Democracy Now! Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Today's Headlines

• Ex-Bush Envoy May Become Unelected “CEO” of Afghanistan
• Obama to Introduce New Car Emissions and Mileage Requirements
• Netanyahu Refuses to Endorse Two-State Solution, Presses Obama on Iran
• Obama Seeks $46 Million for Military Base in Colombia
• Supreme Court Blocks Suit Filed by Man Detained After 9/11
• Nigerian Military Attacks Niger Delta Region
• BBC: Ethiopian Troops Reenter Somalia
• Red Cross Warns of “Unimaginable Humanitarian Catastrophe” in Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka Detains Three Doctors Who Spoke to Media
• US to Push Immigration Checks to All Local Jails

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  "Open the Gates that the Righteous Nation May Enter": Rumsfeld Used Biblical Quotes in Top-Secret Iraq War Briefings for Bush

  GQ Magazine has revealed former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeatedly gave President Bush top-secret briefings adorned with Biblical quotes during the early days of the invasion of Iraq. One briefing paper showed an image of a US soldier in Baghdad below the Biblical quote, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” [includes rush transcript]

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  Jeremy Scahill: "Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama"

  Jeremy Scahill reports the Obama administration is continuing to use a notorious military police unit at Guantanamo that regularly brutalizes unarmed prisoners, including gang-beating them, breaking their bones, gouging their eyes and dousing them with chemicals. This force, officially known as the Immediate Reaction Force, has been labeled the “Extreme Repression Force” by Guantanamo prisoners, and human rights lawyers call their actions illegal. [includes rush transcript]

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  Bill Clinton to be Named UN Special Envoy to Haiti

  Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill examines how Clinton helped to destabilize Haiti in the 1990s. While Clinton and his advisers publicly expressed their dismay with the US-backed 1991 coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, they simultaneously refused to support the swift reinstatement of the country’s democratically elected leader and would, in fact, not allow Aristide’s return until Washington received guarantees that, one, Aristide would not lay claim to the years of his presidency lost in forced exile and, two, US neoliberal economic plans were solidified as the law of the land in Haiti. [includes rush transcript]

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  Grammy-Winning Soul Musician John Legend at UPenn Commencement: "A Commitment to Truth Requires a Commitment to Social Justice"

  John Legend: “From the war in Iraq to credit-default swaps to the internet bubble to the real estate bubble, too often we got caught up in the hype and fail to see the real truth…Too often, we become apathetic. We see the lies, we see the obfuscation, the deception. And we fail to point it out. We’re afraid to rain on the parade, afraid to rock the boat, afraid to pursue the truth.” [includes rush transcript]

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  Global Day of Action Held to Demand New Trial for Death Row Prisoner Troy Davis

  Events are being held across the country today to demand a new trial for the Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. Davis, an African American, was convicted for the 1989 killing of a white police officer. Since the trial, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. There is also no direct physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. A thirty-day stay of execution expired on Saturday, following last month’s decision by a federal appeals court to reject a new trial for Davis. [includes rush transcript]