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]
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]
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
Coast Guard Grounds Ships Involved in Spill Cleanup After 7 Fall Ill; BP Reportedly Preventing Fishermen from Wearing Respirators27 May 2010At least seven fishermen involved in the cleanup of the BP oil spill were hospitalized on Wednesday after reporting nausea, dizziness, headaches and chest pains. The fishermen were likely exposed to both the leaked oil and chemical dispersants. As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard has ordered all 125 commercial ships helping with the cleanup to return to land. For weeks, cleanup crews hired by BP have been reporting health issues, but their complaints have largely been ignored. We speak to Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, and Albert Huang, an environmental justice attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 27, 201027 May 2010BP Begins “Top Kill” Attempt to Plug Oil Leak, Expert: Continued Leak Would Mark “Disaster Unseen by Humanity”, Admin Suspends Arctic Drilling, New Oil Leases, Dems Reduce Jobless Benefits Package, Admin, Dems Prep Education Aid as 100,000 Teachers Face Layoffs, Police Chiefs: Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law Increases Crime, 5 Protesters Arrested at Chevron Annual Meeting, Aid Flotilla Approaching Gaza; Israel Vows to Block Ships, Berenson Release Expected Today, Peruvian Indigenous Leader Arrested Following Return from Asylum
Coast Guard Grounds Ships Involved in Spill Cleanup After 7 Fall Ill; BP Reportedly Preventing Fishermen from Wearing Respirators27 May 2010At least seven fishermen involved in the cleanup of the BP oil spill were hospitalized on Wednesday after reporting nausea, dizziness, headaches and chest pains. The fishermen were likely exposed to both the leaked oil and chemical dispersants. As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard has ordered all 125 commercial ships helping with the cleanup to return to land. For weeks, cleanup crews hired by BP have been reporting health issues, but their complaints have largely been ignored. We speak to Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, and Albert Huang, an environmental justice attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Headlines for May 27, 201027 May 2010BP Begins “Top Kill” Attempt to Plug Oil Leak, Expert: Continued Leak Would Mark “Disaster Unseen by Humanity”, Admin Suspends Arctic Drilling, New Oil Leases, Dems Reduce Jobless Benefits Package, Admin, Dems Prep Education Aid as 100,000 Teachers Face Layoffs, Police Chiefs: Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law Increases Crime, 5 Protesters Arrested at Chevron Annual Meeting, Aid Flotilla Approaching Gaza; Israel Vows to Block Ships, Berenson Release Expected Today, Peruvian Indigenous Leader Arrested Following Return from Asylum
Disasters in Gulf Coast, West Virginia Spur Calls for Criminal Prosecutions of Corporate Execs26 May 2010From the Gulf of Mexico to the Massey mine of West Virginia, scores of workers have died. We speak to Corporate Crime Reporter editor Russell Mokhiber, who says corporate executives should be held criminally accountable for the disasters under their watch. Mokhber is involved with a group of citizen activists who have just launched a campaign calling on the state of West Virginia to prosecute Massey Energy for manslaughter in connection with the April 5th explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that claimed the lives of twenty-nine coal miners. [includes rush transcript]
BP Played Central Role in Botched Containment of 1989 Exxon Valdez Disaster26 May 2010The BP oil spill is the worst to hit the United States since the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. The devastation in the Gulf Coast has renewed attention on BP’s key role in the botched containment of Exxon Valdez. We speak to Zygmunt Plater, an environmental law professor at Boston College who headed the legal team for the state-appointed Alaska Oil Spill Commission that investigated the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. [includes rush transcript]
BPA? As BP Says No To The EPA, Who Is In Charge of the Oil Cleanup?26 May 2010The oil giant BP has admitted it proceeded with work on the underwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico shortly before last month’s explosion despite warning signs of a major problem. Dogged by delays, BP faces a pivotal day today as it attempts a so-called “top kill” maneuver to choke off the gushing oil by pumping heavy drilling mud and cement into the mile-deep well. The procedure risks making the leak worse. A weak spot in the device could blow under the pressure, causing a brand new leak. We speak to Abrahm Lustgarten, a reporter for the investigative news website ProPublica who has reported on BP for many years. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 26, 201026 May 2010BP Admits “Fundamental Mistake” Before Oil Rig Explosion, Obama Expands Militarization of US-Mexico Border, North Korea Cuts Ties with South Korea Following Sinking Allegation, Jailed US Activist Lori Berenson Paroled in Peru, Around 30 Killed in Jamaica Clashes, 15 Wounded in Israeli Attack on Gaza Strip, Admin Backs Vatican Immunity in Sexual Abuse Suit, Fmr. FBI Linguist Sentenced for Leaking Classified Documents, Correction
Disasters in Gulf Coast, West Virginia Spur Calls for Criminal Prosecutions of Corporate Execs26 May 2010From the Gulf of Mexico to the Massey mine of West Virginia, scores of workers have died. We speak to Corporate Crime Reporter editor Russell Mokhiber, who says corporate executives should be held criminally accountable for the disasters under their watch. Mokhber is involved with a group of citizen activists who have just launched a campaign calling on the state of West Virginia to prosecute Massey Energy for manslaughter in connection with the April 5th explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that claimed the lives of twenty-nine coal miners. [includes rush transcript]
BP Played Central Role in Botched Containment of 1989 Exxon Valdez Disaster26 May 2010The BP oil spill is the worst to hit the United States since the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. The devastation in the Gulf Coast has renewed attention on BP’s key role in the botched containment of Exxon Valdez. We speak to Zygmunt Plater, an environmental law professor at Boston College who headed the legal team for the state-appointed Alaska Oil Spill Commission that investigated the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. [includes rush transcript]
BPA? As BP Says No To The EPA, Who Is In Charge of the Oil Cleanup?26 May 2010The oil giant BP has admitted it proceeded with work on the underwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico shortly before last month’s explosion despite warning signs of a major problem. Dogged by delays, BP faces a pivotal day today as it attempts a so-called “top kill” maneuver to choke off the gushing oil by pumping heavy drilling mud and cement into the mile-deep well. The procedure risks making the leak worse. A weak spot in the device could blow under the pressure, causing a brand new leak. We speak to Abrahm Lustgarten, a reporter for the investigative news website ProPublica who has reported on BP for many years. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 26, 201026 May 2010BP Admits “Fundamental Mistake” Before Oil Rig Explosion, Obama Expands Militarization of US-Mexico Border, North Korea Cuts Ties with South Korea Following Sinking Allegation, Jailed US Activist Lori Berenson Paroled in Peru, Around 30 Killed in Jamaica Clashes, 15 Wounded in Israeli Attack on Gaza Strip, Admin Backs Vatican Immunity in Sexual Abuse Suit, Fmr. FBI Linguist Sentenced for Leaking Classified Documents, Correction
“The Unspoken Alliance”: New Book Documents Arms, Nuclear and Diplomatic Ties Between Israel and Apartheid South Africa25 May 2010Israeli President Shimon Peres has denied reports he offered to sell nuclear weapons to apartheid South Africa when he was defense minister in the 1970s. On Sunday, the Guardian newspaper of London published top-secret South African documents revealing that a secret meeting between then-defense minister Shimon Peres and his South African counterpart, P.W. Botha, ended with an offer by Peres for the sale of warheads “in three sizes.” The documents were first uncovered by senior editor at Foreign Affairs Sasha Polakow-Suransky, author of the new book The Unspoken Alliance: Israel?s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for May 25, 201025 May 2010Expanded US Military Operations Include Intel for Potential Iran Attack, Fears Grow of Continued Oil Spill Through August, MMS Regulators Allowed Oil Officials to Fill Out Inspection Forms, Democratic Senators Urge Probe into Transocean Dividends, 7 Greenpeace Activists Arrested in Anti-Drilling Protest, More US Troops Now in Afghanistan than in Iraq, Measure Proposes Ending Emergency War Funding, Admin Backs Compromise on Ending “Don’t Ask, Don?t Tell”, Supreme Court OKs Chicago Firefighters Suit over Discriminatory Tests, Ex-Sri Lankan Forces: Top Commanders Ordered Killings of Tamil Prisoners, US Continues Funding Segregated West Bank Roads, Free Gaza Movement “Freedom Flotilla” Heads to Gaza, Nearly 40 Arrested in New York Immigration Protest, Iraq War Vet Commits Suicide at Ohio Military Hospital, Activists Mark 20th Anniversary of Earth First Car Bombing
“The Unspoken Alliance”: New Book Documents Arms, Nuclear and Diplomatic Ties Between Israel and Apartheid South Africa25 May 2010Israeli President Shimon Peres has denied reports he offered to sell nuclear weapons to apartheid South Africa when he was defense minister in the 1970s. On Sunday, the Guardian newspaper of London published top-secret South African documents revealing that a secret meeting between then-defense minister Shimon Peres and his South African counterpart, P.W. Botha, ended with an offer by Peres for the sale of warheads “in three sizes.” The documents were first uncovered by senior editor at Foreign Affairs Sasha Polakow-Suransky, author of the new book The Unspoken Alliance: Israel?s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa.
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