Democracy Now! Friday, November 2, 2007

Headlines for November 2, 2007

- White House Downplays State Opposition to Iraq Posts
- Bush Gives Ultimatum over Mukasey Nomination
- California Judge OKs Controversial Pesticide Spraying
- Senate Approves 2nd S-CHIP Bill
- Product Safety Heads Took Industry-Paid Trips
- Rumsfeld: Muslims “Against Physical Labor”
- 2 Afghan Children Killed in U.S. Raid
- Hundreds of Thousands Displaced by Mexico Floods


The Case of the LA8: U.S. Drops Twenty-Year Effort to Deport Arab Americans for Supporting Palestinian National Rights

Prosecutors have ended a 20-year attempt to deport two Palestinian Americans for allegedly raising money for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Earlier this year an immigration judge ruled the government violated the defendants’ constitutional rights in a case he called "an embarrassment to the rule of law.” We speak to one of the men, Michel Shehadeh, and attorney Marc Van Der Hout.


Latino Support for GOP Drops Amidst Increasing Hysteria Over Immigration

Although immigration is not yet a major campaign issue, it is one that presidential hopefuls cannot afford to ignore. At fifteen percent of the population, Latinos form the largest non-white community in the United States, and Latino voters are an increasingly important constituency. We speak with Jorge Mursuli of Democracia USA and Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change.


Nigerian Doctor and Reproductive Rights Campaigner Ejike Oji on Devastating Impact of Bush Family Planning Policies

The Bush administraton’s Mexico City Policy, known as the Global Gag Rule by opponents, denies foreign organizations receiving U.S. family planning assistance the right to use their own non-U.S. funds to perform or counsel on legal abortions or lobby for the legalization of abortion in their country. Nigerian doctor Ejike Oji says this forces foreign NGOs to choose between vital U.S. assistance for essential family planning services and the real needs of women dealing with unwanted pregnancies.


CODEPINK Activist Barred from Capitol After Calling Rice “War Criminal”

CODEPINK activist Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz was barred from Capitol Hill after she covered her hands in fake blood and approached Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week at the start of a congressional hearing. Ali-Fairooz said that the blood "of millions of Iraqis" was on the hands of the Bush administration.