Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Injustice System - Interview with former lifer


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Mon, Oct 3, 2011


On January 30, 1981, Dwight A. Hunter walked into an old countryside neighborhood store. Bludgeoning the storeowner, Hunter then robbed the old man of his life, his pickup truck and $1,500 in cash. It would be a day he would never forget: Not only was he desperate to feed his family it was also his 20th birthday. After serving 28 years of a life sentence for his crime, Hunter was released in April 2009. By that time he was a changed man, determined in knowing that, while he can never return the life he took away, he would spend what was left of his life making amends for his actions. In his recently-published autobiography, "From One Thoughtless Act" The true story of homicide and one man's redemption in the state of despair, Hunter describes in vivid detail the life he led on the inside, including his multiple nervous breakdowns, sexual encounters, and ultimately, his redemption and faith in the sacrifice of Christ and the mercy of Almighty God. Today, as a public speaker and youth advocate, Hunter now reaches out to other inmates; speaks to various groups regarding the challenges today's youth face รข and how they can avoid the pitfalls; and serves as a liaison to public servants when requested. He will attend college in January 2011, majoring in Spanish as a Second Language, in his effortsRobbery and Murder to reach others from diverse backgrounds with his message of hope and redemption. A father, grandfather, son, brother and friend, Dwight Hunter currently resides in NC with his biggest supporter, his steadfast mother, who remained by his side during his 28-year incarceration and beyond.


Democracy Now! Tuesday, October 4, 2011





Democracy Now! Tuesday, October 4, 2011



A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice warns changes to voting laws could strip the voting rights of more than 5 million people — a higher number than the margin of victory in two of the last three presidential elections. Its findings reveal some 3.2 million people in Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin do not have the state identification they will now need to vote. Others will be kept from the voting booth by tougher restrictions for convicted prisoners and laws requiring proof of U.S. citizenship. In 2012, states that have cracked down on voting rights will account for 63 percent of the 270 Electoral College votes needed for a presidential victory. We speak with Ari Berman, author of the new article in Rolling Stone magazine, “The GOP War on Voting," and with ProPublica reporter Lois Beckett, who co-wrote, "The Hidden Hands in Redistricting: Corporations and Other Powerful Interests," about how money is helping re-shape Congressional districts along partisan lines, a practice known as gerrymandering.


On Monday, we reported a final settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman, along with producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, challenging the police crackdown on journalists at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. We play excerpts of a news conference of our announcement, held yesterday in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, where hundreds are camped out with the Occupy Wall Street protest. We were joined by our attorneys to announce the settlement, Steven Reiss of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Anjana Samant of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “There is a reason why freedom of the press is in the First Amendment. Because without freedom of the press, there is no democracy,” Reiss says. “That is a lesson that applies not just abroad. We have seen many times in recent months abroad, it applies here as well.”


Over the weekend, Egyptian political parties dropped a threat to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, the first multi-candidate vote since the ouster longtime president, Hosni Mubarak. The parties agreed to take part in the vote after Egypt’s ruling military council vowed to amend a voting law that would have made it easier for former Mubarak allies to return to government. But the military council’s shift fell short of ongoing demands by opposition activists for an end to the military trials of civilians and the lifting of 30-year-old emergency laws. Meanwhile, freedom of the press in Egypt is becoming increasingly limited and a massive strike is underway by teachers and other government workers. Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous has been reporting in Egypt since January, and he joins us in our New York studio just before he returns to Cairo.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Democracy Now! Podcast, September 28, 2011 - Troy Davis and the Machinery of Death

Troy Davis and the Machinery of Death
Posted on Sep 27, 2011
By Amy Goodman


On Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., Troy Anthony Davis was scheduled to die. I was reporting live from outside Georgia’s death row in Jackson, awaiting news about whether the Supreme Court would spare his life.

Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. Seven of the nine nonpolice witnesses later recanted or changed their testimony, some alleging police intimidation for their original false statements. One who did not recant was the man who many have named as the actual killer. No physical evidence linked Davis to the shooting.

Davis, one of more than 3,200 prisoners on death row in the U.S., had faced three prior execution dates. With each one, global awareness grew. Amnesty International took up his case, as did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Calls for clemency came from Pope Benedict XVI, former FBI Director William Sessions and former Republican Georgia Congressman Bob Barr. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, in granting a stay of execution in 2007, wrote that it “will not allow an execution to proceed in this state unless ... there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.”

But it is just that doubt that has galvanized so much global outrage over this case. As we waited, the crowd swelled around the prison, with signs saying “Too Much Doubt” and “I Am Troy Davis.” Vigils were being held around the world, in places such as Iceland, England, France and Germany. Earlier in the day, prison authorities handed us a thin press kit. At 3 p.m., it said, Davis would be given a “routine physical.”

Routine? Physical? At a local church down the road, Edward DuBose, the president of Georgia’s NAACP chapter, spoke, along with human rights leaders, clergy and family members who had just left Davis. DuBose questioned the physical, “so that they could make sure he’s physically fit, so that they can strap him down, so that they could put the murder juice in his arm? Make no mistake: They call it an execution. We call it murder.”

Davis had turned down a special meal. The press kit described the standard fare Davis would be offered: “grilled cheeseburgers, oven-browned potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, cookies and grape beverage.” It also listed the lethal cocktail that would follow: “Pentobarbital. Pancuronium bromide. Potassium chloride. Ativan (sedative).” The pentobarbital anesthetizes, the pancuronium bromide paralyzes, and the potassium chloride stops the heart. Davis refused the sedative, and the last supper.

By 7 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court was reportedly reviewing Davis’ plea for a stay. The case was referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who hails from Pin Point, Ga., a community founded by freed slaves that is near Savannah, where Davis had lived.

The chorus for clemency grew louder. Allen Ault, a former warden of Georgia’s death row prison who oversaw five executions there, sent a letter to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, co-signed by five other retired wardens or directors of state prisons. They wrote: “While most of the prisoners whose executions we participated in accepted responsibility for the crimes for which they were punished, some of us have also executed prisoners who maintained their innocence until the end. It is those cases that are most haunting to an executioner.”

The Supreme Court denied the plea. Davis’ execution began at 10:53 p.m. A prison spokesperson delivered the news to the reporters outside: time of death, 11:08 p.m.

The eyewitnesses to the execution stepped out. According to an Associated Press reporter who was there, these were Troy Davis’ final words: “I’d like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I’m not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight. For those about to take my life, God have mercy on your souls. And may God bless your souls.”

The state of Georgia took Davis’ body to Atlanta for an autopsy, charging his family for the transportation. On Troy Davis’ death certificate, the cause of death is listed simply as “homicide.”

As I stood on the grounds of the prison, just after Troy Davis was executed, the Department of Corrections threatened to pull the plug on our broadcast. The show was over. I was reminded what Gandhi reportedly answered when asked what he thought of Western civilization: “I think it would be a good idea.”

Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 900 stations in North America. She is the author of “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.

© 2011 Amy Goodman
Distributed by King Features Syndicate


Democracy Now! Monday, October 3, 2011


Today's Headlines
NYPD Arrests Over 700 on Brooklyn Bridge in Ongoing Occupy …
International Protests Erupt in Portugal, Greece, England
U.S. Confirms Death Of Second U.S. Citizen In Yemen Drone …
Afghan President Karzai Suspends Talks With Taliban
Libya: Shelling Prevents Red Cross Convoy In Besieged Town …
Thousands Attend Funeral For Executed Death Row Prisoner …
Koch Brothers Exposed For Trading With Iran, Bribing …
Rick Perry Under Fire For Racially Offensive Hunting Camp …
Virginia Nuclear Reactors Remain Shut Down More Than Five …
Jewish Settlers Blamed For Burning Israeli Mosque, U.S. …
Government Probe Confirms Major New York City Public School …
Settlement Reached Over Arrest of Amy Goodman, Democracy …

Settlement Reached Over Arrest of Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Producers at 2008 GOP Convention

A final settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit challenging the police crackdown on journalists reporting on the 2008 Republican National Convention and protests in St. Paul, Minnesota. Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman, along with former producers Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous, filed the lawsuit last year against the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, the Ramsey County Sheriff and United States Secret Service personnel. The lawsuit challenged the policies and conduct of law enforcement during the 2008 RNC that resulted in their arrests. They were among dozens of journalists arrested that week in St. Paul. The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation paid by the St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments and the Secret Service. The settlement also includes an agreement by the St. Paul police department to implement a training program aimed at educating officers regarding the First Amendment rights of the press and public with respect to police operations, including proper procedures for dealing with the press covering demonstrations.

700 Arrested on Brooklyn Bridge as Occupy Wall Street Enters Third Week, Protests Grows Nationwide

The "Occupy Wall Street" protests in the financial district took a dramatic turn on Saturday when protesters tried to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. When police arrested 700 of the demonstrators, the event quickly turned into one of the largest arrests of non-violent protesters in recent history. Some protesters claim police lured them onto oncoming traffic on the bridge’s roadway; others said they did not hear instructions from police telling them to use the pedestrian walkway. Meanwhile, similar "Occupation" protests have spread to other cities, including Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, where hundreds of protesters are now camped out in front of City Hall. We host a roundtable discussion with Marisa Holmes, an organizer with the main organizing group of Occupy Wall Street, called the General Assembly, Marina Sitrin, an attorney who is part of Occupy Wall Street’s legal working group, and Laurie Penny, a writer and journalist who reported on protests in London earlier this summer

Mourners Call For Abolishing Death Penalty at Funeral for Troy Davis in Georgia

This weekend in Savannah, Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis was laid to rest. Davis was killed by lethal injection in Jackson, Georgia on Sept. 21 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop his execution. The 2,000-seat Jonesville Baptist Church was filled to capacity for his funeral. While his body was being lowered into the burial ground, 23 doves were released. The first was symbolic of his spirit, and the remaining 22 represented each year Davis spent in prison. He was convicted of the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, and there was no physical evidence that tied Davis to the crime scene. Democracy Now! was in Savannah for the funeral and we play excerpts from the eulogies by Jason Ewart, Troy Davis’s attorney and an eyewitness to his execution; Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP; Larry Cox, president of Amnesty International USA; Lou DuBose, president of NAACP-Georgia; Lenda Sullivan-Russell, friend of Troy Davis; Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church; Antone’ De’Juan Davis-Correia, nephew of Troy Davis.

Legendary Comedian Dick Gregory On Hunger Strike To Protest Capital Punishment, Death of Troy Davis

Civil rights activist and comedian Dick Gregory was among the people who filled the 2,000-capacity Jonesville Baptist Church that hosted Troy Davis’ funeral on Saturday in Savannah, Georgia. Afterward, he told Democracy Now! he was starting a year-long hunger strike that night to protest against the death penalty. “I will not be eating solid food until next fall,” Gregory says. He called on others to pray and meditate that “the truth will come out” in Davis’ conviction for the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail — a crime which Davis has always maintained he did not commit.

Martina Correia, Sister of Troy Davis, Vows to Keep Fighting Death Penalty

After the funeral on Saturday of Troy Anthony Davis, executed by the state of Georgia on Sept. 21, we spoke with his sister, Martina Correia. She fought for her brothers life, at the same time she fought for her own as she battled breast cancer. “I know we will be able to abolish the death penalty. Everyone is asking the question, why kill when there is doubt? We are no longer going to except that,” Correia says.


The environment - Climate Change


Sunday, October 2, 2011

A Look at Michael Moore


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Sat, Oct 1, 2011 10:00PM

Democracy Now Michael Moore 9/28 and 29/2011

"Something Has Started": Michael Moore on the Occupy Wall St. Protests That Could Spark a Movement
"Here Comes Trouble": Michael Moore Tells The Formative Tales Behind His Filmmaking, Rabble-Rousing
Michael Moore: Man Interviewed by Democracy Now! Inspired My Georgia Boycott Over Troy Davis Execution
Michael Moore: Health Insurers Use Costlier Premiums to Fund Campaigns Against Critics Like Me
Michael Moore Backs Call to Re-Open Investigation of 9/11 Attacks
Keith Olbermann - Wendell Potter Apologizes To Michael Moore
Uploaded by SuchIsLifeVideos on Nov 22, 2010
Wendell Potter apologizes to Michael Moore for the role he played in the insurance industry's public relations attack campaign against him and "Sicko", which was about the increasingly unfair and dysfunctional U.S. health care system.


Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Castle of Hope For Lost Souls - Binge Drinking


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Fri, Sep 30, 2011

Are you down and out? Do you have addictions that you want to get rid of? Have you lost Hope? Do you think you are losing your mind? Do you need to learn how to cope with the problems of life and death?

Maybe, just maybe, I can help. The solution is within you and I want to help you find that solution. 
First we need to find out why. 

Second we have to help you find your soul. 

Then we have to teach you to know yourself, love yourself and be yourself.