UN Slow to Respond to Gang Rape of Almost 200 Women in the CongoDemocracy Now - 26 Aug 2010Aid groups reported last week that Rwandan and Congolese rebels took over villages in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and gang-raped almost 200 women and five young boys. The rapes occurred between July 30 and August 3, within miles of a United Nations peacekeeping base. A joint UN human rights team has now confirmed the rapes of 154 women.
Eve Ensler Reads “Congo Cancer: My Cancer Is Arbitrary. Congo’s Atrocities Are Very Deliberate”Democracy Now - 26 Aug 2010Earlier this year, award-winning playwright and bestselling author Eve Ensler was diagnosed with uterine cancer. In a widely read article in The Guardian newspaper of London titled “Congo Cancer,” Ensler writes about her illness and relates it to the widespread violence against women in Congo. “The atrocities committed against the people of Congo are not arbitrary, like my cancer. They are systematic, strategic and intentional,” she writes. [includes rush transcript]
Colleague of NYC Taxi Driver Stabbed in Anti-Muslim Attack Describes What HappenedDemocracy Now - 26 Aug 2010A New York City taxi driver was stabbed multiple times Tuesday after a drunken passenger determined he is a Muslim. The victim, Ahmed Sharif, was slashed across his face, neck and hands. Sharif says the suspect, Michael Enright, had asked him several questions about his religion, including whether he’s a Muslim and observing Ramadan. Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance spoke with Sharif at his hospital bed. She describes what he said happened. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for August 26, 2010Democracy Now - 26 Aug 2010Over 50 Killed in Iraq Violence, Report: Corruption-Linked Afghan Official on CIA Payroll, New York Taxi Driver Stabbed in Anti-Muslim Attack, Religious, Civic Groups Form NY Coalition to Back Islamic Center, Islamic Center Vandalized in California; Kentucky Board Rejects Mosque, Top Obama Environmental Advisers Sidelined During Drilling Talks, 72 Killed in Mexico Drug Killings, Pakistani Towns Evacuated; 800,000 Cut Off from Aid, Scores Killed in Somali Clashes, Zelaya: US Subverting Honduran Democracy, Honduran Journalist Found Dead with Gunshot Wounds, Sweden Continues Probe of WikiLeaks Founder, WikiLeaks Releases CIA Report, Ex-RNC Chair Reveals He’s Gay, Study: More Than Half of Poor Infants Raised by Mothers Suffering from Depression, Deficit Commission Co-Chair Urged to Resign over Social Security Comments
Why Americans should oppose ZionismElectronic Intifada - 26 Aug 2010rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMore and more people are starting to pay attention to Israel’s crimes and indignities. In so doing, more and more people are questioning the origin and meaning of Zionism—that is, the very idea of a legally ethnocentric Israel. Steven Salaita comments.
Veolia whitewashes illegal light rail projectElectronic Intifada - 26 Aug 2010rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rLast week the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the consortium holding the contract to the controversial Jerusalem light rail project surveyed city residents on whether they would feel comfortable sharing rail service with Palestinians. The bad publicity around the survey—described as racist by even members of the Israeli government—is an ironic turn of events. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
Boxed into a Corner on IranCampaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 26 Aug 2010Summary: He [Obama] must stand up before the American people and state simply and unequivocally that Washington opposes any new military action in the Middle East and that the United States is not threatened by Iran and will take no part in any military action directed against it. He might add that the US will further consider anyone staging such an attack as an aggressor nation and will immediately break off relations before demanding a UN Security Council vote to condemn the action. Will that happen? Fat chance. source: AntiWar.com read more
Shirley Sherrod, Ousted from Agriculture Department, Rejects Offer to ReturnDemocracy Now - 25 Aug 2010Shirley Sherrod, ousted from her job at the Agriculture Department last month, has rejected an offer to return to the USDA. Sherrod was forced out shortly after a right-wing website ran a video clip that was deceptively edited to make it appear that she was racist toward white farmers. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack forced Sherrod to resign shortly after the video was posted. Vilsack met with Sherrod Tuesday morning to try and convince her to return to the department. The two also discussed a settlement pending in the Senate for black farmers who have been victims of racism. We speak with John Boyd, the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association. [includes rush transcript]
The New Yorker: Billionaire Brothers Charles & David Koch Have Quietly Given More Than $100 Million to Right-Wing CausesDemocracy Now - 25 Aug 2010An article in the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine by Jane Mayer profiles billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, two of the richest men in America who have quietly given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes. Mayer writes, “The [Koch] brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies—from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program—that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus.” [includes rush transcript]
As Five States Hold Primaries, a Look at the Role of Money in PoliticsDemocracy Now - 25 Aug 2010Voters headed to the polls in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and Vermont yesterday in a big day of state primaries. Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek defeated billionaire real estate mogul Jeff Greene in the state’s Democratic Senate primary. But billionaire businessman Rick Scott pulled off an upset over Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Florida gubernatorial primary after spending $30 million on the race. We take a look at the role of money in those and other primary races with Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity. [includes rush transcript]
Judge Rejects Death Row Prisoner Troy Davis’s Innocence ClaimDemocracy Now - 25 Aug 2010A federal judge in Georgia has rejected death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis’s claims of innocence. Last year the Supreme Court took the unusual step of ordering a district court in Georgia to hold a special evidentiary hearing to consider evidence that surfaced after Davis’s conviction and might establish his innocence. Davis was convicted for the 1989 killing of an off-duty white police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony, and there is no physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for August 25, 2010Democracy Now - 25 Aug 201033 Killed, Dozens Wounded in Iraq Violence, Witnesses: 8 Afghan Civilians Killed in US Attack, Top US Marine: Withdrawal Deadline Boosting Taliban Morale, WikiLeaks Announces Release of CIA Paper, Study: Microbes Eating Up Oil in Gulf of Mexico, McCain Holds Off Challenger; Murkowski Trails in Alaska GOP Race, Rep. Meek Defeats Billionaire Challenger in Fla. Dem Senate, MSHA Fines Safety Violations at 4 Mines, Admin to Appeal Blocking of Stem Cell Funding, Report: NOLA Officers Ordered to Shoot Looters After Katrina, Carter Lands in North Korea to Free US Prisoner, Israeli FM: Settlement Construction to Resume Next Month, Texas School Rejects Admission for Daughter of Lesbian Couple
