NSA WHISTLEBLOWER BEATS âESPIONAGE ACTâ AND DEFENDS ASSANGE
THOMAS DRAKE is a former Senior Executive of the National Security Agency (NSA), and one of only four Americans ever prosecuted under the red-scare epochâs âEspionage Act,â following his public dissent over the NSAâs extremely privacy-invading collection of US citizensâ private data under âOperation Traiblazer.â Drake prevailed legally, and the âespionageâ charge was ultimately dropped. Drake discusses WikiLeaks publisher JULIAN ASSANGEâs probable prosecution under the same law, and de tails current agency operations against privacy and due process;
Sly and the Family Stone - âSomebodyâs Watching Youâ;
Reading - An open letter to Ecuadorâs President Correa from global human rights activists petitioning for Julian Assangeâs asylum;
SCOTUS UPHOLDS âOBAMACAREâ AND INSURES INDUSTRY FINANCIAL HEALTH
The Supreme Court -- with a majority joined by conservative Chief Justice Roberts -- has upheld the âAffordable Care Actâ which leaves nearly 30 million Americans uninsured, rejects the cost benefits of a âsingle payerâ system, and mandates escalating coverage costs for the corporate insurance industry.
CLARK NEWHALL, M.D., the executive director of Health Justice [ health-justice.org ], discusses public and media misperceptions of the healthcare debate as a Democrat-Republican or liberal-conservative conflict -- rather than corporate control of politicians and legislation to benefit Americaâs gargantuan heath insurance industry. Newhall asserts that âPresident 0bama and Congress can now require every American to buy a lousy product at an inflated price"; and
DAVID HIMMELSTEIN, M.D., is a Harvard medical professor and cofounder of Physicians for a National Health Program [ pnhp.org ]. The doctor discusses how âObamacareâ creates a triage system of second-class coverage, does not control escalating costs, and would create catastrophic budgets for moderate income persons vulnerable to financial ruin in the event of serious illness.
Anchor: Robert Knight Producer: Thiago Barrozo Engineer: Michael G. Haskins Origin: WBAI/Pacifica