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Democracy Now!

Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
20 May 2013 at 8:52am
After months of protest, teachers, students and parents in Seattle, Washington, have won their campaign to reject standardized tests in reading and math. In January, teachers at Garfield High School began a boycott of the test, saying it was wasteful and being used unfairly to assess their performance. The boycott spread to other schools, with hundreds of teachers, students and parents participating. Last week, the school district backed down, announcing that the Measures of Academic Progress -- or MAP test -- is now optional for high schools, but those refusing the test must find another way to gauge student performance. We speak with Jesse Hagopian, a high school history teacher and union representative at Garfield High School.
Geoengineering: Can We Save the Planet By Messing With Nature?
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
20 May 2013 at 8:25am
As the carbon dioxide in the air hits 400 parts per million for the first time in human history, some are arguing that the best way address climate change is to use the controversial practice of geoengineering -- the deliberate altering of the Earth?s ecological and climate systems to counter the effects of global warming. Supporters of geoengineering endorse radical ways to manipulate the planet, including creating artificial volcanoes to pollute the atmosphere with sulfur particles. Many scientists and environmentalists have raised concerns about geoengineering technologies designed to intervene in the functioning of the Earth system as a whole. We're joined now by Clive Hamilton, professor of public ethics at Charles Stuart University in Canberra, Australia. Hamilton's new book, "Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering," lays out the arguments for and against climate engineering, and reveals the vested interests behind it linking researchers, venture capitalists and corporations.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers Targets Wendy's in Fair Food Campaign to Impro...
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
20 May 2013 at 8:12am
Hundreds of farm workers and their supporters are in New York City ahead of Wendy's shareholder meeting to demand improved working conditions for those who pick its tomatoes. The fast-food giant -- which has nearly 6,600 restaurants in the U.S. and around the world, ranking second only to McDonald's -- is the latest target in the Fair Food Campaign organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. So far, McDonald's, Subway, Burger King and Taco Bell have all joined the White House-recognized social responsibility program, agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes to raise wages and only buy from fields where workers' rights are respected. We speak with CIW farm worker and organizer, Gerardo Reyes-Chávez.
Headlines for May 20, 2013
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
20 May 2013 at 8:00am
U.S. Drone Strikes Reportedly Kill 6 in Yemen, Obama Speech to Outline Drone, Guantánamo Policy, Protests Mark 100th Day of Guantánamo Hunger Strike, Syria: Dozens Reported Dead in Fighting Near Lebanon Border, Russia Sends Advanced Missiles to Syria, Sectarian Violence Kills Dozens in Iraq, Leading Pakistani Politician Shot Dead, Imprisoned Ex-Argentine Dictator Jorge Rafael Videla Dies at 87, AP Head Open to Lawsuit for "Unconstitutional" DOJ Spying, Report: DOJ Monitored Journalist's Emails, Phone Records in North Korea Leak Case, White House Was Informed of IRS Issues Weeks Earlier, Federal Judge Blocks Arkansas Anti-Abortion Law, Chicago Teachers March Against School Closings, Thousands Protest Education Cuts in Philadelphia, Hate Crime Alleged in Shooting Death of Gay New Yorker
Released from Prison, Climate Activist Tim DeChristopher on Civil Disobedienc...
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
17 May 2013 at 8:46am
We turn now to climate justice activist Tim DeChristopher, who was released last month after 21 months in federal custody. DeChristopher was convicted of interfering with a public auction in 2008 when he disrupted the Bush administration's last-minute move to auction off oil and gas exploitation rights in Utah by posing as a bidder. He is the subject of the new documentary, "Bidder 70." "We need to be building power as a social movement. One of the weaknesses for the climate movement," DeChristopher explains, is that "we still have this huge divide between the political side of the movement that focuses on Washington and the grassroots side of the movement that's been building real power."
Obama Worse Than Nixon? Pentagon Papers Attorney Decries AP Phone Probe, Juli...
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
17 May 2013 at 8:25am
The Justice Department's disclosure that it had secretly subpoenaed phone records from the Associated Press has prompted a wave of comparisons between President Obama and Richard Nixon. Four decades ago, the Nixon administration attempted to block The New York Times from publishing a secret history of the Vietnam War leaked to the newspaper by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Two days after the Times first published excerpts of what became known as the "Pentagon Papers," the Nixon government asked for and received a Supreme Court injunction against the newspaper, arguing that publication of the documents posed a "grave and immediate danger to the security of the United States." We speak to James Goodale, the general counsel at The New York Times during the Pentagon Papers crackdown. Goodale is a leading legal expert on the First Amendment and has just published a new book, "Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles." Goodale said he wrote the book in part because of the work of Julian Assange of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, and how he is likely being targeted by the U.S. government in an ongoing grand jury probe. "My book is meant to be a clarion call to the journalist community: Wake up! There's danger out there," Goodale says. "You may not like Assange, but wake up! The First Amendment is really going to be damaged. If Obama goes forward and succeeds, he will have succeeded where Nixon failed."
"Astoundingly Disturbing": Obama Administration Claims Power to Wage Endless ...
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
17 May 2013 at 8:13am
A Pentagon official predicted Thursday the war against al-Qaeda and its affiliates could last up to 20 more years. The comment came during a Senate hearing revisiting the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, enacted by Congress days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. At the hearing, Pentagon officials claimed the AUMF gives the president power to wage endless war anywhere in the world, including in Syria, Yemen and the Congo. "This is the most astounding and most astoundingly disturbing hearing that I've been to since I've been here," said Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine. "You guys have essentially rewritten the Constitution here today." We play excerpts of Thursday's Senate hearing and our recent interview with Jeremy Scahill, author of the new bestseller, "Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield."
Headlines for May 17, 2013
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)
17 May 2013 at 8:00am
Guantánamo Hunger Strike Enters 100th Day; 30 Prisoners Being Force-Fed, Number of Syrian Refugees Tops 1.5 Million, Obama: U.S. Won't Take Unilateral Action Against Assad, Obama Defends Secret Subpoena of Associated Press Phone Records, DOJ Releases Completely Blacked-Out Memo on Surveillance of Text Messages, Obama Appoints New Acting IRS Commissioner, Audit of Witness Protection Program Finds Gaps in Tracking of Terror Suspects, Note by Boston Bombing Suspect Cites U.S. Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan as Motive, 9 Afghan Civilians, 6 Americans Killed in Kabul Suicide Bombing, Cause of Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Still Unknown 1 Month Later, 3rd U.S. Military Official Tasked with Sexual Assault Prevention Is Accused of Abuse, Senate Panels Advance Obama Nominees for Labor Dept., EPA with No Republican Support, House Lawmakers Reach Tentative Deal for Immigration Reform, 7 Still Missing After Texas Tornadoes; At Least 6 Dead, LulzSec Computer Hackers Get Jail Terms in Britain, Case Dropped Against Florida Teen Arrested for Science Experiment, Today Marks 45th Anniversary of Catonsville 9 Protest Against Vietnam War, Woman in El Salvador Asks Supreme Court for Life-Saving Abortion

NYT > Politics

Justices Take Case on Prayer at Town Board Meetings
by By ADAM LIPTAK
20 May 2013 at 10:01am
A federal appeals court found that though the prayer at meetings in Greece, N.Y., could be given by members of all faiths and atheists, in practice almost all of the chaplains were Christian.    


White House Told in April That Audit of I.R.S. Completed
by By JONATHAN WEISMAN and BRIAN KNOWLTON
20 May 2013 at 7:26am
The chief White House lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, learned last month that the Internal Revenue Service improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.    


Larger Union Enforcing Immigration Opposes Overhaul
by By JULIA PRESTON
20 May 2013 at 12:06am
A council representing 12,000 officers who issue documents will join a council representing 7,700 deportation agents in fighting a Senate proposal.    


Virginia G.O.P Pleases Crowd With Barbs About I.R.S.
by By TRIP GABRIEL
19 May 2013 at 11:53pm
At each mention of the government?s targeting of conservative groups, the 8,000 delegates at the state party convention in Richmond roared their approval.    


The Caucus: Obama Urges Morehouse Graduates to ?Keep Setting an Example?
by By MARK LANDLER
19 May 2013 at 10:55pm
President Obama told Morehouse College graduates that ?laws, hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks like you can serve as president.?    


The Caucus: White House Aide Calls Criticism of Obama ?Offensive?
by By BRIAN KNOWLTON
19 May 2013 at 10:18pm
Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, appeared on five network talk shows to mount a defense against Republican lawmakers who accused the president of mismanagement.    


Potential Donors to Enroll America Grow Skittish
by By ROBERT PEAR
19 May 2013 at 9:21pm
As Congress investigates solicitations, some corporations and philanthropies are reluctant to contribute to an outreach program to help with the president?s health care law.    
Kenneth N. Waltz, Who Helped Shape International Relations as a Discipline, D...
by By DOUGLAS MARTIN
18 May 2013 at 10:22pm
Mr. Waltz, who was a senior research scholar at Columbia, was a pre-eminent thinker who was known for his contrarian, debate-provoking ideas.    

NYT > Opinion

Room for Debate: What Guilt Does the U.S. Bear in Guatemala?
20 May 2013 at 9:57am
Guatemala's dictator in the 1980s has been convicted of genocide. But is the U.S. responsible for supporting him?    


Opinionator | Measure for Measure: What the Woodpecker Told Me
by By RENNIE SPARKS
20 May 2013 at 9:06am
Stuck without a lyric in sight, pondering the intricacies of a little bird?s brain, I suddenly thought about crazy Mary Sweeney.    


Opinionator | The Stone: Savile, Beauvoir and the Lolita Syndrome
by By ANDY MARTIN
20 May 2013 at 7:16am
From Simone de Beauvoir to Jimmy Savile, on the trail of the intellectual origins of the ?culture of abuse.?    


Letters: At the U.S.-Mexico Border, Prosperity and Pollution
19 May 2013 at 9:23pm
Professors from Berkeley and San Diego State discuss economic potential and environmental problems at our southern border.    


Letter: The Wolf of Isle Royale
19 May 2013 at 9:23pm
A reader who worked there as a backcountry ranger in 1975 recalls his encounter with an island inhabitant.    


Letter: Cutting Carbon Emissions
19 May 2013 at 9:23pm
New York State?s top environmental official discusses a multistate program to fight climate change.    


Letter: The Furor Over Benghazi
19 May 2013 at 9:23pm
David M. Abshire, a former ambassador to NATO, says Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, must not be accused without evidence.    


Letter: Calling Attention to the Bias Against Roma
19 May 2013 at 9:23pm
A lawyer who is the mother of a Roma son calls for government officials to take action.    

NYT > U.S.

Pain Spreads as Credit Vise Grows Tighter
by By LOUIS UCHITELLE
19 Sep 2008 at 8:43am
Lenders have become even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.


For Rivals, Finance Crisis Is Posing on-the-Fly Tests
by By JACKIE CALMES and JEFF ZELENY
19 Sep 2008 at 7:44am
The presidential race has turned into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.


Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Test for Court
by By ADAM LIPTAK
19 Sep 2008 at 8:39am
At issue is whether plaintiffs have the right to sue when the products that hurt them had met federal standards.


After Impasse, New California Budget Agreement
by By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
19 Sep 2008 at 4:20am
California legislative leaders and the governor have come to an agreement on the state budget, which is now roughly three months late.


California Bans Texting by Operators of Trains
by By JESSE McKINLEY and MATTHEW L. WALD
19 Sep 2008 at 3:01am
After investigators said an engineer in last week?s collision had been texting on the job, regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.


Political Memo: Given G.O.P. Predicament, Rangel Opts to Ride Out the Storm
by By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
19 Sep 2008 at 4:09am
Democrats believe that a long list of Republican lawmakers with legal troubles makes it impossible for Republicans to gain much ground on the issues of ethics and good government.


Panel Proposes Broad Changes in Federal Financial Aid for College
by By TAMAR LEWIN
19 Sep 2008 at 3:09am
The recommendations included a simpler application, Pell grant maximums linked to the consumer price index and federally financed college savings accounts for children in low-income families.


Chicago Unveils Multifaceted Plan to Curb Emissions of Heat-Trapping Gases
by By DIRK JOHNSON
19 Sep 2008 at 3:18am
The blueprint would change the city?s building codes to promote energy efficiency, and it calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties and building alternative fueling stations.

NYT > World

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets
by By DAVID E. SANGER and NICOLE PERLROTH
19 May 2013 at 9:38pm
A cyberunit of the People?s Liberation Army in China appears to have resumed its attacks using different techniques, hitting several of the same victims it has gone after in the past.
Hezbollah Suffers Losses in Fierce Battle for Syrian City
by By ANNE BARNARD
20 May 2013 at 8:31am
Fighting in Qusayr, described as a turning point in Syria?s ongoing civil war, saw increasing casualties for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as it joined its biggest battle yet in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
Bomb Suspect?s Trip Sheds Light on Caucasus War
by By ELLEN BARRY
19 May 2013 at 8:25pm
A visit to Dagestan last year by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston bombings, has drawn attention to the guerrilla conflict in the North Caucasus.
Russia Expels Former U.S. Embassy Official
by By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and MARK MAZZETTI
19 May 2013 at 8:38pm
Thomas Firestone, a former Justice Department official who had been working in Moscow as a lawyer, was declared ?persona non grata? this month, possibly because he reportedly had rebuffed an effort to recruit him as a spy.
Killing of Pakistani Politician Shakes New Voting Round
by By SALMAN MASOOD
19 May 2013 at 3:28pm
A day after the killing of a prominent opposition party figure, turnout in a wealthy district of Karachi, Pakistan?s largest city, was minimal.
Fresh Israeli Face Plays Down Political Decline
by By JODI RUDOREN
20 May 2013 at 4:45am
Yair Lapid, the popular television host whose political rise has been undercut by the austerity budget he presented as finance minister, is trying to take the long view.
Georgian Officials React Slowly to Anti-Gay Attack
by By ANDREW ROTH and OLESYA VARTANYAN
19 May 2013 at 8:08pm
An inquiry into the attack that included rock-throwing priests caught on television cameras has led to no arrests.
North Korea Launches Missiles for 3rd Straight Day
by By CHOE SANG-HUN
20 May 2013 at 5:02am
The North has fired several short-range projectiles into the waters off its east coast since Saturday, leaving the region puzzled over its motives.

NYT > Business Day

Daily Stock Market Activity
by By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
20 May 2013 at 9:59am
Wall Street edged lower, a possible sign that profit-taking was intruding after several weeks of steady growth in the indexes.    


DealBook: Stockholder Power Faces Test at JPMorgan
by By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG and SUSANNE CRAIG
20 May 2013 at 9:58am
If shareholders separate the jobs of chairman and chief executive ? positions that Jamie Dimon has held since 2008 ? it would signal a shift in the balance of power in corporate America.    


Chesapeake Energy Hires Anadarko Executive as Chief
by By REUTERS
20 May 2013 at 9:50am
Chesapeake said it hired Robert Douglas Lawle, a senior vice president at Anadarko Petroleum, to fill the post vacated by Chesapeake?s co-founder, Aubrey McClendon.    


DealBook: Cohen Gets Subpoena in SAC Capital Trading Inquiry
by By BEN PROTESS and PETER LATTMAN
20 May 2013 at 9:47am
Steven A. Cohen, rather than be subject to broad questions from prosecutors, is expected to assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination.    


DealBook: Actavis to Buy Warner Chilcott in All-Stock Deal
by By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED
20 May 2013 at 8:16am
Actavis, a maker of generic drugs, agreed to buy the specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott for about $5 billion in stock after talks to sell itself to Valeant fell apart last month.    


You're the Boss Blog: This Week in Small Business: Gordon Ramsay Calling!
by By GENE MARKS
20 May 2013 at 7:00am
The social media lessons from the latest Gordon Ramsay? nightmare. Small-business confidence ticks up. The deficit problem is solved (for now). How to use a six-second video. Would you buy a point-of-sale system from Groupon?    


Today's Economist: Nancy Folbre: Redeeming Bangladesh
by By NANCY FOLBRE
20 May 2013 at 12:01am
The Bangladeshi factory collapse should provoke more accountability on worker safety from companies, governments and the public.    
Head of The A.P. Criticizes Seizure of Phone Records
by By RAVI SOMAIYA
19 May 2013 at 10:02pm
Gary Pruitt said the Obama administration?s handling of a leak investigation had already diminished journalists? capacity to report on the government.    

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