Democracy Now! Special: An Hour of Music and Conversation with Legendary Native American Singer-Songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie26 Nov 2009In a Democracy Now! special, an hour of conversation and music with Cree Indian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. In the turbulent 1960s, she was just out of college but already famous for her beautiful voice and moving lyrics in songs like ?Universal Soldier? and ?Now that the Buffalo?s Gone.? Over the years, Buffy Sainte-Marie has worked with the American Indian Movement, but also with Sesame Street, and even Hollywood, winning an Academy Award for the song ?Up Where We Belong? in 1982. She?s won international recognition for her music, has a PhD in fine arts, and began a foundation for American Indian Education that she remains closely involved with. We speak with the folk icon about her life, her music, censorship, and her singing and speaking out about the struggles of Native American peoples for the past four decades. She also performs live in the firehouse studio.
Obama to Announce Afghan Escalation Plan Dec. 1st25 Nov 2009Administration officials say President Obama will unveil his decision on sending tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan next week. Obama is expected to announce the plan in a prime-time address next Tuesday night. At the White House yesterday, Obama said he intends to “finish the job” in Afghanistan.
Ahead of Key Global Conference, U.S. Announces Continued Rejection of Land Mine Ban25 Nov 2009The Obama administration has announced it won’t sign an international convention banning land mines. This is the first time the Obama administration has publicly disclosed its position on the Mine Ban Treaty, which bans the use, stockpiling, production or transfer of antipersonnel mines. We speak to Stephen Goose of Human Rights Watch’s arms division and a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
Philippines Declares State of Emergency After 57 People Killed in Politically-Linked Massacre25 Nov 2009The death toll from the Philippines’ worst politically-linked massacre has risen to fifty-seven. The victims were abducted as they were travelling to nominate an opposition candidate for governor in upcoming elections.The dead include 18 Filipino journalists from regional newspapers. It’s believed to be the highest number of reporters killed in a single attack anywhere in the world. We speak with Walden Bello, an Akbayan Representative in the Filipino Congress.
Headlines for November 25, 200925 Nov 2009Scientists: Climate Change “Accelerating Beyond Expectations”, Poll: Less Americans Believe in Global Warming, U.S. Won’t Sign Land Mine Treaty, Obama to Announce Afghan Escalation Plan , Report: Afghan Army Has 25% Turnover Rate, Kashmiri Protesters Rally Outside White House, Admin Official Involved in Gitmo Closure Resigns, Fed: High Unemployment Expected Through 2012, Bank Loans Fall to 25-Year Low, Japan to Probe Secret U.S. Nuclear Deal, UK Officials: Iraq War Planning Predated 9/11 Attacks, Hague Trial Begins for Congolese Warlords, Washington Post Shutters Remaining U.S. Bureaus, Appeals Court Affirms Eminent Domain for Proposed Brooklyn Stadium
Two Former Bagram Detainees Held Without Charge Describe Torture and Wrongful Imprisonment24 Nov 2009The Obama administration has promised to begin moving the 700 odd men held in the Bagram prison in Afghanistan into a new 60 million dollar facility by next month. But in a video released by Brave New Films, two men who were held in the notorious detention center ask how much of a difference this will make when its unclear why people were arrested in the first place. The two brothers Abdel and Noor Raqeeb, say they were held without formal charges, tortured, only to be released with an apology for being mistaken for Taliban spokesperson.
Portland’s Cannabis Cafe is the First Marijuana Coffee Shop of Its Kind in the Country24 Nov 2009The Cannabis Cafe, which opened this month in Portland, Oregon is the first marijuana cafe of its kind in the country. Although it doesn’t sell marijuana on the premises, the Cannabis Caf allows any of Portland’s estimated 21,000 licensed medical-marijuana users a space to consume marijuana in a social setting. We speak with Madeline Martinez, executive-Director of the Oregon chapter of NORML —The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—which runs the Cannabis Caf.
As UC Berkeley Investigates Police Brutality Against Students Protesting Fee Hikes, a Report From Inside the Takeover of Wheeler Hall24 Nov 2009The University of California, Berkeley is investigating allegations of police brutality against students and workers protesting fee hikes and budget cuts last week. 40 students were arrested Friday night after campus police entered Wheeler Hall, which the students had taken over earlier in the day. The students were part of a statewide movement protesting the UC Board of Regents decision to raise tuition by 32 percent. Independent journalist Brandon Jourdan, who was embedded with the students inside the occupied building on Friday, files a report for Democracy Now!
Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program24 Nov 2009In an explosive new article in The Nation magazine, investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reveals the private military firm Blackwater is part of a covert program in Pakistan that includes planning the assassination and kidnapping of Taliban and Al-Qaeda suspects. Blackwater is also said to be involved in a previously undisclosed U.S. military drone campaign that has killed scores of people inside Pakistan. The article says the program has become so secretive that top Obama administration and military officials have likely been unaware of its existence. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Scahill joins us for his first interview since the story broke.
Headlines for November 24, 200924 Nov 2009Death Toll in Philippines Massacre Rises to 46, Including 12 Journalists, Report: Obama To Announce Plans to Send 34,000 More Troops, Rep. Obey Calls For War Surtax, Israel and Hamas Prepare to Exchange Prisoners, Study: Climate Change Will Result In More Civil Wars in Africa, 130 Climate Justice Activists Arrested At Australian Parliament, Britain Launches Iraq War Inquiry, D.C. to Pay Nearly $14 Million in Record Settlement to IMF Protesters, Obama Addresses Unemployment Crisis, 2.1 Million Cribs Recalled, FBI Releases New Hate Crime Data, California Man Jailed For Illegally Housing the Homeless, Train Station Glass Shattered As Officer Shoves Passenger Into Window, Lou Dobbs Considers a Presidential Run in 2012, Women of Zimbabwe Arise Honored At White Hosue
Naomi Klein on Climate Debt: Why Rich Countries Should Pay Reparations To Poor Countries For The Climate Crisis.23 Nov 2009With the Copenhagen climate summit two weeks ago, best-selling journalist Naomi Klein examines the grass-roots movement behind the climate debate proposal that argues all the costs associated with adapting to a more hostile ecology?everything from building stronger sea walls to switching to cleaner, more expensive technologies?are the responsibility of the countries that created the crisis. Klein also discusses the 10th anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests and the 10th anniversary of her first book, “No Logo.” [includes rush transcript-partial]
By 60-39 Vote, Senate Agrees to Open Debate on Healthcare Bill23 Nov 2009Health care reform cleared its first hurdle in the Senate this weekend. In a party line vote of 60-39, the Senate voted Saturday evening to open debate on the bill put forward by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. All 58 Democrats and both Independents voted in favor of the motion while 39 out of 40 Republicans voted against it. At a news conference immediately following the vote, Reid said “The road ahead is a long stretch but we can see the finish line.” We speak to Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post about the vote and the House Finance Committee’s vote to audit the Federal Reserve.
Headlines for November 23, 200923 Nov 2009Senate Votes To Open Debate on Healthcare Bill, Unemployment Rate Rises in 29 States, Vulture Funds Make Millions Off Gov’t-Backed Home Loans, UC Students End Occupations in Berkeley and Santa Cruz, U.S. To Finance Anti-Taliban Militias in Afghanistan, 21 People Killed in Election Violence in the Philippines, Mubarak and Peres Discuss Israeli Settlements, B’tselem: 8,900 Lives Lost Over Past Two Decades in Israel-Palestine Conflict, Former Iranian VP Sentenced to Six Years in Jail, 65 World Leaders to Attend Copenhagen Climate Talks, Hackers Break Into Servers of UK Climate Research Unit, Radiation Leak At Three Mile Island Investigated, Philip Morris Ordered to Pay $300 Million to Ex-Smoker, Penn. Judges in Juvenile Prison Case Given Immunity From Civil Liability, Thousands Protest At Fort Benning; Four Arrested, Four Arrested in WV At Coal River Mountain Action, Bill Moyers To Retire; PBS Cancels ?Now?
Israel Under Widespread International Criticism for Settlement Expansion Plan20 Nov 2009Israel is coming under widespread international criticism for its plan to engage in a new round of illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leaders began a renewed effort last week to win international support for formal Security Council endorsement of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. We speak with UCLA professor Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation. [includes rush transcript]
On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning20 Nov 2009Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America. [includes rush transcript]
As UC Regents Approve Major Tuition Hike, Students, Faculty Decry Erosion of Public Education in CA and Nationwide20 Nov 2009Amid thousands of student protesters and armed police standing guard, the University of California’s Board of Regents has approved a 32 percent increase in student fees. The vote will bring the total cost of a UC education to more than $10,000 per year for the first time. We discuss the protests and the growing privatization of public education with UCLA student activist Zen Dochterman and the president of the UC American Federation of Teachers, Bob Samuels. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for November 20, 200920 Nov 2009Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High, Siding with Katrina Victims, Ruling Faults Army Corps for New Orleans Flooding, US: Security Council Should Define Aggression for ICC, 8 Killed in Suspected US Drone Attack in Pakistan, 16 Killed in Afghan Bombing, White House: No Afghan Troop Decision Before Thanksgiving Holiday, Vietnam Vet Holds Antiwar Fast Outside White House, UN: Afghanistan World’s Most Dangerous Nation for Children, US Ratification Urged on 20th Anniversary of Children’s Rights Convention, Ban Calls for $30B in Climate Aid to Poor Nations, Geithner Rejects Calls for Resignation Before Congressional Panel, Study: Uninsured 80% More Likely to Die From Traumatic Injuries, Thousands to Protest US Military Training School at Ft. Benning
Israel Under Widespread International Criticism for Settlement Expansion Plan20 Nov 2009Israel is coming under widespread international criticism for its plan to engage in a new round of illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leaders began a renewed effort last week to win international support for formal Security Council endorsement of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. We speak with UCLA professor Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation.
On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning20 Nov 2009Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America.
As UC Regents Approve Major Tuition Hike, Students, Faculty Decry Erosion of Public Education in CA and Nationwide20 Nov 2009Amid thousands of student protesters and armed police standing guard, the University of California’s Board of Regents has approved a 32 percent increase in student fees. The vote will bring the total cost of a UC education to more than $10,000 per year for the first time. We discuss the protests and the growing privatization of public education with UCLA student activist Zen Dochterman and the president of the UC American Federation of Teachers, Bob Samuels. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for November 20, 200920 Nov 2009Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High, Siding with Katrina Victims, Ruling Faults Army Corps for New Orleans Flooding, US: Security Council Should Define Aggression for ICC, 8 Killed in Suspected US Drone Attack in Pakistan, 16 Killed in Afghan Bombing, White House: No Afghan Troop Decision Before Thanksgiving Holiday, Vietnam Vet Holds Antiwar Fast Outside White House, UN: Afghanistan World’s Most Dangerous Nation for Children, US Ratification Urged on 20th Anniversary of Children’s Rights Convention, Ban Calls for $30B in Climate Aid to Poor Nations, Geithner Rejects Calls for Resignation Before Congressional Panel, Study: Uninsured 80% More Likely to Die From Traumatic Injuries, Thousands to Protest US Military Training School at Ft. Benning
As Wall Street Posts Record Profits and US Hunger Rate Grows, Robert Scheer Asks: “Where Is the Community Organizer We Elected?”19 Nov 2009A pair of new government reports released this week paint a startling picture more than a year after the economic meltdown. On Tuesday, the New York Comptroller Office said Wall Street profits are set to exceed the record set three years ago. The four largest firms took in $22.5 billion in profits through September. Meanwhile, far more people are going hungry in the United States than previously thought. The Department of Agriculture estimates 50 million Americans, including a quarter of all children, struggled to get enough to eat last year. We speak to veteran journalist Robert Scheer. [includes rush transcript]
Iraq Vote in Limbo with Veto of Election Law19 Nov 2009Plans for Iraq to hold elections in January are up in the air after Iraq’s vice president vetoed part of an election law over the allocation of seats to Iraqis displaced by the US invasion and occupation. Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who is Sunni, said he objected to Article One of the election law approved by parliament this month because it did not give a voice to Iraqis abroad. We speak to Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar. [includes rush transcript]
Shunning Dissidents, Obama Leaves China Without Firm Pledges on Trade, Climate19 Nov 2009President Barack Obama’s first official trip to China resulted in no firm agreements and has been criticized as being tightly scripted by Beijing. We discuss Obama’s visit and the future of US-Chinese relations with British author and journalist Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order. [includes rush transcript]
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