Transcripts For KCSM Democracy Now 20170619

Yes, i will keep my hands where they are. Amy we will get the latest from the twin cities and air a report from street protests over the acquittal here in new york. Plus, we will look at why six members of President Trumps Advisory Council on hiv aids have just resigned to protest his policies. And we will speak to the egyptian novelist robert omar hamilton on the growing crackdown on dissent in egypt and Donald Trumps embrace of egyptian leader abdel fattah elsisi. We agree on some new things. I want to let everyone know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind president sisi. He is done a fantastic job in a difficult situation. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In britain, a driver plowed into a crowd of muslims near a north London Mosque today, killing one person and injuring eight others in what british officials are calling a terrorist attack. Witnesses described a large white man driving a van who accelerated and swerved into a crowd of worshippers whod left nighttime prayers marking the muslim holy month of ramadan. Basically, he drove on the pavement coming straight toward all of the muslims. As he comes to them, he hit all of them. And i think one of them died. One of them died. The rest are in bad condition. How many people . About seven or eight. And they were seriously injured . Seriously injured. As the police came, they moved all of us. Amy one witness said the driver shouted, i want to kill muslims. Survivors of the attack pinned the man to the ground until Police Arrived on the scene and arrested him. British Prime Minister theresa may said police were treating the incident as a terrorist attack. It was the third time in recent weeks in britain that an attacker used a vehicle as a weapon aimed at pedestrians. In virginia, Police Arrested 22yearold Darwin Martinez torres sunday for allegedly murdering a 17yearold muslim teenager after she left a restaurant following nighttime prayers in the washington, d. C. , suburb of sterling. Nabra hassanen disappeared early sunday after she and a group of friends were confronted by a motorist outside a 24hour ihop near her mosque, the all dulles area muslim society. Police found hassanens remains sunday afternoon in a nearby pond. She was reportedly killed by blows from a metal bat. A recent study by the council on americanislamic affairs found antimuslim hate crimes surged in 2016 over the previous year, rising by 44 . In minnesota, protesters took to the streets sunday for a Third Straight day after a st. Anthony Police Officer was acquitted friday in the killing of a black man he shot five times during a traffic stop last year. Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on charges of manslaughter for killing African American motorist Philando Castile. The jury of seven men and five women, 10 of whom were white and two African American, deliberated for more than 25 hours over five days before acquitting yanez on all charges. This is Philando Castiles sister allysza speaking just after fridays verdict. He tookso hurt because away something so precious for me. That was my brother. That was my mentor. That was my father figure. That man worked hard every single day, every birthday, every christmas. He was the one that made sure i had gifts. He didnt deserve to die the way he did. And i will never have faith in the system. I will never have faith in the system. Amy Philando Castiles death was livestreamed on facebook by his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds in an extraordinary video in which she narrated the aftermath of the shooting while she was still in the car, with officer yanez pointing a gun at her and her fouryearold daughter. On friday evening, about demonstrators gathered outside 2000 minnesotas State Capitol in st. Paul to demand police accountability. Several protesters blocked a main interstate between st. Paul and minneapolis, resulting in 18 arrests. Peaceful demonstrations continued throughout the weekend. For more on the killing, we will go to the twin cities after headlines. In the western pacifica western pacific, the u. S. Navy says it has recovered the bodies of seven missing sailors who died after their warship collided with a cargo ship off the coast of japan. Saturdays collision nearly sank the uss fitzgerald, a naval destroyer, and came despite clear weather conditions. In iraq, a u. S. Led military coalition has begun its assault on mosuls old city, a denselypopulated urban area and the last stronghold of isis in the northern iraqi city. The u. N. Said friday as many as 150,000 people remain trapped in the district, describing their situation as desperate. Residents of western mosul who were able to escape described scenes of starvation. We have nothing to eat. No flour, no rice. Nothing at all. We had to each grass and made grass soup to feed our children. Amy there were reports of heavy fighting and closequarters battles in mosuls old city, with unconfirmed reports that more than a dozen civilians were killed in u. S. Led airstrikes over the weekend. In syria, u. S. Fighters shot down as syrian warplane sunday the latest direct attack on the Syrian Government target. The pentagon said it down the airplane after a bond u. S. Backed antigovernment rebels. Meanwhile, the United Nations said an estimated 200,000 civilians remain trapped in the city of raqqa is u. S. Led coalition pounds the city in a campaign against isis. The u. N. Says the airstrikes have killed at least 300 civilians in raqqa since march. In the united states, one of Donald Trumps personal attorneys insisted sunday that the president is not under investigation by special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of an investigation into alleged russian meddling in novembers election. The comments by the lawyer, jay sekulow, directly contradict President Trumps tweet friday, which read i am being investigated for firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director witch hunt. Sekulow made the rounds on sunday mornings talk shows to deny that trump is under investigation. But during a Heated Exchange with fox news host chris wallace, sekulow contradicted his own denials. So he is being investigated for taking the action that the attorney general Deputy Attorney general recommended him to take by the agency who recommended determination. So that is the constitutional threshold question. As i said, no what is the question . First of all, you have said he is being investigated after saying know, you just said he is being investigated. Amy six members of the president ial Advisory Council on hiv aids have resigned saying President Trump doesnt care about hiv. They announced their resignations in a joint letter published in newsweek titled, trump doesnt care about hiv. Were outta here. In the letter, they wrote as advocates for People Living with hiv, we have dedicated our lives to combating this disease and no longer feel we can do so effectively within the confines of an advisory body to a president who simply does not care. Later in the broadcast, well speak with Scott Schoettes, one of the six people who resign. President trump said friday he would reverse the normalization of relations between the u. S. And cuba, reimposing travel and trade restrictions less than a year after president obama relaxed the decadesold u. S. Embargo on the island. The move drew outrage across cuba. This is havana resident pedro diaz. Cubit is not scared. Were not going to be scared. We have gone through much more. We got to the october missile crisis and were willing to go through many crises, not just october, but december, september, and the coming months. Were ready, mr. President trump, for all of your antics. There you are. If youre going to pay the miami mafia, at some point, you will pay. Amy President Trumps order will prohibit all business with companies that are linked to the cuban military, which is involved in much of the hotel and tourism industries. Last year, newsweek reported Donald Trumps businesses violated the u. S. Embargo during the late 1990s, secretly doing business in cuba and then trying to cover it up. The u. S. Commission on civil rights has launched an investigation into whether the Trump Administration is failing to protect civil rights, amid steep cuts to budgets and Staffing Levels across the federal government. In a statement, commissioners said these proposed cuts would result in a dangerous reduction of civil Rights Enforcement across the country, leaving communities of color, lgbt people, older people, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups exposed to greater risk of discmination. The probe came as the department of educations office for civil rights said it has ended an investigation into the case of a transgender ohio student who says she was harassed at school and barred from using from the girls bathroom. Meanwhile, buzzfeed is reporting the Commerce Department has removed any mention of gender identity and Sexual Orientation from its equal opportunity employment statement on the departments website. In the united kingdom, hundred stored at town hall in london friday demanding justice for those killed when the 24 story Grenfell Tower Apartment Building when up in flames last week. Polices coupled with scores of angry Residents Police scuffled with scores of angry residents shouting, we want justice and they let our Children Burn some people are looking at the building. We want justice for those who were in the fire. I feel like this is not fair. It is a lot of injustice from the government. So many kids died. Amy police said today the death toll from the blaze rose to at least 79, with dozens more injured. London mayor sadiq khan called the fire a preventable accident that followed years of neglect by successive governments. Country areross the sick to death whether their tower block is safe. We want as much transparency as possible. Amy the company that recently renovated Grenfell Tower admitted over the weekend it used highly flammable, yet less expensive, cladding during construction. The cladding is banned from use in the u. S. And european union, but allowed in britain. In pennsylvania, prosecutors say they will retry bill cosby on criminal Sexual Assault charges, after a jury deadlocked over whether to convict the comedian on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The mistrial means cosby will once again face charges he drugged and sexually assaulted andrea constand, the former director of operations for the Womens Basketball team at temple university, at cosbys home in 2004. Constand is one of about 60 women who have accused cosby of Sexual Assaults dating back decades. In arizona, a humanitarian aid say borderg migrants patrol officers raided during cap meant, arresting four migrants. Last thursdays raid on the no or deaths encampment in the u. S. , reversed an informal policy under the Obama Administration that for years so Border Patrol agents allow the group to provide water, food, shelter, and medical aid to migrants. Deathsatement, no more said the targeting of this critical medical aid is a shameful refltion of the current administrations disregard for the lives of migrants and refugees, making an already dangerous journey even more deadly. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Juan and im juan gonzalez. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. In minnesota, protesters took to the streets sunday for a Third Straight day after a st. Anthony Police Officer was acquitted friday in the killing of a black motorist he shot five times during a traffic stop last year. Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on charges of manslaughter for killing Philando Castile, an African American who worked as a School Nutrition Services Supervisor for the st. Paul public schools. The shooting made International Headlines after castiles girlfriend documented the aftermath of the shooting by broadcasting live on facebook from the car moments after castile was shot. In the video, officer yanez is seen pointing a gun at her and her fouryearold daughter. He was trying to get out his id and his wallet out his pocket and he let the officer know that he was he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet most of the officer just shot him in his arm. We are waiting i will, sir. No worries. He just shot his arm off. We got pulled up i told him not to reach. You told him to get his id, sir, his drivers license. Please dont tell me he is dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that. Keep your hands were they are, please. Yes, sir, i will keep my hands were they are. Please, lord, dont tell me he is gone. Please dont tell me he is gone. Please come officer, dont tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir. Amy that was Diamond Reynolds narrating the aftermath of the Police Shooting of her boyfriend for lender castile. Prosecutors opened the trial by playing a Police Dashcam video of castilles killing, which shows officer yanez opening fire on castile seven times. A medical expert testified castile was struck with five of the rounds, including two which pierced his heart. The jury of seven men and five women, 10 who were white and two who were African American, deliberated for more than 25 hours over five days before acquitting officer yanez on all charges. Philando castiles mother Valerie Castile spoke after the verdict. My son would never jeopardize anyone elses life by trying to pull a gun on an officer and the gun was not fire ready. These are some of the facts i came out in the trial. And im so very, very, very, very am a very, very, very, very disappointed in the system here in the state of minnesota. Because nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth. The system continues to fail black people. Youill continue to fill all. Like i said, because this happen with philando, when they get down with us, theyre coming for you, for you, for you, and all your interracial children. Yall are next. Juan about 2000 demonstrators gathered outside minnesotas State Capitol in st. Paul on friday evening, and a series of speakers demanded justice for people of color in the judicial system and police accountability. Several protesters blocked a main interstate between st. Paul and minneapolis friday night, resulting in 18 arrests. Peaceful demonstrations continued throughout the weekend. Amy protesters also gathered in new york on saturday. Democracy nows sam alcoff filed this report. How many more [indiscernible] and president of black lives matter greater new york. Philando castile was driving in his car. An officer pulled him over and shot him in front of his wife and his daughter, ok . He informed the officer that he had a pistol and a permit to carry that is told. However, the officer still shot him. The officer said he reached for his gun. , his wife said, you told him to get his id, and they kill that man and let him bleed out in front of his family. Luckily, his life had the presence of mine to go on Facebook Live to report record this injustice. Now you have outrage last summer and now you have the trial. The trial was missed and by the mishandled by the prosecutor. They want to call this a mistake, but there is a mistake about it when time after time again you fail to prosecute cops that kill innocent black people. There is no mistake about it. Seo with me, black lives matter. I am a member of black lives matter greater new york. The resistance is being coopted for black people. Too many times we have groups about resisting republicans to democrats. Democrats have put out racist policies wil. Minnesota is a democratic state. It is important for us in a liberal area such as york city take a stand and say, were going to march in solidarity for what happened minnesota, but also continue to fight in the shining example for what we should do for like people, brown people here in the city. Im running for city council. When the young man was being , that can be any of us. I want you to know we dont vote enough. We dont read another. We dont listen enough. And we are giving away freedom. Are taking the streets. The police want us on the sidewalks. At these are our streets. Police violence occurs each and every day. We show solidarity. That is what they did in minnesota. That is what we are doing. This is harlem. The juneteenth parade was right there. All of these black people are looking and seeing that were standing in solidarity. It is not just black people. It is one of the most important days, juneteenth, were out here watching for black lives. Utilize the available sidewalk. If you remain in the roadways utilize the available sidewalk. You will be charged with disorderly conduct. The system is broken, but yet there tried to fix us. When i say black lives, yall say matter. Black lives. Matter. In forces of the streets new york on saturday. Alcoff. L thanks to sam when we come back, we will speak with nekima levypounds. This is democracy now stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman and juan gonzalez. Juan black lives matter protest were continuing in the twin cities and other cities after minnesota Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted friday may killing of Philando Castile. He was an africanamerican man shot five times during a traffic stop last year. Amy we go to minneapolis were were joined by nekima levypounds. She is former president of the minneapolis naacp and is now running for mayor of minneapolis. Welcome to democracy now can you talk about your reaction to the verdict and then the protest that followed in the twin cities . Thatmber one, i thought the result of the jury in finding Jeronimo Yanez not guilty was absolutely absurd in light of the facts of the case, in light of the circumstances surrounding Philando Castiles untimely death. And people here are outraged. Time after time again, we see circumstances in which officers who kill are not held accountable under the laws of this data minnesota. And so we have taken to the streets repeatedly. We started within hours after for window castile was killed last summer. We waited patiently for almost a year for the verdict to come down and to see Jeronimo Yanez was not even felt guilty on the lesser charges is extremely disappointing and frustrating. It means we have to continue protesting and demonstrating and challenging the laws and policies that allow these Police Officers to kill people with impunity. Juan what about the decision of the prosecution, i understand, not to play the video that became that went around the world in terms of the aftermath of the shooting during the trial . It doesnt surprise me that they did not play the video. Some people have raised concerns about the strategy of the prosecution, including during jury selection. When you look at the composition of the jury, there were 10 white individuals who served on the jury. Two people of color, both of whom were young. One was an 18yearold ethiopian immigrant. The other was a young black man. When you look at that, i mean, who in their right minds would pick 10 white people in minnesota against potentially two the prosecution made some mistakes in this case in not playing the aftermath of flanagan asked yous death was probably one of them. Philando castiles death was probably one of them. Amy they deliberated for more than 25 hours over five days before quitting officer Jeronimo Yanez on all charges. After the verdict, the local abc affiliate in minneapolis spoke with a juror who said the jury addressed the issue of race with the two africanamerican jurors hearing the case. We did ask them if they thought this was a racist thing. They were very comfortable about it and did not think it was at all. Amy this juror went on to explain how the jury arrived at the verdict. I just hope that they realize that we didnt go by like we did not favor the cop. Felt the state did not prove their case. Amy nekima levypounds, your response . Some of these jurors apparently said they had never heard of the case as well when they were chosen. That is absolutely shocking that they had not heard of the case. It showed that, unfortunately, some people in our state are out policeh with issues of involved shootings and the impact upon people of color. This has been a constant staple in the news since black lives matter emerged in minneapolis, in particular, back in november of 2014. So it is surprising they had no idea about this particular case. Suresaid before, i am not who in their right minds would choose to do of young African Americans to serve on the jury. Again, one, being in the opening immigrant, as opposed to older africanamericans, larger opposition of people of color across the board who are concerned about the phenomenon of officerinvolved shooting cases, the use of Excessive Force in the state of minnesota, and the fact that there is a repeated pattern of failing to hold Police Officers accountable when they abuse the rights of citizens of the state of minnesota. The bureau of criminal apprehension was one of the groups that investigated the shooting death of Philando Castile. They have a terrible track record for holding Police Officers accountable. We do not trust their investigations or the outcomes. There is no independent group in the state of minnesota that investigates officerinvolved shooting cases. ,o it is up to each individual prosecutor, and each individual Police Department to determine how theyre going to handle these situations. That has resulted in officers not being held accountable time and time and time again for killing off in an unarmed civilian. Hilando case, we know p was licensed to carry a firearm. He went above the laws requirement and letting officer yanez know and it still did not save his life. Officer yanez had an unreasonable fear of Philando Castile is a black man. So we need to look at the criteria that are being used when officers say that they were afraid for their safety. Whichannot be the way in these cases are being evaluated. There has to be sometimes of objective criteria that is being used, or more peoples lives will be in danger. Juan i want to ask about the role of the Political Leadership in theesota, him an minneapolis area. The current mayor, the one youre running against that the hodges, has been under a lot of fire from the Police Department for some of her stands. At the same time other people feel she is not paid sufficient attention to the issue of these kinds of police abuses. Your sense of how the Political Leadership of your area has responded to these cases . The Political Leadership in our area has responded very poorly. Ive seen this play out over the years. In addition to being the former president of the minneapolis and a boy cp, im also a civil rights attorney. I was a law professor for 14 years. During that time, the opportunity to work on issues such as Police Community relations. What i saw or government dfl here including minnesota being essentially, not being focused on these particular issues, ignoring concerns from communities of color about the ways in which people of color were being treated by the police, abused by the police. Betsy hodges was one of those people. She ran four years ago on an equity platform. We have yet to see her deliver the results we have been asking for. All of that played a role in my decision to run for mayor. I was one of those people standing with the community demanding that she hold Police Accountable for their abuse against people of color. Minneapolis Police Department has a long track record of engaging in Excessive Force towards africanamerican residents, criminalizing them, and harassing them. And that still has not changed under her leadership. We have an unprecedented number of people of color who are running to become City Council Members in the city of minneapolis. Of course, i am running for mayor because we are ready to shift the paradigm in the city and to ensure we are focusing on equity, that we are holding Police Officers accountable, that we are looking at Racial Disparity across every key indicator of quality of life, including economics. If you look at the plight of africanamericans in the city of minneapolis, yet africanamerican men in some pockets of the city facing doubledigit unemployment. Those men are often subjected to , ande abuse, to harassment criminalization. The matters are not being addressed simply because the state is deemed to be liberal. I see the recognition of minneapolis and the state of minnesota as being liberal ofces as masking the truth what africanamericans and other people of color here are facing which are conditions that are reminiscent of the jim crow south, except that we call it the jim crow north. Amy on saturday during a protest, nekima levypounds, you none of your colleagues one of your colleagues beating somebody or disrespecting them or treating them like they are less than human, then repressive. That is what a good cop does. Then address it. That is what a good contest. Were asking you to exhibit leadership. If the government isnt going to hold you all account above, hold yourself accountable. , can youma levypounds talk about what you are asking for and demanding . Yes. We let a protest through the streets of downtown on saturday afternoon and we had Police Officers following as in vehicles. We said that was fine. Firstwere leaving, the Precinct Police station, we encountered several Police Officers in an alley. I was stunned, first of all, to see them there on bicycles. I stopped to ask why they were there. Were they there to protect us . Were they there because they thought it would be some form of violence . We wereed them that peaceful demonstrators and did not need Additional Police escorts. I spoke to them about good cop versus bad cops. When we are out on the streets protesting, raising concerns about police violence, the pushback is often, well, there are good cops out there. These are just a few bad apples. When in reality, there is a cu ture of policing that is to be addressed, militarization among police that needs to be addressed. A culture that allows Police Officers to be killed ims eye, Police Officers to kill people with impunity and cannot be held accountable, not only in minnesota, but across the state of minnesota. If citizens engage in the type of behavior that we have seen ,rom officers such as yanez they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and probably be under the jail. We do not do the same deference as far as whether we are a good person or bad person. A lot of us are judged, just as Philando Castile was, by the color of his skin. When yanez said he had a wife that nose and look like a robbery suspect. The color of his skin ended up being a death sentence in a particular case. Were saying, if youre good officer, then dont falsify reports. Dont go along with Police Brutality and abuse and think it is enough, just because you may not have participated. A good cop is going to report the conduct of bad cops and pushed a holden accountable so that they can build hold them accountable so they can build trust in the community. I believe that is part of the message that needs to be spread throughout the united states. What exactly is a good cop and what standard of care are we holding them to when theyre on the force and their witnessing these acts by officers who are engaging in wayward conduct . I believe they have a heightened duty to respond in those situations and not to be complicit in that type of abusive behavior. Amy nekima levypounds, thank you for being with us, civil rights attorney and the former president of the minneapolis naacp, currently running for mayor of minneapolis. We switch gears to talk about washington, d. C. This ithis is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman and juan gonzalez. Juan six members of the president ial Advisory Council on hiv aids have resigned saying President Trump doesnt care about hiv. In a joint letter published in newsweek, the six members write as advocates for People Living with hiv, we have dedicated our lives to combating this disease and no longer feel we can do so effectively within the confines of an advisory body to a president who simply does not care. Trump took down the office of National Aids policy website when he took office and has not appointed anyone to lead the White House Office of National Aids policy. Amy the resignations come as the Trump Administration is continuing its efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act, a move which advocates say will especially hurt those affected by hiv aids. We are joined now by one of the members of the president ial Advisory Council on hiv aids who who has just resigned, Scott Schoettes is the hiv project director at lambda legal, the oldest and Largest National Legal Organization serving People Living with hiv. Scott schoettes, welcome to democracy now explain what you took this move, why you resigned. Thanks, amy. We decided that the administration was not listening to People Living with hiv, was not interested in engaging with hiv advocates around this issue or the Health Care Reform bill, wasnt interested in having that bill informed by the experiences of People Living with hiv are the experts that work in this field or the science, and that once we saw that theyre going to simply push through a health bill that was going to dramatically impact and negatively affect People Living with hiv, that we could no longer stand by and work within the administration, that we had to step up and forced discussion around this topic. Juan what were some of those concrete signs of why this you felt as a administration was turning its back on folks with hiv . They started during the campaign even. The Trump Campaign refused to meet with hiv advocates when both the clinton and sanders campaigns were willing to. They actually scheduled a meeting and that meeting was canceled and they refuse to reschedule. The signs have been there for a while. We came to Inauguration Day a missile the White House Office of National Aids policy website was taken down. To date, it has now been put back up. There was no one appointed to be the director of the White House Office of National Aids policy. That person serves as the key medication link between advocates communication link between advocates and the administration. Those were some of the signs that this administration was just not willing to engage. Juan what are some of the specific responsibility of the Advisory Commission . Advisoryesidential council on hiv aids is tasked with bringing recommendations. Round policies related to hiv in particular, they havent task with helping to create and oversee implementation of the National Hiv Aids strategy. We got our first strategy in this country 2010. That document guides the work that is being done in this epidemic, which i think is important for people to realize this is not a thing of the past. The epidemic is still having a dramatic impact upon various populations across the u. S. The people working in hiv is very important. It is guided by this strategy. The council helped the administration to guide implementation of that policy. Amy can you talk more about the office of National Aids policy website that the Trump Administration took down . Sure. The website is a representation of what that office does. What is really important is that office having a seat at the table so that when the domestic policy council, the former director of the office of National Aids policy, had a seat on the white house domestic policy council. What that office is doing is bringing the issue, and the way that hiv is impacting and still killing people in the united states, to the attention of the administration and creating a conversation that will then inform policy that is made by this administration. Juan i want to ask about the concern of some of the trump appointees. In 2015 interview with former president ial contender ben carson, who is now a member of trumps cabinet, he was asked by cnns jake tapper about his opposition to planned parenthood. Organization that not only makes money by selling baby parts, but doesnt seem to understand the sanctity of human life and is willing to destroy that, an organization whose founder believed in eugenics. Margaret sanger. Yes, and today, the chlorella the other clinics are in minority community. Doesnt that make the argument they would make, that the services youre talking about, forget abortion per second, but the services youre talking about are not available everywhere and that is where minorities and people who are lower income get mammograms and treatment for stds and birth control, etc. . I thought there were supposed to get all of those things based on obamacare. Why do we need planned parenthood . Ben carsonwas speaking to the president ial campaign. He is now the hud secretary under President Trump. Scott schoettes . Clip,you heard in the what they do is ignore all of the Important Services that planned parenthood provides besides for the abortion services. And there is no doubt that the defunding of planned parenthood and the elimination of the services will have a dramatic impact on our ability to fight this epidemic. They provide a bunch of services around sexual health, hiv testing, education on these topics that is really important to engaging and educating the population that is most affected young people are right now the people most affected by hiv aids in this country. The cohort from 13 to 34 is the place where the new diagnoses are growing the fastest. If youre going to get a handle on this, we need to make sure were providing services to those folks. Another point i think mr. Carson what the misses is Trump Administration is planning on doing now is cutting medicaid, Cutting Services to low income people. You cant do that without dramatically affecting and actually growing this epidemic. Amy the infamous redbaiting new york lawyer named roy who died of aids in 1986 was a big influence. Trump for Wayne Barrett spoke to democracy now about trumps ties to coehn. Roy cohn, i knew him well. You just cannot understand how donnell could of been this close. I read in the book they talked 15 times a day. One of the two stories here, kerry member which one, said it was five times a day. It is probably somewhere in between. Roy himself told me they talked 15 times a day. Next tono question that fred trump, roy cohn was the single greatest influence and donalds life. Amy for young people who dont know his background back to mccarthy, can you explain who roy cohn is and what it meant for donald trump to learn at his knee . I figure is 23 years old when he was the chief counsel to joe mccarthy doing those hearings. He was extremely wired into the reag white house. He helped make donald trump sister a federal judge in 1983. He was the ultimate fixer power player in new york for a whole period of time. He died of aids in 1986. Amy that is the late great journalist Wayne Barrett who wrote the unofficial biography of donald trump. Roy s longtime secretary said trump abandoned cohn when he found out cohn was hivpositive. They wrote there were so close they spoke a least a few times a week. When he found out, he took away all of his cases from roy and got new lawyers. Did you know about this, Scott Schoettes . I was unaware of some of the details, but that is not surprising to me, given what ive seen from this and President Trump in particular. There seems to be a complete weregard of this community continuing effect that hiv is having on populations across the country. Young gay and bisexual men of color, in particular. Transgender women, transgender women of color together. Low income people. These are the folks that are most affected. I think it is pretty clear that this administration is little regard for any of us populations. Amy how many people are left on this commission . I my count, there are 15 members still remaining on the president ial Advisory Council on hiv aids. Amy has the Trump Administration responded to the resignation of the six of you . I did see a common that was made yesterday that pointed to an appointee within the white house that focused on health. That appointee, unfortunate, is also antiscience. She is not only antiabortion, she is antibirth control. If that is the person who is providing counsel to this administration on hiv aidsrelated policy, i dont think that bodes well for how the legislation, the Market Health care act, is going to be shaped. Amy Scott Schoettes, thank you for being with us, the hiv project director at lambda legal, the oldest and Largest National Legal Organization serving People Living with hiv. One of six people who resigned last week from the president ial Advisory Council on hiv aids. His article in newsweek announcing the resignations was headlined trump doesnt care about hiv. Were outta here. When we come back, what is happening in egypt. The number of men who are facing execution this week and other issues. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman and juan gonzalez. Juan we turn now to egypt where seven men are facing imminent execution based on confessions that human rights activists say were extracted under torture. Six of the men are recent College Graduates who were arrested in 2014, along with more than a dozen others. While their testimony was captured on camera, the men say they were beaten, shocked with electricity, and hung in painful positions, and then provided with written testimonies they were forced to read. They were sentenced to death last month on terrorism charges after a military trial. Human rights activists are now demanding a president ial pardon to save the men from execution. Egypts highest Appeals Court upheld the death sentences. On saturday, a Cairo Criminal Court recommended the Death Penalty for an additional 30 people convicted of involvement in the 2015 assassination of egypts top prosecutor, hisham barakat. This is presiding judge hassan farid. The court has ruled with the consensus of all its members for the referral of the cases documents to the grand move d, for review of what is being attributed to the accused. Amy in other news from egypt, dozens of activists have been arrested in a series of sweeping raids in recent days. The arrests came as egyptians took to the streets to protest an agreement to hand over control of two islands to saudi arabia. Critics say the islands belong to egypt and that their transfer is linked to the billions of dollars the saudis have given to support egyptian president abdel fatah alsisis government. In total, some 110 people have been arrested since last week with just under 40 released so far. The arrests and raids come amid a nationwide crackdown against human rights activists and press freedom advocates. Over the past few weeks, the Egyptian Government has blocked access to at least 93 news sites, including aljazeera, huffington posts arabic website, the selfpublishing platform medium, and the local independent news site mada masr. Well, for more, were joined now by egyptian film director and writer, omar Robert Hamilton. In 2011, he cofounded the cairobased mosireen media collective, which worked to film and document the egyptian revolution. Omar hamiltons debut novel is just out. Its called, the city always wins. Welcome to democracy now start with the imminent executions unless they are stopped. At issue right now are the six men. They were rounded rounded up randomly. Man was shot. 21 then were rounded up and six were held. At first just the first the families knew when they appeared visibly beaten and confessing on television. When they try to tell the state prosecutors they have been tortured to the point of confession, they were returned to the same policeman that torture them and they were tortured. They were found guilty. They were sentenced to death. On appeal, even the countries highest Appellate Court of the liberty. The only recourse is for president ial pardon to happen. There is a window on that and it has to happen by june 21. After june 21, if sisi is not pardon easement, their executable. Amy that is wednesday. Yes. It is very urgent. Juan i want to ask you about this, since the Trump Administration is coming to power, how the situation has changed in terms of u. S. Policy toward egypt and the region itself . He went to visit saudi arabia not too long ago. Your sense of what the Trump Administration impact has been in egypt . Theres a sense of a green light now in the sense that trump has no interest in paying lip service to human rights or ideas of democracy. Sisi was the first foreign leader to call trump. About their public affection for each other. They invite each othersish i dont know how much changes. While obama seemed distasteful and seemed to not like sisi policies, he did not actually change anything. Egypt continued to receive military aid as it does now post about 1. 3 billion in military aid every year. Trump is just a continuation of the obama process or the Foreign Policy that obama did not change. Of without the sort of sense any kind of possibility of coming from d. C. Juan and the greater ties between saudi arabia and egypt . Saudi arabia is one of the main counterrevolution horribly the principal counterrevolutionary for the region. Possibly the principal counterrevolutionary for the region. Saudi arabia has been working very hard to counteract any successes measures or in any country around it. It is a huge bankroll or of the sisi regime. About 12 million of aid toward in immediately after the coup in 2014. Potential to 20 billion on a investmentsurther coming from saudi arabia in the near future, which is part of what is going on now with these islands. So the big political issue right now in egypt is the two islands in the gulf of which control the eastern water weight of the red sea. Water of the red sea. It seems in exchange for this money from saudi arabia and the promise of future investment egypt is going to seize control of them cede control of them to saudi arabia. It is a point of political weakness for sisi because he wrote in to on this message of being a nationalist savior. Amy do you think President Trumps first foreign visit bingo saudi arabia i believe sisi was there when the various arab leaders were there when trump visited saudi Arabia Arabia assisi, saudi well, and all that is been happening in the gulf as well in the isolation of qatar and what is happening, the authoritarian ways of the leaders . Cuttingw you have sisi off access to close to 100 websites, including one you were very involved with . I think that comes first state visit was to saudi arabia and the promise of one of her billion dollars in weapons from the saudis to americans has given a green light to the saudis. Is thelation ofqatar most immediate example of what is going on. A key quote when thinking about Israeli Knesset said, the time is come for a rightwing peace. I think what were going to see is this alignment on American Allies from his welcome egypt, bahrain, yemen sing under this idea of having a rightwing peace and that which is an authoritarian where your prime goal as a government is to repress your own citizens and to maintain the power of the ruling elite. And that theyve all come to the terms of the fact that they can be friends governmentally and our main threat to each of these countries is the civilian populations. Amy meanwhile, the population of yemen is being devastated by the u. S. Backed saudi bombing come also the outbreak of cholera. The crackdown on the media websites, what kind of access to information do you have in egypt when you are there . And your own media collective . The media in egypt is already very, very, very controlled. The Principal Media actors of the country are controlled by the state. You cannot broadcast anything on the radio unless you have a license from the state. You can be in prison after 15 years. Even the private media has pretty much been brought to heel in the years since the military came to power. Theres a limited amount of dissent in the media anyway. That is for image restricted to the internet that is very much restricted to the internet. Basically, it is the sites that have been vocal about the sale of the islands of saudi arabia, the sites that have been reporting on the news are the ones of the government has been cracking down on and has been blocking. There are also blocking vpn services. The question is, how are they doing that . Where is the technology coming from . Egypt has become the fourthlargest weapons importer in the world. It also buys Digital Security tools from european countries. We know they bought digital surveillance tools from germany, finland, and italy. It is a question of, where they bind the technology that such a wide crackdown . Of back to the execution the men. Is there any way that will be stopped . Is hard to tell. Himself. To sisi he tends to make a point of not bound any kind of popular pressure. Bowing to any kind of popular pressure. He is an author terry and character. We can only hope. Amy we want to have you back on to talk about your novel the city always wins. Omar Robert Hamilton is a film director. He will be speaking tonight in soho at 7 00. That is the end of democracy now democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now ] today on americas test kitchen, julia and bridget make sensational beef stirfry, jack challenges bridget to a tasting of soy sauce, and keith makes julia unforgettable scallion pancakes. Its all coming up right here on americas test kitchen. Americas test kitchen is brought to you by the following Fisher Paykel. Since 1934, Fisher Paykel has been designing