Headlines for June 3, 20103 Jun 2010All Slain Flotilla Victims Suffered Bullet Wounds; 19-Year-Old US Citizen Among Dead, Netanyahu: Flotilla Passengers “Violent Supporters of Terrorism”, Biden Defends Israeli Assault, Gaza Blockade, UN Human Rights Council Votes for Probe of Flotilla Attack, US Opposed, BP’s Latest Effort to Slow Leak Fails; Oil Reaches Alabama, Mississippi, New Drilling Well Approved in Gulf of Mexico, Citing Oil Spill, Obama Calls for Energy Bill Passage, UN Calls for Halt to CIA Drone Attacks, US Altered Military Rules to Protect Drone Operators, Violence Erupts at Afghan Peace Meeting, Obama Expands Benefits for Same-Sex Partners of Federal Workers, Guard at Private Immigration Prison Fired for Sexual Assault
On Front Lines of BP Oil Spill: Democracy Now! Travels Across Coastal Louisiana2 Jun 2010The Justice Department has confirmed it’s opened a criminal and civil investigation into the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast, now believed to be the worst environmental disaster in US history. For residents of southern Louisiana, the spill is impacting the ecology, the economy and entire ways of life. Over the past several days, Democracy Now! traveled across the bayous and towns of coastal Louisiana meeting the people on the front lines of the onrush of BP?s oil slick. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for June 2, 20102 Jun 2010Flotilla Survivors Deported from Israel, Aid Ship Continues Gaza Trek as New Flotilla Planned, US Maintains Refusal to Condemn Flotilla Assault, Ban: Lifting Gaza Blockade Would Have Prevented Flotilla Deaths, Thousands Worldwide Protest Flotilla Assault, US Student Loses Eye After Israel Fires on West Bank Protest, Justice Dept. Opens Civil, Criminal Probes of BP Oil Spill, Oil Sheen Approaching Florida Coast, Japanese PM Resigns After Backtracking on US Base, US Lawyer Hospitalized After Jailing in Rwanda, Mexican Immigrant Dies in US Custody, Youths Stage Hunger Strike to Urge Support for DREAM Act, Study: African Americans Face Widespread Jury Exclusion in US South, Supreme Court Limits Miranda Rights, New York Lawmakers Advance Labor Standards for Domestic Workers, Painter, Sculptor Louise Bourgeois Dies at 98
On Front Lines of BP Oil Spill: Democracy Now! Travels Across Coastal Louisiana2 Jun 2010The Justice Department has confirmed it’s opened a criminal and civil investigation into the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast, now believed to be the worst environmental disaster in US history. For residents of southern Louisiana, the spill is impacting the ecology, the economy and entire ways of life. Over the past several days, Democracy Now! traveled across the bayous and towns of coastal Louisiana meeting the people on the front lines of the onrush of BP?s oil slick. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for June 2, 20102 Jun 2010Flotilla Survivors Deported from Israel, Aid Ship Continues Gaza Trek as New Flotilla Planned, US Maintains Refusal to Condemn Flotilla Assault, Ban: Lifting Gaza Blockade Would Have Prevented Flotilla Deaths, Thousands Worldwide Protest Flotilla Assault, US Student Loses Eye After Israel Fires on West Bank Protest, Justice Dept. Opens Civil, Criminal Probes of BP Oil Spill, Oil Sheen Approaching Florida Coast, Japanese PM Resigns After Backtracking on US Base, US Lawyer Hospitalized After Jailing in Rwanda, Mexican Immigrant Dies in US Custody, Youths Stage Hunger Strike to Urge Support for DREAM Act, Study: African Americans Face Widespread Jury Exclusion in US South, Supreme Court Limits Miranda Rights, New York Lawmakers Advance Labor Standards for Domestic Workers, Painter, Sculptor Louise Bourgeois Dies at 98
Anger Mounts in Gulf Coast over BP Oil Spill1 Jun 2010Democracy Now! travels to the Gulf region to investigate the massive BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. We play an address by George Barisich, the president of the United Commercial Fishermen’s Association, who spoke on Sunday at a large protest in New Orleans near Jackson Square. [includes rush transcript]
Global Condemnation of Israeli Armed Attack on Gaza-Bound Freedom Flotilla: At Least 10 Dead, Hundreds Remain in Detention1 Jun 2010It was early Monday morning as Israeli soldiers stormed the Gaza-bound international aid convoy called the Freedom Flotilla in international waters about forty miles off the coast of Gaza. The six ships had nearly 700 international activists on board and 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid. They were aiming to break the three-year-long siege of the Gaza Strip. Israeli commandos landed on the lead ship in the convoy, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, which had about 600 activists on board. At least ten and as many as nineteen civilians on board the ship have been reported to have died in the attack. Israeli troops proceeded to seize the Mavi Marmara and the five other ships and take them to the port of Ashdod. Hundreds of activists are being detained in an Israeli prison, and nearly fifty others have been deported. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the attack and called for the immediate release of the ships and the civilians held by Israel and called for an impartial investigation. All the permanent members of the Security Council except for the United States explicitly called for Israel’s three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted. Turkey has compared Israel’s actions to state terrorism. We speak to Adam Shapiro, Amira Hass, Ali Abunimah and Richard Falk. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for June 1, 20101 Jun 2010At Least 10 Activists Killed in Israeli Attack on Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, UN Security Council Calls for Probe of Attack, NPT Signatories Call on Israel to Open Nuclear Sites, BP Oil Spill Likely to Continue Until August, Oil Spill Could Reach Alabama, Mississippi, BP CEO: No Underwater Oil Plumes; Workers Sickened by Food Poisoning, Hundreds Protest BP in New Orleans, Report: US Draws Up Plans for Pakistan Strikes, US Claims to Have Killed Top al-Qaeda Leader in Pakistan, US Faults Officers for Drone Attack Killings of 23 Afghan Civilians, US: Majority of Gitmo Prisoners Low-Level Fighters, Ex-Defense Minister Leads After 1st Round of Colombia Vote, Tens of Thousands Protest Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law, Musicians Launch “Sound Strike” Boycott of Arizona, US Spending on Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan Tops $1 Trillion
Anger Mounts in Gulf Coast over BP Oil Spill1 Jun 2010Democracy Now! travels to the Gulf region to investigate the massive BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. We play an address by George Barisich, the president of the United Commercial Fishermen’s Association, who spoke on Sunday at a large protest in New Orleans near Jackson Square. [includes rush transcript]
Global Condemnation of Israeli Armed Attack on Gaza-Bound Freedom Flotilla: At Least 10 Dead, Hundreds Remain in Detention1 Jun 2010It was early Monday morning as Israeli soldiers stormed the Gaza-bound international aid convoy called the Freedom Flotilla in international waters about forty miles off the coast of Gaza. The six ships had nearly 700 international activists on board and 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid. They were aiming to break the three-year-long siege of the Gaza Strip. Israeli commandos landed on the lead ship in the convoy, the Turkish Mavi Marmara, which had about 600 activists on board. At least ten and as many as nineteen civilians on board the ship have been reported to have died in the attack. Israeli troops proceeded to seize the Mavi Marmara and the five other ships and take them to the port of Ashdod. Hundreds of activists are being detained in an Israeli prison, and nearly fifty others have been deported. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the attack and called for the immediate release of the ships and the civilians held by Israel and called for an impartial investigation. All the permanent members of the Security Council except for the United States explicitly called for Israel’s three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted. Turkey has compared Israel’s actions to state terrorism. We speak to Adam Shapiro, Amira Hass, Ali Abunimah and Richard Falk. [includes rush transcript – partial]
Headlines for June 1, 20101 Jun 2010At Least 10 Activists Killed in Israeli Attack on Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, UN Security Council Calls for Probe of Attack, NPT Signatories Call on Israel to Open Nuclear Sites, BP Oil Spill Likely to Continue Until August, Oil Spill Could Reach Alabama, Mississippi, BP CEO: No Underwater Oil Plumes; Workers Sickened by Food Poisoning, Hundreds Protest BP in New Orleans, Report: US Draws Up Plans for Pakistan Strikes, US Claims to Have Killed Top al-Qaeda Leader in Pakistan, US Faults Officers for Drone Attack Killings of 23 Afghan Civilians, US: Majority of Gitmo Prisoners Low-Level Fighters, Ex-Defense Minister Leads After 1st Round of Colombia Vote, Tens of Thousands Protest Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law, Musicians Launch “Sound Strike” Boycott of Arizona, US Spending on Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan Tops $1 Trillion
Noam Chomsky: “The Center Cannot Hold: Rekindling the Radical Imagination”31 May 2010On this Memorial Day special, we spend the hour with the world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, author of over a hundred books. He spoke recently here in New York addressing more than a thousand people at the Left Forum. He began by discussing the case of Joseph Andrew Stack, who crashed his small plane into an office building in Austin, Texas, hitting an IRS office, committing suicide. [includes rush transcript]
Noam Chomsky: “The Center Cannot Hold: Rekindling the Radical Imagination”31 May 2010On this Memorial Day special, we spend the hour with the world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, author of over a hundred books. He spoke recently here in New York addressing more than a thousand people at the Left Forum. He began by discussing the case of Joseph Andrew Stack who crashed his small plane into an office building in Austin, Texas, hitting an IRS office, committing suicide. [includes rush transcript]
Rep. Raul Grijalva: New Deployment of National Guard to US-Mexico Border Is Election-Year “Political Symbolism”28 May 2010President Obama has defended his plans to further militarize the US border with Mexico. On Tuesday, Obama said he would deploy an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the southern border and ask Congress for an extra $500 million for border security. We get reaction from Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who says border militarization advocates are trying to avoid comprehensive immigration reform. [includes rush transcript]
Critics: Rising Jamaican Death Toll Rooted in So-Called “War on Drugs”28 May 2010Jamaica’s death toll continues to rise in the search for alleged drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke, wanted by the United States. Jamaican police have confirmed that seventy-three people, the vast majority civilians, have been killed in clashes between security forces and Coke’s armed supporters. Rights groups are raising questions about possible unlawful killings by security forces. We speak to Carolyn Gomes of the Kingston-based group Jamaicans for Justice and professor and author Benjamin Bowling, who writes that “the chaos in Kingston is symptomatic of the failure of US-led cocaine prohibition.” [includes rush transcript]
Chevron Has 5 Activists Arrested and Bars Entry to Global Victims of Its Practices at Annual Shareholders’ Meeting28 May 2010Chevron has had five protesters arrested at its annual shareholders meeting in Houston and refused to allow another two dozen people from Chevron-affected countries around the world, like Nigeria, Ecuador and Burma. Those denied entry held legal shareholder proxies. The True Cost of Chevron Network says it organized the protest to call attention to Chevron?s human rights and environmental record. We speak to Antonia Juhasz, director of the Chevron Program at Global Exchange, who spent the night in jail after her arrest; and Emem Okon, an activist from Nigeria and the founder and executive director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center in the Niger Delta. [includes rush transcript]
BP Oil Spill Confirmed as Worst in US History; Environmental Groups Challenge Continued Oil Operations in Gulf Excluded from New Moratorium28 May 2010Although President Obama has extended the moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits for six months and halted operations at thirty-three deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico, some oil rigs are continuing their operations. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit to halt forty-nine offshore drilling plans in the Gulf of Mexico that were approved without full environmental review. Meanwhile, the group Food & Water Watch is leading an effort to shut down the Atlantis, another BP oil rig in the Gulf. The group warns an oil spill from the Atlantis could be many times larger than the current spill and even harder to stop. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 28, 201028 May 2010BP Oil Spill Surpasses Exxon Valdez as Worst in US History, “Top Kill” Effort Renews After Lengthy Delay, New Oil Plume Discovered in Gulf, Obama Extends Drilling Moratorium, Defends Response, Reports: MMS Head Forced to Resign, Energy Secretary Chu Tied to BP, House Approves Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, Senate Approves War Funding, Rejects Timetable for Afghan Withdrawal, Israel Readies Prison for Passengers Aboard Free Gaza Aid Flotilla, Israel Charges 2 Leading Palestinian Activists with Espionage, Senior UN Official to Call for End to CIA Drone Strikes, Admin Asserts “Right to Act Unilaterally” in 1st National Security Strategy, Navajo Activists Protest Uranium Mining Plans, Berenson Freed on Parole in Peru
Chevron Has 5 Activists Arrested and Bars Entry to Global Victims of Its Practices at Annual Shareholders’ Meeting28 May 2010Chevron has had five protesters arrested at its annual shareholders meeting in Houston and refused to allow another two dozen people from Chevron-affected countries around the world, like Nigeria, Ecuador and Burma. Those denied entry held legal shareholder proxies. The True Cost of Chevron Network says it organized the protest to call attention to Chevron?s human rights and environmental record. We speak to Antonia Juhasz, director of the Chevron Program at Global Exchange, who spent the night in jail after her arrest; and Emem Okon, an activist from Nigeria and the founder and executive director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center in the Niger Delta.
BP Oil Spill Confirmed as Worst in US History; Environmental Groups Challenge Continued Oil Operations in Gulf Excluded from New Moratorium28 May 2010Although President Obama has extended the moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits for six months and halted operations at thirty-three deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico, some oil rigs are continuing their operations. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit to halt forty-nine offshore drilling plans in the Gulf of Mexico that were approved without full environmental review. Meanwhile, the group Food & Water Watch is leading an effort to shut down the Atlantis, another BP oil rig in the Gulf. The group warns an oil spill from the Atlantis could be many times larger than the current spill and even harder to stop. [includes rush transcript]
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