Shows featuring Michael Ratner
President emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights and a legal adviser to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
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Leaked Stratfor Email Suggests Secret U.S. Indictment of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has published an internal email from the private intelligence firm Stratfor that suggests the U.S. Justice Department has obtained a sealed indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The email is one of around five million obtained from Stratfor’s servers by the hacker group,...February 29, 2012 | Story -
U.S. Maintains Embargo of Cuba After 50 Years, Despite International Condemnation
There are no commemorations planned in Washington, D.C., but today marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. embargo against Cuba — the longest-running embargo in the world. On February 7, 1962, President John F. Kennedy formally expanded the harsh regime of commercial and financial sanctions against Cuba that have continued...February 07, 2012 | Story -
"Who Killed Che? How the CIA Got Away with Murder": New Book Ties Johnson Admin to Guevara’s Death
Michael Ratner and Michael Steven Smith are the co-authors of a new book about the U.S. role in the killing of Cuban revolutionary, Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Born in Argentina in 1928, Che rose to international prominence as one of the key leaders of the 1959 Cuban Revolution that overthrew U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio...February 07, 2012 | Story -
Guantánamo Exclusive: Former Chief Prosecutor, Ex-Prisoner Call on Obama to Close Prison
On the 10th anniversary of when the United States began detaining terror suspects at its Guantánamo Bay military base in Cuba, we speak with a former prisoner and the ex-chief U.S. prosecutor, who both call for the Obama administration to close the base. "People are locked up in isolation camps... People lost their hands,...January 10, 2012 | Story -
NDAA : Obama Signs Law Restricting Transfer of Guantánamo Prisoners and Expands Indefinite Detention
It has been 10 years since the United States began detaining people at its military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. We speak with someone who has worked to defend the rights of those prisoners for the last decade: Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights. While dozens continue to face an unknown...January 10, 2012 | Story
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Constitutional Rights Lawyer Michael Ratner: Failed Occupy Wall Street Evacuation Order is Illegal
Speaking from Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, attorney Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights says New York City’s efforts to displace Occupy Wall Street protesters in order to clean the park violates their First Amendment rights and would have led to a major confrontation. "Apart from the illegality...October 14, 2011 | Story -
Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of "Museum of Tolerance" on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery
Palestinian families have filed a petition with the United Nations over the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s plans to build a "Museum of Tolerance" over the historic Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Opponents of the project have long questioned how a monument to tolerance can be built on the remains of the graves of generations...February 10, 2010 | Story -
Lawmakers Debate Establishing "Truth Commission" on Bush Admin Torture, Rendition and Domestic Spying
On Capitol Hill, debate has begun over forming a truth commission to shed light on the Bush administration’s secret polices on detention, interrogation and domestic spying. A hearing on the issue was held Wednesday, two days after the Obama administration released a series of once-secret Bush administration Justice Department memos that authorized President Bush to deploy the military to...March 05, 2009 | Story -
Grammy-Winning Musician Arturo O’Farrill and Ex-Head of US Interests Section in Cuba Vicki Huddleston Back Artists’ Call to Lift Cultural Boycott of Cuba
As calls grow in Washington to reconsider policy toward Cuba, over a thousand artists, musicians and teachers are campaigning for free cultural exchange and allowing Cuban artists into the US. We speak with Grammy Award-winning Cuban American musician Arturo O’Farrill of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra; Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, former head of the US Interests Section in Havana; and human...March 05, 2009 | Story -
Despite Celebrated Orders Closing Gitmo and Banning Torture, Has Obama Kept Rendition Intact?
When President Obama signed executive orders to end torture and shut down Guantanamo, did he leave open the controversial rendition policy of kidnapping foreigners abroad? We host a debate between human rights attorneys Michael Ratner and Scott Horton. [includes rush transcript]February 05, 2009 | Story
By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]


