Democracy Now! Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Dozens of Civilians Feared Dead in US Attack on Sadr City
• UN to Form Task Force on Food Crisis
• Rev. Jackson Urges Haiti Food Aid
• Bush Rejects Biofuel Link to Food Crisis
• Latin American, European Leaders Meet on Poverty, Inequality
• Zimbabwe Opposition Accuses Mugabe Supporters of Crackdown
• Chevron Accused of Complicity in Burma Abuses
• Obama Condemns Former Pastor
• McCain Healthcare Proposal Mirrors Bush Admin
• Study: Nearly 1/3 of Americans Struggle to Pay for Medical Care, Insurance
• Home Foreclosures Rise in 1st Quarter of 2008

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  Obama Repudiates Ex-Pastor over Controversial Remarks

  On Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama said he was “outraged” and “saddened” by “divisive and destructive” comments by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Since the weekend, Reverend Wright has publicly defended himself after weeks of being lambasted by politicians and pundits for his sermons. We hear from both Obama’s and Wright’s speeches. [includes rush transcript]

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  The Politics of the Rev. Wright Controversy: A Debate with Melissa Harris-Lacewell and Adolph Reed, Jr.

  As the Reverend Wright controversy continues to dominate media attention, we host a debate with two guests. Melissa Harris-Lacewell is associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University. A Barack Obama supporter, she was a member of the Trinity United Church, and Reverend Wright was also her pastor. And Adolph Reed, Jr. is professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. He makes the case against voting for Senator Barack Obama in the latest issue of The Progressive magazine. [includes rush transcript]

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  CorpWatch’s Pratap Chatterjee and Ex-Titan Translator Marwan Mawiri on Corporate Cronyism and Intelligence Outsourcing in Iraq

  CorpWatch Managing Editor Pratap Chatterjee has just returned from Iraq, where he was embedded with the US military and investigating the outsourcing of both military logistics and intelligence gathering. A new CorpWatch report offers a scathing assessment of intelligence contractors L-3 and Titan. We also speak to Marwan Mawiri, who worked in Iraq as a translator with Titan in 2003 and 2004. [includes rush transcript]