Democracy Now! Monday, August 18, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Resigns
• Justice Dept Proposes New Domestic Spying Measure
• Russian Troops Remain in Georgian City
• Russia Threatens Poland Over US Missile Base
• Prosecutors Send Target Letters to Six Blackwater Guards Involved in Iraq Shooting
• Top CEOs Give 10x More Money to John McCain
• Fernando Lugo Inaugurated as Paraguay’s New President
• Leader of Nepal’s Maoist Rebellion Becomes Prime Minister
• Chadian Court Sentences Former Dictator in Abstentia
• Hawaiian Pro-Independence Activists Occupy Former Palace
• US Military Funds Mind Reading Researching
• Louisiana Teenager Sentenced for Hanging Noose

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  Facing Impeachment, Musharraf Resigns as President of Pakistan

  Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation today in order to avoid charges of impeachment that were to be leveled against him later this week. General Musharraf has ruled Pakistan since he seized power in a 1999 coup. He has been a close ally to the United States for the past decade.

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  Obama, McCain Discuss Views on Christianity and Supreme Court Justices at Religious Forum

  Saturday’s event at Rev. Warren’s Saddleback Church in California marked the first time Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have agreed to attend the same forum since they secured their parties’ nomination. Warren conducted separate interviews with both candidates, asking questions about how their personal religious views would affect their presidency. We play highlights.

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  Referendum on Torture: Debate Over Role of Psychologists in Military Interrogations Comes to a Head at APA Annual Convention

  The debate over the role that psychologists should play in military interrogations heated up this weekend at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. After years of back-and-forth discussion and several resignations from the association, APA members are now voting on a referendum that could make any participation in coercive prisoner interrogations a violation of their code of ethics. Meanwhile, California became the first state in the nation to officially condemn the participation of health professionals—including psychologists—in coercive interrogations of prisoners in the so-called war on terror.