Thursday, December 23, 2010

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DEMOCRACY NOW! Today's Quiz: HOW MUCH OF THIS DID YOU HEAR FROM THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?

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Juan Gonzalez: NYC CityTime Fraud Scheme "Biggest Scandal of Entire Bloomberg Era"

Four consultants hired to eliminate waste and fraud in New York City’s municipal payroll were arrested last week on charges of stealing $80 million from city coffers. Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez, who covered the story for the past year, calls it "the biggest scandal of the Bloomberg era."





As Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill, Juan Gonzalez Notes Relative Absence of Key Figures Like Bush and Giuliani

On the final day of the 111th Congress, the Senate passed a $4.3 billion package to help the 9/11 rescue workers who were sickened by the toxins at Ground Zero. Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez, who first exposed what was happening to the Ground Zero workers, notes the "relative absence of some of the key figures who were involved at the time when the attacks happened," like former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former New York governor George Pataki and former President George W. Bush.





WikiLeaks Cables Reveal U.S. Sought to Retaliate Against Europe over Monsanto GM Crops

U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal the Bush administration drew up ways to retaliate against Europe for refusing to use genetically modified seeds. In 2007, then-U.S. ambassador to France Craig Stapleton was concerned about France’s decision to ban cultivation of genetically modified corn produced by biotech giant Monsanto. He also warned that a new French environmental review standard could spread anti-biotech policy across Europe. We speak with Jeffrey Smith of the Institute for Responsible Technology.





FBI Expands Probe into Antiwar Activists

The FBI’s probe into antiwar activists is growing. In September, FBI agents raided the homes and offices of activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Subpoenas that were withdrawn have been reactivated, and a new subpoena was served to a Palestinian solidarity activist in Chicago. We speak with two of the people targeted and two former FBI agents.





After GOP Blocks DREAM Act, Where is Immigration Activism Headed?

After Senate Republicans blocked passage of the DREAM Act, a provision that would grant undocumented young people a chance at citizenship, many immigrant rights advocates are openly questioning the Obama administration’s immigration strategy. Over the past two years, the Obama administration has deported a record number of undocumented immigrants but failed to gain support from Republicans on any immigration reform legislation. We speak with writer Roberto Lovato.

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