Democracy Now! Thursday, August 27, 2009

Today's Headlines

• Kennedy Mourned as Mass. Governor Backs Succession Request
• US Attacks Afghan Medical Clinic
• US Troop Deaths Tie Monthly Record
• Feingold Calls for Withdrawal Timetable from Afghanistan
• Southern Iraq Facing Dire Water Shortage
• CIA Interrogators Certified after Two-Week Training
• Kucinich Seeks Testimony from Health Industry CEOs
• Study: Health Industry Accounts for Half of Blue Dog Campaign Donations
• UNASUR Summit to Take Up Colombia Bases Row
• Mexico Decriminalizes Small-Scale Drug Use
• Africans Mull Call for Billions in Global Warming Compensation
• Groups: Mass Graves Discovered in Pakistan’s Swat Valley
• Amnesty Calls for Tribunal on East Timor Killings
• Fed Official: Actual US Unemployment at 16%
• Top Bailout Recipients Donated $6M to Lawmakers Since Election
• Report: Richardson Won’t Face Charges in Donor Probe

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  Worldwide Tributes Honor Sen. Ted Kennedy; "Liberal Lion" Was Key Champion of Healthcare Reform

  The late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy was honored across the nation and around the world Wednesday, hours after his death at the age of seventy-seven. We hear tributes from President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and play clips of Kennedy speaking about healthcare reform, which he saw as the cause of his life. [includes rush transcript]

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  As Kennedy Mourned, Massachusetts Lawmakers Begin Debate on His Wish for a Quick Successor

  Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick says he hopes to carry out one of Ted Kennedy’s last public wishes, appointing a temporary successor. Last week Kennedy asked Massachusetts lawmakers to change the state’s succession laws, which call for a special election at least 145 days after a vacancy occurs. That would leave Kennedy’s seat vacant until at least mid-January. We speak to Boston Phoenix political reporter David Bernstein. [includes rush transcript]

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  As Obama Golfs with UBS CEO Days After Firm Avoids Criminal Prosecution, UBS Whistleblower Given 40-Month Jail Term

  On the first day of his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama spent five hours golfing with UBS executive Robert Wolf, an early financial backer of Obama’s presidential campaign. As the pair teed off, another UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, had just been handed a forty-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to assisting a client evade taxes. It was the first sentence in a wider scandal that has seen UBS admit to helping wealthy Americans dodge their tax obligations. On his own initiative, Birkenfeld blew the whistle on UBS. His disclosure and cooperation with US authorities provided inside information into the bank’s conduct and sparked the massive federal investigation. [includes rush transcript]

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  Actor, Director Tim Robbins Takes Up Historic Vietnam War Protest in Production of "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine"

  Academy Award-winning actor, director and writer Tim Robbins is involved in a new production of Father Daniel Berrigan’s acclaimed play The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. The play centers on the events of May 17th, 1968, when nine Catholic peace activists, including Father Daniel Berrigan and his brother, the late Father Philip Berrigan, entered a draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, and removed draft files of young men who were about to be sent to Vietnam. They were arrested and then sentenced in a highly publicized trial that galvanized the antiwar movement. We speak to Robbins about the play, which is being staged by his Los Angeles troupe, the Actors’ Gang. [includes rush transcript]