley McChrystal over disparaging comments made by McChrystal and his aides about top US officials. Obama has named General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command and architect of the surge in Iraq, as a successor. The firing of McChrystal comes at a perilous moment in the Afghan war, with June now the deadliest month for the NATO force since the 2001 invasion. We speak to three soldiers: Brock McIntosh, an Afghan war vet who has filed for conscientious objector status; Victor Agosto, who was jailed after refusing to deploy to Afghanistan after serving in Iraq; and Camilo Mejia, the first GI who served in Iraq to have publicly resisted the war. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for June 24, 2010
24 Jun 2010
Obama Taps Petraeus as Afghan Commander After Firing McChrystal, June is Deadliest Month for NATO Occupation in Afghan War, Oil Spill Worsens After Containment Cap Damaged, “Despondent” Gulf Boat Captain Commits Suicide, Report: Iranian Officers Seized US Hikers in Iraq, 5 US Citizens Sentenced to 10 Years in Pakistan, CIA Awards Blackwater Another Contract in Afghanistan, Israel Launches Spy Satellite, Poll: Most Palestinians Support Peace Deal with Israel, Israel Accused of Unlawfully Treating Jailed Nuclear Whistleblower, Swedish Dockworkers Launch Week-Long Boycott of Israeli Ships, UN Calls for Upholding MDG Pledges, Study Ranks US Last on Healthcare, Witnesses Recant Testimony at Hearing for Georgia Death Row Prisoner Troy Anthony Davis, Admin Unveils Homelessness Goals, Judge Rules UC Police Illegally Searched Journalist’s Camera, White House Budget Director Orszag to Resign, Oregon Police Investigated Gore for Unwanted Sexual Contact in 2006

Over 10,000 March in Detroit to Open US Social Forum
23 Jun 2010
Thousands of people from across the country marched through Detroit Tuesday afternoon to kick off the opening ceremony of the US Social Forum. The colorful, joyous, and sometimes raucous procession down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue included social movements and community organizations struggling for justice on everything from healthcare, the environment, fair trade, labor solidarity, immigrant rights, and racial profiling to Palestine solidarity, ending the wars, police brutality, and the devastating impact of the recession on people’s lives and sense of security.

Obama Considers Firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal over Public Criticism of Administration’s Handling of Afghan War Effort
23 Jun 2010
The top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is in danger of losing his job over a magazine profile in which he criticizes several top Obama administration officials. McChrystal was summoned to Washington after Rolling Stone printed an article in which he and his aides mock Vice President Joe Biden, US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, National Security Adviser General James Jones, and Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke. We speak to retired Army colonel and former US diplomat Ann Wright. In 2002, she helped open the US mission in Kabul. [includes rush transcript]

Disability Justice Activists Look at “Ways to Maintain Ablism” and Counter “How Our Bodies Experience Trauma in the Medical-Industrial Complex”
23 Jun 2010
Disability justice activists gathered in Detroit to take part in the US Social Forum and the Allied Media Conference. “There is a growing framework about how disability connects with other issues,” says Stacey Milbern. “It’s a way to maintain ablism and not look at the way disability connects in with how our bodies are policed or experience trauma in the medical-industrial complex.”

Adrienne Maree Brown on the US Social Forum, Detroit and Octavia Butler
23 Jun 2010
Thousands of activists and organizers have come from around the world for the US Social Forum for four days of workshops, meetings and marches to strengthen social movements and advance a progressive agenda. Democracy Now!’s Mike Burke was at Cobo Hall for the opening ceremony. He spoke with one of the national coordinators of the US Social Forum, Adrienne Maree Brown.

47 Years Ago in Detroit: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Delivers First “I Have a Dream” Speech
23 Jun 2010
We turn now to another historic march down Woodward Avenue in Detroit. It was June 23rd, 1963, when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a civil rights march of thousands and delivered a speech with what would become his most famous words: “I have a dream.” The speech came two months before the historic March on Washington. We play an excerpt of the speech and talk to Grace Lee Boggs, who helped organize the march.

Headlines for June 23, 2010
23 Jun 2010
Judge with Energy Ties Strikes Down Deepwater Drilling Ban, McChrystal Prepares Resignation Letter Ahead of Obama Meeting, British Envoy to Afghanistan Resigns, Evidentiary Hearing Begins in Troy Anthony Davis Case, Erlinder Returns to US After Rwanda Jailing, Both Sides Claim Victory in Supreme Court Ruling on Monsanto Crop, Greenpeace Activists Disrupt BP Speech, UN Probes Alleged Abuses in Sri Lanka Fighting, Jamaica Arrests Alleged Drug Lord, Israel Advances East Jerusalem Demolitions, Orders Expulsion of 4 Palestinian Politicians, Road Shipments Begin Entering Gaza, Portuguese Novelist Jose Saramago Dies at 87