“Over 1 billion people are chronically hungry,” says the U.N., yet it would take only $44 billion per year to end hunger globally.
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The controversial TV anchor has resigned from CNN amid a campaign to force him off the air due to his reporting on Latinos and immigrants. Past Democracy Now! Coverage of Lou Dobbs:
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Thanksgiving is around the corner, and families will be gathering to share a meal and, perhaps, enjoy another annual telecast of “The Wizard of Oz.” The 70-year-old film classic bears close watching this year, perhaps more than in any other, for the message woven into the lyrics, written during the Great Depression by Oscar-winning lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg.
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“Extraordinary rendition” is White House-speak for kidnapping. Just ask Maher Arar. He’s a Canadian citizen who was “rendered” by the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured for almost a year.
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U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Chancellor Keesling died in Iraq on June 19, 2009, from “a non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon. Keesling had killed himself.
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Climate-change activists, from pranksters to presidents, are stepping up the pressure by staging elaborate stunts.
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Lt. Dan Choi doesn’t want to lie. Choi, an Iraq war veteran and a graduate of West Point, declared last March 19 on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “I am gay.” Under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regulations, those three words are enough to get Choi kicked out of the military.
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Journalist Christian Parenti responds to our interview with Kevin Bales, founder of Free The Slaves
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Stanley Tookie Williams is dead. He was executed at 12:35 am PT by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison. He was 51 years old. A co-founder of one of the country’s most notorious street gangs, the Crips, Williams spent 24 years on death row after being convicted of four murders. During this period he became a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, children’s author and a vocal advocate against gang violence. He maintained his innocence up until his death. Williams’ fate was sealed Monday afternoon when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a final appeal for clemency. We play excerpts of a press conference where witnesses describe the execution and we hear reactions from his attorney, the NAACP and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. [includes rush transcript]
We speak with longtime prison activist and professor Angela Davis about the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. She was outside San Quentin prison when he died. In the written response to Williams’ clemency appeal, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said “The dedication of Williams’ book ‘Life in Prison’ casts significant doubt on his personal redemption.”–the dedication includes Angela Davis. [includes rush transcript]
We hear Stanley Tookie Williams in his own words, speaking in one his last interviews, recorded just hours before his death. He appeared on Pacifica Radio station WBAI’s Wake Up Call. In the interview, Williams says he would like to be remembered for his redemptive transition: “Redemption. I can say it no better than that. That’s how I would like the world to remember me. That’s what I would like my legacy to be remembered as.” [includes rush transcript]
Ruben Cantu was the fifth teenager convicted and executed by the state of Texas. Now more than a dozen years after his death, a further investigation into his case has provided new information supporting his unwavering claim to innocence. We speak with Lise Olsen, the reporter from the Houston Chronicle who has written a series of articles on the case. [includes rush transcript]