Headlines for January 28, 2005
- Sen. Kennedy Calls For U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq
- Iraq Enters Into Pre
-Election Lockdown
- Israel Warns About Iran's Nuclear Program
- GOP Seeks Money to Bypass "Liberal Media Filter"
- Democrats to Introduce 'Stop Government Propaganda Act'
- Multinational Monitor Names 10 Worst Corporations
- Riggs Bank Pays $16 Million For Deals With Pinochet
- FBI Expands Domestic Intelligence Gathering
White House Won't Contest Media Ownership Rules in Major Victory for Grassroots Media Activists
Grassroots media activists won a major victory Thursday when the Bush administration announced it would not seek to overturn a court ruling that has blocked the Federal Communications Commission from implementing sweepings regulations that would allow for greater media consolidation.
Gonzales Misrepresented Role in Shielding Bush's Drunk Driving Record
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics filed a complaint with the State Bar of Texas requesting an investigation into misrepresentations Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales made in a written response to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in protecting President Bush's DUI arrest. We speak with the executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. [includes rush transcript]
Michael Ratner: Gonzales "Has His Hand Deep in the Blood of the Conspiracy Of Torture"
A contentious senate debate for the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales is expected next week, we speak with Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Michael Ratner about Gonzales' role in laying the legal groundwork for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
U.S. Claims Maher Arar "Extraordinary Rendition" Lawsuit Jeopardizes National Security
The U.S. government is attempting to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Canadian citizen Maher Arar, claiming the litigation would jeopardize national security. Arar was jailed by the U.S. and secretly deported to Syria where he was held for almost a year without charge and repeatedly tortured.
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Note, our government claims it jeopardizes national security and today in the New York Times, page A7, Bush says: "Torture is never acceptable. Nor do we hand over people to countries that do torture." And the Times prints it with no comment. A lot of sucking up went down to get this interview -- David E. Sanger, Richard W. Stevenson and Elisabeth Bumiller conduct the interview -- but what good is it when statements like that aren't questioned -- during the interview or in print? The Times demonstrated extremely poor judgement in running the article on the "interview" -- as well as the pull quotes section -- today. But they finally got their "access" and perhaps that's all they care about?
The Times had access to Maher Arar's story but they don't appear overly interested. A year ago (almost to the day) they offered us this national briefing (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E7DF1038F93AA15752C0A9629C8B63):
World Briefing Americas: Canada: Inquiry In Deportation Case
By COLIN CAMPBELL (NYT) Published: January 29, 2004, Thursday
The government announced a public inquiry into what role Canadian officials played in the detention and deportation of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen detained in New York in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he has said he was tortured. Since Mr. Arar's return to Canada in October, the government had firmly resisted calls for a public inquiry. Colin Campbell (NYT)
Published: 01 - 29 - 2004 , Late Edition - Final , Section A , Column 4 , Page 6
They're aware of the story. Presumably at least one of their three reporters conducting the "interview" was aware of it and an editior should have noticed it.
But they just put in the Bully Boy's quote and provide no context or, for that matter, reality. And this is reporting?
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2005 World Social Forum Kicks Off in Porto Alegre
Over 120,000 are gearing up for the 2005 World Social Forum which opened in the southern Brazilian city of Port Alegre. We go to Brazil to speak with Njoki Njoroge Njehu of the 50 Years is Enough network.
Heavy Bloodshed in Iraq Only Expected to Worsen on Election Day
As a three-day national lockdown begins in Iraq ahead of Sunday's elections, bloodshed continues unabated across the country. We go to Baghdad to speak with independent journalist Dahr Jamail.
Report: Global Warming Much Worse Than Previously Thought
We speak with physicist and professor, Myles Allen who is the principal investigator of a major new study conducted by the ClimatePrediction.net project that warns the effects of global warming may be twice as bad as previously thought.
As Marcia says, "Democracy Now! always worth watching."
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