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| The Truth Seekers Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | Headlines from Democracy Now 1/8 | Views: 416 | Jan 08, 2008 3:08 pm | | Headlines from Democracy Now 1/8 | # | Danielle (Dani) Cutler | |
New Hampshire Voters Head To Polls
Voters head to the polls today for New Hampshire’s Democratic and Republican primaries.
Every major opinion poll indicates Senator Barack Obama will beat Senator Hillary
Clinton just as he did five days ago in Iowa. Over the last three decades every presidential
candidate who has won in both Iowa and New Hampshire has gone on to win their party’s
nomination. The Republican race appears to be a much closer fight between Senator
John McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Sen. Clinton: “This Is Very Personal For Me. It’s Not
Just Political”
On Monday, Hillary Clinton made headlines after she momentarily choked up with tear
filled eyes when discussing why she was running for president.
Sen. Clinton: “This is very personal for me. It’s not just political,
it’s not just public. I see what’s happening. We have to reverse it. and some people
think elections are a game, they think it’s who’s up and who’s down. It’s about our
country, it’s about our kids’ futures. It’s really about all of us together. Some
of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds. And
we do it–each one of us–because we care about our country. But some of us are right
and some of us are wrong, some of us are ready and some of us are not, some of know
what we will do on day one and some of us haven’t really though that through enough.”
Obama Set To Win Major Nevada Union Endorsement
Senator Barack Obama is continuing to enjoy a wave of new support from across the
country following his victory in Iowa. Obama is expected to pick up a major endorsement
in Nevada later this week from the largest union in the state – the Culinary Workers
union. Nevada holds its primary on Jan. 19. During a campaign stop in Lebanon, New
Hampshire Obama vowed to help lead the fight against global warming.
Sen. Barack Obama: “In one day’s time we have a chance to break the
lock that big oil has on our economy and on our foreign policy. We know what to do.
If we increase oil efficiency standards to 40 miles per gallon we save the equivalent
of all the oil we import from the Persian Gulf. We know that climate change is real
and that we have to cap the emission of greenhouse gases.”
Romney Paints Himself as Agent of Change
On the Republican front, Mitt Romney has shifted the tone of his campaign and is now
presenting himself as an agent of change. He has repeatedly questioned whether Senator
John McCain could beat Barack Obama in November.
Mitt Romney: “This is going to be a time of choice for our party.
Are we going to have someone as a nominee who can stand up to Barrack Obama, who I
think could very well be their nominee. He’ll stand up and talk about change, he hasn’t
ever done it, but he’ll talk about change and he’ll be able to stand up as he has
right now against long serving U.S. senators who talk about their experience and he
just blows them away.”
Iran Accused of Harassing U.S. Warships
Tensions between the United States and Iran appear to be increasing after an incident
on Sunday when three U.S. warships were approached by Iranian boats in the Straits
of Hormuz off the Iranian coast. The U.S. claims five Iranian Revolutionary Guard
speed boats came within 500 yards of the US warships and threatened to blow them up.
The Iranian boats backed away before the American warships opened fire. The Pentagon
described it as a serious provocation. This is State Department spokesperson Sean
McCormack.
Sean McCormack: “We would urge Iran to refrain from any provocative
actions that could lead to dangerous incidents in the future… Again, part of what
we’re trying to do is make sure that the Iranians don’t have an easy pathway to engage
in behaviors of either illicit or antithetical to the interest of the region or the
United States.”
10,000 Israeli Police Officers On Duty For Bush’s Visit
The incident occurred just prior to President Bush’s trip to the Middle East that
will include his first visits to Israel and the West Bank as president. Israel is
planning its largest security operation since the Pope’s visit in 2000. A security
force of more than 10,000 officers will be on duty to protect President Bush. Police
say the president’s hotel in Jerusalem will resemble Fort Knox. On Monday President
Bush said he wants to help push talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
President Bush: “As I already said, there is going to be a timetable,
one timetable is the departure of George W. Bush from the White House. Not that I’m
a great, you know, heroic figure, but they know me and they’re comfortable with me
and I’m a known quantity, and therefore the question is will they decide to make the
effort necessary to get the deal done while I’m president. As opposed to, maybe the
next person won’t agree with the two-state or maybe the next person will take a while
to get moving”.
PPP Party Calls For UN Inquiry Into Bhutto Assassination
In Pakistan, the party of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is calling
for a United Nations inquiry into her assassination. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party
has aired deep suspicions over the motives and identities of her assassins. PPP Information
Secretary Sherry Rehman said it was important for the region’s stability that the
UN intervene.
Sherry Rehman: “It is very important not just for Pakistan’s stability
but the region’s stability that the United Nations intervene. We ask for, that it
will be larger than a police investigation. We want the events that led up investigated.
We want the sponsors, financiers, organizers and perpetrators of this crime. This
is U.N language and the UN does intervene when there is a fundamental violation and
grave violation of fundamental human rights. And there is no bigger violation of our
rights than this.”
On Monday, a team of Scotland Yard investigators visited a hospital in Rawalpindi
to talk to witnesses injured in the attack that killed Bhutto.
Kenya’s President & Opposition Leader to Begin Negotiations
In news from Africa, Kenya’s president and its opposition leader have agreed to begin
negotiations to break the political stalemate following last month’s disputed presidential
election. On Monday the top US Africa envoy, Jendayi Frazer urged both sides to talk.
Jendayi Frazer: “It’s obviously clear that some Kenyans don’t feel
that they have been treated fairly, they haven’t had their fair share of power and
wealth and so addressing those grievances is necessary. So those are the areas that
we think if a dialogue is to help to transform Kenya and to prevent a future crisis
like we see today these areas probably need to be part of the agenda but that’s the
United States perspective; the agenda will need to be decided by Kenyans themselves.”
About 500 Kenyans have died in violence following the election. Another 250,000 have
been displaced
Supreme Court To Decide Legality of Lethal Injection
For the first time in over a century, the Supreme Court is addressing the legality
of a method of execution. Oral arguments were held on Monday in a case that will decide
whether lethal injection practices in Kentucky amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
Outside the Supreme Court, attorney Donald Verrilli said the court should ban lethal
injections that use a three-drug cocktail.
Donald Verrilli: “The obligation here on the state is to bring about
a humane execution. That’s why we have the 8th Amendment. That’s why we have a prohibition
of ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ because it affirms the dignity of our system, and
our respect for everyone, even those who have committed the most heinous crimes. And
that’s why the states have got to do what they can to reduce the risk of the awful
kind of torture that this kind of execution can produce when it goes wrong.”
Attorney Roy Englert defended the state of Kentucky.
Roy Englert: “The state has no obligation to guarantee a pain free
execution, but Kentucky does everything in its power to ensure to bring about a pain
free execution.”
According to the New York Times, the opponents of lethal injection made little headway
Monday in their effort to persuade the Court that the Constitution requires states
to change the way they carry out executions. Since September, when the high court
agreed to hear this case, there has been a de facto national moratorium of executions
by lethal injection. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments
on Indiana’s voter ID law.
New Jersey Officially Apologizes For Slavery
New Jersey has become the first northern state to officially apologize for slavery.
The state assembly and senate passed a resolution declaring that slavery shattered
the fundamental values of Africans. Legislators in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina
and Virginia have also passed resolutions apologizing for slavery.
Baltimore Sues Wells Fargo For Predatory Lending
The city of Baltimore is suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending that its lending practices
discriminated against African American borrowers and led to a wave of foreclosures
that has reduced city tax revenues and increased its costs.
According to the lawsuit, in 2006, Wells Fargo made high-cost loans to 65 percent
of its black customers in Baltimore but to only 15 percent of its white customers
in the area.
FDA To Approve Sale of Meat & Milk From Cloned Animals
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Food and Drug Administration is preparing
to declare that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to
eat. Joseph Mendelson of the Center for Food Safety warned about the dangers of cloned
livestock. Mendelson said: “Once the FDA says these products are safe and that they
are out there, it’s very hard to turn it back.”
Golden Globes Cancelled Due to Writers Strike
And in labor news, the Golden Globes ceremony has been cancelled after actors said
they would not cross picket lines in support of striking writers. The Writers Guild
of America has been on strike since November. Last night Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
returned to the airwaves of Comedy Central–but without their writers.
Stephen Colbert: “There’s Nothing In The Prompters…
What the Hell’s Going On”
Last night Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert returned to the airwaves of Comedy Central–but
without their writers.
An excerpt from The Colbert Report:
Stephen Colbert: Can you get a shot of all three of these guys shooting
each other, showing there’s nothing in the prompters? Now, Jim, what the hell’s going
on? Where are my words?
Jim: We have no script, Stephen.
Stephen Colbert: Why not?
Jim: The writers are on strike.
Stephen Colbert: Yeah, I know that, Jim. I’m not a complete idiot.
But how does that effect me?
Jim: We have nothing to put in the prompter.
Stephen Colbert: No, I – that’s not my understanding of how this
works, Jim. My understanding is that this little – this little – this little magic
box right here, it reads my thoughts, and then it lays them up on the screen right
there into little words that I read and the audience can hear my thoughts. It’s a
labor-saving device, Jim. That’s how I understand this works.
Jim: Well, no, actually, it’s what the writers put in.
Stephen Colbert: The writers. The guys on the fourth floor with the
opium bongs and playing Guitar Hero all day. You’re telling me – you’re telling me
that those guys are responsible for what I say. I find that a bit of a stretch, Jim.
I’m sorry. Get it fixed, and get it fixed now.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/8/headlines
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