USA
 

  Von: RussiaToday  03.06.2011

On this edition of Peter Lavelle's CrossTalk: Is Obama's power subject to the War Powers Act? Is the war in Libya an exceptional case or is it just part of the empire complex? Are there any limits to Obama's actions? And will there be any legal consequences of such illegal behavior? CrossTalking with Robert Naiman, Dave Kopel and Leslie Vinjamuri.

 

Wisconsin wehrt sich 24.02.2011

Massive Proteste von Beschäftigten des öffentlichen Dienstes im US-Bundesstaat gegen Sozialabbau und gewerkschaftsfeindliches Gesetzesvorhaben des Gouverneurs

Von Rainer Rupp

 

Son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: "My Parents Were Executed Under the Unconstitutional Espionage Act—Here’s Why We
Must Fight to Protect Julian Assange"
December 30, 2010

As the U.S. Department of Justice considers charging WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act of 1917, we speak with Robert Meeropol, the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—the only U.S. citizens to be executed under the Espionage Act, in what’s been described as the most controversial death sentence in U.S. history. This week, Meeropol released a widely read statement in support of WikiLeaks called, "My Parents Were Executed Under the Unconstitutional Espionage Act—Here’s Why We Must Fight to Protect Julian Assange."

 

U.S. manipulated climate accord in Copenhagen: WikiLeaks U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference
at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 18, 2009.

Other revelations include the secret assurance given by Yemen’s President to U.S. for unrestricted access to his territory and the details of an averted environmental disaster in Libya which was kept secret by the U.S. in 2009.

 

US embassy cables: EU raises 'creative accounting' with US over climate aid

The failed Copenhagen climate change summit produced only a non-binding Accord, but the agreement suits US interests as it presents more chance of forcing China to act. US diplomats campaign hard around the world for support for the Accord. In a revealing cable, EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard asks if the US would need to do any "creative accounting" in funding aid pledges, while the US questions China and India's good faith. By November 2010, 140 nations have backed the Accord, at the upper end of the US target. Key passages highlighted in yellow.

 

 

New $600B Fed Stimulus Fuels Fears of US Currency War  November 5, 2010

The Federal Reserve will pump $600 billion more into the US economy and keep interest rates at historical low levels. The short-term impact of the Fed’s move, known as quantitative easing, has been a jump in stock prices across the globe. Many nations, however, have accused the United States of waging a currency war by devaluing the dollar. We speak to former Wall Street economist and University of Missouri professor Michael Hudson. "The object of warfare is to take over a country’s land, raw materials and assets, and grab them," Hudson says. "In the past, that used to be done militarily by invading them. But today you can do it financially simply by creating credit, which is what the Federal Reserve has done.

 

Election Roundtable: Breaking Down the Results with Laura Flanders of GritTV, The Nation’s Richard Kim & John Nichols, and Journalist David Goodman November 3, 2010

The midterm elections saw two key Senate victories for the Tea Party and major losses for the right-leaning Blue Dog Democrats. Meanwhile, the Senate lost one of its most progressive lawmakers with the ouster of Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. We get analysis from four guests: Laura Flanders, host of GritTV; Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation magazine; John Nichols of The Nation magazine; and Vermont-based journalist and author David Goodman.

 

Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz: Foreclosure Moratorium, Government Stimulus Needed to Revive US Economy October 20, 2010

As the Obama administration rejects a foreclosure moratorium and austerity protests grip Europe, we assess the state of the US and global economy with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, author of Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. Stiglitz backs calls for a foreclosure moratorium and says opponents of a new government stimulus "don’t understand basic economics." On war, Stiglitz says Iraq and Afghanistan are "the first wars in America’s history financed totally on the credit card."


 

Kanonen statt Butter 20.10.2010
Demagogische Gegenoffensive der Reaktion: Plakat der Tea Party North Iowa – Mason City,
Juli 2010 (»Radikale Führer machen Jagd auf die Ängstlichen und Naiven«)   Foto: AP

Hintergrund. Der Tea-Party-Bewegung der USA sind alle Staatsausgaben zu hoch – bis auf den Kriegshaushalt

Von Knut Mellenthin

Seit dem 21.Juli verfügt der reaktionärste Flügel der Republikanischen Partei über eine eigene Arbeitsgruppe – einen sogenannten caucus – im Abgeordnetenhaus der USA. Dem »Tea Party Caucus«, wie er sich in Anlehnung an die gleichnamige rechte Protestbewegung gegen Präsident Obama nennt, gehören nach Angaben seiner Vorsitzenden Michele Bachmann zur Zeit 49 Parlamentarier an. ...

 

Iraq War Vet Camilo Mejía: US Withdrawal Plan Marks "Privatization of Military Occupation" August 20, 2010

Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía, the first US combat veteran to publicly resist the war, joins us to give his reaction to the so-called US withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. Mejía served six months in Iraq in 2003 with the Florida National Guard. While on a two-week leave in the United States, he decided never to return. In May 2004, a military jury convicted him of desertion, and he was sentenced to one year in prison. He served nine months behind bars, prompting Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience.

 

Debate: Is DREAM Act a Solution for Millions of Undocumented Youth or a Funnel for Military Recruitment? August 20, 2010

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act—DREAM—would allow undocumented young people a chance at citizenship provided they attend college for at least two years or enlist in the military. It’s been described as a dream come true for undocumented youth wanting a chance to stay in this country without the fear of deportation. But many antiwar activists warn that the bill will simply funnel more young people into the military. We host a debate between Camilo Mejía of Iraq Veterans Against the War and pro-DREAM activist Gaby Pacheco.

 

After Over Four Decades, Justice Still Eludes Family of 3 Civil Rights Workers Slain in Mississippi Burning Killings August 13, 2010

As the Justice Department announces it has closed nearly half of its investigations into unresolved killings from the civil rights era, we look back at the 1964 murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, the subject of the new documentary Neshoba: The Price of Freedom. Although dozens of white men are believed to have been involved in the murders and cover-up, only one man, a Baptist preacher named Edgar Ray Killen, is behind bars today. Four suspects are still alive in the case. We play excerpts of Neshoba and speak with its co-director, Micki Dickoff. We’re also joined by the brothers of two of the victims, Ben Chaney and David Goodman. And we speak with award-winning Mississippi-based journalist Jerry Mitchell of the Clarion-Ledger, who’s spent the past twenty years investigating unresolved civil rights murder cases, as well as Bruce Watson, author of the new book Freedom Summer: The Savage Season that Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy.

 

Erstaunliche Wendung in Sachen Wikileaks 06. August 2010

Das Magazin „Forbes“ berichtet, dass es sich bei dem angeblichen Hacker Adrian Lamo, dem sich der amerikanische Soldat Bradley Manning wegen des Irak-Videos „Collateral Murder“ angeblich anvertraute, tatsächlich um einen Sicherheitsspezialisten im Regierungsdienst handelt.

Von Detlef Borchers

 

3 US Soldiers Speak Out on McChrystal’s Firing, Petraeus as Replacement, and the Unending War in Afghanistan June 24, 2010

President Obama says the Afghan war will continue as planned despite his firing of General Stanley McChrystal over disparaging comments made by McChrystal and his aides about top US officials. Obama has named General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command and architect of the surge in Iraq, as a successor. The firing of McChrystal comes at a perilous moment in the Afghan war, with June now the deadliest month for the NATO force since the 2001 invasion. We speak to three soldiers: Brock McIntosh, an Afghan war vet who has filed for conscientious objector status; Victor Agosto, who was jailed after refusing to deploy to Afghanistan after serving in Iraq; and Camilo Mejia, the first GI who served in Iraq to have publicly resisted the war.

 

Tom Engelhardt on "The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s" June 18, 2010

We discuss the latest in the ongoing US war in Afghanistan, the longest-running war in American history, with Tom Engelhardt, creator and editor of the website TomDispatch and author of The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s. Engelhardt says the US war in Afghanistan has troubling parallels with the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan of the 1980s.


 

Stephen Kinzer on the History of BP/British Petroleum and Its Role in the 1953 Iran Coup June 14, 2010

Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, looks at the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s role in the 1953 CIA coup against Iran’s popular progressive prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh.


 

Pentagon ‘Hunting’ WikiLeaks Founder June 11, 2010
Julian Assange

Julian Assange's Voyage From Thorn in Pentagon's Side to 'Threat to National Security'

by Jason Ditz

 

Ex-Hacker soll WikiLeaks-Quelle an Militär verpfiffen haben 07.06.2010

Das US-Militär hat einen Soldaten festgenommen, der geheimes Videomaterial an die Web-Plattform WikiLeaks weitergegeben haben soll. Nun erklärt ein ehemaliger Hacker, er habe den Mann an die Behörden verraten. Die WikiLeaks-Betreiber widersprechen seiner Darstellung allerdings vehement.

 

Johan Galtung on "The Fall of the US Empire" June 7, 2010

The amount of money the United States has spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq surpassed the $1 trillion mark last week, according to the National Priorities Project Cost of War counter. To date, over $747 billion has been appropriated for the war in Iraq and $299 billion for the war in Afghanistan. The US is spending over $136 billion on the wars this year. I’m joined now by Johan Galtung, who has spent the past half-century pursuing nonviolent conflict resolution in international relations. He’s known as a founder of the field of peace and conflict studies.

 

Mordauftraggeber des Tages: Barack Obama 07.06.2010  Junge Welt

Vor dem Hintergrund der weltweiten Empörung über den mörderischen Piratenakt und das Massaker an Aktivisten der Hilfsflotte für Gaza ist die Nachricht über umfassende Verletzungen des Völkerrechts durch die USA mit tödlichen Folgen für Hunderte unbeteiligte Zivilisten untergegangen. Laut US-Medienbrichten wurde auf Befehl von US-Präsident und Friedensnobelpreisträger Barack Obama der Einsatz von verdeckt operierenden Killer-Einheiten der US-Spezialtruppen stark ausgeweitet. Zugleich will das Pentagon in den nächsten fünf Jahren zusätzliche 100 Milliarden Dollar für die Durchführung von Obamas Mordaufträgen zur Verfügung stellen. Und dabei schreckt Obama, anders als sein Vorgänger Bush, nicht einmal davor zurück, sogar US-amerikanische Bürger – auf bloßen Verdacht hin – vorbeugend ermorden zu lassen.

Laut Washington Post ist der Bestand der im Ausland operierenden geheimen US-Killertruppe seit Obamas Amtsantritt auf 13000 Mann aufgestockt und ihr Operationsgebiet von 60 auf 75 Länder ausgeweitet worden, einschließlich Saudi-Arabien, Somalia und Iran. Das geschieht angeblich, um Al-Qaida und andere US-feindliche Extremisten zu bekämpfen, aber zumindest im Fall Iran geht es auch darum, »nachrichtendienstlich relevante Informationen« zur Vorbereitung eines Militärschlages zu sammeln, so die Times of London, die zugleich vermerkt, daß Hunderte unbeteiligte Zivilisten bereits Opfer dieser mörderischen »Friedenspolitik« Obamas geworden sind. Für die Times geht »die dramatische Ausweitung des globalen Einsatzes der Special Forces weit über die verdeckten Operationen hinaus, die von George W. Bush genehmigt wurden«. Dies spiegele die Tatsache wider, »wie aggressiv Präsident Obama hinter der Fassade seiner öffentlichen Rhetorik von Diplomatie und globalem Engagement Al-Qaida verfolgt«.

Quelle: http://www.jungewelt.de/2010/06-07/031.php

 

Newly released FBI files discuss Walter Cronkite aiding Vietnam antiwar protestors May 14, 2010
Walter Cronkite

Legendary CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite allegedly collaborated with anti-Vietnam War activists in the 1960s, going so far as to offer advice on how to raise the public profile of protests and even pledging CBS News resources to help pull off events, according to FBI documents ...

 

Ausgrenzung beenden 11.05.2010
Protest gegen unwürdige Behandlung von Immigranten am 1. Mai in New York
Foto: AP

USA: Kampf um einen menschenwürdigen Umgang mit Arbeitssuchenden aus Lateinamerika rückt ins Zentrum der sozialen Auseinandersetzungen

Von Kurt Stand

 

Was Obama Nuke Summit Necessary or Just “Nuclear Alarmism”? And What About Israel’s Arsenal? April 14, 2010
President Obama concluded an international summit on nuclear security in Washington, DC Tuesday after securing pledges from dozens of nations to eliminate or safeguard all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years. We speak with political science professor, John Mueller, author of Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda, and John Steinbach, who has studied Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
 

 

Gates: Wikileaks ‘Irresponsible’ for Releasing Video April 13, 2010
Notice the small hole at the top of the straw. Ostensibly, this is the amount seen of the events
on the leaked video, of the killing of the journalists and the other civilians gunned down by U.S.
helicopter troops in Iraq in July 2007, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates Laments that Watchdog Will 'Not Be Held Accountable'

by Jason Ditz

With growing concerns over the massive number of civilians being killed in America’s assorted wars, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took time out to publicly condemn Wikileaks for its release of a July 12, 2007 video showing US helicopters massacring civilians in Iraq. ...

 

Obamas Mordauftrag 08.04.2010
Ein US-Soldat führt 2002 mit seinem Messer eine Strichliste seiner getöteten Gegner. Auch unter
Friedensnobelpreisträger Barack Obama hat sich an den Mordaufträgen der US-Administration nichts
geändert  Foto: AP

Von Rainer Rupp

Wie nordamerikanische Medien berichteten, hat die US-Administration von Friedensnobelpreisträger Barack Obama die gezielte Tötung eines US-amerikanischen Staatsbürgers autorisiert. Bei dem zur Ermordung freigegebenen Menschen handelt es sich um den 38 Jahre alten, in New Mexico geborenen muslimischen Prediger jemenitischer Herkunft Anwar Al-Awlaki. ...

 

Michael Moore: Healthcare Bill “A Victory for Capitalism” March 23, 2010

President Barack Obama is signing the main healthcare overhaul bill this morning at a White House ceremony. We speak with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore. “The healthcare bill that was passed ultimately will be seen as a victory for capitalism,” Moore says. “It protected the capitalist model of providing healthcare for people—in other words, we are not to help unless there is money to be made from it.”

 

Obamas Gesundheits-Kompromiss verschont die Pharmaindustrie 22.03.2010
Forderung nach Gesundheitsgesetz: "Eine Reform, die die Republikaner lieben sollten"

Von Marc Pitzke, New York

US-Präsident Obama hat sein wichtigstes innenpolitisches Ziel erreicht: 32 Millionen Amerikaner werden nun krankenversichert. Doch das Gesetzespaket ist auffallend industriefreundlich. Die Pharma-Firmen machen weiterhin Milliardengeschäfte - auf Kosten der Patienten.

 

Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader: A Discussion on Healthcare, Politics and Reform March 18, 2010

Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio announced on Wednesday he would switch his vote on the Democrat-led healthcare reform bill and support the legislation even though it does not create a public option. Kucinich’s decision came two days after he spoke with President Obama aboard Air Force One on their way to a rally in his district. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, we spend the hour with Kucinich and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader for an in-depth discussion on healthcare, the Obama administration, the Iraq war and more

 

Charles Bowden on “The War Next Door”  March 16, 2010

In the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, a US consular employee and her husband were shot dead on Saturday while driving in their SUV. In a separate incident nearby, the husband of a Mexican employee at the US consulate was shot dead. The shootings are believed to be the first deadly attacks on US officials and their families by Mexico’s powerful drug organizations. We go to the US-Mexico border to speak with reporter Charles Bowden. “There is no serious War on Drugs,” Bowden writes. “Rather, there is violence, nourished by the money to be made from drugs. And there are U.S. industries whose primary lifeblood comes from fighting a war on drugs.”

 

Geld und Blut 12.03.2010

65 Stimmen gegen den Afghanistan-Krieg im US-amerikanischen Repräsentantenhaus

Von Rainer Rupp

Mit einer großen Mehrheit von 356 zu 65 Stimmen hat das Repräsentantenhaus des US-Kongresses am Mittwoch in Washington gegen die von Denis Kucinich und 19 Co-Sponsoren eingebrachte Resolution zur sofortigen Beendigung des Krieges und zum Abzug der US-Soldaten aus Afghanistan bis spätestens zum Ende des Jahres gestimmt. (...)

Denis Kucinich macht deswegen in kurzen Stellungnahmen im Kongreß regelmäßig auf die chaotischen Vorgänge und die Korruption in Afghanistan aufmerksam, um die Wahrnehmung der Abgeordneten zu schärfen. So auch mit seiner jüngsten Erklärung, wonach »Afghanistan in amerikanischem Geld und Blut schwimmt«. Darin bezieht er sich auf die jüngsten Meldungen großer amerikanischer Medien wie die New York Times, wonach jeden Tag Geldkuriere mit vielen Millionen Dollar im Gepäck von Kabul nach Dubai fliegen.

Obwohl das Geld aus dubiosen Quellen kommt, muß es in Kabul beim Zoll am Flughafen nur deklariert werden, ansonsten blieben die Geldboten nach afghanischem Recht vollkommen unbehelligt, schreibt die New York Times. Hochrechnungen haben ergeben, daß auf diese Weise alljährlich eine Milliarde Dollar nach Dubai verbracht werden. Laut Kucinich haben der afghanische Staatspräsident Karsai, die Mitglieder seiner Familie und die der meisten anderen hochrangigen Funktionsträger der afghanischen Regierung alle millionenschwere Luxusvillen in Dubai. Um das zu ermöglichen, würden jeden Tag amerikanische Soldaten sterben.

 

Rep. Dennis Kucinich Takes on Democratic Leaders with Insistence on Public Option, Call for Afghan Withdrawal March 11, 2010

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins us to discuss two House debates in which he’s played a central role this week. The Ohio Democrat is threatening to vote against his party’s healthcare reform package because it does not contain a robust public option. Meanwhile, Kucinich’s bill to force the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan was taken up on Wednesday. After a rare three-and-a-half-hour debate on the war, the majority of House Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the measure.

 

Obama Administration: US Forces Can Assassinate Americans Believed to Be Involved in Terrorist Activity February 9, 2010

The Obama administration has acknowledged it’s continuing a Bush-era policy authorizing the killing of US citizens abroad. The confirmation came from Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair in congressional testimony last week. Blair said, “Being a US citizen will not spare an American from getting assassinated by military or intelligence operatives overseas if the individual is working with terrorists and planning to attack fellow Americans.” We speak to Rep. Dennis Kucinich and blogger and attorney Glenn Greenwald.

 

 

Backtracking on Earlier Findings, Justice Dept. Said to Clear Bush Admin Attorneys of Authorizing Torture February 2, 2010

A Spanish court has opened formal criminal investigations into the suspected torture of Guantánamo prisoner Hamed Abderrahman Ahmad. The court described six Bush administration lawyers, including John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Alberto Gonzales, as the “intellectual authors” of the torture to which Ahmad and four other prisoners were subjected. The probe comes as the Justice Department will reportedly clear Yoo and Bybee of professional misconduct for crafting memos that justified waterboarding and other forms of torture. Senior Justice Department official David Margolis reportedly softened an earlier finding that Bybee and Yoo had violated their professional obligations when they wrote a crucial 2002 memo approving so-called enhanced interrogation techniques.

 

Despite Non-Proliferation Pledge, Obama Budget Request Seeks Additional $7B for Nuclear Arsenal February 2, 2010

As part of a record $3.8 trillion budget proposal, the Obama administration is asking Congress to increase spending on the US nuclear arsenal by more than $7 billion over the next five years. Obama is seeking the extra money despite a pledge to cut the US arsenal and seek a nuclear weapons-free world. The proposal includes large funding increases for a new plutonium production facility in Los Alamos, New Mexico. We speak with Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch of New Mexico.

 

U.S. speeds up arms buildup with Gulf allies January 30, 2010

By Joby Warrick

Initiatives with Arab nations, military aimed at thwarting Iran attacks

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - The Obama administration is quietly working with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to speed up arms sales and rapidly upgrade defenses for oil terminals and other key infrastructure in a bid to thwart future military attacks by Iran, according to former and current U.S. and Middle Eastern government officials. (...)

 

Obama Seeks Massive Increase in Nuke Spending January 30, 2010

Claims Billions in Funds for New Facilities Part of 'Disarmament Strategy'

by Jason Ditz

In a move he insists is somehow consistent with his call for disarmament, President Obama is seeking more than $5 billion in increased funding for America’s nuclear weapons program, aimed chiefly at modernization and building new facilities.

Vice President Joe Biden detailed what he thought was the case for the investment, perplexingly arguing simultaneously for a world without nuclear weapons and for America to make “long overdue” investments in strengthening its own nuclear stockpile. (...)

 

EXCLUSIVE…Blackwater’s Youngest Victim: Father of 9 Year-Old Killed in Nisour Square Gives Most Detailed Account of Massacre to Date January 29, 2010

Today a Democracy Now! exclusive report from Jeremy Scahill about a nine year old boy, shot in the head and killed by Blackwater in the infamous Nisour Squre massacre. His father, who is suing the private military contractor, provides the most detailed eyewitness account of the massacre to date. Scahill has conducted an in-depth investigation of the massacre and of nine-year old Ali Kinani’s death. He files an exclusive report with Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films.

 

Casting Doubt on US Claims of Suicide, Attorney Scott Horton Reveals 3 Gitmo Prisoners Died After Torture at Secret Site January 20, 2010

New evidence has emerged suggesting three Guantánamo prisoners whom the US claims took their own lives in June 2006 died not from suicide, but torture. A six-month investigation by Harper’s Magazine indicates the three prisoners were suffocated and tortured during questioning at a secret black site facility at Guantánamo known as “Camp No.” The article is based in part on testimony from a former staff sergeant who says the Obama administration has refused to investigate his claims.

 

Gescheiterter Anschlag bei Detroit 02.01.2010 (Spiegel Online Bericht)
US-Präsident Barack Obama: "Krieg gegen das weitverzweigte Netzwerk des Hasses"

Obama macht al-Qaida direkt für Attentat verantwortlich

US-Präsident Obama hat erstmals die Terrororganisation al-Qaida als Drahtzieher des vereitelten Flugzeugattentats bei Detroit benannt. Die USA seien im Krieg mit diesem "Netzwerk der Gewalt und des Hasses" - die Hintermänner des Terroraktes würden konsequent verfolgt. ...

Health Bill Passes Key Senate Hurdle; Legislation Restricts Abortion Funding, Stripped of Public Option, Medicare Expansion December 21, 2009

The Senate took a big step toward passing its sweeping healthcare bill early today. Shortly after 1:00 a.m., the Senate voted 60-40 along party lines to break a Republican filibuster and approve a motion to move the legislation to final passage later this week. The legislation has no public option, no expansion of Medicare eligibility, and includes restrictions on the use of federal funding for abortions. We speak with Salon.com blogger, Glenn Greenwald.

 

“The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther” December 4, 2009

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the death of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. On December 4th, 1969, Chicago police raided Fred Hampton’s apartment and shot and killed him in his bed. He was just twenty-one years old. Black Panther leader Mark Clark was also killed in the raid. While authorities claimed the Panthers had opened fire on the police who were there to serve a search warrant for weapons, evidence later emerged that told a very different story: that the FBI, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Chicago police conspired to assassinate Fred Hampton. We speak with attorney Jeffrey Haas, author of The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.

 

Kampf für Menschenrechte mit langem Atem 15.11.2009

Während die Todesstrafe in den USA nach wie vor in vielen Bundesstaaten praktiziert wird, meldet sich die erste in der jüngeren Geschichte erfolgreiche Kampagne dagegen zurück. 1995 konnte zum ersten Mal seit der Wiedereinführung des staatlichen Mordens von 1976 eine Hinrichtung durch Massenproteste verhindert werden. Damals sollte Mumia Abu-Jamal hingerichtet werden, was am Widerstand von Hundertausenden scheiterte. Das wiederholte sich auch 1999 - nun sieht es so aus, als ob Pennsylvanias Justiz und Regierung es noch einmal wissen will. ...

 

Anchor Lou Dobbs resigns from CNN November 12, 2009

Lou Dobbs, the most opinionated and divisive anchor at a cable network that bills itself as a straight-news oasis, resigned from CNN on Wednesday night, saying in his final broadcast that he wants "to go beyond the role" of a television journalist in tackling the country's problems. ...

See: www.bastadobbs.com and see also the great Interview on Democracy Now! where AMY GOODMAN and JUAN GONZALEZ grill him good!

 

CIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap 4. November 2009
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr was snatched from a street in Milan

An Italian judge has convicted 23 Americans - all but one of them CIA agents - and two Italian secret agents for the 2003 kidnap of a Muslim cleric.

 

"Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party" September 4, 2009

In a Democracy Now! exclusive, award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal joins us for the first extended interview about his debut book, Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party. The book traces the rise of the radical right in the US and how it used the concept of personal crisis to grow as a movement and eventually capture control of the GOP to transform it from the party of Dwight Eisenhower to the party of Sarah Palin.

 

Bis zum Tod im Knast 27.08.2009
Leonard Peltier. Der Kampf für seine Freiheit geht weiter
Foto: www.leonardpeltier.net

Von Jürgen Heiser

Leonard Peltier, Aktivist des American Indian Movement (AIM), seit 1977 wegen der angeblichen Tötung zweier FBI-Agenten in Haft, soll auch nach über drei Jahrzehnten nicht auf Bewährung freikommen. Das entschied der zuständige US-Bewährungsausschuß. ...

 

Actor Kiefer Sutherland's Grandfather Tommy Douglas Remembered for Bringing August 18, 2009
Universal Healthcare System to Canada

As premier of Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas pioneered a number of progressive policies there, including the expansion of public utilities, unionization and public auto insurance. But his biggest achievement was the creation of universal health insurance, called Medicare. It passed in Saskatchewan in 1962, guaranteeing hospital care for all residents. The rest of Canada soon followed, province by province. After his death, Douglas earned the title of “The Greatest Canadian” in a poll by the CBC. We speak with Canadian doctor Michael Rachlis.

See also: British Politician Tony Benn Condemns Escalation of War in Afghanistan & Defends Britain's Socialized Healthcare System

 

Als Journalist in der Hölle 08.08.2009
Mumia Abu-Jamal

Wie der seit Jahrzehnten im Todestrakt Gefangene seine Artikel verfaßt. Wie er sich gegen Schikanen wehrt. Und wie das Leben im Knast manches Mal die ganz bitteren Themen liefert

Von Mumia Abu-Jamal

Wie in jeder Wochenendausgabe veröffentlicht junge Welt auch heute Mumia Abu-Jamals Kolumne – die 450. in Folge seit dem 16. Dezember 2000. In dem Text, der diesmal den doppelten Umfang hat, erläutert der jW-Kolumnist seine Arbeitsbedingungen im Todestrakt der US-Strafanstalt Greene in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

 

»Genießt euer Leben« 27.07.2009
Leonard Peltier während eines Interviews am 29. April 1999 im Gefängnis
Leavenworth, Kansas  Foto: AP

Leonard Peltier vom American Indian Movement, seit 34 Jahren politischer Gefangener, wendet sich vor seinem heutigen Haftprüfungstermin an die Solidaritätsbewegung

Zunächst möchte ich Euch von Herzen dafür danken, daß Ihr mich unterstützt und daß Ihr für das Recht kämpft, wo immer ihr auch leben mögt. Ich finde keine Worte für meine außerordentliche Dankbarkeit nicht nur gegenpüber den Menschen in Amerika, sondern überall auf der Welt, die für meine und die Sache der indianischen Völker kämpfen. Ihr habt Euch nicht geschont und mir in meiner mißlichen Lage zur Seite gestanden. Täglich werde ich auf die Lage so vieler politischer Gefangener auf der Welt aufmerksam gemacht. Viele wurden umgebracht oder gefoltert, nur weil sie versucht haben, dem Unrecht in ihrem Ort oder Land zu begegnen. (…)

 

EXCLUSIVE: John Walker Lindh's Parents Discuss Their Son's Story, from Joining the US-Backed Taliban Army to Surviving a Northern Alliance Massacre, to His Abuse at the Hands of US Forces July 31, 2009

 

The Democrats' Selective Amnesia on Assassination: Clinton Did It and Obama Does It Too

While the focus is on Dick Cheney’s role, the U.S. has long had a bi-partisan assassination program.

by Jeremy Scahill

 

Vietnam War Architect Robert McNamara Dies at 93: A Look at His Legacy With Howard Zinn,
Marilyn Young & Jonathan Schell July 7, 2009

Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has died at the age of 93. McNamara was one of the key architects of the Vietnam war, which killed at least three million Vietnamese, around one million Cambodians and Laotians, and 58,000 American soldiers. We take a look at McNamara’s legacy with two pre-eminent historians: Howard Zinn and Marilyn Young. We also speak with Jonathan Schell, who covered Vietnam as a reporter in 1967 and met with McNamara in a secret Pentagon meeting.

 

Up in Smoke: How the Tobacco Industry Shaped the New Smoking Bill July 2, 2009

President Obama signed into law a bill last week that gives the US government broad regulatory power over cigarettes and other tobacco products. Obama said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their products to children. But several public health professionals have come out strongly against the new legislation. They argue that it was largely shaped by Philip Morris, now called Altria Group, the largest cigarette company in the country. We speak with Dr. Joel Nitzkin, chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force of the American Association of Public Health Physicians.

 

»Wir sind nur eine Söldnerarmee für ein paar Reiche« 23.05.2009
André Shepherd

Gespräch mit André Shepherd. Über seinen Asylantrag als GI in der Bundesrepublik, die Grundsätze der Nürnberger Prozesse, die US-Kriege im Irak und Afghanistan und Präsident Barack Obama

Interview: Elsa Rassbach

André Shepherd, 32, wuchs in Ohio/USA auf und besuchte dort das College. 2003 war er arbeitslos, trat in die US-Armee ein, wurde als Mechaniker für Apache-Kampfhubschrauber ausgebildet und im deutschen Ansbach-Katterbach stationiert. 2004 diente er sechs Monate im Irak. 2007, wieder in Deutschland, bekam er erneut den Befehl, in den Irak zu gehen. Im April 2007 entfernte er sich unerlaubt von der Truppe und lebte in Deutschland im Untergrund. Am 26. November 2008 beantragte er in Deutschland Asyl. Er beruft sich auf eine Direktive der EU, wonach Soldaten Asyl gewährt werden muß, die in ihren Heimatländern Verfolgung befürchten müssen, weil sie sich geweigert haben, an Verbrechen oder Handlungen teilzunehmen, die völkerrechtswidrig seien.

Seit der »Krieg gegen den Terror« begann, haben viele US-Soldatinnen und -Soldaten sich gegen den Krieg geäußert, viele haben den Dienst verweigert. Sie haben als bisher einziger Asyl in Deutschland beantragt. Worauf gründet sich Ihr Antrag? ...

 

Bill Clinton to be Named UN Special Envoy to Haiti May 19, 2009

Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill examines how Clinton helped to destabilize Haiti in the 1990s. While Clinton and his advisers publicly expressed their dismay with the US-backed 1991 coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, they simultaneously refused to support the swift reinstatement of the country’s democratically elected leader and would, in fact, not allow Aristide’s return until Washington received guarantees that, one, Aristide would not lay claim to the years of his presidency lost in forced exile and, two, US neoliberal economic plans were solidified as the law of the land in Haiti.

Global Day of Action Held to Demand New Trial for Death Row Prisoner Troy Davis May 19, 2009

Events are being held across the country today to demand a new trial for the Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. Davis, an African American, was convicted for the 1989 killing of a white police officer. Since the trial, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. There is also no direct physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. A thirty-day stay of execution expired on Saturday, following last month’s decision by a federal appeals court to reject a new trial for Davis.

Jeremy Scahill: "Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama" May 19, 2009

Jeremy Scahill reports the Obama administration is continuing to use a notorious military police unit at Guantanamo that regularly brutalizes unarmed prisoners, including gang-beating them, breaking their bones, gouging their eyes and dousing them with chemicals. This force, officially known as the Immediate Reaction Force, has been labeled the “Extreme Repression Force” by Guantanamo prisoners, and human rights lawyers call their actions illegal.

 

Obama Releases Bush-Era Memos Authorizing Torture Techniques, Rules Out Prosecuting CIA Interrogators who Carried Them Out  April 17, 2009

The Obama administration has released four memos from the Bush-era Justice Department that approved and provided the legal basis for the CIA’s use of torture. While President Obama has said he will not pursue prosecutions of CIA employees, he did not explicitly address the question of prosecuting the former Justice Department lawyers who authored the memos. The memos’ release comes as a Spanish court is considering bringing indictments against six Bush-era lawyers. We get analysis from human rights attorney Scott Horton. [includes rush transcript]

 

Stabilisiertes Finanzkapital 16.04.2009

Analyse. Die US-Regierung scheint mit dem endlosen Geldfluß in den Finanzmarkt die Blasenökonomie wiederzubeleben. Eine mögliche Inflation könnte sogar helfen, die ­gigantischen inländischen und Auslandsschulden zu senken

Von Sahra Wagenknecht

 

Supreme Court Denies Appeal for Death Row Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal April 7, 2009

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from the journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal. On Monday, the court rejected without comment Abu-Jamal’s bid to overturn his conviction for the 1981 killing of a white police officer following a controversial trial before a predominantly white jury. Abu-Jamal contends the case was marred with racial bias, including the deliberate exclusion of blacks from the jury. “It shows you that precedent means nothing, that the law is politics by other means,” Abu-Jamal said in response to the ruling.

Siehe auch: »Die Lage für Mumia ist sehr, sehr ernst«
Oberster Gerichtshof der USA hat neues Verfahren abgelehnt. Staatsanwaltschaft will die Hinrichtung. Gespräch mit Robert R. Bryan
Interview: Jürgen Heiser                                                                                                                                 

Infos: www.freedom-now.de

 

Obama’s Blackwater? Jeremy Scahill on Triple Canopy, the New Lead US Mercenary Force in Iraq and Israel April 2, 2009

The Obama administration has confirmed the hiring of mercenary firm Triple Canopy to take over Blackwater’s contract to protect US diplomats in Iraq. Part of the firm’s job will be to protect the “monstrous” US embassy in Baghdad. We speak to independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, who has also just revealed that the administration is using Triple Canopy to protect US diplomats in Israel.

 

Newly Formed 150,000-Strong Nurses' Union Pushes for Single-Payer Healthcare March 11, 2009
Three of the country’s top organizations of direct care registered nurses have come together to form a new national nurses’ union that is advocating for a single-payer national health insurance program. The new union unifies the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association into a 150,000-member association, making it the largest registered nurses union in US history. We speak with Geri Jenkins, a registered nurse and co-president of the union.


Burn Your Health Insurance Bill Day: New Group Advocates Direct Action to Demand Single-Payer System
Russell Mokhiber, editor of Corporate Crime Reporter, has just formed a new group called “Single Payer Action” that is advocating direct action to demand a single-payer health insurance system in the United States. Today, he is burning his health insurance bill outside the national meeting of the American Health Insurance Plans in Washington, D.C.



Dr. Quentin Young, Longtime Obama Confidante and Physician to MLK, Criticizes Admin's Rejection of Single-Payer Healthcare
While the Obama administration claims “all options are on the table” for healthcare reform, it’s already rejected the solution favored by most Americans, including doctors: single-payer universal healthcare. We speak with Dr. Quentin Young, perhaps the most well-known single-payer advocate in America. He was the Rev. Martin Luther King’s doctor when he lived in Chicago and a longtime friend and ally of Barack Obama. But he was noticeably not invited to Obama’s White House healthcare summit last week.


 

Obama will CIA-Geheimknäste schließen 22.01.2009
Präsident Obama: Klarer Bruch mit der Politik des Vorgängers

Von Matthias Gebauer

Barack Obama packt die heiklen Themen an: Per präsidialer Verfügung ordnet er auch die Schließung der CIA-Geheimgefängnisse an. Seine Botschaft: Schluss mit Entführungen und Folter im Namen der USA. Das Edikt zur Schließung Guantanamos hat er inzwischen unterzeichnet.

 

Did Obama Aide Admiral Dennis Blair Lie to Congress? January 09, 2009

President-elect Obama is expected to name his intelligence team today: Leon Panetta for the CIA, John Brennan as a key White House adviser, and Admiral Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence. Blair, as Allan Nairn reported on Democracy Now!, was implicated in backing the perpetrators of church massacres in East Timor in 1999. Award-winning investigative reporter Allan Nairn reveals new information that indicates he may have lied to Congress.

 

Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair Aided Perpetrators of 1999 Church Killings in East Timor (Part II) January 07, 2009

Part II of our conversation with investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing.

 

Obama Warns Trillion-Dollar Deficit Could Lead to Extensive Government Budget Cuts January 07, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama is warning the US deficit will top $1 trillion this year, leading to what he says could be extensive cuts to government budgets. Obama made the warning Tuesday as he meanwhile prepares an economic stimulus package that will cost almost the same amount. We speak with Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Arun Gupta of The Indypendent newspaper.

 

New Trouble for an Obama Nominee: Admiral Dennis Blair Aided Perpetrators of 1999 Church Killings in East Timor January 06, 2009

Investigative journalist Allan Nairn reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing.

 

Change or More of the Same? Obama Introduces National Security Team December 2, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Senator Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defense secretary. Other nominees included retired General James Jones to be National Security Adviser and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. Is that change or more of the same? We speak with investigative journalist Robert Dreyfuss of The Nation magazine and Steven Clemons of the New America Foundation.
 

... ROBERT DREYFUSS: Well, there are a few things to say here. First of all, there is a connection between national security and energy, and General Jones is at the very heart of that. When he was at NATO as the NATO commander, he did what he could to steer NATO in the direction of taking on responsibility of out-of-area action in regard to securing energy supplies, which points NATO in the same direction that the Bush Administration and of course many other administrations have gone in terms of taking military responsibility for the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, which is really what the aftermath of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is going to be about. To the extent the United States believes and NATO believes that it is responsible for securing that part of the world and protecting energy supplies. It is not necessarily a cooperative approach where we then go to the big energy users like Japan and China and India and talk to Russia as well about a cooperative effort to stabilize that part of the world, but a more unilateral one. (...)

AMY GOODMAN: Its been interesting watching the networks now. I can’t figure out who is more laudatory in the discussions on the networks, the Democrats or Republicans, of Barack Obama’s choices. There is hardly any debate around this. I want to see what you think of this, Robert Dreyfuss, Steve Zunes piece on Alternet saying Hilary Clinton “..allied herself with the Bush Administration and many of its most controversial actions, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, threats of war against Iran, support for Israel’s 2006 offensive against Lebanon and 2002 offensive in the West Bank, opposition to the International Criminal Court, attacks against the International Court of Justice, and support for the unrestricted export of cluster bombs and other anti-personnel munitions used against civilian targets”. ...

 

Vatican Threatens to Excommunicate Catholic Priest for Supporting Ordination of Women into Priesthood November 20, 2008

We speak with Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest. He took part in a ceremony this summer to ordain a member of the group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests. For the past two decades, he has organized the annual protest against the US Army’s School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia.

 

Agents of Change or Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons? A Discussion about Barack Obama's Advisers and Transition Team November 20, 2008

As speculations abound over who President-elect Barack Obama will name to key cabinet positions, we look at some of the central figures advising Obama, many of whom are leading candidates for posts in the next administration. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, author of the new piece “This Is Change? 20 Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons to Watch for in Obama’s White House,” and David Corn, author of “The Agents of Change on Obama’s Transition Team.”

 

Cornel West on the Election of Barack Obama: "I Hope He Is a Progressive Lincoln, I Aspire to Be the Frederick Douglass to Put Pressure on Him" November 19, 2008

Princeton University professor of religion and African American studies, Cornel West, speaks about the election of Barack Obama, his selection of Eric Holder to be Attorney General, the possible selection of Lawrence Summers to be Treasury Secretary and the role of the progressive left to push Obama. West is the author of the new book Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom.

 

President-Elect Obama and the Future of US Foreign Policy: A Roundtable Discussion November 05, 2008

Congratulations pour in from around the world for President-elect Barack Obama after his historic victory Tuesday night. But what are Obama’s foreign policy positions, and what are the concerns for those living in countries at the target end of US foreign policy? We host a roundtable discussion with filmmaker and investigative journalist John Pilger in Britiain, Columbia University professor and Africa scholar Mahmood Mamdani, Laura Carlsen of the Center for International Policy in Mexico City, Iraqi analyst Raed Jarrar, Pakistani author Tariq Ali, and Palestinian American Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada.

 

 

 

Unchaining History: Barack Obama Elected President of the United States November 05, 2008

In an historic election, Barack Obama has become the forty-fourth president of the United States. The first-term senator from Illinois easily defeated John McCain on Tuesday, winning a larger share of the popular vote than any Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Record voter turnout was reported across the country. As election results began pouring in last night, thousands of Obama supporters gathered in the streets from Los Angeles to Kenya, the birthplace of Obama’s father. We play an excerpt of Obama’s victory speech in Chicago, where hundreds of thousands of people packed in Grant Park and the surrounding neighborhood to hear his address.

 

Bailoutrejectedweb"Bridge Loan to Nowhere": Public Outcry Forces House to Reject $700 Billion Bailout of Financial Industry; Dow Falls Record 777 Points September 30, 2008

On Monday, the House voted 228-to-205 against authorizing the largest government intervention in the financial market in US history. The measure would have granted the Treasury unprecedented authority and up to $700 billion to relieve faltering banks and other firms of bad assets backed by home mortgages, which are falling into foreclosure at record rates. As the economic crisis worsens and spreads across the globe, we speak with Robert Johnson, former chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee, and Bruce Marks, the founder and CEO of NACA, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

 

 

 

Kuciweb“Is this the United States Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?” Rep. Dennis Kucinich Rejects $700 Billion Bailout September 29, 2008

The House is set to vote today on a $700 billion emergency bailout plan for the financial industry. The proposed legislation was forged during a marathon negotiating session over the weekend between lawmakers from both parties and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The 110-page bill would authorize Paulson to initiate what is likely to become the biggest government bailout in US history, allowing him to spend up to $700 billion to relieve faltering banks and other firms of bad assets backed by home mortgages, which are falling into foreclosure at record rates.

FdrwebFDR in 1933: "There Must Be a Strict Supervision of All Banking and Credits and Investments. There Must Be an End to Speculation with Other People's Money."

We now move three-quarters of a century back in time to 1933. It was the middle of an era that our current moment is sometimes compared to: the Great Depression. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt took his oath of office in March of that year, over 10,000 banks had collapsed, following the stock market crash of 1929. One-quarter of American workers were unemployed, and people were fighting over scraps of food. We play an excerpt of FDR’s inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, and speak to Adam Cohen, author of the forthcoming book, Nothing to Fear: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America.

Presdebate1webSenators John McCain and Barack Obama Debate Iraq, Pakistan, Russia During First Debate

For analysis on Friday’s debate, we speak with investigative journalist Robert Dreyfuss. He is a contributing editor with The Nation magazine and author of Devil’s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam. In his latest blog posting about the foreign policy portions of the debate, he castigates Obama for not drawing a stark contrast with McCain.


 

Supreme Court issues stay of execution for Davis September 23, 2008
Troy Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a stay of execution for Troy Anthony Davis less than two hours before he was to be put to death by lethal injection.

 

"Race Is Everything in this Case": Rep. John Lewis Urges State of Georgia to Spare Life of Troy Davis Hours Before His Scheduled Execution September 23, 2008
Death row prisoner Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed tonight at 7:00 p.m. despite widespread concern Davis is an innocent man. In 1991, Davis was convicted for murdering a white police officer. Since then, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. There is no direct physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. We speak to Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Troy’s sister, Martina Correia.

See also: http://www.troyanthonydavis.org

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Robert Scheer and Dean Baker on the Proposed $700 Billion Bailout of Wall Street, the Largest Government Bailout of Private Industry in US History September 22, 2008

It’s being described as the largest government intervention in private markets since the Great Depression. The Bush administration has asked Congress to swiftly approve a massive $700 billion package to rescue the crippled financial institutions on Wall Street. Some analysts say the final cost to taxpayers could top one trillion dollars. Over the weekend, the size of the proposed bailout grew as the Bush administration said foreign banks, including Barclays and UBS, should be eligible for the bailout.

 

US Seizes Control of AIG with $85 Billion Bailout September 17, 2008

The US government has seized control of insurance giant American International Group in an unprecedented $85 billion bailout. The Federal Reserve made the deal on Tuesday to save AIG from collapse in what the New York Times describes as “the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history.” The move comes as a series of financial crises has altered the landscape of Wall Street. We speak with investment banker turned journalist, Nomi Prins, and Michael Hudson, president of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends.

 

Gegenddarstellung: Kurt Stand 13.09.2008

Die Türen des Gefängnisses werden sich für Kurt Stand wohl auch in den kommenden Jahren nicht öffnen. Der US-Journalist, Gewerkschafter und jW-Autor scheiterte kürzlich mit einer Beschwerde. Sein Verfahren vor einem Geschworenengericht sei nicht fair gewesen, hatte er moniert. Bundesrichter Hilton wies dies ab. Wie bereits im gesamten vorangegangenen Prozeß stellte sich Hilton voll auf die Seite der Anklage – die in Stand einen gefährlichen Staatsfeind sieht. Dem Sohn deutscher Antifaschisten, die vor den Nazis in die USA geflüchtet waren, wird von der US-Justiz Spionage für die DDR vorgeworfen, obwohl er lediglich allgemeine Situationsberichte über die Gewerkschaftsbewegung der USA übersandt hatte – kein bißchen mehr als das, was jeder Journalist getan hätte. 1999 hatte das Gericht in Alexandria/Virginia Kurt Stand und dessen frühere Ehefrau Theresa Squillacote zu 17 bzw. 21 Jahren Haft verurteilt. ...

 

From One Ground Zero to Another: An Afghan American Who Lost 19 Family Members in US Bombing, and a New Yorker Whose Brother Died in the World Trade Center September 11, 2008

Less than two months after 9/11, the US attacked Afghanistan, an invasion that continues today. We turn to two interviews in the aftermath of the Afghan invasion: Afghan American Masuda Sultan, who lost nineteen members of her family to a US bombing while they were taking refuge in a farmhouse; and Rita Lazar, who went to Afghanistan a few months after losing her brother Abe in the World Trade Center attacks. She said the killing of innocent civilians should not be avenged by the killing of more innocent civilians.

 


 

Amy Goodman & Two Democracy Now! Producers Arrested at RNC Protest September 2, 2008

More than 280 people were arrested here in St. Paul Monday, the opening day of the Republican National Convention. Among them were several journalists covering the protests in the streets, including three of us at Democracy Now! Amy was detained trying to question police officers about the arrests of Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) Condemns Police Intimidation of Journalists Democratic Congress member Keith Ellison of Minnesota has been back in the Twin Cities this week closely monitoring the treatment of protesters and journalists at the RNC. He joins me now in St. Paul.

   
 Amy Goodman Arrest

 

In Wake of Deadly US Air Strike, Jeremy Scahill Questions Lawmakers About Obama's Afghanistan Policy August 27, 2008

A UN probe in Afghanistan has backed claims of a massive civilian death toll from a US air strike last Thursday. The UN mission in Kabul says investigators found some ninety civilians, including sixty children, were killed in the attack. Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill goes inside the Democratic National Convention to ask lawmakers about Barack Obama’s foreign policy plan to deploy an additional 7,000-9,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

 

Jeremy Scahill Grills Democratic Lawmakers on the War, Obama's Foreign Policy Team and the Corporate Money Behind the Big Show August 26, 2008

As the Democrats gather under a massive banner proclaiming that change is on the way, serious questions abound about some of the key issues that have brought protesters here to Denver. We sent Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill into the Pepsi Center to ask Senators Carl Levin, Charles Rangel, Reps. Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich and others the questions the corporate media is failing to ask, from the war in Iraq and Obama’s foreign policy team to impeachment and the death penalty.

 

Cancer-Stricken 34-Year-Old Chinese Computer Engineer Dies After Being Denied Care in Private US Immigration Prison August 19, 2008

Earlier this month, a thirty-four-year-old Chinese computer engineer, Hiu Lui Ng, who overstayed his visa, died in a Rhode Island immigration detention center. He had cancer in his liver, lung and bones, and a fractured spine. Despite repeated complaints of severe pain, Mr. Ng was refused independent medical evaluation by immigration officials. Before Mr. Ng died on August 6th, he told his sister that the nurses at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island had told him to “stop faking” his illness. We speak to immigration attorney Joshua Bardavid, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Renee Feltz, co-creator of the site BusinessOfDetention.com.

 

After Ron Suskind Reveals Bush Admin Ordered Iraq-9/11 Fakery, House Judiciary Chair John Conyers Opens Congressional Probe August 14, 2008

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind joins us for part two of an interview on his new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Suskind reports that in 2003 the White House ordered the CIA to forge and disseminate false intelligence documents linking al-Qaeda and Iraq. While much of the attention on the book has focused on the forged letter, Suskind also reveals that the Bush administration and the British government knew prior to the war that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. We also speak to Rep. John Conyers, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating some of the explosive findings in Suskind’s book.

Part 1 of the interview with Ron Suskind

 

 

Federal Judge Rules US Government Owes Group of Native Americans $455 Million for Unpaid Royalties on Drilling for Oil and Gas August 12, 2008

We speak to Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in what was the largest class-action lawsuit against the US government. The Native American plaintiffs were seeking $47 billion, the total amount of lost royalties since 1887.


 

Plan Mexico and the U.S.-Funded Militarization of Mexico July 31, 2008

We broadcast a report from Mexico produced by “Inside USA” (Al Jazeera English) on the U.S. role in Mexico’s growing drug war. And we speak about the Plan Mexico initiative with Avi Lewis, Laura Carlsen and John Gibler.
 

 

GOP Congressional Candidate Accuses Al Jazeera of Trying to Kidnap Him In Florida July 31, 2008

Al Jazeera host Avi Lewis discusses the bizarre story of Allen West – a retired Army lieutenant and Congressional candidate who recently accused Al Jazeera of trying to kidnap him after a booker from the network asked him to appear on the show. “I don’t know if it was a kidnapping attempt,” West told The New York Daily News. “But I am not going to entrust Al Jazeera with my life. I said, ‘Cancel the interview!’”

 

Wall-Street-Sozialismus 28.07.2008
Ein von der US-Regierung privilegierter Finanzkonzern ist auch äußerlich eine feudale Einrichtung:
Das Fannie-Mae-Gebäude in Washington  Foto: AP

Ganz undogmatisch: Der US-Kongreß rettet die größten Hypothekenversicherer der Vereinigten Staaten Fannie Mae und Freddie Mac

Von Rainer Rupp

 

Main Core: New Evidence Reveals Top Secret Government Database Used in Bush Spy Program July 25, 2008

Salon.com has published new details about a top secret government database that might be at the heart of the Bush administration’s domestic spying operations. The database is known as “Main Core.” It reportedly collects and stores vast amounts of personal and financial data about millions of Americans. Some former US officials believe that “Main Core” may have been used by the National Security Agency to determine who to spy on in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. We speak with author and investigative journalist, Tim Shorrock. [includes rush transcript]

Race, Politics and the Media: A Roundtable Discussion from the UNITY Conference

In Chicago, nearly 10,000 journalists of color are gathered for a convention that brings together members of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association and the Native American Journalists Association. It’s organized by UNITY, Journalists of Color, Inc. We host a discussion with Democracy Now! co-host and former president of NAHJ, Juan Gonzalez, and journalists Roberto Lovato and Amy Alexander. [includes rush transcript]

 

 

 Dennis Kucinich statement to House Hearing - 7-25-2008

 

The Dark Side: Jane Mayer on the Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals July 18, 2008

We spend the hour with New Yorker magazine investigative journalist Jane Mayer about her new book, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. In the book, Mayer reveals a secret report by the International Red Cross warned the Bush administration last year that the CIA’s treatment of prisoners categorically constituted torture and could make Bush administration officials who approved the torture methods guilty of war crimes. Mayer also reveals that the Bush administration ignored warnings from the CIA six years ago that up to a third of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may have been imprisoned by mistake. [includes rush transcript]

 

 

 

Neue Schikane gegen kubanischen Gefangenen: Auch am 20. Hochzeitstag dürfen sie sich nicht sehen July 15, 2008

Am heutigen 15. Juli jährt sich zum zwanzigsten Mal der Tag, an dem sich Adriana Pérez und Gerardo Hernández in Cuba das Ja-Wort gaben. Doch seit über zehn Jahren konnten sie sich nicht mehr sehen. Gerardo Hernández ist einer der fünf Kubaner, die seit fast 10 Jahren in US-amerikanischen Gefängnissen inhaftiert sind, weil sie von Miami aus gegen Cuba operierende Terrorgruppen unterwandert hatten. Bis heute verweigern die US-Behörden Adriana Pérez ein Einreisevisum, damit sie ihren inhaftierten Ehemann besuchen kann. Auch zum 20. Hochzeitstag machten die US-Behörden keine Ausnahme. ...

Siehe auch: Skandalurteil: Gericht in Atlanta bestätigt Strafen für fünf Kubaner

 

Vom Helden zum Wrack 10. Juli 2008
US-Soldat Dwyer bei seiner berühmten Rettungsaktion
im Irak 2003: Selbstmord aus Überforderung

Von Marc Pitzke, New York

Im Krieg gelten sie als Helden, zurück zu Hause versinken sie in Verzweiflung: Immer mehr US-Kriegsveteranen nehmen sich nach der Rückkehr von der irakischen Front das Leben. Experten sprechen schon von einer "Selbstmord-Epidemie" - Hilfe gibt es bisher wenig.

 

Die Welt als Schachbrett 28.06.2008
Stratege der globalen US-Vorherrschaft: Zbigniew Brzezinski
(hier während einer Konferenz in der kroatischen Stadt Dubrovnik, 7.7.2007) Foto: AP

Der neue Kalte Krieg des Obama-Beraters Zbigniew Brzezinski (Teil I)
30.06.2008: Um die Weltherrschaft (Teil II und Schluß)

Von Hauke Ritz

1928 in Warschau geborene Zbig­niew Brzezinski gilt neben Henry M. Kissinger und Samuel P. Huntington als graue Eminenz unter den US-Geostrategen. Er trägt durch seine Beratertätigkeit für US-Präsident James Carter von 1977 bis 1981 u. a. eine Mitverantwortung an der Talibanisierung Afghanistans, unterstützten die Vereinigten Staaten doch die Mudschaheddin massiv im Kampf gegen die UdSSR. Nach Brzezinskis Bekunden wollten die USA die Sowjetunion in die »afghanische Falle« locken und ihnen so »ihr Vietnam« bereiten. Heute ist er Professor für Amerikanische Außenpolitik an der Johns-Hopkins-Universität in Baltimore, Berater am Zentrum für Strategische und Internationale Studien (CSIS) in Washington D.C. und Verfasser von politischen Sachbüchern. Daneben betätigt sich Brzezinski als Berater für mehrere große US-amerikanische und internationale Unternehmen. Unlängst geriet er wieder in die Schlagzeilen, als über die Medien verbreitet wurde, daß er in das außenpolitische Team des US-Präsidentschaftskandidaten Barack Obama eingetreten ist.

In dem folgenden Artikel untersucht Hauke Ritz die geopolitischen Konzepte Brzezinskis. Der jW-Beitrag ist die stark gekürzte Fassung eines Textes aus »Quo vadis, Amerika? Die Welt nach Bush«. Das 288 Seiten umfassende Buch mit 24 Beiträgen von u. a. Norman Birnbaum, Saskia Sassen und Immanuel Wallerstein ist soeben im Verlag der Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik erschienen und kostet 12 Euro (blaetter.de). (jW)

 

Democracy Now! Thursday, June 19, 2008

Congressional Hearings Shed New Light on Government's Endorsement of Torture; Maj. Gen. Taguba Accuses Bush Administration of War Crimes
On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held an eight-hour hearing that exposed the role of top Bush administration officials in authorizing the use of harsh interrogation techniques. Meanwhile, Retired Major General Antonio Taguba, the Army general who first investigated the abuse at Abu Ghraib, has accused the Bush administration of committing war crimes. “The commander in chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture,” Taguba said. [includes rush transcript]


As Senate Confirms Psychologists Helped Devise Military Interrogation Techniques, APA Presidential Candidate Steven Reisner Condemns Role of Psychologists in Torture
The Senate investigation confirmed the Pentagon sought the help of military psychologists as early as 2002 to devise so-called aggressive interrogation techniques. Dr. Steven Reisner is a psychoanalyst and a leading critic of the American Psychological Association’s policy governing the role of psychologists in interrogations. He is running for president of the APA and has received more nominating votes than any other candidate. [includes rush transcript]


“Broken Laws, Broken Lives”: Medical Study Confirms Prisoners in US Custody Were Physically & Mentally Tortured
A new report by the Physicians for Human Rights has, for the first time, found medical evidence corroborating the claims of former prisoners who say they were tortured while in US custody. Teams of medical specialists conducted physical and psychological tests on the former prisoners, including exams intended to assess if they were lying. We speak to Dr. Allen Keller. [includes rush transcript]
 

McClatchy Interviews 66 Fmr. Prisoners Held by U.S., Finds Widespread Abuse and Wrongful Imprisonments
McClatchy newspapers has conducted an extensive, eight-month investigation of the US detention system created after 9/11. Based on interviews with sixty-six former prisoners the investigation found that the U.S. imprisoned innocent men, subjected them to abuse, stripped them of their legal rights and allowed Islamic militants to turn the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay into a school for jihad.


 

Democracy Now! Thursday, June 18, 2008

Ralph Nader on Barack Obama: "It is Quite Clear He is a Corporate Candidate from A to Z"
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader discusses his independent run for the White House, the media blackout of third party candidates, and his stance on the Iraq war, the military-industrial complex, the global food crisis, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and more. [includes rush transcript]
 


 

Gefangenenlager - USA halten an Guantanamo fest 13.06.08
Immer wieder protestieren Menschenrechts-Aktivisten gegen das Gefangenenlager – wie hier im US-Kongress

Ungeachtet ihrer Niederlage vor dem Obersten Gerichtshof will die US-Regierung Kriegsgerichtsprozesse in Guantanamo fortsetzen. Deutsche Politiker fordern die Schließung des Lagers.

 

Democracy Now! Thursday, June 13, 2008

Rebuking Bush Admin, Justices Rule Gitmo Prisoners Can Challenge Imprisonment in US Court June 13, 2008

In a stinging blow to the Bush administration, the Supreme Court has ruled prisoners in Guantanamo Bay can challenge their detention in civilian federal courts. The ruling marked the third time in four years the Supreme Court has ruled against the Bush administration concerning the rights of Guantanamo prisoners. We speak to Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents dozens of detainees at Guantanamo. [includes rush transcript]

 

Major Guantanamo setback for Bush 12 June 2008
Guantanamo's Camp Delta compound has
housed prisoners since 2002

Foreign suspects held in Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, the US Supreme Court has ruled.

In a major legal setback for the Bush administration, the court overturned by five to four a ruling upholding a 2006 law which removed such rights. ...

 

Former US Attorney David Iglesias on "In Justice: Inside the Scandal that Rocked the Bush Administration" June 4, 2008

We speak to fired US attorney David Iglesias about the US attorneys scandal, voter suppression, vote caging and the politicization of the Justice Department. [includes rush transcript]
 


 

Juan Gonzalez on Puerto Rico’s Overlooked Primary and a Bitter Divide Within the SEIU June 3, 2008

Back from Puerto Rico, Juan Gonzalez reports on two stories coming out of the island over the past week: the Democratic primary, won by Sen. Hillary Clinton and overlooked by Sen. Barack Obama, and a bitter divide within the SEIU. Puerto Rican residents could vote in the primary contest, yet are not allowed to vote in the November elections for president. As the Democratic primary took place, the Service Employees International Union held its national convention in San Juan. The SEIU is embroiled in an internal battle over allegations its leadership is seeking to increase the union’s size and influence at the expense of rank-and-file members. [includes rush transcript]

"The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington" June 3, 2008

As we continue to look at issues regarding the 2008 presidential race, we turn to political journalist and nationally syndicated columnist, David Sirota. His first book, Hostile Takeover, was a New York Times bestseller. His latest book, just published, is The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington. [includes rush transcript]
 

 

»Mit allen Mitteln« 03.06.2008

Verstärkte Warnungen vor US-Krieg gegen Iran. New York Times berichtet von Angriffsplänen der Bush-Administration im August 2008

Von Rainer Rupp

 

Kontrollierte Plünderung 05.06.2008
George W. Bush zeichnet Lewis Paul Bremer III. mit der Freiheitsmedaille aus (14.12.2004).
Als US-Verwalter im Irak erließ Bremer Verordnungen, die die Ausbeutung des Landes erleichtern

Die Ökonomie des Irak-Krieges

Von Joachim Guilliard

Joachim Guilliard ist Verfasser zahlreicher Fachartikel zum Thema Irak und Mitherausgeber bzw. Koautor mehrerer Bücher.

 

Three Former Gitmo Prisoners to Address US Audience in Historic Event May 30, 2008

This weekend, three former Guantanamo prisoners will talk for the first time to a US audience about their prison experiences. We speak to Almerindo Ojeda, UC Davis professor and principal investigator with the Guantanamo Testimonials Project, a UC Davis-based effort to catalog accounts of prisoner abuse. [includes rush transcript]

 

Veteran Journalist Robert Scheer on "The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America" May 30, 2008

Over the past four decades, veteran reporter Robert Scheer has built a reputation as one of the leading journalists in this country, from his time as a war correspondent during Vietnam to his widely read columns today. Over the years, he has interviewed Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton. He is the author of seven books. His latest is The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America. [includes rush transcript]

 

1968, Forty Years Later: Tariq Ali Looks Back on a Pivotal Year in the Global Struggle for Social Justice May 29, 2008

We continue our series “1968, Forty Years Later” with the political activist, novelist and historian, Tariq Ali. Back in the 1960s, with the Vietnam War at its height, Tariq Ali earned a national reputation through debates with figures like Henry Kissinger and then-British Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart. He protested against the Vietnam War, led the now-infamous march on the American embassy in London in 1968, and edited the revolutionary paper Black Dwarf, where he became friends with numerous influential figures, such as Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Forty years later, Tariq Ali continues his lifelong struggle against US foreign policy across the globe. [includes rush transcript]

 

Carter: «Hamas anerkennt Israel» 21. April 2008
Die Gespräche von Ex-US-Präsident Carter mit Hamas-
Vertretern werden nicht überall gern gesehen. (reuters)

Unter Vorbedingungen zu Koexistenz bereit

Die Palästinenserorganisation Hamas will nach Angaben des früheren US-Präsidenten Jimmy Carter Israels Recht auf ein Leben in Frieden anerkennen. Voraussetzung sei, dass ein Friedensabkommen vereinbart werde.
 

Siehe auch: Carter: Hamas würde Friedensvertrag akzeptieren Jerusalem (Reuters) - Die radikal-islamische Hamas-Bewegung ist nach den Worten des ehemaligen US-Präsidenten Jimmy Carter bereit, einen Palästinenser-Staat in den Grenzen von 1967 zu akzeptieren. ...

 

3000000000000 Dollar 20.05.2008
Nüchterne Zahlen können das von US-Soldaten herbeigeführte Leid nicht
ausdrücken (Irakerin in der Nähe von Kerbela, 15.4.2008)  Foto: AP

Vorabdruck. Die wahren Kosten des Krieges. Wirtschaftliche und politische Folgen des Irak-Konflikts

Von Joseph E. Stiglitz und Linda J. Bilmes

In seinem neuesten Buch enthüllt der Wirtschaftsnobelpreisträger Joseph Stiglitz gemeinsam mit Linda Bilmes die katastrophalen Folgen des Irak-Krieges. Dabei decken sie nicht nur die ökonomischen Kosten für die USA und die Welt auf, sondern benennen auch die langfristigen politischen, sozialen und humanitären Auswirkungen, die erst in den nächsten Jahren und Jahrzehnten sichtbar werden. junge Welt dokumentiert mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Pantheon-Verlags in München Auszüge aus dem Vorwort und aus Kapitel 7 »Abzug aus dem Irak«. Die Zwischenüberschriften wurden von der Redaktion eingefügt.

 

Teure Uneinigkeit 17. Mai 2008
Immer auch den Staat als Gegner: Streikende Mitarbeiterin eines Autozulieferers in Detroit

US-Gewerkschaften und der Streik bei Hormel: Arbeitskämpfe sind nur zu gewinnen, wenn Organisationen und Beschäftigte an einem Strang ziehen

Von Kurt Stand

Unser Autor ist Journalist, war aktiver Gewerkschafter und verbüßt seit 1997 eine langjährige Haftstrafe in einem US-Bundesgefängnis wegen angeblicher Spionage für die DDR

 

Verspieltes Erbe 30.04.2008
Letzter verzweifelter Streik: Im Herbst 2007 traten die Beschäftigten von
General Motors aus Furcht vor Jobverlust in den Ausstand Foto: AP

Krise der US-Automobilindustrie hat die einst mächtige Branchengewerkschaft UAW paralysiert. Nur eine neue Strategie kann daran etwas ändern

Von Kurt Stand

Unser Autor ist US-Gewerkschafter und Journalist. Seit Oktober 1997 verbüßt er eine langjährige Haftstrafe wegen vermeintlicher Spionage für die DDR.

 

Suche nach Strategien 22.04.2008
Vor allem in der US-Autoindustrie hat die »Sozialpartnerschaft« eine unselige Tradition.
Hier Gewerkschaftschef Ron Gettelfinger im Shakehands mit der Gegenseite (Juli 2007) Foto: AP

1000 Teilnehmer bei Gewerkschafterkonferenz der Zeitschrift Labor Notes in den USA. Konflikte über Sozialpartnerschaft und Organisierung

Von Catharina Schmalstieg, Detroit

»Gewerkschaften von unten stärken.« Dies war das Motto einer von der US-Gewerkschaftszeitschrift Labor Notes veranstalteten Konferenz. Mehr als 1000 Aktive aus Gewerkschaften und Solidaritätsorganisationen kamen Mitte April in einem Vorort der US-Autostadt Detroit zusammen. ...

Siehe dazu: SEIU International Attempts Disruption at 2008 Labor Notes Conference und: Conference-Goers Push for Labor Solidarity, Rebound From Disruption

 

»Mumia bleibt im Todestrakt« 29. März 2008
Robert R. Bryan ist Hauptverteidiger des schwarzen US-Journalisten
Mumia Abu-Jamal und kämpft um ein faires Verfahren für seinen Mandanten

US-Berufungsgericht hebt Todesurteil auf, Verurteilung wegen Polizistenmordes bleibt aber ­bestehen. Verteidigung kämpft um neues Verfahren. Ein Gespräch mit Rechtsanwalt Robert R. Bryan

Interview: Jürgen Heiser

 ... Was sieht Richter Ambro anders?

Er ist der Meinung, daß schon die Ablehnung nur eines einzigen Jury­kandidaten wegen dessen Hautfarbe einen Verstoß gegen die in der US-Verfassung garantierte Gleichbehandlung darstellt. Faktisch erkennt Ambro damit an, daß trotz einer gängigen Rechtsprechung in anderen Fällen eine Ausnahme gemacht wird, wenn es um Mumia Abu-Jamal geht. Wäre es um einen anderen Verurteilten gegangen, dann hätte das Gericht ein neues Verfahren angeordnet...

Weitere Informationen und Spendenkonto: www.freedom-now.de

 

Barack Obamas Priesterschelte 29. März 2008

Reverend Jeremiah Wright fragt nach Hillary Clintons Herkunft – der schwarze Präsidentschaftskandidat zeigt sich »entsetzt« darüber

Von Mumia Abu-Jamal

... Bei seinem Vorhaben, der erste schwarze Präsident der USA zu werden, will Barack Obama unbedingt beweisen, wie wenig schwarz er ist, selbst wenn er dafür einen Menschen wie Wright denunzieren muß, den er eigentlich als seinen Mentor betrachtet. Wer die afroamerikanische Kirche der USA von innen kennt, weiß, daß Priester von der Kanzel politische und soziale Kommentare verkünden. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King sprach an vielen Orten der USA über Politik, Krieg, Rassismus, Ökonomie und soziale Gerechtigkeit. Seine Schönwetter-Freunde haben ihn verraten, und die Presse verdammte seine Äußerungen als »unangemessen« und »unpatriotisch«. Dr. King warf den USA vor, »der schlimmste Gewalttäter« der Welt zu sein, und er verurteilte den Vietnamkrieg als ungerecht...

 

Democracy Now! March 28, 2008

Following Mixed Court Ruling, Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Lead Attorney Maintains Hope for Overturning Conviction

A federal appeals court Thursday refused to overturn the conviction of imprisoned journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal and rejected his call for a new trial. However, the long-awaited ruling said Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row for twenty-six years, deserves a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions. If he is re-sentenced, he will face either death or life in prison without parole. We speak to Abu-Jamal’s lead attorney, Robert Bryan.

 

CIA sucht Paramilitärs per Stellenanzeige 16. März 2008

Der US-Geheimdienst CIA sucht auf seiner Homepage per Stellenanzeige Offiziere für paramilitärische Operationen. Darauf hat die geheimdienstkritische Internet-Seite injerenCIA.com hingewiesen. Unter der Rubrik "Careers at CIA" findet sich ein Stellenangebot als "Paramilitary Operations Officer" mit einem Gehalt zwischen 54.000 und 75.000 Dollar.

Überraschendes Ende des Gipfeltreffens der Rio-Gruppe in der Dominikanischen Republik: Nach harten Auseinandersetzungen reichten sich die Präsidenten von Ecuador, Rafael Correa, Kolumbien, Álvaro Uribe, und Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, die Hand und erklärten die seit einer Woche anhaltende Auseinandersetzung zwischen den drei südamerikanischen Ländern für beendet. Zuvor hatte Uribe um Entschuldigung für das illegale Eindringen auf ecuadorianisches Hoheitsgebiet gebeten und sich verpflichtet, nicht wieder die Grenzen eines der Nachbarländer zu verletzen. ...

 

Bushs dritte Amtszeit 09.04.2008
Weitgehende Übereinstimmung: US-Präsident George W. Bush führt seinen
potentiellen Nachfolger John McCain durch das Weiße Haus (5.3.2008) Foto: AP

Der republikanische Präsidentschaftskandidat John McCain will die Politik des jetzigen Amtsinhabers fortsetzen. Der Konfrontationskurs gegen Rußland soll verschärft, das Hegemoniestreben der USA forciert werden

Von Knut Mellenthin

 

Democracy Now! Special: Martin Luther King's Life and Legacy 40 Years After His Assassination April 04, 2008

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated forty years ago today. He was in Memphis, Tennessee to march with sanitation workers demanding a better wage. We spend the hour on his life and legacy. We hear from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the Lorraine Motel, where he was killed; Harry Belafonte, who was with Coretta Scott King at the King home in Atlanta on April 4, 1968; Dr. Vincent Harding, a close friend and colleague of King’s who wrote King’s major antiwar speech, “Beyond Vietnam;” Taylor Rogers, a former sanitation worker in Memphis; Charles Cabbage, a longtime activist and community organizer in Memphis who met with King hours before he died; Jerry Williams, one of the only African American detectives in the Memphis Police Department in 1968; Judge D’Army Bailey, a circuit court judge in Memphis and co-founder of the National Civil Rights Museum; and we hear King in his own words, giving his major speech against the war in Vietnam and his last public address given the night before his death in Memphis, Tennessee. [includes rush transcript]
 

 

 

 


 

Democracy Now! The Green Light: Attorney Philippe Sands Follows the Bush Administration Torture Trail April 03, 2008

A new exposé in Vanity Fair by British attorney Philippe Sands reveals new details about how attorney John Yoo and other high-ranking administration lawyers helped design and implement the interrogation policies seen at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and secret CIA prisons. According to Vanity Fair, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and other top officials personally visited Guantanamo in 2002, discussed interrogation techniques and witnessed interrogations. Sands joins us in our firehouse studio. [includes rush transcript]

 

US-Geheimdienstchef verteidigt Folter 7. Februar 2008

US-Geheimdienstchef Michael McConnell hat im US-Senat die Anwendung der Folter gegen Verdächtige verteidigt. ...

 

Fact-Checking Dobbs: CNN Anchor Lou Dobbs Challenged on Immigration Issues December 04, 2007

In a wide-ranging interview, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs joins Democracy Now! for the hour to discuss: [A great discussion, listen to AMY GOODMAN and JUAN GONZALEZ grill him on their show!]

His claim that a “third of our prison population” are illegal aliens (according to the Justice Department about 6 percent of the state and federal prison population are non-citizens) Why white supremacists have appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight without disclosure over their ties to hate groups His show’s reporting on leprosy and immigration. A 2005 report on Lou Dobbs Tonight claimed there had been 7,000 new cases of leprosy in the U.S. over the past three years. In fact, there have been 7,000 cases reported over the past 30 years And more…