A new book by legal scholar and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. It’s simply been redesigned, and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system. [includes rush transcript]

Doris “Granny D” Haddock, one of the leading fighters for campaign finance reform in the United States, died on Tuesday at the age of 100. In 1999, just shy of her ninetieth birthday, Granny D walked 3,200 miles across the country to promote campaign finance reform. She is widely credited for galvanizing the public support that helped pass the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act in 2002. We replay an excerpt of a 2004 interview with Granny D in the midst of her campaign for the US Senate against New Hampshire incumbent Judd Gregg. [includes rush transcript]

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins us to discuss two House debates in which he’s played a central role this week. The Ohio Democrat is threatening to vote against his party’s healthcare reform package because it does not contain a robust public option. Meanwhile, Kucinich’s bill to force the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan was taken up on Wednesday. After a rare three-and-a-half-hour debate on the war, the majority of House Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the measure. [includes rush transcript]

• PA Rejects Talks with Israel in Settlement Row
• Report: Israel Plans 50,000 New Units in West Bank
• Civil Trial Begins over Israeli Army Killing of Rachel Corrie
• Gates Pledges Weapons Aid to Saudi Arabia
• Préval: US Lawmakers Rejecting Direct Aid to Haitian Gov't
• Burma Bars Political Opponents from Elections
• Labor Dept: Unemployment Increases in 30 States
• Senate OKs $138B Jobs Measure
• Proposed Consumer Agency Won't Regulate Major Lenders
• White House Faces Opposition to Overhauling Student Loans
• Dems to Bar Federal Earmarks for Corporations
• Judge Instructs Fed Agencies to Resume ACORN Funding
• Kansas City Announces Major School Closures, Layoffs
• UN Rapporteur: Obama Admin Should Probe Torture
• State Dept. Awards 10 with International Women of Courage Award

• Haiti’s president meets with Obama and US lawmakers over debt relief and reconstruction
• Congress debates ending Afghan war
• Israeli construction in East Jerusalem threatens renewed peace talks
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• Transition of power in Chile as country continues recovery from earthquake
• Exiled Tibetans in India mark key anniversary with calls for action

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Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old student from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago as she stood before a Palestinian home facing demolition. Today, a trial opens in Israel in a lawsuit brought by Corrie’s family against the Israeli government. The eyewitness testimony is expected to challenge Israel’s version of events with evidence that she was clearly visible to the soldiers, standing before the bulldozer in her florescent orange jacket. We spend the hour with Rachel Corrie’s family: her father Craig, her mother Cindy, and her sister Sarah. [includes rush transcript]

• Israel Announces Major Settlement Expansion Amid Biden Visit
• NY Activists Protest Israeli Military Chief
• Préval in US Ahead of Aid Request
• EU: Climate Proposals Could Increase Emissions
• India Advances Historic Measure on Women Lawmakers
• Ex-UK Intel Chief: US Misled Allies on Treatment of Prisoners
• Thousands Protest Insurers in DC
• Utah Gov. Signs Anti-Abortion Measure
• Study: Number of US Millionaires Increased 16% in 2009
• Bank of America to End Overdraft Fees on Debit Purchases
• 1st Gay Marriages Performed in DC
• Veteran Activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock Dies at 100

• Momentum grows for action on health care reform
• California prison workers go on strike over health care hikes
• Renewed effort for climate change legislation focus of White House meeting
• Energy independence linked to national security risks
• Brazil announces trade sanctions on US products, highlighting role of government subsidies

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The official death toll from the war is 100,000, but it is widely estimated to be much higher, perhaps even as high as one million. In his latest piece of artwork, Iraqi American artist Wafaa Bilal tries to grapple with the enormity of these numbers. It’s a twenty-four-hour live tattooing performance called “..and Counting” that began at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts gallery in New York Monday night. By tonight Bilal’s back will be tattooed with the names of Iraqi cities, 5,000 red dots representing dead American soldiers and 100,000 dots in invisible ink representing the official death toll for Iraqis. The dots representing the Iraqi death toll will only be visible under ultraviolet light. [includes rush transcript]

Major environmental groups are coming under criticism from within their own ranks for taking positions that some say are antithetical to their stated missions of saving the planet. In the latest issue of The Nation magazine, the British journalist Johann Hari writes, “As we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world’s worst polluters—and burying science-based environmentalism in return…In the middle of a swirl of bogus climate scandals trumped up by deniers, here is the real Climategate.” [includes rush transcript]

• Obama Campaigns for Healthcare Reform
• Former Rep. Massa Claims He Was Forced Out over Healthcare Bill
• Protests Planned Outside Health Insurance Company Meeting
• Gates: “More Dark Days” Ahead in Afghanistan
• Claim: Pentagon Peddled Misinformation about Attack on Marjah
• Nigerians Bury Dead After Massacre
• Greek PM Calls for Crackdown on Financial Speculators
• Biden: US Ties to Israel Are “Unshakable”
• Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh Face Starvation
• UN Official Warns Against Full Body Airport Scanners
• Midwestern Towns Sue Manufacturer of Atrazine Weedkiller
• Interior Dept. Puts Off Listing Sage Grouse as Endangered Species
• Obama Criticized for Adding Just Two Species to Endangered List
• Conservationist Edgar Wayburn, 103, Dies

• In Burkina Faso, commemoration of Women’s Day draws attention to cotton industry
• Women in Haiti press for larger political voice
• Investigation finds systemic failures in confronting sexual assault on US campuses
• Secretary of Education marks civil rights event with pledge to address inequality in education
• San Francisco high school for immigrants set to close after three decades

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On Sunday, March 7th, 1965, Alabama state troopers and local police attacked a peaceful march by 600 civil rights demonstrators from Selma to Montgomery. The day would be remembered as Bloody Sunday. The marchers were just a few blocks into their planned route when they were tear-gassed and beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River. Bloody Sunday was the first of three attempted marches from Selma to Montgomery, which was finally completed under federal protection and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is widely credited with helping pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act. [includes rush transcript]

Sunday was an historic day in Hollywood. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win the best director award at the Oscars. Bigelow’s film The Hurt Locker won a total of six Oscars, including best picture and best screenplay. And Geoffrey Fletcher became the first African American to win an Oscar for best writing. He won best adapted screenplay for the film Precious. Meanwhile, Mo’Nique won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Mary Jones in Precious. Mo’Nique is only the fifth black woman to win an acting Oscar. In her acceptance speech, she cited Hattie McDaniel, who won the same honor for Gone with the Wind seventy years ago. Hattie McDaniel was the first Academy Award ever given to a black performer. [includes rush transcript]

The Obama administration is working to gather international backing for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. While the United States has circulated proposals on further sanctions, it has yet to present a draft resolution, and a vote at the Security Council is thought to be months away. This comes amidst a new report by the New York Times that reveals the US government has given more than $107 billion to companies which are also doing business with Iran despite a ban on US companies trading with Iran. Leading Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi argues the UN should focus on pressing the Iranian government to restore democracy and human rights, rather than imposing economic sanctions. [includes rush transcript]

Thousands of events are being held around the world to celebrate International Women’s Day, an idea that was launched 100 years ago when a group of women from seventeen countries gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark to champion the rights of women. Activists across the globe are drawing attention to a variety of concerns, including discriminatory laws, the high rate of pregnancy-related deaths in many parts of the world, the skewed sex ratio in China and India, the disproportionately high number of women who are killed and victimized by wars, the comparatively heavier burden of poverty on women, and the continuing disparity between men and women in terms of the quality of available employment and wages received. [includes rush transcript]

• Vote Counting Begins in Iraq; 38 Killed on Election Day
• British War Resister Sentenced to Nine Months in Jail
• US-Backed Somali Troops Prepare Major Offensive
• Hundreds Killed in Nigerian City of Jos
• Biden Heads to Israel as Palestinians Agree to Indirect Talks
• Protests Set to Mark US Visit by Israeli Military Official
• Report: US Gives $107B in Contracts to Firms Busting Iran Sanctions
• Voters in Iceland Reject Payment of $5.3 Billion Foreign Debt
• Unemployment Rate Remains at 9.7%; 36,000 Jobs Lost in February
• Rep. Massa to Resign; Rep. Delahunt Not to Seek Reelection
• Pentagon Shooter Railed About Property Rights and the Monetary System
• Texas Judge: Death Penalty Unconstitutional
• Seven Muslims Detained in Nevada for Praying Outside
• Video Shows Police Beating Student Protesters in California
• Historic Night at Academy Awards