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Facing Fierce Protest, Mexico's Calderon Takes Power in Unprecedented
Midnight Ceremony; Opposition Lawmakers Vow to Block Inauguration
Colorado Couple Win Battle to Keep Holiday Peace Wreath on
Home
Extraordinary Rendition Victim in U.S. to Appeal Lawsuit
Dismissal
Hundreds to Attend Sean Bell Funeral, Community Leaders Criticize
NYPD For Raids
Facing Fierce Protest, Mexico's Calderon Takes Power
in Unprecedented Midnight Ceremony; Opposition Lawmakers Vow
to Block Inauguration
Felipe Calderon has taken over as Mexico's president in
an unusual midnight ceremony at the presidential residence
in Mexico City. Opposition lawmakers are vowing to physically
block him from being inaugurated in Congress. Meanwhile, tension
remains high in the southern state of Oaxaca where the federal
police are attempting to crush a popular uprising. [includes
rush
transcript]
In Mexico, opposition lawmakers are vowing to physically
block Felipe Calderon from being inaugurated today as Mexico's
next president.
Calderon has been widely accused by supporters of Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador of stealing July's election. Lopez Obrador
has refused to recognize the election results and claims that
he is the legitimate president of Mexico. He is planning to
lead a major protest in Mexico City today.
Early this morning outgoing Mexican president Vicente Fox
transferred power to Calderon in a midnight ceremony at the
presidential residence. Then Calderon addressed the nation.
- Felipe Calderon, national televised address.
Tension has been rising inside the Mexican Congress as well.
On Tuesday supporters of Lopez Obrador and Calderon began
fist-fighting on the floor on Congress. Injured lawmakers
had to be carried out of the building.
Calderon's inauguration comes as tension remains high in
the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca where the federal police
are attempting to crush a popular uprising. On Saturday police
arrested over 150 protesters following a large protest march
and more have been detained or disappeared since as police
search for members of APPO, the Popular Assembly of the Peoples
of Oaxaca. Several leaders of APPO have reportedly disappeared
including a chief spokesperson Cesar Mateos Benitez. Meanwhile
protesters have surrendered control of a university radio
station that they had converted into Radio APPO.
- David Brooks, U.S. Bureau Chief for the Mexican daily
newspaper La Jornada.
- John Gibler, independent journalist based in Mexico.
He joins us on the line from Mexico City.
Colorado Couple Win Battle to Keep Holiday Peace
Wreath on Home
A Colorado couple has won their battle to keep a holiday
wreath shaped like a peace sign on the front of their house.
Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco recently received a letter from
the board of their homeowners association threatening them
with fines of $25 a day unless they removed the peace wreath.
[includes rush
transcript]
A Colorado couple has won their battle to keep a holiday
wreath shaped like a peace sign on the front of their house.
Last week, Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco received a letter
from the board of their homeowners association threatening
them with fines of $25 a day unless they removed the peace
wreath from their house.
The couple refused and as word spread, others in their town
put up peace wreaths in solidarity. Earlier this week, there
was a march of people carrying peace signs through the center
of town. And a peace wreath has been placed on a bell tower
in the middle of the town square. The town website also posted
a message saying that it wholly supported the Jensen/Trimarco
wreath and "also wishes for peace on Earth."
The three-member board has withdrawn their demand, issued
an apology to the couple and resigned from the association.
- Lisa Jensen, put up holiday wreath in the shape of a
peace sign on the front of their house.
Extraordinary Rendition Victim in U.S. to Appeal
Lawsuit Dismissal
Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen, was abducted by the CIA
and flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan where he was tortured.
He has traveled to the United States for the first time in
an attempt to seek answers about his case. We play excerpts
of a press conference he held with his attorneys this week
in Washington DC. [includes rush
transcript]
A German citizen who was abducted by the CIA and flown to
a secret prison in Afghanistan has traveled to the United
States for the first time in an attempt to seek answers about
his case.
Khaled el-Masri was seized on December 31, 2003 while on
a holiday in Macedonia. He was detained for five months and
then released.
Earlier this week the American Civil Liberties Union filed
a lawsuit on his behalf. At a press conference on Wednesday,
the ACLU's Anthony Romero introduced Khaled el-Masri.
- Anthony Romero, head of the ACLU.
El-Masri briefly explained his ordeal through a translator.
- Khaled el-Masri, suing CIA over extraordinary rendition.
El-Masri's legal team is still seeking answers as to what
happened to him.
- Steven Watt, attorney for Khaled El-Masri
At Wednesday's press conference El-Masri also spoke about
conditions inside the CIA prison in Afghanistan where he said
other detainees spoke about being tortured.
- Khaled el-Masri, suing CIA over extraordinary rendition.
Hundreds to Attend Sean Bell Funeral, Community Leaders
Criticize NYPD For Raids
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral of
Sean Bell today at the Community Church of Christ, in Jamaica,
Queens. It is being held in the same church where the 23-year-old
Bell was supposed to be married last Saturday to his high
school sweetheart. Meanwhile, community leaders are now accusing
the police of also harassing friends of Sean Bell when they
raided an apartment in Queens and arrested four people who
knew Bell. [includes rush
transcript]
Here in New York, hundreds of people are expected to attend
the funeral of Sean Bell today at the Community Church of
Christ, in Jamaica, Queens. It is being held in the same church
where the 23-year-old Bell was supposed to be married last
Saturday to his high school sweetheart. But hours before the
wedding ceremony, he was killed when five undercover police
officers fired 50 shots at a car carrying him and two friends.
They had just left his bachelors party at a club in Queens.
Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield survived the shooting but
remain hospitalized. None of the victims were armed.
The police officers have been widely criticized - even by
Mayor Michael Bloomberg - of using excessive force. The Rev.
Jesse Jackson said of the shooting, "this is a symbol,
not an aberration. Our criminal justice system has broken
down for black Americans and young black males."
Community leaders in Queens are now accusing the police of
also harassing friends of Sean Bell. On Thursday morning,
police raided an apartment in Queens and arrested four people
who knew Bell. The police claim they are trying to determine
if there was a fourth man in the car with Bell who might have
had a weapon. Meanwhile the New York Police Department has
announced it would review its undercover operations because
of the fatal shooting.
- Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now! Co-Host and Daily New Columnist.
Read Juan's latest column.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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