Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20240714

Agents swept through seven chicken plants and arrested nearly 700 people. The raid came on the first day of school, leaving scores o of weeping children without their parents. We will go to mississippi to speak with jackson mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in mississippi immigrant rights alliance. Then United Nations top climate scientists warn humans are consuming land and Water Resources at an unprecedented rate with the destructive effect of the Climate Crisis increasingly threatening thehe future security ofof hundreds of millions of people. The way we could use food and what we eat contributes to the and of natural ecosystems declining biodiversity. Today, 500 Million People live in areas that experience this. Amy we will speak with one of the u. N. Scientists who authored the report and look at explosive new revelations that u. S. Agribusiness giant monsanto ran a Fusion Center to surveil and discredit journalists, activists, and musicians like neil young who criticized or damn reportsi about its productsn. Speak with h one of the journalists. They have gone after journalists at magazines and newspapers around the world. Carey anyone who does not at the talking points, who tries to bring truth to light, who uncovers facts that are not beneficial to month center monsanto. Amy we will speak with carey gillam. We will also speak with gary ruskin, cofounder of another targeted group, u. S. Right to know. All of that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell said thursday he and he willll not convene a specl Senate Session to take up gun contntrol legigislation sayingne and President Trump are crafting bills to tighten federal gun laws when Congress Returns from the august recess. His claim came as republican leaders, who have long resisted any new restrictions on gun ownership, come under intense pressure to do something about gun violence following last weekends Mass Shootings in dayton, ohio, and el paso, texas, which left 31 dead and dozens injured. Mcconnell told a kentucky Radio Station hes preparing to move on legislation to expand background checks on gun purchases and a redflag law that would allow courtordered confiscation of guns from a person deemed a threat. The claim drew skepticism from democrats, who noted mcconnell has an a rating from the National Rifle association. This comes as moms demand action and Ohio Democratic Congress Member and 2020 president ial hopeful tim ryan completed a 400mile march to senator mcconnells hometown louisville, a rally of 1500 peoplele. They are demanding the senate take up comprehensive gun reform bills passed by the house more than half a year ago. New details have emerged about wednesdays visit to el paso, texas, by the president and first lady melania trump. Reporters wewere barred from the trumps as they toured the University Medical center of el paso, where victims of saturdays mass shooting were treated. None of the eight susurvivors wo were still receiving treatment agreed to meetith the presidenent. But t a cellphonvidedeo given no local station kdbc shows the president smiling and laugughing with medical w workers as he boasts about thehe size of a crd atat a Trump Campaign rally in el paso in fefebruary while disparaging a competing Campaign Rally held by beto orourke. Pres. Trump that was someme crowd. We had twice t the number outsi. Ththen you had this crazy beto. Beto had like 400 people in a paparking lot. Amy cnn reports a hosospital official said President Trump showed a an absence of empathy during the visit. On thursday, melania trumps twitter account published a photo from the trip showing the first lady holding a twomonthold infant who was orphaned when both her parents were gunned down saturday. In the photo, President Trump stands next to his wife, flashing a thumbs up sign. Both the president and first lady are grinning widely. Relatives brought the child back to the hospital for the trumps visit. The childs parents, jordan and andre anchondo, died as they shielded their baby from the alleged white supremacist shooter whose online manifesto, published moments before the assault, echoed President Trumps rhetoric about an invasion of immigrants. The baby was grazed by a bullet and was treated for broken fingers. In springfield, missouri, a 20yearold white man wearing body armor sparked panic and chaos thursday morning when he showed up at a Walmart Store cacarrying two loaded guns and over 100 rounds of ammunition. The man proceeded to push a shopping cart around the store, filming himself on a cell phone. A manager triggered the fire alarm and called police. The man was detained at gunpoint by an armed offduty firefighter before Police Arrived and arrested him without a shot being fired. In wayne county, ohio, local police and the fbi are investigating an explosion and house fire as a possible hate crime after racist graffiti and a swastika were found painted at the scene. The house, in the town of Sterling South of cleveland, is home to an interracial couple. They were not at home early wednesday morning at the time of the fire, which devastated the property. In louisiana, buzzfeed newews reports over 100 immigrants were teargassed, shot with rubber bullets, beaten, and put in solitary confinement after they launched a Hunger Strike at the pine prairie Ice Processing Center over the weekend. This happened just one day after guards at a separate louisiana immigration jail peppersprayed more than 30 immigrants for also going on a Hunger Strike according to the Advocacy Group freedom for immigrants. The Group Published photos showing what appear to be wounds from crowd control weapons on the bodies of men detained at pine prairie. Ice had previously denied anyone was injured and that just a brief, calculated use of pepper spray was employed against the immigrants on Hunger Strike. This comes as ice officials in mississippi said they released 300 mostly latino workers swept up in the largest single state immigration raid in u. S. History. Wednesdays round up of 680 workers at seven poultry plants came on the first day of the school year and left scores of children traumatized and crying further parents. After the headlines, we will go to mississippi to speak with jackson mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the director of the mississippi immigrant alliance. A 41yearold man from detroit, michigan, was found d dead in baghdad onon tuesday, just t two montnths after u. S. Authorities deported himo o iraq. Jimmy aldaoud, an n iraqi natiol who was brought to the u. S. As an infant, was deported in june as part of the trump administrations crackdown on immigrants from iraq and other muslimmajority countries. A frfriend said aldaouds deathh was likely dueue to his inabiliy to obtbtain insulin to treat his didiabetes. Aldaoud struggled d with schizophrenia and bipolar disorderer. He had no famimi or friendnds in iraq and d did not speak arabic. He was born in greece and came to the u. S. When he was six months old. In a video posted to facebook from baghdad before of his death, aldaoud said he pleaded with ice agents not to deport him. I begged them. Ive never been there before. I am here now and i dont understand the language. Im diabetic. I take insulin shots. I have been throwing up. Amy aldaoud was from a minority Christian Community thatat has been severely persecuted in iraq. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Representing iraqi immigrants said, jimmys death has devastated his family and us. We knew he would not survive if deported. What we dont know is how many more people ice will send to their deaths. In new york city the director of , a brooklyn homeless shelter says she turned d e agents a awy tuesdaday night after they faild to proroduce a warrant. Last month widespread mass rates by immigration agents did not materialize as immigrant rights Advocacy Groups across the country urged people to not open the doors to ice agents unless they produced a warrant. Those who came to the brooklyn homeless shelter just had a photo of a person. In hong kong, hundreds of prodemocracy activists are occupy in the main airport as they kick off a week in a direct action protest, demanding the resignation of carrie lam. Investigation into violence against t them as traitors against protesters. President trump said thursday he will name Joseph Maguire as his acting director of National Intelligence. Maguire is the current head of the National Counterterrorism center and a retired vice admiral who once oversaw navy seseal teamsms as head of the special warfare command. His promotion comes after trump blocked Deputy Director of National Intelligence sue gordon from taking over as acting director. On thursday trump confirmed gordon will be leaving the administration. The current director of national she resigned. Intelligence, dan coats, announced last month he would retire in midaugust after repeatedly clashing with the president over Robert Muellers investigation and trumps frequent attacks on intelligence agencies. An explosive new report by the guardian reveals that u. S. Agribusiness giant monsanto ran a Fusion Center to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who publicly criticized or wrote damning reports about monsantos popular weed killer roundup. Documents show the collected extensive information on neil young, paid google to promote search results that cast critics unfavorably, and contacted at least one reporters editor in hopes of having her fired. She wrote a book about monsanto. Later in the broadcast, well speak to that reporter, carey gillam, as well as gary ruskin ofof the group u. S. Right to kn, which was also targeted by monsanto. Brazils Supreme Court has barred the government of farright president Jair Bolsonaro from launching an investigation into journalist Glenn Greenwald and the intercept brasil. Last month, bolsonaro threatened to impmprison greenwald after he published leaked messages implicating Justice Minister sergio moro in a possible plot to smear and convict former brazilian president t Luiz Inaco Lula da silva. In a a sweeping ruling thursday, the Supreme Court led the governments attempts to investigate greenwald and the intercept violated brazils constitution and would constitute an unambiguous act of censorship. Meanwhile, back in the United States, federal judge has dedend a request by u. S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning to reconsider mounting fines imposed on her for refusing to cooperate in a federal grand jury investigation into wikileaks. The penalties began at 500 per day and have now risen to 1000 daily as manning refuses to testify about her leak of hundreds of thousands of secret state department and pentagon documents to wikileaks, including evidence of u. S. War crimes. She remains in jail. Customers of soul cycle and equinox have launched a boycott following reports that Miami Dolphins owner stephen ross a major shareholder in the highend fitness chain is planning a fundraiser for Donald Trumps campaign. President trump is expected to attend the event in the hamptons this weekend, which promises donors a photo with the president for a 100,000 or a private roundtable discussion with trump for 250,000. Ahead of the event, dolphins receiver kenny stills noted that ross is founder of the Nonprofit Group rise, which seeks to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. Sills tweeted in reply you cant have a nonprofit with this Mission Statement then open your doors to trump. And californias governor has granted pardrdons to seven peope who transformed their lives after spending years in prison, most of them for lowlevel nonviolent drug offenses. Among ththose pardononed was los angeles activist susan burton, foundeder and exececutive direcr of a n new way of life, a nonprofit that p provides housig and d other supppport to forormy incacarcerated w women. In her memoir becoming ms. Burton, she describes her journey from a childhood filledd with abuse to drug addiciction s an adult and then to the fight to address thehe underlyining is thatat send womemen to prisoson. Thisis is Susan N Burton speakig on democracy now we spend hundreds of thousands a year on a person just wawarehousing g and incarcrcerating them. Aboutifornia, it runs 67,000 year, depending on how healthy you are come up into the hundreds of thousands. When you get back to the community, you cant get any type of support or serviceces. It j jusnot make s sense to me. They may go to see the full hour with susan burton, go to dedemocracynow. Org. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy y now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We begin todays show looking at the fafallout fromom the massive rate in mississippi, where immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven poultry processing plants and arrested 680 people. It was the largest single state grade in u. Historyry. Officis say detainees have 0 been r released for humanitarian reasons. The roundup of mostly latino immigrant workers came as latinos around the country said they already felt shaken and targeted after the mass shooting in a walmart in el paso, texas, where the alleged White Nationalist gunman had published an online manifesto that echoed President Trumps rhetoric about an invasion of immigrants. The mass arrests came as President Trump was in el paso, supposedly there to comfort the victims who survived in the hospital. None of the eight victims in the hospital in el paso would see him. The mass arrests in mississippi also came on the first day of school year there and left scores of children traumatized and crying for their parents. Some childreren walked home from school only to find their doors locked and their family members missing. This is 11yearold Magdalena Gomez gregorio speaking with mississippi cbs affiliate wjtv. Parents be. Please. Children crying and everything. I need my y dad. My dad did not do nothing. He is not a criminal. Amy it is not clear how many children have now been reunited with their p parents, but their families now have no income. Wednesdays raids targeted chicken processing plants operated by koch foods, one of the largest poultry producers in the United States. Last year, koch foods paid out threeandthreequarters of a Million Dollars to settle an equal Employment Opportunities commission classaction suit, charging the company with sexual harassment, National Origin and race discrimination, and retaliation against latino workers at one of its mississippi plants. Labor activists say its the latest raid to target factories where immigrant workers have organized unions, fought back against discrimination, or challenged unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Meanwhile, black farmers say they have also encountered bias from koch foods. In complaints filed with the u. S. Department of agriculture between 2010 and 2015, they said koch foods discriminated against them and used its market control to drive them out of business. The company denied any wrongdoing. For more, we go to jackson, mississippi, where were joined by two guests. Chokwe Antar Lumumba is the mayor of jackson and a longtime activist. Also with us is patricia ice, legal projects director at the mississippi immigrants rights alliance. We welcome you both to democracy now , lets begince with you. Can you explain what to place . This is wednesday when the national cameras were focused on President Trump going to dayton, ohio, and to el paso. In el paso, it was the largest latino massacre in this countrys history. And now on this day, the first day of school in mississippi, ice raided all of these factories and arrested close to 700 people. Explain howow this went down, as you understand it. My understanding is that the department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security investigation, which is also known as hsi, dissented upon the state of mississippi in seven different 680tions and arrested immigrants who work at these plants. Event was a devastating for us. When i heard about it, i was shocked. And it was reminiscent of the raid we had in 2008 at Howard Industries in laurel, mississippi, where 592 people were arrested. In theas involved response after that raid. And we are involved in the response after this current raid. So in 2008, that was considered the largest worksite enforcement raid in the history of immigration. And i believe that this raid on wednesday that netted 680 arrests is even larger and is considered the largest worksite enforcement raid ever by immigration. Amy immigration activists in mississippi condemned the ice raids during a News Conference on thursday. This is cliff johnson, director of the Macarthur Justice center at the university of mississippi. This is not the result of some outcry in mississippi. Let the world cured this clearly. What happened yesterday is not the response to some domain on the part of mississippi and set people be tied up and hauled off. Thisssippi did not ask for. This does not come from the people. It does not even come from those people who on a larger scale might chant build that wall. We care about each other. We live next to one another and this is not who we are. , this isatricia ice astounding what took place. The schools said they were not alerted. This even violated all of the ice protocol. They did not know what was taking p place. Apapparently, principles were calling bus drivers saying if a child if no one is there to meet the child when you are dropping this child off, bring that child back. Services,i rejected child protective services, they were not alerted in advance. So all of these children were just left on their own we being and wailing . Yes, they were, apparently. That department of Homeland Security and before that, ins, has used over the years. Of course, it was very tragic and horrendous that they chose the first day of school here in mississippi to carry out these raids. In his u. S. Attorney press conference claimed that the department of Homeland Security had some federal or some federal agency had notified the School Districts in the locations where they carried out these raids. But apparently, that was not true. Amy lets go to the mayor of jackson Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Can you talk about your reaction to these raids and also what this means for jackson . Who knows whether or not these raids are over. They were a complete surprise to many. Could they take place in jackson . What are you doing in preparation . Yes so what we witnessed, amy, was an absence of humanity. To take people from their workplace in their effort to just establish a quality of life for their families, to leave children stranded in the wilderness in a sense, looking for a parental figure and, you know none of this being considered prior to these raids. We have talked a lot about this in political circles. It has been a hotly debated thing amongst the democrats and republicans. And this isnt an issue about what are your political affiliations. This is about whether we have a soul. To leave children without their parents signals this country is losing its soul. And suggestple up this was an attack on the corporations, yet we see no prosecution of those corporations. What we see are people who are left in terror. Affairsthe state of that we have not only in mississippi today, but now throughout this nation. I think we really have to evaluate that. We are concerned about the impact of this to jackson. I thought it was appropriate we respond as a city, that was signal our solidarity with our immigrant population, let people know and have peoples depth up to the plate in support. I called on to our faith institutions to open their doors to people in need. I think that is a principal purpose for those established institutions is to help those in need. And people have responded to that call. We continue to be concerned about what the further tactics have been. No one reached out to my office prior to these raids. I have received correspondence now saying they wanted to clear up any misnomers, but of yet to speak to anyone. I dont know what those misnomers are. When i see that 11yearold girl crying for her father, suggesting he is not a criminal that he is just a person seeking opportunity and income in jail and wondering what she will do and where she will go, that suggests theres something horribly wrong today. Amy and the jackson schools, were any of the children of the adults who were rounded up and how are the schools preparing for Something Like this . Be schools were not notified. It has been a complete effort to organize onthefly. I spent the day with the thesentendent prior to raids walking through different schools, welcoming children for the first day of school. And as we know, because of the terror that is often inflicted on our immigrant population, many of those members of the population dont trust institutions like our schools. They are fearful of the police. Sets the scene for is a more dangerous condition for everyone. When people feel they dont have institutions of protectition, ty find means of protecting themselves. And that sets the stage for something that forfeits any credibility amongst leadership and credibility amongst institutions that should be aimed at protecting people. And it leads to a condition of insecurity for everyone. Amy i want to ask l. Patricia who ownedkoch foods all of these processing plants and what is going on here. 3. 75 million eeoc settlement, equal implement Opportunity Commission settlement, that alleged that in these factories that the workers were being sexually harassed, racially harassed, harassed based on the National Origin will step clearly in order to get a settlement like this, these workers had organize. Being seen . Ice raid is it that ice is retaliating for the company against Workers Organizing . Of course, this puts the company in the spotlight as well for all of their abuse. Isi dont know if ice retaliating because of this 3. 5 million settlement or not, but what but it appears that it would be a retaliation. I have been in to some of those chicken processing plants. I have been in the one in morton and been in one in forest. And i have worked with the countycommunity in scott for a very long time. I would venture to say at least 20 years. And i know there was sexual plants. Nt in the i was not involved with that litigation, but i do about it when it first came to light. Publicly that that was going on. So it is possible that this was a retaliation by the department of Homeland Security against the immigrant population who was working in those plants. But the conditions are terrible in the plants. It is cold in their. People have to wear jackets. Hey usually wear white jackets in these plants, they have to kill the chickens. There is blood on the floor. There is water on the floor. And the people performing thee toferent jobs are exposed machinery. They have to cut the chickens. They package the chickens, etc. It is not a very good environment. At thinklooking progress article they wrote they it may not be a coincidence that the morton plant was raided. There are at least two other plants, one in salem, ohio, another in moorestown, tennessee, where ice raids i followed complaints. Fresh markosha fined over 2000 for three separate incidents in which proper safety guards were not in place in the meatpacking plant. A week later, it was raided by ice. Let me put this question to the mayor of jackson, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, this issue of ice being used as a hammer on activist workers. Absolutely. I think if we follow the case studies of what were seeing so far, then it appears to be exceeded of measure over the workers. The words of the u. S. Attorney, the assistant u. S. Attorney here in mississippi, suggesting this was an effort to punish the corporations, those words versus their actions just dont match up. The only people who appear to be punished, the puninitive measurs inflicted were against those workers, those individuals who were seeking opportunity, being taken from their jobs, not doing any criminal act, to be placed in cages, to be locked up, to be taken away from their children. And while some have reportedly been released to take care of their children, that from has already ensued. Each from a has only taken effect. For this to be the first day of school for their children, it is unconscionable. And so there appears to be a pattern that has been established year. I would just like to add that at least two of the plants that were rated were unionized by the united food and commercial workers union. And one of those was the morton plant and the other one was the pico plant in canton, mississippi. Unions have been constantly under attack, especially here in mississippi. The fact those plants and the morton plant i believe is one of the ones that was that is unionized by the united food and commercial workers union, and the fact that those unions have a presence there was probably another reason why the United States government chose to target those plants. That thet is clear corporationsns and others want o get rid of unions here in mississippi and really across the nation. Thisfinally, mayor, climate today, what were just coming off of last weekend, in eltwo mass killings paso a white supremacist apparently releases a manifesto talking about the invasion. N. You have President Trump repeating those words thousands , justes this year alone in his campaign ads in january and february apparently 2200 times using this word invasion. Thing going after congresswoman of color, going after Congress Member cummings after his house was invaded by an intruder. Toor President Trump saying bad in a tweet. Can you talk about White Supremacists . You are a longtime activist. President trump, do you see him as a white supremacist . I do. I returned to the statement that i made when we initially started our discussion. I think we have to reflect on where the soul of this nation is. America is infected with the disease and that is called racism. It often is utilized to support economic benefits of corporations, the economic suchits of those who use divisions in order for their personal profit. And i think were seeing a president who exacerbates that. A president who is incited by that. We have to reflect on where the soul of this nation is. When he has the slogan he wants to make America Great again, when we reflect on the labor policy of this nation, not only what were seeing today we think about the africans that were snatched off of a continent to work for free. My ancestors. When we think about all of the oppressive conditions of dehumanizing and pushing away unions, this country has had a longstanding labor practice that is just despicable at best. And so the idea of make America Great again, we dont see a country that has gone wrong in my opinion, we see a country that has never been right. Amy i want to thank you both i just want to add one thing. The effects of these raids are going to be longlasting. As i mentioned earlier, in 2008, i was part of the response to that raid. I have at least one client that i am still working with 11 years later as a result of that raid. And i am sure there are others who are still involved with immigration courts war with the government as a result of that raid. So this has had come as i said, devastating effects on our community. Mississippi is a small state and the communities that were affected are small communities where people do know one another. They go to church with us. We are in organizations together. We see each other in our neighborhoods, at school, in the grocery store, etc. Things was a horrendous that happened to us in mississippi. Amy l. Patricia ice, thank you for being with us legal projects , director at the mississippi immigrants rights alliancece. And Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the mayor of jackson, mississippi. When we come back, a d devastatg new u. N. Climate report comes ouout. We will speak with a u. N. Climate scientist. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is a song being sung at vigils after the mess shootings around the country. This is democracy now , im amy goodman. By top to a new report panel of United Nations climate scientist who warn humans are consuming land and resources at an unprecedented rate, with the destructive effects of the Climate Crisis increasingly threatening the Food Security of hundreds of millions of people. In its report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that without dramatic action, extreme weather and rising temperatures will turn even more fertile land into desert, shrinking the global food supply, even as the worlds population rises to more than billion people. 7. 5for more, we are joined by pamela mcelwee, an associate professor in the department of human ecology at the school of environmental and biological sciences at rutgers university. Welcome to democracy now i cant say im sorry your flight was canceled. You flew just from geneva where this report was filed. Report,explain this new the major findings . We were asked by the ipcc to assess the impact of Climate Change on land and t then conversely what land can do o to help us potentntially mitigate Climate Change. There were couplele of important findings are want to emphasize. The first one is that we talk a lot about the pototential to sea 1. 5 degrees celsius temperature increase and we want to try to avoid that because that gives us a lot of potential risisks. That refers to a a global avera. What were seeeeing now is we he actually already hit 1. 5 degrees celsius change over land. That is extremely concerning to many of us because it implies the potential for a lot of risk to our Food Security systetems, inincreased potential for land degradation, and a number of other r effects. So that concerns us a lot. 1. 5e already seeing that increase over land. The other thing we looked at is whether land can be a potential solution to our Climate Crisis. We know we have the potential to plant trees or manage our landss better and it can help absorb some of the Carbon Emissions we create when we burn fossil fuels, but one of the things our report points out is that planting trees is not a get out of jail free card. It is not going to make up for our failure to address the overall fossil fuel emissions that are fueling the Climate Crisis. Amy i want to turn right now to one of the scientists. This is ipcc cochair hansotto portner, talalking about ways we can counteract some of the effects of Climate Change on land and food supplies. Near term actions to promote land sustainable will help reduce biodiversity also through restoring naturalal ecosystems n their capacity to store carbon. Indigenous and local knowledge can contribute to overcoming the cocombined challenges of Climate Change biodiversity loss, Food Security, decertification, and land degradation. Amy and this is cochair jim skee who laid out the role of dietary habits on environmental degradation and how changes in consumption could curb the effects of Climate Change. I moved to a more balanced diet could help us adapt to and limit Climate Change. Some diets require more land and water and lead to higher omissions than others. For example, diets that are high in grains, nuts, vegetables have a lower current footprint than those that are high in meat and lead to Better Health outcomes. Dietary choices are influenced by local Production Practices and cultural habits. Amy can you talk more about this, the issue of the global diet and especially in the United States . We know our dietary or choices makeke a big impact. For example, if we talk about high Greenhouse Gas emissions diets, those are so seated with me to consumption. We know, for example, beef and lamb had to be higher in Greenhouse Gas emissions due to the way livestock is produced. And so when we are talking about potentially reducing those Greenhouse Gas emissions, dietary change has to be on the table. Were talking about potentially reducing excess Meat Consumption, particularly in developed countries of the west. We get benefits from that. We know excess Meat Consumption also contribututes to negative health outcomes. For us, it is a winwin to address the Climate Crisis but also health problems. Amy we are about food insecurity. Hundreds of millions of people losing access to food. Thats right. T. Right now we havave about 800 Million People w worldwide that are already food insecure. That is a huge number. When we add climate on top of thatat, were talking about increaeang risks worldwide. One of the things to report pointsts out is we need to treat this as a very serious outcome of Climate Change. The disruptions to our global food supply are very significant and we could potentially see some of them right now. This heat wave in europe has affected agricultutural productn in france, which is a major agricultural producer. This is not something werere going g to see thehe longterm future, it is happening now. Amy so it is both meat and dairy the report is saying we should be consuming less up. The report does not say we should consume less. What are the say potential outcomes of excess Meat Consumption. It is up to individuals and governments to m make those dedecisions about how we might potentially make those dietary changes. Amy a and the report for r the first t time, the majorority of scientists were from the developing world. Thats right. There were more than 100 scientiststs that worked on this report. We volunteer our time. We do this in adaddition to our day job. Over the course of the last two years, this group of more than 100 scientists got together regularly and assessed the state of science. It was tremendously helpful to work with our developing country colleagues. Amamy Greenhouse Gas emissions . They are the main driver of overall Climate Change. What this report looked at is to whatat degree does agricultural and land use c contribute to our overall Climate Crisis . That is about 25 of our human caused Greenhouse Gas emissions. The other 75 is also fuelburning. We have to tackle both. T to tackle this totogether. Amy i want to thank you for being with us, pamela mcelwee, associate professor in the department of human ecology at the school of environmental and biological sciences at rutgers university. One of the authors of a major new reports released by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, laying out their findings this week on the effects of human activity and the Climate Crisis on global food supply and land degradation. She is the author of the book forests are gold trees, people and environmental rule in vietnam. This is democracy now when we come back, monsanto targeting and bimetal journalists in bimetal journalists, activists, decisions like neil young. Stay with us. [music break] amy neil young. This is democracy now , im amy goodman. An explosive new report by the shows documents in an explosive new report, documents reviewed by the guardian reveal the u. S. Agribusiness giant monsanto ran a Fusion Center to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who criticized or wrote damning reports about monsanto, as well as legendary singersongwriter neil young, who released an album in 2015 called the monsanto years. Monsanto monitored youngs twitter activity and even analyzed the lyrics of his album. Also followed carey gillam who was reporting on monsanto and its popular pesticide roundup which has been linked to cancer. The corporation targeted also u. S. Right to know, which is similar to freedom of information act request that the company about the company. From more, were joined in kansas city, missouri, by carey gillam, a veteran investigative journalist and author of whitewash the story of a weed killer, cancer and the corruption of science. And in berkeley, california, gary ruskin, cofounder of u. S. Right to know. Both monsanto targets. Begin withm, lets you in kansas city. Can you explain what happened when you released your book whitewash . Yeah, i mean, even before whitewash came out, we know from the documents that one center was preparing to discredit the book, to discredit me. What we see from the documents that have come out, the company had a strategic plan, a project action plan with 20 something line items and a Consulting Company in washington, d. C. , and numerous individuals engaged in covert and secretive strategies to make it look like third parties are writing net a good of negative book reviews about me. Individuals were giving talking points to discredit me and smear the book. We know from the documents that monsanto talked about purchasing postings, Search Engine optimization so if people search for my name and the book, they would get a host of negative, slanders information about me. All ofof this was done to look like it did not come from one central, but to look like it was coming from independent third parties. And we saw that play out. I saw that play out on amazon on when we can after the book was released when a whole host of negative book reviews all at once with similar talking points sounding like they came from one person almost just poured on amazon to try to take the book down. Amy democracy now invited monsanto to join us on the show but they declined our request and sent us this statement to read on the air. None of the documents cherrypicked by plaintiffs lawyers and their surrogates contradict the findings of the extensive body of science and conclusions of leading health regulators that glyphosatebased herbicides are safe when used as directed and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic. Instead, they show that monsantos activities were intended to ensure there was a fair, accurate and sciencebased dialogue about the company and its products in response to significant misinformation, including steps to respond to the publication of a book written by an individual who is a frequent critic of pesticides and gmos. We take the safety of our products and our reputation very seriously and work to ensure that everyone from regulators to customers to other stakeholders has accurate and balalanced information to make decisionons about our products. Carey gillam, that you could respond . First of all, frequent critics of gmos and pesticides is not accurate. Im a journalist. A report Accurate Information about the risks as well as the rewards as well as the benefits. But my report book did layout a lot of information that monsanto wanted hidden. It was based heavily on documents obtained from many outlets. The book is heavily documented and datadriven. Monsanto has not been able to come up with anything that is inaccurate in the book. What monsanto is actually saying there, they want to talk about fairness and truthfulness and transparency, but what they were doing was actually trying to deceive the public by coming out and engineering all of these secretive things that would look like they were coming from outside the company. If the company has complaints, if the Company Wants to make a statement about something, they should do it in a truthful way so people know it is coming from monsanto. And not engage in these secretive strategies. What i talk about with this is, it is not so important what they were trying to do to me or a book. I am one person, one journalist. But what we know from a larger trove of documents is that this is par for the course. This is what they do. They have engaged in smear campaigns against numerous scientists, numerous journalists around the world, and they do it through these thirdparty strategy so that it looks like it is coming from a more authentic, more valid independent source. Amy in oakland, california, monsanto in may was ordered to pay its highest images yet in the third lawsuit over the public weedkiller roundup. A jury has ordered monsanto, than by bayer, to pay more 2 billion in punitive damages to alva and alberta pilliod, a couple who were both diagnosed with nonhodgkins lymphoma cancer after using r roundup on their properties for over 30 years. Oakland,in, that is california. You are right now in berkeley. Youre the founder of u. S. Right to know. Your group was also targeted by monsanto. To what you have been trying to find out, what you understand from these documents, how they targeted you . And why youre concerned so much about roundup, what you have in raising issues . Sure. In 2015, we began an investigation the Monsanto Company and its Business Practices and Public Relations practices. I filed a number of freedom of information act requests and tried to understand how they do their business and how they deploy their Public Relations strategies. Quickly found explosive documents that became a frontpage New York Times story about how monsanto uses and in its publicics relations strategies and how it pays them secretively and there are secret ties. But essentially, monsanto creates acquired by which it deploys its messaging that its products are safe. Replicateteds that anand outlets both in the u. S. D across the world, apparently monsanto became very alarmed by them. So we now have documents that show they had this elaborate planan, 30 pages long, 11 monsao firm, Public Relations trade groups all helping out trying to respond to our little tiny investigation will stop i run a very small nonprofit. We only have four staff, including carey gillam. Was so threatened by our small efforts to conduct an investigation into the Public Relations work that they generated this elaborate plan they said are investigative effort had the potential to be , would impactging the entire industry. So not too long after that, lots of really kind of lots of slime and smears about me and across thesprang up internet as well. We also found out that there is ,his monsanto Fusion Center intelligence center, tracking our work. We dont know much about its operation. So that is what we know from the document. Amy we began this segment with a song of neil young from his album the monsasanto years. Talk about what the document show about neil young, how they were going after him. Well, is very limited what we have. We know the monsanto intelligence center, the Fusion Center was analyzing his social aboutand his work talking singing about monsanto. It is pretty sparse. That is all we know. The document raise many more questions than it answered. But what exactly is the monsanto Fusion Center . What does it do . Who really works for it . Are tactics and strategies used . There is a New York Times story about corporate Intelligence Centers from last year that talked about the use of militarystyle tactics. The word Fusion Center is a department of Homeland Security term. It is wellknown that is fusion staffed by former intelligence people. What actually happens at the mumuse monsanto fusion cente, we dont really know. Amy the website American Council on science and health, or achs, has posted articles attempting to discredit our guests, carey gillam and gary ruskin. One article is titled dear gary ruskin and antigmoers, stop being puppets for putin. Internal monsanto documents show the Company Funds the achs. One document says in all caps, you will not get a better value for your dollar than achs. Carey gillam, if you could respond to this. According to the guardian, on such a kid Google Monsanto criticize your work. Explain how this works, how they thepay google to increase chance that when i look for your name, im going to see something negative . I cannot pretend to understand how the rhythms of google work. But what we do know and what we have seen is that when there is information that monsanto really wants to promote or others and the agrochemical industry, you can see this play out on google Search Engines. Sometimes it wilill say a google ad on to the left of it. But there are ways to optimize this sort of Search Engine so that information does rise to the top. And certainly, monsanto has had resources, the information to do that. And we know they talk about doing that. In terms of the other payments, s group that you mentioned, the American Council science and health, this is one we call french group. One group we have been able to establish that monsanto has helped fund, since money to secretly. The group is supposed to look like it is independent and authoritative. They post op is in usa today and right in forbes magazine. What theyre doing is they are paid hitmen for monsanto. We see that in these internal emails. It is in genius on the part of corporations like monsanto, but what it does is it rules consumers, designed to full looking forwho is authoritative information and does not understand this is being funded i special corporate interests. Amy gary ruskin, youre confident release of all records on the subject. Few believe these documents are just the tip of the iceberg will stop are you continuing to be monitored, harassed, targeted . We dont really know except we do know if you search for my name on theys internet, you see a fantastic information about smears and slime and things that are not true. Why is that . Where does that come from . The documents that were just released do suggest that monsanto was carrying out some kind of a campaign to discredit us and discredit our organization and carys book. Amy carey gillam, will you be suing . No. Ive made some inquiries and talked to some Legal Counsel and we have talked about this. The publisher of the book would be very concerned and is concerned about what monsanto is withto try to interfere sales. Amy we have to leave it there but i thank you for being here, carey gillam, and gary ruskin. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outr sami in ththe early 2000s,s, te balkan mumusic boom hpepened around the globe. It also hit in my hometowown of new yorork, wherbabands like g gogol bordelo anand balkan beatat box srtededo mix gypsy r rhythms wh h punk, reggae, andnd world mus. Originally,y, my mind wasas blon to satuurn in the midnineties by the gypsy soundtracks of emir kusturicas flicks black cat, white cat and underground. My love for this particular kind of music has brbrought me to serbia