Palestinian Journalist Remembers Israel’s Assault on Gaza28 Dec 2009One year ago this weekend, Israel began its twenty-two-day assault on the Gaza Strip. Dubbed “Operation Cast Lead,” 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis were killed in what was Israel’s deadliest attack on Palestinians. We look back on Operation Cast Lead with Palestinian journalist Sami Abu Salem, who was in Gaza during the assault. [includes rush transcript]
Crackdown in Iran: Up to 12 Dead, Hundreds Arrested in Opposition Protests28 Dec 2009In Iran, police opened fire into crowds of protesters Sunday, killing as many as twelve people, including the nephew of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Security forces have also arrested hundreds of people, including a number of prominent opposition figures. We speak with Hadi Ghaemi of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 28, 200928 Dec 2009Iranian Protesters Killed on Holy Day of Ashura, Obama Orders Review of Airport Security Following Attempted Plane Bombing, Napolitano: We Don’t Know If Airplane Attack Linked to al-Qaeda, Sen. Lieberman: ?If We Don’t Act Preemptively, Yemen Will Be Tomorrow’s War?, Israel to Build 700 More Homes in East Jerusalem, Israel Kills Six Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza, Israel Activists Mark Anniversary of Gaza Invasion, Egypt Detains Activists Preparing for Gaza Freedom March, Chinese Dissident Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison, Conservative Senate Democrats: Dump Climate Change Bill, Another Anti-Mining Activist Killed in El Salvador, Mexican Human Rights Activist Esther Chavez, 73, Dies, Percy Sutton, Malcolm X’s Former Attorney, 89, Dies, South African Poet & Activist Dennis Brutus, 85, Dies
StoryCorps: National Social History Project Records Ordinary People Telling Their Stories to Each Other25 Dec 2009We hear the voices of people, citizen and non-citizen, old and young telling their stories to each other. A grandmother tells her grandson about her own childhood. A young man proposes to his girlfriend. A soldier talks about his experience in war. A father remembers a loved one who passed away?.All of these are stories told by ordinary Americans. Now, thousands of them are preserved forever?in sound. Three years ago, award-winning radio producer Dave Isay created a national social history project called StoryCorps. It now has the potential to become one of the largest documentary oral history projects ever donated to the Library of Congress. [includes rush transcript]
StoryCorps: National Social History Project Records Ordinary People Telling Their Stories to Each Other25 Dec 2009We hear the voices of people, citizen and non-citizen, old and young telling their stories to each other. A grandmother tells her grandson about her own childhood. A young man proposes to his girlfriend. A soldier talks about his experience in war. A father remembers a loved one who passed away?.All of these are stories told by ordinary Americans. Now, thousands of them are preserved forever?in sound. Three years ago, award-winning radio producer Dave Isay created a national social history project called StoryCorps. It now has the potential to become one of the largest documentary oral history projects ever donated to the Library of Congress. [includes rush transcript]
The Nation: Immigration Agents Holding US Residents in Unlisted, Unmarked Facilities24 Dec 2009The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is holding an untold number of people in secretively maintained detention facilities all over the United States. That’s according to an explosive report that’s the cover story of the latest issue of The Nation magazine. They also report that ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians and rely on other illegal tricks to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history. We speak with the author of the two-part investigation, Jacqueline Stevens. [includes rush transcript]
Senate Passes Healthcare Overhaul, Compromise with House Bill Looms24 Dec 2009In a rare Christmas Eve session, the Senate passed its sweeping healthcare reform legislation this morning by a vote of 60 to 39, along party lines. The $871 billion Senate bill must now be reconciled with the House bill after Congress reconvenes in January. We speak with Trudy Lieberman, contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. [includes rush transcript]
Gaza Freedom March Planned for One-Year Anniversary of Israeli Assault24 Dec 2009This weekend marks that one-year anniversary of the start of Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip that killed some 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis. To mark the occasion, a group of over nearly 1,400 individuals from over forty countries around the world are aiming to break the siege of Gaza and participate in a nonviolent march inside Gaza alongside thousands of Palestinians. We speak with Hedy Epstein, an eighty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor who is taking part in the march, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and part of the coordinating committee of the Gaza Freedom March. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 24, 200924 Dec 2009Senate Passes Healthcare Overhaul Bill, Air Strike in Yemen Kills 30, Obama: Disappointment over Climate Talks is Justified, Goldman Sachs Faces Probe over Betting on Housing Market Crash, AIG Executives Refuse to Return Bonuses, UN Security Council Imposes Sanctions on Eritrea, Energy Dept to Announce Billions in Nuclear Reactor Loan Guarantees, New York City Calls for Ban on Gas Drilling in Upstate Watershed, Chevron to Pay $45 Million in Gas Drilling Royalty Settlement, Israeli Organ Harvesting Scandal Revealed, West Bank Activist Arrested for Displaying Israeli Tear Gas Canisters, Ecuador Revokes License for Indigenous Radio Station, Crusading Sports Journalist Lester Rodney, 98, Dies
The Nation: Immigration Agents Holding US Residents in Unlisted, Unmarked Facilities24 Dec 2009The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is holding an untold number of people in secretively maintained detention facilities all over the United States. That’s according to an explosive report that’s the cover story of the latest issue of The Nation magazine. They also report that ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians and rely on other illegal tricks to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history. We speak with the author of the two-part investigation, Jacqueline Stevens.
Senate Passes Healthcare Overhaul, Compromise with House Bill Looms24 Dec 2009In a rare Christmas Eve session, the Senate passed its sweeping healthcare reform legislation this morning by a vote of 60 to 39, along party lines. The $871 billion Senate bill must now be reconciled with the House bill after Congress reconvenes in January. We speak with Trudy Lieberman, contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. [includes rush transcript]
Gaza Freedom March Planned for One-Year Anniversary of Israeli Assault24 Dec 2009This weekend marks that one-year anniversary of the start of Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip that killed some 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis. To mark the occasion, a group of over nearly 1,400 individuals from over forty countries around the world are aiming to break the siege of Gaza and participate in a nonviolent march inside Gaza alongside thousands of Palestinians. We speak with Hedy Epstein, an eighty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor who is taking part in the march, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and part of the coordinating committee of the Gaza Freedom March.
Headlines for December 24, 200924 Dec 2009Senate Passes Healthcare Overhaul Bill, Air Strike in Yemen Kills 30, Obama: Disappointment over Climate Talks is Justified, Goldman Sachs Faces Probe over Betting on Housing Market Crash, AIG Executives Refuse to Return Bonuses, UN Security Council Imposes Sanctions on Eritrea, Energy Dept to Announce Billions in Nuclear Reactor Loan Guarantees, New York City Calls for Ban on Gas Drilling in Upstate Watershed, Chevron to Pay $45 Million in Gas Drilling Royalty Settlement, Israeli Organ Harvesting Scandal Revealed, West Bank Activist Arrested for Displaying Israeli Tear Gas Canisters, Ecuador Revokes License for Indigenous Radio Station, Crusading Sports Journalist Lester Rodney, 98, Dies
Report: Obama Ordered US Military Strike on Yemen23 Dec 2009We take a look at Yemen, the latest target of US-backed military strikes against suspected al-Qaeda sites. ABC News reports that President Obama directly ordered two cruise missile attacks in Yemen last week. According to the New York Times, the United States gave Yemeni forces military hardware and intelligence to carry out the attack. We speak with Yemen expert, Towson University Professor Charles Schmitz. [includes rush transcript]
EXCLUSIVE: Environmental Activist Jeff “Free” Luers Speaks Out in First Interview After 9.5 Years Behind Bars23 Dec 2009In June 2001, Jeff “Free” Luers was sentenced to twenty-three years and eight months in prison. His crime? Setting fire to three vehicles in a car dealership to protest global warming. No one was hurt in the fire. In 2007, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Jeff’s sentence and reduced it to ten years. Last week, on December 16th, Jeff Luers walked out of prison a free man. In a Democracy Now! global broadcast exclusive, Jeff Luers speaks out in his first interview since his release. We also speak with his attorney, Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 23, 200923 Dec 2009Obama Claims He Didn’t Campaign for Public Option, Doctors Group Calls for Senate to Reject Healthcare Bill, Swedish Environment Minister: Copenhagen Accord Was a ?Disaster?, Danish Police Release Two Journalists Held for Nine Days, Report: US Won’t Likely Close Guantanamo Until 2011, CIA Ran Secret Prisons in Lithuania, Report: ICE Runs Secret Immigrant Detention Sites in US, Drug War Killing: Marine Hero’s Family Killed in Mexico, Kidnapped Colombian Governor Found Dead, Officials Refuse to Release Autopsy of Muslim Imam Killed by FBI, Congressional Study Clears ACORN of Violating Federal Regulations
Report: Obama Ordered US Military Strike on Yemen23 Dec 2009We take a look at Yemen, the latest target of US-backed military strikes against suspected al-Qaeda sites. ABC News reports that President Obama directly ordered two cruise missile attacks in Yemen last week. According to the New York Times, the United States gave Yemeni forces military hardware and intelligence to carry out the attack. We speak with Yemen expert, Towson University Professor Charles Schmitz.
EXCLUSIVE: Environmental Activist Jeff “Free” Luers Speaks Out in First Interview After 9.5 Years Behind Bars23 Dec 2009In June 2001, Jeff “Free” Luers was sentenced to twenty-three years and eight months in prison. His crime? Setting fire to three vehicles in a car dealership to protest global warming. No one was hurt in the fire. In 2007, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Jeff’s sentence and reduced it to ten years. Last week, on December 16th, Jeff Luers walked out of prison a free man. In a Democracy Now! global broadcast exclusive, Jeff Luers speaks out in his first interview since his release. We also speak with his attorney, Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 23, 200923 Dec 2009Obama Claims He Didn’t Campaign for Public Option, Doctors Group Calls for Senate to Reject Healthcare Bill, Swedish Environment Minister: Copenhagen Accord Was a ?Disaster?, Danish Police Release Two Journalists Held for Nine Days, Report: US Won’t Likely Close Guantanamo Until 2011, CIA Ran Secret Prisons in Lithuania, Report: ICE Runs Secret Immigrant Detention Sites in US, Drug War Killing: Marine Hero’s Family Killed in Mexico, Kidnapped Colombian Governor Found Dead, Officials Refuse to Release Autopsy of Muslim Imam Killed by FBI, Congressional Study Clears ACORN of Violating Federal Regulations
Study Reveals “Revolving Door” Between Capitol Hill Staffers and Healthcare Lobbyists22 Dec 2009A new study on healthcare lobbying published in the Chicago Tribune has found that healthcare companies have spent $635 million on lobbying over the past two years. At least 166 former congressional aides involved in shaping healthcare legislation have registered to lobby for healthcare companies. This includes at least fourteen former aides to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and at least thirteen former aides to Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, the chair of the Finance Committee. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 22, 200922 Dec 2009Senate Moves Closer to Passing Healthcare Bill, Health Insurance Stocks Soar in Value, Ahmadinejad Defends Trial of Detained American Hikers, Report: US Special Forces Conducted Multiple Raids Inside Pakistan, ?Hell on Earth?: Released Somali Man on Guantanamo, Human Rights Groups: International Community Has Betrayed People of Gaza, Egypt Threatens to Block Gaza Freedom March, Prominent Anti-Mining Activist Assassinated in El Salvador, Brazil Considers Forming Truth Commission to Probe Crimes Under Military Rule, Guatemala to Pay $3 Million to Victims of 1982 Massacre, Mexico City Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Denmark Continues to Hold Four Greenpeace Activists, State Unemployment Funds Running Out, Military Punishes Pregnant Soldiers in Iraq, Bush Admin Relied on Conman to Determine Terror Alert Level, Sea Shepherd Activists Attempt to Block Japanese Whaling Operations
Study Reveals “Revolving Door” Between Capitol Hill Staffers and Healthcare Lobbyists22 Dec 2009A new study on healthcare lobbying published in the Chicago Tribune has found that healthcare companies have spent $635 million on lobbying over the past two years. At least 166 former congressional aides involved in shaping healthcare legislation have registered to lobby for healthcare companies. This includes at least fourteen former aides to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and at least thirteen former aides to Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, the chair of the Finance Committee. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for December 22, 200922 Dec 2009Senate Moves Closer to Passing Healthcare Bill, Health Insurance Stocks Soar in Value, Ahmadinejad Defends Trial of Detained American Hikers, Report: US Special Forces Conducted Multiple Raids Inside Pakistan, ?Hell on Earth?: Released Somali Man on Guantanamo, Human Rights Groups: International Community Has Betrayed People of Gaza, Egypt Threatens to Block Gaza Freedom March, Prominent Anti-Mining Activist Assassinated in El Salvador, Brazil Considers Forming Truth Commission to Probe Crimes Under Military Rule, Guatemala to Pay $3 Million to Victims of 1982 Massacre, Mexico City Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Denmark Continues to Hold Four Greenpeace Activists, State Unemployment Funds Running Out, Military Punishes Pregnant Soldiers in Iraq, Bush Admin Relied on Conman to Determine Terror Alert Level, Sea Shepherd Activists Attempt to Block Japanese Whaling Operations
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