democracy now

President Barack Obama’s first official trip to China resulted in no firm agreements and has been criticized as being tightly scripted by Beijing. British journalist Martin Jacques, author of “When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order,” discusses Obama’s visit and the future of US–Chinese relations. Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar talks about plans for Iraq to hold elections in January which are now up in the air after Iraq’s vice president vetoed part of an election law over the allocation of seats to Iraqis displaced by the U.S.

Leaders from most of the world are gathered in Rome to tackle hunger on a global scale at the UN World Food Summit, but leaders of the world’s richest countries are largely absent. We talk with author Raj Patel about why that is. In the news: University of California regents are meeting Thurs. to vote on a major tuition hike; students and staff, meanwhile, prepare for system-wide strikes that day to protest funding cuts. And a coalition of more than 80 environmental, family farm and consumer advocacy organizations has asked the Senate Finance Committee to reject Pres.

A "Democracy Now!" special program dedicated to Yip Harburg (1896-1981), the man who put the rainbow in "The Wizard of Oz." Harburg wrote such hits as “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?,” "April in Paris" and "Over the Rainbow." His son, Ernie, tells of his father's early life, collaboration with the Gershwins, his Broadway days and blacklisting for his socialist beliefs. Watch the powerful story and hear the music of the lyricist who once wrote: "Songs have always been man's anodyne against tyranny and terror." "Democracy Now!" is a daily independent newshour.

Investigative journalist Aram Roston traces how the Pentagon’s civilian contractors in Afghanistan end up paying insurgent groups to protect American supply routes from attack. The EPA directed Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel to remove or edit a YouTube video that warns a cap and trade plan will not effectively combat global warming and is "fatally flawed." The couple instead advocate for a solution involving carbon fees with rebates. And a new documentary looks at a man once described as the most hated and most loved lawyer in America: the late William Kunstler.