Democracy Now! Monday, May 5, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Cyclone Kills Nearly 4,000 People in Burma
• Clinton Defends Statement about “Obliterating” Iran
• Report: Bush Authorizes Covert Offensive Against Iran
• US Missile Hits Iraqi Hospital, 30 Injured
• Private Contractors to Help Train Iraqi Military
• NAACP Files Voter Suppression Complaint
• Lawmakers Demand Probe into Pentagon Propaganda Program
• US Military Launches Foreign Language News Websites
• US Considers Sending 7,000 More Troops to Afghanistan
• UN Relief Agency Suspends Food Aid in Gaza
• Sami al-Haj: Koran Desecrated at Guantanamo

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  10 Arrested at General Dynamics Protest in Vermont

  On May 1, activists locked themselves together in the lobby of weapons manufacturer General Dynamics in Burlington, Vermont. The activists were demanding “General Dynamics stop giving campaign contributions to the politicians responsible for regulating it, stop making Gatling guns, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, and give back the $3.6 million in Vermont tax breaks General Dynamics received in 2007.” [includes rush transcript]

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  Thousands of Somalis Protest Deadly US Air Strike

  Thursday’s air strike comes in the midst of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Somalia that the International Committee of the Red Cross described as “catastrophic.” Over one million people have been made internal refugees, and 3.5 million, or nearly half the country’s population, may need food aid by the end of the year. [includes rush transcript]

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  Autonomy Vote Threatens to Pull Bolivia Apart

  In Bolivia, President Evo Morales has rejected an autonomy vote by the country’s richest region of Santa Cruz, calling the poll “illegal and unconstitutional.” The proposals voted on Sunday include giving Santa Cruz more control over land distribution and rich oil and gas reserves. [includes rush transcript]

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  Iran: Elections Under Threat

  “Elections Under Threat” portrays the everyday people of Iran as well as the candidates running for Parliament as they debate and discuss the relevance of these elections, their economic conditions and the international pressures on their nation. The documentary offers a unique glimpse into the political dynamics of the struggles for participation and democracy in a nation facing increasing economic and military threats from the United States.

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  "Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr"

  A US military judge dismissed the argument Friday that Guantanamo’s youngest detainee Omar Khadr was a child soldier when captured in Afghanistan and therefore in need of protection and not prosecution. US Army Col. Peter Brownback’s ruling clears the way for Khadr’s trial which will be the first war crimes trial in history of anyone under the age of 18.