Democracy Now! Thursday, February 14, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Senate Approves Waterboarding Ban
• House Rejects Extending Surveillance Law
• Boeing Rendition Suit Dismissed in U.S. Court
• Iraq Approves Amnesty Law
• Venezuelans Protest ExxonMobil on Asset Freeze
• U.S. Labor Delegation Lobbies Colombia on Union Killings
• Bolivia: Spy-Linked U.S. Embassy Official Won’t Return
• Timorese President Recovers Amidst Reconciliation Calls
• Following Historic Apology, Australia’s Aborigines Call for Indigenous Panel
• Heath Risks to Displace 100,000 Katrina Evacuees from Government Trailers
• Attorney: Charge Officers for Throwing Quadriplegic from Wheelchair
• ‘92 Clinton Campaign Manager Endorses Obama

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  Entertainment Writers Claim Victory in Deal Ending 14-Week Strike

  Entertainment industry writers are back on the job after overwhelmingly approving a deal that will eventually give them a percentage of revenue for work posted online. We speak to Michael Winship, president of Writers Guild of America, East. [includes rush transcript]

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  "Chocolate's Bittersweet Economy": Cocoa Industry Accused of Greed, Neglect for Labor Practices in Ivory Coast

  On Valentine’s Day, we look into two of the luxury industries that have come to expect huge profits on this hyper-consumerized occasion. We begin with chocolate. A scathing new report by veteran journalist and author Christian Parenti says hardly any progress has been made in the cocoa industry’s pledges to address child labor. We host a debate between Parenti and William Guyton, president of the World Cocoa Foundation. [includes rush transcript]

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  Theo Chocolate Founder, CEO Joe Whinney on Fair Trade Cocoa

  We speak to Joe Whinney, founder and CEO of Theo Chocolate, which describes itself as the only roaster of organic cocoa beans and the first roaster of Fair Trade certified cocoa beans in the United States. [includes rush transcript]

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  Activists Call for Boycott of Diamond Giant Leviev for Support of Israeli Settlements and Links to Human Rights Abuses in Africa

  Leviev, the world’s largest cutter and polisher of diamonds, has been linked to expanding Jewish-only settlements in the Palestinian West Bank and a sketchy human rights record in Angola, where it controls the diamond supply. We speak to two Palestinian and Jewish members of Adalah-New York, a group that’s held weekly protests outside Leviev’s Madison Avenue store. [includes rush transcript]