Democracy Now! Monday, July 27, 2009

Today's Headlines

• Israel: All Options on Iran Are Still on the Table
• Cheney Wanted US Troops to Arrest Suspected Terrorists Inside US
• Teenager Held at Guantanamo May Face Civilian Trial
• Clinton Describes Zelaya’s Brief Returns to Honduras as “Reckless”
• Palin’s Farewell Message to the Media: “Quit Making Things Up”
• Obama Weighs In Again on Henry Louis Gates Controversy
• Court Demands Accounting for Indian Trusts
• US to Sign UN Convention on Rights of Disabled
• Bill Introduced to Restore Voting Rights to Former Prisoners
• House Bill Lifts Ban on Needle Exchanges
• Worldwide Rallies Condemn Iran’s Treatment of Opposition Protesters
• Veterans Commit Murder at Home After Return from Iraq
• 10 NYC Homeless Activists Arrested at Encampment
• Anti-Gay Singapore Prof Cancels NYU Stint

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  National Exclusive...Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Wife of Ousted Honduran President, Calls on US to Aid Her Husband's Return Home: "We Want Justice, We Want Peace, We Demand the Return to Democracy"

  After a failed attempt to return to Honduras over the weekend, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has complained that US condemnation of the coup against him is waning. Zelaya had tried to cross back into Honduras from Nicaragua on Friday but stayed for less than an hour. We speak with the wife of the ousted Honduran president, First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya. She’s spent the past day trying to get to the border with Nicaragua, and she joins us now from the town of Jacaleapa. [includes rush transcript]

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  Tensions Rise in Latin America over US Military Plan to Use Three Bases in Colombia

  The Colombian government has agreed to grant US forces the use of three Colombian military bases for South American anti-drug operations. The move has heightened tensions between Colombia, the largest recipient of US military aid in the Americas, and its neighbors, particularly Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned that the US Army could “invade” his country from Colombia. [includes rush transcript]

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  Parole Hearing to Be Held Tuesday for Imprisoned Native American Activist Leonard Peltier

  The sixty-four-year-old activist has been in prison for thirty-three years and is now being held at the Lewisburg prison in Pennsylvania. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. At his last hearing, the Parole Commission originally denied Peltier parole in 1993 based on their finding that he “participated in the premeditated and cold blooded execution of those two officers.” However, the Parole Commission has since said it “recognizes that the prosecution has conceded the lack of any direct evidence that [Peltier] personally participated in the executions of the two FBI agents.” Peltier has long maintained his innocence and is widely considered a political prisoner who was not granted a fair trial. [includes rush transcript]