Headlines for July 29, 201029 Jul 2010Federal Judge Blocks Part of Arizona Immigration Law, US Seeks Access to More Internet Data Without Court Order, House Reduction of Drug Sentencing Disparity, EPA Blasted over Handling of Michigan Oil Spill, Coast Guard’s Role in Fighting BP Oil Rig Fire Scrutinized, Texas Launches Probe of Toxic Release of BP Refinery in Texas City, Local Afghan Media Outlets Paid to Run US Propaganda, Pakistan Declares Day of Mourning After Plane Crash, 2000-2009 Marked Warmest Decade on Record, Israel Refuses to Pay Medical Bills for Emily Henochowicz, Peace Activist Art Gish, 70, Dies, Israel Demolishes Bedouin Village in Negev Desert
WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange: “Transparent Government Tends to Produce Just Government”28 Jul 2010We spend the hour with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, talking about the biggest leak in US history: the release of more than 91,000 classified military records on the war in Afghanistan. As the Pentagon announces it is launching a criminal probe into who leaked the documents, Assange asks what about investigating the “war crimes” revealed in the leaked military records? He also talks about the media, why he isn’t coming to the US anytime soon, and what gives him hope. “What keeps us going is our sources. These are the people, presumably, who are inside these organizations, who want change,” Assange says. “They are both heroic figures taking much greater risks than I ever do, and they are pushing and showing that they want change in, in fact, an extremely effective way.” [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 28, 201028 Jul 2010House Votes to Fund Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Audit: Pentagon Can’t Account for 95% of $9B of Iraq Reconstruction Funds, BP Seeks $10 Billion Tax Break to Cover Spill Expenses, 800,000 Gallons of Oil Spill in Michigan, Major Protests Planned in Arizona over Anti-Immigrant Bill, Nebraska City Suspends Anti-Immigrant Housing Bill, NYC to Pay $7M Settlement in Sean Bell Shooting Case, British PM: Gaza Is a “Prison Camp”, US Backs More AU Troops in Somalia, Hans Blix: US Refused to Accept Findings of UN Inspectors in Iraq, Colombia Journalist to Be Allowed Entry into US, Four Mexican Journalists Kidnapped, Republicans Block Campaign Finance Law, Massachusetts Legislature OKs Plan to Bypass Electoral College, Groups: FBI Surveillance Program Invites Racial Profiling
WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange: “Transparent Government Tends to Produce Just Government”28 Jul 2010We spend the hour with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, talking about the biggest leak in US history: the release of more than 91,000 classified military records on the war in Afghanistan. As the Pentagon announces it is launching a criminal probe into who leaked the documents, Assange asks what about investigating the “war crimes” revealed in the leaked military records? He also talks about the media, why he isn’t coming to the US anytime soon, and what gives him hope. “What keeps us going is our sources. These are the people, presumably, who are inside these organizations, who want change,” Assange says. “They are both heroic figures taking much greater risks than I ever do, and they are pushing and showing that they want change in, in fact, an extremely effective way.” [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 28, 201028 Jul 2010House Votes to Fund Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Audit: Pentagon Can’t Account for 95% of $9B of Iraq Reconstruction Funds, BP Seeks $10 Billion Tax Break to Cover Spill Expenses, 800,000 Gallons of Oil Spill in Michigan, Major Protests Planned in Arizona over Anti-Immigrant Bill, Nebraska City Suspends Anti-Immigrant Housing Bill, NYC to Pay $7M Settlement in Sean Bell Shooting Case, British PM: Gaza Is a “Prison Camp”, US Backs More AU Troops in Somalia, Hans Blix: US Refused to Accept Findings of UN Inspectors in Iraq, Colombia Journalist to Be Allowed Entry into US, Four Mexican Journalists Kidnapped, Republicans Block Campaign Finance Law, Massachusetts Legislature OKs Plan to Bypass Electoral College, Groups: FBI Surveillance Program Invites Racial Profiling
Guardian Editor on Coverage of Afghan War Logs: European Audience “Troubled More…by the Toll this War is Taking on Innocent People”27 Jul 2010We speak with David Leigh, the investigations editor at The Guardian, one of the three newspapers, along with the New York Times and Der Spiegel, WikiLeaks gave the Afghanistan war documents to. “Broadly, we see a similar picture in the three media. What we do see is quite a different political perspective. From the New York Times’s point of view…it was interesting to see that the relationship with Pakistan was a political priority,” Leigh says. “With us, we’re more concerned about the casualties, I think. We’re troubled more, a European audience, by the toll this war is taking on innocent people.” [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 27, 201027 Jul 2010Karzai Orders Probe into Deadly NATO Air Strike, Missing US Soldier Found Dead in Afghanistan, As BP Reports $17B Loss, Hayward to Step Down as CEO, BP Fails to Set Up $20B Compensation Fund, Greenpeace Activists Shut Down BP Stations in London, Iran Says It Is Open to Nuclear Talks “Without Any Conditions”, Environmental Ministers Criticize US Stance on Climate Change, WFP: 8 Million Need Food Aid in Niger Due to Severe Drought, SEIU and UNITE HERE Reach Settlement Ending Dispute, Tennessee GOP Candidate Questions Whether Islam Is a Religion, Probe Urged into Murdered Honduran Journalists, Nike Agrees to Compensate Laid-Off Contract Workers in Honduras, 20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act Marked, Puerto Rican Independentista Freed After 30 Years
Guardian Editor on Coverage of Afghan War Logs: European Audience “Troubled More…by the Toll this War is Taking on Innocent People”27 Jul 2010We speak with David Leigh, the investigations editor at The Guardian, one of the three newspapers, along with the New York Times and Der Spiegel, WikiLeaks gave the Afghanistan war documents to. “Broadly, we see a similar picture in the three media. What we do see is quite a different political perspective. From the New York Times’s point of view…it was interesting to see that the relationship with Pakistan was a political priority,” Leigh says. “With us, we’re more concerned about the casualties, I think. We’re troubled more, a European audience, by the toll this war is taking on innocent people.” [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 27, 201027 Jul 2010Karzai Orders Probe into Deadly NATO Air Strike, Missing US Soldier Found Dead in Afghanistan, As BP Reports $17B Loss, Hayward to Step Down as CEO, BP Fails to Set Up $20B Compensation Fund, Greenpeace Activists Shut Down BP Stations in London, Iran Says It Is Open to Nuclear Talks “Without Any Conditions”, Environmental Ministers Criticize US Stance on Climate Change, WFP: 8 Million Need Food Aid in Niger Due to Severe Drought, SEIU and UNITE HERE Reach Settlement Ending Dispute, Tennessee GOP Candidate Questions Whether Islam Is a Religion, Probe Urged into Murdered Honduran Journalists, Nike Agrees to Compensate Laid-Off Contract Workers in Honduras, 20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act Marked, Puerto Rican Independentista Freed After 30 Years
The New Pentagon Papers: WikiLeaks Releases 90,000+ Secret Military Documents Painting Devastating Picture of Afghanistan War26 Jul 2010It’s one of the biggest leaks in US military history. More than 90,000 internal records of US military actions in Afghanistan over the past six years have been published by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The documents provide a devastating portrait of the war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, how a secret black ops special forces unit hunts down targets for assassination or detention without trial, how Talibanattacks have soared, and how Pakistan is fueling the insurgency. We host a roundtable discussion with independent British journalist Stephen Grey; Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg; former State Department official in Afghanistan, Matthew Hoh; independent journalist Rick Rowley; and investigative historian Gareth Porter. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 26, 201026 Jul 2010WikiLeaks Releases 92,000 Secret Docs About Afghan War, Report: 45 Afghan Civilians Die in NATO Air Strike, US Launches Hunt for Captured Troops in Afghanistan, Cancer & Infant Mortality Rates Soar in Fallujah, Suicide Bomb Targets Baghdad Bureau of Al Arabiya, Former CIA Boss: Iran Attack ?Inexorable?, Lt. Dan Choi Discharged from Military over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Report: Hayward to Step Down as BP CEO, Khmer Rouge Commander Sentenced for Crimes Against Humanity, Two Workers in Penn. Die in Natural Gas Explosion, Report: People with Mental Disabilities Face Risk of Erroneous Deportation, Activists Gather for United National Peace Conference in Albany, Legendary Broadcaster Daniel Schorr, 93, Dies
The New Pentagon Papers: WikiLeaks Releases 90,000+ Secret Military Documents Painting Devastating Picture of Afghanistan War26 Jul 2010It’s one of the biggest leaks in US military history. More than 90,000 internal records of US military actions in Afghanistan over the past six years have been published by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The documents provide a devastating portrait of the war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, how a secret black ops special forces unit hunts down targets for assassination or detention without trial, how Talibanattacks have soared, and how Pakistan is fueling the insurgency. We host a roundtable discussion with independent British journalist Stephen Grey; Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg; former State Department official in Afghanistan, Matthew Hoh; independent journalist Rick Rowley; and investigative historian Gareth Porter. [includes rush transcript – partial]
Headlines for July 26, 201026 Jul 2010WikiLeaks Releases 92,000 Secret Docs About Afghan War, Report: 45 Afghan Civilians Die in NATO Air Strike, US Launches Hunt for Captured Troops in Afghanistan, Cancer & Infant Mortality Rates Soar in Fallujah, Suicide Bomb Targets Baghdad Bureau of Al Arabiya, Former CIA Boss: Iran Attack ?Inexorable?, Lt. Dan Choi Discharged from Military over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Report: Hayward to Step Down as BP CEO, Khmer Rouge Commander Sentenced for Crimes Against Humanity, Two Workers in Penn. Die in Natural Gas Explosion, Report: People with Mental Disabilities Face Risk of Erroneous Deportation, Activists Gather for United National Peace Conference in Albany, Legendary Broadcaster Daniel Schorr, 93, Dies
“Reclaiming the Democratic Majority” – Progressive Activists Organize to Change Democrats in Congress23 Jul 2010Many progressives helped to elect Democratic majorities in Congress in 2006 and 2008 and helped Obama win the presidency. But with the Democrats in power, the feeling now among many grassroots activists is that most Democratic lawmakers have not acted on behalf of their progressive constituencies. We speak with two progressive activists: Ilyse Hogue of MoveOn.Org, and Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. [includes rush transcript]
Using Social Media to Build Community…and Resistance23 Jul 2010We broadcast from Las Vegas, the site of the Netroots Nation convention, where thousands of people have gathered and social media is the watchword of the day. We host a roundtable discussion on social media with Aimee Allison, founder of OaklandSeen; hip-hop journalist and activist, Davey D; and Cheryl Contee, aka Jill Tubman, co-founder of the political blog “Jack and Jill Politics.” [includes rush transcript]
Three of Every Four Oil & Gas Lobbyists Worked for Federal Government23 Jul 2010Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, according to a new analysis by the Washington Post. That’s a rate that is more than double revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill. We talk to Steve Kretzmann, the founder and director of Oil Change International. [includes rush transcript]
Using Social Media to Build Community…and Resistance23 Jul 2010We broadcast from Las Vegas, the site of the Netroots Nation convention, where thousands of people have gathered and social media is the watchword of the day. We host a roundtable discussion on social media with Aimee Allison, founder of OaklandSeen; hip-hop journalist and activist, Davey D; and Cheryl Contee, aka Jill Tubman, co-founder of the political blog “Jack and Jill Politics.”
Three of Every Four Oil & Gas Lobbyists Worked for Federal Government23 Jul 2010Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, according to a new analysis by the Washington Post. That’s a rate that is more than double revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill. We talk to Steve Kretzmann, the founder and director of Oil Change International. [includes rush transcript]
Democracy Now